Robinstar's Courage

Chapter 3

Robinstar waited patiently as the clan gathered. The kits were shooed back to their mothers by Pathwalker. Dustkit and Snakekit sat closely in front of their mother, Mintglare with curiosity and excitement sparking in their eyes. Desertkit and Leopardkit sat next to their mother, Leafeyes, a brown tabby she-cat with bright grass green eyes. Desertpaw and his mentor, Reedshadow sat in the front of the crowd. Robinstar stood up on the branch and started speaking, "I, Robinstar, leader of Tree clan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways over your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Robinstar looked down on Desertpaw would was standing tall with his chest puffed out. "Desertpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." The apprentice said loudly.

Robinstar smiled proudly, "Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name, Desertpaw from this moment on you will be known as Desertwind . Starclan honors your Loyalty and Honesty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Tree clan." Robinstar finished and jumped down in front of Desertwind. He rested his muzzle on the newly named warrior's head while Desertwind gave his leader's shoulder a quick lick. The clan cheered Desertwind's name, Goldpaw cheered the loudest which was quickly noticed by Desertwind and he smiled at her warmly. As the clan slowly stopped cheering and went to their dens as the sky slowly started turning a dark shade of blue, Desertwind padded over to the orange and white apprentice. Robinstar didn't try to listen in on their conversation.

Desertwind had no family in the clan unlike every other cat. The tom had been born outside of the clans, very far in foreign land. Desertwind had told Robinstar that were he was from was a dry place full of sand. He would have to dig to find prey some times. Desertwind had also explained that he was taken from his family by two-legs who wanted to put him on show for other two-legs to look at but he escaped and tried to find his way back home but he was in foreign land. He traveled day and night only to walk onto Field clan territory who chased him out without question. Robinstar, Blacksun, Briarpaw, Smallpaw and Reedshadow had found the tom exhausted and dehydrated on their territory. He was only five moons at the time. They took him to Pathwalker who healed him up. They learned that the tom's name was Desert, it had been obvious the cat was foreign for his head was wider and had bigger ears than a normal tom. Desert explained he was a sand cat. The clan was not accepting of the strange cat at first but Goldpaw, Goldkit back then welcomed Desert with a warm smile. Robinstar still remembers the two meeting.

Robinstar sat with Blacksun in front of the tall tree, watching Desert as he glanced around the camp. The tom was sitting in front of the medicine cat den. Pathwalker had forbidden him from leaving camp until he had his full strength back. Desert didn't argue and seemed to be a laid back cat. Many of the clan were avoiding the tom or whispering about him. Then a small, four moon old kit with yellow orange and while fur with bright golden eyes trotted over to the tom.

"Hi," Goldkit bubbled.

"Hello," Desert said with an accent.

"You talk differently." Goldkit titled her head to the side.

"This is how we talk from where I'm from," Desert explained.

Robinstar had noticed the tom pronounced some words differently, for example, 'Robinstar' would be pronounce 'Rovinstar' with Desert's accent. This earned Desert many strange looks when he spoke. Robinstar never paid much mind to it.

"I like it," Goldkit curled her tail in delight.

"Really? Not many of your friends like it." Desert looked at the kit in surprise.

"They're just being weird." Goldkit glanced at a group of warriors that were whispering about them.

"Don't you care what they say about you?" Desert asked.

"Of course not! It just show how bad they are." Goldkit answered.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"I'm Goldkit. What's your's?" Goldkit mewed.

"My name's Desert." Desert told her.

"Welcome to Tree clan, Desert!" Goldkit smiled warmly.

Desert smiled back but not as warmly as Goldkit. After that, Desert asked if he could stay and Robinstar said he could. The young tom seemed to be no threat to the clan so Robinstar had seen no reason to refuse him. Desert often hung close to Goldkit who told him about clan life and the other clans. The two had become close friends quickly.

Robinstar yawned as he turned and started walking to his den. Robinstar walked into his den only to find Snakekit sitting patiently in the middle of his nest. Robinstar moved over to his nest and Snakekit moved to the side as his father lay down. The kit sat between Robinstar front two paws and stared at him. "What'd you want Snakekit?" Robinstar yawned.

"Is it fun?" Snakekit asked.

"Is what fun?" Robinstar asked.

"Being leader," Snakekit meowed.

"It is very tiring but it has it's moments. Only I get to give cats their warrior names. I get to help my clan mates with their problems. I get to watch young kits like you grow into strong warriors. I get to pick warriors to guide the young minds of the apprentices." Robinstar explained.

"Is that why you became clan leader?" Snakekit asked.

"I was born during times of peace much like you were Snakekit but I grew up hearing of the dark times. Blood was shed everyday it seemed like during those times. I wanted to become leader so I could prevent times like that from ever coming back." Robinstar told him.

"Does it hurt you when you think of your clan mates getting hurt?" The kit went on.

"Yes, very much so. What about you Snakekit? How do you feel when you imagine your brother, me or Russetfang getting hurt?" Robinstar questioned.

Snakekit looked down at his paws in thought. Robinstar was surprised the kit was taking his questioned this seriously. Robinstar watched his son with more curiosity now. Snakekit looked up at him and his usually fierce green eyes were now glazed over with sadness. "It hurts, it's not a good feeling," The kit answered. Robinstar used his right paw to pull the kit closer to him and he licked the kits head, between his ears in an attempt to calm the kit down. Robinstar was surprised at Snakekit's response. The kit had been truly bothered by the thought of his clan mates getting hurt. Robinstar wondered if all these questions were because Snakekit might want to be leader when he is older. He has the heart for it. Robinstar thought to himself. Snakekit calmed down and yawned tiredly. The kit curled up against Robinstar's white furred chest and Robinstar rested his head on his left paw. Robinstar closed his eyes and fell asleep to the sound of Snakekit's soft snores.