MoonClan's ambitious story/(1): The First Four Leaders/2/31

### Chapter 31: The Creek of Blood

Birchpaw looked at the prey pile. It was a half-moon later, and he had no idea what would happen next. The events seemed so wild and out of whack, that he had just mentally prepared himself for anything else that could happen. He was thirteen moons old, almost a warrior, but he wasn't sure if he could be ready for the randomness of terrible events.

The tension between his mentor and Whitestripe had lessened greatly, but they were still only talking on formal terms.

Birchpaw remembered yesterday and the day before that. The day before yesterday was a good change to the vibe Peonyclaw and Whitestripe currently had, as Applefall gave birth.

*While Birchpaw was doing fighting training with his mentor, his littermate called out to everyone,* "Applefall's kitting!" *Of course, to expect her new grandchildren, Peonyclaw quit the training and asked her apprentice to come. Birchpaw dutifully agreed. Nearly almost all the other cats were there, too, especially the father, Fireclaw, the grandparents, Daisyfoot, Peonyclaw and Blazesky, and their closest families, Violetrain, Whitestripe, Petuniaheart and Flipsnow. For a moment, Birchpaw had remembered Stonetooth would become an aunt for the first time but she wasn't here, which irked him a little a bit. But he had shrugged that off.*

*Everything went perfectly, and all the kits were excited to have new friends, including Thymekit who would become an apprentice in one day. As usual, Applefall had a tom and a she-kit, and she named the tom Dustkit. Fireclaw named the she-kit Oakkit indirectly in honor of Birchpaw, due to the tree name. Birchpaw had smiled, because now there was another tree name in the Clan. Everyone was happy, especially when Peonyclaw and Whitestripe had a silent, temporary truce between them to play with the kits. Even Whitestripe who usually didn't hang out with kits watched them with a smile on his face.*

*And the day after that, Thymekit's apprentice ceremony was here. It was a very wonderful day, giving joy and happiness to the entirety of MoonClan. Birchpaw heard his father's voice very clearly.*

*"Thymekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, under the moon, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Thymepaw. Your mentor will be"—as everyone expected—"Violetrain. I hope she will pass down all she knows on to you."*

*Everyone cheered for him, especially all of the friends he had in the nursery, Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw, and Robinpaw and Soarpaw, and Lilackit and Jumpkit, and Petalkit and Birdkit and her siblings. His senior apprentice friends, Mountainpaw and Berrypaw were cheering loudly as well. Flameeye and Redwater who were especially fond of him also cheered, and so did Forestcreek. Violetrain was cheering the loudest as she went and touched the nose of her new apprentice. Birchpaw was personally proud that there would be more apprentices now. And Thymepaw was the oldest kit out of any of his cousins or siblings' kits, so Thymepaw also felt more special to him, too.*

Suddenly, he was snapped out of his flashback when he heard Snowstar and Sealbranch starting to give out patrols. *Well, warrior duties can't stop now,* thought Birchpaw seriously.

He decided that he should probably go on patrol, and not think about what happened lately. How the Clan lost Goldenlily, Mousekit, Begoniaclaw and Stonetooth. And only *he* knew the story behind Goldenlily's kits. He knew Whitestripe was also the only one who knew Stonetooth's real intentions. Birchpaw sighed as he only wished that Stonetooth and Begoniaclaw didn't tell any of MoonClan's secrets to AdderClan. Otherwise, MoonClan would only get into more hardships.

His father's voice took him out of his thoughts. "Since we have a shortage of water, we need a patrol to go get it. It will also be a border patrol, since SnowClan borders it."

Birchpaw's ears perked up. *Water and border patrol?* He thought it may not be that hard for him, since he had plenty of training for fighting and hunting. But he wondered what water place it would be that they would need to keep an eye on the border of SnowClan. For a moment he remembered Whitelight and Swiftclaw but he shook that off.

All the other cats were also paying attention, of course. As they waited for instructions, they seemed to be thinking of something. *What is it?* Birchpaw wondered but he just decided to see what Snowstar and Sealbranch would say.

"We also need to check the border of Rabbit Residence," said Sealbranch seriously. "So we will send another patrol to go there. Each will have ten cats." Birchpaw wondered why there needed to be so many cats, but then again, he knew they were border patrols. Things *could* get messy, especially with AdderClan around.

"Twenty cats in total," Snowstar added, looking around, probably to see which cats could go. The other cats seemed to agree and look determined, but Birchpaw went back to staring at the prey pile. He wasn't sure if he felt useful enough to do anything. Sure, he saved Swanpaw as a kit from that ditch and found Begoniaclaw to nurse Mousekit and Petalkit, but he didn't really do much else to help the Clan, or avert any catastrophes that happened. Snowstar, Sealbranch, Shadowclaw, Whitestripe, Primrosepaw, Rainpaw and probably Peonyclaw, too, did much more than *he* did. The most important title he had was a leader's descendant.

