AN: Sorry about the later than usual posting. it's almost midnight here but here's the chapter

The sunlight lit up the gorge around them, reflecting off this cat's pelt as he approached. Whitepaw trailed behind. Crowpaw instantly understood where he got his warrior name as his pelt seemed to glow in the mid-day sun. His green gaze focused on them, unreadable as he approached. Crowpaw couldn't help but stare at the scarred cat. Stories of what he has been told of him went through Crowpaw's mind. He stopped in front of the gathered cats.

Rusty looked over the journeying cats, his tail twitching. Before he could speak, Squirrelpaw stepped forward. Her tail was raised high.

"Hey, Papa!" Rusty looked at her. His voice was tense as he responded.

"Hi, Squirrelpaw." He asked, "Where's Stormfur – and the others?" Crowpaw was shocked. This was only just beginning and it was already different than the greeting they received in TigerClan.

"They're alright," it was Tawnyclaw who responded, dipping her head as she stepped toward the tom. "My name is Tawnyclaw. Tigerstar sent us so we can discuss a partnership." Rusty regarded the TigerClan warrior.

"Tawnyclaw," He echoed, tail beginning to move from side to side behind him. "I know your father very well."

"So, I've heard." Rusty looked to Tornear.

"We have matters to discuss." He looked back to Tawnyclaw, his tail still moving. "We can talk in my den. Squirrelpaw comes, too."

"And Crowpaw." Crowpaw tensed at Tawnyclaw's add-in. He lowered his head as attention went to him. Rusty looked at him, curiously. Squirrelpaw spoke up.

"Yeah," She looked at her father. "He's involved in this." Rusty nodded.

"Alright." Without another word, he turned and cats rose to follow. Crowpaw's tail twitched. This was much different than what had happened in TigerClan.

Different than what he had expected.

Brambleheart licked at a wound on his side, wincing as it hurt. His whole body ached as he shifted, readjusting to look at one on his belly. There was an emptiness in his chest as he stared at it. He had never felt so helpless in his life. As a whole, he just felt hollow.

Tigerstar had clawed him before, sure, but last time Brambleheart had started the attack. He had managed to fight back against the TigerClan leader. He rested his head down on his paws, staring at the back wall of the cave. He had never felt so weak and it wasn't even just the beating.

Tigerstar had taken him out of the den the day before. They had gone somewhere across the river and Tigerstar had not done what he expected.

He had laid next to him and placed his paw against his side. It might have been the infection in his muzzle getting to him or that he had not eaten anything recently but as he would not move – not acknowledge that he was touching Brambleheart! Brambleheart had lost it. Emotions he had never felt before overcame him. Getting pinned down as he exploded had just made it worse. By the time Tigerstar got off of him, he had just felt tired. Drained in a way he had never felt before. He had yet to regain what he had lost.

Brambleheart raised his head at the sound of movement at the entrance of the den. He turned, squinting his eyes against the light coming into the cave. It took him a moment but he recognized Mothwing. He hadn't seen her since it happened.

She was followed by Blackfoot. The large white tom stopped next to the entrance, crouching. His golden eyes were focused on the two warriors as Mothwing padded toward him. It made sense for them to be watched. They had been proven to not be trustworthy. There was distress in her gaze.

Brambleheart blinked at her. He had gotten that beating because she had helped him but he could feel no resentment towards the other cat. Despite what Tigerstar was saying, she was not at fault. Tigerstar was lying, he reminded himself. Anyway, it would have been worse had she gotten the same treatment. Brambleheart was just glad it was only him.

"Bramblepaw…" His ear twitched. Both her and Hawktalon had been good with calling him his real name when others weren't around but now Blackfoot was watching them and Brambleheart knew that Tigerstar would be angry if he heard them call him that. That didn't mean he did not hate it though.

"Hey." He meowed, clearing his voice as it came out hoarse. He slowly pushed himself up. Mothwing stared at him, looking him up and down.

"I'm sorry," Her voice was so quiet he could not hear it, only read it on her lips. Brambleheart shook his head.

"Don't be," He meowed quietly. "It isn't your fault. You didn't do this." Mothwing opened her mouth to respond when there was a growl from the entrance.

"Speak up, both of you." Blackfoot ordered, "Or I will stand with you." Brambleheart nodded as Mothwing hesitated. Her voice was louder when she spoke again.

"I brought this onto you." He shook his head.

"No, you didn't. You were helping me." He moved a paw towards her, "This is all on him." He probably should not have said that with Blackfoot watching but Tigerstar had already shown that he was not going to hurt Mothwing right now. "Thank you. You fixed my breathing."

She opened her mouth to respond when a muffled wail sounded from outside. More meows came as the three cats turned towards the entrance. Blackfoot rose to his paws, "We'd best see what that's about."

