The Maple's Guardian Light Chapter 6: Learning the Territory, a Warriors + Hetalia - Axis Powers Crossover fanfic

Chapter 4-Learning the Territory

When France woke up the next morning, he wasted no time calling England in excitement.

"Angleterre you would not believe zhe dream I 'ad!" he said as soon as the Brit picked up but the other was quicker. "You mean the one about Canada and the Clans, Frog? America just called me about the same thing! It was no simple dream, that's for sure!"

"Quoi?" the elder one suddenly said in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The whole time I sensed magic being used to link our dreams together to Canada's to see what happened! That and another thing."

"And zhat would be…?"

"That cat spirit Spottedleaf is sitting in my living room! Except she looks as much human as she does cat!"

"You're joking!" France replied then he heard the sound of someone else grabbing the receiver.

"He isn't France," a very familiar female voice soon sounded with a light-hearted giggle and all France could do at that moment was faint with a "Mon dieu…"

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"I think you made him faint Spottedleaf," England said to a young mixed-brunette woman with playful amber eyes and strong cat features similar to a tortoiseshell. Dressed in a skirt ensemble that could represent her white, brown, and black fur she couldn't help but giggle again as she hung up.

"I think you may be right. And to think America was also one I made react that way. Oh Bluestar will enjoy this one!"

"But will Canada truly be alright?" he asked with great concern.

"Of course! I'm sure he made a friend or two and despite those little lies that he had to tell to earn the Clan's trust he won't be alone."

"That may be true but what I am more gravely concerned about is that those blasted Dark Forest Cats could find out and try something," he said with urgency in his voice. "I have to find out how they came back! On top of it all, they also may find a way here and the other Nations has no way of knowing!"

Spottedleaf did see his point and an idea soon came up. "Well we'll just have to let them know and I'll be the one to do so!"

"You mean with the same technique you used on America, France, and myself? That's a wonderful idea! That way they'll also know about Canada's mission in your world and prepare for an attack here!"

"Thanks! Now I understand that there were two main groups of Nations I should focus on first. Could you tell me who they are?"

"Well that was back during the days of the World Wars but I guess I can share you that information since sometimes we still call each other that. The groups were called the Allies and the Axis Powers back in the day. The Allies consisted of myself, America, France, China and Russia. Canada is often one of us but not as strongly recognized. The Axis Powers is a smaller group consisting of Germany, Japan, and Italy…Well North Italy in proper terms since he and his brother Romano shares duties but Italy is still the stronger voice for the country."

"Thank you for telling me this. I'll start with the rest of the Allies tonight. Would you, France, or America would like to come along?"

"I think France would be the better one to bring because I need the time to find out the cause of the spirits being restored and America constantly fights with Russia. It's been that way since even before the Cold War. I do have to warn you though…Russia does tend to be a bit…unstable at times but he does mean well…I think…"

"I'm sure it will be alright. I actually met him before coming over to your home last night. He was very kind to me, especially with his petting!"

"Alright then…I think it's time for breakfast," he soon said but as he left the room he couldn't help but wonder, *I hope that we're doing the right thing.*

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Maplestreak woke up bright and early from his dream, glad he managed to reassure his family that he was fine. He felt even more relieved that Jayfeather understood the truth and was willing to keep the fact that he was really the Nation of Canada a secret. He soon got up and stretched, remembering that today he started his training as a Clan cat. He first thought of putting his maple leaf pendant on but decided otherwise in case his first lesson was that on hunting.

He soon went up to Oakpaw and gently prodded him. "Wake up, it's time for training."

The small brown apprentice stirred and yawned as he saw the golden cat above him. "Oh morning, Maplestreak. Thanks for waking me up."

The older one nodded before going over to Lilypaw, then Goldenpaw, and waking them up in the same gentle manner.

Lilypaw also stirred and gave a good long stretch. "Mmmm…Good morning!"

Goldenpaw was the quicker one as she soon stirred then jumped up with energy. "Morning! I can't wait to see what Greystripe is planning on teaching me today! Maybe I'll learn how to fish!"

Suddenly a grey and white she-cat with blue eyes came in and saw they were all awake. "Well I guess I don't have to wake anyone up this morning, huh?"

"Maplestreak already did so Ivypool," Lilypaw calmly told her mentor and Maplestreak now knew that this cat is Dovewing's sister.

"Well it's nice to meet you Maplestreak. Dovewing and Bumblestripe has told me quite a bit about you already. Today we're going on a small patrol to show you the territory so you can be familiar with it."

"All of us?" Goldenpaw asked with excitement and Ivypool nodded. "Great! I can help tell him a lot about our territory like the Sky Oak and the abandoned Twoleg nest!"

Her siblings laughed then Oakpaw said, "My sister is always willing to help the Clan no matter what but she always seems to listen well to her mentor."

Maplestreak couldn't help but give a light chuckle himself, thinking of a few fellow Nations who are almost similar, like Italy when it comes to some of Germany's training; always eager yet can listen when he wants to. He soon fished out his pendant and put it on, with some difficulty, before the five of them soon left the den to see Greystripe, Lionblaze, and Dovewing waiting for them.

