AtlierSky- Well, the main reason is because Thunder knows Thistlestar would hurt SkyClan if he left. Thistlestar made him turn against his clan to get back at Skystar since they hate each other (obviously). The other reason is because, yeah, he wants to help TC since he can see most of them feel trapped under Thistlestar's leadership.
And yes, Pebble Heart is precious and will be a great medicine cat soon!
The Autistic Patriot- Thank you! I appreciate your review. They always encourage me.
The chilly leafbare night blew throughout the camp.
Gray Wing was curled up in the nursery with Turtle Tail and the kits. He usually fell asleep there. He woke up when he heard shifting. Cloud Tail had his chin resting across Owl Eyes' back and Sparrow Fur was on her mother's flank their pelts mashing up and camoflauging, but Pebble Heart at his side, sleeping, was twitching in a dream.
He didn't want to wake the tom-kit. If his suspicions were correct, Pebble Heart was special, and this dream could be important.
Gray Wing waited for Pebble Heart to wake up before moving. Suddenly, the tom-kit leaped to his paws, eyes wide and fur fluffed. He turned on Gray Wing.
"Easy now," Gray Wing murmured. "It's okay. It was just a dream."
Pebble Heart blinked a few times, focusing on Gray Wing's face.
Gray Wing could see misery in his eyes. "Have you had that dream before?" he asked.
Pebble Heart fell into the nest again, pressing his face in Gray Wing's fur. Gray Wing could feel him trembling.
"It's okay," he assured.
Slowly, Pebble Heart relaxed and curled against his side. "I've had these types of dreams since forever," he confessed. "There's something about them that just feels...real. Too real to be a dream."
"Go on," Gray Wing urged.
Pebble Heart looked away. "There's one dream I've had a few times now," he said. "I'm floating into the sky past the clouds and suddenly I'm surrounded by cat with stars in their fur."
"That scared you?" Gray Wing asked. Had it been StarClan? Could Pebble Heart possibly talk to them? Maybe they would have a connection with them now.
And maybe we can see if Fluttering Bird and the others are there and safe too.
"No," Pebble Heart said, his eyes shining. "It's amazing! I really want to know them all."
Gray Wing couldn't make sense of it. "Don't worry," he reassured. "You're not the only one who dreams like that. Did your mother ever tell you about Stoneteller?"
Pebble Heart nodded. "She was the healer in the mountains."
"That's right. Stoneteller had dreams like yours sometimes. And so have the other clan medicine cats."
Pebble Heart's eyes were bright. "Really?"
"Really. What did you dream about today?"
"A fight~no, a battle," Pebble Heart replied, looking scared again. "Cats were screaming and fighting. I think I saw Thistlestar there."
Apprehension stole Gray Wing's breath. Was it some sort of warning?
"It's alright now," he said to Pebble Heart. "You're awake. It didn't happen."
A battle…with Thistlestar?
Days passed and Thunder was anxious for the gathering. He was scared of what his clanmates would think if they saw him, but at the same time he couldn't wait to see them.
Meanwhile, on patrols it seemed like every day, there were signs of both RiverClan and ShadowClan on their land.
When he wasn't hunting or patrolling, Thunder took the opportunity to sneak and visit Cinderpaw. Graystripe, another nice cat to him, was out a lot to train his apprentice, so he barely saw him.
Thunder crept out of the den and headed to the medicine den, casting a wary look around, expecting Frostfur to jump out at him, but Brindleface had given her a talking to and the white cat had backed off, chastened. He liked Brindleface.
Still he was afraid of being seen by Cinderpaw's mother, so he lay low and was cautious.
As Thunder squeezed through the rock crag, he could see Cinderpaw laying in her nest. She was never awake when cats came to visit her.
Thunder's heart tightened. How could this have happened?
"Thunder!" Spottedleaf turned to greet him from where she was looking through her herb store with a frown. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. I was just…checking on Cinderpaw."
Spottedleaf nodded sadly. "She's still alive now, so…she'll be fine."
Thunder thought her statement sounded fake, but he nodded and backed out of the den.
