The greenleaf sun was at its hottest as it burned into Birdpaw's back. She could hear the scuffling of a mouse a few pawsteps away, but she had a more important mission—Stormbrook had ordered her to collect catmint. She was dangerously close to the ThunderClan border, but that was the only spot where it grew. I guess Stormbrook doesn't trust himself near ThunderClan, Birdpaw thought wryly. If they attack a medicine cat, StarClan will curse them forever!
The pungent scent of the catmint drew Birdpaw closer and closer to the stream that marked the border between ThunderClan and ShadowClan. Thanks to the seething greenleaf heat, the stream was completely dry. Birdpaw sighed, realizing the catmint was on the other side of the dry streambed. Birdpaw glanced around, searching for either her Clanmates or any ThunderClan warriors, before racing across the streambed. A sharp stone cut into her paw pad, and she winced as she tripped right into the bed. Ow! Birdpaw scrambled to all fours, lifting her injured paw and staring at the blood that trickled out. She placed it on the ground and winced at the throbbing pain. She couldn't walk like this.
I need cobwebs to stop the bleeding, and marigold, Birdpaw thought. I'll have to search for it on this side of the stream. I can't go back to the pines like this, I need to search for the closest herbs. Birdpaw limped on three paws as she searched the oak trees for any trace of cobwebs. The ThunderClan scent was strong here, and she realized she had crossed the border. I'm a medicine cat. They can't do anything to me. The oak trees and birches were so much different than the pine trees in ShadowClan. The foliage in the forest here wasn't as thick as the pine needles, allowing more sun to penetrate the forest floor, and thus burning deeper into Birdpaw's pelt. I've got to get out of here as soon as I can. But I need cobwebs.
She approached the roots of a birch tree and felt a flash of relief as she spotted a patch of cobwebs. Immediately she picked it away from the roots and pressed it on her bleeding paw, sighing as the blood soaked through the cobwebs. She held it tightly on her paw, and after several moments, she finally pulled it away. There was no more blood pouring from the cut. Now for some marigold, Birdpaw thought. The scents in the oak forest were so confusing, coming from every single direction. She tried to close her mind to all the scents and focused on just one—marigold. Birdpaw trotted further into the woods until she spotted a patch of blooming orange flowers. Marigold! Thanking StarClan that her paws brought her here, she immediately nipped off the flowers and chewed it into an ointment that she slathered her wounded paw in.
Suddenly a thick scent, tinged with squirrel and sandalwood and elm started to drift towards Birdpaw, becoming stronger and stronger. ThunderClan! Birdpaw whirled on three paws and searched for the approaching cat. She narrowed her eyes as a lithe tom with a short black-and-white coat appeared from behind a beech tree, focusing his stunning amber gaze on Birdpaw. Birdpaw stepped back, feeling her heart pound rapidly in her chest. The strength of her fear shocked her. The tom didn't seem to be a threat—he had stopped in his tracks and was staring at Birdpaw with curiosity in his eyes. There was a sort of effeminate gentleness about him that came off in waves as he continued to study Birdpaw. His claws weren't even unsheathed, so why was Birdpaw's heart racing in her throat, and why did she feel as if she was pinned down?
Raggedstar's words from so many moons ago echoed in her mind. "There is a cat in ThunderClan, and he will eventually be known as the God of War. He is striven for a destiny in his own Clan, but that will include constant clashes with ShadowClan. He must be defeated if ShadowClan wants to live in peace."
Is this him, Raggedstar? Birdpaw asked the StarClan cat in her thoughts. Is this the cat who will try and destroy ShadowClan? There's no other reason I'd be feeling this way if he wasn't. She met the tom's gaze, unable to surmise how a tom like this could bring ShadowClan to its knees. But Stormbrook told me to never question StarClan's guidance. This must be him. Birdpaw wanted to run, but she was only capable of limping on three paws. If she ran, this tom might pursue her, and she was in no state to outrun him. What do I do?
