Chapter Twenty Eight
"We wanna rise, We wanna touch the other side (It starts tonight!), We wanna soar We wanna reach right out for more, (Cause it starts tonight!) We wanna rise, We wanna touch the other side (It starts tonight) We wanna soar, We wanna reach right out for more (Cause it starts tonight) Tonight tonight..." Tonight, tobyMac
Echopaw only stared at Roseshine in disbelief.
"A medicine cat?" she repeated, her voice stiff with shock. Roseshine nodded and swept her tail around her front paws. "But... but I want to train as a warrior like Thornpaw, Brackenpaw and the others!" she exclaimed.
"There are some who choose this path willingly, and others who do not," Roseshine meowed, shaking her head as she thought of what her life might have been like had she chosen that path. "I believe your knowledge of herbs will guide us in the future."
This latest news had sent shivers through Echopaw. She had terrible nightmares of cats dying in the forest. But she never expected them to turn into this... the last thing she wanted was for her life to change completely. But Roseshine knew what she was talking about from experience.
Roseshine led her further into the forest towards a patch of plants. Echopaw recognized most of the almost instantly. Some of them were herbs, others were pretty much useless. She stared at them for a few heartbeats before shaking her head.
"How do you know so much about medicine cats?" she asked.
"I spent a lot of time with one," Roseshine answered, her voice wary as she gazed off into the distance. "They don't follow the code like most warriors do. Instead, medicine cats have their own code."
Echopaw nodded and thought back to all of the dreams she'd had. Suddenly it all made sense. Mother would tell her stories about how medicine cats had special dreams and even spoke to StarClan. She wondered if some of those dreams had been StarClan speaking to her. She flattened her ears when she realized that maybe, just maybe Roseshine was right. But some small part of her wanted to become a warrior like her brothers and sisters.
"Can you teach me how to become one?" she suddenly asked as curiosity got the better of her. Roseshine looked a little surprised by her question, but she purred in response.
"I'm not sure what I can teach you, but I'll try," she replied.
...
Raising five apprentices at once was more difficult than Roseshine had expected. She taught them everything she knew, from fighting, to killing her enemies. At first Goldenpaw and the others had been reluctant to learn such skills. But eventually Hollypaw won them over and they exceeded in their training. Even Echopaw was becoming a skilled fighter along with her knowledge of herbs. Life seemed to move on for Roseshine, but it never felt like it was enough.
She found herself pacing along the edge of the forest when she spotted Hollypaw and Goldenpaw circling a pair of loners. She had seen them before many times. They usually kept to the very edge of the forest, far away from her territory and the Clans.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, raising her chin as she joined the apprentices. Hollypaw and Goldenpaw parted ways to let her see the two loners. One was a brown and white tom with amber eyes, the other, a gray and white she-cat with blue eyes. The two cats hadn't been seen together, but Roseshine recognized them nonetheless.
"We heard about your Clan," the brown and white tom replied. "Your apprentices here were just talking to us about it, and we'd like to see if we can join." Roseshine shot the two apprentices a stern look. Hollypaw's ears flattened in response while Goldenpaw looked down in shame.
"Why would you want to join a Clan?" Roseshine demanded, trying to keep herself from cuffing the young cats over the ears. They should have spoken to her first before going out and finding cats who could join. "Do you have what it takes to be loyal, until your dying breath?" That seemed to stop the two loners in their tracks. The gray and white she-cat looked at Roseshine fearfully while her companion simply lashed his tail irritably.
"We aren't helpless kits," he snapped. "Of course we would remain loyal, given you provide food and shelter for us."
That did it. Roseshine gave Hollypaw one look and flicked her tail. The signal was clear enough as Hollypaw leaped to her paws and rushed at the brown and white tom. He was taken by surprise by her sudden attack. The brown and white tom barely had time to react as Hollypaw lashed out at him, striking him hard across the muzzle with her claws.
"There is more to being part of a Clan than providing food and shelter," Roseshine hissed. By now the gray and white she-cat was trembling with fear. She hadn't said a word throughout the whole ordeal; it was obvious who was leading who. "If you can't see beyond that, than we don't need you ruining what we have."
The brown and white tom shivered with rage when Hollypaw let him go. He stood up and spat blood out of his mouth before glaring at Roseshine. "You're just as bad as the other two," he muttered crossly. "Come on, Hazel. We'd better get out of here before she rips our throats out." Hazel looked at her companion reluctantly before glancing back at Roseshine.
