{{Cherry Clan}}

[Hawky]

<sup>Redstorm stared out over the territory that would soon be thiers. It would take a great deal of planning to get it all sorted out, but they would get it done. They had to. The clans needed to get settled as quickly as possible. He let his long claws dig into the soft earth beneath his paws. He hated having to wait out in the open, it made his hair stand on end. The longer they were out here, the more chance they had of being attacked. That was the last thing any of the clans needed at the moment. But, for the time being, there wasn't much he could do. He was still going to have to talk to Aquapulse and Rainwhisker about sending patrols out in the morning, and how many were going. It was going to be difficult splitting up the land, but he hoped the others would at least be reasonable. None of the clans were very big anymore, so it wasn't as if they all needed a lot of space. From the looks of things, there was going to be more than enough room. Especially if they were the only ones residing on the territory. Redstorm turned back to his Deputy, knowing that he was going to have to start organizing.

He almost scoffed at Ravenflight's comment, "I will send whoever is ready to go, no matter what clan they came from. We are all part of one clan now. You're going to have to get used to that." His tone was far from angry, but it held a level of scolding. Just enough to get his point across. It was strange enough for him to be leading cats that he barely knew the names of a few moons ago. He wasn't about to start treating the cats from the two clans any differently than the others. That was going to get him in a place he didn't want to be in, and end up just splitting the clan from the inside out. "We need to start acting as one unit, I'm not going to start splitting it into two different clans again. We already have enough of a challenge pulling the two together without giving any of them reason to doubt that we are one clan now. But I will send you with the first few warriors to hunt. I'll stay here with the rest to stand guard. When the Apprentices have had some rest, I'll have them go out with one of the warriors to look for moss for the Queens and Elders for the night. We're not going to be able to get settled in tonight, probably not even tomorrow night, so we need to make them as comfortable as possible."

Redstorm looked up, away from Ravenflight, and called out the names of a few warriors, and his Medicine Cat. "Tawnystone, I want you to check up on all of the Cherryclanners, make sure they're well and take care of the Queens and Elders. I want everyone ready to move by tomorrow night." He paused, searching the sea of faces and looking for his most able-bodied warriors to go with Ravenflight. "Kestralsong and Turtlewing, I want you to go with Ravenflight hunting. Catch as much as you can to feed the young, weak, and wounded. When you return, another hunting patrol will be sent out to get fresh-kill for the warriors. I want a round-the-clock sentry of at least two cats, which I'll keep careful watch of. We don't know what may be here, and I want eyes open and peeled for danger. Anything you see should be reported straight to me or Ravenflight." Redstorm nodded, letting the clan know that they could go about thier business. He was going to take first sentry, and he meowed orders to another cat to do the same as he turned back to Ravenflight. "Take Kestralsong and Turtlewing over to the eastern side of the woods. I want you to stay near the tree line, if there's anything in there we need to be careful of, I want you to be able to run out into open area. We'll be able to send warriors to help if we can see you're in trouble. Keep your eyes peeled for anything that might be of use, even medicinal herbs or streams we could take the clan to for water. Be as quick as you can, I want to see you back by sunhigh." Redstorm twiched his tail, dismissing the Deputy and keeping an eye on a kit that stumbled close to him, her eyes staring up at him with awe.</sup>[/sup]

[Stormeh]

Ravenflight stared at Redstorm as if he had just struck a blow to him. The CherryClanners and BrookClanners were still separate; that's all there was to it. Just because this tom was leader wouldn't change things. In fact, it might just make them worse...

Ravenflight felt his lip curl as he listened to Redstorm go on. "Then maybe," he growled, "you should start treating your deputy as more of a deputy than an apprentice." He spat the last word with distaste, as if Redstorm had offended him greatly. "CherryClan was here first, Redstorm; don't forget that." He padded forward, looking around the group of cats. His gaze fell on Stormpaw, and he flicked his tail for him to follow. Why shouldn't the apprentices know of the territory, too? he thought, and Stormpaw is well enough to do so.

The tom had heard Redstorm's words, but... "CherryClan hunts in the forest," he snapped, "not outside of it." He kept moving towards the tree line, crouching to catch a mouse, which was in his jaws moment later. He continued to let his paws carry him to the trees.

Tawnystone nodded at Redstorm's words. "Will do," she mewed, giving the tom a tiny nod. She turned to watch her brother. He was right in some words...but being rude about it wasn't the correct way to get things resolved. She sighed. Her eyes were trained on his black pelt, which was more sleek than she had last remembered. He also had more muscle that was apparent. The tom had always been lean, but where had this muscle come from? The Journey had obviously impacted him in a worse way than others...he didn't seem to be happy at all in their new home.

