Okay, so I'm updating, though you guys gave me very little reviews last chapter. :(
Still, I thank my wonderful reviewers: Queen Of The Pens, fallenshadow962, Tangleflame, S. Elise, and Shimmerheart69
Chapter Thirty-Six
The days after Brokenstar were cold, so cold Newleaf could deny it no more: leaf-bare was near, almost upon to the Clans. However cold the weather was, the ShadowClan camp was as warm as greenleaf. The cats together worked hard to maintain the borders, and Nightpelt had done well to reorganize the apprentice training program as well as assign more hunting patrols for the Clan.
All the cats of ShadowClan agreed that no other cat was fit for the job; Nightpelt had already apprenticed Oakpaw to Wetfoot and Brownpaw to Stumpytail, moved the elders' den back into the camp, appointed Cinderfur as deputy, and was rebuilding the camp walls in addition to keeping up with patrols and hunting parties. The Clan was becoming more full-fed than it had been in moons, despite the leaf-bare approaching the forest like cats stalking prey.
Other than what the ShadowClan cats believed, the sign Runningnose had been waiting for came, and indeed Nightpelt was the cat StarClan had chosen for the next ShadowClan leader. He had said that Nightpelt's fur was glimmering with stars like the night sky.
Foxfur took Newleaf out occasionally to teach her more useful hunting techniques than the ones she had originally taught her while Brokenstar was leader. Newleaf found herself to be a skilled hunter, and the fighting methods Foxfur showed her quickly became increasingly difficult, even for Newleaf, who was an exceptional fighter.
Now at six moons old, she realized that she had grown. She was still small, of course, but she didn't tire nearly as easily as she used to.
Today, she was padding back to the ShadowClan camp, purring at a joke Darkwing had made. Foxfur was more quiet, and Newleaf could not help noticing that her mentor, for Foxfur was still her mentor though she was a warrior with all the rights a warriors had, Foxfur was getting close to moving into the nursery. Her kits will make ShadowClan stronger.
"The Gathering's tomorrow," announced Foxfur finally.
She nodded. "Will I be able to go?"
"Of course, but I'm not coming."
"Why?" asked Newleaf, and Darkwing echoed her question.
Foxfur smiled at her warmly. "I'm moving into the nursery. I figure you've had enough training, and even if you didn't, Nightpelt, Flintfang, or Redwillow could help."
"Nightpelt's too busy with Clan affairs," muttered Newleaf. "Flintfang will be too busy looking after you, and your sister Redwillow is Darkwing's mentor."
Her mentor sighed in exasperation. "You know Nightpelt is doing well as leader."
"No excuse for Flintfang or Redwillow, though," she noticed. "I'll be fine, Foxfur. I don't need much more training anyway. Darkwing can show me what he learns."
Foxfur twitched an ear in acknowledgement, but didn't reply, and Darkwing gave her a sideways glance as if to say, And who said that?
The rest of the way home, the three cats treaded in silence, Newleaf occasionally shivering of cold. Her fur was still kit-soft, still somewhat thin. She was sure that her fur would grow thicker as leaf-bare advanced. She heard a rustle in the leaves of the bushes; she flicked her tail and went to pursue it as she scented mouse.
She hid in the shadows as Foxfur had taught her, skulking, taunting the mouse. Her blue eyes glinted in the shadow as she stalked it, quiet as the mouse itself. It scuttled on a tree root, and she ducked down, staring at the mouse with her narrowed eyes. She lunged, grabbing the mouse between her two paws and killed it with a swift bite to the throat.
"Nice!" Darkwing complimented her.
"Very good." purred Foxfur.
Newleaf nodded and raced back to them, and followed them to the ShadowClan camp entrance. She carried the fresh-kill back to the fresh-kill pile –which was filled with recently killed prey and not crowfood, as it had been under Brokenstar's rule. She looked at the pile of plentiful prey and smiled. The Clan was thriving now. She left her mouse in the pile and took a frog for herself.
Darkwing and Littlecloud joined her as the sun set, both eating beside her. Marshypool approached them with a mouse; Newleaf knew it was the one she had caught. Ever since she had helped Newleaf, Littlecloud and Darkwing, the tensions between them had eased, but Marshypool still had not earned the three cats' full trust.
After supper, the four cats shared tongues, and Newleaf was very happy to realize, not for the first time, that ShadowClan was free.
Newleaf stepped into a pool of moonlight as she raced after the cats going to the Gathering. Darkwing, Littlecloud, and Marshypool were among them, as well as Oakpaw. Flintfang, Swanwing, Dawncloud, Tallpoppy, Wetfoot, and of course Runningnose were also in the Gathering party.
As they sprinted into the clearing surrounded by the four oaks, Newleaf was surprised to find that the ShadowClan party was the only one. We're early.
The Clan settled down, and soon a chorus of yowling announced the arrival of RiverClan. The ShadowClan cats weaved among the RiverClan cats, sharing tongues and gossiping. Soon ThunderClan too arrived, and Newleaf twitched an ear as she recognized Firepaw and Graypaw. They held themselves with a greater dignity than before, so they must have been made warriors.
She mewed a greeting to them as they passed, and they boasted about their warrior names.
"Fireheart and Graystripe," she mused. "I can't say I would've chosen better."