He did not pay attention to *all* the cats who would go on the Rabbit Residence patrol, but he heard Lilypool, Hailstream, Nightnose, Shadowclaw, and Mountainpaw's names.

Suddenly, Snowstar looked in Birchpaw's direction. "Birchpaw and Peonyclaw, you can go on the water patrol." Birchpaw looked up at him in slight surprise, but nodded quickly. He wondered if Snowstar figured out his distress and his feeling of unusefulness.

Peonyclaw nodded, too, looking *very* slightly relieved. Birchpaw guessed it was because she didn't have to see AdderClan's faces. Especially Stonetooth. He thought that Peonyclaw and himself felt the brunt of the entire previous two moons on themselves.

He remembered Whitelight and why she was coming to MoonClan for help with Briarstar's odd leadership of the Clan. *Is SnowClan becoming more dangerous?* he wondered anxiously. *Like AdderClan?* He hoped history wouldn't repeat itself and Briarstar and Fangstar's Clans ganged up against MoonClan again. He was a little anxious to go, based on what Whitelight was saying about Briarstar.

"Sealbranch, Blazesky and Dandelionpaw, you can also go," Snowstar continued. Sealbranch and Blazesky nodded and smiled at each other. They *were* previously mentor-apprentice before, after all. Dandelionpaw also looked excited to go with her mentor and her mentor's mentor.

"I will also go," said Whitestripe quickly and formally. Peonyclaw and Birchpaw looked at him in confusion, and so did some other cats like Swanpaw, Mountainpaw and Primrosepaw, until Whitestripe clarified, "I *should* help out my parents. And the Clan."

Peonyclaw's eyes widened like the moon, but turned back to normal after a few seconds, but now she was very slightly skeptical.

Snowstar was also thinking for a few seconds until he nodded. "Okay, Whitestripe, if that is what you wish."

"Can *Primrosepaw* go, *too?!"* Dandelionpaw exclaimed in delight, making other cats pay attention to her now.

Primrosepaw looked confused for a moment and looked at Hailstream. "Are you... sure?"

Hailstream just nodded. "It will be good training. Besides, you don't *have* to be with your mentor all the time."

The apprentice looked skeptical, but simply nodded, too, looking longingly at her mentor. Birchpaw wondered what she must have been thinking.

"We also need a medicine cat, of which Rainpaw is left," Snowstar said, smiling. Rainpaw looked happy to be with her littermate, Birchpaw, and Primrosepaw. Birchpaw was happy, too, because he loved his littermate a lot, and she equally took the brunt of all the hardships, being a medicine cat.

Sealbranch nodded. "We need two more cats."

Maplestripe flicked his tail. "I will go with my daughters," he simply said. "I do need to make sure they are safe."

"Me too," added Sealbranch, even though she was already on the patrol. "Dandelionpaw *is* my apprentice after all." She looked around. "One more cat."

Nutclaw suddenly looked like he got an idea. "I know, how about Swanpaw?" He smiled at his apprentice encouragingly. "Like Hailstream said, you don't always have to be with me."

Birchpaw knew Swanpaw couldn't speak, but she looked pretty confused, which probably meant what Primrosepaw said, *Are you sure?*

Finally, Nutclaw seemed to understand her as he nodded eagerly, and Shadowclaw, Whitestripe, Rainpaw, Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw did too. Swanpaw just nodded back, and walked towards Rainpaw and Birchpaw.

Birchpaw said or did nothing, as he was starting to get a bad feeling, somehow. He had no idea where it was coming from, though, because he usually seemed to be getting it more and more nowadays. He just decided to ignore it as usual.

Snowstar smiled. "Okay, that is good, Maplestripe and Swanpaw. I suppose you can go now."

"Where is this water place anyway?" Primrosepaw asked cautiously. Birchpaw blinked and looked around, wondering who would answer.

Suddenly, Peonyclaw, Sealbranch and Maplestripe frowned, and Blazesky looked grim. "Well, it's... it's the same cliff you fell off of," said the orange warrior quietly.

Whitestripe, Rainpaw, Swanpaw and Dandelionpaw frowned, too. Birchpaw and Primrosepaw blinked for a few moments before looking at Blazesky in shock.

"Wait... *what?!"* Primrosepaw exclaimed in fright. Snowstar and Petuniaheart copied the expressions of those on the water patrol, and so did Rosepetal, Nightnose and Nutclaw.

*I knew it,* thought Birchpaw, melancholy. *This might be bad.* He was about to speak up in order to comfort her, but surprisingly, Whitestripe spoke up first.

"No, no, it's okay, Primrosepaw!" Whitestripe said loudly and abruptly. Then his tone calmed down but he was still speaking quickly. "I mean, we will be careful. I *have* been there before."

*And here, I thought Whitestripe wasn't very good at comforting,* Birchpaw thought, a tad bit confused. Whitestripe *did* admit it himself before.

