A/N: HEYYY! last chappie of the day! You guys have no idea how hard I worked on getting 4 WHOLE chappies written and edited in 6 days, considering my chappies are at least 1500 words (now)! Sometimes they even hit 3,000! But hey, I love writing, so I'm not complaining. I FINALLY understand why authors take a while to publish a book, but that doesn't stop me from wanting a new book (AHEM Erins, I'm talking to you, I really want the sequel to The Sun Trail, and Rick Riordan, I NEED the House of Hades), but I've been rambling. ENJOY:
Meanwhile, in RiverClan, Graymist and Whitepaw were searching for Pebblepaw.
"He went this way, Whitepaw." Graymist said.
"Yes! There he is! Hey, Pebblepaw!"Whitepaw said, seeing Pebblepaw in some rocks a foxtail away.
"Shhhh," Pebblepaw said, from his position in some rocks, "They'll hear you. Oh, mother! Hello!"
"Pebblepaw, we must go to the camp—EEK!" Whitepaw shrieked, feeling breath on his neck.
"Well hello there, little apprentice." Leaftail said. Before you could say mouse, Whitepaw had spun around and clawed his face, making blood seep into his eyes. "YOU LITTLE WEASEL!" Leaftail shrieked.
"Run! Both of you!" Graymist yelled shoving them both in the direction of the camp. The apprentices ran, Graymist on their heels. They made it to the camp, WindClan no more than two tail lengths behind them.
"ATTACK!" Lilyfur yowled.
"ATTACK!" Blackstar yowled, coming towards the camp at a full sprint. The battle wasn't as chaotic as it looked, both ShadowClan and RiverClan fighting WindClan with all their strength. But WindClan was still overwhelming them, somehow. Partly because Leaftail wasn't allowing them to be anything but agressive.
"If you weaklings run from this battle like last time, I'll shred you when we get back to camp! Remember, aim for their eyes, flanks, and stomachs! That should stop them! Especially ShadowClan, with their round bellies. And use your speed to your advantage! These cats are slower than snails! Leap over them, rush towards them with all the speed you've got. Attack! Attack with al, of your might! Show them what you've learned! Show them that we're not a bunch of scraggly, underfed cats! ATTACK, YOU COWARDS!" Leaftail yowled, leaping into the fury of the battle. He sliced and stabbed bodies, twisted and twirled away from attacks, poked and prodded faces. He created a large berth around him, and only the bravest warriors attacked him. He was like a cat addicted to catmint, energetic and crazed.
"THUNDERCLAN, ATTACK!" Squirrelstar yowled, taking down Leaftail with a blow to the stomach. The ThunderClan warriors beat WindClan into the ground.
"Traitor." Leaftail growled at Squirrelstar.
"I'm no traitor. If you had come to me before ShadowClan, RiverClan, and an apprentice of my own Clan, I might have agreed to help you." She said, head held high.
"You had an alliance with Onestar."
"I don't see Onestar here, and if your Clan insists on fighting meaningless battles, I have no option but to end that alliance. The alliance is also based on an old, old friendship my father had with Tallstar and somewhat Onestar. I wanted to keep his memory alive, and you're tarnishing it! He saved the Clans, and you fight like rogues, ruining some of the only things we can remember him by, and I have no reason to keep up this alliance. It barely benefits ThunderClan anyway, we always have to protect your Clan, and you rarely ever lift a paw to help us! I've already told Onestar that the alliance has ended. He was whining like a kit because he's missing three claws, so blame him if you want to. He might just be the reason I decided to go against you instead of for you. If you ever attack like this again, ThunderClan will have no choice but to chase you out of the lake territories with the other Clans helping, and you will be forced to recross the mountains and live alone in the destroyed forest!" Squirrelstar spat. "Now get back to the moor, or do you need a broken spine to teach you a lesson?"
"I've got it." He mumbled.
"Good. Now get off of RiverClan's soil."
"Yes." Leaftail said, then ran away from the camp with his tail tucked in between his legs like a kit who had misbehaved. All of his earlier demeanor was gone, and he looked rather afraid. Part of it was the stomach blow from Squirrelstar, and part of it was that she was a formidable leader who could easily back up her words with actions. She had never made a promise as great as this one, but Leaftail knew that she meant it.
"I'm sorry we were late, almost all of my warriors were out on patrols. I'm glad my Clan could be of assistance, though, as I can see that WindClan has been training up its warriors. May I suggest that you not get lazy with the training of your apprentices or practice of your warriors in this wonderful greenleaf. Not that there is anything either of you are doing wrong. There are no quarrels within the Clans right now, well there were none. There was no reason for you to keep your claws unsheathed with your eyes and ears alert. There was no reason to practice your training every day, though I would reccommend that you do so now. Always be ready. I think we taught WindClan a lesson they won't forget, but you never know." Squirrelstar said, dipping her head to Blackstar and Lilyfur, who was representing RiverClan. "May I ask where Cinderheart and Mistystar are?"
