New Horizons

Chapter 18

A quarter moon soon passed, the group continuing on. They soon stopped by a stream to drink, noticing another tom padding over. "Who are you guys?" he asked.

"We're just a group passing through," meowed Fireheart as he looked over at the white tom with black patches dotted across his pelt. "Say, we're making a new group in the territory over the slope. Would you care to join us?"

"I wouldn't mind, I need a change in scenery," meowed the tom. "I'm Patches, by the way." The others greeted him as they continued to drink from the stream.

"How much further?" whined Featherkit.

"A short while yet, Featherkit," meowed Mistcloud calmly as she took a break from lapping at the stream. "We still need to get to the bottom of the slope before we can find a place to settle."

"But we want to play!" Shallowkit whined, Streamkit nodding ecstatically.

"You lot can play when we settle in the new territory," chuckled Fireheart, wrapping a tail around Streamkit as he bounced over to him. "Besides, we need to continue on soon. We don't want to be caught out at night."

Mistcloud nodded and so almost everyone grabbed a kit and they continued on. They soon got to the bottom of the slope and in front of them they could hear squirrels chattering, leaves rustling, wind whistling around thick trunks of trees, birds singing in the green leaves, insects humming, and rustling of animals rooting in the underbrush. No matter where they looked, all they could see was the beauty of nature.

"Wow," murmured Smudge as he looked around, eyes wide. "This place is beautiful." Lily hummed in agreement, eyes alight with astonishment. "So what do we do now?"

"I guess we settle," Ravenpaw said, glancing at Mistcloud who nodded. Fireheart brushed up against the she-cat, the two resting foreheads together before leading the way into the forest after not being able to scent any cats other than the group they had travelled with.

Graystripe's heart plummeted as he watched both Mistcloud and Fireheart interact as he followed the group into the territory. Did Mistcloud like Fireheart more than she liked him? shaking the thoughts from his head, the solid grey tom quickly caught up to the two. Fireheart seemed slightly annoyed but kept close to Mistcloud's side.

"Who are you lot?" growled a blue-grey she-cat with bright blue eyes.

Mistcloud set Lakekit and Shallowkit down, dipping her head to the she-cat out of respect. "My name is Mistcloud, and these cats around me are those who have decided to join me on my journey to leave our old territory in search of a new one." Mistcloud meowed as she stared evenly at the she-cat before her. Weaselpaw and Cloudkit, as well as the rest of the kits, watched on with awe at the way Mistcloud acted.

"She's a true leader!" Ripplekit meowed, Weaselpaw purring in agreement.

"If you don't mind, and if you have territory to spare, would we be alright to settle here in this territory?" Mistcloud asked, ears perked up and tail hanging low to show that she or her group weren't a threat to the she-cat.

"Very well," mewed the blue-grey she-cat. "Oh, I didn't introduce myself, did I? I'm Waterstar, leader of WaterClan. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mistcloud. I take it as you are the leader of your group?" Mistcloud nodded. "I'll send my medicine cat over to show you to the Moon Tree where you can visit StarClan and receive the nine lives of a leader. It'll be a pleasure to have to all join WaterClan and LightningClan around the creek." Dipping her head, Waterstar trotted off to where, Mistcloud guessed, WaterClan was stationed.

"Let's find a place to make camp," meowed Mistcloud as she gestured for the kits to follow, as well as the rest of the cats. They soon found a place to create their camp, a slightly curved area where holes appeared in the walls. This is perfect, Mistcloud thought. There were seven holes, each at different levels and different sizes. There was a slope that led to each of the holes which was perfect access for everyone. "This is perfect."