"Good morning everyone," Lionblaze greeted. "Did you all have some good sleep last night?"

"I sure did!" Goldenpaw perked up. "I dreamt I was swimming underwater and saw lots of fish! It was amazing!"

"I had a good hunting dream where I caught a mourning dove with one jump," Lilypaw soon said and Oakpaw added. "So did I! Except mine was when I chased a squirrel up near the Sky Oak and caught it before it started climbing."

"Sounds like you all had very good dreams!" Greystripe said with a laugh before turning to Maplestreak. "And what dream did you have?"

"W-well StarClan helped with mine actually," he said sheepishly. "They let my family visit me in my dreams so I could tell them I was alright and they were relieved. Especially my brother and my Papa."

*I won't go into detail about us being Nations or that Jayfeather found out,* he added to himself quietly as Greystripe nodded. "It looks like StarClan was being kind to you. Now as you all know, we're going on a patrol. Half of the reason is to show Maplestreak the territory and the other half is that a ShadowClan patrol warned the night patrol about mysterious cats roaming around last night so Bramblestar needs extra warriors in the camp to protect the kits and elders."

"Why would those warriors want to warn us anyway?" Goldenpaw asked with a confused tip to her head. "They usually don't care about the other Clans! Not even that stupid fur ball Onestar would even think of warning us!"

"Because Goldenpaw," Jayfeather perked up suddenly as he strolled over, "the other medicine cats are getting similar visions to my maple leaf one now. Littlecloud told me this early this morning at sunrise as I was collecting yarrow and wild garlic near the border."

"Onestar? Littlecloud? Who are they?" Maplestreak asked and Dovewing explained. "Littlecloud is the ShadowClan medicine cat while Onestar is the leader of WindClan…though lately we haven't been as friendly with them as in the past."

Maplestreak said nothing because he knew that they probably weren't ready to explain how so at the moment. In fact it seemed to be a very sensitive subject to his ThunderClan friends by the look of discomfort in her eyes. Lionblaze soon stood and the patrol left to explore the territory, much to his relief since he wanted to move to another subject anyway as he said goodbye to Jayfeather.

They first stopped at what Maplestreak saw was the biggest oak tree he'd ever seen, whether in Nation or cat form, as it almost looked like it touched the sky and Goldenpaw noticed.

"This is the Sky Oak," she started explaining when Greystripe said she could. "It's the biggest tree in our territory and it's perfect for climbing and catching squirrels! Sometimes an owl comes here to rest at night but it doesn't usually stay long."

"Sweet maple it's huge!" he said then he smelled something among the leaves and he soon poked around to find an owl pellet. "Looks like an owl did stay here and had a good amount of prey."

"You can tell?" Lilypaw asked in curiosity at the pellet and he nodded as he began to carefully break it apart with his claws. "Owls eat their prey in large chunks, bones included unlike us, and then they roll the bones and fur in their bellies before spitting up the pellets like this one here. Sometimes you could see what they ate by breaking it apart and looking at the bones. And it looks like this one enjoyed a good feast of mouse and shrew while it rested by these tiny skulls here."

The apprentices looked closely with interest and saw there were a few mouse and shrew skulls in the pellet, but they soon bounced back at the smell as Goldenpaw said, "Ewww! Smells like crowfood!"

The older warriors purred in laughter along with Maplestreak until Dovewing signalled with her tail that it was time to keep moving so they followed her until they saw where the forest ended and a large grassy field began past a small stream. Maplestreak also noticed another cat smell in this area that was different to the ThunderClan smell he started to get used to over the last couple of days. Lilypaw noticed his curiosity and Ivypool gave her permission to explain with a nod of her head.

"That's WindClan territory over where all of that field is," she began. "They are the faster and better rabbit hunters of all the Clans. Once ThunderClan and WindClan were on friendlier terms but now…"

She trailed off and Greystripe continued. "When Onestar became leader, they grew hostile towards us, as if he owed us too much and wanted nothing to do with us. We did help them back in the old forest when ShadowClan was ruled by this murderous cat, named Brokenstar, came and drove them out for not agreeing with his demands of sharing hunting grounds, and then in a couple of great battles, as well as the journey here when the twolegs destroyed our home…but now I'm thinking that Tallstar may have picked the wrong cat on his dying breath. They believe in suspicions rather than owning up to the truth like the real warriors they are supposed to be."

"In fact," Lionblaze put in, "the only cats that seems to have a little more sense in the entire Clan are Kestrelflight, their medicine cat, and my father with his mate, Crowfeather and Nightcloud after the Dark Forest War."

Maplestreak was shocked to hear such an honourable Clan go bipolar like that! He made a secret promise to himself that if it came to him travelling to the other Clans, then he would get Onestar to smarten up or else he'll see if StarClan could find WindClan a replacement leader. But then that thought quickly went away as he smelled a patrol coming closer and three cats, two warriors and an apprentice, came to them with suspicion in their eyes. Well for one warrior as the other one, a grey-black older tom with blue eyes, seemed to have grief hiding behind that mask of suspicion, and the apprentice was just plain curious.

