Starpaw shuffled through the foliage. She promised to meet up with Nightpaw, and was now heading towards Small Land. The moon lit her path, and she kept checking behind her to make sure no one was following her. She sniffed the air, and padded forward silently, her ears pricked for sound as she reached the bridge that connected Sunclan to Small Land. She froze when she heard a rustling behind her, and whirled around, ears pricked, and crouched down, low to the ground.
Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to find the source of the sound. Her mouth was open, and she took long, deep breathes, hoping to catch a scent. She caught something, a trace of a familiar scent, but couldn't quite place it.
She took a step forward, her eyes on the bushes. A slight movement caught her eye, a tail swishing under the brush. Carefully, she crept up, and peered under to bush. To her surprise, it was hollowed out, like a den. On the far corner, a cat was turned away from her. She took a step back, but the cat turned and looked at her, something familiar in its amber eyes.
"Come here." The cat said. Starpaw gulped, and crawled inside. It was lighter than she thought it would be. She could make out the other cat, a she-cat.
"Spottedstar?" Starpaw asked, shocked. The she-cat before her, had the same amber eyes, same tortie and white pelt. The she-cat gave a low purr.
"No, I am not Spottedstar." She purred. Starpaw looked at her, confused. Her scent was similar to Spottedstar's, and another cats that eluded her memory.
"Then who are you?" She asked. The she-cat nodded her head, her eyes warm.
"My name is Spottedwing. I was the Medicine Cat of Riverclan, before Raineye." She said. Starpaw froze.
"Starclan?" She mewled out in a low, but high pitched voice. Spottedwing nodded.
"That is where I walk now, yes."
"Why come to me?" Starpaw asked. She was genuinely confused. Spottedwing was a Riverclan medicine cat, shouldn't she be speaking to Mothwing or Spottedstar? As if she couldn't read her thoughts, Spottedwing chuckled, but her eyes were grave.
"I am afraid, that those I would normally would go to refuse to listen to me. Mothwing, to fearful, Spottedstar hates me. Neither will take heed of my warnings." She said. Starpaw flattened her ears, then pricked them up again.
"Then why not another Riverclan cat?" She asked. Spottedwing shook her head again.
"None in the clan will hear me, and if they would, fear keeps them from acting." she mewed. Starpaw paused for a moment, and nodded.
"What do you need?" She asked. Starclan was Starclan, regardless of which clan the cat belonged to in life, she reasoned. Spottedwing's eyes were warm and filled with relief.
"The white mist is growing stronger, and soon, the blooded leaf and talon of the adder will strike. Warrior of the Star, travel fast, aided by the fire that burns in the blue, dissipate the mist, and heal the broken." She said, her voice even throughout all. Starpaw was about to ask what she meant, but she blinked, and Spottedwing was gone.
"I have one last favor..." Starpaw heard as she left the bush, she looked around, but saw no one, yet she knew the voice belonged to Spottedwing, and another cat, a tom, who she couldn't recognize.
"Yes?"
"When you see our children next, tell them we are proud of them."
-
Starpaw reached up and batted the ball of moss back to Nightpaw. She hadn't told him how she met Spottedwing. She felt she shouldn't
"So you have new apprentices in the your clan now?" Nightpaw asked, batting the moss ball back to her. Starpaw nodded and batted it back.
"Yeah, Bramblepaw is being mentored by Venomheart, Hawkpaw is being mentored by Fernwill, and Moonpaw is being mentored by Smallclaw." Starpaw mewed. Nightpaw nodded, catching the ball of moss.
"That is good. My mom is having more kits." He said. Starpaw gave a happy mew.
"That is great!"
"Yeah, we need them. Sootfur lost hers, but is staying in the Nursery for now."
"Really?" Starpaw asked, walking up to him. She sat in front of him.
"Yeah, she and Leopardfur were really upset, so they are gonna try again." He said. Starpaw nodded. She didn't know the two were mates, but she felt happy for them, non-the-less.
"How is Batear doing?" She asked. Nightpaw looked pained.
"Worse. We aren't sure if he is gonna make it." He mewed sadly. Starpaw muzzled the side of his head.
