Warriors - Rising Moon and Sky

[Skylands]

First and foremost, I'm working on this fanfic together with another friend (not on these forums, though) his name is Shiny-Ho-Oh; so let's give credit to him as well with the story!
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Prologue:[/b]

A cold, stiff breeze hit Diamond’s pelt as he padded through the forest. The full moon shined brightly overhead, his ears pricked for any danger or prey that might be near. Parting his jaws, he tasted the air and found a strong scent of mouse. Just then, a little mouse scurried in front of him, he pounced and killed it with one swift bite to the neck. Eating the mouse in quick gulps, Diamond travelled on, hoping to find a good den before it gets too late.
Living the life of a rogue was hard and lonely, and Diamond felt he wanted something much more than that. He Stopped when he picked up a strong sense of cat . I can take on any cat that comes across me! He picked his pace; he was soon running through the forest, before stopping at a gorge. He stared across it with such awe; he had never seen such a place! Suddenly a hiss came out from behind him; he jumped and turned around to see a dark brown cat, its lips curled back.
“Who are you?!” The brown cat hissed, swiping his paw, trying to hit Diamond.
Diamond curled back his lips also, “I could ask you the same thing!”
He leaped onto the dark brown tom, trying to bite down on his neck. The brown tom pushed his haunches onto Diamond’s stomach and pushed him off. Falling onto the ground, he tried to recover, but he was too late, the other cat already leaped onto him, pinning him down.
The two toms kept fighting, each trying to give enough damage to the other. Diamond stumbled back, he was not about to give up the fight! He drew back his lips and gave a furious hiss.
“Stop!” Another cat’s voice came out.
A young light brown she-cat appeared by jumping up a path that was on the side of the gorge.
What an enormous jump, how did she do that? Who are these cats?!

[Skylands]

Chapter 1: Moonlight Shadows[/b]

"Calm down, Sharpclaw." The light brown she-cat mewed.
"He's a rogue, Leafstar! He should know better than to come into our territory!" The dark brown tom, Sharpclaw, snapped.
"Not all the rogues know we live here yet." The light brown she-cat, Leafstar, mewed calmly. She turned to Diamond and dipped her head. "The full moon is a time of peace, we should not be fighting." She shot a warning glance at Sharpclaw and added, "I will show you around, but you must not attack us, or we will fight back."
Diamond dipped his head, feeling a little weird. "My name is Diamond, please forgive my intrusion."
Sharpclaw let out a small hiss, as Leafstar ventured into the gorge, flicking her tail for them to follow.
Diamond felt a little insecure around the two cats, yet he felt protected under the moon's light. As they padded on, he could see movements down in the gorge.
"The gathering is about to start." Leafstar murmered, looking across the gorge.
"Then we must hurry, or we will miss it." Sharpclaw added, then rushed past the two of them.
"Come on then, hurry or get left behind." With that, she darted off down the trail. Diamond stared, with a blank look, then shook his head and darted after her.
When he finally got to the bottom, many cats were coming out of their dens. When they smelled a new scent, they all stared at Diamond. Diamond froze, he was not very comfortable with all these cats.
He picked his way through the gazes, when a slender gray she-cat came out.
"Hello there, I am Echosong." She mewed, padding up to him.
"I am Diamond, where am I?"
Echosong gave a small meow of amusement, "You will find out soon enough, come on." She trotted off to join the other cats.
The cats followed another path that led up to a huge rock that jutted out of the gorge. When they reached the large rock, they all jumped up landing perfectly on it.
Diamond was a little envious of their powerful legs. When it was his turn, he put all his power into his hind legs and jumped up. He got up onto the rock, feeling a little unbalanced.
Another cat caught him by the scruff of his neck before he fell down. A black tom was standing over him.
"Hi! I'm Rockpaw, who are you?"
"Ugh....Diamond..."
"Well....you're okay now, so hurry up!"
Diamond stood up and saw that all the cats where sitting next to each other looking at Leafstar, and Sharpclaw who was sitting next to her.
"Cats of Skyclan, we gather under the moon in a time of truce and share our news with each other." Leafstar yowled.
A tortoisshell she-cat stood up, "I would like to speak, my apprentice-" She flicked her tail at a small white cat "-Tinypaw caught her first prey a few days ago."
Murmurs rose in congratulations for the white she-cat. Diamond stayed near a corner away from the strange cats.
Sharpclaw stood up this time, "my apprentice Rockpaw, almost beat me in training today."
"You won't be so lucky next time," Rockpaw meowed, amusement in his eyes.
"Just be careful, we need Sharpclaw, he is the deputy." Echosong mewed. She put her tail on Rockpaw's shoulder.
"We also have a guest," Leafstar spoke, she flicked her tail for Diamond to come up, "Diamond, welcome to Skyclan."
Some gasps came from the cats, but was quickly hushed by Sharpclaw's gaze.
"Is there any other news?" Leafstar went on.
"Bouncepaw is doing nicely with his training, he will no doubt become a fine warrior." A black and white tom mewed, sitting on the far side of a rock. As he spoke a ginger tom raised his head proudly, Diamond guessed that was Bouncepaw.
"Thank you, Patchfoot." Leafstar dipped her head. "Does anyone else want to speak?"
No one said anything.
"Then this meeting is over, everyone please return to your dens."
The cats went down the gorge again and went into small openings on the side. When Diamond was just about to jump down, Leafstar touched his shoulder with her tail.
"You can stay for the night, I want to talk to you in the morning."
"T-Thank you Leafstar. But where would I sleep?"
"The warriors den," she flicked her tail towards the highest and biggest cave,"ask Cherrytail to help you with a nest."
Diamond nodded and then jumped down from the huge rock. He padded over to the warrior's den, that Leafstar showed him, and peered inside.
"Cherrytail?"
A young tortoisshell raised her head and blinked at him. "That's me, what do you want?" Her tone was not sharp, but drowsy with sleep.
So this is Cherrytail, the one who has the apprentice Tinypaw. "Leafstar wanted me to stay for the night, she wanted you to help me too."
The young tortoiseshell flicked her tail for him to follow. She grabed some feathers and extra moss for the lining. It was a quick makeshift bed, but it would have to do.
He circled the nest, getting it as comfortable as he could, then lied down and fell asleep.
Light glittered through the cave, as Diamond awoke. There was a few others that were starting to stir as well. He got up arching his back to stretch, he shook off the moss that was on his pelt and padded out.
The gorge was busy with all the cats, some where bathing in the sun, others putting prey on a pile. He saw a queen steped out from another cave, two kits followed her.
Diamond watched as they walked down to the river in the middle of the gorge. Sharpclaw appeared from behind him.
"Come on....Leafstar is waiting." Sharpclaw sighed and walked down the gorge.
They came across a small cave, at the bottom of the gorge, Sharpclaw called a greeting. Leafstar's voice came from inside, beckoning them.
She was lying in her nest as they entered. "Ah, Diamond, I wanted to ask you something." Her amber eyes were serious.
"What is it?"
"Show some respect to the leader!" Sharpclaw spat.
Leafstar lifted her tail to silence him. "Do you want to join Skyclan?"
The two toms look at her, surprised. Join Skyclan? I have never been around so many cats, maybe two or three, but not this many!
"You do not have to decide right away, but I would like you to think about it."
Diamond dipped his head, still a feeling of akwardness clawed at him when he did it. "I will think about it, but I will go for now."
Leafstar bowed her head, "I understand, I hope you will join us."

