Warrior Cats: The Winding Path (Book 1)

Chapter 14 (Timberpaw)

It's been half of a moon since the young bracken-colored tom had been apprenticed. The moon shown brightly in the star dappled sky as he followed his mentor through the undergrowth. It would be his first night going to the Moonpool, and it's the night that he is to be either accepted or declined by the faces of StarClan's medicine cats.

They padded along the edge of the lake until they reached a group of cats waiting by the stream that acts as WindClan's and ThunderClan's border. Timberpaw had only glanced at some of these cats once at the Gathering. Sweetscent had tried to get him to mingle with some of the apprentices but he turned down the offer.

"Greetings," Sweetscent meowed to the medicine cats of the other Clans. It seemed like at the current moment, every Clan had a medicine cat and a medicine cat apprentice. Timberpaw's eyes swept over them, the only other tom was the ShadowClan medicine cat! "This is my new apprentice, Timberpaw," Sweetscent introduced.

"It's nice to meet you all," Timberpaw meowed shyly.

"It is nice to meet you as well, young one. I am Mintleaf and this is my apprentice: Softpaw," a white-and-gray patched she-cat meowed. Timberpaw recognized the scent that clung to her fur as RiverClan.

"My name is Littleburr, I am the ShadowClan medicine cat," a small brown tabby meowed.

The apprentice beside him stirred, "Hey! I'm Hazelpaw! I'm training to be the best medicine cat ShadowClan has ever seen!" Timberpaw's whiskers twitched, he couldn't hide his amusement from the apprentice's enthusiasm.

"My name is Juniperberry and this is my apprentice: Poppypaw. We are the medicine cats of WindClan," Timberpaw didn't hear any sort of aggression coming from the silver she-cat's voice. Medicine cats lay outside Clan rivalries, Timberpaw heard Sweetscent's voice in the back of his mind. He dipped his head respectfully to the cats.

"Well, now that we're all here, lets go to the Moonpool," Mintleaf meowed. The other medicine cats nodded and they started up alone the slope to the Moonpool. Timberpaw stayed further back in the group of cats, he didn't really want to talk to anyone.

"Your name's Timberpaw, right?" Hazelpaw had fallen into step beside him as they began to pad up the flat, stone cliffs.

"Er, yes," he nodded. "Rabbit burrow," he mewed as he saw Hazelpaw's paw rise and fall toward the dusty hole in the ground. Hazelpaw swerved to left away from him, barely missing the burrow.

Hazelpaw purred, "Thanks!"

"No problem," he replied. He kept quiet as the group of medicine cats dipped down into the Moonpool's hollow where ancient pawsteps had been marked in the stone earth. Timberpaw's jaw gaped open as he gazed down at the Moonpool's waters. Stars reflected brilliantly against it's unwavering surface. The half moon turned Timberpaw's pelt silver. Even Littleburr's darker brown pelt was washed white by the moon's glow.

Sweetscent settled down at the edge of the waters and lapped at it with her tongue. The other medicine cats did the same and Timberpaw copied. He lapped up some of the Moonpool's cold water and a shudder past through him. His eyes closed but nothing happened. Uncertain, Timberpaw reopened his eyes.

He was standing at the Gathering island. The tall Great Oak loomed high above the empty clearing. Blazing stars twinkled overhead in a brand of light. Suddenly, the stars began to swirl and spiral down from the blue-black sky. Ancient StarClan cats stepped down from Silverpelt and circled around him.

"We are the medicine cats of the Clans," the many cats whispered. One cat, a ginger she-cat with green eyes and a torn ear stepped forward from the cluster. The shape of Sweetscent appeared beside her and the two she-cats strode over to Timberpaw. Their pawsteps matched perfectly with each other in each stride they took. This must be Sweetscent's past mentor! Timberpaw realized.

