A New Clan

### Summary

Now that Goldenpaw has joined Wilbur's Clan, the two take steps to make more like a proper Clan

### Sequence

Previous: RevolutionNext: Fight for Freedom

***A New Clan*** is the second book in Independence or Death. It features Goldenpaw as the POV.

## Allegiances

### DreamClan

Leader: Dreamstar - pale ginger tom with green eyes

Deputy: Sandclaw - pale ginger tom with blue-gray eyes

Warriors: Firestorm - gray and white tom with fiery orange eyes

               Quietbreeze - brown tom with blue and yellow eyes

               Creeperclaw - green tom with green eyes

               Antfrost - siamese tom with blue eyes

               Darkheart - tortoiseshell tom with green eyes

               Diamondpelt - blue-gray tom with blue eyes

               Purpleclaw - pale ginger tom with purple eyes

### Wilbur’s Clan

Wilbur - brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Fundy - orange tom with black paws, a white tipped tail and amber eyes

Goldenpaw - yellow tom with light blue eyes

Beepaw -  small fluffy brown tom with dark blue eyes

## A New Clan

### Chapter 1

Goldenpaw was walking through the forest, on patrol. The scent of prey drifted over to him and he turned around to tell his companions. But his friends were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they’ve just found something else. He retraced his steps, keeping his ears pricked for any sign of Beepaw or Wilbur. Then he heard movement in the bushes. Goldenpaw sighed in relief. They had just been hunting after all. When he approached the sound, two green eyes stared back at him. Goldenpaw froze. Neither Beepaw or Wilbur had green eyes. Suddenly a pale ginger tom leapt out from the undergrowth. Dreamstar. Goldenpaw braced himself for claws to sink into his pelt.

Goldenpaw practically leapt out of his nest. His eyes darted nervously around, as if the pale ginger tom was close. For a brief moment, he was confused as to where he was, and why he wasn’t in the apprentice den. Then he remembered the previous night. He and Beepaw had snuck out of the DreamClan camp at night to join their old friend, Wilbur, in his new Clan.

Goldenpaw padded out of the bush that he and Beepaw had stayed the night in. The small brown tom was eating a mouse in the middle of the hollow. He turned towards Goldenpaw and mewed, “Good morning!” Then his gaze grew concerned, “What happened?”

Goldenpaw hadn’t even noticed that his fur was still bristling from his nightmare. “Nothing,” he muttered, forcing his fur to lay flat. Beepaw still looked concerned but, much to Goldenpaw’s relief, didn’t press it. “Fundy’s sleeping and Wilbur’s out hunting.” the brown tom reported, “I imagine he’ll be back soon.”

As Beepaw spoke, Wilbur appeared near the edge of the hollow and climbed down the side. “Goldenpaw, you’re awake,” the tom commented as he set down his prey, “Good, because I figure that we should make this look more like a Clan. What do you think we should do first?”

Goldenpaw thought for a moment, “Borders are pretty important. I mean, you need them to mark your territory.”

“Then borders it is,” Wilbur replied.

“If you’re going now, I could stay behind and watch the camp,” Beepaw offered.

“Sounds good,” Wilbur replied, “Let's go Goldenpaw.”

“I haven’t even eaten yet!” Goldenpaw protested. “Alright. Eat and then we’ll mark the borders,” Wilbur licked his chest in embarrassment. Mouse brain, Goldenpaw thought as he picked out a shrew that Wilbur had brought back.

“I still can’t believe that you two are here,” Wilbur commented while Goldenpaw ate. “I haven’t seen you since you were kits,” he continued.

“Why did you leave?” Beepaw spoke softly, as though he were scared to ask the question.

“I fell in love,” Wilbur answered simply.

“Oh yeah, I remember Sally. She-” Beepaw started. But Wilbur cut him off, “I don’t want to talk about her.” His voice was firm and his expression was unreadable.

The three of them sat in silence until Goldenpaw said, “I’m done eating. We could mark the borders now.” Wilbur shook out his fur and responded. He seemed more relaxed now. Goldenpaw was glad.