Diamond was back in the forest, looking for something to eat, the thought of joining Skyclan still sat in his mind. He ate his vole that he caught earlier, he had a feeling that someone was watching him.
He pricked his ears, making sure that every sound was heard. Suddenly, a huge weight crashed on him. Struggling to get on his back to scratch his attacker, the weight lifted. Diamond stumbled up, to see huge dark brown cat, with a white muzzel and deep blue eyes.
"Diamond, it's good to see you again." The dark brown tom purred, he walked over to Diamond and touched noses with him.
"Eagle? Is that really you?" Eagle was Diamond's friend when they grew up. He was always quiet, especially to strangers, but he was kind underneath his hard skin.
"Yes, I am so happy to find you." Eagle purred louder.
Diamond purred back, he was able to see his friend again. The walked through the forest until they came across a hollow tree. They lied down next to it and started to share tongues.
"I was offered to join Skyclan." Diamond started, although he had not seen Eagle in many moons, he needed someone to talk to.
"Skyclan, what's that?"
"Skyclan is a place with many cats in it, they all share and help each other."
"Sounds like a nice place, but I was never good with strangers."
Diamond gave a small meow of amusement, "Yea, I know, but I was wondering whether I should go or not."
"That's your choice, but you must follow what feels right. Though if you did join, I might not be able to visit you, I don't think I would be able to handle so many cats on my own."
Diamond felt like he belonged with Skyclan, but he didn't want to leave Eagle. "I have no idea what I should do..." Diamond started to close his eyes.
"Whatever you do, I will be happy to see my friend happy." Eagle yawned and fell asleep next to him.

Diamond awoke to see Eagle next to him, his steady breathing told Diamond that he was alseep still. He got up and stretched again.
"Eagle, I am going to talk to the Skyclan leader. I will come see you as soon as I can."
He ran through the forest, remembering the path he took to get to the gorge. As he passed all the trees and arrived at the gorge, he looked around to see if Leafstar was there. He saw her at the pile of fresh kill taking a black bird back to her den.
He raced down the path, trying not to hit anyone as they stopped to look at him in surprise. He called a greeting when he got to Leafstar's den, she allowed him to enter.
Inside, she was eating her black bird, Sharpclaw was not there. She looked up at him, her amber eyes shone brightly.
Diamond stood up proudly, facing her amber eyes with his green. "I have made my decision."

[Skylands]

