Warriors Super Edition: Mistpelt's Story

Chapter 40

I woke up early, the first light of dawn just beginning to filter through the trees as Barley and Ravenpaw escorted me out of their barn. The morning air was cool and crisp, a perfect start for what I knew would be a long day.

A long day, but nevertheless, one that brought me so much hope, and after so much strife, the beginning of a life I wanted to live, in a place I wanted to be in.

Ravenpaw, Barley, and I chatted together for the entirety of the travel over to Highstones – speaking as lightheartedly and excitedly with each other as if we were going to be taking on this entire journey together.

So, to say that I was sad when I saw those tall stone peaks in the distance, was quite the understatement. I don't know how I managed to give the two, especially Barley, my goodbyes without letting out a wail of complete agony.

But it was as Barley had said last night – he was the one who had only fed into my fascination into the Clans, and without his kind words about them, I highly doubt I ever would have found my way there. Now, he was sending me their way again, and that meant so much to me. Ravenpaw, who still clearly had the heart of a Clan cat to me, had also been such an amazing support to me and had been nothing but kind and encouraging.

Those two toms were truly two of the kindest cats I'd ever come across, and Barley – I'd practically grown up with him. He is family, I then thought to myself. I can be sure that Chrissy and Sparrow would agree. Those two would take over a huge piece of my heart for the rest of my life.

But for now, I had to focus on something else they had given me - Ravenpaw and Barley had given me directions, and it was time to follow them. And StarClan forbid I don't get myself ridiculously lost, I told myself before shrugging. But then again, that's never been a problem for me.

After several moments of sitting in the Highstones clearing, simply staring off at the place that the two farm cats had disappeared, I finally let myself take a stretch, feeling the familiar stiffness in my legs.

I had to admit, age was starting to catch up with me, and my latest adventures had definitely made that apparent. Don't get me wrong - I was no elder yet. Far from it. However, I'd lived a life full of adventures and hardships, to say the least that definitely have aged me a little more quickly than the average cat.

And I definitely was no average cat, and I think anyone would attest to that – not to brag, but I was certain that few cats could say they'd lived the kind of life I had. With the loner, nomadic, BloodClan, ThunderClan, and kittypet lives I'd gone through, there wasn't much I hadn't faced, and I truly felt ready for whatever lay ahead.

And even if it was something new, I had been built to deal with it, from the very beginning of my life.

And all of this circulated in my mind as I took a deep breath, not looking behind me at all as I pushed myself to push past the Highstones, and proceed in the direction that Barley and Ravenpaw had given me.

And despite all that I knew I could take on, the next few days had been anything but easy. I'd encountered more than my fair share of challenges, sadly.

Just after two days, I'd run into a group of cats that were just on the outskirts of the Twolegplace that I'd known I'd run into. And to say the least, they weren't too happy to see me. They'd tried to chase me off, but I stood my ground, maybe fluffed my fur a bit, maybe had given them a piece of my mind. I wasn't looking for a fight, but as always, I wasn't about to let anyone push me around either. After living in BloodClan, and dealing with a cat with Scourge on a daily basis, this was nothing, and I knew I had to stand up for myself.