[TB] DAWN -- Chapter 24 (Patreon)

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The Clans took the rest of the day to recover, but not before the leaders unanimously agreed to stay as far from Twolegs as possible. The fastest cats from all four Clans were sent ahead to scout for safe places, led by Crowpaw, who knew the terrain best.

Stoneheart was ordered to rest, by both Littlecloud and Rowanclaw – but his dreams were fitful, filled with the terrified wails of kittens he couldn’t save in time and the hot breath of dogs on his heels as he fled. Once, he tripped over the body of Tinystar, who lay without moving at all, his eyes blank and far-gone – he thought he heard his mother purring, and that was enough to make him ask for poppy seeds.

The next morning, he felt better, though his head hurt until sunhigh from sleeping too long. His bad dreams were a fading memory, and he was able to focus more on what lay ahead.

Crowpaw’s scouting parties had managed to find a route to the foot of the mountains that would keep them away from Twolegs, though Thunderpaths were still an unavoidable reality. Though some members of the patrols turned their noses up at Crowpaw taking the lead, the apprentice quickly proved his prowess – not to mention his ability to deal with dissenters:

“Can’t believe I’m taking orders from an apprentice,” Leafwhisker had grumbled.

Crowpaw had stepped forward, only the tip of his tail lashing. Meeting Leafwhisker’s eye, he had said, evenly, “This apprentice has seen more of this world than you have in your whole life. Go it alone if you don’t want to listen to me, but good luck with that.”

Leopardstar hadn’t looked pleased, but she’d stopped Leafwhisker from snapping at Crowpaw with a furious look. Stoneheart, meanwhile, couldn’t help but wonder if Crowpaw would’ve made a better ShadowClan cat.

The Clans trudged along the route Crowpaw had pointed out, and it had proved to be safe enough. They couldn’t avoid Twolegs entirely – there was always a fenced-off paddock nearby, or a Twoleg nest off within sight – but the group as a whole were able to steer clear. Even curious apprentices were cowed by the events in the sheep field, and the kits especially stuck close to their mothers.

Their pace was brisk – hunting parties were sent out as they walked, so that by the time they returned the Clans could settle down for a rest and a meal, they could head out again as quickly as possible. Mistyfoot did not want to waste any time getting to the mountains, and Stoneheart agreed with her – he could already see snow capping their peaks. If traveling in open country with this many cats was already so hard, then doing so in the mountains, where the paths were precipitous and narrow, would be even harder. He certainly wasn’t looking forward to it, even if it meant seeing his friends among the Tribe of Rushing Water again.

There’s only so much we can do to prepare them, he thought. The rhythm of walking was so ingrained in him now that he barely paid attention to his paws. Telling them stories of the cold and the stone won’t tell them how it all actually feels.

Still, the gray peaks of the mountains grew closer and closer, and by the time the day was done Stoneheart knew the Clans would face this trial sooner rather than later.

The four Clans settled in a field just beyond a dirt Thunderpath as the sun set behind the mountains. The world was orange and red, with deep purple shadows, as prey was passed from cat to cat amid the long grass. Stoneheart was passed a shrew, and he looked for some cat for he and Rowanclaw to share their meals with.

He was about to call for Mistyfoot when he spotted his sister chatting with Falcontail. It was clear the RiverClan cat was asking to eat with her - Mistyfoot looked at first confused, then after a moment she nodded, taking her prey to join him.

Stoneheart felt a ripple of unease in his fur, and his teeth sank into his shrew until he tasted its blood. Shocked, he let the fresh-kill drop from his jaws, the soft body plopping into the grass with little noise.

Rowanclaw noticed, of course. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” the ginger tom mewed quietly. “We’re all eating with cats from other Clans, after all.”

Rowanclaw was right – he always was, Stoneheart knew – but something about Falcontail in particular talking to his sister irked him. He couldn’t help but think of how Falcontail and Mudclaw had sat with their heads bent in quiet conversation the other day. Even if Mistyfoot was just being congenial, Falcontail was certainly not so.

