Sorry for the wait! Exams were this week and I caught a nasty cold! . Here's the next chapter! :D
Enjoy!
Warriors © Erin Hunter
Cats/Clans © Me
Peaches and Piper arrived at the old FrostClan camp two sunrises later at exactly sunhigh. Spiritwalker had been waiting for them, and he was actually quite surprised that the two young toms managed to gather quite a crowd. He figured that neither of the tribe leaders would dare send cats to him after what happened nearly a quarter-moon ago. Apparently, they either still had some faith in him or Peaches and Piper bribed them with something.
Spiritwalker recognized a few of the cats in the crowd from his journey with Pepperfeet to the other groups and had to blink twice when he saw certain cats who he knew didn't like him very much. From the looks of it, each group had sent five cats each.
"Thank you all for coming," Spiritwalker called from on top of the Frost Rock after he had gained every cats' attention. "It really means a lot to me that so many of you wish to learn more about the Clan life. We will start with the basics of Clan life today, and hopefully we'll delve further into other skills later on."
"Yeah, uh, how long is this going to take?" a black and white rogue rudely interrupted.
"We should be done before sunset," Spiritwalker responded. "Anyways, let's start by getting to know each other a little better through introductions. Anyone care to start first?" He quickly scanned the opening for any volunteers, but there was none. "Hmm…how about you, the, uh, the black and white cat who spoke before? Introduce yourself, please."
The rogue uneasily shifted his paws. "Uh, my name is Razor. I'm part of Sniff's band."
Spiritwalker nodded thoughtfully, noting that Sniff was now the leader of the rogues, and turned his attention to the cat next to him.
"I'm Grapes," a dark gray she-cat softly replied.
"My name is Cinders," announced a cream-colored and brown she-cat next to her.
"I'm Timber," a large dark brown tom meowed and shouldered a smaller dark brown tabby tom next to him. "And this is Stumpy. He doesn't talk much."
"I do to, and I could've perfectly introduced myself on my own!" the cat called Stumpy growled as Timber snickered.
"Alright, who's next?" Spiritwalker asked.
A small, pale gray tabby she-cat raised her tail. "My name is Creekfur from SalmonClan."
"I'm her brother, Pebblestreak, part of Mudstar's group," the mottled gray and white tom spoke next to her.
So, Mudfang's leader of SalmonClan now. I wonder how Puddlesplash feels about that.
"Vixenwing," a dark gray tabby tom with black paws curtly nodded.
"Ringedpelt," a silver she-cat with black stripes meowed.
"My name is Blackfin," a black and white tom humorously announced with a sly grin.
"I'm Frostdawn," a white she-cat cheerfully purred. "From GaleClan."
"I'm her brother, Diamondsky," a speckled white and gray tom chirped.
"Redbelly," a brown tom with a dark ginger belly meowed.
A sand-colored she-cat gently pressed against his side. "I'm Sandfern," she spoke as Redbelly nuzzled her ear.
"My name is Silverfeather," a young, silver tabby tom introduced.
"I'm Peaches!" Peaches obnoxiously chirped and accidentally shouldered Piper.
"Hey, watch it, fleabag!" Piper snapped. "Eh, I'm Piper and we're from Junior's group."
"I'm Junior," the black and white tom calmly meowed. He made eye contact with Spiritwalker for a few heartbeats before glancing away. Clearly, not every cat forgave Spiritwalker for what happened to their leaders.
"My name is Petaldrop," the small, pale gray she-cat meowed. Spiritwalker never talked with Petaldrop when he stayed at their camp, but he remembered that she was always quiet and respectful.
"Bumblebee," the black and brown mottled tom introduced himself. Like Junior, he barely made eye contact with Spiritwalker and instead studied his brown paws. His behavior was logical; after all, Jetstream was his father.
"Thornnose," the scarred dark gray tom spoke next. "From MapleClan."
"My name is Solarstorm," Solarstorm cheerfully replied. He seemed optimistic and pleased to be at this training session.