Chapter 2: The Warrior Code

Leafstar twitched her ears for the tom cat to continue on.
“I have decided to not join SkyClan," Diamond declared.
The Skyclan leader stared at him with shock. "May I ask why you do not want to join?"
"I have a friend that I would rather be with, at least with him I can feel trust. The cats in this clan I barely know, I cannot get along with strangers who I have only met for a day!"
"So why not ask your friend to join?"
"He is the same as me, he will not join strangers."
Leafstar look down at her paws, "I will not force you to join, but you are passing away a life that could be prosperous, are you sure?"
"I do not want to pass it away either, that is why I came up with an idea. I shall make a new clan, and call it Moonclan."
Leafstar's eyes widened with more shock. "Another clan? Why would you do that?"
"My friend, Eagle, will be able to have the life of the clan, but with me."
"It takes more than two to make a clan."
"I know, but we can find cats to join, ones that we know we can become friends with, then it will work."
"Very well," Leafstar sighed, "it will be hard, especially to those who do not even have a clue about clan life."
"What do you suggest?"
"Take one warrior with you, they will help you learn the Warrior Code, and our way of life. Also, you need a home. Go, find your friend, and return here by sunhigh, I will have one of my warriors waiting for you."
"Thank you, Leafstar." Diamond nodded, then raced out. Sharpclaw was returning with a mouse hanging from his jaws, he looked in surprise to see Diamond run past.
He ran as quickly as he could, darting between the trees, trying to find the hollow tree. He picked up Eagle's scent, and followed.
"Diamond! I thought I smelled you!" Eagle's familiar voice rang out. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to know if you will join the clan."
"I thought I said--"
"No, not Skyclan, Moonclan! A clan that we can be in together!"
"What? You and me?"
"We need more than just two, but to start out, yes. Just you and me!" Diamond purred, the thought of being with his friend, made him happy. "But, we have to find a home. Follow me, we have to go back to Skyclan, they will help."
"What?!"
"Only one warrior is coming with us, they will be there to help us set up camp, and learn how to live like a clan cat."
Eagle said nothing more, as they ventured back to Skyclan. The sun hit the grass and trees, making the whole forest glow.
Suddenly, the bushes shook, the two toms jumped in surprise. A light grey she-cat padded out, her green eyes widened when she saw the two toms.
"Who are you?" She asked, her voice light and soft.
"I am Diamond and this," he flicked his tail at his friend, "this is Eagle."
"My name, is Misty. What are you two doing here?"
Diamond sighed, and decided to tell Misty the story. There was a few questions she asked here and there. Through it all, her eyes were wide with curiosity and interest.
"Wow! You're going to make a clan? Only you two? That's way too small, especially compared to this Skyclan!" Misty gasped.
"We were hoping that we could find more cats to join, but we still need to find the camp." Diamond sighed, his claws dug in the grass from impatience. It was almost sunhigh!
"That's why, I want to come with you, to this new clan."
The two toms looked at each other, shocked. Already someone wanted to join their clan. Diamond stared at Eagle, he said nothing. Eagle nodded, knowing what he was asking.
"Sure, let's go, we'll be late if we don't hurry." Diamond took the lead, Eagle and Misty followed close behind.
The trio remained quiet during the trip to Skyclan. Finally, when they arrived, both Eagle and Misty gasped at the huge gorge.
"Welcome! I'm glad you came." Leafstar mewed, padding up the gorge. "Well, it seems like you have two friends, ah, your escorts." She flicked her tail back towards the path, two she-cats came walking up.
One was a tortoiseshell, the other was pure white. Cherrytail and Tinypaw!
"Hey Diamond! Who are your friends?" Tinypaw bounded up to the three.
"We'll be with them for a while, you'll have time to ask once we find the camp."
Tinypaw's tail drooped, but soon she was energetic and bouncing around them. "Let's go then! I can't wait to find the new camp!"
Diamond sighed, traveling back and forth was tiring, and he didn't even get a chance to eat.
The small group took off, once again, checking every rock and tree, trying to find a good place to make a camp.
"Hey! Look what I found!" Tinypaw's voice rang out, from behind the brambles. The group followed the voice, to find a small opening.
Diamond stepped in, followed by Eagle, Misty and Cherrytail. They each stared in awe as they saw, the brambles grew thick all around, in the center was a big hollow. A strange curved tree grew on the other side of the hollow, it was very low, almost touching the ground.
"It's perfect! Look at this!" Misty was already digging int the brambles, she pushed some aside to reveal a whole in the tree. "It's a great den, what do you think we could use it for?"
Cherrytail padded up to her, "it looks well protected, maybe the nursery? Over there," she flicked her ears towards the low, curved tree, "there's a hole there, plus lots of moss and brambles! It's perfect for the leader! They could sit up on the curved tree and give clan meetings!"
"Look, another hole!" Misty's voice came out, "this one is big enough for a whole group of cats!"
"That could be the warriors' den!" Tinypaw ran over to another hole in the brambles, "this is the apprentices' den! And look," she ran over to another strange tree, it was bigger than some of the others, there was a huge bush in front of it, but it could easily be entered,"it's perfect for a medicine cat!"
Diamond looked up, the trees opened up at the top, and the sun could lightly dapple down on them. His stomach started growling, his fur grew hot with embarrasment.
"Looks like we need to get a fresh kill pile going!" Cherrytail gave a mreow of amusement. "Eagle, will you do that while I collect some moss?"
Eagle gave a quick nod and ran off. Diamond continued to search, the hollows were perfect! Everything was the perfect size, and the hollow was close to the river too!

Later that night, after the small group got their fresh kill and moss for bedding, they all lied outside in the hollow, sharing tongues. The night air was warm, and the bright moon shone down on the new clan. Soon all of them were all of them were asleep in their new home, tired from their hard work, and looking forward to the next day.

[Skylands]

Chapter 3: What's in a name?

A dappling light came through the leaves. Diamond awoke with the light shining in his eyes. Yawning he looked around, his heart skipped a beat. Then remembering what had happened the day before, Moonclan camp, that's right.
Eagle was asleep next to him, Diamond prodded him awake. "Wha-?" He gazed sleeply at Diamond. "Something happening?"
"Are you going to sleep forever? It's time we start learning how to be clan cats." Diamond stepped out of the new warriors den. A slight breeze hit Diamond's white pelt as he padded over to the fresh kill pile.
"Hey," Cherrytail walked up to him, "I'm going to send Tinypaw back to Leafstar, she'll want to know that we have found a camp for Moonclan."
Diamond took a mouse, looking at the small fresh kill pile. "All right, what else needs to be done?" He took a bite out of the mouse.
"A border patrol, or should I say, we need to set borders."
"All right, we'll go set the borders. Misty," he called to the light grey she-cat, "will you go out hunting? The fresh kill pile is running low."
"All right, Diamond, should I take anyone with me?"
"I think you should go alone, we need someone to guard the camp while we go out to set the borders."
"Really?" Her eyes widened, "will you show the rest of us?"
"Of course, but we better get going." He turned and nodded to Cherrytail. The two padded out the entrance.
Once out, they looked around for good places to put the markers. Diamond stopped as he heard the sound of rushing water. He ran towards the sound, stopping to see a small river.
"I know this river, it connects to the river down at the gorge." Cherrytail's voice came up from behind him.
"I think we should use it as a marker, that way there's fresh water nearby and there might be some fish in there too."
Cherrytail nodded, "all right, then let me show you how to set a marker." She padded over to a spot near the river and set the marker, showing Diamond at the same time.
"All right then, next time I'll do it!" Diamond mewed, then ventured off, Cherrytail close behind.
The two soon found another place to put a marker, a big tree that tipped over on one side. As soon as Diamond put down the marker, they went off again.
"Good, this will give a wide expanse over the territory. Plus, they're visible markeres as well, so you shouldn't have trouble telling the rest of your clan where they are." Cherrytail mewed at last.
"Let's head back to the camp then, I'm sure they're waiting for us."
Cherry tail nodded and with that, they both padded back towards camp.

