Waspeye remained silent as the Gathering began, still reeling from the day's events and what he'd learned. What made it worse was that there was no way he could ever talk to anyone about it, not even Ivytail. He didn't want to seem like he'd been spying on him, especially not during what had seemed like such a genuine, tender moment. He was left with just himself to figure it out.
He jerked, startled, as Beechstar announced the Gathering was starting. Brownfur glanced at him in surprise, and Waspeye smiled to show he was fine. His friend hummed, but didn't push it. Waspeye stared at the smaller brown tom for a moment, thinking back to what Ivytail had asked him near the Shadowclan border. Eventually he shook the thought away and focused on the Gathering, seeing Rosestar preparing to speak.
"Shortly before we left camp for the Gathering, our medicine cat, Snakepelt, joined Starclan," she announced. There were several murmurs throughout the gathered cats. "The Thunderclan medicine cat, Ivytail, has stayed with him at our camp to say his goodbyes and help Rattail prepare his body for burial. I will send a patrol to escort him back to Thunderclan come morning."
"Thank you, Rosestar," Jaystar said with a dip of her head. "And thank you for bringing a certain tom with you as well."
"Oh, yes, he was a most well-behaved guest," Rosestar said with an amused smile.
"I'm very glad to hear that," Jaystar replied with a dip of her head. "Speaking of, I also have an announcement to make. We have two new warriors joining us here tonight. Brownfur and Waspeye have shown themselves worthy of their warrior names, and we welcome this gladly as full-fledged warriors of Thunderclan."
"Waspeye! Brownfur!" the other cats began to call, and the two toms smiled. The excitement and happiness from the other clan cats was clearly genuine. Waspeye blinked when he saw Moorwind sitting with the Riverclan and Windclan medicine cats, eyes beaming with pride. His smile broadened as their gazes met, dipping their heads to each other in greeting.
As the chanting began to die down, the Windclan leader, Moorstar, stood to begin his report. "Congratulations on your new warriors, Jaystar, and I grieve the loss of Snakepelt, Rosestar, as does everyone else here," he said, dipping his head solemnly. "As for Windclan, we are lucky to have had a plentiful Greenleaf. There was a small confrontation with a Riverclan patrol over a rabbit that Harestep accidentally crossed the border after, but it was resolved peacefully. Beyond that, I am happy to say there was nothing else of note."
Pikestar took her turn next, reporting that Spottedpelt had moved to the elder's den, while Rainpelt had welcomed a litter of three only a few days ago. Two she-cats and a tom that she had named Bluekit, Snowkit, and Oakkit. Waspeye blinked in surprise, then glanced around for Lakesplash. He spotted the large gray tom sitting beside Sagepatch, his expression not giving anything away. Waspeye noticed his tail flick. The red and black tom wondered who the father might be, and he was sure that his former mentor was wondering it too.
Eventually the leaders called the end of the Gathering. Thunderclan decided to hang back to let a few of the others go first, and in that time Moorwind had approached Waspeye with a smile.
"Look at you," she said excitedly. "Warrior already, huh? You've certainly grown into it."
"Oh, uh, thank you," Waspeye said with an awkward chuckle. "I was beginning to think we'd never make it, you know?" He gestured to Brownfur when he said it, his friend simply humming.
"I'll be right back," Brownfur said suddenly, Waspeye blinking in surprise as his friend stood and padded into the throng of cats, as if looking for somebody specific.
"Okay," Waspeye said to himself, confused by his friend's behavior. He shook his head and turned back to Moorwind. "Sorry. Uh, yeah, thank you."
"I think Moorstar wants to talk to Jaystar about something, so we have a little bit to talk, if you want," the Windclan medicine cat offered. Waspeye hesitated slightly, then wordlessly nodded. "Great. Come on, let's go to that spot I showed you your first Gathering."
