hello hello hello!
hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
review replies:
mintflight0245: thank u sm minty! and i'm sure you'll do fantastically :)
amina: thank you very much :)
somestormleaf: heh, that's alright. and yep! most disabled cats in warriors just seem to be hella bitter about it so wanted to make mothburn be alright with himself. AND YEAH I LOVED WRITING THAT BIT. and no spoilers. thank u sm!
dragonbreathjr: HEHHEHE
crystalshine of lightclan: THANK U! HOPEFULLY YOU'LL WORK IT OUT THIS CHAPTER :)
thank you for all the reviews, feel free to review and pm me :)
When Moonstar and Daffodilheart returned to Thunderclan, it was almost daybreak. The trek back from the Moonpool had taken way longer than expected, and Moonstar was exhausted. All she wanted to do was head to the warriors' den and wrap herself around Sheepskip (Or rather, him wrap around her. She was much larger than he was.) and sleep for a moon. But she couldn't. Instead, she had to put on a brave face for the clan, and go and sleep alone in the leader's den.
She didn't think she could quite stomach that. She thought she could probably sneak Sheepskip in, but Foxstar had never had another cat in her nest. But then again, Foxstar had never taken a mate…
She dismissed that train of thought, and flicked Daffodilheart on the shoulder with her tail. The medicine cat blinked, and tilted his head expectantly.
"Do I need to make a speech or something?" Moonstar asked. Daffodilheart shook his head.
"It's dawn, Moonstar. You can talk to the clan in the morning." He mewed, with an affectionate roll of his eyes. Moonstar nodded, and kept walking.
They reached the camp just as the sun peaked through the trees. Moonstar took a deep breath, and pushed her way through the bracken and brambles that made up the entrance to the camp. It was quiet in the clearing. She could hear some quiet murmuring from the nursery, clearly Maplethroat's kits had woken up early. They'll be my first ceremony. She realised. They were almost six moons, and Emberlight's kits wouldn't be warriors for at least another four moons. That thought simultaneously pleased her and worried her. What if she messed up on their mentors? What if she forgot the words?
She shook her head, clearing away those thoughts. Looking around the camp, she barely had a moment to get her bearings before she was tackled by a white blur.
"Sheepskip!" She exclaimed, slightly too loudly for the morning. Her mate grinned at her, and licked her cheek affectionately.
"You've got your leader's mark!" He purred, batting her in the chest with his tail. She shakily nodded, and heaved herself off the floor, shaking the dust out of her fur. She blinked, and watched as Heatherskip and Berryfoot emerged from the warriors den, looking pleased to see her. She padded forward, and met her friends halfway, brushing her pelt against theirs.
"Moonstar." Mewed Heatherskip breathlessly, dipping her head. Moonstar frowned, but didn't decide to comment on it. She suspected she'd have to get used to her clanmates treating her differently now that she was leader. She shrugged at Heatherskip, and greeted Berryfoot with a nudge.
"Hello." She said, glancing at all of her friends. It was only then that she noticed that Heatherskip's wound had been carefully wrapped in cobwebs, and it smelt faintly of herbs. "How'd that happen?" She asked, nodding her head at Heatherskip's shoulder.
"Oh, Bramblepaw did it." She said, and Moonstar felt pride swell up in her heart. Her niece had done that. She was certain she was going to be a fantastic medicine cat.
"You must be tired, Moonstar." Said Berryfoot, with a quick glance up at the vacant Leader's den. Moonstar gratefully nodded.
"I'll need a quick nap." She mewed with a wry smile, not moving towards the den just yet.
Sheepskip sighed, and stood up. "I'll walk you up, and I'll stay with you, if you like?" He offered. Moonstar blinked, and he went on. "Only if you want to!" He said, slightly panicked.
Moonstar swallowed. She was Thunderclan's leader, now. It was time to start making her own rules. "I do want to." She mewed, and followed Sheepskip up the ledge to the den.
Sheepskip barged in immediately, and went straight to locating the moss, which had thankfully been changed. Moonstar hovered outside the den for a few more moments, and looked over at the Warrior's den. As she watched, a cat left the den, and stood in the clearing, chatting briefly to Heatherskip and Berryfoot. (They looked like they were longing to get back in their nests, themself. Heatherskip was leaning heavily on Berryfoot, and Berryfoot looked as though she could hardly keep her eyes open.)
The cat was Emberlight, Moonstar realised. She hadn't noticed straight away, she looked… different, somehow. She had a reddish tinge to her paws that hadn't been there before, and when Moonstar looked closer, she gasped.
Emberlight's paws were drenched in blood, and when Moonstar focused, she could hear quiet voices echoing in her ears.
"Seek revenge."
Before Emberlight could see her, Moonstar turned tail and walked into the den, blinking rapidly. She settled into her nest, and dozed off straight away, a frown fixed on her face.
spacer
"Moonstar, can I have a word?" Asked Daffodilheart quietly. Moonstar opened one eye from her dozing position on top of the highledge, and nodded. Daffodilheart shook his head, and sighed. "Not here." He mewed, and Moonstar huffed. She got up, and leapt off the highledge with a practiced gratefulness.
It had been a long five moons as leader.
She felt like she'd gotten on well. There hadn't been any conflict with the other clans since she'd become leader. She'd hastened to recover some kind of relationship with Swanstar, that didn't really matter in the long term. He'd passed away a little over two moons ago, and Cherrystar had taken his place. Cherrystar had selected an up-and-coming young warrior as her deputy by the name of Fallentail, who reminded Moonstar of her younger self. Cherrystar was a much more peaceful leader, and any conflict Thunderclan had with Skyclan had been forgotten. (At least it had by most cats. Moonstar would never let Finchpaw's death slide by.)