There was nothing he could do.
The afternoon went by as cats hunted or cleared snow from around the dens. Gray Wing had just sent off a patrol when Jagged Peak hurried up to him, panicked. He and Fire Heart had just finished a battle training session before he had watched over the kits for Gray Wing while Turtle Tail had gone on a walk with Hawk Swoop to stretch her legs.
"Gray Wing!" he gasped. "I can't find Owl Eyes!"
"You lost him?" Gray Wing couldn't believe it. "All you had to do was watch them, and you couldn't do that?"
Not waiting for an excuse he whipped around. He knew Jagged Peak was still young, but what if Owl Eyes got hurt? Or what if ThunderClan found him?
Gray Wing beckoned the other kits closer. "Do you know where your brother went?"
Pebble Heart shook his head. Cloud Tail looked confused. Sparrow Fur didn't respond.
"Sparrow Fur!" Gray Wing mewed sharply. "Tell the truth. What do you know?"
"Owl Eyes said he was going to go hunt for a hare," the tortoiseshell she-kit admitted.
"What?" Gray Wing gasped, eyes wide. "He's too small to hunt hares!" He paused for a moment to calm himself. He knew Owl Eyes had good hunting instincts, but going out on his own was reckless. "We have to find him," he said.
If foxes or badgers didn't get to Owl Eyes first, Gray Wing was going to claw his ears. Just then Wind Runner and Gorse Fur entered the camp.
"Gorse Fur, Wind Runner," Gray Wing called. "Can you help me find Owl Eyes?"
The two exchanged looks before nodding.
"Tall Shadow, can you come?" The black she-cat nodded.
Gray Wing led them out of camp with a determined pace.
This way!" Tall Shadow exclaimed, running off in the other direction.
But as he, Tall Shadow, Wind Runner and Gorse Fur ran along through the snow, they soon lost the trail.
"We'll never find him at this rate," Gorse Fur sighed. "All these trees and plants, clogging everything up."
Fear rushed through Gray Wing's veins. Looking around, he realized how easy it would be for Owl Eyes to find trouble. And to hide. They could already be too late.
"It looks like he was heading this way," He meowed, setting out in the direction the trail had been leading.
The other three followed, all senses alert for any signs of Owl Eyes. They weaved through brambles, and Gray Wing spotted a smear of blood on the snow.
Gray Wing forced himself to keep going.
After the brambles, Tall Shadow picked up the trail again. "Over here!" she called. "The trail leads toward the ThunderClan border."
Gray Wing looked at the tree line of ThunderClan. He knew it wouldn't be good if Thistlestar came across Owl Eyes.
They headed along the border once they reached it, following Owl Eyes' scent.
Gray Wing froze, hearing someone call his name.
"Gray Wing!" Owl Eyes was on the other side of the border. "Look what I caught!" he called triumphantly, holding a vole in his jaws.
Relief surged through Gray Wing, followed by anger. "Stupid kit!" he shouted, hopping over the border. His chest was aching from stress.
"Hurry," Tall Shadow murmured worriedly, looking around ThunderClan's forest.
Gray Wing turned to cross back to their side when suddenly the bushes behind them rustled and Darkstripe appeared with Dustpelt, Mossflower, Brightpaw and Thornpaw.
"Are SkyClan too stupid to understand rules?" Darkstripe spat.
Dustpelt stood by his side, sneering, but Mossflower and Thornpaw were gazing curiously at Wind Runner and Gorse Fur. Brightpaw looked at Owl Eyes, nervous.
Gray Wing didn't like that look. How did ThunderClan treat their kits or their young at the most?
He studied the two littermates and noticed the scars all over the back of Brightpaw's neck while Thornpaw had shredded ear tips and long claw marks down one flank.
They hardly look like they've seen their first battle!
He pulled Owl Eyes close to him and Darkstripe looked back at him. He narrowed his eyes mockingly. "Aw, don't worry, I wouldn't hurt a stupid, little kit like you." He glared at Owl Eyes, who shrunk away.
