Chapter 3

"Dewleaf, do you mind helping me?" Hazelstep asked politely. "You don't seem busy."

Dewleaf blinked at her former mentor. "Um, sure. What do you need help with?"

Hazelstep seemed a bit embarrassed as she meowed, "Well, you see, I have to collect moss in the forest. I… need to make a nest for myself in the nursery, since… I will be moving in there soon."

"You're moving into the nursery?!" Dewleaf yelped in surprise, her eyes widening.

"Yes," Hazelstep whispered. "Now keep it down, I don't want the whole of ThunderClan knowing just yet!"

Dewleaf nodded her head, her ears flattened. With an amused gleam in her eyes, she asked, "Who is the father? And when are they due?"

The light gray she-cat let out a soft purr. "Well… the father is… Thistlefang. And Mosspelt said that I still have another moon or so."

"Thistlefang?" Dewleaf purred. "I would never have guessed!" She studied the she-cat, noticing she was a bit more plump than she normally was. "Congratulations, Hazelstep," she said, dipping her head.

***

"Great job, Lionpaw," Dewleaf meowed.

She and her apprentice were in a clearing, practicing some battle moves. The small golden tom, who'd been training for a little less than a moon, had improved a lot already. He had perfected a few battle techniques already. He's lost his soft kitten down and was maturing quickly. The only disadvantage was that he was the only apprentice in ThunderClan thus far, and had no friends to socialize with.

If Lightheart and Cloudstorm's kits would've lived, would they have befriended my little apprentice? she pondered.

The golden tom nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Dewleaf."

He'd also learned to show ultimate respect for his elders, no matter what. He was always courteous and polite.

She nodded approvingly. "You've done very well these past days, you're improving quickly. I'd love to see you actually fighting another Clan!"

He lifted his head proudly, his tail flicking with the slightest movement.

"Come on, we have to go on patrol soon, we should be heading back to camp now," Dewleaf said, getting up to her paws and motioning with her tail.

"Of course," Lionpaw meowed as he followed after her.

They entered camp, and there stood Smokestar.

"Oh, Smokestar, hello," Dewleaf meowed, dipping her head respectfully.

The smoky-gray tom nodded. "Dewleaf," he greeted. Then he glanced over at Lionpaw. "How are you doing?"

Lionpaw dipped his head in reply.

"He's doing great," Dewleaf put in. "He's a great fighter, Smokestar."

The leader looked thoughtful. "Hmm. Well, I'll be joining the patrol with you, then, to see your progress, Lionpaw."

Dewleaf nodded. "Birdwing and Eagletalon will be here soon. They were coming on the patrol with us."

"All right," the leader replied, sitting down.

Soon, Birdwing and Eagletalon approached, surprised at Smokestar's presence.

"Smokestar," Birdwing meowed. "Hello."

Eagletalon dipped his head, and then nodded to Dewleaf and Lionpaw.

The leader stood up and purred. "I wanted to join the patrol, is that all right?"

"Well, sure," Birdwing replied. She signaled with her tail and padded out of camp, the others following closely.

They made their way to the RiverClan border first.

Once at the stream, all five cats began to refresh the scent markers and look for signs of trespassing.

"Hello!" someone called out.

They all looked up to see Rainheart, a RiverClan warrior. Dewleaf's heart skipped a beat. Her father! She hadn't seen him in ages!

"Hello," Birdwing replied. She looked around, then realized that he was alone. "What are you doing here?"

Rainheart replied, "Fishing, of course." He dipped his head to the others, his eyes lingering on Dewleaf for a moment longer.

"I see," Birdwing said. "We'll be going now, good bye."

As the ThunderClan cats turned to leave, Dewleaf hissed quietly, "Go on without me. I'll catch up soon."

"Okay," Birdwing replied. All the other cats blinked at her in understanding as Lionpaw looked at her in confusion.

Dewleaf flicked her tail gratefully and waited until the ThunderClan cats were out of sight before turning to her father. "Rainheart," she mewed.

The black, gray, and white tom stayed on the RiverClan side of the stream, but was nonetheless glad to see her. "Dewleaf, how are you? I haven't seen you in moons!"

"I know, I'm sorry," she replied. "I returned from RainClan several moons ago."

Rainheart nodded, gazing at her fondly. "Did you like it there?"

"I did, I wish I could go back," Dewleaf meowed longingly.

Rainheart must've noticed her tone, because he asked, "What's wrong, you seem a bit distracted."

