Chapter 48
WillowClan/Willowstar
The past moon had been eventful in the silver striped toms eyes. Memories of the night he went to Moonstone still filled his mind. Frostfur, a beautiful white she-cat with sky-colored eyes, had welcomed him. She even gave him the life of pride, so he may hold his head high for his Clan. Shadepelt, a dark gray she-cat with warm brown eyes, had came to him next, giving him a life of endurance, so that he could help his Clan endure even the worst events. Juniper had come to him next, giving him the life of acceptance; a life where he could accept any cat as they are and defend them for it. The next cat was the familiar dark brown long haired she-cat named Dusk, his aunt. She gave him a life as well, one for clear sight should he ever feel lost he can still find the answer needed. His fifth life was given to him by Thistle, a life for appreciating a medicine cat's companionship, so that he may never forget how hard Hawksight had worked and to always help her whenever he can. The sixth life was given to him by a dark ginger she-cat whom he came to know as Finch, Lionriver's mother. She gave him the life for hope, so that he may always bring hope to others around him. The seventh life was granted to him by Maggot, a long haired white tom with amber eyes, who gifted him the life for the strength to act without fear or judgement. The same feelings he had when he challenged the cats who fractured out of their Clan's formation. His eighth life for confidence was given to him by Berry, the pale cream tabby she-cat who had died on the journey to Twoleg Place. She had wished for him to always have confidence even when it was waning. While his last life, his ninth, was gifted to him by Loudbelly, a dark brown tom and Clanmate of Shadepelt, who gave him the life of humility so that he may always remember that while he held power in the Clan, he was still nothing without the rest of WillowClan.
Each life was it's own experience, much of which he had done his best to forget. With a stretch, he waited, perched upon the strange branch of the Twoleg Bridge. His amber eyes searching the far side of the river, wondering if Morningstar and BushClan would come or had changed their mind after all. Just as his nerves began to get the best of him, the brush rustled and Morningstar exploded from BushClan territory, his cats following him with their nicely healed scars from the battle. Each cat seemed wary, not that he could blame them. His gaze flicked up as the pale cream tom leaped up to join him, his claws scraping the straight branch as he kept his balance. This was the first meeting between them since the battle. The silver face of the full moon shone on every cat on the bridge. BushClan elders kept to themselves, apprentices from both sides seemed uncertain about meeting one another just as the warriors of both sides. With a flick of his ears, Willowstar spoke softly to Morningstar.
"Where should we have the deputies sit?" It was a simple question that plagued his mind.
Morningstar glanced to him, golden eyes glinting in the moonlight. "Why not have them sit below us?"
"I was thinking that, but I wanted your input." He replied warmly, "After all, we are both leaders here and to keep the peace you deserved to have a say on where they can be as much as I would say."
He dipped his head slightly. "Thank you." He sounded awkward, looking to his cats and calling out. "Twilightsky, come sit below me over here!"
Willowstar waited until the tom joined beneath them before calling to his own deputy. "Lionriver, come join him."
The cautious she-cat stalked over, her tail tip twitching uncertainly, but obeyed without question. Soft mews were spoken beneath them, possibly just greeting one another awkwardly. Not that Willowstar would blame them. Not too long ago they were enemies and trying to kill one another. Looking back to Morningstar, he dipped his head to him with respect, a small gesture with his tail towards the split groups before them. Morningstar seemed puzzled, before the familiar mew of Hawksight rose from the group of cats.
"You may share news from your Clan, Morningstar. Willowstar wishes for you to go first." The medicine cat advised openly.
Icepath agreed with her instantly, the blind medicine cat tilting her head. "Go on, this is how StarClan always wanted it for all of us."
The BushClan leader hesitated, but Willowstar held his tongue, willing the older leader to speak. Soon, the pale cream tom found his voice and it carried clearly over the river's babble. "BushClan has been healing well after the battle. Two of our apprentices have come here as full warriors of BushClan. Crowleaf and Rubyflower."
As if on instinct, BushClan began a welcoming chant for the new warriors and slowly WillowClan were joining in politely. "Crowleaf! Rubyflower! Crowleaf! Rubyflower!"
Morningstar waited for the cats to quiet back down before continuing on. "We heard the news of WillowClan through Icepath, our medicine cat. We didn't believe that it ever happened, but now that we are here. We welcome you with the warmth and guidance of StarClan's light."
"Thank you, Morningstar." Willowstar meowed out of reflex, loud enough to be heard.
He felt a little less like the other Clan leader was a stranger as he felt more and more at ease as they went on. "Prey is slowly going scarce, as it always does in leaf-fall, but it is still running well enough for us."
