In the cold, dark night, Hazelheart's claws were clogged with mud, no one around to help her as she buried the lifeless body of Willowstar. As the senior warrior, and thus the last remaining leadership of ThunderClan, she had sent Stormstripe to ShadowClan, Dewfur to RiverClan, and Squirrelpaw to WindClan. They would likely be back by sunhigh tomorrow, but for now, it was just her clawing at the muddy ground. As the sky grew lighter and birds chirped in the trees, she finally scraped the final pawfuls of dirt onto Willowstar's cold fur.
Nearly collapsing where she stood, Hazelheart stumbled into her camp, heading toward the warriors den to sleep until her Clanmates returned. She fell into her soft, mossy nest, instantly falling into a deep slumber. She dreamed a peaceful, dreamless sleep for the first time in half a moon, awaking only when she faintly heard her name being called from outside the den.
"Hazelheart! We're all back!" came Dewfur's voice from the entrance of the den. She dragged her paws up beneath her, still exhausted, but not so much so that she couldn't sit in front of the other cats and speak to them. She padded out of the den, seating herself beneath the Highledge, facing all the faces staring at her.
"Hello everyone. I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to come here. I know that the sickness that took most of ThunderClan has taken most of your Clans too. Now I know none of us will be able to survive on our own with only a few cats of each Clan left, so I have a proposition for you all. I believe we should band up into one Clan, at least until our ranks grow enough to separate into four Clans again. I'll leave it up to all of you, but I know I would feel much safer in a larger group. ThunderClan, it's up to each of you individually whether you stay or not. I cannot make the decision for you, nor would I have if I was your leader or deputy. I will wait in the warriors den right over there. When you have all reached a decision, let me know and we will decide what to do from there."
"WindClan does not need time to think this through. We have a kit with us and we, too, would feel much safer in a large group than with just us," stated Mossheart, rising to her feet.
"ShadowClan feels the same," said Crookedpelt, with Pinefur and Brackenpaw nodding behind him, though Hazelheart noticed Coldheart twitching her tail mutinously.
Looking to RiverClan, Hazelheart braced herself for the worst based on the grim look on Dewstorm's face.
"RiverClan would never join ThunderClan! We will never be bossed around by a ThunderClan cat again!" snarled Dewstorm.
"Speak for yourself, Dewstorm! I would love to be with my friends! I'm staying! Whether you are or not." Mistpelt looked Dewstorm in the eyes. "I'm sorry Dewstorm, but I won't leave the safety of a Clan, even for you. I'm sorry." Padding over to him, she tapped her nose against his and rasped her tongue over his ear.
"Very well Mistpelt. I'll miss you." And with that, he turned away and trotted out of the ThunderClan camp.
Hazelheart looked around and chuckled awkwardly. "Well, now we need to decide whose camp we'll be staying at. I believe that since Mossheart is the only one of us who was a deputy and that Dewleaf was medicine cat, we should go to the WindClan camp. At least for now. We'll see about where to go next come leaf-fall. But for green-leaf, it would be best to stay under the sun. What do the rest of you think?" she asked, glancing around.
"Hazelheart, I thank you for giving us the honor of remaining in our camp, but given that ThunderClan looks to you and Mistpelt is going to follow us wherever we go, I think the decision is entirely up to ShadowClan," Mossheart said diplomatically.
"Thank you for giving us the decision Mossheart. ShadowClan doesn't mind leaving the forest for a while. The camp is still riddled with illness, whereas it disperses much quicker on the moor. We will follow you to the old WindClan camp," Crookedpelt said, dipping his head to the WindClan deputy.
"Great!" exclaimed Stormstripe. "Hey Mistpelt, want to come check the medicine cat's den for any useful herbs? I know we have a few left, but I don't know what the ones to keep are."
"Sure! If you have clover, cobweb, and marigold, those would be the most useful. We're likely to get a lot of cuts on the moor. Remember, we don't know the layout, we're likely to get stuck in a lot of gorse bushes. Juniper berries and poppy seeds will be pretty useful as well, so if you have any of that, it'd be great."
"That reminds me, Pinefur, Brackenpaw, head back to our camp and see if there's anything useful we can salvage," Crookedpelt ordered, turning away as soon as he gave the command. "Then Coldheart, Dewfur, Squirrelpaw, go out into the forest and collect the most moss you can find. Then start heading toward the WindClan border."
"We don't answer to you, ShadowClan cat," spat Squirrelpaw.
"Squirrelpaw, that's enough," Hazelheart interjected. "He is a senior warrior and you most certainly do answer to him. We aren't separated into Clans anymore. We all need to work together. And those of us accustomed to sleeping in moss nests will want moss to sleep in, at least to start out with. But don't go all the way to the border, we don't want any of the moss falling into the stream." As the patrol headed out, Hazelheart nodded at Crookedpelt. "I think I'll grab some moss on our way there too. I don't want to get there and find out there isn't enough to at least line our nests."
"I think I'll do the same. Smart idea Hazelheart. And thanks for backing me up. I know I can come across as a bit bossy, so I'll be sure to apologize to your apprentice later at WindClan camp."
And as Hazelheart smiled at Crookedpelt, cats bustling around her in preparation for moving, she decided that she had made a good decision and that they were going to be much better off this way.
The first chapter of my story has arrived! So it's kind of short, and I look forward to constructive criticism in the comments. If you have any characters you'd like to submit, leave a brief description and I will message you for more details. As always, leave a review and I'll see you next chapter!