"I hope he gets better."
"Me to." Nightpaw replied, nuzzling back. Starpaw felt really warm, and purred lightly.
"We should head home now." She said rather reluctantly. Nightpaw seemed reluctant to leave as well, but nodded. Before he left, he licked her ear.
"See you later!" He said, dashing off. Starpaw froze for a moment, before nodding and padding off. She glanced at High Rock for a moment, frozen, before she blinked, and the figure of a cat there was gone. She shook her head.
"Must be lack of sleep." She muttered, before running off.
-
Bluepaw munched on a finch, her tail whipping through the air angerly. Starpaw blinked at her sympathetically, but only got a growl.
"Well, if you hadn't put wet moss as Mousefang's bedding, you wouldn't be in trouble right now." Starpaw said. Bluepaw hissed, crunching some of the finch's bones loudly.
"It was an accident! They didn't have to make me wait a week for training!" Bluepaw said. Starpaw mewled lightly. Bluepaw really was like fire sometimes. Something in Starpaw's mind clicked, when she thought of it. 'Aided by the fire that burns in the blue', could Spottedwing have meant Bluepaw? Starpaw shook her head, getting a curious look from Bluepaw.
"Nothing, still a bit sleepy is all." She said. Bluepaw mewled something, but Starpaw wasn't really paying attention. She had all ready guessed that the 'white mist' Spottedwing spoke of was Whitemist, the new Riverclan deputy. The 'blooded leaf' she had no idea, and she guessed Addertalon might be the 'talon of adder'. The 'Broken' Spottedwing spoke of still confused Starpaw though. Bluepaw got up, muttering something about making dirt, and left Starpaw to her thoughts. Starpaw thought for a moment, when the voices of the two clan elders, One-Ear and Mousefang reached her.
"....Spottedwing....Greencough...." Her ears pricked, when she heard Mousefang say Spottedwing's name, and she got up and walked over.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. Mousefang and One-ear looked at her, before Mousefang replied.
"About the Greencough disaster that happened moons ago." Mousefang replied. One-ear nodded.
"Get us something from the fresh-kill pile, and we'll tell you about it." One-ear said. Starpaw nodded eagerly, and dashed to the fresh-kill pile, grabbing a plump rabbit, and carried it back for them. Mousefang and One-ear mewled their thanks, and began eating.
"It was moons ago, back when I was still a warrior." One-ear said, Mousefang nodded."
"I was a young apprentice under Dawnpath at the time, and the clans had quite a bit more cats, even Sunclan had at least forty cats in it." Mousefang said. Starpaw mewled in surprise Such a large clan, her mind had a hard time wrapping around it.
"What happened to them all?" She asked. Mousefang gave a grunt.
"Greencough, the worst case imaginable. Wiped out so many cats, a lot of us thought it was the end of us. The damage was so great, we are still recovering now." Mousefang said. He chewed thoughtfully on the rabbit a bit, before continuing.
"I lost my mentor, Dawnpath, at the time. A lot of the clans lost important members. Riverclan lost its medicine cat, Spottedwing, and if I remember correctly, their leader Silentstar died as well." He said. One-ear nodded.
"Our leader at the time, Flamestar lost one of his lives as well." He said. Starpaw listened intently.
"Riverclan's medicine cat, Spottedwing, what was she like?" She asked. Mousefang looked at her steadily.
"I never really knew her all that much, but she was a kind medicine cat, liked by cats not even in Riverclan. My mentor, Dawnpath got along with her greatly, maybe they were to close. Still, they knew the laws, and didn't break them." Mousefang said, the last part seemed more like he was reassuring himself, rather than Starpaw. One-ear nodded as well. Starpaw thought for a moment, before looking over at the clan cats.
"So, many of the cats now are orphans, because of the greencough?" Starpaw asked. Mousefang nodded.
"Blazestar and Lionclaw lost their mother and sister, Oaktalon and Rowandawn, though Rowandawn didn't die of greencough until after the epidemic." Mousefang said. One-ear nodded.
"Braveheart was an only kit, lost his sibling and mother to greencough. His sibling died at birth, and his mother died during kit-birth, she was so weakened by illness." One-ear said. Mousefang nodded.
