Disclaimer: Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter, but she can't have Darkfire!

WARNING: this is the longest chapter so far.

Chapter 9

After crossing the stream and leaving their forest home, Dewstep and Darkfire had walked for the whole day without finding another forest. They'd slept in the open field that night and the next. The third day, they came across a Thunderpath.

Dewstep and Darkfire stared at it, amazed at the monsters that rushed by. Wind whipped up the grass with every passing, blowing a sickly smell into their faces. The ground beside the Thunderpath was barren.

"Twolegs actually trust these things?" Darkfire asked.

"They're so big. . . ." Dewstep mewed. Now he wondered what Twolegs really looked like. They fit in these things, but the monsters were large, many Clans could possibly fit in one.

The two stayed on the far side of the Thunderpath until nightfall. The monsters came less frequently then and Darkfire and Dewstep felt it was safer to cross. Hollyleaf had told them to wait for a pause in the monsters but the two had to get used to the intimidating beasts. Now, as night came, the monsters started to glow, but that made them easier to see. The brothers finally crossed when the glowing was far in the distance.

They continued on, not willing to rest near the Thunderpath. When dawn came, they curled together to rest their exhausted bodies and minds.

There was more field the following day and then the two came upon a shiny structure held up by wooden poles that reminded them of trees. Dewstep and Darkfire easily slipped between the sharp, shiny lines and continued on. On the fifth day away from home they had to cross a hill. It wasn't tall like the mountains in the distance, but it was still tall for the two cats who'd never seen anything like it. They played along the hill then, hiding behind grass and rocks to pounce out at each other. This relieved their stressed minds. They hadn't known what to do in the open area away from the trees and away from home, but playing like they used to helped make things seem better.

Then one day the brothers saw the lake. They were crossing another hill when Dewstep saw the shiny surface. He stopped and squinted.

"We must be near WindClan territory," Darkfire meowed. The moorlands around them was hazy and a cool breeze lifted their fur.

"Let's go this way," Darkfire continued, nodding his head to their left. He'd noticed they were traveling directly toward the lake, but they couldn't, not if they were to enter the Clans territory through RiverClan.

They obeyed Hollyleaf's orders to avoid WindClan and enter through RiverClan. This way the Clans wouldn't know the true direction Darkfire and Dewstep had come from. If they came from the direction of the old forest which the Clans had migrated from, the Clans might be more welcome to them.

The brothers walked parallel to the lake, not wanting to meet with a WindClan cat yet. They found another Thunderpath. Unwilling to cross it unless necessary, they walked beside it. They reached the horseplace Hollyleaf had described. They ran around the structure, not wanting to be caught between it and the Thunderpath, and not wanting to be seen by the Twolegs or Clan cats patrolling the area.

Hollyleaf had hoped RiverClan might accept the two. They was not as against half-Clan cats as WindClan was and Leopardstar might be interested in two extra cats who could swim and catch fish without tremendous training. So Darkfire and Dewstep waited by the border, waiting for a patrol, which was the polite thing to do. It was also what was required in the warrior code. Hollyleaf had told them not to infringe it in the Clans. Her sons could give RiverClan no excuse for kicking them out.

They lay down, relaxing in the greenleaf sun. In time Darkfire stirred.

"I smell cats," he meowed, standing up.

Dewstep sat up as well. He felt pleasantly warm and tired. He yawned and stretched, letting the cats see him and his dark brother.

The patrol quickly turned toward them. Dewstep made out three warriors and two apprentices. They were mostly gray. Dewstep felt he could fit right in.

"Who are you and what are you doing on RiverClan territory?" a she-cat challenged.

"You and your apprentice should get off," a tom growled at Darkfire.

Dewstep's jaw dropped. They thought he was an apprentice?

"This is your border," Darkfire answered. His voice was low. It didn't sound dangerous, since he was being polite. Dewstep realized he would also have to be. He'd have to forgive them for their misunderstanding. "We haven't crossed your scent markers," Darkfire nodded toward a tree stump.

"So what did you want?" the she-cat asked, glancing at the tom in a commanding way. "You obviously know better than to cross, and I'd guess you were waiting to meet a patrol."

"We were," Dewstep meowed. "We wanted to speak with Leopardstar."

"We don't take rogues to our leader," the tom growled. "We can deal with them ourselves."

The tom extended his claws. Dewstep suddenly realized how the she-cat rogue he and Darkfire had ambushed felt. He was outnumbered and he was about to be hurt!

"Hush, Rippletail," the grey she-cat hissed. "You don't know what this is about. They might have information for her."

"You can't trust rogues," interjected the third warrior. The two apprentices nodded. They too had their claws out, ready for a battle.

The grey cat sighed. "Copperpool is right. I'm going to have to ask you what for. Then I will decide if you should speak or if you should just leave."

Darkfire and Dewstep shared a glance. Then Darkfire nodded his head, letting Dewstep speak.

