Riverkit yawned, stretching in the curve of Crowflight's belly. "Morning, Amber…" His voice trailed off as he realized his sister was still asleep.
The tomkit stood and arched his back, yawning a second time before beginning to pad out of the nursery.
"And where might you be going, little tom?" Crowflight inquired.
"Just going to see Firepool," he answered, looking back at the queen. "It was fun, helping her yesterday." After a nap, he had gone back to the medicine den and Firepool had shown him some more herbs.
His mother nodded. "You may go, then. I'll tell Amberkit where you are when she wakes up."
Riverkit left the nursery, making the journey to the medicine cat's den. Firepool was in the middle of the den, sorting herbs beside another she-cat, ginger and white.
The medicine cat looked up. "Good morning, Riverkit!" she called. "This is my sister, Mapleflight." She waved her tail at the she-cat sitting beside her. "We were just sorting some of these herbs."
Riverkit looked down at the leaves on the floor of the den. He recognized borage, juniper, thyme, and…
"What's that?" he chirped, gesturing to the neat stack of jagged-edged leaves next to the juniper.
Mapleflight answered. "These are raspberry leaves," she mewed, patting the stack gently. "We give them to queens during kitting- all of these herbs are for queens. Borage for-"
"-preventing fevers and producing milk," Riverkit finished. "And… um…"
The warrior purred. "Juniper for strength and thyme to soothe shock or stress." She glanced at Firepool. "He's a smart one," she commented. The medicine cat nodded. "I've been teaching him a few things."
The ginger and white she-cat opened her mouth to respond before a voice called her from the other side of the camp. "Hey, Mapleflight! Are you up for a hunting patrol?" It was Twigtail, the FrostClan deputy. "Coming," Mapleflight called to the tom. "Maybe I'll take you to meet the rest of the Clan later, little one," she mewed to Riverkit before running to the deputy.
"Hey! Hey, Riverkit!" The tomkit looked around to see Amberkit, bouncing around next to him. "Come on, I think Nightcloud's going to let us play mossball when he gets back from patrol!"
Riverkit glanced back at Firepool. "Can I come back later?" he asked hopefully.
The medicine cat shook her head regretfully. "Sorry, there's a Gathering tonight, and I need to go."
"Oh. Tomorrow, then?"
She nodded. "Tomorrow."
Mapleflight looked down at the rest of the Clans gathered in the clearing. We're late, she thought as she followed the rest of FrostClan down to the Gathering area.
"Hey, Mapleflight!" a voice called. She turned to see a tabby she-cat sitting beside a broad-shouldered brown tabby tom.
"Hi, Leafleaf!" she purred back as she ran up to sit beside them. Leafbreeze, or Leafleaf, as she had asked to be called when the two had met, was a BlazeClan warrior. Her sister Squirreltail, much like Firepool, was a medicine cat. "How are the kits doing?" Mapleflight inquired, dipping her head at the three warriors next to their father. Ivystream, a soft-furred silver and white tabby she-cat, seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Hey, Mapleflight, can I talk to you? Alone?" she asked softly.
"Of course," the she-cat answered warily. "Come on, there's a good spot behind those bushes…"
Mapleflight waited patiently for Ivystream to speak. She gritted her teeth before blurting out, "Leafbreeze and Bramblefang aren't our parents."
"What?" Mapleflight asked softly. "Then who… who [i]are[/i] your parents?"
Ivystream hesitated before she muttered quietly, "Squirreltail… and… Nightcloud…"
No. Mapleflight hoped desperately that she was dreaming. I… no.
Mapleflight sat with Firepaw and a pale ginger tom in the Gathering clearing. FrostClan was the second Clan there, after ShadeClan.
"Great weather tonight, isn't it?" the tom mewed.
"Yeah, it is," Mapleflight agreed. She grinned. "You and Sedgetail have been talking to each other at Gatherings a lot recently, Thunderstrike."
"Oh, her? She's… er… nice," Thunderstrike mewed, avoiding his littermate's gaze. To Mapleflight, he seemed a bit nervous, but she passed it off as her imagination.
The tortoiseshell she-cat watched as PineClan entered the clearing. Sedgetail, the queen whose kits had become apprentices recently, was with them. She looks nervous, Mapleflight noted. Shortly after, BlazeClan arrived.
