Chapter 27

Buzzardpaw opened his eyes, his ears perked and alert as he took in his surroundings. As the soft, soggy damp ground squelched between his toes and the thick smell of mold and fungus hit his nose, Buzzardpaw hummed as he realized where he was. The Place of No Stars. It's been a while. Walking aimlessly through the dense labrinth, Buzzardpaw growled in frustration as his paws began to tire. "Darkenedstreak? Eaglepaw? Anyone?" He called out, only met with deafening silence. I'm so tired, I had a really long day of training today. With a loud huff, Buzzardpaw flopped onto his haunches, his whiskers twitching as he waited for someone to find him.

After what seemed like forever, the air near him began to vibrate, black particles rising from it. With a dim flash a cat appeared, their face weary and confused. Buzzardpaw smiled as he realized who it was. "Eaglepaw!"

Eaglepaw looked around, his eyes narrowed. As he recognized his brother, the tom eased up, his body relaxing slightly. "Hello."

Buzzardpaw's smile stretched wider. "It's been so long! How are you? What have you been up to? How's ShadowClan? Did you go to the last gathering? Are you-"

"Shut up."

Buzzardpaw paused, his smile turning into a frown. "What?"

"Shut up." Eaglepaw repeated, his tail lashing. "I have a massive headache."

His eyebrows furrowing in concern, Buzzardpaw blinked at his brother. "Oh Eaglepaw, what happened?"

"Everything happened." The tom was silent for a while, looking at his paws. "And it's-" He stopped, clearing his throat to keep his voice from cracking. "It's Eagleheart now."

His eyes widening, Buzzardpaw stepped closer, a small smile on his face. "You received your warrior name? That's great! Did Mousestar announce it at the Gathering?"

Eagleheart visible flinched, taking in a long shuddering breath. "Mousestar is dead."

Buzzardpaw gasped in shock. "What?! How'd she die?"

"She was killed by rogues." Eagleheart didn't look up, his body trembling.

Seeing his brother in distress, Buzzardpaw felt his heart break. How come no one told me about this? Goldenstar told me nothing important had happened at the Gathering, other than WindClan being attacked and the leaders deciding to work together. Why would he leave out an important thing like this? He pressed his head to Eagleheart's, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, Eagleheart, I didn't know…" Buzzardpaw trailed off as he heard a loud, choking sound came from his brother. Lifting his head, Buzzardpaw realized the tom was crying, a thin stream of tears flowing from his eyes. Pressing his body against his, Buzzardpaw soothed his brother, running his tail up and down his spine as he cried. The two toms sat like that for a while, their foreboding surroundings forgotten as they embraced each other.

Letting out a small sniffle, Eagleheart lifted his head, his golden eyes dull as he stared forward. "I have… I had an apprentice," The tom started, his voice weak and crackly. "Ashpaw. The brightest little tom, extremely smart and kind. He cracked jokes all the time, even during training. I tried to be stern, but he'd do this goofy little grin…" Eagleheart smiled slightly, his eyes brightening a little as he thought of his apprentice. "He was very silly, he could make the grumpiest ShadowClan cat smile. He was so young and innocent… I only started training him half a moon ago…"

Buzzardpaw looked at his brother, wrapping his tail around him. "Did he, you know…"

"He's not dead, well I hope that he isn't." Eagleheart mewed after a moment of silence. "Three sunrises ago, I took him out to hunt. Hunting is definitely his weakest trait, he was clumsier than a badger. No matter what I taught him, he could never get the Hunter's Crouch down, until I showed him a new way. The way his eyes lit up after he caught his first prey, it made me feel warm inside. He said I was the best mentor ever, he said…" The tom lifted his head to the sky, a long sigh escaping his mouth. "We came back to camp and everything was normal. Nothing out of the ordinary and then… and then he came."

"Who came?"

Eagleheart stared at his Buzzardpaw, his eyes tired and dull. "Viperhiss."

Buzzardpaw's eyebrows furrowed. "But didn't he leave ShadowClan moons ago?"

