I thought I had this story all planned out, but then as I write it I realize I want to change a few things, and I've had to rewrite my outline twice! Enjoy this chapter!
Darkpaw sat nervously at the ShadowClan border. Raggedwing and Shiningpaw sat with her, just as nervous. Raggedwing had volunteered as the warrior to go with the to-be medicine cat, since he was her present mentor anyway. Darkpaw asked Shiningpaw to come with her, and Stormstar didn't object.
Shiningpaw was quiet. Although her relations with Lionpaw hadn't been so good during the past three days, she refused to acknowledge her friend's death. She didn't eat even a nibble the day before, when Lionpaw was stolen by ThunderClan's previous medicine cat, Spiritfeather.
Cloudheart was surprised as he saw the three cats sitting at the border, and Lionpaw was not among them.
"Where's Lionpaw?" Shiningpaw cringed at his question.
"She was stolen." Raggedwing growled. Cloudheart's expression changed, but Darkpaw couldn't tell his emotions.
"Then… who is to be ThunderClan's medicine cat?" Cloudheart's eyes flickered to Shiningpaw, but before he could unknowingly say something hurtful, Darkpaw walked up to him.
"I am. StarClan has spoken to me." The dark she-cat said confidently. Cloudheart squinted, as if he were seeing Darkpaw for the first time, and then nodded.
"Alright, let's go." Cloudheart murmured, and started walking towards the WindClan border.
Darkpaw noticed how the sky was streaked in the colors of the clouds. The sun had well risen, and thin mists of cloud had covered it. She looked away.
"Can we even visit StarClan at the Moonpool in the morning?" Darkpaw mumbled her question, and Cloudheart sighed.
"We can't wait any longer, and it's too dangerous to go at night when the Dark Forest warriors lurk. If StarClan doesn't show up, we'll go at dusk." The ShadowClan medicine cat replied, and Darkpaw noticed his voice wavered. It seemed as if things were to fall apart.
The four cats continued walking. Cloudheart was whispering in a hushed tone to Raggedwing, who growled something back. Darkpaw glanced over at her sister, who was staring at her paws as she walked.
"Shiningpaw… are you okay?" Darkpaw mewed, and Shiningpaw glared at her, venom in her eyes.
"No, I'm not." She hissed, and without explanation, she looked back at her paws. Darkpaw faltered; there was nothing she could say that would cheer her sister up. Lionpaw was gone, and nothing had been settled between them.
Darkpaw then thought about Berrypaw. He had seemed devastated by the loss of his sister, but not as much as one other cat. Brackentail had been wracked to the bone by his daughter's death. Spiderclaw was about as sad as Berrypaw could have been, but neither's grief compared to Brackentail's.
The apprentice's ears twitched as she heard a rustle from the bushes. She stopped to look, but there was nothing.
"Calm down, it's just a rabbit." Raggedwing said roughly, "Hurry up."
Darkpaw took a last fleeting glance at the bush before continuing on the way to the Moonpool.
Shiningpaw felt awkward. There was nothing for her at the Moonpool.
She shivered as she felt invisible spikes pinprick her pelt. It seemed that eyes were watching her from everywhere. Her paranoia grew and she shuddered again. Is StarClan watching me? Is this what it feels like? Am I being hated? Shiningpaw almost smiled in disturbance, but an anxious look from Darkpaw shook her back to her senses. They were going to the Moonpool in the daytime to make Darkpaw a medicine cat.
Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Shiningpaw felt the ground quake beneath her although nothing was happening. The sky spun and the clouds made shapes. Shiningpaw breathed a bit heavier as the cats approached the Moonpool. Raggedwing's stared back at where they came from.
"I'll stand guard." He suggested, and trotted down the path. Cloudheart nodded to no one in particular and looked towards Darkpaw.
"Well… I don't think it'd be proper of me to give a ThunderClan cat their medicine cat title, so you'd best ask StarClan…" Cloudheart muttered, and pointed to the Moonpool with a flick of his tail. Darkpaw blinked. She wouldn't receive a medicine cat name, but be accepted as a medicine cat apprentice. But under who? She pondered as she bent down to lap the water of the sparkling pool.
Shiningpaw's ears twitched as she heard a yowl. Raggedwing? Then she heard footsteps. She and Cloudheart turned at the noise, and they saw Brackentail lumbering towards them. He had claw marks on his flank.
"Brackentail? What are you doing here?" Cloudheart questioned, stepping in front of Shiningpaw. "Where's Raggedwing?"