Dewleaf lowered her head and sighed. "Well… I miss RainClan. Especially… Stormpelt." She raised her head. "Do you know him?"

"Oh, yes, I do. He was just a kit when I left," Rainheart purred. "You… you two must have been close to each other."

Dewleaf nodded. Then she looked up, her blue eyes bright. "What are you doing so close to the border? You weren't really fishing, were you?"

Rainheart shrugged sheepishly. "No, not really." Sighing, he said, "Actually, I was thinking about… your mother."

"Feathercloud?"

"Yes, silly. Your mother," Rainheart purred. His voice softened. "How is she? Has she… has she given birth to Thorntail's kits yet?" His voice held no jealousy, only longing and sadness.

Dewleaf nodded. "Lionpaw. He's my apprentice now. He was that golden tom you saw with us earlier."

"Oh," Rainheart mewed, a bit downheartedly. "Lionpaw, hmm? I suppose he was named after—"

"Lionstar," they both said in unison.

Rainheart nodded, his green eyes glowing with fondness. "Well, I should go."

"Yes, the others are probably wondering about me," Dewleaf meowed. "Bye," she mewed, turning to leave.

"I'll see you at the Gathering tonight!" Rainheart called as he bounded away.

That's right! I forgot there would be a Gathering tonight!

***

Dewleaf gazed up at Smokestar, who was standing atop the Highrock. He was announcing the cats who'd attend the Gathering. He'd already said the obvious, that he, Ashenfur, and the medicine cats would go.

"…Leafdapple, Thorntail, Feathercloud, Dawnheart, Whitepelt, Berrytail, Flightfur, Clovernight, Lightheart, Falconclaw, Dewleaf, and Lionpaw will join us."

Dewleaf's tail curled with delight. She glanced over at her apprentice, who looked equally excited. It's been such a long time since I've gone, I can't wait!

***

Dewleaf stared up at the full moon, feeling breathless as she padded after her Clanmates. Lightheart purred from beside her.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" she meowed.

Dewleaf nodded, her whiskers twitching. "Yeah, I guess." She looked ahead, her paws tingling with excitement. At her other side was her sister, Clovernight. "I haven't been here in such a long time."

Clovernight nodded, though her eyes looked straight ahead. "I want to see Rainheart," she stated.

"I saw him earlier today, on patrol," Dewleaf offered in a quiet voice. "He'll be here. He told me he'd see me here."

Clovernight nodded. "Good." She was silent the rest of the trip.

When they bounded into the clearing, they discovered that all the others were already there.

Almost immediately, Dewleaf noticed Streamgaze's bright silver fur and went over to speak to her. She was sitting alone, quietly, looking about shyly.

"Hi, Streamgaze," Dewleaf purred.

The silver she-cat looked around, then relaxed. "Hi, Dewleaf. How is the prey running?"

Dewleaf shrugged. "Fine. It's greenleaf, plenty to go around."

Streamgaze nodded. "I see. Where are our siblings?"

"Cloudstorm didn't come, though Clovernight did. I think she went to look for Rainheart," Dewleaf explained, looking around. "Oh, look, there's Feathercloud."

Their mother was padding toward them slowly, taking uncertain steps. Finally, she came within earshot. "Hello, Streamgaze," she meowed quietly.

The two look-alikes stared at each other for a moment, tense and awkward silence hanging between them.

Finally, Feathercloud broke the silence. "I hope you are well."

Streamgaze blinked, but said nothing.

"I…I have to go," Feathercloud stammered, turning and rushing away.

Dewleaf stared after her, then sighed. "Sorry about that, Streamgaze. I guess… she just isn't…" She shrugged. "I don't know…"

Streamgaze shrugged and flicked her tail as she padded away, her head low.

Dewleaf sighed and turned away. She looked up to see Falconclaw staring at her, his head tilted to the side. Holding her breath, she padded over to him, trying to act casual.

"She's your sister, isn't she?" the tom meowed quietly.

Dewleaf gulped, then nodded. "Don't tell anyone, Falconclaw, please."

The ginger tom, who was a head taller than her, despite being younger, looked down at her with an unreadable emotion clouding his eyes. "I wouldn't, Dewleaf. If you don't want me to, I won't." She let out a soft breath of air. "Thanks, Falconclaw."

He gave her a tiny nod, then motioned to the High Stump. "The Gathering is about to begin. Come on." He led her to where the ThunderClan cats normally sat and sat down, tidily curling his ginger tail over his paws.

