Graystripe pads warily though Tallpines toward the Twolegplace with Cloudtail and Brightspirit in the lead while Sandstorm is at his side. Heavy rain from the night before made the wet ash and burned debris still left on the forest floor cling to his paws. All his senses are alert, but not for prey. He's looking for signs of the beast that mauled Swiftpaw and Brightspirit.
He is worried to meet Princess, Cloudtai's mother, as when they were going to greet her last time they were interrupted by the news Fernpaw brought on that horrible day when they lost Swiftpaw and Brightspirit was badly injured.
Cloudtail keeps whispering reassurances to Brightspirit, who jumps at every leaf crackle underneath, and noises coming from the forest. He admires Cloudtail's love for the young-she cat and Brightspirit's braveness at trekking through the forest.
When they come in sight of the fences around the edge of Twolegplace Cloudtail signals for him and Sandstorm to stop. He opens his mouth to taste the air, Graystripe guesses it's to see if his mother is around, and to see if there is any dog scent.
The white warrior then whispers a reassurance to Brightspirit and runs across the little open stretch of land. He leaps over the fence and Graystripe is surprised by such a leap.
"Do you know what Cloudtail's mother is like?" Sandstorm asks.
"No. This is the first time I've gone to see her. I am glad you could too." He presses his nose into her fur. Sandstorm purrs, "I am glad I could come too."
A shrill wail of grief cuts through the air. And Graystripe guesses Princess has been informed of Fireheart's death. Even if the two cats weren't close, they still share a bond of brother and sister. After a few moments of silence two cats leap over the fence, Cloudtail and he assumes the light brown tabby she-cat with a distinctive white chest and paws, green eyes, fluffy and soft fur, and a thick tail is Princess, Cloudtail's mother.
Princess comes up to him across the stretch of open grass, "Graystripe, Cloudtail tells me you have been a great mentor to him in my brother's absence. I will miss him and now Cloudtail is all alone in Thunderclan."
Graystripe mews, "He's not alone. He has us. And a cat he's been padding over."
"Graystripe." Cloudtail mews embarrassed.
Princess looks towards Brightspirit, "And I think I know who it is. He told me about the attack on two of your apprentices. With one of them being badly injured."
"Yes, that's me." Brightspirit answers hiding the injured part of her face.
"You don't need to hide that from me. I am aware of all the dangers you cats face. At first I thought it was all fun, no worries. But Fireheat's visits, and the news of his death and the tragedy you are going through. It reminds me that my kittypet life isn't fulfilling. It's rather dull, even if it's safer."
"Mom, you don't have to."
Princess looks at her son, "But I want to. You are down on warriors, and I admit, like Fireheart, I have had a longing for the forest. But I thought his clan wouldn't expect another kittypet, or my kits. So I asked him to take my firstborn so he could live that life for me."
Graystripe pricks his ears in surprise, "You want to join Thunderclan?"
"Yes. I know Cloudtail has all of you, but I want to be with my son. I also want to honor my brother. He believed in clan life and I want to carry on his memory. And the way to do that is to become a warrior like him."
Sandstorm mews, "Are you aware that means giving up your easy life? You'll have to hunt for your food, follow the warrior code. Sometimes even going hungry because in leaf-bare prey is scarce."
"I understand. Fireheart has told me of the dangers and joys of clan life. But I want to be there for my son, and honor my brother." she restates, resolution in her voice.
"Well, we can take you to Bluestar." Sandstorm mews, "Fireheart and Cloudtail are good warriors despite their roots. So I'm sure you will be just fine, Princess."
Graystripe nods, "Yeah. No cat can deny how great of a warrior he was. Come on, let's take back to camp."
Their trek back to camp is mostly silent. And despite Princess being plump she manages to keep up with the patrol. When they get to the ravine Princess, despite gasping for breath, stands determinedly. The patrol climbs down the ravine and into the camp. Some of the warriors are out hunting or patroling making the camp rather quiet.
"Wait here." He mews to the patrol. Bounding across the clearing, he heads into Bluestar's den. The she-cat is grooming her paws, and stops when she notices Graystripe standing in the den.
"Graystripe? What is it?"
"I think I should show you."
Bluestar gazes at him curiously but stands to paws. Shaking the scarps of moss off her pelt she follows him out of the den. Walking to where Princess and the rest of the patrol is, Cloudtail is explain adamantly about something.
He stops when he notices Bluestar and he is walking towards them. The Thunderclan leader looks at Princess, confusion in her gaze. "What does a kittypet want with Thunderclan?" she asks, no malice in her mew, only curiosity.
