[TB] DAWN -- Chapter 3 (Patreon)

<< INDEX || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 >>

Despite his knowledge of the future, Stoneheart still couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat as he beheld ShadowClan’s camp for the first time in nearly two whole moons. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d miss it when he left for the journey to the lake – as he followed Pansytail towards the Clanrock, his heart felt dizzyingly light.

Everything was still where it should be – dens nestled deep within prickly sedge-and-gorse walls, the Clanrock still standing tall near the back, the surrounding pines shading the camp from the sunlight. On his way to the fresh-kill pile, he spotted Russetstar and Blackfoot chatting quietly in the shade of the twin pines that grew as one at the back of camp, between which Russetstar made her den. Pansytail quickly joined them, pulling ShadowClan’s leader aside while Talonstripe and Redpaw went about their other duties.

Stoneheart was eager to set the dove down, finally, and speak with Russetstar. She has to know what we’re facing already, but I can give her hope. He poked his head into the shadows behind the Clanrock, noting just how little fresh-kill was piled beneath the thick slab of pine bark ShadowClan used to shelter its food.

His stomach growled, and he quieted it. I won’t be eating as well as before...

“Stoneheart? Is that really you?”

Stoneheart nearly slammed his head against the pine bark roof of the fresh-kill pile as he lifted his head. “Finchsong!” he purred, ignoring the gentle ache in his jaws from holding that dove for what felt like ages. “It’s so good to see you again!”

The pale gray tabby queen’s eyes sparkled, and she rushed forward to press her muzzle into Stoneheart’s fur. “I was so worried about you!” she breathed. “Where in StarClan’s name have you been?!”

Stoneheart swallowed. Over Finchsong’s head, he could see several of his Clanmates finally taking notice of his presence, stepping forward cautiously with curious eyes. Cedarheart, Finchsong’s mate, whispered something into Oakfur’s ear. Redpaw was chatting with Smokepaw, looking proud to have discovered ShadowClan’s lost warrior. Nightwing looked between Orre and Pinewhisker, concern flashing in her eyes.

What’s wrong? He wondered, looking at them all. They all had that same cautious look in their eye that Pansytail had when she found him at the star flower grove. Are they not happy to see me home?

One face, though, was not among the crowd – the one face that Stoneheart had wanted to see above all others. Where is Rowanclaw? Is he out on patrol? He noticed that Wolftooth and a few other cats weren’t here. That must be it.

Stoneheart blinked as the crowd parted. Russetstar had come around the Clanrock, her gaze resting evenly on Stoneheart. Blackfoot and Pansytail were with her. “Finchsong, step aside,” Russetstar ordered. “I need to speak with Stoneheart.”

“O-Of course.” Finchsong moved away, ears flicking with embarrassment. She trotted back into the crowd on nervous paws, settling back down beside her mate. Cedarheart licked her between the ears as she looked down at her paws, her eyes suddenly troubled.

Stoneheart blinked at his Clanmates. What in StarClan’s name was going on with them? Why would none of them look him in the eyes?

“Stoneheart,” Russetstar meowed. “Come.”

Swallowing his worries, Stoneheart got to his paws. It doesn't matter right now, he thought as he followed Russetstar towards her den, Blackfoot taking up the rear behind them. All that matters is delivering our message. Everything else can come later.

Before they slipped into the dark cleft between the roots of the two twisting pines, Russetstar flicked her tail at Pansytail. “Fetch Littlecloud,” she ordered. “I’m sure he’ll want to hear this as well.”

As Pansytail trotted past, heading for the medicine cat’s den, Stoneheart couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of scolding he was in for that would require a medicine cat’s presence. Russetstar had been his mentor when he joined ShadowClan, and she certainly hadn’t been an easy teacher.

The inside of Russetstar’s den was dark and warm, smelling of fresh pine sap and moss. Russetstar tucked herself into her nest, kneading out a comfortable place to sit. Blackfoot settled himself beside her, tucking his paws beneath him. Stoneheart, feeling awkward and singled out, sat on his haunches, curling his tail over his paws.

There was silence while they waited for Littlecloud – the way Russetstar stared at Stoneheart made his heart thump so hard he was sure his leader could hear it. Blackfoot busied himself with washing his tail, pulling out a stubborn pine needle that had lodged itself near the base.