The sun shown over them, high in the sky, when they returned. When they got into the hollow, the fresh kill pile was a decent size.
The most surprising thing was, though, in the middle of the camp Leafstar sat. She was talking with Misty and Eagle, Tinypaw was running around with moss for the bedding.
Dropping their fresh kill, that they caught coming back, into the pile, they walked up to the three.
"Greetings, Leafstar." Diamond dipped his head, to the Skyclan leader.
"Hello, Diamond, we were just talking." She dipped her head as well, "I think it's time."
"Time? Time for what?" Cherrytail blurted out, then gave her chest a few licks.
"If these three," Leafstar flicked her tail towards Diamond, Eagle, an Misty, "are to be warriors of Moonclan, they deserve warrior names."
"Really?" Misty's tail shot up, her eyes glowed with excitement.
"Yes," Leafstar looked around, "where would a leader hold clan gatherings?"
"There, at Twisted Tree." Eagle flicked his ears over at the twisted tree trunk.
"Right then," she padded over and jumped up on the tree, "let all those old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath Twisted Tree for a clan meeting!"
Diamond quickly groomed himself, while she called out the meeting.
Soon, everyone was beneath Twisted Tree. Cherrytail sat next to Tinypaw, they both watched excitedly.
Leafstar sat up straight, "I Leafstar, leader of Skyclan and mentor to Moonclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these three. Diamond, Eagle, and Misty, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
The three stood there, not knowing what they had to say.
"You say, 'I do'." Cherrytail whispered to them.
Diamond gave a grateful glance at Cherrytail. "I do."
The two followed him, "I do."
"Then by the powers of Starclan, give you your warrior names: Diamond, Eagle, and Misty, from this day foward you shall be known as Diamondcrest, Eagleblaze, and Mistybreeze. Starclan honors your loyalty and your intelligance and we welcome you as full warriors of Moonclan."
She jumped down and rested her muzzle on Diamondcrest's head.
"Now you lick her shoulder." Cherrytail mewed again.
He obeyed and licked her shoulder, then stepped back, the other two followed again.
"Diamondcrest, Eagleblaze, Mistybreeze!" Cherrytail mewed, Tinypaw joined in. They came over and welcomed the first three warriors of Moonclan.
"I must return to my clan," Leafstar walked up to everyone, "but if there are any more cats that wish to stay, I will be back to help you if needed."
"Bye, Leafstar!" Diamondcrest called out.
"Good-bye, Leafstar!" The others mewed.
The Skyclan leader padded out of the hollow, flicking her tail, showing them she heard.

"We have to go out tomorrow and find more cats that would like to join." Cherrytail sat down, the red sky shown above.
"Yes, we don't nearly have enough warriors, nor queens to keep it going." Mistybreeze agreed.
"You also need a medicine cat, they will help you if you get hurt!" Tinypaw bounded up to them.
"They also read the signs that Starclan send to them." Cherrytail put in.
"How are we supposed to find anyone like them?" Eagleblaze mewed.
"Only Starclan knows, they will show us the right way."
"Here's a question, who is Starclan?" Diamondcrest sat down next to Eagleblaze.
"They are our warrior ancestors that watch over us, I do not know much about them myself, they're very mysterious."
"Leafstar would know a little more, she talked with them when she became leader!" Tinypaw mewed.
Diamondcrest's mind was racing with many questions, but he decided to leave them be, he would ask later. The main thing now was to find more warriors for Moonclan, or it would all be a distant dream.

[Skylands]

