Before long, the rocky landscape began blending together in Thorncloud's mind. They had passed the grassy land that bordered the Thunderpath and were now in the thick of the rocky terrain, crossing exposed hills and climbing boulders. They found a few more scent markers, and knew they must be on the edge of Sunstream's territory. The air thickened with the rising sun, and by sunhigh, the heat made it feel like the middle of greenleaf. Without the canopy of trees that the forest cats were used to, it wasn't long before they had to stop for a break.
"We need water," Shadepool panted. The darker-pelted cats were suffering the most. The sun clung to their dark fur. Thorncloud, Bumblestripe, and Ebonystreak all nodded along with her.
Pebblefoot, Flameclaw, Duskfur, and Copperfur were less susceptible to the sun's rays, but they were still exhausted. "There has to be a pool of water around here," Duskfur said.
"Let's scout ahead and see what we can find," Flameclaw said, flicking his tail in Pebblefoot's direction. The two warriors departed, leaving the remaining six to huddle under the shade of an outcrop of rocks.
"How can they survive out here without any cover?" Bumblestripe wondered.
"Especially since RainClan are so used to the river," Ebonystreak added.
"It's strange we haven't run into any of them," said Duskfur.
"I'd guess they're closer to Mothermouth, where there are dark caves to hide in," Shadepool said. "Mothermouth isn't the only big cave on that mountain."
Thorncloud exchanged a look with Bumblestripe. Both of them knew that their dream had been close to Mothermouth. "Maybe we should head in that direction, then," she suggested.
Not long after, Pebblefoot and Flameclaw returned, their eyes bright. "There's a stream not too far away," Pebblefoot announced, and led them out of the shade of the boulders. As soon as Bumblestripe caught sight of the stream, he bounded forward and splashed into the cool water, letting out a sigh of happiness. "Now this is more like it," he said.
"Great, now we're going to be drinking in your fur," Shadepool grumbled, and moved more upstream to take a drink. Thorncloud dipped her head to the gently trickling water and lapped it up, feeling a pleasant cold sensation as it cooled her down from the inside out. She hadn't realized how parched she was.
When she had finished drinking her fill, she padded over to where Bumblestripe was lounging in the shallows. He opened his eyes when she approached. "It's not as good as the river in RainClan territory, but it does the trick," he said.
Thorncloud watched with amusement, but stayed back from the water. "I don't see how you can enjoy swimming around," she said.
He shrugged. "Guess that's just my RainClan blood!"
Thorncloud frowned. She had RainClan blood, too, though Bumblestripe didn't know that. Slowly, she padded towards the edge of the stream, and dipped her sore paw in. The cool water felt nice on her injured pad. She eased her front legs in, and shivered as the water clung to her fur. The stream wasn't very deep – she could touch the bottom easily with her paws.
"I feel like I'm watching a kit take her first steps," Bumblestripe teased, but fell silent when Thorncloud shot him a glare. She braced herself and took the plunge, dropping her hind legs into the water. She unsheathed her claws to grip the streambed, her teeth chattering with nerves. It wasn't a fast-flowing stream; the water whorled gently around her, not strong enough to push her downstream. Even if it was less intimidating than the river near SnowClan territory, it was still mildly terrifying.
"There you go!" Bumblestripe said. He splashed over to her. "Not so bad, is it?"
"Could be worse," Thorncloud muttered, and sank down so that only her head and neck were above the water. She had to admit, it felt nice after being stuck in the heat.
Copperfur walked past, eyeing them suspiciously. He snorted at Thorncloud in the water and stalked away. Bumblestripe frowned. "What's up with him?" he asked.
"Don't mind Copperfur, he lives with his tail in a twist." Thorncloud turned away from her clan mate and dipped her head into the water to cool down.
Pebblefoot waded through the stream towards them. "A SnowClan cat in the water? Have hedgehogs flown?" he teased. Thorncloud flicked water at him with her claw and then stood up. She felt twice as heavy as the water clung to her fur. Pebblefoot leapt out of the stream and sent water droplets flying as he shook himself dry. "We're going to move on now. Duskfur thinks we should reach Highstones before dark," he said.
