Chapter 3 (G):

A mournful yowl woke Graystripe the next day. He stood quickly, his startled eyes scanning his surroundings. It was early morning still, and his breath billowed in front of him as he stepped out of his nest and away from his rising Clanmates, who had also been awoken by the cry.

"Was that Ferncloud?" Rainwhisker mumbled, still half asleep in his nest.

Graystripe padded around the side of the boulders to see Dustpelt standing beside the roughly-made nursery. In the warrior's jaws hung a limp bundle of brown tabby fur, which Graystripe recognized at once. Hollykit.

Leafpaw raced over as Dustpelt silently padded away from the camp. "What happened?" She demanded.

"Hollykit is dead!" Ferncloud's whisper trembled with grief. She leaned over and nosed her remaining kits closer to her side. "Dustpelt's gone to bury her. I woke and she was cold. So cold! I licked her and licked her but she would not wake up."

Graystripe felt a deep sorrow rise in his throat. This was Ferncloud's second kit that she lost this moon. For a moment, he wanted to yowl aloud too. How could StarClan do this? How could he do this? Firestar was gone and it was his first day of being fully in charge of ThunderClan, and he was already losing cats to the cold and hunger.

Emotions rose in him and he backed away as cats began to gather around Ferncloud respectfully. Cinderpelt ordered Leafpaw to collect poppy seeds, and Mousefur was commenting quietly on the cold that had gripped them all in the night. Brambleclaw whispered about how the Clans must leave the territory soon.

But Graystripe hardly heard any of this. All he could think about was the terrible reality that he was living. His head seemed to swirl with repetitive, worrying thoughts. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. It took him several heartbeats to realize that someone was trying to talk to him.

"Graystripe? Are you okay?"

His eyes flashed open. "What?" he asked and saw that Sandstorm had come to stand beside him. "Oh, yes." he shook his head to clear his confusing thoughts. "I'm fine."

She looked doubtful, but Graystripe did not want to hear what she had to say. Instead of giving her time to speak, he strode forward. Leafpaw was crouched beside Ferncloud now, and the queen was lapping up a couple of poppy seeds without complaint. A young tabby kittypet was crouched beside them.

"That's right, Ferncloud. The herbs will make you feel better soon." The kittypet promised softly.

Graystripe spotted Cinderpelt standing a few tail-lengths away, and he padded over to speak with her. "Will Ferncloud be okay?" He asked the medicine cat. He couldn't imagine losing both of his kits in the same moon. The image of Feathertail appeared in his mind and a new wave of grief began to rise. The silver tabby had died on their journey back from the sun-drown-place. He remembered speaking with Stormfur as his son shared the terrible news. He was lucky to have had time to know Feathertail. It must be terrible to lose kits so young as Hollykit and Larchkit.

"She just needs rest." Cinderpelt did not look at him. She was watching the small, singular kit that remained at Ferncloud's belly. The pale kit had awoken and was pawing at her belly in search of milk. "But Birchkit is strong. I believe he will survive."

"That's good." Graystripe sighed. He watched as Leafpaw and the kittypet finished tending to the now sleepy Ferncloud, and they turned to pad over to him and Cinderpelt. He tilted his head as they approached.

"You were with the patrol that returned to camp yesterday, weren't you?" Graystripe asked the she-cat politely. "I am Graystripe. I am in charge of the Clan while Firestar is away."

The tabby dipped her head in a respectful gesture and Graystripe thought she was brave to address him. Or was it that she simply didn't understand Clan customs and his position of authority? "Yes. My name is Cody. I became Leafpaw's friend while we were trapped together in that Housefolk nest."

"Well, you are welcome to stay with the Clan until we can return you home," Graystripe told her, though his tail twitched with the thought of having another mouth to feed. His stomach twisted with nervousness at how the Clan may react to the decision as well. Firestar would have let her stay, wouldn't he? "But as you can see, ThunderClan is not in the best of conditions…"

Cody blinked in understanding, "I promise I won't eat much. You have many cats to look after. Is there any way I can help?"

"Thank you," Cinderpelt touched her nose to the kittypet's shoulder gratefully. "If you want to help, could you stay by Ferncloud's side for a while? I'm sure she'll appreciate the company."

"Of course." Cody glanced over her shoulder at the grieving queen. "There are many queens where I live that have their kits taken from them at a young age. I am sure I can offer her some guidance."

"She would appreciate that." Cinderpelt purred softly. "Please, come and get me if Ferncloud grows more distressed."

