Thanks to Animaneya, Fogtail of RiverClan, VitanixKopa, Guest, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, Stormstar321, and Silverwind1313 for reviewing! I didn't manage to update yesterday, but it's still a quick update considering the past.

Also, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Chapter 20

Blackness swarmed around Sky, blinding her without any hope of sight. Wildly, she swung her head, searching for anything. Jumping to her paws, she began to walk. Still, nothing appeared.

"Sky." She jumped at the voice, not recognizing it as Star.

"Where am I?" Sky asked. Star softly laughed, allowing a small portion of light to be shed on the leader. The harshness caused Sky to blink rapidly, letting her eyes adjust. When they did, she saw Star standing next to a thin, wispy outline.

"I wish it would have been longer before we met again," Star meowed with remorse. As Sky lifted her head, so did the outline.

"Wait, I'm dead?" she whispered. Star nodded, causing fear to erupt in Sky's face. "I can't be dead! I was only leader for two days." Instantly she cringed. "Where's Stormclaw?"

The hesitation in Star's body caused Sky to fear the worse. "He's alive, but caught in a storm of depression. There's nothing to worry about though," Star replied. If it had been any other cat, Sky would have spat in their face.

"Nothing to worry about? I'm not alive while he is," she growled. A muscle twitched along Star's cheek.

"You must remember, the leaders were given nine lives." Instantly, Sky's body froze. She forgot about what StarClan promised the leaders. And she guessed so did Stormclaw. "Sky, you have eight lives left. When you lose the last one, this outline will be filled." Star pointed to the white, almost ghostly figure.

"And then, I truly die?" Sky guessed. Slowly, Star nodded.

"Yes. You must be careful. It's been two days and you're the first to lose a life!" Star shouted. The ferocity surprised Sky. This Star was much different than the cat she knew back at the clearing.

"Trust me. I'll think twice before jumping into trouble. Dying isn't something I like," Sky replied. Her muscles were sorer than imaginable, feeling like stones trapped under her fur. The wound around her neck stung, reminding her of the killing bite.

"Good. Now, allow me to send you back," Star meowed. In a speckled flash, she padded over to her friend. When she rested her nose on Sky's forehead, a bolt of electricity zapped Sky's body. Her throat closed up as she tried not to scream. She closed her eyes tight, waiting for the pain to stop.

When it did, she felt beaten and broken. Herbs permeated her nose, radiating from everywhere. Gray flickered across her gaze for a moment before things cleared. She now lay in a bramble den, reeking of flowers and leaves. The minute stature of Smallstone was seen, bent over as he examined something.

As Sky raised her head, a groan slithered out of her throat. Instantly Smallstone's paws stalled. Quickly, he bounded over to her. His gray gaze washed over her.

"It's about time you woke up," he meowed. Sky's eyes widened slightly. He knew I'd come back?

"You remembered I have nine lives?" she asked, surprised. Smallstone gave a heartfelt laugh, causing her to focus only on the brown arcs around his eyes and ears.

"A cat came to me last night and told me you'd be fine. I just had to watch over you. And, I can sense how many lives you have left. It's kind of weird to explain," he replied. Sky smiled, happy some cat had realized the nine lives thing. Otherwise, she might have woken up underground. That would have turned out disastrous.

"Where's Stormclaw?" she asked. All the joy on Smallstone's face disappeared.

"He's being watched over in the warrior's den by Jayflight. I've tried giving them seeds to help them sleep, but they'll be happy to see you," he responded. Sky didn't bother to ask how he knew so much about herbs. It didn't matter as long has he looked out for those in the Clan.

Stiffly, Sky got to her paws. It hurt to walk, but she managed to reach the entrance without collapsing. Bright sunlight met her eyes, showing it was almost sun-high. A few cats stalled, wondering if that was truly Sky. Fallowcloud and Olivevine were the first to smile at her, waving their tails in a greeting. Excitedly, Sky returned a wide grin. Before others could crowd around her, she slipped into the warrior's den.

"Please, eat something," Duskpetal urged, pushing a mouse closer to Jayflight. He shook his head, refusing to listen to her.

"No, I won't," he grumbled. With half-closed eyes, Duskpetal sighed. What will it take to get him to eat? She turned to leave, but froze when her gaze rested on Sky.

"S-Sky," she whispered. Stormclaw muttered something before curling up tighter in the nest. Slowly, unsure of what was happening, Duskpetal padded to her friend.

"Sorry I made you all worry," Sky meowed, her voice full of hurt. Seeing her friends this way caused brambles to tighten around her heart. They all care about me. I love them all so much. At her voice, Stormclaw's ear twitched. For a moment, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. After all, he had been by her side when she died. He felt her body stop moving.

"How in StarClan are you alive?" Duskpetal asked, rubbing her cheek against Sky's. Purrs came from both, emitting the only sound in the den.

"Leaders receive nine lives from StarClan. I lost one of them, but I still have eight more," Sky replied happily. It was then, that Stormclaw lifted his head. His blue eyes that held a red tint widened when he saw Sky standing there. He attempted to jump to his paws, only to slide back into his nest. The flesh on his leg was tender, unable to hold him up. No wonder it took three cats to carry him back to camp last night.

