A/N: All hail Erin Hunter, the real origin of the amazing Warriors series! Please support the official release!
Ch.5: Sharing Tongues
Bluestar halted on the edge of the clearing with her Clan lined up beside her Some of the cats from RiverClan and ShadowClan turned and acknowledged their arrival.
"Where'd you disappear to?" Ravenfeather appeared at Fireshade's shoulder followed by Graystripe.
Fireshade shook his head. "Doesn't matter." He was still troubled and confused by his conversation with Bluestar and felt glad when his friends didn't press him, turning his head instead to peer around the clearing.
"Hey, look," he meowed. "The ShadowClan cats are looking stronger than I thought they would. After all, Brokenstar left them half-starved."
Fireshade followed his gaze to a sleek ShadowClan warrior. "You're right," he agreed with surprise.
"Mind you, we did most of their fighting for them!" Graystripe scoffed.
Ravenfeather gave a chastising look while Fireshade gave an ambiguous snort. His friend had a point. He could remember the ShadowClan standing on the sidelines while ThunderClan and Yellowfang wrestled with Brokenstar's warriors in the muddy clearing. Was the tyrant so frightening to them that they dreaded turning against him even when offered a clear chance?
Maybe I can't fault them too much. The darkness in the cruel cat's eyes had told all who saw them that he lacked a true soul. Yellowfang had likely only barely scratch the surface on how horrible Brokenstar could be.
Whitestorm's stern meow broke Fireshade's musings. "The ShadowClan cats fought as hard as we did to chase out Brokenstar. We should honor their determination to recover," he meowed curtly before padding over to a group of warriors gathered beneath the great oaks.
"Oops!" Graystripe mewed with a guilty glance at Fireshade who shrugged.
"You can't tell me you didn't see that coming," Ravenfeather meowed almost incredulously.
The young warriors stayed on the edge of the clearing. Fireshade could easily pick out the apprentices from the other Clans-their fur looked kit-soft, their faces round and their paws plump and clumsy.
Two warriors approached the ThunderClan trinity. A small brown apprentice tagged after them. Fireshade recognized the gray tabby tom from ShadowClan, but not the smoky black tom who walked with him.
"Hi!" The Gray tom meowed.
"Hello, Wetfoot," replied Fireshade. He glanced at the dark brown cat.
Wetfoot meowed, "This is Blackclaw of RiverClan."
The ThunderClan cats nodded their greeting. The apprentice stepped timidly forward.
"And this is my apprentice, Oakpaw," added Wetfoot.
Oakpaw looked up at Fireshade with wide, anxious eyes. "H-hi, Fireshade," he mewed. Fireshade nodded his head in greeting.
"I hear Bluestar made you warriors after the battle," meowed Wetfoot. "Congratulations! It must've been a cold vigil."
"It wasn't that bad," Ravenfeather shrugged.
"Speak for yourself," Graystripe grumbled.
"Who's that?" Fireshade broke in. A sleek she-cat with a mottled brown pelt had caught his attention. She was sharing words with Tigerclaw beside the Great Rock that stood in the center of the clearing.
"That's Leopardfur, our deputy," growled the RiverClan warrior.
Fireshade briefly wandered where Wetfoot's new cadence had come from but remembered something as Ravenfeather stiffened beside him. That was right…the RiverClan deputy used to be Oakheart. He died in battle with ThunderClan the day the orange warrior had joined them. His vision suddenly blurred…
There's dust in his eyes.
He can barely make out the boulder in front of him. When he does manage it, he sees the stiff tail sticking out from underneath it. Scarlet flows out from underneath the hard rock. This wasn't supposed to happen…
"Kkkh!" The ginger tom shook his head as the images barraged him. Why was he thinking about that dream now? What did that have to do with Oakheart? Unless-
"You alright?" Graystripe asked, with concern in his gold eyes and Ravenfeather mimicking his expression. Fireshade said nothing, trying hard to ignore the RiverClan warriors' questioning gazes. Lucky him, Bluestar suddenly bounded to the top of Great Rock to start the meeting.
