Bluestar led the way swiftly back to camp. The sound of their arrival stirred the cats who had remained behind. As the group streamed through the gorse entrance, sleepy figures emerged from their nests.
"What's the news?" called Halftail.
"Were ShadowClan there?" Willowpelt asked.
"Yes, they were," Bluestar replied gravely. She strode past Willowpelt and leaped on top of the Highrock. There was no need for the customary Clan meeting call–the cats were already gathering below her. Tigerclaw bounded up to sit on the rock beside his leader.
"There was much tension between the Clans tonight," Bluestar began, remembering the looks Nightpelt and Crookedstar had swapped at the end of the Gathering. "And I became aware of a possible alliance between Crookedstar and Nightpelt."
She saw Graystripe squeeze in a small space next to Fireheart. "What are they talking about?" he asked. "I thought Nightpelt agreed with Bluestar."
"Nightpelt?" croaked One-eye's ancient voice from the back of the crowd.
"He is the new leader of ShadowClan," Bluestar answered.
"But his name–hasn't he been accepted by StarClan?" One-eye asked.
"He plans to travel to the Moonstone tomorrow night," Tigerclaw answered her.
"No leader can speak for their Clan at a Gathering without receiving StarClan's approval first," One-eye muttered, loudly enough for all the cats to hear.
"I doubt he's had time," Fireheart pointed out. "ShadowClan was a mess when we left their camp. He's probably been more concerned with rebuilding his Clan than traipsing over to Highstones."
"He has the support of ShadowClan, One-eye," Bluestar answered, nodding at the old molly. "And we cannot ignore what he said tonight." One-eye gave a disgruntled sniff, and Bluestar lifted her head to address the whole Clan. "At the Gathering, I suggested we bring WindClan home. But Nightpelt and Crookedstar don't want them to return."
"They're hardly likely to join forces though, are they?" Graystripe called out. "They almost had a scrap over hunting rights in the river."
Fireheart turned to his friend. "Didn't you see the looks they were swapping at the end of the meeting? They're both desperate to get their paws on WindClan's territory."
"But why?" asked Dustpaw, who was sitting beside his mentor, Darkstripe.
Whitestorm answered him, "I expect ShadowClan is not as weak as we thought they would be. And Nightpelt seems to have more ambition than we expected."
"No surprise there," Bluestar heard her kit mutter. "Just because not everyone in ShadowClan is a kit-murdering rogue doesn't mean they're honorable warriors."
"But why does RiverClan want to hunt WindClan's grounds? They have always grown fat on fish from the river," Willowpelt yowled. "The uplands are a long ways to go for a few windblown rabbits!"
The once-beautiful queen, Dappletail, spoke in a voice cracked with age. "At the Gathering, some RiverClan elders spoke of Twolegs taking over part of the river."
"She's right," added Frostfur. "They say the Twolegs have been living in shelters near the river, disturbing the fish. The RiverClan warriors have to hide in the bushes and watch them with empty stomachs."
Bluestar felt a pang of worry for her older children but made sure to keep her face impassive. "For now, we must be careful not to do anything to bring ShadowClan and RiverClan closer together. Go and rest now. Runningwind and Dustpaw, you two will take the dawn patrol."
A cold breeze rattled the leaves of the trees overhead. Still muttering amongst themselves, the cats slowly dispersed and retired to their dens. Bluestar watched them for a few moments, keeping her gaze trained on Fireheart as he settled down in his nest next to Sandstorm. She purred softly, then bounded down from the Highrock and padded into her own den. Curling up in her nest, she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.
The next morning, Bluestar was unsurprised to find Fireheart already awake, watching the dawn sun as it rose above Fourtrees. She was more concerned, however, by the fact that he wasn't showing any interest in eating even though he hadn't had any fresh-kill since the previous afternoon. His fur seemed slightly ruffled as well, as though he'd had a nightmare.
Tigerclaw padded out of the warriors' den, passing by Fireheart as he headed over to Bluestar. The flame-colored tom nodded half-absentmindedly as the deputy passed, but otherwise gave no indication that he'd ever seen him. Tigerclaw meowed something in reply and Bluestar saw a brief look of annoyance flash across Fireheart's face before the dark tabby turned away and walked over to her.
"Bluestar," he greeted her, dipping his head politely.
"Tigerclaw," Bluestar replied. "Will you call Fireheart and tell him to wake up Sandstorm and Graystripe? I have a mission for the three of them."
"What are they doing?" Tigerclaw asked.
"I want to send them to bring WindClan home," Bluestar meowed.
She knew it would be a dangerous mission and part of her didn't want her son to put himself at risk again. But she also knew that Fireheart would probably sneak off on the mission himself if she didn't let him go. Besides, it wasn't as if she could protect him forever, much as she would have liked to. The past few moons had certainly proven that.
Tigerclaw nodded and bounded back over to Fireheart, meowing something to the younger warrior. Fireheart nodded and raced back over to the warriors' den, disappearing through the entrance. A few heartbeats later, he reemerged with a surprisingly awake Sandstorm and a much more drowsy-looking Graystripe in tow. They padded over to Bluestar and Tigerclaw, looking at them curiously.
Bluestar began at once. "Fireheart, Sandstorm, Graystripe, I have a mission for the three of you."
"A mission?" Fireheart echoed.
"I want you to find WindClan and bring them back to their territory," Bluestar announced.
"Before you get too excited, bear in mind that this could be very dangerous," Tigerclaw growled. "We don't know where WindClan has gone, so you will have to follow what's left of their scent trail–probably into hostile territory."
Oh wow, I wonder what it would be like to venture into hostile territory. Bluestar could practically read the sarcastic thoughts on her son's face.
"But you've been through WindClan territory when you traveled with me to the Moonstone," she pointed out. "Their scent will be familiar, as will the Twoleg territory beyond the uplands."
"Will it just be us?" asked Sandstorm.
"Our warriors are needed here," Tigerclaw answered. "Leaf-bare is coming, and we need as many warriors to gather fresh-kill as possible. Many prey-poor moons are coming."
Bluestar nodded. "Tigerclaw will help you prepare for the journey. You must leave as quickly as possible. Good luck."
She addressed the last of her words to all three warriors but kept her gaze mostly trained on Fireheart. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice except for him, but he gave no indication that he'd realized anything was amiss except for a single twitch of his whiskers. Tigerclaw led them out of the den, and Bluestar watched them as they walked over to Yellowfang's clearing.
Bluestar sighed, padding over to her nest and lying down. She wanted desperately to tell Fireheart the truth, but it just never seemed to be the right time. There always seemed to be too much going on, and she didn't want to add to his worries either. Her only hope was that he would make it home safe from this mission so she'd still have more time to spend with her kit. And maybe, someday, the right moment would finally come.