Dewleaf followed and sat beside him, glancing around the clearing. She spotted her mother, sitting with Thorntail. Clovernight was sitting beside Leafdapple and Lionpaw. She scolded herself silently for forgetting about her apprentice, then looked up at the leaders expectantly.

Lightstar, the WindClan leader, spoke first.

"I am happy to report that WindClan is doing very well. Greenleaf has been very rewarding. Also, we have two new apprentices. Clawpaw and Breezepaw came with us tonight to the Gathering."

A few meows of approval rang across the clearing.

The ShadowClan leader, Blackstar, went next. He was very brief. "ShadowClan is prospering. We have a new warrior, Mistfur."

Smokestar went next. He went on about the plentiful prey, then announced that Lionpaw had been named an apprentice.

The RiverClan leader, Larkstar, was last. After briefly announcing the plentiful fish and prey in his Clan, he announced, "Lilypaw, our medicine cat apprentice, has received the name Lilypelt."

Then the Gathering was over. The leaders did not immediately leap down, though. They lingered for a while, speaking in low voices.

Dewleaf glanced around, then padded to her apprentice. "Lionpaw," she called. "How was your first Gathering?"

Lionpaw looked up at her, his amber eyes alight with excitement. "Great! I've already met some other apprentices."

"That's good," Dewleaf meowed, nudging him playfully. She looked up, hearing her name being called. It was Clovernight.

"Dewleaf, look," she hissed. "Over there."

She turned to look. Feathercloud, flanked by Thorntail, was staring at Rainheart. They were at the edge of the clearing, where they wouldn't be easily noticed.

"Come on," Clovernight meowed, leading her closer so they could hear.

Rainheart nodded to them. "Feathercloud, Thorntail. You must be very proud of your kit. Congratulations." His voice was even and steady, but his green eyes were full of emotion.

Feathercloud flinched back, surprised. "Oh, well, thank you." She dipped her head, then glanced over to Thorntail.

The golden-brown tom's muscles were tense and stiffened, as if he was bracing for an attack. After a few awkward moments, he relaxed and gave a curt nod in reply.

"Thorntail, perhaps you should… go," Feathercloud mewed quietly.

"Feathercloud," he growled warningly.

"Thorntail, go," Feathercloud repeated, more firmly this time.

The tom glared for a moment, then twitched an ear and turned away, prowling back toward

Feathercloud turned back to Rainheart, padding a few steps closer. "I…uh, saw Streamgaze," she mewed.

Dewleaf and Clovernight exchanged looks, then turned back to the scene.

Rainheart blinked, then asked, "And? What did she say?"

Feathercloud shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "She didn't say much, actually. She didn't say anything at all."

"I see. She… she's a very shy cat," Rainheart explained hastily.

"Too shy to even say hello to her mother?" Feathercloud snapped.

"Well, she wouldn't be if you'd been more motherly toward her! This is your first time speaking to her in what? Several moons!" Rainheart retorted angrily.

Feathercloud opened her mouth angrily, then closed it shut. She let out a sigh and looked up at Rainheart apologetically.

His green eyes, formerly hard and full of anger, now softened. Hesitantly, he took a step forward and touched his muzzle to hers, then drew away quickly. Feathercloud was still, then she glanced down at her paws.

At this time, the leaders had finished conversing and leapt down from the High Stump. Smokestar yowled for the ThunderClan cats and began to leave the clearing.

***

Different POV

I watch as she makes her way to the group of ThunderClan warriors. I can't help but stare, she looks dazzling. The way her fur shimmers in the light of the full moon fills me with awe. I glance to the side, though, hearing a low growl. A jealous golden brown tom is staring after her as well. He bounds toward her, giving her a quick nuzzle, then starts speaking. I turn away.

Larkstar is calling. I pad over to join my Clanmates, giving a nod to Streamgaze in encouragement. I feel a strong twinge of pity and worry for her. Sighing, I look up at Larkstar expectantly. He flicks his tail and begins to lead his Clan away.

I lag behind, at the back of the group. Glancing once more, back at her.

And I tell myself, It's done.

Okay, so what do guys think? I know the ending was short and a bit... rushed, I guessed. But I was working on this for a course of three days and just wanted to get it out of my head.

I have a plot planned out, but I'm VERY torn between Falconclaw and Stormpelt

-clutches hair and growls, frustrated-