Mothwing shot a hurried glance back at Brambleheart, "I… I'm sorry." He opened his mouth but Mothwing moved away quickly. Both TigerClan cats disappeared back out of the cave. Brambleheart could do nothing but watch after them.

Tornear's eyes were narrowed as Tawnyclaw finished her explanation. Rusty's tail still lashed.

"We've had no issues with Twolegs," the deputy's voice was low. "Frankly, this seems like an issue with your own Clan." Crowpaw was confused. Was there any sort of issue going on here? If there were no Twolegs, then why had these cats needed to be involved? What was this all?

"We're not getting Brambleheart back until you are returned?" Rusty's gaze was focused on Tawnyclaw.

"That's what he agreed to," Tawnyclaw replied. The ginger tom nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. Crowpaw looked at the kittypet. Something was going on with him and he wasn't sure what. Overall, this was just bizarre.

"Tornear," Rusty looked at his deputy. "Get them settled in a cave – that bigger one close to the medicine cat den should work. Then bring Barkface up here. Put two guards out in front. I want to talk to Squirrelpaw alone." The tabby dipped his head and it took everything in Crowpaw not to bristle. They were being tucked away like prisoners?

"I need to think on this," Rusty looked at Tawnyclaw. "Discuss it with my warriors. We will talk more later." Tawnyclaw dipped her head.

Squirrelpaw remained seated as the others rose. Tawnyclaw signaled for Crowpaw to follow.

Mothwing gritted her teeth as she watched Mudfur's body be hoisted up. Leopardstar's tail was lashing, the distress obvious in her gaze. Mothwing stepped aside, allowing the warriors to carry the medicine cat out of the den. The tabby leader whispered.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mudfur." Mothwing looked at her, alarmed. She had never seen Leopardstar like this before.

"Get yourself together before you leave this den." Tigerstar shot his fellow leader a look, his tail lashing. He looked more annoyed than anything. "This is the last thing the Clan needs to see." He turned as Leopardstar jerked her head toward him, a fire in her amber gaze.

Her claws extended but she did nothing further as Tigerstar left the den. Mothwing watched after him as Hawktalon came to his shoulder. She turned back to Leopardstar.

"I'm sorry." Leopardstar looked to Mothwing as she spoke. "He seemed like a good cat."

"He was," Leopardstar replied. "He was a gifted medicine cat. A good father." Her gaze was unreadable, "He was better to me than he should have been." Mothwing looked at her, confused. Tigerstar had just told her medicine cats could not have kits. What was Leopardstar talking about?

"He was a father?" She asked.

Leopardstar nodded, "He was my father. He had been a warrior prior." Mothwing nodded; excitement seemed to surge through her. Leopardstar moved over to the entrance, looking to where Mudfur had been laid.

"We need more medicine cats, Mothwing." Her voice was quiet. "They were already stretched thin when Mudfur was well. No matter what he thinks, we need more."

Leopardstar left, heading for Mudfur's body. Mothwing could do nothing but follow.

"Why are you mad at him?" Squirrelpaw's muffled voice came out of Firestar's den. "This isn't his fault."

"Leave," Firestar ordered again. Leafpaw's ears were pricked. They both sounded upset. Tornear and Barkface were exchanging concerned looks.

"Fine!" Squirrelpaw huffed. "This is not his fault," She repeated. "Tigerstar wanted me to stay." The fur on Leafpaw's back rose as Squirrelpaw left the den behind. She sprang to her paws, rushing to her sister.

Squirrelpaw looked at her, tail lashing. "He's acting like this is all Brambleheart's fault!" She exclaimed. "We chose to go. It's all of our faults if anything."

"He's just worried," Barkface said. Squirrelpaw sighed, pressing her muzzle against her sister's neck.

"That's not an excuse, he did not do anything." She pulled away from Leafpaw, "He wants you." She blinked at her sister, "I'll see you when you come out." Leafpaw nodded.

"See you," She echoed before turning, following her mentor into the leader's den.

The Clan was quiet for the rest of the day.

Sunset had just begun. Mothwing crouched next to Hawktalon; her tail wrapped around her paws. He leaned against her as they looked to where Mudfur's body had been laid. Leopardstar was crouching at his side, the other medicine cats and a few RiverClan cats were there too. Tigerstar sat not far off.

"Do you want to stay up for the vigil?" Hawktalon asked, breaking the silence that had formed between them.

"I don't know," Mothwing admitted. She did not know Mudfur well enough to be at his side for it but at the same time she doubted any sleep she could get would be restful. She could not stop thinking about Brambleheart.

Hawktalon had yet to mention anything. He had to have seen him by now but she was unsure whether he knew why that had happened.

"Well, it's almost time to get to sleep," Hawktalon replied. "You'd better –" He was interrupted by a yowl at the top of the rocks.

