Mapleshade's Second Chance

Maple

The forest was much larger than Rosemary had remembered. It felt as though she had been following Bluefur for moons, and yet they still didn't seem to be any closer to reaching home. Rosemary's flanks were stinging and her paws ached, but she refused to let herself fall behind. She couldn't afford to show weakness now, especially since her only hope of finding a home would be with Bluefur and ThunderClan.

"Are you alright?" Bluefur asked, pausing at the top of a log. "We can always stop and rest if you want. I don't want you to aggravate your injuries any more than they already have been."

Rosemary shook her head fervently. "I'm okay," she answered. "Does this entire forest really belong to ThunderClan?"

"Well, part of it does," the blue-gray molly answered. "The forest is divided between four Clans-ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan. If Sunstar allows you to stay, you'll probably learn more about the history of the Clan territories."

"Who's Sunstar?" Rosemary asked curiously, following Bluefur deeper into the forest. 'I don't remember any cat with the prefix sun.'

"Sunstar is the leader of my Clan. He's the one oversees everything that happens in the Clan, from settling issues with the other Clans to apprentice training, and even appointing new warriors," Bluefur meowed. "Thistleclaw and I are warriors. Tigerpaw is our Clan's apprentice, and Whitekit, Brindlekit, Redkit, Spottedkit, Willowkit, and Frostkit are waiting to become apprentices."

Rosemary frowned slightly. "Why do they all have names that end in 'kit'?" she asked. "And why aren't Whitekit, Brindlekit, Spottedkit, Redkit, Willowkit, and Frostkit allowed to be apprentices yet?"

"I'm impressed that you even noticed. All kits have names that have the suffix 'kit'. Those six aren't apprentices yet because they haven't reached their sixth moon," the blue-furred queen told her. "When they become apprentices, they'll take on the suffix 'paw'-so Whitekit will become Whitepaw, for example. And then, once an apprentice has completed their warrior training, the Clan holds a special ceremony to honor them, and they're given a new name. There are other instances in which cats will have the same ending to their name. For example, all Clan leaders take on the suffix 'star' after receiving their nine lives from StarClan."

"Nine lives? Ceremony? StarClan?"

The blue-gray molly purred in amusement. "You'll understand in time, Rosemary," she meowed. "Our way of life may seem complicated to you at first, but I have no doubt you'll figure everything out in time."

Rosemary nodded. "I can see why you were named Bluefur," she remarked, looking over at her new friend's blue-gray pelt. "But I do have one more question. Was Thistleclaw named that way because he has spiky fur, or because his personality is about as pleasant as one of those stupid things?"

Bluefur snorted with laughter. "If Sunstar doesn't let you stay, he'll be making a grave mistake."
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As soon as Rosemary and Bluefur entered the blue-gray warrior's camp, the eyes of every cat immediately turned towards them. A few of them looked suspicious, but Rosemary noticed that a few expressions were sympathetic as well. She guessed that they must have heard about what had happened-perhaps Tigerpaw or Thistleclaw had told them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tigerpaw glaring at her, but she refused to meet his gaze.

A large tom with bright ginger fur and yellow eyes strode up to them. "Bluefur," he greeted her. "Thistleclaw informed me that there was an incident at the border today. Does this young one have anything to do with that?"

"A little. I'll explain what happened, but could I take Rosemary to Goosefeather first?" Bluefur requested. "She got clawed pretty badly by Tigerpaw, and I want to get her wounds looked at as soon as possible."