Chapter 4: Swift Midnight

A mouse scurried in front of a white tom, it stopped to nibble on a little seed. The white tom crept foward, setting down each paw gently, so the mouse couldn't feel the vibrations. He pounced, killing the mouse in one hit.
"Great catch, Diamond! I-I mean, Diamondcrest." A brown tom with a white muzzle and tail tip came out of the bushes.
Diamondcrest gave a mreow of laughter, "it's hard to get used to these names."
"I know, but it hasn't been that long ago since we got them. We also had to sit vigil, which was hard, because each of us had to take turns every moonhigh."
"Yeah, otherwise there would only be one warrior and an aprentice to do all the jobs."
"Eagleblaze, do you think we'll find any more cats to join? We haven't been looking very well, but...." Diamondcrest sat down.
"We just have to try harder! I know we'll find more, we can't--"
"Watch out!" A yowl came out from behind them.
Eagleblaze turned around, he tried to dodge the incoming cat, but it was too late. A red blur came crashing in, bowling Eagleblaze over.
They lay, side by side, Diamondcrest just a few tail lengths away. The dark brown tom got up, shaking himself, he looked towards the other cat.
A ginger tom, with a dark pelt sat up, he looked back at Eagleblaze. "Are you deaf?! Didn't you hear me say, 'watch out'?" He hissed.
Eagleblaze said nothing, but narrowed his eyes.
"What? Too afraid to say anything?" The other tom taunted.
"Who are you?" Diamondcrest stepped foward.
"Why do you care?! What are you two doing out here anyways?"
"I just wanted to know, my name is Diamondcrest, and that's Eagleblaze."
Eagleblaze didn't nod or even look at Diamondcrest, his icy blue eyes were locked on the tom.
"You two have weird names....My name is Speedy." The ginger tom sat down, he looked a little uneased.
"Well, I can see why you're called that, I didn't even have time to dodge." Eagleblaze mewed at last.
Diamondcrest mewed with laughter, he could also see a hint of amusement in Speedy and Eagleblaze's eyes.
"Speedy, why don't you come back with us." Diamondcrest mewed.
"What do you mean, come back with you?"
"To our camp, we'll explain the rest there."
"Camp? All right..." Speedy followed quietly behind Eagleblaze and Diamondcrest.
They greeted Mistybreeze, who was guarding the camp. She said nothing, but stared at the new cat.
The two toms dropped their prey into the pile, then sat down in the clearing.
"This is an odd place, why did you bring me here?" Speedy sat down a few tail lengths away.
"I've been thinking, we need more warriors for Moonclan. I wanted to know, if you would join." Diamondcrest mewed.
"But, I don't even know you! Why would you ask a stranger to join?"
"We can get to know you, and you would be a great help to the clan."
"That's a big question you're asking, but, I think I'll try it. Who knows, I might actually like this....Uh....Life."
"Thank you," Diamondcrest stood up and bowed his head, "you will not regret it."
"I hope not." Speedy mumbled. "Where do I sleep?"
Eagleblaze flicked his tail over to a big hole covered by bushes. "There, close to the Twisted Tree."
Speedy nodded and padded off towards the den.
"This is good, now we might have another warrior!" Diamondcrest whispered.
"Yes, but we still need more, and this medicine cat as well." Eagleblaze sighed.
"I believe, that Starclan sent Speedy, and I also believe that they will send the rest."
"What? Diamondcrest, you barely know Starclan, how can you be so sure?"
"I don't know, I can just....Feel it."
"Hey!" A voice came out, "look what we found!"
Just then, Tinypaw ran through the entrance. Panting, she looked at the two toms. "Look! Look!" She pointed her tail towards the entrance.
The bushes rustled, and Cherrytail came out, behind her was a black she-cat.
"Who's this?" Diamondcrest bounded over to them.
"I'm Azuremidnight." The black she-cat sat down, when Diamondcrest came closer, he could see a tint of blue around her neck.
"We saw her in the forest, she nearly took our fur off!" Cherrytail explained. "I fought back of course," she turned, showing a patch where her fur was missing on her shoulder, "after that, we talked for a bit. She would like to join the clan!"
"What?" Eagleblaze gasped, turning towards the black she-cat, "really?"
"Yes, I'll join your clan." She looked at Eagleblaze, her aqua eyes met his icy blue.
"T-that's great!" Eagleblaze purred, "I'll show you were we sleep at."
Azuremidnight nodded, and followed him. The others sat back and watched them leave.
"We found another cat as well, his name is Speedy." Diamond mewed after they were gone.
"Really? Two more warriors right away! It won't be long, and we'll be going back to Skyclan." Cherrytail sat down after a while.
"We're going to miss you, but at least we will get to see you at gatherings!" Tinypaw added.
"Hey! Don't leave on us yet!" Diamondcrest purred.
"We need more apprentices too! It's so lonely being the youngest one here."
"You're right....We still need a medicine cat, that's also important." Diamondcrest nodded.
"We better get some sleep for now," Cherrytail looked up at the sky, the sun already setting. "We'll need our energy to find them, and we need to teach the two new members about the clan."

"Hey, wake up." A stern voice came out, Diamondcrest opened his eyes to see Azuremidnight prodding him. "Don't sleep there all day."
Diamondcrest yawned, "what's the matter? I'm getting up."
"Eagleblaze and I are going out to hunt." Without waiting for a response, she padded out, Eagleblaze came out and greeted her.
Diamondcrest got up, and padded out. Speedy came back with some fresh kill.
"It's becoming harder, now that leaf bare is coming." Diamondcrest walked up to him.
"Yeah," he set the vole down, "I guess it's a good thing we're small right now, huh?"
"I guess, but it still needs to become bigger."
"I know, I'm just saying, that the less mouths to feed, the less hungry we'll go."
"But the less mouths to feed, means less of us to hunt, it's all the same, no matter how you look at it."
"You're right." The older cat sighed.
"I'm going to go out for a bit, I'll be back soon." Diamondcrest wanted to go out and just think.

Once out, he padded around, without thinking his paws led him to the river. He sat near the edge and watched the river flow, sparkles of light came off the water.
They still needed to find more cats to join, and more warriors. Tinypaw was also right, they needed aprentices too. But where to find them?
A yowl broke his thoughts. He jerked up, looking for where it came from. He strained his ears for anything else, the gurgling water thundered in his ears.
"Help! Please, someone help!" Diamondcrest could hear the yowling, it was coming from the river! He looked down to see a young white cat's head bobbing up and down.
"Oh no!" He gasped, running down towards the bank. "Hold on!"
"I....can't!" It cried, water pouring into its mouth.
Just then, another white cat from the opposite bank jumped in. Grabbing the young cat by the scruff of its neck, and pulling it out. Diamondcrest ran in and helped them both out.
Panting, the white cat sat up, "I am Dove."
"I am Diamoncrest, do you know this young cat?" He flicked his ears to the young white cat.
"No, but something told me, I just had to save him. I had a dream, I heard voices telling me to go to the river. I would see two other white cats there, and one would lead me to a new life."
"What are you saying?" Diamondcrest stared at her in astonishment.
"Whatever it was, the voice said 'you will be their new medicine cat'."

[Skylands]

Chapter 5: Deadly Encounter?



