Warriors Fanfiction: Super Edition-Owlflight's Path

Chapter Seventeen

Three sunrises passed since Owlflight had suggested making their own 'Clan', and the rest of her friends were still debating it. Bloompaw backed her completely, excited at the idea of both helping lonely cats and finally being apart of a Clan, something she'd often daydreamed of as a kittypet. Bear and Ginger also approved, and the lone elders seemed happy too, and like they wanted to settle down more and more. Buzzardwing of course supported her best friend, like the she cat had promised her when setting off on their journey. Ravenleaf simply didn't care what they did, as long as she was with her family. So it really came down to one cat.

Oakcharge.

The tom glared stubbornly. "It's not right. We can't just make a Clan when there is no way for us to know StarClan approves it," he growled as Owlflight tried to persuade him yet again. The she cat sighed.

"But we are warriors. And we are moons away from the lake. Any cat that follows the code is a Clan cat, Oakcharge. How can we stay warriors if we have no Clan?" He snorted.

"That's where you're wrong, Owlflight," he stood close, "Any cat that follows the code is a warrior, and we are not determined by our Clan. I think what you're trying to do is noble," he said finally, his eyes gentle, "But don't force something that can't be. A group of loners and rouges and kittypets aren't a Clan. But they can still help each other." Owlflight pricked her ears.

"So what are you saying?" The brown she cat asked her brother. He met her green gaze with his golden one.

"I'm saying to go ahead and invite the cats here, offer them a home and rules. But we can't make a Clan. Only StarClan can make Clans." Owlflight remained silent for a moment, but finally nodded.

"It's settled then. We won't be a Clan, but we will be a family. I'll let Buzzardwing know we can start scouting out cats in the morning." She looked outside at the gentle moonlight from the small den she's chosen as her own.

•••

Three moons passed and Owlflight watched their camp grow with pride sunrise by sunrise. There were now seventeen cats in the camp, including Owlflight and her siblings. Owlflight stepped out of her small nest she shared with Buzzardwing and padded around camp. In the early morning, the loners and rouges and elders were already buzzing about the glade excitedly. Oakcharge had the idea to have a type of celebration hunt, and the younger cats especially were excited. Black, a young loner who was barely six moons old, sat chatting happily beside Bloompaw.

Owlflight remembered finding Black as a young kit barely three moons old who ran away from her barn, where she and her older sister lived. The young black she cat was furious when Owlflight and Buzzardwing took her back to the barn, where they met two loners named Wheat and Cow, the caretakers of the wild kit. Cow had been so grateful for the safe return of her sister, and had invited Owlflight and Buzzardwing in for mice, where they explained their situation in the forest and their recent arrival.

"You really traveled on one of those boat things?" Cow asked through wide curious eyes. Owlflight watched ardently as Black reared up and pounced at Cow's tail, only to miss as the older she cat swept it out of reach. Owlflight chuckled.

"Yes, we must've been on that boat for moons, too. Since we've landed, we've been sheltering in a nearby glade with some friends we've met along the way." She said, a bit cautiously. Cow tipped her head.

"Really?" The she cat asked, though her voice grew distracted with her thoughts. "How many of you live in the forest?" Buzzardwing looked up chummily from her mouse.

"Well, there's us, and Oakcharge and Ravenleaf our siblings. Then there is Bloompaw, she's an apprentice. Our friends we met on the boat, Bear and Ginger! And the elders who helped us, Goose, Captain and Fidget... Oh! And our newest addition. A loner named Speckle, she joined only a few sunrises ago!" Cow swept her tail, her eyes shocked.

"My oh my, that's a lot of cats to look after! How do you care for yourselves?" The question had led to Owlflight telling the barn loners all about the warrior code and StarClan and eventually, Cow had grown fascinated. "Well, this sounds wonderful. I want to raise my sister in a nice community, but all of our family here... there was a field accident and so many died. May... may we join you camp?" She asked. And that was how Cow, Wheat and Black had joined the growing camp of cats.

Speckle was another matter entirely. The she cat had been defensive and curt, but there was a deep sadness beneath all her anger. When Ravenleaf had encountered her, the two she cats had almost immediately began fighting. The scuffle was only broken up when Owlflight and Bear had interfered. Speckle had been defensive and explosive, but upon hearing the group's story, she became intrigued; her anger channeled into a determination to learn something greater than herself. Since joining two moons ago, the she cat had become a firm follower of the warrior code, upholding it through all her actions.

The last few cats that had joined were Stone, Blackberry and Sparrow. The small family joined for safety, Sparrow having just found out she was with kits a few sunrises before meeting Owlflight. The cats were still a mystery, keeping mostly to themselves when not on patrols or hunting. Stone was the friendliest, Sparrow was the most wary.

Despite all the general distance, the group worked well together. Ginger worked on helping Sparrow, the she cat past having experience in helping queens while kitting. Bear and Oakcharge helped organize patrols, while Wheat and Cow and Blackberry took to hunting. Stone and Speckle helped train the younger cats, especially when Oakcharge was busy. Owlflight, Buzzardwing and Ravenleaf has been working on expanding dens and marking out the best hunting places on the growing territory.

Which leads us to the present, where Owlflight was currently on a expedition for which part of this forest surrounding the glade was most worth defending. She padded softly and silently through the forest, edging toward the river she'd crossed moons ago while meeting RippleClan. Since that day, there had been few encounters with the secretive Clan, and each encounter had been brief and tense.

Owlflight stepped into a small meadow and instantly recognized it from the day Bloompaw had messed up her hunt. 'I guess even forest rabbits are gonna be impossible to catch' she thought wryly. Pausing, she lifted her muzzle, scenting the air, her mouth filling with the tantalizing scent of rabbit. The brown she cat looked around, and spotted the black-tipped ears of a rabbit. She instantly was in a low crouch, stalking forward slowly downwind from the rabbit. She paused, readying herself to jump.

Silent as a snake, the she cat launched at the rabbit. But as she did, she collided with something large and hard, falling to the ground with a thud. She looked up in time to see the rabbit disappear into its nearby burro and immediately looked around for the thing responsible for messing up her hunt.

Her eyes turned to slits as she saw who was responsible for messing up her hunt. The tom looked up, his scowl turning into distaste as he saw her.

"Bunny?"