So I wrote a second chapter...
Graystripe could feel himself swaying on his paws, his matted pelt prickling from the stares of all the cats. Now that he had found the Clans again, he felt the energy he had gotten from his determination beginning to melt away. His eyes saw double, and he had to shake his head to blink the fuzziness away. Millie appeared at his side, pressing her shoulder against his, trying to support him even though he knew she had to be just as tired as he was.
"You're alive!" Firestar's voice shook him awake, and a purr rose in his throat as he saw his old friend darting foward to face him. Firestar came in close, his eyes huge and his mouh open to drink in Graystripe's scent as if he didn't trust his sight. Millie lifted one paw, her teeth baring, and Graystripe felt a surge of wonder that she would still be willing to fight after all this.
"Easy now, Millie," he whispered, and turned his eyes back on Firestar. The ThunderClan leader leaned foward to sniff Graystripe's fur, and the deputy found himself shrinking back despite himself. He wasn't used to any cat besides Millie coming near him.
"The Twolegs didn't kill you..." Firestar mewed. "Thank StarClan."
No, thank Millie and me, Graystripe thought. He was suddenly aware of the whispering and hissing from the crowd behind Firestar, many cats speaking up at once. He heard clamors for him to tell his story then and there, others asking if he would still be deputy of ThunderClan.
Well, why wouldn't I?
A massive broad-shouldered tabby cat made his way to Firestar's side. For a moment Graystripe's claws unsheathed, sinking into the earth. He was certain it was Tigerstar, coming from the grave to haunt him when Graystripe had no chance to fight back. But this cat's scent was different, and his head was bowed, his amber eyes warm. Brambleclaw, Graystripe thought, remembering Tigerstar's son. "I can hardly believe you found us," he meowed, and came to touch his nose to Graystripe's. Then he fell back a few steps, at Firestar's shoulder. A deputy's pose, the gray tom realized. Brambleclaw was Firestar's deputy now.
It's been so many moons, how could I have thought ThunderClan would go without a deputy?
But Firestar wouldn't have given up. Firestar would have waited for me. After I risked my life for his kits, he would have waited for me!
His old friend had asked him something, but Graystripe brushed it aside. He opened his mouth to ask the question that had been rattling in his mind since the day he had come back to the ruined old forest and found it abandoned. "So you didn't wait for me."
He was almost grateful for the hurt that crossed Firestar's expression, the tangled emotion on his face. "I couldn't."
Of course you couldn't. Graystripe glanced across the vast multitude of cats, the ones that had fought battles alongside him and shared his kills. How could he have forgotten that kinship, that loyaty? "You could not risk the Clan by keeping them in the forest."
Clan kinship...but what about friendship? He gazed into Firestar's familiar green eyes and was glad when his friend stared steadily back. "If it had been only my life at stake, I would have waited."
Millie nudged his shoulder, and when he glanced over at her he saw a wicked gleam in her eyes that said: I told you so. He rolled his eyes back at her, and she flicked her ears, urging him to look back at Firestar. He opened his mouth to say something, but the ThunderClan cats, having decided they couldn't wait any longer, began to race over to him. There was Dustpelt, Brackenfur, Cloudtail...but then many more younger cats, staring at him and leaning in to sniff his ripped fur. Graystripe shrank away again, and a soft voice meowed, "Give him some space. He's exhausted."
He turned in amazement to see a brown tabby she-cat with bright amber eyes. It took him several heartbeats to recognize Firestar's daughter, Leafpaw. She must be a full-fledged medicine cat now, though she had only been an apprentice the last time he had seen her. There was a tilt to her head that reminded him of Firestar, and she met his gaze in the same warm, unflinching way, even as she herded the apprentices away.
And there was Firestar's other daughter, Squirrelpaw, unmistakable by both her flame-colored pelt and her loud meow as she stared at Millie. "Who are you?"
"This is Millie," Graystripe told her. "I met her in Twolegplace."
Squirrelpaw's mouth hung wide open. "A kittpet made the journey with you?"
"I couldn't have managed it alone." Graystripe lifted his muzzle. He didn't like the way their eyes raked over Millie, judging her. They didn't know what she had done for him.
"Did you follow our trail?" Brambleclaw wondered.
"No," Graystripe meowed. "We found our own way." He glanced at Millie, wanting her to tell some of the story, to prove she had been there and done just as well as him.
