Warriors: Rise of the Weather [1] : The Journey Begins (OLD/DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Seventeen

Edited ✔️
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Snowdrift rose from his nest, shaking loose moss from his pelt. A call came from outside of the warriors den, and immediately cats began stirring and mumbling. It had been two days since Paleclaw and Littleshine had died, and everybody had already grown used to Mosspounce being in control. The gray and white tom was a bit immature at times, but aside from those moments he was an okay deputy.

Before anybody else could stand and cause difficulty to leave the den, Snowdrift maneuvered his way through the warriors to the exit. He quickly left the den and blinked in surprise. The snow was melting, turning into slush as it squished beneath his paws. That's odd. It was freezing just the other day. He shook out his pelt as a droplet of water splashed onto his fur, and he frowned up at the branch that drooped above him. He sighed, and padded swiftly to the highledge where both Mosspounce and Pebblestar stood calmly.

Pelt prickling in curiosity, Snowdrift sat down, wrapping his tail neatly around his paws. Obviously something important was going on, and he didn't entirely want to miss it. Slowly, cats entered the clearing, their eyes growing round as they settled down. Yellowtuft left the medicine den and walked into the clearing, his greenish-brown eyes unfocused as he obviously left from visiting his sisters, who were ill with greencough. Streamflower found her place beside Snowdrift, pressing her pelt against his as a purr rumbled in her throat.

Suddenly, Splinterkit and Beetlekit came racing out of the nursery, their fur groomed neatly — at least until Splinterkit tackled Beetlekit to the ground as they broke into a play fight. Leaningwhisker quickly followed after the two kits, her pale brown fur on end.

"Beetlekit! Splinterkit!" She scolded, startling the two kits into looking at her. "Look at what you've done! You ruined your fur." She limped over to the two, one of her forepaws twisted at an odd angle. She scooped Splinterkit towards herself, lightly nipping his ear. The white and brown tom squeaked as Leaningwhisker groomed his fur back down, Beetlekit snickering at his brother's suffering.

Leaningwhisker paused for a moment to frown at Beetlekit. "You need to be washed as well. Redspark! Get your tail over here!" She yowled. The reddish colored tom perked up, his head aimed in the direction of his mate. He raced forward to meet her, scooping up Beetlekit who let out a startled yelp, kicking and squirming as he didn't want to be washed. Snowdrift chuckled, his blue eyes glowing in amusement.

Pebblestar let out a loud growl, catching the clan's attention. Beetlekit's squealing stopped and any conversations faltered, eyes staring expectantly up at the clan leader. "Today is an... important day." He said coldly, his hard gaze staring at the two kits. Splinterkit pulled himself away from his mother and looked up at Pebblestar with widened eyes, his red and brown tail spiked up in excitement, however it could as easily be mistaken for fear. "Two apprentices will be announced today. Splinterkit, Beetlekit, please step forward."

Beetlekit yanked himself free from Redspark, glaring at his father before catching up with Splinterkit as the tom had already began trotting forward. Leaningwhisker's jaws parted in a protest, before thinking better of it and closing her mouth, her tail only lashing back and forth.

Pebblestar scrambled down from the highledge, sending rocks tumbling down with him. A few cats backed away so they wouldn't get hit, but most just stayed put as a few rocks showered over them. Pebblestar towered over Splinterkit and Beetlekit, his yellow eyes narrowed at the two kits. First, he placed a paw on top of Splinterkit's tiny paw, the kit trembling in excitement.

"Splinterkit, from this day onward until you become a warrior, you will be known as Splinterpaw. Your mentor is Mosspounce." The newly made apprentice beamed eagerly, his eyes as round as moons. Suddenly, he let out a startled scream, his eyes welling up with tears as he tried to pull his paw away from Pebblestar.

"St-Stop it!" He screeched, his eyes squeezing shut as he jerked and pulled, desperately trying to remove Pebblestar's paw, now unsheathed, from his foot. "It-It hurts!" Snowdrift leaped to his paws, his fur on end. An outraged yowl came from Leaningwhisker. She leaped forward, but was stopped by Redspark, who murmured something indecipherable to her. Finally, the queen backed down, her head bowed and her tail lashing. A few growls rose through the gathered clan, however nobody made a move against the powerful leader. Beetlekit cowered as his brother cried out in pain, his ears pinned back as he watched his littermate.

Snowdrift was ready to go forward and stop Pebblestar, however his mate stopped him. "Snowdrift, don't. I don't want him to punish you." Streamflower murmured quietly. Snowdrift swallowed, and with a short nod he sat down, even though he shifted restlessly.

Finally, Pebblestar tore his paw away from Splinterpaw's, blood smeared onto it. Splinterpaw stopped crying out, but broke into pained sobs as he held his bloody paw close to himself, trembling greatly as tears poured from his eyes. Beetlekit made to back away, but was stopped as Pebblestar's blood soaked paw slammed down on his. Beetlekit stiffened, his eyes meeting with Pebblestar's.

"Beetlekit," Pebblestar began, his voice loud and clear. "From this day onward until you become a warrior, your name will be Beetlepaw. Your mentor shall be Yellowtuft." Just like before, Pebblestar unsheathed his claws and dug them into Beetlepaw's skin, blood already welling up. Beetlepaw however kept his jaws shut, refraining from crying out. Instead, he trembled in pain, his lips quivering. After some time had passed, Pebblestar released his grip.

"Mosspounce, Yellowtuft, come forward." Mosspounce leaped down from the highledge, swiping his tail against the ground as he dipped his head respectfully to Pebblestar. Yellowtuft uncertainly removed himself from the crowd, gulping as he too dipped his head to Pebblestar. Pebblestar's tail twitched, and Mosspounce touched his nose to Splinterpaw's forehead, who was too scared to react. Yellowtuft followed Mosspounce's lead, and touched his nose to Beetlepaw's.

Pebblestar smirked, kinking his tail. "Clan dismissed!" He yelled, making his way back up the highledge and into the small cave that was his den. Mosspounce raised his tail above his head as the gathered cats shifted towards him to be assigned on patrols.

"Yellowtuft, Beetlepaw, Snowdrift, and..." his gaze flicked dismissively past Streamflower. "Ravenheart," Ravenheart pricked her ears. "And of course Marigoldpaw," Mosspounce added quickly. "I would like for the four of you to patrol by the WindClan boundary. I've been getting recent reports on them crossing the border."

Ravenheart and Yellowtuft nodded in sync, as the five cats quickly left the crowd to meet at the bramble entrance.