The she-cat had turned and started to walk before Waspeye could respond, the red and black tom huffing softly before he followed after her. The she-cat was sitting by the bank by the time he reached the spot, a paw flicking a nut into the water just like his first Gathering. He sat down beside her, watching in silence as a carp came up and ate the nut.
"Do you ever think that sometimes the Codes are wrong?" Moorwind asked suddenly. Waspeye blinked, completely caught off guard by the question.
"Uh, could you…be a bit more specific?" he replied, looking at her in confusion.
"I know they were changed many moons ago, like to allow cats to move between clans if they wanted to take a mate from one of the others. But sometimes I wonder if they should have been changed more," she said, flicking another nut that got swallowed by another carp. Maybe the same one, it was impossible to tell. "You warriors got to reap the benefits of the changes, and us medicine cats were stuck with the same Code we've always had."
Waspeye glanced back the way they'd come, a sudden, unexplainable nervousness settling in his gut.
"What…part of the Code exactly do you have a problem with?" he asked, Moorwind sighing. A moment passed.
"I don't like that we can't have a family," she eventually answered. "It feels like it was made because those involved were afraid that we wouldn't be able to do our jobs and have kits because they weren't able to, without taking into account that there are plenty of cats who could and have done it just fine before and after them. They messed up, and now we have to suffer because of it."
"Do you want kits?" Waspeye asked, not quite understanding why that was so upsetting.
"I don't know," Moorwind said with a shake of her head. "But I'd like to be able to make that choice, you know? I don't want to be made to choose between my role as a medicine cat or somebody that I love. Nobody else has to make that choice. It isn't fair."
Waspeye was silent, thinking it over. After a moment he hummed. "You…" The tom sighed, then shook his head. "Just bring it up at the half-moon," he said. "You don't have to say you want to change it, but bring it up and get an idea of where everyone else stands on it. I appreciate your confiding in me but there isn't much I'm able to do to help you."
Moorwind sighed. "Yeah," she said softly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't make this your problem like this."
"Hey, no, it's fine," Waspeye said quickly. His tail rested on her back reassuringly. "You're my friend. What are friends for, if not talking about things that can completely alter the way the clans interact and behave?"
Moorwind laughed softly. "It sounds so stupid when you say it like that," she replied. "In a good way, I mean. Like it's just another thing to talk about when you're bored."
"I'm good at that," the red and black tom said with a soft chuckle. A moment passed. "Is that all that you wanted to talk about?"
"At least until I can think of something else to come to you for wisdom for," the she-cat answered with a warm smile. She playfully nudged the tom, though he barely felt it. If anything, it seemed to knock her off balance. "Oh, wow, you really have grown up."
"Hey, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves," the tom replied with a playful grin. Moorwind laughed, then shook her head in amusement.
"Come on," she said. "Let's head back before cats start to whisper."
"Whisper about what?" Waspeye asked as he followed her back towards the others. She glanced at him, chuckled, then blinked when she saw he was serious.
"Nothing," she reassured him. "I'm just making a joke."
"Okay…" Waspeye frowned as he followed Moorwind, confused by the joke but not too bothered to push for an explanation. They parted ways and rejoined their respective clanmates, Waspeye looking for Brownfur curiously. He found the tom talking to Harestep, Waspeye ignoring the slight sting in his chest. He dipped his head in greeting to the two, Harestep returning it politely. Brownfur was a bit more hesitant and awkward but returned it after a moment. The sting came back a bit stronger, but still he ignored it. It was only fair for the other tom to make friends besides him.
"Hey, I heard you went with Ivytail to Shadowclan," the she-cat said. "That must have been hard, huh? I know you obviously weren't close to Snakepelt, but Ivytail was. He must be so broken up about it."
Waspeye paused, not expecting it to come up. "Uh, yeah," he said, the she-cat's words only making him remember what he'd heard and seen. "Yeah, he was pretty upset. I only really went just to make sure he wasn't alone. Didn't even think about how useless I'd be to help until we were there. Just spent the whole time talking to Ferretclaw until they brought me to the Gathering."