Cody nodded and padded back over to Ferncloud. Graystripe watched quietly as the kittypet curled up beside the queen and took Birchkit to groom gently. Ferncloud watched through tired, half-lidded eyes, but did not complain.

Graystripe turned away when he was sure the queen would be alright, but stopped in his tracks when he saw that Brackenfur was already busy sending out patrols with the warriors gathered around him. For a few heartbeats, Graystripe felt awkward and lost standing there. He had nothing to do if Brackenfur had stepped up to take care of issuing out patrols. Should he say something?

But just then he had caught sight of Dustpelt. The brown warrior was emerging from the undergrowth and striding back into the clearing with a hardened look in his eyes. He strode towards Graystripe and asked him, "May I speak with you alone?"

Surprised, Graystripe agreed. He had expected his friend to be grieving for the next few days. Where had this sudden energy come from? "Of course." He stood up and allowed Dustpelt to lead him a short distance away and into the forest. As Graystripe settled down offside of a well-used path, Dustpelt paced back and forth in front of him.

"Listen, Graystripe." He started, with a deep breath. "I know that you don't want to be ThunderClan's leader, but you're in charge until Firestar returns."

"I know," Graystripe grunted. Did Dustpelt pull him aside just to lecture him about his responsibilities? He was well aware that he was in charge, even if he didn't want to be.

"So I think you should start making decisions." Dustpelt continued, stopping his pacing to face the deputy, though his paws still worked anxiously on the ground. "Hollykit was a sign from StarClan. I'm sure of it. StarClan is telling ThunderClan that we must leave or we will die to the Twoleges. We have to leave, and soon."

Graystripe looked at the warrior's thin pelt. Dustpelt was grieving the loss of two kits, he knew, but only Cinderpelt could truly understand StarClan's messages. Graystripe didn't want to say it out loud, but the death of two kits was not enough to leave the other Clans behind. "But Firestar wanted to wait for the other Clans to agree. He wanted to-"

"This isn't about what Firestar wants," Dustpelt interrupted sharply. "This is about the survival of ThunderClan. How many more cats must die before we leave? I've lost two kits, Graystripe. I don't want to lose anymore. Brambleclaw's message from StarClan should have been enough."

Graystripe allowed an uncomfortable silence to grow between them both. As Dustpelt's fur began to lie flat again and the energy faded from his eyes, Graystripe told him in a strained voice, "Believe me when I say that I want to leave, Dustpelt. But Firestar wanted all of the Clans to journey together, and I will follow through with that decision. Soon ShadowClan and RiverClan will grow hungry too." He hesitated, the words on the tip of his tongue. "But if they don't agree to come in the next moon… then I'll take ThunderClan and we will leave."

"We might not have a moon." Dustpelt disagreed.

Graystripe stood and padded back in the direction of the camp. He did not want to speak with Dustpelt any further. All he wanted to do was go hunting and get his mind off the fact that he was now solely in charge of all these cats, and that they were dying around him.


Graystripe ducked his head as fat raindrops fell from the trees. His pelt was already damp and plastered to his sides, and water dripped from his whiskers. He was soaked and miserable, but he tried to raise his head and continue onwards.

Behind him was Thornclaw and Shrewpaw, both just as miserable in the rain as he was. Thornclaw growled as his paws slipped in the mud, and his normally eager apprentice was silenced by the cold and hunger. Thornclaw had wanted to take Shrewpaw hunting alone this morning, but Graystripe had insisted on coming along. After several days of monitoring his Clanmates at the Sunningrocks, he was beginning to feel useless. He wanted to contribute more.

Thornclaw had suggested that they hunt near one of the streams in their territory in hopes of finding shrews or voles. And Graystripe had agreed because he knew that it was close to the Thunderpath and he wanted to see if the Twolegs had gotten that far into their territory yet.

"Alright," Thornclaw said as they arrived at the sluggish water. With upstream of here being mostly torn and muddy ground, you could hardly call what they stood beside a stream. "It's probably best if we split up. I'll hunt on the other side of the stream. Why don't you stay on this side with Graystripe, Shrewpaw? Graystripe could follow the water upstream, and you could go further into the forest."

Unease prickled Graystripe's pelt. "Are you sure that Shrewpaw should be hunting alone?" They were so close to the Thunderpath that he could hear the monsters roaring by in the distance.

Thornclaw waved his tail at Graystripe's words, "Shrewpaw is close to becoming a warrior. Some solo hunting would be good practice for him."

Graystripe wanted to argue more, but he held his tongue. No matter how much he wanted to keep his Clanmates safely within his sight, he knew that it was overbearing. Thornclaw was right when he said that Shrewpaw was nearing his warrior ceremony. He wasn't a kit anymore, and he certainly had the experience to hunt alone.

