Faith's Journey - Book One (Warriors Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

The dark gray tom quickly let go of Faith and stepped back a few paces. 

Faith's mouth fell open as her eyes landed on a gray tom with white paws and green eyes, giving her a surprised look. 

A light brown she-cat with darker brown stripes and light green eyes was shifting her gaze between Faith and the gray tom, with a eyebrow raised.

The gray tom blinked and cleared his throat, shifting his gaze to the ground, looking deep in thought.

A dark brown tom with black stripes and amber eyes turned his burning gaze on the dark gray tom.

"What are you doing so close to twoleg territory, Ashpaw?" The tabby tom growled.

Ashpaw met the older cat's gaze briefly before his eyes trailed back to the ground. He then shot a sideways glance at the gray tom with white paws.

Silence filled the air. 

The tension was thick, you could cut with a claw.

The light brown tabby took a few paces forward and cleared her throat. "Ashpaw, you shouldn't be so close to this place, you know that, yes?" 

Ashpaw nodded and mumbled, "Yeah.."

"And you," The tabby turned to Faith. "Why are you here?"

Faith froze. What should she tell them? That this place had called to her for moons and she dreamed about it? Or that a starry cat lead her here?

The gray tom straightened up. "She must've had a good reason." 

"Thistlestar, Hollyhawk, this is a kittypet. A kittypet on our territory." The dark brown tabby interrupted. "She's trespassing." The tom's claws slid out and he turned to Faith, his eyes smoldering. He bared his teeth, raising his claws.

"Stop!" The gray tom called Thistlestar yowled, rather quickly. "No, Raggedstorm." He swallowed and closed his eyes, mumbling something incoherent under his breath. He opened his eyes again and gave Raggedstorm an ordering look. Raggedstorm huffed and slid his claws back into their sheath.

"I-I'm sorry I'm on your land. I just-" Faith stopped, biting her lower lip.

"StarClan only knows." Thistlestar meowed, meeting Faith's gaze with his own. "Why are you here?"

Faith's gaze flickered between each of the clan cats, before taking a deep breath. "I've always been curious about this place. I've dreamt of this place. In one dream, I was stalking a mouse and in another, this was one was last night, I had a dream I was getting attacked a black tom with amber eyes..." 

A startled look crossed Thistlestar's face that Faith missed.

"I had a different dream where I was in this clearing and.... you!" Faith gaped at Thistlestar. "You were in my dream!"

Thistlestar blinked at her. 

Faith swallowed. "I don't know why I have these dreams but.. they all have to do with this place." She gestured with her tail at the woods surrounding them.

Thistlestar took a few steps forward and stopped in front of Faith. He looked down at her with hope in his green eyes. "Could you describe the clearing for me?" He asked, softly.

"It was fairly large, it had a few dens, I guess, lining the outer ring. One was a large boulder with a entrance carved out, there was also a large oak tree at the back of the clearing. There were two cats beneath it, talking. One was you, Thistlestar. I couldn't make out the other cats very well but you stuck out, I could see you clearly. There was also a white she-cat with light gray patches and green eyes; she was sorting plants outside of the boulder. There was a pile of prey by the oak tree too." Faith explained, picturing her dream clearly in her head.

The light brown tabby cleared her throat. "What does this mean?"

Thistlestar stared at the ground beneath his paws. The grass waved as a soft breeze flowed through its limbs. "StarClan give me strength. Let her be the cat..." He whispered softly, under his breath. He looked up at Faith. "What's your name, young cat?" Thistlestar asked.

"Faith." She replied.

Thistlestar closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them again and held Faith's gaze. A small hope-filled smile appeared on his face. "Would you like to join FernClan?"

"What!" Raggedstorm spat.

"Thistlestar, what-" Hollyhawk stumbled over her words. 

Ashpaw simply blinked, his mouth agape.

Faith was shaking in her fur, the world was spinning. Her mind raced. Was this really happening? Were her ears working correctly?

A breeze blew a scent around her. It was forest scented and a soft voice flowed into her ear. "Follow your heart, Faith. Listen to your dreams."

Faith took a deep breath and looked Thistlestar in the eyes. "Yes."

A larger smile grew on Thistlestar's lips. He dipped his head and waved with his tail. "Well then, with this settled, let's get back to camp." He turned to Hollyhawk. "Lead them back." 

Hollyhawk threw a quick glance at Faith and turned, beckoning Raggedstorm and Ashpaw to follow her. Faith glanced at Thistlestar, who pointed his muzzle in Hollyhawk's direction. "Go on." He meowed. Faith nodded and threw a quick glance back in the direction of her old home. 

That part of her life was over. 

This was a new chapter. 

A new journey. 

She was joining FernClan.

Faith smiled and excitement filled her up from ears to tail tip. She bounded after Hollyhawk, leaving her old life behind her.

Meanwhile, Thistlestar was sitting on fallen tree, looking up at the sky through the tree branches.

"Thank you, Fernstar..." He murmured, a smile on his face. "I believe I have found her."