"We'll talk about this later, right now we need to get this young cat help." Dove grabbed the young cat.
"All right, follow me back to camp." Diamondcrest turned around.
Dove nodded, following him back towards camp. He made sure there were no rocks or twigs in the way, he saw a little black bird flutter down near him, but he knew he couldn't hunt now.
"Cats of Moonclan!" Diamondcrest yowled as they approached the camp. "There is a young cat that needs help!"
Mistybreeze was the first to come out, followed by Speedy, Cherrytail was close behind. Eagleblaze, Azuremidnight, and Tinypaw were nowhere to be seen.
"Where are the rest?" He asked as they surrounded the two new cats.
"They all went out hunting. Oh, the poor little thing!" Mistybreeze exclaimed, bending down to lick the young cat. "He's no older than a few moons!"
"Where's his mother?" Cherrytail asked, looking up at Dove.
"I don't know, but we need to get him help right now." Without waiting for an answer, the pure white she-cat grabbed the young cat, and pulled him through the entrance.
"What do we do now?" Mistybreeze's eyes filled with worry.
"We need a medicine cat, we have to get Echosong." Cherrytail mewed.
"Speedy, I need you to go to Skyclan and get Echosong." Diamondcrest turned towards the ginger red cat.
"I don't know where that is!"
"I'll go with you, I know who Echosong is." Cherrytail ran off, Speedy followed.
"Right, as for the rest, let's see if we can be any help. Mistybreeze," Diamondcrest pointed towards the grey she-cat, "search up and down the river bank, we might find his mother around."
"Right!" She dashed off towards the river.
Diamondcrest pushed through the entrance, he saw Dove sitting next to the young cat in the clearing. She lay her tail on his side, rubbing it, Diamondcrest could see the soft rise and fall of the young cat's chest.
"How is he?" Diamondcrest bounded up to her.
"He'll be fine, luckily we got to him in time."
"I wonder where his mother is."
A yowl came out from the entrance, Diamoncrest turned around to see Mistybreeze. "Well?"
"There isn't anyone close by." She panted.
"What?! But there has to be--" Dove started, only to be interrupted by the white cat's coughing.
Groggily the young cat lifted his head, "wh-where am I?" He wheezed.
"Hush now," Dove put her tail on him, "you almost drowned."
His eyes went wide, "b-but...my mother died, saving me from...." He started to cough again.
"Saved you from? From what?" Mistybreeze urged.
"A giant creature, it was big and red, with a narrow snout. Its fangs were huge," he took a gasp of air, "my mother...my mother pushed me out of the way."
"Oh, you poor thing!" Mistybreeze exclaimed, she bent down and put her nose on his pelt.
"Hey! We're back!" Diamondcrest turned to see Cherrytail and Speedy race back through the entrance. He saw behind them, Eagleblaze, Azuremidnight, Tinypaw, and Echosong!
"Let me see this young one," Echosong pushed her way through everyone. She bent down and sniffed the cat. "All right, someone help me get him into a den." She looked back to the others.
Diamondcrest flicked his tail to the den for the Medicine Cat. "There, that's where you should go."
"Right," She nodded, picking up the cat by his scruff. Gesturing towards Dove, "Follow me," then bounded off towards the den.
"What about this giant creature he was talking about?" Diamondcrest mewed after they disappeared.
"A big red creature, with a narrow snout." Mistybreeze resited, "A fox?"
"A fox? Here?" Eagleblaze gasped, "What will we do?"
"We have to chase it out, it's a danger to us all." Diamondcrest mewed. "Eagleblaze, Mistybreeze, and I will go out to check on it. The rest please wait here, we'll be back shortly."
The others nodded and the three ran off out the entrance. They slowed their pace when they neared the river.
"Find anything?" Diamondcrest mewed over to Eagleblaze, in return shook his head.
"Over here!" Mistybreeze's yowl came from next to the river bank.
"What is it?" Diamoncrest and Eagleblaze mewed simultaniously.
They looked down where she was at, her fur was standing on end, they followed her gaze to see white and red fur everywhere. There was something else beneathe the fur, Diamondcrest peered closely then gasped in horror.
"Bones!" Mistybreeze exclaimed, her voice cracked. "Bones and the smell of blood mixed with fox!"
"They're cat bones!" Diamondcrest heard Eagleblaze's voice crack too.
The two toms slowly padded down to Mistybreeze, Diamondcrest put his muzzle up against her fur. She seemed to relax a little more, she gave one long, sad glance at the bones, then turned away.
"Let's go find this fox," She said coldly, she walked up the bank, looking for traces of the red creature.
The two followed her, silently looking for the fox. Diamondcrest tasted the air, finding a strong scent of mouse and vole, but there was something else....Fox! Very faint, but he could detect it.
"This way, I think I found its trail!" He whispered harshly to the others, he flicked his tail and padded off silently through the bushes.
They all padded in a single line, Diamondcrest in the front, Eagleblaze and then Mistybreeze. Diamondcrest flicked his ears, halting them all, before them a giant bramble bush grew.
Diamondcrest slowly crept towards the bush, the smell of fox becoming much stronger. He peered in, seeing a decent size hole in the middle. Perfect for a fox!
A low growl started to come out from the hole, Diamondcrest jumped back, seeing the bushes rattle. A large red creature, with a long snout came out. It snarled at the newcomers, showing its long yellow teeth.
"We found it." Eagleblazed hissed.

[Skylands]

Chapter 6: Blood Fang

"What do we do, Diamondcrest?" Eagleblaze backed up slowly, he glanced at a nearby tree.
The white tom took a deep breath, "We have to fight it, but we need a strategy, climb up the trees first!" He whispered harshly to the others.
The red creature slowly stalked foward, coming towards the nearest cat, Diamondcrest.
"We didn't come here to hide like mice! We came to get rid of it!" Mistybreeze let out a fierce growl, then ran at full speed towards the fox.
"Wait, no!" Diamondcrest yowled, but it was too late, the white she-cat flung herself on the fox.
The red creature let out a howl of pain as she raked her claws down its shoulder. It turned around, snapping at her, Diamondcrest let out another yowl and charged at the red creature, clawing at its snout.
Eagleblaze came up to the fox, baring his teeth, eyes darkened. He gave a fearsome snarl and dashed under it, biting at its paws.
The fox gave a vigerous shake, throwing off Diamondcrest and Mistybreeze. It lifted up its massive paw and swooped it down on Eagleblaze. The brown tom went flying, hitting the ground with a thud, then going limp.
Diamoncrest slowly rose to his paws, trying to grasp his breath, he looked up to see Mistybreeze charging back at the fox again.
She made a mighty leap over its head, and onto its back, biting down hard and clawing its back. The fox shook her off again, but this time, decided not to fight back; it gave one last snarl then ran off towards the river.
"And don't come back!" The white she-cat growled to its back.
Diamoncrest walked over towards his friend, looking down, he could see the faint rise and fall of Eagleblaze's chest. "He's alive!" He let out a loud purr.
Diamondcrest picked up one side of Eagleblaze as Mistybreeze grabbed the other, together they dragged him back to camp.
The sun dappled through the leaves, dragging the big tom was not easy, he was almost twice as big as Diamondcrest.

