A/N: I confess that Whitestorm is one of my favorite cats from the original series. He somehow managed to stay sane and act as a steady paw during all of Bluestar and Firestar's drama. So I couldn't resist giving him a cameo in this story.

Chapter 27. Questions and Answers

The moon is high by the time we limp our way through the gorse tunnel and into the ThunderClan camp. Place looks peaceful, even beautiful, now that it ain't on fire or under attack. Not wantin' any cat to remember I was one of Tigerstar's invaders, I don't bring this up. I guess I don't say every fool thing that comes into my head, just most of 'em.

Two warriors bound up to Firestar and meow somethin' 'bout an apprentice I'm too dazed to catch. Graystripe beckons us to follow him. Mistyfoot and I support one another as the apprentices cling to their dad. We go through a cool fern tunnel and enter a clearing with a small cave at the back. A dark gray she-cat with a badly twisted leg is messin' with some herbs. Her eyes widen when she gets a look at us.

"What in the name of StarClan is going on?" asks the cat who I guess is Cinderpelt.

I slump to the ground and mumble somethin' incoherent about lookin' after Featherpaw and Stormpaw first. The world kinda goes gray for awhile, and I don't fight it. Next thing I know, some cat is gently sniffing me.

"Mistyfoot tells me your name is Nettlethorn," Cinderpelt says kindly, like she be talkin' to a skittish kit.

"Yeah," I say flatly.

I wait for her to accuse me of being a ShadowClan enemy, but she just meows, "You'll be okay," and rummages in her herbs. She chews up somethin' and rubs it into the not-quite-healed wounds on my belly, back, and shoulders. The RiverClan cats are already lyin' in soft nests a couple tail-lengths away.

"Here's some thyme, for the shock. Chew it up," Cinderpelt orders, shovin' a leaf wrap at my face. "Do you need poppy seeds for pain?"

"No," I say quickly. In this camp where I don't know any cat except my fellow ex-prisoners, I gotta stay alert.

"Thanks," I meow once I swallow the thyme leaves. "Littlecloud had lots of good things to say 'bout you."

Cinderpelt's blue eyes soften. "How is he?" she asks. "I've been so worried about him. We didn't see any ShadowClan or RiverClan medicine cats at the last Gathering."

"He's fine," I assure her. "Tigerstar pretty much leaves the medicine cats alone as long as they don't interfere with his business. He and Runningnose are gettin' on the best they can."

A big white tom I vaguely recognize from the skirmish by the road pads over with a rabbit in his jaws and drops it in front of me. I sniff the fresh-kill suspiciously, then get to it. This is more food than I've seen since my last day in the ShadowClan camp, and it's the best thing I've ever tasted

"Thank you," I say sincerely when the rabbit is nothin' but scraps of fur and bones.

"I'm Whitestorm, the ThunderClan deputy," the white warrior meows. He's checkin' me out, but his gaze is just curious and a bit wary, not predatory and calculating like Tigerstar's.

"I reckon you wanna know how come a ShadowClan warrior betrayed her clan and her leader."

"Firestar told me what happened," Whitestorm says, "but you didn't have much time to discuss your situation before you had to flee."

I snort. "Pretty rude of Tigerstar's warriors not to let me tell my life story before I got rescued."

Whitestorm lets out a low purr of laughter. "If you always talk like this, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did under Tigerstar."

"I ain't usually this tired. It don't help."

"Just tell me what you can, Nettlethorn," Whitestorm meows.

"Make it quick, Whitestorm. This cat needs rest," Cinderpelt says.

"I'm fine," I say, summoning energy from I don't know where. I don't wanna put off my explanation, and maybe I can learn somethin' from this cat.

"Of course, Cinderpelt. Nettlethorn, if you'd rather discuss this in the morning, that will be soon enough," the deputy says.

"No, let's do it now. But I wanna know how Tigerstar left ThunderClan. Ain't no cat in TigerClan got the full story, except I guess Darkstripe. Sneaky little dog turd, he's the reason I got stuck in that foxhole in the first place."

Whitestorm considers for a moment, then says cooly, "I'll tell you what I can."

So I go through it all for this strange warrior. Well, almost all of it. In my version of events, I ran with a loosely-connected gang of strays in twolehplace before some of us were recruited by Tigerstar. I make Nightwhisper and Jaggedtooth sound like casual acquaintances. His eyes get wide when I describe hangin' out with the ShadowClan exiles, Tigerstar's offer, our two attacks on ThunderClan, building the Bonehill, and my punishment for protestin' the RiverClan cats' persecution. I don't tell him 'bout my dreams of Mama. Last thing I need is the ThunderClan deputy thinkin' I'm as crazy as Tigerstar.

