The utter silence was eerie in that no shrill wail could break it. There was no news of the battle that raged on the moor.
Rainstorm crouched in the warriors' den, his ears flat back, his fur turned silver by the moonlight that spilled into the den. Snowpelt was settled beside him, shoulders tense and fur bristling.
The suspense was torture enough and Rainstorm thought he would die from it all, without knowing what was happening.
He hadn't been able to stop Shadestar from leading a fighting patrol into WindClan territory. Not without giving away the fact he had been witness at his sister's death. Now he could only sit in the unbearable silence while innocent cats fought and died.
He felt like a prisoner and for all intents, he was. One of the youngest cats, a new warrior named Flamepelt, stood guard outside the den and Brokenfoot wasn't too far away.
With his paranoia and distrust, Shadestar ordered the secret resistance be confined to the warriors' den so they remained unable to prevent the battle.
Raggedfur was there too, along with Icewhisker, Bluefeather, and a fuming Smalltail.
Peering out through the branches, Rainstorm caught Lightstep's eye and the medicine cat gave him a worried look before being ushered, quite rudely, back to her den by Brokenfoot.
The camp was nearly deserted save for the few warriors held prisoner. Rainstorm closed his eyes, almost sure he could see the agony in the WindClan cats' eyes as they fought an unjust battle. And this wasn't to drive them from their home. No, Shadestar launched this attack merely to strike fear into their hearts. Shadestar wanted them to be afraid. He wanted to rule over them.
"What will we do?" Snowpelt asked in a small voice, quivering slightly.
"We will stop him," Rainstorm vowed, a fierce determination burning in his eyes. "We will."
Two moons later and the sky was clear, the moon a sliver of claw. The stars glittered like dew on black fur, sending silvery light into the clearing below.
"Do you have any plans?' Willowstar, the leader of RiverClan asked. "I don't see what we can do about this. There's nothing in the Code that says--"
"Forget the Code," Owlstar replied. "It cannot help us now."
"I protest," Ashwhisker stood in defense of his leader. "The Code is everything!"
"Not now it isn't," Owlstar said, her voice sharp.
"That figures," Ashwhisker whispered to Sootfur, deputy of WindClan. "ShadowClan has never cared much for the Code."
"I heard that," Nightfur of ShadowClan hissed at them.
"Hey," Ashwhisker raised his voice. "Who is to represent ThunderClan?"
"No one, mouse brain," Nightfur spat. "It's them who are the problem. Why would they be here?"
"It's only their leader," Owlstar corrected her deputy. "Ashwhisker has raised a good question. Who represents ThunderClan?"
"We do."
All the cats at Fourtrees spun around to see who had spoken.
Emerging from the trees to stand under the starlight was a blue-gray warrior, standing tall and accompanied by another.
"We represent ThunderClan," Rainstorm said confidently and paced forward until he and Snowpelt stood beside the WindClan deputy.
"And how do we know we can trust you?" Nightfur asked suspiciously.
"You don't know," Rainstorm replied smoothly. "But we want Shadestar gone just as much as you do."
Owlstar and Ashwhisker nodded in agreement to his words, while Nightfur looked on disapprovingly. Sootfur, the youngest deputy, cast a friendly glance in Rainstorm's direction. Rainstorm nodded in return.
"So how is it you know about this little gathering?" Nightfur asked.
Rainstorm didn't reply but focused his attention on the three leaders. He wasn't about to give away the fact that he had been told by Russetclaw of ShadowClan.
"So what is it you're planning?" Willowstar wanted to know.
"We fight," Owlstar announced
Silence met her words and then an outbreak of meows, approvals and protests.
"He's insane!" Nightfur proclaimed. "That makes him unpredictable. He's probably mounting an attack even as we speak."
"Then we be the first to strike," Owlstar said. "We catch him by surprise."
"Many of his enemies are within his own camp," Snowpelt spoke up for the first time. "They will help you. He will be outnumbered."
"Yes," Rainstorm replied. "If his enemies unite, we can defeat him."
"That seems possible," Willowstar nodded, accepting his words.
"So when do we attack?" Ashwhisker questioned.
"As soon as we can," said Rainstorm.
"My warriors are not ready," Goldenstar said, his voice lowered in reluctance. "It's been a harsh leaf-bare. Prey has been scarce. I do not know how well my warriors would do in a fight, not after the last battle." He seemed ashamed for having voiced his clan's weaknesses, but Rainstorm had to agree. It had been a tough season.
"So how long do we wait?" Owlstar asked, fixing her intense amber eyes on the WindClan leader. "How long do we wait for the inevitable?"
"As long as it takes," Willowstar voiced and the ShadowClan leader turned to face her, then narrowed her eyes. "to recover," the RiverClan leader finished.
"We just don't have the time," Owlstar pointed out. "He could attack while we're preparing. You should know this, Willowstar. He attacked us first, then it was WindClan," she paused a moment to let the words sink in. "You can be sure RiverClan will be his next target."
"I think we should attack at once," Nightfur said. "We take all the cats that are fit. We don't need everyone to outnumber Shadestar and his allies."
"She's got a point," Rainstorm said, surprised that he was actually agreeing with the prickly ShadowClan deputy. "We just need more cats that he has. Out of the four clans, there should be enough recovered to drive him from the forest."
"Alright, we attack as soon as we can," Owlstar said. "Does everyone agree?"
There was an inaudible grumble from Ashwhisker but besides that, no cat voiced any more doubts.
"Good," Owlstar nodded, satisfied. "We should allow for time to tell our clanmates. We will take a day to prepare."
"When the time is right," Rainstorm chimed in. "We'll send our swiftest messenger and your warriors will need to be ready to fight. He won't go peacefully and there are a good many warriors of ThunderClan who would support him."
"Yes," Owlstar said. "That is a good plan. This meeting is now over and until next time, may StarClan be with you."
"May StarClan be with us all," Rainstorm returned as he stood and, with Snowpelt by his side, vanished into the undergrowth.
The rest of the cats dispersed, traveling back toward their separate territories until Fourtrees was silent and deserted.
"You really think this plan will work?" Snowpelt asked.
"It has to work," Rainstorm replied grimly. "It just has to."