After her fall in the river, it had been a slow journey back to camp for Frostpaw, and she had to stop once to throw up all the water sloshing around in her stomach. She had felt much better and less bloated afterwards though. Once they got to camp and saw Clearstream and Elmclaw, Swoopstrike had been given herbs and instructed to take the rest of the day easy. Frostpaw had wondered if the medicine cats had simply told him to take it easy because they knew that even if they told Swoopstrike to stay in his nest, he wouldn't unless they pinned him there.
However, Frostpaw had been given herbs to help her lungs and told to stay in her nest for a couple days so the medicine cats could make sure that the fluid had left her chest and infection would not set in. Honestly, Frostpaw hadn't minded staying a few days in the apprentices' den, waiting out the rain, especially since Redclaw doted on her, and from the entrance of the apprentices' den, she had a clear view of the elders den. So, she could watch Dampfang pick ticks off the elders with mouse-bile clutched in his jaws, and his nose wrinkled up in disgust.
After three days, Frostpaw was cleared back to normal duties and just in time too; in a few nights, the moon would be full, and it would be time for another gathering.
Frostpaw paced around camp eagerly, hardly able to keep still as she waited for Sedgestar's signal to leave. The bright, full moon hung fat and heavy in the jet black sky, shining down on the ShadowClan camp. Frostpaw glanced around at the cats chosen for the patrol. Autumnpaw was nearby, with Pinepaw a little ways away from him. Dawntail was grooming her grey side near Rowanheart. Grovepelt, Clearstream and Darkpelt were locked in a conversation. Hootflight, Leafbreeze and Swoopstrike were chatting by the camp entrance, but Sedgestar still hadn't emerged from his den.
Dampfang was sitting alone by the base of the Oak Tree. He had completed his punishment and had been picked to join the patrol too, but Frostpaw tried to not let his presence bring her down. Frostpaw just hoped he and Swoopstrike wouldn't ruin the gathering with a fight. They had been avoiding each other in camp, and this was the closest together they had been since the river incident.
Frostpaw's thoughts turned back to the gathering, and her stomach swirled with nerves. But, not about Dampfang.
I'll finally be able to talk to Paledusk.
Frostpaw's heart jumped at the thought. It felt like it had been so long since she first saw the strange white tom, and he had said her mother's name. Frostpaw dug her claws in the damp earth. She felt like she could not stand to wait a moment longer in the dark. She had to know how he knew that name. Frostpaw paced closer to Autumnpaw.
"I'm surprised you're joining us," Pinepaw's voice said, interrupting her thoughts.
Frostpaw glanced at her and saw the black she-cat looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"I thought you'd want to stay in the apprentices' den and just have Redclaw wait on you," Pinepaw said, a slight sneer in her voice.
Frostpaw felt the fur down her back prickle and her muscles stiffen.
"Are you seriously mocking her for being pushed in the river and almost drowning?!" Autumnpaw snapped, immediately rising to his paws and coming to her defense.
Pinepaw blinked, her eyes widening as she looked taken aback.
"Of course I'm not saying I wished she drowned!" Pinepaw snapped. "But, did Frostpaw really need Redclaw carrying prey to her in her nest everyday? Her legs still work fine, don't they?"
Frostpaw glared at Pinepaw.
Why does Pinepaw want to step on my tail?! I thought we had just started to get along more.
"I didn't ask Redclaw to bring me prey," Frostpaw said, her tail twitching behind her. "She did it because she wanted to."
"Well, you should've told her you didn't need her caring for you like a tiny kit," Pinepaw said, her fangs flashing slightly.
As Pinepaw locked a fierce amber gaze on Frostpaw, Frostpaw's ears pricked as she recognized the hot emotion swirling in their depts.
She's jealous? …Of me?
Frostpaw felt her fur flattening, and she felt the image of Pinepaw she held in her mind shift, like shadows had been recast, revealing a whole new side to her.
"What?" Pinepaw snapped. "What are you staring at?"
"She's—!" Autumnpaw began, his fur bristling.
"It's fine," Frostpaw interrupted, flicking his side with her tail to signal for him to back off.
Autumnpaw's brow furrowed in confusion, but Frostpaw's gaze flickered back to Pinepaw's.
"I'm sure Redclaw would've done the same for you if you fell in the river. She likes to take care of us," Frostpaw meowed evenly.
