It was the next morning. Mintleaf slowly got to her paws and stretched before shaking scraps of moss out of her pelt. She gave herself a quick grooming, then looked around her den. Snowflight had already left the den; her mentor was an early riser. Mintleaf was the apprentice medicine cat, though she already had her full name. She thought back to the strange dream she had had that night.
She was in a clearing, with three distinct sections; one was covered in ice and snow fell, another was a jumble of rocks, and the third was a fiery pit. She sat in the center of the three, but when she saw the fire, she had leaped backward and tumbled into the rocks. There, an adder had hissed from within the pile and raked her with a pair of claws. She tried to go to the icy section, but an eagle was glaring at her with fierce yellow eyes. As a last resort, she turned to the fire, but it was still blazing. From within, she saw a flash of midnight-feathered wing. She wondred if it had been a sign from StarClan; surely t must be, for how would she ever think of such a strange dream on her own?
Mintleaf decided to discuss it with Snowflight and Aurorastar. She padded lightly out of the den into the gorge and wondered if she would have to leave the Clan. Most of the cats were not awake yet, scattered in sleepy piles across camp. Looking up to the leader's den, she saw a fluffy white tail disappear into it. Aurorastar had short fur, so it was probably Snowflight. Perhaps she had had a dream from StarClan as well? Or maybe she was wrong altogether, and it was not Snowflight, but Dawnstreak or Hailpelt, who also had white tails. Regardless, she made her way over to the ledge and started to climb.
As she drew nearer, she heard Snowflight's gentle voice, urgent and speaking too quickly for Mintleaf to make out what was being said. She purposely scattered a few rocks to announce her presence, and, when there was a silence from the cave, she called, "Aurorastar?" But it was her mentor's voice that answered. "Come in, Mintleaf." The light gray-blue she-cat stepped in delicately. "Hello. I have had a dream from StarClan." The leader replied, "As have I and Snowflight. Perhaps we all dreamt the same thing?" The medicine cat apprentice quickly described her dream.
"Well, Aurorastar and I had almost the same dream, but we both stayed in the center, instead of falling onto the rocks...Do you think you know what it means?" Mintleaf frowned. "Well, i think the sections represented the new Clans; the fire for FlareClan, the snow for IceClan, and the pile of rocks for StoneClan. If I was the only one that went into the rocks... Does this mean I am destined to be part of StoneClan?" Aurorastar tilted her head. "Perhaps it does. But why would an adder have claws, I wonder?" Snowflight's eyes widened, but the other two she-cats remained confused. "Adderclaw!" she said, explaining it in a word.
"Yes, you're right! Which means the crow's wing...Crowwing..No, Ravenwing! And... Eagle..." Stumbled Aurorastar.
"Eagleheart!" Mintleaf blurted. "Are they meant to be the leaders of the new Clans? Adderclaw, Ravenwing, and Eagleheart?" Snowflight dipped her head. "I think so. Should we tell them?" Aurorastar paused, then answered, "Mintleaf, you tell them that you think they may be meant to be the leaders. But Snowflight and I need to discuss which cats to put in which Clan. I may need to put you in StoneClan, based on your dream, dear..." Though her heart sank, Mintleaf merely nodded. "If StarClan wills it..." she exited the den without another word, tail drooping. She didn't want to leave the Clan she had grown up in, but the new Clans would need medicine cats, and it just didn't make sense to have two in one Clan.
Eagleheart was no where to be seen (probably out hunting, Mintleaf thought, ) but Ravenwing and Adderclaw were eating fresh-kill together by the warrior's den. A pang stabbed her heart; if each of them was leader of a different Clan, their friendship would be torn apart by Clan rivalry. She padded over sadly and sat down. "Um, hi, Mintleaf." Adderclaw said with his mouth half-full of thrush. it was obvious they were uncomfortable with her barging in on their meal, but she had to tell them. "Sorry about just coming over here, but I had a vision from StarClan." she glanced at Ravenwing, and Adderclaw bristled. "Ravenwing's not in danger, is she?" he misinterpreted.
