Chapter 4: The Reunion

Duskstar lounged on top of Great Rock with Echostar, a pure-black tom with dark blue eyes, leader of Shadowclan, and Silentstar, and white-and-silver tabby she-cat with striking blue eyes, and the leader of Riverclan. They were waiting on Gorsestar, a white-and-brown tom, the leader of Windclan.

"Windclan is always late!" yowled a Shadowclan she-cat. "Cant we just start without them?"

Echostar chuckled softly. "We may have to, Brindlepelt." The three leaders go to their paws, when Windclan skidded into the clearing with wide eyes and raised fur. Gorsestar jumped onto the Great Rock with the speed of his ancestors.

"Cats of all clans! Look to the skies!" There, nearing Fourtrees was a dark, rumbling cloud. Murmurs of uncertain, terrified cats filled the clearing, until Duskstar yowled for silence.

"Lilysong, what does Starclan say about this?" Duskstar meowed to his newly returned medicine cat, who had been kidnapped, and they chased off the one who took her. They didn't get a good look at the cat though. He was so fast…he could have been a Windclan cat, but he didn't have the right scent…he would ask Gorsestar later.

The white she-cat shook her head. "No. I have heard nothing from Starclan."

Silentstar spoke, which was very uncommon, given from her name. "If Starclan has nothing to say about it, they must not be worried. Whatever it is, it is in their paws."

The cats seemed to find comfort in her words. Echostar stared. "Well, since everyone is here now, I-"

"Now everyone is here. Sorry we're late." Duskstar bristled at that voice. He knew that cat…

Every cat turned toward a black she-cat with brown spots, who stood on the little ledge to enter the clearing. The dark cloud had stopped at the edge of the clearing, hovering above the she-cat.

He recognized the other two silver traitors, one tom and one she-cat. Then there were the missing apprentices Sootpaw and Softpaw. Shadowclan let out hisses at a scarred, dark grey she-cat. Then there was a lean, grey tom, and a tiny nervous soft white she-cat, with sliver markings that resemble crescent moons. They all sported the horrible mark of their enemies from long ago: collars with teeth and dogtooth-tipped claws. Duskstar wrinkles his nose. They smell like the blood of prey! Gross! Do they ever groom their pelts?

The newly-arrived group padded into the clearing. Clan cats bristled and moved out of the way, like how a stream parts at a rock. Shard flicked her tail, and her clan settled next to Shadowclan, a good foot between the groups as Shadowclan shifted further from them. The lean grey tom followed her as she hopped onto Great Rock.

"You." Duskstar snarled, his voice rising. "You are not welcome here. How dare you tread your murderous paws where Starclan forbids! I-"

She chuckles, tapping the tip of her black, white, and brown stripped tail on his muzzle, which causes him to twitch his whiskers in annoyance. "Now, now Duskstar. Starclan has said nothing about me being forbidden to be here. We are a clan, and have as much right to be here as you do."

Echostar scoffs. "Hardly."

The grey tom growls, the fur on his massive shoulders rising, as does the silver tom and she-cat sitting among the group. Shard flicks her tail, silencing them. "Chill, Ripple, Silver, it's alright. They just don't know." The bristling cats settle down again.

She grins at the shocked leaders, and then addresses the cats in the clearing. "Clans. We mean you no harm. Look at the moon. Do you see any clouds blocking the moon? Your Starclan has said nothing about my arrival."

"What about the dark cloud?" yowls a Riverclan tom.

Silentstar looks at Shard. "Yes. It is rather an odd entrance display."

The black she-cat chuckles. "Ok, so maybe I don't follow your precious Starclan, but we are a clan, nonetheless."

Yowls filled the clearing with endless jabber.

"What clan doesn't follow Starclan?" "Did Starclan send the cloud to warn us?" "What do you believe in then?"

"Silence!" Echostar yowled. The silence that immediately follows seemed louder that the noise itself.

Silentstar meowed. "Since Starclan has not rejected this new group, we shall allow it until Starclan says otherwise."

Shard smiled. "Thank you." She turned towards the gathered felines. "I am Darkshard, and I am the leader of Bloodclan." Murmurs of the clans started up again, and Darkshard flicked her tail for silence. "We are not the Bloodclan cats you once knew. We are a reformed Bloodclan. We-"

Duskstar snarls. "Reformed? Your clan is a bunch of queen and kit stealers!"