"Finally," Firepaw mewed. "It took them nearly four seasons to get here."
The leaders called for the Gathering to begin as the chatter died down. Pebblestar, FrostClan's leader, began.
"Prey has been running well for our Clan this leaf-fall," the gray tom meowed. "I hope it is the same for the other three Clans."
Lakepelt, FrostClan's medicine cat and Firepaw's mentor, approached Pebblestar and mewed something Mapleflight couldn't hear.
"Oh?" Pebblestar replied. "Well, this doesn't usually happen at Gatherings, but Lakepelt wants to give her apprentice, Firepaw, her full name."
Lakepelt addressed the Clans. "Hello," she mewed. "My apprentice, Firepaw, has shown that it is time for her to earn her full medicine cat name." She beckoned her apprentice with her tail. "Two sunrises ago, another apprentice named Ashpaw was attacked by dogs. He was close to death, but Firepaw was able to save his life. She was on her own until I came back to the camp, as I was gathering herbs and Mapleflight, Firepaw's sister, had to find me for help. By the time I was back, almost all of Ashpaw's injuries had been properly tended to. Me and Pebblestar agreed that she is more than ready for her full name."
Firepaw looked as if she was about to burst with pride.
"Though it will not be officially recognized by StarClan until the next half-moon, Firepaw has earned her full name. This apprentice has shown her skills and knowledge of herbs many times over. Her full name will be Firepool for how she keeps her composure in many situations other cats would not." Lakepelt seemed almost as proud as her apprentice as she spoke.
"Firepool! Firepool!" the four Clans began to chant. When the noise died down, Firepool ran to Mapleflight and Thunderstrike, looking even more proud than before she had received her full name.
The PineClan leader, Ravenstar, continued. "We have two new apprentices this moon," the black tom mewed. "Shadowpaw and Flintpaw, Sedgetail's kits, are now apprentices." The two apprentices stood proudly in the clearing.
The Clans chanted their names, Thunderstrike louder than most. Mapleflight realized that Flintpaw had the same muscular build as Thunderstrike.
Odd, she thought.
The crowd was cut off as Ravenstar raised his tail to silence them. "We will let Shadowpaw and Flintpaw enjoy their apprenticeship. But I believe there is something more I must tell you." His eyes searched the clearing, his sharp amber gaze landing on Thunderstrike, who flinched.
"When we discovered she was expecting kits, Sedgetail told PineClan that the kits would not have a father present for them. We all thought it was a loner or a rogue, but she has finally revealed who it is."
Mapleflight put it together right before Ravenstar spoke. "Thunderstrike. Thunderstrike of FrostClan is the father of these apprentices."
Murmurs began rippling through the crowd, even Mapleflight and Firepool caught in the uncertain mews. Pebblestar raised his voice to catch everyone's attention. "If you all could listen, I'm sure we'll be able to resolve this problem. Obviously, these two cats need to be punished for breaking the warrior code."
Instantly, shouts rose from the crowd. "Exile them!" one cat called. "Kill one of them!" yowled another.
"We will not kill either of them, but I think exiling them would be sufficient," Ravenstar announced.
"I agree," Pebblestar mewed, although his regret showed in his voice. "Thunderstrike and Sedgetail, leave. And don't come back."
"Thunderstrike, don't listen to them," Firepool whispered.
He shook his head. "I have to," he mewed, not looking at his littermates. "I need to take care of Sedgetail." He looked back up at the two, a wistful smile on his face. "And Ravenstar will shred me if I don't leave." He touched noses with both of them. "Please take care of each other," he pleaded. "And remember that this [/i]was not[i] anyone's fault. If anyone's, it was mine. You should never be afraid to befriend anyone outside of our Clan." He glanced at Sedgetail. "I don't regret anything that happened. I… I'll be back for you both, I promise."
The tom padded over to meet his mate, leaving the clearing with her.
"Mapleflight? Are you... okay?" Ivystream asked cautiously.
"What were they thinking?" the she-cat spat. "Don't they know anything about the warrior code?"
"Please don't blame them," the tabby pleaded. "I'm sure they didn't know what they were doing."
