Chapter 8: Who Are You?

I looked at the other cats around us, I then nodded to myself happily. We were eating good today, but days like this wouldn't last very long. I could feel it in the air, it was starting to get cold. There was not much to hunt in the cold seasons, Squirrelflight had told me that many cats had died from starvation.

I am sure that Kettle and Oister both knew what it was like to get through the cold seasons. I looked at Limp and Mint as they were talking to each other, I was glad that Mint had found a close friend besides me. Oister was more or less a mother figure to her.

Mint, and Limp... They did not know what it was like to go through the harsh time of the year. They were both young, Mint was probably the age of a warrior but she had lived inside a twoleg place and she was too young to hunt last year anyways.

I shook my head, much could be said about me as well. I had grown up a twoleg, I was kind of scared to admit it to all of them. Most cats that I crossed paths with from here on out would probably not know it.

Kettle always called me a tough leader, I did not know if he meant that in a mean or a good way. I shivered, mainly because of the wind that was blowing all of us, but also because I was afraid... Afraid that I would fail the starclan cats. They trusted me so much, but not even I trusted myself.

So many cats would be looking up to me, in fact, plenty were right now. All of the cats that were with me outside of this abandoned two leg place were all looking at me for what we were to do next on our mission, our destiny...

I did not have many answers, I tried my best to act calm and collect like I knew what I was doing, but truthfully I did not. I was looking to the cats above to help me, but they told me that I would have to do the rest of this quest on my own. I was scared, what if I failed...

What if I had taken Oister and Kettle away from a good home. They had a good leader, that seemed to sure know a lot more than me about anything. I was so afraid, I tried my best to calm myself before the cats around me began to notice that I was not alright.

I was having a nervous breakdown. I did not know what to do, I had no cat to help me. I shook my head though, I remembered what Firestar had told me one of the last nights that I was with the starclan cats.

"Moon... If you ever need help, do not look to us. We can only help you so much. You have a cat that loves you so much, you need her." He said to me. I looked at him and then I nodded. I was afraid to fail, these cats were so smart and had been through a lot more than I had.

Squirrelflight then began padding over to me. She sat down beside Firestar with a smile on her face and then she lowered her head at me and nodded to me. She was looking up to me as well, I was so afraid to fail. These cats were looking up to me for me to help them.

I just nodded back to Squirrelfight, but I could tell she saw something in my eyes that was not quite right. She moved closer up to me and then she whispered something in my ear that even I could barely hear, even though I was the only one she was was talking to.

"Moon... Do not be afraid, you are a worthy cat. There are other cats that we could have chosen over you, but we chose you." She whispered in my ear. I looked at her for a few moments, just trying to take it all in, and then I nodded to her.

She went back and sat beside Firestar with a big smile on her face. Firestar nodded to her, smiling back at her and then he nodded to me. Suddenly a lot of the cats around me began to appear out of nowhere. I remembered a lot of the cats, but some of them were new faces to me.

There were to many to count, hundreds? Thousands? I shivered as they all were looking down on me, it was all up to me. Truth be told, no matter how much they trusted me, I did not know if I even trusted myself all that much.

They all were smiling, I heard many cats talking amongst themselves, I tried catching a little bit of what they might be saying but I did not find any luck in that. I nodded back to them, they continued smiling, Squirrelflight walked up to me. She lowered her head as if she was bowing to me.

The cats around me in the small little clearing that was supposed to be the gathering place all bowed to me as well. It was weird to me, they were all looking to me as if I was their king, but I was not even ready to lead the small group of cats I was with right now, let alone thousands of cats.

"Trust in yourself, it will get you far. Things will not be easy for you, you will lose many cats that you care for, but do trust us. You are our last hope, but you need to believe in yourself first." Firestar said to me. I looked at him for a few more moments then I looked at all of the cats in the clearing.

I nodded to all of them, and then I looked back to Squirrelflight and Firestar, they trusted me. They were right, now I needed to trust in myself. I sighed to myself. Then I looked at all of the cats that were with me in the clearing. I gulped, but then I began to speak to all of them... As a leader, like I should be.

