When Snowspot finally finished and gave him the clear to leave, he thanked her and walked out of the cave. Snowspot followed behind him before stopping in the mouth of the cave. Rain's eyes lit up when she saw him and she immediately ran over to brush her sopping fur against his side. She smelled of damp moss and cool air after sitting in the rain for an hour. Her fur had also been turned more slightly gray, which he assumed was because of the rain and the clouds dimming the sunlight. His tail, left forearm and ribs all itched because of the leaf bandaging, but he ignored it. Dappledfur smiled lovingly at him and he gazed back at her with a soft look on his face. But after a few moments, he decided he had to act as leader again and he pulled Rain Cloud in front of him.
"Do you see the large pine branch over there?" He nodded his head slightly towards the branch, with his rock den under it, where clan meetings were held.
She turned her head to see where he meant "uh huh" She said, obviously confused.
"It's called Clanrock, now can you go stand below it and wait there for me?" He asked
"Sure..." She said hesitantly
He watched her get up and head towards it, once stopping shortly to look back nervously at him, before continuing to walk to the rock base. Once he saw her reach the base and stand awkwardly in front of the den, he quickly asked Snowspot when he should get checked on again and she replied that he should just take the bandages off in three days. He thanked the she-cat again before padding over to Dapple and twined his tail with hers, leading her to the rock he sent Rain Cloud to. He climbed the rock, letting his Dapple drift away to sit in front of the rock.
When he reached the top, he yelled to the clan "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Clanrock for a Clan meeting."
At those words, cats swarmed out from their dens and gathered beneath the rock. He waited a couple moments longer before starting, since he knew some queens had to coax their kittens into staying in their den. Finally, when the few remaining cats had filed in and the talking died off, he started the announcement.
"I'm back, but i have no prey" He paused for a moment "I found a young cat and we encountered a bear"
Rain looked up at him nervously, as if thinking he was mad at her.
"This is Rain" He continued "She is not another clan cat or a kittypet."
Many cats tilted their heads and whispered their confusion to their neighbors.
He spoke again, silencing the chatter "She is a loner and her parents have passed" More confusion passed throughout the clan and some bristled with anger "She wants to be an apprentice."
He let the cats stir and chirp their opinions on this one, since his Clan's opinions and happiness was important to him. Luckily though, there didn't seem to be many negative opinions on this one. He settled with assuming it was because Thunder Clan had taken in a Kitty Pet and he turned out to be a great warrior and leader. Wasn't it Fire-something? He couldn't remember name.
"Then it is settled" He turned his head towards the apprentice den where a black and red cat was lecturing a young apprentice "Nightfur, come forward."
The warrior quickly stood and bounded over to the rock to stand beside Rain.
He then looked to Rain and said "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rainpaw" He then looked to the black and red warrior "Your mentor will be Nightfur"
Nightfur leaned down and bumped her nose against the newly named Rainpaw. "I imagine you're excited for training?" She said knowingly.
"Ya..." She started tentatively "But also somewhat nervous"
The mentor chuckled and nudged her flank as the watching Clan started to chant.
"Rainpaw! Rainpaw! Rainpaw! Rainpaw!"
He watched as she stood up straighter as the Clan yowled their delight and Nightfur glowered with pride for her new apprentice.
He ended the Clan meeting with a flick of his tail, leaping gracefully down from Highrock and headed towards the pair.
"Congratulations, you've been accepted by the clan" He said while gently rubbing his nose against the young apprentice's cheek.
She grinned and affectionately copied his gesture "Thanks!"
"No thanks to me, really" He leaned away to sit comfortably next to her. "It's all up to the clan, I'm just the one making the final decision."
"I can still thank you for saving me from the bear and for offering to bring me to your camp." She said cheerfully
"Well, I suppose you can." He stood to walk over to Nightfur and gave her the same nudge she gave Rainpaw before padding away to find his mate.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"It's almost time" mewed Dappledfur gently, when he tread into the den.
He meowed in delight and made his way over to her, nuzzling her flank "How soon?"
"About a week" She purred as he licked her ears
"I'm sure they'll make great warriors" He said before laying down beside her and falling asleep together.
A/N: IT'S FINALLY DONE! Sorry for the long wait :)
Word count: 879
Edited as of 9/17/2024
Word count: 897
YOU ARE READING
A Warrior Cats Tail
FanfictionA young kit named Rain Cloud with a rainbow pelt, thinks she's the cause of her parent's deaths. She then meets the young leader of Shadow Clan, a black cat named Stormstar. She is determined to prove herself to her new clan and become the best warr...
