Chapter 7: Urgent Message
The two Riverclan cats that spotted us were Stormfur and a cat that resembled Brambleclaw to a remarkable degree. I believe his name was Hawkfrost, a fitting name for his icy eyes. Their hackles were raised at the sight of Stonestep, a cat who was usually quick to fly into a skirmish on sight. There's a reason Firestar only lets Stonestep patrol the Riverclan border during sunhigh, when Riverclan doesn't run patrols. I still remember the last time we had a morning border patrol. Needless to say, there was a fight. Stonestep was ruthless in that brawl, and I think we made Riverclan use up half their medical herbs on licking their wounds.
Stonestep, despite the visible aggression, kept himself sitting, suppressing his obvious rage. Somehow, I just knew Stonestep couldn't speak for himself lest this break out into another fight, so I had to act.
"We come bearing an urgent message pertaining to all the clans. Would you allow us to cross and escort us to Leopardstar?" I asked, noting Stonestep's claws digging into the dirt. He'd need to wrangle his emotions soon, or else we might be in trouble.
"And what is this news that is so important?" Hawkfrost queried, his tone sharp and cold, ready to flip into hostility on a moment's notice.
"One of our cats received a dream from Starclan threatening the forest as a whole. We have reason to believe that a cat from your clan might have received a similar dream. Right now, we're alerting all the other clans to the existence of this omen and hoping to call an emergency meeting of all the clans." I answered, knowing somehow that this cat would accept nothing less than a mostly complete explanation.
Hawkfrost paced back and forth, seemingly trying to ascertain the truth of my statement. Finally, it was Stormfur that stopped him. "There's only two of them, and they'll be heavily outnumbered in our camp. If anything, the fact that Stonestep isn't attacking us is proof that Thunderclan thinks this is serious. Besides, I think I've got a clue to who they're alluding to when they say one of our cats may have had a dream."
Hawkfrost growled to himself a moment before conceding. "Fine. You two may cross. Keep your claws sheathed, and we won't have any problems."
We crossed the Steppingstones. Stonestep had to briefly stop for me to steady myself off him. Mapleshade wasn't lying when she said these things were slick. Either way, we were across. Hawkfrost let Stormfur lead as he hung back to keep an eye on were silent at first before Hawkfrost began probing me with questions.
"Apprentice, what is your name?" He asked in a near commanding tone.
"Darkpaw." Was my curt answer.
"Smudgefoot's kit? You must have been the result of him having an affair with a rogue." Hawkfrost taunted.
"Smudgefoot isn't my sire. I know who my sire is. Yes, my mother was a rogue, but I heard your mother was one as well." I responded, knowing that his 'impure' blood was a prickly subject for him.
I heard him briefly growl behind me before somehow drifting into amusement. "Fair enough. We are similar in that regard. Though it is surprising how similar you look to Smudgefoot, a bit lankier than him to be sure, but you carry yourself the same way. Such an interesting cat Smudgefoot is. From what I've heard, he was a cat to be feared and respected. Even Tigerstar himself seemed to respect the cat and see him as a rival. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't done anything to make himself leader."
I let out a bit of a tsk of annoyance that he thought so poorly of Father. "If you really knew my father, you'd know that he's exactly where he wants to be. His best friend is Firestar. Even if you are looking at it from just a power perspective, deputy is a far more flexible position to a leader."
Hawkfrost nodded slowly, seemingly taking in my statement in far more depth than I expected. "Facinating. It's a shame you aren't in Riverclan, Darkpaw. You're an interesting conversationalist."
Our chat was wrapped up as Riverclan came into sight. Thankfully, Stonestep kept himself calm as we approached. I did press myself into his side as we entered. I knew this place held traumatic memories for him. I could see Stonestep's eyes seemingly fixate on something entirely nonexistent, likely Tigerstar's bone hill.
"Hey. I'm right here. We'll leave just as soon as the message is delivered. If you need, I can do all the work, and you can just focus on me." I whispered into his ear.
Stonestep was silent a moment before his eyes drifted to me. He set his jaw and seemed to have hardened his resolve. "I'm good. I believe I can do this, but feel free to take over if I freeze up or start getting too aggressive."
Leopardstar emerged from her den, causing Stonestep to tense. His claws were extended, so I tapped his paw with one of mine. He looked down, noticing his own claws, and sheathed them. Leopardstar padded purposefully towards us.
"Stonefur, I never thought you'd return to us." She mewed in a curious tone.
"It's Stonestep Leopardstar, and I'm not here to rejoin Riverclan. You couldn't make me. No, instead I'm here carrying a message. We have reason to believe a forest wide threat will soon emerge after one of our cats received a vision from Starclan. We also have reason to believe some cat here might have received a similar dream. For that reason, we're hoping to call an emergency meeting of the clans in two days' time." Stonestep answered, making his loyalty clear.
"You have some nerve saying one of my cats might be keeping a secret." Leopardstar growled.
I could see the tips of Stonestep's claws peeking out of his fur as he responded. "You're putting words into my mouth Leopardstar, always jumping to conclusions. I said 'might', as in may or may not have. It wouldn't be the first time you made a poor decision." Stonestep answered, getting into Leopardstar's face.
The two held that position for a good few moments, the air stiff with tension before both pulled back, unwilling to be the one that started the fight. "Good to see that you haven't lost your edge or will." Leopardstar mewed, her voice now calm and lacking the aggression it held earlier.
"That's what happens when a cat develops a strong connection with their clan." Stonestep answered in that same calm.
"Do they treat you well?" Leopardstar asks, seemingly to genuinely care for the answer.
"Better than I could ever hope. I've got good friends and an amazing apprentice. This is Darkpaw, Smudgefoot's adopted son." Stonestep answered.
Leopardstar seemed to assess me for a moment before nodding. "He certainly resembles him. They both carry that aura of darkness. From the few times I've dreamed of Crookedstar, I learned that such an aura brings great change that even Starclan cannot predict. He certainly carries potential." Leopardstar commented before signaling Hawkfrost and Stormfur to her. "We will attend this emergency meeting. Whether we believe this threat is real is still up in the air. I will conduct my own investigation into the validity of this claim that someone may have received a dream in my clan. Hawkfrost and Stormfur will escort you out." Leopardstar mewed, displaying herself proudly as we were guided out.
As we returned, I couldn't help pondering the relationship of Leopardstar to Stonestep. While the two are obviously enemies, there was some level of care between the two. There was still a clear feeling of regret from Leopardstar, but Stonestep was the real mystery. Maybe some small part of himself had forgiven Leopardstar for his exile so long ago. I pushed the thought aside, knowing that probing at Stonestep would be picking at a wound that was already a bit open.