Disclaimer: I don't own the Warriors series!

Title: Deep Dive

Summary: In a world where ThunderClan absorbed ShadowClan seasons ago, young warrior Weaselface is tasked to rebuild the fourth Clan and take her place as leader. But how can she betray all she's ever known and loved, all on the word of one ghost with a grudge?

Chapter Title: Oh Shit A Gathering Scene

...

"Mom," whined Hootpaw. The young 'paw was awkwardly bundled up in front of Squirrelwhisker, taking sharp licks to the ears and face. "I'm old enough to groom myself."

"Shut up and sit up," the ginger molly snapped. Ashpaw winced beside her. Weaselstar didn't think whiskers got straighter than what had become of his. "This is your first impression to the other Clans. You need to look perfect."

Elmkit poked her head and front paws over Adderpelt's side. She was pouting. "Lucky. I wanna go to the Gathering."

Adderpelt bumped their noses together. "Don't worry. I'll tell you kids so many stories, it'll be like you're there."

"But I wanna meet new cats. There's hardly anyone here." Her ears went flat. "It's not fair. How come Ashpaw and Hootpaw can go?"

"Because we're six moons old," Hootpaw replied. "Well, we are now."

"We're already over halfway there!" she argued back. "Four moons is old enough to walk to the lake and back. Mom, tell her!"

Weaselstar felt a twinge of humor as she licked Elmkit's cheek. It made her indescribably giddy to know her kits were looking forward to being apprentices. "Won't be much longer now. You'll be 'paws when the first snow sticks."

The tabby glared at her but didn't argue. "Promise?"

"I promise." She gave her a little nuzzle and turned to murmur in Adderpelt's ear. "Thank you for staying."

He shook his head. "I wouldn't want to come tonight anyway. Dad would probably try to force me to come back to ThunderClan."

"Don't remind me," she grumbled, stomach twisting with nerves. They bumped her heads together before separating, Weaselstar padding up to the two 'paws. "Don't go wandering far tonight, alright? Things are going to be tense."

Hootpaw lashed her tail. "If anyone kicks up a fuss, I'll just tell 'em like it is. I'm ShadowClan and proud of it!"

"Be proud of your Clan," she agreed. "But don't be a mouse-brain."

"Are you giving these little warnings out to everyone, or is it just my kids?" Squirrelwhisker purposely stepped in front of Hootpaw, eyes narrowed. "We're not the problem here. We shouldn't have to throw away our dignity because ThunderClan's got a mole up their tails."

Weaselstar bared a fang. "I'm not saying we shouldn't defend ourselves. ShadowClan has every right to speak alongside everyone else. All I'm telling you is to be wary and double-check any dark bushes."

Squirrelwhisker snarled wordlessly and pushed out of the nursery. Hootpaw chased after with a huff at her mother's lack of tact. Ashpaw slowly came to stand beside her, head low and ears even lower. "Sorry about her."

"It's fine. She's always had prickers in her pelt."

"But you're our leader. She should respect that, at least."

Weaselstar flicked an ear dismissively. As angry as Squirrelwhisker was at her personally, she also doubted she would respect any leader younger than the her. It could be Hootpaw or Ashpaw getting their nine lives and she'd still be overriding them. "It's not a big deal. She hates the other Clans more than she does me. I know I can trust her to be loyal to the bog."

She gave the apprentice a nudge and entered the clearing after him. The Gathering patrol was horribly small. Dovefrost, Birchfoot, and Adderpelt had opted to stay in camp in case of attack- if nothing else, they could scoop up the kits and guide the elders to safety. Squirrelwhisker and Fogfur sat side by side, eyeing each other with mutual dislike. Sweetshine was laughing at something Bumblepaw mewed, her white fur glowing in the fading light. Hootpaw traded a goodbye with Ratpaw before joining- the 'paw had requested to stay behind this moon, and Weaselstar respected that.

Ashpaw studied them a moment before turning to her. "Is Dew...?"

"She's morally against Gatherings," Weaselstar replied. Truth be told, she hadn't spoken to her mother since returning the night before. She had no idea what Dew felt about going as a medicine cat. No time to think about that now. "Let's get moving."


The journey to the lake itself went without incident. Weaselstar took in a deep breath and caught the tang of fish on the breeze. "RiverClan?"

"Must be waiting for us," Sweetshine hummed. "Probably wants to make sure we didn't die in the last moon."

"How thoughtful of them."