The black-and-white tom was the one who broke their silent staring contest. "Who are you?" he asked, tilting his finely shaped head. "And what are you doing on ThunderClan territory?" The breeze moved through his flaxen pelt, a distinct scent of twilight mist surrounding the ThunderClan tom. Even though he was a calm and perhaps relaxing presence, Birdpaw didn't miss the flickers of danger in his deep golden gaze.
"I'm the ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice," Birdpaw blurted out, hoping the tom wouldn't hurt her. "Birdpaw. I hurt my paw in the stream so I was just searching for marigold… it was too far of a walk from the stream back to the marigold patch in the pine forest."
"I see," the tom mused, twitching his ears, as if he barely acknowledged Birdpaw's reasoning for being on his land. "I'm Rootberry, by the way."
Birdpaw lowered her head. "I'm sorry for trespassing."
"Oh, no need to be sorry," Rootberry meowed, flicking his tail. "You should not be apologizing to me. I do not like innocent cats speaking to me the way my Clanmates do. You may not be able to help it, but it hurts me to think of a beautiful flower sullied with that kind of language."
What is he on about? Birdpaw stepped back, inch by inch. She was frightened of this tom. She knew, deep in her heart, that this was the cat that Raggedstar had warned her about. He had to be. She knew that if any other ThunderClan cat approached her, she wouldn't have felt the same debilitating fear she had experienced when she saw Rootberry. He could call her an innocent flower all she wanted, but she knew he was dangerous. Birdpaw turned on her heel and ran away through the forest, cursing the pain that shot through her paw like agonizing claws. She heard Rootberry's confused mewl, but as she looked over her shoulder, she realized he wasn't following her. Thank StarClan! Birdpaw thought with relief as she reached the dry streambed.
The clump of catmint she had been searching for was right on the bank, and before she could give it a second thought, she nipped the stems of the plant until she had as many in her mouth as she could carry. The tantalizing scent drifted in her nostrils, but she knew how precious it was to retain the plant's juices. It was the only herb that could heal greencough, and Stormbrook always wanted some on hand just in case. Birdpaw leaped over the stream and headed straight back to camp. She had waited on Raggedstar's warning for too long. She had to warn Lionstar about Rootberry.
Birdpaw approached the camp and half-slipped, half-climbed down the hollow, feeling the throbbing ache in her paw every moment. She limped into the medicine den, dropped the catmint, and glanced at the empty den. No Stormbrook. Where was he? And no patients, either. Birdpaw recalled back to the company she had when Leafpaw was here. But his wound had healed, and she hadn't seen much of him since. Loneliness jabbed at her heart. She missed him. She didn't sleep in the apprentices' den with any of the other apprentices, and the cats her own age were so busy training that she never got a moment to speak to them. Even Talonpaw talked to her scarcely, being pushed in his training from dawn to dusk. Sometimes I feel like I'm the loneliest cat in the world. Sure, she had Stormbrook for company, but she missed the easygoing Leafpaw and her determined brother. Sighing, Birdpaw dropped the catmint in the herb stores and steeled her paws towards Lionstar's den.
She approached the low-growing branches of the pine tree that hovered over the large boulder, which sheltered Lionstar and often his mate, Robinwing. Birdpaw pushed her way towards the brambles and called out softly, "Lionstar? Are you there?"
"Birdpaw?" Lionstar's reply was bewildered. "What are you doing here? Is Stormbrook with you?"
"It's just me," Birdpaw meowed. "I need to speak to you."
"Very well." Lionstar still sounded confused. "Come in."
Birdpaw pushed her way through the brambles until she entered the ShadowClan leader's den. Lionstar was sitting up straight, his green eyes gleaming softly in the shadows. There was a half-eaten mouse next to him. I must've interrupted him in the middle of his meal, Birdpaw thought guiltily. She wondered if she should leave and come back but decided that this message was too important to delay relaying. She had received it over a season ago. It was time Lionstar found out.
