Hey, back again. I'm starting to post only three times a week, so that's why I've stopped updating. But I have been brainstorming the next future chapters.
Thanks to the following for reviewing:
-Phoenixlight of FallenClan
-SpikedPurr
-ResX
-DarkMatter242
-Mintflight0245
-Rowan Wisteria
I appreciate all your support and advice. Anyway onto the next chapter.
Fire Heart was sharing tongues with Ravenpaw before Skystar called for the Gathering Patrol.
"Cats going to the Gathering today are Frost, Petal, Shattered Ice, Leaf, Fire Heart, Jackdaw's Cry and Yellowfang. And of course, Gray Wing and our medicine cats."
Dappled Pelt and Cloud Spots exchanged worried looks and Skystar noticed. "What is it?"
"Maybe…one of us should stay behind this time in case…" Dappled Pelt meowed.
Skystar's eyes widened and he nodded. "Of course." Dappled Pelt nodded at Cloud Spots and backed away from the crowd, leaving the black tom to go instead.
"C'mon, dummy!" Jackdaw's Cry called from the entrance as the patrol headed out. Fire Heart nosed Ravenpaw.
"See you later," he purred.
"Yeah, you too," Ravenpaw mewed, smiling. Fire Heart noticed his apprentice looking surly outside the den but he didn't have time to comfort him and say that most new apprentices didn't go to a Gathering right away on their first day.
He caught up to his Clan as they neared the ThunderClan border.
Cloud Spots looked over the hollow filled with cats. Skystar kept them waiting at the top as always before he nodded and they joined the rest down below.
Fire Heart and Jackdaw's Cry immediately broke off and ran to converse with a gray ThunderClan tom. Leaf hesitated, looking lost before he joined the two younger warriors. Frost and Petal sat with some ShadowClan warriors and Yellowfang joined them hesitantly. Gray Wing joined Leopardfur and Cinderfur under the Great Rock and Skystar jumped onto it right away as if he wanted to get the Gathering over with already.
Cloud Spots went to join Mudfur and Runningnose. When he sat down, Runningnose sneezed all over the place and mumbled, "my bad."
Mudfur glanced at him before hurrying away. Nice seeing you too. Cloud Spots rolled his eyes.
Gray Wing sat silently in between Leopardfur, who was apparently the new RiverClan deputy and Cinderfur, the new ShadowClan deputy. Tigerclaw hadn't joined them yet.
"So…how's it going?" He tried making small talk. The two cats looked at him as if he were an idiot and didn't say a word.
Rude.
"Look, ShadowClan's looking stronger," Jackdaw's Cry commented as he and Fire Heart stood by Graypaw. "Mind you we did most of the fighting."
"Huh?" Graypaw looked confused. Fire Heart exchanged a look with his friend before the ginger tom shrugged and meowed, "you tell him."
As Jackdaw's Cry explained what happened after Storm was murdered Fire Heart looked around. ShadowClan and RiverClan were giving each other knowing looks which was a bit suspicious.
What are they up to?
Two ShadowClan cats approached Shattered Ice, who was in the middle of a conversation with Beetlenose and Blackclaw. "...and so then–oh, hello, Wetfoot, Oakpaw." He nodded at them and the apprentice looked surprised that he knew him.
"Hello, Shattered Ice. Is Tall Shadow here?" Wetfoot asked.
"Not this time," Shattered Ice meowed. "Why? Am I not cool enough for you?" Oakpaw's eyes widened worriedly while the RiverClan warriors chuckled. Wetfoot just shook his head smiling.
"No, you're cool…enough," Wetfoot meowed. Shattered Ice swatted at him with a huff.
"Anyway, how is ShadowClan?" Shattered Ice asked.
"Better."
"I heard your clan had four new warriors a few moons ago," Beetlenose suddenly meowed and Shattered Ice was satisfied at the other clan cats' envious looks.
"Yes. Fire Heart and Jackdaw's Cry are here, but not Falling Feather this time. And Hawk Swoop is in the nursery with two kits."