"You're alright!" he shouted. Sky stopped reuniting with her best friend and walked over to him. Despite the expressionless mask on her face, joy erupted in her chest. She stood between her brother and Stormclaw. She licked Jayflight's ear then touched her nose to Stormclaw's.

"And so are you. I was so worried about you," she whispered. They both smiled as mischief blasted across Duskpetal's face. It's about time. She couldn't help but laugh when Stormclaw rubbed his cheek against Sky's.

XxX

Silver-white rays rained down to the earth. A fully healed Sky led her Clan through the forest with Emberfall right behind her. Stormclaw was close by, walking beside Smallstone. A few nights ago, the minute tom had been called to the mountains by StarClan in his dreams. When he returned, he had been named the first medicine cat of SkyClan. Since then, he walked around camp with a spring in his step. He had been very helpful in treating Smokesplash's recent badger injuries.

The badger had been sniffing around the territory. This time, Sky brought a patrol, allowing a better chance for escaping without death. The gray tom had received wounds because he didn't dodge quickly enough. Jayflight and Dovesong managed to push the badger back to stop it from killing him.

Fourtrees came in view as chatter trailed to SkyClan. Sky smiled at Stormclaw before entering the clearing. To her surprise, but still pleasure, the ground had lost its brown tint. The green sight was a relief to many cats. It just meant the scars of the great battle were slowly fading.

"Mingle with the other Clans. Just don't reveal anything that may be used against us," Sky warned her Clan. Warriors nodded, taking in the acknowledgment of keeping their mouths shut.

Then the warriors split up, heading to different parts of the enclosure. Despite the many cats, it appeared that ShadowClan had not yet arrived. Good, one less thorn in my side. Sky, with Stormclaw at her side, walked up to the only stone. Thunder sat with River while Wind talked to her deputy. When the WindClan warriors saw Sky, their eyes narrowed.

"Good evening Thunder," Sky greeted. The ginger tom smiled at her. Emberfall slipped between the leaders and sat by his brother. The two began to speak quietly to each other, avoiding the others from overhearing.

"Hello Sky. How are you settling in?" he asked. She rested in front of him. Instead of answering, she glanced at Stormclaw.

"Everything's going fine. There were a few mishaps, but nothing we can't handle," the gray tom replied. Next to Thunder, Lightningtail coughed, sending a shudder down his back.

"Are you alright?" Emberfall asked, concerned. The ThunderClan deputy nodded weakly, fooling no cat. Quickly, Thunder cleared his throat, drawing the attention away from his deputy.

"I wonder what's keeping ShadowClan," he muttered, obviously trying to change the subject. The three SkyClan cats shared a glance, deciding whether to let it go or not.

"Maybe Shadow forgot about the gathering," Sky responded. Prying might not be the best thing to do right now. We've already dealt with enough this past moon. Better to just let it go. Caught up in her thoughts, she didn't hear ShadowClan approaching.

"Don't get your hopes up," Shadow growled, padding up to them. Pinecloud followed her, a glare steeling her green eyes. The rest of ShadowClan dispersed, slinking through the crowd. Some found out WindClan warriors while others stood alone, listening to conversations around them.

"Now we can begin," River meowed, standing up. Not waiting for the others, he bounded up the rock. Quickly, the other leaders joined him while the deputies sat around the great stone. Excluded, Stormclaw took a few mouse-lengths back.

"Welcome everyone, to the first Gathering," Thunder shouted. Cheers sounded from the gathered warriors. The yowls caused the ginger tom to laugh. "ThunderClan is settling in and already have kits running through camp." A few cats chuckled while Shadow didn't look amused.

"ShadowClan is proving strong in our new territory. We have a few kits ready to be trained into warriors," Shadow replied. Mischievous smiles grew on some ShadowClan warriors. At their expressions, Sky's eyes narrowed.

"On that note," River started, taking a step forward, "I wanted to talk about initiating an apprenticeship for the kits. They'll become warriors no doubt, but what would they be called? Keeping them 'kit until they earn their warrior name doesn't seem right." Warriors nodded in agreement. Seeing the encouragement, River continued. "I talked to Reedfang, my deputy, about this. Leaders can decide when the kits should become apprentices. At that time, they'll be given a mentor, a warrior the leader sees fit in training them. And when the leader believes their training is complete, the apprentice will be given their warrior name," River concluded. It took a few moments for those gathered to take all the information in. Soft mumbling buzzed around the clearing.

"The apprentices could have 'paw at their ending," a tan she-cat suggested. Sky glanced at her, noticing the leaf-shaped mark over her right eye. "As they go through their apprenticeship, they learn which path their paws will take them on." Thunder looked at his warrior, pleased with her.

"That sounds perfect Leafpebble," he meowed. At his praise, she stood a little taller.

"Does that work for you?" River asked, glancing at the other leaders. All four nodded. "Then it's settled." Yowls of joy signaled the start of the warrior code being formed.

I feel like the allegiances will be asked about. They will be posted either next or after chapter 21.

And from now on, I'm just going to put disclaimer since I don't feel like writing it out every time.