Frostmask perched on a low branch of a sycamore tree as she gazed out at the piles of two-leg junk that filled the Carrionplace.
Ever since her conversation with Paledusk a half moon ago, she'd taken to coming out here in her occasional free time to spy on the rats, determined to figure out the signs that indicated a poisoned animal. But, the process had been slow going. The poisoning seemed to have taken its toll on the rat population, and with low numbers came infrequent sightings. On top of that, most rats tended to stay in the depths of the Carrionplace, and there was no way Frostmask was going in there after them… But, that meant there'd been days where she hadn't even caught one glimpse of their naked, snake-like tails.
Frostmask set her jaw.
But, I'll find one eventually.
Having no luck from her view from the sycamore, Frostmask hopped down to the ground and began to prowl around the silver webbing which marked the border of the Carrionplace, sticking close to the shadows beneath the trees.
I'll just look around quickly then had back to camp if there's nothing there.
She glanced up towards the sun. It was hovering near the treetops, and opposite of it, a large full moon hung in the slowly darkening eastern horizon. There wasn't a cloud in the sky today; the gathering should happen without issue.
As long as we get back to camp in time for the gathering patrol.
Frostmask picked up her pace into a trot.
She followed the edge for a while, but as she rounded the last corner of the Carrionplace, she froze as the scent of blood drifted into her nose. After a heartbeat, she identified it as rat blood, and she continued forward again, although now she placed her paws down silently. Following the scent down the silver webbing, her eyes flashed to a lump of brown fur lying near the edge of the Carrionplace.
Frostmask froze in place and stared at the rat, waiting to see if it noticed her. But, the rodent was still. Its flanks didn't move with breath— there no sign of life in its body at all.
Frostmask approached it slowly, stopping right in front of the silver webbing. The rat's body was only about a tail-length away from her, on the other side of the large barrier. Blood stained the rat's muzzle, collecting around its nose and mouth. Unbidden, an image of Hootflight hacking up blood as he died from the poisoning appeared in Frostmask's mind.
Giving her head a sharp shake, Frostmask pushed the thought away, forcing herself focus back on the rat. She sniffed the air. There was no putrid scent of decay.
It must have died recently.
The beads of crimson blood on its face glistened in the fading light. Even that looked fresh.
Frostmask reached a paw through one of the holes in the silver webbing, trying to grab the rat's side with her claws, but even when she stretched her arm to its limit, the animal remained just out of her reach.
"Snake-dung," Frostmask cursed under her breath as she retracted her paw.
Dried leaves and grass suddenly crunched behind her. Frostmask spun around in fear, half-expecting to see another rat, but she relaxed immediately as Lizardpaw's white-furred form emerged from the gloom under the sycamores.
He blinked 'hello' at her, two mice dangling from his jaws.
'Hey Lizardpaw. Where's Autumnleap?' Frostmask asked.
Some guilt prickled at her that she'd sent him hunting alone with Lizardpaw down the WindClan border, just so she could sit in a tree, watching rats. But, Autumnleap had insisted that he didn't mind. He'd said that he was just happy to be doing warrior things again now that his apprentice-duties punishment was over, and Frostmask's idea about the poisoned prey was important to investigate.
At least he's being supportive…
Frostmask had brought the suggestion up to a few cats, with mixed results. She'd asked Sedgestar and Grovepelt about it first, both of whom thought the risk of being poisoned or attracting the ire of the rats was greater than the chance of her finding out anything of value. That would've been enough to turn Frostmask off from the idea, if it wasn't for that she knew for certain from Paledusk that there was some sort of sign which could be useful for telling poisoned prey from non-poisoned ones… She just had to figure out what it was. Besides, Clearstream and Elmclaw at least seemed confident that the poison shouldn't harm any creature, unless they ingested it, which gave Frostmask a bit more confidence.
Lizardpaw just gestured vaguely to the forest behind himself in answer to her question, indicating that Autumnleap was coming. His gaze then flickered from Frostmask and to the rat behind her, his blue eyes widening.
'You found one,' he signed.
Frostmask nodded, glancing back over at the body. She couldn't see any other rats nearby, but she was determined to get to this rat before they did.
She turned back to Lizardpaw.
'I'm going to climb the webbing to get it. Keep an eye out for other rats, alright?' she signed.
Nervousness flashed in Lizardpaw's gaze, but he nodded. Frostmask turned towards the silver webbing, putting a hesitant paw in one of the holes and testing her weight on it. Despite the webbing being such a thin material, it was strong, and it didn't flex at all under her foot. She began to scramble up it, reaching the top in only a few moments.
It's almost easier than climbing a tree!
She climbed down the other side and sprung to the ground near the rat. Frostmask hesitated before touching it, peering closer at the animal.
Empty, glassy dark eyes stared back up at her. Its mouth was parted slightly, so Frostmask could see large, sharp front teeth sticking out from between its lips. With a cautious paw, Frostmask touched its side. The rat was still mostly limp, but some stiffness from death had begun to set in. She flipped the body over, searching its opposite flank for wounds. There were none, confirming her hunch that rat's blood had come from its mouth and nose.
A rush of anticipation ran through her.
It must have died from poison.
"What are you doing?!" a voice hissed.
Frostmask glanced up to see Autumnleap standing next to Lizardpaw on the other side of the silver webbing, his pelt prickling with worry and his amber eyes wide as he stared at her.
"I didn't know you'd be going inside the Carrionplace!" he said in a rough whisper. "You're going to attract the rats!"
His gaze flashed to study the rugged landscape of the Carrionplace behind Frostmask as if he was expecting them to come surging over at any moment.
Which is a reasonable fear, Frostmask supposed.
Moving quickly, Frostmask shoved the rat towards the silver webbing. Its fur scraped the edges, but it was still small enough to fit through one of the gaps in the web. Once she got it to the other side, Frostmask scaled the barrier again before jumping down next to Autumnleap and Lizardpaw.
"Let's get this out of sight of the Carrionplace," she said, hooking her claws into the rat's fur and dragging it into the trees.
Lizardpaw and Autumnleap followed her, although if the scowl on Autumnleap's face was any indication, he still had more to say about it. They moved the body a couple of boulder-lengths into the trees without any other rat appearing. Once the dense trunks hid the Carrionplace from sight, Frostmask pulled her claws out of the rat's fur, sat back on her haunches and hunched over to get a closer look at it again.
"Seriously Frostmask, have you gone frog-brained?" Autumnleap grumbled, his dark red tail twitching as he stood at her side. "You know that we're not supposed to go in the Carrionplace. What if the rats had shown up?"
She glanced up at him, her brow furrowing.
"I was only in there for one heartbeat to grab it," she protested. "This is the first poisoned rat that I've seen in a half moon! I couldn't pass it up just because it was a tail-length out of reach."
Autumnleap sighed.
"I know that it's important that we figure out what prey are poisoned so we can better avoid them. I don't enjoy worrying that every meal I eat could be my last either," he said. "But, I don't understand why you had to go in there to get this rat? It's already dead. I thought the point was we'd be able to know what prey was poisoned before the poison kills them."
