Chapter 14
Rainmist padded towards her camp from the hunt but only received a small mouse that she luckily found on her way back to her home. She took a deep breath and knew she could have gotten more prey if she did not just stopped by Amurtail. She felt her blood rush towards her cheeks as she remembered his big muscles under his soft fur…if only she could rub against him and be right next to him. She shook her head and scolded herself though, she was not allowed to fall in love with a cat from a different clan! She told herself as she padded past by several trees and to her surprise she felt someone nearby. She sniffed the air and her claws came out but noticed the same and familiar looking grey pelt brush past her, Echostar! Rainmist immediately put her prey down in front of herself and she dipped her head in respect towards her clan leader. Echostar stood before her with her head slightly high but she twitched her ear,
"Rainmist…"
She soon noticed the small little prey the best hunter in the her clan,
"You seem to have not that much luck today…"
"Well, I tried my best Echostar, it was just that there were not that many prey around…they all seem to be moving to Frozenclan's territory."
Echostar hissed with disgust,
"Don't mention their name…it makes me feel as if I've swallowed kitty pet food!"
Rainmist immediately apologized,
"I am very sorry!"
Rainmist once again dipped her head and to the leader's shock bowed. Echostar twitched her tail and narrowed her eyes,
"Rainmist, you do not need to bow like that before me…why are you the only one who bows before me?"
"Because you are our leader Echostar, aren't we supposed to bow?"
Echostar smirked, the young she cat was right,
"Well, you are correct Rainmist. But nobody really bowed before me…I used to have several cats bow before me when I had all my nine lives."
"I still think all of us should bow to you. You are our leader anyway. We must show respect on what everything you have done for us."
Echostar thought to herself for a few minutes and spoke,
"it's funny Rainmist,"
the white warrior looked at her leader's light blue eyes with curiosity,
"It's funny how you seem to be the only one who respects me in this clan now. Not many cats in the clan even believe or trust me because I do not fight."
"Fighting is not always an option but they are right Echostar, we need to fight for more territory. Even the best hunter of the clan could not get much prey like this and soon we would die out."
Rainmist meowed calmingly, impressing and surprising the leader. Echostar looked deep into Rainmist's blue eyes,
"You remind me of someone special Rainmist you know that? Her name…used to be Scarletpelt. She used to tell me that in the same calming voice you told me a second ago."
Rainmist said nothing but stared at her leader with concern eyes. Echostar was being calm and relaxed around her unlike herself where she was all stressed and tried not to blow up when she was in the clan.
"In fact, if I had to choose another deputy it might be you. Of course when Barkstalker and I die. Would you accept that though?"
Rainmist immediately bowed before the grey she cat again,
"it would be a great honor Echostar!"
"Hm, good. But don't tell this to anyone or else there would be arguments. And I do not want myself to get into any more fights right now. I'm not in the mood at all."
Echostar was about to pad away from Rainmist but the white she cat noticed strange claw marks around her neck and blood rolling from it!
"Echostar! You're neck…it's…it's bleeding!"
Echostar took a deep breath and turned to face Rainmist,
"yes I know and that is why I am going to find Lillyflower and Ashheart."
"What happened though?"
Echostar took a deep breath,
"I noticed a few rogues that seem interested in our territory Rainmist. Please don't tell this to anyone, Frozenclan and Waveclan gave us enough threats these moons. But now there's rogues…"
"Why did you fought alone then Echostar?! Why?"
"To prove myself."
Rainmist stood there shocked and couldn't believe herself…Echostar was being a mouse brain and coward! Rainmist growled under her breath, Echostar would soon enough destroy her clan…her family and her friends! There had to be another way,
"Echostar, I have an idea!"
The grey leader turned to look at her, her neck was slowly ripping again which made Rainmist flinch,
"Should we first go to the clan?"
"No it's ok. Just tell me quickly Rainmist."
