The Missing Clan

Chapter 20

❅

Leafwhisker listen intently to the rogues' story. After Root finished his part, Mint started, and by then, Whitestripe had joined. Now Mint was taking a deep breath to tell what happened next. "I'm so sorry," Whitestripe meowed. "If Swanstar died, I wouldn't know what to do. My father, Blazeclaw, already died, so I'd have no one left." 

It was true; Whitestripe's father died in battle against LeafClan, led by LeafClan's former leader, the ambitious Slatestar, and her sister, Nightpaw, died by drowning. If Swanstar died, she'd have no one left. "I'm sure you're glad to have Mint," Whitestripe continued. "As I'm glad to have Swanstar."

Root nodded, and turned to Troutstar. "It's getting late," he mewed, glancing at the starry sky. "I think... could we stay at your camp tonight?" Troutstar looked at him questioningly. 

"Won't they be looking for you?" he asked. Mint shook his head, "No. We're practically outsiders there, and they wouldn't care less if we got ourselves killed." Troutstar considered this, then nodded. "Alright, but no funny business."

"Thank you so much." 

Troutstar nodded at Morningwhisker to lead them to their dens, which was in the elders' den. "What are they doing here?" Graycloud questioned. 

"Oh, they're rogues, and they say they're going to help us get rid of the rogues so we can leave, in exchange for joining our Clan," Morningwhisker informed. "I thought that you would understand and let them." 

"Ha, just leave them with the weakest cats in the Clan," Swiftjump muttered. "Smart." Morningwhisker sighed. "Then I'll leave you with two warriors, Pebbleshine and Pinetail." 

"Alright," Graycloud agreed, and then she and Swiftjump shouldered their way to the far end of the den. Leafwhisker continued to the warrior's den, feeling empty without Lightpoppy by his side. 

But Whitestripe was enough, and he had everyone else in the warriors den. So what if she's not here? We can go on without her.

~ ⋅ ~ 

Leafwhisker woke, feeling more down then ever before. Careful not to wake his teammates, he padded toward the fresh-kill pile. Mint and Root were already there, chatting eagerly. 

"Early birds, huh," Leafwhisker meowed drowsily. That was an advantage for WaterClan, they would have more cats on the dawn patrol. "I guess you've never heard of the dawn patrol," he continued, "Cats who wake up early go patrol the borders, maybe even grab a mouse or two."

Mint nodded eagerly, "Sounds like fun." Leafwhisker let out a mrrow of laughter, "You won't feel that way once you're a warrior! You won't want to get up in the morning!"

Turning around, he picked a sparrow from the fresh-kill pile. He looked at the two former rogues sternly. "You really want to be a warrior. You'll have to agree to things. For example, you'll have to follow the warrior code. Codebreakers are punished, or even banished. 

1: Defend your Clan, even with the cost of your life.

2: Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory.

3: Elders and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders.

4: Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give StarClan thanks for its life.

5: A kit must be six moons old to become an apprentice.

6: Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.

7: A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice.

8: The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies or retires.

9: After the death or retirement of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh. 

10: A gathering of all four Clans is held at a full moon during a truce that lasts for the night. There shall be no fighting between the Clans at this time.

11: Boundaries must be marked and checked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.

12: No cat may neglect a kit in pain or in danger, even if that kit is in a different Clan.

13: The word of Clan leader is the warrior code.

14: An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or it is necessary for self-defense. 

15: A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet." Leafwhisker continued, "And you will not betray us, right? You'll have to fight for your Clan, even your friends."

Root nodded, "This is a lot to take in, but at least it's better than living with the rogues," he meowed. "Are the Clans... rivals?" "Yes," Leafwhisker blinked. "Well, most of the time. The gathering is a time of truce, and times, like right now, the Clans send cats on a mission. But I think they are normal back home. Oh, and the leaders right now are peaceful, so you won't get in a lot of battles for now."

Mint's eyes shot up. "Well, it was nice talking," Mint meowed, sitting up. "But Morningwhisker and the dawn patrol's back, and I feel like a patrol right now." Root nodded, turning back to Leafwhisker. 

"I have a question," Root meowed. "What happens if a Clan dies out?"

"W-well, that's never happened before, but if a Clan dies out, I guess we'll try to make a new one?" Leafwhisker stammered, stunned.  "Oh," Root meowed thoughtfully. "Well...I guess I'll go on patrol too."

"Bye!" Leafwhisker smiled cheerfully after him. Such nice cats. He thought he would want to go search for Lightpoppy, this time himself. 

After briefly telling Troutstar and Whitestripe where he was going, he set off, like this was an important journey. I know that Root and Mint will help us, Leafwhisker thought. But it'll be nice to have some time to myself, even better if I find her now, because Root and Mint have to finish telling their story. 

Leafwhisker opened his jaws to taste the air. There was a faint scent of lizard and... an even fainter scent of cats. It was like the scent of kittypets, but with a kind of punch to it. Explaining and describing scents were hard.

It was like a kittypet's scent but it wasn't as strong, like there was something cutting it off. In place of the missing kittypet scent was a scent of marigold. Leafwhisker decided to follow it. 

The scent was strong, so the cat(s) must have passed by recently. It led to a white fence with a small hole directly underneath it, and Leafwhisker padded to it. The cat must have passed through here. If I crouch I can fit.

He twitched his whiskers and, using his whiskers, tested if he could fit through. His whiskers slipped easily through the hole, and Leafwhisker breathed a sigh of relief and crouched through the hole.

Leafwhisker tasted the air again. He was on the right track. I can't get lost. Leafwhisker realized, so he memorized his way back: White fence. Big patch of grass hiding some yarrow. Large juniper berry bush. Small hole in the ground. 

The SunClan tabby followed the scent trail to yet another big patch of grass. There lay a mouse's bones. Rude! Not cleaning up after themselves! And hunting in WaterClan's so called 'territory'! Leafwhisker was disgusted by the mouse bones, but he quietly dug a small hole and shoved the mouse's remains in there, patching it up with the dirt that he had dug out of the ground.

And then Leafwhisker continued on, adding the brown spot to his memory. Please, StarClan, don't let them have killed Lightpoppy before we get to her.

He padded forward, continuing to sniff the air. Then he came across a dried-up puddle. Oh. They must have drank this. He sniffed the puddle. Sure enough, the kittypet scent was there.

Leafwhisker followed the scent all the way to the barn, and the scent trail ended there. Huh. I wonder... He sneaked a glance in the barn. No one there. I'm going in.