"Yeah but to know that we need to know what signs we're looking for in the sick animals," Frostmask explained. "We know the bleeding doesn't start until right before death, so that's not useful for telling a poisoned animal from a healthy one. But, there might be a different indicator that we overlooked before."
Autumnleap's brow furrowed.
"Okay… I guess that makes sense," he said. "So what are we looking for?"
Frostmask went back to studying the rat.
"Anything unusual," she murmured, flipping the body over with her paw again.
Autumnleap and Lizardpaw leaned in as well, their tails twitching with concentration as they all peered down at the animal. Besides the blood, on the outside the rat appeared pretty normal. It was skinny and small, probably an adolescent, but its pelt was uniform. Nothing seemed off about its dark eyes or yellowed teeth.
"Maybe we should cut it open," Frostmask muttered. "The poison could've done something to its insides."
Autumnleap's muzzle wrinkled up in disgust. Frostmask glanced up at him, and a purr of amusement began to rumble in her throat.
"When did you become so squeamish?" she teased. "You never seemed to have a problem with tearing prey open when you eat it."
"But, yeah, I'm eating it," Autumnleap said, his tail-tip twitching. "It feels weird to cut something open for no reason."
Frostmask cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"But, it's not for no reason," she pointed out.
"Aren't you afraid of getting the poison on you?" Autumnleap asked, his brow furrowing.
"I'll just use my paws, and I'll wash them off in water instead of licking them clean," she promised. "Clearstream and Elmclaw said that the poison is only dangerous if we eat it."
Autumnleap's tail still flicked uncertainly, but after a few moments, he nodded.
Wasting no time, with a delicate slash of her claws, Frostmask tore open the belly of the rodent, peeling back skin and muscle to reveal the gleaming, dark organs beneath. The scent of fresh meat drifting into her nose made Frostmask's mouth water, despite the fact that she knew this animal was poisoned and even taking a single bite could be a death sentence. Ducking her head lower, Frostmask took a close look at the organs, but nothing seemed odd about them to her. It looked like any other piece of fresh-kill.
Frostmask's ears drooped in disappointment.
Maybe this was just another dead-end, and all those days she'd spent keeping watch on the Carrionplace were wasted. Frostmask sighed, about to admit defeat, but as she opened her mouth, she hesitated.
"Wait… do you smell that?" she asked.
Initially, she'd only smelt the sweet and tantalizing scent of fresh-kill, but as her nose had adjusted to it, she now seemed able to pick out a different edge to the scent— a deeper layer. But, she couldn't place the smell. It wasn't the putrid, rotting scent of when flesh went bad. Nor was it quite strong enough to be off-putting… but it was unusual.
Lizardpaw blinked hard, his nose twitching.
'Sour,' he confirmed, his sensitive nose picking up the odd smell easily.
Autumnleap opened his jaws, drawing the air over his tongue.
"Yeah," he said, his brow furrowing. "Now that you mention it, I can smell it too. That is weird."
Frostmask's heart began to thump hard.
"Right?! I've never noticed that with any other prey. This could be it! The sign of a poisoned animal that we've been looking for!" she meowed, glancing up to looking from Lizardpaw's face to Autumnleap's.
Lizardpaw's eyes were bright, reflecting Frostmask's excitement back at her. However, while Autumnleap appeared interested, he also seemed less convinced. Before he could say anything though, Frostmask's gaze was pulled towards the sky above them. It was getting late— the sun had started to dip below the horizon.
"We need to get back to camp before the gathering patrol is called," she said, shoving the rat towards the base of a nearby sycamore tree.
She stashed it a gap in the roots, hiding it from sight by arranging some leaf-litter in front of the hole, but marking the tree with her claws so she knew which one to return to.
"You're keeping the rat?" Autumnleap asked in confusion, staring after her.
She glanced back at him as she finished scouring her claws down the trunk.
"Well… yeah. For now. Clearstream and Elmclaw will want to inspect it for themselves later," she mewed.
Autumnleap's ears twisted back.
"I hardly understand any of this stuff," he muttered. "But, I'm glad that you're trying help the Clan."
Frostmask gave a soft purr and brushed her muzzle against his gratefully.
"Come on, let's go," she said, pointing her paws in the direction of camp.
They stopped by the stream to allow Frostmask to rinse her paws off on their way back, which delayed them a bit, but they still managed to arrive in camp in time. The sky had started to go dark, but no patrol had gathered yet. As Lizardpaw and Autumnleap went to drop their catches off at the fresh-kill pile, Frostmask headed straight to the medicine cats' den. She paused outside the lichen coated entrance for a moment, calling a greeting before she padded inside.
Clearstream's grey-striped form was almost lost in the shadows deep in the cave as she arranged some piles of freshly collected moss, but Elmclaw sat near the entrance. He was hunched over several dried plants, methodically sorting through the stores. Frostmask knew that with the return of the warmer weather, the medicine cats had been able to find and collect more herbs, but their stocks still weren't back to the levels they'd been before SkyClan's raid on their den.
Frostmask cleared her throat and both medicine cats glanced over at her.
"I've got great news," she said.
Frostmask quickly explained the rat that she found, and the unusual sour scent that she'd noted after she'd cut it open. As she spoke, Clearstream looked curious and thoughtful, while Elmclaw's eyes brightened with eagerness.
"That's amazing!" Elmclaw burst out when she concluded the story with where she left the rat. "This could be exactly what we need to tell good prey apart from poisoned ones."
"Frostmask did a great job noticing this," Clearstream added, nodding at her and Frostmask purred at the praise. "But, we need to look into this carefully. There are many things which could make meat smell a bit sour. That rat might have just gotten into some sort of weird two-leg junk for all we know."
Elmclaw's tail flicked impatiently, not put-off by the senior medicine cat's words of caution.
"It's the best lead we have right now, though." he said, already rising to his paws. "I want to check it out now before the body is allowed to decompose further, or some scavenger gets to it. Will you tell Sedgestar that I won't be attending the gathering tonight?"
Clearstream nodded, standing as well and padding towards Elmclaw and Frostmask in the front of the cave.
"Very well, I'll speak to him," she said.
Elmclaw purred and touched his muzzle to Clearstream's affectionately.
"Thank you," he meowed. "I'm going to head over there now then."
"Remember to look for the tree that I scratched," Frostmask chimed in.
Elmclaw nodded at her.
"I will. See you later!" he said, quickly hurrying from the cave.
Clearstream watched him go with a proud glint in her blue eyes before she turned to glance at the piles of dried herbs that Elmclaw had left on the ground. Clearstream sighed and shook her head.
"The frog-brain was in such a rush he didn't even put these away," Clearstream muttered, but there was affection in her voice.
As Clearstream went to push the dried leaves back into their stores, she inhaled sharply, making Frostmask's ears prick in concern.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes," Clearstream said, flexing a paw. "It's just some arthritis in my joints acting up. The damp weather makes it worse."
"Here, let me help then," Frostmask said, stepping in to slide the herbs into the narrow cracks in the cave walls. "You just have to tell me where each one goes."
"Thank you Frostmask," Clearstream sighed. "I have herbs for aching joints, but I've been saving them for others. Poor Darkpelt's injured leg has really been bothering him lately."
