Pigeonpaw padded into camp, Smokewing by her side silently. She gave the tom a pitying look- he looked so tired. The cats who had waited to hear what had happened immediately clustered around the group, asking questions. A loud yowl silenced them, and Swiftstar leapt up to the Tallbranch, overlooking his gathered clanmates. Pigeonpaw sat down, and Smokewing copied her. The clan's eyes all seemed to be turned to him, and a few gave Pigeonpaw questioning glances- then turned away at her icy glare. Inside, she was just happy she'd finally perfected that look. Raggedtail would be proud. She snapped her attention up as Swiftstar began to speak, even though she already knew what he was going to say.

"Stormclan, this gathering was… Troubling," the small leader began, gazing down at them. "It seems in her old age, stress and paranoia has gotten to Crowstar." Pigeonpaw glanced at Smokewing, to see if this offended him, but he was gazing up at Swiftstar with steely eyes. "Out of her fear of rogues, she has banished her own deputy, and a young kit from her clan." Yowls of anger instantly rang out, several cats standing up and bristling.

"Swiftstar, we have to do something!" Birchslip yowled, Leapfish and Shadowleg nodding in approval.

Swiftstar let his clanmates quiet down on their own before continuing. "There is nothing we can do, Birchslip, apart from offer sanctuary to these cats, and take them in as our own." He turned his eyes to Riverdusk, who timidly lifted her tail. "Yes, Riverdusk?"

"What will he do if we go to war with Frostclan?" Swiftstar paused at this, then looked at Smokewing questioningly. Smokewing narrowed his eyes a bit, then stood, looking around at the gathered cats.

"Frostclan is not my place of birth, but they took me in when I had nowhere to go. However, my leader and several warriors have made it clear that they don't want me around, and Frostclan is no longer home to me. I will miss it dearly, but I belong to Stormclan now, and will defend it if I need to. Lostkit is young- he won't remember this. He will believe himself to be a Stormclan cat, if you allow it, and I would prefer if it were so." Swiftstar nodded, and the rest of the clan looked relieved. Smokewing sat back down, twitching his whiskers awkwardly. Swiftstar leapt down from the branch and retreated into his den, signaling the meeting was over. Everyone nearly instantly turned to Smokewing, but before any questions could be asked, Petalspots stood, raising her voice to talk over all her clanmates.

"Alright everyone, come on, get to your nests! I'm sure you have lots of questions, but that can wait till morning! Come on, Specklenose will have your tails if you sleep in!" That seemed to do it, and most cats dispersed, leaving the two black tabby brothers, Raggedtail and Sootpaw, Pigeonpaw, Smokewing, and Petalspots. Petalspots dipped her head to Smokewing, purring. "They'll get used to you, don't worry. Come on, I'll show you the warrior's den!" Smokewing stood, following the she-cat, turning back to mew a soft, raspy 'good night' to Pigeonpaw. She nodded to him, watching him retreat into the warrior's den. She was tired, but she had one more thing to do. She turned, meeting Raggedtail's eyes for a moment. He nodded, then stood, touching his nose to his brothers' and padding over to her.

"In three nights I'm meeting Leafpaw and Shimmerpaw at the Gathering Hollow." He nodded in understanding, and she relaxed. She didn't even have to ask.

"I'll be there."


The next day, Specklenose was up at the crack of dawn, rounding up cats for patrols. "Lightningtooth, Leapfish, Hazelpaw, check the borders, you're dawn patrol. Poppystripe, you're leading the hunting patrol. Take Birchslip and Smokewing. M- what?!" She broke off, looking annoyed, as she suddenly received confused stares. "Is there a problem?!"

"Not… Exactly, Specklenose," Leapfish mewed, looking awkward. The deputy looked between her cats challengingly, and snapped her glare to the icy Raggedtail, watching all this with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Specklenose," he purred, voice smooth and silky, "I think Smokewing should get a little more familiar with the territory before he goes hunting. He hasn't exactly been here long." Specklenose looked like she was about to be offended, but thought better of it and smoothed down her fur, nodding. Smokewing looked slightly relieved, but mostly tired.

"Will you take him?"

"Sure." Raggedtail grinned, lifting himself to his paws. "Pigeonpaw's coming with us." Pigeonpaw had just been opening her mouth to ask, and stifled a purr. She should have known she didn't even need to ask.

Bramblepaw shot to his paws, fluffing up in excitement. "I wana go too!" He stopped, suddenly glancing at his mentor for confirmation. Petalspots twitched her whiskers, amused, and nodded. Bramblepaw purred loudly, bouncing a little, trotting to join them. Specklenose gave them a little nod, and the group set off.

Pigeonpaw greatly enjoyed the tour of the territory. They led him around, the two apprentices chattering happily about their favorite spots in the territory. They showed him most of it, avoiding the borders intentionally. He seemed to enjoy it, from what Pigeonpaw could tell, even telling them a bit about his own territory. She greatly enjoyed all of their company. Smokewing was quiet, and intelligent, but his eyes sparked with joy. Bramblepaw was a ball of energy, leaping about and chatting, easily distracted but fun. And Raggedtail was, well, Raggedtail. He wasn't smiling, but she could see in his eyes he was having a good time. When they got back to camp, she was almost sad. They were having such fun! She looked around camp when they entered- and frowned when Swiftstar padded up to them.

"Bramblepaw," the leader mewed softly, "do you mind if I speak with these three in my den?" Bramblepaw looked confused, but nodded, touching his nose to Pigeonpaw's shoulder and darting off to the apprentice's den. The three remaining cats glanced at eachother, then padded after Swiftstar. He sat down on his nest, and faced the three sitting cats. "Pigeonpaw, I'm afraid I'm faced with quite the dilemma. I had expected this to be a time of peace, but it looks like we could be facing war in the future." He smiled nervously, then lowered his head. "I'm sorry, but as both my kit and my apprentice, I have an obligation to make sure you have the finest mentor possible." She nodded slowly, but she felt like her heart was breaking. It was like he didn't want her anymore! Raggedtail and Smokewing both curled their tails around her at the same time, then looked at eachother, amused at their simultaneous reaction. Swiftstar smiled a bit, gently, then lifted his gaze to address the warriors. "You must both know that you are both allowed to reject this offer. I chose Scorchfall because he would treat Moonpaw like an equal, not a gift from Starclan. But Raggedtail, I've chosen you for the opposite reason. You may be inexperienced, but my daughter seems to care for you above all others, and I know you would be a good mentor for her. Smokewing," he turned to the darker tom, who met his gaze calmly, "you have barely been with us a day, and I know how much this is asking of you. But you are a wise, experienced cat, and known for being just and kind. You raised an excellent warrior in Cloudbreath, and you could teach my daughter things no other Stormclan cat can." He sat back, sighing. "Of course, this doesn't mean you have-"

Raggedtail spoke up before he could even finish that sentence. "Swiftstar, I've wanted her as an apprentice since I was an apprentice. I'd be honored."

Smokewing looked down at her, and then smiled gently. "It would be my pleasure to raise such a bright young cat."

She gazed at them both, the sadness over losing her mentor being replaced by having these two incredible warriors taking over. She couldn't believe it! Before she knew it, she was purring, puffing up proudly. Both of them gave her an amused look, and she returned with a cheeky grin. She met her father's eyes, grinning wider.

"Don't worry, Swiftstar, I'll go easy on them!"


AN: Finally, things are starting to pick up!

QOTC: What do you think about Smokewing so far? How do you think he feels about this sudden change?

Also, I have a new story up called Swan Feathers, and I'd greatly appreciate some feedback!