| The Evil Rising Saga | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: The Rise of Evil: Two |
MoonClan's Journey: One | Succeded by: MoonClan's Journey: Two |
Allegiances of MoonClan[]
Leader: Redstar - Reddish brown tabby tom with hazel eyes.
Deputy: Hazelfur - Hazel-brown she-cat with pale blue eyes.
Medicine Cat: Silverfern - Pale silver she-cat with amber eyes.
Warriors
Rushtail - Dark brown tom with amber eyes.
Reedfur - Pale she-cat with light olive eyes.
Berrytail - Dark cream tom with blue eyes.
Honeyheart - Golden she-cat with bright blue eyes.
Molepelt - Dark grey tom with hazel eyes.
Daisypetal - Pale ginger she-cat with bright green eyes.
Apprentices
Moonpaw - Pale silver she-cat with dark blue eyes.
Rabbitpaw - Brown tabby tom with hazel eyes.
Petalpaw - Reddish she-cat with pale yellow eyes.
Emberpaw - Reddish tom with a dark tip on his tail and amber eyes.
Glowpaw - Reddish tom with amber eyes.
Volepaw - Dark brown tom with green eyes.
Queens
Swipetail - Pretty ginger she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Rushtail's kits.
Flashfur - Pale yellow she-cat with hazel eyes, mother of Redstar's kits.
Kits
Fernkit - Cream she-cat with amber eyes.
Mistkit - Grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes.
Splashkit - Blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes.
Elders
Hillfoot - Dark brown tabby tom with hazel eyes.
Hedgehognose - Brown tom with amber eyes.
Squirreldash - Ginger she-cat with white paws and green eyes.
Prologue[]
Chapter 1[]
Moonpaw stood beside her younger sisters, Mistkit and Splashkit. They were staring out over the land that lay before them.
"We have to cross that?" Mistkit meowed disbelievingly, her blue eyes wide with fear.
Moonpaw nodded slowly, looking at the snow and thick trees, and the huge frozen lake.
"But why?" Mistkit whined. "I like it here."
"Because of the dog pack, stupid." Splashkit told her, cuffing her sister over the ear. "And GorgonClan. I'm Fangstar, and I'm coming to get you!"
Mistkit and Splashkit raced away, laughing. Moonpaw wished that she could be as lighthearted. Her sisters, Nightpaw and Deeppaw, had both been killed by the dog pack. Their bodies had been found, with teethmarks and blood all over them. GorgonClan had stolen many kits, including two who had been Moonpaw's age, Olivekit and Stumblekit. Little Fernkit's brother Moorkit had died of hunger, because the warriors couldn't hunt without the dogs catching them. Mistkit and Splashkit were being fed from the rations, and those would soon run out. But the journey to a new place would be long and dangerous.
"Moonpaw!" called a voice. Moonpaw turned to see her best friend Rabbitpaw behind her. Rabbitpaw and his brother Volepaw had lost both their parents to the dogs. Moonpaw was lucky that her mother and father, Flashfur and Redstar, were still alive. Being the daughter of the leader granted her some special privileges, but not many. Emberpaw and Glowpaw were still alright, with their parents Reedfur and Berrytail still alive. Petalpaw had been badly injured by the dogs, and she had been unable to train for so long that her sister Daisypetal had become a warrior without her. Moonpaw missed Nightpaw and Deeppaw everyday, but she knew that nothing she could do would bring them back to her.
"Coming, Rabbitpaw." Moonpaw answered. She knew that the journey was about to begin.
Back at MoonClan's camp, all the cats were sitting in the main clearing. Silverfern, the Clan medicine cat, was giving herbs to every cat. Swipetail and Fernkit were choking theirs down first. Fernkit was very serious for her age, as she had been quite old when her brother died, and she knew hardship, like every other MoonClan cat. Fernkit gulped down the herbs, only wrinkling her nose a little at their foul taste. Nearby, Flashfur was trying to convince Mistkit and Splashkit just to eat a little of the herbs. They were refusing angrily. Moonpaw headed over to the other apprentices. Petalpaw, Emberpaw, Glowpaw and Volepaw just sat there hopelessly, not even saying hello to Moonpaw. Moonpaw sighed, and waited for Silverfern to come over.
"Moonpaw, how will Swipetail and Fernkit manage? She's so little! And Mistkit and Splashkit are so young! And how will Flashfur carry both of them? What is there isn't enough herbs for every cat? How will Hillfoot and Hedgehognose and Squirreldash manage?" Petalpaw gasped out very fast.
Moonpaw laid her tail over the younger cat's mouth. Petalpaw's apprenticeship had been badly disrupted when the dogs mauled her, and she knew the danger they presented better than any cat. She always worried about things.
"It will be fine, Petalpaw," Moonpaw reassured, sounding more confident than she felt.
Chapter 2[]
Moonpaw traipsed over the snow. Actually, she was wading through it. She could hear Mistkit and Splashkit squeaking in protest from somewhere behind her. They were having to be carried, and hated it. Fernkit was walking on her own, her short little legs working extra hard to keep up with the older cats. Moonpaw wished that there was something she could do to help her Clan, but she wasn't a medicine cat. She wasn't even a warrior yet.
"Moonpaw!" her mother called. Moonpaw spun around, floundering in the snow and pushed her way over to her mother.
"Can you take Splashkit for a while? I'm heading out to hunt with some of the other warriors."
Moonpaw nodded, and dipped her head, gently grasping Splashkit's scruff between her teeth. The tiny kit squeaked a little, but her head and tail hung limply. She was exhausted, like every other cat. Emberpaw came up beside her, Mistkit in his mouth.
"How's it going?" he asked. His tail drooped in the snow behind him, leaving a thin trail.
"Alright, I guess," Moonpaw replied through a mouthful of fur.
Emberpaw gave a half smile. "That's good."
Moonpaw nodded, then a tail brushed her ear.
"I'll take Splashkit for a bit," Daisypetal told her. "You catch up with Redstar and see if he needs anything."
Moonpaw nodded again, carefully passed her sister to Daisypetal, and set off through the snow towards her father. Halfway there, Rabbitpaw and Volepaw fell into step beside her.
"Redstar says he saw some other cats!" Volepaw exclaimed eagerly. "Over there." He flicked his tail towards a snow crested ridge not too far away.
Moonpaw's eyes widened. "I don't think that's good!" she exclaimed. "What if they drive us out?"
"Redstar said he only saw two," Rabbitpaw soothed. "And that they looked apprentice age."
"Maybe they were some of the cats Bloodstar took for the Games?" Moonpaw suggested. "How long ago was that."
"Ages," Volepaw snorted. "My guess is they're rogues or WonderClan cats."
"WonderClan?" Rabbitpaw questioned.
"I heard Redstar mention them. They're a peaceful Clan who live where we're going."
"We thought GorgonClan were peaceful," Moonpaw pointed out. "And now they steal our kits."
"Not for much longer!" Rabbitpaw said triumphantly. "Personally, I can't wait to get where we're going. It's going to be great."