As they murmured congratulations, Shattered Ice caught sight of Leopardfur sitting with Cinderfur and Gray Wing, who looked annoyed with the two. "Oh, is Leopardfur the new deputy?" He asked. Blackclaw nodded.
"How-how are Thunder and Jagged Peak?" Oakpaw asked shyly.
"Thunder and his sisters are doing very well. Growing everyday. Jagged Peak is Fire Heart's apprentice but he's not here tonight."
Suddenly, there was a yowl. The Gathering was starting. Shattered Ice looked around and spotted Yellowfang. "See you." He dashed over to her. She was talking with her littermates and her parents, surprisingly.
"C'mon, Yellowfang. We should join our Clanmates," he muttered.
Yellowfang rolled her eyes. "Alright, hold your fur. I'm coming." She bade her family goodbye and followed the gray-and-white tom over to the SkyClan group.
Once the crowd had settled, Skystar began. "SkyClan brings to this Gathering four new warriors."
Fire Heart held his gaze high as all eyes turned to him. He saw Jackdaw's Cry do the same, his friend seemed undaunted by the stares, but Fire Heart felt a bit self-conscious.
Nightpelt stepped forward. "I have taken leadership of ShadowClan," he announced. "Brokenstar was a tyrant and a murderer. We were forced to drive him out."
"No mention of us helping," Jackdaw's Cry whispered.
Nightpelt went on. "StarClan spoke to Runningnose and selected me as the new leader. I have not yet traveled to the Moonstone to receive StarClan's blessing, but I'll make the journey tonight while the moon is full."
"Where's Brokenstar now?" A ThunderClan queen, Frostfur, called anxiously.
"We assumed he's left the forest with the rest of his banished warriors," Nightpelt replied.
"I hope so," Frostfur murmured to her sister.
After Thistlestar went, Crookedstar stepped forward and mewed, "now that Brokenstar is gone, the river only belongs to RiverClan now."
"Now wait a minute–" Nightpelt began but his mew was drowned out by cheers from RiverClan. Jackdaw's Cry looked at Fire Heart and rolled his eyes, amused. Fire Heart grinned back.
As the two toms argued, Thistlestar watched them, amused while Skystar sat off to the side looking bored.
Finally, Nightpelt lightened up and meowed, "you're right. We don't need your fish when we have WindClan's moor to hunt on."
"Grand idea," Crookedstar meowed in agreement, green eyes shining. Thistlestar looked thoughtful but Fire Heart noticed his leader had a strange look.
He kept to himself though.
Soon the Gathering was over, and the crowd was breaking up into individual patrols. Fire Heart caught up to Cloud Spots, who had broken away from his fellow medicine cats and the two of them along with Jackdaw's Cry padded at the rear of their Clan. Fire Heart caught sight of Graypaw and waved his tail at him.
Skystar swiftly led the way back to camp. He had become paranoid after everything that had happened since Fire Heart joined.
"Any news?" Jagged Peak limped excitedly out of the apprentice's den, Air Leap behind him.
"Was ShadowClan there?" Fircone asked.
"Yes," Skystar replied gravely. He jumped onto the Flat Boulder, watching as the Clan joined in the clearing. "Tonight was tense. All the other leaders obviously don't care about WindClan ever coming back."
"So…what will we do?" Tall Shadow asked. Skystar stared at her, looking puzzled before he shook himself.
"I need to think first."
And with that the meeting was over. Fire Heart padded after Jackdaw's Cry to the warrior's den.
Does Skystar care about WindClan?
The next day, Gray Wing and Fire Heart took their apprentices out to teach them how to hunt. Turtle Tail tagged along, much to Gray Wing's worry and the tortoiseshell's annoyance.
"I'll be fine. Stop acting like Skystar."
"I am not acting like Skystar."
"Yes. You are."
Jagged Peak shook his head, amused. Meanwhile, Fire Heart had taken it upon himself to point out different prey scents and where they would most likely shelter.
Jagged Peak tried to listen but his leg started to ache and he hissed in pain. Fire Heart gave him a worried look. "When we get back you should do your daily exercises."
"I'm tired of exercising!" He complained, unhappily.
