Warriors: War of the Clans - Darkness

Chapter 11

Fox stepped into the clearing after Feathershine, Hawkflight following close behind. He gazed in awe around the clearing. He had seen the camp from afar, but seeing it up close, actually being in it, was more different than he could have ever imagined.

Fox soon became aware of the cats staring at him. His fur grew hot as their curious gazes bored into him.

"Who's that, mama?"

"Some rogue by the scent of him."

"What is that scent? It's not like the other loners."

"Look at his collar! He's a- Oh wait, sorry. Read Longtail's lines."

"Hey! Look, Frozenpaw, it's Fox!" Snowpaw's voice rang above the others, making Fox look in her direction. She was standing with Blizzardpaw and Frozenpaw.

Frozenpaw turned in his direction. "Oh, hi, Fox!" Blizzardpaw waved a greeting with his tail, one that Fox returned.

Feathershine glared at the three apprentices, and they fell silent. Hawkflight nudged Fox forward, and he stepped into the center of the clearing.

He looked up at the great rock overhanging the clearing. Anticipation coursed through him, and he flicked his tail tip with excitement. Out of the shadows of the rock, a slim, beautiful black she-cat stepped out. Her blue eyes flitted from Hawkflight and Feathershine to Fox. Fox's reddish fur grew hot under the gaze of the powerful she-cat.

"Who is this?" She inquired. Fox took a step forward, and bowed low as he had been taught to do to cats in power by Dreaded Night.

While his head was still facing the ground, Fox asked, "Permission to speak?"

"Granted," the leader meowed, sounding a bit flabbergasted. When he slowly came out of his bow, he found that the entire clearing was exchanging glances in shock. He slowly looked up at the leader, obviously Blackstar.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" Fox asked, bewildered.

"No, no, of course not. We've just never seen any cat bow to a leader. We don't do that," Blackstar replied.

"Oh." Fox's fur grew hot with embarrassment. "S-sorry." Fox took a deep breath to gather his courage. "My name is Fox. I have lived in the tunnels for the past moon or so, and I have picked up on a rumor that your Clan needs more cats."

Blackstar studied Fox with narrowed eyes."Where did you hear this rumor?"

Fox shifted his paws. He didn't want to give the three siblings away, so he said, "Oh, the Clans are very famous. It's not a secret when a Clan doesn't have enough cats or territory to keep as powerful as they are. But all loners know not to mess with the Clans," Fox added, when Blackstar bristled. "Even a weak Clan poses a big threat to any loners looking to hunt or shelter on Clan territory."

Blackstar tipped her head to one side. "So you wish to join." She stood up straighter, fur smoothing down. She didn't want to appear weak, and if all the loners knew the truth about ThunderClan, she didn't want to invite attack. Accepting this cat seemed like the best idea. "How many moons old are you?"

"Uh..." Now it was Fox's turn to think hard. How many moons was he? He flicked his tail tip, aware of the stares of ThunderClan. Well, if I was five moons when I met Scarlet, then that would be about one moon spent with her in Dreaded Night. Then if I ran away, I think I spent about two moons on my own with Tiger. That would mean I'm...

"Eight moons," Fox finished out loud. Blackstar blinked.

"Well then, Fox, you will join ThunderClan as an apprentice. But first," She added, looking over the clearing. "There are three kits ready to be apprentices." Fox heard a gasp from Hawkflight, probably their mother, whispering to her kits. Three kits bounded out into the open, eyes shining. They looked about two moons younger than Fox, and they were extremely excited. One was a brown tabby tom, like Hawkflight, one was an orange she with white and brown markings, and the other was an orange she-cat with black and white stripes.