Chapter Thirty-seven
Despite Moonfur's warning, two moons passed in relative peace. At the first Gathering after Peachpaw found the home for DesertClan, Cometstar told the other Clans about it, and informed them all of his Clan's success in their new home. As Shadypelt had thought, all of the medicine cats were willing to help Heatwhisker with herbs, and they agreed to bring fresh supplies to the MoonFalls for him at every half-moon.
And so, Greenleaf drew to a close, and the first moon of Leaf-fall arrived, bringing with it cool but clear weather, and a continuing abundance of prey. It was the night of the first Leaf-fall Gathering- the second since DesertClan's arrival- and Breezestar was actually looking forward to it. Though she had been wary of trouble at the last Gathering, it had gone smoothly enough, and she had every reason to expect this one to go the same.
The moon was bright in the sky when Breezestar set out for the Moon Hollow, Rapidriver, Shadypelt, Opalpaw, Peachpaw, Galewind, Oakpelt, Dusktail, Rowansplash, Sorrelfur, Suntail, Graytail, Muddytail, and Lavendersky along with her. The leader halted briefly at the top of the Hollow, scenting the air. She could smell the scents of DesertClan, FernClan, and FlameClan heavily on the breeze. With a twitch of her tail, she signified to her Clanmates to follow her down the slope and into the open.
The Moon Hollow was bathed in silver light, and a soft, sweet smelling wind blew through, so that the grass swayed and the leaves rustled softly above, as if whispering secrets to the night sky. It would have seemed peacefully inviting, except for the looks on the faces of the cats already there.
Breezestar halted warily, fur bristling. Many of those assembled glowered at she and her Clanmates; even the DesertClan cats didn't smile warmly at her, but avoided her gaze uneasily. Those that weren't glaring angrily or watching her with narrowed eyes sat in clusters, mumbling to each other and casting venomous glances at the glowering cats. Only one truly friendly face could be seen; Flamesky caught Breezestar's eye and nodded reassuringly, though his eyes conveyed only worry.
Confused and with her nerves on end, Breezestar padded slowly towards the base of the Leader's Stone, where the other leaders sat, her Clanmates sticking close together in her wake. A yowl brought her whipping around, to see Rowansplash and Sorrelfur nose-to-nose with Thornheart. The FernClan warrior bore a sneer, and his fur was fluffed out. All three cats looked ready for a fight. Thornheart was mewing, in a carrying voice, "I knew you lot were nothing but prey-stealing crowfood-eating foxdung!"
Rowansplash and Sorrelfur responded only by extending their claws and posing to attack.
With an anxious glance at the moon, Breezestar made to separate the warriors, but Rapidriver got there first. Breezestar heard her growl, "Thornheart, get lost. Now. And you two ignore him. It's not worth a fight." The leader and her deputy exchanged a glance. This was certainly not what either of them had expected.
Feeling more urgent, Breezestar bounded over to the other leaders, asking, "What's up tonight? What's going on? What did Thornheart mean by prey stealing?"
None of them responded immediately, but Emberstar finally mewed, "There was CallistoClan scent on FernClan and FlameClan territory."
"I'm sorry Breezestar," Ashstar added, looking uncomfortable, "but it's true. I smelled it myself, past the PineGrove and by the Great River."
"And there's something else…" Emberstar mumbled, looking embarrassed. "Dusksky claims to have had a dream-"
"'Claims to?'" Ashstar cut across, a sharp edge to his mew. "What do you mean 'claims to'?"
"Nothing!" Emberstar cried, "Just that I dunno if I believe it…"
"Why not?" Timberpelt asked, stalking over to stand beside his leader. Behind them all, Breezestar could hear the FoamClan cats streaming down the hill.
"Well, it's just that it's a bit unusual, for a medicine cat to dream about another Clan, and even stranger with the timing…"
"What's unusual?" Fallenstar asked, coming to a halt beside Breezestar. "Uh, what's wrong…?"
Everyone ignored her, listing to Ashstar as he spat, "'Unusual'? And you don't think it's 'unusual' when Breezestar here dreams of rogues and dead warriors and mysterious StarClan-sent prophecies, even though she's not a medicine cat?" Breezestar's eyes widened in shock, and she couldn't suppress a gasp. She had never ever told the other Clans the truth about her dreams, so how did they know?! She didn't have long to ponder, for Ashstar was still going, fur fluffed out and tail lashing. "You don't think that's unusual, and yet you think Dusksky's dream is? Well I'll tell you what, it's not 'unusual,' Emberstar. It's not surprising either!"