The tom nodded. "He did, but something made him come back that day. He demanded to have his kits, Ashpaw and his sister Quailpaw, he said they belonged with him. After the amazing day we had, after how much we bonded, I never thought it would happen, I... " Eagleheart paused and swallowed, taking in a shaky breath. "Quailpaw agreed to stay, but Ashpaw…" Eagleheart buried his head into his brother's shoulder and sobbed quietly. Buzzardpaw rested his head on top of his brother's, feeling his sorrow. "Why did he leave me? Was I a bad mentor? Was I not warm enough? He only left three sunrises ago, but it feels like it has been moons." Eagleheart lifted his head to stare forward, his golden eyes dull and unfocused. "He helped me cope with my mother's death. When I was with him, nothing else mattered, my focus was on him and him alone. I was going to help him become the greatest warrior he could be, but he betrayed me. He left me to go StarClan knows where. He left me all alone. I have no one."

"You have me." Buzzardpaw mewed, giving his brother a small smile. "Hey, look at me." Eagleheart didn't turn to face him, continuing to stare forward with his shoulders hunched. Buzzardpaw frowned, moving to where his brother was facing him. "You have me, Eagleheart. I promise that I'll never betray you."

Eagleheart lifted his head slightly, still not meeting his brother's gaze. "You promise?"

"I promise. I-"

"What a sweet moment." A chilling voice mewed from behind the toms. Buzzardpaw whipped around to see Darkenedstreak materializing into view, an unimpressed look on her face. "If I see anymore tears today, I'm tearing your eyes out. Sit up." Eagleheart slowly sat up, his dark gaze focusing on the she-cat. "Much better. Congratulations on earning your warrior name, by the way."

Eagleheart did not respond.

Darkenedstreak stared at the warrior for a moment but didn't say anything, her tail tip twitching irritably. "Anyways. It's been a while. I haven't seen you two in almost a whole moon. I'm sure you both are a bit rusty with your training, so tonight is a bit of a free-for-all. Go ahead and find yourself an opponent, I'm sure you both have some stress you'd like to relieve." The she-cat began to fade, the sparks around her body fizzing madly. "Oh, and remember; I'll be watching from above." With that, the she-cat faded completely, nothing but her scent lingering in the place that she sat.

Buzzardpaw looked at Eagleheart, who continued to stare forward blankly. He stepped forward and rested his tail on his brother's shoulder, which the warrior flinched away from. "Eagleheart? Are you okay?"

The tom blinked a few times then rose to his paws, not turning to face his brother. "I'm fine. I'm going off."

Before Buzzardpaw could say anything, Eagleheart walked deeper into the woods, eventually fading into the darkness. The apprentice stood still for a few heartbeats, his whiskers twitching. I sure do hope he's alright, Eagleheart always seems to be going through hard times. Him being stressed makes me stressed. Letting out a quiet sigh, Buzzardpaw headed in the direction his brother did, eventually emerging into a large clearing. The clearing was populated with cats, both dead and alive, who either battled or spoke with one another. Sitting at the edge of the clearing, Buzzardpaw looked around for a familiar face, frowning when he found none. Slouching, Buzzardpaw disinterestedly watched the cats fight around him, his eyes drooping. Why did Darkendstreak bring us here tonight? She didn't even have anything planned, and I'm so sleepy! Wrapping his tail around himself, the apprentice opened his jaws to yawn, but stopped as he suddenly felt the chilling feeling of being watched. Whipping his head around, Buzzardpaw grunted as he found nothing, shaking himself. Maybe I just imagined it.

"So what, you just came here to watch and not train?" A voice mewed. Buzzardpaw looked around for the source, frowning as he was unable to find it. Turning back to the clearing, the apprentice screeched as something heavy landed next to him, startling him.

Unsheathing his claws, Buzzardpaw bared his fangs at the newcomer, their features indecipherable in the thick darkness. "Who are you?"

"Oh, don't tell me you don't remember me, friend." The cat mewed. They stepped closer, visible now due to the dim glow of a nearby toadstool. A stocky brown and white tom stood before Buzzardpaw, his eyes flashing menacingly. A long, ugly pink scar ran across his throat, wriggling like a snake every time he spoke. Narrowing his eyes, Buzzardpaw stepped back in realization. Spottedpaw! As if he noticed his look, Spottedpaw glared harder, his tail lashing. "So you do remember. I'm assuming you also remember what you did to me?"

