Almost a moon had passed since the FireClan attack. Slowly, the cats were recuperating. The strain of two brutal battles within a couple of moons was evident, the warriors were more cautious and exhausted than ever. Luckily, AirClan hadn't lost any cats compared to the four lost by FireClan. It was suspected that those deaths were likely at the paws of V because of the fatal manor of the wounds.
Ripplestreak and Phoenix were weak, struggling to stay alive day by day. Ripplestreak was better off, his wounds had mostly healed and he was finally able to walk on his paws. He was supported every step of the path to recovery by Riverstripe. Her loyalty and love had never faltered, proving herself as an excellent hunter and determined.
Redsky spent most of her time tending to Phoenix up until a couple sunrises when she went through early labor. She had a single kit, Rushkit, that was a beautiful brown-red tabby. Starlingpaw had taken over under Redsky's instructions, tending to any cat that needed basic help.
Tonight would be the first Gathering that AirClan would attend. The problem was, there was no StarClan appointed leader. Larkfeather's fur bristled when she thought about the prophecy Redsky had told her about. Three become four, led by one who is alone in their own right, brightened by a resurrected fire, comforted by a constant ripple.
She had always thought that Ripplestreak would lead AirClan. He was a natural leader, most cats respected him and followed his orders without question. After she had lost her way, her brother took charge. It seemed now that Archstar had not only wounded his body, but his heart too. Larkfeather knew that it would take time for him to recover, so she left him alone to get better at his own pace.
Since the battle, Larkfeather had taken up leadership. Nursing three kits and managing a clan was hard enough. She often prayed to StarClan to send sign of leadership, but there was no remote sign since Renegade.
"I need to speak with you." Redsky meowed quietly in her ear.
Larkfeather glanced over at her, startled by the distant gleam in her eyes. The white tabby was quietly observing her kits tussle around with Skypaw and Flashpaw. "What?"
"I've been watching, observing, for anything from StarClan," the reddish tabby hesitated for several moments. She appeared nervous, kneading her claws into the ground,"I think I figured out the prophecy."
"Okay." Larkfeather meowed, shifting her gaze to her kits. Lionkit was pretending to be a badger that was playfully attacking Icekit and Dapplekit. More than once, she had to warn Icekit and Lionkit to be gentler with Dapplekit since she was so small and scrawny.
"It's you. You were taken from your mother and looked down upon in IceClan. Phoenix was there for you after the death of Whisperheart and when you were rejected from your family. Darkfrost still hasn't forgiven you, Ripplestreak is… well, distant at the moment, but he was there for you throughout your time in SoulClan. Times are changing, there is a fourth Clan now. The others may not accept us, AirClan needs someone level headed and smart to keep us out of more battles."
Everything came to light after Redsky finished explaining how she interpreted the prophecy. Larkfeather considered each word carefully, she shook her head in disbelief,"I can't lead them."
"It has been decided. After the Gathering, we will go to the Crystal Cave and you shall get your nine lives." The medicine cat murmured softly,"We leave soon. You might want to tell every cat what's going on."
Before she could reply, Redsky padded away to join Darkfrost who was playing gently with Rushkit.
Larkfeather tried to grasp and understand that she was destined to lead AirClan. She didn't want to. What she wanted was to just live a peaceful, calm life with her kits and maybe rekindle her kinship with Darkfrost. Now she would have the sole responsibility to develop AirClan into a strong and respectable clan.
Wait… I have to pick a deputy! She sighed heavily, sorting out all the warriors in her head. I'd say Ripplestreak, but he can't handle it. Phoenix isn't healthy enough. Who else? Larkfeather sat, watching her kits with such love. Across the camp, she could see Jayfoot, teaching his three kits some battle moves. His mate, Pebblefern, died in the Rebellion and had to raise his Willowpaw, Cinderpaw, and Stonepaw alone.
Larkfeather rose to her paws, after confirming that Skypaw and Flashpaw would keep playing with her kits. She wanted to take a quick nap before the Gathering, as she was expecting some backlash. To get some peace and quiet, she leaped up onto the shiny overhang. She rounded a bunch of leaves as a makeshift nest and curled up into a tight ball. With the warm sun rays on her pelt, she dozed off quickly.
She awoke to a paw gently prodding her side. Her eyelids slid open, revealing Jayfoot standing over her. Larkfeather blinked a couple of times, realizing that the sun was going down.
"It's time to leave." He meowed,"I already gathered everyone cat going, there is a lot of announcements to be made."
