EOTW: Waning Moon: Chapter Two

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War
Book 3: Waning Moon
Chapter Two

     The full moon shine bright and clear over the snowy forest. Four days had passed since Blazeheart and his sister had been made full warriors, and now the time for the Gathering had come again.

     In that time, for once, things had been peaceful. Hunting was still hard, but there had been no sign of Shrewfoot and her warriors, Tigerstar's warriors hadn't been scented past their borders, and no other surprises had presented themselves. Blazeheart was starting to tentatively hope that the Clans might finally be getting a break.

     Blazeheart followed his Clanmates through the forest, ducking past a snowy fern, shivering uncomfortably as he brushed against it and a light dusting of snow fell against his pelt. Bramblestar was leading a patrol of his cats to the Gathering island. They were nearly at the edges of ThunderClan territory.

     Silentstorm was padding beside her brother, and Ambertalon was on his other side. Unfortunately, Snowfall hadn't been one of the cats chosen to attend the Gathering. Blazeheart had promised to tell him all about it when he returned.

     The three cats walked along in silence for a while. Blazeheart could tell that there was something weighing on his sister's mind. Silentstorm was unusually somber in expression, her gray eyes dark with some distant thought. “What're you thinking about?” the tom asked curiously.

     Silentstorm nearly jumped. Clearly, Blazeheart had startled her out of whatever thoughts she'd been immersed in. “Nothing,” the she-cat mewed hastily, clearly trying to school her expression into one of casual cheer. Having never seen what a guilty expression looked like, Silentstorm had never been very good at hiding one, or hiding any emotion in her expressions.

     Blazeheart gave her a disbeliving glare. “Whatever you say,” he mewed, shaking his head. If his sister was really worried about something, it was her own business if she wanted to tell Blazeheart or not. Instead of prying, he changed the subject. “I wonder how ShadowClan has been doing since the battle.”

     “Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what Tigerstar has to say after everything that's happened,” Ambertalon mewed, amber eyes flashing in the moon-lit night. “Or if he'll start a fight, like he always does.”

     Silentstorm seemed to brighten as she threw herself into the conversation. She shook her head, saying, “I don't know, he really seemed willing to turn it around and be a better leader after the battle. I think he's honestly going to make an effort, now.”

     Ambertalon shrugged. “Whatever. I just wish I'd been at the battle with you two. I would've given that smug, mouse-hearted coward some decent scars to remember me by.”

     Silentstorm purred in amusement. “I think Tigerstar gave her plenty of those already.”

     “Yeah, she was bleeding well enough when she ran from the camp with her tail between her legs,” Blazeheart mewed, tone light with laughter.

     “I think Olivenose gave her at least half of those wounds,” Silentstorm commented, whiskers twitching. “She was fighting like TigerClan out there.”

     Blazeheart replied, “I just hope she didn't get too badly injured. She looked like she was ready to give birth any day now.”

     “Oh, she's probably fine,” Silentstorm mewed dismissively. “She definitely looked like she could handle herself, kits or no kits.”

     The tom just gave a nod in reply, purring. It felt good to have his sister back, to be able to truly talk to her again, and joke with her. After the tension of the last few moons, it was such a relief to be able to fall so easily back into their banter and closeness.

     It didn't take long for the patrol to pass into WindClan territory. Gone were the snow-draped trees and ferns of the forest. The whole moorland looked like a flat, white expanse of white, only broken by the gentle dips and rises of hills. A long string of pawprints stretched out behind the ThunderClan patrol as they made their way through the moor.

     As they passed the horseplace, Ambertalon looked up, sniffing in the direction of the vast twoleg den. “I wonder if Floss had her kits yet,” the tiny gray she-cat mewed thoughtfully. “It's been long enough.”

     “Probably,” Blazeheart mewed. “I doubt we'll see them for a while – it's probably too cold for such young kits to be out in the snow.” There weren't any horses or other creatures out either – he guessed the twolegs thought the snow was too cold for them.