Pinepaw just blinked at her, looking unsure of how to respond. Frostpaw twitched her ears, turning towards the sound of Sedgestar padding out of the Oak Tree den. The leader strode into the center of the camp, surveying his patrol.
"Let's go," he said, tail flicking.
The ShadowClan patrol crept though the forest towards Fourtrees without a sound. Frostpaw was close to Autumnpaw's side as the group reached the crest that led down into the hollow where the clans gathered, and hesitated there. Frostpaw's heart hammered in anticipation as she lifted her muzzle to scent the breeze. She could see in the flickering through the dark undergrowth below them that the hollow was already swarming with cats. SkyClan, WindClan and RiverClan scent was on the breeze.
Sedgestar twitched his tail, signaling for the patrol to go. The ShadowClan cats silently streamed down the hillside. Frostpaw weaved behind Autumnpaw through the undergrowth that surrounded the hollow, her gaze scanning the crowd of cats ahead of them.
Paledusk will be here right? I mean, he's SkyClan's deputy, so he must have come. Ugh, what if he's not here, and I have to wait who knows how many more moons before I can find out about how he knew May—
"Frostpaw," Swoopstrike's voice cut into her thoughts, causing Frostpaw to jump slightly.
Swoopstrike padded over to her, his gaze narrowed. Frostpaw's brow furrowed as she studied his expression. He was wearing a wary look that she hadn't seen on his face for a while now.
He's still suspicious of me? That I might betray ShadowClan?
"Yes?" Frostpaw meowed hesitantly.
"Watch what you say. These fox-hearts will take any chance they can get to exploit us," he said with a rumbling growl as he glanced at the cats around the hollow.
"Of course, Swoopstrike," Frostpaw said in a quiet voice, and he shot her a final sidewise look before padding off.
Frostpaw's tail fell as she felt her heart plummet into her stomach.
Despite all of our training together, Swoopstrike still doesn't trust me…
"What was that about?" Autumnpaw muttered to Frostpaw as Swoopstrike walked away.
Frostpaw just shook her head mutely, her whiskers drooping.
"Well, never-mind that," Autumnpaw said, catching a glance of her fallen expression.
Frostpaw heard his voice become forcibly cheerful as he tried to lighten her mood.
"Let's go find some apprentices to chat with," he meowed, "I think ShadowClan has the best relations with RiverClan right now. RiverClan'll be fun, right? We can ask them what fish tastes like.
As Frostpaw followed Autumnpaw away, her feet dragging, she felt like her paws had turned to lead. She thought she and Swoopstrike had grown closer during the moons that she'd been his apprentice. But, it looked like she was wrong.
He still thinks I'm just a rogue, an outsider.
Frostpaw sunk her claws into the ground in frustration as she padded along. She wanted to tell him that she would never betray ShadowClan. But, that she still wanted to talk to Paledusk to find out what he knew about her mother. She wouldn't tell him any ShadowClan secrets or answer any prodding questions. She wanted answers from him. Frostpaw's tail twitched.
Still, she knew that trying to explain this to Swoopstrike would be foolish. His nature was already prone to suspicion, and Frostpaw had a feeling that if she told him about her plan, he might jump straight to declaring her intentions treasonous.
Frostpaw's stomach flipped nervously at the thought.
Which, it's not, she assured herself.
How could asking Paledusk about her mother be treasonous? Her mother was dead. It had nothing to do with ShadowClan secrets. She didn't even want to be Paledusk's friend. She just wanted to know what he knew about May.
How is that treasonous? It's not, she repeated.
But, Frostpaw felt another thought gnawing at the back of her mind.
But, what if he didn't just know May… what if Paledusk is your father? it whispered.
Frostpaw shoved the thought away.
Don't be frog-brained. Why would I think that? There's no proof.
Frostpaw's thick-furred tail twitched.
Still, she felt like she would give almost anything if Paledusk could give her even a tiny insight, a fragment of a piece of May, of her family. Some silver that Frostpaw could carry with her in her heart, to remind her of May, to better understand May, to make her feel less isolated on those depressing days when she remembered how alone she really was. Like when she saw Snakeeyes with Rowanheart and their kits, watching them with such fierce pride. When she saw Larkfoot sharing tongues with Dewleaf, the two wrapped in contented silence like nothing was better than their shared presence. Or, when she saw Redclaw chatting with Pinepaw. Even though Pinepaw may cast Frostpaw jealous looks, and Redclaw may happily carry Frostpaw fresh-kill to her nest, Frostpaw still knew, Redclaw wasn't her real mother.