The rest of the clans had changed as well. Riverclan had new kits, and new warriors. Blacknose had taken a brief reprieve from her deputy duties to care for her new kits, but she quickly stepped back into her place as the Riverclan deputy, leaving the kits in the care of an older warrior. Hawkshade had finally stepped down as Shadowclan deputy, leaving a she-cat named Mistlight as deputy in his place. Windclan hadn't changed much, from what Moonstar could gather.
Thunderclan had very few changes. They had three new apprentices in Fogpaw, Smokepaw and Mistpaw, and Hawkclaw looked like she was about to enter the nursery. Other than that, nothing much had really happened. They would by the end of the day, though. Moonstar planned to make Dawnpaw and Sunpaw warriors.
She guessed that could be what Daffodilheart wanted to talk to her about. With a groan, she followed him into the medicine cat den, dipping her head to Heatherskip as she went. Her friend was glowing, these days, practically prancing around camp. She'd finally sorted things out with Berryfoot, and they were the most sickeningly adorable couple Moonstar had ever seen.
"What's up, Daffodilheart?" She asked, sitting down. She'd never usually address the medicine cat so informally, but the warmth of Greenleaf was changing her slightly. She was more relaxed around her friends, and she was finding that her warriors were approaching her more.
Daffodilheart sighed, and his gaze darted to the den entrance, clearly checking to see if anybody was listening in. "There's no easy way to say this." He mewed gently, and Moonstar had flashbacks of another time, many many moons ago, when she was told her father had died. She shook off the memories, and flicked her tail impatiently. "You're pregnant." He said, and Moonstar stared at him in a state of shock.
"What?" She questioned, springing to her feet. "How do you know?"
Daffodilheart blinked. "It's obvious. You're not going out on dawn patrol as much. You've put on a bit of weight." He mewed, with a shrug. Sheepishly, he cast his gaze to the floor. "And I got Bramblepaw to feel your stomach the other day." He said, and Moonstar huffed. That explained why she'd felt paws on her belly mid-nap.
"I-I… how long do I have?" She asked, fidgeting with her paws. She could hardly believe it. Starclan, Sheepskip was going to be overjoyed.
Daffodilheart's gaze drifted upwards in thought. "A moon and a half, I'd say." He mewed. "I'd advise you to stop your duties sooner rather than later."
Moonstar nodded, absentmindedly. She was pregnant. She was going to have kits.
She flounced out of the den, overjoyed. She felt like now was the perfect time to hold Dawnpaw and Sunpaw's ceremony, it was a lazy day, and most cats were in camp. She grinned at Sheepskip as she passed him. (He was playing with beetles with Berryfoot. Watching them race, or something.) (Honestly, her mate was basically a kit himself.)
Leaping up the highledge, she called out to the clan to meet. They wandered under the highledge slower than normal, limbs heavy with the heat of the day. Moonstar met Emberlight's amber gaze, and faltered. She'd spoken to her sister plenty since she was made leader, and everything usually seemed normal. Not now. Her paws were that unnatural red again, and it had lapped up, almost at her belly. She heard that dreaded whispering again, calling for revenge. She blinked, and forced it out of her head. Whatever Starclan wanted her to do, she wasn't thinking about it now.
"Cats of Thunderclan!" She meowed in a high, clear voice, causing the clan to focus, and pay attention. "Today, I am pleased to perform a highly important ceremony in any cat's life." She mewed with a smile.
"Sunpaw and Dawnpaw, will you step forward?" She asked, and she watched as her nephews' eyes widened. Emberlight immediately rushed to them, and started soothing out their coats with licks. Dawnpaw shrugged her off, but Sunpaw leaned into her, allowing his mother to fix up his pelt.
They both stumbled forward in front of the highledge. Moonstar dipped her head to the two apprentices, wishing there was another cat beside them. If she concentrated, she could imagine Finchpaw, tucked alongside her brothers. Where she should be, instead of Starclan. She shook the thought away, and tried to remember the next part of the ceremony.
"I, Moonstar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn." She called, watching Sunpaw tremble beneath her green gaze. "Sunpaw and Dawnpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?" She asked.
The brothers paused, clearly thinking about a cat who had defended the clan at the cost of her life. Dawnpaw was the first to speak, practically shouting out "I do!", whilst Sunpaw was more hesitant. Quieter. He still said it, looking up at the sky as he did. "I do."
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior names. Sunpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Sunclaw. Starclan honours your skill, and your loyalty." She announced. Sunclaw smiled, clearly pleased with his new name.
"Dawnpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Dawnrise. Starclan honours your bravery, and your courage." She called, remembering how Dawnrise had struggled so much after Finchpaw's death. In her head, she continued the ceremony, addressing a small she-cat who wasn't there. Finchpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Finchpounce. Starclan honours your sacrifice, and your energy. She blinked, clearing the tears welling in her eyes away, and continued. "We welcome you both as full members of Thunderclan."
The clan called out the new names, and Moonstar hopped down from the highledge, and finished the ceremony. She quickly placed her muzzle on Sunclaw's head, and the young tom licked her shoulder. She did the same to Dawnrise, and then turned back to the clan.
Emberlight's paws were still red.
hoped you enjoyed this chapter!
also please rec things you'd like to see one-shots of :)