A chilly breeze ruffled Watersplash's pelt and she shivered, leaning up against Minnowleap for warmth. She'd been told to stay close to her mother tonight and not wander off, and though she had no reason to doubt the reasoning behind it- Miststar had tightened the security of RiverClan considerably since Patchfur's disappearance, particularly where the younger warriors were concerned- a small part of her was afraid that the measure had been taken to prevent her from sneaking off with Grasstail.
"Cold, sweetie?" Minnowleap murmured, giving Watersplash a lick on the head. Such an outward show of motherly compassion was rare from her, and Watersplash really appreciated it, even though immediately afterwards the lithe silver-gray warrior nodded curtly and drew away from her shivering daughter. "There, there. Such a brave warrior shouldn't let the cold bother her."
Watersplash nodded, putting a bit of space between her and her mother. Minnowleap had always been very complimentary to and protective of Watersplash, and that was enough. Not every cat could be expected to give all of their relationships a physical aspect.
A physical aspect… Watersplash's face grew hot under her fur and she averted her eyes out of fear that Minnowleap would somehow be able to see her blushing through her thick blue-gray pelt. Though it had been over a moon since her and Grasstail's fateful encounter by the lake, it still felt bizarre to think that she had actually mated with someone, for lack of a better term. They had not repeated the act since, per Watersplash's request, and thankfully Grasstail didn't seem too eager to do it again either. Meeting in secret with a WindClan cat was bad enough; anything further would just make it that much harder to keep things a secret.
Watersplash had been looking forward to this night- the night of the Gathering. The full moon was partially obscured by clouds, but when they parted and the shining orb became visible, she felt as if anything were possible.
The moon had a yellowish glow to it that night, just as all the leaves of the forest had taken on a yellow tint in the past few days. It was officially leaf-fall, a season that Watersplash remembered fondly from her kithood days. She'd spent many a happy hour chasing around the leaves as they'd drifted down around her in all their pretty colours. But now that she was a warrior and had to think about feeding her Clan, leaf-fall wasn't so appealing. Leaf-bare would be even worse; the mere thought of snow made her shudder. She was lucky she was a RiverClan cat and that fish stayed plentiful all year round. The other Clans weren't so lucky. She just hoped the coming leaf-bare wouldn't be too hard on WindClan; Watersplash couldn't even imagine what she'd do if anything happened to Grasstail.
After crossing the log bridge with the amount of balance and precision her Clanmates had come to expect from her, Watersplash joined up with the milling crowd and started looking around for a flash of greenish-gray amidst the swarming mass of different-coloured pelts. Grasstail should have been easy to pick out in a crowd, but the WindClan tom had a way of blending in. However, a splash of bright reddish-brown caught her eye and she recognized Appleshine, Grasstail's sister. Watersplash had never met the red-and-white she-cat, but Grasstail had told her enough about her to make her easily identifiable.
Minnowleap must have noticed Watersplash scanning the crowd. "It looks like we're only waiting on ShadowClan," she muttered. "What are you looking around for?" she added, giving Watersplash a suspicious look. "Is there any cat in particular you were hoping to see?"
Watersplash gulped and shook her head. She'd gotten so distracted thinking about the changing of the seasons that she'd almost forgotten about her watchful mother. Even if Grasstail was there, there was no way Minnowleap was going to let her get alone with him.
"Good," Minnowleap meowed icily; Watersplash happened to glance down at her mother's silvery paws and noticed that she had unsheathed her claws. "There are no cats outside of RiverClan worth spending your time on- especially not WindClan. I was a bit worried that you didn't understand this back in your…" She clucked her tongue- "…Rather troublesome apprentice days, but it looks like the lesson is now well learned."
No less than a tail-length away, a WindClan tom with spiky white fur pricked his ears, glaring at Minnowleap. Watersplash's pelt prickled with unease, but she knew she had to give her mother the reply she was looking for or else Minnowleap would pry further.
