Warrior Cats: Look To the Stars

"Let all cats old enough to catch there own prey join here beneath Streamingrock for a clan meeting!" Snowstar yowled, standing on top of the water-flowing stones. Skypaw made her way out of the medicine den and sat in the clearing, as the other cats took their place near her, Snowstar continued. "You are sitting in this clearing today for a warrior ceremony. Rainpaw, please come forward." Rainpaw looked excited, but anxious as she padded up the step-like stones of Streamingrock to stand face to face with her leader."Thornfur, are you satisfied that this apprentice is ready to become a warrior of CloudClan?"

"This cat has worked hard, and she shows her true loyalty. She will be a warrior this clan will be proud of," her mentor mewed proudly.

Snowstar looked up at the bright sun setting, casting to a colorful sky, and mewoed, "I, Snowstar, leader of CloudClan, call upon our warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to undestand your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn.” He lowered his gaze from the sky to Rainpaw. “Rainpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and o protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?”

“I do,” Rainpaw spoke calmly, but Skypaw noticed there was still relief and excitement mixed in.

Snowstar continued, “Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Rainpaw, from this moment you will be known as Rainflower. StarClan honors your bravery and patience, and we welcome youas afull warrior of CloudClan.”

Snowstar briefly rested hs muzzle on Rainflower’s head. In return, she gave her leader a grateful lick before going back to sit beside her mentor—or now, just her warrior clanmate. “Rainflower! Rainflower! All the cats in the clearing chanted, and went oover to congratulate Rainflower.

Skypaw went over, thrusting her way through the crowd of cats. “Congratulations, Rainflower! All the apprentices will miss you in our den.” All though Skypaw knew part of that wasn’t true, since Rainflower was usually grumpy, she was still happy that she was finally a warrior—and maybe Skypaw was actually happy the unpleasent cat was out of the den.

Snowstar leaped down from Streamingrock and mewed to the newly appointed warrior, “Don’t forget, due to the clan traditions, you must sit a silent vigil tonight and watch over the camp.” Rainflower nodded at that, and the cats began to break apart, back to their dens or to the fresh-kill pile.

Skypaw didn’t feel like spending the rest of her time in that medicine den the rest of the evening though, and she was starting to feel like her wounds were healing. So she headed to Leafear’s den and found him sorting through herbs, buisily mumbling to himself about them.

“Um, Leafear?” Skypaw mewed. The spotted tom turned around and said,

“Yes, what is it?”

“Well, I think my wounds are healing, well thanks to your help, and I was wondering if I could maybe get some fresh air… could I go hunting for a bit?” she spoke with hope in her voice and looked at the medicine cat pleadingly.

“Well, I suppose. You could use some fresh air. But be back before it gets dark.” Leafear sighed. Skypaw thanked him and padded out of the camp. It was sunset, so that probably meant she only had little time to go hunting.

She reached the part of the forest near twolegplace, deciding she would hunt there. She caught the scent of rabbit, and maybe a mouse, she thought. But then there was something else she smelled… it smelled of crowfood, which smelled horrible mixed around with rabbit and mouse prey scents in the air. She paused for a moment and looked around. Nothing stirred much. She headed toward a bush nearby, where she thought she detected that rabbit. She spotted the brown creature underneath the bush and crouched, about ready to spring.

Then suddenly, something leaped on top of her and pinned her down! “What are you doing on our land?” an unfamiliar voice hissed. Skypaw looked up to see a cat holding her down, an orange tabby she-cat. Then she noticed two other cats. Another orange tabby she-cat and brown tabby tom. Skypaw looked at the cat holding her down, hard in the eyes, and kicked up with her back legs pushing the cat off so Skypaw could get up.

“On your land? The question is, what might you be doing on my land?” Skypaw growled, teeth bared. She then realized these cats were the scent of crowfood she smelled earlier. She also realized that the cats were no more older than her, merely about the age of simple apprentices, yet they smelled not of clan. “Who are you?” Skypaw demanded.

The three cats looked rather taken aback by her abrupt tone. “We are rouges,” the cat that had attacked her replied. “I am Kairie, this is Tomos,” she said uncertainly, pointing with her tail to the brown tom to the right. “And this is—“

“And I’m Kayla!” the other she-cat cut in. She was rather perkier than the other two. “Who are you?”

“I am Skypaw of CloudClan,” Skypaw mewed, staring at each of the cats.

“CloudClan? What in the name of StarClan is CloudClan?” Kayla mewed.

“How do you know what StarClan is?” Skypaw mewed, surprised. Why would rouges know what StarClan is? Usually only clan cats belived in StarClan. But then Skypaw remembered a tale the elders told her when she was just a kit.

She stalked closer to the three young cats. “Who was your mother?”

Kairie answered after a long pause, “Our mother’s name was Brindleheart.”

Skypaw couldn’t believe it. She stood there, shocked. The tale was, a little before Skypaw was born, a CloudClan queen had run away right after giving birth to three kits. It was a mystery to the clan, but soon CloudClan cats forgot about it.

“Do you know that your mother, Brindleheart, was once from where I am from? CloudClan?” Skypaw gazed at the cats.

Tomos, a rather shy tom, replied, “She told us about groups of cats that live in this forest, they were called ‘clans’. We were too young to understand, but then—“ Tomos sighed, quivering.

Kayla spoke sadly, looking at her paws, “We never saw our mother again. She disappeared. Another rouge, a friend, the next day told us that he had found Brindleheart—“ Poor Kayla broke out in a cry, “laying on what our mother called a thunderpath… unmoving.” Kairie, seemingly the eldest of her siblings, came over to her sister and pressed her muzzle to Kayla’s shoulder.

Skypaw now knew that these rouges weren’t just ordinary rouges— usually rough and mean. They were just young siblings that lost their mother too young an age. Skypaw began to feel symphany for them. “How did you grow up… and survive without a mother?”

Kairie explained, “Damper, the old tom that warned us about our mother’s death, took care of us. He tought us to fight and hunt for ourselves, but then he died of old age about a half-moon ago. From then to now, we’ve been taking care of ourselves, but sometimes, we don’t even have the strength.”

Wait, Skypaw thouht, I can help these cats! I can bring them to CloudClan and they can be apprentices, and they will be able to take better care of themselves. After all, they have CloudClan blood in them. And wait until the clan knows the truth of how Brindleheart disappeared! The queen must of thought she could not take care of her kits, so she brought them to the old rouge tom.

“Kairie, Kayla, Tomos,” she hoped they would brighten up at her offer.

“You are part CloudClan. Your mother was a member of that clan. If you come to CloudClan, you be able to have better care for yourselves. I promise that. Each cat in the clan protects eachother, through thick and thin, even at the cost of their lives. You will too, if you join. Being a brave, fierce clan cat isn’t bad. I’ll tell you something, it will make your mother proud, and you will be proud. You will have to fight at times, but that’s just true heart. What do you say? Live with CloudClan?” The three cats looked stunned. They paused for a long time, looking at eachother uncertainly, but as if their own mother were telling them, Kairie spoke up. “We will join CloudClan with you, Skypaw. But please, promise us safety.”

Skypaw blinked gratefully. “Oh no!” she suddenly mewed. She looked up at the sky. It was already dark! “Quickly, follow me!” She started running, and the three followed her.