Chapter 1: Swimming with the Fishes
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Star watched as her sister hesitantly stuck a paw in the running water. She willed that her sister wouldn't fall in out of fear and ruin their chances of being accepted into a Clan. Even though that this wasn't the Clan Rusty had joined, it was the closest thing they had to finally joining the forest - and maybe they'll find Rusty along the way.
"Star…" Rose meowed warily, glancing back at Silverstream who was watching with amusement at the two she-cats near the river. Star glanced at her sister then back at Silverstream. Her gaze rested on the river. The rushing water looked inviting, but at the same time it looked uninviting. She willed that Rose and herself wouldn't fall in - she couldn't go back to being a housecat. She wouldn't!
Hesitantly, Star stuck one leg into the running water. The waves lapped at her paw and leg and she wobbled unsteadily. The currents were stronger than what she thought they were. She looked back at Rose. "The currents are strong," she warned, "be careful."
Rose snorted. "Easy for you to say…" she muttered, following her sister into the water. They were both now standing in the water, attempting to keep their balance as the currents and waves crashed into them, willing to send them over. There were rocks setting around which could act as stepping stones. "Why couldn't we use those?" Rose whined, noticing them as well. Star sighed.
"Rose, please…" she pleaded.
Rose let out a sigh and Star watched as she hesitantly began to start swimming. She smirked at watching her sister attempt to swim. She too began to follow after her, trying to push against the currents as she made her paws move under the water. It was actually kind of fun, she thought, as she willed her tired legs to carry her to the edge of the river. She could hear Rose's panting from behind her and also prayed that her sister would make it as well. Before her legs could fall off from the heavy weight of the water, Star and Rose threw themselves onto the other side of the river, coughing up some water they accidentally drank. Silverstream skillfully glided through the water at a faster speed and was beside the two wet she-cats immediately. She smirked.
"Well, I guess you two really do swim like fish," she mewed.
Rose glowered at Star who returned her glare with a weak smile. Shaking the water off her pelt, Star followed Silverstream as she led them to her camp. The patrol she had mentioned earlier walked by, casting Silverstream a confused look who just waved her tail at them. "I'm taking them to Crookedstar," she mewed.
Crookedstar? Star wondered, exchanging another look with her sister. Rose's pelt was still clinging to her slim body making her look quite strange. Her whiskers twitched as her dark blue eyes met Star's, noticing her sister had been staring at her. Rose glowered at her, huffing irritably as she turned away. Star let out a small mrrow of laughter as the two continued to follow the pretty RiverClan she-cat.
They finally made it to camp, where immediately Silverstream and the two kittypets were greeted by a she-cat with a spotted golden tabby pelt. She glowered at Star and Rose, then turned her harsh glare to Silverstream. "Silverstream," she started, "what are you thinking? And why are these two she-cats dripping wet?"
Silverstream dipped her head to the spotted she-cat. "Leopardfur" she mewed, "I found these two she-cats and they asked if they could join our Clan."
Leopardfur snorted. "Join our Clan?" she repeated, her amber gaze burning into Star and Rose. Rose let out a short whimper while Star met the she-cat's gaze evenly. She wasn't going to let anything faze her. If Rusty could get through this, so can we!
"I challenged these two to swim through our river dividing our territory from ThunderClan," she mewed. "They both passed, although their swimming technique could use some… fixing." She glanced back at the soaked she-cats.
Leopardfur sighed. "It's not my decision," she meowed. She glanced back as a large tom with a twisted jaw began to walk forward. Rose's eyes widened at the sight of the tom, while Star was fascinated. Is he the Clan leader?
"Silverstream," he scolded immediately. Silverstream dipped her head to the cat. "Crookedstar," she mewed, "I'm sorry… but these two she-cats wish to join our Clan."
Crookedstar's amber eyes widened. "Join our Clan?" he repeated. Star wondered why all these cats were so shocked at hearing something like that. Rusty had been able to join a Clan… why can't they?
"The last time I heard of kittypets joining a Clan was when that flame-colored tom joined ThunderClan," Crookedstar meowed. He glanced over at brown tabby tom who was making his way forward. "Mudfur, check these cats over to make sure they won't get sick on their way home."
"No!" Star exclaimed. "I didn't go swimming like a fish to be sent home!"
Rose nudged her sister while she received a startled look from Silverstream. Star ignored the looks she was getting as she challenged Crookedstar with her blue gaze. "I can promise you my sister and I will train as hard as we can. We'll do anything. We won't even eat for a while… We'll do whatever it takes to be in your Clan!"
Crookedstar's eyes widened, then he exchanged a glance with Leopardfur and Silverstream. Silverstream shrugged, her blue eyes sparkling.
The leader let out a sigh, "you have spirit for a kittypet, I'll admit that." He glanced at her sister shivering beside her. "But does your sister share the same?"