"Fireheart is my brother, and Cloudtail is my son. I have heard wonderful things about Thunderclan, and wish to join. I am also aware of the dangers but I want to be close to my son."
"One of Fireheart's kin?" The blue-gray she-cat murmurs.
"Very well. But we will have to get rid of that collar around your neck. Despite my clanmates' acceptance of Fireheart and Cloudtail, some of them still have a negative view on kittypets becoming warriors."
"I understand. I am ready to leave my kittypet life behind." Princess meows with determination.
Bluestar unsheathes her claws and strikes at the collar around Princess's neck. The collar promptly falls off, falling off the she-cat's neck and onto the ground. Like Fireheart did back when he was made an apprentice, she buries her collar with her hind legs.
Cloudtail purrs at his mother and Princess purrs back.
"We will have your naming ceremony at Sunhigh. You are old enough not to be apprenticed, but you need to learn the ways of the clan…."
"I am fine with being an apprentice." Princess answers and dips her head to the Thunderclan leader.
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Graystripe along with Sandstorm sit together to watch the naming ceremony for Princess. All the other cats in the clan also gather round. Him and Sandstorm entwine their tails as they watch in anticipation for the ceremony to begin.
"I can't believe Fireheart's sister is really doing this."
"She wants to be here for her son, so he doesn't feel alone. We have kin in the clan, but ever since Fireheart has died Cloudtail has had no kin, even if he has us."
"I never thought of it that way, but I guess you're right. Fireheart would probably feel the same if Cloudtail had died before he did. Alone, despite having friends."
"Yeah."
He leans on her. Despite the turbulent time the clan is going through, Sandstorm always gives him comfort, whether it be through words or just being there beside him. With the beast one of the loose he is worried for Princess's safety, as she is just beginning her training. Which also makes him worried for the five other new apprentices, as they have had only a moon of training.
If anything happened to both of Fireheart's kin, he would never get over it.
Bluestar leaps onto the Highrock, with Princess standing in front of the assembled cats. She yowls, "Cats of Thunderclan. This cat wishes to join our clan and learn our ways. We have lost much and this cat will give us additional strength to carry on with the threats looming over us."
"Princess, do you wish to observe the ways of the clan?"
"I do."
"Then from now on until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Owlpaw. Frostfur you are a kind and noble cat and I know you will teach her our ways."
Frostfur nods and Princess, now named Owlpaw, goes to touch noses with her mentor. The rest of the clan breaks out into cheering, Cloudtail being the loudest, as Owlpaw and her mentor sit together. Graystripe purrs, he knows Fireheart's kin will be an excellent addition to the clan, as her son has done so well.
Graystripe dreams as he pads through a forest clearing in newleaf. Sunlight streams through the trees, making dappled patterns of light and shade that shifts as the leaves stir in the breeze. He pauses and opens his mouth so that he can taste the air. Very faintly he can scent a familiar scent, and a quiver of happiness runs through him.
"Fireheart?" he whispers, "Fireheart, are you there?"
For a moment he thinks he can see bright green eyes shining at him from the depths of a clump of ferns. Warm breath caresses his ear and a voice murmurs, "Thank you for taking my sister into the clan, Graystripe. She will make a fine warrior given the proper training."
After a moment of silence Fireheart continues, "Remember the enemy that never sleeps, Graystripe."
The vision fades and he wakes to find himself in the warriors den with the cold light of a day in leaf-bare striking him through the branches. Still clutching at the last shreds of his dream, Graystripe stretches and shakes scarps of moss from his fur.
It has been several moons since Fireheart had warned him about the enemy who seems to sleep. That was shortly before Tigerstar led the attack with the rogues which killed Runningwind. But Fireheart also said he approved of Owlpaw's acceptance into the clan. Which means the rest of Starclan agrees to. Which is a relief that Starclan approves of letting outsiders into the clan. Thunderclan is in need of strengthening themselves and having enough cats to handle the threat of Tigerstar and Shadowclan along with that beast that is roaming the forest.
Heading out into the entrance he needs to take some cats to check the Shadowclan border. Fireheart wouldn't have sent the warning if it wasn't serious. The day is gray and cold and he pauses to taste the air a drop of rain stings him in the face. On the far side of the den, all the apprentices are chatting with each other, including Owlpaw.
Tawnypaw notices him and waves her tail in hello. He waves his tail back and calls, "I'll take you hunting later!" Tawnypaw nods and goes back, happily chatting with her denmates.