The Bloodclan cats hiss and the Thunderclan cats snarl. Claws were unsheathed, itching to tear out the other's fur.

"Stop this at once! A gathering is supposed to be peaceful!" Ripplestep, the Riverclan medicine cat, yowled, as a single, white cloud, covered the moon. The cats became silent, watching as it slowly passed. When moonlight fell upon them again, Echostar glared at the two bristling leaders.

"Enough. This is no time to throw around accusations."

"SHE is a traitor of Thunderclan. She MURDERED Sparrowstar." Duskstar hissed, the fur on his arched back still bristling. Darkshard stood, unflinching at his remarks.

Silentstar lashed her tail. "Duskstar, we didn't even know they were here until tonight. Enough fighting, before Starclan calls this meeting to an end." The sharpness of her tone made Duskstar's ears flatten, and he sat, still glaring.

Darkshard smiled, and stepped forward. "Bloodclan is doing well. We have many kits, including four of my own. We have many new members, including Chill, my deputy," he dips his head at his name, "Ripple, my leader of my Elite Warriors, Silver, Bracken, and Eclipse, to name just a few. We also found a new medicine cat, Lunaclaw." The timid white she-cat seemed to shrink under the stares of the clan cats. "We'll be setting up territory borders soon. That is all Bloodclan has to say at this time." She steps back, receiving a hostile glare from Duskstar, before the Echostar steps forward.

"Shadowclan is doing well. We have 2 new warriors, Rainwhisper and Larkstripe. We also have a new apprentice, Lizardpaw, mentored by Larkstripe. Prey is running well. We drove out a fox, so be on the lookout for it should it be too thickheaded to return. That is all Shadowclan has to say."

Gorsestar goes next. "Windclan is thriving. We named three apprentices warriors.

As the tom stepped back, Duskstar was about to step forward, when the silver-and-white tabby beat him to it.

"Riverclan is doing very well. Twolegs are not giving us any major problems. There are many fish in the river. We have our new medicine cat, Ripplestep, after Silverwish retired to the elders den. Our new apprentices are Whitepaw, Owlpaw, and Toadpaw, mentored by Gingerflight, Mistfeather, and Tanglefang, respectively. That is all Riverclan has to say."

Finally Duskstar thought bitterly as he got to his paws. "Thunderclan has suffered many blows lately. The disappearance of our queens and kits were a staggering blow to us, but we are recovering, as our she-cat warriors have stepped down temporarily to become queens for the time being." He threw a glare at Darkshard before continuing. "We were also missing apprentices, but now I see where their alliances lie." He flicked his tail toward Bracken and Cinder, who barred their fangs at him. He brushed it off. "Our medicine cat was kidnapped, but she ran away from her capturers and returned safely. On the good side, we named three apprentices warrior: Adderfang, Honeyheart, and Cloverleap. We also took in two kittypets. Once Smokey and Jinx, now they are Smoketooth and Willowfur. That is all Thunderclan has to say. We're leaving now." He growls at Darkshard before bounding out of the clearing, his clan on his heels.

Silentstar blinks, and then smiles at Darkshard, dipping her head in wordless farewell. The leader then flicks her tail, and Riverclan leaves the clearing, flowing as a single unit, much like the river that surrounds their camp.

Gorsestar smirked, and then turned to Darkshard. "I may not know much about your clan, but you don't seem like a threat, like Duskstar thinks. I hope to see you soon. May the prey run well for you." He dips his head, and Windclan clears out with a gentle breeze that ruffles the remaining clan's fur.

Echostar smiles at Darkshard. "Is your territory close to ours?"

Darkshard nods. "Just west, I believe. Between Highstones and Carrionplace."

Echostar blinks in understanding. "Well, I would like to hear more about your clan on the way back. That is, if it's ok with you and your clan." His deputy, a tortoiseshell she-cat named Tawnydrop, sat next to him.

Darkshard purred. "Of course! It would be our pleasure." The Shadowclan cats and the Bloodclan cats headed toward their camps together, as Darkshard explained to Echostar the joys of her clan and their ways.