"Dawnpath never was the same when his sister died." He said. Starpaw looked at him curiously. Mousefang sighed.
"Dawnpath and Firedapple. They were my kits. My mate, Thorndapple had them."
"Along with me, a while later." Mousefang said. Starpaw looked at the two in shock. She'd never known till now that Braveheart, Mousefang, and One-ear were related.
"Dawnpath and Firedapple were close, just like you and Bluepaw, really. Firedapple was mated to the clan deputy at the time, Wildheart. After he died, she became weak, and sickly. Dawnpath did everything he could to save her, but could only save one of her kits, Braveheart." One-ear explained. Starpaw nodded, sad for Braveheart, who never actually knew his parents, but for some reason, something seemed off about the story. Something didn't seem right, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.
"Starpaw!" Starpaw heard someone call her from behind. She looked behind her to see Blazestar walking up, Smallclaw and Fernwill walking behind him.
"Today I want you to go on patrol with Fernwill, Smallclaw, and their apprentices." He said. Starpaw gave him a confused look.
"Don't worry, We'll continue training soon, but for today, I need you to go with them." He said. Starpaw nodded, and got up, saying thanks to Mousefang and One-ear, before following Smallclaw and Fernwill as they got their apprentices.
-
Fernwill and Smallclaw led the patrol around Sunclan's boarder, with Starpaw behind them, and Moonpaw and Hawkpaw on either side. Moonpaw kept brushing up against Starpaw, a little uneasy about being out of the camp, while Hawkpaw walked calmly ahead, his head high, his ears pricked for sound. They'd decided to take a route that took them from Twoleg Place, to Riverclan's boarder, to Small Land, to Mistclan's boarder, then finally home.
They were heading for Twoleg Place now.
"Moonpaw, open your mouth. What do you smell?" Smallclaw asked. He flicked his orange tail, motioning for her to come up beside him. Despite Starpaw's fears, she found that he actually was a good mentor. Moonpaw tentatively left Starpaw's side, and did as Smallclaw asked.
"The trees... Er... something strange..." She sniffed the air. Starpaw sniffed the air as well. They could see the fences now, that blocked off the forest from the Twoleg's territory, and as Starpaw found, Moonpaw was getting her second whiff of Twoleg.
"It smells like... that Twoleg pelt from a while ago..." She said, sniffing a bit more. Smallclaw nodded.
"Up ahead is Twoleg Place." He confirmed. Fernwill looked back at her apprentice.
"Hawkpaw, can you smell anything else?" She asked. Hawkpaw raised his head, mouth open, and took long even breathes.
"I smell some mice.... the Twolegs.... and an unfamiliar cat." He said. Smallclaw started sniffing the air.
"He is right, I can smell the cat to." He said. Fernwill nodded, and the group kept silent, padding carefully as they neared Twoleg place. Finally, when they were nearer to the fences, they saw the source of the smell. There were three cats, two she-cats, and a tom. The tom was resting on the fence, his eyes going from the two she-cats on the ground to the forest and surrounding area. He was muscular, and looked like a formidable fighter. Starpaw recognized his dark black pelt. On the ground, near the fence, two she-cats were play-fighting. Both looked familiar to Starpaw, but for different reasons. One was light brown, with white dashes running vertically along her sides, she'd seen her with the tom moons ago. The other struck Starpaw deep, but she kept quiet.
It was the she-cat from her dream. The brown tabby. Her mother.
"Kittypets." Smallclaw said. He didn't have any hostility towards them, which surprised Starpaw. Fernwill nodded.
"They aren't on our territory, so we can leave them be." She said. Starpaw didn't say anything. She worried that if she did, she'd betray that the brown tabby was her mother, or at least, what she believed to be her mother. She felt Hawkpaw nuzzle her shoulder lightly, and she blinked gratefully at him. He knew she was distressed, but didn't know why. She opened her mouth, and breathed deeply, hoping to catch the kittypets' scents, in hopes they might provide and answer.
To her shock, she smelt something strong, something familiar, but something that sent chills along her spine, and made her fur stand on end. Fernwill gave her a curious look, before sniffing the air herself. Her eyes went wide with shock.