"Greetings, Timberpaw," the ginger medicine cat meowed. "My name is Frostfire, I was the ThunderClan medicine cat before Sweetscent." Her voice was soft and stars dotted her brillant flame-colored pelt. He couldn't help but admiring the she-cat, she probably knew more than Sweetscent!

"I am honored to meet you, Frostfire," Timberpaw dipped his head respectfully.

"No need to be so formal, dear," Frostfire purred. Timberpaw's whiskers twitched and he lifted his head. The ginger she-cat padded toward him and rested her muzzle on top of his head, "Do not fear young one. On the days to come you shall meet many hardships and battles. Hard decisions will be made and lives will be lost, but you must cling to the hope that can overcome any despair. I speak here and now before all the medicine cats of StarClan so they may listen and approve my choice. Timberpaw, we accept you as Sweetscent's new apprentice and for you to train to become ThunderClan's next medicine cat." Timberpaw's body filled with a new sort of energy, confidence, love, loyalty, determination, and wisdom. Frostfire pulled away from Timberpaw as Sweetscent's image began to fade. Once the ThunderClan medicine cat had fully disappeared Frostfire's expression grew grim.

"Do not forget the prophecy that Yellowfang has shared with you," the ginger cat meowed. "Fire will blaze through the sky and frost will melt under the paws of ragged claws," Frostfire recited the prophecy that had haunted his dreams for nights as a kit.

"But what does it mean? Why not share this with Sweetscent rather than me? I barely know anything of prophecies!" Timberpaw mewed.

"Be wary, Timberpaw, for the danger is drawing ever nearer. The fate of ThunderClan and the whole forest lies in the outcome of StarClan's new prophecy," Frostfire meowed.

The assembly of cats around him began chanting the prophecy, "Fire will blaze through the sky and frost will melt under the paws of ragged claws." Their meows echoed in his head, melancholy and ominous. Timberpaw's body tingled with dread. By the sound of the prophecy, he suspected that the journey through it wouldn't be fun. The voices began to fade into the distance as the dream from StarClan turned black.

Timberpaw woke at the edge of the Moonpool. The cats around him had just began to wake up from their own dreams, and Timberpaw wondered what words StarClan had shared with them.

"Congratulations, Timberpaw," his mentor licked him between the ears. "Frostfire seemed to like you," she purred.

"You saw all that?" Timberpaw wondered how much his mentor had heard.

"I saw everything up to after the ceremony. Why? Did StarClan tell you something?" Sweetscent's amber eyes narrowed down at him suspiciously.

"Nothing that I didn't already know," Timberpaw mewed. That was the truth, he had heard the prophecy before and of the looming threat that was still unknown to him.

Juniperberry cleared her throat, "Well then, lets head back to our own territories."

The cats padded out of the Moonpool area and picked their way down the rocky slopes. Timberpaw strayed away from the rest of the medicine cats. His mind was churning with thoughts about Frostfire's reminder. He tried not to attract too much attention as he padded a part from the group, he didn't want Sweetscent suspecting him of keeping something from her and the rest of the Clan.

"'Bye!" Hazelpaw called as the ShadowClan cats departed from the group and headed down to the lake to pad through ThunderClan territory, back to their own. 

"Goodbye, Hazelpaw!" Timberpaw meowed after as the two ShadowClan medicine cats disappeared into the darkness of the dense forest. RiverClan departed from Sweetscent and Timberpaw with the WindClan cats, heading back into their own territory. 

Sweetscent glanced at him as the two cats began to pad back to the ThunderClan camp. "You all right?" she asked him as he stared at his paws, his thoughts elsewhere. 

Timberpaw couldn't look up to meet his mentor's eyes, "Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired, that's all."

He could feel Sweetscent's doubtfully eyes burning through his pelt, but he didn't dare try to convince her further. She'd probably just grow more suspicious that he was hiding something, instead of being just tired.

"All right, then," Sweetscent murmured and looked away. 

Timberpaw glanced to the side at Sweetscent. Did I make the right choice by keeping the prophecy from Sweetscent? he thought grimly to himself.