Sagestar realized suddenly that with Robinfrost gone, she had no friends in the Clan. Strange cats- her cats- watched her as she walked through the camp. She recognized a few, but the majority were complete strangers. I'll have to get to know all these cats, she thought. I'm responsible for all of them now.
However, whenever she approached, the cats would fall silent, dropping conversations mid-sentence. A few, like Chickadeepaw, would greet her with smiles, but most of the cats avoided talking to her.
From what she overheard, they were all talking about her. It made sense- a stranger had just joined their Clan and was now calling herself their leader.
"Who do you think she'll make her deputy?" whispered one cat to another, almost out of earshot.
"I don't know... probably Robinfrost. They're kind of friends, I think?"
"I don't care what she says- no kittypet is going to tell me what to do!"
"But Cougarstrike said he saw StarClan..."
Deciding she'd heard enough, Sagestar decided to look for her sister.
She for the simplicity of her life from just a few days before. It had just been her, Willow, and their mother, with their cozy barn and plentiful, fat mice. Homesickness gnawed at her belly like a hunger. She wished she could curl up and fall asleep, so that she could wake and learn that this had all been some kind of dream.
Sagestar sighed and looked around the camp for Willow. Her sister would know what to say. Willow was kind and thoughtful and surely would be able to console her right now.
Sagestar's heart sank when she saw her though. She was busy talking to Thistletail, probably about the kits she was expecting. Sagestar knew better than to interrupt right now.
With another sigh, Sagestar laid down in a patch of sunshine to wait. The warmth was soothing. She closed her eyes.
Before she could doze off, someone sat next to her. She opened one eye to see a large golden tom looming over her.
"Sagestar, I'd like to talk to you." Cougarstrike wasn't smiling- did he ever smile?
Sagestar stretched. "Okay. What is it?"
"I don't think you should be the leader," he said. "You're inexperienced. You may have Clan blood, but you're not a Clan cat. You don't belong here."
Sagestar blinked with surprise. "But... you were there. You heard the StarClan cats..."
Cougarstrike nodded. "Yes. And that's why I accept you as JuniperClan's leader. I just feel like I should tell you that I disagree with the choice they made. JuniperClan is in trouble now, and needs a strong leader now more than ever. Why StarClan chose a cat like you is beyond me... they must have bees in their brain."
Sagestar narrowed her eyes. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
Cougarstrike shook his head. "No. I wanted to say that even though you may not be fit to be leader, you can count on me. I am loyal to JuniperClan, so I will be loyal to you. There are some cats who are talking about 'taking the Clan back.' A few have even asked me if I was going to take charge... but I will stand behind StarClan's choice to make you leader. Even though I don't agree with it."
"I don't understand," Sagestar said. "But thank you."
The big, scarred tom simply nodded before stalking away.
Before Sagestar could close her eyes again, she was interrupted once more. This time it was Thistletail.
"Sagestar, I have seen to the wounded. It is time we left to perform the burial rites."
Sagestar got to her paws, stretching. "Right. Just a moment, and we can go. I need to take care of something real quick."
Without waiting for the medicine cat's response, Sagestar dashed after Cougarstrike, who was talking to an old black she-cat.
"Cougarstrike, I'm leaving now with Thistletail. Can you keep an eye on things? Maybe ask some warriors to go out to hunt or something? I'm sure everyone's getting hungry."
Cougarstrike nodded. "Of course, Sagestar. I'll take care of it."
"Thank you. We'll be back soon."
Sagestar hurried back to Thistletail. "Okay, let's go."
Traveling with Thistletail wasn't fun. The old cat moved slowly, and never seemed to stop talking.
"Surprisingly, very few of the cats were badly injured. I have asked Chickadeepaw to keep an eye on the worst of them while we are away."
"Chickadeepaw... is she your apprentice?" Sagestar asked.
"No," replied the shaggy old cat. "But she often has helped me care for the elders. She will be fine for a short time while we go to perform the burial rites."
"Right... okay. Who is her mentor, then?"
Thistletail hung his head. "Her mentor was Thrushleap. She was one of the cats who fell in the fire. A fine warrior."
Sagestar frowned. "I'm sorry... I guess she'll need a new mentor?"
Thistletail nodded. "Yes, but that is not the most immediate concern that we must address. You need a deputy. The Code requires that you select your deputy before the Clan by moonhigh tonight."
Sagestar stopped in her tracks. "T-tonight? I don't even know the names of most of the Clan! How am I supposed to choose someone to be my deputy if I don't even know the cats in the Clan?"
Thistletail trudged on. "You need to trust in StarClan, young Sagestar."
"Trust in StarClan?" Sagestar demanded, frustration building. "I don't know anything about them, either! Are they going to show up again and tell me who to choose?"
"StarClan rarely works that way. They may send a sign, or speak to us in dreams, but they rarely show themselves as they did last night."
"Really?" Sagestar hurried a little to catch back up with the medicine cat.
"Yes," he said. "They rarely show in such large numbers, even to appoint a new leader. You should be honored."
"I guess... but why? Why was it different for me? Who were all those cats?"
Thistletail sighed. "I suppose it would be best to start from the beginning, and tell you about the birth of JuniperClan.
"Many, many seasons ago, there was a loner called Juniper. In that time, there were no Clans, no bands of rogues- only cats living alone or in pairs.
"One year, the frosts came early. That leaf-bare was longer and colder than any that had come before. The cats were struggling to survive. Juniper was worried for his mate, who was expecting kits. He gathered the surrounding lone cats and convinced them to band together for survival. Together, they would be stronger.
"And so, Juniper became the first leader of JuniperClan."
Sagestar frowned. "I met Juniperstar... didn't he receive extra lives from StarClan and become Juniperstar when he became a leader?"
Thistletail shook his shaggy head. "No, because StarClan had not yet been founded. Juniperstar received his title after he joined StarClan."
Sagestar blinked in surprise. It had never occurred to her that StarClan had to be founded just like JuniperClan had.
"As I said, the winter was harsh," Thistletail continued. "One cat, called Berrypetal, knew something of healing herbs and helped the new Clan survive. However, Juniper's mate kitted early. Berrypetal managed to save the queen, but the kit was too small and weak. It survived less than a moon, dying before it even received a name. That kit was the first to pass from JuniperClan.
"Berrypetal was devastated that she had failed. She carried the kit to a beautiful clearing near a waterfall. She buried the kit, marking its grave with crossed branches- a juniper branch for the Clan, and sage for protection from evil. She told the kit that it could now hunt among the stars. And so the first medicine cat performed the first burial ceremony.
"The spirit of the kit heard her words. All alone, the kit found the way up the waterfall, climbing to the stars. And so the unnamed kit became the first ancestor of StarClan, returning to guide its clanmates up the StarFalls when they received the same rites."
"I saw the kit!" exclaimed Sagestar. "They were one of the cats to give me my lives- Berrypetal and Juniperstar, too!"
This time it was Thistletail who stopped in his tracks, staring wide-eyed at Sagestar.
"What?"
"Was... was there a warrior called Copperwhisper as well?" he asked softly.
Sagestar remembered the bright ginger cat who had helped to give her first life. "Yeah, who was he? Did you know him?"
"No, I didn't know him," he said slowly. "Copperwhisper was the first warrior to fall in defense of JuniperClan... unbelievable."
"What is it?"
"Together, Juniperstar, Berrypetal, Copperwhisper, and the kit... the Leader, the Healer, the Warrior, and the Unnamed Kit... they form the Council of StarClan. Many medicine cats and leaders never speak to any of them... but all four? I don't think... I don't think any cat has spoken to all four of them since the foundation of the Clan."
