Warrior Tribes Series One Book #1

The Omen of Shadows

1/21/2017

Warrior Tribes

(Contribute to Erin Hunter's Warriors Series)

The Omen of Shadows

Tribe Cats

Star Tribe

Leader: Moon in the Pool (Moonpool)-bluish tom

Deputy: Silentnight (Silence of the Night)-black tom

Healing Cat: Lightningclaw (Claws of Lightning)-yellow tabby with scar that looks like lightning

Warriors:
Shiningnight (Shining Stars of the Night)-a white she-cat
Apprentice: Wintersky
Starynight (Stary Night)-a gray tom
Apprentice: Snowpetal
Risingmoon (Rising of the Moon)-pure gray she-cat
Apprentice: Halfmoon
Sunset (Setting of the Sun)-orange tabby tom
Sunrise (Rise of the Sun)-a yellow she-cat
Duskpelt (Dusk of the Night)-brown tom
Darkmoon (Darkest Shade of Moon)-black she-cat

Apprentices:
Halfmoon (Half the Moon)-whitish-grayish tom
Wintersky (Sky of Winter)-white-gray tom
Snowpetal (Petal of Snow)-whitish-reddish she-cat

To-Be-Mothers
Dawnflower (Flower at Dawn)-dawn colored she-cat
Skypelt (Pelt of the Sky)-bluish-grayish she-cat (mother of Silentnight’s kits, Night (pure black she-cat), Comet (a she-cat the color of a comet blazing across the sky), Swift (blue and white she-cat), and Breeze (a black and grey tabby she-cat with white markings)

Elders:
Cloudysun (Clouds of the Sun)-whitish-orangish she-cat

Tornado Tribe

Leader: Fur in the Gorse (Gorsefur)-greenish-brownish tabby tom

Deputy: Heatherbracken (Heather in the Bracken)-a brown she-cat

Healing Cat: Blackleaf (Blackest Leaf)-black tabby

Warriors:
Tallbreeze- (Tall Trees in the Breeze) gray tom
Windyhill- (Wind on the Hill)-a tan colored she-cat
Summerair (Summer in the Air)-an orange-yellow-reddish she-cat
Apprentice: Cracklefur
Rainstorm (Storm with Rain)-blue-gray tom
Stormcloud (Stormy Cloud)-blue-gray tabby tom
Lightningscar (Scar of Lightning)-an orange-yellow tabby with a scar running down his eye onto his neck
Apprentice: Boomingthunder
Mistycloud (Mist from a Cloud)-gray tortoise shell she-cat
Cloudyair (Clouds in the Air)-white tom
Apprentice: Windpool

Apprentices:
Windpool (Wind by the Pool)-bluish she-cat
Cracklefur (Crackle of Lightning)-brown tabby
Boomingthunder (Booming of Thunder)-grayish tabby tom

To-Be-Mothers:
Floodwater (Flooding Water)-blue-gray she-cat

Elders:
Fogwater (Foggy Water)-white she-cat

Winter Tribe

Leader: Fur of Crystals (Crystalfur)-pure white she-cat

Deputy: Winterair (Air of Winter)-white-blue she-cat

Healing Cat:
Mistypool (Misty Water Pool)-white-blue she-cat

Warriors:
Hawkfrost (Frost of Hawk)-brown-white tabby tom
Poppyfrost (Frost of Poppies) -red tortoise shell she-cat
Apprentice: Icecloud
Frostytrail (Trail of Frost)-a black tom with jet white paws
Icyclaws (Claws of Ice)-a pure white tom
Hailfoot (Sky of Hail)-white-gray tom
Apprentice: Clearsnow
Snowstorm (Storm of Snow)-pale white she-cat
Coldfangs (Fangs of Cold)-pale white tabby

Apprentices:
Icecloud (Cloud of Ice)-pure white tom
Clearsnow (Clear Snow)-pale gray tabby tom

To-Be-Mothers:
Willowsleet (Willow in Sleet)-white tortoise shell she-cat (mother of Coldfangs’ kits (Snow, a bluish and whitish she-cat and Ice, a blue tortoiseshell tom)
Snowfern (Ferns in Snow)-tortoise shell she-cat

Elders:
Dewspot (Spots of Dew)-a gray she-cat with one huge white spot on her back

Rainbow Tribe

Leader: Tail of Cinder (Cindertail)-brown she-cat

Deputy: Redlight (Light of Red)-red tabby

Healing Cat: Bigheart (Big Heart)-a brown tabby tom who is completely blind

Warriors:
Dustfur (Dusty Fur)-dusky pale brown tabby
Apprentice: Blackheart
Goldenheart (Heart of Gold)-yellow she-cat
Silverfoot (Foot of Silver)-silver tortoise shell she-cat
Apprentice: Springshine
Smokynose (Smoky Nose)-a smoky black tabby tom
Ashtail (Ash Tail)-a white-brown tabby
Leaffur (Fur made of Leaves)-dark tabby tom
Apprentice: Morninglight
Ripplepelt (Ripple Water)-dark gray tom
Apprentice: Pinefur

Apprentices:
Springshine (Sign of Spring)-white-brown she-cat
Morninglight (Morning Light)-a tortoise shell she-cat
Blackheart (Heart of Black)-pale black tom
Pinefur (Fur of Pines)-short haired tabby

To-Be-Mothers:
Tawnyfur (Tawny Fur)-tortoise shell she-cat (mother of Ripplepelt’s kits, Water (a bluish white tom), and Forest (a grayish greenish tortoise shell she-cat)
Kinkpelt (Pelt of Kink)-gray-brown she-cat

Elders:
Runningrainbow (Running Rainbow)-white tom

Swift Tribe

Leader: Pelt of Honey (Honeypelt)-orange-yellow she-cat

Deputy: Weaslefur (Weasle Fur)-brown furred tabby

Healing Cat: Brightlight (Brightest Light)-brown she-cat blind in one eye
Apprentice: Voleear

Warriors:
Shrewfern (Shrew in the Fern)-gray tabby tom
Apprentice: Harespring
Otterfur (Fur of the Otter)-pale brown tabby
Birchfall (Falling Birch)-light brown tom
Apprentice: Toadpelt
Earthwing (Wings of Earth)-brown tortoise shell she-cat
Rabbitfoot (Rabbit’s Foot)-white she-cat with pale brown paws
Apprentice: Fishtail
Mousewhisker (Whiskers of a Mouse)-a brown tabby tom
Grizzlynose (Grizzly’s Nose)-a black tom with a huge nose
Beetleeyes (Eyes of a Beetle)-greenish-grayish she-cat
Apprentice: Bumblestripes
Birdtrail (Trail of a Bird)-red-brown she-cat

Apprentices:
Bumblestripes (Stripes of a Bee)-an unusually black stripped tom
Toadpelt (Toad’s Pelt)-dark brown tabby tom
Fishtail (Tail of Fish)-a silver-white she-cat
Voleear (Vole’s Ear)-pure white she-cat with two brown ears
Harespring (Spring of Hare)-white-brown tabby

To-Be-Mothers:
Bluebird (Blue Bird)-bluish she-cat (mother of Otterfur’s kits Squirrel (a ginger she-cat with a bushy tail), Bear (a black tabby), Starling (a reddish she-cat), and Wolf (a brownish gray tabby tom)

Chapter 1
The feeling of a wet tongue gently stroking her head woke Night up. She opened her dark, sleepy blue eyes to see her mother, Skypelt grooming her softly. “Sorry if I woke you up Night.” purred Skypelt affectionately. “You can go back to sleep if you want.” Night shook her head and slowly got up from her mother’s side heading towards the entrance of the nursery. The camp was still sound asleep with only a few warriors awake including her father as his nest was empty. “Where’s father?” mewed Night bringing her head back into the warmth of their den. “Your father Silentnight is leading a border patrol.” meowed Skypelt as she groomed Night’s siblings. Breeze, Comet and Swift were all fast asleep not seeming to notice their fur being groomed. “Hello my kits.” greeted a warm, loud voice from outside the to-be-mothers den. “Father!” squeaked Night jumping up and down excitedly. The scent of freshly caught vole filled Night’s nose and her mouth began to water uncontrollably. “That smells delicious!” exclaimed Skypelt dipping her head in greeting to her mate. Silentnight touched his nose to hers affectionately before nudging Night’s siblings. “Father?” squeaked Swift opening her pale blue eyes slowly. “I brought you all some juicy vole!” meowed Silentnight and then a bit louder said. “But I guess you don’t want any so I’ll just give it to one of the elders.” All of the kits sprang up immediately and looked at their father pleadingly. “That’s better.” purred Silentnight in amusement ripping off a piece for each kit. “That was good.” exclaimed Comet as she finished her last piece. “If you wish you may go outside to play but only stay in camp.” meowed Skypelt sternly. “I want to hear more elder stories!” cried Breeze running off towards the elders den followed by Comet. The camp was much busier now thanks to the sun coming up over the trees. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blue and white pelt slowly making its way over to the healing den. “You aren’t coming to hear elder stories again?” exclaimed Night catching her sibling before she went down into the den. “I’m sorry night but I promised Lightningclaw I’d help him sort herbs.” “Come on Night!” cried Breeze as they waited for her on the other side of the clearing. “Ok Swift.” replied Night uncertainly. “Come play with us later ok?” Swift didn’t reply and raced into the den with excitement.

