The Path (A Warrior Cat Story) (Book 2)

Chapter 14: I Found It

I woke up, I was afraid, and I did not know why. It was not like the dream I had was what had scared me. It was about what was going to happen from here on out. It was the first time I had seen any of the starclan cats in a while, but this time they did not say anything to help me.
It was exactly what they had told me, it was all up to me now. I kept hoping that they would tell me something, give me some sort of hope, or maybe even tell me that I was doing the right thing, but instead all I got from them was nothing but silence.
I shivered, the sun was beginning to shine in the horizon. I could not see any part of the sun, but I could tell because there was a slight bit of light outside. I looked at the others, thankfully none of them were awake. They would have been fairly upset if they had found out I was sleeping.
Of course, I really could not be blaming them if they were. It was my own fault, it was fairly stupid of me to even think about sleeping. Even if we were in the shadowclan camp, it had not been used in such a long time. It did not even really matter either.
I knew that the leaders always made sure that someone was guarding the entrance to the camp in every clan at night. If I was to be a leader, that was one thing that I was not supposed to do. You could get thrown out of your clan for doing something like that, I had heard.
At least Kettle had gotten a fair amount of sleep, I could tell that he was exhausted. He had been pushing himself a bit too far lately, he was stepping up to help me as a leader and I could not blame him. If he chose my clan I would happily take him on as a deputy, and the next successor of my clan.
I should not be thinking that far ahead yet, I had not even brought a single cat in to even rebuild the clans. We had not even started yet. I looked at the ground a bit sadly, I just wanted to get this over with, but I knew that it would not be that easy. It would take a fair amount of work.
Not just from me, I knew that, one cat could not just bring back the clans. I would need help with from the others as well, I looked over at Kettle, maybe he did need to run his own clan. I would not be upset at that if he made that decision either.
I was leading my own clan, I could not pay attention to every clan that was out there. He would be the perfect fit, and I knew I could trust him as well. I shook my head though, once again I was thinking the far ahead into the future, each clan normally had at least 20 cats, I had not brought in a single one yet.
But I suppose that was what today was for right? I hoped that if we helped them, in return they would agree to join our clans. Maybe even lead one of their own, there were 5 clans as well. I was only going to be one.
They seemed like real genuine cats the few moments I had talked to them, I would be happy if they decided that they wanted to lead their own clan. But I would be happy as well if they decided to choose my own.
I shook my head once again, I was being greedy. I could not just have every cat we ran across be a part of my own clan. I looked at Limp a bit sadly, maybe she would not even be a part of my clan. I then looked outside, the sun hid fully risen now, at any moment the others would wake up.
I heard a noise in the medicine den that we were in and I looked over to see that Limp was the first one to wake up. She stretched her body and then she smiled at me and walked over to me when she saw that I was awake. She then nodded to me and then looked over at Kettle.
"Decided to let Kettle have some rest for the night? You must be tired, how are you going to make it through today?" Limp said to me. I looked over at Kettle, he deserved the good sleep. I was happy to give it to him.
I then looked away a bit upset at myself for one thing. Limp seemed to notice and she squinted her eyes at me. I could not just tell her a lie, she always seemed to almost listen to my thoughts. I looked back over to her and I told her the truth making sure I was quiet and none of the other cats were up quite yet.
"I fell asleep in the night, I was going to let Kettle get some rest anyways, please don't tell the others. It is really frowned upon even by the starclan cats." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments but she did not look upset, she just nodded at me.
"Okay, I wont tell them. Don't worry, just don't do it again, Kettle would be fairly upset." She said to me. I looked at her and then nodded, making sure that she knew that I was listening to her. Then me and her looked outside in the last of the warm air that was going to happen for this season.
Then a little bit of wind seemed to come in, it seemed like it was telling me something, but at the same time it made me seem a bit chill so I did not think that deep into it. I then heard another cat starting wake up.
I looked over surprisingly to see that it was Mint, and Limp looked a bit happy to see that she was up and looked as if she was in good spirits. I nodded to my mate, as she stretched herself much like Limp did, and then she too began to walk over to me and Limp.
Once she was here, she sat down beside me to warm me up a little bit, I began to purr, as I enjoyed the time with my mate, I kind of wish at the same time that I had woken up Kettle so I could go and sleep with my mate for the night, but I shook it off. Mint did not blame me for that.
"I had a dream last night, Squirrelflight was there... I did not know what she was trying to tell me." I said to Mint. Mint looked at me a bit surprised, she too had not talked to any of the starclan cats in a while. Thankfully though she did not have any sort of look that might have been seen as if she were jealous.
