Okay, on my allegiances page I know I added Songbird, but you'll meet her in this chapter. Also, Lionstar's entrance to his den is facing the camp not the woods. Sorry I didn't clarify that. If you have any more questions, please do ask, as I'll gladly clear things up. Enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Last time I looked into the mirror, I wasn't any of the Erin Hunters.
"Psst. Lionstar? Are you awake? I wanted to go training."
The golden tom let out a groan and rolled onto his back. Heatherstorm stirred beside him and let out a hiss of annoyance at being woken up so early.
Only faint signs of dawn were breaking through the horizon, and stars still sparkled in the sky, only slightly fading. Walking to the entrance of his den, the tom could oversee the entire camp and no one seemed to be awake yet.
As Lionstar fully came out of his den, a weight landed on his back causing him to loose his balance and stumble over.
"What the-" he called, standing up to shake his ruffled fur.
He heard a loud purr of amusement and whirled around to see his mate crawling out of the den to stand beside Featherpaw.
"I'm going to get you guys for that." He threatened with mock anger. "But since we're all up why don't you go ahead and get Applepaw and we can get a head start. And be sure to grab a bite to eat!" Lionstar added with a glance at the freshkill pile.
The golden tom was surprised to see how quickly these cats had adapted to Clan life and were starting to get the hang of hunting patrols.
"Come on, let's get something to eat." Heatherstorm suggested, guiding her mate towards the enticing scents of prey.
Unfortunately to his dismay a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Lionstar we're back!" a cheerful voice called, and the strong scent of mouse flooded the tom's nostrils as he turned to see their apprentices running towards them. "Can we go yet?" Featherpaw asked, her paws kneading at the ground impatiently.
The tom was sure they had eaten while hunting instead of thinking of the Clan first but decided to let it slide.
Instead, Lionstar looked up at the sky, which was tinted with orange as the sun slowly made its way into the sky. The giant round sphere was barely visible through the treetops, its light struggling to break through the barriers of leaves. Throughout the camp shadows danced under the new shine and all signs of darkness had officially faded away.
"I suppose we can in a minute." Lionstar meowed, ignoring the hunger pains that gnawed at his belly.
Padding over to his den, the golden tom bunched his muscles and sprang, landing neatly on top of the stump.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the Highstump for a clan meeting." Lionstar's voice echoed off the swaying branches all around the camp.
Quickly, everyone padded out of their dens, many yawning with exhaustion. Lionstar watched as Featherpaw and Applepaw went to sit beside their siblings. Next to them were Thornfoot, Stream and Tiger.
Looking to his left Lionstar noticed Patchear coming out of the warrior's den followed by Flamepelt and Cloudstorm. The golden tom could here them complaining about being woken up so early as they made their way to sit at the back of the group, talking in hushed whispers.
Maplepelt was emerging from the safe roots of the nursery, followed by Cherrypelt and her kits. Suddenly, a black streak from behind what was going to be the medicine den caught his amber eyes and he squinted to make out the shape. But in the blink of an eye it was gone, leaving Lionstar dumbfounded.
I was sure I saw something… the golden tom thought. He could almost feel himself being watched from a distance and the thought of it made him shudder.
"What are we waiting for?" Came an annoyed his from the group and Lionstar let out a sigh as he recognized Patchear. That tom really must learn patience.
"I've called you all here to let you know an important job must be accomplished today; the setting of our borders. I will need cats that know this land the best to come with me as we set a reasonable amount of territory for LeafClan. I'll need to patrols to be set out. One I will lead, Heatherstorm the other. This way we can teach you how to mark them" The golden tom announced, his amber eyes gazing over Thornfoot.
The dark ginger tom nodded and stood to sit directly in front. "I will go on the patrol with Lionstar along with Oakpaw, Ravenfeather, Sunstorm and Streamleaf. Heatherstorm will be taking along Starfrost, Flamepelt, Brownwhisker and Patchear."
Lionstar nodded from where he stood above his den. "Very well. But I noticed that the freshkill pile is low. We'll need some cats to restock it while we're at."
His deputy nodded. "I've decided that Tigerheart, Cloudstorm, Mistpool, Clovertail and their apprentices could hunt for us."
Lionstar voiced his approval before padding over to wait by the camp entrance near the apprentice's den. After Thornfoot had been told the regular duties of a deputy, Lionstar noticed he'd been taking the role very seriously. Fur ruffed out with pride; the golden tom couldn't help but think what loyal cats he had to lead.