"What are you doing here, ThunderClan?" the more suspicious warrior growled, which caused Maplestreak to become a bit nervous, but the ThunderClan cats stood their ground as Ivypool began to speak.

"We are not planning to spy or invade if that is what you think, Tornear. We have a new cat in our Clan and we were merely just showing him our territory. And that includes our border with your Clan."

The darker cat took a sniff at Maplestreak and wrinkled his nose in surprise. "He smells like a twoleg."

"I just arrived yesterday," Maplestreak responded while doing his best to keep calm again. "As a traveller I am often around twolegs so I have yet to get all of the twoleg scent out of my fur. May I ask who you are, please?"

The WindClan patrol were surprised at his manners and found themselves calming down as the grey tom spoke. "My name is Crowfeather, while this is Tornear and his apprentice Sparrowpaw."

Sparrowpaw looked at him with more curiosity, obviously new in his apprenticeship still unlike the other three that looked a few moons older, so he gave a smile to show he was friend, not foe, and the smaller cat relaxed with a smile in return. He looked at Tornear next and saw he still looked somewhat hostile, not that Maplestreak was all that surprised considering what he heard, while Crowfeather had sorrow showing in his blue eyes that caused his ears to droop in sorrow and sympathy.

"Umm…n-not to be rude Crowfeather," he started out nervously, "but is everything alright?"

Crowfeather looked surprised and knew he couldn't keep quiet since this young golden tom was very quiet and gentle for an outsider and in those violet eyes he could see he can trust him. "To be honest…I'm grieving for a kit I lost in the Dark Forest War."

"I thought you said you had no grief for Breezepelt!" Tornear said in surprise but Crowfeather continued with a slow, sad shake of his head.

"No, Tornear. It's Hollyleaf I'm grieving for. Despite everything she did that almost torn apart my life, she still was my daughter and she died a brave and honest cat. Breezepelt can roam the Dark Forest for all I care since he caused more crimes and felt no remorse, unlike her."

Maplestreak's ears perked up, knowing what to say about Hollyleaf to help her grieving father! "There's no need for worry, Crowfeather. Hollyleaf is in StarClan with a very special duty."

Crowfeather looked at him in the eye in surprise and curiosity as he continued. "StarClan sometimes lets me see my family and friends in my dreams to reassure them that I'm alright. With that I have two spirit guides to protect me in case anything goes wrong. One of them is Firestar and the other is Hollyleaf, as if it's their way of forgiving her for all of her crimes since she did feel regret for her actions and changed her ways in time before the darkness in her heart completely consumed her, like it did to Breezepelt."

The dark grey warrior looked even more surprised, as well as relief to hear such good news, and soon he felt tears come down his face so he just surrendered to his feelings. All the other cats were surprised at this, except Maplestreak who soon comforted the grieving father with his paws and tail in some sort of hug, allowing him to just let it all out. The golden tom knew how much grief Crowfeather must have felt for the past moons, considering that he, as the Nation of Canada, had to comfort many families if their children, husbands, or wives were lost in any of the wars he faced so it was not all that foreign to him. Except for the fact he was doing it as a cat of course.

Not that he cared right now as he felt Crowfeather calm down and soon he let go and looked at him. No words were exchanged but Maplestreak could see in his eyes he was grateful for such gentleness. Soon the WindClan patrol left, with Crowfeather looking back one last time with a smile, showing his trust for the golden outsider who gently smiled in return.

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Author's Notes

Whew this took a bit but this will be one of two chapter updates on FanFiction!

Also I'd like to thank mapleleafhero1, The Girl with Angel Wings, Time Traverser, artwolf327, The Magnetic Witch, PaintingMornings, Elwyntaiga, Sage of the Wolves, themusicalcat, and xXSoul-dweller for the follows, mapleleafhero1, The Magnetic Witch, PaintingMornings, Elwyntaiga, Sage of the Wolves, themusicalcat, and xXSoul-dweller again for the faves, and lastly to Time Traverser, The Magnetic Witch, themusicalcat, and demon-soul-7 for the reviews! (All replies to reviews are done through my inbox unless anonymously.)

I decided to get that all out of the way first since I never updated since June 2013. (Whoops!)

Anywhoo first of all Happy New Year to all my fans and readers and now for my two cents!

Here Canada not only learns of ThunderClan's territory as well as some personal news between the clans, but he also made a friend from WindClan!

I decided to have Crowfeather as one of his WindClan connections for later on.

The reason is that Crowfeather and Nightcloud both agreed in the last book of the Omen of the Stars saga that they wouldn't show grief for Breezepelt. I saw from various fan arts and stuff that Breezepelt felt no remorse for his actions...but that got me thinking.

Would Crowfeather start grieving for Hollyleaf instead, despite her actions that one gathering and showing remorse afterwards?

Thus landing Crowfeather this role as one of Canada's WindClan connections! (He'll have three of them but I'm not telling who the other two are!)

And as an added twist for the later half of the story; all cats that are/going to be in Canada's world will have Neko forms! That's right, they'll be cat-people and I already have some designs set but if you guys want to give me suggestions then let me know!

Nation Human's names: NONE!

Enjoy and review!