Chapter 8

Ripplepaw paced across the clearing as he waited for Morningstar's decision. Every once and a while, he thought he heard shouting coming from the leaders den. Nightsky deserves to be exiled, he thought bitterly. As he continued to pace across the clearing, his body began to ache with fatigue. He had been going all day, and tonights events didn't help.

Finally, he spotted Morningstar slip out of her den. "I'm ready," she told him, before walking back inside. As Ripplepaw followed her, his stomach churned nervously. As he took a seat, he glanced over at the medicine cat. A frown was plastered on the medicine cats face, which gave him hope.

"Are you going to exile her?" Ripplepaw asked, a flicker of hope rising up in his chest. To his disappointment, Morningstar shook her head.

"I can't," she sighed. "Nightsky is our Clans only medicine cat. If you were older and more experienced, things would be different. But for now, I can't risk putting my Clan in danger by exiling her." Morningstar glanced over at her sister before adding, "However, I am banning Nightsky from all Gatherings and medicine cat meetings for the next four moons."

Ripplepaw stared at his leader, shocked. "She tried to murder me, and you're giving her the same punishment you would give to an apprentice who ate while on patrol! If she's willing to poison me, she's willing to do anything. Morningstar, can't you see she's a danger to this entire Clan? Nightsky isn't sane!"

Morningstar frowned. "I wish I could do more, but for now I can't."

"Fine," he growled, standing to his paws. "Put the entire Clan at risk! See if I care." The silver tom stormed over to the entrance of the den. Right as he was about to walk out, Ripplepaw turned to face them. "Oh, and one more thing. I quit being the medicine cat apprentice, whether the two of you like it or not." And with that, he left the den.

Immediately, he padded over to the apprentices den. Inside, his sister was curled up in her nest. Quietly, he walked over to her nest and curled up beside her. As their fur brushed, memories of his time as a kit came flooding back. Those were simpler times, he thought sadly, longing for the days where his only worry was what story his mother would tell him at bedtime.

"Ripplepaw?" Minnowpaw rasped, slowly blinking her eyes open. "What are you doing in here?"

"I'll explain everything tomorrow. Just go back to sleep," Ripplepaw whispered, before giving his sister a lick on the ear. Minnowpaw let out a small purr, before closing her eyes once more. The two siblings laid there for a while, before both falling asleep.


When Ripplepaw awoke the next day, the sky was dark. I've slept all day! He realized with a jolt. Slowly, he sat up and began to lick his ruffled fur. Glancing down, he saw a plump mouse sitting close by. Carefully, he began to pull the mouse apart to make sure it hadn't been poisoned. After making sure his prey was clean, Ripplepaw began to devour the mouse. Now full, the silver tom pushed his way out into the clearing. Since it was so late, most of the warriors had retreated into their dens for the night.

Should I go meet with Willowpaw? He wondered. Suddenly, a smirk spread across his face. I guess it wouldn't hurt. After all, I have nothing to lose. As he slipped out of camp, he couldn't wait to tell Willowpaw that he had been rejected by StarClan. Perhaps then ShadowClan will attack us, and Nightsky will be killed!

As he neared Fourtrees, Ripplepaw paused to scent the air. To his disappointment, he couldn't scent any new scents. Cautiously, he padded down the slope and into the clearing. To his disappointment, Willowpaw was no where to be found. She probably stood me up, Ripplepaw thought with annoyance.

As he turned to head home, a voice called out, "Don't leave!"

Spinning around, the RiverClan tom saw Willowpaw push her way through the undergrowth, before pausing in front of him. "I hope you haven't been waiting too long. I had trouble sneaking out of camp." As she spoke, her amber eyes gleamed with amusement.

Ripplepaw flicked an ear. "I just got here. Now what do you want to talk to me about?"

"I just want to know if everything is all right. You seem troubled, and I want to help you," the brown tabby she-cat meowed. "I promise I'll keep everything you tell me a secret."

