Part 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1040515618/ Warning- Death and child abandonment in chapter Chapter 1- Youngbloom “BRIMSTAR!” I yowl in desperation, the rising tides sweeping him away. “Youngbloom-” he disappears beneath the surface, cutting him off. Beside me, Earthstorm has a horrified look on his face, and Shyash, an elder, has one paw stretched out close to where Brimstar vanished. “He still had four lives to go,” Earthstorm mewls sadly. Shyash caterwauls a horrible sound of despair. “Don't assume he's g-gone,” I meow, trying to infuse some strength into my voice. Instead, it comes out like a croak. Briskleafbare emerges from the bushes. “Where's Heatshine? And his mate and brother, and Nightwhip?” I fold into my paws, getting into a loaf shape on the ground, mourning Brimstar. “Who's gone?” Briskleafbare mews, a note of fright in her meow. “Brimstar,” Earthstorm rasps, sounding much older than he is. Briskleafbare gasps loudly, and visibly tenses up. Earthstorm swishes his tail and leaves, unable to watch our grief any longer, I suppose. Briskleafbare gathers herself and shuts her eyes tight, then opens them again. “We need to clear the camp of debris and water. That way we can hold a vigil for him and anyone else we lose today.” I hear a yowl in the distance- but I can't tell if it's anger or fear or grief. “Come on!” Briskleafbare turns tail and I follow her. Shyash stays behind, though. Her paw is still outstretched, clawing at the air like she can hook his scruff up and lift him from the water. The camp is devastated. The water has risen over the Fallen Tree, and all the dens are either soaked or flooded. The seiche may not have been a really fierce thing, but combined with the rainstorm, it destroyed our place. I run over to the Moonpool, and to my relief, it's undamaged. Maybe StarClan’s home is too sacred to be ruined. The reeds still whisper with Silverpelt’s secrets, and the pond still glimmers with starlight. I'm tempted to touch my muzzle to it and ask my ancestors what to do, but I know I can't skip out on my Clan now. “The Moonpool is okay,” I report to Briskleafbare, who's examining the medicine den. “Good,” she murmurs, distracted. I figure I should probably let her do her thing, so I venture out to gather the rest of the Clan- if I can find them. The ground is squishy under my paws, and the wet ferns drip water on me when I brush against them. Usually I love water as much as a mythical RiverClan cat, but today… was different. I flick my tail in annoyance, and try to shake some mud off my claws. I run through the names in my head. Brimstar is dead, and Shyash and Earthstorm are fine- I think. Briskleafbare is okay, and so am I. Everyone else- I don't know. That haunts me as I run. Cat mewling startles me. In my rush, I think I might’ve started to sprint, and now I'm in the pine forest. How did I get here so fast? A cat mewls again, and I catch its milky scent. A kit, maybe? I rustle through the bushes, and a happy meow sounds out. “Look, someone's found us! We’re safe!” “Maybe it's Stone, Fit,” another voice hisses. Finally, I find them behind a bramble bush. A gray-and-green she-cat crouches in a defensive position, and a neutral gray tom sits beside her, anxious. “I’m Youngbloom,” I meow. “I'm from ShoreClan. Are you two lost?” On closer examination, their pelts are slightly matted and they have the wild gleam in their eyes, which suggests they’re not kittypets. They also look about apprentice age? The she-cat sits up, puffing out her chest. “I'm Blight, and this is Fit.” “Hai!” Fit meows happily. “Can we come with you?” Blurts Blight, a commanding tone somehow in her voice. “Sure,” I mew, surprised. “Won't your-” “No! We can come,” interrupts Blight, determined. “Oookayyy,” I meow hesitantly, then turn and lead them through the trees. Fit is a chatterbox, at least to his- sister, maybe? They're probably littermates, they look somewhat alike. And Blight is straight to the point- interesting quality. She seems like she isn't the type to go about recklessly without a backup plan. “How old are you two?” I ask innocently. “We're both six moons old in a quarter moon,” Fit meows instantly.
They are littermates, and I was right. By that time, the Clan might’ve recovered enough to have two new apprentices. For now, though, they're technically Fitkit and Blightkit, though they sure seem six moons old already, Blightkit especially. Finally, the camp comes into view, along with the river and the sandy training clearing. Earthstorm is back, and he has almost everyone with him, except for Heatshine, Palepelt, Flameshriek, and Nightwhip. And obviously, Brimstar. I shudder again at the memory. “You're all here?” I ask to the crowd, and Chippaw answers me. “Everyone who's alive, yep,” he meows, which is kind of a grim way to put it in my opinion. Everyone looks at me, expecting me to do something. Wavespeck, the medicine cat, makes a gesture with his tail, pointing up at the tree. It's soggy but not at all less sturdy- so I leap up to it with no hesitation. I realize I'm standing where all leaders address the Clan. “Umm,” I start, which is so lame! But the cats below are still listening raptly, which makes me feel better, and I can form words. “I think we need to start repairing the camp. You guys organize yourselves into groups as big as you think they need to be, and each one fixes one den or area. Wavespeck, I need you to come with me for me to get my nine lives.” They shuffle and separate, while Wavespeck beckons to me on the ground. I jump down, but just as we go, Fitkit speaks up. “What do we do?” He meows. I think for a moment and mew, hoping this is what a good leader would tell them to do, “Introduce yourselves to the rest of ShoreClan. Ask them to show you around as they fix the camp, so you know where things are for when you’re formally invited in.” Blightkit nods and cuffs Fitkit on the ear lightly to get his attention. They pad off to the forming groups. I turn to Wavespeck and we look into each other’s eyes in silent agreement. We set off in the direction of the Moonpool. The sheltered pond is not a long walk away, but it seems to take forever because of my nerves. The glimmering stars on the water seem to shine unnaturally bright, and I wonder if there are our dead from today already there. Closing my eyes, I touch my nose to the pool and feel Wavespeck do the same. I open my eyes in a purplish-blue forest. Nine cats stand around me in a circle, though I don't recognize some of them. Brimstar steps forward from the front center. “Hello, Youngbloom,” he meows warmly. “I'm glad to see you become leader. I think you’ll be a great one.” “Thank you,” I whisper, gazing sadly at him. “I give you a life for following your heart,” he murmurs softly. “Always remember to follow your heart, Youngbloom.” He and I touch noses, and I feel a shock run through me down to my chest, and stop there. “Youngbloom? That’s you!” A green-furred cat waveringly steps up to the small clearing I stand in. “Fourclover? No way…” I mew, shocked she’d be there. “You’re in StarClan? How did you die? And…” I leave it unsaid, but she understands. “I’m sorry I left the Clan- but I’ll explain completely later. I’m giving you a life for…” She takes a second to think of an appropriate value, and her eyes light up. “Don’t have prejudice. Give cats their second chances,” and she touches my shoulder with her nose. I barely catch her whispered words: “and take care of my kits,” before she pulls away quickly. I shoot her a confused look. Heatshine, my father, comes up as well. “Hello, Youngbloom,” he mews, proud. “Hi, Heatshine!” I meow, glad to see his face but also gloomy that he died today. “Would you like a life for courage?” “Yes, please!” I meow eagerly, then realize what I said. Heatshine laughs a little. “I knew you’d say that, I know you too well,” was all he meowed, before giving me a powerful glance in the eyes, and I shudder, feeling like more than a life has just gone through me. He has a little light in his eyes as he goes back to his place, and I don’t know what to make of it. A few more cats come and go, until I only have two more lives to earn.