"What is it?" Lionstar asked, wrapping his bushy tail around his golden paws. "Is everything all right?"
The ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice let out a low sigh. "When I went to the Moonpool, I received a message from one of the old ShadowClan leaders, Raggedstar," Birdpaw began.
Lionstar twitched his ears. "I know him. He gave me one of my nine lives."
Birdpaw went on. "He told me that we have an enemy in ThunderClan, who soon will be known as the 'God of War.' He told me that this cat has a destiny in his Clan, but his destiny will intertwine with ShadowClan's, so that there'll be many conflicts between ThunderClan and ShadowClan because of him. Raggedstar told me he must be defeated if we want to live in peace."
The ShadowClan leader inhaled sharply, and his green eyes flashed with an emotion Birdpaw couldn't detect as he listened carefully to her reporting. He shut his eyes and then opened them again. "Did Raggedstar say who this cat was?" he asked.
"Raggedstar didn't say, but today I was collecting herbs near the ThunderClan border, and a cat approached me. I felt something inside me… something I've never felt before. It was fear unlike anything I've ever experienced, not even when I watched the battle when I was just a new apprentice. I think… I think that was the cat Raggedstar was talking about."
"Who was it?" Lionstar asked.
"Rootberry of ThunderClan," Birdpaw replied.
"Rootberry?" Lionstar echoed, flattening his ears. Birdpaw winced at the tension between leader and medicine cat apprentice. "He's barely a warrior!"
"I can't explain it, but I'm pretty sure it's him!" Birdpaw exclaimed, frustrated at the condescending tone in Lionstar's voice. He should believe me! I'm a medicine cat! I may still be an apprentice, but I speak with StarClan!
"Pretty sure isn't good enough," Lionstar growled, raking the ground with his claws. "If there's a threat from ThunderClan, it's Flintstar, not a barely grown warrior." He snorted in contempt. "I could kill Rootberry in one blow. How is he known as the God of War?"
"I don't know," Birdpaw confessed. "This is what StarClan said to me, and this is what I'm saying to you, as your medicine cat apprentice. I know you don't trust Stormbrook with ThunderClan, which perhaps is why Raggedstar passed the message to me."
Lionstar eyed Birdpaw suspiciously, and Birdpaw could tell the golden tabby believed her about the message but didn't agree with her that it was about Rootberry. But every muscle in Birdpaw's body and her heart told her that it was about Rootberry. No matter how gentle the tom came off as, he was the danger that Raggedstar prophesized. But Birdpaw knew that there was nothing else she could do. She could sit here for hours and try to persuade Lionstar, but that would be harder than moving the mountains.
"I've told you what Raggedstar told me, and I've told you what I think," Birdpaw meowed, getting to all fours, wincing at the ache in her injured paw. "Do with this information as you wish. Raggedstar warned me that our Clan is in danger from a single cat in ThunderClan." She lowered her head respectfully to Lionstar, deepening herself in a bow. When Lionstar jerked his head in a curt dismissal, Birdpaw turned on her heel and limped out of his den, wondering what Lionstar would do in regard to her message. Will he strengthen patrols? Attack ThunderClan before Rootberry can get us? She shivered. Will he send an assassin after Rootberry? She knew that was something Clan leaders did if they felt a single warrior threatened them—they would send a warrior to track them down and kill them.
Birdpaw shook her head of the ominous thoughts and looked up, watching the daily activity of camp. Shiningheart and Dewshine were basking outside in the sun as Shrewpaw brought them a fat squirrel. Daisyflight and Mapleheart, recently made warriors, were sitting guard in camp, their eyes trained on the entrance. Featherheart and Toadstep were discussing something in hushed tones near the warriors' den, while Redfeather was supervising reinforcement of the elders' den. Owlpaw and Hawkpaw held branches in their jaws as they obeyed Redfeather's orders. Snowsplash and Icefire were sharing a squirrel near the fresh-kill pile. Blossomflower poked her head out from the nursery—she had taken a new mate, Redfeather, and had given birth to Lizardkit and Tigerkit. Bluefeather had joined her in the nursery as well, expecting Snakenose's kits. As Birdpaw watched Cloudsong nuzzle Copperlight, she guessed that Copperlight would be joining them soon as well.