Rose blinked, looking up. "Y-yes sir!" she stammered, her teeth chattering. Star flattened her ears against her head. What if Rose isn't able to join?
"She… her coat… it's really thin. She gets cold when she gets wet…" Her voice trailed off as Crookedstar studied her sister. After a few moments of silence, he turned to Leopardfur. He murmured something to her, then glanced at Silverstream.
"Your friends got lucky," he mewed as he followed Leopardfur. "They're not my friends!" Silverstream called after him, although Star could detect amusement in her tone. She glanced back at the two she-cats. "You two were extremely lucky," she mewed. "I didn't know a kittypet could hold that much authority either," she added.
Star felt her ears grow warm.
"Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear what I have to say," Crookedstar called. Immediately Star watched as cats from different dens appeared, some yawning. She noticed the morning patrol had come back just in time to see what was about to happen.
She could immediately hear the murmurs of other cats at the sight of them.
"Kittypets?" one hissed to their friend.
"They still have their collars!"
"Is our Clan going to be like ThunderClan? Filled with kittypets?"
Star felt her ears flatten against her head at the sound of their scornful mews and harsh stares. She glanced back at Crookedstar who was waiting for the chatter to quiet down. Once it had finally ceased, he began, "Silverstream had found two kittypets by our border. They asked her if they could join our Clan. Of course, she at first told them to leave. But they insisted. Silverstream put them to the test of swimming - of course, if they could conquer the waves that divide us from the Sunningrocks, they can swim anything. And they did. So I have discussed the matters over with Leopardfur, and we have decided that they may join our Clan."
Murmurs broke out again - shocked and also disagreeing. Star narrowed her eyes. Did they honestly have a flat-out reason why kittypets shouldn't join the Clans?
"They should get rid of their collars first!" one cat called. Her fur was grayish and her blue eyes flashed. "That noise is going to attract any animal here - including the twolegs."
Mews of agreement erupted. Crookedstar sighed, turning to Rose and Star. Star glanced at Rose, her claws unsheathed. "I'll do yours and you do mine?" she asked.
Rose nodded, her eyes closed. She flinched slightly at the sound of Star tearing at the fabric of the collar. It snapped, then fell to the ground. Rose repeated the same ordeal for Star until the two were collar free. Star stretched, feeling the cool air on her neck - it felt great.
"Stonefur," Crookedstar mewed, "you are a trusted warrior, and I trust that you will pass on the qualities of being a true RiverClan cat down to Starpaw."
Stonefur nodded, making his way over to Star. Star's eyes widened at the sight of the tom. His dark gray fur was similar to that of the gray she-cat who had spoken earlier, but his amber eyes were kind as he met Star - now Starpaw's - gaze. He bent down, touching noses with her.
"Starpaw! Starpaw!" called out the cats surrounding them.
"Whiteclaw, you do not have an apprentice at the moment," Crookedstar continued. "You shall be a mentor to Rosepaw. Teach her the ways of a RiverClan warrior and pass down your skills to our new apprentice."
A dark tom nodded, making his way over to Starpaw's sister. He touched noses with her as well as the cats called out, "Rosepaw! Rosepaw!"
As the meeting came to a close, Starpaw looked at her mentor. "What are we going to do?" she asked.
Stonefur shrugged. "Do you want to explore, learn the borders?"
Starpaw nodded. She glanced over at her sister. "Can Rosepaw join us?" Stonefur glanced at Whiteclaw, calling the tom over. Rosepaw bounded along behind him as Stonefur asked the dark warrior if he would like to join. Whiteclaw glanced at his apprentice, then at Stonefur. He nodded in agreement as Stonefur and Whiteclaw began to lead the two new apprentices out of the camp.
"This is RiverClan territory, as you may know," Stonefur started. Starpaw nodded, looking out into the distance. "The Sunningrocks is ThunderClan territory and beyond that."
Whiteclaw snarled, "the Sunningrocks belong to RiverClan!"
Rosepaw frowned. "Why?"
Stonefur sighed. "ThunderClan always believes that they belong to them… But we have more use for them."
Starpaw nodded. It seemed fair, too. All RiverClan had was the river. The Sunningrocks should be an edition. She looked past into ThunderClan territory. They have a whole forest to themselves… They don't need the Sunningrocks.
"Prey is scarce as we know it," Whiteclaw grumbled as they turned around. Starpaw frowned, noticing they were heading back to camp.
"We're not going to explore more?" she asked.
Stonefur shook his head. "There's not really much to explore," he meowed. "ShadowClan territory is farther away from us, and WindClan is higher up, but no one has seen them in a while."
"Why not?" Starpaw asked.
Stonefur shrugged. "No one really knows for sure. My sister and I choose not to get into that sort of gossip."
Starpaw nodded, understanding. I don't think my sister and I would like to either, she thought as they returned to camp. Stonefur sighed. "Sorry there wasn't much to do," he meowed. "If there were more fish in the river I'd teach you how to fish… but since there's not…"
"I can still learn the technique," she meowed.