Primrosepaw still looked skeptical. Rosepetal reassured her daughter, "It's okay if you don't stand at the edge."

"Yep, you won't be getting water, right?" Hailstream also reassured her. "Since you can't really climb. All you need to do is guard." She didn't have to speak further for the Clan to know why. Others nodded in agreement with her.

Finally Primrosepaw nodded, too, but she still looked uncomfortable. Birchpaw wondered what he should have said, looking at her wistfully.

Snowstar nodded towards all the twenty cats who were going. "Alright, now that everything's settled, you can go now. Remember, make sure to tell me everything once you come back. And don't forget to send a messenger back if there's any trouble." All the cats, including Birchpaw, nodded.

The (unofficial) patrol leaders, Sealbranch and Blazesky, nodded towards everyone in *their* patrol. "Alright, let's go," Sealbranch said formally. "Follow us." The older cats started walking towards the camp exit where Primrosepaw as a kit and Birdkit left camp when they decided to "explore", as Birchpaw expected. *That's the path to the cliff of the creek. The cliff which Primrosekit fell down, and nearly into the creek.*

He looked at Primrosepaw curiously, who looked back at him a little nervously. Dandelionpaw, Rainpaw and Swanpaw were already following the warriors. Then they both started following them, too, last in line in their patrol. Primrosepaw looked at Blazesky a little gratefully, and Birchpaw knew why, of course. *She* has *grown more fond of Quailclaw and Blazesky after that incident,* he observed.

He finally figured out something he could say. "Perhaps you could stay with Blazesky." Primrosepaw looked at him again and just nodded.

As they started to leave camp, his littermate suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, Whitestripe, are you *still* only friendly with Icemoon?"

Everyone looked at Rainpaw for a moment, until Primrosepaw visibly relaxed and smiled. "I would like... to know, too," she quipped humorously.

Swanpaw looked between Whitestripe and Primrosepaw curiously for another moment, but then she nodded at the former, too, smiling impishly at him.

Whitestripe's expression turned into mock irritation, but his lips twitched slightly with humor, too. "Of course I am. What do you think?"

Sealbranch, Blazesky and Maplestripe also smiled at Rainpaw and Whitestripe, probably for distracting Primrosepaw away.

"Oh, really? I *still...* remember you... touching noses," Primrosepaw continued toying with the probably embarrassed warrior. Swanpaw nodded eagerly.

"So that was *what?"* Whitestripe exclaimed, pausing for a moment to think about the time passed. *"Seven moons ago?* A lot of things can happen. Also, I wasn't even doing it out of love."

"Trying to act like a tough tom, are you?" Dandelionpaw joined the bandwagon. "You *could* have done *something* that we don't *know* about."

Birchpaw watched them poke good-willed fun at Whitestripe, and started feeling his worries melt away, too. *Rainpaw* is *smart.* He started wondering about mates now. Like Whitestripe, he wasn't interested in mating, at least not right now. *Who* could *I mate with, anyway?* he wondered. He thought he probably had what Lilypool called a medicine cat's mindset when it came to relationships. *I can only look at another Clanmate as a sibling.* Birchpaw was about to look around for any suitors, but decided not to, for now, since he was still an apprentice.

Swanpaw stuck her tongue out at Whitestripe, causing him to sigh with mock exasperation. Peonyclaw said lightheartedly, "Icemoon *is* a good cat in general. If you ever think about mating, consider her." Blazesky smiled in agreement with his mate.

"Probably in a few *years* or so," replied the black and white striped warrior.

"That's too late for me to get the chance to birth your and Icemoon's kits!" Rainpaw joked and chortled with amusement. Swanpaw, Dandelionpaw, and Primrosepaw followed her suite and Peonyclaw and Birchpaw smiled, too.

"I wonder why you are joking about Icemoon, anyway?" Birchpaw decided to ask.

"It's the perfect way to calm down Primrosepaw!" Rainpaw replied jovially. Primrosepaw nodded in agreement. Birchpaw thought so, too.

"But you are being an awfully good annoyance, too," Whitestripe said with amusement.

"That is okay... because I am awfully... curious about every...thing," Primrosepaw responded, her eyes twinkling with pride. *"Especially* about... internal Clan affairs."

"That is a good thing to be," said Maplestripe proudly, too. "That way we can be closer to each other."

"I see, but with things like love?" Whitestripe said. Then he looked at Primrosepaw. "Anyway, enough about *me.* What about you, Primrosepaw? I think you and *Quailclaw* are a little too *close."*

Almost immediately, Primrosepaw's expression turned shocked and embarrassed when he said that. "No-no, we're not."

Then Swanpaw started grinning impishly at her and Whitestripe looked at Primrosepaw like, *Uh huh, you teasing hypocrite.*

Rainpaw looked at Primrosepaw brightly and said, "I would love to birth your and Quailclaw's kits, too! Since you're the queen and my best friend, I can help you a *lot!"*

Primrosepaw looked down at her paws, still walking but looking even more embarrassed. "Oh, stop that," she groaned. "We're just... mentor and... apprentice."