She was joined by Crookedstar and an elderly-looking black tom that Fireshade recognized. Had old Nightpelt become ShadowClan's leader since Brokenstar fled?
When all the cats had settled in front of Great Rock, Bluestar spoke. "ThunderClan brings to this Gathering their new medicine cat, Yellowfang," she announced formally. All eyes turned to the old she-cat with the thick fur and flattened muzzle. Fireshade noticed her shuffle her haunches on the hard ground. He could tell by the way her right ear twisted slightly that she was uncomfortable under the gaze of the other Clans. Yellowfang used to be part of ShadowClan and medicine cats rarely left their birth-Clan to join another. She locked eyes with ShadowClan's new medicine cat, Runningnose. They exchanged a respectful nod. Yellowfang's ear straightened and Fireshade also relaxed.
Bluestar spoke again. "We also bring three newly named warriors-Fireshade, Graystripe, and Ravenfeather."
Fireshade held his head high even as all eyes turned to him. He'd most certainly earned this moment.
Nightpelt stepped forward, brushing past Bluestar to stand on the highest part of the rock. "I, Nightpelt, have taken over the leadership of ShadowClan," he announced. "Our former leader, Brokenstar, broke the warrior code and we were forced to chase him out."
"No mention of the fact that we helped them to do it," Graystripe whispered to Fireshade.
"Let them save face," Ravenfeather whispered to the gray warrior.
Fireshade rolled his eyes. It wasn't the lack of credit that bothered him. But after all they'd been through, he understood ShadowClan not wanting to appear weak in front of the others. But acknowledging help when it's given shouldn't have to be seen as a weakness!
Nightpelt continued, "The spirits of our ancestors have spoken to Runningnose and chosen me as leader. I have not yet traveled to Moonstone to receive StarClan's gift of nine lives, but I will make this journey tomorrow night while the moon is still full. After my vigil at the Moonstone, I shall be known as Nightstar.
Now Fireshade's ear twitched. There it was again! The creeping feeling of maggots in his pelt as some cat brought up StarClan.
"Where's Brokenstar now?" Frostfur called from the crowd.
"I think we can assume that he has left the forest with the other banished warriors. He knows it would be dangerous for him to try and return," answered Nightpelt.
"I don't see that stopping him for some reason," Fireshade muttered under his breath darkly, guilt weighing on him. If only I'd been quicker about Clawface, I could have killed Brokenstar too!
It was Crookedstar's turn to speak; he stepped forward. "Let's hope Brokenstar has had the sense to leave the forest for good. His greed for territory threatened us all. While Brokenstar was ShaowClan's leader, I allowed him to hunt in our river. But now ShadowClan has a new leader, and this agreement can no longer stand. The prey in our river belongs to RiverClan alone."
Mews of triumph rose from the other RiverCalns cats, but Fireshade saw with a feeling of alarm that Nightpelt was bristling.
Nightpelt raised his voice. "ShadowClan has the same needs as it did under Brokenstar. We have many mouths to feed, Crookedstar. You made an agreement with the whole of ShadowClan!"
Crookedstar leaped to his paws and turned on Nightpelt. He flattened his ears and hissed, and the cats below fell silent.
Quickly, Bluestar stepped between the two leaders. "ShadowClan has suffered many losses recently," she mewed softly. "With fewer mouths to feed, Nightpelt, do you really need RiverClan's fish?"
Crookedstar hissed again, but Nightpelt held his gaze without flinching.
Bluestar spoke in a more forceful tone. "You have just driven out your leader and several of your strongest warriors! And Brokenstar went against the warrior code when he forced Crookedstar to agree to share the river."
Nightpelt unsheathed claws but Bluestar didn't blink. Her icy blue gaze glinted in the moonlight as she growled, "Remember you not even received you nine lives from StarClan. Are you so confident you can make these demands?"
Nightpelt looked away angrily. His tail flicked from side to side but he said nothing.
Bluestar had won. Her voice softened. "ThunderClan has agreed to leave you in peace until you have had time to recover." She turned her gaze on Crookedstar. "I'm sure that Crookedstar will agree to show you the same respect."