"I'm sorry Spottedpaw, I truly am. I didn't mean for our last fight to end the way it did."

Spottedpaw scoffed, stepping closer. "Oh yes, a sorry removes this disgusting scar you gave me. Look at me! You ruined me, just because I wounded your pride."

Wounded my pride"? Where is he getting this from? "I think you're the one not remembering correctly now. I was forced to do that to you, it wasn't on my own accord." Buzzardpaw sighed, sheathing his claws. "Look, I'm really sorry about your scar, but what's done is done. I can't change the past. Again, that wasn't me, it was Darkendstreak."

"Oh, but that's not how it happened. Darkendstreak held me down, yes, but you're the cat that landed the "killing blow". Here's a word of advice: if you ever plan to kill a cat, make sure you finish the job. Otherwise they'll come back to hunt you down."

Slowly growing more and more annoyed, Buzzardpaw rolled his eyes. "I'm not in the mood for empty threats, Spottedpaw. If you're looking for a fight, I'll give you one right now."

"Empty threats?" The tom chuckled. "You make me laugh. You don't know how badly I want to claw your throat out right now, but I won't. You see, I was naive then. Young and stupid. I won't make the mistake of striking when I'm at a disadvantage ever again." Seeing his confused look, Spottedpaw snarled, his tail lashing. "I know you have Darkendstreak and Eaglepaw at your beck-and-call, they'll rush in to protect their helpless little Buzzy-Wuzzy if he even looks like he's in distress. Mark my words Buzzardpaw, my moment will come, and that moment will be your end."

Letting out a loud, irritated sigh, Buzzardpaw looked the shorter tom squarely in the eyes. "If you say so, Spottedpaw."

Spottedpaw unsheathed his claws, his teeth bared. "I suggest that you're on high alert from now on, I'll come when you least expect it. Your darkest hour will be my greatest, I'll show you a real killing blow. And also, it's Spottedclaw now."

"If you say so, Spottedpaw." Buzzardpaw repeated, putting emphasis on the -paw suffix.

Spottedclaw flashed the apprentice an angry look, his claws repeatedly sheathing and unsheathing. "Our quarrel isn't over, the next time you see me, it'll be my claws gouging your eyes out!" The tom hissed once more, turning around to stalk deeper into the shadows.

"I don't even know why we have a 'quarrel' to begin with." Buzzardpaw muttered to himself. "I do feel bad for doing that to him, but he's just being a jerk for no reason. If I'm being honest with myself, I don't even remember what happened exactly." Thinking about it for a while, Buzzardpaw realized that he truly couldn't remember all the details, no matter how hard he tried. I remember Darkendstreak pinning him down and telling me to kill him, then everything went black, like I was being controlled. When I opened my eyes, Spottedclaw was lying in a pool of his own blood. What was that, anyways? Why can't I remember the entire scene? Shaking his head, the apprentice turned back to the bustling clearing, his eyes focusing on two shapes across from him.

Dragonflywing sat at the farthest end of the clearing, his mismatched eyes staring intently in a direction. Toadstalk sat next to him, a confused look on his face. Usure of what the warrior was looking at as well, Buzzardpaw stalked closer, using the shadows of the foliage around him to hide himself.

"... Did you hear that?" Dragonflywing was saying, his ears pricked and alert.

Toadstalk shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing. "I didn't. What can you hear?"

Dragonflywing remained silent, his eyes narrowing. The warrior then shook his head, turning to the WindClan deputy. "I must have imagined it. Anyways, how has WindClan been doing since the attack?"

"Things have been better, but our warriors are recovering."

"I heard that Furzestar lost a life at the Gathering." Dragonflywing mewed, his tail tip curling. "What a shame."

"A shame that she didn't lose all of them." Toadstalk growled. Buzzardpaw gasped from his hiding spot. Toadstalk wanted her to die? But why? "Do you have any idea on when the next attack may be?"

