Gorseblaze gazes up into the night sky, the stars glittering brightly. He doesn't care about the cold, or the snow on the ground. All he wants is for Maplefall to come back. It's been five days. Where could she have gone?
His ear twitches as he remembers the Gathering last night and Rowanclaw's exile. He is glad that his other clanmates hadn't agreed to follow him, like Mistycreek had. Still, it bugs him that he and Maplefall hadn't noticed that Rowanclaw was trying to get Rushstar out of his leadership position and make Lilacshimmer, Lilacstar.
It's strange.
A part of him is glad that the conflict had been resolved so easily, but another part of him worries if this is only the beginning. After all, before Rowanclaw left, half the clan agreed with his belief about Rushstar being a weak and incompetent leader.
Could they stir up more conflict in Rowanclaw's memory, or will they comply quietly like they promised despite them not liking Rushstar being leader?
I wish Maplefall were here, he thinks as he looks back up at Silverpelt.
He has friends in Shadowclan sure, Quillfur, Brightmane, Aphidroot, Dewsplash, Chestnutpounce….. But it isn't the same with her being gone.
Come back soon, he pleads.
Suddenly he hears the soft approach of pawsteps, and he turns around. Moonlight shines on Rushstar's brown tabby fur, and his blue eyes glow like the lake.
Dipping his head he mews, "Hello Rushstar. Fine night isn't it. Do you want me to go on patrol?"
Rushstar shakes his head.
"No," he meows. "I want to speak with you in my den."
Confused, Gorseblaze follows his leader to the den beneath the highbranch. He notices that despite the cold, the leader's den is warm inside. Soon they reach his den underneath the roots of the tree. It's like a rabbit's burrow, he thinks.
"How are you feeling?" Rushstar asks, breaking him out of his thoughts.
It takes him a few heartbeats to respond; he mews, "To be honest, I just want Maplefall back. I'm worried about where she's gone and if she's even….."-his voice breaks-"I can't bear the thought that she is gone, and that I couldn't say goodbye. She's done so much for me…. I truly owe her a lot. She gave me my prefix, she gave me a home when I didn't think I could have one, loved me for me, when I had been doubting that my own mother could, along with the rest of Thunderclan. She supported me during my trials, and I thought…. I thought we were happy together. But she's gone, left, or dead and I don't know what to think. Is Rowanclaw right? Did she leave Shadowclan because of me? Or is it because of her father? If she had wanted to leave I would have left with her together, supported her like she did me. But she just left and….."
"Don't worry, she didn't leave because of you," Rushstar mews, interrupting him.
Confused, he asks, "What? How do you know for certain? She could have left for any reason!"
"I know because I shared dreams with Starclan last night."
Gorseblaze twitches his ear. "You did what?"
"The truth is…." Rushstar continues, ignoring his question. "Icefade isn't the true leader of Riverclan."
"What? But he said he got his nine lives a few days ago, just after Fawnstar got hers! Surely he wouldn't lie about getting them! Not when he wants to make Riverclan strong again!"
The brown tabby looks at him thoughtfully and meows, "I know because I sent Rootstripe to spy on him the night he got his nine lives and because Starclan confirmed it to me last night. I found it odd that right after Reedpaw's disappearance Podshimmer announced that he was a Medicine now and that Icefade would be leader of Riverclan. Naturally I had my suspicions. And since Rootstripe had to stay and train this new Medicine cat, I ordered her to follow them to the Moonpool the night they decided Icefade would become Icestar."
"Rootstripe told me that they laughed at Starclan and scorned the gift of receiving nine lives. That they didn't even touch the Moonpool at all."
Stunned Gorseblaze mews, "So what you're saying is Icestar lied. To every cat."
His suspicions last night were correct. He didn't want to believe it…. But it makes sense, especially after what he and Maplefall overheard Rowanclaw planning with Icest… Icefade.
"But why are you sharing this with me? I mean I did think it odd that Podshimmer was a Medicine cat now, after he went seasons without showing any interest, and….." Gorseblaze trails off.
"And what?" Rushstar prompts.
He sighs, "Me and Maplefall, a couple of nights before my second trial, followed Rowanclaw and his friends out of camp. We had heard them talking and saw them sneaking off, so we decided to see what they were up to, since Rowacnalw hadn't been exactly very welcoming to me as of late. They went to the Riverclan border and met up with Icest…. Icefade and a few Riverclan warriors. They went on to talk about how to get rid of Shadowclan's presence in Riverclan camp. Icefade said that if he needed to he could force a tom to become the new Medicine cat and appoint a cat as leader. After that we didn't hear much….."
"Why didn't you tell me right away!" his leader shouts, standing up, his tail bushed out.
He flinches, remembering when Duststar had been angry with him and immediately mews, "Maplefall didn't want to get her father in trouble and if I had told you, you might have thought I said she was plotting against you in order to remove her from being the cat who decides my trials. Plus she told me that the last time she told on some cat it didn't end well for her, or for the cats involved."
"But Rowanclaw was plotting against me…."
Gorseblaze interrupts, "And it doesn't matter now. He's gone. He chose to go into exile instead of staying in Shadowclan. Besides, what could you have done? Rowanclaw only planned to do something and he hadn't done anything yet. And you have no respect among the Riverclan cats, so if you had chosen a leader, or made it seem like Rootstripe got a sign, they wouldn't respect your choice and demand some cat else be their leader. And if you had told them Icefade was planning on planting a Medicine cat, they'd think you're trying to make him look evil, so he can't become leader if Starclan actually decreed it."
"You have a point," Rushstar mews, sitting back on his haunches.
The brown tabby then shakes his head and continues, "But that isn't what I called you into my den for."
