CHAPTER 12
The gold-and-black she-cat padded in with the white tom at her side. I watched as she said something to him and then quickly padded towards me. Before she even reached me I knew what she was going to say and I could see the concern in her eyes.
"Don't say anything, okay? Until someone asks I don't want you to tell them," I ordered her firmly, probably for like the millionth time. "You're my best friend, probably my only friend. I know you'll do this for me."
She shook her head at me sadly. "Are you doing it now?" she asked, her ears pressed against her head.
"Yes." I glanced around. ShadowClan was keeping WindClan busy and vice versa. They'd been here for a while now and with the announcement yesterday that the four Clans were going to attack The Dark Forest in a moon, I knew it was time. "Gorsepaw, you're my best friend, okay? Please be safe." I touched my nose to her cheek softly, a small smile on my face.
Gorsepaw held in a sob, her eyes watering now. "O-Okay, Wildpaw. I'll miss you. B-Be careful," she whispered, trying not to cause a scene as the tears slipped down her face.
I felt a pang of sympathy but I pushed myself to walk around her and I hurried to the camp entrance, slipping out. I looked out at the moorland, seeing the river and the forest to my right and the pines and Thunderpath to my left.
I padded onward, taking in the scenery and smell. The moorland was open and windy. It felt nice to run on and not have to worry about tripping on. Other than the rabbit holes.
I smiled to myself, remembering the time that Jaypaw tripped in the rabbit hole and yelled at Icepaw for trying to help him. He apologized later.
The Steppe came and went so fast. My decently long legs that I had received from my mother helped with that.
My chest was burning with the effort to keep going. I was almost there.
I stopped right at the scent markers, my ears pricking as I listened. The wind was less pressing here. It was warmer, despite all the leaves covering the ground. Leaf-fall had arrived.
"Wildpaw," the familiar voice mewed and I turned my head and smiled.
"Windflight."
My father rushed forward and pressed his nose against mine. "Come, come, we've been waiting for you." He ushered me into ThunderClan territory and I smiled as we padded underneath the trees side-by-side. "Thrushstar has been wanting to meet you. Oh, and Poppydawn, she wants to meet you too. I know that Flowerwhisker will always be your mother, but I'd really like you to try with her, okay?"
I laughed lightly, looking at my father warmly. "Okay, okay, I will! She's having your kits, right?"
He nodded at me, familiar green eyes met mine. He reminded me of Icepaw and Jaypaw. "Don't be upset, you'll always be my kit. All of you are." He smiled and then nodded his head. "We're here. Are you ready?"
I turned my head to see a gorse entrance. The smell of ThunderClan flooded my nose. I swallowed my fear and my stomach began churning nervously. "I'm ready," I lied, but I knew I had to suck it up.
Windflight padded in first and I slipped in after, entering the camp. The first thing that caught my eye was a tall boulder. It almost reminded me of the Tallrock.
A sandy-gray tom padded up at us, a smile on his face. "Wildpaw, welcome! We've been expecting you. Windflight has spoken highly of you for the last moon." He looked over at Windflight. "I am Thrushstar. Let's talk, shall we?"
We padded away from my father who was smiling was I went with the ThunderClan leader.
"Is it my understanding that you've come to join ThunderClan?" Thrushstar asked, glancing over at me.
"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?"
"Well, Fuzzypelt and Robinwing aren't the kindest. They're good friends so they're generally together..." He paused, looking down at me. "Icepaw is your sister, right?"
"Right," I agreed.
"I helped her escape when ThunderClan took her."
I blinked in realization. I had forgotten that that had happened several moons ago. "She wasn't born to be a ThunderClan cat," I responded as we padded on. "Where to now?"
"Oh, we aren't really going anywhere. You know about all the Clans you just need to know the territory, which is hard to do when it's covered in leaves and soon it'll be snow, so, we're just walking and getting to know each other," Sparrowpelt responded in amusement. "I like to know my apprentice before we start training. You're almost done with yours."
I nodded at him. "Yes, I just need to know how to be a ThunderClan cat," I responded as I circled around a tree and met back up with Sparrowpelt. "What will I be learning?"
"Basics. You've done your fighting and hunting so I just need you to know how ThunderClan does things and you'll become a full warrior." He looked down at me for a moment. "Why chose to move to ThunderClan now? We're going to fight The Dark Forest in less than a moon and you were almost a warrior."
That was a fair question. "I didn't realize I didn't fit in WindClan until about a moon ago when I first visited my father. My littermates didn't care for me, they were more concerned with each other, and I was isolated. I didn't fit in."
Sparrowpelt flicked his tail. "Let's go meet Poppydawn then." And he slipped into camp.