     They moved past the horseplace, finally making it to the pebble-bridge. Blazeheart stiffened as he saw the snow dusting the top of the bridge. “Will we be able to cross safely?” he wondered aloud, staring uneasily at the pebble-bridge.

     “I'm sure we'll be fine,” Ambertalon assured him.

     Towards the front of the patrol, Bramblestar lifted his chin, announcing to his Clanmates, “Cross slowly, and be careful.” He crossed first, padding slowly and confidently across the pebble-bridge, reaching the opposite shore with ease.

     Now that Bramblestar had crossed, the rest of the patrol began one-by-one following his lead. Ambertalon went before Blazeheart, padding across easily with her head and tail held high. Then, it was Blazeheart's turn. He hesitated, reaching out a pale ginger paw to touch the snowy pebble bridge. The snow crunched lightly under his paw, but didn't make it slip, so he shifted his weight onto that paw, then followed with the rest of his paws. He crossed carefully and slowly, making sure each step was secure before he moved on. Finally, he reached the island, hurrying gratefully onto solid land.

     Ambertalon's whiskers twitched. She purred, clearly amused, “Jumpy much, Blazeheart?”

     He shook out his pelt. “Just didn't feel like slipping into an ice-cold lake,” he mewed.

     Silentstorm joined them on the island a few moments later, tail lifted confidently. “Come on, slowpaws,” she purred, nudging Blazeheart heartily with her shoulder. “Let's go see who else is here.”

     The three warriors padded past the ferns, making their way further into the island. Cats were gathered in small clumps, their breath misting as they chatted quietly together. The frosty leafbare air seemed to compel cats to group together in warm clumps. From the scents, only RiverClan and ShadowClan were there yet.

     Silentstorm lifted her chin, ears flicking around as she tried to locate cats. “Come on, I want to find Eeltooth.” She led her brother and Clanmate through the crowd, searching for her friends.

     It didn't take long to find Silentstorm's friends. Eeltooth was huddled with a group of warriors, ShadowClan and RiverClan both. The cats all looked up when the ThunderClan warriors approached, Eeltooth's ears perking. “Hey, Silentpaw,” the gray warrior greeted in a gruff mew. Blazeheart saw an ugly, half-healed scar on the tom's hind leg from the battle with Shrewfoot.

     Siletnstorm threw back her head, looking offended. “Silentpaw? Who's this Silentpaw? It's Silentstorm, thank you very much.” Blazeheart recognized her words as being almost the same Eeltooth had used when he'd told her his warrior name.

     Eeltooth's amber eyes lit up with surprise, then softened into joy. “Warriors already, eh? Good for you.” He stood, stretching out his muzzle to touch his nose to Silentstorm's.

     “Blazeheart and I were made warriors after the battle,” Silentstorm explained, purring brightly.

     The tom's whiskers twitched. “The night it was snowing? Must have been a fun vigil. At least Finstrike and I had our vigil in late greenleaf.”

     Blazeheart shuddered. “I think my entire body went numb at one point. I'm still trying to get feeling back in my paws.”

     Eeltooth purred in amusement as Silentstorm and Blazeheart sat, joining the group of warriors. Blazeheart recognized a few of the RiverClan warriors, but to his surprise, some of the ShadowClan cats were not only unfamiliar, but utterly strange in appearance. The gray speckled tom didn't look too strange, but the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat he was with looked like no cat Blazeheart had ever seen before. She had a boxy, stocky build, with her rump raised higher than her back. Strangest of all was her tail – rather, the fact that she lacked a tail entirely. Not even a bitten-off stump, or any scars to suggest that it had been removed or lost.

     The she-cat seemed to notice that Blazeheart was staring. Instead of looking offended, she greeted him with a friendly, “Hi there! I'm Oddtail, who are you?”