Noticing that the sun was shining steadily in the sky now, directly above the camp, Lionstar realized they needed to hurry if they planned to mark an entire territory today.
At last the others joined him and Lionstar set out into the forest, his apprentice and mate at his side.
"Once we reach the treaded path just outside the forest, I'll turn left and you'll go right. Mark our borders at noticeable spots and I'll meet you at the Moonpool at dusk." The golden tom meowed to his mate.
Heatherstorm nodded. "Sounds good. I know we'll have a reasonable amount of territory, this forest is huge!" she exclaimed, glancing around at the endless amount of trees, and bushes surrounding them. "It's much more safer than the open moors of WindClan." The she-cat let out a shudder at the memory of her open camp.
Lionstar nodded in understanding. He knew his mate had been very unhappy living in her vulnerable camp, and was glad she found this place to be suitable.
At last the undergrowth thinned out, and the trees grew farther apart, allowing sunlight to make its way through the leafy barrier and warm the pelts of the traveling cats.
Scenting the air, Lionstar could taste the open-air smell of the mountainside ahead of them. Suddenly anxious, the tom raced ahead of the others to emerge on a treaded down path alongside a gentle mountain slope. Rocks and crags could be spotted all around, dotted with a few sparse gorse bushes along the hill. In the distance a waterfall could be spotted and Lionstar assumed that was where the stream came from.
A loud rustling broke the leader from his thoughts and he turned to see his clanmates emerging through the bushes.
"Wow, I've never been this far before!" Featherpaw exclaimed, taking in the scene with wide curious eyes.
Applepaw quickly joined her, equally as intrigued. "This is amazing! The world never ends." She exclaimed drawing in a deep breath.
"Well, we'd better be going our separate ways." Heatherstorm mewed.
Lionstar nodded. "I'll see you at dusk." He meowed, giving his mate a lick on the ear as she took off to the right along with her patrol of cats.
"I'm going to go ahead and mark our edge of land here." The tom meowed, marking the border alongside the edge of path. After he had finished, he continued following beside the path, keeping to his side of the border.
Looking around for obvious markers, Lionstar noticed his apprentice padding beside him, flicking her tail anxiously. Bending down he whispered, "If you want, run ahead with Oakpaw and see if you can find somewhere to end our borders."
The white she-cat's eyes lit up with excitement and she eagerly darted ahead alongside the brown tom, growing out of sight in seconds.
Purring in amusement, Lionstar slowed his pace to match his step with Thornfoots'.
"Any idea where to set the next border?" His deputy asked.
"Well up ahead, the path veers off to the right while the forest keeps going." Lionstar told him, recalling his first journey up here. "I thought we'd put a marker up by the turn then keep going until we reach an obvious spot to mark the border." The leader continued, looking ahead into the distance. He could vaguely see where the path curved off, deeper into the slope of the mountain.
Thornfoot nodded. "Sounds good to-" The ginger tom was cut off by a loud screech up ahead, followed by a vicious snarl.
Lionstar's heart dropped. That sounded like Featherpaw! Instantly alarmed, he darted forward, the forest flashing by in a blur as he was blinded by undeniable fear and rage.
At last the hissing seemed to be coming closer and he sprinted ahead urging his restless muscles to go just a little further. Suddenly, he emerged from a bramble bush and catapulted into a large sandy clearing.
Getting to his paws, he glanced around the clearing that eerily reminded him of the sandy hollow back in ThunderClan. It was very large and surrounded by many thickets of bramble. Kneading his paws into the ground he discovered it to be sturdy, but soft, and decided this to be the perfect place for battle training.
A loud snarl broke the tom from his thoughts and he whirled around to see Featherpaw and Oakpaw cornering a small black she-cat.
Flicking his tail, he quieted the apprentices and went to stand in front of the trespasser.
"Who are you and what are you doing on our territory?" He demanded.
The she-cat dipped her head. "My name is Song, and I believe you're the cats I've been dreaming about."
What will happen to this newcomer? Will Lionstar allow her to join LeafClan? Honestly its not a hard question; if he wasn't I wouldn't have mentioned her, duh. Also the allegiances page and my authors note was probably a hint… Anyways, please remember to review; I love seeing your opinions!!