"Badger!" She wailed, loud enough that the kittypets heard. They had only a few more moments before the large muscular creature broke out from the foliage nearer the she-cats, letting out a roar that froze Starpaw to the ground. It swiped a the two she-cats, but they dodged and broke for the fence. The black tom jumped from the fence, claws unsheathed, and latched to the badger's head, swiping as it could, to give the she-cats time to escape.
"Hawkpaw! Moonpaw, Starpaw, go back to the clan and get help!" Smallclaw shouted at them, before he and Fernwill dashed to the black tom's aide. Moonpaw dashed towards the clan, fear nearly dripping off of her. Hawkpaw dashed with her, but Starpaw was frozen on the spot.
Fernwill clawed at the legs of the badger, as Smallclaw got behind it and made swipes at its back. Once the two she-cats were safe, the black tom took off, leaving Smallclaw and Fernwill to fight the badger by themselves.
Starpaw froze only for a moment longer, before dashing into the fray herself. She swiped at the badger's leg, shocking Fernwill, but the gray she-cat quickly recovered, dodging a powerful swipe from the angry badger. Smallclaw made another swipe at the badger, but the thing back pawed him, sending him off his paws and onto the ground. Enraged, the badger went after Smallclaw. Without thinking, Starpaw leaped at the badger, digging her claws into its neck, and biting everything she could, tasting something strange when she bit into its eye, and blood when she bit at its muzzle. The badger let out an ear splitting yowl, and using its claws, threw Starpaw off of it, slamming her onto the ground. Dazed and winded, she couldn't dodge as the badger came at her. Fernwill tried to protect her, but she was thrown aside, the badger's claw ripping her shoulder open. The badger descended, and at the last moment, Smallclaw latched onto the badger's claw, tearing and ripping at the limb as much as he could. The badger let out another yowl, and bit down on Smallclaw's unprotected back, around his ribcage.
Starpaw heard a sickening crack and Smallclaw giving out a chilling yowl of pain, before the badger threw him off. Starpaw looked at Smallclaw, who lay motionless, a rib pocking out from his fur at a sickening angle. Starpaw shook from fear and grief as the Badger yowled and came at her again. She dodged the blow at last second, the badger's claws digging into the earth. With a cry, she launched onto the badger's face, clawing at its good eye. The badger yelled and smacked her away.
Starpaw shook her head, dizzy, when she heard another yowl, and the badger give a yowl of pain again. She looked up and saw that the badger had turned on Fernwill, who couldn't get up, but Hawkpaw had come to her aide.
Starpaw couldn't only watch in horror as Hawkpaw hissed at the badger, standing his ground to defend his mentor. As the badger raised one of its massive clawed paws, how the badger brought it down.
The sickening sound of the crunch of bone, and how Hawkpaw didn't even have the chance to give a whimper of pain, before his spine was completely crushed.
Starpaw shook. She thought of Snowfur. She thought of Braveheart, who lost his parents and siblings, she thought of Moonpaw and Bramblepaw who now have lost their brother. Shakily, she got up, not even thinking, and made one last effort, and launched herself on the back of the badger, her hind claws digging into fur and flesh as her front claws clawed away at the badger's face and muzzle, as she bit down into anything she could.
She couldn't hear anything but her own heartbeat, didn't care if she died or not. All she knew was Hawkpaw was dead, and she wanted this badger dead in return.
Suddenly, she was knocked off of the badger when it thudded to the ground, and blacked out.
-
Starpaw opened her eyes. Surprised to find that her body wasn't sore at all. Her mind and heart, however, were a different story, as she remembered the badger, of Hawkpaw, who not long before his death, comforted her when she was distressed. She got into a siting position, and realized she was in the center of the clan camp, but it was empty.
She glanced around, and saw no one, but suddenly, she smelt something. A familiar scent. She looked over towards the medicine cat's den. There was a cat there, shuffling around some herbs. Beside the cat was another cat, a much smaller cat. Starpaw choked on the air, when she realized the smaller cat was Hawkpaw.
