Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 16

Darkpaw turned and was about to hand the fish back to the warrior that Hollypaw had stolen it form when the leader of the forest cats intercepted him. "No," she commanded. "In the dark forest if you lose your power or talent you lose your rank. He lost his power to Hollypaw or whatever her name was, now he doesn't get to stay his ranking as a warrior. He is allowed to stay here until his star goes supernova but he isn't going to be picked first for battles, or given some information that the dark forest shares with it's most dedicated warriors. He won't get a new power but he won't be forced to leave." said the leader. "So who gets the fish?" asked Darkpaw. "You do. If another warrior finds the power they are allowed to keep it for themselves. Since Hollypaw doesn't belong here she wasn't allowed to keep the power. You took the fish from Hollypaw which means that you are it's rightful owner. If you aren't using the fish you can keep it in a store." said the leader. "A store?" "Yes, each tree has a name engraved on it. If the cat has a power, then the tree will open and you can put your token or whatever it is in the store. Only you can open the store, and if any body tries to steal from the store we will know who it is and they will be forced to give up their power. No one has tried to steal a power in over 1,750 years or so." Darkpaw was nodding along when suddenly he noticed a flash of red in the water. Darkpaw padded over to the water and dived in. He saw the glowing red object sink further in the water. He dove after it and when he grasped it in his paws he realized it was a flower. When he resurfaced all the cats were staring at the glowing red flower in his paws. Suddenly the leader spoke. "That is the sacred flower of Ruby. She was the leader before me. It holds great powers. Powers beyond dreams of anyone. Cats have been searching for it for years. I now announce that the sacred flower of Ruby now belongs to Darkpaw who has found it in the water. He will be the user of the sacred flower Ruby and no one is to use it, unless given permission."