“I don’t trust him,” Stoneheart admitted.

“Good.”

Stoneheart’s ears pricked at the sound of Feathertail’s voice. The silver tabby she-cat normally ate with Graystripe and Silverstream, but tonight she was standing a pace away from Stoneheart and Rowanclaw, a blackbird at her paws.

Feathertail’s blue eyes flashed over to Falcontail and Mistyfoot, who were eating together beside a thicket of bracken. There was undisguised hostility in the way that Feathertail looked at Falcontail. “That one is not worth trusting.”

Stoneheart’s prickle of unease grew, and beside him Rowanclaw shifted uncomfortably. “That’s... an interesting way to talk about your Clanmate...” Rowanclaw murmured awkwardly.

Feathertail swept her tail around her paws, narrowing her eyes. “When I came back to RiverClan, Tawnypelt was gone and he was deputy, somehow. He wouldn’t let me talk to Leopardstar on her own – he always had to be present, and whenever it seemed like Leopardstar was considering leaving, he would chime in and drive her in the other direction.”

The RiverClan she-cat's ears pinned. “So, no; I don’t trust him. He doesn’t have RiverClan’s best interests at heart, just his own.”

Stoneheart swallowed uncomfortably. No wonder she had such a hard time with Leopardstar! His heart went out to Feathertail, and he thanked StarClan that Russetstar had so quickly seen sense.

“Did he step aside for Tawnypelt when she came back?” Rowanclaw wondered.

“Oh, he was all too happy to,” Feathertail answered with a curled lip. “Stepped down with all the grace you’d expect from a warrior elders would tell you about – but that doesn’t stop him from undermining Tawnypelt’s authority. I caught him hunting inside one of the Twoleg fences earlier, despite her explicit orders against it.”

Stoneheart’s shoulders bristled. “That’s against the warrior code!” he growled.

Feathertail huffed. “To Falcontail, the warrior code only matters when he thinks it does.” Shifting on her paws, she added, “I don’t know what he thinks he’s up to. He’s a troublemaker, plain and simple. Keep an eye on him.”

With that she picked up her blackbird and trotted away, joining Mothwing and Shadepaw in their mealtime. Stoneheart couldn’t help but look again at Falcontail and his sister, who seemed to be conversing easily – he was relieved to see Emberstep of WindClan with them, at least.

“Well, he does sound like bad news, then,” Rowanclaw sighed. “But Mistyfoot is a smart cat. I think she knows better than to fall for whatever it is that Falcontail is trying. Right?”

“Right,” Stoneheart agreed. But what is he trying?

Rowanclaw gave him a nudge and mewed, “C’mon - Pinewhisker looks lonely over there.”

Stoneheart did his best to put his concerns out his mind, picking up his shrew. There wasn’t anything he could do right now without starting a scene, and wasn’t Falcontail RiverClan’s problem anyway? Still, he trusted Mistyfoot to make the right decisions, certainly, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be manipulated along the way. If that Falcontail tries anything funny, he’ll taste my claws!

It was a short jaunt through the crowd of cats to Pinewhisker, who, as Rowanclaw said, looked lonely with his mouse. In fact, he barely registered the presence of his Clanmates at all, until they sat down right next to him.

“What’s eating you?” Rowanclaw wondered, his head tilted.

Pinewhisker jolted at the sound of his voice. “Ah! Rowanclaw... Stoneheart... StarClan, you scared me!”

“What did you think we were?” Stoneheart wondered, purring in amusement. “Twolegs?”

Pinewhisker’s whiskers twitched, but he didn’t respond how Stoneheart thought he would – instead of striking back with his own jab, the tabby tom prodded his untouched meal with a paw. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I was just caught up in thinking.”

“About what?” Rowanclaw settled down on his haunches. “That mouse isn’t going anywhere, you know...”

Stoneheart laid down beside Pinewhisker and took a bite out of the shrew. It tasted far and away better than anything he’d eaten after returning to the forest territories, and it felt like it had been a long time since he’d been able to have a whole piece of fresh-kill all to himself.

