((THIRD POV :3))

A few moons have passed since the first Gathering and the full moon Gathering,but I decided to include the death of Feral in Third POV and sort of give a glimpse into the Nine Lives Ceremony that the Heads had...

I know I said that Poppystar was the first to receive her nine lives and the name star, but more on that later.

I promise. :3

Oh, and fun fact,well, facts :

MistClan and HazelClan were first Clans to use the word apprentice in place of Newbie.

HazelClan were first to appoint a Deputy.

MistClan and EarthClan were the firsts to set up more appropriate borders.

WinterClan and FeralClan were the firsts to use 'kit after their newborns chosen name.

As for who came up with Healers,well,read on!

Ok. On with the story!

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😙Earth 😙

Earth padded through the chilly night, keeping close to the ground, his shoulders brushing the tall grass,his fur fluffed out against the chill,sniffing the air occasionally.

He knew the plan he and Hazel had come up with after the full moon Gathering and discussing what to do about the Twolegs once they finished building their nests and finished their fishing with their boats,as Rain had called them,but all in all, he was glad to hear that the other Groups were coping well with all the horror from the past few moons.

But they weren't all too horrible.

Earth knew that each of the Heads, including himself, had created a new move to teach their Newbies or apprentices as Hazel and Mist had decided to call their young cats in training and he wasn't too keen on provoking them.

Especially after Red snuck into the clearing and announced the death of Jax, much to Rain's fury and grief, along with the other despicable methods Feral was using to build up his strength.

There had been yowls of fury, shock and calls for blood for blood, mostly from Rain's cats.

And also,there were more changes, not just to training and Group life.

They all decided to become Clans and disband the whole Lead Warrior and Third deal, but agreed to appoint one or more cats in charge of the camp while they were away like before and keep the way they trained their young longer before deciding if they were ready to become warriors and use the words "kit" and "paw" when the young ones get a little older.

Earth noticed a closeness between Rain and Mist,but didn't question it,for he and Hazel were always close.

"Remember the plan?" Hazel whispered, leaping down from the branches of an ash tree.

Earth nodded.

"Yes. Now let's get a move on. It's freezing out here."

Hazel nodded and headed to the trees again while Earth dug into the ground and kept pace with the light brown tabby she-cat for he always felt out of place in the open.

Earth padded through the darkness of his newly dug tunnel until finally, he exploded out of the ground, just as he heard a yowl and sprinted toward it.

"Keep your paws off of me, you murderer!" Earth heard Hazel hiss.

He didn't waste a heartbeat as he dug into the ground again and ambushed Feral from the ground and scored his belly and cheek, while Hazel took to the trees again and leaped onto his back, clawing down his back and twisted away as Feral tried to crush her.

"Feral! No!"

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Cora raced through the trees as she heard her Feral yowl out in pain and leaped into battle, knocking the disgusting flea-pelts away from her love, but they were quick, especially the tree-cat, slicing her muzzle and ear with a swipe of her front claws and teeth, causing her to stumble, finally pinning her down.

The coward returned to finish off her love and the fox-hearted dirt
cat was left to pin her down in her place.

She struggled vainly as she heard Feral's cries down out to snarl one last time :

"This isn't over,you filthy tree-cat. I'll be back. Stronger than ever. And I'll make you regret this night. "

Hazel snarled,killing him with a bite to the throat...

And Cora was forced to watch the light die from his eyes...

No! I wasn't strong enough. I'm sorry, my love....

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Cora carried her leader's broken body away back to camp,her mind clouded with rage.

"Gather here now!" She yowled from High Hill.

Horror, grief and some concealed relief were scattered throughout the cats gathered below High Hill and Cora continued to yowl,

"Feral has been killed in cold blood! We must take action immediately!"

Feather took a pawstep forward, her eyes dark.

"Surely we should have a plan so that if something goes wrong instead of going to attack in blind rage, we can retreat and regroup?"

Cora narrowed her eyes.

"Words of a traitorous coward! Take her to the prison den and don't feed her for three moons."

Fin, looking bigger than his seven moons, Frost and Indigo, pounced on the former Lead Warrior, who tried to fight back, but it was no use.

"And if anyone else refuses to go to battle, they will be dead by sunhigh!"

She leaped down and curled up next to her former fearless leader, pressing her muzzle to his already cold body, hearing Mika and Reena wail.

They both loved him too, but to me, he was more than a lover. He was my soul mate... I will avenge you,my beloved...

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The moons passed and after a few border skirmishes since the announcement of Feral's death, the five former Heads followed their Seconds toward their gathering place they dubbed the Sunpool.

For it seemed to glow as bright as the sun in the moonlight.

"Just drink the water and you will dream." Stone mewed to them and they nodded.

Each took a place around the pool next to their Second,drank the water and fell into a deep sleep....

All of their dead, along with others they didn't know, appeared before the eleven cats, their eyes flashing with wisdom, smelling of all the seasons.

One,a black and white tom with a white tail and amber eyes, stepped forward, his head held high.

