Post by Goldenstar on Nov 4, 2021 2:41:41 GMT -5
Part One
"... then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Whitepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Whitewater. StarClan honors your dedication, spirit, and heart. We welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
Whitewater felt like her heart may burst out of her chest as Birchstar laid his chin on top of her head. The tall, muscular brown and gold tom turned on his paws and headed back for the Highstone. Whitewater lifted her head as her clan-mates began to chant her new name.
"Whitewater! Whitewater! Whitewater!"
"Hey, it's about time, huh?!" A handsome white and ginger tom bumped her flank and Whitewater rolled her eyes.
"I had a lot to learn. And Leafclaw is not an easy mentor."
"You can say that again. Imagine being her son," the warrior replied with a purr as he licked the space between Whitewater's ears. "I'm proud of you."
Feeling her face grow hot, Whitewater licked down her chest fur to stifle her nerves. Why did Finchwing always have to say things to her that made her feel so uncomfortable? "Anyway... I'm so excited that I'm a warrior now! Do you think I'll get to go to the meeting tomorrow?"
"That's a big honor for a new warrior," Finchwing told her, blinking a bit at the white and gold molly's enthusiasm. "Perhaps. We'll just have to see..." the tom flicked an ear and whipped around, his pupils narrowing. There was a sudden yowl as a patrol of cats came rushing through the bramble tunnel. All of them were bloody and limping but the warriors in the rear had caught the worst of it. Two of them were carrying another cat each on their backs, one a yellow tabby and one a rusty ginger- both unconscious. The fur along Whitewater's spine began to rise and she flicked her gaze urgently toward the medicine cat den.
"Hollyvine!"
The next instant, a tall, lanky gray and black marbled molly came bursting from the den, bounding over to the patrol on deer-like legs. "What happened?" she demanded.
"We were..." the leader of the patrol, a dark brown tabby tom, was forcing words out through his bloodied mouth. "We were patrolling our border with SkyClan. Sunnypaw accidently crossed it chasing a mouse- s-she didn't even catch it and an entire patrol of SkyClan warriors came out of nowhere and attacked her! It was awful. We got to her as soon as we could but she won't wake up."
Hollyvine's dark green eyes locked on the yellow tabby who was on one of the warrior's backs. "Bring her to my den. And Runningtail too. The rest of you as well. Someone go to Sunning Rocks and fetch me Thistlepaw!"
"I can!" Finchwing turned and was gone in an instant. Whitewater rushed to help Hollyvine get the rest of the patrol into her den, letting the brown tabby tom support himself against her as they hurried toward the healer's quarters. No more had the new warrior gotten Sunnypaw's limp form settled into a nest did Birchstar come storming into the den, his dark orange eyes an inferno of rage.
"Every single one of you are injured," he growled, taking in the sight of his battered patrol. When his eyes slid across Sunnypaw, his pupils narrowed into thin, claw-like slits. "What kind of warrior injures an apprentice like that?! She's barely a moon into being a 'paw."
"I don't know, Birchstar," said a small white she-cat with a gray patch over her left eye. She was bleeding from a nasty scratch on her side and her left ear was badly tattered. "Leopardpounce was leading them."
"Of course he was," the ThunderClan leader growled, his ears laying flat against his skull as he assessed the damage from his patrol. As Finchwing entered the den with a blue and black dappled she-cat at his paws, Birchstar lifted his head and held Whitewater's gaze- orange irises seething. "Tomorrow at the meeting, I'll have a lot to say to Ashstar."
---
Whitewater shifted uncomfortably, her fur brushing against Finchwing's flank. The tom purred at the contact and flicked her with his tail. Once again, Whitewater felt her body light on fire from his attention. What was it with him? Why was he always looking at her like that...
"There's so many cats here..." came a small voice from beside her. Whitewater flicked an ear and looked to her left. The morning after the attack on the ThunderClan patrol, Birchstar had announced that Whitewater would be temporarily training Runningtail's apprentice- Lilypaw- while the warrior was recovering from her injuries. Of course, Whitewater had been stunned- she'd only been a warrior for a day and suddenly had a shadow, as Lilypaw was Sunnypaw's sister and the two of them hadn't even been apprenticed for a full moon yet. This was the young she-cat's first meeting and Lilypaw was missing her sister terribly. She kept perking up and opening her mouth as if she was going to speak to someone, only to realize the cat she wanted to speak to wasn't there and would look absolutely crestfallen. Whitewater was trying to keep her spirits up... as much as she could.