"Intruders!" Cats rose at the alarm. A screech sounded.

"BloodClan, attack!"

"He's got us cornered," Firestar growled. His tail lashed as he paced the back of his den. "He doesn't even know where we are and he has us cornered."

"We have a choice." Leafpaw turned her attention to Tornear as he spoke. "It's less than ideal to leave a warrior hostage but well, Brambleheart went of his own accord." Her eyes widened as the tabby dipped his head to their leader. "It's on him."

Firestar had stopped in his pace, his eyes narrowed at his deputy. Leafpaw held her breath at the look he was giving his deputy. "We will not," Firestar's voice was quiet. "Abandon one of our warriors to TigerClan." He continued, "The choices we have are to leave Brambleheart for dead and hold four TigerClan warriors prisoner for the rest of their lives – this isn't even a real choice!" His tail thrashed, "Or exchange hostages, thus revealing where we live while TigerClan needs a place to go." Firestar repeated, "He has us cornered."

"Firestar, I understand it is far from what we want," Tornear began. "But we can manage. We can keep four warriors prisoner, we have the warriors to do so." The deputy paused before continuing, there was a cautious tone to his voice. "For all we know Brambleheart joined Tigerstar willingly and this is more of a trap than we thought. I mean – just the situation around how he wound up here alone! Who knows what Tawnyclaw's been telling him since they met up?" Leafpaw felt Barkface tense next to her. "We need to keep our Clan safe."

Firestar's tail was beginning to puff up as he glowered at his deputy. "He would never," He growled. "He may be foolish – all four of them are! But he is not a traitor. None of them are traitors." He spat, ears flattening. "You will not speak of my apprentice like that! I will not hold four cats prisoner for the rest of their lives. We are not killing four innocent cats either. If even one gets away we are done!" He paced a few steps closer to his deputy, claws unsheathing.

"Firestar!" Barkface exclaimed, taking a step between leader and deputy. Firestar hissed. The medicine cat glared at his leader, "He is giving suggestions, nothing more. You need to breathe."

"He is insinuating that Brambleheart is a traitor." He bared his teeth, "He is not and I will not leave him to that… rat's nest." Firestar turned away sharply, heading towards his nest. "Now get out, I need to think."

"Firestar –" Tornear began.

"Leave!" Firestar spat, looking back at the three cats. "All of you." Barkface put his tail over Leafpaw's back as they turned away. She tensed against him. She could hear Firestar's panting as they followed Tornear towards the entrance.

"Leafpaw." Leafpaw stopped in her stepped at Firestar's voice. She looked back to her father, Barkface stopping with her. The warrior had settled into his nest. His tongue was out and he was panting. He looked at his daughter. He seemed to have difficulty speaking. "I'm sorry, I'm –" he stifled, "I'm sorry. Send your mother in here." Leafpaw nodded.

"Yes, Firestar." Her voice was quiet, "Of course." She turned away again, following Barkface out of the den.

Brambleheart forced himself to his feet, ears pricked. He was just beginning to doze off but something was happening outside. It sounded like a fight.

He padded cautiously toward the cave entrance, stepping out as he realized Blackfoot was brawling with another cat. What was this? This certainly could not have been WindClan, there was no way for them to get here this quickly! Had one of the Clans within TigerClan turned on the others? He had heard whisperings of rogues but certainly, there couldn't be this many!

Brambleheart glanced at Blackfoot again. He was not paying attention to Brambleheart – no one was! Excitement filled him like nothing before. The urge to run was almost overwhelming. Even with his injuries, he might be able to slip away! It was dark and no one was watching him. He –

– was knocked to the ground. The air left his lungs as he rolled, his wounds stinging. He stared blearily at the cat on top of him.

Brambleheart almost thought he was seeing things as the cat appeared to be no more than a shape in the dark. A small one at that. Cold eyes reflected the early moonlight as what Brambleheart thought were claws dug into his chest.

These claws were much too big for a cat this size, Brambleheart realized with a jolt. They were dull, much duller than he would expect of any cat's claws but he was having a hard time catching his breath and in so much pain that the world seemed to spin. Suddenly the claws retracted as this shadow of a cat tilted its head.

"You're not him," The voice was like ice. "Too young." The shadow disappeared.

The warrior forced himself to roll over, his sides heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He stared hazily into the crowd of brawling cats.

What had that been?

Leafpaw nosed her sister's ear as Onewhisker stepped away.

"What happened?" She asked. Squirrelpaw pulled away.

"Great StarClan, since when were you one of my parents?" She asked. "It's bad enough when Brambleheart is up in my business."

"I'm your medicine cat," Leafpaw pointed out.