"My brother and I want to join your Clan," Dewstep told her. He watched her blink repeatedly. The other two warriors started laughing and the apprentices just looked confused.

"Leopardstar would never let rogues into the Clan," Rippletail snickered.

"Our mother was a Clan cat," Dewstep meowed, annoyed with them. He didn't want to be laughed at.

That stopped them. Now they shared a glance. "What Clan?" the she-cat asked.

"She never said," Dewstep shook his head, lying as he'd been told to. "She didn't want to speak about them after her exile, but she taught us the warrior code. When we got old enough, we wanted to join a Clan. First we had to find you."

"What was her name?" Copperpool asked. She seemed intrigued.

"We call her Snake," Darkfire meowed. "She wanted to forget her old name, so she took on the one our father gave her."

Now all the others in the patrol were interested. Was this for real?

The grey she-cat told them to stay there and then she led the other warriors off to speak privately with them. The apprentices growled threateningly at the brothers, daring them to disobey.

Finally she returned. "We have agreed to take you to Leopardstar," she said. The tom growled and Dewstep knew he didn't like the idea. "She will decide what to do with you."

Dewstep vocalized his thanks and Darkfire just nodded in agreement.

"By the way," the she-cat meowed, "My name is Mistyfoot. I'm the deputy of RiverClan. What do you call yourselves?"

"Dewstep and Darkfire," Dewstep told her.

"Hmm, Clan names," Mistyfoot murmured. Then she waved her tail. Rippletail and Copperpool surrounded the brothers and one of the apprentices took off toward the Clan to warn Leopardstar of the visitors. The last apprentice walked behind them.

The ground squelched beneath their paws. Dewstep was reminded of Tanglewood. But unlike the bog, there were much more reeds here and no trees. The water was also deeper. Dewstep felt the gaze of the RiverClan cats as they crossed the streams and puddles. Dewstep felt the water cling to his fur and immediately started thinking about something else. He might have learned how to swim, but he still hated it. The only way to get over the discomfort was to think about something else and forget that he was actually in the water.

On the way, Mistyfoot nodded approvingly as they crossed the stream. Dewstep knew they'd passed a test of a sort. Finally they crossed the last channel of water. They made it to the camp. There cats waited laying outside the reed dens, staring at the rogues who dared ask entrance to their Clan. Leopardstar, an older she-cat with spotted golden fur, gazed at them from her meeting place. Mistyfoot hurried forward and whispered into the Clan leader's ear. Leopardstar's eyes glanced over the brothers as the deputy spoke to her. Finally the grey stepped back.

The leader was silent for a moment longer. Finally she said, "Mistyfoot tells me you want to join our Clan. That you feel entitled to just because your mother was a Clan cat from some Clan she didn't tell you."

That's not what I said, Dewstep thought, bothered by the leader's tone.

The tribe murmured. There were low hisses and growls, but they didn't say anything, waiting for their leader's judgement.

"Well?" Leopardstar asked in the silence.

Dewstep looked to Darkfire who nodded to him. So he was supposed to talk again? Why wouldn't Darkfire do it? Dewstep didn't want to talk in front of everyone. He didn't want to sound mouse-brained as he tried to convince them to let him join.

"We want to join because we like the warrior code," Dewstep meowed. "It is a wonderful way to keep cats together. It provides for the weak and it gives the powerful and healthy a way to channel their strengths. It cares for the lowest in the Clan and keeps you together and guided by intelligent leaders-"

"Stop with the flattery," Leopardstar interrupted. "We know you love the warrior code now."

Many cats chuckled and Dewstep felt embarrassed. He looked down, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes. Perhaps being honest wasn't the best thing.

"But why would you want to join RiverClan?" Leopardstar asked.

"We haven't asked the other Clans yet," Darkfire meowed. "We will join the Clan that will have us."

"That doesn't say much for your loyalty," Leopardstar sniffed.

"But once we join, we'd stay loyal," Dewstep protested. "We just need to join one first."

"You do have good attributes," Leopardstar acknowledged. "You can swim like a RiverClan cat."

The mentioned cats seemed surprised and they looked at the two in interest. Was Leopardstar actually thinking about welcoming them?

"Are you sure you don't know which Clan your mother came from?" Leopardstar asked.

The brother's shook their lying heads.

"Well I know of no cats RiverClan has exiled," the leader said. "I must think on this. Grassfoot give them a place to stay for the night. All senior warriors join me."

Leopardstar jumped from her position and the warriors came to her. Grassfoot led the brothers away to a grouping of reeds. There he stayed to guard them.

"Well?" Dewstep asked Darkfire.

"I think we might have pulled it off," Darkfire murmured. "If not, then we know what to expect from the other Clans. What kinds of questions and what the reasons will be for not accepting us."

Dewstep nodded. That made sense. "What if no Clan wants us?" he whispered.

"Then we'll have to go home," Darkfire meowed. He didn't say more because Grassfoot was listening in, but he had a feeling Hollyleaf would send them back, but with a different plan.