"Who's Ferretclaw?" Brownfur asked, Waspeye's ear flicking as he thought he noticed the faintest flicker of jealousy. Was he imagining it? Just something in his head brought on by the confusion of the night?
"Just a Shadowclan warrior," he said with a shrug. "Apparently, she was at our first Gathering. Said she liked my eye joke, but if I'm being honest, I don't really remember it."
"Yeah, you said you were looking for another wasp to make your eyes match," Brownfur said. "It was a good joke."
"Oh, thanks," the red and black tom replied, not having expected his friend to remember it either, let alone to have liked it. He'd never brought it up before.
"Shame I wasn't here to hear it the first time," Harestep commented. "It sounds like it would have gotten quite the gasp."
"Oh, yeah," Brownfur said with a grin. "Even Jaystar was trying not to laugh."
"Ah, get back to me when you make Rosestar hold in a laugh like that," Harestep replied with a teasing grin.
The three cats chuckled. Waspeye opened his muzzle to say something, only to be interrupted by the Windclan cats starting to file off the island.
"Oh, Harestep," Brownfur said quickly, dipping his head in the direction of her clanmates. The she-cat turned, blinked, then looked back to them as she stood.
"Well, I'll see you two around," she said. "Waspeye. Brownfur." Harestep dipped her head, gaze lingering on Brownfur ever so slightly before she turned and padded after her clanmates.
Waspeye frowned slightly, though didn't say anything and simply gestured for his friend to follow as their clanmates started to file off the island once it was their turn. Brownfur huffed softly and followed, Waspeye glancing at him curiously. Brownfur ignored his gaze, seemingly in a foul mood all of a sudden. The black and red tom was tempted to ask, but decided to refrain when he realized it was likely related to him suddenly joining their conversation. He wondered what they'd been discussing that would result in upsetting Brownfur to change the subject.
The moon was only just starting to move lower in the sky by the time the Thunderclan patrol arrived at their camp. Jaystar and Brackenfur retreated to their den, the rest of the patrol doing the same. Waspeye lingered near the camp entrance, thinking about the day's events. Brownfur walked ahead, though stopped a short distance from the warrior's den and turned back to look at Waspeye. The brown-furred tom stared for a few heartbeats before turning fully and approaching him.
"You okay?" he asked, either in a better mood now or pretending to be.
"Yeah, I just…" Waspeye hesitated, then faked a yawn. "I'm just tired. Trekking around half the lake in such a short span of time is…taxing."
"I bet," Brownfur said, letting out a tired chuckle. "You think Ivytail is okay?"
"Oh, yeah," Waspeye said with a nod. "Upset, obviously, but he's safe. Rosestar is sending him back in the morning with a patrol to make sure he gets back to camp okay."
"That's good," the brown-furred tom replied. "Ugh, I'd hate to sleep in that camp. Surrounded by their scent like that."
"They don't smell that bad," Waspeye argued, perhaps a little too defensively. "It's not like ours, but it isn't bad."
"Yeah, I'm sure Ferretclaw smelled real nice," his friend shot back, neither tom realizing they were falling behind their clanmates. Waspeye stared at Brownfur, confused what he was talking about. It took him a second to realize what he was implying.
"No better than Harestep did to you, I'm sure," the red and black tom said angrily, tail lashing. It stopped when Brownfur opened his mouth to respond, only for nothing to come out. Waspeye stopped in his steps, looking at his friend in shock with a strange ache in his chest. After a moment Brownfur shut his mouth, looking away in a mix of anger and shame.
"I'm sorry," the brown-furred tom said after a moment. Waspeye's fur stood on end in anger.
"No, stop," he said, cutting off whatever Brownfur was going to say next. "Why does every other cat get to have friends in other clans, but the heartbeat I try to do the same, everyone thinks I like them? That isn't fair! Not to me, not to them, not to anyone! I'm sick of it! And even if I did, so what? We're allowed to change clans now! We've had that choice for…Starclan above, I don't even know how long, but we have it!"
