Warriors: The Chosen Warrior: Way of the Stars (Book 2)

Chapter 5

Leafsong was promenading out in the forest, her belly as full as ever and the hot sun beating down on her pelt through the green leaves on the trees.  She was dreaming.  Leafsong padded toward the lake, enjoying the beautiful day.  Suddenly, she heard squealing ahead.  She peeked over a hazel bush and saw two kits, a white she-cat and a dark gray tom, wrestling each other playfully.

“Ow!”  The she-kit complained.  “Stonekit, you stepped on my tail!”

“Oh, come on, Lichenkit.  Would a warrior cry about that?”

“Maybe a cranky one,” Lichenkit answered.  “Or they would fight back!”

Lichenkit pounced on Stonekit and pinned him down.  She grinned and whipped her head towards Leafsong.  Leafsong ducked, hoping she didn’t be seen.

But Lichenkit acted like Leafsong was invisible.  “Leafkit, come play with us!”

Leafkit?  Is she talking to me?

As Leafsong slowly went out behind the bush, she jerked herself back.  A small pale ginger she-kit with a white fore paw ran over to Lichenkit and Stonekit.  They all started tackling each other again.  Is that me?  She thought to herself.

Leafsong gasped with the memory: Lichenkit and Stonekit were her littermates.  Once they got their warrior names, Lichenheart and Stoneclaw, they felt like the most powerful cats in the world.  They murdered an innocent kittypet who was passing through the territory, and would have been easy to scare off with just a warning and a hiss.  They broke the warrior code countless times.  One time, they even betrayed ThunderClan and told their secrets to rival Clans.  Eventually, Firestar exiled them from ThunderClan, and they became rogues.

Leafsong stared at the two kits.  They looked so innocent right now.  Suddenly, Lichenkit and Stonekit both pinned Leafkit down, hard, claws unsheathed.  Leafkit squealed and tried to get up, but struggled.  All three kits grew through their stages: kit, apprentice, and warrior.

Leafsong’s vision switched to looking up at Lichenheart and Stoneclaw, pinned, their claws digging into her shoulders.

Stoneclaw leaned down to Leafsong’s ear and spat, “We know you’re the chosen warrior, Leafsong.  You weren’t supposed to be it.  I was!”

Lichenheart spoke now.  “You are too weak to defend yourself for being the chosen warrior.  You couldn’t even beat an apprentice if you tried!”  She slashed Leafsong’s ear.  She whispered, “Know this for sure, Leafsong.  Be prepared for us to come.  And never forget what you did to us!”

The memory came back: Leafsong was watching Lichenheart and Stoneclaw pin the kittypet down by the old Twoleg nest.

The kittypet was terrified.  “P-please don’t kill me!  I have kits to feed, and my housefolk will be looking for me!  Please!”

Stoneclaw purred with amusement.  “Pleading makes it worse kittypet!  And your mouse-brained ‘housefolk’ will take care of your poor kits.  I bet they want you dead anyway!”

Stoneclaw and Lichenheart raised their forepaws, claws stretched out.  “Stop!” Leafsong called, too stunned to move, but it was too late.  The kittypet lay limp in a pool of blood.  Leafsong gasped.  Without thinking, she tackled both cats, clawing Lichenheart with her fore claws and Stoneclaw with her back ones.  She froze, realizing what she was doing.  She jumped off of them and stared at them.  “I’m telling Firestar what you’ve done,” she meowed quietly.  “A warrior would have never done that.”

Leafsong came back to being pinned.  “You got us exiled!” Stoneclaw yowled into her ear.  “You will pay!”

Just then, Stoneclaw and Lichenheart raised their forepaws, claws stretched out, just like they did to the kittypet.  They slashed at Leafsong’s throat, and her vision went black.