Lost In The Stars (Book Two)

Chapter Seventeen- Cloudpool

"We're here! This is our territory!" An excited mew from Leopardpaw was the first announcement that they had found their home.

Cloudpool watched the apprentice as he bounded up the slope, disappearing into the bushes on the other side. Frostpaw and Ashpaw soon followed, and Dawntail's kits weren't far behind. Stormpaw and Rainstorm followed next, more hesitantly.

Once Owlflight had helped Stripedstar off, Cloudpool and the other warriors left too. "Thank you!" She called to the StarClan warriors, who had stopped at the end of the slope. They had returned to guide LightClan to their new home; now their work was done. They would return to StarClan territory.

Firepelt ran up to Cloudpool and rested her chin on her head. Cloudpool purred, licking her mother's shoulder. "I'm so proud of you, Cloudpool. You will do well in this new territory."

"Thank you." Cloudpool whispered. "Good hunting."

"Good hunting." Firepelt dipped her head and ran off to say her farewells to Robinwing and Stoneclaw. Cloudpool felt a sudden grief for her mother, wondering what her life would have been like if Bloodshed had never killed her.

"Cloudpool! Come on! We're looking for a place to make camp." Frostpaw appeared at Cloudpool's side. She turned away from the StarClan cats, following her apprentice through the bushes.

"We should settle near that river! It would be a good place to drink." Dawntail said happily.

"No way! It's wet there. I am not getting my paws wet every time I enter camp." Sandtail spat.

"We must go somewhere that every cat is happy with." Stripedstar growled. "Rainstorm, what do you think?"

"There is much to explore here. We should find somewhere to settle for the night, then we will find a camp in the morning." Rainstorm suggested.

*

"We should settle in a cave. That was where the GreenClan and MudClan camps were." Coldwind suggested. "We like the feeling of stone beneath our paws."

"Then we should head for the mountain." Flamefur said. He flicked his tail towards the peak of a mountain was sticking up above the trees.

"Alright. You all know what to do." Stripedstar said. The group headed towards the mountain, faster than they had been on the rest of the journey. Cloudpool knew they were all thinking the same thing: they had a home. A home that was free of ShadeClan or any other dangers that Bloodshed would give them.

Soon, the trickling of a stream filled Cloudpool's ears. She realised that it was from a small waterfall and stream trickling down the mountainside. Next to it was a small opening, big enough for a cat to slip in.

"What about there?" Cloudpool suggested. Every cat turned to see where she was pointing.

"Cloudpool, Ashpaw, Flamefur and Spidereye, go check it out." Owlflight said. The rest of the clan waited outside as the four cats slowly entered the cave.

It was the perfect size. Already, Cloudpool could see ledges that cats could sleep in or on top of, a smaller cave coming off of it that would make a good burial cave, and a small pool of water that was in the center of it. Elders wouldn't even have to leave our camp to drink. She thought.

"I can't smell any predators." Flamefur announced. "Can you?"

"Maybe a badger, many noons ago." Spidereye said. Cloudpool opened her mouth to smell better, but all she could scent was the damp air of the cave.

"This is perfect!" Ashpaw squealed. "Look there! That ledge could make a perfect spot for Stripedstar to address the clan."

"Let's report back to Stripedstar, then." Spidereye said.

Stripedstar jumped up as the cats emerged from the cave. "What have you found?" She asked.

"It's perfect." Flamefur reported. "It has places for every cat.. Come on, I'll show you. We've found our home."