For those of you who noticed the same thing that Crystalstar Medicine Catdid, that I introduced ShadowClan's SunClan apprentice as Blossompaw, then proceded to call her Lilypaw, sorry. I wrote her down as Blossompaw originally, then realized that Blossomstar was the leader of ShadowClan. I tried to change all of the Blossompaws to Lilypaws, but obviously I missed a few. Sorry for the error.
Just for a reference, I'm assuming that a season in warrior cat time is a year, so that's the time increment I'm using. If anyone knows what it really means, let me know.
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"StarCat?" Mosspelt gasped, "What in StarClan's name are StarCats?"
"StarCats are cats with special powers," Flight replied from behind everyone. "Forgetting nursery tales Mosspelt?"
"No," Mosspelt bristled.
"Calm yourselves," Grayleaf mewed at the two she-cats. "Fighting is not going to solve anything. Yes, these apprentices are StarCats."
"What do you know of this Grayleaf?" Mosspelt mewed heatedly. "Did StarClan send you a prophecy?"
"StarClan did not alert me to the kit's abilities. But from the minute they were born, I knew." Willowpaw had never seen her mentor as tense as she was now. The old gray she-cat glared at Mosspelt, daring the warrior to strike back.
She didn't. She merely sat down. "How did you know of the kits abilities? Who are their parents?" Willowpaw gasped. Surely Grayleaf wouldn't say!
"Their parents wish to remain anonymous," Grayleaf mewed. "All I can say is that one of them is a clan cat. The mother died while kitting. I was unable to save her. The fate of the father is unknown. It does not matter. The apprentices are StarCats and there's nothing we can do about it."
"Is it just the two of them?" Copperstar asked, cutting in between the she-cats. "Do Willowpaw and Goldenpaw have powers?" This is it, Willowpaw groaned mentally.
"I know that Willowpaw has no power of any sort," Grayleaf mewed, and Willowpaw gave her mentor a look of surprise. The older gray she-cat ignored her apprentice. "Whether Goldenpaw had any powers I do not know. Goldenpaw, do you?"
Goldenpaw froze, and then he slowly shook his head. "No," he mewed in feigned disbelief. "I didn't even know that Robinpaw and Sprucepaw had powers." He pretended to sounded hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"We wanted to protect you," Sprucepaw mewed, pulling it together and masking his shock at the turn of events faster than Robinpaw. "If you knew, you might tell other cats. We thought some cats would kill us of try to hurt us for what we can do." Willowpaw was impressed by her brother's façade. They had practiced.
There was a momentary silence. "This is perfect," Dogclaw mewed. "Don't you get it? We could attack the other clans. We could get Sunningrocks back from RiverClan. With to StarCats under our control we could devastate them. They wouldn't be able to fight back. Sunningrocks would be ours."
"There are a couple of flaws with your plan," Robinpaw lashed her tail. "One, RiverClan wouldn't give up without a fight. They might even convince ShadowClan or WindClan to fight on their side. They would strike Sprucepaw and me in our sleep if they had to. Then ThunderClan would be the evil clan, the clan no cat trusted. Also, there are others like us."
"Others?" Copperstar flicked his tail in question.
"You really don't know?" Robinpaw looked surprised. "There are StarCats in other clans. Some of the Clans even have more StarCats than we do." Willowpaw's eyes widened. There were more StarCats i the forest than them?
Every cat in the clearing visibly shaken. The cats looked at Sprucepaw and Robinpaw. Sprucepaw was still tense, looking ready to run any second. Robinpaw still had her wings half extended. Some cats looked like they wanted to attack the two apprentices. "Perhaps we ought to get the kit back to her mother," Goldenpaw mewed tersely. "I think she's heard enough, how about you?"
The assembled cats nodded. "I'll take her," Willowpaw offered. "I'm a medicine cat. Hopefully ShadowClan won't take it as a threat. Come on Twinklekit, I'll take you home."
Willowpaw nudged Twinklekit to her feet. "Come on little one, you'll be home soon."
Twinklekit yawned. "But I'm so tired. Can't I just stay here?"
"No," Willowpaw laid her tail on the kit's shoulder, "Your mother will be worried. She'll think the hawk killed you."
"No," The kit meowed, "She can't think that! I have to get home." So leaving her tense clan behind, Willowpaw led Twinklekit out of ThunderClan camp. The tortoiseshell she-kit trudged along after Willowpaw. But when they crossed the Thunderpath and trotted into ShadowClan territory, Twinklekit picked up her pace. Thankfully, Willowpaw and Twinklekit made it to ShadowClan camp without running into any patrols.
The ShadowClan cats gave her queer looks, but as she had guessed, no one stopped her. Then a she-cats voice came from the other side of the camp. "Twinklekit!" The she-cat shrieked, running toward Willowpaw.
"Whiteheart!" The she-kit buried her face in the white she-cat's fur.
"How... the hawk took Twinklekit," Whiteheart mewed to Willowpaw. "How did you rescue her? I thought she was gone forever."
