Warriors Super Edition: Stormclan's Wrath

Chapter 6

Tornado stood up with a yawn. She was in the dark clearing where she always met Tigerstar at night.

"Hello, Tornado." Tigerstar's deep voice came out of nowhere from the shadows. "Ready to start training?"

Tornado shuffled her paws. "Actually, no. I need to learn more about the forest clans. How they live, what they do...I need to know it all!" She watched as he padded closer to her and sat down.

"The clans are all watched over by their warrior ancestors; called Starclan. They sometimes go to share tongues with these cats at a place called the Moonpool." Tigerstar watched Tornado to see how she was taking all this in.

"So...are you from Starclan?" She asked, head tilted.

"No. I'm from the place where cats who are not welcome to Starclan go." He growled.

"Oh...now answer my other question." Tornado meowed. "How do the clan cats live? It must be hard in the winter!"

"Winter? You mean leaf-bare? Well, the clan cats train each other so they all learn how to hunt and fight at a young age. Even in leaf-bare, the clan cats are skilled enough at hunting to keep food in their bellies. But sometimes it's only enough to keep them alive. You have to be prepared to live in these harsh conditions, because there is no turning back now. If you can't make it, it proves that your clan isn't strong enough and it will not survive."

Tornado watched a leaf drift by her paw. "Okay. I get it now. Let's start training!"

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When Tornado woke up, her entire pelt ached with scratches.

"Hey, Tornado! Get out here!" Cyclone's call sounded from outside the den. "Typhoon caught a huge squirrel for you!"

Tornado jumped up and bounded out of the den. "Good! I'm hungry!"

Typhoon pushed the squirrel to her and she sniffed it cautiously. "Are you sure this is good to eat? It doesn't smell like the food my housefolk gave me." The squirrel smelled of the forest with a musky tinge. When Typhoon nodded, Tornado took a bite from the squirrel. "Yuck!" She swallowed the chunk she had bitten off. "That was gross!"

Typhoon chuckled. "You wouldn't be saying that if it was the middle of winter and your belly was grumbling louder than monsters on the thunderpath." He pulled the rest of the squirrel back to himself and began eating the rest of it. "It's really not that bad." He mumbled through a mouthful of fresh-kill.

"Tornado...can I, uh, talk to you?" Avalanche padded up to her, obviously with a lot on his mind. "It's pretty important." He shuffled his white paws and flicked his tail.

"Yeah, I guess." Tornado followed him to a shady place underneath a tree. "What is it?" She asked when he was silent.

"I need to talk to you about this clan. Are you sure you want to be a part of it? Won't er-Maxwell-miss you?" He avoided her eyes as he spoke. "I just need to know if you will stay, because I'm afraid if you leave later, the other cats might decide to leave too." He finally locked eyes with her, trying to read her thoughts.

"Are you kidding?" Tornado whispered, surprised. "Of course I want to be in this clan! Maxwell will be fine! Is this about the squirrel? I promise I'll learn to like them! I'm just not used to them..." She was rambling now, and Avalanche watched her with soft eyes.

"It's okay, Tornado. There's plenty of other prey here in the forest. I just needed to know that you wouldn't back out." He paused, giving her a chance to say something, but she was quiet. "Well, anyway, Cyclone has suggested that the more experienced cats start teaching the younger or less experienced cats how to fight and hunt."