AN: Okay, I know that it's been a long wait so I decided to update before I left on vacation. I love this story a lot and couldn't stand waiting a week for the next chapter. I hope you guys like it!
P.S. I liked it better in third-person so I decided to go back.
Lionstar looked over at his mate who was sleeping soundly beside him. The gently rise and fall of her flank was comforting to the restless tom and he gave her ear a gentle lick. Outside the den, the sky was still dark, but the tom knew that daybreak would occur any second.
On cue the sky lit up in a fury of colors; orange, pink and yellow splashing against the black canvas and brightening the darkened atmosphere. A large round orb of light was slowly creeping above the horizon and casting beams of sunshine through the leafy forest.
As the last star sparked out against the morning light, Heatherstorm stirred beside the golden tom.
"Is it time to leave?" she whispered groggily.
Though the leader had been trying to deny it, he knew it was. Looking at his mate, they exchanged a silent bond of affection before getting to his sluggish paws. "Let's get some freshkill," he suggested, padding out of the den and into the clearing.
Glancing around, Lionstar watched as Brownwhisker led a hunting patrol out into the forest, towards the Streampath border. Near the apprentices' den, Featherpaw and the others chatted secretively, casting nervous glances over their shoulders here and there. Cherrynose sat quietly outside the nursery, watching in amusement as her kits tussled playfully.
"Lionstar," the golden tom turned to see Smokeclaw bounding towards him, bouncing like a kit. His black fur had been neatly groomed and his dark blue eyes were twinkling with anticipation.
"Would you like me to gather the others to leave? Thornfoot is organizing some patrols for today and asked me to assemble the travelers for him," Smokefoot explained.
"Well if Thornfoot told you to do something then go ahead and do it. He's the deputy so his word is just as important as mine. Don't bother asking me something unless he wasn't sure himself, okay?" Lionstar reminded the warrior gently.
"Oh, okay. I'll get everyone now!" without waiting for a response the tom padding away and Lionstar let out a purr of amusement at his enthusiasm.
Obeying the low growl that rumbled in his stomach, the golden tom walked over to the freshkill pile and pulled out a squirrel. Eating it slowly, he knew he'd need to save his energy for the weeklong journey that awaited him and his warriors.
After swallowing the last bite, Lionstar groomed his fur and stared around. Songbird was busy sorting through some herbs in her den and the golden tom padded over to her.
"Greetings," he meowed, dipping his head. When she returned the gesture he continued, "I've come to receive some traveling herbs for the warriors. Has StarClan shone you what they are?"
The black she-cat nodded. "Indeed they have. That would be what these are for. I've organized them into piles, one pile per warrior. They'll boost your energy and keep you from going hungry. Tell each cat to visit me before they leave."
Lionstar nodded and quickly devoured the herbs, cringing at their tangy taste. After the last leaf had been swallowed, he meowed his thanks to the medicine cat before bounding onto his stump.
"Let all cats going on the journey to the Clans, gather here beneath the Highstump for a meeting," Lionstar called out the familiar words for the last time in a while.
Once everyone was seated before him, he began. "As decided yesterday, you all are chosen to accompany me on my journey home. It is an important mission and I trust you all to serve your best for the other Clans." Lionstar's gaze rested on each cat before he continued. "Now onto more serious things. With half the clan leaving, we'll need to find new mentors for the apprentices. If any of you have a cat in mind to replace you then-"
"Wait, no!"
Everyone turned to see Featherpaw leading the apprentice to the front of the group, her eyes shining indignantly.
Lionstar let out a hiss of annoyance at his apprentice's intrusion and found it hard to calm himself. "What do you need Featherpaw? We're leaving shortly and cannot afford to have interruptions," the golden tom meowed through gritted teeth.
"You don't have to pick new mentors for us," Featherpaw insisted.
Why oh why did my apprentice have to be the anxious and stubborn one? Lionstar wondered silently.
"Well what do you expect us to do?" Lionstar pressed the she-cat. He was curious to see her solution to this. "We can't leave you here unsupervised. All apprentices must have a mentor," The tom reminded her.