Chapter 2
Swift smelt the air in the healing den; sweet, tangy, bitter, and delicious scents filled the air making her hungry all over again. “Can I help?” asked Swift eagerly. “Morning Swift. I think I have a job for you.” meowed Lightningclaw putting down several large leaves that had been scattered on the ground. “So what’s the job?” asked Swift impatiently. “Patience is the number one key to being a healing cat.” meowed Lightningclaw briskly. “Sorry.” said Swift hanging her head. “Now, now, now. Don’t be sorry for yourself. It happens to everybody. Now about that job. First, what does tansy look like and what is it used for?” asked Lightningclaw. Swift thought for a moment. “Tansy looks like a fluffy, yellow flower. It is used for treating coughs. “Very good.” replied Lightningclaw quite impressed. “How about feverfew?” “Feverfew is a white and yellow flower used for treating head pain or calming cats down.” answered Swift quickly and proudly. “Very good.” praised Lightningclaw. “Now that you know the difference between to the two I would like you to sort them from one another.” Swift nodded her head excitedly and got right to work; it wasn’t very hard as both herbs looked different and there seemed to be a short supply on tansy.
After she was done the job, Swift reported back to Lightningclaw. “There’s a short supply of tansy. May I go get some more?” “Absolutely not!” snapped Lightningclaw, “You know kits aren’t allowed outside of the camp with or without a warrior!” Swift’s tail dropped. Lightningclaw quickly add “But, you can go get Shiningnight to fetch some for me. That would be a big help and then come back to help me with tidying up this place.” “Sure!!” squeaked Swift racing out of the healing den in search of the warrior. She spotted Shiningnight eating a squirrel near the kill pile. “Shiningnight!!” cried Swift skidding to a stop. Shiningnight jumped up. “What is it?” meowed the she-cat startled. “Lightningclaw sent me to fetch you.” she gulped in a breath of air before continuing. “He needs you to get more tansy for him before he runs out completely.” “I’ll be right on it.” she meowed padding out of camp with Sunrise.
As Swift returned to the healing den, before she even had a chance to speak, Lightningclaw asked her a serious question. “Why would you like to be a healing cat?” The words echoed in her head as she searched for a good answer. “I-I guess it just feels right for me to help my tribe mates by helping them get better, and repaying the favor by protecting, hunting, fighting for what’s right.” she replied carefully. Lightningclaw nodded his head. “You might have the heart of a true healing cat in you after all.” he murmured half to himself. Swift felt embarrassed and quickly changed the topic. “Could I get you some fresh kill?” she asked quickly. “No thanks I already ate a mouse.” replied Lightningclaw walking towards the entrance of the den. “Where are you going?” asked Swift mischievously. “Kits”, he purred, “always getting into other cats business.” Swift turned beet red and dipped her head in apology. “How about you go listen to some elder stories with your sisters, hmm?” he meowed. “They’ve been wanting you to join them for a while now I see.” Swift perked her ears in curiosity. “How did you know that?” she squeaked. Lightningclaw’s eyes shimmered in amusement. “A healing cat knows everything.” And with that, he disappeared into the bustling camp, leaving Swift to herself in the healing den.
Even though the clearing was full of energy, it was fairly quiet and only a few cats were chatting as the rest were preparing for the colder days of fall. “So how did it go with Lightningclaw? Did he give you a task?” asked Skypelt padding up to her daughter with Silentnight. “It was fun.” she meowed forgetting all about his question. “He said I have the heart of a healing cat.” Both their parents exchanged excited glances with each other. “That’s great news!” purred Skypelt. “I think Lightningclaw might want to have you as his apprentice. Swift looked at her parents happily.

Chapter 3
Breeze’s ears were sore from listening to elder stories. “I’ll be back.” she lied interrupting Cloudysun’s story about encountering a raccoon raiding. As soon as Breeze came out of the elders den, she let out a sigh.
Before long, she noticed the apprentices talking in a huddled group. “What’s going on?” mewed Breeze curiously sprinting over. The apprentices narrowed their eyes and examined her carefully. After a moment of silence, one of the apprentices finally spoke up. “Can you keep a secret?” whispered Snowpetal secretively. “Sure.” replied Breeze confused. “Well,” started Wintersky shaking his grayish-white pelt. “We overheard Lightningclaw talking to Moon in the Pool and it seems he was begging for our leader to make Swift his apprentice.” finished Halfmoon in a hushed voice. “He wasn’t begging.” snapped Snowpetal in an agitated voice. “Stop over exaggerating.” “It sounds better.” protested Halfmoon. While both apprentices were bickering, Breeze was silent with excitement. “I have to tell her! She’ll be so excited!” she mewed aloud. The apprentices became silent and glared at Breeze. “You shouldn’t tell her.” objected Wintersky. “Why not?” squeaked Breeze eyeing him curiously. “You don’t want to spoil her surprise, do you?” added Snowpetal cocking her head to one side. “I think you should wait until her apprentice ceremony. She’ll find out then.” The she-kit’s eyes went wide with excitement and she nodded her head vigorously. Breeze raced back to the elder’s den without hesitation. Even though she wasn’t allowed to tell her tribe mates, at least she could tell her siblings. With uncontrollable speed, Breeze crashed into the elder’s den with full force.“Whoa what got in your fur?” asked Comet. “No time for questions! I need to tell you something really important!!” panted Breeze jumping up and down happily. “If it’s so important should I get Swift?” asked Night, startled. “No!” meowed Breeze quickly. Both her siblings including Cloudysun stared at her in bewilderment. “Ok then.” meowed Comet. “What do you want to tell us?” Breeze beckoned them to come closer so Cloudysun couldn’t hear. “You know how Swift wants to become a healing cat,” started Breeze taking in a gulp of air. “Snowpetal, Halfmoon, and Wintersky overheard Lightningclaw talking to Moon in the Pool about making Swift his apprentice. Her dream might come true!”

Chapter 4
Comet stared at Night and Breeze with her jaw wide open. “That’s awesome news Breeze I’m going to tell Swift right now!!” said Comet bounding away. “Not so fast.” cried Breeze stopping Comet. “Why not?” retorted Comet walking back to her siblings. “Don’t you want to keep it a surprise?” asked Breeze. Comet was about to argue when Night spoke up for the first time since Breeze told them about Swift. “That is a good idea Breeze. I think we should keep it that way.” Her littermates looked expectantly at Comet. “Fine.” replied Comet. “Well now that we have that clear, let's keep listening to elder stories; Cloudysun is just getting to the good part.” exclaimed Night. "I think I'm good for now, I'll catch up on the story later." muttered Comet heading for the exit just as Swift raced in. A thought was agitating her mind as she padded over to the to-be-mothers den that she wanted to ask her mother. Before she could even open her mouth as she padded into the nursery, she found her mother fast asleep. Comet shook her head in frustration and headed out of the den to try and find her father instead. The muscular, black tom was a distance away talking to Duskpelt and Darkmoon. The thought of her becoming a warrior and going into battle made her feel dizzy with excitement and before she knew it, she had bumped into her father. “Whoa!” exclaimed Silentnight turning around in surprise. “Watch where you’re going Comet!” A heat of embarrassment rolled over Comet. “Father I need to ask you a question.” mewed Comet. Silentnight nodded his head in farewell to his tribe mates and beckoned Comet to follow him. As they settled down close to the prey pile in the middle of camp, Comet couldn’t hold it in anymore. “When do we become apprentices?” she blurted out impatiently. Silentnight stared at her sympathetically. “I remember asking that question to my father, Shootingstar.” he purred getting lost in thought. His bright, yellow eyes trailed back to Comet, remembering her question. “Tomorrow morning.” he meowed simply. “But don’t tell your siblings.” he added in a lower voice. “Ok…” she replied crossly. She didn’t like to keep secrets. “It will be fairly early in the morning from what Moon in the Pool told me so I suggest you go to bed a bit earlier so you’re ready for tomorrow’s ceremony.” he ordered prodding her over to the nursery with his fairly large paw. “I’ll be sending your sisters into the nursery as well so they’re ready for tomorrow morning.” Comet turned around and headed inside the warm den. This would be her last night inside the to-be-mother’s den.

