Chapter 27, yay!

Crystalshine Of LightClan- Thanks so much! There have been a few times where I have had to go back and edit my chapters because I kept writing 'Swiftbreeze' instead of 'Sweetbreeze'. Yes, Sweetbreeze is one of my favourites, too, though I miss writing about Ambereye.

Brambleflower- you've reviewed nearly every single chapter I write, thanks so much! I've tried to write Flamepaw so that he can be a bit of everything- the ambitious evil cat, the eager apprentice, the loyal worshipper of StarClan… I don't know how all of those cats are going to work swirled into one, but I hope it works right, haha. And yes, I just really love Finchcry… Thank you for your kind words!

Kuroimori- Yes, I know! ShadowClan is horrible... and just as Wildwind was getting nicer... but will she die is another question entirely (hint hint)... thank you for your kind reviews! Wildwind has a fifty fifty chance of dying or staying alive, I'm still trying to decide because she isn't going to be the most important cat in the future (all of her important parts can be replaced by Dustfoot but not Finchcry... because of something else that will happen... another huge hint).

Anyway, let's get into it…

Spottedbird poked her head out in panic.

"I really need to get myself an apprentice," She muttered, seemingly blaming herself for all of the troubles.. "But I won't survive to get myself an apprentice if you're right. Is this ShadowClan?"

The footsteps got louder, clearly not disguising themselves.

"But is ShadowClan this noisy?" Sunheart asked, crawling tiredly out of the warriors den. "I will fight. Ugh, at least I got a few heartbeats of sleep."

"I didn't get any," Willowfeather said, fighting back the exhaustion that came from the poppy seeds and failing miserably. "But- oh-"

She gave in to the poppy seeds and was asleep, snoring slightly, before she hit the floor.

"The cats will arrive in less than ten minutes. Give her a few blinks of sleep and try to wake her," Spottedbird instructed, going back in to treat more cats before the invaders came. Sunheart waited a few heartbeats, bashed Willowfeather in the broken leg and Willowfeather woke with a loud scream, and the footsteps stopped suddenly. A hush fell across the camp (considering it was only Sunheart and Willowfeather in the camp at the moment and they weren't exactly on speaking terms, it was pretty quiet anyway).

Willowfeather looked around wildly for an excuse. "Ah! Sorry, I thought that was a snake. It's an ivy tendril," She loudly said, trying to keep the hastiness from her voice. The footsteps started out again, frantic and fast.

"I think it's about three cats, or maybe two," Sunheart observed tightly. "But ShadowClan won't be this loud. I don't think this is ShadowClan, it's someone else. Someone we don't know. But that terrifies me."

They all waited with bated breath as the footsteps echoed louder and louder, as the cats got closer and closer.

"I think it's through here," A high female voice said nervously from the bramble entrance, sounding tired. It wasn't the voice of anyone Willowfeather knew. "I swear, I heard a female cat down here. She probably has a home here. You know I need help, and quickly. We're both tired, restless and looking for a home."

A tom's voice answered her. "I know, you need help. Come on, hurry."

A heavily pregnant brown tabby with a sweet face and white splotches came into view, followed by a softly dappled grey tom-cat.

"There's more than one cat here!" The tabby said in surprise, blinking at the two heavily injured clanmates in the camp. "Who are you? What's wrong with you?"

"Darling, maybe be a bit more polite to strangers," The tom said nervously, but he eyed their wounds nervously.

"Welcome to ThunderClan," Sweetbreeze said formally, coming out of the nursery. "My name is Sweetbreeze, and I am the deputy of this clan or the cat who helps the leader."

"ThunderClan!" The tabby looked relieved. "My name is Cloud, and this is Dapple. My mother had a friend, and her friend's mother knew a cat called Millie. Millie ran away with some weird cat called Graystripe, in search of ThunderClan. And when our housefolk abused us and threw us out, we decided you were our only hope."

"Cloud and Dapple," Sweetbreeze said slowly, letting the names slowly roll off her tongue. "I know what it means to be a queen with a troubled life. I will grant you stay until you kit. And then your stay will be up to Shadestar."

"What happened to Graystripe's friend, Firestar?" Dapple interrupted. "He sounded great."

"He's long dead!" Sweetbreeze snarled. "If you are going to take advantage of our hospitality, you can walk out of here and get off our territory now. My warriors and I have been in a battle but we have enough strength to chase you out."

"We're sorry," Cloud said quickly, giving Dapple a shove."We have travelled a long way and we hope for rest."

"You can stay, for a little while," Sweetbreeze said, her eyes narrowed. "When do you think you will kit?"

"I am less than two weeks away from kitting," Cloud said solemnly. "I should kit before you, at least. This is why I need somewhere to stay. If I kit while travelling, I think my kits will die."

Dapple looked around shiftily, taking in all of the camp. At first glance, he had seemed so polite, so kind, so handsome- better than Sunheart had been, at least. But now, Willowfeather realized he wasn't the great tom he had seemed to be at first. Stop. He is a guest. He will be treated politely, without accusation, and you will stop thinking about him as if he is a criminal. You will also stop thinking in second person. Alright, thank you. I mean, me. Thank me.

She sat up straighter. She would do everything possible to make Dapple and Cloud feel welcome. To fit in.

She still couldn't shake the feeling of mistrust. Dapple gave her a fierce glare, informing her that the feeling was mutual.

This chapter is short, a filler and one of the worst ones I have written, I feel. But I barely slept yesterday and now I need to hurry up and get a chapter up, so I'm tired and rushing to finish this chapter. Sorry about that. And I haven't read the manga series so I have no idea what happened with Graystripe and Millie. Ah well. I hope this makes enough sense.

But don't forget to review, and hopefully I will be able to write a better next chapter!

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