"I noticed that we never really traveled to other territories…I noticed that there are large mountains and hills near the end of our territory! I think this is our opportunity for a group of warriors to go off and find a new camp for us. Then we would might let other skilled cats that might live in the mountains join us and our clan will get stronger and soon we would defeat Frozenclan!"
Echostar thought to herself for a few minutes and took a deep breath,
"I'll think about that…but it is a good idea. Come on, let's get back to camp and get myself healed. We also have a gathering today."
The two she cats disappeared as they ran back to their camp.
The stars were rising and the sun was sinking between the jagged mountains. Darkpaw took a deep breath and noticed herself back in the medicine den where Ashheart told her to go so she could check on her scars that were still healing on her back. Darkpaw didn't noticed Ashheart though and only saw Greypaw who was amazingly rearranging the herbs. The black she cat took a deep breath and entered,
"Uh…hi. Do you know where Ashheart is?"
The identical looking tom turned to see the same black she cat who bickered with him earlier,
"She went out to gather more yarrow."
"Oh…"
Darkpaw tried to think of a topic they could talk about so they wouldn't be in an awkward moment.
"So…seems like you're helping her out with the herbs. Is it fun?"
"Not really, it's interesting to learn about the herbs though. I don't think I'll be wanting to be a medicine cat though, I want to be leader. Or at least I used to want to be a leader until I got here…"
Greypaw trailed off as they both remembered when Echostar announced that Greypaw was going to be a slave and never would return to his home clan. Darkpaw padded and sat next to the older looking tom,
"I'll help you rearrange the herbs."
"Sure, that's fine with me. Just hand me over that herb over there."
The two cats quietly worked together and soon enough Darkpaw felt her paw touch Greypaw's paw when she was about to grab a piece of moss. She felt her blood rushing towards her face and made her black face turn into a dark red.
"Oh…uh…"
She stuttered as she looked up at Greypaw with her ears flattened. Greypaw's ears were flat against his head and he too was blushing slightly. Their eyes meet and Greypaw chuckled,
"You have nice eyes."
He admitted his thoughts and opinions to the younger she cat who replied with a small smile.
"Too bad you're not in the same clan as me…"
He trailed off as he got closer to Darkpaw who smiled wider as her face grew hotter. However Darkpaw suddenly noticed how close she was to the hostage and quickly peeled away from him. Greypaw frowned, "What's wrong? Oh…!"
He whispered to himself when he noticed that they were actually pretty close together. Even though the two were just apprentices you could tell that the two cats started to have a small crush on each other.
"You're from a different clan!"
Darkpaw muttered,
"So don't try being nice to me!"
"I wasn't being nice to you, you just wanted to help me arranging the herbs that's all."
"That's all?! Just…don't come close to me!"
Greypaw chuckled as he slightly noticed the black she cat smile but serious at the same time.
"Oh come on, I just wanted to be friends with you and have fun."
"Friends? With another cat from a different clan? In your dreams!"
"It's not like I could do anything to you at this rate. My arm is healing though."
Greypaw said as he stared at Darkpaw with a gentle smile.
"Hey, maybe we can both go out into the woods together. We can have fun there!"
Darkpaw insisted Greypaw who tilted his head,
"Would you really do that? I mean…I thought…"
"Well, it's not like anyone cares about me anyway."
Greypaw smiled and he felt that not all Stoneclan cats were cruel and violent as he thought they were. He first thought that Darkpaw was always a fox heart but today…something made him feel as if he could trust her. "Fine,"
Greypaw chuckled as he agreed to go with Darkpaw. Ashheart soon entered into the medicine den with several yarrow in her jaws, and the two younger cats knew Ashheart was very happy.
"Ok Darkpaw, let's check those scars of yours. I hope that Echostar's stupid choice did not made you get your scars reopen!"
Darkpaw padded towards the young medicine cat who looked down at her back and before any of them could react Ashheart gasped in horror.
"Oh great Starclan! Your scars are reopen again! Greypaw, you should have noticed that and yell for my name!" Ashheart whined at him as she searched for cobwebs in the storage room. Darkpaw winced as she felt the sticky cobwebs sinking into her reopen scars.