With a hesitant nod, he let the patrol split into three. Thornclaw turned, tail flicking in satisfaction, and hopped the trickling water. As his mentor disappeared into the ferns, Shrewpaw turned and began to pad away too. Graystripe was left standing beside the stream, fur bristling with nervousness. He wanted to trail Shrewpaw and make sure that the young tom was okay on his own, but he told himself not to. If he was caught by Shrewpaw or Thornclaw, there'd certainly be tensions.

Instead, Graystripe allowed himself to do what he'd originally come here to do. He headed for the Thunderpath, where he crouched under the safety of some brambles and looked out at the hard surface. It was still early morning and the rain was falling steadily, meaning that there were fewer monsters than usual racing by. There was one monster that caught his eye in particular, crouched off of the path with three Twolegs standing beside it. The group of them were squinting through the rain at ShadowClan's territory and pointing as they shouted to one another.

Graystripe watched them tensely, wondering what they wanted with the marshland. But in just a few short moments, the three of them climbed back into the belly of the sleeping monster and it roared away. Its round paws began to move and Graystripe ducked back into the safety of the forest. It looked like the working Twolegs were more focused on ShadowClan territory than ThunderClan's right now. That meant that for today, he could hunt without worrying about their advance on the Sunningrocks.

Amongst the trees again, Graystripe opened his jaws to taste the air. He could still smell the mud and fumes from the Thunderpath that he had left behind, but underneath it he tasted the faint hint of a mouse. His mouth flooded at the smell, his hunger urging him into a hunting crouch.

He followed the trail skillfully, skirting a clump of dead ferns and crawling under some brambles until he spotted the creature at the base of an oak. It was wriggling amongst the decaying leaves in search of food. Graystripe emerged from the brambles very slowly, carefully setting his paws down as lightly as he could. Then, when he felt close enough, he sprang. The mouse was caught in an instant. It fell still in his jaws and he buried it beneath the very leaves that it had been searching through.

It had been a scrawny mouse, but he wasn't going to complain. Though he himself wouldn't be the one eating, he knew that it would serve as a few good mouthfuls for some other cat back in the camp.

He headed deeper into the forest, sniffing every few pawsteps for another whiff of prey scent. To his surprise, he caught the scent of a pheasant. Pheasants weren't commonly found in the forest, so it must have strayed far from the moorland to end up here. But Graystripe didn't let himself dwell on it long. Dropping into another hunting crouch, he began to follow the trail through the trees.

He noticed with interest that the bird's trail became mixed with Shrewpaw's scent. The apprentice had found the trail and was following it too. Graystripe hurried on, hoping to watch the apprentice's hunting skills in action. As the scents grew stronger though, Graystripe realized with a jolt that he had come right up to the edge of the Thunderpath. His heartbeat began to pick up, and he broke into a trot. Dread pooled in his belly as he remembered Hollykit, who had died just a few days prior to now. He couldn't bear bringing Ferncloud another dead kit.

To both his relief and shock, he spotted Shrewpaw up ahead. The dark brown tom had abandoned his hunting crouch and was running full-force after the pheasant, as you'd do with moorland prey. But he was so focused on his chase that he didn't realize that he was heading straight for the Thunderpath. A dangerous roar began to sound in the distance.

"Shrewpaw! Stop!" Graystripe burst forward, hurtling himself at the apprentice. The glare of an approaching monster bored down onto Shrewpaw and he finally looked up in terror. In a terrifying instant, Graystripe barreled into Shrewpaw's side and they both went tumbling out of the monster's path. The shining beast flashed by, its great thundering paws pelting them with stinking water and sharp pebbles.

A terrible pain shot through Graystripe's right shoulder, and he cried out as he tried to scramble to his paws. They were still in the middle of the Thunderpath and another roar was sounding in the distance.

"G-Graystripe!" Shrewpaw was shaking as he stood up. He put his shoulder supportingly against Graystripe's and they limped away from the oncoming monster quickly. They hurried back across the hard surface to the safety of the forest, with Graystripe hissing in pain all the while. Each step caused pain to shoot through his shoulder but he had to power through it for the both of them.

The second they were among the trees, Graystripe collapsed. Shrewpaw looked down at him worriedly. "I'm sorry!" The young tom burst out, fur on end as he began to pace. "I wasn't paying attention. A-Are you okay? Do I need to fetch Cinderpelt? I can go and-"

"Shrewpaw!" Thronclaw's sharp voice interrupted his apprentice. He was running from further along the Thunderpath, his tali bushed out and his eyes alight with panic. "What was that?" he demanded, "Are you okay?" He began to sniff the tom all over, circling him in search of any wounds.

