"Can you believe it Bonsai kit? We're almost apprentices!" Lizardkit mewed excitedly as he tossed a moss ball to Midgel. "Yeah." After waking up six months ago, the officer learned that he ended up in ShadowClan, one of four cat Clans around a lake on Earth, Lizardkit was his 'brother' and the black tabby she-cat was Linxwhisker, their 'mother'. The gray blue she-cat with the dark green eyes that was in the nursery was Whisperstar, ShadowClan's leader.
Lizardkit sighed, breaking Midgel's thoughts, "I wish our father was still here." Midgel nodded as he tossed the ball of moss out of the nursery. Their 'father' was Clan deputy before Thornwish, but died from a tree falling on him. "Hey Lizardkit and Bonsaikit, we've got something to show you two!" Sootpaw, Patchpaw, and Cheetahpaw! The three ShadowClan apprentices that have been training to become warrior cats.
The two toms turned to Linxwhisker, and she purred. "Go on you two rascals." Lizardkit turned to Midgel with a toothy grin. "Race you to the fresh-kill pile!" Then, the two kits dashed to the pile of the small animals hunted by the warriors. Midgel was just about to make it when he rammed into a black wall.
"Hi there, you little furball." Cheetahpaw said playfully as Midgel backed up. Sootpaw padded up beside the officer and wrapped her dark gray tail around him. "Now Cheetahpaw, stop giving him a hard time he's almost an apprentice." The dark gray and black she-cat looked up at Highrock, the large rock that Whisperstar stands on when she addresses the Clan. Whisperstar bounded unto Highrock and yowled, "Let those old enough to catch their own food, gather under Highrock for a Clan meeting!"
Suddenly, cats swarmed all around Highrock as they sat down. Midgel knew a lot of them because they'd stop by the nursery, but he never caught even a glimpse of Zidgel, Fidgel, or Kevin. Whisperstar said, breaking the silence, "Sootpaw, Cheetahpaw, and Patchpaw, come forward." The three apprentices padded up towards the blue gray leader. "Boafang, Falconflight, and Fallenoak, do you think your apprentices are ready for their warrior names?" All three warriors nodded, and Whisperstar continued. "You three have learned the way of a warrior and have proven you r loyalty in battle. So, by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Cheetahpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Cheetahwing. Sootpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Sootstorm. And Patchpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Patchcloud.
Then, the whole Clan broke out chanting as the three new warriors licked Whisperstar's shoulder. "Cheetahwing! Sootstorm! Patchcloud!" When, the new warriors joined the crowd, Whisperstar spoke. "We also have two new apprentices to name." The whole of ShadowClan went silent and all eyes were on Midgel and Lizardkit. "Bonsaikit and Lizardkit, stwp forward please." They walked up proudly with their eyes gleaming. "Lizardkit, from this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Lizardpaw." Whisperstar announced, "Thornwish, you will mentor Lizardpaw. Teach him the warrior code, and pass all your skills down to him." Thornwish padded up to Lizardpaw, and they touched noses.
Whisperstar went on, "Bonsaikit, from this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Bonsaipaw." The leader gazed at Midgel with a twinkle in her eye. "I shall be Bonsaipaw's mentor." She bent her head down, and the two cats touched noses. Then, the ShadowClan leader gazed into the officer's eyes and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll be with you and for you always. Now before I show you the territory, I need to have a quick word with Silverfeather."
As Whisperstar padded towards the medicine cat den, Silverfeather's icy blue eyes stared at Midgel until she disappeared into her den. Midgel looked longingly at ShadowClan's camp entrance. Then, he thought, wherever the rest of the crew is, I'll find 'em. Then, we can find a way out of this. The, out somewhere in the forest, Midgel could've sworn he heard the Rockhopper's engine.
Wind buffeted Fidgel's fur as he and Echokit waited to receive their apprentice names. "Echokit, from this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Echopaw." Brightstar said, "Dragonflight will mentor Echopaw." The brown tabby deputy touched noses with the black and white she-cat. Just then, a white tail laid down on Fidgel's shoulder and a voice whispered in his ear. "I'm so happy for you and your sisters." Milkflower, his 'mother', has been distant from him even though she says she loves him. He turned his attention back on WindClan's shining leader. "And Nightkit, from this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Nightpaw." Then, Brightstar looked at Fidgel with a smile and said, "I will mentor Nightpaw." The whole Clan gasped as Brightstar touched noses with Fidgel.
She looked him straight in the eyes as she whispered, "Are you ready to learn the way of a WindClan warrior Nightpaw?" Fidgel nodded, mesmerized by Brightstar's shimmering eyes. After, the whole Clan dispersed and Brightstar said, "We will start your training tomorrow since it's getting late. Goodnight, Nightpaw." As she left towards her den, Echopaw sat beside Fidgel. "Nightpaw, will you take a walk with me?" He nodded and the two new apprentices walked out of WindClan camp, but as they were, Fidgel noticed he was being watched. He turned and saw Webpelt, the medicine cat, watching him with wide green eyes.
As Fidgel and Echopaw came to the top of a hill, Echopaw stopped. "Nightpaw I sense something." Fidgel cocked his head. "What is it Echopaw?" She was silent for a second then sighed. "I can't explain, but I feel strange sometimes, especially around you. Nightpaw, have you had any strange dreams?" This took Fidgel aback; he indeed had strange dreams, especially on the nights of the full moon. He answered quietly, "Yes and more often than you think." The black and white she-cat stared out over a lake. "If I were to share with you my strange dreams, will you tell me yours?"