She then looked at me and she smiled, but she could tell that something was not right with me, as she nudged her head against me to try and make me feel better, it made me purr but it still could not filter out what was going on in my head.
"Well... What did she tell you?" Limp said to me. I looked at Limp and then nodded to her to make sure she knew that I was listening to her. I was a bit surprised that Limp was stepping up, I did need help, it was not what Squirrelflight had told me that I was thinking about, it was more what Bramblestar had said.
"Well... She told me that whatever we go through, we must learn through the past, that way we do not end up like the old clans." I said to them. Mint nodded to me, but Limp still looked a bit confused, so I waited for her to speak whatever it was that was going through her mind.
"That seems pretty obvious to me, it means that you have to learn from the mistakes that others have made before us." Limp said to me. I nodded to her, that was the part that was obvious, Mint looked a bit confused at me as to why I was confused.
I shook my head, I could not understand the part that Bramblestar was telling me about, he took my back over to Owls barn for some reason, he told me to follow the path. What was the path that I was supposed to follow? Why was I there?
"Yes... But Bramblestar told me to follow the path, he took me to Owls barn. It is not the first time that I have been told about a path that we are supposed to follow, maybe he is telling me to go back I am not sure. Maybe I was missing something, something that is supposed to help the clans." I said to the both of them.
They looked at each other, they now understood why I was so confused, they did not say anything they were too busy trying to think deep into what it was that Bramblestar was trying to tell me. I had couple of theories, but some of them did not make sense.
"Maybe we were supposed to go back there, didn't you say the clans used to live there? Or maybe that was another starclan cat that told me that." She said to me. I looked at her and nodded, that was one of the theories that I was thinking about.
At the same time though it did not make sense, there was not enough room to even barely fit maybe one or two clans, let alone to fit 5 so it did not make sense. There had to be something that was missing, I just was not sure about it quite yet.
We all were searching deep into our thoughts to think about what it was that Bramblestar was trying to tell us, I could tell, we were all silent and just staring at nothing. Limp then stepped up and she nodded to me.
"I think... Maybe, you might have missed something on the path, maybe you need to go back and find it." She said to me. What she said seemed to make a lot of sense, we had probably skipped through a lot of stuff that we might have needed to do.
I nodded to her, but this time, which was not really something that Mint seemed to do very much, she began to speak what she was thinking about. I looked over at her to pay my full attention, she always managed to say something that brought to light something that I might have not noticed ever before.
"I think, what he might be trying to say, is that we all have a path that we must follow, and there is a big one for you, we might not be able to help you with." Mint said to me. I looked at her for a few moments, what she had said was very smart, I nodded to her.
I shivered, I always wanted to have Mint by my side. I did not want to have to be making decisions on my own, that was also the point of a deputy. I was afraid and I looked down at the ground, she nudged me to try and make me feel better, I smiled at her.
"I am afraid Mint, I am not going to lie, I am one cat, I am looked to do so much, and I am scared." I said to her. Limp looked a bit surprise and she nodded to me. Mint smiled at me and began purring, she warmed me up and always made me feel so much better.
"Moon... You will always have me, and the others. You are not alone on this, no cat could ever do it without having help." Mint said to me. I began purring thinking about what she had just said, I loved this cat so much. I was happy to have her as my mate.
I then heard the other 2 move around a little bit and I looked over at them, Kettle had woken up, but because of that he had also woke up Oister, it was going to be a bit of an early start today, but a lot of that had to do with all of us getting a lot of sleep.
They began stretching and I walked over to them, and waited til they had finished their early morning routines. Kettle looked at me and his ear twitched, he then smiled at me and looked over at Oister to make sure that she was okay and she was feeling better.
Oister looked at him and then smiled, she then began to rack up a fairly big cough, both me and Kettle looked at her to make sure that she was okay. Luckily she had not coughed up blood this time, hopefully last time it was just an omen and that is what the squirrel was trying to show me sense I did not get it the first time.
"Oister, take some tansy, we still have a bit more for the kits once we find them." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments, making sure that I was being for real with what I had just said to her. I nodded to her and then grabbed the tansy that Mint had been carrying for me all day yesterday.
I mashed it up a little bit and then I handed it over to her. There was still plenty for the kits, they did not need as much either since they were also so small. I just hoped that they were still alive, we had wasted so much time already. I was not sure what they had or how to fix it, I did not know how much time they had left.
Oister then chewed it up, I smiled at her and then I walked over to some moss that was growing at the front of the den. I began drinking some of the water as it refreshed me. I then realized how hungry I was and I looked back over at the others.
