Mistflower trotted over.
"What Clan-?"
"Help, our- l-leader, badly wounded-" A patrol burst in behind her, and one black cat dragged her by her scruff. "Help!" she shrieked. The cat forced her to roll onto her belly.
"Now you die, rogue!" the black cat spat. Starpaw saw that it was Shadowpaw.
"No!" she wailed, and went and threw herself at the warrior-sized apprentice. She barely managed to sway her, let alone knock her down. Shadowpaw hissed at Starpaw, and knocked her over with a bat of her powerful paw.
"Stay out of this, KIT!" she spat. The other cats were watching her keenly.
"Will no one save her?" Starpaw mewled. Shadowpaw clawed at the rogue's belly, and then the tussle started. The tan she-cat was slim and fast, but Shadowpaw had endurance and power. Skystar leaped down from the High Rock.
"What is going on here?" he hissed, "Shadowpaw, stop. IMMEDIATELY!" she looked over her shoulder, then backed away from the tan cat, eyes glowing with hate. "Who is this?" he meowed gruffly, "Just who are you, rogue?"
"I-" the cat faultered, "I am Sand. A she-cat of ForestClan."
"ForestClan! It is a Clan that has been lost for many seasons... Who leads this Clan now?"
Sand hesitated. "Flame."
"Flame! That's a rogue name, why don't you have a warrior name like the rest of us?"
"We have known a lot of pain caused by Clan cats, so we have decided to make our own traditions-"
"Then why have you come here for help?"
"Because we are not yet settled, and we need it." Skystar sighed.
"Mistflower, Starpaw, follow Sand to their camp. Help them. But no more." He flicked his tail, and the cats broke up. Mistflower turned to the medicine den.
"Starpaw, please come with me. We need all the spidersilk and marigold we can get." Mistflower grunted as she put the spidersilk and marigold into a package. "And don't forget the poppy seeds this time!" Starpaw nodded, and put a pawful of the black seeds into a leaf. Then she wrapped it up and rushed outside to where Sand and Mistflower were waiting impatiently. Then, Sand nodded her head, and they ran to wherever the ForestClan camp was. Starpaw had a vague sense of the wind rushing around her, and the forest trees and bracken passing by quickly. They leaped over rocks, streams and fallen logs. Starpaw's legs were starting to get tired, but Sand showed no sign of slowing, her eyes burning with the fierce fires of determination. They slowed as they got nearer, then stopped all together. Starpaw panted, and dropped the seed bundle on the ground. Mistflower picked it up, then went in the direction Sand was leading her. She had given a sign that Starpaw was to stay behind and wait. She looked around nervously. A black cat, of her size, and, by the smell of it, a tom, came up to her.
"Hello," he mewed cautiously, "You're new here, aren't you?" She nodded in mute silence. "Huh. I guess that grey she-cat that went into Flame's den was you teacher, right?"
"My-my WHAT?"
"Your teacher. You know, the one who teaches you what to do. Like if you want to be a skilled healer-" he leaned over and gave an experimental sniff,"-Which you smell like, your teacher tells you what herbs to do that treat this or that. I'm going to be a fighter." He licked his chest fur, "I'm going to be in battles someday. What's your mentor's name?"
Starpaw's tongue rolled around her mouth, "Mistflower. Yours?"
"Quince."
"That's a funny name."
"No it isn't. Least-a-ways, it's not half as funny your name, I'm sure. I've heard of those ridiculous names they give you when you're a learner. Like "Streampaw" or "Turtlepaw."" He paused, "I guess, if we were in your Clan, I'd be called "Crowpaw." Odd, isn't it? Well, you're from a Clan, so I guess you don't get it. Say, what's your name anyway?"
"Star-paw," she forced out. She paused, and there was silence, except for a groan or a hiss that came from the leader's den occasionally. "So you're Crow, huh?"
"Yes," he nodded. She waited for him to say anything more.
"That's a- a nice name," she finished lamely. He nodded.
"Uh-huh."
"Where are all the apprentices- I mean, teachers and learners?"
"Oh, they're-" he wrinkled his nose, "You don't need to know that. You're from another Clan. For all I know, you could be gathering information or something." Starpaw looked down at her paws.
"Sorry," she muttered. They waited in silence for something to happen. "Does the nursery have any queens or kits?"Crow rolled his eyes.
"First off, you don't need to know that. Second, why do you care? Third, you need to observe around you." Sand walked out of the leader's den, looking flushed.
"Hello, Sand." The tan she-cat dipped her head.
"Hello, Starpaw"
"How's Flame?"
"He's alive. And well. Thank the FallenClan." Starpaw shifted from paw to paw.
"Er, Sand..."
"Yes?"
"Why do you think that the FallenClan really cares?" Sand blinked, and angry glint to her eye, tail lashing.
"Who else would? Starshine? No. They don't care. They don't know what it's like to survive like we did, to be under a cruel claw, to fight over scraps of food that even the crows have left behind. We were able to count each other's ribs from tail-lengths away, and our sleep was troubled with fearful dreams. I don't want myself or my future kin to live like that. All those moons, we begged and pleaded with Starshine. It fell on deaf ears. So now we turned to the last source of help we could find. We made our own band, thrown out of SnakeClan, and we revived ForestClan. Without the help of Starshine. So why are we to think that they will help us?" Sand's eyes trailed to the skies. The stars had started peeping through the darkening sky, and the brilliance was almost blinding to look at. Starpaw went and ducked into the leader's den to speak with Mistflower.
"And you should stay off of you leg for a day," Mistflower mewed gently. Flame nodded, then flicked his tail, signaling that they were dismissed.
Starpaw and Mistflower left the camp, the stars in the sky watching and guarding their path.
