The Signs
Duskpaw
Duskpaw walked away from his friends after seeing Nightmist slinking around the edge of camp. Nightmist jumped as Duskpaw mewed a greeting to him.
"Any tasks for me?" Duskpaw tried to pretend nothing happened. Mostly to make Nightmist feel more guilty. He wondered… did his mentor fight? He couldn't picture his mentor fighting against his own Clan.
"Well… eh… you could..." Nightmist seemed lost in his words.
"Good idea, I'll go hunt," Duskpaw rambled, running out of camp before Nightmist could respond.
Now, to waste time…
It took long enough, but just before sunhigh, Duskpaw hauled in his prey and hid in a corner next to the medicine cat den. He hadn't seen Ivy or Silentpaw all day, so he hoped it went well. He saw Ferretpaw approaching the den with the bird. They must've found everything! He focused his senses on the sound coming from the den.
"Brindlestripe, I promise you stress wouldn't affect my condition," Duskpaw heard Petaldust complain, "Just tell me what happened this morning while I was asleep!"
He heard Brindlestripe sigh, and Ferretpaw's voice entered the scene.
"Brindlestripe? I-I have a snack for you…" Ferretpaw began. Duskpaw clenched his jaw. Don't stutter, Ferretpaw! He thought. You'll make it obvious.
"Ferretpaw, I appreciate it, but I'm fine," Brindlestripe mewed patiently.
"Brindlestripe, you've been working all day and night. It's not even much to eat. You need this," Ferretpaw stated firmer than before. A silence filled the air. Duskpaw then heard the small thump of the prey hitting the ground. Brindlestripe thanked him and took a few steps, possibly toward the prey.
Then there was more silence.
"Ferretpaw, will you take over Petaldust for just a moment?" Brindlestripe asked, emotionless. Ferretpaw mewed a yes. Duskpaw saw Brindlestripe leaving with the bird. He felt excitement rush through his body. When Brindlestripe was out of sight, he came out of hiding, as did his friends.
"Ferretpaw?" Ivy breathed.
He had a big grin. "She was startled obviously," He turned his head back to the den ad his voice fell to a whisper, "but, I've got to take care of Petaldust. Follow Brindlestripe, all of you." Ferretpaw leapt back into the medicine cat den, and at the same time, Ivy, Silentpaw, Duskpaw, and Foxpaw, dashed after Brindlestripe's scent trail.
Brindlestripe
Brindlestripe knew this wasn't a real sign from StarClan. She had been watching the apprentices' scheme for a while as the other senior warriors turned a blind eye to all the young ones. She even caught their scent nearby as Ferretpaw presented her with the bird. Somehow, they must know, she thought, and they want us to tell them. It was very convincing, and she knew the apprentices meant no harm, and again, Brindlestripe can tell that it was a fake... but Echostar can't.
"Echostar?" Brindlestripe carefully approached her leader who still lay next to the pond Darkleaf had told her of.
"Have you come to criticize me, too?" Echostar asked dully.
"Echostar, I've received a sign from StarClan."
Echostar leapt to her feet immediately. "Waste no time! Tell me what it was!" She hissed, her eyes wild.
Brindlestripe dropped the baby bird at Echostar's feet.
"It was not a coincidence that I ran into this," Brindlestripe whispered. "You know what you have to do."
Echostar stared at it for a few more moments, and squeezed her eyes shut. Brindlestripe waited patiently.
At last, Echostar sighed. "We must… tell them. Tonight. I cannot ignore StarClan…" Echostar mumbled.
Or your conscience, thought Brindlestripe.
"Come. Let us prepare," Echostar stood up quickly, and motioned with her tail for Brindlestripe to follow.
Brindlestripe prayed her thanks to the apprentices.
Twig
Twig hissed quietly in her sleep, her nose twitching slightly.
Scratch turned to his brother. "I don't think it's working Patch."
"Oh c'mon Scratch, we've gotta wake her up or-" Patch grew silent, his eyes grew wider than a mouse. A good sized mouse at that.
"Or what, Patch?" Scratch didn't like when his brother went quiet like this; it was almost never a good thing.
"Or you'll both be dead," finished a voice from somewhere in the alley. Definitely not good.
"Blizzard, we honor you," both of the cats meowed, dipping their heads as a sign of respect. They didn't look at his face; it was clan policy not to, so instead they stared at his feet and waited for him to speak.