“I’m here, I’m here!” Littlecloud pushed his way into the den, his eyes glittering apologetically. He took his spot on Russetstar’s other side quickly, wrapping his tail around his short legs. He smiled at Stoneheart. “Welcome home!”

Stoneheart only nodded back to the medicine cat, too nervous about Russetstar’s gaze to find an appropriate reply.

“The most obvious questions are where we ought to start, I suppose,” Russetstar decided. “Where have you been?”

“And why did you leave your Clan?” Blackfoot demanded, his voice a low growl.

Stoneheart swallowed. Here goes... “I want to say that I am sorry for leaving – however, it was something I had to do, for the good of ShadowClan.”

Blackfoot’s eyes flashed skeptically. Russetstar lifted her chin. “Is that so?” she wondered.

Stoneheart nodded. “Around a half moon or so before I left, I received a dream. In that dream, I saw my sister, Mosspaw. She told me to meet with cats from the other Clans and that together we would help save the Clans from a coming darkness.”

“You say StarClan asked you to abandon your Clan?!” Blackfoot was bristling. “What mouse-dung!”

“Let him finish,” Littlecloud meowed sharply. He turned to Stoneheart with curious eyes. “Go on.”

Adjusting his paws, Stoneheart went on: “I met with the cats from the other Clans – Mistyfoot from ThunderClan, Feathertail from RiverClan, and Crowpaw from WindClan. We had all been visited by our ancestors in some way, but we weren’t sure what to do with what we had seen. We parted, deciding to wait and see if we would be granted another sign.”

“And you were, I presume,” Russetstar concluded, her tail-tip twitching, “considering that each cat you named went missing from their respective Clans.”

Stoneheart nodded. “Mistyfoot received another sign, and we took that as a signal of where to go – so we set off as soon as possible. Stormfur of RiverClan and Nightpaw and Shadepaw of ThunderClan joined us as well.”

Littlecloud sighed, looking relieved. “So that’s where they went... Brackenfur was so worried about Shadepaw!”

“Tinystar as well,” Blackfoot added.

“Where did StarClan send you?” Russetstar asked, her tone frustratingly skeptical.

“To a lake, far off beyond Highstones,” Stoneheart answered simply. “We crossed Thunderpaths and through a big Twolegplace to get there, guided by StarClan all the way. We made it there, together, and there, at the lake, is where we learned of our purpose.”

Stoneheart paused, deliberately. He wanted to give them some time to process this before he dropped the boulder atop their heads: “StarClan was guiding us to this lake to meet Midnight, a wise badger who speaks with the stars. She told us that the Twolegs were destroying our homes, and that this lake we had found, and the land around it, was to be our new home.”

Silence greeted his words. Stonheart braced himself, unsure of what to expect from his Clan's leadership.

“That is... certainly a story,” Russetstar mused, finally, frowning. She glanced at Littlecloud, who seemed deep in thought.

“Mouse-dung!” Blackfoot spat. “Lakes? Talking badgers? I don’t know where you went, Stoneheart, but it certainly wasn’t anywhere within reality.”

His words pricked at Stoneheart’s pelt like claws. “This was all real!” he spat back, bristling. “Stormfur died for this!”

“Stormfur died?” Russetstar’s ears pricked, her eyes going round.

Stoneheart looked his leader in the eyes. “On our way home we passed through some mountains. We met a Tribe of cats, a group like us Clans. Stormfur died saving them from the beast that was threatening their lives.” He turned his gaze to glare at Blackfoot. “Whatever you might think of our journey, that was real enough.”

More silence. Stoneheart forced himself to settle down, flattening his fur. To his satisfaction Blackfoot kept his mouth shut. I don’t care if it looks disloyal to ShadowClan, he thought stubbornly. Stormfur was my friend, and I’ll not have his death mocked!

“This... this is all very hard to believe, Stoneheart,” Russetstar meowed carefully. “You must understand that. If you were having visions from StarClan, why did you not tell anyone?”

“Would you have believed me?” Stoneheart wondered, his tone sharp.

Russetstar frowned. “Fair enough,” she decided.

“I think he’s right, at least,” Littlecloud chimed in. He gestured to Stoneheart with his tail. “The message he received from this Midnight is true enough – Twolegs are destroying our lands. The Black Fens are gone, ThunderClan has moved to Sunningrocks, and WindClan’s territory has nearly been swallowed whole.”