Sure enough, as the Small Thunderpath melted into the Greenleaf Twolegplace, a hefty patrol of RiverClan cats appeared over the horizon, led by Briarstar. The brown and white molly was looking thinner, no doubt beginning to feel the beginnings of fish decline. She stood as they approached, but didn't dip her head. It was a bit like walking up to someone and having them acknowledge you, but refuse to shake your hand.

"Evenin'," she meowed. "Settling in okay?"

Is it better to lie and leave her guessing? Oh, but she could see that was weakness and take advantage. Weaselstar hesitantly nodded. "It's going alright."

She gestured for the patrol to begin moving with her tail. "Neat."

ShadowClan and RiverClan mingled on the edges as they made their way to the tree-bridge. None of the warriors felt particularly comfortable around each other- not after the tragedy of Antpaw- but Hootpaw raced between cats and called excited greetings; and Weaselstar, knowing the insults were coming, had just barely managed to glare Squirrelwhisker into submission.

Briarstar hung back from her own warriors, slowing down step by step until she was walking with Weaselstar. The brown molly's fur rippled with anxiety at her close proximity. Am I really going to have to do this every moon? I'm going to go white before I'm old!

"Quick talk," Briarstar meowed finally. "Leader to leader."

Weaselstar couldn't stop herself. "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing or how to talk to you."

The brown and white molly chuckled. "Anyone coulda told you that. Settle down, rebel, I ain't got beef with you yet." Briarstar waved a paw towards the front of the group. "You need a medicine cat, yeah? I've got one of those."

"I... don't follow?"

"It's easy. You send a 'paw to RiverClan for the Leaf-fall and Leaf-bare, and Webflower trains 'em up for you. She's been climbing the walls without Raggedpaw to teach. Newleaf comes and you get a full-grown medicine cat."

"Isn't sending a cat away in the cold moons kind of... counterproductive?"

She shrugged. "Gotta be better than sticking random plants to cats and hoping they work, yeah?"

"I guess. That's just..." Weaselstar made a vague noise and stared at her paws, thinking. It was a good offer. A generous offer. "What does RiverClan get out of it?"

"Now yer talking like a leader," Briarstar meowed, smiling in such a way that her teeth stuck out. "Of course, we'd need ShadowClan to bring the apprentice food. We can't do the hunting for them. And, of course, we'd need extra to trust you enough to let you bring it. We'll all be going hungry in the cold- and the hard times are when we should all be kind to each other."

That's ShadowClan food! Weaselstar felt a sting of irritation, but couldn't deny the point. Briarstar's just trying to feed her warriors. It's what any leader would do. And getting trained by a Clan-blooded medicine cat would help our credibility in the eyes of the other Clans. "Just... let me think on it."

Briarstar dipped her head. "Look alive, rebel. We're here."

Weaselstar opened her jaws, letting the scent of WindClan coat her tongue. Man, they're fast. Briarstar let ShadowClan cross first, an honor Weaselstar knew not to argue. The many branches of the oak tree seemed to reach their fingers out towards her as she approached, struck by how large it truly was. I know I was up here last moon, but I didn't get to savor it. She set a paw on a root, flexing her claws experimentally. This really is something.

"You should sit by Rainstar," Briarstar meowed, making her jump. The RiverClan leader looked less impressed.

"Really? But you and Rainstar usually-"

She glared at her. "Best to keep distance between you and Spiderstar for now."

"Oh. Right. Thanks."

"Mmhm." Briarstar bunched up her muscles and jumped, sitting on the branch nearest to Rainstar's. The gap between the two felt glaring as she awkwardly scrambled up, foot slipping on a wayward leaf. Rainstar grabbed her by the scruff and hauled her up.

"Thanks," she meowed, pelt hot with embarrassment. Some great impression I'm making. Can't even get up here right.

"Relax, it happens. My last deputy tripped and face-planted; got a thorn up his nose." Rainstar's whiskers twitched with amusement. "Remember, lift your chin when you speak. The canopy makes your voice louder, but only if you're pointing at it."

Weaselstar felt like an apprentice all over again. Does every new leader get this spiel, or am I just being spoiled because I piss Spiderstar off? "Oh. Um. Thanks?"

The rustling of leaves heralded ThunderClan as they finally emerged. Spiderstar shot over the tree-bridge with grim vigor, followed close behind by Beetooth and Flintpoppy. Mintfern broke away almost instantly from the herd to go to the other medicine cats, no doubt to express her newest experiments and theories. Brackenpelt and Smokescar followed two cats Weaselstar didn't recognize- a creamy yellow molly and a smaller, white molly- and quickly gestured for a small gray tom to follow. Are those the cats who went missing from the Twolegplace? But there was only supposed to be two of them!

