“Leafstar, you’re right,” the medicine cat went on. “StarClan has told me that our future does not lie in the gorge. I dreamed of SkyClan happy and safe together, in a place beside a large body of water.”
“The river?” Rabbitleap asked. “But—”
“Not the river,” Echosong interrupted. “This was much wider and calmer. It is a place I’ve never seen before, not even in dreams.”
Leafstar had listened to the medicine cat with a look of deep seriousness. “This confirms my plan,” she meowed. “StarClan wants us to leave this place. When we find ThunderClan, somewhere near this wide stretch of water, we will find our new home.”
“But we don’t know where to look!” Blossomheart protested.
“We know where to start. Bellapaw and Rileypaw will lead us back to where they used to live,” Leafstar told her. “We leave in two sunrises.”
As the Clan leader announced her decision, the whole of SkyClan erupted into debate, a chorus of protests and questions swirling around her.
“We can’t leave!” Plumwillow exclaimed. “Not without knowing what happened to our other Clanmates.”
“Yes!” Rabbitleap jumped to his paws. “What about Frecklewish, or M istfeather? Where are they?”
“And my kits are too young to travel so far,” M intfur added, gathering the four tiny cats closer to her with a sweep of her tail.
Hawkwing noticed that Harveymoon and Ebonyclaw, at the edge of the group of cats, were exchanging a few quiet words with each other. Then Harveymoon spoke up.
“I can’t leave here,” he mewed, his voice soft but decisive. “I’m loyal to SkyClan, but I’m loyal to my Twolegs, too. I’m not going to leave them behind.”
“That goes for me, too,” Ebonyclaw added.
Hawkwing’s pelt bristled with shock at the black she-cat’s words. Ebonyclaw was my mentor—and no cat could have had a better one. She’s one of our best warriors. How can she give all that up to stay with Twolegs?
He noticed that most of the cats who had not added their voices to the debate were looking just like he felt: hesitant and confused. But Pebblepaw was watching Leafstar closely, her eyes shining. Hawkwing realized that she was excited. She wants to go with Leafstar!
M oving closer to Pebblepaw, Hawkwing brushed his pelt against hers. I can’t imagine being without her, he thought. If she goes, I’m going too.
Leafstar’s voice rang out again, silencing the tumult. “This is not up for discussion,” she meowed. “I am leaving. I will follow the vision StarClan has sent us.”
“And I’m going too,” Echosong added.
“Any cat who feels they can’t leave here may stay behind,” the Clan leader continued. “No cat will blame you. But first, before we go, we need to become a Clan again.”
That’s true, Hawkwing thought. But how does Leafstar mean to do it?
Chapter 20
At sunrise on the following day, Leafstar called the Clan together. A
gentle breeze was blowing, carrying the scents of the forest even into the heart of the Twolegplace. Hawkwing’s pelt itched with restlessness, and he had the sense that something momentous was about to happen.
When her Clan was gathered around her, Leafstar beckoned with her tail to Bellapaw, Rileypaw, Pebblepaw, and Parsleypaw.
The four young cats stepped out of the crowd, exchanging glances that were half excited, half bewildered.
“We must become a Clan again,” Leafstar announced, repeating her words from the day before. “Our journey will be hard, and there are dark times ahead. We will need every one of our warriors.
And so this is the right time to make some new ones.”
“What, us? Now?” Pebblepaw squeaked, then slapped her tail over her mouth in embarrassment.
“Yes, you, now,” Leafstar confirmed, amusement glimmering in her amber eyes. “Come closer.”
The four apprentices padded up to their leader, their eyes shining as they gazed at her. Hawkwing thought that his heart would burst with pride and affection as he watched Pebblepaw take her place.
She’s going to be such a fine warrior!
“Rabbitleap,” Leafstar began, addressing Parsleypaw’s mentor, “has your apprentice trained well, and does he understand what it means to be a warrior?”
“He has, and he does,” Rabbitleap replied solemnly.
“Pebblepaw,” Leafstar went on, “your first mentor, Billystorm, was killed by the badgers on your first quest. And no cat knows what happened to his replacement, Sandynose.”
At her words, Hawkwing saw Sandynose’s mate, Plumwillow, close her eyes in pain. It must be so hard for her, he reflected. She’s expecting kits, and she has no idea where their father is.
“But I have watched you, Pebblepaw,” Leafstar continued, “and I know that you have earned your warrior name.”
Pebblepaw glowed at her Clan leader’s praise, and Hawkwing kneaded the ground in front of him, purring. If any cat deserves this, it’s Pebblepaw!
“Tinycloud.” Leafstar turned to Bellapaw’s mentor. “Are you satisfied that your apprentice has earned her warrior name?”
“Without a doubt,” Tinycloud responded, while Bellapaw shivered in excitement.
“And so has Rileypaw,” Nettlesplash added, without waiting to be asked.
The Clan leader dipped her head in acknowledgment. “I, Leafstar, leader of SkyClan,” she continued, “call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn.”
Leafstar’s gaze rested on Parsleypaw, who straightened up, his whiskers quivering. “Parsleypaw,” Leafstar meowed, “do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?”
“I do,” Parsleypaw replied firmly.
“Then by the powers of StarClan,” Leafstar declared, “I give you your warrior name. Parsleypaw, from this moment you will be known as Parsleyseed. StarClan honors your loyalty and your courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan.”
Taking a pace forward, Leafstar rested her muzzle on Parsleyseed’s head, and he licked her shoulder in response, before stepping back to stand beside his mother and father.
“Parsleyseed! Parsleyseed!” the Clan acclaimed him.
As soon as the noise had died down, Leafstar turned to Pebblepaw, and asked her the same question. “Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?”
Pebblepaw held her head and tail high and her voice rang out clearly across the Twoleg garden. “I do.”
“Then by the powers of StarClan,” Leafstar continued, “I give you your warrior name. Pebblepaw, from this moment you will be known as Pebbleshine. StarClan honors your determination and your intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan.”
She rested her muzzle on Pebbleshine’s head, while Pebbleshine responded with a lick to her leader’s shoulder.
“Pebbleshine! Pebbleshine!”
That’s the perfect name! Hawkwing let his voice rise in a joyous yowl as Pebbleshine too retreated to her parents and touched noses with them. Pebbleshine shines like the brightest moon! Then she ran across to Hawkwing and twined her tail with his, her purrs almost as loud as a Twoleg monster.
“I like your new name,” Hawkwing mewed as he gave her ear a lick. “It suits you.”