“I just,” Pinewhisker struggled, his eyes darting between Rowanclaw and Stoneheart as if he were considering whether or not to trust them. Finally, he relented: “It’s Nightwing.”

“What about her?” Stoneheart wondered. “Didn’t you tell her how you feel?” Did it not go well?

Pinewhisker heaved a sigh. “Every time I try, she makes up some excuse to go elsewhere,” he explained. There was hurt in his eyes. “You and Wolftooth made it seem like it would be the easiest thing in the world, but ever since ShadowClan’s camp was destroyed, she just hasn’t been the same.”

Stoneheart touched his nose to his Clanmate’s ear, feeling pity for the young tom. He’d been so excited to tell Nightwing his feelings, and now that he’s worked up the nerve...

“Well... that was probably really traumatizing,” Rowanclaw meowed, his tone careful. “I wasn’t there, so I don’t really know, but... I don’t think I’d be very interested in declarations of love when things seem so uncertain – I know for a fact Stoneheart wouldn’t be!”

“Hey!”

“Hey yourself!” Rowanclaw scoffed, his eyes sparkling. “You’re the one that had to get permission from almost every cat in the Clan over whether or not you should ask me to be your mate!”

Stoneheart closed his jaws stubbornly. And you’ll never let me live it down!

Pinewhisker’s tail bushed. “Hey, this is about me, guys...”

Rowanclaw sighed, settling down onto his belly. “What I mean is, now likely isn’t the right time for her,” he swept on. “We might have a plan and a place to go, but it’s all still really uncertain whether or not we’ll even make it.”

“We will!” Pinewhisker insisted. “I know we will!”

“And that’s nice,” Stoneheart meowed, “but to Nightwing it might not be as set in stone. She’s scared, and not in the right mind to consider a mate right now. When we reach the lake, she’ll probably change her mind.”

Pinewhisker’s eyes lit up. “You think?”

“Probably!” Stoneheart agreed. “And even if she doesn’t, I’m sure she’d still want you as her friend.”

“Of course I’d still be her friend!” Pinewhisker insisted. “What kind of mouse-brain wouldn’t?”

“Then that’s all that matters, for now,” Rowanclaw purred. He reached out with a paw and snagged a claw on Pinewhisker’s mouse. “So, if you’re not going to eat this...”

“That’s mine!”

Stoneheart purred as Pinewhisker snatched back his mouse, taking a massive bite in protest. As Rowanclaw chuckled, Stoneheart pushed the remains of his shrew towards his mate. With appreciate in his eyes, Rowanclaw bent his head and snapped up what was left.

The three toms ate in relative silence, darkness closing over their heads. Silverpelt soon sparkled above, wreathing around a moon nearly full, and below, the cats were settling down to share tongues and sleep. Insects hummed and sang in the tall grass, filling the air with their sound.

Stoneheart glanced across the trampled grass and saw that Mistyfoot was settling down to sleep with Nightpaw and Mousefur by her side. He didn’t know when Mistyfoot and Falcontail had stopped talking, or what it was even about, but he hoped that his sister’s dreams were sweet.

“So, I was wondering,” Pinewhisker wondered, swiping his tongue across his jaws. “What kind of food did they give you in that cage, Rowanclaw?”

Rowanclaw’s ears pricked. He swallowed his bite of shrew and shrugged. “It was these hard pellets – tough to chew at first but they didn’t taste too bad, honestly.”

Pinewhisker scoffed, “The hard stuff? That’s always so dry and weird. I preferred the softer food, the ones with pieces of meat in it.”

“That’s a thing?” Stoneheart wondered, tilting his head. Honestly, that doesn’t sound too terrible...

Pinewhisker nodded. “I’ve even heard of some kittypets whose Twolegs catch fresh-kill for them and do it all up – they remove all the fur and feathers and bones so the cats don’t have to! It’s like they’re kits in the nursery!”

