MagiStream

"What are we going to do now?" I asked hopefully as Wildfire led me away.
"We're going to go and explore the territory," he replied. "Twilightspark! What are you going to do with Spottedpaw?"
"I was going to take her to practise her stalking skills," replied the young she-cat. "Have fun with the searing hot weather!"
Wildfire rolled his eyes at her, then turned to me. "Come on Tanglepaw. Sadly, we don't have all day!"
He shot out of the camp, so fast I could barely see him.
"Is speed your power?" I puffed when I finally caught up with him. He nodded, not even slightly out of breath. "This way. I'll show you the closest border, FireClan."
I trotted after him, gazing up at the trees. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the sun warmed my ginger pelt.
"How far is it?" I asked.
"Not far," he promised.

What felt like days later, we arrived at the border. I flopped down, exhausted. Wildfire looked up as pawsteps approached. I tensed, ready for a fight. I had heard that FireClan warriors were the least peaceful Clan, but Wildfire shook his head at me.
"It's just a patrol," he promised. His words were true, and six cats appeared around the trunk of a massive oak tree.
"Greetings, Wildfire," said one of the cats, a dark grey tabby tom. "Is all well in LoveClan?"
"We're good, Spookfur," he replied. "This is my apprentice Tanglepaw," he added, introducing me. I nodded a quick hello.
"You don't have to be so worried," said one of the she-cats softly. "Our Clans are at peace at the moment, as all of them are. We rarely fight, despite the stories your elders tell you."
"Well said, Shyflower," purred another FireClan warrior. "I am Glitterstar, the leader of FireClan. It is good to se you are coping well, Wildfire."
"Thank you, Glitterstar," he said politely.
"I'm Calicofur," said one of the other she-cats. "This is my apprentice Lilypaw, and her brother Gingerpaw."

I nodded a greeting to them.
"We should be getting on with our patrol," said Spookfur. "It was good meeting you, Tanglepaw. Good luck in your training."
"Thank you," I said awkwardly. They left as swiftly as they had arrived.
"Spookfur is half LoveClan," said Wildfire softly. "He's Twilightspark's half-brother. A lot of cats are mixed Clan nowadays."
I wondered whether I was pure LoveClan. I wanted to be, because otherwise I wouldn't know where to live.
"I think your father is half IceClan," said Wildfire quietly. "His father died, so he stayed with LoveClan."

We finally returned to camp. My paws ached, but I was happy. It had been so much fun!
"Hey Tanglepaw!" Spottedpaw and Leopardpaw raced across the Glade to me. "How was it? Did you meet anyone?"
"I met some FireClan warriors," I said. "They seemed nice."
"FireClan," snorted Leopardpaw. "They're so... fighter-like -"
"Militaristic," I said.
"Yeah, whatever. Why can't they be peaceful?"
"Their leader was," I replied, feeling the need to stand up for them.
"Glitterstar's old, she can't afford battle. But the deputy, Spiderclaw, he's vicious," responded Leopardpaw. "I wouldn't trust him if I were you."
"I didn't see him," I replied.

Write more, please!

My days fell into a pattern of training, eating and sleeping. Finally, after a whole moon of training, Spottedpaw and I were invited to a Gathering. We followed the rest of the warriors as they raced through the territory, and I felt the familiar pride in being a LoveClan warrior. At long last, we reached the clearing where the Gathering was held. I headed into it with the rest of my Clan, noting the different scents and the polite greetings of the seperate Clan members.
"Hey, you're Tanglepaw, right?" I turned around to see the FireClan apprentice Lilypaw heading towards me. A pair of slightly younger cats followed her.
"That's right," I said, "and you're Lilypaw?"
"Yep," she said cheerily. "This is Bulletpaw and Shotpaw, my mentor's kits."
"Settle down, Element Clans!" called a loud, authorative voice. I looked up at the rock to see a black tom waiting, his tail twitching in impatience.
"Who's that?" I asked.
"I think that's Kickstar, the leader of IceClan," mewed Lilypaw softly. "The cat next to him is Bouncestar, leader of WaterClan, and on his other side is Brittlestar, leader of AirClan. I don't know where Quailstar is, though."
I presumed that was the EarthClan leader, and settled down. Brightstar and Glitterstar went onto the rock at the same time, and then Brittlestar stood up.
"Welcome, cats of the Clans," he said. "We have many issues to discuss, but first, AirClan has recently had two litters of kits and four new apprentices, who are unfortunately not here tonight as they have been confined to the camp."
"Why?" called a dark brown tabby elder in confusion.
"They were caught attempting to steal prey from IceClan," he said, "however, they did not catch anything and have been punished appropriately."