### Chapter 2

Goldenpaw walked through the forest with Wilbur. The brown tom seemed to be in a better mood. *Why did he get so upset when Beepaw mentioned Sally?* Goldenpaw didn’t dare ask the question out loud. He didn’t want Wilbur to be upset again.

“Where do you think we should start?” Wilbur’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Uh, maybe the river,” Goldenpaw responded. Wilbur nodded. So the two of them walked towards the river. It was strange how the forest seemed warmer, more welcoming, more like home than the DreamClan territory.

When they reached the river, Goldenpaw began marking the border and Wilbur followed. “Let's follow it upstream,” Wilbur mewed. The two of them ran through the forest, marking the border as they went.

“Let's stop at this tree,” Wilbur meowed, “Then we can mark another side.” Goldenpaw nodded. When they reached the tree, Goldenpaw turned, “Should we keep going this way until we find a place to stop?”

“I think so,” Wilbur responded. So they kept going, until they came across a small stream. “I wonder if we should stop here,” Wilbur joked.

“Maybe,” Goldenpaw chuckled.

Wilbur nudged him, “Let's go.” So they ran beside the stream, stopping every now and then to mark the border. Wilbur flicked some water at Goldenpaw with his tail. The latter sprung at him in retaliation. As Goldenpaw nipped at his ear, Wilbur flung him off. As Goldenpaw chased him through the forest, he caught a familiar scent.

“Wilbur, get back here!” Goldenpaw yowled. Wilbur must have heard that the apprentice sounded serious, because he walked back and asked, “What is it?”

“We’re at the DreamClan border,” Goldenpaw spoke. He didn’t know what to do. If Dreamstar found them there, Goldenpaw didn’t think that he would be very happy.

“Hey, we’re also a Clan,” Wilbur reassured the apprentice, “And so long as we’re a Clan, they can’t hurt us.”

Goldenpaw thought about it. Wilbur’s words did make sense. Dreamstar would have to respect them as a Clan. “Alright,” he responded. Wilbur smiled. The two of them began marking the border.

When they made it back to camp, there were brambles and thorns woven into a wall around the camp. They found a way through and were greeted by Beepaw, while Fundy was still making the camp wall.

“Beepaw, what happened while we were gone?” Wilbur looked around the hollow.

“Well, I didn’t just want to sit around and do nothing. So I thought we could start making the camp wall. You know, so we don’t get invaded,” Beepaw replied.

“Well, good job,” Wilbur nudged Beepaw affectionately. Goldenpaw smiled. Now they were really starting to feel like a Clan.

### Chapter 3

“Goldenpaw!” The tom was woken up by Beepaw prodding at his side.

“What?” he murmured, still half asleep.

“Wilbur wants us to patrol the territory,” the apprentice explained.

“Again?” He had marked the territory with Wilbur only a few days ago.

“Well, Fundy and I didn’t get to go,” Beepaw protested, “You two need to show us where the borders are.” Goldenpaw sighed and stretched as he got out of his nest. He walked out and saw Wilbur and Fundy talking, catching a little bit of their conversation.

“We can find the border on our own,” Fundy complained.

“I still want to show you,” Wilbur answered, “We still don’t know what kind of dangers are out there.”

“Alright,” Fundy grumbled, “I still don’t get why you have to treat me like a helpless kit all the time.”

“Because you are my kit and I worry about you!” Wilbur shot back. Goldenpaw froze. Fundy is Wilbur’s kit? For the first time, the yellow tom noticed that the two arguing toms had the same amber eyes.

Goldenpaw walked out into the clearing to stop the two’s argument. Wilbur saw him and flattened his fur.

“Goldenpaw,” Wilbur mewed, “Did Beepaw tell you what we’re doing today?” Goldenpaw nodded. “Good. Let's go.” Wilbur ordered.

As the cats walked through the forest, Goldenpaw hung back to speak to Beepaw. “Did you hear Wilbur and Fundy’s argument?” he whispered.