"I'm fine," Shrewpaw ducked away from his mentor, "But Graystripe is hurt and I don't know what happened. He just pushed me out of the way and now…"

Thornclaw whipped around to give his attention to Graystripe now, who was laying on the ground in pain. Graystripe put his nose to his shoulder gingerly, feeling the heat coming off of it. He wasn't bleeding and he hadn't gotten hit by the monster, but he must have wrenched his shoulder pretty badly. A jolt of fear shot through him.

"No, I'm fine," He tried to say as he stood, grimacing in pain. He couldn't be hurt! He had to be healthy for his Clan. But right as he put the smallest amount of weight against his right paw, his leg buckled and he stumbled forward.

Thornclaw was there to support him in a flash. He pressed his flank against Graystripe's and helped steady him. "You're not fine. We need to get you to Cinderpelt before you hurt yourself even more." He shot a stern look at Shrewpaw, one that meant that they'd talk later. The apprentice shied away from it, but Thornclaw only said, "Go ahead and let Cinderpelt know that we're coming."

"Wait," Graystripe said through his gritted teeth. "I caught a mouse further along the Thunderpath."

Thornclaw huffed at the words but dipped his head. "Fine. Shrewpaw, go and retrieve the mouse, then run to camp."

Shrewpaw bounded off at once, leaving Graystripe to hobble back to camp with the help of Thornclaw. The golden warrior's tail lashed furiously and Graystripe asked, "Did you see what happened?"

"Yes," he growled, "Shrewpaw was chasing after a pheasant and he ran right onto the Thunderpath."

"I asked if he was ready to hunt alone," Graystripe pointed out.

Thornclaw growled but didn't say anything as they found a winding trail that would lead them back to the Sunningrocks. As they went, the warrior's anger began to subside. "He was chasing a pheasant," he said with defeat. "I can't blame him. I saw the bird too; it would have fed the whole Clan."

Graystripe only grunted in response. They were nearing the Sunningrocks now, and he could see Shrewpaw standing with Cinderpelt up ahead. Leafpaw was there too, and she hurried forward to support Graystripe's other flank. With the help of his Clanmates, he was soon laying under an overhanging boulder and out of the rain.

Leafpaw crouched beside him and watched as Cinderpelt examined his injury. She sniffed at his drenched pelt and said, "I smell blood. Are you bleeding?"

"Am I?" Graystripe asked but was too tired to look. Unconsciousness was tugging at his mind as his hunger and exhaustion began to mix. His vision blurred.

"Not from your shoulder at least," Leafpaw nosed her way through his long fur until she found some sore spots along his flank. "There," she said, "The wounds aren't small, but they're going to need treating."

Graystripe winced as she licked at the wounds. "But I wasn't hit," he protested. But then he thought back to the wave of water and pebbles that the monster had thrown into the air. "It must have been the rocks," he decided.

Cinderpelt's eyes narrowed in concern, "Leafpaw, could you fetch the comfrey? Not all of it, just enough for his shoulder. We'll use goldenrod for his other injuries."

Leafpaw nodded and left to rifle through their meager herb stores. Cinderpelt meanwhile, was still assessing Graystripe's shoulder. She sighed as she sat back on her haunches. "There's not much I could do for a wrenched shoulder. There are some herbs that I could put on it to promote healing, and some poppy seeds I could give you for the pain. But really the best thing you could do is give your shoulder a rest."

"What?" He said sharply, lifting his head now. He blinked hard in an attempt to clear his vision. "I can't rest. I've got to hunt for the Clan. You said it yourself, ThunderClan needs a leader!"

"ThunderClan needs a leader who can walk," Cinderpelt ran her tail soothingly along his spine. "And the sooner you rest, the sooner you can get back to your duties. I'll speak with Dustpelt and Brackenfur when they come back from their patrols. I'm sure between the two of them, everything will be okay."

Graystripe wanted to protest, but he kept quiet as Leafpaw returned to his side with cobwebs and herbs. Cinderpelt thanked her, then had Leafpaw take Shrewpaw herbs to prevent shock. Graystripe laid still as he let Cinderpelt get to work on treating his injuries. He was just about to lap up the poppy seeds that'd send him to sleep when Whitepaw dropped down from the boulder.

"Graystripe," she reported, "Mistyfoot is visiting with a patrol. She wishes to speak with you."

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