The Kill Of Dawn- Book 2

Chapter 7

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Moss Rock for a clan meeting!" Greystar yowled. DawnClan began to crowd the clearing, curious eyes gazing up at their leader. ,"Today is a very special day for the clan. Not only will new warriors be joining our ranks but will be introducing four new apprentices to the clan," Greystar announced, pride in his tone. DawnClan had started with only four cats and had come so far. One day they would restore the clans and be able to finally live in peace. Snapping back to the ceremony he called Ashpaw to the rock. Longtail had assessed him earlier and had been very happy with how he had progressed.
Greystar lifted his chin to the sky ,"I, Greystar, leader of DawnClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the way of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn," he then looked down at Ashpaw ,"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?" 
"I do," Ashpaw vowed. 
"Then by the powers of StarClan you will here on be known as Ashfur. StarClan will honour your courage and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of DawnClan," Greystar announced. 
"Ashfur! Ashfur! Ashfur!" the clan cheered. The first apprentice to be made a warrior since the BloodClan invasion. As Ashfur went to join the rest of the clan Greystar began the next ceremony. 
"Stonekit, Meadowkit, Blazekit, Tulipkit!" Greystar called. Goldenflowers kits wove through the crowd and stood next to Greystar. He started with Blazekit. 
"Blazekit. You and your siblings have now reached six moons of age and it is time for you to become an apprentice," Greystar began. Blazekit looked as if she were about to explode with happiness ,"From this day on you will be known as Blazepaw. Your mentor will be Dustpelt. I hope he will pass down all he knows to you," Greystar announced. 
"Blazepaw! Blazepaw! Blazepaw!" the clans excited cheering echoed through the forest. Goldenflower was the loudest amongst them all, her eyes blazing with pride. Greystar repeated the ceremony with the other three kits. Stonepaw received Mousefur as a mentor, Meadowpaw received Sandstorm and Tulippaw received Brackenfur.
He had just finished Tulippaw's ceremony when Littlecloud called to announce something. 
"Yes?" Greystar invited. The clan spun round to look at him. 
"Since we're here to stay I am giving up warrior duties and dedicating myself to DawnClan's first medicine cat!" Littlecloud declared. 
"Very well. We would be happy to let you take on this role if you're sure," Greystar allowed respectfully. They needed a medicine cat desperately so this would actually be perfect. 
"There's something else," Littlecloud added. Greystar tilted his head as Littlecloud nodded to Tulippaw. 
"I want to be Littlecloud's apprentice," she announced. The clan broke into meows. 
"Are you sure you wish to take on this role?" Greystar asked. 
"Yes. Very sure," Tulippaw answered. 
"Then I here by declare Littlecloud as DawnClans first medicine cat and mentor to Tulippaw," Greystar yowled. The clan cheered, even Brackenfur who had just lost his apprentice. Brackenfur was a good cat, of course he would understand and respect Tulippaws decisions. The clan started to break away and return to their duties as the sun continued to rise. It was a warm day, Greystar may as well go stretch his legs. 

Greystar was sat on the branch of a tree, eyes shut peacefully as he let all his worries about KillClan, BloodClan, the territory and his clan drift away just for a moment. He listened as the birds chittered to one another as they dived amongst the gently rustling leaves of the oak trees. A stream trickled near by, harmonising with the rest of the forest. Greystar drew a deep breath and opened his eyes again. He leaped down the from the beech he'd been perched on and decided to go hunt. He opened his mouth, the warm and familiar waft of squirrel bathing his tongue. He got into a crouch and slunk under a hazel bush, peeking through it's spindly branches until he spotted the fluffed grey tail of his prey as it repeatedly smacked a beechnut against a rock. Greystar licked his lips, preparing himself to pounce when his tail swept over a recently fallen leaf. The rustle sent the squirrel pelting up the tree but Greystar wasn't ready to give up. He sprang forward, claws scrapping against the bark of the tree. He managed to catch the squirrel by a whisker, biting down on it's tail and hoisting it back down the tree. It was big. Greystar killed it swiftly and carried it back to camp to see a clearing full of bushed fur. A familiar black tom stood in the centre of the rugged circle of hissing cats. Spirit. Greystar dropped his catch and padded over to confront the KillClan leader. 
"Greetings Greystar," Spirit nodded. A single KillClan warrior stood next to him. Dart. Greystar recognised him from when he had entered the clan as a spy. Dart seemed to recognise him too.. 
"What do you need?" Greystar asked, trying to sound assertive. 
"My clan wishes to form an alliance," he stated, gaze unwavering. 
"An alliance?" Greystar questioned, confused.
"Yes. As you've probably heard about, I killed Snake. His BloodClan is no more. As far as I know his only remaining warriors were culled yesterday in my camp. A new BloodClan has risen and I ask that your clan aids us in an ultimate battle against Scourge's clan. If we can kill him the rest of them will scatter. Those cats need a leader. If you help us we can half the territory between the two clans," Spirit explained, an excited look in his eyes. Greystar frowned. He would be happy to rid of BloodClan, but he couldn't let KillClan have territory otherwise the problem would just repeat itself. 
"I'm not sure.." Greystar admitted. He looked to the clan. They looked as questionable as he was. 
"Is that so?" Spirit tilted his head ,"Do you want your precious warrior code to die out?" 
"Of course not. It's just the idea of sharing territory," Greystar shifted his paws, his gaze drifting away. 
"Hmm, I didn't get the impression you were greedy, after all, you only got a small portion of territory when you were in ThunderClan," Spirit reminded him. Greystar looked up. 
"How do you know I was a ThunderClan cat?" he asked through narrowed eyes. 
"I know more than you think," Spirit grinned, standing up. Greystar growled. 
"What are you hiding Spirit?" Greystar growled. 
"That isn't what's important. What's important is that you submit to aiding us in our attack," Spirit explained. 
"Fine. I can arrange patrols for next dusk," Greystar agreed. 
"Good. We'll be going now," Spirit dipped his head, turning to leave. Greystar leaned over to whisper in Brackenfur's ear. 
"Follow them to the border," he asked. 
"Yes Greystar," he nodded, waiting for Spirit's tail to whisk away before sneaking after them.