Warriors: Echo of Darkness

Chapter 22

When I got back to camp, I was swarmed by cats. I looked at Ranger, "What happened? Is everyone alright?"

"We are fine, but what happened to you Nightmare?" the grey tabby asked looking at my blood-stained paw.

"Don't worry, the blood isn't mine." I assured proudly. 

Riki and Skars ran up, their eyes wide. Even Blue padded close, her belly swollen with Ranger's kits. 

I sat down and explained everything, along with the descriptions of the rogues. Riki's amber eyes widened, "Wow Nightmare! You're really brave!" 

"We need to have a little mercy here and there." I murmured, "We aren't savages after all."

Seeing Riki and Skars so close together reminded me, they were growing at a fast rate. Skars was only a little older then Riki, but I decided I would let them be students at the same time. "While we are all gathered, I will make an announcement. Skars, Riki, are you ready to learn in ways of the Clan?" 

"Yes! yes! Does this mean I can finally contribute?!" Riki asked excitedly. 

"It does," I purred, "I will put you each into a group." I examined each young cat closely. Skars had a bulky body, a body good for fighting. Riki had a lithe body that blended in well with the undergrowth. I nodded in approval, "From this day on, Skars you will train with the guards. Riki, you will train with the hunters. I hope that your groups will pass on their knowledge to you."

The cats purred their welcomes and went to greet the adolescents. Berry, Crystal, Tails, and Prez all welcomed Riki while Tack, Lang, and Ranger welcomed Skars. 

I smiled when I saw the joyous look on Riki's face. She was with us from the beginning, she was special to me. She was abandoned by her mother, but she was adopted by the Clan. Even through they were only five moons or so apart, he felt like a brother-figure to her. "Not to mention that Ranger acted as her father." I looked at the grey tabby tom who was looking over at her proudly.

My head perked up, did Skars have anyone to congratulate him besides his new fellow-rankers? My fur went down when I saw Lang, Berry, and Virgil speaking to him. A smile crept onto my face, "They did come together, I do wish that the groups would socialize more. We need to have more bonding activities to force the little groups to really become a Clan."

"I want to remind everyone, you can hunt and learn how to fight in your own time. I want you to keep your skills sharp if we ever get invaded or are low on hunters." I meowed.

"Good idea." Ranger purred. Ever since Blue had become his mate, he was less cranky. It brightened everyone's mood by a lot.

Dark blue eyes flashed into my mind. I remember how Twisttail had stared at me as I left, "What else does she want from me? I have ThunderClan blood, does she want me to join? Well its to bad for her, I'm loyal to my own Clan."

He thought of ShadowClan's hostile gaze even though he helped them. "Someone has a furball caught in their throat. If it wasn't for me they would have kidnapped their medicine cat. Why do I feel like SoulClan is leading me towards Whitefeather?"

I looked around, the meeting started to break up. Tack and Prez were sharing some fresh kill. Tails and Crystal were going out to hunt.  Nova and Enek were play fighting and Ranger was rubbing his face against Blue's, "Why couldn't I have that? Just because I'm a leader doesn't mean I can't have a mate!"

"Tigerlily was not your destiny." a voice whispered in my head. 

"We are born to create our own destinies, not follow them!" I thought back viciously.