Frostmask frowned, glancing over at the medicine cat from the corner of her eye.
Arthritis was a condition that elders complained about. She'd never thought of Clearstream as particularly old, but she knew that she'd been ShadowClan's senior medicine cat for many, many seasons now, probably for nearly as long as Grovepelt had been a warrior.
Frostmask quickly finished putting the herbs away with Clearstream's help, and afterwards the two padded out of the den. Clearstream glanced over at Frostmask.
"Would you like to come with me to speak with Sedgestar?" she asked. "You can explain the rat to him. I'm sure he'd like to know."
Frostmask's pelt prickled slightly with apprehension. Sedgestar hadn't seemed super enthusiastic about her idea when she brought it up the first time. But, Elmclaw was clearly excited, and, although Clearstream was more cautious, she was also supportive as well…
Frostmask nodded.
"Alright," she meowed.
The two of them made their way over to the base of the Oak Tree, pausing by the entrance to Sedgestar's den. There, Clearstream meowed a greeting, and Sedgestar called for them to come in.
Frostmask followed Clearstream down the short tunnel and into Sedgestar's earthen den. Grovepelt was already in the den as well, and judging by their furrowed brows, it seemed like he and Sedgestar had been having some sort of serious discussion. Frostmask's stomach turned uneasily.
Have they been planning something about the gathering?
"Clearstream. Frostmask," Sedgestar said, nodding a hello to the two of them. "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to inform you that Elmclaw will not be attending the gathering tonight," Clearstream said. "He's gone to investigate a rat carcass that Frostmask found by the Carrionplace. It appears to have died from poison, and we think it could contain valuable information which could allow us to avoid poisoned prey in the future."
Sedgestar's amber eyes slid from Clearstream to Frostmask, his gaze unreadable.
"I thought we agreed that such an endeavor would only lead to more risk than reward?" he said.
Sedgestar's voice was mild, not accusative, but Frostmask still had to fight to keep the hairs on the back of her neck from bristling defensively. Luckily, Clearstream responded for her, giving Frostmask a few extra moments to smooth over her composure.
"I see no harm in Frostmask looking into the poisoning in her spare time," Clearstream said. "She took care to not ingest any poison, and the body was found outside the bounds of the Carrionplace, so the rats will have no reason to be angry with us for trespassing. Isn't that right?"
Clearstream glanced at Frostmask, and she nodded.
It was a lie, but a harmless one. No rat had seen her enter the Carrionplace to remove the body. And, the rat was so close to the edge, it was practically outside the place anyway.
"Besides," Clearstream continued. "Frostmask may have discovered something very important."
Clearstream paused and gazed at her again, and Frostmask took the cue to begin speaking.
"Yes," she said, raising her chin slightly in what she hoped was a confident expression. "There was an odd scent coming from the animal, which became more clear after I opened its belly and exposed the meat. It had this sour smell. It was subtle, but still distinct— not like any prey-scent I've noticed before. And, the meat wasn't rotten… it was just off."
Clearstream nodded.
"Elmclaw has gone to look into it now. But, if it is indeed the case, we may be able to expand our hunting ranges again, and then screen caught prey by using this smell to make sure that our fresh-kill has not been poisoned," she said.
"Autumnleap and Lizardpaw were with me, and they noticed the scent too," Frostmask added. "They'll be able to confirm it as well."
"That's wonderful!" Grovepelt purred, pride in his voice as he gazed at Frostmask. "Well done."
Frostmask dipped her head, her pelt warmed by the deputy's praise.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Sedgestar said, his brow furrowed. "We do not even know if this scent sets in immediately after poisoning or only until after the poison has already killed the animal."
Clearstream nodded.
"More investigation is needed," she agreed.
"Perhaps we could confirm it if we could catch a piece a prey which we know likely ate some poison recently, but has not yet begun behaving as if it's ill," Frostmask spoke up.
One of Sedgestar's ears angled towards her.
"And, how would you do that?" he prompted, his amber eyes sharp as he stared at her.
"Put a couple of cats on watch at the Carrionplace," she said without hesitation. "We know the poison is in there, but the rats aren't the only creatures going in and eating it clearly. Have some cats kill mice or birds coming out of the Carrionplace, carefully with their claws, and see if they have the smell despite otherwise looking healthy."
Sedgestar blinked at her, quiet for a moment before giving a decisive nod.
"If Elmclaw's report back is promising, I will assign a few cats to the task tomorrow," he said. "After the prey is caught, I want you, Lizardpaw, Autumnleap, and Elmclaw to all confirm the scents. Cat's lives could depend on it, so there should be no mistaking it."
Frostmask couldn't stop her tail from lifting happily at Sedgestar's agreement. She dipped her head to him, expecting to be dismissed, but instead Sedgestar continued.
"Frostmask, I'm quite pleased with the amount of initiative you've been taking lately when it comes to trying to prevent more poisoning, as well as the information you've managed to collect during the previous gatherings," he said.
Frostmask's ears pricked in surprise.
He's not upset that I looked into the poisoning even though initially he told me not to?
Frostmask glanced up at him. When their gazes met, she saw that he had let the cool veil that usually covered his amber eyes drop, and now they glowed with undisguised warmth.
"You've come quite far from the timid kit who used to refuse to speak or meet anyone's eye," Sedgestar said. "I hope you know how valuable you are to our Clan."
Frostmask blinked and swallowed hard.
The way he said that— not how valuable you are to the Clan or to ShadowClan— but to our Clan left an ache in Frostmask's chest.
Was it possible that Sedgestar finally understood that no matter what Frostmask's blood was, she was a ShadowClan cat through and through? Or, was it just another trick, something to get her to drop her guard? So, she'd fall placidly into line, blindly loyal to him? But, if that was the case, then why praise her for her disobedience?
Frostmask bowed her head to him again so Sedgestar wouldn't see the conflict in her gaze.
"Thank you, Sedgestar," she meowed.
"I would like you to join the gathering patrol tonight and continue keeping your ears open. Report back to me anything useful," he said.
"Of course," Frostmask said, still gazing at the ground.
A trickle of relief ran down her spine. Of course the information she'd been getting had been from Paledusk, not from overhearing conversations at the gatherings. But, the fact that the information had been useful to ShadowClan so far made her feel more confident that she hadn't been wrong to meet with the SkyClan deputy.
Sedgestar gestured a dismissal to Frostmask with a flick of his tail, but Clearstream remained in the den with him and Grovepelt as Frostmask turned to emerge back outside. The sky had gone fully dark by now, and most of her clan-mates were mingling out in the clearing, waiting to hear who Sedgestar would call for the patrol. Frostmask's gaze scanned the crowd as she searched for her friends' pelts.
She spotted Poolcloud lounging with Dewleaf and Pineshade, and she padded over to them, lifting her tail in greeting.
"Hey guys," she said.
They all mewed hellos to her as she flopped onto the ground and began to groom the mud off of her paws. It was a futile task, especially in new-leaf in ShadowClan, but Frostmask couldn't stand it when it dried and started to cake in the long fur between her toes.
"Why were you in Sedgestar's den, Frostmask?" Dewleaf asked, her blue-green eyes bright and curious.