Was Fidgel really going to tell her those nightmares where he's lost in darknes, hearing his friends' cries of pain, but can never find them? The cries get louder, and just when they reach fever pitch, dark pools start to form around the doctor and come together and drown him. "Yes." He says finally. Echopaw whispered, "In my dreams, there are hundreds of stars, but there are four stars that glow brighter than the rest. One star was green, another blue, the third amber, and the fourth silver. I've seen your eyes in the full moonlight Nightpaw, and…they shine exactly like the fourth star does."
Four stars…and if I represent one of those four stars…then that means…
It means that Zidgel, Midgel and Kevin are here too, probably in one of the other three cat Clans that surround the lake. It also means that they can get back together and out of this mess. A voice interrupted Fidgel's thoughts, "What have your dreams been about Nightpaw?" He answered nervously, "Well…I'm lost in darkness, and there are three different cries of pain. The cries get louder until I drown in a dark pool." Echopaw faces him and lays her tail tip on his shoulder. "I think the Clans have new prophecy." Then, she trots back to WindClan camp, but Fidgel stays and looks over the four Clan territories as the wind ruffled his fur.
Fidgel thought about what Echopaw said about him and the others being in one of these cats' prophecies sent by their ancestors. I have to find them quickly, before anything else happens. Just as he walks back to camp, Fidgel looks up at the sky and notices an unusual, yet familiar, streak of blue exhaust.
"Ebonykit, from this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ebonypaw. Eince you are the only ThunderClan apprentice, I, Lightningstar will mentor you." Lightningstar padded up to Zidgel and touched noses with him. Then, the dark gray and black she-cat looked him in the eye as the other cats chanted the captain's new name and whispered, "You are a very special apprentice Ebonypaw."
"Indeed he is Lightningstar."
Zidgel turned to his "father" Moonwish as the rest of ThunderClan disappeared. Zidgel like his "parents" and Lightningstar, they were nice to him and complimented on his good looks.
"Lightningstar, may I have a word with you?" a voice interrupted Zidgel's thoughts. Berrystorm mystified behind him and made him jump. Zidgel knew Berrystorm didn't like from the way the medicine cat acted around him, and Zidgel didn't care for Berrystorm that much either. Lightningstar nodded, "Ebonypaw, I'll show you ThunderClan territory once Berrystorm and I have finished our discussion." The two cats walked to the medicine cat's den.
After a while, Lightningstar padded out of Berrystorm's den and over to ThunderClan's camp entrance. "Come Ebonypaw. I want you to see everything around our area of the lake." She said as she motioned Zidgel over to her. "Now listen, we are not the only Clan beside the lake. There are three others and they don't tolerate having other Clans on their territories. So, just stay behind our borders and everything will be fine."
The two cats walked out of camp towards some distant hills. Lightningstar stopped as they came to a small river. "On the other side of this river is WindClan territory. They are the fastest and slenderest cats beside the lake. We will often get into tiffs over prey, and they won't back down. So, be careful around them. Come on, I have more to show you Ebonypaw."
As they turned back to the woods, the sun hung over the towering tree tops. The tall trees made Zidgel feel small…and alone. He can't remember the last time he's been away from his crew for this long, but then, something prodded his side.
"Stop, we've made it to the edge of ShadowClan's territory, and they don't take kindly to cats that stray into their area." Lightningstar droned as she stared into the dark forest. Suddenly, a strange scent hit Zidgel from the opposite side of the border. The blue-eyed leader must've smelled it too, because she whispered, "A ShadowClan patrol is coming, c'mon Ebonypaw."
Then, two cats emerged from the shadows. One was a blue gray she-cat with green eyes, and the other was unlike any cat the captain had ever met, yet this cat seemed very…familiar. He was a short, yet muscular tom cat that had almost the exact same pelt as Zidgel's! The only differences, however, was the small tom had brown splotches on the sides of his hind legs, three long tufts of black fur that seemed to hang above his deep, blazing blue eyes, and a black and white spot on his chest that looked like the…
"Greetings, Lightningstar. It's certainly a surprise to see you here." The gray blue she-cat mewed kindly. Lightningstar nodded and replied in the same manner, "It is a fine day to be out of camp Whisperstar. I see you have an apprentice." Whisperstar looked down to her apprentice and placed her tail tip on his shoulder. "Go back to camp and wait for me there. It's getting hot and I think I've shown enough today." The tom nodded and stalked back into the shadows of the pine forest. Then, Lightningstar sighed and said, "It is getting hot, and I don't want to worry your mother, so head on home."
Zidgel nodded and started on his way back to camp. When he was half way there he stopped and looked back at ShadowClan's forest. He couldn't stop thinking about Whisperstar's apprentice and the way he stared at the captain, like the tom thought he'd seen Zidgel before, but he wasn't sure.
"I have to talk to that small apprentice." The captain said to himself as he slunk to a different part of ShadowClan's border. When he finally made it to the border, he breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a twig snapped and Zidgel jumped. He slowly crept towards a nearby bush, but before he could set one paw into the bush, he was thrown on to his back; a pair of blue eyes was the first thing Zidgel saw before he realized that he'd been tackled by the apprentice. One things for sure, Zidgel wasn't sure how to react when the tom spoke with that Australian accent that could only belong to one penguin. "Captain Zidgel?"