The crowd of cats Autumnpaw was leading her through was thick, and Frostpaw found it easy enough to slow her pace, cutting herself off from the sight of her friend's dark ginger pelt. Frostpaw veered off from the direction Autumnpaw was padding in, and instead made her way through the crowd of talking cats, heading towards the tall, shadowed Great Rock. The top was bare right now; the leaders hadn't taken their places yet, but Frostpaw hoped that them, and their deputies, would be hanging around nearby.
Except for Sedgestar and Grovepelt.
Her tail twitched guiltily at the thought, but she knew that if her leader or deputy saw her talking to the SkyClan deputy, there was a good chance Swoopstrike would find out too. And, she couldn't risk that happening. As Frostpaw approached the great, towering stone, she felt the nervousness inside her swirl in her stomach and nip at her muscles even more violently than before. The Great Rock looked even bigger up close, and it loomed over her almost forebodingly. It jutted up at an angle, blotting out the light of the moon as Frostpaw came closer and stepped into its shadow. Frostpaw's ears flattened. She felt like she could feel the weight of the rock pressing down at her, and she half expected that it would come crashing down at any moment now, crushing her. Frostpaw took a deep breath and held it in her lungs, trying to wrestle control back from the sudden blizzard of raging anxiety that stormed inside her. It was at that moment, when she padded around a corner of the Great Rock that she spotted the white tom.
Paledusk was sitting a little ways away from the base of the Great Rock, a few fox-lengths away from her. He was facing away from Frostpaw and looking out into the crowd, his green eyes even and his expression smooth and unreadable as he swept his gaze over the chattering cats. Sitting alone, he cut a regal silhouette in the moonlight, like a lone white flower blooming in a sea of blue-green moss. His long, pale fur was immaculately groomed, and it fell down his sides in a sleek unbroken wave.
Frostpaw's goal reappeared in her mind, and she steadied herself to approach him. She didn't have much time. Soon enough Sedgestar or Grovepelt would arrive here, or someone would go speak to the SkyClan deputy, ruining her chance. Frostpaw forced her feet forward.
"Paledusk?" Frostpaw meowed, emerging from the shadows cast from the Great Rock.
The white tom's tufted ears pricked in surprise, and he turned towards her. It was Frostpaw's first close, clear look at the SkyClan's deputy's face, and she realized his white pelt was not as unbroken as she previously thought. Paledusk had one scar across his face; it snaked from under his eye and across his cheekbone like a crescent moon. Still, he was a handsome tom, with large, clear green eyes, which swept over Frostpaw coldly.
"Yes? Who are you?" Paledusk said in a deep, rumbling voice.
"…My name is Frostpaw," Frostpaw began, her voice trembling slightly.
She swallowed hard, trying to bury her nervousness, not wanting the intimidating SkyClan deputy to notice it.
"I'm a ShadowClan apprentice," she continued. "We met briefly, a few gatherings ago. You called me the name 'May.'"
Paledusk's white tail twitched slightly, but he was silent, like he was waiting for her to continue.
"Do you remember?" Frostpaw pressed.
"I recall," Paledusk drawled hauntingly, inclining his head.
"Wh-why did you call me that?" Frostpaw stammered.
Paledusk's green eyes narrowed.
"I was surprised because you resemble a rogue I knew briefly a few seasons ago," he said with a careless flick of his tail. "That was her name."
"I think that rogue you are talking about is my mother," Frostpaw said, the words rushing out of her quickly now as her heart hammered in her chest. "She looked like me, and her name was also May. We joined ShadowClan when I was little, but she died soon afterwards."
"Ah," Paledusk said, twitching his ears dismissively at the mention of May's death. "Possibly. It's hard to say. I didn't know her well, only caught her sniffing around SkyClan territory a couple of times."
Frostpaw felt her stomach clench at his words, her ears flattening.
If he barely knew her, how would he know her name? And, why would he have looked so startled a few moons ago to see me?
Frostpaw hesitated, her heart hammering in her chest as the questions that she really wanted to ask about her mother lingered on her tongue.
