Welcome back! Since the prologue was pitifully short, here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!
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Warriors belong to Erin Hunter.
Cats belong to me.
A dark gray tabby tom paced back and forth in front of a large, golden tabby tom. The golden tabby merely stared at his ancient companion, waiting for an explanation.
"Is there something wrong, my friend?" the golden tabby asked.
"Something is wrong, my friend," the ancient cat replied, and continued his pacing. "A new danger is coming to the Clans…something we've never seen before."
"Danger?" The tom's ears pricked up. "What kind of danger? Is there another prophecy?"
"We are not entirely sure, but the Clans must be ready for it."
"But how can I protect my Clan when I don't have my visions anymore?"
The dark gray tabby finally ceased his perpetual pacing and turned to face his worried friend. "My friend, you do not need your powers anymore to protect your Clan. You have the will of StarClan and your warriors' loyalty. What more can a Clan leader ask for?"
"Perhaps knowledge of this new danger," the Clan leader smirked, but his smile soon faded away. "It's just this constant fear I keep having, Grassblade. I know it's irrational, but it's always at the back of my mind; what if something terrible happens and, before I used to be able to warn everyone…in a way or predict what might happen, but now…I feel useless."
"It's reasonable to feel that way, my friend," Grassblade soothed. "But never fear, for as long as StarClan and the warrior code are alive, the Clans will be there as well. This new danger is just another obstacle you must face."
"But will it be a challenging one?" the golden tabby grimaced.
Grassblade's smile dropped. "We shall see." He then paused for a heartbeat and his smile returned. "But is appears that your attention is needed once more."
Before the golden tabby could reply, a loud and sharp voice boomed over the two toms and the Clan leader grimaced in the deafening yowl.
"Goldenstar, wake up!"
Goldenstar woke with a start and immediately winced as sixteen tiny but boney paws all bounced on his back.
"Wake up, Father!"
"Wake up!"
"Time to wake up, wake up, wake up!"
"It's time to get up!"
A brown tabby tom with a white stripe on his forehead leaned over and peered into this father's eyes from on top of his back. "Come on, Father! You promised today you would take us all out to explore!"
The bouncing continued and more squeals followed.
"You promised!"
"You promised!"
"Pretty please?"
An mrrow of amusement was heard from the opening of the cave. "It appears that the kits have already awoken you, my love."
Goldenstar grimaced at his mate and struggled to get to his paws with his kits all over his back.
"Alright, alright!" Goldenstar playfully growled as he heard the scamper of paws land in his nest. "A promise is a promise, right?"
"Yeah!"
"You bet!"
"I knew you wouldn't forget!"
"Yay!"
"Why don't you four leave your father be for now and wait by the stream?" their mother gently purred, sensing her mate's need for a moment of peace.
"Okeydokey!" the brown tabby and white tom chirped and led his younger siblings out of the den.
"We'll be counting the seconds!" a small, speckled golden she-cat squeaked before dashing after her littermates.
Goldenstar let out a chuckle as Leapingriver groomed his head fur. "It's hard to believe that they're six moons already, huh?"
"Yes, it is," the pale brown she-cat purred as she gentled pawed his head fur flat with her white paws. "Soon they'll be facing the world without us."
Sensing his mate's discomfort, Goldenstar leaned into her head with his. "It's not like they'll be leaving us forever, Leapingriver. They'll still be in the same Clan."
Leapingriver gave her head a quick shake. "Of course! What was I thinking? They deserve to explore the world and not be stuck in the nursery for the rest of their lives."
"That's the spirit," Goldenstar purred and quickly gave her ear a lick. "I assume our kits are waiting for us."
Leapingriver purred happily. "They're probably already boasting to Rustkit and Leafkit that they'll be going outside today."
Goldenstar laughed. "Yes, they probably are. Well, a promise is a promise." He leaned down to roughly scratch behind his right ear.
"You better not be getting fleas again."
The Clan leader playfully flicked his mate's face with his smallish tail. "That was that one time," he purred and padded out of his cave while his mate let out a snort and followed him out. The two WaterfallClan cats stepped out onto Stonecleft and padded down the gray rocks.
The Clan deputy, a gray tom with black stripes, noticed his leader's arrival and greeted them at the bottom of Stonecleft. "Sometime tells me that four certain kits are exploring the territory today."
"What makes you say that?" Goldenstar purred as he sat down next to his deputy with Leapingriver next to him.
The deputy glanced at the four kits, all loudly boasting to any cat who would listen, near the stream not far.
"Call it a hunch."
Goldenstar flicked his ear. "How are the patrols looking today, Moonshadow?"
"Dawn patrol already returned, comprising of Cliffjumper, Feathershade, Privetdrop, Tallstalk, and Shadowpaw. I'm planning two more patrols, one comprising of Pineheart, Mousethorn, Moonshine, and Auburnwhisker, and another of Nightstrike, Cloudedsky, Reedleg, and Splashheart," Moonshadow briefly explained.