I hadn't even noticed we'd circled back around to camp. I slipped in after him.
Poppydawn was a dark red she-cat with a very bushy tail. She was outside the nursery with my father, Windflight. They were talking when Sparrowpelt and I walked up.
"Wildpaw!" she purred happily, her amber eyes instantly reminded me of myself. "I'm Poppydawn, it's so nice to meet you!"
I smiled at her. She was much nicer to me than I expected her to be. "H-Hi!" I purred back in awe. "I've heard good things about you," I chuckled and looked at Windflight who nodded encouragingly. "I can't wait for them to be born."
"Featherwhisker says it's two," she responded softly. She was sweet and encouraging. I liked her. "We can't wait either." Poppydawn touched her nose to Windflight's. "Promise you'll protect him in the battle."
I laughed at her, feeling my spirits lifting. "Of course! They'll need their father! Do you know when they're due?"
"Oh, just before the battle." She nodded a little and looked at Sparrowpelt. "How was your first day of training?"
Sparrowpelt cleared his throat. "Wildpaw is very smart and kind. I think he'll fit in well here." He node a little and looked down at me warmly. "I'd like to introduce you to someone." He beckoned me as he padded away.
"It was nice meeting you, Poppydawn. I'll see you both later," I called as I hurried after my mentor excitedly. This was where I was supposed to be.
We padded up to dappled tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat I recognized as Dappletail, ThunderClan's deputy.
"Hello, Sparrowpelt!" She looked down at me kindly. "Wildpaw, right? How can I help you?"
We were under the Greatrock. "Wildpaw is Windflight's son." He looked down at me warmly. "Dappletail and Thrushstar are also Windflight's kits. Tawnyspots, an elder, is Thrushstar's kit as well. I figured you'd want to know who you are related to. I have something to do but I'll come back later." Then he padded away.
Dappletail smiled at me. "So you're Windflight's kit with the WindClan she-cat? I'm surprised you came over. Icepaw surely didn't want to."
I flinched at her words a little. "I didn't belong in WindClan, I was born to be a ThunderClan cat." I had so many relatives in ThunderClan, it was nice. "Icepaw and Jaypaw are WindClan cats, they'll do better without me. I doubt they've even realized my absence."
She nodded a little. "We're excited to have you, Wildpaw. Go get something to eat with the other apprentices."
I dipped my head and padded away, grabbing a mouse off the pile and padding over to the other apprentice's who were surrounding a stump outside the apprentice's den. It was weird not to see everyone eating rabbits, that might take a while to get used to.
"Hi!" I chirped as I sat down in between Spottedpaw and who I assumed was Cinderpaw. "I'm Wildpaw."
Cinderpaw nodded at me. "Cinderpaw, medicine cat. You only see me when I'm eating." She chuckled softly and looked over at Spottedpaw.
"How was your first day, Wildpaw?" Spottedpaw asked warmly.
"Oh, it was good. Sparrowpelt showed me around and I met Poppydawn," I purred back happily. "And you?"
Spottedpaw nodded. "Pretty good. Patchpelt is trying to help me become a warrior before The Dark Forest battle. Whitestorm has been training Pinepaw every day all day since we decided to attack in a moon."
Pinepaw snickered. "I'm going to destroy those flea-bags!"
"Well, at the next medicine cat meeting I'm probably going to get my warrior name," Cinderpaw purred, grinning.
"Congratulations!" Spottedpaw suddenly bursted. I could feel her pride.
I quickly ate my mouse and listened to the other apprentices talk excitedly about The Dark Forest battle. Yes, this was where I was supposed to be.
***
"Do you think they're living in ShadowClan's camp?" Patchpelt mewed to Sparrowpelt as he brushed some leaves out of the way.
Sparrowpelt shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it's likely. Wildpaw, has Spottedpaw been telling you about how ThunderClan works?"
I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Thunderstar was your founding leader, we hunt in the trees and catch mice, squirrels, voles, and birds mostly, and we hunt in trees occasionally. But I've never climbed a tree before so I think I'll stick to the ground," I joked a little and Spottedpaw, who was padding beside me, grinned.
"Very good. Nice work, both of you," Patchpelt praised, looking back at us. "We're going to check on both of your battle moves. We can't have you getting rusty with the battle coming up."
The sandy hollow, the place where ThunderClan warriors took their apprentices to train, was quiet and peaceful and rather warm. The sand on my paws felt very nice.
"Crouch," Patchpelt ordered and I instantly dropped down into a crouch and Spottedpaw did too. We met gazes and smiled at each other.
Sparrowpelt seemed surprised and impressed. "Very nice! Now lunge!"