Chapter 5
Swift awoke to a gentle prod on the shoulder. “What it is?” groaned Swift grumpily twitching her ears as a fly buzzed above them. “Moon in the Pool just called a tribe meeting. You don’t want to miss any important news, do you?” replied Skypelt waking up Breeze who complained about it being too early for a meeting. Swift heard an excited squeal from Comet. Why is she so excited, thought Swift. “Come on guys get up!! We can’t miss this!!” yelled Comet bouncing up and down. “Ok, ok.” hissed Swift getting up slowly. As they made their way out of the den, the crisp air hit Swift square in the face. It tugged at her skin but she ignored the stinging sensation. She wanted to find out what this was all about. The clearing was already packed so the five cats sat at the back. “I want to go back to sleep.” complained Breeze impatiently. Skypelt hushed them as Moon in the Pool appeared next to Silentnight on the leader’s rock. The leader’s slick, grey pelt shone in the rising sun which made him look stronger and more powerful than he already was. “Fellow tribe mates,” started Moon in the Pool in a loud, clear voice as he acknowledged the crowd. “Thank you for all being awake this early; as you all know, today is a very special event.” Swift looked at Breeze to see her confusion reflect off of her sister. “Today, we have new apprentices to welcome to Star Tribe.” finished Moon in the Pool, his pale, green eyes landing on the four sisters. Swift was so taken aback that she couldn’t move for a few seconds. After regaining consciousness to reality, she saw Night padding up to their leader. As Night sat down and looked up at him, Moon in the Pool continued. “Sky of the Night, you are old enough to become an apprentice in training to become a warrior. Do you wish to follow the code and risk your life for your tribe at all times?” Night’s eyes shone in pride as she replied to his question. “I do.” she meowed weakly in excitement. “Then I now pronounce you as Nightsky, apprentice of Star Tribe. Your mentor will be, Darkmoon.” Swift chanted Night-no Nightsky’s name along with everyone else in happiness as her new mentor walked up to her and acknowledged her with a nod. “You’re next Comet.” whispered Skypelt before giving Nightsky a lick on the cheek in congratulations. “Just like Sky of the Night, Blazing Comet, do you wish to uphold the code and sacrifice your life for your tribe at all costs?” prompted Moon in the Pool. Comet stood below their leader and nodded her head. “I do.” Silentnight looked like he wanted to race around in joy. “Then in Star Tribe’s honor, Blazing Comet, you will now be known as Cometblaze, warrior apprentice of Star Tribe. Your mentor will be Sunset.” As her new name rang around the camp, Breeze trotted up to the front confidently and for the first time, waited patiently for the noise to die down. “Tail in the Breeze, do you wish to take the same oath as your sisters?” prompted Moon in the Pool. “I do.” meowed Breeze quickly fidgeting in her place. Swift heard her siblings pure in amusement at Breeze’s impatience. “Then, Tail in the Breeze, from now on you will be known as Breezetail. Your mentor will be Sunrise.” Cheers went all around as they chanted her name in chorus. Swift sprang to her paws without a moment’s hesitation; finally it was her turn. But she was confused to see Moon in the Pool step to the opposite side of the leader’s rock, letting a tom step forward. Swift’s heart stopped; it was Lightningclaw. Swift dipped her head in deep respect and slowly sat down below the rock. Lightningclaw looked at her warmly. “Swift on your feet, you have shown wisdom and the strength of a healing cat and I wish for you to become my apprentice. Do you wish to uphold the healing cat code and serve your tribe till it is your time to leave?” Swift looked up at him respectfully. “I-I do.” she stammered, approved by his praiseful words. “Then in Sky Tribe’s honor, Swift on your feet, you will now be known as Swiftfoot, healing cat apprentice of Star Tribe.” “T-thank you.” squeaked Swiftfoot barely able to breathe. The loud cheers for Swiftfoot were drained out by the excitement running through her veins. “Good job my kits. I’m so proud of you.” purred Silentnight trotting down the leader’s rock as Lightningclaw left the spotlight. Swiftfoot was still too excited to speak as she exchanged happy glances with her siblings. Everybody was already heading back to their dens when all of a sudden Moon in the Pool appeared back in the middle of the leader’s rock. “Fellow tribe mates, I have important news before you return to your duties.” he yowled, making sure he could be heard. Everybody turned to their leader, confused as they padded back to the center of camp. “What’s going on?” said Swiftfoot, looking bewildered. “Whatever it is, let’s listen to find out.” Breezetail snapped back. The clearing became quiet as Moon in the Pool flicked his tail for silence. “I, Moon in the Pool, am taking down my role as leader.” The clearing went dead silent as cats exchanged horrified glances between each other. “What is this nonsense?” hissed Skypelt her voice barely audible. “As most of you know, I have been leader for quite some time and my time is finally up. I am retiring to the elder’s den, where I belong.” he continued when nobody spoke. “But before I am able to retire, I will be heading to the River of our Ancestors to take away my five lives that shall be added to Silentnight’s.” “He only had five out of nine lives left? I wonder what’s made him loose so many?” muttered Nightsky to her littermates. Swiftfoot nodded her head in agreement. “And tomorrow,” continued Moon in the Pool interrupting their conversation. “I shall no longer be called by Moon in the Pool; I will go back to my warrior name, Moonpool.” The former leader looked at Silentnight who was still quiet from shock. “And you, Silentnight, will be coming with me to be granted your nine lives as new leader of Star Tribe .” Silentnight stepped up to the base of the leader’s rock as everyone chanted his name. “But I thought leaders get their nine lives right away.” said Swiftfoot feeling confused. “Of course they’re not till they aren’t rejected by their warrior ancestors.” Breezetail snapped back. “Our father would never get rejected!” retorted Nightsky. “Will you guys be quiet! Great Sky Tribe you guys are really loud. We’re all trying to listen to Moonpool and Silentnight.” hissed Cometblaze. “But why does Moonpool have to go with him?” asked Swiftfoot curiously. “For Sky Tribe’s sake!! If you could listen to Moonpool then you’d know why.” snapped Wintersky. When Swiftfoot was about to make a sharp retort, Moonpool interrupted their babbling; “Silentnight and I will make the walk alone, Risingmoon will be in charge till we are back.” The clearing was still silent in shock as both toms left for the river.

Chapter 6
All Nightsky wanted to do was go out of the camp for apprentice training. The rest of the day she had to wait for her mentor to get back from a border patrol. She was about to go see what her siblings were doing when all of a sudden her mentor, Darkmoon finally came back from her patrol. “I’m sorry that it took so long. We ran into a problem with Swift Tribe.” meowed Darkmoon solemnly. “I’ll show you around our territory and tomorrow we’ll start training.” Nightsky nodded her head enthusiastically.
Both she-cats ran out of camp and down to the lake. “This place is special.” explained Darkmoon as they came down to the lake. “Not just Star Tribe’s territory; but all of the tribes’.” Nightsky cocked her head to one side in curiosity. “This exact place is where, many, many eclipses ago, four Clans lived. Elders say this is where ThunderClan’s territory was; along with RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan. The ancient Clan cats! Nightsky stopped dead. She had heard so many stories of the Clans from Cloudysun like the legendary Firestar to the murderous brute, Tigerclaw to Jayfeather, to Hollyspirit to Cinderpelt and Cinderheart. She had known everything that Darkmoon had explained except for the part that they had once lived here. “What happened to them?” asked Nightsky eagerly. “The Clans eventually got wiped out by monsters and twolegs and this entire forest was knocked down. But that was eclipses ago and eventually, the twolegs abandoned this place as well which let the trees grow back.” explained Darkmoon her eyes shining in amusement. “Fascinating, isn’t it?” Nightsky weakly nodded her head. “If you ask any elder,” started Darkmoon mysteriously. “They all say we are the descendants of some of the last Clan cats that actually survived the twoleg raiding.” “B-but that’s impossible.” Nightsky blurted out. “There were four Clans and there are five tribes!” Darkmoon’s eyes shone. “Our blood is made up of all the different Clan cats.” Nightsky was astounded. “It’s a lot to take in isn’t it?” purred Darkmoon in amusement. “That was my face when Planetsong first told me that when he was my mentor. But we need to continue on with this before it gets completely dark.”
Nightsky was exhausted when she got into the apprentice den after the tour of her tribe’s territory. She noticed she was the last apprentice to come back but her siblings were all still awake. “Did your mentor tell you about the Clans?” whispered Cometblaze her eyes shining in curiosity. Nightsky nodded her head but was too tired to reply and flicked her tail in good night.

Chapter 7
Swiftfoot’s paws felt damp on her nest. She moved her paws around thinking the apprentice den’s roof was just leaking but she felt grass underneath her paws. That’s odd, she thought. Opening one of her sleepy eyes, she found herself in an unknown clearing surrounded by luscious trees. “I don’t know this forest. Where am I?” she wailed. “Hush young one.” came an unfamiliar but soothing voice. “Who’s there?” meowed Swiftfoot her fur standing on end in alarm. Before she knew it two starry shapes appeared before her. Swiftfoot stared at them in awe but kept her guard up. “Who are you?” stammered Swiftfoot standing her ground. “We are Sky Tribe.” meowed the star like cats. Swiftfoot’s eyes opened wide in shock. She had always thought Sky Tribe was just something to give cats hope but now she knew it was real. “B-but you are dead.” stammered Swiftfoot. “But this is a dream.” meowed another starry cat. “I am Cloudflare, a healing cat of Star Tribe many seasons ago.” said the she-cat. Cloudflare was a grey spotted she-cat with unusual orange eyes that stood out from her grayish look. “I am Skyflame, also another Star Tribe healing cat, I was Cloudflare’s mentor.” meowed the light gray tom, his amber eyes resting gently on Swiftfoot’s surprised gaze. “I-I am Swiftfoot, Lightningclaw’s apprentice.” stammered Swiftfoot trying to calm herself. “Ah yes Lightningclaw. I was his mentor. He has picked this apprentice well.” meowed Cloudflare with pride shinning in her eyes. “So why did you come to me in my dream?” asked Swiftfoot curiously. “Oh right.” said Cloudflare shaking away her thoughts. “We came here to congratulate you on becoming a healing cat apprentice.” meowed Skyflame. “This is a very important role in the Tribe. So cherish it well my young one.” meowed Skyflame. “Thank you.” meowed Swiftfoot dipping her head in respect. Cloudflare and Skyflame started walking away from Swiftfoot. “Wait,” cried Swiftfoot stopping both healing cats in their tracks. “I have one question to ask you about the Clans.” Cloudysun looked at her curiously. “If tribe cats live up here once they die, are our Clan ancestors here too?” she asked mystified. Skyflame turned around to face her. “Unfortunately our Clan ancestors faded away. They no longer live up here.” he replied. “Their version of Sky Tribe was actually known as StarClan.” “Faded away?” Swiftfoot echoed the words. Cloudflare sighed. “Cats can’t stay here forever, Swiftfoot. We must all fade away to rest in peace. Right now we are watching over our tribes. As you can see, Skyflame is starting to fade the tiniest bit.” Skyflame showed her the tip of his ear; it was starting to vanish. Swiftfoot tried not to show she was panicked. “But you needn’t worry about that now.” added Skyflame as they started to walk away once more. “Farewell Swiftfoot. Till we meet again.”“Don’t go!” Swiftfoot yelled after them. Swiftfoot look at the ground to see it crumbling beneath her paws. “I’m going to die!”she shrieked at the top of her lunges as she plunged into darkness. Swiftfoot jolted open her eyes to see she was in the healing den; peaceful and quiet as ever. It was only a dream, she told herself. She looked around to see Lightningclaw was already awake, sorting herbs. He twitched his ears in greeting. “Good morning Swiftfoot. I’m guessing you met with Sky Tribe by the look on your face.” he purred in amusement. “I thought we could go look for herbs; I would like to test your skill of recognizing herbs through environments and smell.” Too frightened by her dream to speak, Swiftfoot just nodded her head and got ready to head out.Once they got outside of the camp, Lightningclaw went right down to business. He walked up to unfamiliar pure black berry bush. “You see these berries right here?” asked Lightningclaw pointing at the berries. Swiftfoot nodded. “This is something every healing cat and apprentice must know. These black berries can kill a cat with one bite. They are called deathberries.” explained Lightningclaw. Swiftfoot opened her eyes wide. “Nobody has been mouse-brained enough to eat one right?” she asked. “No of course not.” retorted Lightningclaw sounding a bit irritated. “Nobody’s that mouse-brained.”
The rest of the morning, even after sun high, Lightningclaw was teaching her about all new herbs she hadn’t even known existed.
After they came back to camp, Swiftfoot went straight for the fresh kill pile. Her belly had been grumbling the whole time. While Swiftfoot was eating her squirrel, the sound of paw steps in front of her stopped in their tracks. Swiftfoot abruptly looked up to see her sister, Breezetail looking at her expectantly. “Could I join?” she asked in an exhausted voice. Swiftfoot nodded her head.

