Question

Days had passed since the thaw began with a flood as Bluestar was sat outside her den, with Whitestorm, Mousefur, and Willowpelt already by her side. A moment later Tigerclaw and Darkstripe joined them.

"As you know, the moon is full tonight," Bluestar began when all the cats were gathered around her. "It will be hard to get to Fourtrees, but StarClan would expect us to do all we can to find a dry route. So I've chosen warriors only—this will be no journey for elders or apprentices, or queens expecting kits. Darkstripe, you led a patrol to examine the stream this morning. Report what you found."

"The water's going down," meowed Darkstripe. "But not fast enough. We patrolled as far as the Thunderpath, and there's nowhere a cat could cross without swimming."

"The stream's narrower up there," mewed Willowpelt. "Could we jump across?"

"Maybe, if you grew wings," Darkstripe replied. "If all you've got is your own paws…"

"But that has to be the best place to try," insisted Whitestorm.

Bluestar nodded. "We'll start there," she decided. "Maybe StarClan will lead us to a safe place." She rose to her paws and led her cats quietly out of the camp.

The sun had gone down, and twilight blurred the shapes of the forest. In the distance an owl hooted, and Nightfrost could hear the rustle of prey in the undergrowth, but the warriors were too intent on their journey to hunt. Bluestar took them straight through the trees to the place where the stream emerged from a hard stone tunnel underneath the Thunderpath. Their usual route to Fourtrees did not pass this close to the Thunderpath, and Nightfrost flicked his ears as he wondered what his leader was planning to do. When they reached the tunnel, he saw that floodwater spread out on either side, reflecting the pale light of the rising moon. Water covered the Thunderpath as well, and as the cats watched they saw a monster pass by, moving slowly, throwing up a filthy wave from its round black paws.

Once the monster had disappeared into the distance, Bluestar led her cats to the water's edge on the hard surface of the Thunderpath. She sniffed the water, wrinkling her nose at the stench, and cautiously put one paw into the flood. "It's shallow enough here," she meowed. "We can walk up the Thunderpath until we're on the other side of the stream, and get to Fourtrees along the border with ShadowClan."

Nightfrost only flicked his tail. Even if it were moons ago, walking on one of the Thunderpaths was a norm for him as a rogue in the Twolegplace. Fear scent came from his clanmates and he reminded himself that forest cats rarely have to pad on these paths.

"What if another monster comes?" asked Graystripe, voicing the clan's fear. "We will keep to the side," Bluestar replied calmly. "You saw how slowly that monster was moving. Maybe they don't like getting their paws wet."

"Bluestar, wait," called Whitestorm as the Clan leader waded into the water. "Remember how low our territory is on the other side of this stream? I can't help thinking it will be flooded there, too. I don't think we'll get to Fourtrees without going onto ShadowClan territory, which is higher."

A cat let out a faint hiss, and Nightfrost narrow his eyes in thought. A band of warriors setting paw across the border of a Clan with which they had recently battled? If a patrol caught them, they would think it was an invasion. Though he would welcome the battle. The black tom shook his head and remind himself he should not be the blood-thirsty leader like he was.

Bluestar paused with water lapping over her paws, and looked back at Whitestorm. "Maybe," she acknowledged, "but we'll have to risk it, if it's the only way."

She set off again without giving her cats any time to protest. There was nothing to do but follow. Nightfrost splashed along the edge of the Thunderpath, just behind his friend and Fireheart. Tigerclaw brought up the rear to keep a lookout for monsters coming up from behind.

At first everything was quiet, except for a single monster traveling in the other direction on the opposite side of the Thunderpath. Then Nightfrost heard the familiar growling and the splash of an approaching monster.

"Look out!" Tigerclaw yowled from the end of the line.

Nightfrost pressed himself against the low wall that edged the Thunderpath as it crossed the stream. Darkstripe scrambled on top of it and crouched there, baring his teeth at the monster as it passed. For a moment its strange, glittering colors were reflected in the stinking water, and a wave washed out from it, soaking Nightfrost almost to his head. As it left, he shook himself of the dirty water.

