Chapter 17 (G):
The Gathering came far faster than Graystripe expected it to. He spent every day leading up to it staying within the camp walls, only occasionally going out on patrol with his Clanmates. He put most of his energy into helping Dustpelt build the camp and making sure his Clanmates were doing alright in their new home.
He was rather proud of the work he'd put in too. Though his cats were exhausted and his own shoulder injury was acting up, the camp clearing looked nothing like it had when they had arrived. Nearly every den was finished and most of the remaining brambles and thorn bushes were formed into their camp's entrance or discarded outside of the camp. Gradually, the stone hollow was becoming a home. And he was pleased to see that his Clanmates were growing more comfortable in their home too.
But tonight was the night of the Gathering, and Graystripe realized that he hadn't planned anything to say. He hadn't even thought about who he might bring that night. He had an idea of course, but his mind had been so preoccupied with everything else that he didn't give it much thought, if any.
But now the sun was below the trees and the sky was turning orange, and cats were gathering around Graystripe to hear who he'd be bringing with him that night. He glanced around at all of his warriors, wondering how exactly this Gathering might go. They'd be discussing boundaries he knew, so he wanted strong yet level-headed warriors there.
He began to list off some names, eyes landing on each cat as he found them in the crowd, "Brambleclaw, Brackenfur, Sorreltail, Cloudtail, Dustpelt, Sandstorm, Ashfur, Rainwhisker…" He paused as he caught Squirrelflight's expectant look, "Squirrelflight, Spiderleg, and Shrewpelt. That will be all. Everyone else is to remain in the camp and guard it while we are gone."
After a short moment of getting ready, Graystripe began to lead his Clan in the direction of the stream near WindClan's territory. His warriors talked behind him as they went, but he ignored them mostly. He had begun to plan what he was about to say at the Gathering. There had been a couple of border arguments, and one skirmish because of Brambleclaw, but ThunderClan has done well despite that. He could talk about the progress that their camp has made, and that there were three new warriors. Should he mention the foxes that they had driven out?
They came to the stepping stones and Graystripe crossed them first, hopping lightly along the stones until he reached the other side. He paused there, waiting for his Clanmates to follow him across. But right when everyone had crossed, a new thought came to mind.
"Unless we find a different place to hold our Gatherings, we'll have to cross WindClan territory every full moon," Graystripe said in realization.
"That shouldn't be too difficult," Cloudtail muttered to Dustpelt.
The tabby warrior grunted in response. "True. We could probably charge straight through the WindClan camp without any of the warriors lifting a paw."
"That's not fair!" Sorreltail protested. "Onewhisker would defend his camp as fiercely as any warrior."
Dustpelt and Cloudtail exchanged a disbelieving glance but Graystripe dismissed it with a flick of his tail. "Onewhisker will do what is best for WindClan, I am sure. For now, let's not aggravate them any more than we have to. We'll follow the stream down to the lake and walk beside the water."
He heard one or two voices grumble about how it will slow them down, but the majority of his warriors seemed to have no issue with his decision. The light faded from the sky and the first stars had appeared by the time that they reached the lake, and by the time they reached the Twoleg horseplace the full moon was bathing the shore and the lake in a pale silver light.
Just as they reached the fence, Onewhisker appeared on top of the hill above them. Several of his Clanmates were beside him, with Mudclaw included. Graystripe raised his tail for ThunderClan to halt and wait for WindClan to catch up.
Onewhisker came to walk beside Graystripe and he gave the WindClan leader a friendly dip of his head. He noticed however, that despite his and Onewhisker's ease, each of their warriors were staying grouped beside their own Clanmaes. He glanced over his shoulder once or twice, and saw each time that ThunderClan was still walking down near the shore while the WindClan warriors were staying a safe distance away, on the grass above the lake.
They continued along the fenceline and Graystripe noticed that he could smell foreign cats. There were three of them, none of them belonging to a Clan. Just as he caught the scent of them, he spotted movement in the grass on the other side of the fence.
Two cats emerged from the grass to confront them. The first one was a muscular gray-and-white tom. He glared at them through the fence with his lips drawn back in a snarl. Beside him was a queen with long, cream-colored fur. Her eyes were wide with surprise.