Chapter 8
Breezetail grabbed a juicy plump vole and sat down beside her littermate. “Hey Swiftfoot. So how was training?” asked Breezetail through a mouthful of vole.
“Pretty tiring.” she admitted. “I didn’t know there were so many herbs.” “Silentnight fetched me to go chase after you and Lightningclaw. He’ll be calling a tribe meeting soon but it seemed you were back already so I decided to reward myself with my breakfast.” she explained. Breezetail sat up as Silentnight appeared on the leader’s rock. It was weird not seeing Moonpool appear there anymore. “Looks like it’s starting.” mumbled Swiftfoot. I better go meet Lightningclaw by the leader’s rock. Healing cat duties.” Breezetail nodded and stayed where she was as her sister padded away into the crowd. “Cats of Star Tribe!” meowed Silentnight hushing the clearing with his voice. “Sky Tribe has honored me to be the leader of Star Tribe from this day forward. My name is now Silence of the Night. I will be appointing our new deputy tomorrow night.” meowed Silentnight proudly. Every cat meowed their approval of their new leader. “Now, you all know tonight is an important night, right?” Breezetail looked around in confusion. What was so special about tonight? “Tonight is Peace Night; the night our Clan ancestors declared a night of peace known as a gathering.” explained Silence of the Night acknowledging the four new apprentices’ confused looks. “Sunset, Sunrise, Lightningclaw, Swiftfoot, Cometblaze, Darkmoon, Nightsky, Breezetail, Shiningnight and Risingmoon will accompany me to the gathering.”
Breezetail shivered in excitement as they entered the center of all the territories. Before crossing a twoleg creation to an island, they met up with Tornado Tribe. “Greetings Fur in the Gorse.” meowed Silence of the Night dipping his head respectfully. Greetings-” The Tornado Tribe leader stopped mid-sentence realizing it wasn’t Moon in the Pool. Silence of the Night didn’t respond to the confused leader.
After crossing the ‘log’, Breezetail’s mind was in awe at what she saw. Thousands of cats were everywhere, chatting with each other and socializing. “T-this is amazing.” stammered Breezetail breathlessly. Cometblaze had the same look on her face. All the other tribes were there and ready to start the meeting.

Chapter 9
Swiftfoot looked around the clearing full of cats. This looks so unnatural. Usually every cat is so hostile to everybody, but today…, thought Swiftfoot trailing off in thought. She sighed in confusion before noticing her mentor beside her. “Come.” meowed Lightningclaw encouraging her to follow him. They walked to other side of the clearing to see a small group of cats in a tight circle. “Greetings Lightningclaw.”meowed a black tom. Lightningclaw dipped his head in greeting. “This is my apprentice, Swiftfoot. Swiftfoot, this is Blackleaf healing cat of Tornado Tribe.” meowed Lightningclaw pointing at the black tom. “This is Mistypool healing cat of Winter Tribe.” exclaimed Lightningclaw pointing at a white-blue she-cat. “And this is Bigheart, healing cat of Rainbow Tribe.” explained Lightningclaw pointing at a blind brown tabby. “And this is Brightlight, the healing cat of Swift Tribe with her apprentice, Voleear.” finished Lightningclaw pointing at a brown she-cat and a white she-cat with brown ears. “Nice to meet you all.” meowed Swiftfoot bowing her head.
After chatting for a while with Voleear, Swiftfoot decided it was time to look around the clearing a little bit more. Swiftfoot excused herself from the group to go explore. But before she could even chat with another cat, Swiftfoot felt like she was being watched. She turned around frantically, trying to find out who was watching her. Finally she found a muscular, black tom with pale blue eyes staring at her every move. The stranger, knowing he’d been spotted, came out from the crowd of cats. The stranger dipped his head in greeting. “I’m Blackheart, apprentice from Rainbow Tribe. It’s been a while since I’ve talked to a Star Tribe cat.” “I’m Swiftfoot, healing cat apprentice from Star Tribe. This is my first time at Peace Night. I was just made an apprentice.” she replied. Blackheart didn’t meet her gaze and kept his head down as he shuffled his paws nervously. “Blackheart come on! The leaders are gonna call for Peace Night to start soon!” squeaked a tortoiseshell and white she-cat that sounded more like a kit than an apprentice. “Ok Morninglight. I’m coming.” muttered Blackheart embarrassed. “I’ll see you around Swiftfoot.” The she-cat nodded. “Maybe at the next Peace Night?” she whispered to Blackheart so Morninglight couldn’t hear. Blackheart looked at her in surprise but then nodded his head before happily trotting away. As she turned around to head back to her own tribe, she could still feel Blackheart’s warm gaze piercing into her skin. She shook the feeling away to realize someone else was staring at her. Swiftfoot was met with a hard stare making the she-cat turn away.

Chapter 10
Nightsky watched as her sister went to sit down next to her mentor at the front of the crowd with the other healing cats.
She started to get the sensation that someone was watching her sister. Nightsky searched the clearing to see the black tom whom Swiftfoot had just talked to was gazing at her from Rainbow Tribe’s spot. “I don’t like the looks of him.” she muttered under her breath. “He looks like trouble.” “Did you say something Nightsky?” asked Cometblaze turning around from her conversation with Breezetail. Nightsky shook her head. “Just talking to myself.” she meowed. “Shh!” hissed Breezetail as the leaders stepped up onto the large rock. An orange tabby pelt stood up from the leader’s rock and addressed the crowd with a nod of her head. “That’s Pelt of Honey the leader of Swift Tribe.” explained Risingmoon from behind Cometblaze. “Prey is thriving in Swift Tribe with no twoleg activity for a while now.” reported the she-cat, her pelt glowing in the moonlight. “Brightlight has decided on an apprentice to mentor, Voleear.” The leader flicked her tail towards a white she-cat who looked up shyly. Mutters of congratulations made its way around the entire clearing before the next leader began to speak. “That’s Tail of Cinder, leader of Rainbow Tribe.” Risingmoon added quickly. “Catching fish had become an issue thanks to twolegs taking all of our prey out of the river but other prey is plentiful.” explained Tail of the Cinder. “Fur of Crystals, leader of Winter Tribe will be next to speak.” whispered Risingmoon leaning forward again. “Prey is running well in Winter Tribe. We’ve seen a raccoon in our territory but we chased it out. It might still be in the territories so keep a sharp look out.” finished Fur of Crystals. “Now that you mentioned it,” exclaimed Fur in the Gorse. “This morning, the first border patrol smelt a badger in our territory. Anyway, we have one new apprentice, Windpool whose mentor, Cloudyair is very lucky to have.” Murmurs of congratulations echoed through the crowd once more. “But, I am very curious to find out why Moon in the Pool is not here tonight.” The murmurs of congratulations were soon turning into murmurs of agreement as everyone waited for an answer from Silence of the Night. Star Tribe’s leader flicked his tail for silence. “Moonpool has taken down his position as leader and is currently moving to the elder’s den to retire.” addressed Silence of the Night loudly, making sure he could be heard. “I have been approved by Sky Tribe and have been granted my nine lives. My name is now Silence of the Night.” Yowls of happiness sounded from Star Tribe as they acknowledged their new leader with pride. “We also have four new apprentices to welcome to Star Tribe.” continued Silence of the Night changing the topic. “Breezetail, Swiftfoot, Cometblaze, and Nightsky have all been granted the opportunity to be here tonight.” The clearing acknowledged the four she-cats with nods of their heads and murmurs of welcome. And just like that, Peace Night seemed to end as the other four leaders headed down the rock to signal their tribe mates it was time to head back.
Nightsky saw Swiftfoot wave her tail in farewell to Blackheart as he entered back into his territory beside Star Tribe. “Don’t trust him.” she hissed in her sister’s ear. Swiftfoot glared at her. “Don’t judge cats by the way they look. You haven’t even said hello to him.” she snapped, annoyance showing in her voice as she spoke. Swiftfoot sighed and sped up to walk beside Breezetail. Nightsky shook her head in frustration.
As they made their way into camp, most cats were already asleep, only Starynight was awake and stood before the entrance to greet the returning cats.