"Tigerstar is skilled at deceiving cats. All of us trusted him completely until he tried to murder our former leader, Bluestar, and Firestar revealed the rest of his crimes. Unfortunately for him, he seems to have recruited at least one rogue with a well-developed sense of honor. It's almost as if you grew up with the warrior code," Whitestorm says.

I reckon he means it as a compliment, but it sets my teeth on edge. "I don't need no code or dead cats teachin' me how to act right. Mama did that just fine, thanks. We had some real hungry days, but if we had an extra scrap or two and some cat was worse off than us, she'd always share it. I just try to live like her, that's all."

Whitestorm blinks, looks like he be thinkin' real hard. "Help weaker cats and try to be like our mothers. Not a bad way to live."

"Sorry if I jumped down your throat," I say, wrappin' my tail around my paws. "It's not that I don't appreciate the warrior code. I love clan life. It's just I don't think the code can be the final say on how to be a good cat, when Tigerstar would say I broke it on account of I'm sposed to obey him no matter what, even if it means killin' for no reason."

After a long, long pause, the ThunderClan deputy says, "I enjoy talking to you, Nettlethorn. The way you see things is… unusual, but I think it's valuable. It reminds me a little of Firestar, actually. I'd like to return your honesty in kind. You have a right to know about Tigerstar's past."

He goes on to tell the wildest story any cat ever heard. Apparently, Tigerstar murdered Redtail, another ThunderClan deputy (at the rate the clans seem to go through 'em, it ain't a position I'd ever want), then scared his apprentice half to death because he reckoned (correctly, it turned out) that Ravenpaw knew what went down. Firestar and Graystripe helped Ravenpaw get somewhere safe and tried to tell Bluestar what was up, but she didn't believe 'em.

But when Whitestorm gets to how Tigerstar lured a pack of dogs to the ThunderClan camp and murdered a warrior called Brindleface in cold blood to serve as bait, every scrap of breath leaves my body. Closin' my eyes don't block the terrible images of cats being ripped apart like prey: warriors, kits, elders, everybody. That mornin' Tigerstar was so unreasonably angry with Lightningpaw, I realize, must've been when his plan failed. How broken does a cat have to be inside to do that to his own kind? And what does it say about me that I followed him for so many moons?

"The look on your face answers one of my questions. After Runningwind was killed, we only ever picked up Tigerstar's scent on our territory, so we assumed the rest of ShadowClan didn't know about the dogs," Whitestorm says.

"He leaves camp by himself a lot, and we knew Darkstripe was reportin' to him, but… great StarClan, that's horrible."

That single word don't do the thing justice. I remember Tangleburr, the first day we met in the twoleg park, tellin' me warriors help other cats against common enemies, like dogs. Is there anything at all Tigerstar won't do for power? Will he destroy ShadowClan if that's what it takes? Has he already?

"I got a question," I say to Whitestorm. "Why didn't ThunderClan tell the other clans any of this when Tigerstar got kicked out? Maybe we wouldn't be in this fix, 'cause no cat would have followed him."

"In light of all that's happened, perhaps we made a mistake," Whitestorm admits. "But even after he tried to kill Bluestar, we didn't know how low he would sink or how powerful he would become. At the time, we thought revealing his treachery to the other clans would make us look weak. Firestar tried to tell the other clans at the last Gathering, but clouds covered the moon right after Tigerstar announced the creation of TigerClan."

"A few clouds stopped y'all from tellin' everybody half the forest is being ruled by a murderous lunatic? Stonefur would probably still be alive if you told the truth," I say hotly.

Whitestorm's hackles rise. "You aren't from the forest, so you don't understand how seriously the clans take StarClan's sacred truce. Clouds over the moon is a sign of our ancestors' displeasure," he says, a sharp edge entering his meow. "Besides, when Tigerstar showed up in ShadowClan during the sickness, would any cat have cared if we started making accusations? ShadowClan probably would've thought we were trying to sabotage them."

"I reckon you got a point," I say reluctantly. Tigerstar's clever enough with words, he'd be able to twist almost anything his former clan said to make him look like the victim of a vile, scheming kittypet.

"When he became leader, we thought he might have changed. Runningnose said there was a sign from StarClan," the deputy continues.

"Wasn't no sign from StarClan," I say scornfully. "Jaggedtooth, one of the rogues I used to hang with, broke off his own claw and left it for Runningnose to find. Our medicine cat apprentice, Littlecloud, thinks somethin's off."

For the first time, Whitestorm looks truly taken aback. "That's quite the accusation, Nettlethorn, and I'll certainly tell Firestar what you said. But it may not be credible coming from..." This time, it's his turn to trail off.

"A ShadowClan exile with plenty of reasons to hate Tigerstar. And Jaggedtooth sure ain't gonna fess up." Will Nightwhisper? Does he still think Jaggedtooth did the right thing?