"I wouldn't dream of associating with those weaklings," Watersplash muttered obediently, maintaining an uneasy eye contact with Minnowleap. "I was just checking to see if they look any less pathetic since the last time I saw them."
Minnowleap's fangs curved into a muted smile. "Oh, believe me, dear, that will never happen."
The spiky-furred tom moved in on them, clearing his throat loudly. Please don't start a fight, Watersplash thought. She took a couple steps back, wanting to slink away but knowing she had to stay close to Minnowleap.
"Excuse me, mange-pelt," the white tom spat. "That's my Clan you're talking about!"
"Oh, I know that all too well," Minnowleap sniffed, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Your disgusting scent is quite recognizable."
"Oh, you think we smell bad?" the WindClan warrior challenged, baring his teeth. "At least we don't reek of fish."
If Watersplash had been worried about a fight breaking out before, now she was downright terrified. "Please, mother," she begged, stepping between the two cats. "Just calm down. The Gathering is supposed to be-"
"…A truce. Yeah, I know," the white-furred tom scoffed. "It's just a shame your mommy here doesn't seem to know that. She thinks it's okay to go around insulting another cats' Clan right in front of them," he added in a snarl, raking his claws in the half-frozen ground.
Around them, other cats had backed away, forming a ring around the confrontation. No cat had stepped up to stop either of them yet, but they all looked extremely uncomfortable. Watersplash could definitely relate to that.
"Minnowleap, come on," she pleaded, tugging at her mother's scruff. "StarClan will be angry. It's not worth it!"
No sooner had Watersplash's teeth met Minnowleap's scruff than the silver-gray warrior jerked away, hissing. She swiped at Watersplash, who ducked, shrinking back in shame as her mother's claws whipped over her head.
"Watersplash, I am your mother!" she spat, the fury burning in her eyes catching Watersplash off guard. "I give you orders, not the other way around! You are to respect me!"
Shouldn't it be Miststar who gives us both orders? Watersplash thought. She nodded nonetheless, backing away from her furious mother. Next to them, the WindClan tom gave them a confused look, his eyes flicking between Watersplash and Minnowleap. It looked like his fur was no longer standing on end, although it was so messy that it was hard to tell.
Shaken, Watersplash took her place next to Minnowleap, who fixed her with a stern glare. They sat well away from any WindClan cats. Watersplash never did find out if Grasstail was even at that Gathering; if he was, she didn't get the chance to say hello to him. They'd just have to wait until the next time…
Appleshine had a way of keeping other cats entertained. Out of Grasstail and his littermates, she was by far the most social. Berryheart was shy, and hung back with the antisocial Grasstail while their sister swapped stories with a couple of young warriors from ThunderClan. Soon three RiverClan cats showed up who looked just a bit younger than Watersplash. Grasstail thought he might have recognized them, but couldn't be sure. Appleshine definitely seemed to know them, and she chatted merrily on with them right up until the final Clan arrived and the leaders called for everyone's attention.
Ringstar spoke first but didn't have much to say- or maybe he did, and Grasstail just zoned him out. WindClan may have shared a border with ThunderClan, but that didn't mean he had the slightest bit of interest in any of their affairs. He was just eager to hear how RiverClan was doing- or more specifically, how Watersplash was doing.
But it looked like he was going to have to wait a while for that opportunity. Jadestar spoke next, and her news was as disinteresting as Ringstar's had been- right up until the end. She looked hesitant to say it at first, but her deputy gave her a somber nod and she straightened herself up and mewed, "I have on last thing to say." She paused, looking around the clearing. "One of our youngest warriors, Birchstripe, has gone missing."
On the branch next to her, Miststar stiffened. Grasstail cocked his head; what did the RiverClan leader know about this? He vaguely remembered Watersplash complaining to him once about a friend of hers- kin, maybe- who was pursuing a relationship with a ShadowClan cat. Was he remembering it wrong, or did that have something to do with this development? He leaned forward, curious if Jadestar would have any more to say, but she sat back and nodded to Sandstar for him to speak next.
