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Chapter 36

Echoripple was practically going frantic in the next few days that followed her success with Dawnstar. Trying to arrange meetings with the leaders of ShadowClan and WindClan while trying to figure out how to tell her own leader before she kitted.

She thought it'd be most difficult with her own leader, Cinderstar would have the most grounds for being angry with her. The fact of what she'd been doing in secret was enough for Cinderstar to punish her, no Clan cat was supposed to keep big secrets from their leaders.

But she was doing it, going on a walk with her leader as she watched the icicles that clung to the trees drip in the light of the bright sun. "So, why did you ask me on a walk?" Cinderstar asked.

"Do I have to be asking something to go on a walk with my leader?" Echoripple asked innocently, trying to figure out which words to use.

"You don't really talk to me at all, in fact, you pretty much ignored the whole Clan until recently," Cinderstar commented.

Echoripple was tempted to say that the Clan had ignored her, but starting an argument wasn't what she needed right now. "I just wanted to talk to you about something…" Echoripple trailed off as Cinderstar put her tail over her shoulders and looked at her with blue eyes that glimmered in amusement.

"You've finally worked up the courage to tell me about your mission, eh?" Cinderstar purred.

Echoripple gaped at her, how could she have known?! Did she follow her to one of the meetings secretly? Was she angry with her? But Cinderstar didn't look angry, she looked amused at Echoripple's stunned expression, and if anything else, slightly proud.

"But… how?" Echoripple asked in confusion.

Cinderstar purred, "Nothing happens in my Clan without me knowing," Cinderstar's expression darkened and she touched Echoripple's swollen belly with her tail, "Nothing," she mewed again.

Echoripple winced, which one did she know about? that she had met Slash? Or what Nighthawk had done to her? Or did she know both? Cinderstar nodded, but didn't specify.

"So, do you know my origins?" Echoripple asked tentatively after a few moments of silence.

Cinderstar hesitated before nodding, "Yes, I never forget a face, I knew since I first saw you. In fact, I think even Stonefoot suspected," Cinderstar mewed and padded forward again.

Echoripple bounded after her, gasping as the shifting weigh in her belly sent a pang of nausea to her throat. She swallowed down the hurl and padded more sedately as Cinderstar looked over her with concerned eyes.

"How much support do you have in the other Clans?" Cinderstar asked, "I know you have most of SkyClan on your side, but I don't know much about the other Clans," Cinderstar mewed.

Echoripple told her how much support they had, including Dawnstar and Crowstar as on her side. Cinderstar nodded, "Crowstar doesn't surprise me, but Dawnstar does. When some cat questioned the sacrifice, she usually was the first cat to argue them down, but then again, she has been troubled lately," Cinderstar went on, Echoripple was surprised how concerned Cinderstar's blue eyes were.

"Do you know Dawnstar well?" she ventured to ask.

Cinderstar hesitated then nodded, "We were both made apprentices and warriors in the same moon and she was probably the only friend I had in another Clan. When we became deputies, only one moon apart from each other, we became more distant, as we should, and by the time we were both leaders we weren't friends at all, I always wonder what Dawnstar thinks of me now," Cinderstar murmured, her eyes glistened at the sorrow of a lost friendship and Echoripple nodded in understanding. She'd lost her friendship with Stormsong a long time ago.

She'd told Stormsong, Falconeye, and Hailstorm her mission the day before. Stormsong had accepted it without question, she'd obviously never accepted the sacrifice. Falconeye was a little at ill-ease, but agreed with her and Stormsong in the end. Hailstorm had stood up and walked away without a word. She hadn't spoken to him since.

She and Cinderstar talked a bit longer on the subject about how to go about the sacrifice. Cinderstar decided she'd announce it to the entire Clan, with most cats already knowing and in agreement, she doubted there would be a problem.

They also talked about what would happen when she was in the nursery with her kits. She'd be present at the sacrifice of course, as the law dictated, but to run and organize the meetings there needed to be a different cat.

Although they had a lot of support, RiverClan was still mostly empty in clear supporters. Just under half of WindClan's cats were in agreement it was about half with ShadowClan, and a little above half with ThunderClan.

So it was about even with clear, outspoken, supporters and non-supporters or unknown supporters. Echoripple decided that she would give the leadership of the meetings to Raincloud, Briarberry, and Blackear. Along with the most senior members. Sunglow, Featherfall, or Firewillow.

Leafsong said she'd be confined to camp as soon as she talked with the other leaders until she'd kitted and was strong enough to leave camp. Now came the decision of when to announce the mission.

Should it be done at the next gathering, the one before the sacrifice? Or should it be done at the sacrifice itself?

Cinderstar said she thought it'd have more of an effect in the face of the sacrifice, but Echoripple disagreed, arguing that if they didn't get the support they needed at that specific time, then the sacrifice would commence and it'd be a failure.

So Cinderstar said she would put the motion forward at the next gathering, though Echoripple wouldn't be attending because she should have had her kits by then. They padded back into camp and Echoripple was so exhausted that she padded into the nursery while Cinderstar called the Clan together to tell them about the mission.

She was dozing, but she could hear the caterwauls of support as Cinderstar announced the mission. She didn't hear anything negative or against the mission. She was warmed by the support and dozed off and on the rest of the day.

She woke about dusk, tonight was another meeting and it would be the last one she would attending for a while. She met Leafsong outside the nursery and the medicine-cat sniffed at her belly.

"I'm sorry to say, but I think that after tomorrow you'll have to stay in camp," Leafsong mewed, her bright amber eyes sympathetic but firm.

Echoripple bristled, "But I need to meet with both Jaystar and Lionstar! I can't do that in one day!" Echoripple protested.

Leafsong shook her head, "I'm sorry, but you could kit any day now, I can't have you wandering all over the four territories," Leafsong mewed firmly and laid her tail on her shoulders.

"The entire Clan is behind you, along with many cats from four other Clans! You need to be able to trust this job to another cat," Leafsong mewed soothingly but Echoripple flicked her ears dismissively.

"I don't trust any other cat with this job, I'll just have to find a way to talk to them both tomorrow," she mewed stubbornly and Leafsong rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but I'll be coming with you just in case," Leafsong mewed. Echoripple looked into the bright amber eyes of the calico medicine-cat and couldn't help but feeling thankful to have her support.

"Okay," she agreed, then she slipped out of camp with the other cats who were coming to the meeting. She thought it was weird to have the other cats to call goodbye cheerfully, with every cat knowing where they were going and what they were doing, it made the whole thing seem more like reality.

Echoripple was so tired she could hardly give her best arguments to the new cats coming that had doubts, but she convinced them wholly in the end. Then she met with the mission leaders of the other Clans.

They were the cats who were responsible for rotating the cats coming to the meeting and made sure every cat they brought was fully educated on the mission. It was Featherfall for ShadowClan, Briarberry and Blackear for ThunderClan, or course, Sunglow for WindClan, and Kestreltail for RiverClan. Raincloud would be SkyClan's leader for while she was out.

She then gave the responsibility for the meetings over to Briarberry specifically, but she was to be helped by Blackear. She chose Briarberry because she was a smarter talker and fully understood the depths of the sacrifice and the mission.

She couldn't remember much of the meeting, just how tired she'd been. But one thing that burned into her mind was the plan she'd devised with Featherfall and Sunglow. They were to both bring their leader's to Fourtrees tomorrow at sun-high for her to speak to them and hopefully to get them on her side.

By the time she was collapsing back in her nest it was just before dawn, she felt like she could sleep for a moon and dream away the stress of her mission.

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I don't know why, but this chapter felt a little short... did it to you? anyways... Please Review!