Welcome! This is Willowshine's Adventure, the next fanfiction I will write in full. It's actually on the short side, only being about...fifteen chapters long? Yeah. It's my second Warriors fic that isn't focused on ThunderClan, but I've never done RiverClan before. So this should be fun.

If you are new to my work, this is part of the Elemental-verse: An AU deviating from Fallen Echoes focusing on Ivypool as the fourth cat and the prophecy meaning different things. This fic takes place three moons after Elemental: War of Shadows, and a few moons before Elemental Book One: Vast Lands. I've tried to contextualize it so that you get a sense of what is going on even if you're new to the 'verse. If there are any remaining questions, feel free to ask.

I don't own Warriors or any of the characters you will meet in this chapter. Actually, I think I made up Sagepelt, Ravenfrost, and Copperpaw. And Rushkit, of course. But that's it for this one.

Chapter 1

"It's alright, Minnowtail," said Willowshine, her paw on the trembling queen's flank. "I believe in you. Just a little push now."

The kitting queen looked up at her, amber eyes wide with the exertion. Then a tremor pulsed through her side, and Willowshine caught the kit that slid out with soft paws. At once, she nipped and licked, her skills kicking into place as she did so. This was routine. Minnowtail collapsed, her energy spent, and Willowshine slowly rubbed the kit back and forth with her tongue. He was a cream-colored mass of fur, light and lovely, and Willowshine felt her heart warm up. Soon enough, the kit was moving and squirming away from Willowshine's rasping licks, and Willowshine secured him at Minnowtail's belly.

"He's lovely," said Willowshine. "And very healthy, I should say."

"Thank you, Willowshine," said Minnowtail. "Does…does Rainstorm want to see him?"

Her voice sounded so hopeful that Willowshine let herself smile, even though it broke her heart. Minnowtail had been among the cats to follow Tigerstar in the War of Shadows, as they were calling it now. Three moons ago, Tigerstar and the Place of No Stars had sent waves of warriors made of shadow to destroy the Clans, all while training living cats to build up an army. Slightly under a third of RiverClan's warriors and apprentices had abandoned RiverClan to join Tigerstar's forces, and though the Clans had eventually won and Mistystar had invited all converts back, it was still tough on those cats who had turned their backs on RiverClan. Since finding out about Minnowtail's involvement, Rainstorm had ignored her entirely. Now they had a kit. Would Rainstorm shun him, too?

"I'll tell him the news," she said gently. "You should rest, Minnowtail."

"I'll look after her," said Icewing, looking up from where she had wrapped her tail around Sandkit. Willowshine blinked gratefully at her and dipped out of the nursery.

She looked around for Rainstorm, who, surprisingly, wasn't far. He was watching her with narrowed eyes as she approached.

"You and Minnowtail have a son," said Willowshine boldly. "He's beautiful. You should visit him."

"Why would Rainstorm want to do that?" Not far away, Troutfur lashed her tail. "Minnowtail betrayed RiverClan."

"Exactly," said Ravenfrost, sticking her nose in the air. "Minnowtail should have never come back."

Willowshine's heart gave a twinge, and she rounded on the pair of gossips.

"I will have you know that Minnowtail loves RiverClan," said Willowshine sharply. "Tigerstar brainwashed her and everyone else to believe that they were making RiverClan stronger. There is nothing wrong with that."

"Even after he made them fight against us?" snapped Pouncetail. The oldest cat in RiverClan scoffed loudly. "I don't believe anything they say."

"Well, you should," said Willowshine a little sharper than was necessary. She glared around at all the cats nearby, those who wouldn't meet her eyes. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, not accepting your Clan-mates."

"As far as I'm concerned, they aren't my Clan-mates," said Troutfur. Willowshine could see cats nearby nodding, muttering thoughtfully amongst themselves. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hollowflight and Mallownose slip out of camp. She almost wanted to go after them.