"Thank you all for believing in me! I will not fail you. I promise, I will choose the right path every step I take to the best of my ability." I said to all of them, they all looked at me and then they nodded, then they all began to speak in a perfect rhythm.

"We believe in you Moonstar! There is a path, in the sky, the moon will guide you!" They said to me. It seemed a bit weird the way they just said that to me but I just shook it off and then nodded to all of the cats that were with me in the clearing.

But the moment that I had blinked they had all just gone and disappeared, and now I was alone again. Not even Firestar and Squirrelflight were with me. I shivered and then looked around at the small little clearing. It looked torn up, like no cat had been there in a long time.

I realized that it was indeed, because no cat had been there in a long time. I sat down on one of the rocks and hoped that maybe one of the starclan cats would come talk to me, give me some sort of hope that I was not going to be alone on this path.

"You are not alone... Believe in yourself, the cats are always going to be by your side." I heard a cat say from right behind me. It made me jump, because for one, I was not expecting a cat to pop up like that, but for another I would have expected it to be in the clearing not behind me on the rock I was on.

I turned around to see the cat that was talking to me. I noticed who it was right away, even though I do not remember her all that much. I could just tell based off of the fur that it was my mother, I looked at her not sure what to do, or what to even say to her.

She was the first one to do something, she walked up to me and pushed her nose against mine as a friendly way of showing love. I looked down at the ground, this was my mother, I must look at her when she is talking to me. I then looked back at her.

"I am so afraid to fail... I don't want to let you all down..." I said to my mother. All was silent for a few moments, I lowered my head and then sat down at the ground. Just as soon as a I did, she walked up to me and pushed my head up.

"Moon... You were the only one of my litter to survive, I was sick... And so were your brothers and sisters. But I took you somewhere safe, I knew there was something special about you... I could have just sat there in the corner of that nasty alley and just let the both of us die. But I didn't, I could tell there was something special about you." My mother said to me. I looked at her for a few moments, and then I nodded to her.

Thankful, that even she believed in me when she had no reason to. I always wondered what had happened to my mother and the rest of my kits. Tristan had just told me I had probably just been put up for adoption because my mother did not want me, I now knew that it was not true.

"Even though I was too young to remember you... I love you mom." I said to my mother. She looked at me with a glimmer in her eyes and then she walked over to me. But just as she was walking over to me to give me a nudge, she disappeared and I woke up.

I remembered all of what had happened that night, and I nodded to myself, I had to be strong, make sure the cats around me knew that I was strong. They were looking to me for answers, they were looking to me to lead them to the end goal.

What was the end goal? I always said that it was to rebuild the clans... Firestar always told me that wasn't my real end goal. That was only the end goal to the starclan cats, every cat had a destiny, I just had to find mine. I shivered and then looked at all of the cats that were with me.

They had all finished what they were eating, and now they were all looking at me for what to do next. I nodded to all of them, not sure what to say. I looked at Mint, she was smiling at me, it made everything feel so much better.

I then lowered my head to all of them, every cats life was important, no matter if they were a leader or not a leader... I would save every single one of their lives if it meant sparing my own any day.

"Alright my friends... My family..." I said to all of the cats that were with me. I looked at all of the cats, looking at Limp especially, I wanted her to know that we were a family, and she was now a part of that. "We will now find the cat that is in this twoleg place... He is to help us on our end goal to finish our path."

All of the cats looked at me for a few moments and then they nodded to me. I looked at all of the cats that were with me and then I smiled to each and every one of them. Limp and Mint I could tell they had a little bit of fear on their faces.

I walked up to both of them and then pushed them all close to me. I made sure that they were well cared for and that they were loved and trusted. Then I moved back and looked at Oister and Kettle, they had big smiles on their faces, they were happy to see that the rest of us were happy as well.

"Where is this cat? Who is he and what does he look like?" Kettle asked me. So many questions, but I knew how to answer them, I knew each and every answer to tell him. The others all looked at me for the answers, I nodded to them.

"His name is Youngtail I believe, he looks a bit like you Kettle. He just has slightly darker brown fur and a white end of his tail and his paws and belly." I said to the cats all around me. All of the cats nodded at me, I knew they had all seen him on the end of the fence the other day.