When they finally reached camp, the sun was already starting to set. They sat the brown tom in the middle of the clearing, Mistybreeze trotted off to the Medicine Den.
Diamoncrest sat beside his friend, hearing the rustle of bushes, he looked up seeing a black she-cat come out of the warriors den.
"Eagleblaze!" She gasped, dashing over to his side. "What happened?"
Before Diamoncrest could reply, Echosong rushed up to them. She bent down, looking over him quickly, "He'll be fine, just knocked out, that's all. Take him to the den," She ordered Azuremidnight, who nodded and grabbed the brown tom, "Diamond, you're bleeding, come to the den as well."
Diamondcrest followed without question, the whole camp seemed to be dead silent. He squeezed through the opening, seeing Mistybreeze, Dove, and the white kitten.
"Here, this will stop infection." Dove mewed to Mistyfoot, putting some sort of pulp on her shoulder. She turned to Diamondcrest, "You need cobwebs first."
"How do you know all of this?" Diamondcrest came further into the den and sat down.
"While you three were gone, Echosong taught me some of the basics. It can be hard to remember them, and I haven't learned all of them either! It's going to be hard."
"I know you can do it," Diamondcrest put his tail on her shoulder, "Starclan sent you to us. There's no mistake you're supposed to be our medicine cat."
"I hope you're right, but I don't know much about Starclan, or even clan life. I've always been a rogue, living on my own."
"All of us in this Clan were rogues, but we all wanted to change our lives and live together. We'll make it together, we're not alone anymore."
"You're right, I have to be the best I can be for my new home!" She declared. "As for you, you should probably get some sleep, I'll talk with Echosong more about how to train me as a Medicine Cat!"
Diamondcrest nodded, slowly padding out of the den, and over to the warriors den. Speedy was padding out, giving a huge yawn as if he just slept.
"Hey, Diamondcrest, how did the search go?" He gave another yawn.
"I can see you're taking this lightly," Diamondcrest grumbled, "we found the fox, and chased it off."
Speedy looked at him for a few heartbeats, "I guess I should have looked at you before asking, look at your wounds!"
"Yeah, we had a little trouble with it. Dove wants me to get some rest, is it okay if I talk to you later?"
"Of course, sleep well!"
Diamondcrest slipped into the den, finding a warm space to lie down. He circled around, trying to get comfortable, he lie down and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to hit him.
It wasn't long before he started to dream, he was in a glistfull forest, the light glittered all around him. A strange white cat with grey patches, sitting just before him.
"I'm glad you came." He mewed in a deep voice, his pelt glittered with starlight.
"Who are you?" Diamondcrest sat down straight across from the cat.
"I am Cloudstar, the leader before Leafstar."
"So you were the leader of Skyclan?"
"Yes, I am glad that Skyclan has been rebuilt, and now there is another clan to be with them."
"So, we're accepted by Starclan?!"
The white cat was silent for several heartbeats, then answered, "You are not a real clan yet."
"What? But, how do we become one?"
"To become something, you must rise above a challenge, show no weakness."
"I don't understand." Diamondcrest looked up at Cloudstar. The white and grey cat was starting to fade away. "Wait! Please, tell me what you mean!" It was too late, he was already gone.

"Hey! Will you cut that out! You're going to open all your wounds thrashing about like that!" A voice came out.
Diamondcrest awoke to see Dove sitting next to him, "Wha--?"
"Stop moving!" She hissed, putting a strange poultice on his wounds.
"Sorry, I guess it was just a bad dream."
"Well, I have to use more herbs on you because of it, but at least I learn a little more every time."
"Sorry," He said again.
"Echosong is going back soon, I have to leave with her for a while."
"To learn how to be a medicine cat?"
"Yes, it's still very strange, I just got here and already I have so many responsibilities."
Diamondcrest listened silently, after a bit he added, "We've been waiting so long for one, I guess we're just a little excited."
"Well you better cool it, or I'm feeding you all poppy seeds!" She gave a snort of amusement.
Diamondcrest started to meow in laughter. "I'll warn the rest to watch out!"
"There, all done, now try not to move so about so much. It's good practice, but also a good waste of herbs if you don't take care of yourself."
Diamondcrest nodded and got up as she started to leave. "Strange dreams, are medicine cats the only one who are supposed to get them?"
She stopped and turned her head back, "I don't know." With that, she slipped out the entrance and bounded over to Echosong.
Diamondcrest got up, his muscles screamed in protest. He gave himself a brisk shake and padded out into the clearing.
Mistybreeze was out by the fesh kill pile, biting into a thrush.
As Diamondcrest looked at her, his pelt started to prickle. "You!" He hissed at her.
She turned around quickly, looking at him. "What? Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, when I say wait, I mean wait! Don't go jumping into battles without a plan!"
"Excuse me? We got rid of it, isn't that all that matters?!"
"No! We could have died!"
"But we didn't! And that's that, it happened, you can't change it and there's no use getting mad at me!" She finally snarled at him, her ears flattened and fur standing up.
"She's right y'know." Speedy stepped by her side. She looked away and went back to eating, saying nothing.
Diamondcrest sighed, he knew she was right. "I'm sorry, I guess I was just afraid to lose you two."
She kept eating, flicking her tail in irritation. Diamondcrest decided it was best not to say anything more and padded away. He looked back to see Speedy putting his tail on her shoulder, trying to calm her down a little.
Diamondcrest sat in the middle of the clearing, the sun reflecting off his white pelt, making it turn a bright silver. "A challenge we must face, whatever it may be, I hope it's not against ourselves."