"I understand what it means to be part of a Clan," she murmured, her voice so quiet that Roseshine barely heard her. She stood up as well and glared at the brown and white tom. "You can do whatever you like, Stick. But I think I'll join this Clan. I'm ready to finally feel like I belong somewhere."
Roseshine looked at Hazel in surprise as the brown and white tom gaped at her. His eyes narrowed, and it looked like he was ready to attack when he thought better of it. Already he was outnumbered, fighting three against one was mousebained at best. Once he'd slipped away into the undergrowth, the tension seemed to fade away in an instant. Hollypaw was eyeing Hazel curiously while Goldenpaw kept her guard up, and rightfully so.
"How do I know you won't just betray us to him?" Roseshine demanded. Hazel bowed her head and looked at Roseshine sheepishly.
"I understand that you wouldn't trust me," she replied. "But I'm willing to prove myself... I want to be part of a Clan, but the other Clans turned us away when Stick asked to join. I feel like this would be a good opportunity to see what living in a group is like."
She started to turn and leave in the direction Stick had gone. But then an idea suddenly washed over Roseshine. She glanced once more at her apprentices, realizing they would need help in supervising and moving forward in life.
"Wait," Roseshine called. Hazel turned around immediately, eyes gleaming with hope. "Perhaps I'll reconsider my offer..."
...
Anxiety coursed through Brightstar as she padded along the path. She walked alone, and she was certain this was a trap. Jaystar wanted more territory, and she was determined to protect her Clan no matter what. Brightstar would do the same for hers. Quailnose had warned her that this would only end in tragedy. That there had to be another way to end the bloodshed that would likely follow. But Brightstar had simply turned her down and went anyways, despite the thrills of worry coursing through her.
At last she had reached the clearing where Jaystar had promised to meet her. This was the first time she had ever met the LeafClan leader. A shiver ran through her as she wondered what Jaystar was like. From the way that ginger she-cat she had met acted, she couldn't imagine Jaystar would be any friendlier.
"I am not surprised that you showed up." Brightstar stiffened when she heard an unfamiliar voice. Her fur bristled as she spun around to see an older dark gray she-cat with bright amber eyes was staring back at her. "After all, you are a leader by your word." Brightstar only glared back at her. "Now than, shall we begin with negotiations before things go from bad to worse for you?"
"You will leave my Clan out of this, if you have any heart at all," Brightstar spat. She knew that they were not alone. The stench of LeafClan filled the air, sending chills through her. Of course Jaystar wouldn't come here alone. "What do you want?"
"More territory, of course," Jaystar replied almost at once. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it seems that your Clan leaves me with no choice. Our Clan is growing stronger and bigger with each passing day. We need to expand, and your territory seems to be the perfect fit." Her eyes flashed dangerously as she glared at Brightstar coldly.
"What makes you think I will give it away so easily?" Brightstar demanded.
She wasn't given a chance to find out the answer to that. Jaystar gave one flick of her tail, signaling to her Clanmates. In one swift movement they had erupted from the undergrowth. Brightstar struggled to fight them off, but she barely stood a chance alone.
"We are going to gain more territory, one way or another, even if it means killing what your Clan cares about the most," Jaystar sneered.
Rage boiled within Brightstar. She was desperate to pry off her attackers as they managed to inflict serious wounds. Black spots began to appear along the edge of her vision. She couldn't see anything else as the world around her suddenly went dark.
AN: So there's the next chapter... Again, I apologize for the long wait, but I've been busy. I'll try to update faster next time, but I'm not making any promises...
Silverheart - Nope, there won't be a sequel to this, but I already have another story in the planning stage...
LunaNight9 - Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy both stories so far! I will be continuing the next chapter for Rising Storm, but updates have been slow...
Raven that flies at night - I'd say about five or six more chapters, depending on how things go. Maybe seven.
Guest - Thanks!
badguthrie - Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing how she handles her new role.
Thunderandshadowcats - Sadly, the ending must come :(
Berrysplash - Hehe, you're probably right. I have a tendency to look past those kind of details ^^ But the whole thing about Echopaw learning which herbs are which and Roseshine knowing about them stems from when Roseshine spent so much time with the medicine cats. So she kind of knows her herbs. Thanks for letting me know though, I'm glad to get some criticism every now and than :)
Silverheart the cat - That's good to know! And yep, Roseshine is one step closer to becoming a leader and creating the Clan, as for the meeting, I think this pretty much explains what has happened...
Cardinal Directions - Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying this so much! :D