She released another sigh as she wove in and out of the cats, trying to find one that needed her care.

[Patmos]

Stormpaw shot up, surprised that Ravenflight told him to follow. He was frowning a bit and worry showed in his golden eyes. What would happen if the leader and deputy of CherryClan were going at each other all the time? CherryClan and BrookClan were one now and Redstorm was there leader. Why did Ravenflight have such a problem with it? The gray tom wished he could speak up but he just followed the deputy obediently. He knew he didn't have a problem with Redstorm. He sort of, looked up to him. He was remaining strong even though he had to leave his clan and the old territory behind. He had to take control of CherryClan and his leadership skills were being put to the test. So far, Stormpaw thought he was passing with flying colors. Maybe Ravenflight missed Nightstar and the way things used to be. Maybe he was blaming Redstorm for Fernstar's faults because they were both in BrookClan, and Redstorm was Fernstar's deputy.

[D a R K - R a H]

Panting in exhaustion, a dark tabby queen slipped up to the group of CherryClanners. She was too busy wincing at the feeling of shifting kits to pay any attention to Redstorm's words, but she did hear one thing that got her ears perked up: fresh-kill. The ultimate test for their new home: would it be able to supply them with enough food. Brackenpaw's stomach grumbled at just the thought of a nice plump mouse.

She was just imagining the tiny thing wriggling beneath her claws when the kits moved about again and she grinded her teeth together uncomfortably. "Tawnys-stone?" she called, looking about for the medicine cat.

[Raven-chan]

Firestone had been one of the last ones to enter the ring of cats surrounding Redstorm, and hardly heard his words. However, he sat down, and wrapped his long tail around his haunches, his amber eyes sparkling. A familiar scent entered his hemisphere, and he heard his sister call for Tawnystone. His ears pricked at the sound and he stood, turning away from the other cats towards Brackenpaw. He padded over to her, his entire countenance concerned as he meowed softly to her, "Are you okay? I know I'm not Tawnystone, but I'm pretty close. What's wrong?" He oh-so-gently nudged her swollen belly, deeply inhaling as he did so, trying to assess the situation.

[Hawky]

^{Redstorm merely shook his head and nodded at Stormpaw to follow. He would let Ravenflight be for the moment, but it would have to be dealt with sooner or later. He couldn't have the entire clan thinking that Ravenflight was leader of this clan. He was the leader, and if he had to, he would prove it. Redstorm flexed his long muscles and sheathed and unsheathed his claws in anger. He wasn't going to act on it now, merely peered after Ravenflight's back as he made his way toward the woods with the rest of the patrol. "Cherryclan may have been here first," Redstorm whispered under his breath, "But Brookclan is here now. I'll treat you as an apprentice only as long as you act like one." Redstorm's gaze darkened as he continued to stare at Ravenflight and waved his tail in farewell to Kestralsong. Redstorm wasn't looking forward to a match in front of the entire clan, but if it came to it...so be it. He would prove himself worthy to lead this clan. If possible, he would talk to Ravenflight on his own, but he wasn't going to have such insolent and open acts of insubordination from his Deputy. Not by a long shot.}[/sup]

^{Kestralsong didn't know exactly what to do. He was completely loyal to Redstorm, of course. He had been the deputy in Brookclan, and he was loathe to see anyone questioning his authority yet again. He heard from the other 'Brookclanners' that he had worked so hard to be accepted as the Deputy of Brookclan, and now he was having to re-prove himself again and again. Why couldn't Ravenflight just let it go? Brookclan and Cherryclan were one now. And at least Brookclan had given up it's name, joined up with Cherryclan. Yes, a former Brookclanner was the leader, but the Brookclanners had left thier name behind with the traitors, in their old home. Kestralsong didn't really have a problem with any of it, it just meant they had some new friends in the clan. A few less cats that they had to bicker with over land and prey. It was actually kind of...nice. Taking a deep breath and letting his nerves calm, and the hair on the back of his neck settle, he made his way past Redstorm, giving him a nod. He deserved a gesture of respect from someone around here. Turning back to the direction the patrol was going, he bound after them, catching up and walking just behind Stormpaw.}[/sup]

[Stormeh]

Tawnystone caught Brackenpaw's reply after Firestone had padded over towards her. She stared at the young she-cat for a moment. It was high time she became a warrior. Maybe that was how Redstorm could bring the new Clan in...make young Brackenpaw a warrior. Tawnystone smiled with a hint of sadness. The new and aspiring leader needed a way to prove to the CherryClanners that he was the real thing, not just some BrookClanner. Maybe this could be it.

