Another long chapter. WindClan is about to be found and Turtle Tail's kits are born.
Fire Heart was woken by someone shaking his shoulder. "Wake up," Jackdaw's Cry murmured.
"Why?" Fire Heart whined. "We're not on the dawn patrol."
"Skystar wants to see us," Jackdaw's Cry said. "Now. And he wants you to bring Jagged Peak too."
Fire Heart stumbled to his paws, following his best friend outside. The sun was turning the sky pink, and frost glittered on the branches above camp.
He stopped by the apprentices' den. "Jagged Peak!" He hissed quietly, so as to not wake Ravenpaw, who was curled up next to the gray tabby. It seemed like the black tom had a fifth sense or something because he awoke anyway, lifting his head fast.
"Wha…? It's too early for this!" Jagged Peak grumbled, swatting at Fire Heart. The ginger tom hissed, irritated.
"Your brother wants to see us!"
"Hm?" Jagged Peak murmured sleepily.
"Skystar!" Fire Heart near yowled.
Jagged Peak scrambled to his paws and finally followed his mentor out of the den. Fire Heart rolled his eyes.
They hurried across the cold clearing into Skystar's den. Gray Wing was waiting inside with his brother.
"Fire Heart, Jackdaw's Cry, Jagged Peak," Skystar addressed, eyes shining. "I have an important mission for you all."
"A mission?" Fire Heart echoed. Excitement swept through him.
"I want you to find WindClan and bring them home," Skystar meowed.
"This will be dangerous," Gray Wing added, looking at Jagged Peak. "We don't know where WindClan is."
"Then why bring Jagged Peak?" Fire Heart asked.
"Usually he wouldn't go and would just be assigned a temporary mentor, but I think it would be a great experience for him. And you can still teach him many things as you go."
Fire Heart nodded at his leader's explanation, worried a bit for his apprentice's leg. "Is it just us?" Fireheart asked.
"A trio is always the best number for a quest," Gray Wing meowed. "And we need many warriors to stay here and defend the camp. Especially after all that's happened…" he exchanged a sad look with Skystar.
"Of course," Jackdaw's Cry meowed, blue eyes a bit worried for his mate and kits. "We'll find them."
"We promise," Jagged Peak added, excitedly.
"Go to the medicine den for herbs," Gray Wing ordered as the four toms exited the den.
"Yes Gray Wing," Jagged Peak meowed and he and Jackdaw's Cry dashed off. Fire Heart followed more slowly and Ravenpaw slipped out of the apprentice's den and caught up to him.
"Heya, Ravenpaw," Fire Heart greeted amicably. The black tom ducked his head shyly.
"Hi, Fire Heart. Where are you off to?"
"Traveling herbs. We're bringing WindClan back," Fire Heart explained. Ravenpaw's green eyes widened nervously for a moment before he nodded.
"Just…be careful." Ravenpaw looked off to the side at the camp entrance and said in a more quiet voice. "Especially of ThunderClan."
Fire Heart hesitated before he nodded. "I will. We will." Ravenpaw gave his cheek a lick and skipped away to play with Thunder and Lightning Tail, the other kits still asleep. Fire Heart stared after him, face hot.
He joined Jackdaw's Cry and Jagged Peak and Dappled Pelt pushed some herbs in front of him. After he swallowed them quickly he sat, waiting for his friends to finish theirs, mind on a certain cat.
"Hello? Earth to Fire Heart." A black tail waved in his vision and he snapped back to the real world. Jackdaw's Cry grinned at him. "Did you fall asleep on your paws?"
"And with your eyes open?" Jagged Peak added.
Dappled Pelt grinned. "You better not joke the whole way through your journey or you won't get anywhere."
"With me," Jackdaw's Cry began. "We can do anything."
"Sure." Dappled Pelt rolled her eyes as Fire Heart gave his friend a playful cuff around the ears.
"C'mon!" Jagged Peak shoved the ginger tom and the three of them scrambled out of the den and out of camp.
"Good luck!" Hawk Swoop, who spotted them before they disappeared, called.
Others echoed her words, but they were too far to hear.
