Ghostface woke up. Cats were leaving their dens and padding over towards deadtrunk. Standing up and stretching, Ghostface glanced at his guards. Shrubfoot and Woodpaw had been replaced with a pure white tom with striking green eyes and a tri-colored she-cat apprentice.
The apprentice turned and, seeing that Ghostface was awake, asked the tom, "Shall we take him over to deadtrunk now, Coldpelt?"
"Hmm, I suppose so, Rosepaw." Said Coldpelt. The white tom turned to Ghostface, "Come on."
Ghostface nodded and followed them towards deadtrunk. The cats stared at him as he passed. Some cats had expressions of anger and others of curiosity. As he passed Mottledsong, he heard her hiss under her breath. Ignoring the crowded cats, he sat down where he had the night before. The sun was low to the west, casting tall shadows and the sky was patchy with dark clouds.
Barkstar emerged from his den and paused, gazing at the assembled cats. After a moment, he leapt up onto deadtrunk.
"Cats of Grassclan." Barkstar said, gazing at all the faces, "We have before us a cat that belongs neither to Woodclan, or Marshclan or Hillsclan. He has come to us, in search of his destiny, as instructed by, as he says by the Clan of Stars. We have three choices. Chase him off, but would he not just return? Kill him, but is this the mercy Starclan has bestowed upon us? Or…"
Ghostface dug his claws into the earth as he waited.
"Let him stay here as a clan member." A couple of whispers floated up from the crowd, but otherwise the crowd was still.
"I believe that Starclan wishes for him to stay in our clan, so, he will stay." Barkstar said.
Ghostface blinked in surprise and then glanced around. All the cats started whispering furiously. Shadedpelt spoke up, "But… Surely… He knows nothing of our clan ways; he doesn't know our warrior code. He is a stranger, he doesn't know our territory." Meows of agreement rose up.
"You have a point, my wise deputy. Therefore, Ghostface will not be left alone without a cat by his side until he has learned all of this." Pausing, the brown leader gazed around. "Stormysky, could you…?"
"I've got kits, Barkstar." The blue queen said.
"Oh, yes. Then Mossclaw, you shall show him." Barkstar said. Ghostface turned to see who Mossclaw was. He was a sturdy looking tortoiseshell tom. Mossclaw glanced around, and then nodded. He didn't look upset, but neither did he look happy by his new responsibility.
"Alright then, who has got dusk patrol?" Barkstar asked, leaping down from the stump.
"Me, Mottledsong and Thunderpaw." Said Mossclaw.
"Great, take Ghostface." Barkstar said, and then padded off with a group of elders to the elders den.
The other cats left also until only the cats scheduled for the dusk patrol were left. Ghostface stared at all the cats, sort of stunned that he was to be a Grassclan cat. Shaking his head, he turned to memorize the faces. Thunderpaw was a blue she-cat apprentice. She sat beside Mottledsong, looking excited to be going on a patrol.
"Come on, Thunderpaw." Mottledsong said, ignoring Ghostface and Mossclaw. Thunderpaw bounced after Mottledsong.
Ghostface followed after with Mossclaw bringing up the rear. Mottledsong ran fast, leading a breakneck pace. They leapt out of the entrance and onto the narrow dusty path that had been made by several generations of paws. They headed north, and then east. Ghostface wondered how they kept watched over their territory if they couldn't even see over the tall grass.
His question was suddenly answered when Mottledsong stopped suddenly. Ghostface let out a yowl as he collided with the blue pelted apprentice in front of him. Mossclaw leapt to the side, neatly avoiding the collision.
Mottledsong hissed at Ghostface in annoyance and helped Thunderpaw up. Licking some of the dust off of Thunderpaw's head, the spotted and striped brown tabby said, "Climb the look out post and tell me what you see, okay?"
"Okay." Thunderpaw said. Ghostface realized that Mottledsong was Thunderpaws mentor. Thunderpaw disappeared into the grass and then reappeared on top of a boulder that was hidden to the casual eye.
"We have look out posts along the trail and throughout our territory." Mossclaw told Ghostface. "Otherwise we would practically be blind. They are anything from boulders to old stumps to mounds of earth."
"All's clear!" Chirped Thunderpaw. The apprentice leapt down from the boulder.
"Good job!" Mottledsong praised. She turned and ran down the trail again.
Suddenly it started to rain. It wasn't pouring, it was just a drizzle, but Ghostface knew that he would be soaked by the time they returned. When they stopped again, Mossclaw said, "Mottledsong, I think we should turn. We shouldn't cross the stream when it's raining. Especially since the storm is coming from the north, so the stream will already be full. It's dangerous. And we have an apprentice with us."
"Hillsclan has been after boulder rock lately. We need to check it." Mottledsong said.
"Then we should send Thunderpaw and Ghostface back." Mossclaw suggested. Suddenly a loud rumble came from the sky and the rain began to come down harder.
"Leave Ghostface with my apprentice? No!" Mottledsong said angrily.
"Then you take Thunderpaw and Ghostface back." Mossclaw said, starting to get impatient.
The water was starting to seep into Ghostface's fur. He let out a shiver and said, "No, it's fine, I can finish the patrol."
"Can you go on, Thunderpaw?" Mottledsong asked. The apprentice shook her fur and then nodded.
"There, now let's stop wasting time." Mottledsong said. Before Mossclaw could argue, she had turned and was dashing down the muddy trail. They all followed. The rain stung Ghostface's eyes. He fell several times and soon his sides were plastered with mud. Soon they slowed to a jog. It was completely dark outside by now and the clouds hid the moon.
Mottledsong stopped completely and Ghostface looked down. The 'stream' looked more like a river. There was no way to cross.
"It's burst it's banks. The crossing stones are flooded over. There's no way to cross." Shouted Mossclaw shouted above the rain and the roar of the rushing water.
"Let's follow the bank until we hit the southern path!" Mottledsong shouted back. Soon they were dashing off again. Ghostface squinted his eyes, trying to block out the rain. The grassy bank was slippery and it was hard to not slip. A flash of lightning illuminated the path for a minute and with a jolt, Ghostface realized that he was following Mottledsong, not Thunderpaw.
"Where's Thunderpaw?!" Ghostface shouted, stopping and looking around.
Mottledsong whipped around, fear showing in her eyes. Another bolt of lightning illuminated the bank again and suddenly Mossclaw shouted, "There, by the bank! She's barely hanging on!"