“Yeah,” the brown tom replied.

“I had no idea that they were kin,” Goldenpaw told him.

“Neither did I,” Beepaw mewed, “Maybe we should ask him about that tonight.” Goldenpaw thought about the idea before he and Beepaw almost ran into the cats ahead.

“There’s another cat’s scent here,” Fundy reported, “It’s fresh. They’ve probably been here today.”

“We should be careful then,” Wilbur whispered, “I don’t want to start an unnecessary fight.” Fundy nodded and the patrol continued on their path. Then Goldenpaw saw a mouse nibbling on a seed nearby. Fundy seemed to notice it too, because he glanced towards Wilbur, as though asking permission to pursue it. Wilbur nodded.

The orange tom crouched down and stalked towards the mouse. Once he was close enough, he pounced. As he was in the air, a brown tom crashed into him. The mouse scurried away, and Fundy growled at the loner, his fur bristling.

“Calm down,” the loner licked his fur, “It was only a mouse. I’m sure you’ll catch another one soon.”

“You’re intruding on our territory,” Fundy snarled.

“Our?” the tom seemed confused.

“Calm down Fundy,” Wilbur walked out of the bushes. The loner backed away, his head low. “It’s alright,” Wilbur told him, “We don’t want to hurt you. We were patrolling our territory when we came across you.”

“Oh,” the loner seemed more relaxed now, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Wilbur replied, “Our Clan is still new, so we don’t want an unnecessary battle.”

“Clan?” the loner tilted his ears, “I’ve heard of those. I didn’t realize that you’re Clan cats.”

“You’re welcome to visit our camp if you like,” Wilbur offered.

“What?” Fundy looked shocked. Even Goldenpaw was a little confused.

“Wilbur, what are you doing?” Goldenpaw whispered. Wilbur turned to the patrol and muttered, “Our Clan is still small. It couldn’t hurt to add more cats to our ranks.” Goldenpaw supposed he saw the logic in that, but he still wasn’t sure about inviting a loner into their camp. Fundy looked like he was going to protest, but Wilbur shot it down with a sharp look.

They turned back towards the loner and he said, “I think I’d like to see your camp. But I can’t promise that I’ll stay.”

“Great,” Wilbur mewed, “Follow me.”

The patrol walked through the forest for a while before the loner meowed, “I’m Eret by the way.”

“I’m Wilbur,” the brown tom responded, “The orange cat is Fundy, and the brown and yellow cats are Beepaw and Goldenpaw.”

Eret dipped his head, “Nice to meet you.” The patrol kept walking, until eventually, they made their way back to the camp. Eret looked around in awe.

“Feel free to help yourself to some fresh-kill,” Wilbur invited. Eret thanked him before going to the fresh-kill pile and picking out a small mouse. Beepaw went over to talk to him, while Fundy glared at the two, clearly unhappy with what was happening. Goldenpaw went over to Wilbur.

“Wilbur, I want to ask you a question,” he started.

“Okay,” Wilbur mewed.

Goldenpaw hesitated for a moment before he finally asked, “Is Fundy your son?”

“So you heard that this morning,” Wilbur commented, “Yes. He is my son.”

“How-” Goldenpaw began.

“When me and Sally were together,” Goldenpaw could almost see the memories in WIlbur’s eyes, “we had a kit. Fundy. That’s why I chose this place. It’s where he was born.”

Goldenpaw was shocked. He had just assumed that the camp was in a good area with plenty of prey. He had no idea that Fundy was born here. At that moment, Eret walked over to them.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” he started, “But I like this place, and I think I want to join your Clan.” Wilbur’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Excellent,” he remarked, “Make yourself at home.” Eret walked away, going back to talk to Beepaw. Goldenpaw saw the small brown tom light up in excitement. Wilbur was also smiling. Goldenpaw felt a sense of pride. His Clan was growing, and soon, Wilbur’s dream would become real.