The white tom dips his head. "You have quite a colorful way of putting things, but yes. Get some sleep, Nettlethorn. You're safe here for now. I'm sure we'll talk more about all this tomorrow."

Cinderpelt guides me to a comfy nest she's made beside Mistyfoot's. Stormpaw and Featherpaw started out in two separate nests, but now they're both in the same one, curled around each other. Just like how Nightwhisper and I slept when we were little. Will everything in this camp remind me of my littermate?

"Nettlethorn," Mistyfoot whispers as I lay down in my pile of bracken and moss. The RiverClan she-cat is awake, her blue eyes bright.

"Huh?"

"You lied to Whitestorm. Or at least, lied by omission. Why? You don't think Firestar will hurt you just because you have kin in ShadowClan, do you?"

I shrug. "I don't know these cats. Could be they hate Tigerstar so much, they'll do just about anything."

"Firestar's not like that," Mistyfoot says firmly. "You've spent too much time listening to Tigerstar."

"That ain't my only reason. As soon as I'm strong enough, I gotta get Nightwhisper out. I can't do that if I got ThunderClan all up in my business."

"But that's insane! You can't go back there!" Mistyfoot protests.

"Watch me. I know ShadowClan territory better than anyone else in this camp."

My friend sighs and flops back into her bedding. "Spoken like a true ShadowClan warrior. But okay, for now." She's silent for so long that I reckon she's gone off to sleep. But then she rasps, "Tigerstar is evil, Nettlethorn. I don't think I knew what evil was until now, not really. I know Brokenstar did terrible things, but apart from hunting on our land, he never really hurt RiverClan. But Tigerstar will do his best to destroy our whole way of life. StarClan knows if Stonefur was still alive, I'd do anything to get him free of that monster, and I'm praying to every warrior ancestor I have that he won't take my escape out on my kits."

"I'm so, so sorry," I say again, knowin' those words can't touch the emptiness inside her. We fall asleep with my tail-tip touching her flank, just like in the foxhole.

When I wake up, I more than half expect to smell crowfood and see dirt walls all around me. But the bright sunlight shines through the ferns, showin' the cats of ThunderClan startin' their day. Firestar and Whitestorm have their heads together near a rocky overhang that shades part of the camp. A few elders are yawning and stretching outside their den. Graystripe's over by the fresh-kill pile, eatin' with his kits. It all looks so much like the ShadowClan camp, except there are no pine trees here, and everything seems too… open and loud. My heart twists. Am I crazy to be missin' cats who think I'm a traitor for feedin' starving prisoners? But still, I miss the familiar scents and voices of my clanmates.

I spot a small dark tabby apprentice peerin' out of what must be their den. He looks like a dog just threw up in his nest. With a start, I recognize him as Bramblepaw. A flash of memory comes back to me: burning trees, a kit's terrified wail, Tigerstar and Firestar starin' up at me as I balance on that thin branch gettin' ready to leap, united for those few moments.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!" Firestar calls from a boulder in the center of the clearing.

Muscle memory more than thought has me on my paws and headin' that way. "Why is there ShadowClan stink in our camp?" a dark brown tom asks loudly as I pass.

I really, really wanna give him a sharp piece of my mind, but I figure startin' a fight when Firestar's about to stick up for me to his clan probably ain't the smartest thing I can do. Mistyfoot catches my eye and flicks her tail. I join her, Graystripe, and the apprentices at the base of the Highrock. Being there, the center of the clan's attention, brings me back to the night of my first punishment, and it's hard not to shrink into my pelt.

Firestar's voice actually be shakin' when he describes Stonefur's murder. Tigerstar never showed such weakness or vulnerability to his warriors. Closest I ever came to seein' him rattled was when his son almost died in the fire, and I wasn't supposed to see that. The clan listens with their ears pricked. A few gasp and exclaim in horror. Beside me, the RiverClan cats tremble.

The ThunderClan warriors argue about attackin' ShadowClan for awhile. I make my fur lie flat, like I can't hear 'em. But the truth is, even though I know Tigerstar's gotta be stopped, the thought of enemies in my camp makes me wanna sink my teeth into some cat's fur. What if they hurt or kill Nightwhisper, Boulder, Tangleburr, Fernshade, Lightningpaw?

They argue about their warrior ancestors for a bit, then Firestar goes blank, like he be in a dream world. He just stares at his clanmates for a few heartbeats, eyes widening. Is this that ThunderClan crazy I always heard about in my old camp?

"We're still here, Firestar," the warrior who taunted me says dryly.

"Sorry," the ThunderClan leader meows, shakin' out his ginger fur. "I've called you here to welcome Mistyfoot, Nettlethorn, Stormpaw, and Featherpaw. I think we should offer them a place in ThunderClan until it's safe for them to go home." Will it ever be safe for me to go home? What even is home?