"Emberblaze," the long-haired dark ginger tabby tom slightly growled his attitude the complete opposite of his Clanmate's.
A small, dark brown and black tom with large ears merely snorted. "Classified," he snarled.
"No it's not, frog-brain!" a tortoiseshell and white she-cat amusingly purred. "I'm Cherryblossom and that annoying fur-ball is Batear."
"I said classified!" the small tom snapped.
Batear! Wasn't he Thistlestar's deputy? I suppose another cat took his place as leader now. I bet he's not too pleased, which might explain the attitude.
"Well, now that we know each other a little better, why don't we start?" Spiritwalker announced. "We'll start with the basics of Clan life and hierarchy. Warriors make up the majority of the Clan. They are trained to provide the Clan with both protection and fresh-kill. It's every kit's dream to become the best warrior that their Clan can possibly deserve. Cats are trained to become warriors at around six moons old and they become apprentices. They are mentored by another warrior who trains them for several moons how to hunt and fight. It's their job to help take care of the elders, such as cleaning and removing bedding and ticks or fleas."
"Sounds nasty!" Peaches interrupted with a disgusted face.
"Yeah, it's not fun, but the wait is worth it when you become a warrior," Silverfeather put in.
"What are elders?" Grapes asked.
"Elders are the retired warriors and cats who are too old or are incapable of performing their normal duties," Spiritwalker explained. "They are cared for by every member of the Clan and are highly respected for their service."
"Why should you care for the weak?" Timber asked.
"It's the best way to honor them for their long service to the Clan," Spiritwalker explained thoughtfully. "We owe it to the elders for what they've done for the Clan. They deserve some rest and relaxation after the tiring life of a warrior."
"So…you're saying that being a warrior is hard?" Junior demanded.
"Well, it is demanding," Spiritwalker replied. "Warriors are in charge of hunting for the rest of the cats. They also have to patrol the borders to protect the Clan. A cat can normally be sent on several patrols in one day, depending on how many cats there are. It's a tough life and it's not for every cat, but the pride in knowing that you're protecting your Clan is worth it."
"What about the nursing she-cats?" Sandfern asked.
"Queens are responsible for raising their kits," Spiritwalker responded. "Usually their mate or another cat makes sure they get plenty to eat, especially during the hard moons of leaf-bare. Kits are the most precious part of the Clan; one day they will become true warriors. It's every cat's duty to make sure they are safe and healthy, for if there aren't any kits, then there isn't a Clan. They stay in the camp and nursery for six moons before becoming apprentices.
"There is also a medicine cat that heals and helps guide the Clans through StarClan. Each Clan has at least one. It's their duty to make sure the Clan is healthy by gathering and storing herbs and performing diagnoses. They are very special cats because they can communicate with StarClan. They often interpret omens and prophecies that StarClan sends them. Medicine cats are also responsible for training an apprentice, who will one day take their place as medicine cat when they die.
"A Clan is led by a single cat called a Clan leader. They are responsible for managing the Clan. The cats look to their leader for guidance, order, and protection. They are in charge for performing ceremonies for the succession of the classes, such as turning an apprentice into a warrior, or a warrior into an elder. They appoint a cat to help them, called a deputy. The deputy is in charge of leading the Clan when the Clan leader is not around. They organize patrols for every cat and makes sure the Clan is in order. When a Clan leader dies, the deputy and the medicine cat journey to the Star Pond so that they can officially become a Clan leader and receive their nine lives."
"Nine lives!" Ringedpelt exclaimed as the other cats around her grew wide eyes. "How is that possible?"
"Anything's possible through StarClan," Spiritwalker smirked.
"So…you're saying that the Clan leader gets nine more lives?" Batear asked, astonished.
"Yup."
"So…if a Clan leader dies…they come back to life?" Bumblebee suggested.
"If the reason they lost their life to begin with is not serious, then, the majority of the time, yes."
"Then how come Stormstar didn't get nine lives?" Diamondsky growled.