Frostmask opened her mouth to explain the rat situation, but then hesitated. Telling Pineshade or even Dewleaf about her idea to prevent more poisonings risked the information getting back to Dampfang… who of course seemed to view opposing Frostmask as his life's purpose.
Frostmask's tail twitched bitterly.
Dampfang would probably try to convince the Clan that I'm trying to get everyone poisoned rather than preventing more poisonings.
It seemed better to wait and have Sedgestar or Clearstream and Elmclaw explain the situation tomorrow, once Elmclaw came back from looking at the rat. Dampfang at least would be much less opposed to the idea coming from their leader and medicine cats, rather than if he knew it came from her.
"Oh… you know, Sedgestar just asked me if I would join the gathering patrol," Frostmask said as nonchalantly as she could, going back to picking mud off of her paws.
Poolcloud's brow furrowed.
"That's kinda weird," he meowed. "Why'd he single you out like that instead of just calling your name for the patrol like everyone else?"
"I've been lucky enough to overhear snippets of important conversations between other Clans' warriors for the past few gatherings," Frostmask explained, the lie coming to her even more easily now after so many repetitions. "Sedgestar wants me to continue keeping my ears open."
Pineshade huffed incredulously, and Frostmask glanced at her. Pineshade swept her amber gaze up and down Frostmask's body, her ears flattening doubtfully.
"You. Sedgestar is having you be his spy?" Pineshade asked.
The fur down Frostmask's back prickled slightly.
"What? You don't believe me?" she asked, trying and failing to keep the defensiveness from her voice.
"I mean, I believe that this conversation happened, sure," Pineshade said, twitching her ears. "But, yeah. The whole concept feels pretty unbelievable honestly."
Frostmask scowled, and Pineshade flicked her black-furred tail against her flank.
"Now don't get all huffy about it," Pineshade said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not trying to insult you. I just mean that spies are supposed to be… I don't know, deceitful? Manipulative? Your disposition just doesn't seem suited for it. You're just too nice."
"I could be deceitful," Frostmask argued, her tail twitching. "Maybe I'm keeping secrets from you right now."
To Frostmask's growing irritation, Pineshade just laughed in response, her whiskers quivering in amusement as she purred.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Pineshade challenged, her amber eyes glinting.
"Well if I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret, would it?" Frostmask grumbled, her tail twitching.
Pineshade leaned over and nudged her shoulder with her muzzle.
"Come on, unkink your tail Frostmask. You know I'm only teasing," Pineshade said, although her eyes still sparkled mischievously. "I'm very proud of you for being assigned to this super secret spy mission."
With a playful growl, Frostmask swatted at Pineshade's ears, but Pineshade swiftly retreated out of her range before her paws could make contact, still purring.
Frostmask heaved a dramatic sigh of defeat, rolling onto her back.
"Where's Autumnleap? I'm tired of hanging out with you annoying fur-balls," Frostmask jokingly complained.
Pineshade rolled her eyes so hard Frostmask thought that they might fall out of her skull.
"It's outrageous that you'd imply I'm more annoying than Autumnleap," Pineshade sniffed. "He's practically the most infuriating cat in existence."
"And, I take offense that you'd group me and Dewleaf in with the dreadful frog-brains that are Pineshade and Autumnleap," Poolcloud teased.
Growling playfully, Pineshade rolled onto her side so she could lash out at Poolcloud with a flurry of bunny-kicks from her hind-legs.
"How. Dare. You. I. Am. An. Absolute. Delight." Pineshade punctuated each word with another kick against Poolcloud's side.
"Ow! Ow! Too hard!" Poolcloud said, wincing beneath his sister's unyielding blows.
Half purring in laughter and half gasping in pain, Poolcloud scrambled away from Pineshade to hide behind Dewleaf, using her as a living shield, although Dewleaf's sleek grey form hardly sheltered all of Poolcloud's black-and-white bulk.
"Dewleaf! Protect me!" Poolcloud gasped.
Dewleaf fixed Pineshade with the sternest glare she could manage, and it even prickled the fur on Frostmask's shoulders, despite the fact that she wasn't the target. The look in Dewleaf's blue-green eyes contained the scariest aspects of her parents— both Darkpelt's ferocity and Larkfoot's fortitude.
"Stop bullying my mate," Dewleaf ordered.
Pineshade just huffed and rolled back to her paws.
"He started it," she said, licking a paw and using it to flatten her newly ruffled fur.
A low purr thrummed in Frostmask's throat as she gazed at her friends.
It'd been far too long since they could play and bicker like this without the existential fear for their Clan's survival looming over their heads. It was a relief to see light return to sparkle in Poolcloud's eyes after having been so dull with grief in the moon since Fogfur's death. And, Frostmask could no longer make out the shape of Pineshade's ribs beneath her dark, spiky coat, nor notice a deep weariness in Dewleaf's eyes.
If only she could preserve moments like these so they'd last forever. She wished she could hold onto them and keep them tucked near her nest like she could for a pretty stone or an interesting feather, and then pull them out later to return to when things got hard again.
But, moments didn't work like that; they were much more like trying to hold wind or water in her claws. It was impossible to keep a solid grip on them. Instead they slipped away, leaving just a cool, tingling sensation on her paw-pads as the only indication that they'd ever existed at all.
This moment was ended as Sedgestar and Grovepelt emerged from the leader's den, and Sedgestar let out a yowl for attention. The group of warriors stopped their play-fighting as everyone's heads turned towards their leader.
"It's time to head out for the gathering," Sedgestar meowed. "Would the warriors and apprentices, Emberflower, Larkfoot, Dampfang, Cedarpaw, Mosspounce, Frostmask, Autumnleap, Leafbreeze, Pineshade, Cricketpaw, Rowanheart, and Hollowpaw please join the patrol."
Pineshade looked quite pleased about being chosen, and Frostmask figured she must be eager to show Cricketpaw around since this would be the younger apprentices' first gathering. Frostmask rose to her paws, nodding goodbye to Poolcloud and Dewleaf. She glanced around, and she spotted Autumnleap sitting next to Beeclaw. He rose to his paws when Sedgestar finished his announcement and murmured something into Beeclaw's ear before padding over to Frostmask to join the gathering patrol. Beeclaw watched him go with hollow eyes, and Frostmask's heart twisted as she glanced at him.
Beeclaw had fallen into a deep depression in the moon since Hootflight's death, which he had not yet been able to shake. Unlike everyone else in the Clan, who had started to put some padding back on their bones as prey returned to their territory, the outline of Beeclaw's skeleton was still sharp beneath his short pelt. He didn't patrol or hunt as much anymore either, instead spending most of his time doing tasks around camp, or glued to Elmclaw's side, helping out with basic medicine cat's duties.
Autumnleap had been spending a lot of time with him recently, and he and Thornheart had at least been able to coast Beeclaw out into the forest a few times with them on hunts. But, progress was slow.
As Autumnleap reached her, Frostmask gently touched her nose to his in greeting as they padded after the rest of the gathering patrol out of camp.
"How's Beeclaw?" Frostmask murmured.
Worry flashed in Autumnleap's eyes.