Stoneheart swallowed, taking in this new information. “What!?” he breathed, worry curdling in his belly. He’d known about WindClan, but the rest? The Black Fens are gone?!

Russetstar nodded solemnly. “All of the Clans have suffered – at least those on this side of the river,” she meowed. “We’ve had no word on what’s going on with RiverClan.”

“The Twolegs destroyed Fourtrees, too,” Blackfoot growled. “Tore it apart right in front of us, and during a full moon! As if StarClan wasn’t even watching! We haven’t met with the other Clans beyond border patrols since.”

Stoneheart dug his claws into the earth, reeling.

“There’s more, Russetstar,” Littlecloud meowed. “Remember my vision from the last half-moon meeting? How none of the medicine cats could understand it? Now I think I know what we saw – it was all of us, journeying away from the forest.”

An ominous silence greeted his words.

“I see,” Russetstar decided, after a long moment. She raised her head, and sighed. “I have wondered these past moons whether or not this Twoleg situation was salvageable, but I can see that it is not. It seems our destiny is laid before us.”

She lowered her muzzle, her eyes bright with sorrow. “We must leave the forest.”

“Russetstar!” Blackfoot bristled. He got to his paws, his tail lashing to and fro. “You can’t mean that!”

“The signs are all around us,” Russetstar told him gently. “We were already discussing what we might do if the Twolegs took more of our territory – we have our answer now. We must leave.”

“But...” Blackfoot sputtered, sheathing and unsheathing his claws as he grappled with the idea. “This is our home.”

Stoneheart felt a pang of sorrow for the Clan deputy – for all his Clanmates. Even if they hadn’t all been born in the forest, this place was still home. They thought it was theirs, and that made Midnight’s words come back to him: “Land no belong to you,” the badger had said, simple as the sunrise. “The land belong to no one.”

“We thought a meeting between all four Clans would be best,” Stoneheart told them, “so that we can discuss where to go next. Tomorrow night, at Fourtrees.”

Russetstar nodded. “That will do,” she decided. “The Twolegs should not be there to disrupt us.” Littlecloud looked uncomfortable at the thought of heading back to Fourtrees. Blackfoot was staring into space, as if his world was unraveling – and, Stoneheart supposed, it was.

Stoneheart swallowed. “I... I’m sorry,” he meowed quietly. “I’m sorry that this was bad news.”

Russetstar padded over to him, and touched her nose to his forehead. “You were following the path of our ancestors,” she reassured. “It does not always take us down pleasant trails, Stoneheart.”

“We must tell the Clan,” Blackfoot meowed, his voice cracking.

“Go,” Russetstar told him. She flicked her tail at Littlecloud. “You, too. Reassure the Clan that we are handling this. I will be out shortly.”

Blackfoot got to his paws and padded slowly out of the den. Littlecloud followed, his tail dragging in the dust until he reached the sunshine, where he lifted it in a show of hope for the Clan. Stoneheart’s paws itched, but when he shifted his weight to move, Russetstar’s tail touched his shoulder. A signal to stay.

“I should go with them,” he meowed to Russetstar. “The others might take it better from me, if I can explain...”

“They might,” Russetstar agreed, “and you can speak with them when I am through with you.”

Stoneheart swallowed. “What else is there?” he asked. He searched his leader’s expression for a hint, but found that she was being frustratingly stoic. What more could she have to say?

Russetstar did not meet his eye. “You and your group were not the only cats to go missing, Stoneheart. Cats from every Clan have disappeared lately, it seems – Wolftooth thinks they’ve been taken by Twolegs, for getting in their way.”

Stoneheart’s heart beat in his ears. “W-We can find them!” he insisted. “Before we leave!”

“That may be difficult,” Russetstar told him. “We have no idea where they are, and we may not have time.”

A strange feeling of dread was creeping over Stoneheart. Why was she telling him this, and so privately, if everyone else knew, too? “We’ll make the time,” he insisted. “We are all going to make it to our new home!”

“Stoneheart...” Russetstar finally met his gaze. “Oh, Stoneheart...”

“What?” Stoneheart demanded. “What is it you’re all hiding from me?!”

Russetstar swallowed. She paused, considering her words. There was a tiny shake of her muzzle, as if the approach she had thought of wouldn’t work.

Finally, she meowed, simply and plainly: “Rowanclaw has been taken by Twolegs.”