Is Paledusk… lying to me?
The SkyClan deputy seemed so confident though. His eyes were cool and certain. There wasn't any hint of anything in his expression which showed he might be hiding something.
"Re-Really?" Frostpaw asked haltingly. "I just mean… You seemed pretty surprised when you saw me so…"
"I was simply caught off guard to see what I thought was a rogue at the Gathering," Paledusk snapped, cutting her off, his tone growing more and more impatient as he locked his cold green eyes on her.
Frostpaw froze in place, her eyes wide, like a mouse trapped in the gaze of a hunter with nowhere to flee.
"…Are you questioning me, apprentice?" Paledusk said, a hint of his fangs baring as he growled out the words.
His previously smooth, expressionless face was becoming stormier by the moment, and Frostpaw's heart began to beat harder as his gaze darkened and icy fear trickled into her veins.
"No. No. I just thought—" Frostpaw stammered, cowering slightly.
"Listen closely," Paledusk hissed in a hushed voice, his gaze suddenly becoming frighteningly intense as he leaned in, looming over Frostpaw.
Frostpaw's muscles tensed. He was so close now, Frostpaw could feel the heat of his breath stir her whiskers.
"There is nothing that I care about more than SkyClan. Nothing!" Paledusk hissed, a manic energy burning in his green eyes. "I don't know what you think you're up to, apprentice, but heed this: if you spread any baseless rumors that threaten me or my Clan, I promise you, all of SkyClan will be breathing down your and ShadowClan's neck before you can say 'mouse.' Got it? And, any tragedies that befall ShadowClan because of it will be all. Your. Fault."
Frostpaw swallowed, taking a quick pace backwards, away from the tom, her heart hammering so hard she thought it might beat out of her chest.
"Now get out of my sight, furball," Paledusk spat.
Frostpaw obeyed. She wanted to turn tail and bolt, but with all of the cats around that would draw unwanted attention. So, without another word, Frostpaw pivoted around and padded off. On the outside, her pace looked reasonable, but inside, she was fighting her legs to keep her from shooting forward, clawing up the ground. Frostpaw's pelt prickled with nervousness as she dived into the crowd, twining her way through the thronging group of cats, her hurried gaze jumping from cat to cat, scanning for the sight of a familiar pelt. She let out a huge sigh of relief when Autumnpaw's red and white pelt came into her view, and she couldn't stop herself from haring over to where he was talking with Larchpaw of SkyClan, and two other apprentices that smelt like fish— RiverClan presumably.
"So then, when I had the WindClan warrior pinned, Poolpaw sprang over and— Oh! Frostpaw there you are, are you alright?" Autumnpaw asked as Frostpaw appeared at his side, her eyes still wide with fright.
Frostpaw attempted to flatten her bristling pelt, unsure of what to tell her den-mate, and the other apprentices, all of who were peering at her with mixed looks of concern and curiosity.
"I just had the most horrible conversation!" Frostpaw said, giving her pelt a shake, like she was trying to shake off the memory of the interaction.
"What happened? Was it WindClan?" Autumnpaw growled, raising his head to sweep his gaze fiercely over the cats in the area surrounding them.
"No… it was…" Frostpaw muttered, shooting an awkward glance at Larchpaw. "I wound up talking to Paledusk…and he…"
Larchpaw winced sympathetically as Frostpaw trailed off, not wanting to insult the SkyClan apprentice.
"Paledusk can be severe," she admitted. "But, he's got SkyClan's best interests at heart."
SkyClan's? Or his own?
But, Frostpaw didn't say her doubts out loud. Instead she just nodded.
"I shouldn't have bothered him," she muttered, shuffling her paws.
Autumnpaw gave her a small, affectionate shove.
"Hey, buck up! It's a gathering after all, we're supposed to be having fun!"
Autumnpaw flicked his tail at the RiverClan cats.
"This is Finchpaw and Otterpaw from RiverClan," he said, giving them both a nod.
Finchpaw was a sandy colored tom, and Otterpaw was a sleek dark brown she-cat. They blinked politely at Frostpaw as they were introduced.
"Hello, I'm Frostpaw," Frostpaw said with a friendly twitch of her whiskers, pushing the thoughts of Paledusk away. "How long have you two been training?"
"About a moon," Finchpaw said in a soft spoken voice, looking down at his soft-furred paws.
