Rising Moon

Jedi Goat

Disclaimer: I still don't own Warriors, and that's not going to change.

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Epilogue

Nearly one moon later, ThunderClan was preparing itself to attend the night's Gathering. Standing by the entrance tunnel, Moonblaze looked fondly around the camp. The clan was now rebuilding itself, accounting for its losses and continuing on. A lot had happened since the battle. Stormfur and Brook had left for the mountains to search out any remaining Tribe cats; Tawnypelt and Appleheart had returned to ShadowClan; and Ravenpaw and Barley had found a new home in Daisy's Twoleg barn. Squirrelflight's kits had been apprenticed (Rabbitpaw to a very proud Oakheart). Brambleclaw had been released from the elders' den, recovered except for his missing eye. Wolfspirit had been admitted into the nursery, as she was carrying Ashfur's kits; and, best of all, in Moonblaze's opinion, after seeing how close they were, Firestar and Leafpool had agreed that Oakheart and Moonblaze could be together.

"Moonblaze!" Moonblaze looked up at the sound of her name. Rabbitpaw was bounding toward her, Oakheart following more slowly with an amused look on his face.

"What is it, Rabbitpaw?" Moonblaze purred, as the excited tabby she-cat bounced around her paws.

"I'm going to my very, very first Gathering tonight!" Rabbitpaw exclaimed.

"Good for you," grinned Moonblaze. "Are your brothers coming, too?"

Rabbitpaw nodded brightly.

At that moment came Firestar's commanding yowl; ThunderClan's leader was bounding toward the entrance. It was time to go.

Rabbitpaw was practically shivering with excitement as she fell into line behind her mentor. Other cats were streaking across the clearing toward them; among them, Moonblaze could see Honeydew and Blazepaw as well as Thornclaw with Briarpaw.

The cats set off into the gathering night.

The Gathering clearing was busy, as usual. Moonblaze weaved through the throng, looking up curiously at the Great Oak. Firestar, Leopardstar, and Onestar had already taken their places there. Briefly, she wondered who would represent ShadowClan tonight, seeing as both leader and deputy had perished in the long war against BloodClan.

Then Moonblaze glanced around, searching for her friends from other clans; spotting the other medicine cats crouching near the Oak, she went to join them.

"Hey," Cougarpelt greeted her, dipping his head in her direction. Moonblaze returned the greeting; then she noticed the small brown apprentice sitting beside him.

"Maplepaw?" Moonblaze asked in surprise.

The she-cat ducked her head. "I –I'm going to be a medicine cat now," she mumbled. "Since-" She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Moonblaze met Cougarpelt's eye and understood. Ashfoot, Maplepaw's mentor, must have not made it.

"I'm sure you will be a fine medicine cat one day," Moonblaze assured her with a purr.

Maplepaw looked at her paws. "I don't know."

Moonblaze glanced over at the other medicine cats: Leafpool gave her a weak smile, meeting her gaze; Littlecloud was staring at his paws miserably; and Mothwing and Willowtail were staring up at the Great Oak. Moonblaze followed their gaze.

At that moment, a tortoiseshell she-cat bounded up into the branches of the tree. After exchanging a few words with the leaders, she turned to face the clans.

"Cats of all clans!"

Moonblaze gasped; it was Tawnypelt!

"ShadowClan has much to report," she announced. "After Blackstar's unfortunate demise, I have replaced him as Tawnystar. I have already journeyed to the Moonpool and received my nine lives. Toadstool is my deputy."

She paused, a guarded look coming to her eyes. "Though ShadowClan is still rebuilding after the invasion, we are in no way weak. Any trespassers will only find trouble in our territory."

She stepped back, giving a respectful nod to the other leaders. Onestar took her place.

"Firstly I would like to offer Tawnystar my congratulations," he announced. "I trust she will make an honorable leader. Now, WindClan has news of its own: our deputy, Ashfoot, died in the battle."

Murmurs of consolation rippled through the crowd. Cougarpelt nosed Maplepaw's ear gently. "She has been succeeded by Crowfeather."

Beside Moonblaze, Leafpool straightened and stared over at the deputies, seated at the base of the tree.

"Also, WindClan has two new apprentices: Swiftpaw, Crowfeather's apprentice; and Maplepaw, apprentice to Cougarpelt."

Onestar, too, stepped back. Leopardstar advanced.

"RiverClan has four new warriors. Minnowpaw and Pebblepaw received their names before our last Gathering." It was obvious why this hadn't been said at the last Gathering; Preybone's arrival had stopped the Gathering from occurring. "They are now Minnowpool and Pebblepatch. Lilypaw is now Lilybloom and Fishpaw is Fishflicker."

Lastly was Firestar. "ThunderClan was not without its losses in battle," he mewed solemnly. "Two of our cats, Sorreltail and Cindercloud, have joined StarClan."

Moonblaze lowered her head, closing her eyes in remembrance of her dear clanmates.

"On a brighter note, three of our kits have been apprenticed: Rabbitpaw to Oakheart, Blazepaw to Honeydew, and Briarpaw to Thornclaw. Tonight is their first Gathering."

Moonblaze saw Rabbitpaw sit a little taller and she smiled.

Firestar flicked his tail at the other leaders. "The forest has suffered lately, but its spirit is still strong. The clans will rebuild and recover, though we will keep in our memories what has happened and prevent such a thing from happening again. As I'm sure my fellow leaders agree," here he nodded at them, "we must stand united, else our great clans will fall."

Moonblaze raised her head in agreement. They must keep the spirit of the forest within all of their hearts.

The End

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And that's the end. Sad to say, I probably won't write a sequel to Rising Moon, at least not as long as this one ;) However, I do have some other projects to get underway, so as a final treat to all those who've been following Moonblaze's adventures, here are the warrior names I had palnned out for all the apprentices: (yes, I just love inventing their names!)

Maplepaw (Cougarpelt's apprentice) - Mapledrop

Swiftpaw (Crowfeather's apprentice) - Swiftfox

Rabbitpaw - Rabbitfoot

Blazepaw - Blazestorm

Briarpaw - Briarpatch

Lastly, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to all you readers for your support and enjoyment of this story!