Everything seemed fine, Birdpaw thought. I should only worry about the health of my Clanmates. Rootberry is Lionstar's problem, not mine. But even as she thought that, she couldn't ignore the ominous tides that swirled in her stomach as she padded towards the medicine den. She stepped back as she realized that Stormbrook was inside. The black-and-gray tom looked up at her from where he was mixing herbs.
"Got the catmint?" Stormbrook asked.
Birdpaw nodded. "It's in the herb store."
"Well done." Stormbrook looked back at his poultice, narrowing his eyes.
"Who's that for?" Birdpaw asked.
"Dewshine. Her joints are aching." Stormbrook pointed with his tail to the various herbs he was using. "I'm using daisy leaves and ragwort leaves. It's often effective, but if an elder doesn't seem to be responding to it, comfrey root or marigold can be added."
Birdpaw nodded blankly. "That's good to know."
Stormbrook blinked. "Do you want to come to the Gathering tonight?"
"There's a Gathering tonight?" Birdpaw asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Stormbrook sighed. "You're working yourself too hard. Yes, there's a Gathering tonight. You don't have to come if you don't want to."
"No!" Birdpaw leaped to her paws. "I do want to come." She glanced at her injured paw, wondering how she would hold up on the trek across RiverClan territory towards the island. I should have a poppy seed for the pain, she thought to herself. Stormbrook gave her a brisk nod as Birdpaw padded over to where they kept their herbs. She pulled out a single seed and swallowed it, hoping that would help with the pain and keep the inflammation down.
When the sun had set and the moon was starting to make its way into the sky, Lionstar let out a loud yowl to summon the cats he had chosen for the Gathering. Birdpaw followed Stormbrook out of the medicine den, her paw feeling much better after the poppy seed and a nap. She spotted Toadstep, Featherheart, Cloudsong, Icefire, Snowsplash, Sparrowflight, Talonpaw, Shrewpaw, and Leafpaw, all gathered around Lionstar. Lionstar's ears twitched as Stormbrook approached him and Toadstep. With a wave of his tail, Lionstar led the Gathering party out of camp and into the pine forest.
Birdpaw skipped to catch up with Leafpaw. "Hi!" she breathed out, her voice coming in a puff. Leafpaw glanced over at her and nodded.
"Hey, Birdpaw," he meowed. "How's everything going? Is Stormbrook still as grumpy as a badger?"
"Sure is," Birdpaw said, despite the affection she felt for her mentor. Even if he was a pesky furball, he had taught her a lot, and she knew why he was the way he was. She couldn't hate him for that. "How's training?"
Leafpaw's pelt brushed against hers as he replied, "Hopflight works me hard, but it's worth it. I'll be a warrior in leaf-fall."
Birdpaw wanted to jump back from the electricity as their fur touched, but something told her to stay there as she gazed into Leafpaw's eyes. A warrior, she thought. I wonder when I'll finish my medicine cat training? She knew that medicine cats trained far longer than warriors, even when they had their full name.
"The Clan needs more warriors," Leafpaw went on, "especially with ThunderClan and RiverClan pushing at our borders."
"RiverClan seems busy with WindClan," Birdpaw pointed out, remembering how at the previous Gathering, Reedstar had reported that numerous clashes between RiverClan and WindClan on their shared border. The two Clans had not stopped snarling at each other. Just as Swiftstar challenged Reedstar on the Great Oak, clouds covered the moon and the Clans were forced to go home. Hopefully, that doesn't happen again. Birdpaw recalled shooting a sympathetic glance at Pale-eye and Starlingpaw when she left.