"Mostly the same," he sighed. "I thought about telling him about what you discovered today about the rat…"
His voice trailed off, and Frostmask prompted him gently.
"…But?" she asked.
Autumnleap's ears twisted back.
"But, I didn't tell him because I was worried that if he found out that there is a way to tell what pieces of prey are poisoned, he'd just blame himself more for not noticing," Autumnleap muttered.
Frostmask's ears twisted back.
"He's going to find out eventually though," she said. "Elmclaw has already gone to investigate it, and I spoke to Sedgestar about it as well. If Elmclaw agrees about the scent, Sedgestar is going to look more into it tomorrow."
Autumnleap sighed.
"I know," he murmured.
She brushed her flank against his reassuringly, and he gave her a grateful blink.
Silence settled over the patrol as they traveled towards Fourtrees. Crickets hummed in the darkness for the first time in moons, and their fading songs as the ShadowClan cats stalked by their hiding spots were the only sounds that indicated the cats' progression through the woods.
Sedgestar guided their group to the tunnel that ran under the thunderpath, and the patrol went streaming through it like rain water. On the other side, Frostmask's ears jutted up eagerly as they approached the edge of the hollow that encircled Fourtrees. Since the last gathering hadn't convened due to cloud-covered skies, it seemed like it'd been ages since she'd seen any cats outside her clan-mates. Besides Paledusk, of course.
Will we speak tonight?
Frostmask's tail twitched. They hadn't discussed it, but she felt probably not. Her seeking out the SkyClan deputy would likely seem out of place, for good reason, and she was nervous to draw too much attention to their relationship. What if one of her clan-mates figured out that she'd been meeting him?
They reached the top of the hill, where the patrol paused. Frostmask opened her jaws to drink in the cool night air, and she was greeted by the scents of ThunderClan, SkyClan and RiverClan.
I'll see if Larchtail is here though.
Frostmask's paws prickled with eagerness. If she ran into the SkyClan warrior, this would be the first time that they'd meet when Frostmask was aware that the two of them were kin.
Sedgestar flicked in his tail to signal the patrol forward, and the group streamed down the hill and into Fourtrees. As soon as they passed the ring of undergrowth and entered the clearing, Frostmask noticed some nearby RiverClan, ThunderClan, and even SkyClan cats nodding friendly hellos to the appearing ShadowClan warriors. Frostmask blinked, pleasant surprise swirling in her belly at the other Clans' relaxed attitude.
Frostmask turned to glance at the rest of the ShadowClan patrol to see how her clan-mates were responding to the warm reception. The cordial attitude seemed infectious because the ShadowClan patrol willingly split apart to mingle with the other Clans. Frostmask saw Larkfoot purring a greeting to a RiverClan queen. Dampfang and Pineshade dived into the crowd of cats with their apprentices in tow, showing them around the place. Mosspounce and Leafbreeze went to go talk to Foxbite and Juniperfrost, two ThunderClan warriors.
"They all seem pretty friendly tonight," Autumnleap remarked, lingering at Frostmask's shoulder.
"Yeah," Frostmask said with a nod of agreement. "Maybe more prey and warming weather is putting everyone in good moods."
"Or maybe it's because we haven't see each other in two moons. It's been long enough that cats have forgotten why we hate each other," Autumnleap said drily, twitching his whiskers.
Frostmask flexed her claws briefly, her mind flashing back to SkyClan's devastating raid on the ShadowClan's camp from several moons ago.
"Oh I don't think that's the case," she muttered under her breath. "But, maybe it's been long enough that cats are willing to forget. At least for this one night."
Autumnleap's gaze flashed over the crowd.
"I want to see if Barredpaw's here," he meowed as he searched for the ThunderClan cat. "I wonder if he and Screechpaw have gotten their warrior names yet."
He angled an ear towards the crowd, and playfulness sparkled in his amber eyes.
"Wanna come with? We can brag to them about how perfect our relationship is, until they're totally sick of talking to us," he suggested, his tail flicking mischievously.
Frostmask purred softly. A part of her really wanted to say yes, and to spend the night at Autumnleap's side, purring at the way he joked with and teased the ThunderClan brothers. But, another part of her was desperate to seek out Larchtail, and finally get to speak to her not just as a ShadowClan cat to a SkyClan one, but as kin to kin.
"…I actually wanted to meet with Larchtail, if she's here," she said, blinking at him apologetically.
Autumnleap's brow furrowed.
"The SkyClan warrior?" he asked, a quiet growl of discontent entering into his voice.
"She's not that bad," Frostmask protested. "She and I are on pretty friendly terms actually."
Autumnleap still looked a bit doubtful, but Frostmask didn't want to waste anymore of their precious time at the gathering trying to convince Autumnleap that Larchtail was actually a good cat.
"If I can't find her, I'll come find you," she promised.
Autumnleap blinked and flicked his newly torn ear in concession.
"Alright, that's fair," he said, purring briefly as he brushed his muzzle against hers. "I hope you don't think it's selfish of me to say that I'm hoping she didn't come."
Frostmask just purred in response, and then the two of them padded off into the crowd in different directions. Frostmask weaved around groups of cats, her eyes flashing from pelt to pelt as she searched for the familiar brown tabby. But, it was a white pelt that caught her eye instead as she walked by the base of the Great Rock and passed within a couple of fox-lengths of Paledusk.
He caught her gaze for the briefest of moments and subtly inclined his head towards her, his green eyes sparkling with their shared secret. Frostmask twitched an ear in his direction in response, but didn't acknowledge him further as she dipped back into the crowd.
Then, finally as she reached the opposite end of the clearing, Frostmask's ears perked up in excitement as she caught sight of Larchtail's tabby pelt.
She was sitting next to a striking tortoiseshell warrior who also smelt of SkyClan; the two of them had their heads leaned close together as they purred. As Frostmask drew closer to the pair, she noticed that something about the tortoiseshell's appearance or scent seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite put her paw on what. But, before Frostmask could think on it more, Larchtail's gaze flickered over in her direction, and Larchtail straightened, blinking at Frostmask warmly.
"Frostmask!" she greeted, dipping her head to her as she approached. "It's been awhile. How have you been?"
"I'm well," Frostmask said, unable to stop a purr from rumbling in her throat as she gazed at Larchtail— her kin!— "How are you?"
"I'm doing alright," Larchtail said with a good-natured shrug. "I'm definitely grateful for the warming weather."
As Frostmask nodded in agreement, she couldn't stop her gaze from drifting from Larchtail to her tortoiseshell companion, who was watching their exchange with curious hazel eyes. Now that Frostmask was closer, she was certain that she had met this cat before, although she still couldn't quite figure out where.
The tortoiseshell warrior was strikingly beautiful— they had a very distinctive pelt with an almost perfect split down the center of their face, separating it into a brilliant orange half and a pitch black one. Larchtail's gaze flickered from Frostmask over to the tortoiseshell, and Frostmask noticed Larchtail's chest puff out in pride.
"Frostmask, this is my mate, Mottledflame," Larchtail introduced, gazing at the SkyClan warrior with shining eyes. "Mottledflame, Frostmask."
Mottledflame dipped their head to Frostmask.