"May it always." Willowstar murmured softly.
Morningstar nodded, dipping his head to the silver tom. "That is all the news I wish to share. You may share yours now."
"Thank you and I congratulate you and your cats for your new warriors and for healing so well. As for WillowClan, we are still learning how to be a Clan. It is difficult, but every one of my cats became warriors, we have three apprentices with us tonight. Spottedpaw, Sootpaw, and Plumepaw. We are all learning the best we can and passing it on already."
"Spottedpaw! Sootpaw! Plumepaw!" Both Clans cheered, seeming to find a rhythm with this new piece of their life.
"Prey has been running and swimming well for WillowClan," He went on once the Twoleg Bridge had grown silent. "As Morningstar has said, prey is becoming more scarce, but we will do out best on our own territory. We are also still healing from the battle as well, but there is no plans for any battles with BushClan. However, Shatter, Shadow, Reed, Pounce, and Timber have left our Clan upon it's formation. We have no idea where they have gone, so I recommend your warriors to be on high alert just in case."
"Thank you for sharing such news." Morningstar dipped his head respectfully. "We will be on high alert to find any traces about them."
"If you do, let us know. I'm sure they won't be any trouble for your Clan, but we will be happy to be on standby to come to aid." He mewed.
"I don't think it will be necessary, but we do appreciate your generous offer." Morningstar meowed, looking to his deputy. "Twilightsky, do we have anything more to share?"
"Memorial of the Dead." He replied solemnly.
"Ah, yes, I knew I forgotten something." The BushClan leader mewed softly to himself, before drawing himself up to sit up straight. "Cats of both Clans, several have died from our ranks during that moonlit battle. My previous deputy, my mate, Blackdapple had passed. She fought like a warrior, I know she had to. For our kits, Amberpaw and Lightpaw, this is a death that will always ache within their hearts. Just as it will ache within my own."
"She was a great deputy, stepping up to give orders after Tangletooth took on a fox for Icepath and Bubblepaw." One of the BushClan she-cats meowed in deep sympathy.
"Shadewhisker, father of the late Nightstar, is now with his daughter in StarClan. He fought bravely, most likely having been taken down before my father, Talonshine. Moons before, during the fox attacks, his mate and my mother, Dappledrift, had left us with Blazekit thanks to greencough ravaging our camp. This has been a hard few seasons, but we will go on stronger then ever." Morningstar looked to Willowstar, a warmth in his golden eyes. "I'm sure life has been hard for you for a long time."
"Ever since I was kitted." Willowstar answered, "I never wish for a cat to loose their parents. Never wish for a kit to loose their kit-hood either. No matter what the causes are or what path they take, no cat or kit deserves to feel that way. Lionriver would agree with me, I'm sure. A cat is a cat and they deserve to be treated as an individual above all."
"I agree with that way of thinking." The other leader nodded.
"Thank you." He replied, looking to Lionriver. "Would you have anything to also share?"
The reddish-brown she-cat glanced up at him, her amber eyes flickering before she looked back ahead with a flick of her ears. "I believe everything has been covered. Save for the mingling that Hawksight said should be happening."
"It is understandable though." Twilightsky put in with a flick of his tail. "We were enemies not long ago."
"Enemies or not, this is a night of peace. A truce where no cat shall raise a claw on one another." The white medicine cat pointed out loudly from beside Hawksight.
Willowstar felt a purr of amusement rumble deep in his throat. "In time, I'm sure. As neighbors to one another, we will be bound by the Warrior Code properly."
A Code that he, himself was still learning. He knew the gist of it, thanks to Hawksight's advisory duties. Slowly, beneath his paws the cats began to speak to one another in soft whispers, their gazes looking to the other Clan in question. They were just on the edge of trying to be peaceful, while the apprentices took tiny kit-steps to get closer and closer to one another. He willed them silently, the chill of leaf-fall making him feel even colder then ever before. At last, a white she-cat with light ginger splotches broke the silent moonlit night.
"What's it like in your Clan? Is it as scary as the warriors say it is?"
Spottedpaw, a very light tortoiseshell she-cat, shook her head with earnest. "At some point it was, I think, but not anymore. I'm Spottedpaw, by the way."
"I'm Lightpaw." the BushClan apprentice answered, her mood seeming to lift. "I'm sorry if anyone you loved didn't survive the battle."
"I still have my mother." Spottedpaw told her softly, "I already lost my father before we ever came to the river. I don't remember what happened to him, but I still know he is missing from my life."