Even better.
"We searched for Graystripe's home first," the silver she-cat meowed, and he added, "The whole forest was devasted when we got there. No cats, no prey, nothing but torn-up trees and monsters."
"How did you know which way we had gone?"
"We saw Ravenpaw."
"How is he?" asked Firestar eagerly, and Graystripe turned back towards him, the memory of their old friend from apprentice days passing between them. "He's well, but concerned for you all. He said he'd seen you pass and that you were heading toward the setting sun. So we carried on over Highstones--" He had been speaking to fast, and his breath caught in his throat, his flanks heaving for a moment.
"Are you all right?" Leafpaw asked, coming foward to sniff at him. Graystripe blinked, taken aback for a moment at the unfamiliar concern. "Just tired."
Leopardstar made her way forward. For once her mottled pelt lay flat at the sight of him, as if she'd forgotten their old arguments-- for tonight, anyway. "It's good to see you again, Graystripe."
Other purrs echoed her, meows from RiverClan warriors and ShadowClan elders. Graystripe saw the amber eyes of Morningflower, an old WindClan friend, gleaming fondly at him. There was Mosspelt, the queen who had cared for Stormfur and Feathertail when they had been RiverClan kits, and Barkface, the ancient medicine cat of WindClan. There were cats who had last seen when they had been young apprentices and he could only recognize by scent, old elders who he remembered as warriors in their prime. They all rushed around him, a whirlwind of fur and and scent that made his tail curl up and his claws unsheathe into the ground. He wasn't used to the attention, to the feel of so many eyes on him.
Not used to being cared for. But this is how I was born, wasn't I? In a Clan.
His glance caught a RiverClan she-cat's and she asked him, "How did you know we were here?"
Graystripe's claws slid in at her familiar cool stare that brought warmth to his belly. "Mistyfoot, it's good to see you again," he meowed. "We met a rogue who told us there were cats living by this lake. When we reached the top of the ridge, the full moon was shining on the water and I could see shapes moving on the island."
"After that, we just followed the freshest scents," Millie added. "They led us down to the shore and over the fallen tree."
Her words made the eyes turn on her, and Graystripe could see unsheathed claws glinting in the moonlight, lips curling in distaste. Millie was stronger looking than any other kittypet he had met, but even moons of travel couldn't hide her soft fur and distinctive scent. A stab of pride went through his paws as Millie raised her head to Blackstar, who was glaring at her, and held his stare. He turned to Blackstar himself, feeling the fight return to him.
"Let's not forget the truce!" Leopardstar meowed. Graystripe glanced sideways out her. She sounded like she was trying to stand over him, just as she always had when he had been a part of RiverClan.
"The truce is for warriors," Blackstar replied.
"The Gathering is for warriors!" Onewhisker, another friend of Graystripe's, meowed. The gray tom was surprised when WindClan seemed to echo his words. Did he lead them now?
"Is ThunderClan going to allow another kittypet to join its ranks?" meowed some cat, distracting Graystripe. "I have trained Millie as a warrior!" he hissed back. "A kittypet would never have survived such a long journey." He was disgusted with himself as his legs turned to water beneath him, resisting yet another fight. A warm flank pressed against him, and he felt an old feeling of kinship when he looked up to see Firestar. His old friend's green eyes were bright with warmth and spirit, and his whiskers twitched in a familiarly mischevious way as he looked at Graystripe.
"Let's take you home."
He turned instinctively to Millie. "Do you think you can travel a little farther tonight?"
"I'll keep going as long as you need me to," she answered, as he knew she would. Graystripe sensed the surprise at her warmth from Firestar, but the ThunderClan leader didn't speak of it. He only meowed, "Very well," and turned back to the other leaders. "Was there any other news to be shared at the Gathering?"
"Not from RiverClan," Leopardstar meowed. Blackstar and then Onewhisker echoed him, and Graystripe flicked his ears. He never would have guessed that the wiry little tabby would make a leader of such a wary Clan as WindClan. I'll have to have Firestar tell me that story later on.
"Then let us return," the ThunderClan leader meowed, "and show Graystripe and Millie their new home."
He turned around, but before he could leave he heard the call of some young cat. "Does this mean that ThunderClan has two deputies now?"