"Hello," they said in a voice that was deep and lilting. "It's nice to meet you."
Mottledflame lifted their head back up, and a spark of mischief appeared in their eyes.
"Although I think we've run into each other before," they added, arching a brow.
Larchtail's tail swished in surprise, and she looked from Mottledflame to Frostmask and back again.
"You have?" she asked. "When?"
Frostmask blinked, the memory finally hitting her.
"At the battle in ShadowClan's camp," Frostmask meowed. "We fought against each other."
Mottledflame nodded.
"Yes," they confirmed. "Your fur markings aren't easy to forget."
Frostmask's ears warmed slightly as she was reminded of her unusual coat, but instead of letting the comment get to her, she just twitched her whiskers.
"Well neither is yours," she retorted. "You have the most striking tortoiseshell pattern that I've ever seen."
Mottledflame purred.
"You're very kind. And, I'm sorry about the fight," Mottledflame said, dry humor in their voice. "I would not have been so eager to leap into combat with you, if I'd known you were Larchtail's friend."
"Don't worry about it," Frostmask said, giving her head a small shake. "We can't stop our clans from fighting. Larchtail and I've previously clawed each other up before too, although we're back on good terms now."
Larchtail nodded.
"Frostmask is a noble warrior," she explained to Mottledflame. "She helped me once rescue Birdstrike from the thick of battle when ShadowClan and ThunderClan attacked our camp."
Mottledflame gazed at Frostmask kindly.
"Then all of SkyClan should be grateful to you," they said, bowing their head to her slightly.
Frostmask dipped her head to rasp her tongue down her chest fur, her ears warming with embarrassment again.
"I was just doing what I hope any cat with honor would've done," she meowed.
Before Mottledflame or Larchtail could respond, another SkyClan tortoiseshell who looked similar to Mottledflame, but without the same striking markings strode up to the group.
The stranger tortoiseshell narrowed her eyes at Frostmask.
"ShadowClan," she growled, the blatant hostility in her voice prickling the fur on the back of Frostmask's neck.
Without even giving Frostmask a chance to respond, she whipped her muzzle towards Mottledflame.
"Come sit with me," she ordered.
Frostmask blinked at the she-cat's presumptuous, bossy tone. Larchtail also clearly seemed bothered by it since the fur on her shoulders bristled.
"Mottledflame can sit where they want, Spottedflower," Larchtail growled.
"It's okay," Mottledflame soothed, rising to their paws. "I don't mind."
Spottedflower shot Larchtail a smug glance, and Frostmask another aggressive one before whirling around and stalking back off with Mottledflame in tow.
"You know that you're supposed to stick close to our clan-mates. And, why in StarClan's name would you be talking to ShadowClan?!" Frostmask heard Spottedflower hiss scoldingly before the two of them padded out of earshot.
Larchtail's tail thumped against the ground with annoyance.
"That's Mottledflame's sister," she explained to Frostmask, glaring after where the two of them disappeared into the crowd. "I'm sorry about that. Spottedflower is a brat in the best of times, but she's especially pissed at ShadowClan right now, since their mother Sparrowheart died from the wounds she received in the battle in your camp."
"I… oh… oh no," Frostmask said, her ears flattening against her head.
A sudden surge of guilt knotted in her stomach.
"I had no idea. I'm so sorry, I should've never brought that battle up," she said, ducking her head. "Mottledflame must be really upset with me."
"Oh it's okay," Larchtail meowed, making Frostmask's ears jut up in surprise. "Mottledflame wasn't at all close to Sparrowheart. They had a pretty strained relationship."
"Really?" Frostmask asked, blinking hard as she lifted her head.
If May had still been alive, Frostmask couldn't imagine not being close to her.
Larchtail's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Sparrowheart never understood Mottledflame," she explained.
Larchtail shook her head slightly as if to dislodge unpleasant memories before she glanced over at Frostmask and blinked at her gratefully.
"By the way, thanks for being so nice to Mottledflame," Larchtail meowed.
Frostmask tilted her head to the side, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"Of course. Mottledflame's your mate. Why would I be rude?" she asked.
Larchtail blinked, her gaze flickering away for a moment.
"I'm sure you noticed Mottledflame's scent," she said. "They were born as neither a tom nor a she-cat… Lots of our clan-mates can be cruel to them."
Frostmask blinked in muted surprise. She had noticed something unusual about Mottledflame's scent when she first caught it, but that thought had been faint and had been immediately forgotten when she'd started talking to the pair.
"…And I'm guessing Sparrowheart was one of those cats?" Frostmask asked.
A quiet growl entered Larchtail's voice as her gaze sharpened with anger.
"Right," she rumbled.
Frostmask frowned. How could a mother hate their kit for something like that, entirely out of their control?
"And, some of our clan-mates have strong feelings about the fact that we're mates," Larchtail added, her tail lashing.
"Really?" Frostmask said, her brow furrowing even deeper. "That's awful! Why do they care?"
Larchtail's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wouldn't your clan-mates?" she asked.
Frostmask paused for a moment, considering.
She couldn't say for sure that if Mottledflame was born in ShadowClan instead of SkyClan that it would be completely easy for them. That'd be naive to think— after all, Frostmask had spent a lot of her life being taunted just for having a weird fur pattern, for StarClan's sake. Cats could be cruel no matter where you were, and being different in any way just made you a bigger target for ridicule.
But still, Frostmask did have a nagging feeling that even if cruel cats still would tease Mottledflame in ShadowClan, that ShadowClan would care less about who they were in a relationship with than the SkyClan cats seemed to. In Frostmask's experience, ShadowClan seemed to think that who a cat's mate was, was their own private concern, as long as no one was being harmed of course.
No one had asked Swoopstrike and Dappledpelt to clarify their nebulous relationship, which had seemed to be one that was not quite friends, but not quite mates either. Frostmask had seen how close Elmclaw and Beeclaw were, but no cat in ShadowClan said a word to question them. Although she had noticed Darkpelt or Dampfang occasionally casting the couple nasty looks… but she'd always assumed that came more from their personal dislike towards Elmclaw than it did from disapproval of his relationship with Beeclaw.
Frostmask had even heard the rumor that Redclaw's and Emberflower's mother had never named her mate. It felt strongly implied that their father wasn't in ShadowClan, but ask any cat to make the accusation out loud, and instead they'd insist that 'It isn't any of my business.'
"I think ShadowClan tends to keep their noses out of cat's personal relationships," Frostmask said to Larchtail finally.
Larchtail let out a huff that sounded mildly impressed.
"Well, by StarClan," she meowed, giving her head a small shake. "I'd never thought that there'd be a day that I'd wish that I was a ShadowClan cat. But, here we are."
A purr of amusement rumbled in Frostmask's chest.
"There's always a first time for everything," she pointed out. "And, besides, being a ShadowClan cat isn't all that bad. I think you'd come to like it eventually."
Larchtail crinkled her nose up in disgust, but gave a playful mrrow.
"Yeah, but then I'd smell like a ShadowClan cat. And, you all reek," she teased, her eyes shining with mischief as she prodded Frostmask's shoulder with a paw.
Frostmask let out a sharp squeak of offense.