"Who are you and what do you want?" the tom demanded.
Mudclaw and Cloudtail both shoved their way forward, ready for battle, but Graystripe held Cloudtail back with his tail. He dipped his head slightly in the direction of the horseplace cats. "Hello, I am Graystripe and this is Onewhisker. We're not here to cause trouble, we only want to pass by."
"There are so many of you!" The queen exclaimed. Her round belly showed that she was expecting kits very soon. Her eyes wandered up and down the crowd of cats as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Actually, there are more than this," Onewhisker told her. "But Graystripe's right; we won't bother you."
"Provided you don't bother us," Mudclaw snarled.
The strange tom fluffed up his neck fur. "Set one paw inside this fence…"
"Why would we do that?" Squirrelflight asked, pushing forward with a gleam of curiosity in her green eyes. "We don't live with Twolegs."
"Twolegs?" The queen looked bewildered.
"The creatures who walk on their hind legs," Brambleclaw explained. "They live in red stone nests like the one over there," he added, gesturing with his tail to the Twoleg nest on the other side of the horseplace.
"Oh, you mean Nofurs," mewed the queen. "We don't live with them either. We live in the stable with the horses."
The gray-and-white tom twitched the tip of his tail. "Move on," he ordered. "We don't want you here."
"There's no need to be unfriendly," Squirrelflight protested, while Mudclaw unsheathed his claws and sank them into the grass.
Whitetail, a small WindClan queen, came to stand in front of her Mudclaw. She held her tail out warningly, similarly to how Graystripe had done for Cloudtail. "Calm down," she mewed. "Can't you scent the kits? He's only defending his nursery."
Graystripe had hardly recognized the scent until Whitetail had pointed it out. He had first thought that it was the pregnant queen who had carried the scent. But now that he took another breath, he realized that there were more than three cats here. There was a litter of kits too.
The she-cat looked impressed. "There is another cat living here," she shared. "Floss had her kits yesterday. These cats are okay," she added, butting her companion in the shoulder. "I don't think we need to worry about them."
"We didn't mean to startle you," Onewhisker promised. "We aren't here to harm you or your kits. We just want to pass by."
"Well make it quick," The tom grumbled. He half-turned away, then glanced back. "I'm Smoky, and this is Daisy. And you might want to know that there's a dog in the nest with the Nofurs. Small, black-and-white, very yappy. They usually keep it inside, but sometimes it gets loose."
"Thank you for the warning," Graystripe said.
Smoky nodded curtly then walked away, jerking his head for Daisy to follow him. The queen stayed there for a moment longer, her eyes watching them curiously before following after the tom. Together, the two horseplace cats disappeared into the darkness.
"Good-bye!" Squirrelflight called. "See you again sometime!"
ThunderClan and WindClan continued on with their trek, staying a respectful distance away from the fence and following the shore until they made it to what had once been their temporary camp. Both ShadowClan and RiverClan were already there, and Graystripe saw a couple of his cats eagerly run forward to greet their old friends.
There were some awkward greetings; Graystripe watched as Rainwhisker gave Swallowtail of RiverClan a friendly lick over the ears before jerking back in embarrassment.
"Sorry," the young tom muttered. He licked a paw and brought it over his face in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. "I keep forgetting things are different now."
Tawnypelt clearly paid no mind to the Clan boundaries however. She bounded forward and pressed her muzzle against Brambleclaw's in greeting. "This is ridiculous! We've been through far too much together to forget about the past. Sharing memories, and liking each other because of it, doesn't make us traitors to our Clans!"
Graystripe caught sight of a group of glaring ShadowClan cats and he itched to step in and separate the siblings. Rowanclaw watched the exchange furiously, still hostile after the incident with Brambleclaw at the border, then turned to make a sneering remark to one of his Clanmates. But Graystripe forced himself to ignore what was happening. Brambleclaw had learned his lesson and he doubted separating him from Tawnypelt would make things anything better. After all, Graystripe knew better than most that Clan distinctions weren't all cats' top priorities when it came to family ties. He and Tawnypelt were allowed to be friends for just one night.