"Echostar is bringing nothing but injured cats and starving kits to this clan! We will soon die out sooner or later! Wish we had a different leader…"
Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed Greypaw's eyes narrow...he had the eyes of determination. But Darkpaw could not know on what he was determined to do.
"Bladepaw, Mintpaw, do you two…like this place?"
Dark asked his two friends as they returned from training and they were all sharing one small bird that one of the warriors were able to catch. Mintpaw looked up from the prey and smiled,
"I personally do but I'm getting a bit nervous on what Whitewish has been telling me…I heard that this clan is going to die out."
Bladepaw frowned,
"I heard that too…apparently another clan called Frozenclan is trying to take over. I like this clan though, we have food and shelter."
Dark groaned,
"So I am the only one who doesn't like or appreciate this clan."
Bladepaw chuckled,
"You hate this clan because you got the hot headed mentor. Don't worry you're not alone to hate him, I wish he was dead."
Mintpaw hissed at her friend,
"Hey! That's not a nice thing to say about another cat!"
"But he deserved it Mintpaw, he treats Dark like trash. Also the fact that we now know that Dark is actually a girl's name!"
Dark growled,
"My name is not a girl's name!"
"Fine! Fine! Geez, I was only joking Dark!"
The three apprentices continued eating until Mintpaw interrupted the silence,
"Well, we've been here for two moons now. We have four moons more to go until we're warriors."
Bladepaw smiled,
"I can't wait till we all become warriors, we might even get to make our own clans!"
The three young cats heard a muttering voice behind them,
"Creating your own clan is not possible or easy!"
Fawneyes scolded the three apprentices with a scowl on her face,
"Starclan only made four clans and it will always stay that way! Also the fact that all the three of you having nine lives is scary to think about."
Dark blinked,
"Nine…nine lives? What do you mean by that?"
The elder rolled her eyes,
"I almost forgot that none of the others told you about what happens when you become leader of a clan. When you become a leader you have to travel to the moon stone and touch it, visit Starclan and in return get your nine lives."
The three apprentices looked as if the elder was crazy.
"I think she went crazy,"
Bladepaw whispered into Mintpaw's ears and the she cat nodded with agreement. Fawneyes noticed it and flicked her tail,
"Hmph! Seems like you three don't believe me! But it is true. Echostar had lost several lives now, but she is still ruling over us because of her stupid lives."
"You don't seem to appreciate her,"
Dark told the elder with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course I do, but she does get me worried…she's quite different then most normal leaders…I think she's going a bit crazy if you know what I am thinking and talking about. It happened ever since that night…"
The elder muttered under her breath and sadly looked down at her wrinkled paws. Mintpaw tilted her head, "What happened?"
"Well,"
Fawneyes faced the three apprentices,
"One night the clan found out that Echostar was pregnant…nobody knows who the tom she mated with was. But we did not argue and soon the kit grew to be Scarletpelt, she was a top hunter but not a fighter. One night Stoneclan invaded Frozenclan for a serious reason, but Icestar killed Scarletpelt…making Echostar turn crazy. I worry for her health and this clan."
Mintpaw's ears flattened and meowed with sympathy,
"Poor Echostar…it must have been so hard for her…"
"But that did not mean she would drag the rest of us down to this disaster! As you can see we are all dying now! You foolish rogues just ignored my bickering and joined us which means we would not have much prey for ourselves and die quicker! Starclan seems to be going against my clan nowadays!"
Dark hissed with anger,
"We can't help it if we were rogues! But now we're one of you, so you should respect us as you respect your other clan mates!"
Fawneyes hissed back,
"Don't tell me what to do you useless scum!"
Dark felt a cold raindrop hit the tip of his ears, making them twitch. Fawneyes growled in annoyance and grabbed the small prey that Bladepaw and Mintpaw were still eating.
"Hey!"