Leafpaw and Birdpaw fell in a content silence as they traveled through the pine forest, inching closer to the lake shore so they stayed the agreed three fox-lengths where they could safely travel and not be challenged by a RiverClan patrol. The RiverClan scent started to become choking, and Birdpaw gagged at the scent of fish. She could see her Clanmates grow stiff as they entered enemy territory, their shoulders squared and their ears perked as they looked out for danger. Birdpaw inched closer to the pebbles and cast a glance at the rippling water over the lake, the moonlight casting silver rays over the waves.
The scents of RiverClan gradually faded to be replaced with the musky, heather and rabbit-tinged scent of WindClan. Birdpaw breathed in the scents of the moorland and the WindClan cats, the long strands of grass illuminated gray. Birdpaw quickened her pace, seeing that Lionstar was urging his Clan on faster. Birdpaw spotted Talonpaw lagging behind and frowned, bounding over to her brother.
"Are you all right?" Birdpaw asked him.
Talonpaw nodded. "Just not used to traveling this far," he meowed. "My legs aren't as strong as Sparrowflight's yet."
"Even though he's pushing you so hard?" Birdpaw inquired.
"Maybe he needs to push me more," Talonpaw meowed.
Birdpaw shrugged as they approached the tree branch that created the bridge from the lake shore to the island. She sniffed the air and realized that WindClan and RiverClan were already there, but she couldn't smell ThunderClan. Her interaction with Rootberry made the fur on the back of her spine prick. Lionstar crossed the tree branch, with Toadstep and Stormbrook behind him. The rest of his warriors followed, crossing easily as they landed on the island. The apprentices were at the back, and they crossed more slowly, not having attended the Gathering as many times as the older warriors had, so they were more wary of the branch. Birdpaw placed her paws softly on the branch, thankful that it didn't waver underneath her. She crept her way over the branch and let out a sigh of relief as she landed safely on the sandy island. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Leafpaw, Shrewpaw, and Talonpaw catching up with her.
Talonpaw touched his nose to Birdpaw's ear. "Be careful," he told her. "We don't know how the Clans will react this Gathering."
Birdpaw nodded as the ShadowClan cats pushed through the foliage that crowded the perimeter of the island. Birdpaw flicked her tail and looked for Pale-eye and the new WindClan medicine cat, Violetheart. Cinderpool had passed away a couple of moons ago, right after giving Violetheart her full medicine cat name. They sat at the foot of the Great Oak, and Birdpaw tried to weave her way through the crowd to reach them when she was bumped into by a big brown tom.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" the brown tom snapped. Birdpaw recoiled, recognizing his muscular physique and broad shoulders as a trademark ThunderClan cat. Suddenly the tom stepped back, clearly recognizing her as the medicine cat apprentice of ShadowClan. "Oh… sorry."
Birdpaw flicked her tail irritably. This was Bearstep of ThunderClan, a new warrior. "It's all right," Birdpaw meowed. "How are things in ThunderClan?" Even though ThunderClan and ShadowClan were bitter enemies, this was a Gathering, held under a truce as long as the full moon shone. Birdpaw also didn't adhere to the same Clan rivalries as warriors did. As a medicine cat, it was her job to stay out of the rivalries, even with all four Clans at war. I wonder how close he is to Rootberry?
"Fine," Bearstep replied, flicking his tail. "Just thinking about someone who wanted to be here tonight." He looked over his shoulder.
"Your friend?" Birdpaw echoed.
"Peartuft," Bearstep said, his blue eyes dark. "His brother, Rootberry, was chosen to go to this Gathering, but not him. I think he's pretty upset."
Birdpaw stiffened. He knows Rootberry! She didn't want to alarm him, so instead she mewed smoothly, "It may not be anything personal. ThunderClan has a lot of warriors—you can't expect them to all go to a Gathering at once."