"I thought he already decided to let us stay," I whisper to Mistyfoot.

"I guess he wants his clan's input on the final decision," she says. Tigerstar never asked for our input, not for his battle plans or takin' Darkstripe in or stickin' four innocent cats in a hole.

"That's all very well, Firestar, and I'm sorry for what they've been through," says a pale tabby from the back of the crowd, "but what are they going to eat? It's the middle of leaf-bare. We've got our work cut out feeding ourselves."

"I'll hunt for them!" Graystripe yowls, springing to his paws. "I can feed all four of them, and more of the clan as well."

"We're not helpless, you know. Give us a day or two to get stronger, and we'll hunt for ourselves and ThunderClan," Mistyfoot adds.

"It's not a question of who's going to hunt," meows a brown she-cat. "This is a harder leaf-bare than usual, after the fire. We're all hungry, and we'll need all the strength we can get if we're going to have to fight this TigerClan. These four cats all have kin and friends among the enemy. I say they should go home."

I'm on my paws without realizin' how I got there. "What are you usin' those pointy things on the top of your head for, cleaning out beehives? cause it sure don't seem like you're listenin'. You really wanna send us back to Tigerstar, the leader who threw them in a hole for shit they didn't do, threw me in there on account of I didn't want 'em to starve, and murdered a cat when he wouldn't kill two apprentices barely outa the nursery? I heard last night, he set a pack of dogs on you, the cats he grew up with. What you think he gonna do to us? If that's your warrior code, I'll go back to twolegplace and be a rogue again before sunhigh."

The whole clan be starin' at me, just like TigerClan did when I spoke out under the Bonehill. I'm worried I'm about to get kicked out of ThunderClan—I bet I'd be the first cat to be banished from two clans in two days—but most of the warriors look… kind of impressed.

"Nettlethorn's right. What would Bluestar say if ThunderClan sent desperate cats to their deaths? Especially with one of them being her daughter," meows the pale ginger warrior I think is called Sandstorm.

"She may have been born a rogue, but Nettlethorn knows what it means to be a true warrior far better than her former leader, who's clanborn. She was punished for helping cats in need, which is what the warrior code calls us to do," says Whitestorm. I take comfort in the deputy's praise, but it makes me wonder: Would anyone in ShadowClan ever say that to me?

"Welcome to ThunderClan," Firestar finishes when he sees there ain't gonna be no more fussin'.

"Thank you," Mistyfoot answers for all of us.

"It's the right thing to do," Firestar says, like there ain't no more to it than that.

But I know Tigerstar won't just let this go. He'll be furious and embarrassed that we escaped right under his nose. What will ThunderClan do if he invades to get his claws on us? I can also see him lettin' Firestar have the half-clan cats but askin' for me as the price of peace. I ain't got no blood ties or history with these cats, no reason to believe they'll fight for me if it comes to that. Don't get too comfortable here, I remind myself. You gotta be ready to run at a heartbeat's notice.

The meeting breaks up then. As apparently happens when I show up in a new clan's camp, kits bounce up to me. In this case, three of 'em.

"I saw a ShadowClan cat the other day. He was way bigger than you," says the tortoiseshell she-kit.

"There are small ShadowClan cats too, and we're just as fierce. Don't you grow up hearin' we eat ThunderClan kits?" I ask.

Her brothers take a few steps back, but the she-kit just bounces around. "Firestar said you're nice. And the other ShadowClan cat didn't try to eat me. He just came on our territory and talked to Darkstripe."

"But then Darkstripe gave Sorrelkit deathberries and she almost died," one of the other kits says in wonder.

An image of a short bush with scarlet berries fills my head. Fernshade pointed it out to Jaggedtooth and me on a patrol and warned us to never eat 'em. A snippet of somethin' Blackfoot said comes back to me. "What brings you to our camp so soon after our last meeting?"

Now I know why Darkstripe was exiled from ThunderClan. Tigerstar let a would-be kit-killer into his clan. Into his camp where Pinekit and Duskkit play in the nursery, and Darkflower's just waitin' to have her first litter. Those two would've killed Lightningpaw with just as little thought if she'd seen somethin' she wasn't meant to that day she snuck out of camp.

"You have a weird look on your face," Sorrelkit meows.

"Yeah, I've met Darkstripe. He's not very nice," I say.

A gray tabby queen bustles over, callin', "Sorrelkit, Sootkit, Rainkit! Get back here!"

Shooting one last curious look at me, the kits tumble back toward their mama. A wail from the gorse tunnel makes every cat look around. The warrior who staggers in smells like WindClan and looks like he's been fightin' every fox in the forest. There's a deep wound in his side, more scratches and bites on his neck and face.

"Mudclaw, what happened?" Firestar asks.

"You have to help us, Firestar. TigerClan is attacking our camp," the WindClan warrior says.