The ThunderClan warrior shook his head, his eyes flashing. "I don't, but I do plan on visiting them again soon. Things have been changing up at the barn, Pitch has new information every time."

Buzzardpaw narrowed his eyes. So both of them are working with the rogues. Foxhearted traitors! He continued to listen, struggling to keep his breathing quiet.

"I've heard." Toadstalk hummed. "I also heard that there's a new-"

The tom was cut off by a loud screech from Dragonflywing. Something had fallen from above, landing squarely onto his back and pinning him. Looking closer, Buzzardpaw's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the attacker. Eagleheart! The ShadowClan tom had his paw pressed into the back of the tom's neck, pushing his muzzle into the soggy earth below.

"Get off of me!" Dragonflywing growled, his voice muffled as he struggled under the much bigger cat.

"Never!" Eagleheart spat, pressing into the tom's neck harder. "You ruined my life! My mother is dead because of you! My apprentice is gone because of you! My life is ruined because of you! You don't know how to keep your mouth shut, so I'll make sure it never opens again."

Coming out of his daze, Toadstalk unsheathed his claws, preparing to attack the ShadowClan warrior. Before he could, Buzzardpaw bolted forward, meeting the warrior midair with a flurry of claws and teeth. The two toms wrestled with each other, struggling to gain an advantage over the other. Sweeping his paws under Toadstalk's, Buzzardpaw leapt on top of the tom as he fell, pinning him down. "You will never touch my brother!" The apprentice growled, his tail lashing.

Buzzardpaw turned his head as he heard a screech from behind him. Dragonflywing had managed to escape from Eagleheart's grasp and faced him head on, but it was obvious the ThunderClan warrior was losing badly. Blood gushed from deep cuts on his shoulder and rump, coating the ground with thick crimson liquid. Slipping on his own blood, Dragonflywing fell to the ground, Eagleheart on top of him again in a heartbeat. Mashing his bloody paw against the warrior's head, Eagleheart leaned down to whisper something into his ear. Buzzardpaw didn't hear it however, as Toadstalk had used his distraction to throw the apprentice off. The wind knocked out of him, Buzzardpaw crouched prepared for another attack. Much to his surprise however, Toadstalk had ran away, his black pelt melting into the shadowy woods.

Turning his head to the fighting warriors beside him, Buzzardpaw winced as Dragonflywing slashed his paws into the air, one happening to catch Eagleheart in the eye. Eagleheart hissed and flinched back from the attack, which Dragonflywing used to his advantage, escaping and running after Toadstalk. Looking at his brother, Buzzardpaw clenched his teeth as he saw a thick stream of blood pouring from the tom's socket. "Eagleheart? Are you alright?"

Eagleheart did not respond, his eye shut tightly. The tom stood there for a moment, his body stiff and unmoving. Suddenly, as if he were shocked by lightning, the tom's pained demeanor quickly changed to an enraged one, his teeth clenched and claws at the ready. Without a word, the ShadowClan warrior dashed into the forest, letting out an enraged battle cry.

Sighing and shaking his head, Buzzardpaw sat down to lick a scratch on his forearm. Closing his eyes, the apprentice tried his hardest to ignore the sounds around him, wishing he could be asleep in his nest instead. There Darkenedstreak, I fought. He thought to himself. Can I go back to sleep now? As if the she-cat could hear his thoughts she slowly faded into view, a small smirk on her face.

"Sleepy?" Darkendstreak mewed.

"Uh-huh."

"I can tell, but now's not the time for speaking. I watched the fight that just happened."

"Good. Can I go back to sleep now?" The tom's eyelids drooped, almost too heavy to keep open.

Darkendstreak scoffed, rolling her eyes. "That little skirmish doesnt suffice as training, but I'll give you a break. I need to speak with you."

"Speak with me?" Buzzardpaw perked, curious. "What about?"

"You'll see. Come on." The spirit rose to her paws, padding away from the clearing. Buzzardpaw followed behind, wondering what she could want from him. The two cats finally emerged into a small glade between the trees, a thick, sluggish mist wreathing around it. Darkendstreak settled into the space first, wrapping her tail around her paws as she waited for the apprentice to sit. "Here's a secluded space for us to talk."