As they reached the other side of the stream, Nightfrost could see that Whitestorm was right. The low-lying land on the ThunderClan side was covered with water. There was nothing to do but continue along the edge of the Thunderpath until the land rose and was dry enough to walk on.

Stepping off the Thunderpath, the black warrior watched as his brother raised his head and opened his jaws. Nightfrost looked behind him at the Thunderpath and to the front of him. They had followed the Thunderpath out of ThunderClan territory, and now a swath of ShadowClan land lay between them and the Gathering at Fourtrees.

"We shouldn't be here," Willowpelt murmured uneasily.

If Bluestar heard the comment, she ignored it, quickening the pace until they were racing across the sodden turf. There were few trees here, and the close-cropped grass offered no cover for trespassing cats. Fireheart's heart was beating fast, and not only from the speed of their journey. If ShadowClan cats caught them, they would be in trouble, but Fourtrees was not far away, and their luck might hold.

Then he caught sight of a dark shadow streaking over the ground ahead of them, on a course to intercept Bluestar at the head of her patrol. More shadows followed, and a furious yowling split the quiet of the night.

For a heartbeat Bluestar quickened her pace, as if she thought she could outrun the challengers. Then she slowed to a stop. Her warriors did the same. Fireheart stood panting; the shadows drew closer, and he saw that they were ShadowClan cats, headed by their leader, Nightstar.

"Bluestar!" he spat as he halted in front of the ThunderClan leader. "Why have you brought your cats onto ShadowClan land?"

"In these floods, it was the only way to reach Fourtrees," Bluestar replied, her voice low and steady. "We mean no harm, Nightstar. You know there's a truce for the Gathering."

Nightstar hissed, his ears flattened against his head and his fur bristling. "The truce holds at Fourtrees," he snarled. "There is no truce here."

Instinctively, every cat tensed for possible battle. The ShadowClan cats—apprentices and elders as well as warriors—slipped silently into a semicircle around the smaller band from ThunderClan. Like Nightstar, their coats were bristling and their tails lashed in anger. Their hostile eyes reflected the cold light of the moon. Nightfrost knew that if it came to a fight, ThunderClan was hopelessly outnumbered. Even so, he felt his blood rushing to the excitement at the thought of ripping those throats out of these Shadowclan cats.

"Nightstar, I'm sorry," meowed Bluestar. "We would never trespass on your territory without good reason. Please let us pass."

Her words did nothing to appease the ShadowClan cats. Cinderfur, the ShadowClan deputy, moved up beside his leader, a dim shape in the moonlight. "I think they're here to spy," he growled softly.

"Spy?" Tigerclaw shouldered his way forward to stand next to Bluestar, his head thrust out toward Cinderfur until their noses were less than a mouse-length apart."What can we spy on here? We're nowhere near your camp."

Cinderfur curled back his lip to reveal thorn-sharp teeth. "Give us the word, Nightstar, and we'll tear them apart."

"You can try," growled Tigerclaw. For a few heartbeats Nightstar was silent. Graystripe growled beside Fireheart, whose muscles tensed. Mousefur bared her teeth at the nearest ShadowClan warrior, and Sandstorm's pale golden eyes shone with readiness to fight.

"Keep back," Nightstar grunted at last to his warriors. "We'll let them pass. I want ThunderClan cats at the Gathering." Though his words were friendly, he hissed them through bared teeth. Suddenly suspicious, Nightfrost glance at the leader. Fireheart whispered to Graystripe, "What does he mean by that?"

Graystripe shrugged. "Dunno. We've seen nothing of ShadowClan since the floods started. Who knows what they're up to?"

"We'll even give you an escort," Nightstar went on, narrowing his eyes. "Just to make sure you get to Fourtrees safely. We wouldn't want ThunderClan to be scared off by an angry mouse, would we?"

A murmur of agreement rose from the ShadowClan warriors. They shifted so that they surrounded the ThunderClan cats on all sides. With a faint nod, Nightstar set off beside Bluestar. The other cats followed, the ShadowClan patrol matching ThunderClan step for step. ThunderClan headed for the Gathering completely encircled by their enemies.