"We don't know, they left on important buisness. Cinderheart left Firepaw and Whitepaw here with us, because she couldn't take them, so I assume the mission was either dangerous or too long for apprentices. They've been a great help with the beginning of training for Sandpaw and Pebblepaw, two new apprentices. Whitepaw saved Pebblepaw's life today, and Firepaw saved all of ours." Lilyfur said.
"Ah, good, they were helping. Now, I had a strange dream about a quarter of a moon ago of our old forest regrown. There were still spots with dead trees, and in Fourtrees there was a twoleg building, but twolegs stayed inside mostly. It...is possible that Mistystar had this dream and went to inspect it."
"More than possible, Squirrelstar. I had the same dream on the same night. Unless it was just is, ShadowClan and ThunderClan, and I suspect not, then Mistystar would have no reason to go. Did you...also see that there were only three Clans in the forest? Do you think it is a sign from StarClan that we should go back? But, as three Clans instead of four?" Blackstar asked.
"No. StarClan doesn't make our choices. They only make our destinies, Blackstar. You of all cats should know that. Your destiny was to become leader, but the choices you made along the way were entirely yours. Such as your...ah...little escapade with the wrong cats. And you've chosen not to walk that path anymore. But I did see the three Clans. However...I think that this is something yet to come. There were different markings on all of the cats there. That would mean that all of the cats currently alive had died."
"Yes, that is true. I must go now, my Clan needs to mark borders, hunt, and train. Perhaps, on the half moon, all of us could come together in ShadowClan, the center of the three, and practice." "Alright!" Both Lilyfur and Squirrelstar exclaimed enthusiastically. "ShadowClan, head home!" Blackstar said, leading his Clan out of RiverClan. "Firepaw, Whitepaw, come on, we have to go home. You two can't stay with RiverClan until Mistystar and Cinderheart get back. It will be...a long time. Even with only two of them, they will have to stop in the mountains with the Tribe for food, then they will have to go all the way to the old forest. Then back to the Tribe then to us. It could take a moon, but probably less." Squirrelstar said, flicking her tail. "Oh, ok, Squirrelstar. But...Cinderheart told us to stay here until she got back. Maybe she won't be gone long. What will she think when she finds that I've not followed directions? We have to stay." Whitepaw said. "I think it will be good for the two to learn about another Clan. We will teach them how to fish, how RiverClan lives, and maybe we'll even teach them a few basic fighting skills. As long as they promise to never steal prey from us." Lilyfur said. RiverClan was startled at the decree from their deputy. "Well, if it's ok with you then I suppose they can stay. If they become a nuisance, send them home by way of ShadowClan, who won't attack them on sight. You don't need to escort them." Squirrelstar said, nodding to Lilyfur. "ThunderClan, let's go home! Go by way of WindClan, it's shorter. Just be prepared for an attack, though it probably won't happen." Squirrelstar said, leading her Clan towards WindClan. "I expect you two to behave. We'll teach you how to fish, but Firepaw will have to teach you to hunt like in a forest, Whitepaw. And you both, while learning, must help with training Sandpaw and Pebblepaw." Lilyfur said, looking into the eyes of both Firepaw and Whitepaw. "Ok!" The two said, grinning. The two touched noses after Lilyfur had left. "So, you saved Pebblepaw, huh? I thought you hated him." Firepaw said, teasingly. "Well, he saved me too. Onestar had me pinned down and Pebblepaw created a distraction so that Leaftail would lead everyone away from me. He risked his life, so I had to rescue him. It's what you would've wanted." "Very true. I'm proud of you. And, I don't want to hide this from you. Please, don't treat me any differently. I'm the same Firepaw that you've always known, but Firestar was reborn, from StarClan, into me." "Ok. I've kind of suspected as much. Thanks for telling me. Let's relax, we have training in the morning, you know! I'm excited!" And so began the adventures in RiverClan, starting with Firepaw's amazing discovery of the powers she never knew she had, to Whitepaw's training in StarClan from the most respected warriors and leaders, to Sandpaw finding out that her true destiny lay hidden beneath the surface of things, to...Spottedleaf?
A/N: MWAHAHAHA! I love leaving you guys at cliffies! Especially because...THE NEXT CHAPPIE IS ALMOST FINISHED AND YOU GUYS ARE REALLY GONNA LOVE IT BECAUSE ITS JUST SO FREAKING AWESOME! I worked hard on the next chappie, and I'm sure that A LOT of you miss Spottedleaf, so I had to throw that ending in there! Sowwwwwey! Anyway, you know the drill, post ideas and a character if you want, and I really want you guys to review, it makes me feel happy! BYE FOR TWO WHOLE WEEKS! I'll WORK ON THAT CHAPPIE AS MUCH AS I CAN, PROMISE!