Shadow walked through the woods with TreeClan, Ivystar trotting next to her. Shadow glanced at her. "Can you tell me more about your Clan and what happened to it?" She mewed questioningly. Ivystar sighed, her eyes clouding with recent memories. "Well, first I'll tell you about Clan life and the warrior code." Ivystar meowed. Shadow flicked her tail to show she was listening. "I am the leader of TreeClan. That's why my name ends with 'star'." Ivystar began. "I have nine lives because I'm a leader. They were given to me by StarClan." Shadow was surprised and confused. "How is that even possible?" She mewed. "And what is StarClan?" Ivystar began again. "StarClan is where our ancestors and fallen warriors go. You can see them at night. Every time a warrior dies, a new star appears in the sky. StarClan can visit you in dreams. That's how I got my lives." Shadow was amazed by the thought of a Clan in the night sky. "There are four Clans." Ivystar continued. "Or...there used to be. They were LeopardClan, FireClan, WaveClan, and us, TreeClan. About five sunrises ago, a huge group of rogues attacked the Clans. TreeClan narrowly escaped. I don't know what happened to the other Clans." Ivystar sighed. "I don't know what we are going to do. I have to make sure that my Clan survives...and right now, I'm not sure we will." Shadow looked into Ivystar's eyes. "You will." She meowed seriously. "TreeClan has a great cat leading them."
Nightheart padded up to Ivystar. "We need to stop and hunt." He meowed. "The queens and elders are getting hungry and tired." Ivystar nodded. "Alright. Take a patrol out to hunt. Bring in as much prey as you can." She ordered. Nightheart nodded. Ivystar stopped walking and turned around, raising her tail to get the Clan's attention. "We are going to stop and hunt. I want you all to rest. Nightheart will gather a hunting patrol." She meowed. She nodded to Nightheart, signaling him to gather the patrol. Nightheart nodded back and padded away. Shadow began to think about what Moonwing said again. She was still confused. How was she supposed to save this Clan? What was she supposed to do? Her thoughts were interrupted when Ivystar began to speak to her. "Each Clan has a leader, deputy, medicine cat, apprentices, elders, queens, and warriors." Ivystar meowed. "We all take care of each other. The warriors and apprentices hunt and make sure the entire Clan is fed before they eat." Shadow nodded. After a while, Nightheart and the patrol arrived with a lot of fresh kill. Nightheart dropped his prey. "At least this place has plenty of food." He growled. Ivystar let out a soft mrroow of amusement and took two mice. "Here." She mewed. Shadow blinked gratefully at Ivystar and took the mouse in her jaws. She took a bite and realized how hungry she was. She began to gobble the mouse. Soon, it was gone. She sat up, licking her lips. Then she remembered something. "I know where the Clan can stay!" She mewed loudly. Ivystar looked questioningly at her. "Follow me." She meowed.
Ivystar gathered the Clan together and began to follow Shadow. She lead them through the dense trees and undergrowth. Shadow trotted confidently onward. She remembered her mother taking her the same place when she was a kit. Finally, they reached a wall of brambles. Shadow led them to a gap in the thorns and motioned the Clan to come through with a flick of her tail. Once the Clan was in, she pushed her way through the brambles. The gap opened up to a clearing. The fading sunlight trickled through the dense trees, illuminating the clearing. A small stream ran through the middle of it, providing clean drinking water to the Clan. "Great StarClan..." Mumbled an orange tabby tom. Nightheart gazed at the clearing. "Great StarClan indeed, Flameclaw." He murmured. Ivystar turned and stared at Shadow. "How do you know about this place?" She meowed. Shadow shrugged. "My mother took me here all the time when I was a kit. I haven't been here in ages. I thought it would be a good place for your Clan to stay." She mewed simply. Ivystar walked up to Shadow and looked her deep in the eyes. "Thank you." She murmured. Shadow nodded. "Of course." She mewed, followed by a big yawn. Ivystar purred. "You should get some sleep. It's getting late." She mewed. "You're probably right." Shadow meowed. She trotted over to a hollow tree and dragged some moss over to make a nest. She curled up and closed her eyes. Then she realized something. Ivystar completely trusted her when she led them to the clearing. These cats where scared and desperate. She made a promise to herself. It doesn't matter whether I'm destined to or not. I will help these cats find the other clans and new homes. I may barely know them, but I will do whatever I can to save the Clans.