The tortoiseshell medicine cat bounded over to Brackenpaw. "Lie down, dear," she meowed gently. She looked at Firestone. "Do you still need me or would you rather have your brother look after you?"

Ravenflight had gotten to the tree line before he just stopped and sighed. What kind of life was this? Arguing with his new leader. He turned his head back and stared for a moment, then turned it back while he shook it. No, his pride wouldn't allow him to right the wrongs... It'll just have to get better over time, he reasoned. He'll have to get used to me being his deputy as much as I'll have to get used to him being my leader. He stared into the trees and felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. His paws were burning from stepping on sharp rocks, hot Thunderpaths, and numerous other objects that they hadn't had to encounter at his old home. The Journey was such a challenge...and the more his body felt it, the more it conveyed it to his mind, and his mind was making his character take a toll.

The black tom flicked his tail, then just sighed again. He began to pad forward, creeping up on a pigeon that was just in the forest. He crouched and slowly moved up towards it. The pigeon suspected nothing as Ravenflight pounced and killed it with a swift bite to its neck. The tom stood up straight again, pigeon in his mouth. Its warm, limp body made his mouth water--when was the last time he'd had really fresh fresh-kill? He missed CherryClan--the old CherryClan--so much...

He padded back to his patrol. "Right, then," he meowed through the pigeon before he placed it on the ground. "Whatever you find you can put here. We'll take it back to the Clan in a few moments. Be ready for my call." He nodded and stalked away, back into his hunting mode.

[Patmos]

Stormpaw nodded quickly and stalked off into the territory. The place set a sort of unfamiliarity in his heart. It gave the illusion that something was going to spring out of the darkness. The illusion that he shouldn't be here, that this was a bad place. He should go home, back to the forest of cherry trees where he would be safe. He stepped lightly and carefully, his fiery eyes flicking around everywhere. They rested on each crevice, each place covered with the slightest shadow, searching, hunting for any sort of movement. His ears pricked and his jaw opened slightly a soft scuffling sound erupted from under a small pile of leaves.

He immediately lurched into a hunting crouch, pressing his gray body to the forest floor. He stepped forward, keeping his weight off his paws. A small black nose poked out from the leaves. The tom sprang at the prey, claws outstretched. They sank into the tiny mouse as a grin tugged on the edges of his mouth. A successful kill, for once. He picked the animal up in his mouth and turned to go back to the designated spot to drop the fresh-kill.

His heart began to race. He felt as if he were sweating but his body felt cold. His eyes searched around himself but all he saw was darkness lined with trees. He spun around before he heaved out a sigh, almost dropping his mouse. Before him stood the entrance to the hill he descended not so long ago, the way he got to this spot. Stormpaw padded forward feeling silly for thinking he was lost. He dropped the mouse where Ravenflight had instructed and began to hunt for more prey.

[D a R K - R a H]

Brackenpaw calmed at her brother's presense. Still, she looked to Tawnystone with a look of hope. "I'm alright... But do you have any chamomile? The k-kits keep moving about..." She felt a bit shaky and her paws were sore from walking. She just wanted to lay down and sleep, but there was little chance of that with the kits moving so much.

A sigh escaped her and she slowly lowered herself to the ground, grateful to give her paws a rest. Her eyes lifted and watched Ravenflight and Stormpaw leave. Her stomach grumbled aloud again and she prayed they were off for food...

[Raven-chan]

Firestone licked his sister's head, before thinking back to their store. They had...well, hardly anything. He hadn't had a chance to go and look for herbs yet. He didn't remember if they had any chamomile, but he was sure that if they had any, it wasn't much.

"Hey, Tawnystone, I'll go look for some, okay?" He offered, his paws shuffling restlessly. He bent down and licked his sister's head tenderly again, meowing,

"I'll be right back." He turned and bounded off, darting in between cats as agilely as if he were a warrior. He paused at their meager supply of herbs, and saw no chamomile. Great, now he had to go and look for some. So he left the circle of cats and disappeared into the forest, amber eyes flickering over the ground as he trotted forward. His paws were stealthy as he travelled, and his nose was taking in a whole range of new scents. They were interesting, and there were some herbs that he didn't recognize and wanted to try out, but he forced himself to focus on the chamomile.