"FireClan has news also," said Glitterstar, shakily standing up. "We have four new litters of kits, and two new apprentices - Shotpaw and Bulletpaw."
The two cats dipped their heads as murmurs of congratulations echoed around the clearing.
"We are also pleased to announce that two of our apprentices have become warriors - Pumpclaw and Guntail."
A brown and grey cat raised his head happily, blinking proudly.
"The badger that was in our territory has, unfortunately, killed a pair of kits and the two warriors who were defending them. Thank you to Brightflight and Runningsoul, who gave their lives to help save Rabbitkit and Windkit, even though they did not succeed. Thankfully, they prevented the deaths of Breezekit, Jellykit and Hazelkit."
She dipped her head and stepped back, allowing Brightstar to take her place.
"LoveClan is also happy to announce the apprenticeship of three new apprentices - Dovepaw, Ringpaw, and Mosspaw."
I sighed when I heard my brother's name. He was a real pain in the tail!
"We also have three new litters of kits, and two new warriors - Leopardclaw and Reedwing."
Leopardclaw puffed his chest up, and nudged Reedwing, who looked like she was falling asleep. Her nose was still crusted with mucus from her recent cold, and she had been sniffling her way through the Gathering. I was too bored to listen to the other announcements, until Brightstar said, "Now, onto more serious business. I think Spiderclaw has something to say to all the cats here."
A pure black cat, with the greenest eyes I had ever seen, made his way to the rock. A shiver of dread rolled down my spine. I did not like the look of this cat.

"Cats of all Clans," he said, his voice carrying clearly, "we all know that there are many cats here who have blood that is... mixed. I know of at least ten cats in my own Clan who carry this affliction. I have... spoken to Glitterstar about this, and she has agreed with me. The new leader of EarthClan, Riverstar, has also agreed to offer her support. In fact, only Brightstar has not agreed, only because we were not able to get word to LoveClan."
He stood up straighter, and his voice shot around the clearing. "All cats with mixed blood going back under three generations shall be exiled!"

Brightstar stood up in anger.
"That's outrageous!" she declared. "Why have you agreed to this?"
"We agreed because Spiderclaw makes a valid point. Also, all purebred cats have agreed."
"I did," said a soft voice, as Reedwing stood up.
"So did I," mewed Lilystem coolly. "Brightstar, leave the territory along with the rest of the mixed cats. Your father was an IceClan warrior. Go."
Brightstar stood up. "This is a sham," she snarled. "Glitterstar, keep your deputy under control!"
"I trust Spiderclaw to keep his Clan safe, which is why I am retiring," she said patiently.
"Are you crazy?" spat Lilypaw angrily. "We have not done anything to ruin our Clans!"
"Be silent," ordered Spiderclaw.
"No," she spat coldly.
Spiderclaw leaped in front of her, and flashed his paw out. A bright red line appeared on Brightstar's throat, and she slid to the ground.
"NO!" I shrieked, leaping towards her. Lilypaw stomped on my tail. "Let's go," she whispered. "We can't do anything. Come on."
I followed her out of the clearing, ignoring the glares of the rest of the cats.

I ran, ignoring the calls of the other cats. Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of me.
"Tanglepaw!" said Spottedpaw in relief. "Thank StarClan! Come on - the deputy of WaterClan, Blackclaw, is calling a meeting just outside of the Twolegplace."
I followed her through our old territory, and eventually arrived at the place. Most of the cats were already there, but a few cats were still arriving. I sat down next to a black and white cat that smelled of Fireclan.
"Hi," I mewed. Normally I would never be so friendly, but I wasn't in LoveClan anymore.
"Hello," he said, slightly nervously. "I'm Lintpaw."
"Tanglepaw," I replied. We all shut up and sat down as a cat who had to be Blackclaw moved to the front. He stood there, shuffling his paws slightly and swishing his tail.
"Greetings, everyone," he said. "I know many of you may not know who I am. My name is Blackclaw, and I was the WaterClan deputy. I have no right to stand up here and order you around, so I shall get straight to the point. We are all used to living in our Clans, living together and cooperating with other cats. So I put forward that we create our own Clan, one that will accept any cat, be they pure, mixed, or non-Clan at all. If anyone has anything else to say, please stand up."
He sat down again. A moment later, another cat stood up. Spookfur.
"I have to agree with Blackclaw's idea," he said. "We must stay together if we wish to survive. But we cannot be like the other Clans. We must have our own identity. For a start, I put forward that we remove our Clan names."
"I like that idea," said Lilypaw, standing up. "We should have names like the Tribes in the stories, and maybe name the Clan the Tribe of... of..."
"The Tribe of Mixed Alliances," I said, standing up.
Blackclaw looked at me, then nodded. "If every cat agrees, this can be our new name. If any cat disagrees, please speak now."
No cat did.
"It is decided."