"Yes, there are a lot of cats here, Lilypaw. You'll get used to it in time- I promise. Hey! Look- some of the apprentices from the other clans are playing moss-ball by that bush over there. Why don't you go say hello and try to get in on the fun before the meeting starts?" Whitewater suggested with a perk of her tufted ears. Lilypaw's eyes stretched wide, the white and yellow she-cat looking unsure as she glanced over to where the other 'paws were playing.
"I don't know if I could..."
"I'll walk you over," Finchwing offered with a gentle blink to Whitewater. The she-cat nodded thankfully as he guided her new apprentice over to where the other apprentices were gathered. Whitewater flicked an ear and looked around, taking in the gathering fully now that she had a moment to herself to think. There were a lot of cats here. A lot more than usual- she realized. The scents of all the clans were beginning to blend together and she had to focus to pick each of them out. There was the fresh, open smell of meadow that WindClan carried- and the dank, musky smell of pine that held in ShadowClan. The watery, sandy aroma of RiverClan always carried undertones of fish, and the woody scent of SkyClan was a lot like ThunderClan but not as strong. Whitewater closed her eyes, letting her senses blur. She had been entranced by meetings ever since she had come to her first one when she'd first been made an apprentice and even now, the thrill of it all was simply enticing to her. The sounds of the elders telling stories, the scuttle of apprentices and young warriors playing. Ah. And the truce! The truce under StarClan that promised them peace and brought them together once a moon... Whitewater opened her eyes and gazed up at the full moon- shining bright like a disk of otherwordly perfection in the sky. She felt a purr rumble in her throat and a surge of pride spread through her blood. Her first meeting as a warrior of ThunderClan!
A yowl from the great rock caught every cat's attention and Whitewater pushed forward, trying to get to the front of the ThunderClan crowd. She didn't want to miss anything her first meeting as a warrior! She settled in beside a couple of seasoned warriors- Brightfur and Stormblaze. She curled her tail around her paws just as a massive dark gray and black tom stepped forward. It was Rumblestar- leader of ShadowClan.
"New-leaf brings many blessings to ShadowClan," he called, his stormy gray eyes scanning the crowd. "Two of our queens have kitted and we have two new apprentices- Reedpaw and Larkpaw." From the group of apprentices by the bush, two ShadowClan cats- a red tom and a brown she-cat- dipped their heads nervously as mews of congratulations spread across the clearing. "One of our senior warriors- Meadowspring- has retired to the elder's den." He took a step back and a small, wire-furred rowan tom took a pace forward. Redstar.
"Hunting is well on the moor," the WindClan leader called in his gravel-like voice, amber eyes proud. "We have a new warrior- Jayheart!"
"Jayheart! Jayheart!" Came the cries- loudest of course from WindClan- and a dark blue-gray tom lifted his head proudly.
Next forward was a slender gray tabby tom with a long black tail and icy blue eyes. Finstar... he's looking rather old compared to the other leaders now!
"The river is again full with fish and we all eat well in RiverClan," he purred warmly in his usual kind, rich voice.
Eating too much! Whitewater thought with a twitch of her ears at how fat some of the RiverClan warriors looked. Strange their leader would look so thin...
"We have a new apprentice- Splashpaw- but she is in the medicine cat's den from a sprained paw." The older tom blinked his blue eyes in amusement. "She was over-eager in her training yesterday... as apprentices so often tend to be."
There was a warm ripple of agreement through the crowd. Finstar was a popular leader and RiverClan was always in good standing with the other clans due to his kind and fatherly nature. As Finstar went on about how well the fish was swimming, Whitewater flicked her gaze downward, partaking in her ritual of detailing the row of deputies and medicine cats. She blinked in surprise when she realized there was a new face- someone she seemed to know but didn't quite recognize. But before Whitewater could investigate or ponder further, Birchstar's angry yowl sliced through the still night.
"ThunderClan grows strong in new-leaf," he began. "We have two new kits, two new apprentices- Lilypaw and Sunnypaw..." Whitewater noticed Lilypaw ducked quickly behind Finchwing to try and avoid attention. "And we also have a queen who will deliver within the waning moon. Finally, we have a new warrior- Whitewater!"