The rising sun's rays flashed golden through the trees and dappled the ground. Graypaw, sullen, followed Tigerclaw home after a hunting session. He barely felt the coldness of leafbare, setting upon them.
I miss Lionheart… he thought miserably. Tigerclaw was making him relearn everything even though he should have had his warrior's assessment by now and he already knew all of it!
They entered the camp to see a crowd of warriors gathered around Thistlestar. Tigerclaw padded over and Graypaw followed, curious.
Ashkit, Cricketkit, Cinderkit and Brackenkit were tussling outside of the nursery under the watchful gaze of Frostfur. Sandpaw and Dustpaw were sitting outside the apprentice's den, glaring. Swiftpaw sat by them, looking tense as if they might turn on him. The elders chatted quietly outside of their den, enjoying the leafbare sun before it went.
Poppydawn looked around as if she weren't with the others, staring off into space, amber eyes unfocused. Graypaw feared she had memory loss. She was pretty old. The oldest in the elder's den.
And Thistlestar was her son while her good kit, Rosetail, had died. Graypaw would throw himself in the Gorge if he had a son like him.
"We need to keep a lookout for those SkyClan cats. And we should start hunting on the moor." Graypaw padded over as Thistlestar started ordering cats around. "Tigerclaw, take a patrol to the moor. Take Bluefur, Whitestorm and Graypaw with you."
Great. Just when he had been hoping for a rest. Now he had to go back out. With Tigerclaw! Again!
"Should I take Sandpaw too?" Whitestorm asked his father. The spiky tom nodded, approving. As Whitestorm called the ginger tabby from the apprentice's den, Graypaw followed Tigerclaw and Bluefur towards the camp entrance, misery sweeping over him again.
He looked up and caught Spottedleaf's gaze. The medicine cat was picking up herbs she had been laying out in the sun. She blinked sympathetically at him and turned into her den. Graypaw blinked, confused.
The patrol set out and once they reached the moor things just had to go wrong immediately.
Three SkyClan cats were skipping merrily across the grassy hills, voices jovial and loud. Worst of all, Fire Heart was one of them.
"C'mon, Jagged Peak, keep up!" The ginger tom called to a small gray tabby, who was lagging behind. "Jackdaw's Cry, get back here! You don't know what dangers could be lurking about!" He yowled after the black tom dashing ahead.
"Yes mother," the tom muttered but returned to their side.
"Idiots," Tigerclaw snarled. "They are dead!" Whitestorm and Bluefur exchanged wide-eyed looks, shuffling nervously. Sandpaw looked at Tigerclaw with wide eyes as if she couldn't believe how violent he could be. Graypaw felt the same as them all. Tigerclaw wouldn't actually kill them…right?
Before Tigerclaw could make a move his gaze flickered over to a movement nearby. A RiverClan and ShadowClan patrol appeared, eyes narrowed and fixed on the trio up ahead.
Blackclaw was leading his patrol with Piketooth, Petaldust, Voleclaw and Heavypaw. The ShadowClan patrol contained Finchflight, Wetfoot, Dawncloud, Nutwhisker and Rowanberry.
"Hmm," Tigerclaw hummed with satisfaction. He beckoned his patrol forward and charged the three SkyClan cats. Blackclaw watched them surprised before following with an excited grin.
Graypaw hated this. It was so wrong! They were outnumbered and seemed younger than most. He could tell Bluefur and Whitestorm felt the same as they lagged behind on purpose, Finchflight passing them, eyes alight with excitement.
Graypaw watched in horror as the gray tabby, who seemed to have a slight limp, turned, blue eyes widening in shock when he caught sight of the cats.
Gray Wing and Air Leap were hunting when a cry echoed from camp. "Turtle Tail's giving birth!" The sleek gray tom pushed his catch into Air Leap and dashed away, leaving the apprentice to stagger after his uncle with a big load of prey.
He burst into camp nearly killing Nettle, who was on guard and raced to the nursery, pushing through the crowd. Yellowfang's tail was sticking out. Gray Wing was surprised she was helping but she had been a medicine cat before.