     Blazeheart tried not to look too surprised at the name. “I'm Blazeheart, and this is my sister Silentstorm.” He waved his tail towards his sister to indicate her. The tom hesitated, then mewed, “I don't think I've seen you at the Gathering before.” The more he looked at them, the more the two cats seemed strange. Their pelts were totally smooth and soft, free of any scars, or indications of the hard life of wild cats. They looked far too well-fed to be Clan cats in the middle of leafbare, and Blazheart thought he could smell the faintest traces of twolegs from their pelts, beneath the stronger smell of ShadowClan. Kittypets? he wondered.

     Oddtail hesitated, swapping a glance with the gray speckled tom. “Yeah, well, we just haven't been around for it, I guess,” the speckled tom said in a soft mew. “Tigerstar will explain everything soon.”

     That only made Blazeheart more confused, but he just shrugged in response. “Alright.”

     The more he looked around the clearing, the more he realized it wasn't just Oddtail and her speckled friend. There were more of these smooth-pelted cats dotting the island, huddled in groups with other warriors.

     A group of apprentices passed Blazeheart's group. A massive warrior walked with the group, almost seeming to supervise. The tom was unfamiliar to Blazeheart, but there was no way he'd ever been a kittypet. He was simply huge, his gray tabby-and-white pelt marked by a mess of scars, including a huge, ugly scar that stretched across the side of the tom's neck.

     Blazeheart was so distracted by the massive tom that he almost didn't notice the apprentices. There were a few ShadowClan and RiverClan apprentices mixed in, and Sparkpaw was with them, though he looked wary. He didn't recognize some of the younger ShadowClan apprentices, but one of them was even stranger than Oddtail in appearance. She was a ginger tabby with the same smooth pelt and well-fed belly that these new ShadowClan cats seemed to have, but the strangest thing of all were her legs. The young she-cat had a body a bit longer than a usual cat, and legs so short that her belly fur brushed against the ground as she stood at her full height. Blazeheart couldn't help but gape at the odd-looking cat. She seemed more weasel than cat with her short legs. The she-cat waddled after the other apprentices, keeping up despite her strange legs.

     Oddtail followed Blazeheart's gaze, amber eyes lit up with amusement. “That's Stoatpaw,” she told Blazeheart. “I know we look odd to you, but sometimes twolegs breed their cats to look different from other cats. I think it makes us look more unique.”

     Blazeheart wasn't sure he liked the idea of twolegs breeding cats, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. “So you were kittypets?”

     All Oddtail sad in reply was, “Just wait. Tigerstar will explain everything.”

     “Silentpaw.”

     The she-cat turned, ears flicking to the sound of her name. She was surprised when she recognized the mew. “Specklefoot,” she purred in reply, standing. She padded over to greet the she-cat, leaving her brother and the strange new cats behind as she touched noses with Specklefoot. “It's Silentstorm, now.”

     Specklefoot's ear flicked in surprise. “Congratulations,” she purred.

     “Thanks. How's the prey running?”

     “Better, now that Shrewfoot isn't stealing all of it,” the ShadowClan warrior mewed. Silentstorm was surprised to hear how friendly her mew was. In the past, Specklefoot had been mostly suspicious of the ThunderClan she-cat, but now it seemed that the battle, and how Silentstorm had put herself on the line to help ShadowClan, had abated her suspicion. “And it's a good thing too, because we have a new kit to feed. Olivenose gave birth the night of the battle.”

     Silentstorm's ears shot forward in surprise. “Really? Is she okay?”

     “She's fine,” Specklefoot assured her. “She had one little daughter, Aspenkit. She's really cute.” She paused, then spoke again in a more somber tone. “Listen, Silentstorm, I really wanted to thank you. You would have been completely in your rights to chase me and Olivenose out of camp, after everything that Shrewfoot did. Thank you for believing, and for helping our Clan.”

     The ThunderClan warrior dipped her head. “Of course. All I ever wanted was peace between the Clans.” She hesitated, then mewed, “I was just hanging out with some friends. Would you like to join us?”

     Specklefoot hesitated as well, then gave a firm nod. “That sounds nice, thanks.” She allowed herself to be led by Silentstorm back to the clump of warriors with Blazeheart and Eeltooth. Oddtail and her Clanmates had wandered off, as well as the other RiverClan cats, leaving Blazeheart and Eeltooth alone.