Thorncloud and Bumblestripe climbed out beside him and shook off the excess water. The SnowClan cat knew that her fur would dry quickly in the sun, but until then, it was nice to have something to cool her down as they walked.
"I wonder what they eat?" Ebonystreak asked as she padded to Thorncloud's side. "I haven't seen even a mouse!" Off to the side, Shadepool scoffed, and turned away. Thorncloud frowned, but ignored the antisocial StormClan cat and looked back to her friends.
"There might be fish in the streams," Bumblestripe said. "And they're all RainClan cats, so they'd know how to fish."
"Maybe, but it probably isn't enough to sustain them," Thorncloud said. Her own stomach rumbled at the thought of food. "They've been scented in StormClan and CloudClan territory, so they're probably catching prey there."
Ebonystreak bristled. "I can't wait to get my claws on those stealing rogues!"
Bumblestripe nodded in agreement. Thorncloud walked closer to Duskfur. "Should we stop and hunt soon?" she asked. "We haven't eaten since yesterday."
The CloudClan deputy nodded. "As soon as we find prey, yes," he said. "I think we'll find some closer to the mountains, where it's cooler."
The sun was beginning to sink again by the time they reached the base of Highstones. Higher up, Thorncloud could see just the edge of Mothermouth, a gaping hole in the side of the mountain. She looked around; her fur tingled as she realized how close she was to the place in her dream. With a glance at Bumblestripe, she knew he sensed it too.
Duskfur led them up the rocks. The cats walked in silence. Whether it was because of the sacred place they were near, or because they feared running into Sunstream and his warriors, Thorncloud wasn't sure. They passed a few shrubs, and Thorncloud heard a snake hissing in the undergrowth. It was the first sign of life they had come across.
Ebonystreak ran from the group and climbed a rocky outcrop to their right, moving swiftly and silently. For a moment, Thorncloud thought she was running from the snake, but then she saw what Ebonystreak was after – a huge rabbit, munching on the leaves of a bush. The rest of the group stopped to watch as she prowled along the rocks. Too late the rabbit saw its hunter. It tried to hop away, but Ebonystreak was faster.
She returned to the group with her catch and proudly set it down. "Help yourselves," she offered, and sprang away to hunt again. Duskfur followed her, and nobody protested. The CloudClan cats were far better at catching rabbits than the rest of them.
Shadepool didn't bother with the rabbit. She stalked off to hunt StarClan-knew-what while Flameclaw and Pebblefoot shared the fresh-kill. Duskfur and Ebonystreak returned with another two rabbits, as well as a bird. They gave one rabbit to Bumblestripe and Thorncloud and kept the other for themselves, and gave the bird to Copperfur.
While they feasted in the shade of the sparse greenery that lined the rocks, Thorncloud had to suppress her excitement at sharing prey with her brother for the first time, even if he didn't know how special the moment was. She thought it was incredible to actually see cats of opposite clans getting along. With the exception of Shadepool, who was nowhere to be seen. It was approaching sunset by the time she returned, and to Thorncloud's disgust, she had lizards dangling from her jaws.
"Lizards?!" Copperfur exclaimed, voicing Thorncloud's thoughts.
Shadepool set down her pile of fresh-kill. "The rocklands are full of them," she said. "This area really isn't as dead as you all think. There's plenty of prey, if you know what you're looking for."
And she began to devour the lizards. Thorncloud grimaced. They looked slimy and gross. She'd be sticking to forest prey, that was for sure!
"Let's keep going," Duskfur said. Shadepool gulped down her meal and the eight cats continued up the rock face. Instead of heading closer to Mothermouth, Duskfur led them away where the rocks plateaued, giving them a flat ledge to walk along.
"Look at this," Pebblefoot said, flicking his tail towards the wall of rock beside them. There were scratch marks, running vertically down the rock.
Duskfur put his paw up the rock and unsheathed his claws. The marks were wider than his claws stretched. "Are you sure it's a cat?" he asked.
"It could be a bear," Flameclaw said, glancing around nervously.
"Bears aren't that big," Shadepool said. "I've seen one before. Its paws were the size of rabbits."
