Redheart walked back into the small camp, depositing a mouse on the small prey pile. Blossomheart and Brackenfeather were trying to build dens on the other side, and Nighteyes and Leafheart were talking beside a small tunnel. Thinking it'd be wise to find out what was happening, she padded over to the two.
"What's up?" Redheart said, sitting down as both cats glanced her way.
"Oh, we were discussing the gathering coming up." Nighteyes said.
"You want to go? It'd be strange if SkyClan showed up in two separate groups, right?" Redheart wondered.
"Well, yes. But as of now we aren't SkyClan cats. Just… a group." Leafheart mewed.
"Right. By the way Redheart, I think we need another hunting patrol. Mind taking out Grayfeather and Pigeonwing?" Nighteyes asked.
"Certainly." Redheart turned only to bump into Grayfeather.
"Wha- watch out!" She spat. The tom chuckled.
"Easy now, sorry I bumped into you." Grayfeather said. Redheart felt bad for her sharp tone now.
"I-It's okay. Nighteyes wants a hunting patrol, you want to come?" She asked.
"I'd love to, I've been needing to sink my claws into something." Grayfeather laughed. He played it off as a joke, but Redheart saw the anger stowed away in his eyes.
"Stay by the entrance, I'll go fetch Pigeonwing." Redheart ran off to find her former mentor, only to find her stuck in a bramble bush near the wall of them camp.
"Some things never change, do they?" She mewed, slightly amused.
"Oh, Redheart? That you? Help me out… please!" Pigeonwing said, her voice sounding a bit desperate. Redheart thought that she'd been stuck a while by the sound of it. After a while of tugging, with help from Minttail, the she-cat was finally out.
"Thanks, sorry you had to do that… again." Pigeonwing meowed, embarassed.
"Being the fifth time in a moon I've had to rescue you, it's not big deal." Redheart said. "Come on, let's get this hunting patrol moving."
Out in the forest, the trio had gathering a sizable pile of prey when a rustle sounded near the ThunderClan border.
"Hey, Pigeonwing, guard the prey. Grayfeather, follow me." Redheart instructed. Creeping through the bushes, they found a small brown cat wandering towards the SkyClancamp.
"Hold it!" Redheart shouted. The tom jumped and spun around.
"Ayeep! Don't hurt me!" The cat ducked down and covered his head with his paws.
"Wait… Wingpaw?" Redheart narrowed her eyes at him. "What gives you the right to trepass here?"
"I'm not trespassing!… Well maybe I am but still! And it's Wingflight!" He meowed weakly.
"I don't care." Redheart said. "What's your deal?"
"I actually wanted to see your kind. News is SkyClan had a big split, and most of the clan went away."
"How do you know that?" Grayfeather asked, unsheathing his claws.
"Erm…" Wingflight was getting extremely nervous now.
"Ease off him Grayfeather, he's got something important to say, and he better say it before I claw him off the border." Redheart shot a glare at the ThunderClan medicine cat.
"Sheesh, not the friendly type are we?" Wingflight shook his head and took a breath. "Anyway, I wanted you to see this." He pawed at a small leaf bundle on the ground.
"This is?" Grayfeather asked, sniffing the strange parcel.
"I was poking around Flarestar's body before it was buried, and I found these in his mouth." Wingflight unwrapped the bundle to show some half-chewed deathberries.
"What the-?!" Redheart gasped.
"Exactly. You heard he died from a slash wound by a rogue, but I don't think that's true. I believe…"
"He was poisoned." Grayfeather finished.
"But… no random rogue would poison a clan leader, especially if they could simply slash the throat open." Redheart reasoned.
"I'm thinking…" Wingflight said, "That the slash wound was a cover-up for the poisoning."
"What?! No rogue is smart enough to come up with a plan like that!" Redheart exclaimed.
"Then if it wasn't a rogue, who else?"
"Redheart? Grayfeather? What's going on?" The sound of Pigeonwing caught Wingflight's attention.
"I got to go, but think about it, please?" Snatching up the bundle, he dashed off across the border, Pigeonwing appearing a moment later.
"Who was that?" She asked.
"Um…-" Redheart stammered.
"A rogue, nothing we couldn't handle." Grayfeather cut in.
"Ah… okay. I was just wondering if you lovebirds were having some… alone time." Pigeonwing said wryly.
"What!?" Redheart's ears flicked up in alarm. "We aren't-"
"I like that sound of that." Grayfeather mewed, amused. Redheart flashed her teeth before ducking her head away. She was NOT ready to be romantic.
Shaking her head, she wondered what Wingflight had said. A poisoning? That was strange, and what was more confusing, how did some cat pull it off?