"We do not!" she huffed.
"Look, I like you Frostmask," Larchtail purred. "But, all of ShadowClan smells like bog water and frogs."
Frostmask opened her jaws to retort, but before she could, a yowl rang out from the Great Rock.
"Welcome all!" Fennelstar shouted. "It has been more than a moon since we last met, so there surely must be a lot to discuss! Let's begin this new-leaf gathering!"
Frostmask realized that during the time that she'd been talking with Larchtail and Mottledflame, WindClan had arrived to the clearing, and now Fourtrees teemed with cats from all five of the Clans. But, at Fennelstar's call, quiet settled down over the clearing and each cat turned to gaze up at their leader. Fennelstar still stood at the very front of the Great Rock, his eyes bright and clear, and his tail held high.
He looks a lot healthier than he did at the last gathering. Frostmask noticed. He must have healed from whatever illness that he had before.
Fennelstar raised his chin, clearly intent on sharing SkyClan's news first.
"This season has been harsh, but SkyClan has still managed to thrive. In the past two moons, we've welcomed a litter of healthy kits, born to Suneyes, as well as named two new apprentices, Galepaw and Flypaw!"
"Galepaw! Flypaw! Galepaw! Flypaw!"
Most cats cheered, although Frostmask also picked up some disgruntled muttering from ThunderClan warriors, and silent dissent in the stony eyes of some of her clan-mates.
"Their Clan is only thriving because they stole ThunderClan's land!" Foxbite hissed from a little ways away.
Frostmask's tail twitched.
And, ShadowClan's herbs.
But, despite her private agreement with the ThunderClan warrior, Frostmask still cheered for the new SkyClan apprentices, albeit mostly because she was sitting next to Larchtail. As the cheering quieted, Fennelstar took a step back.
"I have nothing else to report," he said, inclining his head towards the other leaders.
Rabbitstar took his silent invitation to stride forward.
"WindClan is strong as well," he meowed, raising his tail with pride. "My kits have become warriors! WindClan welcomes Lavenderfoot, Honeystorm, Deerleap, Ryefur, and Harestrike!"
Again the Clans cheered for the named cats, although Frostmask found her tongue stumbling as she tried to make it through the long mouthful of names. Having five kits in a single litter all survive to gain their warrior names was quite a feat.
Frostmask's gaze scanned the crowd searching for them, and she found a group of WindClan warriors sitting together who all shared Rabbitstar's large ears, which were pricked in pride.
As the cheering died down, Rabbitstar continued.
"I am pleased to announce that Wheatfur is also expecting kittens," he purred, shooting a glance down at where his deputy sat at the base of the Great Rock.
The pretty golden she-cat rose to her paws, her chin raised happily. Beneath Wheatfur's long coat, Frostmask could make out the shape of her growing stomach, although the deputy still appeared quite strong and lithe, like she'd still be able to claw an intruder up without breaking a sweat.
"Tumblefox will take over as temporary deputy during the time that Wheatfur spends in the nursery, so you may see him taking her place at gatherings for a few moons," Rabbitstar continued, his gaze flickering to a ginger tom who blinked and dipped his head in acknowledgement.
"Although I also have some sad news to impart," Rabbitstar said, his tail drooping slightly. "In the past moon, a pair of dogs got loose in our moor, and we lost Runningfoot and Flippaw in the resulting attack. The dogs have since been driven off, but WindClan is still grieving their loss."
A murmur of condolences swept through the clearing. Rabbitstar nodded a thanks in acknowledgment of them before stepping back.
"WindClan has no further news to share," he said.
He glanced over at Sedgestar out of the corner of his eye, who rose to his paws and strode to the front of the Great Rock.
"ShadowClan has also suffered some losses in the past two moons," Sedgestar said, a slight mournful slouch to his shoulders. "A bout of greencough claimed the lives of one of our elders, Flymask, as well as two powerful warriors, Fogfur and Hootflight. They shall be sorely missed by our Clan."
Despite the fact that Frostmask knew that Sedgestar wouldn't want to share any information about the poisoning to the other Clans, her ears still pricked in surprise to hear him announce Hootflight's cause of death as greencough. Again a wave of condolences swept through the clearing, although this sympathy seemed a bit more authentic since some ThunderClan warriors appeared genuinely saddened by ShadowClan's loss.
Larchtail gently nudged Frostmask's shoulder with her muzzle.
"I'm sorry about your clan-mates," she whispered.
"Thank you," Frostmask murmured back, giving her a nod of gratitude.
"Although I am happy to report that all sickness is now gone from ShadowClan," Sedgestar said, continuing after the clearing quieted. "We regain strength with each passing day, and our Clan is growing. In the past moon, Amberberry has given birth to three healthy kits, Mallowkit, Minnowkit, and Marigoldkit!"
"Mallowkit! Minnowkit! Marigoldkit!" a familiar voice yowled, and Frostmask glanced over to see that Mosspounce had started a lone cheer for her younger siblings, despite the fact that kit names weren't typically chanted.
At Mosspounce's interjection, mrrows of laughter rippled through the gathering with some cats outside of ShadowClan even taking up Mosspounce's cheer. Even Larchtail joined in, flicking her tail against Frostmask's flank playfully.
"Mallowkit! Minnowkit! Marigoldkit!"
As the clans cheered for the kits, Sedgestar gazed down at the clearing in a rare moment of indulgence, his amber eyes glinting in amusement. Frostmask realized that the atmosphere at this gathering might be the most relaxed that she'd ever experienced. Instead of just tolerating each other for the one night of the truce, cats from different Clans were acting as if they were among actual friends.
"Thank you," Sedgestar said once the cats quieted once more. "We have nothing more to report. Morningstar or Willowstar?"
Morningstar took Sedgestar's place at the front of the boulder.
"ThunderClan is doing well," Morningstar rumbled in his deep voice. "We've gained two new warriors— please welcome Barredclaw and Screechfang!"
They have become warriors!
Again the Clans took up the chant, and Frostmask searched the crowd for the two brothers. She found them sitting close to Autumnleap, who gave them each a friendly, congratulatory nudges on their shoulders as their names were called.
"We also have three new apprentices. Boulderpaw and Seedpaw have started their warrior training, and Squirrelpaw has chosen to follow the path of a medicine cat," Morningstar purred.
"Boulderpaw! Seedpaw! Squirrelpaw!" cats cheered.
"And, finally, our Clan continues to grow," Morningstar announced, his chest puffing up. "Nettlepelt has recently moved to the nursery, expecting Acornear's kits!"
At the base of the Great Rock, Acornear straightened with pride, his eyes shining.
"That's the end of ThunderClan's report," Morningstar said, dipping his head.
Finally, Willowstar glided forward, her long grey tabby fur swaying around her.
"RiverClan prospers as well," she purred. "Our younger medicine cat has completed her training and gained her full name, Hailberry."
"Hailberry! Hailberry!" Everyone cheered loudly for the new medicine cat.
Hailberry's face beamed with delight as bright as the sun from where she was sitting between Swallowfur, the SkyClan medicine cat, and Pebblestripe, her former mentor.
Willowstar raised her chin, still purring as the cheering ebbed.