Fire Heart shrugged. "Fine then, but don't come wailing to me if your leg doesn't heal properly."
Jagged Peak dropped his gaze and finally sighed, "fine."
Suddenly, a rabbit darted across their path, its eyes wide with terror. Gray Wing was about to rush out to intercept it, before abruptly stopping. Fire Heart and the apprentices gave him strange looks, but Turtle Tail was looking about expectantly, similar to her mate.
Just then, Wind hopped over one of the bushes, her brown fur ruffled. "Stupid rabbit!" she growled.
Gray Wing laughed. "You must be getting slow in your old age!"
"I'm hardly older than you, jerk!" Wind growled, but it wasn't venomous. "It's harder hunting in the forest." Gray Wing and Turtle Tail nodded in full agreement but Fire Heart seemed to disagree. So did Jagged Peak. The forest was a nice place to be. But the moor wasn't that bad. Not that he'd ever been but it sounded okay.
Just then, Gorse appeared behind Wind. Air Leap glanced at his mentor cautiously. He'd never known the friendly rogues. Jagged Peak had only seen them once or twice when he used to go out into the forest as a kit with Gray Wing.
"It's okay," Gray Wing reassured the younger cats. "Gorse and Wind are our friends."
"How's it been?" Turtle Tail asked Wind.
"Good. Now that WindClan is gone there's more prey on the moor to hunt." Turtle Tail and Gray Wing exchanged uneasy looks.
"What?" Gorse asked.
"Well, I overheard Skystar talking to Dappled Pelt and Cloud Spots and they were thinking of getting WindClan back."
Wind sighed. "At least we can hunt there until they return."
"You'll always be welcome to hunt here still," Turtle Tail meowed gently. "Now how about we actually train these apprentices?"
They reached the edge of the abandoned moorland and walked along a small stream.
"Rabbits don't come this close," Wind meowed. "But there's fish and water voles."
"I've never gotten the chance to hunt on the moor," Gray Wing meowed uneasily as they walked across the grassy slopes. "Is it okay to do that to WindClan?"
"For now," Gorse shrugged. "They're not here, are they?"
Jagged Peak didn't worry. He was looking around the land with awe. The leafbare sun made the dying tall grass glow golden-yellow. The usual morning frost had melted and it was wet everywhere.
"Yes, but don't forget the tensions from the other three Clans. We're outnumbered," Fire Heart muttered.
"That doesn't sound good."
Everyone jumped, startled, thinking another Clan patrol had caught them, but it was only River Ripple, sitting on a rock in the middle of the water, like it was nothing.
"Hey, River Ripple," Fire Heart and Turtle Tail meowed simultaneously. The others murmured greetings too.
For the sake of Wind and Gorse, Gray Wing introduced them.
"Are you a…rogue or loner?" Wind asked cautiously, not wanting to offend the silver cat.
"I don't believe in labels," River Ripple rumbled calmly, shrugging.
Wind exchanged a wide-eyed look with Gorse as if they couldn't believe there was such a strange cat.
Just then, the whole group tensed as they heard yowling and spitting from somewhere close by. Jagged Peak looked at his brother before he watched him race to the noise. Wind, Gorse and River Ripple dashed after him and Turtle Tail followed more slowly, leading the apprentices at a safe distance as Fire Heart raced forward to join the others.
When Jagged Peak pushed through some tall grass he caught sight of a RiverClan and ShadowClan patrol surrounding three stray WindClan cats.
"Hey!" Gorse shouted and they all looked up, confused.
"Oh?" Leopardfur, the head of her patrol, looked up with mocking amber eyes. "Is SkyClan breaking the rules too? Your leader seemed to disagree about using WindClan's hunting grounds."
"If anyone has a right to hunt here besides WindClan themselves," Gorse hissed, stalking up and shoving his muzzle in the RiverClan deputy's face. "It's Wind and myself! We know more about rabbits than you."
"And we've been watching you from the forest," Wind added, eyes glittering mischievously, as if she enjoyed annoying the other clan cats. "You're horrible rabbit hunters."
Leopardfur backed away, ears flattened in embarrassment. Cinderfur and his ShadowClan warriors just glared.