Turning away from the scene, Graystripe searched the crowd for someone to talk to. Cloudtail and Dustpelt had gone off to speak with a couple of ShadowClan warriors, and Squirrelflight was sticking close to Ashfur tonight. He could see Sandstorm a short distance away, talking with Webfoot from WindClan and Mosspelt from RiverClan. He was tempted to wander over and join them, or to perhaps find a deputy to talk to instead, but he was pleasantly surprised to see Stormfur weaving his way through the crowd towards him.
"Stormfur!" He exclaimed as his son drew closer. He touched noses with the RiverClan warrior and asked, "How's the prey running?"
"It's been great, honestly." Stormfur purred and Graystripe could see the truth in his son's gleaming coat. In just the short time that they'd been living at the lake, it seemed like RiverClan had been eating well. Stormfur had put on some weight again, and Graystripe could see now that so had everyone else around them. Prey was good here, and no one was starving. The lake must really be their home.
"How has everything been in ThunderClan? Is the hollow what you expected?" Stormfur asked. "I know that Squirrelpaw can exaggerate a little."
"It's more than I expected," Graystripe told him truthfully. "We have the nursery set up, and the apprentice den. We have plans for the others too. How's RiverClan been? Has Hawkfrost given you any problems?"
Graystripe would be lying if he said that he had given much thought about Stormfur in the past few days, and the realization of his came with a little bit of guilt. He had been so preoccupied with his responsibilities in ThunderClan that he had almost forgotten about Stormfur's reputation in RiverClan. The last he had spoken with his son, Hawkfrost had been arguing with him over where RiverClan should put their camp. He was sure that Hawkfrost was just trying to do what he believed was best for his Clan, but he was certainly making the matters public.
Stormfur's ear twitched uncomfortably at the question. "Leopardstar decided to make RiverClan's camp at the river, where I suggested. But Hawkfrost is starting to gather some cats who believe that the island would be best."
Graystripe's ears pricked at this. "What do they expect to do? Leopardstar doesn't seem like the kind of cat that would change her mind over some rowdy warriors."
"She isn't, and they know that too. I'm not sure what they are trying to do, but I'm keeping an eye on them."
"Be careful with that," Graystripe said to his tom. "I wouldn't anger Hawkfrost any more than necessary."
Stormfur began to assure him that he's fine when Mistyfoot walked over. She dipped her head in greeting to Graystripe and meowed, "Leopardstar asked me to summon you to the Gathering stump. She wants to get started early tonight." She angled her ears in the direction of the stump, where Leopardstar and Blackfoot were waiting patiently for him to join them.
"Right. Thank you, Mistyfoot." He touched noses with his son briefly and murmured goodbye. He trotted over to the stump and settled into his usual position near the roots. Leopardstar and Blackstar were standing atop it, and he didn't feel the need to force himself in between them.
Onewhisker, however, clearly felt otherwise. The WindClan tom bounded over from across the clearing and leaped up onto the stump. There was a brief commotion as he awkwardly fit himself in between Blackstar and Leopardstar. Blackstar gave a hiss of annoyance while Leopardstar looked to Onewhisker with unconcealed dislike.
Graystripe glanced up at the three of them vying for space, then decided that he was more than pleased with his spot at the bottom of the stump. He looked out into the crowd and caught the eye of Dustpelt however, who was looking at him through narrowed eyes of criticism. Rainwhisker was crouched by him too, looking onwards with a look that Graystripe couldn't quite read.
There were some whispers around the clearing, but Blackstar spoke over them. He opted to jump right into the topic of discussion for tonight. "As we agreed before, we have set our boundary markers along the small Thunderpath leading to the lake," he announced. "Leopardstar, I hope that suits you?" He gave her a hard stare, as though daring her to argue.
Leopardstar dipped her head. "Perfectly, thank you, Blackstar."
Blackstar looked surprised for a moment but quickly recovered. "Our boundary with ThunderClan has been scent-marked as well. We have claimed the territory as far as the stream that flows into the lake, and farther away from the lake, as far as the dead tree on the other side of the stream."
