Chapter 12: some help required
Grim was able to sleep easily that night. Snowstar had returned not too long after they went back to camp. The cats prodded questions at them.
"What was it like?"
"Did you have to fight your way out?"
"Did they accept us?"
"What did they say?"
"What did the clan cats do?"
"Where is Snowstar?"
Crimson and Grim had dismissed them and told them that Snowstar had to stay behind to talk to a few cats. Snowstar came back soon, brimming with happiness. She told them that the cats only had a few questions for her nothing more. Grim could tell it was more than just a few questions but he said nothing. Soon all the cats got rested. The warriors, just the adult cats, slept outside in moss and heather nest, some with feathers. Spruce, being an elder, was sleeping in a tunnel in between Grim and Snowstar's den, and Nightmare was sleeping in that den. The apprentices, Shark and Birdie, slept not too far from where Nightmare slept in moss nests under the stars. Snowstar had a nest made right in front of the Highcliff.
Grim fell asleep as he watched her back go up and down as air entered her lungs. When he opened his eyes, he was not greeted by Ashfoot. He didn't see stars everywhere he looked, no, he just saw a plain old forest. He had a normal dream, chasing rabbits and catching mice. Sleep was easy.
Grim woke in his nest seeing the familiar pelts of his clanmates. He looked at the sky, it was dawn. Better make a Dawn patrol. He thought. He woke the cats he wished to go on dawn patrol; Cinnamon, Roadrunner, Bleak, Birdie and Pluto. Grim walked over to the Highcliff to wake Snowstar. Snowstar grunted slightly but eventually she woke.
"I've already made a dawn patrol." Grim reported
"Good." Snow said.
"I sent Birdie on it."
"What exactly are you wanting to say Grim" Snow asked; standing to look Grim at eye level.
"I was thinking of giving Birdie a mentor. She is young and will need to learn." Grim answered.
"Do you wish to mentor her?" Snowstar asked as she began to clean her long, white fur.
"No. I don't believe I am the right choice. I was thinking Bleak could mentor her." he responded. "Then that is what we shall do." Snowstar mewed in between licks.
"I will inform Bleak." She said,
"I sent him on patrol too." Grim added quickly.
Snowstar sighed. "Then when he returns I want him to know. Will you be able to inform him."
"Yes Snowstar."
"Then when they return I will hold the ceremony." Snowstar meowed.
"Now," she began, "I will go see if Crimson remembers the words." And with that, she left the den.
Grim followed Snowstar out the den. Today was beautiful. The sun was shining brightly, warming his pelt. There was also a slight breeze, making the grass sway side to side. The sky seemed clear of clouds. Today would be peaceful.
Grim looked around the camp. Snowstar's snow white pelt disappeared into the medicine tunnel, Shark was carrying some mouse bile to the elder's tunnel, not looking very pleased. Stan and Wasp were talking with each other as they both ate some prey.
Seeing the prey made Grim wonder how much prey the patrol would catch. Grim noticed they headed further into the moorland, so they would catch a few rabbits. He decided to check on their only queen, Nightmare. He headed over to the tunnel where Nightmare had slept the previous night.
She wouldn't stay there forever though. Snowstar had decided that they would make a nursery out of gorse and heather, any material that would prove useful. He looked over to the pile of gorse; it was weaved together in a makeshift way, not completely finished but the idea was easy.
He entered the tunnel. He noticed Scorpion was already there, talking to Nightmare excitedly.
"I wonder how many there'll be? Two? Three? Oh! Maybe five!" Scorpion was pacing back and forth quickly with excitement. "Slow down Scorpy." purred Nightmare calmly "It'll be quite a while before i have our kits." Scorpion sighed a bit.
"Hope i'm not interrupting anything important." Grim mewed with a chuckle.
"Oh! Grim. No, you weren't interrupting anything." Nightmare said.
"Do you need something?" Scorpion asked
"Not at all just checking on our only queen. But I suppose you already have done that." Grim said jokingly. Scorpion shyly pawed at the dirt ground. "I'll...er- go hunt for some prey." Scorpion said as he left the tunnel.
Grim gave Nightmare a small nod before leaving as well. He could see Scorpion scramble up one of the sides of the camp. More prey is good Grim thought. He could feel someone paw at his shoulder. He turned around to face Wasp. "Are you going to pre-plan for another patrol?" he asked. Grim could feel an anger rising inside of him. How dare Wasp tell him how to do his job! He was the deputy! Not Wasp! But Grim knew he was right. If he planned the next patrol, then when he wouldn't be so confused when announcing them. "Thank you Wasp. I think I will." Wasp smiled. "Glad i could help." Wasp said. Grim went over to the fresh-kill pile and grabbed a hare to eat while he thought.