Bumblestripe swerved through the line up of cats and moved to stand beside the CloudClan deputy. He lifted his paw, and it matched up with the scratches. "RainClan have bigger paws," he reminded them. "This was definitely made by Sunstream or one of the other exiled RainClan cats."
"Marking their territory," Pebblefoot agreed. "I think we're getting closer."
They continued on. They found a few more sets of scratches along the wall. They climbed higher, and the heat began to decline slowly as the sun crept closer to the horizon. With her belly full, some energy returned to Thorncloud's body. She was still in dire need of sleep – they all were – but her paw was just a dull throbbing now. She was sore from walking, but she had cleaned the wound as well as she could. She was no medicine cat, but she thought she had done an okay job of taking care of the cut.
But walking all day took its tolls, and Thorncloud could tell that it wasn't just her that wanted to stop and rest. When the sun dipped below the horizon, she realized it had been a full day of travel. She was about to open her mouth to ask to stop for the night when Duskfur suddenly raised his tail in warning and stopped in his tracks in front of a raised ledge.
Thorncloud's ears perked up, but she couldn't hear anything. Then a breeze wafted a scent towards her – it was the same sent they had picked up by the Thunderpath. Bumblestripe and Pebblefoot pushed to the front of the group to get a better look over the ledge that blocked their way. After a moment, Pebblefoot turned around and shrunk below the ledge, keeping low. The other cats followed suit, and the group sat crouched in anticipation for the news of what lay ahead.
"There's a flat area up there," Pebblefoot said. "The wall of the mountain sort of curves to surround it. It looks like there's some plants and growth, too."
"I saw a few small cave openings," Bumblestripe added.
"Are there cats?" Flameclaw asked.
Pebblefoot nodded gravely. "I saw Sunstream lounging on a tall, flat rock that overlooks them. It must be their camp."
"Dawnstrike and Eaglepaw were there, too," Bumblestripe said, his eyes alight with fury. "And they even have a fresh-kill pile!"
"Were there any rogues?" Thorncloud asked, remember the strange scents that mingled with the RainClan cats.
Pebblefoot nodded. "I saw a couple." He bristled. "It would seem he is recruiting cats from outside clans. A few of them even looked like they could be kittypets."
"Ugh!" Shadepool hissed.
They all crouched in silence for a moment, turning over the news in their minds. Thorncloud licked her sore paw nervously. If they attacked, they were at a disadvantage for not knowing the space, or how many cats were ahead. But they would have the element of surprise on their side, and the cover of darkness.
"All cats gather beneath the Flatrock for a clan meeting!" Sunstream's voice echoed against the rocks, startling the group that hid in the shadows. Thorncloud tiptoed up to the ledge and peered over the side. Beside her, Bumblestripe watched anxiously, his ears twitching as they strained to hear.
Thorncloud had seen Sunstream before at Gatherings; as the former RainClan deputy, he had been at every one she'd been to before he left the forest. Now, he looked like a different cat. His golden fur, once sleek from swimming through the RainClan rivers, looked rough and sun-worn. He looked thinner than RainClan cats usually were, with a few ribs showing. His coat must have shed terribly in the heat. But she couldn't help noticing how powerful he still looked; climbing rocks every day would have kept him muscular.
She suppressed a gasp when cats began flowing from the caves. At first a few trickled out; she recognized Scorchback, a dark orange and white tom, and Turtlepaw, the mottled she-cat that Sunstream mentored. It was easy to spot Dawnstrike and Eaglepaw, too; the RainClan cats looked more well-groomed compared to the others.
And there were others. Plenty of them. Some had the gaunt, fiersome look of rogues, while others were more plump, and had the signs of a groomed kittypet. A black tom, a blue-furred she-cat, a ginger rogue, a huge yellow kittypet… Thorncloud counted ten cats below the Flatrock on which Sunstream perched. Then her eyes widened as a calico queen emerged from a cave, pushing three kits in front of her. She fussed over them as they approached the Flatrock, and Thorncloud recognized what was going on immediately; these kits were about to be apprenticed.
"There's so many of them," Bumblestripe murmured, looking as shocked as she was.
Thorncloud could only nod as Sunstream looked down at the three kits with pride in his eyes. With him, the queen, and the three kits, that made fifteen cats in total. "Cats of SunClan," he called, "Tonight we gather beneath Silverpelt to initiate three new apprentices to our clan."
