Maplepaw's Redemption

CHAPTER 12

*Get ready for some interesting cameos!*

Mapledawn trotted beside Wrencatcher, her fur fluffed up against the roaring moorland wind. Frecklefang trailed behind them, with Acorntail up front and Rabbitleap leading the patrol. Mapledawn panted slightly from the walk. Her throat hardly hurt anymore, though her meow had a raspy edge whenever she spoke now. Her neck still ached where Scratchstar had sliced it, but so long as she didn't stretch it too much, the wound didn't reopen.

"Almost there," said Rabbitleap.

"I can't wait to meet StarClan," said Acorntail, his eyes bright. "I wonder if we'll see Goosefur or the others."

"I'd manage your expectations," said Rabbitleap. "StarClan is usually silent. If they do speak to you," she said, flashing the young warrior a look, "keep it to yourself."

"Why?" meowed Frecklefang. "If I was leader, I'd want to know what StarClan said to my warriors."

"You're not leader," said Wrencatcher coolly. "So shut it."

They continued up the slope to Moonpool in silence. Mapledawn could feel Frecklefang's fuming gaze on her haunches. She was tempted to turn and snarl, to dare the hateful she-cat to make her move and attack already instead of sitting there glaring. But Mapledawn was a warrior now. She was on her way to meet StarClan--again. Maybe now that she'd had the warrior marks drawn in her fur, the Ageless Ones would see fit to come out and speak to her. Maybe she'd finally get some real answers instead of the desperate mewlings of a well-meaning dead kittypet.

Rabbitleap stopped just a tail length from the Moonpool's glittering edge.

"I expect all of you to be on your best behavior here." She fixed her daughter with a stern glare. "That includes you."

"Of course." Frecklefang seemed to be biting her lip to keep from spitting curses at her own mother. StarClan above, thought Mapledawn. I'd never narrow my eyes at Redpoppy like that.

Rabbitleap curled up next to the Moonpool, though she kept her nose out of it. This wasn't her new warrior ceremony. Acorntail touched his nose first; then Wrencatcher; then Frecklefang. Mapledawn was last. She felt the familiar chill as her nose touched the starry water.

She opened her eyes immediately to find herself between trees thick with green, glossy leaves. Plush grass rippled gently at her paws, and the scent of mouse drenched the air.

"Myler?" She strained her eyes to catch a glimpse of his black-and-white pelt.

Mapledawn fidgeted in the grass, waiting for the kittypet. But it wasn't Myler that approached this time. Five cats crested the rise, their scents unfamiliar but unmistakably FireClan. Mapledawn shivered as she caught the flash of amber eyes from the dark brown tom she'd seen before. The others didn't look half so angry to see her; there was a ragged ginger tom with nervous blue eyes, a small brown tabby she-cat with a white underbelly, a massive and light brown tom with a twisted jaw, and a ginger tom with white paws.

The nervous-looking tom spoke first. "Welcome, Mapledawn," he said. "I'm Nettlebreeze. Do you remember me?"

Mapledawn shook her head slightly. There was something about his nervous blue eyes that tugged at her memory, but she couldn't place it. "Sorry," she mewed.

"I thought you'd remember by now," growled the dark brown tom.

"Oakstar," said the she-cat, "wait your turn."

Nettlebreeze coughed and continued. "The others asked me to come. Because I saved your life when you... When you were her. I never regretted it."

"When I was who?" Mapledawn edged closer to the starry cats. "Who was I?"