"You two look and act like kittypets, but at least you know your place. Talon has been waiting, and he's grown tired. Move. I'll wake her." They obeyed, stepping out of Blizzard's way, only acknowledging his dirty white paws. He padded over to Twig's sleeping body silently, almost like a shadow, placing himself directly beside her. He waited for a second, not moving a muscle, and then he pounced.
Twig awoke to what she thought was a full-fledged attack. She screeched, jumping up and clawing whatever had hit her. As soon as she did that though, she realized her mistake. She had to blink a few times, but she found she was not mistaken.
The pristine white fur, dappled with black and now red. The missing left eye and claw marks still framing his face. Yes, she knew exactly who this was. She also knew exactly how much trouble she was in.
"B-Blizzard! I-I honor you," she dipped her head to him.
"We'll deal with punishment later. You and these kits are needed for a mission into the forest. Follow me." He began walking, and the three of them followed very close behind.
It didn't take long for them to reach their leader's alley. Talon sat waiting for them in the center of the path, surrounded by other well known warriors in the clan.
"Well, well, well. The kittypets decided to come around. I see we had a scuffle then? Oh, please, we can't be sending in more dead kitties now can we?" Talon's yellow eyes glowed in the darkness of the alley. Twig could only barely see the ratty brown fur that covered his body, little blotches of white speckled in. She could also see his claws, long and sharp, and also the reason he's called Talon. No one had ever been able to withstand his brutal attacks.
"Now, warriors, you must ambush ShadowClan, enter their part of the forest. Let yourselves be captured, but don't fight to hard. Weaken their good warriors, but don't show how good you are at combat. Let them take you back to Echostar, and when you've got her alone, tell her the secret."
They waited for more, but no more came.
"What secret?" Patch bravely mewed.
"Oh. That we've got a sign from Starclan."
Then, Talon stood, motioning with his tail for them to leave. His guards stood too, and walked away with him.
"Come with me." Blizzard meowed, and he began walking out of the alley. Again, they followed, and it didn't take long before they reached the edge of the Thunderpath. It looked clear of monsters, but they hesitated.
"Go," hissed Blizzard. They could tell he was getting angry with them.
"But Blizzard," Scratch began, "you're coming with us, right?"
He just stared them down. 'Guess that question was answered.
The three warriors checked one last time for any monsters, and seeing there were none, they ran as fast as their legs would take them over the Thunder path and into the forest...
It didn't take long for the patrols to notice the smell of outsiders. All around Twig, she heard panicked cats dashing around, searching for the intruders and meowing about clan safety. She figured they must have been attacked recently by how frantic they were in their pursuit to catch them.
She motioned to Scratch and Patch, perched in the thickets across the path, with her tail, and they motioned back. She waited a few breaths, and then calmly and carefully, she made a mad dash for the nearest warrior and pounced on his back, earning a startled yelp. She heard her friends doing the same, attacking whoever was nearest to them at the moment.
Fur was flying, claws slashing fur, teeth snapping at anything they could get a hold of, but the fights were short-lived. The three BloodClan cats gave in, knowing they'd done all they could to weaken the warriors without killing them.
"What is your problem, rouges!" screeched a pale ginger colored she cat.
"We are not rouges. And we have no business with you," meowed Twig calmly. "We assumed you were threats and attacked, and for that we are sorry."
She allowed herself to look sad and scared, hoping her friends would do the same. They picked up on her act, mimicking her upset look.
"It's just that we've been running from BloodClan for so long, we thought you may have been scouts." mumbled Patch.
At that, the warriors grew silent. The one pale ginger she cat from before spoke again, her tail twitching with worry.
"But...BloodClan? They're here in the Forest? How far have they chased them, why would you lead them here?" She looked frantic, and she paced back and forth quickly. "Oh, we better get you out of here before they pick up on your scents. Warriors, back to the clan! Alert Echostar that I'm bringing back three cats." They all began running back towards their clan, leaving the BloodClan cats with the she cat. She shook her head, clearing it of whatever she was thinking. "Follow me," was all she said before she began walking. And like before, they followed.