"So first SkyClan sent an apprentice spy and now they're sending kits to hunt on other clans lands for them?" Dustpelt snorted.
Gray Wing exchanged a look with Tall Shadow. "We didn't send Thunder." His chest tightened more as he thought of his nephew.
"C'mon," Tall Shadow murmured softly, noticing Gray Wing's wheezing.
Surprisingly the ThunderClan patrol let them go. But Darkstripe did threaten them if they were found on their territory next time.
When they reached camp, Turtle Tail rushed forward. Pebble Heart, Sparrow Fur and Cloud Tail followed after her.
"Woah, you caught a vole!" Cloud Tail exclaimed, looking slightly envious.
"Did you see any mean Thundercats?" Sparrow Fur asked.
Turtle Tail glared down sternly at Owl Eyes before looking up at Gray Wing, who could barely hide his struggling, rasping breaths.
"Gray Wing…" she meowed warningly. He knew she wanted to talk about him giving up the deputy's position if he got too sick again.
"No, no, no, it's~it's fine!" He managed to gasp. But his vision had darkened and right before he fell, he saw Pebble Heart dash to the medicine den and Turtle Tail and the kits racing up to him with worry.
Thunder padded behind Graystripe, Dustpelt and Brackenpaw partially hidden behind them as he stalked after the patrol. The scents of other clans reached his nose, the Great Rock rising above the rest of the Gathering place.
He slowed down his pace, dreading being seen by his birthclan, but at the same time he felt a twinge of excitement…although he had always imagined his first Gathering being side-by-side with his sisters with Lightning Tail bouncing along excitedly asking his father questions about the other clans and Acorn Fur musing about how to make friends and talk with enemies on a truce night.
"Move it!" snapped Darkstripe from behind him and shoved past, rushing forth into the crowd.
Thunder sighed when he felt a tail brush over his back. He looked to see Graystripe smiling at him. "Don't worry," he muttered, voice lowering. "You get used to it."
Thunder half smiled back as they descended into the hollow and mangled with the crowd. "I'm gonna talk to Fire Heart and Jagged Peak," Graystripe announced. "Wanna come?" He looked at Thunder. The ginger tom didn't understand Graystripe's friendship with his former clanmate. Sometimes Fire Heart hated him for being in ThunderClan, but then they talked like the friends like they used to be.
Obviously, Fire Heart didn't understand Graystripe's struggles of being a ThunderClan warrior.
"No." Thunder shook his head and nervously backed out of view of the SkyClan cats. Graystripe shrugged and padded over with Brackenpaw behind him.
Thunder looked around, not knowing who to stick with. Suddenly, pawsteps sounded behind him and he turned to see Tigerclaw. "Come with me." He headed towards the deputies.
Why did Tigerclaw always treat him like the next heir of ThunderClan? He shook his head. At least he had someone to stick with. He scurried after the ThunderClan deputy, feeling twitchy about what Gray Wing would say.
To his surprise, the SkyClan deputy was nowhere in sight. Instead Jackdaw's Cry sat between an annoyed Leopardfur and amused Deadfoot while Cinderfur sat a little ways away from the others.
"Greetings," Tigerclaw dipped his head to Leopardfur, completely ignoring the others. Jackdaw's Cry, to Thunder's relief, didn't notice him. Or he just refused to.
Leopardfur nodded back before eyeing Thunder curiously, obviously wondering why the apprentice was up here with the deputies.
"Jackdaw's Cry," Tigerclaw began. "Why are you here? Has something happened to Gray Wing?" Although he asked, he sounded like he didn't care.
"He has a case of nunya," Jackdaw's Cry said.
"Nunya?"
"Nunya business." The black tom puffed out his chest proudly.
"Jackdaw's Cry, get outta the deputy's spot, you idiot!" Tall Shadow was suddenly there and pulled the tom away, who protested as they left.
Tigerclaw glowered after the SkyClan cats while the rest looked confused, minus Deadfoot, who twitched his whiskers in amusement.
"Strange cats," Cinderfur finally muttered.