After the battle, only Hollowflight, Mallownose, Minnowtail, and Beetlewhisker remained of the Dark Forest cats. The others had been slaughtered – some by their own Clan-mates, some by their once allies for turning back and fighting for RiverClan in the final battle. Mistystar had agreed to accept them back into RiverClan, but the Clan had done little to truly welcome them.

"Willowshine, leave it," hissed Sagepelt, appearing near her ear. The tortoiseshell-and-white tom blinked wisely at her. "I understand what you're trying to do, but you're fighting a losing battle."

"It's not fair," said Willowshine, but she turned away and headed for her thorn bush. Sagepelt came with her. "Minnowtail and the others have fought hard to keep RiverClan healthy after the battle."

"It isn't easy for the Clan to recover so easily," said Sagepelt. His whiskers twitched. "It isn't as if you can just put cobwebs on it and expect it to be better in a few days."

"I'm not saying I can," said Willowshine a touch crossly. She turned to observe her friend, who stared at her with worried amber eyes. "It's been three moons, Sagepelt. Don't you think they would get over it?"

"This is a fairly deep wound," said Sagepelt cautiously. "We lost cats in the War of Shadows. Family members. Friends. Clan-mates, all of them. The angry cats just look for someone to cast the blame upon."

"You're perhaps right," said Willowshine. She glanced back over her shoulder at the daily bustle of Clan life. It used to make her so happy, but now she felt as though something important was missing from all of it. There was a hesitation in the air, worry that was cast over RiverClan like storm clouds. All around her, something was off-center, and she feared that it had to do with the glaring rift between the former Dark Forest cats and the rest of the Clan.

"Oh, Willowshine, there you are." Mothwing called her name as she entered. The older medicine cat looked up, excited. "How was Minnowtail's kitting? You could handle it, yes?"

"Absolutely," said Willowshine. "Minnowtail's kitting went just fine. She has a healthy son. I came to collect some borage leaves for her."

"You may want to bring a few leaves of thyme as well," said Mothwing, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Minnowtail has had a difficult pregnancy. She may be in pain or shock. Have you spoken to Rainstorm?"

"He didn't acknowledge his son," said Willowshine softly. Mothwing sighed.

"Definitely bring the thyme, then," Mothwing said, passing Willowshine the leaves. "I appreciate you doing this for Minnowtail."

"I know," said Willowshine, her whiskers twitching. "It was smart of you to deny Minnowtail your treatment. That way the Clan will only hate one of us."

"They'll see the truth soon enough," said Mothwing. She sighed. "I just hope it's sooner rather than later. Now off with you. Go help Minnowtail."

Willowshine rushed off, slipping into the den. Mosspelt was sleeping in the corner, and Icewing was talking softly to Minnowtail. Both queens looked up upon Willowshine's entrance.

"I brought some herbs to help give you strength and make your milk flow more easily," said Willowshine softly. She passed the herbs to Minnowtail, who took them gratefully. For a few moments, Willowshine looked at the tiny kit at Minnowtail's stomach. He was smaller than the average kit had been upon birth, but with Rainstorm as his father, Willowshine didn't doubt that he would grow to be bigger. His pelt was creamy and looked fluffy. Maybe he would be quite long-furred, like Minnowtail.

"I've thought of a name for him," said Minnowtail, swallowing the herbs. She glanced up at Willowshine with exhausted amber eyes. "I wanted to call him Rushkit."

"Rushkit?" said Icewing. Her surprise was echoed by Willowshine.

"Yes," said Minnowtail. Her eyes narrowed importantly. "Rushpaw was a very brave and kind-hearted cat. Even though he listened to Tigerstar, I believed he would have come back to RiverClan. But he didn't have the chance to. I want someone to remember him as being good."

"I understand," said Willowshine. She remembered Rushpaw, the lively brown tabby that had run around in circles but ultimately gone off with Tigerstar's warriors. He had been killed in the final battle. No one exactly knew by whom.

"It's not going to be a popular decision," said Willowshine. Minnowtail nodded.

"Nothing I've done has been popular," said Minnowtail. "Maybe my Rushkit can save Rushpaw's memory."

