Chapter 53

Chapter 53

"I think you should go."

"But what about him?"

"You know he will be in good paws."

"But I promised him I wouldn't leave."

"He'll understand."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"You haven't been to one in ages."

"But-"

"What are you two gossiping about? Firestar wants to leave." Jaysong turned away from Stripepool and saw her sister's mate- Spiderleg- padding towards them. Although Spiderleg's meow sounded annoyed, there was no growl in it. Stripepool was the only one who never felt Spiderleg's sharp tongue. Jaysong watched as Firestar called all cats together who were attending the Gathering. Applefrost sat in between Ashgaze and Cloudtail while Rushleaf circled around them. Heavypaw, Moonpaw, and Avalanchepaw hovered near them. Since Leafpool was taking care of Brownpaw, Applefrost was the only medicine cat going.

"I'm trying to convince Stripepool to come to the Gathering." Jaysong glanced hopefully at Stripepool and Spiderleg, hoping that her sister's mate would be able to convince her to attend the Gathering. Jaysong's gaze suddenly focused farther away where Rushleaf was talking to Brambleheart, who had padded up to her. Seeing Stripepool and Spiderleg and Rushleaf and Brambleheart made Jaysong miss Blackstar. Jaysong's mate had been leader of ShadowClan and she knew that seeing Oakstar- the new leader of ShadowClan- would make her miss Blackstar even more than she did now. Stripepool took a step forward and meowed, "I'm worried about leaving, Brownpaw."

"But Brownpaw is in good paws, Stripepool," Spiderleg repeated Jaysong's own words and the golden brown deputy shot a smug glance at Stripepool. Jaysong watched as her sister's face dropped and Spiderleg padded to her side, giving her a comforting lick on the ear. "I'm worried about Brownpaw too Stripepool, but he's sleeping now and he won't wake up until dawn. If something does change, I'm sure Leafpool will send a messanger. Heavypaw and Moonpaw are going too and they might think it odd if you don't come. Anyway, you really can't be stressing out right now." Spiderleg looked at Stripepool with a look that made Jaysong confused. Spiderleg was looking at Stripepool as though- as though she was expecting kits! It was the same look Blackstar had given Jaysong seasons ago. Before Jaysong could say anything, Stripepool nodded and the three cats padded over to join Firestar. Firestar nodded at them and then they were running out of the camp and towards the island.

Jaysong sprang on the treebridge after Firestar and soon the Clan left each other to greet friends from other Clans. Firestar leaped onto the giant tree in the center of the island to stand beside the other leaders while Applefrost hovered below with the other medicine cats. Stripepool and Rushleaf were talking with a couple WindClan queens while Spiderleg stood near them, staring at his mate. Brambleheart was a couple pawsteps away from Spiderleg as though wondering if he could join them. Heavypaw and Moonpaw were sitting with a group of RiverClan apprentices. Jaysong's eyes suddenly saw Avalanchepaw wrestling with a gray ShadowClan apprentice whose thick fur gleamed silver in the moonlight. Jaysong padded near them and watched the two apprentices play fight. The gray she-cat pinned Avalanchepaw down, winning the small fight. The ShadowClan apprentice lifted her head in victory, gray eyes flashing.

Jaysong gasped and a heartbeat later a voice meowed, "I wondered if you would notice, Jaysong." Jaysong jumped and saw Rabbitclaw padding towards her. Staring at the gray apprentice, Rabbitclaw mewed, "It appears that gray eyes skip a generation although her eye color is the exact shade as yours. She looks a lot like Dawnclaw though with the same gray fur. Although I'll admit it is thick like ours. Rushleaf and Blackstar had much thinner fur. Jaysong, would you like to meet my daughter and your kin?" Without waiting for an answer, Rabbitclaw called, "Hey Brookpaw! Come over here! There is someone I want you to meet!"

Brookpaw said goodbye to Avalanchepaw and padded over to her father and her grandmother- although it was clear that she didn't know who Jaysong was, "Hey Rabbitclaw, did you see me wrestling with that ThunderClan apprentice?" Rabbitclaw answered his daughter by giving her a proud lick in between the ears. Brookpaw then saw Jaysong and mewed, "Oh hello! I'm Brookpaw. You're ThunderClan, right?" Jaysong nodded while Brookpaw continued, "You also smell like Rabbitclaw though. Do you know each other or am I just chasing after mice that don't exist?" Jaysong blinked in surprise. Brookpaw seemed like a very wise she-cat.

"Brookpaw, you have heard from Smokefoot that I was born in ThunderClan, I presume?" Rabbitclaw asked and Brookpaw nodded. Jaysong guessed that Smokefoot was Brookpaw's mentor. "Well, Jaysong here is my mother as well as deputy of ThunderClan. Although my heart lies with ShadowClan- as yours does- I have not forgotten that I have kin in ThunderClan and you shouldn't try to ignore that. Being half-Clan isn't terrible. Now a days it seems like almost every cat is half-Clan." Jaysong wondered if Brookpaw realized that both her parents had blood from other Clans. Brookpaw's other grandmother, Tawnypelt, was half-ThunderClan while her uncle, Flamecloud, had fathered Boulderpaw who was a halfShadowClan-halfRiverClan ThunderClan apprentice. Of course the other Clans didn't know this.

"Really?" Brookpaw's gray eyes- the same shade as Jaysong's- were wide as she stared at her kin. "I'm so excited to meet you." Jaysong purred and rested her tail on Brookpaw's shoulder. Brookpaw then turned back to Rabbitclaw and meowed, "Does Brokenpaw know yet?" Jaysong blinked in surprise and heard Rabbitclaw explain, "Brokenpaw is my other kit. He couldn't come to this Gathering because he clawed a loner pretty badly. I didn't know the cat, but Tawnypelt did and said that it was Purdy who had given them advice when they went to the mountains. Oakstar was mad and punished Brokenpaw. I think Purdy went looking for you guys because he seemed like he wanted to find Brambleclaw. He apparently doesn't know that Brambleclaw is dead."

Jaysong didn't really focus on Rabbitclaw's words because her mind was thinking about something else. Jaysong wondered if Brokenpaw attacked Purdy because he thought the old cat posed a threat to ShadowClan or merely because he was there. Although Jaysong tried not to think about it, but she realized that Brokenpaw- as well as Brookpaw- were the descendants of Tigerstar.