Grim took one bite from the rabbit and then cats appeared at the top of the camp. The dawn patrol had returned. Pluto, at the lead, approached him. "Grim," Grim forwarded his attention to the former kittypet. "Beside the Windclan border we ran into some warriors. There were lots! They said that they wished to meet you and well er- I, uh, sorta let them in. They are waiting outside the camp."
Grim looked at Pluto in shock. Did he really let cats in that could potentially be planning an attack to make Snowclan disappear? He sighed, "You can have my hare, you have worked hard. I'll have a word with them and then you" he said with a bit of toxicity at the end of his sentence. Pluto ducked down his head sheepishly and nodded. As Grim walked away Pluto took his place and began to eat the hare. Grim headed towards Snowstar who was currently speaking with Bleak. He could spot a wide smile coming across Bleak's face as Snow said an inaudible sentence. Grim figured she must have told him about getting an apprentice. When he approached them they hadn't seemed to notice, or acknowledge, his presence. He cleared his throat in order to make his existence knowable.
"Oh! Grim!" Bleak said with a greeting, " Snowstar told me that this was your idea."
Grim nodded. "Birdie will be a good apprentice for you and I'm sure you'll be an amazing mentor." Grim said in a stoic tone. "Now off with you! I must speak to Snowstar about a serious matter, we will have the ceremony later. If you wish, you may tell Birdie."
"Thank you, Grim."
Bleak went rushing off after he thanked Grim, heading into the direction of Birdie. "What is it now, Grim?" Snowstar asked with an edge of irritation to her tone, "I would like to hold this ceremony soon. It'll be my first one I do and I wish for it to be done before twilight." Grim was taken aback by her tone. She must have seen this and her eyes softened. "I'm sorry Grim, I just got excited. I'm sure what you have to tell me is important."
"In fact, very important." Grim looked at his leader and told her what Pluto had done and where the Windclan cats were. Snowstar sighed. Snowstar and Grim began to make their way to the edge of the camp to get out. He watched as Snowstar jumped with ease to the on to the upper floor. Grim wiggled his haunches and leaped. Unlike Snowstar, he had not been so graceful, having to scramble over the edge. "You make it look so easy." Grim told her. "I jumped on to the fence at my old place a lot, so I had lots of practice." She replied.
Grim looked over at the moor. The heather was blossoming and the gorse bushes yellow buds adding beautiful splashes of colors onto the purple heather land. In the distance and hidden within the heather fields he could see the springy moor grass. A few small trees and big, mossy rocks dotted the land. Many fox-lengths away lay in the forest and even further away in the opposite direction was the island that, from here, looked to be the size of an ant! Grim couldn't help but admire the beautiful scenery he saw. He turned his head to see The Windclan cats. It was a small group but big enough to lead a good ambush, or at least a good one where they were standing. "Come on. Let's go meet our guest." meowed Snowstar. "How can you be so sure to trust them?"
"Look," She said. She extended a claw pointing to a tortoiseshell figure. It had an odd figure. Instead of black with orange spots, possibly a bit of white, this one had a blue-grey with cream spots; something he had never seen before.
"What's that cat got to do with anything." Grim remembered that he had closed his eyes during the gathering and hadn't seen a thing.
"That was the only cat that actually welcomed Snowclan. We can trust her." Her eyes were hopeful.
"I hope you're right." Grim murmured.
They began to pad over to the group. They had spotted them on they're way and kept a locked gaze on them. Grims dark coats prickled and spiked. All the different gazes seemed to claw at his fur. Eventually, they approached the Winclan cats. Some cats let out sighs of relief to see the leader and deputy finally arrive, others seemed to frown and furrow they brows by just being there instead of their own territory.
Up close it was easier to see how many there were; about the same amount of Snowclan's cats, maybe one or two more. The presumed leader of the group turned her head to face Snowstar, a smile coming across her face.
"Ah, Snowstar! Glad you could make it." said the odd colored tortoiseshell.
"Of course. I'm sorry, but I don't think we got properly acquainted at the Gathering." Snowstar responded.
The other leader shook her head. "No, I don't think we did. I am Runningstar of windclan, and these are a few of my warriors." she mewed, gesturing her tail towards her fellow clanmates.
"Why are you here, Runningstar?" Snowstar asked.
"Well, as you know, you are new to clan life. Now, I am not doubting you and your clan's skills, but I do believe the least I can do to welcome your clan is to show them a helping paw." she replied
'A helping paw'? What did she mean by that?
"What exactly are you saying." Grim asked.
"I want to help your clan. I want my warriors to teach them some fighting and hunting skills."
Grim was slightly taken aback by her offer. It was kind, yes, but was it really needed? They hunted just fine and he and the other former Bloodclan warrior could teach some fighting skills. Snowstar didn't seem as surprised as he was. She merely dipped her head with gratitude. "Thank you, Runningstar. It would be a good idea to learn some more on our skills than just relying on instinct. We will take your offer. Please, come into our camp. We have plenty of prey to go around and I'm sure my warriors will be eager to learn." Runningstar smiled and dipped her head in return. Snowstar beckoned the Windclan cats to follow her.
