Warriors: Apprentices to Warriors, Peace to Bloodshed (Book Two)

Chapter Three

                Moonstorm slipped through the undergrowth, his paws lightly skimming the ground as he padded softly away from the camp. The tiniest bits of moonlight slipped through the dark, bare branches above, the light dancing on his silver and black pelt whenever he passed under them. He snapped a tiny twig under his paw, the sound muffled by the fur that covered it. He traveled under logs and behind trees as he went, hoping that his paw-prints would be invisible to his clanmates’ eyes.

                His silent vigil after his warrior ceremony had been only the night before, and even though he had been allowed plenty of sleep the following day, he could feel the weariness weighing down his paws. He was supposed to meet Breezepaw the night before, but with his vigil he had to skip it. Lucky for him, they had agreed that if one of them should miss a meeting, they would try to meet the following night.

                Moonpaw ran under the length of a log before slipping behind a tree. That was when he smelled a rabbit. Sure enough, the white creature was taking small hops around the roots of a tree only two tail-lengths away. With a swift pounce he landed on top of it, killing the rabbit swiftly before picking it up in his jaws. He turned to head back to camp, but stopped himself. He remembered the pile of fresh-kill, with enough prey for most of the cats to have at least one. Not to mention there would be a dawn hunting patrol that would get even more.

                With a shrug he turned back around and continued towards his destination. The nearly full moon was halfway between its rise and its height by the tom he reached the edge of the trees. Looking out, he saw a shadowy shape at the end of the halfbridge, laying down and looking up at the stars. He padded up to the base of the bridge and set his fresh-kill down, still undetected.

                “Breezepaw!” He purred in greeting before picking the rabbit up again and padding out to meet her.

                The black cat turned around, her blue eyes filled with happiness and pride. “I’m so glad you finally came Moonpaw! I waited until nearly dawn for you to come last night. But it’s not Breezepaw anymore.”

                Moonstorm meowed, “You got your warrior name too!?”

                “You got your warrior name?” the she-cat asked with fascination. “I got mine two nights ago. I’m Breezetalon now.”

                “I’m Moonstorm!” the ThunderClan warrior announced happily. He looked down at the rabbit and pushed it directly in between them. “Let’s say that this fresh-kill is a celebration of our new names, and our new roles in our Clans.”

                Breezetalon rubbed her cheek against his neck before bending down and taking a bite of the rabbit. Moonstorm joined her, feeling excited and relieved that they were finally warriors. As he ate, he thought about his warrior ceremony, and the blood he had tasted on his leader’s shoulder. He knew now that it wasn’t prey blood he had tasted. It must have been cat blood, but how did it get on Wolfstar’s shoulder if she hadn’t been fighting recently and there was no scratch on her shoulder?

                Moonstorm gulped, thinking back to the dream he had had when he was just barely an apprentice. He remembered fighting with many cats in the forest and blood had pooled around him. A voice had said the warrior code will be broken. The forest will turn crimson with the blood of betrayal, and cats will decide where their loyalties truly lie.

                He quickly figured out that it must have been a prophecy sent from StarClan. After the battle with his father’s “FireClan”, he had thought that the dream had come true at first, but now it seemed like it had yet to be fulfilled. Perhaps the blood on Wolfstar’s shoulder had been a sign from StarClan? The blood of betrayal.

                Moonstorm’s head swam as he thought about it. If the blood had been a sign from StarClan, they must be telling him that the prophecy would be coming true, and soon. With dread he realized that it might mean that FireClan was preparing for another attack on his Clan, and would probably have more warriors this time. He was beginning to panic.

                “Are you alright?” Breezetalon asked, her voice tinged with worry.

                “I have to find FireClan,” Moonstorm blurted.

                Breezetalon looked genuinely confused when she asked, “Why? You said ThunderClan defeated them.”

                Moonpaw shook his head, “We did, but Eaglestar swore he would be back, and I believe him. He has to be hiding somewhere with his Clan, preparing to strike.”

                “What will you do? Where will you look?” Breezetalon asked.

                “I don’t know,” Moonstorm mewed sadly, “but I have to look. Whatever it takes, I won’t let my Clan be the victim of his ferocity, not again. I’ll search the territory night and day for any sign of them. But I won’t be able to visit you for a while. In a month, if they haven’t attacked by then, I’ll meet you.” If they hadn’t attacked by then, he would settle for thinking that the blood hadn’t been a sign.

                Breezetalon looked downcast. “When will we meet again? Surely we can set up a time for us to meet?”

                Moonstorm looked at his paws forlornly. He desperately wanted to stay with Breezetalon, but the blood sign, if that’s what it was, was the day before. Based on that, FireClan would have already had a day to launch the attack. They could have been attacking that instant for all he knew. But he couldn’t devote his time to her and the hunt. As a warrior he would have so many responsibilities that he wouldn’t have time to whole-heartedly search for his father, and meet her at the same time. He just hoped that if he didn’t find them in his territory, that he wouldn’t have to go after them. StarClan would have a plan for him.

 He could imagine FireClan, somewhere off at the very edges of the lake territory where no one would look for them. The Clans weren’t very concerned about threats of cats outside the Clans, so what was the point? Eaglestar would know that, and he could be lurking just outside ThunderClan’s territory, waiting to strike. Moonstorm would search as must as he could at the very edge and keep it marked every chance he had.

“The night after the full moon, a moon from now. We can meet then, here,” Moonstorm decided.

 “I’m going to come once in every three days for you. As soon as you are ready, meet me. Please?” Breezetalon meowed, her eyes filled with sadness.

Moonstorm nodded, “I promise.”

Breezetalon pressed against him, rubbing her head all over his fur as she purred. Her tail twined with his before Moonstorm reluctantly pulled away. He didn’t know if he could last a moon without her, and he would ask to stay at camp during the Gathering the following night. It hurt to say good-bye, but he had to devote all of his time to the Clan until he was sure that they were safe. His father had threatened to kill every last ThunderClan cat, even the kits, and he wasn’t willing to let that happen.

Moonstorm pushed his nose into her fur briefly before turning around. With a flick of his tail he bounded through the trees, not caring if he left footprints anymore. He wouldn’t be seeing Breezetalon for an entire moon! Then he remembered the battle with FireClan that his mother had died in. He remembered how Eaglestar had killed the former ThunderClan leader at a Gathering.

He remembered the bloody dream he had had all those moons ago, and he felt his body immediately force him forwards even faster, determined to be there for his Clan.