Before anyone could speak, Sandstorm padded forward, taking her accustomed place at Firestar's shoulder. "Graystripe and Millie are tired. We should get them home as soon as possible."
"Yes." Firestar searched the crowd, finding Brambleclaw. "Lead the way."
The big tabby leaped forward obediantly, the muscles under his pelt visible even in the dim moonlight. ThunderClan swept after him, but Graystripe kept his eyes on Tigerstar's son. "He's grown up well," he mewed softly to Firestar.
The flame-colored cat flicked his ears. His voice was light as he replied, "My daughter certainly thinks so."
"Squirrelpaw?" Graystripe snorted. "You're not serious."
"Their kits are apprentices now."
Graystripe let out a mrrow of laughter that came out rusty. "You shouldn't have allowed that. Those kits will be trying to command StarClan, with the kind of kin they have."
Firestar swatted him lightly with his tail. "They're an adventurous bunch, if that's what you mean."
"Adventurous meaning they've already tried to murder you, adopt a bad-tempered rogue, and go on a journey to save the Clans?"
"Not yet." Firestar purred. "But StarClan knows they're trying."
Graystripe purred, too, and then noticed they had fallen to the back of the group. "Where's Millie?"
"Sandstorm's taking care of her, don't worry." Firestar narrowed his eyes. "She's your mate now, isn't she?"
Graystripe looked down at his paws. "Yes. She lived in the garden next to mine when I was a kittypet...and I don't know. She wasn't like any other kittypet I'd ever met before." He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. Would Firestar ask him why he wasn't still holding on to Silverstream? Would he hold Graystripe's choosing of another mate against him?
The ThunderClan leader was looking directly ahead of him. "You know I would never judge you for choosing a kittypet as your mate," he meowed softly. "And of course I can understand you wanting to be happy. Wanting to move on. You must have been going through so much pain away from the Clan. It would have been possible to keep the pain of your love for Silverstream alive, too."
Graystripe closed his eyes briefly and then opened them, finding he still couldn't look up at Firestar. "Thank you," he meowed instead. "I should have known you'd understand."
Firestar brushed against him, his fur blending with Graystripe's. "How could I not?"
Graystripe shook himself, trying to clear the tension out of the air. "So," he mewed, "why don't you tell me what's new in the Clans? Since when is Onewhisker WindClan's leader?"
"You noticed?" Firestar asked.
Graystripe twitched his whiskers. "His head was only twice as big as it was the last time I saw it."
Firestar purred. "He's a good leader. But he's had to forget his own feelings about ThunderClan for the sake of WindClan."
Graystripe nodded. "He's a good follower for Tallstar. I suppose the journey did him in?"
Firestar nodded. His eyes were glassy with old grief, and Graystripe touched his tail to his shoulder. "There were younger cats who wouldn't have made that crossing at all." He paused. "Who else is gone?"
Firestar's ears twitched. He clearly didn't want to have to say all the names. "Frostfur and Speckletail never came to the lake at all. Mudclaw died-- that's why Onestar's leading, obviously. Ferncloud lost Hollykit and Larchkit of her last litter, and Shrewpaw too. Goldenflower fell ill last season. And..." he broke off, and Graystripe felt his throat tighten. "Cinderpelt."
"Oh." The medicine cat's name made Graystripe's injuries burn twice as badly, as if they were mocking him about how Cinderpelt would never be around to cure them. "When...how?" Cinderpelt had always been so young and, in spite of her twisted leg, full of life.
"There was a badger attack back when we first moved here," Firestar explained. "We fought them off, but Cinderpelt died helping Sorreltail; she was kitting right when the creatures came. Sootfur was killed, too."
"I'm sorry." Graystripe had to choke the words out; grief at the news of so many deaths at once made it difficult for him to think clearly. There was a part of him that asked What did you expect? You've been gone for seasons! But that didn't make it any easier for him to bear it.
"It sounds as if you've had as much trouble as I have," he commented at last.
"It must look that way to you," Firestar meowed. "But it hasn't been that bad. We have plenty of kits and apprentices, and we've never starved like we did back at the old forest. There have been troubles, of course. Times when I've thought about giving up all hope in StarClan..." He trailed off, pausing to look Graystripe in the eye. "But you're back now, and I won't make that mistake again."
Reviews are appreciated!