When they finally reached ShadowClan, a crowd had gathered, eagerly waiting to see just who these special three cats were. Twig kept her head low, eyes towards the ground. She heard a hush go over the crowd, and she lifted her head only slightly to see that a sleek-looking she cat had stepped forward to greet the pale ginger warrior. The warrior dipped her head, mumbling a quiet, "Echostar."
So this was Echostar. This was who they needed to talk to. Twig bowed her head again, staring at the ground to show fear. She was sure they could feel the mock emotion rolling off of them in waves.
"Ferngaze, leave them to me. Everyone, go back to what you were doing before. You three, follow me." And with that, Echostar turned and lead the way back to her den, the three cats right behind.
Once they were safely inside of her den, she turned on them. "Tell me exactly who you are and what exactly it is that you want."
"We are sorry for attacking your warriors; we were scared and assumed they wer-" Scratch began, but he was quickly cut off by Echostar.
"I know you're from BloodClan. It's obvious by the scratches and bites on my warriors. All I want to know is this: what is BloodClan planning? Why are you here?" Her eyes were wide, but nothing else gave away any hints of fear.
Twig shook her head and stared the she cat down. "We were sent by our leader with a message. StarClan has given us a sign."
This time, Echostar's tail began to twitch, with a slight pause following. "Please leave now," she ordered soon after.
And so they did.
The Truth
Ivy
Ivy had seen the "rogues" come into the camp. She knew who they were… or at least she knew one of the cats. She knew that they hadn't seen her. The only question to be answered was why her past fellow Bloodclan cats were in Shadowclan. Twig used to be Ivy's friend, and Ivy was very used to reading Twig's body movements, but Twig didn't seem to be looking around for Ivy. Surely she knew that Ivy was here, didn't she? Blizzard surely would have told all of Bloodclan how Ivy had betrayed them and ran away while on a hunt, marking her for life as a coward.
Unless...
Unless Blizzard had thought of a more sinister plan.
He was, after all, the self-proclaimed "ruler of all cats." Letting one of his followers escape so easily would not look good on his behalf. It would not be beyond Blizzard to send his warriors to kill another brown she-cat about her age and size, and mangle the body beyond the point of recognition. Then present the cat as Ivy.
Yes. That was something the Blizzard would do, and that would explain why Twig was not looking for her. The thought of another innocent… well… as innocent as any Bloodclan cat could be...cat dying for her made Ivy seethe with anger and rage.
"ECHOSTAR!" Ivy roared, causing several cats to turn and stare at her. Echostar peered out of her den, looking confused. Ivy stalked over to her and into her den. It was empty except for her. Good.
"Ivy how dare-" Echostar began but stopped suddenly, seeing the look of pure hatred and pain in Ivy's eyes. "What's happened?" Echostar asked.
"Those rogues. They are not rogues. They are current members of Bloodclan. Warriors in fact. Or at least they were when I left. The she-cat, Twig was my ally. You might have even called us friends..." and Ivy began to tell Echostar her theory of what happened.
Duskpaw
So much had happened.
Duskpaw had run back to camp just a few moments ago with his paws burning with anticipation for Echostar to explain everything. Somehow, their plan had completely worked. He met his friends, Echostar had gathered them, and then…
Bloodclan cats. They entered camp with their heads low, but their eyes glittering with a plan. Echostar summoned them into her den, and they'd just left. Just like that.
The cats of the clan stood in their usual small groups. Except this time, they didn't whisper; they just stared. They must be able to tell they're the enemy as well, Duskpaw thought. They couldn't hide their stench.
Not even the burly camp guard, Toadleap, asked them why they were allowed to leave so easily.
"ECHOSTAR!"
Ivy's voice was so sudden and loud that it made Duskpaw nearly jump out of his fur. His friends and he didn't ask why she did it, nor did they ask why she charged straight into Echostar's den. They just stood there.
The stars seemed to shift as Echostar finally exited the den with Ivy. Ivy came back to Duskpaw, Foxpaw, Silentpaw, and Ferretpaw. She did nothing but nod, and turn to face Echostar who was now perched on the Branch. Duskpaw caught her flashing Ivy a quick meaningful glance, then turned to face her clan that had silently waited for her.
"You've all been so patient. I thank you," Echostar began.
"Who were those cats?" Fuzzywhisker already interrupted her with a challenging glare.
"I ask for a moment more of your patience. For I will now explain what you've all already suspected… and what some of us have held from some of you. And what you need to know."
