Continuing the journey to meet the clan, we bring you the next chapter of…

Trailing Stars: Chapter Three

By: Hawksky

Edited by: Copperclaw

illustrated by Jayfrost

When Hawksky awoke, she had no idea what had happened. Last night, she didn’t fall asleep sprawled on the forest floor, yet that’s how she woke up. She also remembered being much, much taller. Oh well, that didn’t matter. She gazed into the forest. She could hear yowling nearby, cries of pain and anger. Hawksky slowly processed what that would mean for her; danger.

“Hello?” Hawksky yelped.

No reply came. She could only hear the sounds of a nearby battle. She sniffed the air quickly. There was a strange scent mixed with a familiar one. The scent she already knew was the scent of a cat, though now it was much, much stronger. Last time she had smelled it, she had been whispering to her best friend.

“Hello?” Hawksky tried again. Once again, there was no answer. Frustrated, Hawksky started to pad over to the noise. She crouched, snaking past bushes and trees. Her new fur and paws made it much easier to feel the forest around her.

Soon, the roaring of battle stopped. Hawksky froze, flicking her new tail. It brushed against the bushes. Squeezing her eyes shut, Hawksky held her breath. She could sense tension, thick in the air.

Silence made Hawksky’s ears ring. Flicking one ear irritably, Hawksky slowly rose up. She peeked above the bush, surprised to see a patrol of cats, poised to attack her.

Hawksky opened her jaws to speak, but closed them again when no words came out. She swiftly counted each cat. She tried to ignore the dead foxes. There were exactly six cats. They outnumbered her easily.

Suddenly, one of them spoke. She was a lovely she-cat with brown tabby fur. Brilliant green eyes made Hawksky flinch away as they bore into her icy blue ones.

“Who are you?” Her voice was full of authority. It was obvious that this cat was the leader of the group.

“I-I’m…” Hawksky struggled to remember her name. “Hawksky.”

The cats relaxed, the leader gazing more thoughtfully at Hawksky. “Hawksky?”

“Yes.” Hawksky nodded. “That’s my name.”

Dipping her head, the she-cat smiled. “I’m Copperclaw. This,” she dipped her head to the beautiful silver she-cat next to her, “is-”

“Dawnmist!” Hawksky gasped. “So… you’re… BlogClan?” Eyes round as moons, Hawksky tried to take in each and every cat. She couldn’t remember most of them. The small she-cat who gazed curiously at her was unfamiliar to Hawksky.

“I’m Wolfpaw.” The apprentice explained, noticing Hawksky’s not-so-secret curiosity mixed with frustration.

Hawksky nodded. “Right… Wolfpaw… I’m so sorry! Ok. Copperclaw, Dawnmist, Wolfpaw.” She would remember that. She had to. This wasn’t just another group of people she should know. This was BlogClan.

Copperclaw nodded. “Yes.” She flicked her tail, and each cat gazed at her.

“We need patrols. It’s obvious that more BlogClan cats are out there. We need to find them and make sure the territory is safe.”

Hawksky nodded, ears pricked.

“Wolfpaw, Hawksky, Dawnmist, and Rainbowheart. You find more warriors. Everyone else, come with me.”

Dipping her head, Hawksky padded over to her patrol.

Wolfpaw and Dawnmist smiled in welcome to Hawksky. Rainbowheart, however, was focused on something else. She gazed behind Hawksky, eyes narrowed.

Hawksky glanced behind her. She couldn’t see anything, so she parted her jaws. A strange scent floated into her mouth.

Dawnmist flicked her tail. “Ok, lets go sweep the forest. We should find some cats by the time we return to camp.”

Nodding, Hawksky fell in the back of the patrol. Rainbowheart and Wolfpaw talked in hushed whispers to each other, glancing at Hawksky every so often. They would also gaze into the forest. Sometimes, they would pause, mewing to Dawnmist about a scent.

There weren’t many things to see. Sometimes, they’d see mice and birds. Other times, the patrol would stumble across a stray twoleg.

Hawksky sighed, looking at her paws. Suddenly, she froze.

“Do you smell that?” She hissed, lashing her tail. “It’s a cat scent.”

Dawnmist stopped, gazing at Hawksky. She sniffed the air, flicking her ear thoughtfully.

“You’re right. It’s another cat. Rainbowheart, Wolfpaw, you look on that side of the forest,” she flicked her tail to the left. “Hawksky, you and I will watch the right side until the scent becomes more clear.”

Nodding, Hawksky glued her eyes to the trees on her right.

Continuing on, the cats found nothing for a long time. Suddenly, there were two scents. Just like that, one cat became two.

Hawksky darted into the forest, leaping into a holly bush. She hissed as her paws connected with fur. She bowled over the cat, pinning her to the ground.

The surprised feline thrashed, but Hawksky held her firmly to the ground. Getting a better look at her, Hawksky made out a silver-and-white tabby she-cat with blue eyes.

A sudden weight on Hawksky made her lose her balance. She fell on her side, snarling at the first cat.

She whipped around to see a dark brown spotted tabby with silver-flecked dark blue eyes. She hissed, clawing at the younger cat’s eyes, yowling as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder.

And then the rest of the patrol was there. Wolfpaw dragged the second cat off of Hawksky, freeing her. Hawksky helped the apprentice to pin down the young she-cat, hissing and snarling.

Dawnmist and Rainbowheart had no troubles getting the other she-cat down. Soon, the party held the cats firmly in place.

“Who are you?” Dawnmist demanded.

“I’m R-Rainpaw!” The first she-cat yelped.

The second one hissed. “I’m Owlpaw.”

The patrol swapped glances before they agreed in silence to get off the two apprentices.

“I’m Dawnmist. This is Rainbowheart, Wolfpaw, and Hawksky.”

Hawksky dipped her head. She gazed at the two young cats. They must be BlogClan. She raised her tail, smiling faintly.

“We are from BlogClan. We’ve been searching the forest for our scattered clanmates.” Dawnmist gazed at them. “Rainpaw, Owlpaw, would you join us?”

“Of course!” Rainpaw purred.

“Definitely!” Owlpaw agreed.

“Hawksky, you fight very well. Rainbowheart, you’re very good at tracking. And Wolfpaw,” Dawnmist gazed at the young apprentice. “You’ll make a mighty fine warrior someday.”

Turning back to the two apprentices, Dawnmist added, “Rainpaw, Owlpaw, welcome to BlogClan.”

Owlpaw and Rainpaw purred, their whiskers trembling. Hawksky gazed at them happily; these must be her friends! Her cheerful eyes locked with Owlpaw’s for a mere second before they flickered to Rainpaw’s.

Hawksky was hardly bigger than them. But she already knew she was small. She flicked her tail in welcome.

“Let’s get back to the camp,” Dawnmist mewed.

“Yes, Dawnmist.” Hawksky dipped her head, and the group headed back to their newest home.