"And, three moons for me," Otterpaw said, raising her chin. "But, this is both of our first gatherings."
"We've been training for around three moons too," Autumnpaw said, flicking his tail to indicate himself and Frostpaw. "This is our second gathering."
"Lucky," Otterpaw said with a huff, shaking her head. "My littermate, Hailpaw, is our medicine cat apprentice, so she's gotten to go to all three gatherings since we started training."
Otterpaw shot a jealous glance at the edge of the hollow were the medicine cat's gathered.
"Hey, there you guys are," Pinepaw's voice said.
Frostpaw turned her head to see her padding up to the group. Autumnpaw's ears pricked in surprise at his sister's appearance.
"I thought you'd be hanging out with Dampfang," Autumnpaw said.
Pinepaw's fur fluffed out defensively, and for a heartbeat, it looked like she was going to snap at him. But, then the dark she-cat just looked away and shrugged.
"He's busy talking to some warriors," she muttered, an edge of bitterness to her voice. "About some important warrior-stuff."
"What important stuff does Dampfang have to talk about?" Autumnpaw said with an eye-roll. "How to spend all day telling everyone how great you are?"
Frostpaw thought Pinepaw would defend Dampfang, like she always did, but instead Pinepaw just let out a quiet huff of amusement, taking a seat by Frostpaw and Autumnpaw, her gaze flickering to the other nearby apprentices.
"SkyClan and RiverClan?" she meowed, guessing by their scents.
The other apprentices nodded, confirming.
"Huh, your Clans are neighbors. Do SkyClan and RiverClan get along?" Pinepaw asked, tilting her head.
Frostpaw's eyes widened slightly at the blunt question, but the other Clans' apprentices didn't seem offended by Pinepaw's curiosity.
"Yeah, we hardly cross paths," Larchpaw meowed with shrug. "They're all the way on the other side of the river."
"And, SkyClan wouldn't jump into the water, even if their fur was on fire!" Otterpaw said with a huff of amusement.
Everyone purred, but Frostpaw noticed Otterpaw eyeing the ShadowClan apprentices from the corner of her gaze. She saw an odd gleam in the RiverClan cat's eye.
"Although I suppose we're lucky that RiverClan and ShadowClan are not neighbors. ShadowClan must not care too much about getting their pelts wet right?" Otterpaw continued. "I mean, your territory is so marshy, half of it practically must be underwater. You'd probably feel right at home in RiverClan."
Frostpaw felt some of her fur start to rise. Although Otterpaw's tone was light and friendly, she couldn't shake the creeping feeling that the RiverClan appreciate was trying to stir up trouble, like she was poking at a den of adders.
"No really. It's much more like mud than a river," Autumnpaw chimed in, appearing totally oblivious. "No swimming required…usually."
Frostpaw's blue gaze met Pinepaw's amber one. She saw Pinepaw's eyes narrow almost imperceptibly, and Frostpaw saw a question in her gaze. A sort of "Did you hear that too?" Frostpaw gave a faint nod, and Pinepaw turned away, back towards Otterpaw.
"Are you suggesting that if we were neighbors, ShadowClan would attack RiverClan?" Pinepaw asked, a quiet warning in her tone. "Even though we're on good terms with you all?"
"Sure, right now," Otterpaw said with a dismissive tail-flick. "But, we're on the other side of the forest from you. All I'm saying is, who knows what it would like to be your neighbor. After all, you all aren't the friendliest with ThunderClan and WindClan."
"Of course we have the most trouble with them. Their territory borders ours, so they are the ones that are most able to steal our prey or trespass," Pinepaw said with an eye roll. "But, that doesn't mean that we purposefully aggravate them. If they stayed on their sides of the scent-markers, we wouldn't have a problem."
Otterpaw shrugged.
"I'm just saying that every kit knows ShadowClan is the most aggressive, prickly clan. Our elders say that the cold northern winds that blow over your territory chill your hearts," Otterpaw said, her gaze flickering to Larchpaw and to Finchpaw as if to confirm. "It might be hard to be neighbors with cats like that."
Autumnpaw flattened his ears, and Pinepaw's lip curled up slightly. Even Frostpaw felt herself forcing the fur on her shoulders to lie flat.
"You better watch your tongue!" Autumnpaw snapped, baring his teeth.
