chapter 4!!!!!!
“as I was saying” echo continued “until we continue on our journey to our real home, we need to assign ranks, I have been watching you all and I have determined your ranks, step up once I call your name” the cats all looked at each other their eyes full of excitement then looked at echo waiting patiently, as soon as echo had time to think once more she raised her voice against the wind as it started to blow hard. “Ice, snake, greyvine” the three cats padded up and then sat down looking up at her. “you three have shown your strength and bravery, you shall be named as warriors” the cats bowed their heads in acceptance to their new ranks then went to sit back to their places. “Fireblaze, moth, you two have shown your speed and skill, you two shall be prey-hunters” the two cats looked at each other then back at echo bowing their heads and sat at their spots. “Hawk,”- echo paused as she rested her gazed on the beautiful white furred, she-cat. “You have shown your kindness, but also your fierceness and courage, so if you accept you shall be a guard” the she-cats blue eyes were blazing with pride as she mewed “I do” she bowed her head and sat at her spot. “And now I shall welcome our new additions and give them their new names” the cats looked at each other with confused expressions “fireblaze, greyvine, crowsong, sootwhisker, flamekit, wolfkit, and ravenkit, step up please” all the cats stepped up sitting down, the kits sat by their mother. “If you are to be in our tribe you need to be named as us, greyvine, fireblaze, and sootwhisker, I now name you, blaze, grey, and soot.” A wave of purring approval erupted from the cats and the three toms sat back at their spots. “Crowsong, flamekit, wolfkit, and ravenkit, I now name you crow, flame, wolf, and raven.” The cats nodded and the kits trotted back to their father blaze, followed by crow. Echo lifted her chin then a growl started in her throat, “shadowstrike, step forth” the tom padded over and sat down his eyes filled with anger and pain. “as you have said shadowstrike you will be leaving until you get back on your paws, but I have decided you will leave as soon as the wind as died down” shadowstrike couldn’t help but show fear, his eyes became wide with uncertainty, the cats started to murmur to one another, “what do you mean echo?, you said that he could leave once he gets his strength up” it was grey who had spoken. Echo stifled a snap of retort and sighed. “Fine, and he can come with us to gather cats from the clans and rouges and loners” echo glared at him and unsheathed her claws “one bad move and I will have my cats throw you aside, or I will turn you into crow-food myself. Do you understand me?” shadowstrike let out a low growl, hawk started to unsheathe her claws ready to leap at the tom. But then shadowstrike nodded looking away from his daughter, and so hawk sheathed her claws as relief flooded over her. “We move out at sunrise!” Echo yowled then leaped gracefully off the rock and walked to her nest, hawk watched after echo and felt her ears start to heat up. She shook her head roughly and then walked to the entrance of the cave to keep watch. Hawk looked at the sky as drops of rain started to dampen her pelt, she gave a soft groan and shook the raindrops off her fur, she then looked into the cave and saw everyone was asleep and then her eyes quickly snapped to where echo slept and with alarm she saw echo was not in her nest she looked around wildly for the grey she-cat. Then with a prickle of fear hawk felt something across her spine…she whipped her head around to see echo, the she-cats amber eyes were staring into her own, she then relaxed “don’t be so tense on your first night ok” echo chuckled sitting down tucking her paws underneath her. Hawk gave a shy smile and flicked her tail with embarrassment, “yes well I didn’t know where you were, so I had to become tense, I am a guard of course” she mewed, echo rolled her eyes and muttered “well I AM the leader so aren’t I allowed to wander? Besides, I could not sleep” hawk giggled knowing it was pointless to argue with the cat who was her friend, and her leader. “Your right” echo stood up shaking the rain off her grey pelt, and started to groom it smooth, hawk shook the sleep from her eyes and sat up, she looked up at the sky and the rain, it started to clear.