The cats approached the treebridge, Grayfeather leaned over and whispered in Redheart's ear.
"How well do you think this is going to go?" He said.
"About as well as a twoleg tree fire." She replied before hopping onto the treebridge. She walked across, catching Pigeonwing before she took a dive, and hopped off, popping out of the bushes a moment later. All the clans were there, with SkyClan looking rather thin with only the leader present. Treestar glanced down and saw Leafheart, showing his teeth and… laughing? Redheart shook her head and went to sit with her clanmates beside ThunderClan. Leafheart bounded up the tree, taking a spot given to her by Bluestar.
"Let the gathering begin!" Bluestar called. "Who would like to go first?"
"Ooh, me! Me!" Slowstar mewed excitedly. "So, we found some really strange scent on our territory near horseplace. It's kinda cat scented but not really? Watch out for that." He sat back down, looking proud of himself.
"Right…" Bluestar said. "RiverClan is doing fine, and we too have found some unfamiliar scent."
"As have we." Duststar meowed. "These rogues, or whatever they are, will expect due punishment for trespassing."
"SkyClan has had none of this. It sounds like a load of mouse-dung." Treestar sniffed. Duststar's fur rose on his back, and he was about to retort when Cloudstar spoke up.
"We have not scented anything unusual. It smells pretty normal actually." He sat back down, looking straight ahead.
"Anyway, I think we have another problem to attend to." Treestar whipped his head to look directly at Leafheart. "I think we should send away the traitors that dare come to our gathering." He snarled.
"Sorry Treestar, but we are still clan cats, and we will attend the gathering." Leafheart mewed coolly.
"Don't you speak to me you unfaithful little brat! You left me-"
"Because you're a stuck-up fool." Leafheart fired back.
"Why I-"
"I vote we chase them off the territories." Cloudstar said. Redheart shot a questioning look toward Grayfeather. Had Cloudstar changed his mind about his aid? Before she could speak up, Treestar led out a chant.
"Chase them out! Chase them out!" Cloudstar joined in, and few ShadowClan warriors, but it didn't last long before the mews died out and Treestar let out a small hiss.
"Bah, you all are idiots anyway. I second Cloudstar's motion." He said.
"I for one cannot. It isn't right to chase away the best of your cats." Duststar mewed.
"Agreed. I for one cannot allow a good friend and my sister to be driven away. RiverClan is always happy to help." Bluestar said, giving an affectionate look at Mistyeye, who nodded in return.
"So it's tied." Treestar growled. "Well Slowstar? Speak up!" He snapped. The tiny leader jumped and started to stutter.
"Uh, erm… Ah yeah, I, oh…"
"Spit it out!"
"I think that they should stay!" He burst out.
"Idiot!" Treestar howled. "You'll regret this WindClan scum! Come on SkyClan, we're leaving." He jumped down, Cloudstar following, and the two clans started to depart.
"HOLD IT!" Redheart shouted. The gathering turned their eyes to her as she spoke. "What do you mean SkyClan? You're the only 'SkyClan' cat here!"
"Oh, you picked up on that? Don't worry, 'daughter', don't you worry." Treestar flashed a sick grin, and she swore she could she a pair of eyes flash behind him. Whipping his tail in her face, he pushed through the bushes and left.
"That's an end to the gathering I suppose." Bluestar called. Everyone began to leave, Redheart pushed into the bushes herself, a nagging thought pressing in her head.
"You have to do what?! While we are not fully guarded?" Leafheart said in shock.
"Are you crazy?" Nighteyes mewed.
"No. I have to do this." Redheart said, determination filling her eyes. "I have to speak to StarClan."
"Let me go with you." Firecloud spoke up. "I think you'll need the assistance." Redheart nodded.
"Alright, let's move then." She mewed. Turning for the enterance, she ignored the shocked and whispering meows, only checking to see if Firecloud was behind her. Time was running out, and Redheart broke into a sprint for the Moonpool.
"Hold it!" Redheart stopped in her tracks as Firecloud panted up behind her.
"Sheesh, can't you go a little slower?" She muttered.
"What? What is it. We don't have much time you know." Redheart said pointedly.
"I told you about Sweetheart, but I didn't tell you about… Shineface, the deputy before Treestar."
"Shineface, I'm assuming he's your-"
"Father, yes. He was a dirty deputy. Had affairs with a she-cat from every clan. Who knows how many brothers and sisters I have?" Firecloud's mew trailed off in a hint of disgust.
"When did you learn all this?" Redheart asked.
"...Last half-moon gathering. Brightpelt explained it all to me. He told me something was coming, and I had to know my true heritage."
"Then we gotta go double time to the Moonpool. I need answers, now."