[Hawky]

^{Redstorm heard the breathy voice of Brackenpaw as she spoke to the medicine cats. Along the journey, he had done his best to get to know the clan he was going to lead, so he did everything he could to interact with the other warriors. He didn't think it would be very wise of him to be distant with them, since it was a long shot that he got to be the leader of the clan anyways. Not that he couldn't handle the job, but there were others amoung the clan that could easily have taken his place. It was merely luck, the support from the warriors (and a smile from Starclan) that got him into the position he was now in. Redstorm made his way over to Brackenpaw, looking down at her, concern pooling in his eyes. "Is everything alright?" He voiced the question both to Brackenpaw and Tawnystone, since Firestone seemed to have gone off for something. For a moment, Redstorm flicked his ears toward the woods, hoping that Ravenflight would be back soon with food. He was sure that it wouldn't hurt to get some fresh-kill to the young queen, not to mention some of the others.}[/sup]

^{Kestralsong nodded to Ravenflight, turning to face the woods. Padding quietly into the undergrowth, he made sure to keep track of where he was going, it wouldn't do well for him to get lost on his first hunting patrol in thier new home. Besides, it would just cause unecessary concern and cost valuable time to have a patrol sent out to look for him. Keeping his tail to the edge of the woods, Kestralsong kept his ears moving so that he could pick up on any fresh-kill around him. He heard a flutter in the trees, not to far from where he was, but he could tell that it was too high up, so he abandoned the bird. Concentrating, his eyes peeled for movement, he stared around the foliage. After a moment, his eyes fixated on a twitching leaf at the base of an oak tree. A smirk came to his features, flashing one of his canines. Kestralsong's dark eyes never left the mouse, chattering away, completely oblivious to the large cat stalking toward him. It was over in a moment, the mouse hung limply from Kestralsong's jaws. Dropping it to the ground, he scraped a few pawfuls of dirt over his catch and his eyes flashed through the rest of the forest, ready for more.}[/sup]

[Stormeh]

Tawnystone stared after her apprentice for a moment, mouth hanging open slightly as if she was about to say something. But it simply closed again, and the tortoiseshell turned back to Brackenpaw. "I'd rather a warrior have gone with him," she confided to the she-cat. "But I suppose he'll be just fine. He's a tough one, hm?" She purred fondly as she thought of the tom. She turned and let her gaze fall on Redstorm as he approached. "She'll be fine soon," the medicine cat mewed softly. "The kits are moving, that's all..." She, too, turned to watch the patrol that Ravenflight was leading. "He should be back soon..." She glanced at Redstorm. "May I speak to you for a moment?" She flicked her tail towards Brackenpaw and meowed to her in a gentle voice, "I'll be back soon, dear, as will Ravenflight and Firestone, I'm sure. Tell Ravenflight that I asked him to run out and get you some bedding while he's up, too, please." She padded over to a slightly more secluded space, away from the warriors, and motioned with her tail for Redstorm to follow. The medicine cat sat down gingerly and curled her tail tightly around her paws.

((We'll do the tiniest of time-skips.. xDD))

Ravenflight moved back towards where the cats had left their fresh-kill. He pulled the prey that had his scent on them from the pile after he brushed the dirt off. "Everyone come back," he meowed only loud enough for the patrol to hear him. He was happy with his catch: a pigeon, a couple of mice, and a squirrel. The pigeon was very plump and could feed a couple of warriors... Maybe I can share this with Tawnystone, he thought, and possibly Firestone, if the two of them will even sit down to eat... He let his gaze wander over the forest for a moment more before picking his fresh-kill up. He padded slowly back to the camp, as he was slightly off-kilter with the prey in his mouth. He saw Tawnystone and moved towards her, but she gave him a slight flick of her tail towards Brackenpaw. He nodded, placed all of the fresh-kill except for a mouse down beside her, and then changed his direction. The black tom stopped right beside her. He placed his prey down on the ground and nudged the bigger of the two mice towards her. "You look like you're in pain," he mewed as he let his gaze graze her growing belly. "Need anything else?"

[D a R K - R a H]

Brackenpaw flashed her brother a grateful look before he darted off. She smiled and nodded to Tawnystone, but froze as the kits moved again and pain raced along her lower belly. She grinded her teeth together, clenching her eyes shut. When it passed, she sighed, keeping her eyes closed for a moment longer.

Ravenflight's voice startled her so much she jumped, the fur on her tail fluffing up. "Oh, Ravenflight, it's just you," she sighed, relieved. Her amber eyes lit up at the sight of the mouse and she bit into it without confirming it was actually for her. She looked up at his question, though, a small smile on her face. "You sister demands you fetch me some moss," she purred, grinning playfully.