When they appeared into the camp, several cats let out gasp and tried warning Snowstar of the large group of cats behind her. She told them brusquely why they were here. "I also have an announcement to make." She said. Snowstar trotted over to the Highcliff and leaped on top of it with a mighty leap. She didn't even need to call the clan, for they were already gathered around, including the Windclan cats, though most just back away to stand by one of the walls.
"As you all know I have let Windclan in our home because they have offered us some training to help us hone all of our skills in order to survive around the lake in the Clan territories." she mewed to the Clan cats.
"But why?" It was Wasp who spoke; no surprise there. "We are doing perfectly fine. We can hunt just fine and us Bloodclan cats know how to fight."
"The word of a leader is the code. Or did you forget, Wasp?" Snowstar hissed at him. Wasp ducked down his head, hot with embarrassment as several eyes looked at him. "I also have some other news!" she said "It is time for Birdie to become an apprentice. Bleak, you will mentor her. I expect that you will pass down all you know to her." Bleak nodded his head and went to touch muzzles with his new apprentice.
"Wait!" Runningstar's mew went through the camp. Snowstar looked at the Windclan leader with slight annoyance. "Yes? What is it?" Snowstar asked. "Shouldn't you give her an apprentice name? And maybe everyone in your Clan a warrior name." she replied.
Several Snowclans cats gasped. Grim winced as if Runningstar had scratched his nose. Snowstar silenced her cats with a flick of her tail. She looked down at Runningstar with calm eyes; Grim knew that if she weren't trying to make a good impression on these clan cats, she would have bit her ears off! But she was the leader, so instead she merely dipped her head to show she understood. "That is a good point, Runningstar." Snowstar turned her head and looked at Birdie, "Do you wish to have a full apprentice name Birdie?" she asked, her eyes locking into Birdie's. Birdie shook her head respectfully. "And do any other of my warriors wish for a proper clan name?" Snowstar called from the highcliff. All shook their heads or said "No thank you." Sarah, one of the former kittypets, trotted to the front of the crowd. "If I may, can I say something?" she asked Snowstar. Snowstar nodded and made room for Sarah to jump up. She leaped and scrambled onto the Highcliff, then faced all the cats.
"There is a reason why we wish to keep our names," Sarah began "For us kittypets it reminds us of what our life used to be. We may be clan cats now but before we lived with twolegs who loved and cared for us and we will not forget them anytime soon. For the Bloodclan warriors it lets them remember their past home; they had family and friends back there! I'm sure if you were captured by twolegs and had to live in their home you wouldn't want to forget your name, would you? Of course not! We have our reasons just like you have yours'. Thank you." Sarah leaped down from the Highcliff and took her place back with her fellow clanmates. Several mews of agreement rose from the crowd, even some from Windclan!
Runningstar looked at Snowstar and nodded, "I'm sorry for my ignorance."
"It's fine, Runningstar. Like Sarah said, you have your reasons." Snowstar replied.
"May we start the training?" Runningstar asked.
Snowstar nodded and then said, "Of course. Your warriors may eat from the fresh-kill pile if they please. Maybe your deputy and mine could work together and make some training patrols?"
"That is a brilliant idea." Runningstar said.
"Clan meeting dismissed! Listen for Grim and the Windclan deputy to put you on a patrol!" Snowstar yowled from the Highcliff.
The Snowclan leader leaped down from the cliff and the clan came to life. A cat began to beckon Grim to come to her. She was a light grey tabby with white ears, tail-tip, and paws. He could only assume that must be the Windclan deputy.
He walked towards the grey she-cat. "Greetings." he meowed to her, dipping his head in respect.
She returned the nod. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Meadowheart."
"Hello Meadowheart, I am Grim."
After the greeting they began to compromise on patrols and eventually they had made enough.
"Snowstar!" he yowled to the leader. The white she-cat turned her head and faced her deputy. He began to walk towards her,"Would you like to go on a patrol?" the leader shook her head, "I have a few errands to run. At the gathering i heard of a Horseplace, i believe i might be able to get a few more cats in our clan, the more the merrier, right?" Grim nodded and watched Snowstar pad away. He looked back and saw the patrol he was on. In the patrol was Stan, Jenga, Cinnamon, a Windclan cat named Tallrabbit, and Meadowheart. The training patrol stalked out and reached the very edge of the forest. Meadowheart and Tallrabbit faced the small group.
"Right," she began, "Let's practice some battle moves, shall we?"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Very long! Sorry to inform but we are out of time for making oc! If your's isn't here please don't be mad! Here they are
CATS OUTSIDE OF CLANS
Monroe- White she-cat
Puff- Light golden tom with gray paws
Trouble- White tom with ginger patches and brown stripes on tail
Lightning- light ginger tabby tom
Luna- Black she-cat with light grey paws