"We can hunt anything, anyday!" The skinny gray deputy hissed.
"Can you?" Wind exchanged a look with Gorse. "You remember that one Shadow Cat…what was his name…?"
"Flintfang," Gorse answered for her.
"Oh, yes." She turned back to the ShadowClan cats. "He tripped over his own tail trying to chase one down and his whole patrol tripped over him, scaring all the prey away."
The SkyClan and WindClan cats, who had been startled and confused at first, were snickering with glee.
"Even a kit from our Clan wouldn't have been so clumsy," a gray tom with white splotches meowed.
The RiverClan and ShadowClan cats hissed before they turned a slunk away. Cinderfur paused and stared at a vole that was at the brown-and-gray she-cat's paws. She hissed at him.
"I wouldn't try Cinderfur," Turtle Tail meowed. "Back in the mountains only those who hunted could eat. And you didn't catch anything."
Cinderfur glared before he turned and stalked away.
The oldest of the WindClan cats, a brown tom, stood up and faced the SkyClan cats and three rogues. "Thank you," he dipped his head.
"Where is the rest of your Clan?" Gray Wing asked worriedly.
"We-we got separated," the she-cat meowed.
"Two of our newest warriors were sitting their vigil when it happened," the gray-and-white tom began, eyes wide. "One of them was killed and the other barely escaped with her life."
"I saved these two from a whole mass of them," the brown tom meowed. "And we started running but then we realized we'd lost the rest in our panic."
River Ripple shook his head. "Why must the other Clans act so selfish?"
"Because that is how they are," Gray Wing sighed. Fire Heart nodded in agreement.
"What're your names?" Jagged Peak demanded boldly to break the sadness and tension in the air.
"I'm Stagleap," the brown tom dipped his head. "This is Sorrelshine and her brother, Pigeonflight." He nodded to either cat on his side.
"Well, you already know us," Gray Wing meowed, indicating himself and Turtle Tail. "But this is my younger brother, Jagged Peak, my nephew, Air Leap, Fire Heart, Wind, Gorse and River Ripple."
"You're that loner that lives by the river," Stagleap meowed, eyes narrowed thoughtfully on the silver tom.
"He doesn't like to be called anything," Air Leap meowed. The WindClan cats gave him confused looks. "You can't call him a 'rogue' or 'loner.'"
The other cats purred a laugh.
"Yes. I've lived by the river my whole life. As long as I mind my business they leave me in peace," River Ripple meowed.
"Yeah, well, now they're trying to steal our land," Pigeonflight grumbled.
"My brother wants to find WindClan!" Gray Wing suddenly blurted out.
Stagleap looked up with wide eyes. "But I tho–"
Suddenly, barking broke out from the forest and the SkyClan cats froze. Gray Wing faced his Clanmates. "We gotta get back." And with that he took off, Turtle Tail by his side.
Fire Heart waved his tail bye and led Jagged Peak and Air Leap after the two, leaving the others staring after them, confused.
"Hide!" Tall Shadow ordered as the dogs pounding pawsteps neared the camp. Hawk Swoop pushed her kits into a shelter tunnel near the nursery. She turned and grabbed Ivy Breeze and Ash Blaze as well before squeezing in herself.
Everyone else climbed trees and Tall Shadow stayed on the Flat Boulder.
Two dogs burst in and started exploring, sniffing all over the place. The smaller one tried to get to Tall Shadow, who just snarled at it. The bigger one chewed some old prey bones before it sniffed at the tunnel Hawk Swoop and the kits were hiding in.
Jackdaw's Cry looked like he would jump from his tree to save them and Tall Shadow tensed, ready to pounce, too, if needed.
Before anything else could happen there was a yowling from outside and the two dogs left the camp, whining.
After a bit, Tall Shadow jumped off the Flat Boulder, and the other cats took it as a sign that it was safe to follow. They all jumped from trees and Hawk Swoop herded the kits out.
Just then, Gray Wing and his patrol burst in. "Are the dogs gone?"
"Yes," she meowed and then tensed. "Where is Skystar? I had to take charge since he wasn't here."