Dandelionpaw nudged her littermate with her flank and suggested, "But he's a good mate for you! He took care of you so much! I think he loves you. You should, too!"

"What?" Primrosepaw told her sister in disbelief. "You mean... as siblings, right? We... already do."

"She means as mates, obviously," Whitestripe elaborated on what Dandelionpaw said. "That's what you're telling *me, right?"*

"Oh, please. Quailclaw... doesn't show any... *serious* love. *But!* Icemoon does!" Primrosepaw retorted.

Whitestripe sighed. "That doesn't mean I should jump on the offer, right? Quailclaw helped you, though. So by your definit-"

"But it's... *different!* I owe him... so much!"

"Good to repay it by becoming his mate."

"When you become a warrior, Primrosepaw, you *should* consider him," Peonyclaw added.

Swanpaw was laughing at both of them so much that Birchpaw could hear sharp hissing coming from her. *If she weren't mute, MoonClan camp would definitely have heard her from here.* He wondered what he should contribute to the conversation, as gossip-like it was.

"How loyal you are to Whitestripe and Primrosepaw," Rainpaw told Swanpaw sarcastically, who just shrugged and kept on laughing at them.

"And what would *you* know about mating?" Dandelionpaw asked Rainpaw. "Lilypool said you have a medicine cat's mindset on mating, right?"

Birchpaw smiled at Dandelionpaw's mention of that, but so did Maplestripe. "My sister *did* say that," he said. "But so do some non-medicine cats, like Sealbranch over here." Sealbranch nodded.

Maplestripe smiled at both his daughters and Dandelionpaw smiled back, but Primrosepaw just sighed in exasperation. *Well, Whitestripe and Primrosepaw* do *have something in common,* Birchpaw figured observantly.

Rainpaw chuckled and said, "That's true, but that doesn't mean this medicine cat shouldn't have some *fun!* It also gives me more sense of fulfillment because I can help queens give birth. And that only happens by mating!"

Birchpaw nodded, agreeing with everything his sister said. "It also gives more kits and warriors and medicine cats. And maybe deputies and *leaders."*

Whitestripe and Primrosepaw looked a little surprised at Birchpaw joining in, too, but Rainpaw nodded eagerly, looking brightly at him. "My brother is totally right! You *should* give more warriors to the Clan!"

"Yes, and also, don't mentors and apprentices touch noses?" Birchpaw continued thoughtfully, looking at Whitestripe. "Not *very* lovey-dovey."

Whitestripe let out a huge sigh of relief and breathed, *"Finally! Someone realized!"* He looked *very* grateful to Birchpaw. "It was only supposed to be *friendly!"*

"But there was still... no reason to do... so, right?" Primrosepaw continued.

"I wanted to be friendly!"

"In a lovey...dovey way, right?"

"You're also hanging out with Quailclaw in the same way."

"No, I'm... not!"

"Cool how Icemoon and Quailclaw are about the same age," Dandelionpaw said. "If only they were siblings, that would be even cooler! Because then your kits would be cousins!"

"If only I... can ship you... with someone," Primrosepaw groaned at her sister. Dandelionpaw just chuckled in response.

Birchpaw wondered who would fit the bill for Dandelionpaw, as it didn't look like she hung out with any tom in particular. However, suddenly, he remembered one tom who was always bright, loved to joke around, especially with Rainpaw, Mountainpaw and her. And he had gone through several personal deaths and hardships before, too.

"Shadowclaw?" Birchpaw accidentally suggested. Everyone looked at Birchpaw for a moment before most of them burst out in laughter and the others smiled with humor, except for Dandelionpaw.

"What? He didn't show any signs of love," muttered Dandelionpaw in denial.

"Uh, that was an accident," Birchpaw said apologetically. "But he fit the bill."

"Shadowclaw is a nice cat, though," Maplestripe said politely towards her.

"He'll brighten up your life, too," Rainpaw added gleefully. "He's wonderful at humor!"

"And who said he didn't show any signs of love?" Whitestripe added as well.

"Icemoon still *loves* you, *that's* for sure," Dandelionpaw retorted.

"If you both mated... then your kits would... *surely* be cousins!" Primrosepaw quipped.

"Your kits would be the nieces and nephews of Birchpaw and Rainpaw, how about that?" Whitestripe told Primrosepaw with slight annoyance, but in good fun.

Swanpaw blew raspberries at all three of them and Rainpaw inserted some side comments about queens and kits.