"The reason for that is because you need StarClan," Spiritwalker meowed calmly. "What happened several moons ago was tragic, and because of that, the link between you and StarClan was severally damaged. StarClan couldn't come down anymore to grant more lives, which ultimately and eventually led to the Clans' demise. By bringing the Clans back together again, we can fix the link and everything will be in harmony."
"What about names?" Piper asked. "Do we all need to get names like the rest of them?" He motioned towards where the GaleClan, SalmonClan, and MapleClan cats sat.
"Yes. It's part of being a Clan cat. Each Clan name is in two parts and the last part usually changes. When cats are born, their parents usually pick out their first part of their names and the last part is –kit, signifying that they are a kit. When they become apprentices, their last part changes to –paw, signifying the 'path their paws are now on'. When they become a warrior or a full medicine cat, their last part changes to a random, but still significant to whom they are as a cat, suffix. For example, I was born as Spiritkit and when I became an apprentice I was called Spiritpaw. When I became a warrior, I was named Spiritwalker. When a cat becomes a Clan leader, their suffix changes to –star, signifying their connection with StarClan."
"So, if you became a Clan leader, you would be called Spiritstar," Razor pointed out.
"Not saying that I ever will, but yes," Spiritwalker replied. "Other than that, the names are important in some way to a cat. It's the job of a Clan leader to perform most of the name-changing ceremonies."
And so Spiritwalker continued to teach the rogues, loners and Clan cats more about being in a Clan. He talked about a daily cat's life depending on their rank, how important each and every cat was to the Clan, used the empty FrostClan camp as an opportunity to show off how a camp ran, explore the warrior code, and even role play certain scenarios. As the minutes turned into hours, the cats grew more enticed by Spiritwalker's explanation and montage.
"Alright, Vixenwing," Spiritwalker gently meowed, "last question of the day. Your Clanmate, Blackfin, just strolled into camp with three squirrels and secretly whispered to you that he stole them from another Clan's territory. What do you do?"
"Uh…uh…" Vixenwing stammered, nervous on being put on the spot. "A-Alert the Clan leader?"
"Correct!" Spiritwalker purred. "Why?"
"Why?!" Vixenwing gulped. "Uh, because, uh…it's against the warrior code to hunt on another Clan's territory?"
"That was more of a question than a statement, Vixenwing," Blackfin snickered as Vixenwing shot him a nasty glare.
"That's correct again!" Spiritwalker purred, ignoring Blackfin. "Well done! That's a wrap on the game and that means Team We Are Awesome wins!"
"Yay!" Razor cheered and so did the other members of his team. "What do we win?"
"Uh, bragging rights," Spiritwalker meowed quickly.
"Better luck next time, Team They Are Not!" Frostdawn purred to Solarstorm.
"Yeah, well next time we'll win!" Solarstorm smirked.
Spiritwalker couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. The cats here were actually being nice and friendly to each other, something they most likely haven't done in a while! He could only hope that this peace will last through when they become Clans.
"That marks an end to this session," Spiritwalker announced through the crowd after he glanced at the setting sun. "Your friends and family will want you all back. There will be another session in two sunrises at the same time. You can come again, if you like, or not, but I would like some of the other cats to join us. Have a great sunset!"
After a few gracious thanks from the gathering cats, they left to their own groups and Spiritwalker was left alone in the empty camp. He was proud of what he and the others had accomplished and was positive that they were on a good road to Clanhood. He was even impressed by some of their accomplishments; Solarstorm excelled at the warrior code, Redbelly proved to be a master planer, Cinders surprised Spiritwalker with her pre-knowledge of herbs, and Bumblebee and Pebblestreak didn't get a single answer incorrect at their end game. What astonished Spiritwalker most of all was how well-behaved the cats were. They behaved way better than their deceased leaders! Spiritwalker even had some potential candidates for Clan leader stored in his mind.
With the happy thoughts in his mind, Spiritwalker caught himself some dinner before settling in for the night.