Blackstar paused for Graystripe to speak, and he hesitated a couple of heartbeats. For the majority of the time that he'd been in their new territory, he had been in the camp. He had gone out on some patrols, of course. But he had busied himself with building the new camp and getting reports on what each of his warriors had found. A couple of his patrol leaders, Dustpelt and Thornclaw included, thought that it would have been easier for both ThunderClan and ShadowClan if their border followed the stream rather than veering off until the dead tree. He didn't have much of an opinion himself on the matter, but he had to trust his senior warriors.
He brought this up. "ThunderClan believes that having the stream be our boundary would make more sense. It would be a visible border and prevent arguments in the future."
"It would make more sense to ThunderClan, maybe," Blackstar retorted. "But the stream curves sharply at the end of the clearing, veering deeper into our territory, and there are pine trees on both banks. Train your cats to pay attention to scent marks, and we won't have any problems, Graystripe."
Graystripe flattened his ears at the tone but didn't bother to argue. It was clear to him that Blackstar was not in the mood to discuss a border change, and Graystripe didn't want to start a battle so early into living beside the lake. Still, he tried his best to make this agreement less one-sided. "I'll keep that in mind, Blackstar. But if you set one pawstep past the boundary we have laid, then we're going to have a problem."
If Blackstar gave him any sort of look or glare, Graystripe didn't see it. He had moved onto the next border, discussing where they had laid their scent markers beside WindClan's territory. "As for our border with WindClan, I believe that we should return to using the stream as our border. As I said with ShadowClan's border, using a stream would create a visible border and prevent skirmishes in the future. ThunderClan wishes to keep the peace for as long as possible in our new homes."
Graystripe has given this decision some thought too. He had at first appreciated Onewhisker's offer to give him the stretch of forest on the other side of the stream. But after some patrolling himself and some reports from his warriors, he didn't think that they needed that stretch of the woods. Onewhisker had given them the land as a thank you, his own offer to keep the alliance between them. But Graystripe wouldn't have caused an issue with Onewhisker even if he hadn't gotten the offer. He thought that maybe they could strengthen the tie between the two Clans by giving back the land.
"Thank you, Graystripe." There was a hint of relief in Onewhisker's voice. He wondered if it was because WindClan actually did need the forest to hunt in, or if Onewhisker's Clanmates had been disapproving of his decision. Either way, he wasn't going to turn down an offer to expand his territory. "That will certainly make the borders easy. On ThunderClan's side, we will use the steam as our border. And on RiverClan's side, we'll take the fence on the far side of the horseplace as our other border."
Leopardstar agreed to this with a tone of finality, but Blackstar clearly wasn't done with discussing the borders. "RiverClan should not own where we hold Gatherings," he stated. "This land here is meant to belong to all of the Clans."
The RiverClan leader's eyes narrowed. "You're very eager to give part of my territory away," she rasped. "This is obviously RiverClan territory. There are important herbs growing in these marshes."
"But we have nowhere else to hold our Gatherings than here. Are you daring to break traditions just for some plants?"
Graystripe felt the words form at the tip of his tongue with hesitation. But then he spoke anyway. "Our medicine cats are hoping that StarClan speaks with them soon. When StarClan does share with them, I'm sure that our ancestors will have a better place for us to gather. I too believe that RiverClan should give up this bit of land, if only temporarily until we are sure where our Gatherings will be held."
Leopardstar hesitated, then responded with a curt nod. "For now, RiverClan will let the four Clans gather here," she meowed. "But if there is no sign from StarClan within two moons, we will have to think again."
They all agreed on this, and soon they were onto more traditional Gathering topics. When Leopardstar offered for another Clan to speak first, it was Graystripe who got to his paws. He remembered the basic points that he had gone over in his head, and he announced them to the Gathering.
"ThunderClan welcomes three new warriors to its ranks tonight," he meowed. "Squirrelflight, Spiderleg, and Shrewpelt have each earned their warrior names."
"Squirrelflight! Spiderleg! Shrewpelt!" It sounded as though nearly every cat in the clearing had joined in cheering for the new ThunderClan warriors. Though they had been separating upon their arrival to the lake, it seemed that no one had forgotten their friendships. The making of new warriors was a time for joy, and only select cats hesitated to join in on the cheering.