Birchpaw watched the sisters and Whitestripe bicker and Swanpaw and Rainpaw poking fun at them, with the older warriors watching them humorously. Blazesky, Peonyclaw and Maplestripe didn't seem to mind their children defending themselves and arguing with each other. *I think it's good Shadowclaw, Icemoon and Quailclaw didn't come, especially Quailclaw,* Birchpaw thought since he knew these types of things weren't usually what Quailclaw participated in, especially as the shipped. He also thought his brother would get pretty embarrassed at this. And Shadowclaw and Icemoon would probably try to either deny it, too (especially the former), or prove it (especially the latter).

He also thought Whitestripe, Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw were being sort of hypocritical because they were teasing others for being in love but got annoyed when someone pointed out that *they* were in love with someone. *I guess it's just funny in general for them. Especially when they* do *become mates.* He wondered if that would happen. For a moment he remembered his best friend, Mountainpaw, who also did this teasing, too. *Well, he hangs out with Berrypaw a lot.* Birchpaw wondered when *he* and Berrypaw would start getting teased, too. He also wondered if he should mention Whitestripe and Swanpaw being together but he remembered what happened just a few minutes after him and Mountainpaw were talking about that. *Goldenlily.* So he decided not to bring it up, since he didn't want to get *too* much involved in this.

But it served as a great distraction from all the chaos that had happened already, and his worries about the chaos that *could* happen, potentially right now. He completely forgot about the cliff and the creek while listening to them, even if it was about gossip.

"Alright, fun's over," said his older sister, Sealbranch. Rainpaw was also his older sister, technically by a couple of minutes, but Sealbranch was a whopping eleven moons older. "We're here." They all stopped when she said that and saw the edge of the cliff.

Primrosepaw started to look worried again, and her sister and Rainpaw tried to console her silently by patting her. Maplestripe also tried to comfort her by touching his tail against hers.

"Hmm, this means we should climb down. Eight of us should, and one should stay with Primrosepaw," Blazesky said, looking around.

"I could," advocated Maplestripe immediately. "Primrosepaw *is* my daughter." Primrosepaw relaxed a little when he said that, but she still looked worried as she didn't look at the cliff, only at a flower next to a tree, looking nervously at it.

*Well, I guess she didn't see the edge of the cliff until she fell when she was here eight moons ago,* figured Birchpaw. But he tried to give her an empathetic look. Primrosepaw seemed to acknowledge it by looking at him back but didn't do anything further.

"Alright, you need to stay with me, Birchpaw, since you're with your mentor. Same for you, Dandelionpaw," announced Peonyclaw. Sealbranch nodded in agreement and Birchpaw and Dandelionpaw nodded back dutifully.

"Let me go first so-" Blazesky was saying until he got interrupted by a very loud rustling in the bushes. All ten cats immediately got alert and into fighting mode, including Primrosepaw, since it seemed like her condition improved quite a bit, thanks to her wonderful skills. Birchpaw could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body as he remembered his previous worries before their amusing conversation. *Oh no. Is something bad going to happen?*

Then suddenly, a cat with long, light brown fur, bright amber eyes and big ears appeared from a bush a few fox-lengths away from them. Then three more cats appeared which Birchpaw could not recognize, either. But the four oldest warriors gasped when they saw the first cat.

"Fangstar," Sealbranch breathed in bewilderment.

The six younger cats also gasped (Swanpaw made the motion) when they heard that. Birchpaw and the other cats knew that this wasn't going to be so light-hearted anymore. It got a lot more dire, and Birchpaw was extremely worried that they would have to fight. But then, he remembered something. *Isn't this the SnowClan border? Why are AdderClan cats here?*

His mentor seemed to be thinking the same thing as she growled, "What *business* do you have here, *Fangstar?"* She said his name like it tasted like crowfood.

Fangstar looked unimpressed by the MoonClan patrol and he replied nonchalantly, "Why, we're hunting."

*"On MoonClan territory?!"* Sealbranch hissed with disgust. *"You have transgressed from the warrior code too far now!"*

However, Whitestripe looked like he was worried about something, and Birchpaw wondered what it was. Until he realized, *Wait... could* Stonetooth *be here?*

Then four more cats came out of the bushes, and like destiny, one of them was the dark gray she-cat with lime green eyes they all knew and remembered vividly.

When everyone noticed her, it seemed like they were hit by a boulder yet again. Stonetooth looked a little embarrassed to be there, and Whitestripe looked like he was in disbelief, staring into Stonetooth's eyes, probably trying to somehow interact with her again (Birchpaw knew they were friendly since the beginning). But surely enough Peonyclaw looked like she wanted to kill her daughter right now.

*"STONETOOTH!"* Peonyclaw growled so loudly that everyone looked at either Peonyclaw or Stonetooth, taking a step towards her. Stonetooth didn't flinch, but she didn't say a word either. *"WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"*

"She's here because she's on *patrol,"* growled Fangstar. "I see you are still mourning her loss."

Whitestripe and Birchpaw exchanged extremely worried looks because they didn't want Peonyclaw to start a conflict.

