Welp! Here's the end! Again, I'm sorry for the poor quality of this one – I've had a lot going on in my life during the writing and it was all very draining. I've been charting out the last two books in order to avoid some of the problems that cropped up within these earlier entries and boy does nearly every change made pay off haha.

I can't say just how long it'll be between this and the next – I'm returning to work after a long break and I need to find out where writing will fit best into my schedule. So far, it's Fridays. As always, I like to have a decent-sized buffer of content before I post so it might be some time. I do intend on finishing this series (it's very up in the air whether or not I'll venture into the other arcs) so it will happen.

Anyway, thanks as always for reading! More to come soon.

Twilight

Chapter 30

The air was heavy with the scent of RiverClan and WindClan in Fourtrees. Tinyclaw didn't see any ShadowClan cats. The events of the fire had almost washed away his memories of Whitethroat and Littlecloud, and Bluefur's murder of Runningwind and Thornpaw. Whitethroat's broken body on the Thunderpath flashed through his mind briefly. Were ShadowClan still sick? Was that why they weren't here yet?

It feels like I've been sucked into my own world, Tinyclaw thought despairingly. It was like everything else didn't exist for a while.

The sooner he got the chance to warn the other Clans about Bluefur, the better. Surely reporting the deaths of Runningwind and Thornpaw would stir some concern, and RiverClan was already somewhat aware that Bluefur was trouble, though they didn't know why. Tinyclaw couldn't afford to let anxiety keep him from saying what was necessary.

"Tinyclaw!" Onewhisker bounded towards him, whiskers twitching. Tinyclaw was shocked to see a WindClan cat happy to see him – the last time he'd seen one was when he sent Mudclaw sneering away from a fight on his own territory. Yet Onewhisker had always been friendly to Tinyclaw ever since Tinyclaw had helped bring WindClan home.

"Long time no see," Tinyclaw offered, giving the brown warrior a smile. Warily, he offered, "You oughtn't let Mudclaw see you talking to me; truce or no truce he wouldn't be happy."

"Mudclaw takes pride in defending his territory," Onewhisker stated. "Sometimes I think he thinks himself deputy or something." Onewhisker's paws kneaded the ground with discomfort.

"That's fine," Tinyclaw assured him, "but that's no excuse to turn Tigerstar away from Highstones."

"You were sheltering Brokentail," Onewhisker pointed out, frowning.

"Brokentail was dead long before then," Tinyclaw muttered. He tried to keep his neck fur from rising at the old excuse. "And you know as well as I do that turning away a leader or a medicine cat from Highstones is just. Not right."

Onewhisker grumbled. "I know," he breathed.

"It's all right," Tinyclaw decided, feeling badly for this. He hadn't meant to grill Onewhisker. My temper is getting away from me. "It's not like you can control what your Clan does. It is good to see you, though. How have you been?"

"Fine," Onewhisker reported. He seemed pleased to talk about something else. "We saw the smoke from the fire – I was mostly wondering how you were doing, you know, after that. The sky was almost black! It seemed like it was snowing, almost, but it was ash." His eyes were wide. "It was scary, and we weren't even in the thick of it. I know what it's like to be driven from home."

"We're doing better now that we're back in our camp," Tinyclaw assured him. "Rebuilding is going to take some time but we're managing – and it won't be long until the forest recovers, too." He was grateful that this part of the forest hadn't been affected by the flames. What would the Clans think if Fourtrees had burned?

"I'm glad," Onewhisker sighed. "You know, it's almost as if we never left now. Morningflower's kit is almost an apprentice. I can't wait for his first Gathering."

"It's Cloudpaw's first Gathering," Tinyclaw pointed out, nodding to his niece. "My niece."

"A kittypet?" Onewhisker's eyes widened. "Wow."

"She's doing well," Tinyclaw purred, "though she did have a brief period of difficulty adjusting to Clan life. I couldn't be more proud of her." He wondered if Onewhisker knew that Cloudpaw was the reason he'd been on WindClan territory in the first place.

"That's great, Tinyclaw!" Onewhisker purred back. "You know, I'm really proud of Whitepaw, too – she's my first apprentice; so close to becoming a warrior. You think she and Cloudpaw would get along like we do?"

"Who knows?" Tinyclaw chuckled.

"We've been seeing much of you lately, Tinyclaw."

Onewhisker hastily dipped his head, and Tinyclaw did the same as Tallstar approached. The lean black-and-white tom regarded Tinyclaw with a speculative look in his amber eyes. "Just because you once led us home doesn't give you the liberty to use our territory as your own."

"So I've been warned," Tinyclaw meowed carefully. "Though I wouldn't have trespassed had I any other option. I had to put the needs of my Clan and my Clanmates first." Keeping the resentment out of his voice was hard, when he recalled how Tigerstar had been treated. It was difficult to look on Tallstar with the same amount of respect as he had before.

Tallstar's eyes glittered. "Having traveled with you, I am not surprised. Your heart is that of a warrior's." He glanced around the clearing and added levelly, "I'm not surprised that Tigerstar chose you as his new deputy – though I seemed to be one of the few, when it happened. Some doubted that a cat as young as you, with your stature, could carry the responsibility. I think they've learned differently."