"Well, it's healed." Squirrelpaw flicked her tail dismissively, "It was Tawnyclaw that gave it to me, actually." Leafpaw's eyes widened and Squirrelpaw continued quickly, "It was a bit ago, we're past it."

"Sure." Leafpaw did not want to trust the TigerClan cats in the first place but now she certainly did not. Squirrelpaw looked up to their parent's den, her tail twitching.

"How long until they come out?" She was still upset after her talk with Firestar. Leafpaw shook her head.

"I don't know."

Even though the TigerClan cats had been sent to a den, the tension was still thick in the air. Firestar had yet to come out of his den and Sandstorm had left only briefly to get Tornear and Barkface.

"Do you think Firestar's going to take it?" Leafpaw's voice was hushed. They had been told not to tell anyone else what was going on. Squirrelpaw glanced at her sister.

"He'd better," she muttered, dark green eyes looking toward the leader's den again. Leafpaw's eyes rounded.

"Nothing is going on here," She protested, "We don't need to leave this territory!" They had dealt with the issues they had! Squirrelpaw's eyes were narrowed at her sister.

"You want to leave Brambleheart there?" She asked. "He's our brother! And Feathertail lost her leg. Even with Stormfur's help, she would take forever to get back here. Who knows what could happen to them out there?" Leafpaw's ears flattened. So much had happened since the last time she had seen Squirrelpaw. So much had changed.

"I don't want to leave him there," She replied. "But to willingly collaborate with TigerClan?"

"We're strong," Squirrelpaw curled her tail around her paws. "WindClan has survived this long, we will continue to survive. We're certainly more well fed!" Her eyes were bright as she looked at Leafpaw, "If we go, this will be the beginning of the downfall of Tigerstar! You heard what Midnight said about evil within the Clans, right? That's got to be about him! We need to defeat him! We're gonna!" The night of Firestar's supposed ceremony came back to Leafpaw. She opened her mouth, making to respond when the sound of movement came from above.

Cats looked to the leader's den and both sisters rose as leader and deputy left the den behind, Sandstorm following behind, Barkface next to her. Firestar's tail was still lashing but he was calmer than she had seen him last.

"A meeting is to be held at the Rockpile," He called out, heading down the ledge.

As the Clan hurried over, Tornear stayed next to Firestar. Barkface stepped away and Sandstorm fell back, walking next to Graystripe. As she spoke, Mistyfoot was called over as well. The warriors talked quietly.

Leafpaw pressed against her sister before heading over to Barkface. Firestar climbed up the rocks.

As everyone settled, the leader spoke.

"I am sure everyone is aware of the Squirrelpaw's return and the TigerClan warriors that came with her. Here is what is going on," As Firestar explained what was happening in TigerClan and what had happened to the journeying cats, anxious meows arose from the Clan.

"So," Whitetail looked up at their leader. "What do you want to do?"

"We will be leaving the gorge behind," Firestar replied simply. "In three days, we will be heading back to the old territories."

Mothwing bared her teeth, kicking at her opponent's belly. These had to have been those rogues. She had yet to fight them – she had no idea just how strong they were!

She gasped as the other cat's claws raked down her shoulder. Her studded collar glistened under the low moon's light. Mothwing was struggling, trying everything she could to get this cat off of her but she would not budge.

Suddenly a yowl sounded and the other cat was dragged off. Mothwing scrambled to her paws, recognizing a ShadowClan warrior who she could not think of the name of. The queen's claws unsheathed and she sprang at the opponent again, clawing at her haunches.

Between the two of them, they managed to send this cat off. Mothwing was panting, these cats were tough. Much tougher than she would expect them to be.

Of course, we could just be weak. Fear filled her at the thought as she turned to look at her surroundings. They were starving. These cats did not appear to be. How would they win this?

Mothwing turned at the sound of Tigerstar's growl. He was not far from her and looking at something on a rock. His fur was on end as he struck out at a seemingly invisible enemy.

Mothwing saw a small shape dart to Tigerstar's side. Her breath caught in her throat as the mighty leader was toppled.

"Tigerstar!" She called out, starting toward him. The small shape slid on top of the dark tabby. Claws, as she had never seen before, were extended. Mothwing raced forward but it was too late.

Those claws sank deep into his chest. Tigerstar gasped. Mothwing screamed.

"Father!"

AN: And that marks the end of Fair Winds. Thanks for reading! I appreciate all the comments and the like. I originally started posting on ao3 and I didn't start posting here until Twisted Tree was almost done but, today, posting here was the first time it was in sync with ao3. Which means this'll be updated like it was there, rather than with chapters I had already posted. So it'll be a bit of a wait for the next part, sorry about that. I know this is a sudden ending, so as a little something I'll give the title of the next section: No Swimmer. I have started on it and have been working on it around work and stuff for the last month but I'm hoping by the end of the summer it'll be out?
Anyway, until next time!