Chapter 11
Cometblaze’s shoulder seemed to move uncontrollably in her sleep. She opened her eyes slowly to find her mentor prodding her shoulder impatiently. “I’m awake, I’m awake.” she snapped grunting. “Well someone is finally awake.” purred Sunset sympathetically. Cometblaze sprang up shaking scraps of feathers from her neatly groomed fur. “A hunting patrol is waiting for us.” meowed Sunset. “We’ll train afterwards.” Cometblaze’s ears pricked up excitedly. “Darkmoon is leading the patrol with her apprentice Nightsky.” continued Sunset. Cometblaze nodded her head before trotting out the den. “You do still know the hunters crouch I taught you a moon ago before Peace Night, right?” asked Sunset narrowing his eyes. “Of course I do.” replied Cometblaze walking with her mentor towards the waiting patrol. Nightsky greeted her with an excited glance.
As the patrol headed out, Darkmoon signaled the group to go upwind as the wind blew downwards to make their scents undetectable for oncoming prey. “Cometblaze I need to tell you something important.” hissed Nightsky coming in close. Cometblaze was about to reply when all of a sudden Darkmoon told her patrol to stop. “Mouse.” she whispered. Cometblaze tasted the air. The warrior was right. All of a sudden a flash of black fur hurtled itself into some leaves and the sound of painful squeak told everyone she had caught it successfully. “Good catch.” commented Nightsky. Darkmoon murmured her thanks. “I think we should go our separate ways to find food. Darkmoon will go for Rainbow Tribe’s border while I hunt close to the Swift Tribe border and you and Nightsky can go close to the lake to hunt.” explained Sunset. Once their mentors were out of ear shot, Cometblaze looked at her sister as they headed down to the lake to hunt. “So what did you want to tell me earlier?” she asked. Nightsky shook her head. “It can wait; Breezetail needs to hear this as well. Let’s just start to hunt; we’ll talk back at camp.” Cometblaze started to realize how much her sister sounded like a responsible leader. “Ok.” replied Cometblaze, impressed by her sister’s improvising. The she-cat changed course for the Swift Tribe border; her nose led her to a strong scent of squirrel close to it. She dropped down into the hunter’s crouch slowly but stepped on a twig as she moved her paw into a more comfortable position. The squirrel perked its ears in alarm before racing towards a nearby tree. “Oh no you don’t!” muttered Cometblaze playfully as she chased after it, keeping good speed. But the squirrel was faster and raced up the tree before diving into its home. “Mouse dung.” spat Cometblaze quietly. “What are you doing!?” cried Sunset running towards Cometblaze as he dropped his mouse on the ground. Cometblaze forgot her mentor was hunting close to the border. “I was chasing a squirrel. I didn’t mean for it to get away-” Cometblaze broke off to hear leaves crunching behind her. The apprentice turned around slowly, unsheathing her claws in defense. “Well well well.” said a dark shape appearing underneath a tree. “It looks like we have a trespasser.” snarled another. Once the cats stepped out of the shadows it took her a couple mouse tails to find out who they were. At last she realized it was just Grizzlynose and Beetleeyes. “Get over here now.” Sunset growled fur bristling. Cometblaze obeyed. But soon her insides began to churn in fear; she realized she had crossed onto Swift Tribe’s territory, where the squirrel was in its hollow laughing from above. Cometblaze gulped in fear as Nightsky and Darkmoon came over to see what was happening. “What’s going on?” asked Nightsky worriedly.
Sunset ignored her question and came up to the end of their border to face Grizzlynose with the rest of his patrol behind him. “Why are you letting one of your apprentices onto our side of the border? Are you trying to threaten us?” snarled Beetleeyes baring her teeth. “She didn’t mean to. She is just a new apprentice if you haven’t heard. I am sure she has a good reason.” meowed Sunset apologetically. “Those aren’t answers! Do it again and we’ll tear you to shreds.” spat Grizzlynose turning his back on them and stalking into the trees. Sunset ignored their hostility. “You better have a good reason for crossing onto their side of the border.” scolded Sunset unsympathetically. “I’ll be having you clean out the moss from the elder’s den for two moons starting when we head back to camp.” Cometblaze dropped her head in disappointment all the way to camp muttering words of frustration.
As they came back into camp which was bustling with energy like it always was at sun high, the tabby she-cat steered straight for the elder’s den without a word as Sunset reported her mistake to Silence of the Night in his den. “It’s about time.” grumbled Cloudysun as Cometblaze took away the moss to the outside of camp. “Let’s get this over with.” mumbled Cometblaze racing back and forth between the elder’s den.
After she had finished her job, she found Nightsky munching on a juicy shrew. Cometblaze sighed in frustration and stalked over to the apprentice den as she looked for Breezetail. Luckily, Cometblaze needn’t look any further as Breezetail was inside the den keeping company to herself. “Come with me.” hissed Cometblaze lashing her tail impatiently. “Don’t say anything just follow me.”

Chapter 12
Breezetail glared at her sister menacingly. “Ok ok ok. Don’t get your tail in a twist.” snapped Breezetail getting up from where she was sitting. “Where are we going?” asked Breezetail calming down. “To Nightsky.” answered Cometblaze quickly. ““What does she want to talk about?” asked Breezetail curiously. “How am I supposed to know?! The sooner we get over there the sooner we find out.” snapped Cometblaze. Breezetail blinked in surprise. Why was her sister so frustrated? Has something happened that I missed, thought Breezetail curiously. Once they got to into the clearing, Breezetail spotted Nightsky alone, waiting for them to arrive. The tabby she-cat flicked her tail in greeting to Nightsky before sitting down across from both. “Can you tell us already?” snapped Cometblaze, flicking her tail impatiently. Nightsky ignored her sister’s agitation. “Remember when we went to Peace Night yesterday?” Nightsky didn’t wait for a reply, “I know this sounds like a load of mouse dung but, Swiftfoot was talking to this other cat from Rainbow Tribe, and I have a feeling that he means trouble.” There was dead silence. “I waited all morning just to here you say that?” meowed Cometblaze enraged. “You were right when you said it sounded like a bunch of mouse dung!” “Would you just calm down?” snapped Breezetail in annoyance. Nightsky silenced them both before a fight broke out between both. Breezetail could see Cometblaze looking like she wanted to lunge at her sister. Breezetail looked at Nightsky in confusion; why was Cometblaze so angry? “I think he could mean trouble; especially if he wants to be friends with Swiftfoot.” meowed Nightsky changing the subject quickly. “So? What’s wrong with having friends from other tribes?” muttered Breezetail. Nightsky glanced at Cometblaze to see if she was agreeing with her. “This could lead to just more than friends.” continued Nightsky trying to get Breezetail to realize the point. “He stared at her; that’s how she noticed him.” meowed Nightsky getting annoyed. Before Breezetail even had a chance to reply, Cometblaze broke in. “It means he could like our sister you mouse-brain!” The thought hit Breezetail like a stone. “You could be right. But,” exclaimed Breezetail, understanding showing in her eyes. “You guys might be overreacting a bit. Things could only get worse if Swiftfoot actually liked him back.” Cometblaze and Nightsky look dumbfounded by her reasoning. “You don’t think this is serious?” asked Nightsky astonished. “I’m not saying that.” snapped Breezetail. “I’m just saying you guys might be getting a bit ahead of yourselves.” The black she-cat sighed. “Breezetail has a point there. We should only keep our eyes open about it for now.” Her icy blue gaze landed on Cometblaze as she nodded her head. “I guess she’s right. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head into the den to rest.” As Cometblaze stalked off towards the den, Breezetail was itching to ask the question. “What got caught in her fur today?” “While she was attempting to catch a squirrel, she didn’t look where she was going and headed straight into Swift Tribe territory. Needless to say, Cometblaze was caught, not only by her mentor, but by a small border patrol.” Breezetail eyes went big. “Did she get in trouble badly?” “I guess you could say it’s a terrible punishment for your first hunting lesson.” exclaimed Nightsky. “She has to clean out the moss from the elder’s den for two moons.” Breezetail couldn’t help but purr in amusement. “Cometblaze has always been kind of clumsy.”

Chapter 13
Swiftfoot padded lazily out of the healing den, she felt like she hadn’t eaten in seasons. She had been sorting herbs all morning and when she finally had the chance, she headed straight for the kill pile to eat breakfast. But before she could even start eating her black bird, she could hear her name being called from the healing den. Exhausted, she turned around and padded towards her mentor, ears flat on her head in annoyance. “I wouldn’t really be assigning this task to an inexperienced apprentice but, could you go out into Star Tribe’s territory to collect this certain herb?” Lightningclaw dropped a yellow flower with dried up stems in front of her paws. Swiftfoot cautiously sniffed the herb. What does he need this for, thought Swiftfoot curiously. “Coltsfoot?” asked Swiftfoot in alarm. “Does someone have whitecough?” “Not exactly.” explained Lightningclaw lowering his voice. “Your mother is starting to get the symptoms so I’ll start giving her small amounts each day to make sure it goes away; we’re almost out of coltsfoot as well.” Swiftfoot nodded her head in understanding. “Ok.” she replied heading towards the entrance. “Oh no you don’t! Not without a warrior.” exclaimed Lightningclaw. Swiftfoot sighed, she saw that one coming. “Shiningnight and Wintersky will come along with you.” said Lightningclaw pointing towards them. “Oh, and if you can, get some more daisy leaves, Cloudysun’s joints are starting to ache and I’m afraid we don’t have the right amount we need.” meowed Lightningclaw.
Once they got out of the camp, Wintersky started to speak nonstop. “So where do we find these herbs?” “Coltsfoot should be found near Rainbow Tribe’s border while daisy leaves can be found almost anywhere in our territory.” replied Swiftfoot agitated. “I’ll go look for Coltsfoot near the border while you two find some daisy leaves nearby. Shiningnight nodded her head in agreement. Once Shiningnight and her apprentice were out of sight, Swiftfoot sighed in relief. Finally she was alone without that nosey apprentice to pester her with questions. She sniffed the air to find the slightest scent of coltsfoot. She was about to follow the scent when she scented something else. She recognized the scent but couldn’t put her finger on it. “Hi.” meowed a friendly voice that Swiftfoot had definitely heard before. As the cat stepped out, she was relieved to see it was only Blackheart, the tom she had talked with at Peace Night. Swiftfoot dipped her head in greeting as she gently ripped some coltsfoot from the ground. “Healing cat duties I see.” he teased. Swiftfoot made a face at him before continuing. “Here-” meowed Blackheart pulling another herb from the ground. Swiftfoot awkwardly nodded her head in thanks. They stared at each other for a moment till Swiftfoot broke the silence; “What are you doing here?” hissed Swiftfoot silently turning her head from side to side; hoping that Shiningnight and her apprentice weren’t nearby. “I’m on a hunting patrol with my mentor and I saw you talking with some of your tribe mates so I followed your scent.” he explained. “Just came to say hi.” All of a sudden she heard Shiningnight’s voice call her name. “Swiftfoot are you there? Wintersky and I found a lot of daisy leaves, we’re ready when you are.” Swiftfoot started to panic but kept her voice casual. “Just pulling out one more root!” meowed Swiftfoot. She turned back to Blackheart; “You need to get out of here before they catch you.” she hissed. “Can you meet me at the edge of our territories tonight?” asked Blackheart looking hopefully at her. “Ok.” she meowed quickly not even aware of what she had just agreed to. “Promise?” asked Blackheart. “Promise.” replied Swiftfoot. Blackheart trotted away, his tail held high in the air. What did I just agree to, she thought in horror before grabbing the stalks of coltsfoot and coming out of the undergrowth to see Shiningnight waiting with her apprentice. “Finally.” muttered Wintersky getting up and following his mentor to camp.
The camp was starting to die down as the sun started to set behind the trees. She dipped her head in greeting to Cometblaze, who rudely, turned her head away to lick her dirty shoulder. Swiftfoot didn’t have time to deal with her sister’s rude behavior; she had more important things on her mind. Swiftfoot headed for the healing den; Skypelt was already moved in and laying on some moss that the apprentices must’ve put down. Her mother was in fairly good condition; except the fact she looked extremely tired. Swiftfoot put the herbs down next to Lightningclaw who chewed the flower up and spread it onto a leaf for Skypelt to lap up. “Could you please take that to Cloudysun.” whispered Lightningclaw into her ear. “I’ll give Skypelt the rest of the herbs to help her fight the sickness.” Swiftfoot nodded her head and grabbed some mousebile before leaving to get rid of the elder’s ticks. “Well it’s about time somebody checked up on us.” grumbled Cloudysun. Swiftfoot flicked her ear in greeting and got right down to work. The she-cat began with making pulp for Cloudysun to drink up for her sore joints. While Cloudysun licked it up she checked her former leader, Moonpool for ticks. She rubbed the mousebile onto an enormous tick which dropped to the ground with a tiny thud. Moonpool sighed in relief. “Thanks for getting those ticks off. I feel much better. And don’t forget to check Cloudysun for ticks; she might have more than me!” purred Moonpool with a hint of amusement in his voice. After she was done checking Cloudysun she went to the entrance of the elders den but was stopped by the elder. “Could you get the apprentices to fetch more bedding? Our moss is so moist thanks to Snowpetal, dropping water all over without noticing. Cometblaze just changed it this morning too.” Swiftfoot nodded and went out of the camp to the stream to wash off the mousebile that was covering her paws. “Sometimes this job is harder than it looks.” muttered Swiftfoot walking back to camp.
“Two of you need to change the elder’s bedding again.” ordered Swiftfoot padding back into the healing den as she entered camp. “I’ll go!” meowed Nightsky beckoning Breezetail to agree. “Fine.” muttered Breezetail and stalked off to the elders den.