"Look, back off, will you?" Emberstar snapped, fur on end. "I'm not doubting your medicine cat. I'm simply saying that the timing is strange. I mean, first Thornheart finds CallistoClan scent on our territories, and then suddenly Dusksky's having a dream saying that CallistoClan are Star Traitors?"
"We're WHAT?" spluttered Breezestar.
"What's going on?" Fallenstar asked again impatiently.
"Star Traitors," Emberstar replied before turning angrily back to Ashstar. "I just think it's strange. CallistoClan has never done anything to offend StarClan, so why would they say that?"
"How do you know they haven't?" Thornheart strolled over, a smirk on his smug face. "Have you lived in CallistoClan? Do you know the way those traitors live, what they do in their own territory? They're not natural, Emberstar. Look at their leader- she's got some crazy StarClan connection, or at least believes she does. Or maybe it's just that they've got a medicine cat so useless StarClan can't talk to her, so they're forced to use someone else? And have you noticed how weak their Clan is? Rogue-born and lame warriors, a deputy barely older than an apprentice, and her predecessor was half-blind!"
"Thornheart, shut you big mouth!" Breezestar snapped, enraged.
"Yeah, go jump off a cliff," Emberstar mewed. "Apparently no one ever bothered to teach you when to speak and when to keep your opinion to yourself. Is that any way to talk about a medicine cat? A Clan leader?" She turned on Ashstar, livid fury in her amber eyes. "And you! Are you just going to let your warriors go mouthing off like that? It's despicable!"
"Would someone please tell me what's going on?!" Fallenstar cried.
Fur bristled all around, as each of the leaders, Timberpelt, and Thornheart glared at one another. Emberstar opened her mouth to say something more, but Ashstar mewed loudly, "Dusksky had a dream. In it, StarClan came to him and warned him against the Star Traitors who bash their noble code. StarClan meant CallistoClan, who have been stealing prey from ours and FlameClan's territory!"
"We have not stolen prey!"
"Ashstar, did StarClan ever specifically name CallistoClan as the Star Traitors?" Fallenstar asked skeptically. She was the only one not looking ready to claw someone's fur off.
"Well, not by name, but it's obvious!" the FernClan leader growled defensively.
"Yeah, just look at their Clan!" Thornheart caterwauled. Breezestar knew all the cats in the clearing were watching this argument, and above head, the silver moon had turned blood red…
"Breezestar let that Dust-whatever cat join CallistoClan, and he's DesertClan! And that's another thing- it was CallistoClan that received the prophecy saying DesertClan should live here- none of the rest of us heard about it! There've always been four Clans, so why should StarClan go and change that? I bet they're rogues." Thornheart paused for breath, and Breezestar could see the electric pleasure on his face. He was loving every moment of this.
"Look, Thornheart, just shut up!" Emberstar snapped, clearly exasperated. She flexed her long claws, digging them into the ground with disdain, as if she'd rather they were sinking into the snotty tom's flank.
"Don't tell my warriors to shut up!" Ashstar retorted.
"Yeah, just because-"
"Thornheart SHUT UP!" Ashstar whipped around on his own warrior, anger flaring on his face. "Just because you're a disrespectful piece of foxdung doesn't give you the right to mouth off to other leaders! Gain some respect! You're making me and your Clan look bad!"
"Look," Breezestar mewed softly into the ensuing tension-charged silence. "This is insane. This is a Gathering, for StarClan's sake!"
"You should talk about StarClan…" Timberpelt mumbled.
"What was that?" snapped Emberstar.
"Hey, listen to me!" Breezestar demanded, her body flushing cold with anger. "Listen, Ashstar, I believe Dusksky had this dream. I don't necessarily believe it meant CallistoClan. We do not trash the Warrior Code."
"Dustflame," Thornheart coughed sarcastically.
"Dustflame joined CallistoClan under the allowance of the Warrior Code," Breezestar responded firmly. "It is not against the Code for a cat to join another Clan when they are in love, as long as both leaders agree to it. Cometstar and I both agreed. It was between our two Clans. Just because it was unusual doesn't make it wrong.
"As for taking in rogue kits, that is not wrong either. The Code states that we are to help those in need. And yes, I receive dreams from StarClan, but so what? Shadypelt does too, and she is a perfectly capable medicine cat, who would not appreciate your criticism!"
"But what about the prey?" Emberstar asked, "There was CallistoClan scent all over near the River!"
"We did not steal prey from FernClan and FlameClan. I have no idea how the scent got there, but I promise you none of my warriors placed it there!"
"You make it seem as if you suspect someone else of framing you," Ashstar observed. "But only CallistoClan cats have CallistoClan scent."