Shaking with the effort, Starpaw got up, and walked over to them. She tried to speak, but her voice wouldn't come. Hawkpaw looked up at her, his eyes happy. He got up and walked over to her, nuzzling the side of her muzzle, to her neck, and finally her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Starpaw, I hunt with Starclan now." He said. Starpaw was shaking so much, and her vision distorted as her eyes watered.
"I wish you'd been my mentor." Hawkpaw said, licking Starpaw gently, before walking away. Starpaw tried to speak, tried to call him back. She wanted to say something, anything, but couldn't The cat that had been shuffling through herbs finally settled on a few. It walked over, and sat before Starpaw. Starpaw found him to be a dark brown tom, with black tabby stripes and a white underside and paws. There was a bright orange diamond-shaped patch of fur on his face. Starpaw looked at the tom helplessly, as he placed some herbs before her.
"Eat these, you will feel better." The tom said. His voice sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't place where. The tom licked her head, when she began eating them, and got up. She looked up at him, as he walked into the medicine cat's den. She wanted to call to the tom, but didn't She finished the leaves, and found that she did feel better, but not by much. She looked up at the medicine cat's den, as another left it. This time, she was greeted by pale orange she-cat with a white belly and pale blue eyes. From behind, Starpaw heard noises, and looked behind her. She saw some kits playing happily, their mothers watching on. Some apprentices were practicing together, a few elders bickering, and warriors grooming each other. It was like a typical seen at Sunclan only she knew these were all Starclan cats.
"They are all Sunclan cats." The she-cat said. Starpaw turned to her.
"Does that mean I have joined Starclan with Hawkpaw?" She asked. The she-cat shook her head.
"No, but Hawkpaw himself said you'd need this rest." She said. Starpaw nodded, and looked back at the apprentices. She saw a tom that looked a lot like Fernwill, only he had a white tail tip. He was practicing moves with Hawkpaw and two other apprentices. Starpaw looked back at the she-cat.
"I need to go home." She said. The she-cat nodded.
"I know. You will in a moment." She said. Starpaw looked at her.
"What is your name?" She asked. The she-cat seemed to smile at her.
"I am Morningpool." She said. Starpaw laid down, purring happily when she felt Morningpool lick the back of her head.
"Rest well, little one." She heard a male voice say. Her vision was fading, but she saw Flamestar walking up, his eyes warm, sympathetic, and kind.
-
Starpaw woke up in the medicine cat's den, her body aching, but not as bad as she thought it would be. She looked around and saw that Fernwill and Smallclaw were with her. Fernwill was asleep, her hind paw bandaged with some sticks and spider webs, while Smallclaw had some bark around his side, held together with twine and something else. He was awake, but his eyes looked pain,and his breathing labored. Starpaw shook her head lightly, and looked down at her body. She wasn't patched and, and as she stood up, she found that nothing was broken. She walked over to Fernwill first, licking the top of her head affectionately, before going to Smallclaw.
"I thought you hated me." She said. Smallclaw looked up at her, silent for a moment.
"I never hated... you.." His voice was strained, and airy. He was struggling to breathe. Starpaw started to shake from grief again.
"But you always made it seem like..."
"I never could... hate a cat... who gave all.. they had... to their.. clan... Just becou... because. you w-weren't.. born here.." He wheezed for a moment, and Starpaw almost panicked before he calmed down, "just because you... weren't born... in Sunclan... does not..mean you.... have not earned..... your... place... You are... a Sunclan... warrior...don't let... anyone say... otherwise.."
Starpaw couldn't speak. Smallclaw closed his eyes, his breathing labored. Unable to do much else, and unwilling to leave at that moment, Starpaw laid down next to him, careful not to cause him and pain. She felt him nuzzle her lightly, before she drifted into a dreamless sleep.
-
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Dont you love how it started off happy and what not, then turned to tragedy? Well, things are gunna pick up MAJORLY from here.
Also, PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! I wanna hear what you people think about how this is going!!
I cried when I wrote about Hawkpaw's death (even though I had been planning it for a while)
Still sad.
Smallclaw's little 'you are a Sunclan Warrior' speech to Starpaw was pretty heartwarming, huh?