Chapter 14
Breezetail left the camp with Nightsky in the lead in search of fresh bedding for the elders. “Sometimes I hate being an apprentice.” complained Breezetail out loud. “Oh be quiet Breezetail! You’re moody about everything. Can’t you ever stop complaining?” meowed Nightsky stopping by a tree. “Well here’s all the moss we need for their bedding.” exclaimed Nightsky picking up a mouthful of moss in her jaws. “And it’s dry too.” muttered Breezetail. “No it’s not! Can’t you feel a tiny bit of moisture?” asked Nightsky dropping the moss gently on the ground. Nightsky stood there and grabbed her moss and bit down hard on it to reveal tiny drops of water. “See.” exclaimed Nightsky, looking proud of herself. “Yeah, whatever. I’m not doing it. I think its fine.” retorted Breezetail padding away from the tree.
Once she was done placing it down with Nightsky, Breezetail left Nightsky to herself in the elder’s den. I guess she wants to see if the elders like it, thought Breezetail snorting. She went over to the kill pile and grabbed herself a juicy, plump shrew.
As soon as she gulped down the lasts bites of her dinner, every cat was heading to the center of camp as Silence of the Night appeared on the leader’s rock. “Fellow tribe mates.” he yowled. “I have finally decided who my deputy shall be.” The entire clearing went silent with anticipation as they awaited the answer. “Risingmoon shall be my rightful deputy.” Yowls of approval rang around the clearing as Risingmoon, fumbling, made her way up the rock. “T-thank you for giving me the great honor of being our deputy.” she stammered gratefully. “I shall serve this tribe well as my roll in becoming deputy. Thank you.” After the short announcement, everyone headed back to their nests to be up early the next day. As Breezetail made her way to her nest, she noticed Swiftfoot peaking her head out of healing den. Breezetail walked over to Swiftfoot. “What are you doing?” asked Breezetail curiously. “I didn’t know it was sun down already. Lightningclaw let me sleep but he never woke me up. ” replied Swiftfoot. Breezetail didn’t reply and just headed over to her empty nest as her eyelids closed in the process.

Chapter 15
Swiftfoot poked her head out of the again to make sure Breezetail was actually asleep. She hated lying to her sister but what else was she supposed to say? She couldn’t tell her she was meeting a friend from another tribe. Swiftfoot sighed in frustration before heading out of the den. She could hear Lightningclaw snoring as she left so she knew there was no way he would find out. “This is it. No turning back now.” muttered Swiftfoot heading towards Roaring Water. The sound of the beautiful waterfall filled the she-cat’s ears as she spotted it through the trees thanks to the moon that reflected off of it. The scent of Rainbow Tribe and Star Tribe collided as sat in a hidden spot close to the border.
She didn’t have to wait long before she heard rustling and a black tom appeared from behind the bushes. “I didn’t actually think you would come.” meowed Blackheart teasingly. Blackheart’s scent swirled around her as he sat down across from Swiftfoot. “Why did you want to meet here with me anyway?” asked Swiftfoot curiously. “Well I thought you know…we could hang out every night.”Blackheart replied shyly. Swiftfoot knew exactly what her answer was.. “Oh no, no, no, no. If one of our tribe mates finds out about this we’re both crow food!” hissed Swiftfoot fur bristling. “Oh come on Swiftfoot.” meowed Blackheart desperately. “This is the first time someone is willing to talk to me.” Swiftfoot looked at him sympathetically. “Ok.” agreed the she-cat sighing. “But only once in a while.” Blackheart looked at her happily. “I found this cool place while I was out hunting where we could go.” Swiftfoot looked at him doubtfully. “Where is it?” Blackheart looked at her nervously. “A bit outside our territories.” he confessed. “How did you even manage to get out of your territory without being noticed?” exclaimed Swiftfoot in bewilderment. “Anyway I’m not going.” “Oh come on, just this once?” he pleaded. Swiftfoot rolled her eyes. “Fine but if something happens, I’m leaving.” “I’m an experienced apprentice you know.” purred Blackheart, amusement showing in his eyes. “I can protect you.” Swiftfoot looked at him in surprise but shook a doubtful feeling away.
It was still fairly dark when Swiftfoot came back from her meeting with Blackheart. Her pale bluish-gray and white fur shone in the fading moonlight as she padded back into the healing den to be greeted by her sleeping mother and her mentor Lightningclaw, who was still snoring. Swiftfoot settle down at the very back of the healing den to try and catch sleep before it was time to wake up again.
The sounds of a warm, silent forest filled Swiftfoot ears. That’s odd, she thought. It’s the middle of fall, there shouldn’t be any birds. She opened her pale blue eyes to be welcomed by two familiar cats. Swiftfoot gulped, hoping they didn’t know that she had met an apprentice of another tribe. She could immediately tell something was wrong; Skyflame and Cloudflare had seemed to have lost their energy from the other day. Tension hung in the air as they greeted the apprentice with a nod of their heads. “Why am I back here? Did something happen?” asked Swiftfoot. “Swiftfoot.” meowed Cloudflare giving her a stern look. “Something has happened.” The healing cat apprentice had a sickening feeling by the expressions on their faces. “We bring news for all the tribes.” continued Skyflame his face becoming serious. “There is great danger to come; cat blood will spill onto the battle field once more.” “Seek the one with red fur who holds great knowledge to learn the truth.” continued Cloudflare. Both healing cats closed their eyes as they said the final part of the prophecy in rhythm. “The glow of fading light will take you to her home.” Before Swiftfoot even had time to think of a question, the cats faded away into the darkness that was starting to swallow up the forest. The she-cat stood her ground as it seemed to tug at her paw. She looked down in alarm; her paw had completely vanished! That’s when she started to panic and ran for cover. But no matter where she went it would follow. Before long, Swiftfoot was trapped a few mouse tails away from the ledge of a weakening cliff. Swiftfoot shrieked as she started to see her legs disappear. Forgetting she was on the edge of the steep cliff, Swiftfoot backed up in panic and plunged into the darkness below.
Swiftfoot screamed as she opened her eyes in terror. Lightningclaw jumped up in alarm. “Is everything alright?” he asked worriedly rushing over to her. “I-I’m fine.” she stammered staggering to her feet. “I had a dream.” Lightningclaw looked a bit shaken by the news. “Quickly, we must report this to Silence of the Night.” he meowed rushing out of the den with Swiftfoot struggling to catch up. “What is it?” asked Silence of the Night startled at their income. “Swiftfoot had a prophecy.” explained Lightningclaw beckoning her forward with his tail. Silence of the Night wrapped his tail around his paws as he waited for her to speak. “There is great danger to come; cat blood will spill onto the battle field once more. Seek the one with red fur who holds great knowledge to learn the truth. The glow of fading light will take you to her home.” explained Swiftfoot repeating the exact words Skyflame and Cloudflare had told her. There was dead silence as both toms thought about what she had told them. “Did Cloudflare and Skyflame say anything else?” asked their leader breaking the silence. Swiftfoot shook her head. “What’s bothering me is this she-cat with red fur that we have to look for.” murmured Lightningclaw aloud. “I also wonder what Cloudflare means by ‘the glow of fading light will take you to her home’. What could that mean?” All three cats went silent once more. “The glow of fading light…” repeated Swiftfoot. Fading light, she thought. The sun’s light fades at night? “The sun’s light fades at night!” she yowled out loud, making Lightningclaw and Silence of the Night look up in bewilderment and almost jump out of their fur. “The sun is the fading light!” exclaimed Swiftfoot making sure they understood. “I see!” meowed Lightningclaw. “When the sun goes down, that’s the direction we want to go.” “We?” repeated Silence of the Night. “I’m not so sure we should send warriors off quite yet; we need more information. I think we should wait one more night to see if Swiftfoot gets any more news on the prophecy.”
After more small talk on the subject, all four cats had discussed everything they could about the topic. “One more thing,” exclaimed Silence of the Night before Lightningclaw could step out of the den. “Do not speak of this to any cat, it will just cause panic.” “You will have to announce it soon;” Lightningclaw pointed out. “We will have to send cats to go on the journey; but it won’t just be just Star Tribe warriors who will be going, a warrior or two from all the tribes will be.” Silence of the Night nodded his head in agreement. “We’ll talk later about spreading the news during Peace Night.” added Lightningclaw before flicking his tail in goodbye. Swiftfoot hadn’t even realized how long she had been in there, chatting with the toms about the prophecy until she saw the sun was starting to set! But before she could head into the healing den, Swiftfoot caught her sister’s eye and greeted them with a curt nod. “How long were you in there?” asked Cometblaze returning the greeting while she stood up from her place next to the kill pile. “A fairly long time.” answered Swiftfoot secretively. “Lightningclaw and I had to discuss important things with Silence of the Night.” Nightsky and Cometblaze narrowed their eyes curiously but didn’t question any further. There was awkward silence between the sisters so she decided to wave her tail in goodbye and heading into the den to finish some important business. “Chervile root, chickweed, catmint, comfrey, marigold, ragwort, horsetail, snakeroot-” Swiftfoot stopped sorting through the piles of herbs to look at the small portion of the yarrow that was left. “We’ll have to restock tomorrow.” murmured Swiftfoot. Whatever the danger is going to be, she thought she thought to herself, we have to be ready to face it.