"I'm aware of that, Ashstar. And though it's unlikely, it's not impossible to plant a scent. Was there debris near the scents? Were they possibly left from the medicine cats' last journey to the MoonFalls? We haven't had rain since then- it's possible the sent lingered…"
"Well who do you think put it there?" Emberstar demanded.
"I don't know, but…" Breezestar couldn't help it- her gaze flicked to Thornheart. Emberstar saw it, and so did Ashstar.
"Oh, so you think it was one of my warriors?" the gray tom demanded. "How typical."
"You know what, I think someone ate some bad fresh kill or something, because you're being very narrow-minded, Ashstar. It's not like you." Emberstar mewed with a frown.
"I'm being narrow-minded? Well at least I'm not being a hypocrite. First you're blaming CallistoClan, then FernClan, then CallistoClan again! Make up your mind!"
"All of you are being ridiculous!" Fallenstar exploded, on her paws with tail lashing. "This is insane- we're at a Gathering. We're supposed to be peaceful- there's a truce! Look at the moon!" All eyes turned to the sky, where faint wisps of cloud were drifting over a moon turned deepest red. "StarClan do not approve."
"How do you know what StarClan approves of?" Thornheart demanded.
"Why don't you go find a hole and die in it?"
"Why don't you go and-?"
Five voices cried at once, "Thornheart, shut up!"
"Look, we need to just-"
"Oh, so now you're going to preach to us, Ashstar?" Emberstar asked with phony surprise. "After all your talk and nonsense?"
"Hey, I'm just-"
Fallenstar cut across him with a loud caterwaul. "How will we settle things if we keep yelling at each other? We're Clan leaders- we're supposed to be setting an example!"
"Yeah, because you're setting a great example yowling at us…" Thornheart mumbled.
Fallenstar turned on the tom with fury.
And then many things happened at once.
Breezestar sprang back in alarm as Fallenstar launched herself at Thornheart, all self-control lost. At the same instant, the Hollow was plunged into near darkness as a huge cloud covered the moon and thunder cracked menacingly overhead. In the Hollow, fighting also broke out among the other Clan cats. Breezestar turned to see Rowansplash and Lavendersky in combat with a young FernClan tom and Raventalon. Shaking her head in disgust, Breezestar tuned back to the leaders, to see Ashstar, Emberstar, Fallenstar, and Thornheart all a withering mass of fur and fangs and claws.
"This is ridiculous!" she screamed at them, afraid of getting any closer and ending up in the fray. "Hey! Hey, HEY! Listen to me!" Breezestar yowled as loudly as she could over the growing noise of battle. No one paid her any mind.
"Breezestar, watch it!" Rapidriver's warning coincided with a hard blow to the young leader's head. Ducking instinctively, she turned on her assailant, Swallowtail of FernClan. The white tom aimed a second blow at the red-orange leader's head, but Breezestar dodged the swipe easily, raking a claw down her adversary's belly, causing him to reel back in pain. "Thought you wouldn't fight back," he panted, circling Breezestar rapidly.
She turned with him. "I may not agree with this, but that doesn't mean I won't defend myself!" She dodged another blow and landed one of her own. "Back off, Swallowtail, before you lose your other ear!"
"As if. You're weak. Your whole Clan is weak. And I'm gonna help chase you out! I will share in the glory. In seasons to come, kits will know me as the one who killed CallistoClan's corrupted leader and cleansed the forest of their traitorous Clan!"
"Oh, so this is about glory, is it?" Breezestar asked. "What makes you think StarClan wants this?" She saw Swallowtail falter, and decided to keep talking. It was distracting him, listening and fighting. He may be a strong warrior, but she was cleverer than this inexperienced young tom… "Look at the sky, Swallowtail. It's dark, isn't it? StarClan does not agree with this battle!"
Swallowtail glanced at the sky without thinking, and Breezestar seized her chance. In the split second it took the tom to regain his focus, Breezestar had nailed him with three blows to the head in rapid succession. He landed with a thud on the Hollow floor, dazed, gold eyes clouded in pain.
"Go home, Swallowtail," Breezestar told him. "You're pathetic."
Swallowtail got unsteadily to his paws, shaking his head as if to clear it of a confused dream. It was obvious his pride had been damaged, and he didn't try to redeem himself. Instead, he turned tail and fled off, probably to join the battle elsewhere. Breezestar huffed in disgust. Rain was falling now, cold and biting and heavy from the too-dark sky. It was time to end this insane battle. But how?
