Heronpaw stared up at the cat standing at Cougarstar's side. It was like staring into the lake at his own face. This cat had confidence and leisure that Heronpaw didn't, but their markings and eyes were practically identical. Kestrelfeather hadn't been exaggerating when he said they looked the same.
Heronpaw cast a sideways glance at his father. The look on Falconstorm's face took Heronpaw aback. All seriousness and calm was gone from the warrior's face. He stared ahead with wide, unseeing eyes. His shoulders had slumped, his ears were laid back and his mouth moved wordlessly.
Falconstorm was completely frozen by shock.
"Cranewing?!" Kestrelfeather's voice was hoarse with disbelief. Heronpaw turned to see his uncle standing a little way away. His green eyes were stretched wide but he hadn't been rendered stone-still like Falconstorm had.
Cranewing's yellow eyes fell on the auburn warrior. He didn't seem the least bit fazed. "Hello, Kestrelfeather."
Blizzardstar recovered from his momentary lapse and stepped forward. "Cranewing, where have you been?" His voice was confused but earnest.
Cranewing rolled his eyes and faced his former leader. "What does it matter to you?"
Blizzardstar opened his mouth to respond but Cranewing snapped over the white tom's sentence.
"Oh, right. It doesn't." Cranewing turned his back on Blizzardstar and faced the crowd of oddly silent cats again.
Cougarstar looked at Cranewing fondly before stepping up to the lip of the rock again. "Cats of all Clans, may I introduce WillowClan's new deputy; Cranewing."
Total silence met her words.
Heronpaw took the opportunity to try to get Falconstorm's attention. He leaned forward and tried to get his father to look at him.
"Falconstorm?" he tried.
The tabby didn't flinch.
Heronpaw swallowed and tried again. "Father?" The word felt strange.
Falconstorm jerked and his amber eyes met Heronpaw's. His nostrils flared and he lifted a forepaw from the ground. For a moment Heronpaw thought that his father was going to either flee or attack.
Falconstorm blinked and his eyes refocused. "Heronpaw." He said as if he were testing the name on his tongue.
"WillowClan's offer still stands." Cougarstar called into the silence. "Come to us and live as a warrior should."
Heronpaw looked up at Blizzardstar and the other leaders. Eaglestar was staring at Cougarstar like she was crazy. Griffonstar's expression was hard to read. Blizzardstar himself was still fixated on his former warrior.
A sudden cry from the PineClan tree-line made every cat jump and look around. A long-furred gray she-cat stumbled from the trees and landed heavily on the stony bank. She struggled to her feet and looked up at Griffonstar. The PineClan leader's stony front broke and she quickly rose to her paws.
"Moonpaw, what- "The ginger she-cat began.
"Rogues are attacking the camp!" Moonpaw gasped.
The tension over the Gathering shattered like ice. PineClan cats were jumping to their feet every which way. Griffonstar wasted no time launching herself off of the Great Rocks and onto the bank. Her deputy followed her.
Before anycat could properly react, Griffonstar had gathered her Clan to her.
Blizzardstar called out from the leader's perch. "Do you need help, Griffonstar?"
Griffonstar flashed Blizzardstar a look from her fierce yellow eyes. "PineClan can deal with this ourselves." She spat. With a lash of her thin tail, she sped off towards her territory. Her Clan streamed out behind her. Within moments PineClan was gone.
Concerned muttering broke out among the remaining cats. Blizzardstar and Eaglestar glanced at each other, unsure what to do. Cougarstar hadn't reacted at all.
With a jolt, Heronpaw looked at the small group of WillowClan cats. They didn't look surprised. Three of them were looking up at their leader in awe, while the other looked satisfied. A sudden fear gripped Heronpaw's belly.
Before he could voice his worry, it seemed that somecat else had come to the same conclusion. To his relief it had been Blizzardstar.
The CedarClan leader whipped around to face Cougarstar and her new deputy. "Did you know about this?" he demanded.
Cougarstar held her ground and stared back into Blizzardstar's face. She blinked once and drew her lips back into a subtle snarl.
Blizzardstar wasted no time. "CedarClan, to me!"
Heronpaw was already on his feet. Thankfully, so was Falconstorm. The CedarClan cats swarmed to their leader as he and Whiteshade descended from the rocks. Blizzardstar began running as soon as his paws hit the ground.
Heronpaw glanced at Falconstorm once more to make sure his father was following. The warrior's straight back and serious air had returned. Satisfied that Falconstorm was in his right state of mind, Heronpaw turned and surged ahead.
He scanned the crowd of running cats until he found Hawkpaw and Morningpaw running together near the outermost edge. Heronpaw veered to the side and caught up with them.
Hawkpaw cast his brother a glance. There was a question in his gray eyes. Heronpaw shook his head. He wasn't sure of anything. All he knew was that his Clan was most likely in danger.
. . .
Crowfrost stepped back into the shadows of a frosted boulder and watched as his Clan disappeared into the forest. The commotion had done what he'd hoped. No cat turned and called for him. No cat noticed he was gone.
He couldn't help but watch Petalpaw as she ran alongside her mentor. She was likely heading into danger, but Crowfrost found himself calm at the thought. She had promised Petalpaw would be safe. She had not been wrong yet.
He waited there as Eaglestar gathered his Clan and left as well. The golden tom seemed agitated but unwilling to show his panic. The mountain-dwelling cats left at a quickened, but not urgent, pace.
Once AlderClan was gone, Cougarstar loped down from the Great Rocks with an uncaring grace. She waved her thick tail at the five warriors she had brought with her. They clustered around her, eyes bright and tails twitching with excitement.