Brownfur was quiet a long moment, shame and sadness battling in his eyes. "Are you going to leave me for one of them?"
Waspeye's heart caught in his throat. "What?" he asked, blinking in confusion. "No, of course not. Thunderclan is my home. Just because I have friends outside of it doesn't mean I want to leave. I don't even like Ferretclaw like that. We just met tonight, for Starclan's sake! Moorwind's a medicine cat, so even if I did like her like that, there'd be no reason to leave."
Brownfur nodded slowly. Both toms were silent for a long moment. In the silence, Waspeye reflected on Brownfur's words. Why had he used 'me' instead of saying Thunderclan?
"You're my brother, Waspeye," Brownfur said suddenly. "Maybe not by blood, but…you're the closest thing I have to one."
"You, too," Waspeye replied with a small smile. "If you like Harestep, then-"
"Hey," Brownfur interrupted. "Harestep is just a friend. I promise."
Waspeye nodded slowly, internally relieved in a way he couldn't exactly place.
The two toms noticed that they'd fallen behind their clanmates. They exchanged glances, then turned and hurried after them. Waspeye yawned as they walked, this time for real, and shook his head to shake off the tired feeling.
When they arrived at camp, they almost immediately went to the warrior's den to sleep. As they lay down in their nests, the toms were pressed closer together than they'd ever been since their first night in the apprentice's den. Waspeye let the familiar, strange warmth flow through him, smiling to himself. Despite their argument, or maybe because of it, Waspeye had never felt closer to his friend. As he drifted off to sleep, the red and black tom indulged himself in a near-silent purr.
As the sun rose, Waspeye was awoken by a stray beam of light shining through a small hole in the den. He groaned softly in annoyance, raising his head and blinking a few times before slowly standing. He looked down and over at his still-sleeping friend, smiling briefly before turning and padding out of the den. He yawned and shook his pelt, looking around the camp curiously to see who – if anyone – else was up. The tom hummed to himself as he saw a few cats milling about. His ear flicked as he heard movement at the entrance, turning just in time to spot Mousewhisker, Sprucetail, and Snowtuft pad into camp. Ivytail stepped through behind them, the Thunderclan medicine cat looking like he hadn't slept all night.
Cloverfoot rushed over to the tom, worry in her eyes. He just stared at her, silent but eyes saying all he needed to. Cloverfoot wordlessly nodded and walked him to his den, the three Shadowclan cats watched him disappear, then looked around the camp briefly. Jaystar approached the three, conversing with them briefly before they all dipped their heads in farewell and began the trek back to their camp. Waspeye waited for them to be gone before he began to approach Ivytail's den.
He ducked inside, finding Ivytail laying in his nest with Cloverfoot sitting next to him.
"Hello, Waspeye," Ivytail said softly, voice sounding hoarse and strained with grief.
"Hey, Ivytail," the red and black tom replied. "How are you feeling?"
The medicine cat chuckled dryly. "I wish I had the words," he said simply. "But I'll be better soon. I just need a bit of time to process it."
Waspeye nodded in understanding. A moment passed, the tom unsure of what to say. Eventually he simply dipped his head, then turned and stepped out of the den.
Brownfur was padding out of the warrior's den as Waspeye exited the medicine cat den, quickly padding over.
"Ivytail's back?" his friend asked, the red and black tom nodding in answer.
"Cloverfoot is with him," he said. "Making sure he sleeps."
Brownfur hummed softly. "You want to go out on a patrol? Maybe we can try to catch some voles?" he asked after a moment.
Waspeye smiled. "I would like that," he replied. "Very much."
The two toms informed Jaystar, then padded towards the camp entrance and out into the forest. It was looking like it would be a nice day, and Waspeye was certain they'd have good luck.