Crookedstar narrowed his eyes and nodded. "But only if ShadowClan is not scented in our territory," he growled.
Fireshade narrowed his eyes, admiring his leader's sensibility and cleverness in the face of two commendable warriors. Another battle here and now would do nothing but pile on more woe. Mews of relief and agreement sounded around him.
"You won't scent us, Crookedstar," meowed Nightpelt. "Bluestar was right-we don't need your fish. After all, we have the uplands to hunt in, now that WindClan have left their territory."
Crookedstar looked at Nightpelt, his eyes brightening. "That's true," he agreed. "This will mean extra prey for all of us."
Bluestar drew up her head sharply. "No! WindClan must return!"
Crookedstar and Nightpelt looked at the ThunderClan leader. "Why?" Crookedstar asked.
"If we share WindClan's hunting grounds, it will mean food for all our kits!" Nightpelt pointed out.
"The forest needs four Clans," Bluestar insisted. "Just as we have Fourtrees, and four seasons, StarClan has given us four Clans. We must find WindClan as soon as possible and bring them home."
The ThunderCaln cats raised their voices in support of their leader, but Crookedstar's impatient yowl rose above them. "Your argument is weak, Bluestar. Do we really need four seasons? Wouldn't you rather go without leaf-bare, and the cold hunger it brings?"
Bluestar looked calmly at the warriors beside her. "StarClan gave us leaf-bare to let the earth recover and prepare for newleaf. This forest, and the uplands have supported four Clans for generations. It is not up to us to challenge StarClan."
StarClan this, StarClan that-She acts as though they fought the battle to drive Brokenstar out! Fireshade's lip curled at the notion. They were the ones who had given Brokenstar his lives, weren't they? The fools! They let him have power to inflict pain and terror upon his own Clan! How Bluestar could still respect them or at least still have faith in them was beyond the orange warrior. Why did she have to beckon phantoms that had nothing to do with this world anyway? Why wasn't the fact that WindClan was wronged and needed to come home enough for the other two leaders?
Leopardfur, the RiverClan deputy, spoke up. "Why should we go hungry for the sake of a Clan that cannot even defend its territory?" She yowled.
"Bluestar is right! WindClan must return!" Tigerclaw spat back, drawing himself up so that he towered above the cats around him.
Bluestar spoke again. "Crookedstar," she meowed, turning to the RiverClan leader, "RiverClan's hunting grounds are known for their richness. You have the river and all the fish it contains. Why do you need the extra prey?" Crookedstar looked away and didn't answer. Fireshade noticed how RiverClan murmured anxiously among themselves. He wondered why Bluestar's question had ruffled their fur.
"I can see their point," Ravenfeather muttered. "Having extra pray for all three Clans could me we come to blows less often." Graystripe murmured something non-committal.
Fireshade's ear twitched; he understood the motive of the other two Clans and could sympathize as well. However, he knew that WindClan had been cruelly driven from their home by a cat with anything but noble intentions. Any injustices that had undertaken by Brokenstar could not stand!
"And Nightpelt," Bluestar went on and seemingly echoed his thoughts, "it was Brokenstar who drove WindClan from their home." The broad -shouldered she-cat paused. "That is why ThunderClan helped you chase him out."
The ShadowClan leader half-closed his eyes. After a silence that felt like an age, Nightpelt opened his eyes wide and meowed, "Very well, Bluestar We will allow WindClan to return." Fireshade saw Crookedstar turn his head away in anger, his eyes black slits.
Bluestar nodded. "Two of us have agreed, Crookedstar," she meowed. "WindClan must be found and brought home. Until then, no Clan should hunt in their territory."
The Gathering began to dissolve but Fireshade stayed put on a hunch. He noticed the last look that passed between Nightpelt and Crookedstar. Perhaps the black tom wasn't convinced after all. He could also tell from the anger in Tigerclaw's eyes that his former mentor hadn't miss the exchange either.
This was a shift in Clan alliances he had not expected. After the risk ThunderClan had taken by helping ShadowClan drive that demon out, how could side with RiverClan now?
More and More, Fireshade was beginning to wonder what it really meant to be Clanborn…
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