Oister did not look to certain, but I could not blame her, she was busy trying to help Mint. I looked at her and then I waited for her to ask her question. All was silent for a few moments, Limp looked at me a bit confused why I wasn't still talking.

"So... You believe his name is Youngtail? What if we have come all of this way for no reason." She said to me. The others looked at her, Limp looked as if she was asking the same question, but I could tell that both Kettle and Mint both trusted me.

"You have seen the cats of the dead... You know that they are real, they have guided me, we will search this twoleg place, it is not that big and I know the place that is his, I have seen it in my dreams." I said to Oister. She looked at me for a few more moments and then she nodded.

I knew she was going to be the hardest to make her believe in me, it is not that she did not believe that I was a good leader, she just always questioned every cat she talked to. Even her own mate Kettle. I looked at all the cats that were with me.

"Oister, can you make sure that Mint is okay? Just stay here, me Kettle and Limp are going to go look around, Mint is not ready to go on the fences yet. Once we find the place, we will come back and get both of you." I said to Oister. She looked at me and then happily nodded her understanding, but I could tell that Mint was a bit upset.

Kettle and Limp both looked at me showing me that they were both ready, Limp hopped on to the top of the fence, she almost fail but she luckily caught her balance and then looked at me and smiled, I looked at her and smiled back Kettle jumped up on the fence as well. I looked back at Mint.

"I can do it Moon! You don't have to stay back, I don't want you to waste any more time then I already have." Mint said to me. I looked at her a little bit disappointed but I walked up to her and nudged against her to try and calm her down and make her feel a little bit better.

"Mint... You are not slowing us down, we are at the end now, we have all the time in the world." I said to Mint. I instantly knew to myself that it was not true. I remembered the dream of the cats and the kits the other night, all the kits were on their death bed.

I needed to get them some help, I hoped that I could get this over with fast and then go ahead and head over to that twoleg place and help them. I nodded to her to make sure that she knew I trusted her. She looked at me for a few moments.

I could tell that she was not all that sure if she really believed that but she walked up to me and nudged against me. I looked at her and then smiled, she managed to catch a little smile herself. I looked at her happy to see that she knew I trusted in her and believed in her.

Then Kettle coughed to make sure I remembered what we were doing in the first place. I looked at Mint for a few more moments, making sure that she was okay, then I nodded to Kettle to let him know that I was ready.

I then walked over to the fence and hopped on top of it, Kettle made room for me and I smiled at him and Limp. They both looked so happy, I was happy to know that I was not alone on this path, much like I thought I would be right off the start.

I had been lucky to be blessed by the cats of the stars to have Mint by my side then have the other 3 not long after that. To be truthful, I don't think that the starclan cats could tell me anything if I was alone. I would not listen to them, I was close that one day to go back to some twolegs with that one old cat.

Luckily I choose the correct path and now I was with cats that knew how to make it out in the wild, they were teaching me things that not even the starclan cats had time to teach me. They taught me all of the basics and how to hunt for prey. Which was all I really needed in the beginning so I could not complain.

"So Moon... Where do we go?" Limp said to me. I looked over at Limp, the twoleg place was actually a lot bigger than it had first seemed, there was at least 20 or 30 different houses spread across. I looked at Limp and saw something behind her.

I looked a little bit closer, and I realized what it was, it was the same red brick house that I had seen in my dreams. It wasn't the house I was looking for, but I knew that the blue house had to be right behind it. I looked at Limp for a few more moments and I nodded to her.

"The place we are looking for is right there..." I said to Limp. Kettle and Limp both turned to look at the red brick house. After a few more moments Limp was the first to turn around a bit confused at me.

"That? That is a boring old place, I thought it would be a lot cooler than that for it to be in your dreams." Limp said to me. Me and Kettle both laughed, and for a few moments I smiled at the cats that were with me. It was a good family that we all had, but how long would this last?

I turned to Mint and Oister, they were playing in the small yard that was at the abandoned twoleg place that we had stayed at last night. I smiled to see that they were so happy to be with each other, this really was a perfect family, I hoped that Kettle would choose to be with us.