Graystripe spotted his new warriors amongst the crowd. Squirrelflight was surrounded by those she had traveled with, her chin high and her eyes shining with pride. Spiderleg and Shrewpelt were sitting together near their friends, who were mostly young warriors or experienced apprentices. They had clearly been bragging about their new names before the announcements had begun.
"I'd also like to announce that Mousefur has decided to retire to the elder's den." Graystripe continued when the cheering had died down. "ThunderClan has-" A shadow fell across the clearing and made him look up.
A cloud had drifted over the moon, not thick enough to hide it completely but enough to make the night seem dark and eerie. A cold, damp wind swept off the lake, ruffling fur and rattling the branches overhead. Graystripe silently hoped that StarClan would give them a new meeting place soon. This hillside was far too exposed to do this every moon.
He bit off the rest of what he was going to say. Instead, he offered Onewhisker the chance to speak. "Onewhisker, would you like to share WindClan's news?"
"We are settling into our camp," Onewhisker began.
"Speak up- we can't hear you." Shouted Heavystep, a RiverClan elder.
"And you won't, if you can't keep quiet." Graystripe was surprised to see that it was Mudclaw who had spoken in Onewhisker's defense. The dark warrior was standing now and shooting a challenging glare in the direction of the elder. "Listen to what our leader has to say."
Heavystep shot a glare back but said nothing.
Onewhisker started again. "I have appointed WindClan a new deputy the day after we settled into our camp. Ashfoot is now deputy of WindClan."
There were some cheers and congratulations for the gray she-cat. Graystripe looked at Ashfoot with approval. He had wondered what Onewhisker might do in this unusual situation that he was faced with, but he was pleased to see that he had chosen to appoint a deputy. With Mudclaw vying for the position, it made Onewhisker safer to have her in charge after him. Ashfoot was experienced, well known, and well-liked amongst all the Clans. Graystripe would certainly rather have her as the deputy than Mudclaw.
"Two of our elders fell ill-"
Onewhisker broke off as a yowl broke out from the treeline. Graystripe watched with horror as two foxes emerged into the moonlight. He was too far away to help, but other warriors had sensed the danger before he had seen it. Dustpelt was already hurling himself at one of them, darting in and out of range to rake his claw down its side.
Rainwhisker, Hawkfrost, and Russetfur raced over to join him, and behind them more cats padded forward in a snarling, bristling line. The foxes snarled and snapped at their opponents but very quickly realized that they were outnumbered. After one of them got a particularly painful blow to the snout, the two foxes turned tail and fled, with Dustpelt and a few others hard on their paws.
The clearing sat in tense silence until the pursuing cats began to return. To his relief, no one had gotten injured in the fight.
Dustpelt padded up to the tree stump, flexing his claws. "They won't be so curious next time."
One or two cats congratulated him, but most were still uneasy, peering around into the shadows as if they expected the foxes to come back.
"Right," Blackstar meowed. "Let's end this Gathering and go home before anything else happens. Unless any other cat wants to speak?" There was no reply.
Graystripe didn't blame them. He didn't want to be here much longer either. The fox attack had only proved how unprotected this land was. A fox attack would have never happened at Fourtrees.
He wandered away from the tree stump now and called his Clanmates to him. There was none of the usual gossip and everyone was by his side in just a few short moments. It seemed like everyone wanted to return home. When he was sure that everyone was ready, except for Cinderpelt and Leafpaw who would be staying behind to speak with the other medicine cats, he set out for ThunderClan territory.
His Clanmates were tense on the trek back home, but it wasn't only because of the foxes. He heard whispers behind him.
"Onewhisker appointed a new deputy." Spiderleg was pointing out to someone. "Why won't Graystripe?"
"He didn't even try to join the leaders on the stump," Sootfur said back in a hushed tone. "And he's hardly doing anything back at camp. He doesn't ever go out on patrol, and he refused to perform the ceremonies."
Sandstorm was there in an instant, coming up beside the toms with a stern voice. "Graystripe is doing the best he can while Firestar is away. He is helping with the camp's progress and checking with every patrol that goes out. He is doing no differently than he had when Firestar and I went to help SkyClan."