Frostpaw lay her tail against Autumnpaw's side in a silent reminder to him that it was the night of the truce, but Frostpaw too felt indigent anger starting to bubble in her chest.
ShadowClan hasn't even done anything to her or RiverClan! How can Otterpaw just sit here and insult us to our faces! Does she want to start a fight?!
"Just because we aren't afraid to fight and defend what is ours, doesn't automatically make us 'prickly,'" Pinepaw said.
Pinepaw was trying really hard to keep the anger in the voice under control, although Frostpaw could still hear Pinepaw's teeth grinding as she forced out the mild words.
Otterpaw snickered but didn't reply. Pinepaw turned away from her, evidently done with this conversation. Frostpaw and Autumnpaw made their way to follow her, but Frostpaw noticed Otterpaw lean in close to Finchpaw.
"Spoken like a truly aggressive cat," Otterpaw whispered to Finchpaw, but in a voice loud enough to carry to the ShadowClan apprentices. "If they're going to be like this, it's a wonder that ShadowClan is even invited to the gatherings."
Frostpaw's, Pinepaw's and Autumnpaw's gazes all met. Frostpaw said their tense expressions, and she felt a silent agreement pass through them. It was a gathering, so no fighting of course, but they couldn't leave now with Otterpaw having got the last word. Autumnpaw raised his chin and turned on Otterpaw, stalking right up to her. Frostpaw and Pinepaw followed.
"Want to say that again to our faces?" Autumnpaw growled, narrowing his eyes at the sleek brown-furred apprentice. "You think we're aggressive, but you're the one that keeps stepping on our tails!"
"ShadowClan is just as much of a clan as RiverClan," Frostpaw said in a low voice, her ears flat against her head and tail twitching behind her. "We deserve our place at the gathering just as much as you."
Otterpaw raised her chin in response, but was silent.
"Huh, so you're a mouse-heart then; only strike when our backs are turned, right?" Pinepaw spat, her tail bushed out and twitching. "Why don't you run back to your camp and hide behind your river, little mouse."
Otterpaw's eyes narrowed in anger, but the apprentices' confrontation was interrupted when the bushes encircling the hollow shivered. The ThunderClan patrol came streaming out of them at a hurried pace with Morningstar was at its head. And, as they entered the hollow, his clan remained group tightly together, not spreading out to mingle with the others, while Morningstar charged right at the Great Rock, bounding up its side. At the apex of the boulder, Morningstar threw his head back, letting out a yowl to signal the gathering to begin.
"Let's go," Frostpaw muttered.
Pinepaw, Autumnpaw, and Frostpaw stalked away from the RiverClan apprentices, going to sit next to Hootflight and two SkyClan warriors. Morningstar waited on the boulder, his tail twitching impatiently as the other four leaders scrambled up the side of the Great Rock.
"I'll begin," Morningstar growled, not even waiting for the other leaders to sit down.
Frostpaw's gaze flickered to Sedgestar, wondering what her leader thought of Morningstar's impatient attitude, but Sedgestar's face was unreadable.
Morningstar turned towards Fennelstar, baring his teeth at the pale brown tom.
"Enough is enough," Morningstar snarled. "SkyClan continues to harass our patrols and hunt on our land. They show total disregard for our borders. I ask Fennelstar to explain this boorish behavior and flagrant disrespect of the warrior code."
The ThunderClan cats echoed Morningstar's speech with furious snarls and yowls. Fennelstar narrowed his eyes at Morningstar.
"Even if SkyClan was on your land," Fennelstar said, his tail twitching slightly behind him. "It does not break the warrior code. Border skirmishes between clans happen all of the time. No law forbids it."
"So you still deny it!" Morningstar spat, the thick grey fur down his back bristling and his fangs flashing in the moonlight. "I don't believe you. No leader can be so ignorant to the actions of his warriors. Unless you really are that entirely stupid."
SkyClan cats snarled at the insult, springing to their paws. Frostpaw's stomach flipped as she watched as ThunderClan turned towards them, claws unsheathing. Pinepaw's pelt was prickling. Autumnpaw shifted next to Frostpaw, his eyes widening in alarm. Frostpaw leaned closer to him, her muscles tensing in case the gathering around her burst into a battle. Frostpaw's gaze sought out Sedgestar on the Great Rock.
Will he do something?
