A single step

"Poppykit? Poppykit? Oh where is she this time!" Poppykit's mother sighed and walked over to Bramblestar. "Bramblestar," she sighed, "Poppykit is missing again."

"Again?" asked Bramblestar in a disbelieving tone of voice, "She's gone missing six times in the last half moon! I'm in half a mind not to let her be an apprentice!"

But he was joking, and Milkclaw knew it. So did Poppykit, when she hurried into the camp a few minutes later, back from an exploration. She had scented Darkkit for the first time in over a moon today, near fourtrees. Immediately Bramblestar hurried over to her.

"Where have you been, young lady?" he demanded.

Poppykit shuffled her paws but did not answer.

"I'm in half a mind not to make you an apprentice!" he said angrily, but Poppykit knew he would.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Bramblestar called, "Let all those old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the high rock for a clan meeting!" Poppykit bounded out of the kit's den, her freshly groomed fur already beginning to look ruffled and out of place.

"Poppykit, step up here."

A few minutes later, Poppypaw bounded off the highstone with her new mentor, Birchtree.

Two of the apprentices (Creampaw and Longpaw), bounded over to her and congratulated her. "Do you want to go out in the forest with us?" mewed Creampaw.

"Sure," Said Poppypaw. The three bounded off into the forest, heading towards fourtrees.

Although Creampaw and Longpaw had already been apprentices for a moon, Poppypaw had no trouble keeping up with them. Both her parents were fast, and she had been sneaking off into the forest to scent for her missing brother for a moon. Besides that, she had just been made an apprentice! She felt as if she had the wind in her paws. Soon she had left the other two far behind.

She padded towards Sunningrocks, pulled by her sister's scent. Dreampaw must have been out gathering herbs. "Hey Poppypaw!" she mewed. "Congratulations on becoming an apprentice, sorry I missed the ceremony. Sorreltail's back legs are aching, and Leafpelt isn't as young as she was, so she sent me to get some herbs.

"I'll help you look," Mewed Poppypaw. The two looked for a long, long time, but didn't seem to be aware of it. It was only when Poppypaw realized with a shock that she could see every star in the sky that she realized how long they had been out.

The stars were all out, bright and clear, as though they were feet away from the two apprentices huddled on the rock. And then, Poppypaw realized, with a thrill of excitement- They were! The the stars were melting into cats- The largest point of each star became the head, the four others paws, tail sprouting as though from thin air.

One of the StarClan warriors stepped up to the two quivering apprentices.

And then she spoke.

"Apprentices," she said, in a voice that seemed as beautiful as the stars, "Do not be afraid. I am Leafstar, leader of StarClan. I have come with a message for you. I have received a prophecy about you and your brother." She stood still, her eyes shut, and then began to speak. Her voice began so faint that the two she-cats had to strain their ears to hear it, and swelled in volume until Poppypaw was sure the entire forest could hear.

In a forest

Dark as night

Five clans rule once more

One in swiftness

One in might

One in hunting

One in water

One in stars

Because the blood red cat has come

To led them to their fate

Blood is resurrected

Their journey now complete.

"By StarClan's laws, I can not help you decipher the prophecy- it is for your shoulder's to bear alone- but I will help you in one thing. Before a cat is born, they exist, in a sort of half awake mostly dreaming state in Starclan. No matter what color they are when they are born, every cat is gold, silver, or red while in Starclan. Almost every cat is silver or gold. But you two- and your brother- were blood red. There is no other cat currently living in the forest that was red when in StarClan. So one of you will resurrect BloodClan.

Leafstar shimmered and began to fade, and the two apprentices were left in bright sunlight.

'I am one step closer,' Poppypaw thought, 'to finding my brother. First I am made an apprentice, and now the prophecy. Every Journey begins with a single step, and so my journey has begun.'

Whew! Another chapter done! I have an awesome idea of how to do the rest of the chapters too! Whew!