"Besides that, we do not have anything else to report. The fish are fat and slow, and the sun grows warmer on our pelts each day," she said, her eyes sparkling. "There's little more that we can ask for than that. Let us all give thanks to StarClan for the return of new-leaf, and may the forests, moors, and rivers continue to provide bountiful supplies of prey!"
Contented purrs, mews of agreement, and prayers of thanks to StarClan were all murmured in response to Willowstar's concluding remarks. The gathering at a close, cats began to stretch and rise to their paws, meowing goodbyes to their companions. Frostmask turned to Larchtail.
"It was good to see you," Frostmask purred.
"You too," Larchtail purred in response, briefly brushing her muzzle against Frostmask's in goodbye. "I'll see you later."
"See you. Also, tell Mottledflame that I say bye too, and that it was nice to meet them!" Frostmask added.
"I will," Larchtail purred, pulling away. "Bye!"
"Bye!" Frostmask meowed to her back as Larchtail turned and bounded off into the crowd.
Frostmask turned towards the area where ShadowClan was convening, and she trotted over to her clan-mates. As Frostmask padded across the clearing, she noticed Sedgestar give cordial nods to each of the four other leaders before bounding down from the Great Rock and joining Grovepelt to head back towards their group. But, cats weren't in a rush to leave the gathering this moon, so it took a few moments longer for all of their clan-mates to meander over to rejoin the rest of their patrol.
"Everyone is accounted for," Grovepelt reported, and Sedgestar gave him an appreciative nod.
"Come on," Sedgestar meowed, flicking his tail to indicate for the patrol to follow as he turned to climb up the hill that led back in the direction of their territory.
Customary for ShadowClan, they fell into silence as they exited Fourtrees and headed for the tunnel to travel back onto their own territory. But, what wasn't usual was when Sedgestar turned back to face the patrol when they'd just emerged back onto ShadowClan land. His tabby pelt prickled in excitement and anticipation, and his long tail flicked, betraying his impatience as he waited for all of their patrol to exit from the tunnel.
Frostmask's brow furrowed as she stared at her leader.
What's going on?
She glanced over to meet her gaze with Autumnleap's, but he just shrugged at her, looking as confused as she was. Then, as the final cat in their patrol, Larkfoot, padded out of the tunnel, blinking as she entered back into the moonlight, Sedgestar began to speak.
"Morningstar and I have decided. We've waited long enough," Sedgestar said, his voice hushed but hard as he stared at his clan-mates.
He curled his lip back, his fangs glinting in the light of the full moon.
"It's finally time for us to get our revenge on SkyClan and RiverClan."
Author's Note: Sort of a chill chapter today with lots of dialogue (and names, whew so many new names announced at this gathering. Don't worry about remembering them, they're not important lol.) But, with the battle on the horizon more action is coming very soon… hehe. Also random fun fact: the Flypaw who is the new SkyClan apprentice will eventually grow up to be Flystar, the leader prior to Cloudstar!
Also, my apologies in advance for what is going to be a very long AN! But, I have a several important pieces of information to share. If you don't wanna read the whole thing, I'd recommend at least reading this first point:
In a few chapters, "Frosted Heart" will NO longer be the title of this fic! "Frosted Heart" was always supposed to be a temporary title until I thought of something better, and then oops several years later, it's still here. I've been wanting to change it for a while but been waffling because now I'm kinda attached to it for sentimental reasons, and also because I wasn't sure if it would be confusing for readers if I changed the title mid-story. But, I've finally decided to just go for it, since I feel like it no longer reflects how I view this story (when I began writing, I'd viewed this as a much shorter fic, but it's grown into a sort of trilogy now) so I'd like to give the overarching story/trilogy it's own title. Going forward this fic will be called "Cold Bloodlines." I won't be changing the name immediately— I wanted to give a couple of chapters of warning before doing so in case there are readers who are used to looking this fic up by the name "Frosted Heart." But, be aware that the change is impending! I will however make a note in the story's summary about the name change as well, to hopefully make things as least confusing as possible.
Also, I wanted to make it clear that Mottledflame (they/them) is both intersex and nonbinary, and also the prettiest cat alive lol (at least from Frostmask's PoV.) With their introduction, I'm going to begin more deeply exploring how LGBTQ+ cats are viewed by the Clans. It really varies by Clan and leader, since different Clans have different cultures, and different leaders are more open than others. But, unfortunately the Clans as a whole aren't a super accepting environment (Tbh Clan culture is pretty closed-minded in general— xenophobic, ablest, policing who their members can have romantic relationships with, etc.) ShadowClan is currently one of the more open Clans, as Frostmask notes in this chapter, and so they do not view LGBTQ+ cats/relationships in an inherently negative light. I'm going to try my hardest to handle the subject with sensitivity and care!
I also wanted to make a quick note to clear up any confusion that might have arisen around Elmclaw's relationship, since he is a medicine cat. In this time period, at least in ShadowClan under Sedgestar's leadership, the medicine cat code about not taking a mate is not strictly enforced at all. No one really cares if a medicine cat has a mate because medicine cats already have close familial connections in the form of their parents and/or littermates, so their connection to their mate isn't really seen as any different. So, as long as the medicine cat isn't showing preferential treatment to their mate by giving them the last of the herbs or always treating them first or something, it's not an issue. Medicine cats having kits is viewed as a bit more of a problem, but that's more because there is the worry that they will not be able to keep up with their duties if they are raising a litter. Anyway, so yeah, Beeclaw and Elmclaw are mates and basically everyone in the Clan knows it, although Clearstream doesn't have a mate and never has had any interest in one.
Whew alright, that's about it! Thank you all for reading and see you next time!
Reviews:
Brian.H.H: I'm so happy that you've been picking up on all that haha. Paledusk-heavy chapters are always tricky for me to write because keeping that delicate balance of him being subtle enough to be sneaky while not being so subtle that it's not noticeable is difficult lol. So I'm really glad that's coming through!
About making Frostmask ask for the next meeting, I think he would have tried that if he didn't think it had a good chance of success, and there was always that backup as you mentioned. (Also he could bank on hoping she'd attend the next gathering and ask her there if necessary.)
Although I don't think Paledusk would be that concerned about seeming desperate by asking for the next meeting again; he'd just make a mental note that he needs to work on sinking his hooks in deeper. He's usually pretty patient, more than willing to play the long game haha. Also I think if Paledusk was forced to ask for the next meeting, Frostmask wouldn't examine the power dynamic there too hard. Like I think on some level she'd know that she had more power since he's the one that keeps asking for meetings, but I think for her it's more of a subconscious thing, although clearly for Paledusk it isn't— he sees beneath the surface and is tugging on the little threads there to make things fall in his favor. And, I think Paledusk knows that Frostmask isn't operating on the same wavelength as him (or at least he hopes so, since he'd be more worried about her seeing through him if not haha.) But, he is an expert at these sort of mind games.
Autumnleap: Thanks for being understanding! I think I've started to get over my writer's block now, thankfully. And, I hope you enjoyed the appearance that Pineshade, Poolcloud, and Dewleaf make in this chapter :) The group deserves to have some fun every once in a while haha.