"Then what did you want to tell me?" Gorseblaze, asks confused, his ear twitching.
"That I went to share dreams with Starclan after the Gathering."
"Why'd you do that?"
"I wanted to know if I could take down Icefade and reveal him as a false leader, like Tigerstar was. But Starclan told me that wasn't my job to interfere with another clan's problems and that I'd be making things worse if I decided to go to war with Riverclan over Icefade being a false leader."
He pauses and then adds, "But they did tell me that Riverstar already has a plan on how to fix this. Reedpaw is alive and….."
"Reedpaw is alive?! But Nightstripe said she was dead and that a fox or buzzard must have eaten her."
Rushstar's gaze darkens. "She lied in order to protect her. Reedpaw was attacked on the moor by a clan cat."
"Now Starclan wouldn't tell me who it was, but they said that Reedpaw is going on a journey to heal and learn what a leader needs in order to lead Riverclan so she can choose who is leader of Riverclan once and for all."
"And she has to do this all alone?"
The brown tabby shakes his head. "Not alone. Riverstar sent someone with her. Maplefall."
"Maplefall is with Reedpaw?"
"Yes. Thrushwing told me that Riverstar trusts Maplefall to help Reedpaw heal and learn what she needs to in order to end this chaos once and for all."
The Shadowclan leader sighs, "I'll admit when I heard that I wondered why Maplefall of all cats is the one Riverstar chose to help Reedpaw. But if Reedpaw was betrayed by one of her own, then Maplefall knows exactly what that feels like. After all, Runningstalk denied becoming mates with her, when every cat thought they were or mates, or that they very close to becoming mates. And then he got with my daughter, Butterflydapple. Granted it's not the same as a cat trying to kill you, but she has experienced betrayal before."
His eyes then land on him, "But so have you Gorseblaze. I wondered why you weren't chosen to go as well."
Gorseblaze doesn't respond, his mind whirling. His mate, Maplefall, was chosen to go on a quest with Reedpaw to help her heal and learn? On the one paw he's extremely proud of her, and on the other he wishes she was the one who told him this information instead of his clan leader. Did she not trust him? Did she not want him to go on the quest with them? Why?
Is it because Riverstar only trusted her with looking after Reedpaw?
Glumly he mews, "Thanks for telling me."
"Wait, Gorseblaze I was trying to…."
"To what? Maplefall could have told me this herself, but instead I had to hear it from you. She left me…. Didn't she trust me to help? Did she not want me to go? If so, why? I don't understand….. She should have told me herself."
Turning away, he heads out of the den, only to be stopped by Rushstar who sighs.
"Look, I don't know why Maplefall didn't tell you about Riverstatr choosing her. But you're wrong to think she doesn't love or trust you. I've seen the way she acts around you and she's truly happy."
"If she loved me, wouldn't she tell me why she left? Wouldn't she want to not make me worry about her safety? Wouldn't she want me to be by her side as she takes a long journey that'll take Starclan knows how long to complete? Couldn't she trust me to help? And if she wanted me to stay in Shadowclan, why not just say so, instead of leaving me in the dark?"
Rushstar looks at him sympathetically. I don't want your pity Rushstar, I just want to understand.
"I can't answer that for you. Only Maplefall can. But Starclan told me that she will come back."
Gorseblaze snorts. "Starclan can't promise that and neither can you."
"She loves you…."
He turns away from the Shadowclan leader. He doesn't want to hear it. If she loved me, wouldn't she explain why she left before going? Wouldn't she promise that she'd come back, rather than Starclan having to themselves.
Gorseblaze barely looks at the clearing as breaks into a run once he's out of the leader's den. The tunnel entrance rips at his fur with its thorns, but he doesn't care. His mind and heart are swirling with conflicting emotions. He loves Maplefall, but can't understand why she'd leave him alone without telling him anything.
All this time he had been worried for her, thinking she might have been killed, but no, she's actually fine and going on a Starclan approved quest. A part of him still worries for her, but he just can't understand why she would just leave without telling him first.
They're mates. They're supposed to talk about everything together. Communicate.
But instead of doing that she just leaves.
He could have used her support when his mother, Cinderlight, was a being a huge fox-heart. But instead of her being there, it was Dewsplash, Butterflydapple, Quillfur, and Brightmane who supported him and even defended him against his mother and Rowanclaw when he tried to insinuate Maplefall left Shadowclan because of him.
She didn't leave Shadowclan because of him, he knows that now, but she still left him alone without telling him anything. Rushstar had to tell him and Starclan had to tell the Shadowclan leader!
Suddenly he stops, realizing he's run all the way to the lake. His breathes rapidly, making a ton of billowy clouds in the cold air. The lake, not frozen, glitters with moonlight shining down upon it.
Taking in the beautiful sight, he tries to calm himself down.
Maplefall can explain why she left when she comes back. Besides, if Starclan sent her on the quest, then maybe they ordered her to go alone with Reedpaw.
It still hurts, to know she didn't want to tell him, but now that he calmed down, he realizes she probably didn't intend to hurt him. No cat disobey's Starclan.
And he reflects if she had told him, he would have been very tempted to follow them and not stay in Shadowclan.
In fact he's kind of considering it now. But it's been five days, and snow has constantly been falling during those days. Their scent is probably long gone by now. And he doesn't even know where Maplefall went, besides the Thunderclan border.
And he can't risk trespassing and causing even more trouble.
Sighing, he realunctitly accepts that he can only wait for Maplefall to come back home. He then gazes up at Silverpelt and pleads for them to bring her back safe and sound.
Author's Note: There are indeed consequences to actions in this arc, even well intentioned ones(like Maplefall deciding not to tell Gorseblaze about her decree from Starclan that she must help Reedpaw on her journey).
~Leafbranch