Chapter 9-Claystorm

Mintstar's POV

Mintstar paced around the den, her tail waving agitatedly. She couldn't help but fear that Starclan meant the destruction of Thunderclan.

She let the dappled sunlight fall on her pelt, and gazed out up at the dawn sky. Pineheart wasn't there.

Sighing, she scrabbled slowly onto Highledge. Her energy was sapped from all the strain she was having, and she had a splitting headache.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting," she yowled. Her words were distant and clouded to herself, but she struggled to keep her mind straight facing the clan.

"We all know that Pineheart has died under the claws of a powerful enemy," she began. Then she noticed that the only cats who had gathered were Peachpelt, Ryeheart, Hawkfeather, Mahogany, Oreo, Streamleaf, and Iceclaw. Streamleaf's eyes were glazed.

"Where is everyone else?!" she snapped impatiently. She glared the dens, as if to order the cats to come out.

"Patrols..." someone muttered. Mintstar sighed again.

"Then the meeting is postponed. Clan dismissed."

But she didn't stop to think that she hadn't sent anyone on a patrol, and Pineheart, for sure, hadn't either.

Streamleaf's POV

Streamleaf was torn between her admiration for Oreo and her attraction to Mahogany. She knew Oreo loved her, and she loved him back, but not in the way that she wanted to be his mate, unlike him.

She also liked Mahogany, but just the fact that he didn't seem to have any feelings for her made her weird. She would just go out of her way to be with him, not sure if he liked her or not...she didn't even know why she did this, why she strove to impress him.

{I'm sure a lot of you can relate, not just for bfs and gfs, but as a whole, friends do this a lot (:}

But what she wasn't so sure about was Mintstar's liking for Oreo. He was...yes, fat, okay, lazy, and fine, takes too much credit. This much she had to admit.

But now Pineheart was gone, too. Her only blood relative not in Starclan, or worse, the Dead Forest. Now that had turned into a lie.

Streamleaf curled up even tighter in her nest, tears flooding down her muzzle. Pineheart had been the best littermate she had ever had, not that she had any other. And now even he was gone.

Over her whimpers, Streamleaf thought she heard someone padding in. It was Mahogany.

"Streamleaf?" he asked.

"What?" she choked.

Mahogany didn't reply, he just shuffled closer to her. Gently, he licked the tears off her cheek. She almost shivered from the feeling.

"Do you want some fresh kill?" he mewed.

Streamleaf shook her head warily. "Pineheart was my brother," she said hollowly.

Mahogany murmured sympathetically, but she didn't hear the rest of it, as the warmth of Mahogany's pelt lulled her to sleep.

When Streamleaf woke up again, the weather had changed drastically. The moon cast a warm blue glow, as if it were the sun. The one thing she regretted sleeping through was Mahogany staying with her. Somehow his kindness had fed her energy, and she managed to push her sorrow away for a while.

With her refreshed feelings, Streamleaf padded out of the den to see what was going on. That was when she realized they were in the middle of a ceremony.

"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your new warrior name. Mahogany, from now on you will be known as Claystorm. Starclan honors your strength and loyalty," Mintstar was saying.

Streamleaf sat at the back, craning her neck to see Claystorm. Thunderclan had already erupted into cheers, but the leader quickly silenced them with a flick of her tail.

She didn't say anything, but was looking up at the sky. Thunder clouds were gathering, but they wreathed around the moon, as if waiting for just the right moment to blacken the night.

Could this be about Oreo? Did Starclan see an unworthy quality in him? Streamleaf could feel the same curiosity around her, creating a tension almost unbearable.

Mintstar's gaze turned slowly back to the clan. "It seems I have made a worthy choice," she mewed quietly. "I am sure these clouds were not sent by Starclan."

Streamleaf tore her eyes from the moon, and looked over at Oreo instead. There was an eerie glow in his eyes when the moon shined in them.

Mintstar continued with the ceremony. "I, Mintstar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this brave cat. He has proved to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn."

When Mintstar finished the sentence, a very much visible streak of lightning crackled not far away, about somewhere at the Riverclan border.

This was ignored.

"Oreo, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

There was a deathly silence as Oreo just stood and stared. Finally, he replied. "What is the warrior code again?"

Mintstar's eyes were full of dismay. "Did Pineheart not teach you? I expected better."

Suddenly, Oreo's eyes popped wide. "Oh, that!" He yelled, completely oblivious to the shock and disgust all around him.

Streamleaf still did not blame the former kittypet.

"Okay, why not?" Oreo mewed. The clouds were dangerously close to spilling.

"Then by the powers of Starclan," Mintstar continued, "I give you your warrior name. Oreo, from this moment onward-"

Suddenly the wind began to howl ferociously, whipping between Oreo and the rest of the clan. Streamleaf couldn't hear anything or feel anything, numb with shock and cold. She stumbled towards the general direction of the nearest den, the nursery.

Over all the cacophony, Streamleaf thought she smelled someone near her. It seemed to be Oreo.

"But what if I don't want a warrior name?" he was yowling. "Mintstar, I don't want a name like yours!"

Streamleaf's eyes stretched wide with disbelief. Now mist added to the wind, so she couldn't have seen him if she opened her eyes. Tears filled her mismatched eyes.

The mist slowly wreathed around her, deepening to a spray. It was as if she were trapped in a cloud.

Oreo repeated himself. "Someone, listen! I don't want a clan name!"

Starclan must have heard this, because that was when the rain really started pouring.