"One of our apprentices was climbing a tree when the hawk flew by. She acted quickly and caught the hawk before it could get away. Twinklekit's all in one piece." Willowpaw watched the kit snuggle into her mother's fur. She was suddenly glad that Robinpaw had saved the kit.
"A flying cat saved me," Twinklekit exclaimed. At Twinklekit's exclamation, Willowpaw saw a white apprentice look toward her and Twinklekit.
When Whiteheart sent her a quesioning look, Willowpaw quickly mewed, "When the apprentice jumped out of the tree, it must have looked like she was flying." Willowpaw shrugged, as though it were irrelevant.
The apprentice trotted over. "I'll escort you to the border," the apprentice offered. Willowpaw accepted. As the two apprentices began walking out of camp, the white she-cat introduced herself. "I'm Lilypaw. Thank you for rescuing Twinklekit. I owe you," she bit her lip. "You know about Robinpaw right? About her wings?"
"I do now. She flew up to save the kit. The whole clan knows. How did you know?" Willowpaw was suddenly fearful.
"I have... ways," Lilypaw mewed uncomfortably. "Anyway, tell Robinpaw that showing her wings was extremely mousebrained, and that I will personally rub it in her face the next time I see her." Willowpaw nodded, her mind racing to comprehend what was walking right next to her. Robinpaw had said that there were other StarCats beside them. Was Lilypaw one of them? It made sense. How else would Lilypaw, an apprentice from another clan, know about Robinpaw's wings? Willowpaw wondered briefly what Lilypaw's power was.
Lilypaw left Willowpaw at the border. After the apprentice was out of earshot, Willowpaw let out a yowl of frustration. Why hadn't Robinpaw told her about Lilypaw? They were sisters for StarClan's sake!
When Willowpaw arrived back at ThunderClan camp, warriors were going about their daily chores. A hunting patrol was returning with freshkill, and Dogclaw was organizing a sunset border patrol. Willowpaw looked in the apprentice den, but it was empty. The medicine cat apprentice trotted into her mentors den. "Where are Robinpaw, Sprucepaw and Goldenpaw?" She asked her mentor.
"They went off on their own for a while," Grayleaf informed her bluntly, "I'm not sure where they went. There were talks of exiling them, and then they decided that they might ally all the StarCats to attack ThunderClan in spite, so they stayed. No cat knows of you power but your siblings and I. You must not let the clan know."
"I know that," Willowpaw mewed, "Do you think I'm about tell the clan after this? I'd have to be insane!"
Grayleaf nodded, and turned back to the herbs that she was sorting. "Help me with these borage leaves," She commanded, "Blueleaf's going to be expecting kits soon, and I want to be ready. We need to gather more herbs before it snows." Willowpaw nodded, and took off. She sniffed a few measly sprigs of marigold, and carried the ones that had not been to badly damaged by the cold back to Grayleaf. The Medicine cat nodded in thanks and put the marigold where it belonged.
Willowpaw wanted to go and find her siblings, help in some way, but right now her help was needed now, gathering herbs. She gasped when a snowflake landed on her nose. She looked up at the darkening sky and knew she didn't have much time. She rushed into the forest.
Robinpaw
"Eagle said to go to twolegplace and he would find us," Robinpaw mewed.
"You're sure that we can trust this Eagle?" Goldenpaw asked, "He says he's our father, but you never know if he's just a rogue messing with us!"
"He looks exactly like Willowpaw, but with amber eyes. His eyes look like yours Sprucepaw!" Robinpaw mewed. "I know he's our father, and I can't explain why I know, I just do." Robinpaw led her brothers a bit farther, when a strange brown she-cat stepped out in front of them. She watched them approach for a few seconds, and then suddenly vanished.
"Great StarClan what was that?" Goldenpaw demanded. Robinpaw shrugged at her brother.
Suddenly, the she-cat was right in front of Goldenpaw. Goldenpaw yelped and barely avoided hitting her. "Hello," She mewed, flicking her ears in amusement. "I'm Flashpaw. You must be Robinpaw, Sprucepaw and Goldenpaw." Flashpaw examined them carefully. "Where's Willowpaw?"
"How do you know us?" Sprucepaw asked.
"Oops," Flashpaw squeaked, and vanished into thin air again. The siblings looked at each other, confused, watching. Flashpaw walked back into view a few heartbeats later with a gray she-cat. "Sorry about that," Flashpaw mewed, I'm Flashpaw, and this is the leader of MoonClan, Timestar."
"MoonClan?" Robinpaw asked. She remembered what Eagle and Lilypaw had told her about the non clan.
"Yes. Like you, Flashpaw and I are StarCats. I have to ability to freeze time as I wish, and Flashpaw can zap from place to place." Timestar looked young, but she spoke with the air of a much older cat. "What are your powers?"
"Who wants to know?" Robinpaw snapped.
"Oh right, you are clan cats. You must be used to keeping your powers secret," Timestar mewed, "I had forgotten what it is like. In MoonClan, no powers are kept secret. Speaking of which, Robinpaw, loosen up. Your wings must be sore from being pulled in so tightly."