The moon was at its height as the ThunderClan cats were herded into the hollow beneath the four oak trees. A fierce, cold light poured down over the members of RiverClan and WindClan who were already assembled. All of them turned to stare curiously at the group descending the slope. Nightfrost knew that he and the rest of his Clan must look like prisoners. He stalked along proudly, head and tail held high, defying any cat to say that they had been beaten. He turn to see Fireheart doing the same and pride flowed though Nightfrost.

The ShadowClan cats slipped away into the shadows as soon as they reached the hollow. Bluestar headed straight for the Great Rock with Tigerclaw at her side. Mousefur padded to Fireheart.

"What's up with you?" Mousefur mewed, making the orange tom jump. "You look as if you've got something on your mind."

Fireheart stared at the brown warrior. "I…I was thinking about what Nightstar said," he improvised rapidly. "Why did he say he wants ThunderClan cats here?"

"Well, I'm sure of one thing. He's not being kind and helpful," Sandstorm mewed, coming up with Willowpelt beside her. She licked one paw and drew it over her ear. For once, she did not mew out an insult to Fireheart. "We'll find out soon enough."

"Trouble's coming," Willowpelt meowed over one shoulder as she went to join a group of WindClan queens. "I can feel it in my paws."

Nightfrost looked at the Shadowclan cats, and stared questioningly at the fact they would at times glared at Thunderclan hostility.

At last a yowling sounded from the top of the rock, and the murmuring from the cats below died away.

Nightstar stepped forward, stiff-legged with barely suppressed fury. "Cats of all Clans, listen to me!" he demanded. "Listen, and remember. Until last greenleaf, Brokenstar was leader of ShadowClan. He was—"

Tallstar, the leader of WindClan, stepped forward to stand beside Nightstar. "Why do you speak that hated name?" he growled. His eyes flashed, and Nigthfrost knew he was remembering how Brokenstar and his warriors had driven WindClan out of their territory.

"Hated, yes," Nightstar agreed. "And with good reason, which you know as well as any cat, Tallstar. He stole kits from ThunderClan. He forced kits from his own Clan into battle too early, and they died. In the end he was so bloodthirsty that we—his own Clan—drove him out. And where is he now?" Nightstar's voice rose to a shriek. "This is what I would like to ask Thunderclan's leader. Bluestar, one of my apprentices almost heard something interesting about him from one of your cats in the last Gathering before another stopped him. Would you care to explain?"

Every cat tensed at the question, wondering how would the Thunderclan leader respond to him. Bluestar hold a steady look at the Shadowclan leader before speaking.

"Brokentail-" Made every cat whispered at the name. Bluestar rose her voice. "-and his band of rogues attacked my camp. Thunderclan had chased them out with them yowling. Brokentail was left with an crippling injury. I do not believe he will attack again," Bluestar mewed, not including the fact that the rogue is also staying in their camp. Thunderclan watched, weary of Nightstar. The black tom seem have nodded.

"I see, so Brokenstar is crippled, yes?"

"He is." The gathering tensed, the sky had one cloud floating far from the moon as Starclan waited.

"Then it was never my clan's business to see what your is doing. Though, why Brokentail?"

"That rogue was never fit to be leader. Not only that, he is no longer a leader in the sight of Starclan."

The other leaders nodded in agreement as the gathering continued with Crookedstar's news about the flood.

"Bluestar, if you wish, Shadowclan would like to lead you back to your territory as apology about Brokentail."

"Thank you, Nightstar." Unlike before, while Shadowclan still surrounded Thunderclan, the cats talked to each in friendly terms. Fireheart padded alongside him.

"That went surprisingly well, with Brokentail and all."

"It did, Bluestar is wise to not mention it."

The brothers padded in silence. "I wonder how Princess is doing. We were so busy with lesf-bare and the flood. She should have kitted by now."

"Indeed, we can visit her tomorrow if you like."

"Of course, she's my sister!" Fireheart mewed. "So at sun-high?"

"Yes."

Fireheart beamed and padded to Greystripe, with some words about Windclan.

Wow. Longest chapter ever as of right now.