Larkfeather nodded, glancing down at patchy ground. She stretched quickly before leaping down to the ground. After putting Riverstripe in charge of watching over the remaining warriors, she lead the group out of camp. They cautiously bounded across IceClan territory, right along the river that split them from EarthClan. By the time they arrived in grassy hollow, both IceClan and EarthClan were already there.
"Try and socialize, no cat say anything mouse-brained." Larkfeather muttered,"Jayfoot, with me."
The AirClan cats dispersed, either reuniting with old friends and kin or sitting off into the corner quiet and reserved. Larkfeather slipped through the crowd, fur bristling with fear and uncertainty. This was AirClan's first gathering as an official clan, she was its first leader.
Thornstar and Gorsestar were sitting on separate rocks that made up the Stone Circle, where three large rocks poked out of the ground. Surprisingly it was Thornstar to greet her first, not Gorsestar. He offered her a seat next to him on his slick stone slate, which she gladly accepted. Her stomach twisted tightly when FireClan appeared. She forced down an upcoming growl when Archstar leaped gracefully up onto her own, smaller light clay orange stone in front of Thornstar's.
Archstar glared at Larkfeather, her amber eyes blazing with pure hatred. She thrust her head up, turning around to address the Clans. "FireClan will go first."
Larkfeather blinked, surprised that neither Gorsestar or Thornstar reacted when Archstar took control. She rambled on about how great and fantastic FireClan was doing, not even bothering to mention that she had led a brutal attack on AirClan.
She waited until Gorsestar briefly summoned up the last moon's effect, which for IceClan, had been fairly peaceful. They had a couple litters of kits and a new warrior, Cloudthistle. He did though, mention AirClan towards the end of his summary,"I would like to welcome AirClan to the forest, best of luck. I wish you the best in future seasons." Gorsestar shot her a reassuring glance and gave her an encouraging nod.
Larkfeather shot a look at Thornstar, who gave the same encouragement. She took a deep breathe, and took a step forwards,"Hello, I'm Larkfeather, the leader of AirCl-."
"How can you be a leader if you have a warrior name? You're too young too, barely a warrior!" Archstar scoffed, getting to her paws. This is what the fiery she-cat was waiting for, a chance to humiliate and undermine her authority. "You sat by as they raided other Clans, stealing kits, warriors, apprentices! How do we know that this 'AirClan' of yours isn't the same group of murdering thieves bent on ruling the forest?"
The russett she-cat was about to continue her rant when a surge of rage lit through Larkfeather. "Enough!" She snapped, shutting up Archstar who appeared particularly surprised. "You have no idea what it was like. If we showed any sign of rebelling, our kin would have been slaughtered. We did what we had to to survive," she paused for a moment, heart aching. "If StarClan doesn't approve, let them protest!"
The crowd of cats hushed in a tense silence, waiting anxiously to see StarClan's response. But nothing happened, there was no clouds covering the moon, not a twinkling star out of place.
"Then I will continue," She shot a seething glare at Archstar,"AirClan is recovering from a brutal attack. We have lost no warriors, although Ripplestreak and Phoenix are still recovering. To induct AirClan as a formal Clan, I have decided to give several special apprentices their warrior names."
Archstar tried to protest, as did most of FireClan, but was silenced by a threatening snarl from Thornstar. He touched Larkfeather's shoulder with his tail, encouraging her to continue.
"Stolen from your nests, raised in lies, these two young cats have done more to deserve their warrior names than most. Snowpaw, Foxpaw," She saw the two cats get to their paws, eyes sparkling with excitement. Beside them sat Firepaw, looking distraught at not getting called,"And of course I can't forget Firepaw. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect your Clanmates above all else?"
"I do." They meowed in unison.
"Then I grant you your warrior names. Snowmist, we are honored to have your nurturing and hunting skills." The white-ginger she-cat purred, pleased with her new name.
"Foxscar, you're fighting skills during the FireClan attack surprised us all, not many cats can still stand after the number of wounds you suffered through." He puffed out his chest proudly, showing off a particularly nasty scar from his lower chest to right flank.
"And Fireflight, your intelligence and quick wit will be beneficial for any sort of attack against AirClan. I don't know where we would be without these three cat's bravery." Larkfeather was drowned out by the surprise cheering by most of the cats with the exception of FireClan.
"I will need a deputy to help raise AirClan. Jayfoot, you may have been one of Birch's original rogue allies, but saw error in his ways and aided the rebellion." Larkfeather backed away, giving Thornstar room to stand and speak about EarthClan.