Ripplepaw hesitated for a few heartbeats, before sighing. "You're right – I am troubled. You see, it's Nightsky. Apparently, StarClan gave her a prophecy saying I'll grow up to destroy RiverClan. Now Nightsky is convinced I'm a monster, and the only way I'll change is if I be her apprentice. The thing is, I don't want to be a medicine cat. I especially don't want to be the medicine cat under Nightsky. She's a terrible cat, and I can't stand her anymore. Just yesterday, she tried to poison me!"

Willowpaw's eyes widened. "She tried to poison you? Please tell me you're kidding..."

He shook his head. "I wish. She tricked me into eating a mouse stuffed with deathberries. Luckily I spit the berries out before it was too late."

"That's terrible. I can't believe she would do something like that to you. I don't care what StarClan says, you don't seem like a monster to me. I know we don't really know each other, but from what I've seen you're very nice. I think with the right mentor, you would love being a medicine cat. After all, it's your destiny. StarClan wouldn't have accepted you if you weren't supposed to succeed Nightsky," Willowpaw said, trying to cheer her up.

"About that..." he muttered, flattening his ears to his head. "I wasn't accepted by StarClan. In fact, they didn't even come to me at all."

"But you said-"

"Nightsky forced me to lie," Ripplepaw told her.

Willowpaw was silent for a few minutes as she proceed everything that had been told to her. "This is really bad," she whispered, unable to meet his gaze. "You're not safe in RiverClan at all. Perhaps I should tell Honeyleaf what's going on. I'm sure she could do something to help you."

"I don't think Honeyleaf would be able to do anything," Ripplepaw sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Willowpaw let out a sigh. "This is probably a stupid question, but are you going to continue training as a medicine cats apprentice?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so."

"I understand. After all, it's for your own good. You're not safe with Nightsky. I'm really going to miss training with you though," Willowpaw meowed. The ShadowClan she-cat glanced up at the sky, before standing to her paws. "I should probably head home now. Thank you for coming here, Ripplepaw. I'm so sorry that you're going through this. If you ever need a friend, just know I'm here for you."

Ripplepaw dipped his head to her. "Thanks," he said, before heading in the direction of his own camp. As he walked home, something inside of him changed. The young tom suddenly felt the strong urge to continue training as a medicine cat. He wasn't sure whether it was because of Willowpaw, or because of Nightsky. RiverClan isn't safe under her care, he thought. If she's willing to poison me, who knows what else she's doing? I've got to do something to stop her, but what?

Once he reached camp, Ripplepaw headed in the direction of Nightsky's den. The black she-cat was fast asleep in her nest. He quickly padded over to her, before prodding her in the ribs. "Wake up," he ordered, before taking a step back.

Nightsky leaped to her paws, before turning to face him. "What?" she growled, her neck fur bristling.

"I've been thinking about it, and I'm sorry," he lied. If I don't apologize, she'll never train me. "And I want to continue being your apprentice. With my breathing the way it is, I'll never be able to be a proper warrior. Besides, I've already learned so much. There's no point in throwing everything I've learned away, when I can make good use out of it." The fur along his spine bristled as he spoke, but he did his best to remain calm and friendly.

Nightsky's expression softened. "I'm glad you've finally come around. I knew I'd rub off on you sooner or later!"

Don't get so cocky, he thought bitterly. "Er... yeah. Anyways, what do you say?"

"Of course I'll continue to train you." Nightsky padded over to him and nuzzled him. "Now get some rest. I want to gather some borage tomorrow."


I'm sorry it took so long to update. I've had a lot going on this past week. I'll try my best to update again sometime this week. If not, expect an update during the weekend. Also, I would once again like to thank you all for all the reviews. I love to see what you all think of the story as well as the characters. One more thing I would like to mention: I don't know if I ever talked about this before, but I'm planning on writing a series of one-shots based on my stories Rising Storm and Extinction. These one-shots will focus on several different things from those stories, such as the Tribe after the Clans left, Sorrelstripe joining ShadowClan, Blizzard's past, and much more. I'm not sure when it will be posted, but I just thought I'd share for those of you who are interested in those stories.

Thanks!