"Lets go hunting, then we can try to find the twoleg place." I said to the others. They all nodded at me, that was except for Limp who still looked a slight bit confused. I looked at her and waited for her to speak whatever it was that she was thinking about.
"No one else saw it yesterday? I saw exactly where it was just follow me, after we go hunting of course." She said realizing that it was not the main thought that was on all of our minds. I looked at her and then smiled, maybe we were just not looking in the right direction.
Kettle then stepped up and looked at the others. He began telling us what the hunting plan was for today. I walked closer to the others, Kettle was always the best at deciding where it was for us to hunt. I smiled at him and listened in to what it was that he was saying.
"Moon, you take Oister, me, Limp, and Mint will go from the opposite direction of the sun. Closer to Skyclan territory, you go wherever seems fit, meet back up here before the sun is at the midway point in the sky." Kettle said to us. I looked at him and then nodded, so did the others.
Me and Kettle rarely went hunting together, when we did it was only if Oister was back at the small den for the night making sure that Mint was okay. I smiled at him and then he nodded to make sure that we all knew what the plan was.
Oister looked at me and then nodded, I knew a lot of the reason he wanted me going with Oister. If she started getting sick again, I would know what to do and where to find more tansy to help her out. I did not blame him for it, he was being smart and safe for his mate.
Kettle and the other 2 began to head off and I looked at Oister to make sure that she was ready. She got up and smiled at me trying to show that she was ready. I could tell that she was weak, maybe she had rough sleep last night or it was because of sickness that was coursing through her body.
I did not say anything about it though, I would need help hunting for the day. If she could not do it I knew that she would tell me, she was not like Mint at all. I nodded at her as we began walking out of our little den, we should be back before the others.
I took the lead for her, I knew my way around the area a lot more than she did, she did not complain about it at all. I made sure that we were a far distance away from the others before I then began to sniff with Oister to see if there were scents nearby that we could go after.
I smelt 2 voles, 1 far out and away from the other and 1 a lot closer to us. Not far away from that I could also smell a squirrel. I smiled and then I waited for Oister to smell the prey before I began talking to her.
"There is a vole and a Squirrel close by, we can catch both and maybe look for something else. We can still get back before the others." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments before she nodded. I smiled at her, as we kept on walking.
I enjoyed to smell in the air, it was one thing I loved about Shadowclan. No matter what time of the year it was, it always seemed to smell so beautiful out here. A lot of that had to do with the sap and the small little leaves that were on the trees.
Oister then stopped me once we were close to the prey that we were after. I looked at her a bit confused, did she see something that I didn't? We weren't close enough to either of the prey, I was thinking about getting the squirrel first since it was a bit bigger.
"Let's split apart, don't tell Kettle. We don't need to hunt for a 3rd one. Kettle will come back with plenty to make sure we are well fed. I want to get a little bit more sleep, I am still a bit tired." Oister said to me. I looked at her a for a few moments, she looked sick I didn't really want to split apart and have her pass out.
I then decided that she was making the right call, if she was really that tired she needed to head back and get some sleep. I nodded to her and she nodded back to me and then she began heading over to the vole. I watched her for a little bit longer and then I began going after my squirrel once I figured out that she would be fine.
I began moving a bit faster, the vole was a bit closer for her so I wanted to get back fast before she started to get a bit worried. She would get back before me no matter what. I then realized that I was coming right up on the squirrel and I stopped myself right on time.
I looked around to see where it was at, I then spotted it trying to get a couple of acorns from a nearby normal oak tree that was close to the lake. It was now the perfect time to go after it since it was distracted.
I slowed myself and then slowly began sneaking up on it, once I was close enough I ran at it. It did not see me coming until it was too late, it did not even have enough time to try and get up on its tree.
I took the finishing blow and then I smiled, as I began heading back over to where Oister would be waiting for me at. I went a little bit faster that way she would not have to wait too long for me as I began going up to slight incline of the hill.
Once I was there I looked around a bit confused and a bit worried at the same time as to why she was not back yet. But then I saw her walking back a bit slowly with the vole and she nodded to me as she saw that I was already back.
"Sorry... I could not find it, it had snuck far off it took my a while to track it down." She said to me. I looked at her and I smiled and then I nodded to her. Once I made sure that she was safe and ready to head back I nodded to her.
"It's all good... Let's go back and get you some rest. I want to find the kits tonight before it is too late." I said to her. She looked at me and then nodded, as she let me take the lead back over to the den. We began walking back. The squirrel I had was a bit big and it was slowing me down a fair amount.
