Wolf and Moon

Chapter 2: Hawkfeather

"I have an announcement," she yelled above the noise.

The group of cats in the clan settled down to listen to her words.

"Reedkit and Breezekit are not Mudfire's kits. Their father is Pebblefoot from Waterclan!"

The clan gasped. Mudfire looked like he just got stabbed in the side. The kits looked so upset that they were lied to all of their lives. Their sibling dies, then their mother, and now this. Hawkfeather looked at his friends and he knew that they were thinking the same thing as him. None of this would have happened if we would have said something sooner. But then again, we were kits and it's not like they would have listened to us. The poor kits. If me and Hollyfrost do have kits, I would want them to be ours and not anyone else's. I would never have kits with anyone other than my beautiful mate.

"We can't let Waterclan know what we know!" Cherryfang scowled from her spot beside Willowdream.

"They are our kits!" Willowdream added.

"How could Silverwind do this to us?!" Featherpool cried.

"I don't know. But it isn't her fault. She found love in another clan," Flightwind admitted.

"But she didn't have to!" Tigertooth frowned.

"She chose for her life to take that path," Shinewater defended her sister.

Arrowstar stepped onto the rock that he announces clan meetings on. "Although these kits have kin in another clan, we will not treat them unlike any other cat in this clan," he rasped "and since I'm already up here, I, too have an announcement to make. Over snow-fall, my only sister joined Spiritclan. That means I'm getting old as well. I think it's time for me to join Shimmerheart and Lilyray in the Elders' den. That means Cloudfog will now be Cloudstar after he travels with Earthpoppy to The Star Rock to receive his nine lives. Call me Arrowpoint from this moment forward. Soon-to-be Cloudstar, you may choose a deputy to one day take after you."

Cloudfog jumped up from his place beside Arrowpoint and looked at the crowd. "I have pondered about who my new deputy will be, and Spiritclan gave the answer. Thunderstorm, I choose you to be the next deputy. I hope you serve your clan well and that I can trust you to take on the duty of a deputy, and one day the leader."

Hawkfeather looked at Thunderstorm. He looked just as shocked as everyone else. Crosswind and his kits looked as proud as ever.

"Yay, Thunderstorm! My father is going to be leader one day!" Iriskit shouted cheerfully. Everyone joined in, chanting "Thunderstorm! Thunderstorm!".

"But wait!" Valleybreeze cut off the chanting. "Doesn't a cat have to apprentice at least one cat before being eligible for deputy?"

Valleybreeze? The one who raised Lightningstrike and Thunderstorm since the beginning, along with me, asking a question like that? Can't she just be happy for him?

"Yes, that is true. Silverwind's kits are old enough to become apprentices. Breezekit, your mentor will be Thunderstorm. From this moment forward, you shall be known as Breezepaw," Cloudfog touched his nose to her head, and Breezepaw padded over to her new mentor, and touched noses with him.

"Reedkit, from now on your name will be Reedpaw. Your mentor will be Featherpool. I trust that she teaches you well." He looked around the camp and spotted Iriskit, Shadowkit, and Pebblekit alongside their mother. "Iriskit, Shadowkit, Pebblekit, you are old enough to become apprentices, as well. Please step forward, kits.

"Iriskit, from this moment forward until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Irispaw. Your mentor will be Forestshine. Spiritclan be with you.

"Shadowkit, from this moment until you become a warrior, you shall be known as Shadowpaw. Hollyfrost, you will mentor Shadowpaw, because of your similar pelt colors. Teach him as if he were your own kit.

"Pebblekit, you shall be known as Pebblepaw. Boneshadow, you will mentor Pebblepaw. I know that he will learn a lot from you."

The newly made apprentices made their way to their mentors and touched noses; a way of accepting the apprentice or mentor. Then they all walked off, and shared how excited and shocked they were. Hollyfrost is lucky that she got one of the kits as her apprentice. I wouldn't be ready for one already, anyways.

As the clan cheered the apprentices' names, Cloudfog closed the meeting and met up with Earthpoppy and Thunderstorm.

"We shall go to The Star Rock in two days, when the moon is straight overhead. Thunderstorm, you will join us," Earthpoppy commanded. The cats all nodded in agreement.

Hawkfeather was interrupted from his eavesdropping by an over excited Hollyfrost.

"I can't believe Cloudfog chose me to be Shadowpaw's mentor! Crosswind can't do anything about it now," she laughed mischievously.

"I'm glad you got Shadowpaw, Hollyfrost. He deserves someone like you. I know that I can trust you with him," Crosswind walked up to them.

"Yeah, you seem perfect for him. You can teach him techniques about having a dark colored pelt, and give him tips on how to talk to Breezepaw," Hawkfeather laughed, nudging Hollyfrost lightly.

"What?" Crosswind looked confused.

"And this is the part where we already betrayed Shadowpaw. Bad time for him to not trust me anymore," Hollyfrost whispered to Hawkfeather. Just at that moment, Shadowpaw came up from behind Hollyfrost.

"So what shall we do first? Maybe...explore outside of camp!" Shadowpaw was basically hopping up and down.

"What's this about Breezepaw?" Crosswind interrupted.

Shadowpaw shrunk back in fear. "Breezepaw...? What did you two say?" he whipped his head around angrily at Hollyfrost and Hawkfeather.

Oh, no...