Chapter 3: The Explosion pt 3
"Icepaw, Nightpaw, and Ashpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, to protect and serve this clan, even at the cost of your life?" a black tom with demonic, amber eyes asked.
"I do." Icepaw meowed.
"I do" Nightpaw meowed.
"I do." Ashpaw meowed.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior names. Icepaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Icewing. Starclan honors your strength and courage, and we welcome you, as a full warrior of Shadowclan. Nightpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Nightshadow. Starclan honors your speed and resilience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Shadowclan. Ashpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Ashscar. Starclan honors your strength and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Shadowclan." The black tom announced.
"ICEWING! NIGHTSHADOW! ASHSCAR! ICEWING! NIGHTSHADOW! ASHSCAR!" Shadowclan cheered.
The black tom allowed the clan to cheer for a few more minutes, then flicked his tail for silence. The clan started to quiet down.
"Bloodkit, please come forward." The black tom meowed.
A small, black she-kit with red eyes stepped forward, she looked excited.
"Bloodkit, from this moment on, you shall be known as Bloodpaw. I will be your mentor." The black tom announced.
A brown and light grey tom with a white chest, eartips, tailtip, and yellow eyes was surprised, so were some other cats. Bloodkit was only three moons old, she was half the age a kit could be an apprentice. This clearly broke the warrior code, but no one spoke out; not of fear of the demonic, black tom, but because there was a reason Bloodpaw needed to be made an apprentice so early. However, not everyone was convinced, a black and white dappled she-cat with crossed yellow-orange eyes stepped forward, pissed, but before she could say anything.
"Before any of you say anything, I will only be training Bloodpaw into controlling her powers. By the time she is six moons old, that's when her real training will begin." The black tom explained.
"Shouldn't that be a queen's job?" a black she-cat with white paws and pale blue eyes asked.
"Or at least the father's?" the black and white dappled she-cat asked.
"Despite Brackenflower and Oakstorm's best efforts, it is clear that Bloodpaw will need more training. That is why I've decided to make Bloodpaw an apprentice this early." The black tom meowed.
"Shadowstar consulted me and Oakstorm…" Brackenflower meowed.
"And we agree that Bloodpaw will need more training in her power. It's for the best." Oakstorm nodded.
The Shadowclan cats took Oakstorm and Brackenflower's words for it and accepted it, but some still didn't like it. Shadowstar jumped down and touched Bloodpaw's nose.
"BLOODPAW! BLOODPAW! BLOODPAW!" most of the Shadowclan cats cheered.
Shadowstar jumped back on to the highrock.
"MEETING DISMISSED!" he yowled.
The crowd dispersed; some congratulated the new warriors while others either went back to their dens or their duties. Brackenflower guided her other kits back to the nursery, all three kits were very jealous.
"That's not fair, mama, how come Bloodpaw gets to be an apprentice and we're not?!" a dark grey she-kit with white eartips, muzzle, chest, paws, tailtip, and yellow eyes asked.
"You know why, Skykit." Brackenflower meowed.
Bloodpaw wasn't exactly surprised that her apprentice ceremony was marred with so much controversy, even she knew this broke the warrior code. However, this was largely due to her power and that she accidently injured Skykit when she was practicing her power. Shadowstar saw his apprentice's discomfort and gave her a gentle nudge.
"Come on, there's a lot to do today." He meowed.
"So what are we doing first?" Bloodpaw asked.
"Well first, we're going to explore the territory, then if we have enough time, we'll practice a few basics." Shadowstar meowed.
Bloodpaw was a little disappointed, she was hoping to learn some hunting or at least some fighting moves, but even she knew she would have to be at least six moons before she could start. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard, Shadowclan cats turned around and saw a large, fiery mushroom cloud, from a distance. The explosion sent a shockwave that blew the Shadowclan cats away, either to the other side of camp or into the woods. Cats either landed the ground or some trees or rocks. Everyone was dizzy and in pain, Shadowstar shook his head and slowly got up. He looked around and saw the Shadowclan camp damaged and nearly destroyed, along with many of his clanmates being injured or wounded. Shadowstar looked around to find Bloodpaw and found her right next to him. He licked Bloodpaw's shoulder to see if she was ok and if she would wake up. Bloodpaw groan in pain and slowly woke up, her vision was very blurry, so it took some time for her to recover.
"Are you ok, Bloodpaw?" Shadowstar asked.
"Yeah…yeah, I'm ok." She meowed.
"Is everyone else, ok?" Shadowstar yowled.
Cats didn't immediately respond, everyone was either in pain or slowly getting up. A black and silver dappled with dark purple eyes was helping a fluffy, white and cream she-cat with frosty blue eyes stand up, even with a broken leg. The black and white dappled she-cat with crossed yellow-orange eyes had gotten up, slowly.
"Yeah…Yeah, we're ok, Shadowstar." She meowed.