"It's worse than that!" Hawk Swoop looked up from counting the kits, eyes wide with panic. "Thunder and Shattered Ice are missing too!"
Thunder took a deep breath, then let out a sigh of satisfaction. He loved being in the forest. "This is nice!" he mewed out loud. Frost crunched under his paws.
Shattered Ice was walking ahead. "You sure you asked Skystar to come out here with me?" he asked.
Thunder's mouth dried up. "Oh, yes...yes, I did."
Shattered Ice still seemed suspicious. Thunder didn't think he really believed him.
"Okay," Shattered Ice said. "Did you come to watch?"
"No, I came to hunt!" He spotted a small movement in the shelter of some ferns.
Instinctively, Thunder dropped into a crouch and threw himself at the creature, giving it a killing bite. "What is it?" He asked his clanmate.
"A shrew," Shattered Ice sniffed. "It won't be enough for the whole Clan. Let's head farther to the border."
Thunder froze. "But…ThunderClan–"
"I'm not scared of those arrogant, bossy, know-it-alls!" Shattered Ice spat.
"But my dad said we should avoid trouble with them," Thunder mumbled, shuffling his white paws. Skystar would chew him out if he knew Thunder had left camp, but the kit was bored of staying in camp so much and his father was super overbearing.
Usually, if Gray Wing were around Skystar would let him take them for hunting practice in the forest. But Gray Wing had been out with Fire Heart and their apprentices and Skystar had been nowhere in sight. So he couldn't know as long as they got back before he did.
"Okay, and?" Shattered Ice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"And…nothing. Can you teach me how to hunt something besides birds? The only reason I caught one last time was because Acorn Fur scared them and I made a huge leap to get one."
Shattered Ice studied him before shrugging. "Alright. Start by crouching." As Thunder crouched he felt Shattered Ice move around him, correcting his stance and all.
"There you go." Shattered Ice stepped back and examined his stance with an approving eye. It felt awkward but soon Thunder's muscles got used to it.
"Teaching your Clanmate how to be a codebreaking weirdo like the rest of you?"
The two toms jumped and spun around to see a pale tabby with black stripes and a black tabby stalking out of some ferns. Thunder realized how close they were to the border now.
Shattered Ice pushed Thunder behind him and glared at the two. "Darkstripe, Longtail, nice to see you."
"You're too close to the border," Longtail growled. "What should we do with them, Darkstripe?"
"Blind them, flay their hides!" Darkstripe spat. Thunder tensed. How could they be so aggressive? He wouldn't like to find out what would happen if he ever stepped paw on ThunderClan territory.
"Go ahead and try!" Shattered Ice's claws slid out. "We're not even on your land!"
Longtail stalked up and thrust his face into Shattered Ice's face. He didn't react. "Take your kit and get outta here!" The young warrior growled.
"Are you threatening us?" Shattered Ice growled.
"Yeah. We are!" Darkstripe growled back.
Suddenly, the bushes rustled and two more cats padded out. Thunder felt a bit relieved as he recognized Bluefur and Willowpelt, some of ThunderClan's rare, most sensible cats.
"What in StarClan is going on here?" Bluefur meowed, looking at Longtail with narrowed eyes. The pale tabby backed away from the border, looking chastened, and Thunder admired how she could handle cats with barely any effort.
"We're not doing anything!" Thunder meowed boldly. "We weren't even that close to the border." Bluefur looked at him with…interest? Darkstripe just sneered at him.
"I'll see that they leave," Willowpelt said. Bluefur stared at her for a moment before nodding and escorting her other two Clanmates away.
As they left, Thunder heard her mutter, "better than these two idiots."
"Sorry about them," Willowpelt mewed, turning to the two SkyClan cats. "They're…always like that."
"They're close to Thistlestar. Of course, they're like that." Shattered Ice glared at her. Thunder felt bad when she looked at her paws guiltily.
"What do you expect me to do?" She suddenly demanded, looking up with angry blue eyes. "I'm just a warrior."
"Well, for starters you can tell your idiot friends to stop being idiotic!"