Right. They… They didn't know what they were doing. It's not their fault.
Then another image flashed in her head.
Firepool. She had introduced the pair, a few moons after Thunderstrike and Sedgetail had left. She did this. Didn't she remember Thunderstrike? Didn't she remember how painful it was, watching them just leave?
"No one has anything left to say, then," she heard Cinderstar, the ShadeClan leader, mew coldly. "This Gathering is dismissed."
Ivystream frowned. "Mapleflight? It's time to go home." She rested her tail on the she-cat's shoulder.
She took a few deep breaths. "I… Right. I'll see you next Gathering, Ivystream." She and Ivysteam joined their Clans.
"That went well," Firepool mewed sarcastically. "I can't believe Ravenstar denied stealing our territory!"
He did? Mapleflight thought. "Er… Right! Ever since he became leader, PineClan has been the most sinister Clan in the forest!" It was true- before Ravenstar's reign, PineClan had been thought to be the weakest Clan for a long time, but when Buzzardstar, the previous leader, had died, their Clan had risen in power. Buzzardstar had been a great leader, but even some PineClan warriors disliked Ravenstar, wishing for more peace within their Clan. Many said the way he and Pebblestar had quickly agreed to exile Thunderstrike and Sedgetail was rather uncalled for. "They fell in love, is all," Mapleflight had heard an elder mew to another at one Gathering.
Too true, she thought. And it's the same with Squirreltail and Nightcloud. I can't blame them for being in love…
Right?
It was late in the night, and she was tired, but Mapleflight couldn't sleep. She couldn't risk another nightmare of Squirreltail and Nightcloud, another awful dream of them being exiled for their mistakes. They've done it once. I know they'll do it again.
She looked around at the warriors sleeping peacefully around her. As a rather senior warrior and sister of Firepool, she had her nest near Twigtail, the Clan deputy, as it was one of the warmest places in the den- although as she was surrounded by so many cats, and most of them deep sleepers, she always had a hard time getting out of the warrior's den. But she needed to talk to someone, anyone. She crept over her sleeping denmates, deciding quickly who she could talk to.
Pebblestar? No… He would just announce it at a Gathering or something and end up getting them exiled, she thought. Firepool? ...Maybe.
She padded quickly to the medicine den, avoiding Ashpelt, the tom Firepool had saved from death during her apprenticeship, who was guarding the camp for the night. When she poked her head in cautiously Firepool was sorting herbs in the middle of the den.
"Hello, Mapleflight," the medicine cat mewed without looking at her sister.
"Hi," Mapleflight replied. "We… We need to talk."
The ginger she-cat turned to face her littermate, her green eyes concerned. "What do you mean?"
"It's about Squirreltail and Nightcloud…" Mapleflight hesitated to continue. "They… Ivystream and her littermates are… their kits."
"I- What?" her sister replied. "We have to tell Pebblestar!"
"No!" Mapleflight cried. "Don't you remember Thunderstrike at all? Don't you remember what Pebblestar did to him?" She froze.
"This is all your fault." The ginger and white she-cat knocked her sister to the ground. "Thunderstrike and Sedgetail had to leave their kits behind! Flintstrike asked to be named after his father. I know you understand how painful it is to lose your parents."
Firepool flinched. "Mapleflight, don't."
"Why did you introduce them? Didn't you remember Thunderstrike?" Mapleflight spat.
"You obviously don't, if you don't remember what he said to us."
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't remember him telling us not to be afraid to befriend cats of other Clans? You don't remember him telling us anything?"
Mapleflight's claws extended. "You're just too much."
Suddenly, she threw her weight back as she realized Firepool was bleeding heavily.
No! Mapleflight watched in horror, trying desperately to find cobwebs in the darkness of the night. What have I done?
"Hold on, Firepool, don't die yet, everything will be okay…" Her voice trailed off as she realized that her sister had fallen limp in front of her, her neck covered in blood.
"Take care of each other," Thunderstrike had said. "I'll be back for you both," he'd promised.
"You were right, Firepool," Mapleflight whispered. "I didn't remember him at all."
I'm sorry, Thunderstrike.
I'm sorry.
A/N: So many italics.
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