Cougarstar leaned close to her new deputy and they exchanged a few words Crowfrost was too far to hear. Cougarstar drew back and nodded. She turned and gave the signal to her warriors to move out. All followed without question. All but one.
Crowfrost had to press himself against the boulder as WillowClan raced past. None of them seemed to notice him. Their glinting eyes stared straight ahead with fevered purpose.
It took only moments for the WillowClan cats to disappear. Crowfrost waited until he could no longer hear the soft thumps of pawsteps on the pebbled shore. With a calming breath he stepped out from behind the boulder's shadow.
A lone cat was sitting in the moonlight on the abandoned beach. He sat straight backed and facing away from Crowfrost. His tail was wrapped casually around his front paws.
Crowfrost took a few cautious steps towards Cranewing. The similarity between the new deputy and Heronpaw was uncanny. It made Crowfrost distinctly uncomfortable. Even more than that, Cranewing's mere existence made Crowfrost wary. Falconstorm had another brother that the Clan just didn't talk about? Where had he been all this time? Why was he now in WillowClan?
Crowfrost swallowed his misgivings as he remembered her words.
Keep an eye out for a familiar face.
This had to be what she meant.
Cranewing stiffened. Crowfrost froze. The black and gray warrior turned to face his newfound company. His yellow eyes looked Crowfrost up and down. They came to a rest on the black warrior's face.
"Falconstorm's son, right?"
His voice was the starkest difference between him and Heronpaw. Where Heronpaw's was earnest and subdued, Cranewing's was a slinking fox and a freezing river.
Crowfrost tried to look uninterested or calm or impressive. He didn't really know which. He straightened his shoulders and looked Cranewing in the eye. The warrior stared back, unblinking.
Unnerved, Crowfrost let himself blink.
Cranewing cocked his head the tiniest amount. "That's a yes then?"
Crowfrost nodded.
"Good."
Cranewing looked around with an expectant nonchalance. Crowfrost glanced about.
Movement in the tree-line caught Crowfrost's eye. He stiffened and felt the fur on the back of his neck rise. A moment later a cat slipped out from behind a tree and began picking their way down the shore. It was not a cat that Crowfrost immediately recognized.
The cat's movements showed wariness but they didn't pause or back away as they approached. Cranewing sat and watched with calm, unblinking eyes.
Crowfrost glanced back and forth between the two, unsure. Another glimpse of movement from just behind Cranewing made Crowfrost jump a little. A second cat appeared from behind the fallen rocks at the water's edge. This one Crowfrost did recognize. He had seen the tom's distinctively spotted pelt at gatherings before. He was from AlderClan.
No one spoke as the newcomers drew nearer to Cranewing. He sat still and calm as he was approached from all sides. The AlderClan tom stopped about a fox-length from the deputy and sat down. His pale green eyes swept from cat to cat. They came to a rest on Crowfrost. Crowfrost pretended not to notice.
The fourth cat was near enough now that Crowfrost could determine that it was a PineClan she-cat. Her pelt was dark ginger and her wild amber eyes darted back and forth between Crowfrost and the AlderClan tom. Cranewing didn't seem to bother her.
When she had come within a fox-length of the others, Cranewing glanced at her. "PineClan, right?"
She nodded stiffly. "Scarletclaw," She grunted.
Cranewing bowed to her. "Welcome," He swung his head around to face the AlderClan warrior. "And you are?"
The spotted tabby narrowed his eyes. "Snakefeather of AlderClan."
"Wonderful." Cranewing drawled. He finally turned to Crowfrost and cocked his head.
Crowfrost swallowed his uncertainty. "Crowfrost of CedarClan."
"Enough with the formalities."
The familiar voice came with a breeze that seemed to change the world around Crowfrost in an instant. The gray-blue light of a leaf-bare moon was replaced by the warmer, yellower glow of a green-leaf night. The barren and snow-laden tree-line was lush with growth. At his paws he saw grass sprouting from between the colorful pebbles. As always, though, he could still feel the chill of leaf-bare in his fur and his pads touched frosted rock.
Crowfrost looked up to see who he had expected. She was standing atop the Great Rocks, looking down with her paralyzing green gaze. She took a moment to survey the small group before slipping down the rock-face and onto the ground. She walked with uncaring grace to Cranewing's side. She pressed up against him and purred.
"You did well." She said in her husky mew.
Cranewing hardly reacted to her touch.
Crowfrost glanced at the other two warriors. Snakefeather's expression was impossible to read. Scarletclaw was glaring at everyone with obvious contempt.
"I'm pleased you were all able to be here." The gray she-cat said.
All eyes fell on her.
"I understand the sacrifice I am asking of you, but trust me when I say that this is more important." The StarClan she-cat locked eyes with each warrior in turn. Crowfrost saw the others visibly relax as her eyes passed over them. Crowfrost felt their calm as he found her eyes with his own.
"I think it is time for you all to know the truth." The gray she-cat said. She looked up at Cranewing who had not moved or spoken since she had arrived. She purred and looked back at the others.
"Cranewing had the right idea with introductions." She said. She waved her tail at Snakefeather and Crowfrost, urging them to gather closer to Scarletclaw. Crowfrost forced his paws to move. He closed the gap between himself and the rival warrior in a few strides. He sat a fox-length from her and avoided eye contact. He could feel her bristling fur from where he stood.
Once Snakefeather had joined them the gray she-cat stepped forward on her small paws. She looked over them for a moment before dipping her head in a casual greeting gesture.
"Hello," her eyes were green chips of ice. "My name is Songbird."