Chapter Twenty-One

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the Tallrock for a Clan meeting."

The Clan solemnly trudged over to gather around Tawnystar, sitting down without a word. Cedarclaw nudged Crowtalon gently, and the elder hauled himself to his paws before joining the rest of the Clan. Flickerflame poked her head out of the nursery, her eyes glistening with anguish. Swiftwing pushed his way out next to her, pressing against her and nuzzling her gently.

It felt so… wrong. Clan meetings were usually bustling with energy, cats purring and exchanging greetings- but this couldn't have been more different. Although none of the patrol cats had said anything yet, the Clan had figured it out right away. They had arrived at camp to be greeted by anxious glances and bristling pelts. Eyes had scanned the patrol, and cats had whimpered and huddled close to the ground when they had realized that Thistlevine was not among them.

It would be a hard loss for the Clan- Thistlevine had always been so calm and assertive, and had listened to everyone. No cat would escape the grief of his death.

"As I'm sure you all know by now, Thistlevine… Thistlevine has made his journey to StarClan."

Despite the fact that the Clan had already known, Tawnystar's words stirred up soft wails throughout the crowd.

As they quieted, he continued, "He will be missed dearly by his Clan, and I hope that StarClan will welcome him with open paws. Tonight, a new star will shine in Silverpelt, one of a great, loyal deputy." He cast his eyes upward, as if expecting to see a star there now, but the light of the sun blocked the glittering expanse that was Silverpelt from their view.

"Tawnystar," a voice called gently. Briarpaw looked to see Blazestrike. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but what exactly happened to Thistlevine? It wasn't a battle, was it?" He glanced at Briarpaw, examining her pelt. "None of you came back with wounds."

Tawnystar paused. "We… we're not exactly sure what it was, only that the twolegs caused it. They… they have developed some sort of long range weapon that is louder than thunder. After they hit him, they came back, and we had no choice but to run. It all happened so fast…" he broke off for a moment, swallowing. "We haven't seen anything like it before, but we won't let it claim any more of our cats. From now on, stay out of sight of the Horseplace, and always be alert when anywhere near the RiverClan border."

Shocked murmurs spread throughout the Clan, pelts bristling with unease.

"B-but Tawnystar," Tigerblossom spluttered. "That's a good chunk of our hunting territory! If we can't hunt there, how are we supposed to get enough prey to feed the whole Clan?"

"Would you rather risk your Clanmates' lives?" he snapped. "I'm sorry, but this is the only option for now. This is not a permanent solution- merely a temporary one until we can figure out what to do for the long-term."

The cats didn't seem too assured, exchanging anxious glances and flicking their tails back and forth.

Mintfur glanced around at them, a spark flashing in his eyes. Getting to his paws, he called, "Tawnystar is right. We must put the welfare of the Clan first. We are lucky that this is happening to us in greenleaf and not leaf-bare, as the prey will be more abundant now than it will be again for the rest of the year. We will get by, just like we always have."

Briarpaw noticed the fur was flattening on her Clanmates' pelts, and they were sitting back down. Tawnystar gave the dark tom a grateful nod before continuing. "Later, I will lead a patrol to go collect his body. After we get back, we will hold a vigil for him."

Mossfoot got to her paws. "Tawnystar- you just said that you weren't going to risk your warriors' lives, and now you're going to go back?"

"We will leave at nightfall- the twolegs will be fast asleep in their nests then. We'll be as quick as we can, and won't let our guard down for a moment. I'll only bring two other cats- the fewer of us there are, the smaller the chance that we will be detected."

Mossfoot dipped her head, although not before Briarpaw caught the gleam of uncertainty in her eyes.

Yips and whines came from inside the nursery, and Flickerflame sighed before heading back to her nest to feed the kits, Swiftwing following close behind.

Tawnystar licked his chops awkwardly before scrambling off of the Tallrock. The rest of the Clan began to dissipate into small groups, ears flat and tails drooping as they murmured anxiously to one another.

She heard pawsteps and turned to see Amberpaw, Smolderpaw, and Duskpaw hurrying up to her. The golden brown she-cat touched her nose to Briarpaw's. "We were worried about you. Are you ok?"

Briarpaw shrugged. "I'm not injured."

Amberpaw's eyes widened with sympathy. "That must've been hard to watch. I'm sorry."

"I'll be alright. Every cat dies eventually."

"That doesn't make it easy," Smolderpaw growled softly.

"I'm more worried about Tawnystar," she said, dropping her voice as she glanced over at the tan and brown tabby. He was lying on top of a large, flat rock near his den, his head resting on his paws. "He and Thistlevine were really close."

"The leader and deputy lead the Clan together," Duskpaw murmured. "That's a unique bond that they don't share with anyone else. It must be hard to lose it."

"Yes… but he'll find a new deputy eventually."

Duskpaw glanced at Amberpaw as she spoke. "But it won't be the same."

"Not at first." Briarpaw started slightly as Smolderpaw murmured. "But soon he'll learn to respect the new deputy as much as Thistlevine. It'll be different, yes, but he'll learn to grow comfortable with it. The Clan will move on, and he'll have to move on with them."

They blinked at him.

"When did you get so wise, Smolderpaw?" Briarpaw purred.

He shrugged. "I speak from experience."

Feeling a surge of pity, she brushed against him, pressing her muzzle into his fur. She felt his tensed muscles relax at her touch. She stayed like that for a moment, relishing the warm comfort of his pelt, before pulling away. She noticed that Duskpaw had dropped his gaze to the ground, his ears twitching slightly. She cocked her head at him, but he ignored the gesture.

Briarpaw yawned. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to try and get some rest."

"Me too," Amberpaw nodded. "None of us really got any sleep while you were gone."