"Things are going very well in WindClan," Sandstar meowed, wobbling a bit on his branch as he tried to stand. Next to him, Ringstar rested his striped tail on his back, reassuring him that it was okay to remain sitting. Sandstar gave the younger leader a look of gratitude before continuing. "Prey is running well, sickness has spared us so far, and best of all, there are new kits in the Clan. Lilyflower has given birth to two kits: Heatherkit and Flamekit."
He sat back and didn't say any more, which was fine with Grasstail. The other Clans didn't need to know about how low Podtail's herbs stocks were getting, or how Roseflower had been finding it harder and harder to move around and it was very obvious that she would not outlive Sandstar- at least not by long enough to make her a suitable deputy any longer. So what if WindClan was likely going to die out within the next few years? At least there were new kits!
Pessimistic thoughts aside, Grasstail focused his attention onto Miststar as he began to speak. He hadn't been able to make out Watersplash in the crowd, although he'd thought he'd heard her voice earlier when there had been a bit of a "kerfuffle", as Appleshine had put it, involving Spikeear and "some snobby RiverClan queen". He could only assume she hadn't been referring to Watersplash; although she might have come off as a bit snobby to some, there was no way any cat would mistake her for a nursery queen. She was much too young to be a mother.
"I have good news and bad news of RiverClan," Miststar began, shooting another glance at Jadestar. "First, the good news: we have four kits who are nearly ready to become apprentices, as well as a new couple who have just announced that they are mates. On top of that, we have just made three new warriors- Mallowheart, Oakleaf, and Shellsong."
"That's us!" squealed one of the cats Appleshine had been talking to earlier- a white she-cat with faint cream-coloured stripes. If Grasstail had to guess, he'd guess she was Shellsong. He knew she was good friends with Watersplash, so he made sure to cheer her name along with the other cats, despite him rarely ever doing so for cats outside of WindClan.
"And now for the bad news." Miststar's shoulders sagged and he met eyes one final time with Jadestar, who this time returned his gaze with a questioning tilt of her head. "One of our warriors has gone missing as well. Patchfur disappeared one night, and though we've searched for him extensively, we have found no sign of him."
The island broke out into murmurs. Could these two disappearances have been connected somehow? Grasstail would have bet all his prey for a week that the answer was a resounding yes.
After the Gathering ended and the cats left to go home to their separate Clans, Grasstail hoped to catch sight of Watersplash before she left. He thought he saw her disappearing into the undergrowth alongside a sleek silver-gray she-cat, but if it was her, she didn't see him. Discouraged, he trudged home, bringing up the rear.
Did Watersplash know anything about the two cats who had disappeared? And if so, why hadn't she mentioned it to Grasstail?
Storkflight's kits frisked around the camp, jumping up to bat at leaves as they fell, just as Watersplash had done when she was a kit. There weren't many trees in RiverClan territory, but there was a cluster of saplings at the edge of camp that provided some shade during greenleaf and some entertainment for kits during leaf-fall.
Of the four kits, it would have been obvious to any cat which one had not been a part of Storkflight's litter. Not only was Snakekit bigger than his adopter littermates, his name didn't fit into the theme that Storkflight had used when naming her biological kits- Coalkit, a black tom; Emberkit, a black-and-orange she-cat; and Smokekit, a frail gray tom. Watersplash had once joked to Shellsong that maybe the real reason Storkflight didn't want her to spend too much time around her kits was because she was afraid that water would douse their flames. Shellsong had simply stared at her and meowed that smoke, coals, and embers weren't the same thing as fire, and that you could have those things even after the fire had already gone out. Watersplash had still thought it was a good joke, but she wasn't one to get hung up on little things.
The kits would probably be made apprentices any day now, Watersplash reflected as she watched them playing in the late afternoon sun. She wondered if she'd get to be the mentor to any of them. If so, she hoped it would be Emberkit. Somehow mentoring another she-cat seemed more comfortable to her than mentoring a tom. Suppose her apprentice got a crush on her? Watersplash was often told how lovely she was, and it seemed unlikely that Grasstail would be the only tom to ever develop feelings for her.