Robinpaw looked shocked, but relaxed her wings, opening them to stretch the feathers, and then simply laying them on top of her pelt. Her brothers looked at her. They weren't used to seeing Robinpaw's wings out when she wasn't flying. "Come on guys, I think we can trust her."
Robinpaw's brothers nodded. Goldenpaw spoke first. "I'm really strong. I don't know what the limit to my strength is."
Sprucepaw volunteered to tell his power next. "I'm really fast. I can run on water if I go fast enough."
Robinpaw nodded. "Obviously, I can fly."
Timestar nodded. "Wonderful powers. A bit stronger than the clan is used to, but you'll fit in. You make friends fast. You'll want to go get Willowpaw..."
"Wait," Goldenpaw mewed, "You make it sound like you're planning for us to stay... permanently."
"Well aren't you?" Flashpaw looked confused.
"We can't!" Goldenpaw yowled. Calming down, her added, "We're clan cats. We have lives and loyalties in ThunderClan. We don't need to leave. My mentor is the deputy; Willowpaw's apprenticed to be medicine cat..."
"Wait," Timestar cut him off. "You never told me. What is Willowpaw's power?"
"She can heal, but that really doesn't matter..."
"What else can she do? Has she ever done anything else with her powers?" Robinpaw's breath caught. Timestar noticed. "What did she do?" She asked.
"We...we found this blue stone," Robinpaw wasn't sure why she was telling these strange cats these things, "When Willowpaw touched it, her powers kind of went crazy. She threw Goldenpaw into a tree..."
"Oh no," Timestar mewed. "I was afraid of this."
"What," Sprucepaw demanded, "Willowpaw can heal. Big deal."
"It's not just healing mousebrain," Flashpaw snapped, "It's life power. The power to control every living thing. That's how she was able to heal and throw poor Goldenpaw into a tree." The brown apprentice threw Goldenpaw a quick glance. Goldenpaw looked down in embarressment.
"What's so bad about..." Robinpaw began to protest, then realized what it meant. She saw Willowpaw marching onto a battle field alone, then killing every cat without it having a chance to defend itself. Robinpaw gasped in horror. Willowpaw would have the power to control the whole forest!
"No!" Robinpaw cried.
"We must keep the full extent of her powers from her," Timestar mewed.
"But won't that make it worse?" Sprucepaw meowed, "If she doesn't know her full powers she could hurt someone without knowing!"
"But think," Timestar implored, "If you found you had the power to control all the cats in all the clans with one thought, wouldn't you start trying to change things, even if you thought it was for the good of the clan? Things would get quickly out of control."
The siblings were silent. "Great StarClan," Goldenpaw mewed, "We can't tell her."
"It would be safest if you all came to MoonClan," Timestar advised, "I and some of the others could slowly help Willowpaw adjust to her power. Who know, maybe she'll be leader one day."
Flashpaw turned on Timestar in shock. "But you've always been leader of MoonClan. Always. There isn't a cat who can remember when you weren't."
"But I grow weary," Timestar mewed. "I have been leader for nearly forty seasons. I almost wish to pass on to StarClan. MoonClan needs a strong leader. Unfortunatly, that is not me. I will leave the territory, and resume a normal aging. I have always wondered what it would be like to be a kittypet."
"A kittypet?" Flashpaw asked, "The great leader Timestar, a fluffy spoiled kittypet?"
Timestar shrugged. "Why not?" She turned her attention back to the ThunderClan apprentices. "Well, do you want to join MoonClan? You could come here with Willowpaw tomorrow. We will take you to our Clan."
"No," Goldenpaw mewed angrily, "We will not abandon our clans. Not yet, not unless thing get really bad for us in the clans."
"But Goldenpaw," Robinpaw mewed, "Your power is still secret. You don't have to worry about anything. Sprucepaw and I..." Her voice choked off. "Maybe MoonClan is the only place we do belong. Look at me. I'm a freak." Robinpaw held her wings out. She launched into the air, soared in a circle, and touched down, "I'll never fit in. Not at ThunderClan."
"What about Silverstorm?" Sprucepaw asked.
"She never wanted an apprentice," Robinpaw mewed bitterly. "I came at the wrong time."
Sprucepaw rubbed up against her. "You'll be fine," He meowed, "Just come back to camp. We'll see how things are there. If they're really bad we'll consider coming to MoonClan."
Robinpaw nodded. "I guess that's smarter," she mewed miserably. She pulled her wings in tightly again. She saw looks of symphathy from Sprucepaw and Goldenpaw. Her heart thudded angrily. She didn't want pity.
"We will be here tomorrow," Timestar murmured. "Please make your decision by then. We will take you to meet our clan and explain a few things, then , if you are still not sure, we will come back the next day. By then you must have met your final decision. We will not come back after that." With that the two MoonClan she-cats disappeared. Just as the first freezing flakes of Leaf-Bare began to fall.
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Sorry I didn't get that chapter up sooner. I didn' t have as much time as I thought I would on Christmas. On the upside, I finally read "Long Shadows". So good. Rieview! Review!
