Leafstar raised her tail for silence. She was furious with Harveymoon for breaking into the ceremony, and disturbed that other cats were backing him up, when they had kept their opinions to themselves until now. But with a pang of guilt she had to admit that there was some truth in what they said.
“There’s no need for fur to be ruffled over this,” she meowed. “Sharpclaw and I believe that this is the best way to acknowledge all that the visitors have done for SkyClan. They have learned our skills, and taught us skills we never knew before. How could we treat them as apprentices? However,” she added, forestalling another protest from Harveymoon, “I’m sure they won’t mind helping with the apprentice tasks so that they experience every part of Clan life.”
The visitors glanced at one another, as if they weren’t so sure about that.
“If it’s all too much trouble…” Cora murmured.
“This is my decision!” Leafstar raised her head and stared out across her Clan. No cat was going to bully her out of finishing the ceremony. She felt Sharpclaw’s green gaze fixed on her, and saw him give her a tiny nod of approval.
“Stick, StarClan honors your courage and skill,” she went on, “and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan.” She rested her muzzle on Stick’s head, and after a moment’s hesitation Stick licked her shoulder and moved back to stand beside Sparrowpelt.
In the same way Leafstar made the other three Twolegplace cats full members of SkyClan. She felt flustered; the ceremony didn’t seem right without giving the cats warrior names.
“Stick! Cora! Coal! Shorty!”
At the end of the ceremony some of the SkyClan cats called out the names of the new warriors, but others, Leafstar noticed, kept silent. Harveymoon, of course, who had turned his back and refused to watch the ceremony. Ebonyclaw and Frecklepaw, Macgyver and Sagepaw… I’ll need to keep an eye on them, and make sure they don’t create trouble. Tinycloud was quiet, too, Leafstar noticed with a sinking feeling in her belly. And Lichenfur, Waspwhisker, and Clovertail. Great StarClan! Please don’t let this split the Clan.
When the voices had died away, Stick stepped forward again and inclined his head formally to Leafstar. “I thank you on behalf of all four of us,” he meowed. “I’m sure we have much to learn from one another.”
“Yes, I’m sure we do,” Leafstar responded.
But she still felt uneasy. It hadn’t been a proper ceremony, and she was sure there were things about the Clan’s four newest warriors that were being hidden from her.
And I have to say something to Harveymoon about the way he disrupted the ceremony, she thought, anger still tingling through her pelt. But what?
The kittypet was already on his way out of the gorge, followed by Macgyver, Ebonyclaw, and Frecklepaw. They hadn’t even waited to say good-bye.
The rest of the Clan gathered around the fresh-kill pile to feast and celebrate the newest warriors.
“Don’t forget you have to keep vigil tonight and guard the camp,” Sharpclaw reminded them.
“Don’t worry,” Shorty replied. “If any rats come, they won’t get a whisker past us!”
Leafstar didn’t feel comfortable joining in. She chose a sparrow from the pile, picked at it moodily for a few heartbeats, then headed for her den.
“Are you okay?” Echosong asked as Leafstar padded past her.
“Fine,” Leafstar replied shortly, unable to forget the frost that had formed between them over Frecklepaw’s apprenticeship. As she stalked on toward her den she was aware of the medicine cat’s gaze still following her.
Leafstar was troubled as she lay down in her den. Was it really the destiny of these cats to join SkyClan? Surely we need as many members as possible, to grow strong?
She remembered the prophecy from the brown tabby tom she had seen in her dream. “Greenleaf will come, but it will bring even greater storms than these. SkyClan will need deeper roots if it is to survive.” And she remembered her other dream, of the terrifying flood that had uprooted the trees in the gorge and swept her cats away to drown helplessly in the torrent.
Have I created roots? she asked herself. Or is this just another storm?
Worn out with worrying, she closed her eyes, and instantly found herself in the flat, grassy area on top of the gorge. The stars of Silverpelt blazed down on her, but barely a twinkle came from the Twolegplace; it seemed to be much farther away than usual. Everything was still; there wasn’t even a breeze to stir the grass.
Movement at the edge of the forest caught Leafstar’s eye as a cat emerged from the trees: a pale gray tom with patches of white. Stars twinkled like frost in his fur and around his paws as he paced toward Leafstar.
“Cloudstar!” she whispered.
The former SkyClan leader gazed at her from pale blue eyes that shone like tiny moons. “Leafstar,” he acknowledged her, dipping his head. “It’s good to see you here.”
“I’m glad to be here, Cloudstar,” Leafstar replied. “Do you have a message for me?”
The starry cat did not reply. Leafstar caught her breath as she saw more cats approaching from every side. She recognized Spottedleaf and padded up to meet her, drinking in her sweet scent.
“Greetings, Spottedleaf,” she meowed. The she-cat blinked at her.
Leafstar felt strangely calm as the star-furred warriors thronged around her. Except for Spottedleaf and Cloudstar, none of them seemed to realize that she was there; instead they wove among themselves, greeting one another—sometimes warily, sometimes with friendly warmth—and occasionally paused to dole out a lick on another cat’s ear, or to trail their tail-tip along a sleek flank. Leafstar watched Cloudstar’s mate, Birdflight, touching noses with her two children, and her heart jumped when she spotted Rainfur, the gray tom who had died in the first battle against the rats, on the far side of the crowd.
Spottedleaf stood beside her, so close that their pelts were brushing, and waved her tail toward three cats just padding up to join their Clanmates in StarClan. In the lead was a dignified she-cat, her dense blue-gray fur shimmering with starlight. Her eyes were the brilliant blue of a clear greenleaf sky. Behind her came a graceful white she-cat with gray tips to her ears, and a powerful white tom.
“This is Bluestar,” Spottedleaf meowed, angling her ears toward the first cat. “She was the leader of ThunderClan when Firestar first came to the forest.”
Leafstar bowed her head in respect. So this is the cat who made Firestar a warrior! “Firestar told me she was a great leader,” she murmured.
“And this is Bluestar’s sister, Snowfur,” Spottedleaf continued, “and Snowfur’s son, Whitestorm. He was once Firestar’s deputy.”
Leafstar blinked, humbled that these warriors would make their way to see her from such distant skies. “You are all welcome here,” she meowed.
A stir in the air behind her made her look around. She felt a shiver run through her pelt, light as a mouse’s paws, when she spotted the brown tom who had spoken the prophecy in her dream. The bigger cat, the dark brown tabby tom who had been with him, was beside him, the two cats standing a little way apart as they watched the others assembling.
Leafstar wondered if she dared go across and speak to them, when she heard a voice behind her.
“Greetings, Leafstar.”
She turned to see a handsome gray tom with piercing blue eyes standing in front of her, and recognized Skywatcher. Leafstar felt warmed from ears to tail-tip to see him looking tall, strong, thick-pelted once more.
“It’s good to see you, Skywatcher,” she purred. “Why are you all here? I’ve seen StarClan warriors in dreams before, but never so many of you.”
“It’s been a long time since StarClan came together like this,” Skywatcher replied. “And it’s because of you. You and your Clanmates, who have forged a new Clan with the courage and the honor that would make any warrior proud to be a part of it. All five Clans have gathered to celebrate SkyClan’s survival.”