Rainswept Flower barred the entrance with her tail when he tried to enter. "Hey! She's my mate!" He peeked in and caught glances of Cloud Spots and Dappled Pelt, the latter stroking Turtle Tail's belly with a paw while the former sat near her rear. Yellowfang had set herbs down that she'd fetched from the medicine den.
"I know," Rainswept Flower meowed, "but it's already crowded and the medicine cats and Turtle Tail need space. She needs to be as less stressed as possible for it to go smoothly."
"Oh, yeah, that makes me feel more calm." Gray Wing rolled his eyes. Thunder stood nearby, curious while Hawk Swoop was distracting the rest of the kits across the clearing.
"C'mon, friend," Shattered Ice meowed, eyes alight with amusement. "Leave them alone." The sleek tom sighed but stepped back with Shattered Ice and the rest of their clanmates.
There was a screech and everyone jumped. Gray Wing started towards the nursery only to be sat on by Frost.
"Stay there with your equally idiotic friends," Yellowfang growled.
"HEY!" Half the Clan shouted, hurt.
"Let. Me. GO!" Gray Wing struggled under the big white tom.
"No," Frost simply meowed. "We have to wait here."
"But Yellowfang called you an idiot, are you gonna take that?"
"I know," Frost growled. "And she'll pay for that."
Frost let him up but kept a firm paw on his tail. Thunder crept up to his uncle's side and pressed against him as if to comfort him. He managed a forced smile down at the ginger tom.
Finally after what felt like forever, Dappled Pelt appeared and announced, "Turtle Tail has had two toms and a she-cat!" As the others murmured congratulations, Gray Wing pushed his way into the den.
"Right, they're all healthy. Good job, Turtle Tail," Cloud Spots was saying, actually looking queasy. He pushed his way out and Gray Wing looked down at the three squirming creatures.
There was a gray tabby, a dark gray tom and a tortoiseshell like Turtle Tail. "They're beautiful," Gray Wing murmured, pressing his nose into the she-kit's soft fur.
Turtle Tail's eyes brimmed with pride and she leaned up to nuzzle him. My kits. My precious kits. I'll protect them with my life. Under his watch they wouldn't end up like sweet Fluttering Bird.
He lay nearby and watched the kits.
"FIRE HEART!" Jagged Peak wailed, half hopping, half walking to catch up. The two older toms turned, eyes widening in fear. Just as the first cat, Finchflight was about to attack them, a brown blur shot past and tackled him to the ground.
It was Wind!
The other ShadowClan cats leaped to Finchflight's aid but Wind jumped off and two other warriors tripped over him. Wetfoot and Dawncloud swerved to avoid them. Blackclaw took the lead and charged towards them, but Tigerclaw shouldered past the RiverClan warrior and gained on them.
Jagged Peak hurriedly hopped. The other two were already ahead. Gorse came out of nowhere and sighed before he grabbed Jagged Peak's scruff, dragging him after his friends.
Sideways, Jagged Peak saw Wind lash out at Tigerclaw and Voleclaw, who had been running at the deputy's shoulder. The skinny brown cat turned and sped over to them, passing Gorse and Jagged Peak and taking the lead.
"I'll tell Yellowfang you said 'Hi!'" He heard his mentor snarl over his shoulder and the brown tom and cream-and-brown she-cat halted, wide-eyed. A RiverClan apprentice bumped into them
Gorse put on an extra burst of speed and Jagged Peak saw a blur of black and ginger as they passed his companions. He felt himself being thrown and landed in a tunnel. Up ahead, Wind's brown tail bobbed as she moved forward.
Without needing to be told, Jagged Peak followed. He heard cats jump in behind him and scented the air, relieved to smell Fire Heart and Jackdaw's Cry behind him, followed by Gorse.
"Pfft! Of course, they act like worms! Just like those weaklings of WindClan used to do!" They heard Wetfoot sneer.
"I actually think WindClan are brilliant for coming up with this," Wind muttered up ahead.
"Come back with those mouse-hearts and we'll shred you all!" Blackclaw snarled, but the group of cats ignored them and moved onward.
