Warriors: A New Life ~Series 2 Book 1~

Chapter 11

Stormstar's POV:

"How dare you interrupt a gathering! And our very first one at that!" Stormstar seethed at Flamefur and Tigerstripe. The two young warriors glared back at him from inside his den. Stormstar felt a twinge as he remembered when they were both kits, staring angrily at him in Lightclan's old camp as they argued together. It felt like Flamefur and Tigerstripe were always out to annoy Stormstar one way or another.

With a swift shake of his head, he shifted in his nest and continued his rant. "This won't leave a very good image of us to the other clans!" He felt a flash of anger at the thought of Petalstar and her clan shunning him because he couldn't contain his warriors. The brown and grey she cat's light blue eyes glowing in hatred as she stared at him.

Stormstar shivered.

He didn't want anyone to be upset with him, but the thought of the gentle Petalstar hating him? He felt his skin crawl at the dark thoughts.

Stormstar blinked his eyes to try and clear his thoughts and looked up to see both Flamefur and Tigerstripe had left his den. He let out a growl and looked back down at his paws, his thoughts rushing back to him.

At the gathering, Stormstar had to admit that he felt very inferior compared to the other three leaders. They all seemed so bold and confident. Especially Jaggedstar, the massive dark tom was so intimidating that Stormstar would never feel comfortable within a four-tail-length radius of the Ravenclan leader.

Silentstar was quite... silent. The white she cat seemed calm and collected at all times but also proud and strong of her clan, Echoclan. She looked old as well. Her grey eyes had a wise glint in them, she was most likely the eldest of the three leaders.

Then there was Petalstar. Stormstar sighed softly, his mixed emotions filtering through him.

Petalstar was a very pretty cat. Her light blue eyes shone like two glowing orbs, brightening anyone's day. The Smallclan leader gave the impression of a strong and confident she cat who would easily lead her clan. Stormstar liked her. When their gazes met, he saw her ears perk up and a warm smile meet her lips. He knew she had felt the connection as well.

As if to remind him where his loyalties lay, Silverstar's sweet scent weaved around him. The whisper of his mate's voice made his skin crawl with longing.

"Silverstar come back." Stormstar breathed, looking up at the single silver whisp floating near the top of the den roof.

"Stormstar?" Dawnheart's soft mew sounded outside the den and Stormstar looked up to see his deputy watching him with curious eyes. "You okay?" She asked with genuine concern for her leader.

"Yes. I'm fine, just lost in thought." Stormstar cleared his throat awkwardly and rose to his paws, shaking off stray bits of moss clinging to his fur. "What else did you want?" He questioned as he strolled out of his den, Dawnheart following behind him.

"I was wondering if I should send out a patrol tomorrow morning to set the new boundaries." Dawnheart meowed, catching up to Stormstar.

"Yes, you can. I'll lead one border patrol and you lead the other. According to Jaggedstar, we border Ravenclan and Smallclan." He felt a small smile reach his lips at the thought of bordering Petalstar's clan but quickly wiped away the smile and made his lips a thin, straight line.

"Alright. I'll be heading off to my den now. Goodnight Stormstar." Dawnheart dipped her head and hurried off to the warriors den where she ducked inside, leaving Stormstar alone in the main clearing.

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Nutwhisker's POV:

"Move." Nutwhisker meowed quietly as he waited for Clearlight to get out of his nest. He was changing the elder's bedding that morning. Unfortunately, Watersplash and Shinewing were both busy so Nutwhisker was stuck with the job. He dreaded being around Clearlight. The old grey tom always brought up arguments. They were usually about how Nutwhisker should be more loving toward Clearlight since the old tom was his father.

Nutwhisker tried to ignore Clearlight's blue gaze boring into his back as the tom shuffled out of his nest. Nutwhisker bushed out his light brown fur and began ripping out the old bedding to replace it with new moss. Clearlight sat silently behind Nutwhisker.

Once Nutwhisker had completed the task of removing the old bedding, Clearlight spoke up. "Why do you hate me?"

Nutwhisker couldn't help the wince and he flattened his ears with a small mew. "I don't hate you..."

"Oh come on!" Clearlight grunted with a lash of his tail. "You fight to avoid me every second of your life. What is so bad that you hate me so much?"

Nutwhisker didn't reply. Instead he busied himself with placing down the new bedding, making sure there were no thorns or damp patchs in the moss.

Clearlight grew impatient and stepped in front of Nutwhisker with a small hiss. "Tell me!"

Again, Nutwhisker lowered his gaze and continued sorting the bedding. It was when Clearlight swatted a ball of moss out of Nutwhisker's paws that the medicine cat finally lost it.

Nutwhisker fixed his father with a glare, "You were never there for me! And neither was Skystar! All of my life my own parents never cared about me. Only when she died did Skystar realise how alone I was! But since she was in Starclan, she barely visited me." He bared his teeth and unsheathed his claws. "I can't even remember the last time you called me your son! All I am to you is a waste of space! And that's why I avoid you, because you don't view me as a son. I can't take the neglect anymore. I have moved on and gotten on with life." An image flashed in his mind; Watersplash giving birth to his kits. Nutwhisker shook away the image with a growl. "And now you're trying to get back in my life and mend the scars. Well, you can't! What's done is done! As far as I know, I have no parents!"

Clearlight's claws unsheathed and the old tom's whole body tensed. Nutwhisker shrank away, preparing to flee the den incase Clearlight tried to attack him. Instead, Clearlight just hissed and scored his claws across the ground, causing deep claw scratches in the sand. Nutwhisker's eyes widened when he saw that Clearlight's claws were substantially longer than usual and the colour of his fur was turning orange.

Nutwhisker was about to speak but Clearlight snarled, his voice strained and hoarse. "Get out! Get out now!" Nutwhisker stared up at Clearlight to see the grey tom's eyes turn from blue to a flaming amber and his fangs elongate. His fur was nearly fully orange, with black stripes running down his pelt. He began to grow, his body blurring slightly as he changed shape.

Nutwhisker let out a shrill cry of panic and hared out of the den, sprinting into Stormstar's den to warn his leader.

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Cleareh is having another 'moment'......

Don't worry he won't explode the den this time x3