The Clan leader nodded. "Good work. Report to me any disturbances."
Moonshadow nodded, then grew wary and titled his head. "Anything bothering you, Goldenstar?"
His former mentor could read him well. Goldenstar quickly shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary, my friend; just the usual worries. I just want to make sure my kits will be safe during our trip soon."
Moonshadow smirked. "They'll be fine, Goldenstar. They have you and your mate to protect them. And I'm assuming there'll be an apprentice ceremony when you get back?"
"It's supposed to be a surprise, fur-ball!" Leapingriver playfully whispered.
Moonshadow smiled. "Your secret is safe with me. Have fun!" The WaterfallClan deputy padded away towards Pineheart, who was sunning by the warriors den, to let him know of the patrols.
Goldenstar stifled a purr. He knew he had the best deputy in the entire Clans. Moonshadow was always there when his leader needed him, and made sure to calm the young leader down when his kits were born six moons ago.
He let his gaze rest among his Clanmates. Mintshard, a black tabby tom, was sitting outside a tall tree among the roots. Dustberry, a dusty dark gray tabby she-cat, approached her brother and the two exchanged words before disappearing into the cave below the roots.
Ryeleaf, a pale brown tabby tom, Privetdrop, a white tom with a black mark over his right eye, was followed by Mousethorn, a small dark brown tom with a ginger underbelly, Feathershade, a dark gray she-cat with a white throat, and her apprentice Shadowpaw, a black she-cat with a white fleck on her chest, into the camp, each carrying two large fish.
Two other kits, one a dark ginger tom with black spots and the other a pale brown tabby she-cat, played mouse-ball outside a stump where their mother, Leopardnose, a golden she-cat with black spots, rested comfortably. Their father, Ryeleaf, carried over a carp from the hunting patrol and his two kits happily dashed after him, lured by his scent and the smell of fish.
The newest warriors, Reedleg, a long-haired dark gray tom with darker legs, and Splashheart, a mottled gray and ginger she-cat, saw their parents, Mousethorn and Feathershade, enter the camp and hurried to greet them.
The elders dozed by their den, woven by reeds and carved using an old log. Tinyspirit, the eldest cat in the Clan and a tortoiseshell and white she-cat, slept near the crimpled Stripedwhisker, a dark brown tabby tom with a crooked back left leg. Steelclaw, a gray tabby tom, raised his head warily, his perpetual closed eyes marking why he was made an elder early due to a skirmish with a young fox. The tom opened his mouth to scent the three warriors entering the camp with fish and licked his chops in anticipation.
Pineheart, a dark brown tom, rested near his kits, Cliffjumper, a dark ginger tabby tom, and Meltingice, a white and ginger tabby she-cat, outside the warriors' den, which was woven out of reeds and bracken. Nightstrike, a black tom with a white spot on his back, appeared and let out a long yawn. Cedarstep, a dark brown tabby tom, Otterwhisker, a ginger tabby and white she-cat, and Moonshine, a gray tabby she-cat with black stripes, followed him out.
Stalkshine, a pale golden tabby she-cat, gently groomed her older brother, Auburnwhisker, a dark golden-brown tabby tom, near the stream. Tallstalk, a long-legged pale gray tabby tom, shared a pike with his sister, Cloudedsky, a golden-brown she-cat with black spots, a fox-length from the other littermates.
Goldenstar's own kits happily chased each other around the stream that flowed into the camp. The eldest kit, a brown tabby tom with a white stripe that led from his forehead to his back, was Springkit. Fallskit, a brown tabby and white she-cat, playfully tackled her older brother to the ground. Quailkit, a pale gray tabby tom named after his grandfather, gently pulled Fallskit's ear. Whiskerkit, a small speckled and pale golden she-cat, surprisingly leapt on Quailkit's back and the two tussled about.
Goldenstar's thoughts instantly went to his fallen Clanmates. Risingwinter and Brambletalon both perished during a vicious fight with a badger, leaving their one moon old kit, now Shadowpaw, to be nursed by Leopardnose. Moonshadow's mate, Skytree, died during the harsh winter from a hungry fox. Not long after, Moonshadow's daughter, Brinepaw, died an apprentice during a bought of green-cough that didn't react with Mintshard's herbs. Spottednight, Nightstrike's mate, perished bravely during a border skirmish with ThistleClan earlier this moon.
"Ready to go?" Leapingriver asked, drawing her mate out from his thoughts.
"Of course," Goldenstar purred and the two mates padded towards their rambunctious kits.
Whiskerkit let out a gasp as her parents approached. "Are we really going to explore?"
"You bet," Goldenstar replied as his kits gathered around him. "Just remember, don't get too far ahead. You never know what might be lurking beyond the reeds."
"Yes, Father!" All four kits agreed in unison. The kits let out squeaks of happiness as their father and mother led them towards the reed barrier.
Neither their father nor their mother could prepare their kits for what happened next.