Warriors : Chosen

Let me tell you my story...

I guess it all began the night I was visited by a Starclan warrior. His fur was as grey as the puddle at his paws, which was reflecting a cloud-flecked sky. His voice was slow, and the words he spoke were solemn.

"You must be the next deputy for Thunderclan. At any cost. If you aren't chosen, Thunderclan will fall into moons of despair and hunger, and eventually will scatter into nothingness, and only memories will remain."

"Pretty morbid. Any riddles to go with that?" The Starclan cat's face contorted in fury.

"Do not mock me. You must become deputy. At any cost." With those words, the Starclan cat faded out, leaving me to stare into the puddle. As I watched, the puddle swirled and, instead of reflecting the grey sky, I saw Thunderclan camp. The warriors were scratched and bloodsoaked, gathered around the Highrock, where a ceremony was taking place. A cat was walking up to the Leader.  I couldn't tell who it was, but it was obvious it wasn't me. The puddle swirled again, now showing me a bird's eye view over Sunningrocks. Riverclan warriors were swarming over them. I watched as a Thunderclan battle patrol hit Riverclan from straight on. Seeing as there seemed to be only half the usual amount of warriors sent on a battle patrol, I looked around for the second patrol. I see it. Approaching from the left, the warriors head into the river. I could see the new deputy telling them to "flank from the side". The puddle zoomed in, and I saw myself.

With other Thunderclan warriors beside me, struggling to keep their heads above the water, I was heading towards the battle. The Riverclan cats saw us coming long before we got to them, and, jeering and yowling, slide into the river, heading straight for our patrol. In that puddle, I saw myself drown. Then my dream slid away, and I woke with a gasp.

The moons passed, and I got my first apprentice, Tussockpaw, now Tussockwhisker. I found my mate, a handsome reddish tom named Rowanpelt. A fight happened on the Shadowclan border, Thunderclan victorious, and then the rivalry flared up again along the Riverclan border. Specifically Sunningrocks. A patrol came across a battle-patrol sitting on those rocks one day, and my clan plunged into battle. As I fought with a white she-cat, I saw Ravenpelt, a well-known powerful fighter in Riverclan. I saw the old deputy take on Ravenpelt, and I saw him die. He was reared up on his hind legs, clawing at Ravenpelt's face and shoulders, and then Ravenpelt swung a blow which took the deputy in the throat. He was dead instantly, and this ended the battle. I knew that his death was an accident; I knew from stories that Ravenpelt was a kind warrior who, although he was good at it, hated fighting.

But the deed was done, and soon it was time for the new deputy to be appointed.

I waited among the crowd, heart in my throat. The starclan cat's words, "At any cost" spun around and around my head like kits chasing their tails. Did he really mean at any cost? I was yet to know the full implications of those words. As the moon hit the peak of the sky, my Leader began to speak.

"I say these words before the body of Eaglewing, so his spirit may hear and approve my choice."

He gazed around at the assembled warriors, noting every gleam of ambition and each spark longing.

"Rowanpelt will be the new deputy of Thunderclan. Goodnight, and good luck."

I still remember the harsh strike of those words, and the even crueller destiny they brought with them. That night the cat visited me again. He loomed over me, hissing in my face.

" Luckily, you have not failed... yet." He spat. "At any cost, remember?" I gave a small nod, my anger, fear and regret burning beneath my pelt.

"Well then... I think you know what I mean. Make him be here before next full moon..." His words faded off, and the dream came to an end. My thoughts in turmoil.

It took me many times before my beloved mate finally joined Starclan. Each time they failed made me love him more and made it harder to send him away until I one day joined him. But the assassination attempts worked, and I became deputy.

I never saw the Starclan cat again, not even now. It was the hardest thing I ever did... And to me, It doesn't seem worth it.