The she-cat quickly looked down and licked her chest fur feverishly in embarrassment, flicking her ears as a warm echo rose in the clearing.
"Whitewater! Whitewater!" She noted the loudest voice of all was from the bush where the apprentices were and was coming from Finchwing- the tom standing as he cheered her name. Talk about embarrassing!
"But there are also serious matters to be discussed." Birchstar's edgy tone caused Whitewater to gather her attention back toward the leaders. ThunderClan's leader turned his dark orange eyes to a slender, cinder-gray she-cat with white toes and a matching nose blaze. Her piercing blue eyes met his curiously. "Ashstar, yesterday, a SkyClan patrol savagely attacked a ThunderClan border party and seriously injured one of our apprentices- Sunnypaw- who isn't here tonight and should be to celebrate her apprenticeship with her sister. What do you have to say for yourself? In what world is there honor for a warrior to so seriously attack a 'paw?"
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Ashstar said just loud enough for the gathered cats to hear her, her blue eyes wide with surprise. "SkyClan has done nothing of the sort. You must be mistaken, Birchstar."
"Lies!" hissed a ThunderClan cat from behind them and Whitewater recognized the voice of Pollenstripe- Lilypaw and Sunnypaw's father. "My kit hasn't woken up because your deputy attacked her for accidently crossing the border!"
"Why was your kit crossing the border? Does ThunderClan not know how to teach their apprentices to respect scent markers?" The snappy voice came from below the leaders. A huge black tom with gray dapples and shocking yellow eyes was glowering at Pollenstripe, his tail lashing with agitation. Whitewater felt her skin crawl as she shifted beside Brightfur. Leopardpounce.
"Leopardpounce- do you know anything about what Birchstar is saying?" Ashstar asked her deputy, her tone deadly calm. The tom turned his face to her and shook his head. "Did your patrol attack theirs?"
"We escorted them to their side of the border. I don't know how the apprentice got hurt so badly but it had nothing to do with SkyClan."
"That isn't true!"
"Runningtail is also injured because of it!"
As cries erupted from ThunderClan's side, Whitewater felt unease sinking into her pelt as if it had begun to rain. She lashed her tail nervously and slid her claws out of their sheathes, pressing against Brightfur for comfort. The pretty white she-cat met Whitewater's troubled gaze and shook her head as the cries of outrage from SkyClan and ThunderClan grew louder and louder- filling the peaceful clearing with cries of war and revenge.
"Stop!" a stern, strong voice cried from the center of the throng and slowly the chaos began to simmer down. From the line of medicine cats, a sleek, lanky tom was staring up at the moon. He shook his head, dark blue eyes wide with worry. "StarClan is angry! Look!"
Whitewater peered up at the sky, stifling a gasp as she saw that thick, heavy clouds seemed to come from nowhere and were blocking the moon. Panic spread across the clearing and the cats began to disperse, rushing to their clan-mates as the moonlight faded away and left Four Trees in an eerie almost-darkness.
"The meeting is over. But this isn't finished, Ashstar... not by a long shot," Birchstar growled as he leaped down from the great rock, leaving the SkyClan leader staring after him, mouth half-opened, with a bewildered expression on her slender face. "ThunderClan! Let's go home!" as his voice carried out, Whitewater tossed a glance over her shoulder. The medicine cat who had spoken out against the violence was the cat she hadn't seen before... or had, but couldn't quite remember where. He was a tall, slender tom with black and gray shaded fur and such dark blue eyes, the irises themselves seemed to hold fragments of the night. She could see he looked tired and his face was careworn. He was saying something urgently to one of the other medicine cats as the meeting broke apart. For just a moment, the tom turned his head toward her and Whitewater caught her breath. He held her gaze for what felt like eons before looking away again, flicking his tail as the contact was lost.
"Whitewater? Are you okay?..." the small voice snapped the warrior out of her thoughts. She looked down at Lilypaw's worried face and she gave her apprentice a lick between the ears.
"Yes, yes, I'm quite alright. Just shook up a bit, I think... come on. Let's catch up with the others." Falling into step with Pollenstripe and Finchwing, Whitewater guided Lilypaw along through the woods back toward ThunderClan territory- and away from those midnight dark eyes that she felt were still watching her- even after she was long, long away from his sight.