“That’d be nice, sometimes,” Rowanclaw admitted. He rolled onto his back and stretched out his legs towards the stars. “I can’t imagine not catching my own fresh-kill, though. I dreamed of it in that cage... that and my soft nest!”

Stoneheart leaned against him. “Not me?”

“Oh, I dreamed of you every night,” Rowanclaw purred, twisting his head to look at Stoneheart upside-down.

Stoneheart stared into his mate’s eyes, feeling love welling up in his heart. He purred softly, touching noses with Rowanclaw. “I dreamed of you, too,” he whispered.

Pinewhisker groaned loudly. “Ugh, you two are the worst!”

“Sorry,” Stoneheart chuckled. Guilt prickled his fur, but not because of his open affection for Rowanclaw – he would scream it from the top of the mountains if he had to. Seeing us together probably stings because of the whole Nightwing situation.

Pinewhisker sighed, setting his head on his paws. “No, I’m sorry... I just want that someday, you know? Something even close to what you two have.”

“I’m sure it’ll all work out.” Rowanclaw flipped onto his belly and crawled over to Pinewhisker, stroking his tail over the tabby tom’s back. “You’ll lose your fur if you keep worrying about it, though...”

“Or you’ll give yourself a bellyache,” Stoneheart added. “Littlecloud is going to have it hard enough trying to find new herbs at the lake, the last thing he needs is a needless upset stomach...”

Pinewhisker’s whiskers twitched. “I’ll try,” he promised. “He leaned his muzzle against Rowanclaw and sighed, “I didn’t get to say it, really, but I’m glad you came back, Rowanclaw. Stoneheart was insufferable without you.”

“So I heard,” Rowanclaw purred, amusement brightening his gaze.

“I didn’t get it, really, at the time,” Pinewhisker admitted. He curled his tail close. “But now I do. He was willing to do anything to find you.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Stoneheart chuckled. He swallowed around a lump of embarrassment. Pinewhisker was right, but it felt like he was pricking his claws against Stoneheart’s bare skin to say it.

Pinewhisker sighed, and closed his eyes. “I... want to be like that,” he breathed, “for Nightwing...”

Stoneheart heard Pinewhisker’s breathing soften into sleep. Quietly, Stoneheart pulled himself over to Rowanclaw’s side, careful not to disturb their Clanmate. He pressed his pelt against Rowanclaw’s and felt his mate’s warmth seeping in.

“For the record,” Rowanclaw murmured, resting his muzzle on Stoneheart’s flank, “I would do anything to rescue you, too.”

“I should hope so,” Stoneheart chuckled quietly. “But our definitions of ‘anything’ are quite different, my love...”

“Oh? And what’s yours?”

Stoneheart opened his jaws, and then closed them. Somehow, he knew that saying the truth might spoil the nice, quiet mood, and he didn’t want that, not after just calming down Pinewhisker. Instead, he softened his breathing and pretended to sleep, closing his eyes.

Rowanclaw seemed to accept that. His body flexed with a powerful yawn, and Stoneheart felt his mate drift off quite quickly.

Stoneheart opened his eyes, then, and stared up at the stars – no, not at the stars, but at the darkness between them. He shivered as something dark wormed into his mind: I dreamed of that dark place, of Bluestar, while Rowanclaw was gone...

That’s what he had thought at first, at least, but he had dreamed of her even after Rowanclaw had been rescued. Why?

Unbidden, her voice from their last encounter sprung to his mind:

“I did not call you here...”

“You came yourself.”

Stoneheart shifted uncomfortably. He still had no idea what that meant. What would I ever want to seek from her? I could understand my desperation without Rowanclaw, but he’s out of danger now.

Shaking his head, Stoneheart told himself firmly: I don’t want anything to do with Bluestar, or whatever she’s plotting! She's dead, anyway; what can she even do?

He grasped that thought as tightly as he could and closed his eyes, wishing deep down that he did not dream of that dark, forbidding place...