"I'm sure he will," said Icewing quietly. "Rushkit is beautiful."

He was that. Willowshine smiled, promised to check up on Minnowtail in a little while, and padded out of the nursery again. She didn't know if she would have been brave enough to be Minnowtail. No one trusted the grey-and-white queen anymore, not after she had betrayed RiverClan and trained Mossytail – the most infamous cat in the Dark Forest ranks, who had led RiverClan's Dark Forest warriors to betray their Clan.

She met Rainstorm halfway across camp. He was walking with Duskfur and Pebblefoot.

"I want to see him," Rainstorm said decisively. Willowshine tilted her head. "H-he's my son, even if I'm not Minnowtail's mate anymore. I should at least look at him."

"He's a beautiful kit," said Willowshine cautiously. "His name is Rushkit."

"Rushkit?" Duskfur recoiled, her nose wrinkling. "After another traitor?"

"Rushpaw made a mistake," said Willowshine cautiously. "He didn't get to live long enough to see how grave the mistake was. We shouldn't offend his spirit."

"The only one making a mistake here is you, Willowshine," said Pebblefoot. The grey tom's eyes narrowed, and Willowshine's ears flattened defensively. "How can you continue to defend them?"

"They're my Clan-mates," said Willowshine levelly. "Mistystar has called them such, and I will treat them no differently from you."

"Don't mix me up with Minnowtail and Beetlewhisker and the rest of their lot," said Pebblefoot. "I'm a loyal RiverClan warrior!"

"Drop it," advised Rainstorm. He fixed his dark blue eyes on Willowshine. "I can see him, though?"

"You can," said Willowshine. "Don't bother Minnowtail too much. I want her to rest." She cast suggestive looks at Duskfur and Pebblefoot, but the two warriors followed Rainstorm towards the nursery anyways. Willowshine sighed, but she watched them go without struggling back. This was a battle Minnowtail would have to fight, if not now, then later. She had to learn to defend her choice of naming her kit.

Willowshine returned to the thorn bush, finding that Mothwing was bustling around as usual. The golden medicine cat seemed so much happier than Willowshine felt herself to be. How could Mothwing keep up her spirits when Willowshine wondered if the Clan would ever go back to the way she loved it?

"Oh, Willowshine, don't look so down," said Mothwing. "Things will look up. They always do."

"I don't know if the Clan will ever go back to normal," said Willowshine.

"If you mean the way it was before, then no, it won't." Mothwing stopped counting herbs and turned, wisely sitting before Willowshine. "We can't go back in time, Willowshine. We can only keep healing RiverClan's wounds when they come to us."

Willowshine nodded. Her mentor's advice was good, but she couldn't find herself believing in it. She puttered over to help Mothwing, counting herbs with such a dry precision that it all felt outside of her. It was a thoughtless process, which she loved – leaving her thoughts behind would do her good and improve her mood.

The smell of blood wafting in from outside broke Willowshine out of her daze, and at once, she sprung to the entrance. Reedwhisker, Pikeheart, and Copperpaw staggered in, and Willowshine leaped back, her paws shaking, as she realized that it was Reedwhisker's blood.

"What happened?" she said. Pikeheart lowered Reedwhisker down into a nest. Willowshine called for Mothwing to bring cobwebs.

"Don't tell her," said Reedwhisker. He looked up with pitiful amber eyes. "You'll just laugh."

"Tell me, you stupid furball," said Willowshine. Pikeheart smiled.

"He ran into a bramble bush while hunting," he admitted.

"Pikeheart, you traitor!" moaned Reedwhisker. A smile crept up on the edges of Willowshine's mouth, and she bent to wrapping his wounds in cobwebs and dashing a poultice in.

"Thanks, Pikeheart," Mothwing said. "You two can go." They left.

Willowshine didn't say a word as Mothwing helped her patch Reedwhisker up, and then the golden-pelted medicine cat scolded him once more before hurrying back to her inventory. Reedwhisker sat up wearily.