Sedgestar had defused the tension between the ThunderClan leader and SkyClan leader at a gathering before, but now he hung back on the Great Rock, not moving. But, his clear gaze missed nothing between Morningstar and Fennelstar.
Fennelstar licked one of his paws, slowly drawing it across his whiskers like he was totally obviously to the crackling tension below him. But, Frostpaw could see his eyes were still sharp, narrowed slits.
"Maybe…" Fennelstar drawled. "If ThunderClan is so concerned with the doings of SkyClan, you should try stopping us with claws… Instead of just complaining about it at the gathering."
Fennelstar's gaze flickered around the hollow, taking in the bristling ThunderClan cats.
"That is of course… unless you are too weak or cowardly to fight," Fennelstar sneered.
Frostpaw's eyes widened, shocked.
The nerve of him!
The ThunderClan cats yowled battlecries.
"Gladly!" Acornear snarled from the base of the Great Rock.
The brown tom flung himself at Paledusk, sinking his claws into the thick white ruff of fur around the SkyClan deputy's neck. As suddenly as a flash of lightning, the clearing around Frostpaw exploded into a fight. Frostpaw saw Hootflight shoved aside as the two SkyClan cats he was sitting next to charged around them, yowling as they threw themselves into the fray. Frostpaw's eyes flew around the screaming, writhing cats in the clearing.
What do we do?!
"ShadowClan! Come on!" Grovepelt's voice rumbled as he bounded past the group with some other warriors in tow.
"Are we leaving?" Autumnpaw asked as the group dashed after the deputy.
"The truce has been broken. The gathering is over, and this is not our quarrel to fight," Grovepelt rumbled.
As if Grovepelt's words had summoned it, a darkness fell over the hollow, and the deep rumble of thunder cut through the yowls of the fighting cats. Frostpaw looked up to see angry, black storm clouds covering the sky, obscuring the full moon.
"StarClan is angry!" some cat wailed.
"This isn't over ThunderClan!" someone else snarled, and Frostpaw recognized the voice as Paledusk's.
The gathering had turned from thrashing chaos bathed in the silver light of the moon, to fleeing shadows that cast barely a flicker in the oppressive darkness.
"Everyone here?" Sedgestar's voice called as the ShadowClan cats gathered at the edge of the hollow.
"Yes," Grovepelt responded.
"Back to our territory," Sedgestar commanded. "And, quickly too."
As the ShadowClan cats ran from the hollow, a torrential down-pour began to fall.
Author's Note:
We finally see Paledusk again, yay! The plot thickens…
Reviews:
Brian.H.H: Haha thanks! And yeah, I sorta wanted to make them fight too, but I felt like with Grovepelt right there, he wouldn't let that fly lol. And, about Squirrelflight's Hope: the marsh thing comes up because the main conflict in the story is that ShadowClan/ThunderClan gave up some of their territory for SkyClan to use. And in return, ThunderClan got some moorland to hunt in from WindClan and ShadowClan got some marshland from RiverClan, but Wind/RiverClan is mad that the territory is going to waste because Thunder/ShadowClan aren't using their new territory because they don't normally hunt in those environments. So, yeah, I think ShadowClan might not have had marshland in their new territory, but I totally agree that they could ask their elders on how to hunt there now that they do have it. Anyway, I just found it to be an annoying plot problem lol.
Lightfoot: Hey! Nice to meet you and thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you've been enjoying reading my story! To answer the questions from you past reviews: my update schedule is very variable (sorry :( ) and sometimes I lose steam and it takes me a while to get the next chapter out. For the past two months, I've been in a good rhythm and so I've had about two weeks between updates. I can't promise that I'll keep that up though. About "smelled" versus "smelt," "smelt" can be used both to mean melt down ore, and to mean the same thing as "smelled." However, "smelt" is hardly ever used in American English writing. I'm American, but I've read a lot of British English books, so in my writings I tend to use "smelt" or "smelled" interchangeably. I don't think I'm going to change it because its not technically incorrect, but, feel free to bring to my attention any other typos or errors you notice!
Guest: Thanks for you review! I'm glad you're enjoying it! And, haha yeah, I generally like writing OC's because I enjoy having the freedom to create their own personalities rather than having to stick to the way a canon character, with an already defined personality, would behave. But, I try to make all of my characters three dimensional :)