"Shouldn't we wait for Eagleheart to come?" The apprentice questioned.

Darkenedstreak shook her head. "I feel that this information is more suited to you. It's about Dragonflywing."

"Dragonflywing? What did he do?"

"You heard bits of the conversation he was having with Toadstalk, yes?" Buzzardpaw nodded. "You heard right then. Both of them are working with the enemy."

Buzzardpaw's whiskers twitched. "But why? Why would they want to work against their clans?"

Darkenedstreak shrugged. "Misguidance, suppressed anger. Both of them have connections to the rogues, blood connections."

"So… you're saying that they're kin?"

The she-cat nodded. "More than kin. Brothers."

Buzzardpaw's eyes widened in shock. Dragonflywing and Toadstalk are brothers? He thought back to the conversation he had with Russetprowl the other day, and how he mentioned Dragonflywing being a descendent of an evil cat. His eyebrows furrowing, he decided to ask Darkendstreak about it. "Darkendstreak, do you know anything about Dragonflywing's father?"

Darkenedstreak was silent for a moment, her eyes going dark. Buzzardpaw noticed her change in expression, confused. Is that… fear? Do Dark Forest cats get scared as well? The apprentice felt a shudder down his spine. What kind of cat could this tom be if he can make Dark Forest cats afraid? After what seemed like an eternity, the she-cat finally spoke. "I do, but we musnt speak of him. He-"

"But why not? What's so special about this tom? I've heard so much about him, but so little at the same time!"

"He musnt be spoken of! He was a very evil cat, Buzzardpaw. He almost led to the destruction of the clans!" Darkendstreak's eyes were wild and crazed, making the apprentice uneasy. This tom frightens evil cats like Darkendstreak… What exactly did he do? The apprentice didn't get to ask, as Darkendstreak had continued. "We aren't here to talk about him, we're here to talk about Dragoflywing. That tom, he's a force to be reckoned with. He may not be the strongest physically, but spiritually…" The she-cat trailed off, her eyes narrowing. "Be wary of him, Buzzardpaw. He could be the very cat that destroys the clans."

Looking down at his paws, Buzzardpaw hummed as he took in this new information. "Does he have some kind of power?"

"I dont know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You say he's so strong and capable, but you don't even know what he's capable of?" His eyebrows furrowing, the apprentice stood to his paws. "And why do you care about the 'destruction of the clans' so much anyways? You're a Dark Forest cat, isn't that your main goal? You condemn another cat for having ill will against us, but ill will is what got you down here in the first place!"

Darkendstreak stared at the apprentice with an indecipherable expression, her ears twitching. "I don't know because I don't know. As for your second question, there's something that you need to understand. Every cat dies twice, first when you take your last breath, and second when your name is said for the last time. StarClan and the DarkForest only exist because of the living clan cats that know about them. If the clans were to no longer exist, we wouldn't either. That applies to individual spirits as well. If there was no living cat to remember me, I would fade away to nothing. Sure, I may want revenge against the clans, but destroying them would lead to my own demise, and that's a bit counterproductive. I can't get anything done if I don't exist anymore."

Buzzardpaw blinked, staring at the she-cat intently. "Then, what is your goal?"

Darkenedstreak chuckled, her pupils narrowing to slits. "Well, that's a bit too easy isn't it? I know you're a double agent, you're truly fighting for StarClan, not us. No matter how much I train you, no matter what I tell you, you'll always view me as evil and your question proved that." The she-cat's lip curled into a sneer. "After all of this is over, when the rogues are defeated and everything returns to normal, you'll never think of me again, and if you do, it'll be about how much you loathe me. I've met cats like you before, you're all the same." Rising to her paws, Darkenedstreak gave her pelt an annoyed shake. "We came here to speak about the rogues, not about-"

"Rogues? Why are you talking about rogues?" A voice spoke from behind the two. Turning his head, Buzzardpaw watched Eagleheart talk from the shadows, a confused look on his face. As he got closer, Buzzardpaw noticed the tom's eye, now a gross red color and swollen shut. An odd, yellow liquid oozed from the injury, making Buzzardpaw worried. That looks horrible... StarClan, please don't let him go blind! Noticing the look on his brother's face, Eagleheart turned his head so only his healthy eye could be seen. "I'm fine."