"Greetings. I am Mikhail, one of the first to settle the forest and sadly, the last to flee from The Sickness, but one night, I had a vision of greatness. Of strength. Of sacrifice. I passed on here, but I have been watching you all during the battle and you have proven yourselves worthy of the gift of receiving eight more lives."

He moved closer to press his muzzle to Earth's, shooting a lightning bolt of pain down his spine as Mikhail continued,

"With this life, I give you courage. Use it well to be the light for your Clan in times of darkness."

He moved onto Rain,giving him the life of hope.

Hazel- The life of justice.

Winter- The life of wisdom.

Mist- The life of patience.

Petal,Tangle,Erin,Hope, and Temple stepped forward, each giving a life and soon after, others gave lives as well, sending a new jolt of pain and flashes of memories through the Heads.

Finally, a hush settled over the crowd and came running were five different cats.

The first, a dark brown tabby she-cat with bright, blue eyes, white paws and stripes stepped forward.

The others were a dark gray she-cat with bright green and yellow eyes, a black tom with yellow eyes, a white she-cat with black paws and dark blue eyes and finally, a young, misty gray tom with dark green eyes.

"M-Mother?" Hazel gasped, starting to run toward her, but with a tail flick from Mikhail, she sat, frozen, waiting.

India smiled and stepped closer to touch her nose to Hazel's.

"Hello, my dear kit. With this life,I give you the strength of a mother's love. Use it well to protect your Clan like they were your own kits."

She flicked her tail and the others moved forward to the other Heads, giving each a life as well.

Finally, she and her companions rejoined the others, speaking as one.

"We hail you by your new names : Miststar, Hazelstar, Earthstar, Winterstar and Rainstar and place the guardianship of your new Clans in your paws."

They dipped their heads and started to fade.

But Stone stepped forward.

"Please, can you tell us what to call you? "

A black she-cat smiled, stepping forward to touch noses with Stone.

"We are ForestClan, guardians of the sky and bringers of prophecy. It seems that more change is on the rise. Stone, Kaci, Owl, Night, Savanah and yes, you too, Red, step forward."

The former Heads looked at Feral's former Second suspiciously as the proud, fierce tom stepped forward to stand with his friends, who nodded and smiled.

The starry cats spoke as one again.

"You know every herb and treatment. You are loyal and proud. From now on, you will be known as Healers. Your skills will be tested beyond measure, but know this : We will always be with you. "

So, Stone became Stonestep.

Night became Nightshade.

Savanah became Spottedfire.

Red became Redfang.

Owl became Owlstripe.

And finally, Kaci became Patchwhisker.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the clearing and one,by one, ForestClan vanished.

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Winterstar raised her head to the stars, filled with pride.

She turned to her fellow leaders.

"Let's go home. The threat of Feral's cats is still on the horizon, despite him being dead. We must be ready to face them and finally bring peace to our lands."

"I agree." rumbled Miststar,already heading up the slope toward his home, Stonestep chatting quietly beside him.

The other three leaders turned to Redfang, who was looking at the sky, a pensive look on his muzzle.

"What will you do now, Redfang?" asked Rainstar.

Redfang's eyes seemed to reflect the moon as he mewed, "I'm going to rebuild my new Clan, and lead them into peace and I am going to name it FeralClan, because I saw a shade of good in Feral, despite the blood on his paws..."

Winterstar nodded, touching noses with the now Healer/ leader.

"As did I. WinterClan will stand with you."

Hazelstar, Earthstar and Rainstar exchanged a glance, but said nothing.

Patchwhisker cleared his throat.

"Let's all head home. We have much to do."

Nightshade,Owlstripe and Spottedfire nodded, already dragging their leaders away from the pool,heading home.

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The moons seemed to pass slowly for Redfang as he padded through the new-leaf sun, herbs in his jaws.

Once he managed to free Feather and maintain order shortly after killing Cora with deathberries, thinking that they were juniper berries after she had finally allowed him back in camp during a bout of Greencough that killed Frost and Quinn, leaving the Group exposed to weakness.

Cora had begged Redfang to heal her cats, but in the end, it had lead to her downfall.

But Redfang had faced his own share of trouble.

Doubts about his leadership grew like wildfire through the camp since the Gathering after Feral's death, annoucing himself as temporary leader, mostly by Fin, Indigo and Bug.

Badgers raided, but thankfully, no one died.

Twolegs were seen scaring off the prey with their noise and a couple of very young rouge kits were found injured and starving, desperately still in need of milk, so,Redfang allowed them to stay, shortly after Mika's kits were born, naming them Riverkit and Lionkit.

Quick seemed to take a very special interest in the herbs he brought the Queen after the kitting, asking lots of questions and even looked after things while he was away.

Maybe just maybe, she was taking a liking to him.

Life, for the most part, was great and Redfang hoped it would stay that way.

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I AM REALLY PROUD OF MYSELF :3

HOPE YOU LIKED IT ._.

Should I keep doing the story this way?

Let me know!

🐾Moonshadow🐾