Of course, she supposed that her hypothetical apprentice could fall for her even if they weren't a tom. She thought back to when she'd been told about Grasstail's sister, Appleshine, and the object of her affections. Watersplash had assumed that Barkstripe had been a tom, but upon meeting her at another Gathering the next moon, she'd been shocked to discover that Barkstripe was actually a she-cat. Looking back on it, Watersplash really shouldn't have been so surprised. After all, she'd been well-acquainted by that point with Patchfur and his many-gendered flings. But that had felt… different to her somehow. That was just how Patchfur was, and it had never occurred to her that he wasn't the only cat of his sort.
It had been so long since Patchfur had left… what had happened to him? Watersplash hoped he and Birchstripe were still alive. While her cousin hadn't been weak by any means he hadn't been as skilled a warrior as her, and his hunting skills were passable at best. And since they had left the lake, they might not be able to get by on fishing, and Watersplash had never seen Patchfur catch a single piece of land prey. She just hoped for his sake that Birchstripe was as perfect as he'd said they were, and that they were able to provide for him.
Indeed, it had been a long time since Watersplash had seen or heard from Patchfur, and she had more or less given up hope of ever doing so again. That was why it came as quite a shock to her when one night, she felt herself being shaken awake and looked up to see him standing over her.
Bleary-eyed and convinced she must have been dreaming, Watersplash sat up, lifting her paw to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "Patchfur?" she mumbled in disbelief. "What are you doing here?!"
"Shhhh," the black-and-white tom hissed, pressing his tail to Watersplash's muzzle and glancing around the warriors' den furtively. Eyes wide, Watersplash nodded in a silent agreement not to alert any cat to his presence.
Once satisfied that they weren't being watched, Patchfur crept outside, beckoning for Watersplash to follow him. She complied, feeling like she was in some sort of trance, and he led her over to a secluded crevice between two rocks before explaining his unexpected return.
"I've come back for you," he whispered- as if that was supposed to explain everything, or even anything for that matter. "If you want to get out of here, now's your chance."
Watersplash blinked at the familiar face of her cousin, baffled by his nonchalance. He was looking a little worse for wear since she'd seen him last; his fur was matted and seemed to have grown out considerably, and he had a new scar running from the bottom of his newly torn right ear all the way down to his muzzle. Nevertheless, he looked exceedingly happy, and she could only assume that he'd adjusted well to his new life with his beloved mate.
Even so, that happiness didn't in any way justify what he'd done. "Why did you run away like that?!" Watersplash demanded, taking momentary satisfaction when Patchfur's tail drooped in dismay at her anger. "We had no idea what happened to you, or if you were even still alive!"
"B-but we had no choice but to leave," Patchfur stammered, his hurt expression giving Watersplash a twinge of guilt. She had to remind herself that her anger was fully justified. "Our love would never have been accepted here," he meowed. "Birchstripe and I needed to go somewhere where we'd be allowed to live together."
Watersplash knew he had a point. Patchfur shouldn't have run away and left his Clanmates- even his own brother- to worry. But truth be told, running away had crossed her own mind from time to time. It filled her with shame each time the thought surfaced, but what her cousin said was true- cats from separate Clans weren't supposed to be in romantic relationships with each other.
Patchfur must have noticed that Watersplash's conviction had wavered. "You know how I feel, don't you?" he whispered; Watersplash averted her eyes, but his gaze burned into her pelt. "Come with me and Birchstripe," he pressed, taking a step forward with bright, hopeful eyes. "You can bring that WindClan tom with you. We can all live together, away from all of this."
He gestured at his surroundings- the place Watersplash had lived her whole life. Leaving it all behind was unimaginable. But if it meant she could be free to love Grasstail…
"What about the others?" Watersplash mewed, her voice hoarse. "I can't…"
"Think about it," Patchfur suggested. Then, with a swish of his tail, he turned and bounded away without another word.
Watersplash stumbled back into her nest, her mind reeling. What was she going to do?