Darkenedstreak smirked at the tom, her tail tip twitching mischievously. "Oh, he hasn't told you? Buzzardpaw has been 'spying' on the rogues, he visits them nearly every night."

Before he could open his mouth to say that want true, Buzzardpaw yelped in shock as Eagleheart rounded on him, his working eye blazing furiously. "What? Buzzardpaw, is this true?"

"Not every night, but-"

"Why would you even want to affiliate with those savages?" The warrior growled. "They're all no good, rotten, moralless foxhearts!"

His eyebrows furrowing, Buzzardpaw shook his head. "Not all of them! There's one tom, his name is Orion. He's been giving me information about what's to come. He's a good cat, he's on our side!"

Eagleheart stepped forward, his teeth bared. "Those degenerates could never be on our side! Those rogues are the ones that killed my mother, Buzzardpaw, my mother! They're the scum of the earth, they only do things for themselves! "

Narrowing his eyes, Buzzardpaw stepped forward as well. The two toms were muzzle to muzzle now, their faces contorted with frustration and anger. "That's not true! My friend Orion, he-"

"You've made friends with them?" Eagleheart hissed, his pelt bristling. "Traitor! You're a traitor!"

Buzzardpaw hissed back, curling his lips into a snarl. "I'm not a traitor, I'm getting information for the clans! He's on our side, he's a good cat!"

"You're sounding like a broken record here." Eagleheart began to pace, sheathing and unsheathing his claws. "Alright, since you're being stubborn, what makes this 'Orion' character trustworthy? For all you know, he's getting information off of you, not the other way around."

Buzzardpaw's pupils narrowed to slits. "I know he's trustworthy because… because…" Suddenly, the apprentice began to doubt himself. What if he's right? What if Orion is tricking me? As he thought more and more of his friend, his doubts cleared. No. Orion's too genuine to be faking it. It's not true, he really is a good cat. "He's trustworthy because I know him, I've known him for a few moons now."

"Anyone can fake being a good cat, Buzzardpaw. He's putting on an act, he doesn't truly care about you. To him, you're a young and naive apprentice that's too innocent to realize how stupid he's being."

Young and naive? We're the same age! "So that's what this is about," Buzzardpaw started, "You think you know everything because you're a warrior now. You think-"

"That's not it, Buzzardpaw, its-"

"You keep cutting me off! That's how I know it's true! Ditch the superiority complex and listen to me, Eagleheart. What I'm doing is-"

"Superiority complex?" Eagleheart's eye flashed in anger. "I'm looking out for you. I've lost too many cats in the last moon Buzzardpaw, I'm not losing you too." Eagleheart sighed. "You're all I have. I don't want you going back there."

Buzzardpaw stared at his brother, his frustration and fatigue stressing him even more. "I don't care what you want." He growled, before he could stop himself. "You don't control me. You're acting like a typical ShadowClan cat, thinking you can boss me around just because. Well you can't, Eagleheart, because I-"

"I'm looking out for you." The warrior repeated through clenched teeth. "If I'm being a typical ShadowClan cat, you're acting like a typical ThunderClan cat, sticking your nose into business that isn't yours. What you're doing is going to get you killed Buzzardpaw, and you don't even realize it!"

"But it wont!" Taking in a deep breath, Buzzardpaw exhaled it in a loud sigh. "Look, Eagleheart, I can't prove Orion's loyalty in words. If you truly want to find out, you should see for yourself."

Eagleheart scoffed. "Go to the rogues? That's a death sentence. You can't be serious."

Buzzardpaw looked his brother squarely in the eyes. "I'm as serious as a heart attack."

"And what if you're barking up the wrong tree?"

"That's why you should come with me! If you're so worried for my safety, I'll be better off if you come with me as well. Think about it! Strength in numbers."

"There's two of us and an army of them. I'm not going." Eagleheart turned away, preparing to leave.

"Please Eagleheart! I want to prove to you that Orion is a good cat. How else can I?"

"By not going back there and staying alive." The warrior mewed, not turning around.