But eventually we got back, thankfully before Kettle and the others did. We settled down in the cave, Oister sat down and put herself to sleep. I made sure that she was okay and that the tansy was there. Then I waited for Kettle and the others to head back.
Oister began snoring, but I did not wake her up even though it did annoy me quite a bit, she needed the sleep, and I should not be sleeping right now anyways, I had slept plenty last night when I probably should not have been.

After a lot longer than I had expected, I saw Kettle coming back with the others. He was carrying a squirrel with him that was not quite as big as mine. I was not going to brag about it though, that was kit like behavior. Mint had a mouse and Limp had a vole.
I looked at them a bit surprised, Mint must have slowed them down quite a bit, she probably was so tired. But she did not look tired as I looked at her a bit closer. I nodded to them, as Kettle looked over at me a bit upset as he then looked back at Limp.
"Moon... You are going to have to teach this kit some hunting lessons. She messed us up on 2 voles earlier." Kettle said to me. I looked over at Limp a bit sturdy. She lowered her head, I kind of felt a bit bad for her. She was still young and I had not taught her all that much in the first place.
"I'm sorry I did my best... I didn't mean to." Limp said to him. Kettle looked at her for a few more moments, he then shook his head and then grunted as he sat down beside his mate that was still asleep. I moved a but closer to Limp to try and make her feel better.
"It's okay Limp... I still need to teach you a lot. You can blame me, I will teach you all that I can once we have made sure that the kits are okay." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments but then she shook her head, she still looked a bit upset.
She was not upset at Kettle obviously, it was no other cats fault except her own. I still felt a bit bad for her. She looked at the ground for a few moments. Then she looked back up at me.
"I'm sorry Moon... I'm just not good at hunting, and I just don't like it. I don't know what to say to you, that just what it is. I'll try my best to help you all though, you can try to teach me." She said to me. I looked at her a bit surprised for a few moments.
I hoped she was not like that because she used to be a kittypet. I thought she was supposed to be a part of the clans, but maybe she was just destined to be a kittypet for the rest of her life. We were just here for find her a new home. I looked at the ground a bit sadly.
"Okay Limp, if you don't want to be out here, we can try to find you an owner if that's what it is." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments and then she hissed as if she was a bit upset. The others in the den looked at her a bit surprised.
I moved back a little bit, I had never seen Limp like that, she was always such a sweet cat to all of us. I then waited for her to speak whatever it was that she had on her mind.
"Sorry Moon... I'm not upset at you, I just don't want to be a kittypet, I love living out in the wild. It's just certain things that I'm not good at nor do I like to do." She said to me. I looked at her still a bit surprised but then I nodded to her.
I did not know how to help her with that at all but I would do my best with what it was that I had. She would probably have to be a part of my clan, I don't know what clan would want her if she did not like to hunt and she did not want to fight.
I shivered and then looked at the others and nodded, I waited for Kettle to wake up Oister to let her know that we were going to go after the twoleg place. Wherever it might be at, I still had no idea what it was that Limp was looking at that she thought was a twoleg place last night.
Kettle nudged into Oister to wake her up, Oister looked up and blinked a bit confused as to what was going on and where she was at. I did not blame her for that though, we were at a new place every day.
"Limp, can you take the lead for today, since you said you saw the twoleg place?" I said to Limp. She looked at me a bit surprised that I was letting her take the reigns for the day. Then she nodded to me happily as she looked at the others to make sure that they were all ready.
Oister stretched a little bit but then we all nodded to her, and she nodded back to us as she took the first steps out of the medicine den that we had stayed in last night. I smiled to myself as she retraced the steps that we had taken last night.
We kept on walking and I looked back at the others from time to time to make sure that they were okay. I could still tell that Oister looked a bit tired, but hopefully we did not have much longer to go until we finished what we were looking for.
Oister nodded telling me that she was good each time that I looked back. I kept on going, as Limp continued strolling on, at this point we were further than we had gone last night. Clearly Limp must have been mistaken, it was a bit dark last night.
But then Limp stopped herself. Me and the others looked a bit confused as to what it was she was looking at. She was looking right at something but I still could not see whatever it was that she was looking at.
She was looking around the direction that she was looking at last night, me and the others were looking a bit confused, a twoleg place was not hard to spot, even if we were looking in the woods for it.
I then noticed that for some reason Limp had her eyes closed. I looked at her a bit surprised, no one else seemed to notice that she had her eyes closed, as she then began talking to us.
"There it is... I found it..."