Graystripe twitched his whiskers in amusement, but they meowed a polite farewell and went on to speak to Wetfoot and Oakpaw.
Soon the call for the start of the Gathering rang through the trees, and all the cats quieted and looked up to the Great Rock. Newleaf felt a warm glow of pride as she watched her father standing up with great dignity on the rock, next to Crookedstar and Bluestar.
It was Bluestar who opened the Gathering formally. "ThunderClan bring to this Gathering their new medicine cat, Yellowfang." The ThunderClan leader paused as all cats gazed at Yellowfang, Newleaf purring loudly. Though she hadn't known the old she-cat long, she found there was a strong bond between them. Even if Yellowfang hadn't wanted to rejoin ShadowClan, she was happy the old medicine cat had found a Clan she felt loyalty to and was content to be in. The blue-gray she-cat continued, "We also bring two newly named warriors –Fireheart and Graystripe."
Bluestar stepped back, and Nightpelt brushed her fur as he came forward to address all the cats. "I, Nightpelt, have taken over the leadership of ShadowClan," he announced, head held high. "Our former leader, Brokenstar, broke the warrior code and we were forced to chase him out."
He didn't thank the ThunderClan cats outwardly, but he glanced at Bluestar meaningfully, and she nodded ever so slightly. He went on to say, "The spirits of our warrior ancestors have spoken to Runningnose and chosen me as leader. I have not yet traveled to Mothermouth to receive my nine lives, but I will make the journey tomorrow while the moon is still full. After my vigil at the Moonstone, I will be known as Nightstar."
"Where is Brokenstar now?" asked a white ThunderClan queen to Nightpelt.
He replied patiently, his tail swaying. "I think we can assume that he has left the forest with the other banished warriors. He knows it would be dangerous to try to return."
Nightpelt then stepped back and let Crookedstar speak. "Let's hope Brokenstar has had the sense to leave the forest for good. His greed for territory threatened us all." Crookedstar paused as he heard yowls of agreement from both RiverClan and ThunderClan. ShadowClan as well howled, but less heartedly. "While Brokenstar was ShadowClan's leader, I allowed him to hunt in our river. But now ShadowClan has a new leader, and so this agreement can no longer stand. The prey in our river is RiverClan's alone."
"It should be," muttered Newleaf, tail lashing as she remembered the terror of being underwater, needing to breathe air but breathing in water instead. "I almost drowned there anyway. I have no concern for the river."
"Your father doesn't think so," murmured Darkwing beside her, and she looked to see that he was right: Nightpelt's fur was bristling. Her own neck fur began to prickle. Surely her father didn't think they needed the river for fish, did he?
She unsheathed her claws in anger and started to pull out grass stalks as her father argued for hunting rights in the river. Just because Nightpelt was her father and her leader didn't mean she agreed with everything he said or did.
Bluestar was the peacemaker as always: she made Nightpelt see sense, and her father's fur flattened. "You won't scent us, Crookedstar," he promised. "Bluestar was right –we don't need your fish. After all, we have the uplands to hunt in, now that WindClan has gone."
Just one disagreement after another, isn't it, Nightpelt? thought Newleaf to her father in annoyance as Bluestar argued with the two other leaders that WindClan must return. She growled, deep in her throat, but so softly no other cat could hear it, not even Darkwing's sensitive ears. Don't you see WindClan has to come back?
Nightpelt closed his eyes at Bluestar's argument, and finally he agreed, opening is eyes and nodding. "Very well, Bluestar. We will allow WindClan to return."
"Two of us have agreed, Crookedstar," announced Bluestar, and Crookedstar looked away angrily. "WindClan must be found and brought home. Until then, no Clan should hunt in their territory."
She wondered why Crookedstar had fought so hard to hunt in the moorland. The river was full of fish, and they could also catch forest prey; RiverClan were by far the most well-fed Clan in the forest. Why did they need even more territory so they could stuff themselves? She agreed with Bluestar; WindClan had to be brought back. Newleaf wondered how they would do that.
The Gathering broke up, and Newleaf, with a small glance back at the clearing, full of cats, followed ShadowClan into the bushes. She would have to tell Foxfur about this Gathering. Nightpelt was allowing WindClan to return, and so far, there'd been no sightings of Brokenstar in the other Clans. That meant that he'd left. Hopefully for good, because if she ever saw that crowfood-eating piece of fox-dung again, she was sure that she'd be old enough to be more than capable of flaying his skin from the camp to Highstones.
So please, please review. I stress it. Also, I recommend S. Elise's stories. Both of them. They're really good.
Queen Of The Pens: I'm still not done. I'll have to do a big time-skip, though. And you recommended The Hunger Games to me; I recommend the Silverwing Trilogy by Kenneth Oppel to you. I hope you like bats. ;)
Fallenshadow: I think that one letter in a chapter is against the regulations of Fanfiction... how strange...
Tangleflame: Why, thank you. Hope it continues to be amazing. :)
S. Elise:Again, thank you! You're writing is quite amazing as well.
Shimmerheart: Don't worry about it. And yeah, I'm aware it was boring. You know the Story Arch, right? This is now the beginning of the falling action. I've only three or four chapters in me, as well as an epilogue.
~Coqui's Song