Chapter 16
Nightsky’s curiosity was overflowing with questions about the talk with her father. Whatever it is, it’s private, thought Nightsky, shaking the thought away. A black she-cat surprised Nightsky from behind as she finished up her rabbit. Darkmoon purred in amusement before beckoning Nightsky to follow. “We’re going with the night patrol to hunt.” explained Darkmoon meeting up with Starynight and Risingmoon. Once the cats were outside of the camp, they headed straight for Roaring Water. The border was fairly quiet as they neared. Starynight scouted ahead while all three she-cats renewed the scent markings along the border.
It didn’t take too long for them to finish the Swift Tribe border as well; which was unusually quiet. “We’ll come back here later.” ordered Starynight. “For now we can hunt before we head back here.” “I’ll head upwind.” suggested Risingmoon swiftly racing away. “I’ll hunt around the borders.” meowed Starynight. “We’ll hunt downwind.” consulted Darkmoon racing off with Nightsky. Before they started hunting, both she-cats went down to the lake to have a quick drink. The water was nice and cold with the reflection of the glistening stars bouncing off of the water. Out of nowhere, Darkmoon leaped into the undergrowth only to return with a squirrel laying limp in her jaws. The black she-cat put her catch behind a large, curved rock which would cover the prey until she came back for it. “I might’ve scared all the prey off here, I was pretty loud when I tried to catch that squirrel.” confessed Darkmoon quietly. “Let’s head upwind to Protecting Tree to try and catch some shrew; they’re usually plentiful near the ferns.” Nightsky nodded her head and led the way to Protecting Tree.
She spotted its mossy cover thanks to the moonlight shining directly onto the border. All of the sudden, Nightsky caught a whiff of a mouse scurrying towards a nut. Nightsky stopped and went into the hunters crouch. “Put your tail down.” warned Darkmoon. Nightsky did as she was told. When the mouse stood in place, Nightsky leaped into the air and onto the mouse perfectly. “Great catch!” purred Darkmoon. Nightsky nodded her thanks and put the dead mouse behind a rock, just as her mentor had done. A rustling noise behind Protecting Tree startled Nightsky but she stood her ground firmly as she heard heavy paw steps. Warriors of Swift Tribe; Shrewfern, Otterfur, Rabbitfoot, and Harespring sprang out from behind an unusually large shrub close to the edge of their territory with fur bristling and claws unsheathed. “Back off our side of the border!” hissed Rabbitfoot baring her teeth. “We were just hunting.” explained Darkmoon calmly. “We didn’t do anything wrong.” “You were too close to our border.” snarled Harespring aggressively. “Let’s go Nightsky. They just want to start a senseless fight.” scolded Darkmoon turning her head away from the four enraged cats. “Pelt of Honey will be hearing about this.” yowled Shrewfern stalking off with the rest of his patrol following him. “Don’t let them get into your fur. They’ve always been like this. They’re not exactly very friendly like the other tribes.” explained Darkmoon leaning in close to Nightsky.
Before long, Nightsky and Darkmoon met up with the rest of the patrol to report about Swift Tribe’s behavior. Nightsky proudly held two squirrels in her mouth as they headed back to camp.
Most of the camp was asleep by the time they got back. Starynight volunteered to report to Silence of the Night to let everyone else head to their nests. “Nice hunting out there today.” praised Darkmoon. “You’re learning fast.” Nightsky nodded her head in thanks, too tired to reply.

Chapter 17
Breezetail twitched her ear as she heard the chatting of her tribe mates outside the den. It looked like she had woken up just in time as Silence of the Night had called a tribe meeting. “What’s going on?” whispered Breezetail finding a place to sit next to the newest warrior of the tribe. “I don’t know.” replied Duskpelt quietly. “Thank you for all coming so soon.” exclaimed Silence of the Night as Lightningclaw and Swiftfoot appeared beside him. “Last night, one of our newest apprentices got a prophecy concerning all the tribes. Breezetail froze as Swiftfoot stepped forward to speak. Is this why she was in the leader’s den so long yesterday? The clearing became silent with fear and as Swiftfoot started to explain the bits and pieces of the prophecy. Nobody spoke a word as the apprentice finished but Breezetail could smell everyone’s fear. Dawnflower soon broke the silence. “What should we do?” she wailed desperately. “We will be telling the leaders at Peace Night tonight.” soothed Lightningclaw. “Things will be sorted out there. In the mean time, do not fret about this too much. It’s under control.” Nobody seemed to be comforted by the healing cat’s words. “You may go back to your duties until sun down; when it is time to choose cats for Peace Night.” added Silence of the Night before dismissing his tribe mates.
Before long, it was time to go; Breezetail, Swiftfoot, Lightningclaw, Risingmoon, Starynight, Sunset, Duskpelt, Halfmoon, and Snowpetal, along with Silence of the Night, made their way to the gathering island. As the Peace Night patrol moved out, it wasn’t long before they bumped into Pelt of Honey and her group of cats. Silence of the Night stopped and let her patrol go onto the island first but all he received were hostile glares from Swift Tribe’s patrol. “What got tangled in their fur?” muttered Breezetail.
Star Tribe was the last to arrive again but nobody seemed to notice. “Remember to keep your mouths shut about the prophecy ok?” whispered Silence of the Night before dismissing them with a flick off his tail. “Hey Breezetail come with me. I’ll introduce you to some apprentices.” meowed Snowpetal warmly. Breezetail followed without saying anything. Snowpetal slowed down by a group of young she-cats. “Hey guys meet Breezetail, Breezetail meet Windpool, Springshine, Morninglight, and Fishtail.” explained Snowpetal. “Nice to meet you Breezetail. You must be one of the new apprentices along with your siblings.” exclaimed Fishtail dipping her head in greeting. Breezetail really wanted to be alone but sat down just this once to talk with other apprentices.

Chapter 18
Swiftfoot’s eyes rested on Breezetail sitting with a few other apprentices. She still wasn’t used to the friendliness between the five tribes. She spotted Blackheart talking with his mentor several fox lengths away. She was about to go over there and greet her friend but was stopped when someone gently laid their tail on her shoulder. Swiftfoot turned around to be greeted by her good friend Voleear. “Hey Swiftfoot!” greeted Voleear cheerfully. “Hey Voleear.” replied Swiftfoot. “The meeting’s about to start, Swiftfoot. Let’s go.” Swiftfoot reluctantly followed and looked back at Blackheart to see him wave his tail in greeting. The she-cat waved back warmly before turning around back to Voleear. Swiftfoot took her seat next to Voleear and Lightningclaw. “So what do you think the leaders are going to be reporting this Peace Night?” whispered Voleear. “The leaders will be starting the meeting fairly quick; you’ll find out then.” hissed Blackleaf trying to prevent a conversation from starting.
Pelt of Honey was already speaking as they turned their attention back to leaders. “Everything is well in Swift Tribe but Grizzlynose, Beetleeyes, Harespring, and Shrewfern came across a group of Star Tribe cats trespassing onto our territory. If it wasn’t for my patrol, Star Tribe could’ve made an even bigger fool of themselves.” Gasps of shock rang all around the clearing. Swiftfoot’s fur began to bristle with rage as Lightningclaw tried to stay calm across from her. She saw her tribe mates felt the same way, as far as she could see, every cat had their teeth bared and their backs arched defensively. Silence of the Night glared at Pelt of Honey before defending his tribe mates. “For your information, my border patrol didn’t even set paw over your territory! It’s a mistake for you to be accusing us of something we never did!” hissed Star Tribe’s leader calmly. “Are you accusing my tribe and I of false evidence?” snarled Pelt of Honey aggressively. Before they could argue anymore, Tail of Cinder broke in. “Go fight somewhere else you two.” she snapped in annoyance. “This is a night of peace.” Both leaders dipped their heads in apology but didn’t take their eyes off one another. “The twolegs seem to be leaving our river but they leave behind crow food. Thankfully, nothing is harmful, just shiny objects we have been able to move out of our territory.” Tail of Cinder flicked her tail dismissively, letting Fur of Crystals speak. “Everything is wonderful in Winter Tribe and our two new kits, Snow and Ice are almost ready to become apprentices.” The Winter Tribe leader acknowledged Fur in the Gorse as he stood up to report. “All is well in Tornado Tribe, twoleg activity has started to pop up close to the edge of our territory but no interactions.” Silence of the Night glared at Pelt of Honey one last time before sharing his serious news with everyone. “Star Tribe is well; I have picked my rightful deputy, Risingmoon.” Silence of the Night wait until the murmurs died down before continuing in a more stern voice. “Leaders, my daughter and healing cat apprentice, Swiftfoot, had a very disturbing prophecy the other night.” The leaders looked at him in alarm. “What may that be?” asked Fur of Crystals. “Swiftfoot told me and Lightningclaw; there is great danger to come for all the tribes and we must find a she-cat with red fur to seek the answer.” replied Silence of the Night. The clearing went silent with fear. “And how do you find this…she-cat?” proposed Pelt of Honey sarcastically. “We find her by following the fading light of the sun.” answered the black tom giving Pelt of Honey a hard stare. Roars of terror and outrage rang around the clearing like waves crashing against rocks with all their might. “Do we send cats right away?” yowled a cat from the terrified crowd. “Silence!” shrieked Tail of Cinder so menacingly the entire clearing went silent with shock; nobody had ever heard Tail of Cinder yell like that before. “And you believe this prophecy from one of your inexperienced apprentices?” asked Pelt of Honey outraged. “I think this is a pile of mouse-dung honestly.” Before Swiftfoot’s father could reply, a voice from behind Swiftfoot spoke up. Blackleaf was standing on all fours as he continued. “I’m sorry for interrupting,” yowled Blackleaf. “But I believe Swiftfoot is right; Brownivy told me we have to look for a she-cat with red fur by the name of Scarlet.” The leaders became silent. “Is this true Fur in the Gorse?” asked Fur of Crystals. The tom nodded his head. “What Blackleaf says is true.” Yowls of shock rang around the clearing. “I believe Swiftfoot as well.” “Now that you mention it,” confessed Tail of Cinder. “The part about a red-furred she-cat named Scarlet sounds familiar. I think Bigheart might’ve told me too.” Fur of Crystals nodded her head. “Me as well.” All three leaders flicked their ears in apology towards Silence of the Night. Before long, Pelt of Honey was the center of attention; everyone waiting for Pelt of Honey to confess. “Oh alright.” she grumbled angrily. “But what shall we do?” exclaimed Mistypool from her spot. “I-I don’t know.” confessed Silence of the Night. “I think some cats should leave at once.” demanded Pelt of Honey. The other leaders looked at her shocked but their gazes hardened to determination. “I think Pelt of Honey is right.” exclaimed Silence of the Night. “How many cats shall we send away to continue the journey?” asked Tail of Cinder. Fur in the Gorse looked thoughtfully at the leaders. “I think tomorrow, at sun high we should bring at least one or two warriors to where we stand now.” explained Fur in the Gorse. “Then it’s settled! At sun high, we’ll bring two warriors to start the journey.” declared Silence of the Night before yowling for his tribe to head home before the other leaders could argue. Swiftfoot desperately looked around for Blackheart and found him with his tribe mates. Swiftfoot was about to pad over to him when she felt a tail on her shoulder. “Are you coming?” asked Breezetail. “Yeah, I’ll catch up. There’s something I need to do first.” explained Swiftfoot. Breezetail narrowed her eyes but said nothing and turned away to her own tribe. Swiftfoot let out a heavy sigh and padded over to Blackheart. “Hey Blackheart! Over here!” hissed Swiftfoot, hoping Blackheart had heard her. Blackheart turned his head to see Swiftfoot standing in front of him. Blackhearts’ eyes turned round with affection. “Hey Swiftfoot.” purred Blackheart taking a step towards her. “Hey…” meowed Swiftfoot awkwardly. “I got to go, Tail of Cinder always wants to be the first to leave. Can we meet tomorrow night?” asked Blackheart. Swiftfoot nodded her head in agreement. As she watched Blackheart pad away, Swiftfoot jumped up in alarm; “Are you coming for Sky Tribe’s sake?! The whole tribe is waiting for you!” hissed Lightningclaw impatiently. Swiftfoot followed Lightningclaw with red checks. This is it, thought Swiftfoot eagerly; the time for the prophecy to unravel is near.