Stonefur shook his head. "It works better if you can see it first." He exchanged a look with Whiteclaw. "You two are free for today. Tomorrow we'll probably teach you some battle skills."
Starpaw nodded again. As Stonefur told them which den was the apprentice's den, he and Whiteclaw padded off. She exchanged a glance with Rosepaw. Rosepaw sighed.
"This is unfair," she whined as they made their way to the apprentice's den. "We're Silverstream's age and we're apprentices?"
Starpaw narrowed her eyes at her sister. Why was she being so selfish? "We're apprentices because we don't know anything," she mewed as they began to make their nests. Rosepaw snorted but didn't say anything as they built their nests. Starpaw sighed. She wasn't very tired. She just wanted to do something!
"Oh, don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking," Rosepaw mewed suddenly. Starpaw looked up.
"What?"
"You want to go find Rusty, don't you?" she hissed.
Starpaw sighed. "That's what we originally came here for, yes."
Rosepaw shook her head. "I'm sorry to say this to you Starpaw… but give it up! There are other cats. I mean, you're mentor's pretty cute."
Starpaw made a face. "He's older than me. And he's my mentor Rosepaw!"
Rosepaw rolled her eyes. "I thought you didn't like Rusty."
Starpaw felt her ears heat up with embarrassment. "Okay… maybe I do," she admitted. Rosepaw's blue eyes gleamed with triumph. "But that's not the only reason why I want to go find him. I want to make sure he's… you know… not dead."
Rosepaw let out a short mrrow of amusement. "Fine, fine," she mewed hurriedly. "Do you think maybe we could go look for him?"
Starpaw shook her head. "From what I've heard I don't think we can go crossing the borders… Silverstream made that clear when we met her."
Rosepaw nodded her head in agreement. "I guess you're right," she mewed. She glanced at the fresh-kill pile which was piled with some fish. "Do you think we'll be able to eat?" she asked, her stomach rumbling.
Starpaw's rumbled as well as she glanced at the fish. She'd never tried it, but she assumed it tasted better than the pellets her owners gave her. "Let's ask," she meowed, heading over to Stonefur. The warrior was chatting with the gray she-cat with blue eyes from earlier. He turned around when she approached.
"Oh, Starpaw," he mewed. He glanced at the gray she-cat. "This is my sister, Mistyfoot."
"Hello," she meowed. She glanced back at the nursery. "I've got to get back to my kits," she meowed. Stonefur nodded as she padded away. He glanced back at Starpaw. "What's the matter?"
"Um, Rosepaw and I were wondering if we could eat something?"
Stonefur nodded. "Sure. Why did you need to ask? Scared we'd get mad?" he smirked, his eyes glimmering.
Starpaw shook her head. "No! We just didn't know if we were allowed to."
Stonefur let out a small mrrow of laughter. "Just because we're forest cats doesn't mean we'll prevent two kittypets from getting food." He smirked again.
Starpaw sighed. She hoped that they would stop with the "kittypet" thing and let her and Rosepaw eat. Stonefur must've noticed the change in her look as he added, "I didn't mean that to be rude."
"It's all right," Starpaw muttered. "We'll get used to it." She trotted back to Rosepaw, telling her sister what had happened.
Rosepaw sighed. "Well, I'm sure Rusty got a earful of it when he first joined too," she meowed.
Starpaw shrugged. "But to have your own mentor…"
"He was joking, Starpaw!" Rosepaw meowed as she took a fish. She glanced at the fish and then back at Starpaw. "We can share, right?"
Starpaw nodded. "We won't know if we like it… and we can't waste their fresh-kill if it's so scarce," she mewed as they headed for a spot in the camp. They sat down. The two sisters stared at one another, willing the other to take a mouthful.
"After you," Rosepaw meowed, pushing the fish towards her.
Starpaw stared at it then pushed it back. "No, I insist."
Rosepaw pushed it back. "Well, I decline."
Starpaw sighed, taking the fish. She stared at it. It was no longer slimy, but the scales still seemed to shimmer in the late afternoon lighting. She looked back at her sister and then the fish, then took a bite. She chewed. It tasted like salt water and meat and… fishy. But it was better than pellets. She continued to chew, allowing the different flavors to dance over her tastebuds.
"So?" Rosepaw asked as she swallowed.
"It's better than pellets," responded Starpaw as she took another bite. Rosepaw sighed.
"That makes it sound worse…" she murmured, taking a bite as well. As she chewed, she shrugged. "Tastes like where it came from, but I guess that's understandable."
Starpaw nodded as the two finished off the fish. She sighed. Clan life certainly is different from our housecat life…
She glanced back towards where ThunderClan territory was located. Her gaze clouded over. Something about the forest seemed to be calling her.
Could Rusty be over there? she wondered.