Jagged Peak's breathing started to get heavier with fear and the way the walls seemed to close in on them. He could sense Fire Heart's discomfort behind him, but Jackdaw's Cry was as calm as Wind, fine with the tunnels.
Suddenly, in front of him, the brown she-cat disappeared and he realized she'd hopped out of an opening. She bent down and grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him out.
Jagged Peak stumbled to his paws and screwed his eyes up against the sun. No way, have we really been underground for that long? He turned to see Fire Heart and Jackdaw's Cry being pulled out of the tunnel and then Gorse hopped out behind them.
Then as one, they all turned to see a Thunderpath. Behind them, the moor was far behind. They'd made it past Highstones too.
"Thank you so much!" Fire Heart meowed gratefully to Wind and Gorse. Jackdaw's Cry nodded in agreement of their rescue.
"Yeah, that was awesome how you took them on and got us out of there!" Jagged Peak added.
"It was no problem. You are our friends and those foxhearts act like they own everything." Wind flicked her tail.
"Yes. Please. Come back with WindClan," Gorse meowed. "Aside from your Clan they are the next most kind."
"Of course, we're not coming back without them!" Jackdaw's Cry puffed up his chest proudly. "C'mon guys!"
"Bye," Jagged Peak mewed, waving his tail at the two rogues. Fire Heart nodded at them and they padded up to the verge of the path. After they crossed, Jagged Peak noticed them turn and slip away back to the moor.
"Maybe if we tell Skystar how they saved us, he'll finally consider letting them join," Jackdaw's Cry meowed quietly as they padded onward, following the scent trail.
"Yeah," Fire Heart sighed. "I just wish we didn't have to fight."
"Well, such is life in the clans," Jackdaw's Cry sighed.
Jagged Peak suddenly stopped and looked around. "Hey guys, their scent pools under these bush rows. Maybe they sheltered after crossing the Thunderpath!"
Fire Heart and Jackdaw's Cry joined him, scenting the area. "You're right," Fire Heart murmured. "Good job, Jagged Peak."
A monster roared past, its headlights glaring. Jagged Peak flinched away as the wind it created ruffled them. Once the noise had faded, they moved on.
"The trail leads here," Fire Heart said. "C'mon."
After a while of heading deeper into the woodland they came upon a group of twolegs resting around a fire.
"Fire? Twolegs are mad!" Jackdaw's Cry snorted. "Anyway, I smell them more strongly here."
Jagged Peak tasted the air and realized the black tom was right. He suddenly stiffened when a blur of fur flashed by. Then another one. And another. He gazed wide-eyed at his friends and they nodded to let him know they'd spotted them too.
"That's gotta be WindClan, right?" Jackdaw's Cry whispered. "What other cats would be desperate to go near twolegs?"
Just then, a twoleg stood, shouting and waving its arms. "It's now or never!" Fire Heart meowed and the trio accelerated forward, trying to catch one of the cats.
"Hey!" Jackdaw's Cry yowled and one of them looked back eyes wide with terror. They sped off in a flash.
"ShadowClan!" The cat yowled. He sounded young.
"Oh, great! Now they think we're ShadowClan! Way to go Jackdaw's!" Fire Heart snapped.
"I'm not the idiot apprentice who assumes stuff. Such a scaredy-mouse." The black tom sniffed as if his case was closed.
A twoleg threw something near them and it exploded. The SkyClan cats leaped backwards to avoid a shard of glass.
"What the hell was that?" Fire Heart asked, trembling.
"Who knows, who cares, let's just get outta here!" Jackdaw's Cry snapped.
The three toms pelted in the opposite direction and skidded to a halt under a bush. "We'll spend the night here. We've obviously spooked them enough," Fire Heart meowed.
Jagged Peak was too tired to listen and had already curled up to sleep. Instantly he was out, snoring softly, with one last thought on his mind.
What a day.
Gray Wing heard rushing water.
He sneezed as a feather settled on his nose. When he opened his eyes, he was in the mountain cave.
He sprang up, eyes darting back and forth. Moonlight shone through the waterfall, filling the cave with icy starlight.