Padding over to a tunnel, Briarpaw slipped onto the cool stone, and angled her back towards the entrance to keep the sun out of her eyes. Resting her head on her paws, she shut her eyes and slid into a dark, dreamless sleep.

…

Briarpaw awoke to voices. Opening her eyes, she saw only blackness, and at first she was unsure of where she was. Then a ray of sunshine spilled over her body, onto the hard stone ground, and the memories of the morning came rushing back to her. Getting to her paws, she walked out of the tunnel.

Tawnystar was calling Hollythorn and Hazelgorse over to where he stood, by the camp entrance. Mossfoot looked on anxiously.

"Just… just promise you'll be really careful, ok?" She pleaded. "WindClan would be lost if the twolegs got you too."

Briarpaw's ears pricked. They were leaving already? Glancing up at the sky, she realized the sun was setting. She had slept longer than she had thought.

"Don't worry, Mossfoot." The leader leaned forward, touching his nose gently to the medicine cat's. "We'll be careful."

"You have to put your lives first. If you see the twolegs, or their dogs, run, even if it means leaving the body behind, ok? StarClan will understand."

Tawnystar's eyes darkened, his tail swishing back and forth.

"Tawnystar?"

"I'll do what I can," he growled, before turning around and padding out of camp, Hazelgorse and Hollythorn pausing a second before following.

Mossfoot sighed. "Stubborn furball." Casting her gaze upward, she murmured, "Take care of him, StarClan."

…

It was well after nightfall when Tawnystar, Hazelgorse, and Hollythorn padded into camp, cradling Thistlevine's body between them. Raising her muzzle, Briarpaw tasted the air, but couldn't sense any signs of injury on them. Relieved, she let out the breath that she hadn't even known she had been holding.

Mossfoot hurried to greet them. "Did it go alright?"

Tawnystar dipped his head. "Yes, it was fine. It was quite a long way to carry the body, so we had to stop a few times to rest, but other than that, there were no interruptions. The twolegs and their dogs were asleep, just as I had predicted. I'm glad we got there when we did, though." His eyes darkened. "We were just in time to chase off a few crows who had been trying to feast on his body, the honorless creatures." A growl rumbled in his throat.

"Well, he's here now. We might as well start the vigil."

Tawnystar and the two warriors carried the body over to the center of camp, where they set him down gently. Hollythorn nudged his legs underneath him, so it looked like he was sleeping. Mossfoot gestured to Lionpaw and Daisypaw, who were standing a couple fox lengths away, and the three of them disappeared inside her den. When they emerged, Lionpaw and Daisypaw were holding bundles of moss, while Mossfoot was carrying sprigs of heather and lavender. Approaching the body, the apprentices tucked the moss around him, forming a nest, and Mossfoot laid the sweet-smelling plants around him, covering the sickly smell of death. A cloud shifted in the sky, bathing him in moonlight. Briarpaw felt tension ease inside her as she saw how much more peaceful he looked. Of course, Thistlevine was no longer in the body, he was in StarClan, but it reassured her to see that his body showed no signs of the earlier pain and struggle he had experienced before his passing.

Slowly, cats begin to filter out of dens and nests, straying from the edges of the clearing to the center, where Thistlevine lay. Sitting in a circle around him, they bowed their heads, while Tawnystar took his place near the front.

Raising his head to the sky, Tawnystar closed his eyes, letting the light of the swelling moon shine over him. "This day had brought to WindClan a great loss," he began. "Thistlevine was an amazing deputy, truly blessed by StarClan. He was loyal, kind, thoughtful- always putting the needs of the Clan before his own. He was smart, too- respecting the other Clans and keeping peace between them whenever possible, but yet he would fight to the death if that was what his Clan required of him. He didn't always agree with my decisions, but our differences helped us both to grow, and reminded me to keep an open mind. He would've made a great leader, had he lived- but that was not the destiny that StarClan willed for him. Even so, his legacy will be passed down for generations. He died as he lived, serving his Clan. This will be a loss that we won't forget in a hurry- but Thistlevine would want the Clan to keep going, no matter how hard things get." His speech finished, the Clan leader sat down, turning to gaze at Thistlevine. Reflecting on his last words, Briarpaw had the feeling that he had been trying to convince himself as much as the Clan.

Jayclaw began to speak. "Thistlevine was such a thoughtful cat, and one of the best littermates I could've ever asked for. He always reminded me to use my head…"

As the tom continued, Briarpaw glanced over at Tawnystar. The leader barely seemed to be listening to Jayclaw, and instead was gazing up at the sky. Briarpaw followed his gaze, and let out a sharp intake of breath.

Above her head, even the tiniest wisps of clouds had cleared from the sky, leaving a wide, glittering expanse in their wake. Stars flickered and flashed, seeming to dance across the cold, dark sky. She looked at them in awe, the sounds of the night seeing to die away, leaving only the gentle thrum of her own heartbeat in her ears. Silverpelt seemed closer than ever.

Is it a sign? she wondered. She felt a warm feeling spread throughout her body. Thistlevine's up there. And Breezecloud, Halfbranch, Bumblepaw, my littermates… all of our Clanmates of the past are up there, all the way back to Windstar.

She felt a ripple of the air beside her, and fur brushed her side. She looked over to see a silver figure, staring at her with kind blue eyes, so faint that Briarpaw could barely distinguish her from the landscape behind her, but her presence was as firm as if she were a living cat.

Briarpaw swallowed back a purr, not wanting to disturb the grieving Clanmates around her. But inside, she felt like leaping up and yowling to the skies. They're all here, she thought, looking at Breezecloud and feeling her eyes water up. They never leave us. No matter how hard things get, nothing will ever change that. StarClan is always here.