"No... That is not it... The place behind it is, and believe me, it is even more boring. Much like the old place I used to live in." I said to Limp. Limp giggled at me and Kettle looked at me and then nodded for me to choose what to do next.

To be honest, the place that the cat lived at, it actually looked exactly like my old place, every bit of it, but it would not surprise me, my old place was quite a bit boring indeed.

"What do we do next Moon?" Kettle said to me. I looked at him for a few moments, I wasn't sure how to respond to that question. But after a few moments of thinking, and realizing what was going on, I remembered what was happening and thought sadly about how we were near the end.

"Both of you move down, Im going to walk down the fences and make sure that it is the place we need to be at, then I will nod to you if it is, and you will help Mint go under the fences like before." I said to them. They looked at me and then nodded.

It took a few more moments for it to settle in, but then they both hopped down from the fence and looked up at me. I smiled at them, it felt good to see them looking up to me. It made me feel my place as leader no matter how small it really was.

I then began slowly and steadily walking across the fence to get a clear view of the house. I almost slipped a few times, it was kind of an unsteady metal fence on the brick side but I managed to get across and see.

For a few moments I thought, that maybe once again I would get unlucky and I would see that it was not actually the house I was looking for. But once I saw the place I knew that it was what I was looking for.

I turned around and then walked further back to the fence, this time more steady than before and then I nodded to Kettle. He looked at me and then he smiled, I could see the excited look on his face, I could not blame him, I had been excited for this day for a long time.

I then saw Oister and Limp walk over and the began scratching the ground to get into the brick house yard. Kettle hopped on that side of the fence and he looked at us and smiled. Once they got enough room for Mint to go through, Limp went underneath as Oister hopped over since she was a bit bigger than the other two.

I saw Limp and Mint pop out from the other side and I smiled at the both of them. But their faces were looking at something completely different, and I could see the fear on their faces.

I turned over to see what it could be, I then realized what they were looking at. There was a very large dog in the yard and it was running right at them. I gulped and then tried as fast as I could to try and run and save them. But the dog was just faster than me.

Suddenly the dog was slammed backwards about a tail length from Mint and Limp. The dog got back up and started barking loudly at Mint and Limp. They finally realized what was going on, Limp spat at the dog and laughed at it.

The dog was chained up to a tree luckily, I sighed thankfully to starclan, I was not ready to lose both of them today. I heard something yell from inside the house, I could not understand the language of the twolegs but apparently the dog did.

The dog grunted sadly and then it walked over to the tree and just stared at all 3 of us. Oister and Kettle both were staring at us with scared looks on their faces. I nodded to both of them to let them know that we were okay.

"He's chained up! Let's just go to the other yard before we cause any more trouble." I said to them. They looked at me and happily nodded. I looked at Limp and Mint to make sure that they were okay from that encounter. Limp nodded back at me but I could tell that Mint was a bit scared still.

"I thought we were about to die..." She said to me. I walked up to her and nudged against her to make her feel a little bit better. She began purring now that she realized that she was going to be okay and that I was here with her.

"So did I... We can thank Starclan for that. Let's just go over to Youngtails place now." I said to the both of them. I looked at her for a few more moments to make sure that she was going to be okay. Luckily she nodded to me and we began heading across the back part of the yard far away from the dog.

Once we were at the other side, I looked over at the fence to make sure that Kettle and Oister were okay. Oister was behind Kettle on the back side of the yard, but it was almost like Kettle did not even notice that his mate was there with him.

He was too busy looking at something, I looked at him a bit confused for a few more moments. But then I went to the fence and me and Limp began scratching in to it to make sure that Mint could make it across the other side safely.

"He is here Moon..." Kettle said to me. I looked at him for a few more moments, and then me and Limp began scratching even faster than before now that we were both very excited. I looked at Mint now that we were done and Mint and Limp walked under the spot we had made for her.

I quickly hopped on to the top of the fence and looked over at the yard. I looked over and saw I an old cat looking at all of us a bit scared. He did his best to look like he wasn't but I knew he was counting his odds in a fight and he knew he had no chance.

"Why are you all in my yard? Who are you?"