"Which is why we should go with you!" Featherpaw exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"I should've known there was a catch," Lionstar muttered under his breath. Glancing up once more at the white apprentice, he decided to hear through her reasoning. "Why do you want to go with us?" he meowed curiously at the eager she-cat.
"Well, the best way for us to learn about Clan life is to experience it first-hand right? Plus a journey could be good for us, we'd get to know more about the wild and survival."
Lionstar sighed as he let her words sink in. she was right, taking them with would be a learning experience that could benefit them for life. Plus she'd obviously put a lot of thought into this.
"You know she's right Lionstar."
The golden tom jumped at the voice of his mate who'd come to sit beside him. her blue eyes were staring at him with a knowing glare.
"Alright," he whispered, and cuffed Heatherstorm playfully. "I've come to a decision." Lionstar stopped for dramatic effect and glanced at the apprentices. Featherpaw and Applepaw were sitting side-by-side, kneading their paws into the ground with anticipation. Tinypaw seemed equally as eager, and his tail flicked impatiently as he awaited his leader's response. Dawnpaw and Oakpaw however were acting more coolly, sitting up tall with puffed out fur.
"The apprentices will be allowed to go."
Featherpaw let out a yowl of joy and circled happily.
"Now listen up because we're not finished yet. I need all the warriors to visit Songbird and eat some traveling herbs. All the apprentices must get something to eat first before seeing the medicine cat. Once everyone is done, meet me here and we'll live. And be sure to say goodbye to any loved ones as well."
As the cats dispersed, Lionstar looked up into the sky. Sunlight streamed in through the leaves and brightened the once dim clearing. Leaves rustled gently overhead and a bird circled cautiously in the sky before diving down to collect its prey. Intent on the sounds of the forest, Lionstar hardly noticed when Thornfoot came up to him.
"I've set today's patrols. One will be leaving at sunhigh with the travelers to see away their loved ones." A look of regret flashed in the tom's eyes but it disappeared too quickly for Lionstar to be sure.
"Thank you. I know the Clan is in good paws while I'll be gone. The journey to the Clans is about seven sunrises so I think I'll only be away for a moon. Hopefully nothing major will come up during that time." Lionstar meowed, ignoring the nagging thoughts of trouble that pulled at his mind.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," Thornfoot assured him.
Lionstar nodded absentmindedly. Something still plagued his thoughts though, a feeling that the peace wouldn't last very long.
"Is everybody here?" Lionstar glanced around the cats that had gathered. There were ten warriors and five apprentices, plus him, which made sixteen cats to help ThunderClan.
When nobody spoke up, Lionstar padded out into the dense green forest, Heatherstorm right beside him. For the most part everyone padded in silence, anticipation coming off everyone in waves. After a while the dense undergrowth began to thin, and Lionstar emerged onto the Dirtpath.
"It is time we go our separate ways," the golden tom meowed to his travelers. Without waiting for any further mentioning, cats meowed a farewell to their kin or mate that had accompanied them on the journey out of camp.
"Good luck," Heatherstorm whispered, her eyes glowing with a mixture of pride for her mate, and sadness that he'd be leaving.
"Thanks, I'll need it. Take good care of the Clan for me," Lionstar meowed, licking his mate gently on the cheek.
She licked Lionstar over the ear comfortingly.. "I'll protect it with my life." She promised and gently twined their tails. "I love you Lionstar. Please be careful," she whispered with pleading eyes.
"I love you too. And I promise that I'll return safely." The golden tom promised, hoping his words didn't reveal how worried he really was.
As he and his mate broke apart, Lionstar and the others called out a final goodbye to their clanmates and turned to leave.
As Lionstar stepped off his territory to begin his journey home, the wind seemed to whisper something in his ears that echoed through his mind.
Today is the beginning of the end…
I hope you liked this chapter because it's the last one you'll get for about a week. I'm going out of town and won't have internet access. Because of that I expect many reviews so get to typing!!