"But at least we knew where Firestar was then. We don't even know if he survived the Twolegs this time." Sootfur said, then paused with a wince. "Sorry, Sandstorm. I didn't mean…"
"Didn't you hear what the other Clans were saying at the Gathering?" Thornclaw cut in. They weren't even trying to hide their conversation now. "They're starting to think that we are weak. Graystripe shouldn't have given up our borders so easily. Soon ShadowClan is going to think that they can take whatever land they want."
"It's not like he could do much even if he wanted to," Spiderleg scoffed. "With his shoulder hurt, he's only slowing down patrols. We need a better cat in charge."
"Like who?" Sandstorm challenged.
"You do know what caused that injury, right?" That was Cloudtail talking now. "Shrewpelt wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Graystripe. How can you talk so badly about the cat who saved your brother's life?"
Graystripe gritted his teeth and kept walking. As much as he appreciated Sandstorm and Cloudtail for standing up for him, the younger warriors did have a point. He could be going out on more patrols, and he could be speaking up more at the Gatherings. But as for appointing a new deputy… There was a twinge of grief in his chest. No. He couldn't do that, not yet. He was handling the leadership position just fine by himself, and he knew that Brambleclaw and Brackenfur were there to help if he ever needed anything. Both of them had been more than happy to take over some of his responsibilities.
But perhaps those are the cats that Spiderleg was thinking of. Graystripe wasn't too impressed by Brambleclaw's actions recently, but he had to admit that the tom was very experienced, had strong leadership skills, and could stand his ground in battle. And Brackenfur was a favorite amongst all four of the Clans, a strong and dedicated warrior who would also make a great deputy if given the chance.
But they were nearing the stream now, where ThunderClan would cross using the stepping stones, and Graystripe still hadn't intervened in the conversation. He could hear some whispers behind him, some of his cats talking about what he is doing wrong, but he didn't pay much attention to them. Even if he was doing the things that they wanted, someone would find a problem to complain about.
He crossed the stream with his Clanmates and led them onwards to the stone hollow. There, they shared what had happened with those who had stayed awake to welcome them back. But other than a brief recap with his warriors, Graystripe soon headed for his nest. Sandstorm and Cloudtail trailed after him more slowly.
Just a few days ago they had discovered a path up to the Highledge, a narrow overhang in the hollow that would serve to be a good spot for Clan meetings. At the top of the Highledge was a small cave that would be good for a leader's den but one that Graystripe had yet to claim. He didn't want to sleep alone in a cave away from his Clanmates, he'd much rather sleep in the clearing with everyone else.
But even though the warriors' den was finished being formed out of a large thornbush, Graystripe didn't sleep there either. He had instead opted to stay in the makeshift den that he had been using since their arrival at the hollow. Sandstorm had continued to sleep there too, along with Cloudtail and Brightheart. It was a small space, not too crowded but not completely alone. He ducked into the den and curled up in his spot. Sandstorm entered after him, followed by the white warrior.
"Did you hear what the other cats were saying on the way back?" Sandstorm asked as she settled down for the night too.
"I did," Graystripe sighed. "What do you think about it?"
"I understand their concern," Sandstorm began carefully. Her eyes were sorrowful but her voice was steady. He wished that he could be as strong as she was. Somehow, even with her mate missing, she had found enough strength to put aside her grief and serve her Clan. That was something Graystripe had always struggled with. With the reminder, he tried to focus on the issue at hand.
"Do you agree with them?"
"Agree with what specifically?" Sandstorm asked.
"That I need to appoint a deputy? Or that I need to do more to help ThunderClan?" Graystripe pressed, sitting upright now. "Or that some other cat should be in charge instead of me?"
Sandstorm shared an uncertain, pained look with Cloudtail. Her mind was torn and it was a long moment before she said carefully, "I think a second deputy could smooth some things over. Even if you don't think that we need one, it would make ThunderClan look better and take some of the responsibilities off of your shoulders."
"But isn't that just admitting that Firestar is dead?" Graystripe exclaimed. "Sandstorm, I'm the deputy of ThunderClan. I'm not supposed to be the leader."
