Bluestar's Prophecy/Chapter 16

Chapter Summary
Bluefur's PoV
 * Pinestar holds a ceremony to make Bluepaw and Snowpaw warriors, giving them the names of Bluefur and Snowfur. The ThunderClan cats cheer for them, and Stormtail calls their names up at the darkening sky from where he sits beside Dappletail. Bluefur realizes that he is shouting their names up towards Moonflower so that her mother can hear from StarClan. The blue-gray she-cat momentarily feels a stab of grief, wishing that the silver-gray queen could still be with her Clan to see her daughters become warriors. Bluefur's sadness soon fades, however, and she and Snowfur enjoy their moment. It is noted that it is now newleaf, and Weedwhisker and the other elders are slowly regaining the weight that they lost during leaf-bare. Leopardfoot has moved into the nursery expecting Pinestar's kits, and had taken White-eye there with her for company.


 * That night, the two young she-cats have their warrior vigil, and at dawn, Pinestar relieves them of their duties and sends them to go to sleep. Bluefur and Snowfur realize that they now have to sleep in the warriors' den and head in, uncertain. Patchpelt, seeing them, offers them White-eye and Leopardfoot's old nests, which the sisters gladly take, exhausted from their long night. Before falling asleep, the two call each other by their warrior names, and Bluefur is glad that they had left the apprentice den – and Thistlepaw – behind. When Bluefur and Snowfur wake again at sunhigh and head out into the clearing, they are dismayed to find Sunfall irritated with them. The ginger tom is annoyed at how long they had slept, saying the hunting patrols had to leave without them since they hadn't been awake. The blue-gray she-cat argues that no one told them they had to go out hunting, to which the deputy growls that now that they are warriors, they shouldn't have to be dug out of their nests to serve their Clan.


 * Sunfall then tells the two she-cats that since they missed the hunting patrol, they can help Featherwhisker gather catmint from the Twolegplace. The ginger tom explains that he believes that the silver-gray tom needs a warrior escort to do this because there's been so much activity with the kittypets recently on that border. The three cats head out into the forest, and Bluefur and Snowfur scan the forest looking for danger, eager to defend their Clanmate if he needs it, and the medicine cat apprentice, amused, questions if they have seen anything.


 * Bluefur and Snowfur comment to Featherwhisker that it's a shame that he's not a warrior like them, but the silver-gray tom replies that he wouldn't want to be; he prefers to help his Clan by healing, not fighting. Curiously, the blue-gray she-cat asks him if he doesn't wish he could hunt sometimes. In response, Featherwhisker suddenly darts between the roots of a birch tree, plunging his muzzle with the leaves, and coming back up with a dead mouse hanging from his jaws. The two young warriors are astonished, to which silver-gray tom replies that even though he is a medicine cat, he doesn't spend every moment working with herbs.


 * The three ThunderClan cats soon reach Twolegplace and pad alongside the border markings. Featherwhisker explains that they are going to gather the catmint at an abandoned Twoleg nest. He hopes that the catmint hasn't died from the frost, or else he will have to ask Brambleberry, RiverClan's medicine cat, for supplies. Suddenly, Bluefur sees something dark move in the bushes, and realizes that it is Pinestar. She is surprised to see that he is in Twolegplace, not knowing why he might be there. She considers making herself known to the Clan leader, but she remembers how angry the reddish-brown tom had been when he had found her here speaking with Jake, so she instead hurries after Snowfur and Featherwhisker.


 * They have reached the Twoleg den where they are to gather the catmint, and while the silver-gray tom ducks through the fence to get the catmint, the two young warriors are to defend the area. They successfully scare away one kittypet, a tortoiseshell she-cat with golden eyes, simply by arching their backs, hissing, and claiming that they grow as big as badgers when they're angry and eat bones. Featherwhisker finds the catmint still alive and plentiful inside the fence, and manages to gather a decent amount of it. However, while Bluefur was on guard, she had spotted Pinestar and a ginger kittypet – presumably Jake – up on a Twoleg fence, talking together. She is confused as to what they are doing, especially since it seems when that the reddish-brown tom is being friendly towards the kittypet, not aggressive.


 * Back in camp, after depositing all the catmint they gathered in the medicine den, Bluefur and Snowfur head out into the clearing again. Pinestar has already returned, and Featherwhisker tells him and Sunfall of the herb-gathering expedition. The silver-gray tom explains that he had gathered enough catmint to last until leaf-fall, and that the two sisters had managed to frighten away a kittypet. Sunfall is pleased, but Bluefur sees alarm flash in Pinestar's green eyes, and she wonders if he is worried that they had seen him there. She notices that, although the Clan leader should have somewhat of an appetite after trekking to and from Twolegplace, he is only picking at his food. Bluefur wonders what exactly Pinestar was doing with Jake up on the fence.