Brackentail growled, "Lionpaw is dead… and it's all your fault!" he spoke to Shiningpaw, who hissed from behind the ShadowClan medicine cat. "You and Darkpaw! My daughter would have been medicine cat if it weren't for you! And Raggedwing… he's not available right now."
"Darkpaw is the one destined to be medicine cat of ThunderClan!" Cloudheart hissed, unsheathing his claws. "What happened to Lionpaw was unfortunate, but it was the will of StarClan!"
"Raggedwing… he's not dead, is he?" Shiningpaw asked in a whisper.
"No! Hardly! That fox hearted cat ran to get back up after slashing me down to the ground. He thought I was out cold. Lionpaw wouldn't have done such a thing! She would have made a great medicine cat!" Brackentail unsheathed his claws as well.
"Lionpaw did not have what it takes. She was sour, that apprentice. She would glare at Coldpaw, who tried to help her, and scowl at the elders who praised her. I don't know what went wrong." Cloudheart's words were harsh, but Shiningpaw knew they were true. Lionpaw was not like that before she was an apprentice.
Shiningpaw vaguely remembered Lionpaw becoming upset with her shortly after their apprentice ceremony. Lionpaw had asked her friend to sneak away with her to RiverClan to get a taste of fish. Shiningpaw had refused; it was against the warrior code. Lionpaw was frustrated with her and went anyway. They had always been good friends, but Lionpaw was adventurous and picky, while Shiningpaw could be arrogant and unwilling.
"How dare you!" Brackentail yowled, and leapt for the white medicine cat. Cloudheart dodged and swiped at the warrior's flank. Brackentail hissed as blood fell from his coat.
The brown tom glanced towards Darkpaw, who was probably talking with StarClan, and started running towards her. Shiningpaw desperately tackled him to the ground and Cloudheart leapt in to back the apprentice up. He had Brackentail pinned down.
He hissed and spat at them, and Shiningpaw looked down in shame. It's my fault… Brackentail knows I contributed to Lionpaw's death.
"It's no one's fault but Lionpaw's." Cloudheart said as he saw Shiningpaw's depressed look. "Darkpaw is to be your medicine cat."
"How do you know?" Shiningpaw spoke softly. "You weren't there when Spiritfeather stole her away."
Cloudheart sighed. "I received an omen from StarClan just as I had given up hope. They said the dark should not be ignored, and I thought they had meant the Dark Forest. But when I was told of Lionpaw's… passing, I realized it might have a duel meaning."
"So, Darkpaw really is meant to be the medicine cat..." Shiningpaw murmured. Cloudheart eyed her carefully.
"You say it sadly. Why? She is your sister, correct? You two look so different." Cloudheart observed.
"I don't know." Shiningpaw said glumly, and then didn't speak another word.
Berrypaw sat next to Spiderclaw in camp. His mother was furiously grooming him, as if a Dark Warrior would come get him if he wasn't well cleaned.
The atmosphere at camp was strange now that Lionpaw was gone. Spiritfeather and Scorchpaw had been enough of a loss, but the other cats realized they could be next.
Berrypaw pondered what Quailpaw had told him at the fresh-kill pile.
'A new Clan, with just the apprentices! We haven't worked out the details yet, but it's becoming clearer and clearer we can't stay where we are now.' Quailpaw had said. Berrypaw had declined at the time, but now he was reconsidering.
If I can convince Shiningpaw to come too, I'd happily go along. Berrypaw thought, and Spiderclaw prodded him in the side.
"All done. Have you seen your father?" She meowed in question.
"Brackentail? No, actually, I haven't seen him since…" Berrypaw trailed off.
"Of course… well, run along now. Don't leave camp." Spiderclaw instructed, and padded off to the warrior's den. Berrypaw sighed. Like he would leave camp for anything now.
He glanced at the nursery entrance, where Flamekit and Tigerkit were mewling amongst themselves. Pondpaw was saying something to them in a hushed tone. Berrypaw walked closer.
"Really Pondpaw?" Flamekit was asking excitedly. Her ginger fur was ruffled. Her brother Tigerkit was looking pumped too.
"Really. But don't tell Flowerbelly, or anyone else besides the apprentices." Pondpaw replied smoothly. The two kits giggled and nodded, and Pondpaw looked up to see Berrypaw.
"Ah, Berrypaw, good timing. I was telling the kits about the Clan the apprentices are going to make." Pondpaw purred, and Berrypaw blinked.
"You're getting the kits involved too? They're so young!" He mewed uncomfortably.
"We'll need more warriors, and kits will make the Clan stronger." Pondpaw insisted. "Besides, they like the idea."