"SunClan!" Duskfur hissed. "He named it after himself!"
Thorncloud wished she was surprised, but she could already tell from looking at the cat that he was arrogant. "Bronzekit, Kestrelkit, and Thunderkit. Though you were not born into SunClan, your mother Queenie has left her Twolegs to give you three the opportunity to become great warriors. Please step forward."
The three tiny cats stumbled forward. Even at a distance Thorncloud could see their paws quivering with every step. The calico, Queenie, watched with sparkles in her eyes. "Bronzekit." The smallest kit, an orange tabby, lifted his head. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Bronzepaw. Your mentor will be Scorchback. As our clan deputy, I hope he will pass down all he knows on to you." Scorchback stepped forward, his chin held high. "Scorchback, you are ready to take on an apprentice. In the process of creating our new clan, you have shown yourself to be loyal and cunning. You will mentor Bronzepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."
Scorchback dipped his head. Bronzepaw scrambled forward to touch noses with his new mentor, and both of them stepped back. The rest of the small clan chanted his name, "Bronzepaw! Bronzepaw!"
Sunstream repeated the process with the next kit, newly named Kestrelpaw. She was a calico, like her mother. Her mentor was a ginger tom that Thorncloud figured must have been a rogue, because Sunstream only referred to him as "Newt." Lastly was Thunderpaw, a white and orange tabby tom who was given a mentor named Hummingbird. She looked like a calico and a tabby combined, and had the ragged look of a rogue.
As the last of the cheering died out of Thunderpaw's name, Sunstream looked proudly on his clan. "SunClan, we have done what no other cat has been able to do – we have liberated ourselves from the forest cats, and come to live at Highstones. Our clan, though small, will one day be mighty. I, Sunstar, your noble leader, believe we will be the greatest clan in the forest!"
Yowls of agreement rose up from ex-clan cats and rogues alike. Thorncloud shook her head. He'd even given himself the name of a leader accepted by StarClan.
"Does that mean he's been granted nine lives?" Flameclaw spat. "If StarClan accepted this piece of crowfood as a clan leader, we all might as well go home now."
"He has a formidable force," Pebblefoot murmured. He watched as the cats began to disperse back to their caves. "Rogues, clan cats, and even kittypets. And now he's training more. He hasn't even been exiled for very long."
Thorncloud met Bumblestripe's eyes. A sapling grows at Fourtrees. It was coming true – four clans were becoming five. They had their own camp, their own territory… and their own leader and deputy. With the Twoleg nests around, they were bound to gather even more forces.
"We can't fight them," Bumblestripe said at once, echoing what had sprung to Thorncloud's mind. "They're too strong."
"We can take a couple of rogues and kittypets," Shadepool spat.
"Maybe one on one, but there are fifteen of them," Bumblestripe said. "Three of them are newly apprenticed, sure. But that still makes twelve against eight of us. Not even the best warriors can take on that many cats."
The group fell into an uneasy silence. Finally, Duskfur spoke up. "Okay, let's rest for the night. Tomorrow we'll hunt, get our strength up, and then figure out what we should do. We're all exhausted; there's no point in doing anything now."
Most cats nodded in agreement, though Shadepool looked like she would've rather attacked SunClan at that very moment. Together, they trekked back where they had come until they came to rest at a small plateau under the cover of a weak tree that grew from the side of the mountain.
As Thorncloud lay down to sleep, Bumblestripe settled next to her with a look of terror in his eyes. "It's all coming true," he whispered.
"I know." Thorncloud shared his pain. It was one thing to experience a prophecy, but it was another to see it unfold right before your eyes. Tenderly, she wrapped her tail around to comfort him.
Bumblestripe sighed, and closed his eyes. Thorncloud watched him for a moment. The words were on the tip of her tongue – You're my brother! – but she clenched her jaw and pushed the thoughts away. She wanted more than anything for him to know they shared blood, but it wasn't her place to tell Bumblestripe the truth. That was Mottledfur's decision, and he had given that prospect a definite no.
With the shining stars above her head, Thorncloud closed her eyes and pleaded to her warrior ancestors that this mission wouldn't be her last.