Gray Wing could just make out sleeping forms in the dark hollows. Quiet Rain, his mother, slept alone. Dewy Leaf had kits curled up by her side.
Everyone seemed well fed and happy as Gray Wing peeked into each sleeping hollow. It seemed they'd done the right thing by leaving moons ago.
It had also been so long since he had had dreams of the cave and their old Tribemates. His heart ached with longing.
"Gray Wing!"
The voice came from the back of the cave. Gray Wing turned to see Stoneteller, her white fur glowing in the dim light.
"Come with me," she invited, before leading the way into a tunnel.
Gray Wing walked into the darkness, the rock damp beneath his paws. Gray light filtered into the tunnel from a small opening ahead.
Gray Wing halted at the entrance to the cave. The area was small, only lit by moonlight that shone from a hole in the roof. Large pointed stones rose from the floor while others hung down from the ceiling.
The cave floor was covered in puddles that gleamed in the moonlight.
"Welcome, Gray Wing, to the Cave of Pointed Stones," Stoneteller greeted, standing beside a puddle. "This is where I read the signs our ancestors send us."
Gray Wing stared around the cave. "How did I get here?" he asked.
"It is only a dream, Gray Wing," Stoneteller said. "I have a message for you. Be ready, Gray Wing. There is no other path to take. Either walk it with courage, or with trepidation."
And Gray Wing woke with a start in the nursery where he was curled up next to his mate and kits.
Frustrated, he curled back up and went to sleep. Why did wise cats have to be so vague?
"This is where they're sheltering," Jackdaw's Cry meowed. Fire Heart peered into the dark tunnel and then looked at his confident friend.
"Are you sure?" He didn't like tunnels and he could tell his apprentice felt the same.
Jackdaw's Cry rolled his eyes and hopped in to lead the way. "Guess that means yes," Fire Heart muttered and went next followed by Jagged Peak.
After a while, Jackdaw's Cry signaled for them to pause and peeked around a corner before turning back, his eyes flashing with excitement.
"They're here," he hissed. Together they slowly turned the bend and stepped out into the dim light that shone from somewhere above.
WindClan huddled together numb to the roaring monsters above. One cat spotted them. It was the same apprentice. His eyes widened.
"ShadowClan!" He yowled and the rest of the clan jumped to their paws, hissing, lining up defensively in front of the vulnerable cats.
But they didn't attack.
Fire Heart had pushed his apprentice behind him, too, protective while Jackdaw's Cry hissed at his side.
"Stop it, we're supposed to be calm, idiot," Fire Heart hissed to his friend. The WindClan cats hadn't attacked yet and he assumed they were waiting for their leader.
Finally, a thin black-and-white tom with a very long tail pushed his way through the crowd, and gazed upon the trio with sharp amber eyes.
He stalked forward and circled the three toms. Jagged Peak pushed himself closer to Fire Heart when the leader sniffed at him before he circled back and murmured, "SkyClan."
Immediately the WindClan cats loosened up, not even a bit defensive as if SkyClan weren't a threat at all. Jackdaw's Cry snorted indignantly, getting their message too.
"We have been expecting ShadowClan," the tom, who was obviously Tallstar, murmured. He looked at them more closely and then his eyes widened when they landed on Fire Heart. "Jake?"
Fire Heart was disconcerted. "Um, no…I'm Fire Heart." He stepped on his friend's tail because Jackdaw's Cry looked like he was going to laugh.
Tallstar shook himself. "Of course, I just thought you looked like an old friend."
"My father."
The leader looked back at him, eyes wide again. Uncomfortable now, Fire Heart quickly meowed, "this is Jackdaw's Cry and my apprentice Jagged Peak."
"Weird names as usual," a gray tabby apprentice muttered to a white one, who cuffed her over the ear. The trio ignored them.
"Why are you here?" A mottled gray-brown tom asked, rudely.
"Oh, sorry, we'll just leave you here to rot," Jackdaw's Cry began and Fire Heart inwardly groaned. "We totally didn't almost get killed by the other clans, who were hunting on your moor. And you might as well leave the three WindClan cats who got lost all alone back there."
"Stagleap?" A gray she-cat asked, eyes wide with hope.