Just as he was about to start, a scrawny tabby tom stepped out from the crowd. He held himself proud, and from what she could tell, he was a proud cat. "I can not do this. I do not agree with my clan's opinion of AirClan. After the attack that Archstar led, the bodies that they dragged back, claiming that it was all AirClan's fault… I refuse. I will not apologize, Archstar." He added when the russet she-cat glared at him, surprise and hate deep in her eyes.
"Larkstar, I humbly ask to join AirClan." The tabby tom meowed, dipping his head respectfully to her. Larkfeather stood, stunned for a couple of seconds. She wasn't even a leader yet, and here was some strange warrior already accepting her leadership.
"Of course," she paused to see if any AirClan cat protested. "Find Jayfoot after the Gathering and you may come with us."
Aspentail nodded and slipped back into the crowd, making his way to where the AirClan cats were sitting. He sat down next to Snowmist, who meowed something quietly to him.
Thornstar cleared his throat, getting the attention back on him. "First off, I'd like to welcome AirClan to the forest," Larkfeather smiled to herself, finding herself glad they shared borders with this genuinely kind leader. "EarthClan is thriving, prey is running well. Stormfoot is nursing two healthy kits. Reedstripe has joined the elders den, but not before his apprentice received her warrior name. Congratulations, Spottedflower!" The tuxedo tom waved his tail, ending the meeting.
Larkfeather was about to jump off the rock when Thornstar stopped her,"Is there by chance a cat in AirClan that goes by Riverstripe?"
An image of the black and white she-cat flashed in her mind, realizing now how similar she looked to Thornstar,"Yes, may I ask why?"
He sighed, relieved,"Riverstripe is my daughter. I've been so worried with all the battles going on I thought…" Thornstar glanced at the sky,"I wasn't sure if she joined her mother in StarClan."
"Riverstripe is doing well, she's looking after her mate in camp." Next moon, she'd be sure to bring the she-cat with her to reunite with her father.
"Mate!" He exclaimed,"I hope he's good to her."
"Ripplestreak is a fantastic cat, trust me." Larkfeather murmured, hoping to calm Thornstar. She meowed a quick good-bye before leaping down.
She didn't have to search for Redsky, the red tabby was already waiting at the base of the stone. "Willowcreek said we could would walk with IceClan until we get to the cave." Redsky murmured.
They padded over to gathering IceClan cats. Gorsestar glanced at her when they joined, but didn't say anything. He bounded towards the front of the group after making sure every cat was there before trotting off in the woods.
Larkfeather pulled back, letting Redsky excitedly tell her old mentor about Rushkit. She gazed around IceClan's territory, soaking in the luscious scents of the magnificent forest. She'd never forgotten how much she missed her old home, her old life. The white tabby shook her head, clearing her nostalgic thoughts.
"So, it's Larkstar now?" Hawkfire purred. The tabby she-cat had slowed down to talk with her. It'd been moon's since they had talked.
"I-er… I guess so." She suddenly felt awkward, her fur spiking with heat.
"I'm proud of you, you know that right?" Her old mentor murmured,"What a fine warrior you grew to be. You're travelling with us to get to the Crystal Caverns, for your lives?"
Larkfeather nodded, glancing at Hawkfire. She just now noticed how tired and exhausted the dark red tabby was, but there was still a youthful, intelligent gleam in her eyes. She was opened her jaws to meow something before Redsky interrupted,"We're here." Hawkfire gave her affectionate lick on the cheek before bounding off to catch up with IceClan.
Redsky led the way down a steep dirt drop. There was a small stream cutting through the bottom. Larkfeather shivered when she stepped into the freezing stream, grumbling that it went up to her belly. She walked close behind Redsky as they went upstream, quickly arriving at a root cave. The roof was made up of vines naturally woven together, supporting soil and leaves.
The white tabby she-cat breathed in, stepping into the cave. A little bit of light leaked through holes in the roof, reflecting off of small crystals. Enough light shined off of the rocks, enabling for the cats to make their way through safely. They didn't walk for too long before Redsky stopped abruptly and climbed up the clay walls to her right.
Larkfeather followed, never have gone into the Crystal Caverns before, trusting Redsky to lead them. She hauled herself over, finding that her surroundings were now solid stone. Beneath her paws was a thick coat of moss with tiny shards of crystals scattered among it. Above, the sky was barely visible through the intertwined roots.
"Touch your nose to the large stone," Redsky pointed a paw at a thick chunk of crystal sticking out of a wall.
The moment her nose touched the cold stone, the cave opened up. Around her was darkness, illuminated by the starry fireflies buzzing around. She could make out ferns, trees, and grass, knowing that she was now sitting at the base of a stone, probably one from Stone Circle.