Firestar, Brackenfur, and Graystripe finished off their opponents almost at the same time. They finished in time to see Dovepaw send Sedgepaw running back to camp, wailing like a kit. Graystripe raced to Blossompaw's side.
"She's hurt, but she'll live." He meowed a moment later, relieved. Lionblaze watched Firestar's expression as he studied Dovepaw. The leader's expression changed from concern, to surprise, to excitement, and finally to anger.
"Why did you have to run off?! You have now destroyed our friendship with WindClan, started a battle, and caused Blossompaw to be badly injured! You are confined to camp until further notice. You can take care of the elders and queens. If you can act like a kit, you can be treated like one." Firestar looked furious as he said this, but Lionblaze knew that underneath he was excited.
"But, Firestar…" began Dovepaw, horrified.
"You will not argue. You've caused enough trouble today. Come on, before I send you back to the nursery. Brackenfur help Graystripe with Blossompaw. Let's get back to camp." Ordered Firestar.
The ThunderClan cats returned to camp, and brought Blossompaw to Jayfeather's den. Graystripe stayed with her while Jayfeather worked and explained to Graypaw what he was doing.
"Comfrey is good for soothing wounds. The goldenrod will help the wounds heal. Marigold is used to stop infection. Cobwebs can stop the bleeding and keep wounds clean. Poppy seeds would help her sleep, but I'm not going to give them now." Explained Jayfeather. Graypaw watched carefully. Firestar jumped onto the Highledge and called the Clan together.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" called Firestar. He continued as soon as the Clan gathered, "Dovepaw ran onto WindClan territory this morning. She was attacked by a patrol, and fortunately our dawn patrol was close enough to help her. WindClan may have viewed this as an attack on their border. Our patrols will need to be larger until further notice. Blossompaw was also badly injured. Jayfeather is with her, and she should recover fully. Dovepaw will be confined to camp until further notice. She can care for the elders and queens." Sandstorm walked back into camp with Ivypaw as he finished. Firestar gestured for Brambleclaw and Sandstorm to follow him, and went into his den.
"It's Dovepaw. She's the third. I know it. She reminds me of Squirrelflight when she was an apprentice. Poor Dustpelt! But I'm sure it's her. She climbed farther than any apprentice I've ever heard of would dare to in their first moon of training. She's faster than most WindClan cats, and she fought off Sedgepaw without getting a scratch. There's no way she could ever have done that if she wasn't one of the three. Ivypaw will be jealous." Meowed Firestar.
"You're completely sure?" asked Brambleclaw.
"She fought off Sedgepaw? What happened after she ran off?" asked Sandstorm, concerned.
"She ran into WindClan territory. Breezepelt, Crowfeather, Owlwhisker, and Sedgepaw found her on her patrol. The dawn patrol was nearby, and came to help her, but then Sedgepaw brought reinforcements. Dovepaw ended up on her own fighting Sedgepaw and fought her off without getting a scratch. I don't think Lionblaze did that well his first time. He was part of the patrol, and that helped a lot." Answered Firestar.
"I can tell you one thing. She was amazing when she climbed the Sky Oak. And she was really fast. She's also extremely disobedient. She wouldn't listen to anything Firestar said. And I'm glad Dovepaw was the one in the prophecy."
"Why?" asked Firestar and Brambleclaw. Sandstorm looked proud.
"I think I'm pregnant."
"Are you sure?" asked Firestar, looking both shocked and pleased.
"Almost positive. I haven't asked Jayfeather yet, but I've had kits before. I know what it's like. Ivypaw might need a different mentor soon. I would recommend Brackenfur. He's a good warrior. And this time, Firestar, I want to name one after you. One of my kits will be Firekit. I also like Redkit. I've been thinking about different names. The only thing I'm sure about is that I'm going to name one Firekit."
"Then one will be Sandkit. I won't let you name one after me if I don't get to name one after you." Firestar suddenly remembered Brambleclaw was still waiting.
"Ummm… I guess you can go now." He meowed to Brambleclaw. Brambleclaw didn't need a second invitation. He immediately left the den. He walked right past Lionblaze. Lionblaze needed to talk to Firestar. When Brambleclaw left, he walked over to Firestar's den.
"Firestar?" called Lionblaze.
"Come in." answered Firestar.
"I need to talk to you." He stopped and looked at Sandstorm. "I don't know if I should say this now. I wanted to talk to you alone. But you gave her Ivypaw. You must have told her."
"Anything you say to me can be said in front of Sandstorm." Replied Firestar.
"Does she know about the prophecy about the three?" asked Lionblaze.
"I wasn't sure if you knew. StarClan told Jayfeather and he told you, right? And yes, Sandstorm knows. Brambleclaw too."
"Good. Then I'm sure you realized Dovepaw is the third. It has to be her after today. Ivypaw isn't one of the three."
"We agree. We were just talking about that with Brambleclaw. Maybe I should tell Jayfeather the entire second prophecy." Firestar looked angry at himself for letting the secret of the second prophecy slip.
"A second prophecy? It involves us, doesn't it?"
"Dark times are coming for all four Clans. Six cats will come and save the Clans from destruction. They will work with the three to save the Clans from annihilation and bring peace to the lake." Firestar looked nervous. "I told Jayfeather it was 'dark times are coming for all four Clans. Six cats will come. They will save the Clans from annihilation and bring peace to the lake.' I should tell him the whole thing."
"Jayfeather has seemed nervous about Graypaw. He wouldn't tell me why. And he probably figured out what you didn't tell him. He always knows more than you think, and he will never tell anyone everything he knows. But… what could be coming that we can't handle? We have the power of the stars in our paws."
"I don't know. Whatever it is, we have to stop it. The future of the Clans depends on it. Sandstorm, you're the Clan's best hunter. Teaching Dovepaw to hunt will be your job for now. Lionblaze, you teach her to fight. She needs to learn fast and well, from someone who knows what might happen if she doesn't. I hope Spiderleg, Birchfall, Berrynose, and Cinderheart were the right choices for the others. They are all good warriors, but I'm starting to think they aren't experienced enough. These are their first apprentices. Brackenfur and Cloudtail might have been better choices." Meowed Firestar nervously.
"They can handle it. We've never had problems with mentors not doing well with their first apprentice before. You picked strong, loyal warriors who can handle being mentors." Sandstorm's voice was gentle and comforting.
"I guess you're right. I really hope whatever's coming waits until they can handle it, though."
Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been busy with school and my robotics team. And my other stories.
For all warriors fanatics, take a look at my miniseries, starting with Rose and Leaf! It continues with Medicine Cat's Kits, then Kit and Kits. I am working on book four for it, Love and Leadership. Also see my individual warrior's story that I'm working on, Fire, Moon, and Ice.
Review!!! And I own the second litter of Sandstorm's kits. They're going to be fun to write about... you'll see why later. My favorite line from this story belongs to one of them.