"Well, well. The great RiverClan deputy, running into a bush." Willowshine cuffed him lightly with a paw. He stuck out his tongue.

"I was showing Copperpaw a hunting technique. The bush was my target."

"How does a clump of brambles resemble a mouse?"

"What does a medicine cat know of hunting, anyways?"

"Obviously more than you do," said Willowshine. Reedwhisker was glaring at her. "What's this, the third time I've patched you up for attacking brambles?"

"Second," said Reedwhisker, offended. "The third time you're thinking of is because someone put a thorn in my bedding."

"Someone put a thorn in my bedding," teased Willowshine. "More like you put it there yourself so you could have an excuse to come crying to me."

"Are you accusing me of faking injury to have a lovely she-cat tend to my every need?" Reedwhisker leaned towards her, and Willowshine realized that she could have reached out and poked him with her nose if she had wanted to.

"You know you don't need to be injured for that," she said. Reedwhisker's teasing smile turned into one that was more genuine.

"I know," he said. For a moment, it was all Willowshine could do to keep staring in his eyes. They were so grey, like storm clouds clearing after the rain was done, and the way the lake looked sometimes at early mornings in early new-leaf. She hoped that he would have the answers.

"Something's on your mind," said Reedwhisker in that quiet voice he reserved just for her. "Would you tell me what it is?"

"Minnowtail had her kit," Willowshine told him. "He's beautiful, and Rainstorm is going to see him. She named him Rushkit."

Reedwhisker's eyes narrowed.

"I'm assuming the Clan hasn't reacted well," he said. Willowshine shrugged.

"Not many of them know," she said. "But I don't think they'll like it. They're reluctant enough to accept Minnowtail in the first place."

"Minnowtail was right to honor her friend," said Reedwhisker. "But I wonder if it was the right time to make such a controversial decision."

"I worry for her," said Willowshine. "I worry for RiverClan."

Reedwhisker touched his nose to her ear to offer her comfort.

"RiverClan is under your protection," he whispered. "Nothing could go wrong."

Willowshine wanted to lean into the thicker fur around his neck and breathe in his scent, like she did sometimes when they were out by the lake late at night. Where even the fish in the river were silent, and it was just the two of them, seemingly alone in the world.

A rustle in the thorn bush made them leap apart, and Willowshine's pelt burned as if fire had skimmed it. She looked up, her entire pelt flushed with embarrassment, but it was only Aspenpaw, who had arrived to bring Mothwing and Willowshine a meal.

"I'll be off, then," said Reedwhisker briskly. He flicked his ear at her. "Thank you, Willowshine, at least for constantly reassuring me that RiverClan won't need to improve its sarcasm."

"Get out of here," said Willowshine, but her heart was light as he winked and let himself out. Their hidden words, those so precious that neither dared to say them aloud, were buried in their offhanded comments. Willowshine and Reedwhisker were the only ones to know the secret behind the barbed comments and longer-than-normal gazes. It hadn't been very long, this odd little arrangement between them, but Willowshine loved every moment that Reedwhisker spent beside her. She knew it wasn't going to happen. He would be happier with a cat he could actually have kits with, but somehow, she felt warm knowing that every day, Reedwhisker woke up, looked around at all the beautiful and brave warriors in the Clan, and somehow still chose her.

She chose him, too. Because he helped. He made her slightly more sure that the Clan was still light, and that the clouds would clear, and leaf-bare would drip away, and a time of war would give way slowly to a time period of peace. First, though, she would have to handle the healing process with a true healer's touch. It would require patience, and Willowshine had never been very good at relenting to anything, particularly not time. But for RiverClan, she would force herself to be patient and to watch as the stitches came together and her Clan was put back together again.

RiverClan politics...love them.

God, WillowXReed is my Warriors OTP. I am so excited to write their relationship.

If you have any thoughts about this chapter or this new fic, let me know in a review or by favoriting/following me or my stories! And be sure to check out my profile for an opinion-poll-that-may-determine-plot-points and the rest of my stories in the Elemental verse. Thanks, all!

~Elsi