Hello everyone- finally back again! I am so excited to be reaching the end of this story. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own either Warriors or Ladyhawke or any characters from them.
Everything was just odd.
Now Bristlefrost was somewhat used to odd, she lived in Thunderclan after all- the clan of heroes. Having figures of legend such as Squirrelflight (one of the cats who helped lead the clans to their new home) munching on fresh kill only a few mouse-lengths away from you tends to dull one's sensitivity to the abnormalities of their already unusual lifestyle.
But there was odd, then there was odd.
This oddness wasn't a good oddness. This was the sort of oddness that came with the loss of loved ones.
Bristlefrost took in the silence as she nibbled on a mouse from the fresh kill pile. The camp was almost always silent, what with the absence of Squirrelflight's and Brambleclaw's bickering. There was no deputy gruffly calling out orders- his briskness undercut by the soft way his tail would flick for kits to chase. No mischievous responses from his mate, her familiar smirk drawing out his own banter. No bouncing bundle of ginger fur padding around the leader's den or drawing Leafpool out for a meal.
In its place was a tense silence. Where once there had been an eager and energetic twinkle, there was only an angry glimmer in their leader's eyes while his mate's gaze was lost and empty. Their medicine cat was often caught off guard, pausing to talk to someone over her shoulder only to find the space empty. Although, she hadn't seen much of her today- Graystripe and Leafpool had raced into camp and immediately to the leader's den just after Firestar had finished setting up patrols.
Above all else was the sensation that the entire camp was holding its breath, waiting for the tension to snap.
But tension aside, tonight was to be her first Gathering as a warrior! While she wished it had come at a better time, Bristlefrost couldn't help but twitch with excitement. Her thick silvery fur bushed out at the mental image of Firestar calling out her name to the Gathering. She did her best to hold back her purr.
The new warrior must not have quite managed it as a soft chuckle floated from behind her. Bristlefrost turned only to freeze in horror. Here she was, primping like a mouse-brained kit while cats were missing and all in front of her leader! The grey molly crouched submissively but Firestar simply flicked his tail in seeming dismissal of her impropriety.
The ginger leader cocked his head at her, green eyes having regained an iota of their usual gleam. "Don't fret, everyone likes to show off a little bit, especially at their first Gathering as a warrior. Why you should have seen Squirrelflight at her first…" his voice trailed off and his eyes dimmed with melancholy.
As Bristlefrost scrambled for the best words to comfort the distraught father, she was jostled sideways.
"Watch it." Ashfur, a grey tom about the same age as the deputy mumbled. Despite his low tone, his icy blue eyes seemed to glow and Bristlefrost could have sworn there was a skip in his paw steps. But she couldn't be sure as she only really knew the senior warrior in passing.
Once the gray tom had grabbed some prey from the pile and padded away, she turned back to Firestar, only for her hackles to rise.
The leader's eyes were glowing again. But now, the normally proud and cheerful embers were replaced with flames of an emotion she had never associated with him.
Rage. Pure, unadulterated rage.
Firestar almost looked like he wanted to attack Ashfur. But this was Firestar- he loved all his warriors! She winced when his fiery gaze snapped back to her. His eyes dimmed again, and he almost looked embarrassed for a moment. Then he lifted his gaze to the moon above, checking its position in the sky. With a quick nod to her, he nimbly made his way to the High-rock to announce the Gathering party.
Bristlefrost was bewildered. What had that been about?
She found the walk to the Gathering Island even stranger. Not only was most of the party incredibly tense, but many of them were also focused on just one member.
Ashfur.
The gray tom himself seemed oblivious, strolling through the trees as though gracing them with his presence. Meanwhile, the most senior members (Firestar, Graystripe and Sandstorm) formed a loose ring around him.
Suddenly it hit her. This was the formation used around prisoners and criminals. What had Ashfur done?
Just what was going on?
At first, the Gathering itself seemed normal enough. Bristlefrost herself, having shaken off her unease, flitted from cat to cat- River, Shadow, Sky and Wind- doing her best not to crow her new name like a braggart.
Ugh, what was taking the leaders so long? Firestar had gathered the other leaders as soon as they arrived, and the five cats had remained in tense conversation, their gazes flicking to a few cats- namely Ashfur and a dark tortoiseshell tom from Shadowclan. It seemed she wasn't alone in her impatience, whispers mixed with grumbles floating around the island. Cats were starting to become less interested in news and more with the call of their nests.
"What are they playing at? It's almost dawn." Cloudtail rumbled grumpily.
Almost as if they had heard him, the five leaders took their customary perches on the tree. At its base, the deputies sat with Graystripe filling in for Brambleclaw.
She blinked. The striped senior warrior was normally quite jovial but tonight, he looked grave, angry even. Reminded of her leader's anger earlier, Bristlefrost glanced at Ashfur. He still seemed smug about something.
Her attention was drawn back to the leaders as the announcements began. Mistystar was first, informing of Riverclan's births and achievements of the past moon in her usual clipped tone. She was followed by Leafstar and Onestar, both of whom had very little to report, other than the announcement of a new Skyclan warrior.
Next came Blackstar. His report on Shadowclan's affairs was brief per usual. However, while he was infamous for being something of a grump on the best of nights, tonight he seemed to be seething. Puffed fur and gleaming claws stretched from black paws made him look positively lethal as he shot venomous looks at the tortoiseshell tom, who suddenly looked nervous.
This must be Sol, the weird rogue now living in Shadowclan. Rumor had it that he was convincing Blackstar that their fundamental belief in Starclan was lunacy. Bristlefrost wasn't the only one to notice Blackstar's glares. She heard a snort from Tawnypelt and suddenly remembered that she was the sister of her clan's missing deputy.
"Looks like the other leaders talked some sense into Blackstar about Sol's insanity. Honestly, just this morning I heard him prattling on about the sun disappearing! He even draws these strange symbols in the dirt- the sham." She suddenly looked contemplative. "I wonder…it was Blackstar's patrol that found Sol in the clearing near Ashfur the night that-" Tawnypelt cut herself off sharply. "No…no he didn't…"
Bristlefrost tuned her out as Firestar straightened from his crouch as it was now his turn to speak. Her ears pricked up. It was finally time!
With an amused twinkle in his eyes, the ginger leader began.
"Prey is running well in Thunderclan. I am pleased to welcome a new warrior into our ranks- Bristlefrost!"
The thick-furred molly instinctively straightened and puffed her chest fur as the surrounding cats all chanted her name. So what if some of them simply sounded polite, the gray molly had been waiting for this moment! She only just managed to stifle her purrs.
As the cheers died down, Firestar's voice rang out in an unfamiliar stern tone, snapping her out of her prideful bliss.
"However, recent events have plagued us. As you all know, Thunderclan's deputy and my daughter have been missing over the last few moons."
Was that a quiet purr from Ashfur?
"However, this is no longer the case."
The purring stopped abruptly.
"As of this morning, they were found by the Thunderpath. And they both had quite the story to tell. Would you care to share it with us, Squirrelflight?"
Surprised whispers tugged at Bristlefrost's ears as she watched the crowd part to allow the ginger, bushy-furred tailed queen passage. Suspicion forced her gaze to flit to Ashfur. The gray tom was so still he mimicked the tree in front of him.
"I would but not alone."
The slight mischievous glimmer in her eyes belied her serious tone, but there wasn't enough time to ponder it. The moment Squirrelflight finished speaking, a piercing howl split the night air. Bristlefrost was jostled as cats scrambled out of the way of an enormous brown wolf that leapt into their midst.
I hope you enjoyed and please stay tuned! The next chapter should be out shortly! And as always please feel free to leave reviews.