"Uh, yeah, I think that was one of their names," Fire Heart meowed. "You have to come back. Brokenstar was driven out!"
The clan murmured among each other at this. Fire Heart hoped everything they'd said so far was convincing enough.
"Okay," Tallstar meowed softly after a while. "We'll leave immediately."
"Should we take you the same way we came?" Fire Heart asked politely, ignoring how Jackdaw's Cry and the mottled tom were having a glaring contest or how Jagged Peak hid behind him, almost tripping him as if he were scared of the clan.
"If it's safe."
"The only place that wasn't safe was our homes," Jagged Peak muttered. "Not with ThunderClan, ShadowClan and RiverClan working together."
"Hush!" Fire Heart snapped as they left the tunnel. Some cats blinked a lot as if they hadn't been outside forever.
"Are we all ready?"
"Gorsekit is still too small," a tortoiseshell murmured, gazing down at her kit.
"Then we'll take turns carrying him," Tallstar meowed as they set off across the grass. The twolegs were gone by now. "You come with me, Jackdaw's Cry. Show me the way. Fireheart, you and your apprentice can travel beside the clan. Tell my deputy if you
see trouble."
"Which one is he?" asked Fire Heart.
Tallstar nodded toward the black tom. "Deadfoot."
Fire Heart dipped his head in greeting. He left Jackdaw's Cry with Tallstar and joined the other cats. Jagged Peak stuck by his side, casting the clan a wary glance. This was probably his first time actually meeting them. He'd probably only ever heard stories.
Jackdaw's Cry headed straight for a tunnel where they had taken a shortcut to find WindClan earlier that morning.
Tallstar entered first, while Fire Heart waited
at the back until all the clan had disappeared inside. Only Deadfoot remained.
"Are you sure it leads to daylight?" the black tom meowed warily.
"It just leads under the Thunderpath."
"You go first," he muttered. Jagged Peak hopped in and Fire Heart followed the tabby.
Soon they reached a Thunderpath.
Jackdaw's Cry stared at it with wide, mournful eyes and Fire Heart assumed he was remembering Shaded Moss. I'll make sure none of us end up like him.
As Tallstar planned how to cross, Jackdaw's Cry came up to him with a light brown tabby. "Hey, Fire. This is Onewhisker." Fire Heart nodded at the tom, who smiled at him.
Jagged Peak was crouching near the queen, Morningflower, who held her kit close to her.
"We should try to get the clan over in small groups," he heard Jackdaw's Cry suggest. "Fire Heart and I will stay with any that need help. Jagged Peak can organize the groups and tell them when to go."
Tallstar nodded, looking faintly impressed by the black tom's leadership skills. "The strongest group will go first," he decided.
Jagged Peak moved to the edge, watching for a break in the line of monsters.
Onewhisker led the first group forward.
"Do you want us to cross with you?" Fireheart offered. He could smell the young tom's fear. The brown tabby shook his head.
Jagged Peak beside them, peered along the Thunderpath first one way, then the other. All was quiet, so he signaled for them to go.
The group dashed safely over to the other side.
Two warriors came next, guiding a skinny black elder. "Now!" Jagged Peak ordered as a monster flashed safely past. He sounded more confident and less scared of the estranged clan.
The three WindClan cats stepped out onto the empty Thunderpath. The elder winced as he padded across on paws raw from the damp tunnel. Fire Heart willed them on breathlessly as they neared the other side.
A monster was zooming toward them.
"Look out!" Jagged Peak wailed, and even the elder bounded forward, fur bristling. They made it!
Two larger groups crossed, leaving just one more. Only once they were safely over would Tallstar and Deadfoot cross. Morningflower and her kit stepped up to Fire Heart's side with three apprentices behind them. Jagged Peak stepped up to his other side and Fire Heart noticed his limp seemed to be back.
"We'll cross with you," Fire Heart meowed. He looked at Jackdaw's Cry, who nodded. "Tell us when it's safe to go, Jagged Peak."
"Now!" At his apprentice's yowl, Fire Heart and Morningflower stepped out onto the Thunderpath. The apprentices hurried along with Jackdaw's Cry beside them.