     Both toms looked up as Silentstorm rejoined them. “Hey, this is Specklefoot,” she mewed, waving her tail towards the ShadowClan she-cat. “Specklefoot, this is my brother Blazeheart, and Eeltooth of RiverClan.”

     “It's nice to meet you,” Specklefoot said in a clear tone.

     Eeltooth waved his tail in greeting. “Nice to meet you as well.” He flicked an ear towards Silentstorm's brother as he mewed, “Blazeheart and I were just saying there's a lot of strange ShadowClan cats here tonight. Know anything about that?”

     Specklefoot just mewed, “Tigerstar wants to make the announcement himself.”

     Silentstorm was about to ask more when she was nearly tackled from behind. “Silentpaw!” She scrambled away, relaxing only when she recognized the mew of her best friend.

     “Darkbreeze!” She butted her head against the WindClan warrior's head. “How's the prey running?” She heard more WindClan cats flooding into the island, exchanging greetings with other warriors.

     “Not too fast to catch,” Darkbreeze purred in return. “It's great to see you again, especially after the battle. How are your wounds healing?”

     Silentstorm replied, “Pretty well. And it's not Silentpaw anymore.” She drew up her chin proudly, purring, “I'm Silentstorm, and he's Blazeheart.”

     Darkbreeze's purr sounded loud as a LionClan warrior's roar. “You're warriors? That's great!” She sat with the other warriors, adding, “We'll have to meet up and have that feast we were talking about. Say, four nights from now?”

     “You got it,” Silentstorm said. She noticed Specklefoot watching the two she-cats, tail-tip twitching strangely, as if she was surprised by how close the enemy warriors were. Silentstorm flicked an ear towards Specklefoot, adding, “Darkbreeze, I don't know whether you've met Specklefoot?”

     The warrior's ears flicked forward with interest. “Oh yeah, we fought in the battle together. You were great when you clawed that gray tabby up to pieces.”

     Specklefoot seemed a bit overwhelmed by Darkbreeze's friendly greeting, but soon regained her footing. “And you sent Pinenose running with a great swipe,” she complimented.

     As Specklefoot joined more easily into the conversation with Silentstorm's friends, Silentstorm was distracted by a yowl from above. “The Gathering has begun!” Ashstar called out to the cats down below. The crowd fell instantly silent, waiting for the announcements of the leaders.

     Ashstar waited until every cat was silent, then mewed, “WindClan has done well this moon. We have four new apprentices, Sorrelpaw, Tunnelpaw, Hawkpaw, and Honeypaw. We also have a new warrior – Quickpaw is now Quickhare.”

     Cheers rose from the crowd. “Sorrelpaw! Tunnelpaw! Hawkpaw! Honeypaw! Quickhare!” Silentstorm was surprised – last she checked, Quickhare was just a bit too young to be made a warrior. What had pushed Ashstar to rush his warrior ceremony? Was WindClan really doing as well as she said?

     Mistystar was next. She held her head high, calling out to the Clans below, “We have two new apprentices this moon – Swanpaw and Slushpaw!”

     Cats began to cheer, Silentstorm lending her own voice to the mix, cheering for the kits she'd gotten to know in her stay at RiverClan. “Swanpaw! Slushpaw! Swanpaw! Slushpaw!” Even as she cheered, she noticed that the leaders' announcements seemed shorter than usual. Did they just want to get the Gathering over with so they wouldn't have to be out in the cold, or was there another reason?

     Bramblestar took Mistystar's place, yowling, “We come here tonight with two new warriors. Silentstorm and Blazeheart earned their warrior names three nights ago.”

     Silentstorm felt a fierce blaze of pride as cats began cheering her name and her brother's name. The loudest of them all were Darkbreeze, Eeltooth, and Specklefoot, yowling the name of their friend to Silverpelt above. “Silentstorm! Blazeheart! Silentstorm! Blazeheart.” Now, more than ever, she felt like a true warrior.

