CHAPTER 30

That night, Gorseclan attended the Gathering. A large party made up of most of the clan's fighting force, leaving only a skeleton crew on hand back at camp. Dappledshade was worried that the other clans might strike during the Gathering, but Icestar didn't seem worried. Whether he trusted the good faith of the truce that much, she couldn't say. The fact he was bringing a sizable fighting force to the Gathering itself told her no. More likely he had a contingency plan for camp that she didn't know about.

Dappledshade walked alongside Horsefoot and Blackbird on the long trek skirting the edge of the thunderpath. Clouds drifted in the sky; highlighted by the glow of the full moon. It seemed like an omen… if one were to be superstitious. Thrushwing spoke with Mottledtail about those very clouds further ahead. She was laughing him off, of course.

Meanwhile, Kauribark was looking longingly at Wattleflower who was talking with Cuckoofeather and Weedfur ahead of him, earning a sympathetic tail flick from Rimuleaf as he passed by. Camp gossip had it they might have permanently split up from the fallout of Rowanfall's exile. Neither cat was saying, but at least they had stopped yelling at each other all the time, which Dappledshade was thankful for. She wondered what they both were thinking about Rowanfall now, after his sighting with the Fernclan patrol

Chatting eagerly to his sister was Stonepaw, walking a few paces behind Horsefoot. The two apprentices were coming too. Honeypaw was almost strutting with confidence, even the tension hanging over this Gathering couldn't dampen her effervescent mood. The two were making good progress as apprentices, so Dappledshade had heard. She had even taken Stonepaw hunting with Sedgetuft a couple of times when Horsefoot pulled one of his vanishing acts (which were becoming more infrequent, as he seemed to be finally coming back to life a bit), and she had been impressed with the young apprentice. He had a natural talent for staying very still on the stalk. It would serve him well when hunting prey with sensitive hearing.

At the head of the patrol was Icestar, Sorrelwind, and, padding slowly between them with her head down, Dewstar. Dewstar was attending to show unity… officially. Unofficially, Icestar was showing off his prize prisoner. She had regained enough of her strength to travel, her neck wound healing well. Dappledshade had still never seen a more downtrodden looking cat. She had already been a leader seen as too young, too timid, too weak for the position. Even those inside her clan had doubted her, if talk was to be believed. Now Dewstar looked more like a bedraggled elder than a leader. Dappledshade could easily imagine that the leader was really wishing she had never been made a deputy.

Sedgetuft was one of the few warriors remaining at camp. Shadefeather had been invited, but refused to come and instead remained behind to fuss over her newly-apprenticed kits. Dappledshade somehow doubted Icestar would be announcing their mentorships. He certainly hadn't been keen to bring them along when Shadefeather said it was the only way she would be going.

As they neared the hollow, Dappledshade was surprised to see a lone cat standing by the entrance, waiting. As they got closer, she realised that it was the long-haired grey tom named Creek that was the leader of the rogue group. "Who's that?" Blackbird asked, peering at him.

"Shh." Dappledshade hissed, before dropping her voice low enough that only the black she-cat and her brother would hear. "It's the rogue leader." Blackbird's eyes widened, but said nothing. Horsefoot's ear twitched, but otherwise didn't react.

Icestar and Creek conversed at the head of the patrol, and then the rogue fell into step beside him as Gorseclan entered the hollow. That rankled Dappledshade. That the rogue was not only placing himself on equal level to a clan leader, but Icestar was not rebuking him.

The cats of Fernclan and Flaxclan hissed as they made their way into the hollow. Many eyes fell onto the stranger, and lips curled into snarls as they picked up the now-familiar harsh scent of rogue. Some called out to Dewstar, questioning her; asking where her clan was. Others jeered the Gorseclan party. Icestar had instructed them to completely ignore it all, and as he strolled with Dewstar and Creek in tow to join the other leaders, Gorseclan settled down apart from the other cats in the Gathering. There would be no relaxed intermingling tonight.

Dappledshade sat down and curled her tail around her paws, trying to keep her hair flat with all the hate-filled eyes on them. It was hard, wanting to snap and hiss and get defensive but having to control that feeling of wanting to fight back. They probably wouldn't win. Gorseclan wasn't the only one to bring most of their warriors here tonight... She sat up straight, eyes forward, as she watched Dewstar, Icestar and then even Creek ascend the massive fallen kauri.

It was then that she realised it was not the frail black and white form of Swallowstar representing Flaxclan, but Tinyfrost, or rather, Tinystar, instead sat in his place. So he finally died, huh? She could respect that cat he was, if not the weak of mind and body shell he became towards the end there… Although, it turned out he was right about Icestar working with the rogues all along. So who was the fool? Moving her mind away from that uncomfortable thought she instead wondered who the new Flaxclan deputy was. A tall grey she-cat was sitting at the base of the fallen tree where the deputies usually sat, but she didn't know the warrior's name.

"So, you dare show your face like this, Icestar?" Finchstar said cooly, by way of greeting. "Bringing a rogue with you? Have you no shame?"

Icestar remained impassive, and seemingly ignored Finchstar's questioning entirely. "Dewstar would like to speak first." He inclined his head to the smaller she-cat, allowing her to step forward in what appeared to be a completely polite gesture. He sat behind her with Creek, nodding slightly when she looked back nervously at him.

"Cats of Flaxclan and Fernclan…" She began, her voice hesitant; fear slipping through despite her attempts to hide it. Her now-scarring neck wound was stark on her throat. "There is no need for your concerns towards Tussockclan. We are doing fine, and have willingly joined with Gorseclan under Icestar, in a union with the guidance of Starclan… And you both should do the same." Dappledshade knew her words weren't from a place of choice, and she was sure any cat from Flaxclan and Fernclan with half a brain would see it too.