An idea struck her, and Breezestar moved off towards the Leader's Stone, but another warrior aiming a swipe at her head stopped her. This time it was a FlameClan she-cat named Meadowlark. Growing impatient, Breezestar dodged and swiped, forcing the warrior to back down.
She had barely chased Meadowlark off when yet another blow landed across her ears, and she whirled around to come face-to-face with Thornheart.
"I always wanted this chance," the tom growled gleefully, swiping claws at Breezestar's nose. She pulled aside, but one still caught, tearing into her flesh and leaving a little cut. The pain small but stinging, Breezestar blinked it away and rounded on Thornheart, feeling surprisingly pleased that she was faced with a chance to teach this cat some manners. The rush of energy that surged through her paws was almost overwhelmingly joyful, charged with hatred and a chance for revenge.
"Me too," Breezestar laughed, biting at Thornheart's shoulder, and leaving her mark. He hissed, whether in pain or annoyance Breezestar couldn't be sure, and latched onto her scruff, biting down hard. Breezestar squirmed free, using her powerful hind paws to scrabble against the tom's soft underbelly. Breaking free, she clawed his ears, leaving a series of scratches already red with blood. He retaliated with a well-aimed blow to her neck, which unfortunately met its mark.
Without faltering, Breezestar leapt at the dusky brown warrior, bowling him over and sinking her claws into his fur, successfully pinning him to the ground. Thornheart struggled a bit, then went limp, but Breezestar did not relinquish her hold even in the slightest. She would not be fooled by that old trick. "Who's on top now, foxdung?" she spat, flexing her claws sharply on each word.
Thornheart glared up at her, but then his scowl became a grin and he mewed, "Not you for long!" Confused, Breezestar turned her head- right into the oncoming blow Raventalon had aimed at her head. Breezestar was sent stumbling backward, and before she could regain her composure, both Raventalon and Thornheart were upon her, pinning her down and scratching at every bit of fur they could reach.
Breezestar fought back as best she could, but it seemed impossible to escape, let alone regain the upper hand.
While Raventalon held the squirming leader in place, Thornheart came around beside Breezestar and gazed down into her face. "Who's on top now, kittypet?"
"That would be me!" A blur of ginger fur crashed into Thornheart, catching him by surprise. He was thrown backwards, crashing into the Leader's Stone and crumpling to the ground, where he remained, feebly stirring. Raventalon, shocked, released her hold on Breezestar ever so slightly, but it was enough. The leader sprang up, and together, she and Flamesky sent the sleek black she-cat running.
Once Raventalon had gone, Breezestar turned to Flamesky, shaking the blood from her fur. "Thanks," she panted.
"No problem. Those two are mouse-brains." Flamesky licked the blood from a wound on Breezestar's shoulder carefully. She purred despite herself.
"Speaking of mouse-brained…" Breezestar blinked through the still-falling rain at the battle around them. "This battle needs to end. Now." She broke away from Flamesky's gentle touch, making for the Leader's Stone.
Before she could get there, however, a shape appeared at the top, yowling out, "Everyone STOP!"
"Shadypelt!" Breezestar beamed. Four other shapes joined the CallistoClan medicine cat on the Stone, and Breezestar guessed they were Dusksky, Stormsurge, Sapfur, and Heatwhisker. The other four cats called out for silence as well, and Breezestar's suspicions were confirmed.
Around her, the battle was dying, and cats were backing off, cleaning their wounds and shooting glances from the cats atop the Stone to their Clanmates to the sky, where the clouds were thinning and the rain letting up ever so slightly…
"Cats of all Clans!" Stormsurge called out in a ringing mew. "Tonight you fought a foolish battle. It was long in coming, and would have broken out eventually. Even so, it was wrong and brought about only by ignorance and stubbornness."
"Tonight," Sapfur continued, "You saw first hand what it's like when leaders lose sight of what's important, of what it means to be a StarClan named leader. Everyone was at fault. Everyone is to blame equally."
"This stemmed, as Stormsurge said," mewed Dusksky, "from ignorance. The dream I had, I'm afraid to say, helped spark this battle. I was mistaken, led astray like the rest of you, by twisted facts. I got it into my head that my dream could mean CallistoClan. I was very wrong. I apologize, to Breezestar, to Shadypelt, to CallistoClan, and to all of you."
"But Dusksky is not the only one to blame," Shadypelt went on. "Nor are the leaders entirely at fault, though they all acted rashly and without thought. No, the blame rests on all of us, for not realizing the truth of all StarClan has been trying to tell us, for not uniting against that which threatens us all."