"Um, Peonyclaw-" Birchpaw meekly addressed her, but Peonyclaw ignored him and tried to pounce on Stonetooth. Stonetooth dodged, of course, but it didn't seem like she was trying to attack her, just dodging her blows. *How odd,* Birchpaw thought, just gaping at them. *Isn't it usually the parents that avoid trying to attack their kits even if their kits trying to kill* them? It was the other way around now, but he thought Stonetooth didn't want to hurt her mother for the sake of Whitestripe, and Peonyclaw just wanted her daughter to die because she joined AdderClan (and for plenty other reasons).

*"PEONYCLAW!"* Whitestripe yowled at the top of his lungs. He tried to run after his mother, and immediately after, the battle had begun.

Rainpaw, Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw looked like they had froze, especially the former two, but Birchpaw told them really quickly, "Don't worry, I'll protect you." Swanpaw was there, too, and she nodded.

"Me-me too," Primrosepaw responded, trembling in fear. "I hope... my nerves don't-"

"I'll help, too! And don't worry, Primrosepaw, just try to use the skills Quailclaw and Hailstream taught you!" Dandelionpaw told her sister, and Birchpaw and Swanpaw nodded, too.

One old-looking she-cat looked around frantically, watching the battle go on and cried, "No, stop fighting! We come in *peace!"*

"When there's MoonClan, we *fight,* Amberleaf! *You must know that!"* Fangstar told the cat firmly, and Birchpaw and the other apprentices seemed to recognize the name from Begoniaclaw's stories. *Amberleaf? The oldest cat in AdderClan? The first* medicine cat *of AdderClan?*

The other cats also seemed confused that a medicine cat, especially the *first* one who was against all the battles that Adderstar waged, was here. *But Fangstar and Stonetooth being here are way more surprising,* Birchpaw thought frantically, since medicine cats were usually supposed to be peaceful, anyways. But he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He was only one moon short of being a warrior, but he felt like he was too scared to fight, especially Fangstar and Stonetooth.

Then he noticed another one of the AdderClan cats was a cat Whitestripe, Stonetooth, Mountainpaw, Primrosepaw and him knew too well. The cat which chased out Begoniaclaw. The cat which wanted Fangstar to do another raid. *Like right now.*

Whitestripe and Primrosepaw also seemed to recognize him and growled at him, trying to look menacing. Windwing also recognized them and growled back. *Great,* Birchpaw thought anxiously, his heart beating even faster. *Fangstar, Stonetooth, Amberleaf and Windwing are all here.*

Swanpaw hissed at an AdderClan warrior and tried to pounce on her. The AdderClan warrior yowled, "I'm Airpaw, and I'm being mentored by Fangstar!" Fangstar nodded when she said that while fighting Blazesky and Sealbranch. Swanpaw looked only a little shocked and slashed Airpaw's forehead violently, making an expression that most likely meant, *Who cares, dung-brain?!*

*So Fangstar is also taking his apprentice. She looked like a warrior, though,* Birchpaw continued thinking, trying to figure out what to do. He tried to count how many AdderClan cats there were. *Eight, so we outnumber them,* he observed. *But we have two younger apprentices, three senior apprentices, one which is a medicine cat apprentice, one young warrior and four older warriors. And they only have one senior apprentice, one young warrior and the rest older warriors, or medicine cat.*

Rainpaw tried to run to Peonyclaw's rescue when she was getting clawed up by another AdderClan warrior, and Primrosepaw followed her, trying to protect her. Rainpaw tried to give Peonyclaw cobwebs (Rainpaw was carrying some herbs in case of danger) and Primrosepaw tried to swipe at the AdderClan warrior to scare him off.

*I guess that makes Primrosepaw's vow to Rainpaw true,* Birchpaw figured, remembering what Primrosepaw said about protecting Rainpaw in battle. He decided he should save his mentor and also protect his littermate and the younger apprentice, and pounced on the AdderClan warrior, and tried to scratch his cheek.

Peonyclaw and Rainpaw looked relieved, and Rainpaw tried to tend to Peonyclaw. Primrosepaw closely watched them and the surroundings like a hawk so that no one else would attack them. She also watched Birchpaw and called out for her father and sister to help, who were trying to help Sealbranch and Blazesky fight Fangstar, Stonetooth and another warrior.

Birchpaw watched the other warrior's movements closely, who hissed, "You look small for a warrior."

Birchpaw didn't say anything at first but instead tried slashing the warrior's chest. Then he replied, "Does AdderClan care only about size?" Then he narrowed his eyes. "Or do they also care about skill?" He attempted to pounce on the warrior again, but then another warrior knocked him down halfway through the pounce.

*Ugh!* Birchpaw thought painfully, falling on the ground. Luckily before they could do anything, he saw Maplestripe and Dandelionpaw here and trying to fight the two warriors. "Littlemoon, you won't get to him," Maplestripe hissed at the warrior whose chest Birchpaw slashed.