### Chapter 4

Goldenpaw woke up the next day excited. The Clan was getting better every day. As he was still waking up, Wilbur walked into his den and meowed,

“Goldenpaw, I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Goldenpaw groaned. He had just woken up and now Wilbur wanted to talk to him about something. He walked outside and sat down next to Wilbur.

“I’ve been thinking,” the brown tom started, “You and Beepaw have Clan names, but Fundy, Eret, and I don’t.”

“Then just come up with some,” Goldenpaw scratched his ear with his hind paw, “I mean what Clan name do you want?” Wilbur thought for a moment before answering,

“I have been thinking, and I kind of like Sootstar.”

Goldenpaw pondered that. Sootstar felt like the name of a leader, and Wilbur was a natural leader. He had been since they were kits. Sootstar suited him.

“I like it,” Goldenpaw mewed, “Now you just need to do that for Fundy and Eret.” Wilbur looked a little more confident. He leaped up onto a rock in the middle of the clearing.

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a Clan meeting,” Wilbur spoke the words that Clan leaders used to summon their warriors. Eret and Beepaw looked up from where they were eating some fresh-kill, and Fundy slunk out of his den.

“If we’re going to be a Clan,” Wilbur began, “We’re going to need Clan names. Eret,” the tabby tom looked up and Wilbur gestured for him to come closer, “do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

“I do,” Eret spoke confidently.

“Then by the powers given to me as leader, I give you your warrior name,” Wilbur’s voice rang across the camp, “From this moment on, you will be known as Whiteeyes and I welcome you as a full warrior of the Clan.”

Wilbur pressed his nose to Whiteeyes’ head. His cloudy eyes shone with pride. Beepaw started chanting the new warrior’s name as he went to join the rest of the cats.

“Fundy,” Wilbur continued. The orange tom puffed out his chest and went up to his father, “do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

“I do.”

“Then by the powers given to me as leader, I give you your apprentice name. From this moment on, you will be known as Foxpaw and I welcome you as a full member of the Clan.”

Foxpaw looked shocked, and Goldenpaw heard Wilbur add quietly, “Don’t worry, in a few moons you will be a warrior.” This seemed to satisfy Foxpaw, because he dipped his head for Wilbur to press his nose against.

“But Wilbur,” Beepaw mewed, “What about your name?” Wilbur glanced at Goldenpaw before announcing,

“I have already decided my name. From this moment on, I am Sootstar,” the leader yowled.

“Then we should be SootClan,” Goldenpaw jumped in. Sootstar nodded his head in agreement.

“We are warriors of SootClan,” he yowled, “And we will never be defeated!” The cats in the clearing raised their heads and yowled at the sky, as though they were letting the stars know that they were here, and they would never leave.

### Epilogue

Goldenpaw walked through the forest, his friends all around him. They were on a border patrol and right now they were nearing the DreamClan border. The apprentice’s previous fear was now gone. The naming ceremony had boosted his confidence, and now he knew that his Clan was just as real as DreamClan.

When they reached the border, Sootstar and Beepaw began marking the border. Goldenpaw licked his paw before he heard Whiteeyes hiss,

“Guys, there’s someone else here.”

The patrol stopped what they were doing and turned towards the DreamClan patrol. The cats were Sandclaw, Firestorm, Quietbreeze, and Dreamstar. The pale ginger tom was staring at them, his eyes like daggers.

“So, you joined the loner,” he commented. Goldenpaw felt like ants were crawling beneath his pelt. He didn’t know how he would respond, but luckily, Sootstar did that for him.

“They did. We are SootClan now,” he responded, his tone friendly, but firm. Dreamstar didn’t look pleased at Sootstar’s declaration. He walked towards the brown tom and hissed something so quiet that Goldenpaw barely heard.

“No matter what you call yourself, no matter how much of our traditions you adopt, you will never be a real Clan.” Addressing the whole group, he added,

“SootClan, against our will, has made itself next to our borders. We have taken this as an act of aggression,” he looked at Sootstar, “and if you do not leave, this will mean war.”

## Trivia

* Chapter 3 is over 900 words long, making it the longest chapter in the series.