[Stormeh]

Ravenflight purred. "She did, did she?" he meowed jokingly. "Well, that old medicine cat is just about as fearsome as any old badger I've ever seen; guess I'd better go fetch it, then." He nodded to her and whipped around. The tom let his gaze wander over the new territory was he tried to find some good moss. He figured that he could use a couple of kits' and apprentices' help, since the whole Clan would definitely need the moss to sleep tonight.... A panic rose in his chest. Where were they going to sleep? Didn't they need to find shelter? Sleeping out in the open wasn't how CherryClanners lived...

He shook his head with a sigh. Redstorm'll take care of it, I s'pose, he reasoned hopefully.

He was at the edge of the woods when he finally came across some moss. It was only a tiny patch, but it would do for some cat... He pressed his paw into it and pulled it back slowly with a frown. This was the hardest moss he'd ever felt! Ravenflight sighed. "Okay," he growled. He began to pad straight down the forest line, poking his paw in moss along the way. The green plant was losing its toughness the further down he got, and he had strayed very far away from the Clans once he finally found some good moss. The rabbit's ear moss was exceedingly soft, so he pulled up as much as he could. The black tom was jerking on some, trying to pull up the roots, when he caught a scent through the moss right under his nose. He looked up and dropped the moss, mouth slightly open to let in more scents. He shrugged after a moment and began to separate more moss from the ground. After he had pulled up a sizable amount, he began to pad back to the CherryClanners.

The first cat he went to see when he got back was Brackenpaw. He placed a large amount of the moss down beside her and shook his head to loose some of the dirt from his whiskers before sneezing. "Here you go," he mewed, making something like a nest with it. He moved the rest of the moss a little ways away from the she-cat for the other cats to use, then went and sat towards the edge of the clearing, eyes catching most of the CherryClanners' movements, as he waited for his sister.

[Raven-chan]

Finally, there it was. After what seemed like hours of searching, Firestone had finally found the chamomile. It was across the stream that he had been following, an oddly shallow and wide one. Oh well, he didn't care about getting his paws wet. It was for his sister, after all. ANd he was a medicine cat, it was his duty.

So he waded, thinking nothing much of it. About halfway across the stream, he realized that he was actually swimming, instead of walking. Weird. Then, his paws were struggling too hard to stay above water. Then, it became nigh impossible. He was gasping ragged breaths of air, his muscles were burning, and then, finally, he was pulled under.

The water surrounded him, covered him, immersed him in nightmares and fears. He tried to find which direction was up, but he couldn't remember. He tried to beathe, for his lungs were burning, but he couldn't. There was no way he could. He nearly gave in to the crushing blackness.

But, whether it be his own delusion or truth, the water seemed to let up. He began to paddle again, if weakly. It became more and more difficult as time went on, but he managed to make it to what he thought was the bottom. (It was actually the top.) Gasping, air flooded his starving lungs, and he found himself flopped on the other side of the bank. All he wanted to do was lay there, but he knew that Brackenpaw needed him. He tried to shake out the water from his pelt, but found that he was too weak.

So he left himself to be dripping wet, and gingerly picked up the chamomile by the stem. He began to wade back into the water, but he was no fool. Only a fool would go back in there! So he looked for another way across, and found one. A set of four large boulders, in a pretty straight line. Crouching down, Firestone sent a silent prayer to StarClan before leaping.

It was good that this medicine cat was covered in wiry muscle, or else the jumps would have been impossible. But he made it to the first three jumps almost on target. He hadn't accounted for any of the rocks being wet, of course. He slipped on the last boulder, and nearly plummeted into the water for what would have surely been his drowning. But he scraped himself back onto the rock and leapt sideways, hoping to hit the bank.

Which he did. On his side. This winded the poor tom, and he laid there, waiting for his breath to come back. Finally, it did. (Mostly.) He gave himself no choice in the matter, but instantly heaved his sopping self to his paws, and padded back to the CherryClanners.

He made it there, and stopped just towards the edge of the cats, and he ground the chamomile with one semi-dry paw in order for Brackenpaw to eat. He picked it up with aforementioned paw, and padded three-pawed over to his sister. Avoiding in getting her wet, he laid the chamomile before her.

"I see you've gotten a moss nest." He said softly, and licked her gently on the ear. He sat down, fur plastered to his entire body, showing his ribs. It was probably the most ridiculous thing one has ever seen. Firestone would have laughed insanely had he seen himself, and had he not been so worried about his sister.