No one spoke this time. But Duskpaw could feel some of the senior warriors' fur prickling in discomfort. And yet, none of them made a move to stop her.
"It's obvious that we're being attacked by a group of cats that hold a grudge against us. But these cats have a name."
"Bloodclan," whispered Fogpath from the crowd.
Some shocked gasps escaped the mouths of a few cats, but there was still no speaking.
"Yes, Bloodclan," Echostar sighed, "They hardly deserve a title 'clan' for all that they're worth. All they are is a gang of bloodthirsty beasts."
Duskpaw also felt Ivy stiffen to this, but she said nothing.
"And as you all can probably guess… Ivy was one of them. As were those cats that just entered our camp. But Ivy has helped us in many ways. And for that we thank her," Echostar meowed with an even voice, bowing her head to Ivy.
Ivy dipped her head in response and received a few stares, but the attention returned to Echostar.
"And now I am sure you were wondering why these monsters hold such a grudge against us. Well… there was once a time when a leader's deputy was deathly ill. This leader happened to have four children, and it was common for a leader to replace its dying deputy with its own kit. So you could say it had become a competition between the four cats to earn their father's respect and gain the title of deputy, and to be the next leader."
Of the four kits, there was one that was slightly… weaker than the rest, so to say. And he was aware that he was losing his father's attention. He knew he needed a good idea to save his reputation. He meant no harm in his idea… but it was not one of the Warrior Code. Or even worth a glance. The time was going through a famine, so he believed that the clan should start looking towards two-legs and their food for help. He believed that he could even teach good tactics to do so."
That plan was so childish and dishonorable, the clan could do nothing but laugh at his stupidity. But since he was the child of the leader, he wasn't even punished. What an awful life he must've had at that point. The clan would tease him every time they saw him. They would beat him down for having avoided punishment. But honestly, having this happen to him was most likely the worst punishment. It drove him mad. In all his rage and shame, he finally released it on his own brother. He killed him. He destroyed his own blood, for he thought he could do nothing else, since this was the brother that was closest to becoming deputy. His father and leader could not leave this overlooked. He banished him. But even worse, before he did, he forced the shamed, foolish, weak tom to stand in the center of camp with the whole clan watching, and the leader ripped his eye straight out of his head. Such brutality shouldn't have been pardoned in this clan. But it was. They sent the fool off bleeding, almost dying, and never spoke of him again."
The clan would have never guessed that he would come across another strong clan, that had a twisted mind that matched his own. He found Bloodclan somehow. He rose in rank. And he launched an attack with it on his own Shadowclan. We were lucky to win. But we didn't win without having a scar within us that matched that of the face of the fool. This fool's name… is Blizzard."
For some reason, hearing that name caused Ivy's fur to stand completely on end. It gave Duskpaw chills.
"Not only is he now the leader of Bloodclan, but he was… my brother. My youngest brother. It was my siblings and I who were in that silent competition that drove him mad. It was my father that pushed the horrible fate upon Blizzard. And it was the seniors of this clan who watched, and helped tease him to insanity. Having created such a broken soul… we decided never to speak of it…" Echostar croaked, and closed her eyes.
The rest of the clan had to have been as shocked as Duskpaw was. His mind was too surprised and horrified to process.
Echostar's eyes opened. "We are blessed enough to have had Ivy come to our side, and we must prepare for the second war that Blizzard is declaring upon us. We've tried to keep this war from our children, but it is hurting you in doing so. We apologize. And we ask for peace from our previous hostilities to defeat this danger, once and for all. Please." Her voice cracked on the last word, despite how strong her voice had stayed the rest of the time. Perhaps that was what gave her the respect of the youth, to see she had emotion.
And their eyes met, all of the youth and all of the old at once it felt. They understood that the past was behind them, and they needed to prepare for the future. The feeling sent wild relief through Duskpaw. It seemed ridiculous that such a petty emotion, pride, had almost torn apart a clan. And it was fitting that recognition was the solution.
"Thank StarClan," Silentpaw sighed.
Duskpaw turned to his friends. He wanted nothing more than to press his muzzle up against all of them at once, but he knew now was the time for action. Plus, that would be stupid.
"Well, what are we doing?" Darkleaf shouted. "We've got barbarians getting ready to charge at us! Let us pull together patrols to rip off their sorry tails!"