Shadowstar went into the camp and it was a mess. Some dens had collapsed, others were damaged, and leaves, sticks, and dry moss scattered all over the camp. Cats slowly walked back to the camp and were horrified by the mess. Cats whispered and murmured amongst themselves. A white she-cat with gray stripes and blue eyes, a black and silver dappled with dark purple eyes, a small, black she-cat with a white underbelly and dark blue eyes, and a rusty brown she-cat with yellow eyes walked into the medicine cat den and started gathering the herbs needed to treat injuries. A sable colored she-cat with dark green eyes
"Shadowstar, all cats have been accounted for." she meowed.
"Any deaths?" he asked.
"No. Besides a few injuries and minor wounds, everyone is here." The sable cat meowed.
"Was this an omen?!" a fluffy white she-cat with silver stripes, markings on her paws, and leaf-green eyes asked, panicking.
"Cloudsky, calm down." a small, black tom with a white belly and icy blue eyes meowed, calmly.
"What would make you think this was an omen anyway?!" a small, black she-cat with white flecks on her face and hazel eyes asked, enraged.
"I agree with Nightfeather. Besides, there's no way the other clans didn't feel that." Brackenflower meowed.
"I agree. Speaking of which, Thunderclan's gonna want Oakstorm, in case some trees fell into their camp." The sable she-cat pointed out.
"I agree. FIREWING!" Shadowstar meowed.
"Yes, Shadowstar." She meowed.
"Go to Thunderclan and get Pinestar, we need him to move some trees that have fallen into our camp." He ordered.
"Yes, of course, Shadowstar." Firewing nodded.
"Oh and check to see if Thunderclan needs Oakstorm, will you?" Shadowstar asked.
"Of course." Firewing meowed.
She flew away and Shadowstar looked around. Until Pinestar got here, there wasn't much any cat could do until the trees were moved. The warriors and apprentice dens were squashed, the nursery was damaged, and the fallen trees had covered most of the camp.
"Alright, listen up! Any cats that are injured need to see Yewfang, Darkpaw, Berrypaw, and Moonfall. Firestorm, Spottedpaw, and Brackenflower, help them out with the herbs. The rest of the warriors are going to help rebuild the dens, start with the nursery and the elders den, the queens, kits, and elder can stay in Pinetail's den for now. Apprentices, I want you to clean up the camp. Pick up the sticks, moss, prey, and leaves. Either give the leaves and sticks to a warrior to help rebuild the dens or bury them outside of the camp. Got it?" Shadowstar ordered.
"Got it, Shadowstar!" some of the clan shouted.
Others nodded and got to work, while some cats went to the medicine cats for their injuries, the queens and Nightfeather urged the kits into Pinetail's den. Bloodpaw approached Shadowstar and Pinetail.
"What should I do, should I help Brackenflower, Firestorm, and Spottedpaw?" she asked.
Shadowstar thought about it and looked to see the medicine cats treating the wounded while Firestorm, Brackenflower, and Spottedpaw were making the herbs needed to heal them. There wasn't any chaos or panic, so Shadowstar decided that everything was fine over there and there was no need for any more help. Though, he could see why Bloodpaw wanted to help, her plant mimicking abilities were a lot better than some of her other abilities.
"No, you just help the other apprentices clean up." Shadowstar meowed.
"Are you sure, I mimic plant powers well." Bloodpaw insisted.
"I know you do, but I think Yewfang, Moonfall, Darkpaw, and Berrypaw have enough help." Shadowstar meowed.
"Alright." Bloodpaw meowed.
She walked away and helped some of the other apprentices clean up.
"Shadowstar, we should talk about what we should do with prey. Most of the fresh-kill was damaged during the blast." Pinetail pointed out.
"We'll talk about it later, once we clean up this mess. Though, I'm not surprised if that blast scared all the prey away. I wouldn't be surprised if we suffer a prey shortage." He replied.
"Shadowstar!" a voice meowed.
Firewing landed back into camp, in front of Shadowstar and Pinetail.
"Shadowstar, Pinestar's on his way, he's also asked for Oakstorm, as expected." She reported.
"Thank you, Firewing. Oakstorm, head to Thunderclan, they need your help!" Shadowstar yelled.
"Got it, Shadowstar." He nodded.
Oakstorm stopped what he was doing and left the camp.
"There's more, Brackenclaw is dead." Firewing meowed.
Pinetail and Shadowstar were both surprised.
"He was a good deputy and a worthy opponent, I will miss him." Pinetail meowed, solemnly.
"I'll give my condolences to Pinestar when he shows up." Shadowstar meowed.
Shadowstar, Pinetail, and Firewing looked at their camp and knew there was going to be a long road to recovery.
"This is going to be a long road ahead." Pinetail meowed.
"Yes…I agree." Shadowstar meowed.