The Clans watched, seeing the apprentices share a pained look to one another, a feeling that was mutual between them. Soon, they began to murmur to the other Clan their apologies and sympathies. Willowstar watched as they finally began to mingle bashfully with one another. His amber eyes softening as he wished he could do the same. He looked to Lionriver, whom a reddish-brown and white tabby had walked up to. Her yellow eyes glinting in the silvery moonlight. Her mew reached his ears, bringing a warmth of pride over him.
"I'm still grateful for what you have done for Lightpaw." The BushClan warrior meowed.
Lionriver dipped her head. "I only done what I wished had happened for me."
"Has anyone ever told you that you look like Bushstar somehow?" The other she-cat suddenly asked, her mew even softer.
His deputy blinked slowly, before meowing just as softly. "My mother took who my father was to her grave. However, before the battle I had been labeled as an heiress. Everyone believed that because I was Bushstar's first born, I was to lead the new FearClan. I didn't know if it was true, I've had many dreams telling me so, but in the end I decided that whether or not it was true, I was going to accept it. Not long after, I learned the truth from Hawksight speaking with my mother."
The she cat seemed to have said something, but Willowstar couldn't hear it. Instead, he looked back over the bridge, each cat giving their condolences and being friendly now that they were crossing the boarders for this meeting. He glanced to Morningstar, seeing the older tom watching wistfully. Sadness pricked at his heart. He had lost everything except his kin and kits. So much could not be replaced from the needless strife and battles. Even though he was not responsible for any of it, he still took the responsibility of his predecessors. Taking a long deep breath, a slight ache in his heart from grief, he began to speak to the leader beside him.
"I am so sorry about your losses. I truly am. I know I was not leader for any of it, but no one had deserved those deaths."
Morningstar tore his golden eyes from the sight before him and answered him honestly. "You have no reason to feel sorry. What's done is done. All we can do is move forward. Believe me, I could never blame you for the past. Unlike the leaders who began our groups, we can forgive and learn from those mistakes."
"I know and I'm willing to keep the peace as long as we can." Willowstar replied respectfully. "I know it can't last forever, but at least we can enjoy it while my Clan learns more about the Warrior Code."
"I have faith that you all will get the hang of it." The pale cream tom purred softly, his eyes creasing into crescent moons. "Trust me, it took us at least two circles of the seasons to learn it all. Never give up, just keep trying until it becomes clear."
"I will keep that in mind." He promised, "When do you think we should stop the mingling and head home?"
"I'm not sure. I'd hate to have the apprentices stay up too long as well as my elders." Morningstar admitted, looking to the full moon. "The moon is already starting to descend. I suppose we should conclude this now. But what should we call it?"
"I'm not sure, maybe it will come to us by the next full moon meeting." He pointed out, before raising his voice above the growing chatter beneath them. "Cats of both Clans, it is time we head to our warm nests for a good rest. Next full moon we will meet again, right Morningstar?"
"That is correct." He agreed, looking to his cats. "BushClan, gather to the opposite side of the Bridge and tell goodbye to everyone."
The two Clans obeyed, their gentle voices being carried in the chilly wind. Quickly, Morningstar bid him a farewell before leaping down onto the bridge with a thump and trotting off to his Clan with his deputy. Willowstar followed his lead, landing with a thump before padding along with Lionriver to his own Clan. WillowClan was still new and learning the best it could altogether. However, he knew that in due time they would be able to handle it. Looking to his deputy, he felt a surge of affection to the tough she-cat. She was rough around the edges, much like the cliff sides of the gorge, all while being able to be a gentle cat deep down. He trusted her way of thinking as his own and knew he could depend on her when he needed it most. Looking ahead to his waiting cats, he picked up his speed and raised his voice for every cat to hear.
"WillowClan, we return home. This was a successful full moon meeting!"
Cheers raised around him as he wove his way through his Clan and reach the head of the patrol. His amber eyes bright with excitement as he led the way back to their camp. They would need plenty of rest to take on the following day. With so much to learn, he was looking forward to what more the starry spirits watching over them would attempt to have him teach his cats. Anything to continue this peace for as long as possible. Even if it was for only a season, he knew BushClan and WillowClan deserve to have some peaceful moons. With a soft sigh, he plunged through the brush, long grasses crinkling around him as he was swallowed by the riverside forest. The gurgle of the river slowly fading as he made his way to the massive willow he was named after. That tree would have their dens and nests awaiting for their tired bodies to curl up and sleep soundly.
Author Note:
The end is near for this story, just a few more!
I genuinely enjoyed writing this story and exploring as much as I could now that I can handle 2k words. Next story will be at least 3k words so I can continue getting better at writing! Like always I appreciate all comments and critiques. They all help in their own ways.
Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful day or night or whenever you read this. - NightSky