"You don't understand," Bearstep sighed. "There's something between Peartuft and Rootberry that every cat is suspicious about. Even though Rootberry has his head in the clouds nearly all the time, still the older warriors seem to fancy him over Peartuft, who's a lot more focused on battle."
"Why do they like him more?" Birdpaw asked.
Bearstep shrugged. "Beats me." A shadow covered his dark blue eyes, and Birdpaw realized there was more to the story than that. But he'll never tell me, she despaired. She didn't know what to say to him to comfort him, so instead she shifted her paws uneasily.
"Well, I'd better go find my sister." Bearstep shook out his pelt. "I'll see you later, Birdpaw."
"You too," Birdpaw called out as the brown tom disappeared in the mass of cats. She glanced over her shoulder to see Flintstar of ThunderClan jumping onto the Great Oak. Birdpaw peered through the crowd and flinched back as she spotted Rootberry of ThunderClan. Hoping that the black-and-white tom wouldn't see her, Birdpaw slipped through the cats to reach Violetheart, Pale-eye, and Stormbrook sitting where the medicine cats were. Starlingpaw, who sat next to her mentor, meowed a warm greeting to her. Birdpaw nodded her own greeting.
"There you are," Stormbrook meowed to Birdpaw. "I was thinking you got lost."
"It's going to be a long time until you're rid of me," Birdpaw quipped to her mentor.
Violetheart's whiskers twitched. "You're going to let her talk to you like that, Stormbrook?"
"I've stopped fighting it," Stormbrook replied. "She was born with that tongue; she'll die with that tongue." His words were sharp, but his voice was unnaturally soft. Violetheart chuckled, while Pale-eye rolled her one good eye. Starlingpaw pressed her pelt against Birdpaw's comfortingly. Birdpaw gazed at her mentor, wondering if he was serious.
A silver-and-black tabby pelt approached the group of medicine cats, and Birdpaw recognized Ashenhawk from ThunderClan. She was slightly out of breath, and scraps of herbs clung to her sleek fur. Pale-eye tilted her head.
"What took you so long?" she asked.
"Sunkit got a thorn stuck in his paw," Ashenhawk meowed. "With the yowl he gave off when I took it out, you'd think as if no cat ever got their paw hurt before."
"Is he all right?" Birdpaw asked.
Ashenhawk nodded. "He's fine, just resting. You should've seen the stares of my Clanmates when he yowled. Poor Honeykit looked like she wanted to disappear into a hole for the rest of her life."
"That's kits for you," Pale-eye mewed. "Be thankful it was just a thorn. Runningkit is still in my den. His mother is watching him." She shut her good eye. "I thought he was joining StarClan, but Flamestripe told me that if StarClan wanted him, they'd have to take him while he was sleeping, because if he was awake, there'd be a fight."
The ThunderClan medicine cat purred. "Sounds about right for a RiverClan kit." She glanced at Violetheart. "How's everything in WindClan?"
"Well enough," Violetheart replied. "It's hard without Cinderpool, though."
"You'll get used to it," Ashenhawk meowed, flicking Violetheart on the ear with her long-striped tail. Stormbrook was icily quiet as Violetheart turned to Pale-eye, and for a moment, the tension between all medicine cats was enough to make Birdpaw stiffen.
A loud yowl split the clearing, and Birdpaw recognized it as Flintstar's cry. She looked up at the Great Oak to see the four leaders sitting on various branches. Flintstar's silver-and-black pelt shone in the moonlight, while Swiftstar huddled on a branch above him, his ginger-and-white pelt turned silver. Lionstar's thick fur ruffled in the breeze as he stood on another branch, and Reedstar was on the lowest branch.
As the leaders waited for the clearing to dissolve into silence, Flintstar yowled, "I will speak first." All eyes on the island focused on the ThunderClan leader as he meowed, "Our Clan is thriving. Bearstep and Doveheart were recently made warriors."