The sandy warrior's eyes glazed over now and he knew that he had hurt her.
Cloudtail looked troubled by this. He laid his tail across Sandstorm's flank comfortingly and said, "None of us want to accept that Firestar is gone, Graystripe. But how long are we going to go without him before someone steps up? Eventually, someone is going to challenge you, Graystripe."
"And who would do that?" Graystripe questioned. The three of them were silent for a long moment and the question hung uncomfortably between them. There had been several cats that night who had spoken out against his decisions. But he couldn't imagine Spiderleg or Sootfur trying to overtake his position. They were both young warriors, without experience, and wouldn't have a following. Thornclaw, he might be able to see making some issues for him, but he wasn't sure if the tom would challenge him.
He didn't want to say it, but his mind wandered to Brambleclaw. It made him feel a little guilty. Brambleclaw had shown time and time again that he was loyal and dedicated to ThunderClan. But unfortunately, he was tied to his father's misdoings.
"Maybe you should talk with Cinderpelt again," Sandstorm offered.
"She's just going to tell him that they're waiting for 'StarClan's message.'" Cloudtail scoffed. "But ThunderClan is tired of waiting. Cats want to see something change now."
The sound of pawsteps came from outside of the den and the three of them stopped talking. Brightheart peaked in and asked, "Is everything okay? Can I come in?"
"Of course," Cloudtail blinked at her warmly and removed his tail from Sandstorm's side. He scooted over in their nest to give her some room.
The ginger-and-white she-cat crawled into the makeshift den and curled up with them. She looked at Graystripe worriedly, "I heard a couple of cats talking about you just now, Graystripe. I've heard them say these things before, but now it sounds like they really mean it."
"I know," Graystripe said through gritted teeth. Were more cats talking about him? "Who was it this time?"
"Rainwhisker, Sootfur, and Longtail," she reported.
"What? Longtail too?" Graystripe spluttered.
Brightheart nodded a bit sheepishly. "Rainwhisker and Sootfur were telling him what had happened at the Gathering. Longtail said that Firestar wouldn't have given up our territory so easily."
Rage began to bubble in Graystripe now. Didn't anyone support him? He was doing the best that he could for ThunderClan! He was juggling both a Clan leader's responsibilities, a deputy's duties, and keeping peace with both ShadowClan and WindClan.
Sandstorm must have seen the anger in his eyes, for she took on a tone of warning, "Leave it for tonight. We'll figure out something to do in the morning."
Graystripe got to his paws now. He hopped out of his nest and shook off the scraps of moss. "No. I'm not going to just lay here when all of those cats think that I'm doing nothing."
"They never said that you're-"
"You're not going to confront them, are you?" Sandstorm interrupted Brightheart, her eyes wide now.
"Of course not," Graystripe grunted. He wasn't that mouse-brained! "I'm going to make myself useful. I'll be back at dawn."
"What do you mean by…?" Sandstorm trailed off as he left the den.
Graystripe stalked partway across the camp, then paused to look around at it all. The clearing had been abandoned for the most part, his Clanmates retiring to their nests for the night, other than Brackenfur who was sitting guard near the entrance.
"Oh, hello Graystripe." Brackenfur chirped as he approached. "Going out into the forest?"
"I am," Graystripe wondered if Brackenfur was secretly one of the warriors who criticized him when he wasn't listening. "Just for some night hunting."
"Tonight would be a good time. Good luck, Graystripe."
Graystripe padded past Brackenfur and into the unfamiliar forest beyond. It was dark, but the full moon gave off just enough light for him to be comfortable wandering the forest. But even if there was no moon that night and the forest was completely dark, Graystripe would have wandered off into the forest. He couldn't bear to be in that camp any longer than he already had.
His anger faded into steely determination as he went further away from the camp. Spiderleg and the others thought that he was being useless. They thought that he wasn't doing anything to help around the camp, despite all of the work that he had already put in. Well, if they wanted him to help more, then he would. He opened his mouth to taste the air for a long, steadying moment. Tonight, he would hunt for his Clanmates. And tomorrow, he would increase the weight of his responsibility to include daily patrols once more. It would be a lot, he knew, but no cat could deny his work then.