Tinyclaw blinked at the old warrior, confused but happy for the strange praise. He glanced at Onewhisker, but the brown tabby was nodding along. "That's… I appreciate hearing that, Tallstar," Tinyclaw offered.

Tallstar only blinked back. "Where is Tigerstar?" he wondered idly. "I do not see him."

"He's not feeling well enough to travel," Tinyclaw reported calmly.

"Was he injured in the fire?" Tallstar's concern sounded like worry for an old friend rather than ambitious plotting.

"No," Tinyclaw replied, "but he breathed in quite a lot of smoke. It's nothing he won't recover from."

"I see," Tallstar mused. "Speaking would be difficult, then. Understandable. Well, it will be interesting hearing ThunderClan news from you. I look forward -"

Tallstar was cut off as the fresh scent of ShadowClan filtered into the clearing. All heads turned to see three ShadowClan cats racing down the slope, stopping in the center of the clearing to pant and regain their breath. One of them was Runningnose, ShadowClan's medicine cat.

The surrounding cats backed away preemptively, all aware of ShadowClan's disease by now. Runningnose and his companions caught their breath, and the medicine cat reported confidently: "It's all right – ShadowClan is cured. The rest of the Clan will be arriving shortly."

Tinyclaw frowned. There was something… off about the ShadowClan scent. It wasn't sickness, but it was something… familiar. He couldn't place it. But they were cured? They certainly didn't seem as haggard as the last time the Clans had seen them. Thank StarClan for Brackenfur…

"Why is Nightstar so late?" Tallstar wondered from beside Tinyclaw.

"Nightstar is dead," Runningnose reported frankly, as if he were talking about a dry mouse.

Murmurs of shock ran through the cats in the clearing. The ShadowClan cats seemed more than unaffected. Tinyclaw's eyes widened. Had the disease been that horrible, to take all of Nightstar's lives? Great StarClan!

"And Cinderfur?" Whitestorm wondered. "Is your deputy dead, too?"

"Cinderfur was the first to die," Runningnose reported.

The Clans clamored again. Both leader and deputy, gone? Unheard of! Tinyclaw reeled. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose his Clan's entire governing party at once, especially considering that he was one of them. How was ShadowClan functioning now? And more importantly…

"Who leads you, then?" Crookedstar asked over the clamor. The big cat was with his Clan, draped in moonlight and shadows.

"You'll see soon enough," Runningnose promised.

That seemed to be all Runningnose was going to say. Now the Gathering cats were abuzz with curiosity, but Tinyclaw felt his stomach lurch. Something about this just… didn't feel right. He could almost scent Redtail somewhere.

"Excuse me," Tinyclaw offered to Tallstar and Onewhisker. "I need to speak to Runningnose."

Tallstar and Onewhisker nodded, and Tinyclaw flicked his tail at the ShadowClan medicine cat. The patchy tom looked relieved to be pulled away from questioning cats – whoever ShadowClan's new leader was, they seemed to be wanting an entrance. Tinyclaw tried not to concern himself with it as he led Runningnose to a more private place in the clearing. The medicine cat needed to know.

"Yellowfang is dead," he reported. Yellowfang had been his mentor before her exile. They had been close, undoubtedly. Tinyclaw wished he didn't have to bear this news.

Runningnose's eyes darkened. "Oh, StarClan… I had hoped… how?"

"The fire," Tinyclaw replied.

Runningnose sniffled, and he nodded in understanding. "Of course," he breathed. "Thank you, Tinyclaw."

Tinyclaw touched his nose to Runningnose's forehead before turning back to the Clans. It was clear they were growing impatient – the moonlight only lasted so long, after all. There was only so much time for the Gathering, and each Clan still had to say their piece.

"The moon will set before we can even begin," fretted a RiverClan cat.

"If ShadowClan's new leader didn't want to be late they should have been here," Mousefur grumbled impatiently. "There's no need to keep up waiting."

Tinyclaw knew Mousefur had a short temper, but this time there was another reason for her impatience. Bluefur was on the loose and the other Clans needed to know. ShadowClan was wasting moonlight.

Finally, a flash of white fur near the Great Rock told that Tallstar was done waiting. Tinyclaw swallowed as Tallstar called the Clans to gather, Crookedstar joining him. Tinyclaw had to be up there, for the first time. The fur in his ears pounded. Sandstorm brushed past him.

"You'll do well," she promised.

Tinyclaw smiled gratefully at her, licking her ear before heading towards the rock himself. He was halfway through the crowd before he was stopped dead in his tracks by some cat yowling: "She's here!"

Redtail's scent overwhelmed Tinyclaw as he sat up on his haunches to see over the other cats. He could almost feel the spirit's fur bristling against his own. The crowd parted to let ShadowClan's new leader through, but it wasn't until the moonlight turned her fur to silver that Tinyclaw realized with horror just why ShadowClan's scent had made his stomach twist.

ShadowClan's new leader was Bluefur.