She went on to give normal news like the birth of Gullcry's kits, but the mood in the hollow told Dappledshade none of them were really listening to any of it. Many of the cats of Flaxclan and Fernclan were not even sitting down. They stood tensely, looking between the speaking leader, and the Gorseclan party.

"She's clearly a prisoner." One voice hissed.

"Look at her neck! What did those brutes do to them?" Another pointed out.

"Why is that rogue with them?! He should get clawed to pieces for what he did!"

Yep, nobody was buying any of this united front nonsense for a second.

"We should just attack them now!" That loud Flaxclan she-cat with the messy fur was screeching.

"Bring it on, frog-breath!" Waspsting snarled, only to be held back by Weedfur. The older warrior knew they couldn't be starting a fight like this. Likewise, the Flaxclan she-cat was calmed, for now.

The tension could be cut with a claw; feeling like the moment before a lightning strike. The Gorseclan group pressed closer together, and Dappledshade tenses her muscles, ready to leap into action. Just in case.

Dewstar had finished speaking, finishing with confirming that Tussockclan as it was; an individual clan, was no more, and should be considered a part of the larger Gorseclan now. That her leadership was secondary to Icestar's. This only further soured the mood in the hollow.

The young leader moved back to allow Icestar forward. He did not waste time with irrelevant, normal clan news, not that there was much to share apart from the underage apprentices. " Thank you Dewstar… And now I once again put to Flaxclan and Fernclan to unite under my leadership, as is Starclan's wish…" Icestar looked to the other two leaders. Dappledshade thought he looked quite pleased with himself.

"I think you already know our answer." Tinystar growled, looking diminutive next to Icestar, but completely unafraid of him. "Swallowstar stood firm; he saw you for what you were, and so will I."

Finchstar scoffed as well, throwing back his silvering, scarred muzzle as he lifted his head in defiance. "First you tell us we must unite because Starclan has warned of disaster due to the rogues, now you arrive with a rogue in tow? Tell me, what disaster are we supposed to be facing?"

Finchstar had a point. Icestar went from calling the rogues the ultimate enemy, to saying Flaxclan and Fernclan must be, now he was still asking them to join him. If Starclan intended them to unite under his leadership as one clan specifically to face a great enemy, what enemy would be left?

"Sounds like excuses to me; you just want to carry on Boulderstar's work eliminating all the competition and taking our prey and lands for yourself." Finchstar continued. "Not one of us has heard anything from Starclan about this; only you. If it were so important, you'd think they'd tell us!" Dewstar was shrinking back nervously, looking ready to run if a fight broke out. It was only Creek blocking her path with an easy-going aura and a smirk that kept her on the dead kauri tree.

"That's because I am the one chosen by them, not you!" Icestar's calm demeanour had shifted with Tinystar and Finchstar's responses, and jutted his head aggressively towards them as his tail lashed. "I will not allow your stubbornness to stand in my way of fulfilling the prophecy!"

Dappledshade was certain that to Icestar himself, there was no lie, even if to the other leaders it seemed that way. He was absolutely not faking his conviction in this prophecy; he wouldn't get this agitated, this consistently, if he was. She found herself thinking about her last dream of the Dark Forest; of thinking she heard his voice faint in the distance. It was easy to rationalise it as not being his voice, but what if it was? Stoatberry said Boulderstar was there too. What if he had been visiting his old mentor, maybe seeking advice? She had never heard any stories about Boulderstar having any particular faith in Starclan or not (largely because stories about him weren't told, apart from in whispers) but Gorseclan's detached precedence told her it was unlikely he was as evangelical as Icestar.

Tinystar was exchanging a look with Finchstar, who nodded. "And we will not allow your delusions to destroy our clans. The answer is no."

"I really would, if I were you." Creek commented suddenly, his voice carrying a sing-song lilt.

"Stay out of this, rogue!" The small white cat spat fiercely.

"Oh, but I'm already quite involved. After all, once we've won, I'll be the one in charge of your land." Creek swished his bushy tail, as if inviting attack. "But hey, I might let you be, ah, what do you clan cats call your second in commands? Deputy?"

That did not help flaring tempers at all. Especially when Flaxclan had already suffered attacks at the paws of Creek's rogues. Tinystar's bright fur was bristling so much that he seemed to inflate to twice his size.

Finchstar had also moved forward. "I think we should simply stop you, right here and now." He growled, inches from Icestar. The two glared at each other while their clans below did the same. Gorseclan had gotten themselves into a defensive circle, back to back, ready to defend themselves since they were outnumbered. Dappledshade snarled at the rowdy Flaxclan she-cat with the untidy fur, who was ready to pounce. She had been itching to attack them. Dappledshade was certain she would be the first to attack, if the leaders set it off by coming to blows.

"Look!" Someone yelled out. "The clouds!"

Sure enough, when Dappledshade craned her neck upwards, she saw clouds drifting in front of the full moon. A thick, dark bank of them blocked out the moon's glow, shading the cats in the hollow below. Her eyes flicked immediately to the leaders.

Icestar lifted his chin smugly. "Well, it looks like Starclan is on my side." He scoffed.

"The Gathering might be over, but we will meet on the battlefield, Icestar." Finchstar said as he turned to leave, his clan was already gathering up under the guidance of Earthshatter, the deputy. "Very soon."

"That's a promise." Tinystar confirmed the threat, loud enough for all the cats to hear. As they made to hop down from the tree trunk, they glanced back at Dewstar. "We'll save your clan, that's a promise too."