Chapter 19
Cometblaze padded into the sleepy camp with two mice. She had just returned from the last hunting patrol of the night; Cometblaze was exhausted. Once she had dropped off her two mice, she got herself a plump shrew and sat beside Nightsky. “When do you think they’re going to return?” meowed Nightsky through a mouthful of squirrel. Cometblaze rolled her eyes; her sister had been like this ever since the Peace Night Patrol had left. “The Peace Night Patrol is coming back!” yowled Wintersky startling Cometblaze. Nightsky jumped to her paws in a flash and ran over to greet them. “What did the other leaders say?” asked Wintersky. “Anyone accusing us of something we didn’t do?” demanded Silence of the Night’s mate, Skypelt rushing out of the healing den. Silence of the Night ignored their questions, but gave Skypelt a quick lick across the cheek and jumped on the massive rock so he could see everybody while reporting his important plan about the prophecy; and the prophecy to start off with. Cometblaze padded over to the large group of listening cats staring up at the muscular black tom. Cometblaze stared up at her father, pride shining in her eyes. “You’re lucky to have a father like that.” whispered Snowpetal staring up at him admiralty. Silence of the Night flicked his tail for silence; “Tribe mates, last night, Swiftfoot had a prophecy that could change the future of the tribes if we do not find out the danger.” explained Silence of the Night. “Swiftfoot tells us we must find a she-cat with red fur by the name of Scarlet.” Cometblaze stood frozen in her place as he explained the plan for tomorrow morning at sun rise. There was dead silence as he finished. “How could you have not told us this before?” asked Skypelt hurt and misunderstanding showing in her eyes. “It could’ve caused panic.” replied Silence of the Night calmly and affectionately, directing the answer straight towards his mate. “Who will be the chosen ones for the journey?” asked Nightsky excitedly. “All will be revealed tomorrow.” replied Silence of the Night secretively. And just like that, the meeting ended with dead silence. Cometblaze padded past Nightsky and into her nest; she was too tired to worry about the situation. Soon after curling into her nest, Cometblaze fell asleep.

Chapter 20
It was early sun high when Breezetail, Wintersky, Shiningnight, and Sunrise returned back to camp with a huge rabbit, three voles, and two plump mice. “Breezetail could you please give this rabbit to Dawnflower and Skypelt; she just moved back to the to-be-mothers den.” asked Sunrise prodding the rabbit towards her apprentice. “I’ll put your vole on the kill pile for you.” Breezetail raced away with the white rabbit hanging lifelessly from her jaws.
Skypelt gave Breezetail a rough lick on the head as she dropped it at her mother’s paws. She excused herself as she heard Silence of the Night yowl for a meeting. She sat down nest to Duskpelt who greeted her with a nod of his head. She could see Wintersky, Halfmoon and Snowpetal chatting in a huddled group excitedly while on the other hand; Dawnflower was trying to convince her mate not to go if he got chosen. As he emerged from his den, everyone fell silent with excitement. “My fellow tribe mates, Risingmoon and I have chosen the three cats to make the journey.” Wait, three? Everyone started to look at each other in confusion but didn’t say a word. “The honorable cats who will be making the journey are; Duskpelt, Breezetail and Swiftfoot.” The clearing exploded into yowls of protests. “Swiftfoot isn’t even a warrior and Breezetail is just a new apprentice!” objected Starynight. “And not to forget, Duskpelt is a new warrior!” Breezetail felt Duskpelt tense as he waited for someone to defend him. “Silence!” yowled Silence of the Night, glaring at his tribe mates. “Swiftfoot may not be a warrior, but she is loyal and she was also the one who had the dream. What if she has another dream like that? How could she tell the traveling cats?” challenged Silence of the Night. Every cat was silent for a moment but after a while, they nodded their heads in agreement. Before anyone could argue, Silence of the Night got up and started heading to the camp entrance with the three cats following him. “Starynight will be in charge till I get back. Risingmoon and Lightningclaw will come alone with me.” “This is so exciting!!” whispered Breezetail as Duskpelt quivered in excitement. “This is the first time I’ve actually been able to go on a journey.” exclaimed Duskpelt. “It’s going to be so amazing to see new land.”
As they neared the gathering place, Breezetail sensed that, once again, they were the last ones to arrive. The five leaders nodded their heads in greeting as Star Tribe appeared through the shrubs.
Heatherbracken, Hailfoot, Clearsnow, Goldenheart, Rabbitfoot, and Grizzlynose appeared to be the chosen cats for the journey. “I thought we were supposed to bring two warriors?” growled Pelt of Honey. “Not two apprentices and a warrior!” “I have to agree with Pelt of Honey.” meowed Fur in the Gorse. “We agreed on two warriors.” “But you did only bring one cat Fur in the Gorse.” Fur of Crystals pointed out. The Tornado Tribe leader didn’t reply in embarrassment. “Enough.” hissed Silence of the Night. “I’m sure we all have our reasons for bringing different numbers of cats to go on the journey and let’s keep it that way.” Tail of Cinder nodded her head. “I think it’s time they get going; the sun will be setting this way.” Tail of Cinder pointed to a dense forest that they could see through the trees and beyond their territory. “There’s no time to waste.” growled Pelt of Honey. “The sake of all five tribes is in your paws.” meowed Tail of Cinder sternly. Breezetail’s heart lurched nervously but shook the feeling away immediately. She couldn’t worry about the journey ahead, she had to embrace it. “Now, has everybody had their mixture of herbs before they left?” asked Fur in the Gorse. Every cat nodded their heads; except one. Swiftfoot shuffled her paws on the ground. “I was so busy making Duskpelt and Breezetail a poultice but I totally forgot to make myself one.” Silence of the Night sighed. “If I may,” meowed Lightningclaw who had been silent the whole time. “I would be able to make a poultice for Swiftfoot fairly quick.” Silence of the Night nodded his head. “Thank you Lightningclaw.”

Chapter 22
Swiftfoot waited patiently for Lightningclaw to return with the poultice. She could tell the other cats were starting to get impatient as they paced around quietly. She still felt bad about forgetting to make herself a mixture but what could she do now but wait? Quicker than expected, Lightningclaw returned back from camp with the poultice inside a hollowed-out piece of wood. Lightningclaw gently put it down next to Swiftfoot. The she-cat nodded her head in thanks before lapping up the liquid. “Remember, you can always find herbs in the forest.” he whispered into her ear. “Lead everyone safely to the end of the journey and back. We know you can do it.” “Is every cat ready?” asked Tail of Cinder. “Because if you aren’t, then speak up now and leave.” growled Pelt of Honey narrowing her eyes as she spoke. Fur of Crystals shot her a warning look. “I think we are.” meowed Heatherbracken. Everybody nodded their heads. “Well then Swiftfoot, lead the way.” growled Harespring with a smirk. “See you in a couple moons.” meowed Fur of Crystals softly. “Good luck Swiftfoot.” meowed Lightningclaw solemnly dipping his head in respect for his apprentice. Swiftfoot padded to the front of the group but paused and turned around to face Tornado Tribe’s deputy. “Heatherbracken, I think you should take the lead. I’ll just tell you where to go.” Swiftfoot noticed Heatherbracken was quit shocked by her request but saw it faded into determination. “Very well, I’ll lead the way.” meowed Heatherbracken shouldering her way to the front of the group.
Everyone waved their tails in goodbye before heading towards the twoleg-made ‘log’ and heading into Rainbow Tribe territory to start the journey. This is it, thought Swiftfoot. The journey has begun.
To be continued...

Treacherous Paths

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Series #1
The Omen of Shadows

The Omen of Shadows

Warrior Tribes

(Contribute to Erin Hunter's Warriors Series)

The Omen of Shadows

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Series #1​The Omen of Shadows

The Omen of Shadows

Warrior Tribes​(Contribute to Erin Hunter's Warriors Series)​The Omen of Shadows

Leave a Review :3

Series #1
The Omen of Shadows

Warrior Tribes

(Contribute to Erin Hunter's Warriors Series)

The Omen of Shadows