Birchpaw was also relieved and looked around to see what was going on with Sealbranch and her former mentor, Blazesky. Fangstar had started trying to fight Peonyclaw again but the former mentor and apprentice and Whitestripe, too, were trying to defend her.

Rainpaw tried to run to Birchpaw to see if he was okay, and Birchpaw nodded. Primrosepaw was also trying to help her father and sister fight the two warriors by distracting them. But then they spotted Airpaw about to pounce on Rainpaw. Rainpaw dodged quickly, but Birchpaw and Primrosepaw immediately went into defense mode, trying to swipe Airpaw away from Rainpaw. Airpaw hissed and tried to swipe Primrosepaw. However, Birchpaw saw Primrosepaw looked like she wasn't ready to dodge (due to her condition), and he immediately went in front of the swipe.

He felt his skin get pierced, but he thought it was worth it for Primrosepaw not to get hurt. *If I get hurt, that is fine. But if* she *gets hurt, will she be able to fight properly, with her reflexes problem and all?* he justified himself.

Rainpaw and Primrosepaw noticed, and so did Sealbranch. Primrosepaw and Sealbranch tried to fight Airpaw full-on now, with Primrosepaw taking small breaks in between (as Quailclaw taught her to do between attacks), and Rainpaw ran to her littermate and took out another batch of cobwebs asking if he was okay.

"Of course I am. That was just a simple scratch; I don't think I'm bleeding," Birchpaw reassured her, and Rainpaw looked relieved. He tried to help his older sister and Primrosepaw fight Airpaw but Stonetooth came to defend her apprentice Clanmate. Primrosepaw and Sealbranch both glared menacingly at Stonetooth and she glared back, but Birchpaw could only feel sad for her in that moment. *Whether she was MoonClan before or not, we still need to fight her.*

Fangstar, Windwing and Amberleaf also came and the first of the three tried to slash Birchpaw's neck. Of course, Birchpaw managed to dodge by ducking, but the slash still hit his ears. He was a little surprised Windwing was bigger than Fangstar when he saw them together in close vicinity now, but he shrugged that off. *That's still possible to be bigger than the leader, right?*

Windwing also tried to pounce on Primrosepaw, but luckily enough she was in the pouncing position and managed to dodge. Windwing then slashed Sealbranch's chest, causing her to gasp in pain, but Birchpaw tried to crawl under his belly and slashed it hard. Blazesky, Maplestripe, Whitestripe and Swanpaw also rushed to help fight the AdderClan warriors.

Amberleaf was trying to nudge the leader, even claw him a little, saying, *"Fangstar! I'm running out of herbs! Retreat!"*

Fangstar groaned back, *"We can still go back to camp!"*

"Why are you here, anyway? Isn't your camp far? Did you have to cross through SnowClan?" Birchpaw boldly articulated, but then he shut himself up, realizing this was the *leader* of *AdderClan.*

Fangstar looked at him with a little surprise, but growled fiercely, *"That's not* your *business,* MoonClan *warrior."*

Birchpaw decided to ignore him and saw Stonetooth about to pounce on him. Then he jumped out of the way and whispered, "Stonetooth, why did you come?"

"Because I'm good, obviously," Stonetooth whispered back, then attempted to swipe his nose. Birchpaw dodged and slashed her flank, but Stonetooth immediately slashed his forehead so hard blood fell out. Rainpaw and Primrosepaw noticed this and immediately sprinted towards him. Swanpaw also tried to run towards him, but she was still busy fighting Airpaw.

*"Ugh!"* groaned Birchpaw very painfully. "This was what MoonClan was afraid of."

"It's my duty as an AdderClan cat," Stonetooth hissed. "If only MoonClan was accepting of me."

"Whitestripe still likes you," Birchpaw pointed out to Stonetooth, still reeling from the blow. "Even *after* this betrayal."

Then he saw his mentor about to rip off one of Stonetooth's ears, but she ducked and jumped out of the way in time.

*"CROWFOOD!"* yowled Peonyclaw with so much anger that it could probably start a fire. *"JUST CROWFOOD!"* Birchpaw figured she was angry because Stonetooth slashed her apprentice's forehead. Peonyclaw, Rainpaw and Primrosepaw ran to him to see if he could still fight. Rainpaw told Peonyclaw and Primrosepaw to clean up Birchpaw's blood so she could put the cobwebs, which they did.

"It still stings," muttered Birchpaw, but he didn't really want to complain.

"Then come here," Rainpaw said, taking him to a bush. Peonyclaw and Primrosepaw followed them but so did Maplestripe. Birchpaw looked around to see what was happening.