"Bearstep! Doveheart!" cheered the cats in the clearing. Birdpaw's gaze traveled to the two cats in the crowd—Bearstep has been the dark brown tom she had talked to earlier, and next to him was a small gray she-cat with bright blue eyes. Bearstep looked around nervously, while Doveheart seemed as if she just wanted to disappear from all the attention focused on her. Rootberry rested his tail on Doveheart's shoulder, and Birdpaw froze at the sight of the black-and-white warrior.
When the cheering died down, Flintstar went on. "We have a group of kits that are ready to be apprentices soon. I hope to introduce them in a few Gatherings. Our apprentices are progressing well in their training. Hailpaw and Winterpaw defeated a badger on their own and sent it running out of the forest."
"Surely not in ShadowClan territory?" Lionstar hissed at Flintstar.
Flintstar shook his head. "No, it went further north." The only thing that betrayed his irritation towards Lionstar's tone was the fluffing of the fur on his neck. "That is all for ThunderClan."
"I'll go next," Swiftstar meowed. "Our newest apprentices are faring well in their training. I have not brought them to this Gathering since they are still too young to attend, but they will certainly be at the next one."
And you don't trust them to not spill their mouths, Birdpaw thought to herself.
"The rabbits run on the moor, fat and plentiful, and we have fortified our camp against any attack," Swiftstar continued. He didn't look at Reedstar, but any cat with half a brain could assume he was throwing a thinly veiled threat at the RiverClan leader. Reedstar stiffened, his blue eyes blazing, but he had the sense not to say anything.
When Swiftstar finished, Lionstar lifted his head proudly. "I am pleased to announce plentiful news for ShadowClan. Bluefeather has moved to the nursery, expecting Snakenose's kits. Blossomflower has also given birth to Lizardkit and Tigerkit. Daisypaw and Maplepaw were recently made warriors—they are known as Daisyflight and Mapleheart."
"Daisyflight! Mapleheart!" cheered the crowd. Birdpaw joined in, proud of the two she-cats. She knew how much they deserved it.
Lionstar sat back down, giving his chest fur a thoughtful lick when he turned to Reedstar. "The mighty leader of RiverClan speaks."
Birdpaw wondered if Reedstar would mention Whitesky, and she leaned closer to hear his report. She felt Stormbrook flick his tail against her shoulder.
"Thank you, Lionstar," Reedstar meowed. "RiverClan is doing well. The training of our apprentices is going well, and none of the streams in our territory have dried up, thank StarClan. Our youngest warriors are thriving. I am very proud of them."
As Reedstar finished his report, Flintstar immediately slid down the Great Oak, calling an end to the Gathering. Birdpaw watched as the Clan cats split apart, and something Bearstep said to her wouldn't leave her mind.
"There's something between Peartuft and Rootberry that every cat is suspicious about. Even though Rootberry has his head in the clouds nearly all the time, still the older warriors seem to fancy him over Peartuft, who's a lot more focused on battle."
Talonpaw had been talking about Whitesky when he was in the medicine den. "But he started the battle because he liked fighting… and he liked fighting because he was hurt in his life, and the pain and suffering just made him evil. Wasn't there a way to help him before he turned to a life of killing and fighting?"
"That's RiverClan's problem, not ours." Birdpaw had pointed this out to Talonpaw when he fretted. "If they saw that Whitesky was suffering so much, they should've interfered before he went over the edge and was too far to be brought back."
"It scares me because what if there's a cat like that in ShadowClan? A cat who's hurting so badly on the inside, but can't—or won't—get the help he needs? And what if he turns like Whitesky?"
Originally, Birdpaw's mind immediately floated towards Stormbrook, a cat who was hurting more than any cat could think was possible. But she knew that Stormbrook would never harm his Clan, no matter how hard he was hurting. Talonpaw mentioned ShadowClan, but a cat who was hurting to the point where the pain and suffering changed them could also come from a different Clan. Was it possible that an animosity could build between Rootberry and Peartuft? And, if that happened, would that spread to ShadowClan?