Warriors: The Lurking Darkness (Book Two)

Chapter Twelve: I Am ThunderClan

"Yes, Thrushstar. I believe my rightful place is with my father in ThunderClan," I responded firmly and confidently. It was. I knew it was.

He let out a loud yowl, "Those who can catch their own prey, join underneath the Greatrock for a Clan meeting!" Then he ran forward and made a huge leap onto the boulder in the middle of camp.

Most of the ThunderClan cats were exiting their dens, some of their eyes turned to me curiously. Three cats entered the camp with prey in their jaws.

"Wildpaw, step forward!" he called and I did as he said. "It is Wildpaw's wish to finish his training as an apprentice and become a warrior of ThunderClan. From here until Wildpaw receives his warrior name his mentor will be Sparrowpelt. I hope Sparrowpelt passes all he knows onto you."

A big, dark brown tabby tom stepped forward and touched his nose to mine. He didn't remind me of Whitefang at all, thank StarClan.

"Wildpaw! Wildpaw!" ThunderClan cheered loudly and proudly. I quite enjoyed it.

"It's late now, we'll wait until tomorrow to explore the territory. That one is the apprentice's den," he gestured to a den at the side of the clearing. "Get some sleep and prey, you must be tired." Then he padded away.

A gray-and-white she-cat padded up to me curiously. She tilted her head. "Why did you leave WindClan? You certainly smell like a WindClan cat."

I blinked in surprise at her harshness. "My mother is WindClan, but I am not," I responded back, hearing the irritation in my voice.

She blinked and nodded. "Alright, welcome then. I'm Spottedpaw. Come on, I'll show you to your nest." She hurried forward to the apprentice's den and I scrambled after her.

The den was warm and a gray tom laid in one of the nests. He lifted his head when we entered.

"Pinepaw, this is Wildpaw. Wildpaw, this is my brother, Pinepaw. There is one other apprentice, Cinderpaw, but she's a medicine cat. Here," Spottedpaw explained and gestured to a nest. "That's yours."

I nodded at her and laid down, looking over at them. They settled down and both their eyes looked over at me. I chuckled softly. "I know it's weird that I was a WindClan cat and now I'm a ThunderClan cat. But I know this is my destiny."

Pinepaw snorted, "If it were your destiny wouldn't StarClan just have put you in ThunderClan?"

I met his gaze evenly, feeling my coldness. "Sometimes you have to work for your destiny."

***

"Are you getting along with the other apprentices?"

I looked over at Sparrowpelt as we padded through the forest. "Yes, I am. Spottedpaw is very nice and Pinepaw just needed a moment to understand my choice," I explained to him shortly, hitting a small hill of leaves. I liked the way they crunched under my paws. "I haven't met Cinderpaw yet, but Jaypaw said she was nice."

Sparrowpelt pricked his ears. "Jaypaw is your brother if I recall correctly. Have you met Poppydawn yet? She's nice. And also having your half-siblings soon."

"I was going to meet her after we were done training," I told him excitedly. I would have more siblings soon. "Have you saw any of The Dark Forest cats?"

My mentor tilted his head a little. "I have, some of them used to be ThunderClan cats. But we've been advised not to speak to them."

"Good to know." I looked around, hearing a bird calling somewhere near. It was like singing in my ears. "Anyone I should avoid?"