Sealbranch and Dandelionpaw were facing off against Fangstar and Airpaw now, and the fight got *really* heated. Sealbranch and Fangstar were wearing a coat of cuts and bruises, and their apprentices nearly had as many as their mentors, too. *Mentor and apprentice versus mentor and apprentice, huh.*

Whitestripe had gotten into a serious fight with Windwing, too, when Birchpaw saw them, and Whitestripe hissed under his breath, *"Remember what I told you a moon ago?"*

Windwing looked like he was trying to gouge out Whitestripe's eyes in response to that. Then he hissed back, *"I don't care if that's true or false. But* I'm *Clan deputy now."* Whitestripe looked a tad bit surprised for a moment but he just slashed Windwing's forehead in response, similar to what Swanpaw did to Airpaw.

*Wait... what?!* Birchpaw thought even more frantically. He was told by Peonyclaw (after it was revealed to everyone he didn't know who Swiftclaw was, well, he knew who he was way before that, but not who he *really* was) that the AdderClan deputy was Longfoot. *Did Longfoot die during that time or something and* this *warrior was chosen?* He knew that Windwing was a strong warrior, and he also knew it would be bad for MoonClan if he were deputy.

*"Come on, Fangstar, retreat, or I'll poison you with deathberries! We're outnumbered and we're going to lose!"* Amberleaf yowled at her leader so loudly that he even flinched, making Birchpaw think she was one of the few cats who had power over the leader. *Makes sense, since she's the first medicine cat.* Fangstar sighed in response and gestured for all the cats to come, which probably meant he finally agreed.

Birchpaw looked around for Swanpaw and saw she was fighting with Littlemoon, the warrior whom he first fought with, whose name had also been mentioned by Maplestripe. But he saw that they were dangerously close to the cliff. *Oh no! Swanpaw!* he thought, his adrenaline rushing quickly.

He bolted towards Swanpaw to help her fight Littlemoon, until from the corner of his eye, he saw Whitestripe pouncing on Windwing while he was also at the edge of the cliff. Peonyclaw was trying to run towards him while being careful. Birchpaw tried to scratch Littlemoon to get him to retreat, too, but then he saw Whitestripe aiming perfectly for Windwing. Then he saw Windwing harshly kicking Whitestripe off of him. In a terrible direction. Off the cliff.

Everyone saw this happen and all the MoonClan warriors gasped, especially Whitestripe's parents. Almost immediately after, Littlemoon tried to pounce on Swanpaw, but Swanpaw dodged and was at the stark edge of the cliff. However, Birchpaw saw her stumbling slowly, then her front paws went out. Then her body also started to fall down, too.

*No. No. No,* Birchpaw thought, his heart beating so fast he felt like it would explode. *Not-not this!* Everyone in MoonClan seemed to be thinking the same thing, but the AdderClan warriors seemed to be satisfied, except for Stonetooth, who was also in pure shock, just watching her littermate fall off, and Amberleaf, who continued threatening Fangstar that she would feed him deathberries. Fangstar listened to the medicine cat, but he sneered at Sealbranch and the rest of the patrol, satisfied that they had killed two cats.

Windwing was also sneering at Whitestripe, probably mocking him silently that he thought he was so strong. Littlemoon looked a little confused, but he also looked happy.

Birchpaw didn't even blink to do anything. These were his friends. These were his Clanmates. The two fallen cats fell into the water. *If I don't do something to save them now, then...*

Every cat there watched as Birchpaw flung himself off the cliff, close to where they fell, and he thought even AdderClan would be surprised at this. He felt himself touch the water gracefully, and he made sure to hold his breath before falling in. However, the most excruciating, white-hot pain he had ever felt, even more than all of the cuts and slashes he ever got combined, shot up his right hind leg.

He couldn't resist the urge to yowl in pain and got a huge gulpful of water which he choked on for a few seconds. He tried his hardest to ignore the pain and swim upwards to catch his breath. Then he looked around frantically for them, and there he saw them underwater, laying on the rocks. Unconscious, drowning and bleeding.

Birchpaw gasped and tried to pull them up by holding the scruffs, Whitestripe first, choosing one at random. But he never thought they would be so heavy as he thought they were usually light. *Is it because of the water and them being unconscious?* He had no time to ponder, as he was soon running out of time. Using every single muscle and inch of his body, mustering all the strength he ever could, using all his mental and emotional strength to ignore the pain that kept reverberating inside of him, even trying to get help from StarClan by praying to them, he pulled Whitestripe's scruff and pushed Swanpaw's body up. *StarClan, StarClan, StarClan,* he kept repeating over and over again, and he started feeling that he would soon join Whitestripe and Swanpaw.

But finally, after the hardest trial he thought he would ever experience, he managed to get both of them up without them slipping, and himself, too. But then, he started seeing someone familiar. Someone he last saw when he was only three moons old, as she died at that time. *Moonstar.*

Moonstar was beaming at him with a lot of pride, and then, he saw everything turning into nothing and he could only feel his leg. Until that pain also subsided into nothing.

**This is a chapter subpage of MoonClan's ambitious story (1): The First Four Leaders.**

*← Previous Chapter: Chapter 30: Peaceful AftermathNext Chapter: Chapter 32: The New Warrior →*

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