"Yeah, well, sometimes it isn't that easy,'' the gray she-cat murmured sadly. Thunder felt curious about what life was like in ThunderClan.
Before Willowpelt could reply they heard barking.
"Dogs!" Shattered Ice shoved Thunder forward and the two SkyClan cats shot away back to their camp.
"Where are they?"
"There!"
Two dogs exploded out of the undergrowth in front of them. Shattered Ice immediately leaped at the dog and Thunder gasped as a blur of gray appeared and helped to claw at the dog.
"Gray Wing!"
"You're lucky your father isn't here or you'd be in so much trouble!" Gray Wing yowled as he clung onto the dog's back. His father wasn't here? Maybe he could still get out of trouble.
Jagged Peak appeared and Gray Wing yowled at him to stay back. The tabby backed away, looking hurt before he spotted something behind Thunder. He scrambled towards the kit and shoved him into a nearby rabbit tunnel before squeezing himself in just as a dog started barking at the entrance.
Thunder stayed still, horrified that every second that went by Shattered Ice and Gray Wing could be in danger. Finally, a whistle went through the air and the dogs retreated.
"You two can come out now," Shattered Ice called in. Thunder waited as Jagged Peak struggled to push himself out. He tried to ignore the crumbling around them.
They were safe from the dogs. For now.
A patrol of cats had arrived attracted by the dogs' howling and the cats' yowls. They all waited as Jagged Peak and Thunder tried to wriggle out of the tunnel.
They must have shoved themselves in very far down to avoid the dog's teeth, Gray Wing thought worriedly.
"Ugh! Stupid dirt!" They heard Jagged Peak mutter and spit.
"Look on the bright side, we may be covered in dirt but at least it isn't scratches," Thunder meowed brightly.
Suddenly, there was a creaking and a thump as the dirt at the entrance collapsed in on itself.
Thunder and Jagged Peak were buried alive!
Fire Heart stared in disbelief. "Jagged Peak! Thunder!" he shouted in dismay. He and a couple others started digging at the mound of dirt.
But the earth was too soft. Every time they cleared a dent in the hole, more loose dirt collapsed onto their progress. His worry growing, Fire Heart realized they were just making things worse.
Suddenly, pawsteps sounded behind the group.
"Get back! Let us handle this!"
It was Wind and Gorse.
The others paused, startled as the two sprang into action. They climbed onto the boulders and started digging above the tunnel.
"Jackdaw's Cry, we need you to help," Wind added. The black tom stepped forward and started digging as well.
Fire Heart rocked on his paws as Gray Wing shuffled anxiously. Finally there was a patch of gray striped fur and then some orange fur.
"Jagged Peak, Thunder!"
Wind and Gorse carefully lifted Jagged Peak's limp body out of the hole and then pulled Thunder out. They were both caked in dirt and hardly breathing.
"GET OUTTA THE WAY!"
Cloud Spots shoved his way through the crowd followed by Dappled Pelt and together the two pried open the jaws of the two young cats and started scooping out dirt.
Soon they were breathing regularly again. "There we go!" Dappled Pelt meowed calmly. The others crowded around to groom the dirt off of them.
"Calm down, we're fine!" Jagged Peak grumbled. Thunder escaped the mob and scampered over to Hawk Swoop, who picked him and shook him angrily, but her eyes were glittering with relief.
Fire Heart thought that he did kind of look like her actual son with his orange fur. The other kits raced out of the camp and crowded around him, his sisters fussing over him.
Suddenly, Skystar appeared and looked around at them, confused. "What's going on?"
"Where have you been?" Moon Shadow exclaimed incredulously as if no one should have missed out on some chaos.
"I've been to the Moonstone to ask StarClan for guidance about WindClan," he replied.
"And?" Dappled Pelt looked up with hopeful golden eyes.
"And nothing. Now what happened?"
Ivy Breeze smirked at her brother before she meowed, "Thunder left camp without permission and then he and Jagged Peak almost got eaten by dogs and then they were buried alive."
Skystar stared at his Clan with wide eyes before he narrowed his eyes at Thunder. "We're in trouble, aren't we?"
Thunder wanted to melt into the ground.
Review, please.