(Cat above is Kestrelwing)

Sage and Ice woke up early the next morning, scrambling out of the barn, not wanting to see if Abbott was following. Ice kept a steady pace behind Sage then leapt at her, tackling her sister to the ground. Sage wiggled underneath her sister's weight and twisted herself over and used her legs to push her sister of her, both of them huffing with laughter. Ice gave her fur a quick shake then looked at Sage, her eyes wide.

"Ice, what's wrong?" Sage asked, noticing her sister's worried expression.

Ice didn't reply. Sage looked and realized that Ice was not looking at her but looking behind her. Sage turned around to see what had spooked her sister. Peeking through the bushes were three pairs of eyes and the shadowy silhouettes of three cats. Two of the eyes turned to look at each other before all three began to emerge from the bushes. Without waiting to see who it was, Sage and Ice took of running to the nest to get Abbott. They quickly explained what they saw and Abbott followed them out. Whey they walked out of the barn, Sage and Ice got a clear view of the three strangers. They were three toms; a white, a gray and a smaller black and white. Ice and Sage followed slowly behind Abbott as he approached them.

"Hello." Abbott greeted them. "What can I do for you three?"

The gray tom took a step forward and dipped his head, politely. "Hello. Are you Abbott?"

"Yes, I am." Abbott answered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kestrelwing." The gray tom replied. "I am a friend of Mintleaf. Do you remember him?"

Abbott let out a small huff of laughter. "Oh, yes, I remember him! He's one of those clan cats."

Kestrelwing smiled. "Yes. He's in WindClan."

Abbott nodded. "He was a friendly young cat. Who are these two with you?"

Kestrelwing pointed with his tail to the white tom. "This is Cloudstar," then to the small white and black tom. "and this is Swiftpaw."

Sage pricked her ears at their strange names. She let her eyes roam over each cat. Cloudstar was the biggest cat she had ever seen. He was well muscled with snow-white fur and bright blue eyes. Kestrelwing was average sized with a lean but muscled build hidden under his short, sleek gray fur. He had soft amber eyes that told Sage that he was not there to harm them. Swiftpaw was the smallest out of the three. He wasn't much bigger than Sage and Ice but Sage could tell he would grow to be a strong and well built tom. His black and white fur was sleek and short and his bright yellow eyes starred back at her with curiosity.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Abbott mewed. "So, what can I do for you?"

"We've seen your living conditions." Kestrelwing meowed. "You are an old tom who has to raise these kits in an old twoleg nest that's about to fall apart. That's no life for you or these two kits. So, we've come to offer you a home in our clan."

Sage tilted her head to one side. Clan? What's a clan? She wondered.

"I don't know." Abbott pondered. "What is your  clan and how does one work?"

"We belong to ThunderClan." Cloudstar explained. "Every clan has a leader, who is in charge of the clan. They oversee training, patrols, and decide what to do when danger comes. That's me. Clan's have a deputy, a cat who assigns patrols, and leads the clan when the leader can't. Each clan has a medicine cat who heals the clan of its sickness and injuries and communicates with StarClan, the clan of our ancestors. In ThunderClan, that's Kestrelwing."

"A clan has warriors, cats who protect and hunt for the clan and train the apprentices." Kestrelwing went on. "Apprentices are cat six moons and above, like Swiftpaw who train to become warriors. Queens are she cats who have and look after the kits. Elders are retired warriors and queens."

Sage starred back at the clan cat. Her mind struggled to contain and remember all the new information. She looked over at Abbott. The old tom looked like he was considering it.

"If we joined, what would we be?" He asked.

"You would be with the elders. You would be able to relax, tell stories to kits, and let the younger cats take care of you." Kestrelwing replied. "Sage and Ice would stay in the nursery until they were six moons old. Then they would move to the apprentices' den with Swiftpaw."

Abbott nodded and looked at Sage and Ice. Sage knew he cared for them. When he had found them he had no hesitation to take care of them. The three of them had a love for each other that a real father would have with his kits. If Abbott thought this was best for them, Sage would be okay with it.

"Alright." Abbott meowed with a curt nod. "We will join your clan."

Sage noticed Cloudstar and Kestrelwing exchange approving glances, their eyes full of faint relief. Swiftpaw looked happy, his bright yellow glowing.

"Follow us." Cloudstar flicked his tail. "Your new home is waiting."

The three clan cat turned and lead the way through the bush they had energed from. As they trekked through the moor and then the forest, Abbott padded in between Cloudstar and Kestrelwing, who continued to explain clan life to him. Sage and Ice were behind them along with Swiftpaw.

"So..you're an apprentice?" Sage turned to the black and white tom.

"Yes." Swiftpaw replied. "I haven't been one long. Only two moons."

"So, you're eight moons old." Ice meowed, remembering what she had learned about apprentices.

Swiftpaw nodded. "How old are you two?"

"We're four moons old." Sage answered.

"Great." Swiftpaw mewed. "In two moons, you'll become apprentices."

Sage and Ice exchanged excited glances. With every pawstep, Sage got a little more excited about joining a clan. She closed her eyes for a moment and pictured what it would be like. Suddenly she bumped into something. She opened her eyes to find that she had accidentally bumped into Kestrelwing's hindleg. She shot him an apologetic look. He flashed her a kind smiled then turned back to Cloudstar.

They had stopped at a opening in a wall made of thorn and bramble. The opening was big enough for cats to slip through and it was built out of thorns.

"Why did we stop?" Sage asked.

Cloudstar looked at her smiled.

"Welcome to ThunderClan."