We both did as he said and lunged forward. I landed squarely on a leaf and Spottedpaw landed on a stick.
Both our mentors were nodding and mumbling to each others.
"Looks like we had nothing to worry about," Sparrowpelt mewed to us. "You're both very capable apprentices. Shouldn't be long until you get your warrior names."
I looked at Spottedpaw excitedly and she flashed me a wide smile. "Now what?"
"You two should go hunting. Spottedpaw, make sure Wildpaw doesn't get lost," Patchpelt ordered and began talking to Sparrowpelt.
We darted off instantly to hunt. It had felt like ages since my last hunt and the excitement was blasting through me.
I paused to smell the air. I'd only smelled bird near the edges of WindClan territory but this definitely smelled like a bird.
I spotted it in the leaves among the roots of a tree and crouched down, creeping forward silently and trying not to step on a leaf. It had never been so hard not to make noise. I liked a challenge.
The bird turned and looked at me and let out a call and began to take off. I quickly darted to the bird and jumped up in the air, catching the bird's wing with my claw. I brought it down to the ground and delivered the killing bite triumphantly. Thank you WindClan legs!
I quickly padded back to the sandy hollow with my bird, seeing Spottedpaw with a vole in her jaws.
"Was that your first catch of a magpie?" Sparrowpelt asked in surprise.
I nodded at him, not talking through my bird. Spottedpaw was looking at me proudly. Now so was Sparrowpelt.
"Come on, let's get back home," Sparrowpelt purred and then slipped out of the clearing and the rest of us followed.
Once back in camp, Spottedpaw and I set our prey on the pile proudly.
"Go clean out the elder's den and Spottedpaw you're on the dawn patrol," Patchpelt ordered and then padded away to the warrior's den.
Sparrowpelt watched him go, his ear twitching. "Good work today, both of you. I see great potential in both of you. Wildpaw, go help Spottedpaw clean out the elder's den. I'll find you tomorrow for training." Then he hurried after Patchpelt.
My friend chuckled and shook her head as she led me to the elder's den. "Typical."
"What?"
She glanced over at me. "Patchpelt is lazy with his apprentices, I guess he's always been like that... Sparrowpelt is good though." She nodded her head. "But Whitestorm turned out good so I have a chance!" Spottedpaw chuckled softly.
I touched my nose to her cheek. "C'mon, let's go do the elder's den." Tawnyspots was in there.
We slipped into the den and a light gray tabby tom and a brown tom looked up at us curiously.
"Hi Mumblefoot, Tawnyspots. We're here to clean out your nests," Spottedpaw mewed cheerfully.
Tawnyspots was staring at me, his amber eyes unblinking. "Windflight took in two kits that weren't his, did you know that? Harepounce, their mother, died from starvation a long time ago."
I stared at him for a heartbeat. "You knew who I was?"
"You smell just like your father. Glad to have you here, Wildpaw," Tawnyspots mewed with a nod to me. "Come on Mumblefoot, let's let these two do their work." He rose to his paws and they both slipped out of the den.
I looked over at Spottedpaw who began to claw the moss out of the nests silently. "Do you think I belong here?"
She looked over at me evenly and blinked warmly. "I do. Everyone here thinks you belong as a ThunderClan cat. Do you feel like you belong here?"
I grinned a little. "I do."
***
"Spottedpaw, Pinepaw, and Wildpaw step forward!"
I stepped up next to Spottedpaw, unable to wipe the huge smile off my face.
"I, Thrushstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentice. They has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn." His eyes landed on Pinepaw. "Pinepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Pinepaw mewed.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Pinepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Pineclaw. StarClan honors your courage and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Now he looked at Spottedpaw. "Spottedpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
I heard Spottedpaw suck in a deep breath. "I do!"
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Spottedpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Spottedheart. StarClan honors your energy and kindness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Finally, his eyes fell on me. "Wildpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
I met Thrushstar's gaze. "I do."
Thrushstar nodded and smiled a little. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Wildpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Wildstorm. StarClan honors your bravery and wisdom, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Then he jumped down from the Greatrock and rested his muzzle on Pineclaw's head, then Spottedheart's head, and then my head. I licked his shoulder and he stepped back.
"Pineclaw! Spottedheart! Wildstorm!" ThunderClan cheered loudly. I was almost sure WindClan would hear them.
"To honor StarClan they will sit vigil tonight while we sleep!" Thrushstar mewed and then padded into his den. The clearing quickly emptied until it was just the three of us.
We sat in the middle of the camp and I turned my head and met Spottedheart's gaze. We both smiled at each other warmly and then looked forward. This was my destiny.