At the entrance to camp, Sandstorm leaves with her hunting patrol, passing by Longtail who is shivering, his eyes glazed with shock. He wonders why his friend is shivering so badly, it isn't too cold out. Worry fills his belly and he races to where Longtail is.
"What's happened?" he asks, concern in his mew for his friend.
Longtail shudders, "Graystripe, there's something I have to tell you."
"What is it?"
"I have scented Tigerstar at Snakerocks a few times."
"You have?"
"Yeah… I wasn't sure if I scented it correctly. I…I thought I was just making it up, so I had to be sure. The last few times I only caught his scent…. But this time I saw him Graystripe. I thought I should warn him of the danger and chase him off but then I saw that he had a rabbit in his jaws. I thought he was stealing the prey but he dropped it in front of one of the cave entrances."
"And then what happened?"
"Then this…this creature appeared out of the cave. I swear it was the biggest dog I've ever seen. Forget the stupid things that come with Twolegs. This was huge. I only saw its front paws and its head…enormous slavering jaws, and you've never seen such teeth." Longtail's eyes are wide with the memory of fear. "It snatched the rabbit and dragged it into the cave," he continues. "And then the howling and barking started. It sounded as if there were more dogs in there, all fighting over the rabbit. It was hard to understand what they were saying, but I think they were saying 'pack, pack' and 'kill, kill.'"
Graystripe stiffens, every limb locked in terror, and he mews quietly, "Those were the words in Cinderpelt's dean and the words which Brightspirit said when she was recovering."
He knows at last what terrible creatures had attacked the young she-cat, confirming his suspicions. Longtail has discovered the true nature of the presence of evil in the forest, the force that has turned the cats into prey, the hunters into the hunted. Not a single dog, separated from its Twolegs, but a whole pack of savage creatures.
Graystripe can not imagine where they have come from, but he knows that StarClan would never have unleashed such destruction and risked the balance of life in the whole forest. Especially since they have warned Cinderpelt of this.
"And you say Tigerstar fed these dogs?" he questions Longtail. "What does he think he's doing?"
"I don't know," the pale warrior admits. "When he dropped the rabbit, he jumped on top of the rock. I don't think the first dog saw him. Then he went away."
"You didn't speak to him at all?"
"No, Graystripe, I didn't. He never knew I was there. I'll swear by anything you like—by StarClan, by the life of Bluestar—I don't know what Tigerstar is doing."
"I know that. I just wanted to make sure. I trust you Longtail."
Graystripe doesn't know what Tigerstar wants with the dogs, or what advantage he can gain by feeding them.
"We need to investigate. But by the time we reached Snakerocks, it would be getting dark and we would be unprepared. We'll go at dawn tomorrow. Don't tell Darkstripe about this, I am not sure if he even knows what the fox-heart is doing, but I won't take any chances. Darkstripe has been too eager and chatty with Tigerstar at gatherings so far. Tell Sandstorm, and Cloudtail. We'll do a recon and then assess the situation afterwards. I will tell Bluestar."
He pads away from Longtail heading towards Bluestar's den and thinks to himself that he'll find out what Tigerstar thinks he's up to, if it's the last thing he does.
Author's Note: Yeah so I made Princess join the clan. I think I made her reasons reasonable and honestly when she has kits again I think she will take on the role of kit watcher like Goldenflower does(though the Erins kindof forgot about that in cannon) as does Daisy and Ferncloud do in cannon when her kits leave the nursery. I also thought it was weird that she, a kittypet hears about clan life, and decides to give up her first born kit, despite the dangers that might be out there(whether or not Fireheart told her) and not wanting that life for herself. Also she is Jake's kit along with Fireheart, and so I think all his kits have inherited a sense of wonder for the life beyond the fence, even if they don't go through with it. I also want Cloudtail to have some cat he is close to by blood, so that he isn't entirely without kin in the clan, and feeling like an outcast because of it like Fireheart did in cannon. Also having Princess be in the clan makes the prophecy of three(which is an old prophecy which predicted Fireheart's kin as having a huge role in the clan, not Graystripe's still vaild, because the only thing I am changing in this AU is Graystripe's role and some of the cat's names and their roles in the clan as well, not how many kits they have. And since it is such an old prophecy Starclan cannot change the cats in the prophecy.) The only reason that Graystripe has been able to take Fireheart's place in this AU is because like Fireheart he is a good cat, even if he is a bit misguided at times. Which is why he is the ash that takes the place of the fire(that isn't a prophecy though, just an analogy). Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
~Leafbranch