"Well…"
"And talking about cats who like the idea, what do you say? Will you join the new Clan, Berrypaw?" The she-cat asked, not accusingly, but in a friendly manner. Berrypaw was taken aback; usually Pondpaw was a sulking, unlikeable cat. But now she was entering his heart.
"Ah… well, I've decided that I'll go if Shiningpaw goes as well." He mumbled. Pondpaw blinked and made no significant movements.
"Alright. I'm sure Shiningpaw will join us, and hopefully Darkpaw as well. We will need a medicine cat, after all." She purred.
"Okay. I'll ask her when she gets back." Berrypaw sighed. Pondpaw tilted her head.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to make a new Clan and be rid of this mess?" Pondpaw mewed softly.
"Well I do, but what about our families here?" Berrypaw asked, and regretted it as soon as he did. Pondpaw had been found in the forest, abandoned as a kit. She had no Clan smell, and was probably the child of a rogue or loner. Flowerbelly was her adopted parent, and Scorchkit was her littermate.
"They won't miss us. They'll be stolen soon enough anyway." Pondpaw's voice became cold again, and walked away. Berrypaw watched her chat with Quailpaw, and he saw them look towards him and quickly look away.
He scanned the rest of camp and saw Deadpaw at the camp entrance. He was staring out into the distance.
"Deadpaw? What's up?" Berrypaw mewed, approaching him. Deadpaw looked at him, scowled, and looked back.
"Hey, you don't have to be rude." He teased, sitting beside him. "What is it?"
Deadpaw simply flicked his tail to where he was looking, and Berrypaw looked. Raggedwing was limping towards camp.
"Raggedwing!" Berrypaw jumped up and ran towards him. Deadpaw sat and watched.
"Raggedwing, what happened?" The concerned apprentice asked, seeing a large gash along his leg.
"It's Brackentail, that traitor!" The wounded warrior hissed. "He attacked me while I was guarding the Moonpool, but I managed to knock him down. He could get up any moment… get Willowleaf!" Berrypaw was stunned, but wordlessly went to fetch Willowleaf. Deadpaw watched him run.
Willowleaf thanked Berrypaw and ran to the Moonpool. Deadpaw and Berrypaw helped get Raggedwing to the old medicine cat's den.
"What should we do?" Berrypaw mumbled, staring at Raggedwing's wound desperately.
"Did your medicine cat, uh, Spiritfeather, keep any cobwebs around here? We need to stop the bleeding." Deadpaw peered at the holes and makeshift shelf in the den.
"Oh, I'll go find some!" Berrypaw leapt to his feet and prodded around the den until he found a clump of cobwebs in the corner. He dropped them in front of the RiverClan apprentice and Deadpaw began wrapping them around Raggedwing's wound.
"Were… were you a medicine cat apprentice?" Berrypaw mumbled awkwardly, but Deadpaw shook his head.
"As RiverClan dwindled in numbers, Marshstar decided we should all learn about herbs in case of an emergency, such as our medicine cat being stolen. Which happened. After that, I ran away." Deadpaw spoke the longest sentence he had ever spoken during his time in ThunderClan.
"I'm sorry…" Berrypaw mewed, but Deadpaw shrugged.
"It's okay. I'm over it now. You just better hope that it doesn't happen to ThunderClan." He said nonchalantly while tending to Raggedwing's wound.
"Is Hornetflight going to continue to train you? You could be a big help to Darkpaw as she's learning." Berrypaw suggested.
"I could do both." Deadpaw insisted. Berrypaw saw the apprentice in a new light. He had seemed to have gotten over his rough run from RiverClan. Berrypaw motioned to the other side of the medicine cat den and Deadpaw followed.
"Hey, has Quailpaw told you anything about running away from the Clans?" Berrypaw whispered, and Deadpaw looked genuinely surprised.
"No, he hasn't. Doesn't matter though, we're not friends."
"Quailpaw said that he and Pondpaw were gathering all of the apprentices to leave the Clans and make a new one." Berrypaw spilled, "But Quailpaw wasn't sure about asking you." Deadpaw's nose wrinkled.
"Pondpaw, huh? Well that's alright, I'd rather stay in ThunderClan for now. I don't think we can escape the Dark Forest just by running like cowards." He growled, and looked back to Raggedwing, who seemed pained. "Do you have any poppy seeds around?"
"Oh, no, but I can go fetch some." Berrypaw said happily, and left the den. A ghost of a smile played on Deadpaw's face as he watched his new friend leave.
This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided to split it up. The original second half is going to be tacked on to the next-next chapter, which was going to be short, in order to make Chapter Six. After Chapter 6, I'll have the allegiances up! Thanks for reading and remember to review!