Warriors: Book One: The End of the Forest

Chapter Three

Swiftpaw slid into her den and flopped down beside her siblings in their nest. Snowpaw lifted her head and yawned, "More night hunting?" she asked. Swiftpaw grunted, "Yeah. Lightningpelt has me hunting for the elders whenever they're hungry for the next two moons, even at night." she growled. Gingerpaw sat up, "Whatever the warriors say, you did the right thing. Going to help Tinypaw was loyal to her and the warrior code, even if it wasn't loyal to your mentor's orders." he mewed. Snowpaw nodded, "We all got punished, anyways. I have to make sure the leader's den, medicine den and elders den has fresh bedding at all times." she mewed with a sigh. Gingerpaw rolled his eyes, "It's better than helping the medicine cats stock their supplies and taking care of the elders' ticks." he growled. Swiftpaw snorted, "Let's get some sleep before we have to run the whole territory for staying up and talking." she mewed. Gingerpaw curled up and pressed against Swiftpaw. Snowpaw yawned and rested her muzzle on Gingerpaw's flank.

Swiftpaw woke with a start and jumped up, "Huh? Where in StarClan's name am I?" she gasped, looking around in alarm. Gingerpaw shifted and looked up, "Swiftpaw, whats-" he broke off with a gasp, "Oh my stars! Where are we?" he asked jumping up. Swiftpaw backed against him and shook Snowpaw, "I-I dunno." she whimpered. Snowpaw looked around and leaped up, her fur fluffed, "Is that the c-camp!" she whispered, pointing with her ears. Swiftpaw followed her gaze and stiffened as she saw the ThunderClan camp far below them, "I t-thought we were j-just on a mountain! We're on the SkyHill, aren't we?" she whispered. Gingerpaw flattened his ears, "We have to get back home, s-something isn't right." he whimpered. Swiftpaw narrowed her eyes, "Wait! Who is that?" she mewed, pointing at a cat tearing up the mountain towards them. Snowpaw leaned forward, "Its Tinypaw!" she reported. Tinypaw skidded to a halt, "S-Swiftpaw! Gingerpaw! Snowpaw! Help! The camp is under attack!" she wailed, shaking. Swiftpaw pressed against her, "Its ok, it's not under attack. This is a dream." she mewed. Snowpaw blinked, "It is?" she mewed. Swiftpaw nodded, "Of course, how else would we have gotten up here without knowing?" she mewed. Tinypaw took a deep breath, "Why?" she mewed. Gingerpaw tipped his head. Snowpaw opened her mouth then closed it, looking confused. Swiftpaw shook her head, "I don't know why, but-" A small cough interrupted her, "I can answer that." Swiftpaw whipped around and backed closer to her littermates, "W-Who are you?" she mewed, her voice shaking. The she-cat leaped down and touched noses with her, "No fear, young one. I am Spiritstar. The leader before Sparklestar. I'm her sister, in fact." she mewed gently. Swiftpaw blinked in confusion, "Sparklestar's only sister is Oceanstar." she mewed. Spiritstar nodded, "When I was made one of the deputies of StarClan I was given a new name." she mewed. Tinypaw bounded forward, "I know who you are! You are the ThunderClan representative and Soulstar is ShadowClan's, then Brightstar is RiverClan's and Finalstar is WindClans!" she mewed. Spiritstar smiled, "You must be Tinypaw. You are correct. We are Lifestar and Deathstars' deputies." she mewed, shaking out her silver and white fur. She glanced back and a jet black tom, a pure white tom and a pale ginger she-cat leaped out from behind the rocks. Swiftpaw blinked in alarm as the black tom approached her, "Hello, Swiftpaw. I am Soulstar. I was sent to brief you on your mission." he mewed, wrapping his tail around her shoulders and leading her away from her littermates, who were talking to their own cats. He sat down, "You and your siblings have similar objectives and well travel together. But you all have different training and abilities, thus you're not all doing the exact same thing. You must go with siblings to Prey Rock, if you make it there we will give you the rest of your mission. Your my first apprentice, don't disappoint me." he mewed. Swiftpaw blinked and nodded, "Yes, Soulstar." he nodded in approval, "Come, it is time for you to meet Brightstar and Finalstar." he beckoned her with his tail and trotted back to the other cats. Swiftpaw scrambled after him, her paws slipping on the loose rocks. Soulstar sat between Spiritstar and the ginger she-cat, "I am Soulstar. You've met Spiritstar," he gestured to the silver she-cat with his tail, "and this is Brightstar," he dipped his head to the pale ginger she-cat, "And Finalstar." the white tom dipped his head, "Thank you for the introduction, Soulstar." he mewed. Brightstar nodded, "You all have your orders, Lifestar and Deathstar sent us to you with this message and a foretelling of the future. Unfortunately, only Spiritstar's apprentice saw it." she mewed, pointing at Tinypaw with her tail. Finalstar cleared his throat, "My apprentices, Snowpaw, says you all believe your sibling when she says she saw your camp being attacked, is this true?" he mewed, his golden eyes flicking from cat to cat. Swiftpaw stepped forward, "Of course! Tinypaw would never lie!" she mewed. Brightstar nodded, "Good. My apprentice, Gingerpaw, said that Swiftpaw had a dream similar to this before, is this true?" Swiftpaw nodded, "Yes. A cream and tan she-cat and a black and gray tom visited me and told me I would 'lead them to safety'. It was before ShadowClan attacked us so I thought they meant I'd help save my littermates." Spiritstar shook her head, "No. The cats you saw were Lifestar and Deathstar. Lifestar was the cream and tan she-cat and Deathstar was the black and gray tom." she mewed. Soulstar curled his tail in delight, "Your going to lead your group to find the stone fragments!" he purred. Swiftpaw tipped her head in confusion, "Stone fragments?" she asked. Finalstar nodded, "Each Clan has a special stone their ancestors brought from their past home. The WindClan stone is white with flecks of creamy tan, it stands for the moor." Soulstar whisked his tail, "ShadowClan's stone is black as night, it stands for the shadows under the pines." he boasted. Brightstar shook her head, "RiverClans stone is pale blue with brown flecks, it stands for the river and the fish." Spiritstar dipped her head, "ThunderClan's stone is green with dark brown and gold flecks, it stands for the trees and sunlight." she mewed, "The cat who lead each group carried their stone, but they decided to leave a small piece of each stone behind in their old home. This piece, once fitted with the rest of the stone, well show you where you must go to make a new home." Soulstar nodded, "Once you fix the stone, your Clans must bring them to the Gathering place. The stones fit into the boulder the leaders use to share news, but they only stay when completed. They will complete the marking on the boulder and show you where you must go." Brightstar stepped forward, "You must leave for Prey Rock tomorrow night. Lifestar and Deathstar went to find where the stone fragments are and well be back soon to tell you where to go." Swiftpaw flicked her tail, "If Lifestar and Deathstar know where the stones are, why can't they just bring them with them?" she mewed. Finalstar snorted in exasperation and laughter, "Their dead, just like us! They can't touch the stones! Besides, they aren't from any of the Clans. They were leaders before the cats left their old home and split into Clans. They refused to join one Clan and protected them all." Swiftpaw nodded, "Ok." she mewed, "We'll leave tomorrow night." she mewed. The StarClan deputies nodded and leaned forward to touch noses with their apprentices, "We'll meet you at Prey Rock with Lifestar and Deathstar, just before dawn." they mewed. Swiftpaw blinked as they began to fade and jumped as she woke up in her nest.