———————————————————

The Clans woke in the pale darkness before dawn. Over a brief breakfast they shared tongues, but it was not for long – by the time the sun’s golden rays broke from behind, they were forging ahead, towards the mountains.

Stoneheart’s dreams had been dark and confusing, flitting between the dark forest he had tried to push aside and what he thought would be a normal dream, frolicking with Rowanclaw in a field of star flowers. After their romp they returned to ShadowClan, and Stoneheart found himself atop the Clanrock, naming three apprentices warriors while the Clan looked up at him from below.

He had thought this to be the end of his nightmares, but in crowd he spotted Bluestar’s face, and that was enough to jolt him awake.

That face haunted his pawsteps now, as the Clans progressed. He didn’t dare bring it up to Rowanclaw, though he was sure his mate knew that something was on his mind. Would Mistyfoot understand? Likely not.

Back in the forest he had pushed aside dreams of leadership, happy as he was with Rowanclaw. He didn’t think it mattered, so long as his mate was by his side. As he watched Rowanclaw chatting boisterously with Duskflower and Smokepaw, Stoneheart was sure that was what he still wanted...

Wasn’t it?

Regardless, Stoneheart had to push those thoughts away. By sunhigh, there was something far more pressing – the ground began to slope steadily upward, tall grasses and trees giving way to loose stones and barren soil. Boulders dotted the countryside now as the hills grew steeper and steeper, rolling like a cat’s spine towards the foot of the mountains.

When he had woken up, the mountains had still been so far away, but now that he looked ahead, he could see the rocky faces far, far more clearly. He craned his neck to track the peaks as they pushed into the cloudy leaf-fall sky.

Not leaf-fall, Stoneheart thought, feeling a bitter chill in his pelt. Not anymore.

The four Clans rippled with anxiety and anticipation when the leaders called for a halt at the foot of the mountains. Stoneheart’s eyes picked up the path forward with trained eyes, but Feathertail had already marked it with her presence at its beginning.

Stoneheart felt fur brush against his side. Mistyfoot was pressing against him. She had shown considerable strength getting them this far, but what lay ahead was going to be far more dangerous than trekking through Twoleg fields. Clan cats could muddle through that with their own past experiences – now it was truly territory unknown but to the chosen cats.

“It’s time,” Mistyfoot murmured.

Stoneheart touched his nose to her ear. He could feel her trembling. “We can do this,” he assured her. “We’ve come this far.”

“I know,” Mistyfoot breathed. Her chest swelled with a bracing breath. “I told Stormfur I would do it, Stoneheart. I’m not about to break my promise.”

“I’m right beside you.”

“Thanks.”

She strode ahead, passing through the crowd. Stoneheart followed at a trot, his tail up. He didn’t know how to express that he was just as concerned as his sister – he was just far better at hiding it. As the chosen cats slid into place at the head of the crowd and faced their Clans, Stoneheart felt a tingling in his paws.

All the faces staring back were filled with uncertainty, and Stoneheart could scent fear among some of them. Yet that faded as they took in the confidence of the chosen cats, the ones who had made this journey before and would lead them through again.

Stoneheart dug his claws into the tough earth. He felt their confidence, their hopes and dreams, their desire to make it over this obstacle and to their new home. He felt it in his bones, in his fur, in his heart. He felt it, and knew that he wanted to keep feeling it.

It’s like my dream...

Mistyfoot stepped forward. “We’ve made it to the mountains,” she meowed, her voice carrying in the clear air. “Keep calm, and we will make it through to the lake. StarClan is watching over us.”

Her words rippled through the Clans. Eyes brightened and paws kneaded the earth with anticipation. An apprentice declared that they would catch a hawk. Stoneheart felt another swell of pride at how far the four Clans had come, how much faith they had in the cats chosen to lead them.

I will protect them. Each and every one.

Mistyfoot and Feathertail took the lead, and as the Clans marched two by two up the path into the heart of the mountains, a few flakes of snow began to drift down from the clouds...