     Once the cheers died down, Bramblestar stepped back, letting Tigerstar take his place. The whole island seemed to hold their breath as one, waiting for the ShadowClan leader's announcement. Slowly, the tom began, “Many of you may already know that some of my warriors tried to take my Clan from me a few days ago.” The lack of surprised murmurs told Silentstorm that every cat already knew.

     “The cats who were involved in this attack have been exiled for their treachery. I have warriors of ThunderClan and RiverClan to thank for their help in defeating these cats, as well as Darkbreeze of WindClan.”

     Congratulatory mews rose up from the crowd, yowls of triumph. Tigerstar let it continue for a few moments before flicking his tail for silence. Once the mews died down, Tigerstar continued, “After this attack, ShadowClan was in need of more warriors.” Silentstorm was surprised to hear him admit this weakness so easily. He really had changed. “This is why I've accepted new warriors into my Clan. Tonight, ShadowClan welcomes Oddtail, Pepperpelt, Vinescar, Mintleaf, Buffy, and Stoatpaw into ShadowClan. All but Vinescar, who lived as a rogue, were once kittypets.”

     This time, Tigerstar allowed the yowls of outrage and shock to ring out without trying to reign them in. Silentstorm flattened her ears, shocked to hear so many cats object the newcomers.

     “Kittypets?”
     “So many outsiders have never been accepted at once before.”
     “ShadowClan is more kittypet than warrior now!”

     Silentstorm heard Specklefoot growl under her breath, “Haven't Firestar and Cloudtail taught these cats anything? Kittypets can be warriors just as easily as any other cat.” Silentstorm nodded, grateful to hear the level-headed response out of the ShadowClan warrior.”

     “Enough!” Tigerstar finally snapped. Reluctantly, the cries died down. “Shrewfoot was right about many things, but her greatest fault was discriminating against cats who weren't pure in Clan blood. This is why we drove her out, and this is why I will not accept this kind of talk about my new warriors. Each of these cats has been accepted as a full warrior of ShadowClan, and I expect them to be treated like any other warrior. They have pledged themselves to the warrior code just like all of you have.” As the grumbling began to die down, he continued, “We also have a new warrior, and two new apprentices this moon. Marshcloud earned her warrior name, and Graypaw and Nightpaw are now apprentices.

     Cats began to cheer for the cats he'd mentioned, though with less gusto than before. Everyone still seemed shocked at the sheer number of kittypets and rogues Tigerstar had accepted into his Clan.

     Once the cheering stopped, Ashstar called out to the Clans, “This concludes this moon's Gathering.”

     “Didn't that seem a little shorter than usual?” Silentstorm muttered to her friends under her breath. Blazeheart couldn't help but agree. He knew it was cold, but still, the announcements had seemed far shorter than usual.

     Darkbreeze whispered back, “Ashstar probably doesn't want to be away from camp too long.”

     Before Blazeheart could ask what she meant by that, a new voice spoke, from the leader's tree. “Oh, this Gathering has just begun.” Amber eyes gleamed from the branches far above the heads of the leaders. The leaders barely had a chance to react before a black form leaped down from the taller branches, where he had clearly been hiding, down onto the lower branches.

     Out of nowhere, cats sprung from the ferns circling the island, tackling the Clan cats. Blazeheart and the other warriors leaped to their paws in shock. The Clan warriors fought back bravely, but the sheer number of newcomers overwhelmed the Clan cats. Blazeheart was knocked off his paws by a dark brown tabby, and he heard Silentstorm and the other warriors struggling against a she-cat.

     “Enough.”

     At the black tom's command, all of the newcomers froze at once, keeping what warriors they'd captured pinned down. The black tom stood on the branch with Ashstar, flicking his tail calmly as he mewed, “I believe I have your attention now.”

     Blazeheart was already baffled enough by the attack out of nowhere, but nothing could have prepared him for the name that Ashstar gasped as she stared at the black tom. “Breezepelt!”