"My dream," Dusksky picked up, "spoke not of the Clans, or any within the Clans, though there are some, Thornheart, that trash the Warrior Code far too much, whether or not they realize it. No, my dream was referring to the rogues. They are Star Traitors- they follow no Warrior Code, indeed no code of conduct at all. They are brutal and dangerous to the survival of the Clans."
"Which is why," Sapfur chimed in, "we must forget our differences and unite against them. True, we disagree at times, but that does not mean we should go attacking one another. Each Clan has its peculiarities, and we need to accept it. I will not deny that FoamClan can be a bit stubborn and irrational, or that we are sometimes too neutral on matters that matter."
"And I won't deny that FlameClan has its problems," Stormsurge added. "We have had a rough past, done things we're not proud of. But that doesn't mean we should be hated or hate the other Clans. We're in this together."
"And as for FernClan," Dusksky mewed, "it is true that we can be a bit too judgmental, and jump to conclusions without all the facts. But that's no reason to hold grudges against the other Clans, or to seek trouble. I, as FernClan's medicine cat, will not deny you my opinion on the prey-stealing matter. I do not believe CallistoClan would do such a thing. And I for one think Thornheart may have had something to do with it all. Thornheart is a big-mouthed, rude, mouse-brain. We all know that by now. He must learn respect." These words were met with much agreement from all assembled.
"Much of tonight's strife," Shadypelt mewed once silence had fallen again, "seems to have been centered around CallistoClan. Yes, it is true we have a strong connection with StarClan, but that does not mean our ancestors favor us or have forgotten the rest of you. Their ways are mysterious, and we cannot control what they reveal and to whom they reveal it. All we can do is accept it and make the best of it."
"And in the matter of DesertClan," Heatwhisker spoke for the first time, "we may be new here, but we are no strangers to the Warrior Code, or to StarClan's mysterious ways. Many of you seem to forget our past. DesertClan was once a part of the other four Clans. Our ancestors are all one and the same. Before there were five, or even four Clans, there was only one. Back in the first days of Clan life in the Oceanland, there was only ElementClan, founded by the noble Elementstar, who was once little more than a regular warrior with an unusual connection with her ancestors. The cats that banded together to form that first ElementClan had only their faith and a prophecy- the word of long-dead cats spoken to them by a young warrior- to act upon. And yet that was enough. Just look how far we've come."
"Yes, let's not ruin it all now," Sapfur mewed. "We must cease this nonsense. Dark times are on the horizon, and we must join together if we are to overcome the obstacles in our future."
"Well spoken!" Emberstar cried out from somewhere among the crowd.
"So true!" Ashstar added, and Fallenstar echoed him.
"That's exactly it!" Breezestar chimed in, padding through the assembled cats who sat in clusters, no longer glaring and arguing. She reached the base of the Leader's Stone just as the final clouds dispersed and the silver moon shone through again, low on the horizon, drenching the Moon Hollow in clean white light.
"I'm sorry, Breezestar." Ashstar mewed, coming up to her at the base of the Stone, Fallenstar at his shoulder. "I was wrong to be so judgmental. And Emberstar was right when she called me narrow-minded. I should know better than to act like that." He dipped his head, looking abashed.
"It's okay, Ashstar," Breezestar mewed. And I'm sorry if I was unreasonable. This has been a hard night." She dipped her head to each of the other leaders in turn.
"Yes, it has," Emberstar agreed. "I, too, am sorry. No hard feelings?"
"None." Ashstar assured her as she bowed her head. Breezestar and Fallenstar echoed his words.
"And I'm sorry for losing control and starting the fight," Fallenstar mewed, shuffling her feet in embarrassment. "I apologize."
"It's okay- if you hadn't started it, someone else would have," Cometstar assured her. "I'm afraid I didn't do much to help prevent this. I regret it."
"Don't worry about it, Cometstar," Ashstar mewed kindly. "You were in a tough place. Shall we forget this and go home?"
"Yes, let's. It would probably be good to give our Clans time to completely cool off. I know some of the warriors at least will not forget this in a hurry." Breezestar nodded. "See you all at the next Gathering?"
"Yes, next full moon." Fallenstar nodded, then strode away, calling her Clan together. Breezestar also departed the group, weaving her way towards the slope leading to the crossing stone.
"CallistoClan, over here!" she called out. "Let's get home and sleep!"
"Nice," Flamesky purred as he passed, flicking his tail over Breezestar's ears. Her whiskers twitched and she followed him with her eyes as the ginger tom strolled over to his waiting Clanmates. Deep inside, Breezestar felt her heart give a twinge, and she pushed it aside…