Fire Heart heard the distant roar of a monster. "Go on ahead!" he hissed to Morningflower. He turned to see where the others were. Jackdaw's Cry was by his side with two of the apprentices but one had turned back to help Jagged Peak, who had stumbled from his limp.
He lunged forward to grab the apprentice while Jackdaw's Cry shoved the other two forward, tumbling to the safe side. Fire Heart pushed the third apprentice after them and grabbed Jagged Peak, but the monster was already upon them.
He pressed himself down on the gray tabby and stayed still. He felt hot heat on his back that almost burned his fur off and a big rush of hot wind. When he opened his eyes he saw the monster rushing ahead in the same place they had been.
When he looked at the other cats, they were staring with huge, horrified eyes. Jackdaw's Cry was staring at them as if they were ghosts.
Trembling, he nudged Jagged Peak. "Almost there."
Tallstar bounded across with Deadfoot and gathered his trembling clan around him on the verge.
"The monster went right over you! I thought you were dead!" Jackdaw's Cry all but yowled.
"Well, thank StarClan we got lucky," Fire Heart muttered, still trembling. Onewhisker padded up and touched his nose.
"You saved our apprentices."
"Onewhisker is right. WindClan will honor you two in our stories," Tallstar meowed. "We must continue." He looked at Jagged Peak. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," the young tom grumbled. "Stupid limp. My leg is just acting up again! At the worst time."
"Maybe we should rest?" Jackdaw's Cry suggested.
"No!" Jagged Peak limped forward determinedly. "We'll keep going!"
Deadfoot dropped beside Jackdaw's Cry and Fire Heart. "How did he get a limp?" He asked, curious.
"He fell out of a tree when he was a kit," Jackdaw's Cry meowed bluntly. Deadfoot stared with wide eyes.
Finally he just meowed, "I don't understand how SkyClan and ThunderClan can climb."
"Me too," Jackdaw's Cry added. "I like to run." Deadfoot gave him an approving and interested nod.
"Come on," Jagged Peak called. "Mouse-brains, we'll never reach home if you keep daddling!"
The three toms purred with laughter and caught up to the rest of the clan.
Graypaw sat outside the apprentices' den. He couldn't get out of his head, the look Fire Heart had given him when he spotted him among the patrol. Like he had betrayed him.
He shook his head angrily. He was still an apprentice! He had to take orders no matter how much he didn't want to!
Just then, Tigerclaw walked up to him and growled, "Thistlestar is about to give you, Sandpaw and Dustpaw your final assessments now. Get ready. If you pass you'll be warriors."
Usually, Graypaw would have jumped for joy, but now he could only wake the other two, feeling hollow and head out as if it didn't matter at all.
He hardly heard his mother whisper, "good luck" to him.
"Great! It's raining!" Jackdaw's Cry growled as he and his friends led WindClan onwards. "We need shelter for the night," he announced decisively as he turned to the crowd.
Everyone perked up.
"Any ideas?" Jagged Peak asked, water dripping down his whiskers.
Jackdaw's Cry was silent as he racked his brain for a good, safe place to rest.
"He doesn't even know," Mudclaw snorted. "Why even lead?"
Jackdaw's Cry glared. "Do you have a better idea, mouse-brain?"
Mudclaw shrugged and mumbled, "I dunno, that ditch over there." He flicked his tail and Jackdaw's Cry heard squeaks. He snorted incredulously.
"Sure, let's sleep with the rats tonight."
"At least he has an idea," the gray tabby apprentice with orange eyes muttered.
Jackdaw's Cry narrowed his eyes at the young tom. "Who was the one who thought we were ShadowClan again?"
The apprentice opened his mouth to retort but Tallstar stepped forward. "C'mon, everyone. Fighting won't help." He turned to Fire Heart. "I actually have an idea. Follow me, please."
Jackdaw's Cry huffed but followed nonetheless.
When will we reach home? This mission is taking too long, he thought grumpily.
So yeah, in this AU, Gray Wing is the actual father to Turtle's kits, which I think is better.
Review?