Buzzardpaw raced to stand in front of his brother, blocking his exit. "Please, it won't be just us, there will be five others. There's a group of them, friends with Orion, they don't agree with the rogues either. The night after WindClan was attacked, I visited to get answers. All of them were untouched, they refused to help the other rogues attack the clan. These cats are on our side, Eagleheart, they want to help us."

"No, I'm not going." The warrior tried to push past him, but Buzzardpaw stood still. "Move out of my way."

"No! Not unless you consider it."

"Ok, fine." The warrior narrowed his eye. "Say what you're saying is true, and I do go. I'm sure the 'bad' rogues wouldn't be too happy about two clan cats roaming around their base."

Buzzardpaw shook his head. "Trust me, they aren't that organized, the most they would do is chase us out. Besides, there are multiple ways to get in. We can spy on them without them even seeing us."

"They killed my mother." The tom replied bitterly. "I'm sure they'd do more than just "chase us out.""

"Please Eagleheart."

Eagleheart huffed, still looking unconvinced. "You say you've got some information already? What is it then?"

Buzzardpaw hummed, thinking about the information Orion had given him the other night. "There are two sections, the General-Section and the bad cat section. The General-Section is just a group of loners, they want nothing to do with the clans and just want to live with their families. The bad cats however, are territorial and strict. There's only about a dozen of them. They're the ones that attacked WindClan."

"You said there were only five 'good' ones, but from what I understand there're a lot of cats against the clans, definitely more than a dozen. Therefore, this 'General-Section' isn't as docile as you say, yes?"

"Well yeah, but they only helped attack because they were forced by the Renaissance."

Eagleheart furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "The Renaissance?"

Buzzardpaw nodded. "That's what the bad rogues call themselves."

Eagleheart rolled his eye. "That seems organized to me." The tom sighed, looking at his brother with a tired expression. "So, you think that we'll be safe with only five other cats against the Renaissance and the General-Section?"

"I know we'll be safe because they never bother my group of friends. They always stay in their barn houses, I've never seen another cat cross over into Orion's area."

"Have you questioned why Orion's group isn't bothered? If the Renaissance is as forceful as you described, isn't it a little strange that they didn't force Orion's group to fight as well?"

Buzzardpaw paused, processing the question. Now that I think about it, it is a bit odd. It's obvious that Orion and the others exist, they even have their own barn house. Why is it that the Renaissance doesn't bother them? Shaking his doubts away, the apprentice made sure his brother didn't see his hesitance. "Please, Eagleheart. While we're there, we might get more answers. We might find out more information about what happened to Mousestar, maybe even find the cat that harmed her! Don't you want to avenge your mother?"

Eagleheart was silent for a while, looking his brother in the eye. Please, StarClan. I want to prove to him that Orion can be trusted. After what seemed like an eternity, the warrior let out a loud sigh in defeat. "Alright, I'll go."

Buzzardpaw struggled to keep from jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh, I knew you'd come around! Meet me at the ThunderClan border at sunhigh, when the moon is almost full."

"Why then?"

"I always visit a quarter moon before the Gathering, so Orion will be expecting me. He'll be so surprised when I bring you too!"

Eagleheart sighed, sounding reluctant. "I hope in a good way. If he does anything suspicious, I'm clawing your friend's ears off, you hear me?"

Buzzardpaw nodded enthusiastically, smiling from ear to ear. "Don't worry, you won't have to. I'll see you then?"

"I guess so." As he said this, the air around the warrior began to ripple. With a flash of light, the tom was gone, leaving Buzzardpaw alone.

He must have woken up. Lifting his head to look at the crooked branches above him, Buzzardpaw smiled. Thank you, StarClan. Together with Eagleheart, I'll be unstoppable, we'll get to the bottom of this!

Author's note:

Chapter 27 is here! Buzzardpaw has convinced Eagleheart to come with him to visit the barn! Hopefully nothing suspicious happens! (wink wink nudge nudge) Since the next chapter is a barn one, its going to be pretty long, so hopefully I'll have it posted by next week or the week after.

Thanks for reading!

~MeltingPopsicles