Allegiances 2

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER

BLACKSTAR—large white tom with huge jet-black paws

DEPUTY

ROWANCLAW—ginger tom

MEDICINE CAT

LITTLECLOUD—very small tabby tom APPRENTICE, FLAMETAIL (ginger tom)

WARRIORS

OAKFUR—small brown tom APPRENTICE, FERRETPAW (cream-and-gray tom)

SMOKEFOOT—black tom

TOADFOOT—dark brown tom

APPLEFUR—mottled brown she-cat APPRENTICE, FALLENPAW

CROWFROST—black-and-white tom

RATSCAR—brown tom with long scar across his back APPRENTICE, PINEPAW

SNOWBIRD—pure-white she-cat

TAWNYPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes APPRENTICE, STARLINGPAW

OLIVENOSE—tortoiseshell she-cat

OWLCLAW—light brown tabby tom

SHREWFOOT—gray she-cat with black feet

SCORCHFUR—dark gray tom

REDWILLOW—mottled brown-and-ginger tom

TIGERHEART—dark brown tabby tom

DAWNPELT—cream-furred she-cat

APPRENTICES

FLAMETAIL—ginger tabby tom with blue eyes

FERRETPAW—cream-and-gray tom

STARLINGPAW—ginger tom

PINEPAW—black she-cat

FALLENPAW—light brown tabby she-cat

QUEENS

KINKFUR—tabby she-cat with long fur that sticks out at all angles (mother of Sparrowkit, Mistkit, and Dewkit)

IVYTAIL—black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat

ELDERS

CEDARHEART—dark gray tom

TALLPOPPY—long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

SNAKETAIL—dark brown tom with tabby-striped tail

WHITEWATER—white she-cat with long fur, blind in one eye

Chapter 12

Hollow Feeling

I had elected not to go to the Gathering that night. I wasn't mentally prepared to deal with whatever the Clans would talk about following Ivypaw's return to ThunderClan in exchange for the herbs. It was a cold, quick exchange, and something that would bring consequences. If anything from my history lessons were to be recounted, I had a feeling that ThunderClan would not let this transgression go easily.

It was difficult falling asleep, as I heard Dewkit and Mistkit fighting in the nursery from the other side of the bramble thicket over a stinking old sparrow that Crowfrost had brought to them earlier.

My training with Hawkfrost was much more important than a Gathering.

My dreams rippled and shifted until I had found myself in the familiar clearing in the Place of No Stars. The first several times I had visited, I had only thought of the place as a strange dream. At least I did until I began waking up with the same wounds inflicted on me in my dreamscape. Since then, I was much more careful about picking my battles.

Tonight, the fireflies still hovered lazily in the air as the mushrooms pulsed to illuminate the cold shadows.

"I didn't think you'd show up," I heard Hawkfrost purr into my ear. I twisted around just in time to sidestep from a paw swipe coming his way. I exhaled sharply as his claws slammed into the soil. He chuckled softly and sauntered closer. "You've grown much more perceptive."

"Thanks," I muttered as I flicked an ear. "But I have a question to ask, how come you haven't shown me to the other cats here?"

Hawkfrost padded past me coolly as his tail draped over my shoulder. "Funny, I was going to talk to you about that. I thought tonight might be a good night to introduce you to some of our other recruits while things were calmer."

I lifted up my head in curiosity. I didn't think he'd bend to my request so easily, but I wasn't complaining. I trotted forward to keep in pace with the ghostly tom. I kept close to him, a fear tugging in the back of my mind that if I wandered too far, I just might end up lost without his guidance. I pressed close to him, feeling a chilly air emerging from him- not a single trace of warmth from his pelt.

He guided my way into another clearing where I could see two cats training back and forth, claws outstretched. One of the toms was sleek and plump, a dark brown tabby with eyes wide like an owl, while the other was lean and tall with a dusty gray and black spotted pelt. When the pair of them noticed Hawkfrost and I, they turned to stare.

I shyly waved my tail until Hawkfrost introduced me, "This is Fallenpaw, a ShadowClan cat. She'll be training with us tonight."

The dark brown tabby bounded up to me, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Another apprentice! Hi, I'm Hollowpaw, I'm from RiverClan!"

His energy and smile was almost infectious, so I smiled softly as a response.

From behind him, the lean brown tom took a few steps closer until he was nearly nose-to-nose with me. "Antpelt of WindClan, nice to meet you."

I looked between the two of them and shuffled my paws uncomfortably. "So- what were you practicing?"

Hollowpaw's eyes lit up. "Actually, he was showing me a WindClan technique! He was telling me how to utilize the environment to fight against my enemies! There's this neat trick that you can do where you stand with the sun facing away from you so it shines in your enemies eyes and blinds them."

"What about ShadowClan?" Antpelt asked with his head leaned forward. "Do they have any special tricks?"

My paws flexed uncomfortably as I turned to awkwardly look at Hawkfrost, but he didn't say anything in response. I was somewhat concerned about the things I could tell to the opposing Clans before I realized that soon enough, I will be working to unite all the Clans anyway. There wasn't a point in concealing what I knew. I told them what I knew about ShadowClan tactics, how they melted into the shadows, and how one of ShadowClan's biggest weaknesses was that we had to stop if our enemy surrendered.

This was followed by a length of training, back and forth with claws outstretched and wounds being inflicted on one another. It was all a thick haze that I found myself too tired to fully register or recall. I just wanted to wake up and be back in my Clan.

I was licking the fresh blood off of my pelt at the other end of the clearing when Hollowpaw approached me. I glanced sideways at the RiverClan apprentice, bouncing so effortlessly over the glades of grass and mushrooms. "I didn't know ShadowClan cats fought like that, just ducking in and out of the shadows so effortlessly!"

A chuckle escaped me. "Sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you too bad."

"It's okay," Hollowpaw insisted as he lowered his head to remind me of the v-shaped scar in his ear due to my recklessness, a fresh notch. "Now I can brag to Troutpaw and Mossypaw about my new battle scar." He puffed out his chest and playfully bumped his shoulder against mine.

"Why aren't you at the Gathering tonight?" I asked.

Hollowpaw hesitated before turning away, his expression shifting into sorrow and bitterness. "I didn't want to bother with the other Clan apprentices. They keep saying that I'm annoying or that I should just shut up. I feel like I actually belong in the Place of No Stars. Hawkfrost is nice to me, and he teaches me things I never knew. Did you know that he used to be a RiverClan cat?"

I shook my head. "I didn't," I admitted.

His tail was vibrating with excitement at this point. The dark brown tom was now circling around me, a strange light flickering in his eyes. "Honestly, this is the only time that I'm really able to make friends." His fluffy tail drooped down to the ground until his eyes flickered back up to me. "Are you going to the next Gathering? Maybe we can meet up and talk a little bit more without worrying about training."

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure my Clanmates or Hawkfrost wasn't listening. After ensuring that we were alone, I sighed and nodded with a slight smile. "Sure, I'll try to see you at the next Gathering."

The dark brown tabby flicked his tail and gave a grin to me. "This is so exciting!" He shuffled his paws sheepishly before lifting his amber eyes to me. "Did you maybe want to practice that Night Ambush a few more times before we wake up? I wanted to train a little while longer before returning to RiverClan."

I blinked in surprise but nodded. "Sure!" I agreed before crouching low to the ground. "Maybe we can go over some of the tail signals Applefur taught me."