Lilypool's Lullaby

Chapter 9 Leafbare's Chill

I sat watching Moonpaw, Skypaw, and Cinderpaw play fight. The Moon was rising over the trees its silver streaks lightly glowing the sky. I get up and walk to Birchstars den I mew and he gives the meow to let me know I can enter and I enter. He looked up at me for the first time I realized how old and frail he looked. "I came to say hi and wonder how you are doing"I said. He noded "I am fine. But our deputy, Deadfoot, has just joined Starclan." I look at him and he continues "I will apoint a new deputy now." I nod and turn to leave but hear him say"wait". I stop and look at him. "I want you to know I am on my laat life." I look at him shocked. He gets up and we walk shoulder to shoulder out of the den. He jumps on the oak and gives the call. Soon the clan has gathered and he explains that Deadfoot is dead and he will apoint a new deputy.

I sit waiting for him to tell who the next deputy will be. Nightclaw sits down by me and I start to think Mistletoe? Whitepelt? Who? My mind wanders away with these questions. I notice his glance is reating on me. My whiskers and ears twitch as he annoces "the new deputy will be Lilypool!" the cats all look at me and I feel like the world just stopped spinning. The clan gets up and surrounds me with congagulation. Eaglekit pushes his way through the crowd and accidentally runs inbetween my front paws and smashes head first into the soft part between my hind legs. I can hardly feel the pain as I realize the trumendouse weight thats been places on my shoulders.

I stand and all the cats separate and head to their dens I go to my nest, curled up and fell asleep. I dreamed shadow cats where everywhere howling as violent wind ruffles my fur. "You must distroy the hive!" I look around and see a white tom with ginger lightning strikes on his pelt and grey eyes. The mysterious voice in my head and dreams. Then a shadow cat knocks me over and I role off the cliff my claws unsheathed and grab the ledge. I feel teeth around my scruff and Im thrown through the air I screech as I land face first on the ground. "Find the base and distroy the shadows!" he said. Then a shadow cat knocks him over and he swats angrily at it and another pushes me iinto the black river. I struggle against the current and fight to find the surface. Which way is up? I feel my hips stop moving and look down to see a shadow cat dragging me further down into the turning and black water. My lungs scream for air and I close my eyes.

When they open Iam coughing and Nightclaw is poking me. "Lilypool calm down it was just a dream" he says. I nod and he lays down next to me he licks me ears and I lookup at him my whiskers twiching. Then I wrap my fluffy tail around the side of my body and he places his tail next to mine. He starts to groom my dusty pelt. Each lick sends tingles up my spine. Soon I see the golden streaks of sunlight fill the sky. I get up and Nightclaw does to I leave the den and stand in front of the entrance. Nightclaw bumps into me. "Hey! Lilypool why did you stop?"

"Fluffy. White. Cold. Its snow!"I say and leap out into it. Isink into it up to my shoulders and turn to see Nightclaw leap in after me. I spray snow into his face and soon we are play fighting and spraying snow at eachother. We stop panting and look at eachother. My brown pelt is now white and I shake and it returns to its normal light brown color. I hear a squeak and see Eaglekit and Nettlekit stepping their paws in the snow. I bound over to them and Eaglekit walks forward. I sit and wrap my fluffy tail around him, he leans on my hip and looks up at me. "What is this stuff?" he asks. "Its snow" I tell him grinning. I remember the first time I saw snow. Eaglekit looks at me and smiles. "Today I'm six moons old!" he says. 

I smile and stand to start organizing patrols. "Moonpaw, Whitepelt,  Acornfur, and Skypaw your on a border patrol!" I say they gather and head out. "Smokepaw, and Whitepelt choose cats to go out on a hunting patrol! Nightclaw you will come with me!" Whitepelt looks at me and grins. She leaves with smokepaw, skypaw, and frosttail. Nightclaw comes to me and we head out. We hunt and look around the borders stopping every once in a while to goof off and be silly. We make it to the little stream that runs through our territory. Nightclaw steps on a wet stone, grabs me, and we both fall into the stream. I splash him in the face and it becomes a water fight. Soon we get out and pick up our prey shivering as we laugh and walk back to camp. "Lilypool! Nightclaw! Your soaking wet!" Falconflight says. We look at eachother and start laughing our hearts out.

Falconflight tells us to go to Barkfaces den and we do we race eachother to the entrance and nearlytrample Barkface in the prosses as we slide into his den. He says we are fine and that we just need to dry off. We race to the warriors den and I let Whitepelt sort out the patrols. Me and Nightclaw sit oitside of oir nests seeing who can clean themselves the fastest and neatest. Then we curl up together in my nest and fall asleep. 

We wake up to the sound of Birchstar calling a clan meeting. We race out nearly tripping over eachother. Birchstar sees this and his whiskers twitch in amusment. "Now then. Nettlekit. Untill you have earned your warrior name you will be known as Nettlepaw. Nightclaw. You are ready for your first apprentice. I expect you to pass down your strength and loyalty to this young apprentice. They touch noses and Birchstars gaze turns to Eaglekit. "Untill you have earned your warrior name you will be known as Eaglepaw. Lilypool." his word make me jump and I pad forward so I'm standing next to Eaglekit. "You are ready for your first apprentice I expect you to pass down your strength, loyaly, and bravery into this young apprentice." I nod and touch noses with Eaglepaw. He is bouncing up and down with excitment. The clan cheers their names and start to congratulate the new apprentices. Nightclaw nudges me and we start to bat at eachother with unsheathed claws. 

For the first ime in along time I feel like a normal ordinary clan cat.