Rainstar leaned in close. "One last bit of advice. You should never attack someone at a Gathering... but you can certainly tell them what you think of them."

Spiderstar surveyed the roots of the oak, then the branches. He hopped up beside Briarstar with a snort. "Really, Weaselstar? No deputy or medicine cat? You might as well not be up here at all."

"Funny you of all cats should say that," Rainstar meowed, and winked at Weaselstar.

Realization hit Weaselstar like a monster. I don't have to be nice to him anymore. I don't have to be scared of him anymore. She lifted her chin and curled her tail around her paws. "ShadowClan has every right to celebrate. We've got a lot to be proud of."

"Sure you do," he said. "Might as well call this Gathering to order then. Who wants to go first? Weaselstar? Why don't you tell us all about your whopping four cats and the dustballs?"

The clearing collectively went silent. Weaselstar felt every pair of eyes on her, and it didn't fell good. Focus. Don't fall off this tree branch. Do you realize how dumb you will look if you fall off this tree branch? "Sure," she said through grit teeth. "Things are going well for ShadowClan. We've established a good community, and soon we'll be even stronger. We've recently had two new apprentices; Ashpaw and Hootpaw."

The world seemed to erupt at her paws. It was as invigorating as it was terrifying. "Hootpaw! Ashpaw! Hootpaw! Ashpaw!" Ashpaw seemed frazzled under all the attention, but didn't shrink away, smiling sheepishly. Hootpaw puffed out her chest.

Rainstar hummed. "Squirrelwhisker's kits, if I'm not wrong. It's nice to see ShadowClan won't be throwing away decent warriors to save its fragile ego."

Spiderstar hissed under his breath.

"They are," she agreed. Weaselstar considered making a reference to potential future Clanmates, but decided against it. What if no one joins? That'd be embarrassing. "ShadowClan has nothing else to report."

"Are you sure about that?" Briarstar pressed. "That scratch looks pretty new."

The fur along Weaselstar's spine lifted. Mouse-dung! I forgot all about that. She forced herself to shrug. "Just a petty little squabble. It's all over now."

"Suppose I'll go next, then," the RiverClan leader said. "Not much to say on my end. The Greenleaf Twolegplace is finally starting to clear out again, and prey is swimming fast. That's about it."

Rainstar immediately went next, cutting Spiderstar off. "We got a whiff of fox in WindClan territory, but it was pretty faint. We think they were pups of RiverClan's fox. We chased the scrawny little things off without incident."

"Ironic," Spiderstar meowed. "RiverClan and WindClan having such close connections."

"If you're going to accuse someone of something, you should do it plainly," Rainstar replied. "WindClan has nothing else to report."

"Good, because I have a LOT to say," Spiderstar stamped a paw down on the branch. "ThunderClan has two new warriors and an apprentice! We welcome Melonfrost, Bubblestone, and Littlepaw to our ranks."

There was an awkward pause as cats craned their heads around to see two adult cats they'd never heard of before. Bubblestone, the gray tom, straightened up. Melonfrost hardly bothered to notice, letting Littlepaw duck into her fur. That's gotta be the kits' mother. But she doesn't look like she's in danger at all. "How did all this come about?"

"ThunderClan's business is ThunderClan's business." Spiderstar brushed her off with a roll of his eyes. "Plumpetal has recently given birth to two kits; Brownkit and Cinderkit. You lot better chant my new warriors' names as well."

A stilted, awkward litany broke out from below. It sounded less like chanting and more like questioning. "Melonfrost? Bubblestone? Littlepaw? Brownkit? Cinderkit?"

Spiderstar smiled at the crowd, then at Weaselstar, looking every bit like the dad he was, once. "I'm getting stronger, neighbor. And all you're getting is colder. I'd watch your back, if I was you. ThunderClan's future is looking bright."

Right, Weaselstar realized, stomach sinking low to her paws. I do still have to be afraid of him.

Author's Note: I banged this entire chapter out in like two hours. I've been really hype to introduce more dynamics in the Gathering- Briarstar and Rainstar being patient and teacherly and Briarstar in particular seeking peace after how she killed one of Weaselstar's close Clanmates (and also wanting FoodsTM for it) and Spiderstar's new and mysterious pack of warriors.

-Mandaree1