Purrs of amusements and shouts of excitement responded. Duskpaw joined in on the shouting. He blinked farewell to his friends and dashed to find his mentor, who when he found, seemed to be looking for him as well.
"D-Duskpaw… I'm so sorry," his voice trembled.
"Just teach me how to fight better already," Duskpaw purred.
They stared at each other for a moment, and then leapt together for the camp entrance. Duskpaw could see by the previous twinkle in Nightmist's eye that he knew that Duskpaw had known about BloodClan for a long time.
Twig
Twig's tail twitched, her eyes scanning the area. Behind her stood Patch and Scratch, waiting patiently for her to tell them whether it was safe to cross or not. No monsters were in sight and hadn't been since they'd arrived at the Thunderpath, so she nodded at each of them. Together, they took off, running as fast as their legs could take them across the Thunderpath. Once they'd made it across, they began slowly making their way back to BloodClan, none of the three even daring to speak. Once they made it about halfway back, Patch finally mewed what had been on all of their minds.
"I think I must be crazy," he began, his voice shaking a bit. Twigs whiskers began to twitch. She knew what he was going to say.
"I saw Ivy."
"I saw her too. Truly, I thought it was a mirage. But now... I'm not sure what to think..." Scratch shook his head, swiping at an invisible mouse.
"Do... Do you think..." Twig began, but was quickly cut off by Scratch.
"Twig, don't start it. It's not happening. Let's just get home and report to Blizzard and Talon. We can talk about this later."
The rest of their journey home was filled with a painful silence, and were each glad when they finally made it back. Their joy was short-lived, though, because waiting for them was Blizzard.
They each bowed their heads, purring a quick, "We honor you," as he strutted over to them. He gazed at each of them, his eyes lingering only just too long on Twig. She shivered.
"Well, warriors, I'm assuming that you've completed your tasks. For now, I'm through with you. Report to battle training at moonhigh; we've got a war to prepare for." They nodded, and he turned and melted back into the shadows, likely going back to talk with Talon. Twig looked at her friends, and shuffled her paws.
"I'm going back to the alley; I need some rest before training. You two should do the same." They nodded, and all went their separate ways.
Seeing Ivy had sparked something in Twig, and she couldn't help but feel sad and angry. She could remember their lives back then. She and Ivy were great friends, brought together by a secret.
Why couldn't I have just kept my big mouth shut? she mewed to herself, hiding her nose in her paws and slowly drifting off to sleep.
It was quiet enough to hear the desperate squeak of a dying mouse. The dark of the night mixed with the shadow of the alley, making a new somberness that was almost as bad as the moonless nights. Even with this hindering her, she could see the glint of moonlight on claws as a figure leapt from the shadows, pouncing on the waiting she cat. The two leapt about, claws and teeth flashing, fur on end. But no noises could be heard. The two cats made sure not to let themselves make any sounds, for fear someone may find out about their late night battles. After all, conspiracy is not to be taken lightly in BloodClan.
"Aaand... stop!" Twig whispered, pushing herself in-between her two friends. They parted, returning to their normal states. Ivy's tail twitched happily; she'd finally learned her hardest move yet, and the good feelings rolled off her in waves. Twig looked at the two kin, showing them her content. She'd seen plenty of the elders battle, and she was sure that almost none of them would be able to beat these two.
"Ivy, Boulder, you both have definitely improved from the last battle. That was amazing! And you didn't even make a sound!"
Boulder moved to sit near his sister, making sure he stepped on her tail at least once. "Of course we're better; I've been training us."
"Oh please, furbrain, don't be so kittish," Ivy mewed playfully, swiping at his nose.
Twig watched as they played, silently thanking the world that they didn't know, that she was such a good liar. She didn't think she'd be able to face them again; the guilt was beginning to tear her apart.
Boulder stopped playing suddenly, turning to peak at Twig. "Is something wrong?" he mewed worriedly.
"You're shaking." Ivy nodded, her whiskers twitching with worry for her friend. Twig sighed, staring at her paws.
"Guys," she began, "I need to tell you something..."
Twig awoke with a start. She felt many emotions, and none were very good ones. She looked up at the sky, and realized just how late she'd slept; it was almost moonhigh! She leapt from her resting place, and hurried to get to battle training before it was too late. She didn't think she could take a punishment at this point.
