Chapter 2: Troubles Written in the Moon

Mist obscured the rising sun; the grass was heavy with dew. Cats emerged from bushes to be welcomed by the morning light. MoonClan's young medicine cat did a daily check-up on all wounded cats. Every cat was less tense than the previous day, but still wary. Moontail was grooming herself when Whiteheart approached her.

"Let me check your pads, Moontail." Whiteheart asked. Moontail would have refused but her bones ached and her paws felt like they were on fire.

"Whiteheart," Moontail asked after she finished. "Are the cats ready to continue travelling?"

"Most of the apprentices and younger warriors are recovering well, but I'm more worried about the kits and older cats." Whiteheart reported. "Honeykit is very frail and Mintwhisker can barely walk, her paws are too old to continue walking far distances. I'm trying to look for borage so the queens could produce more milk to strengthen the kits."

Moontail rested her tail on the young she-cat. "Take a rest. No cat will benefit with an ill medicine cat." Whiteheart gave a respectful dip of her head and padded away into the shade of an old oak.

Moontail padded over to her deputy. "Willowleaf, organize a couple of hunting patrols and maybe one for scouting ahead to report any danger?"

"Sure thing, Moontail." Willowleaf meowed. "How does it feel to be a leader?"

Moontail rested her gaze on her loyal deputy. She turned and saw Spottedshine playing with her kit. A patrol returned with jawfuls of prey. Pride swelled up inside Moontail. She turned back to Willowleaf and smiled.

"Great. Willowleaf, I think we're going to make it to that paradise land StarClan said. I saw a dream of it, it was amazing. Three other Clans were already there, they were having a Gathering in daylight, and there seemed to be one spot reserved just for us!"

Willowleaf purred. "I'm glad," she waved her tail. "I really am."

Moontail bounded over to the where the elder's where.

"Why can't we just live here? This seems like a good enough paradise for me." She heard Foxflight meowing loudly to her mate, Darkfur. Cursing under her breath, Moontail pushed that thought to the back of her mind. I can't let my own warriors annoy me that much. I can't be broken for MoonClan's sake... Moontail shrugged off her annoyance and went to check on Mintwhisker, Thistlefur, and Smokeycloud, the elders.

"Hello, Moontail." Smokeycloud meowed a hoarse greeting.

"Hi, Smokeycloud. How are things going?" Moontail replied, staring at the frail black cat.

"It's going just fine." Smokeycloud answered.

"Moontail," Thistlefur spoke up. "I've been wondering, when are you going to receive your leader name?"

"My leader's name?" Moontail wondered out loud. "I guess I'm assuming that there's another place where I can receive mine, or I can always travel back to the forest when MoonClan's settled in the paradise territory."

"How about SkyClan?" Mintwhisker meowed.

"SkyClan? What about SkyClan?" Moontail mewed.

"How did Leafstar receive her nine lives and name? There's no way she'd leave her Clan and travel all the way to the forest with Firestar, did she?"

"No, I think she did it in her own territory with her own warrior ancestors and not StarClan." Thistlefur cut in before Moontail could reply. Even the most respectful elder I know doesn't pay me, his own leader, any respect!

"Yes, I think it went like that too." Moontail meowed. "Have a very great day, I must check on everyone else now." Moontail waved her tail in farewell and stalked over to her good, good friends, Stonepelt and Skyfur.

"Hey," Skyfur meowed, smiling.

"Moontail, finally, you came talk to us lowly cats." Stonepelt rolled his eyes in a teasing way.

"Well those lowly cats happen to be one of the cats I miss the most." Moontail meowed, giving Stonepelt a lick on the ear.

"How's your day going?" Skyfur mewed, kind of tense. Moontail sighed under her breath. These two brothers always get jealous whenever Moontail makes any more of an action to one of them (EDITOR'S NOTE: I honestly have no idea that "any more of an action" means but if you get what I mean you get what I mean).

"Well-" Moontail opened her mouth to confide her anxiety of a leader's responsibility and how she felt like no cat will listen to her and respect her like a great leader of the forest, but was almost immediately cut off.

"Moontail!" It was Foxflight. Cursing under her breath, Moontail stalked over and put on a sweet smile.

"Yes, Foxflight, do you have something to say to me?" Moontail meowed.

"Yes, I do." Foxflight declared loudly, catching other cats' attention. Now my whole Clan will see me get bossed around like this.

"I have decided that we should settle here."

Moontail felt her neck fur bristle. It took anything in her to not jump on Foxflight. Taking a deep breath, Moontail calmed herself down and planned her words carefully to sound not so bossy and mean.

"Thank you very much for your opinion, Foxflight.I would take that into consideration, but choosing where the Clan will live is up to me, alright?" Moontail meowed. Foxflight's superior expression melted into confusion with a tint of anger in her sky-blue eyes.

"I know you are a young cat with exciting ideas, but could you please understand that as long as you're in MoonClan you will follow the present's leader's orders, which is now me, and which might be you one day. Then you can deliver these ideas of yours. Alright? Have a good day, Foxflight."

"How dare you!"

Moontail had turned to walk away but heard Foxflight's enraged voice from behind. Foxflight was at lost for words. Everyone looked appalled that this young warrior will talk back to their leader like that.

"Is something wrong?" Whiteheart emerged from her huckleberry bush she was using as a makeshift medicine cat den. Her eyes where wide with fear that a battle broke out inside of the Clan. Skyfur leapt protectively to Moontail's side.

"Nothing's wrong." Darkfur muttered. Moontail knew he'd stick to his mate's side any day, but he looked slightly uncomfortable facing his leader like this.

Casting a glance at Foxflight, who still seemed to be searching for the right words to spit at Moontail, Moontail calmed herself down, forcing her neck fur to lie flat.

"Everything is fine. Just a small misunderstanding, Whiteheart." Moontail angled her ears at Foxflight, and Whiteheart nodded. Moontail leapt on a boulder.

"Cats of MoonClan, everything is fine." Moontail addressed the cats peeking out of bushes. "In fact, I have decided to call a Clan meeting."

Cats gathered around the smallish boulder. Foxflight stalked to where her mate, Darkfur, has decided to sit, behind the elders.

"I have heard that some cats think that they want to settle here. I want everyone's opinion on this, and the majority of votes will win." Moontail declared. A glimmer of pride sparkled in Spottedshine's eyes.

"Those who want to stay here, go to the right, and those who want to leave, stand on the left."

Cats scampered here and there. Mintwhisker walked to the right side with Smokeycloud, but Thistlefur stalked over to the left. The kits, apprentices and most of the warriors chose left, but Briarwood, a queen, chose right, and gestured for her kits to come join her; which only Brownkit went to his mom. Moontail gazed amoung the crowd of cats clustered into two groups. The left side won majority.

"Then it's decided," Moontail declared. "Cats of MoonClan, the majority has won, we are journeying to a paradise territory!"