Mintleaf shook her head. "No. But Snowflight, Aurorastar, and I think each of you are meant to be a leader of the new Clans, Eagleheart too. You," she flicked her tail at Ravenwing, "as leader of FlareClan, and you, " she nodded at Adderclaw, "of StoneClan. Eagleheart of IceClan, obviously." The two warriors exchanged a look of dismay. "But we're just warriors!" Ravenwing cried. "I don't know how to lead, and.. Well, Adderclaw and I... We..." she trailed off, and Adderclaw finished for her. "We mean to be mates. Ravenwing is expecting my kits! She can't be a leader, and certainly we can't be in different Clans!" Mintleaf replied hollowly, heart wrenching, "I'm sorry. I am just trying to interpret the will of StarClan. They seem to be telling me I am no longer to be part of SkyClan, so I'm about as happy as you are about it." She felt guilty when she said it, since their pain had to be far greater than hers, but it was too late to take it back. "I'm sorry." she repeated, and turned away.
As she walked back to the medicine den, she cast a glance backward and saw Adderclaw and Ravenwing sitting, facing each other, heads bowed in sadness. Oh, Starclan.. Can't you see how much pain the split is going to cause? Mintleaf thought. She had just reached the mouth of the den when Aurorastar called a Clan meeting. Suppressing a groan, she turned back and sat at the base of the Skyrock. Aurorastar told the Clan of the dream, and Mintleaf's fur felt hot as all of the Clan were staring at her and her mentor, who had just sat down beside her. While Snowflight held their gaze evenly, she just stared at her paws. Aurorastar continued.
"Yesterday, Ravenwing led a patrol to look for camps. She found them; one in the burned forest, one by the river on the far side of the forest, and one on the cliffside on the opposite side of the gorge from the forest, next to Twolegplace. Respectively, the camps for FlareClan, IceClan, and StoneClan. I have heard from many of our warriors, and I think I know who to put in each Clan. Remember, we can't have just our friends in a Clan, because they would all go along with everything, even if it was wrong. Also remember that i can't possibly make everyone happy. Please, deal with which Clan you get. But if you would absolutely rather die than be in the Clan assigned to you, I suppose you may come and speak with me about it. Also, we will wait for more words from StarClan about who the new deputies and medicine cats will be, though we seem to have the leaders sorted out. Now, listen up! When I speak your name, please stand on the far left if I call you for FlareClan, the far right for StoneClan, and the center for IceClan. If I do not call your name, you will be in SkyClan, and I ask you to move to the back. Understood?"
The Clan below nodded or replied yes, though some were too tense and excited to answer. "Very well. These cats are for FLARECLAN! Ravenwing! Falconscreech! Berrypaw!..." Aurorastar called out the names until every cat was sorted. Mintleaf had been put in StoneClan, and Snowflight remained in SkyClan. Mintleaf noted that the few daylight warriors they had (around seven or eight of them) were all in either SkyClan or StoneClan; the two closest to Twolegplace, except for Stormfeather, a pregnant she-cat, who was sorted into FlareClan.
"With that, I leave you all to hunt, possibly explore your new, future camps with the assistance of one of those who patrolled yesterday. I will be in my den, open to complaints." Aurorastar bounded off, and Mintleaf glanced around at her new Clanmates. None of them were her friends, but she didn't really have any friends to begin with. However, her brother was in the same Clan. They weren't close though; ever since their parents had died a few seasons ago of greencough, it had been to painful and strained between them, since Grayfang looked an awful lot like their mother, and Mintleaf looked like their father. The simply nodded at each other and went their separate ways.
Mintleaf once again headed for her den, her head low and her spirits lower. Her whole world was changing, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.
A/N: Thank you, DeathFeathersLastingWords (hope I got your username right!) for reviewing! Reviews are always appreciated. Mintleaf is a rather depressed little yuppie. I've decided to do the story from four character's perspectives; one from each Clan. The whole Ravenwing being pregnant idea kind of just popped into my head while writing the paragraph, it'll certainly make things interesting.. Anyway, the next chapter (which I hope to put up ASAP) will be an allegiances. Then I shall go back to the real story. The Clans are going to be a bit small, but that's ideally the point, isn't it? Oh well. I couldn't really explain where the territories are, but if you look at the map of SkyClan, the upper right-hand corner is SkyClan, upper left is StoneClan, lower-right is IceClan, and lower-left is Flare. Hope that clears things up a little. Reviews please! They make my day :)