[Flareon]

Skylands, I love it so far, keep up the great work

[Skylands]

Chapter 7: A New Beginning

A young, white tom padded off to a bush and sniffed the leaves. "What are these, Diamondcrest?" The white tom mewed back.
"I'm not a medicine cat, but I don't think they're anything special either." Another white tom bounded over, crushing some of the golden leaves on the ground.
"All right," The white tom said cheerfully, "are we going to eat? I'm hungry."
"Well, I guess we can stop to eat, we're not on a hunting patrol. I still have to teach you how to hunt, Snowpaw."
"Yes, let's go!" Snowpaw, the white tom with grey paws, was the little kit that Diamondcrest and Dove saved a few sunrises ago. Soon after he regained conscienceness, Leafstar gave him an apprentice name and finally made Azuremidnight and Speedy-- now known as Swiftfire--warriors.
"Remember anything about hunting?" Diamondcrest mewed.
"Uh...a mouse can hear your steps before it sees you?"
"Very good, now do you know how to catch one?"
The young cat was silent for a few heart beats, "Step lightly?"
"Right!" Diamondcrest purred, though Leafstar had given Diamondcrest, Snowpaw to be a mentor, he has been a little nervous. He was the first mentor of the clan, but didn't know if he could do it. The little cat seemed to be doing quite fine though.
"Now, get down as close as you can to the ground, and creep across the ground, like so." Diamoncrest got down just as he had said and glided across the leaf floor, trying not to make a single sound. He got up quickly, "Now you try."
Snowpaw crouched down, trying to glide across the ground. A small leaf floated down and with a mighty leap, Snowpaw batted it down.
"Well, I say that for mouse hunting, you need practice. Though I'm sure you'll do just fine with birds, but that's not what you are trying to learn."
"Sorry, Diamondcrest."
"Now, let's try again, this time put your tail down." Diamondcrest instructed.
Snowpaw obeyed, crouching down and gliding swiftly across the floor once again.
"Good, now let's try on a real piece of prey." Diamondcrest stood up and looked around. The forest was very quiet, he pricked his ears as a squirrel scrambled around a tree trunk a few tail lengths away.
Diamondcrest flicked his tail at the squirrel, Snowpaw nodded and dropped into another crouch. Slowly, he crept towards the little brown animal.
Diamoncrest put his tail on Snowpaw's back. "Remember to keep your tail down, you don't want it to see you now."
"R-right."
As Snowpaw tried again, his ears back, tail down close to the ground, he crept up on the fat squirrel. The young tom glided across the floor silently, the squirrel looked up trying to sense any danger.
As the fluffy creature put its head back down to find food, Snowpaw stopped, waggled his haunches and pounced.
Diamondcrest padded up to the young tom, as he turned around showing his prize. The fat, fluffy squirrel dangled in Snowpaw's mouth.
"Very good!" Diamondcrest purred.
Snowpaw's eyes were bright with the praise, he settled down and started to eat his first catch. "You want some? This squirrel is almost as big as me!"
Diamoncrest flicked his ears and bent down to eat the fresh kill. The soft juices trickled down his throat, he swiped his tongue over his mouth after eating his share.
"Ready to go?" Diamondcrest mewed moments later.
Snowpaw shook himself, then bounded up to Diamondcrest. "Where to?"
"Back to camp, you've had enough training for today."
Snowpaw's tail drooped, but soon it was back up as Diamondcrest led the way back to camp. The rushing water of the river came into hearing, Diamondcrest flicked his tail as it came into view.
He stayed up on the bank, eyeing the water carefully, but it had receded greatly in a short time. Diamondcrest heard something strange, he looked back to see Snowpaw, breathing very sharply.
As Diamondcrest watched more, Snowpaw was eyeing the river, his fur started to fluff out, soon he was almost twice his size. Diamondcrest darted in front of him, blocking out the view. But it seemed as if the apprentice was looking right through Diamondcrest, Snowpaw whimpered out of fright. He was clearly remembering how his mother saved him, but he almost drowned in the river.
"Snowpaw, snap out of it!" Diamondcrest growled and cuffed him over the ear.
The apprentice shook himself and looked up at Diamondcrest, "Huh? What?"
"It's over now, you don't have to worry. Come on, let's get back to camp."
Diamondcrest continued to lead the way, but glanced back at Snowpaw to make sure he was still well. As they entered camp, Diamondcrest paused, Snowpaw as well.
Only one cat was left, Swiftfire, the ginger tom was digging out old bedding. He carefully placed the roots, dirt, and moss into a small pile. He gave a short glance up at the two, flicking his tail for them to come over.
"The others are out hunting." Swiftfire mewed as the two came up.
"All of them?" Diamondcrest started to pick up some of the old bedding.
"Cherrytail went back to Skyclan to talk with Leafstar, I'm guessing." Snowpaw gave a huge yawn.
Swiftfire stopped and put his tail on Snowpaw's shoulder, "Why don't you get some rest? There's some new bedding in the aprentice's den."
Snowpaw looked up at Diamondcrest, who nodded. He gave a nod to both of them, "Thanks." Then darted off under the bushes.
"It's almost a full moon." Swiftfire sighed when Snowpaw had finally disappeared.
"Yes, the Gathering is only a few moonrises away."
"I don't know what a 'Gathering' is, sorry." Swiftfire's tone seemed a bit cross.
"Don't worry, I barely know anything, besides what Cherrytail has told me."
"Guess she's the real mentor here, huh?" Swiftfire had amusement in his eyes as he picked up the old bedding. He padded quickly out the entrance, moments later he returned to get more.
"Someday our clan will be strong enough to do things on our own. We won't need someone else's help then." Diamondcrest vowed.
"But until that day comes, I'm glad to get all the help we can." Swiftfire mewed as he continued working.
Diamondcrest nodded, though a little unsure that he wanted to be helped all the time. He wasn't a helpless kit that needed protection, though he did not know much yet, he would learn and become stronger. So that he can protect those he cares about, especially his clanmates.