Bladepaw whined,
"Why are you taking it away from us?!"
Fawneyes rolled her eyes as she padded towards her den as the rain started to pour,
"I'm hungry. Because I'm an elder and my days are getting closer I am going to pretend and remember the happy moments I had in this clan long time ago. And for one thing I will not respect outsiders like you unstill you three prove yourselves that you are useful to the clan."
The elder told them simply and disappeared into the elder's den. Dark was still standing and growling as Bladepaw and Mintpaw went on arguing on how hungry they were. The three apprentices decided to get away from the rain before they were completely soaked and so they ran towards the apprentice's den. The den was not warm but it still sheltered the young apprentices and all the three of them started to shake themselves to dry themselves. Snowpaw was the first to greet the three with a glare,
"Hey! Stop shaking your fur!"
Bladepaw sneered and padded up to Snowpaw and shacked his fur and earned himself a thin scratch on his shoulder,
"Hey!"
He shouted at the white apprentice who stuck out her tongue.
"Where's Darkpaw?"
Mintpaw asked with a tilted head. Snowpaw yawned,
"Well, she's in the medicine den. I hope her scars did not reopen. Why would three rogues care about her anyway? Something happened between you guys?"
Mintpaw shook her head,
"No, it's just that when we normally see you Darkpaw is always right next to you. Unless when it's training time."
The apprentices were about to rest into their nests until they heard a loud yowl,
"Cats old enough to catch their own prey, meet me on the high rock!"
The familiar echoing voice reached all of their ears, making the three former rogues groan.
"We all know that today is the day of another gathering. I will be choosing…Rainmist, Bolttail, Whitewish, Barkstalker, Ravenflight, Darkpaw, Dark, Mintpaw and Bladepaw."
The four apprentice's eyes widen but Snowpaw's eyes were the widest,
"WHAT?!"
The three other apprentices didn't know how to react but to exchange shocked and confused looks.
I can't believe it…ALL the three of you…ALL of you are going to the gathering all but me! This is so unfair!" Bladepaw smirked and winked,
"Seems like rogues make better warriors now in this clan."
Snowpaw hissed as her claws came out from her paws,
"Don't make me kill you!"
The cats around them stared at the four apprentices with embarrassed faces. The rain was still pouring but Echostar seemed not to care less about the cold liquid getting her pelt wet. She yowled,
"Well?! Hurry up and let's get going!"
Dawnmist sigh as she saw her mate padding away with his serious face, brushing roughly against her. "Ravenflight?"
She meowed quietly to stop her husband. Ravenflight halted for a brief second and turned slightly to give his mate a glare,
"What?"
Dawnmist gulped,
"I gave birth…to a beautiful she cat name Thunderkit…just letting you know."
Ravenflight's narrow cold eyes narrowed even harder,
"Pathetic."
Was all he could say and pad away, leaving a shocked and emotionless she cat stand in the cold rain. Dawnmist was thankful because it was raining because it hid her tears that were streaming down her cheeks. Once again she had failed to give birth to a tom and earned more hatred from her mate.
Darkpaw was about to pad away before she felt Greypaw's paw gently holding her tail down. Ashheart and Lillyflower were apparently working hard on rearranging the herbs because the two apprentices had failed on arranging the herbs properly. Darkpaw's heart thumped as her eyes meet Greypaw's.
"Be careful, especially my father, he will do anything to hurt your clan members now."
Darkpaw couldn't help but blush as she heard his deep and worried voice. She nodded with a small smile, "Don't worry, I'll be okay."
Greypaw quietly lifted up his paw to let go of Darkpaw's fluffy dark grey tail. And before he could react Darkpaw quickly brushed against him and padded away, leaving a red faced Greypaw standing there as if he was casted in a spell.
"Oh my Starclan…"
The young tom glanced and noticed Ashheart and Lillyflower staring at him with wide opened eyes. The Stoneclan cats slowly ran out from their camps to get to their destination quickly as they could.