Like we're the strange cats who live in a dank looking forest and eat lizards and rats! Thunder almost growled, but held his tongue. His goal was to not draw attention to himself.
"Thunder?"
He jumped and turned to see Hawk Swoop. Oh great, he thought mutinously. So much for staying low.
"H-hi," he muttered nervously and to his surprise Hawk Swoop brushed muzzles with him.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she murmured. "I guess it's better that you're with ThunderClan rather than…dead."
"Yeah." Thunder looked down at his white paws, feeling Tigerclaw's glare on them. Had he not been there he would have told Hawk Swoop the true reason he was in their worst enemy clan.
"Do you wanna talk to your siblings? They've been worried." Hawk Swoop flicked her tail to Ash Blaze, Ivy Breeze and Air Leap, who were among the SkyClan crowd.
Before Thunder could reply, Tigerclaw pushed his way in between them and growled, "that's enough! Now scram!"
Hawk Swoop stared at him defiantly, opened her mouth to say something before she just shut it and turned to leave.
Thunder turned to settle beside Tigerclaw, avoiding the other deputies' curious gazes at the interaction.
Thistlestar's yowl sounded from the Great Rock. Thunder let out a breath of relief as the Gathering finally began. Things had just been too tense and awkward since he got here.
He looked up, making sure he was mostly behind Tigerclaw which was hard now that he was such a big cat at such a young age.
Skystar stood apart from the other leaders minus Tallstar, who sat next to him calmly, tail curled around his paws. Nightstar was beside Crookedstar, gazing out warily at the other clans and Thistlestar stood in between them all, tail tip flicking.
He hoped his father didn't notice him.
"RiverClan has been hunting at Sunningrocks," Thistlestar began angrily. Thunder expected something like this from the ThunderClan leader. "Our patrols have scented your warriors many times, Crookedstar. Sunningrocks belongs to ThunderClan!"
Crookedstar glared back at Thistlestar. "RiverClan owns Sunningrocks," he growled. "ThunderClan thinks they can boss all the clans around!"
"Yes," Nightstar agreed, glaring at the gray-and-white tom. Skystar and Tallstar stayed quiet, exchanging looks.
Tigerclaw growled, startling Thunder. "We have scented ShadowClan in our territory as well as RiverClan this past moon. And not just one warrior, but a whole patrol, always the same cats!"
"We haven't been in your territory! Isclan stupid? It's probably the rogue cats, who have been stealing prey from our territory as well!"
Tigerclaw snorted and Nightstar glared at him. Thunder gulped. Why are we fighting? There's supposed to be a truce!
"My clan has also scented cats in our territory," Tallstar announced calmly.
"Aha!" Tigerclaw exclaimed. "You're working against us!"
"Us?" Crookedstar spat. "How about you and WindClan? And maybe even SkyClan!" The light tabby glared at Skystar suspiciously. "After all, they were so keen to bring them back!"
"Are you crazy? SkyClan and ThunderClan hate each other!"
"We aren't anybodies allies!"
"Always have to cause drama!"
Thunder looked around nervously as the clans argued among themselves while the leaders glared at each other up on the Great Rock.
Suddenly, the sky turned dark. Thunder glanced up to see that the moon had been covered by clouds.
"Welp, StarClan is angry." Thunder turned to see Graystripe meowing to Fire Heart. Brackenpaw and Jagged Peak were at their mentor's sides.
"This Gathering is over by the will of StarClan!" Tallstar meowed and jumped off the rock.
"ThunderClan!" Thistlestar called as he hopped down as well. Thunder quickly scampered after Tigerclaw to his new clanmates, not sparing a glance back.
He hoped none of SkyClan noticed him.
Skystar trailed Thunder with his gaze as he hurried after the ThunderClan cats as if he belonged with them more than he had SkyClan.
Skystar sighed and shook his head. "C'mon, let's go."
The title has to do with Owl Eyes' sneaky (so he's the ninja even if he got caught) and Pebble Heart's visions (so he's the wise).
Don't you just love dramatic Gatherings.