[TB] STARLIGHT -- Chapter 17 (Patreon)

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The full moon hung heavy and bright in the sky. Crowflight blinked at the stars, wondering if the scraps of clouds here and there were a bad omen. What would it mean if they were to cross the moon and end the very first Gathering at the lake? With all that had happened since arriving at these new territories, Crowflight prayed that tonight would go well.

He guessed the same thought hung on the minds of all his Clanmates. They seemed nervous - apprehensive but eager, with their fur fluffed up against the cold; the borders would be decided tonight, after all, finalizing each Clan’s place around the lake. Not only that, but it would be the first time the Clans had come together since the Great Journey – what would that mean for the cats that had become friendly over that time?

Thornpaw was excitedly chatting about how she was eager to see Smokepaw, a ShadowClan apprentice, again. When she demonstrated a move she wanted to show him, powdering snow all around, Smokewillow chided her with a hiss. Thornpaw drew back, looking hurt.

Crowflight felt a pang of sympathy for her. She’d been more subdued since she’d been denied her warrior name. He hadn’t missed how her tail would drag in the powder sometimes, after being told to do a task that she had long since outgrown.

As Onewhisker led WindClan out of the camp and through the snow-touched hills, Crowflight was glad that Mudclaw had been left behind. Mudclaw hadn’t looked pleased about it – if he weren’t there, he wouldn’t be able to say anything about the border, after all – but he stayed back regardless, and offered no complaint about the choice.

Whitetail, too, had offered to stay behind - a decision that had baffled Onewhisker, who had clearly wanted her to come.

“I’m still not feeling my best,” the white she-cat had claimed. “I don’t want to spread anything to the other Clans.”

Onewhisker had tried to get Barkface to explain that she was fine, but the medicine cat had surprisingly taken Whitetail’s side – citing that caution was the best medicine of all.

Crowflight and the rest of the Clan, those that had attended Mudclaw’s meeting the other night, knew exactly why Whitetail had declined coming along: It was clear that she did not trust Mudclaw, and didn’t want to leave him alone in the camp.

While Crowflight was grateful for her desire to keep the peace, he wasn’t certain that this was the way to do it. Whitetail hadn’t told Onewhisker about the meeting, and neither had Webfoot or Tornear, clearly. Otherwise, Crowflight was sure something would’ve been done about Mudclaw.

Would telling Onewhisker make things worse? Crowflight wasn’t sure. Onewhisker was a level-headed cat, sure, but when it came to dealing with Mudclaw, he seemed to lose his sense of reason for his own pride. Sooner or later, it was going to come to a head.

Crowfight glanced at Duskwhisker. The lean black she-cat was a shadow in the night, following closely behind Ashfoot with ears pricked for curious predators. Their conversations had been short and simple since the meeting, with Crowflight finding it difficult to speak with her beyond what was necessary for day-to-day life. She was so firm in what she believed, and while Crowflight didn’t think she was wrong, necessarily, he just wasn’t certain she was right, either.

He tried not to drag his tail. Once again, he missed journeying with the chosen cats, where problems like this hadn’t been present. The goal had been simple and there was little fuss over how to get it done, and it was a goal that they had all agreed with.

“Look!”

Thornpaw’s mew distracted Crowflight from his thoughts. Onewhisker halted the Clan at the crest of a hill, and looking down, Crowflight saw that, beside the shimmering lake, a long line of cats were walking. Lit by the moonlight, Crowflight picked out Mistyfoot and Nightfrost and, to his delight, Shadepaw, too.

“ThunderClan, on our territory?” growled Poppyfoot. “What do they think they’re up to?”

Onewhisker’s tail quivered. “They’re likely just passing through to the Arrival, for the Gathering,” he reasoned. “Think about it – ShadowClan and ThunderClan will naturally have to pass through another Clan’s territory to get there.”

“It’s a matter of whether they want to go twice the distance going the other way,” Ashfoot agreed, nodding.

“Should we watch them?” Duskwhisker wondered. She glanced at Onewhisker and Ashfoot. “They might steal prey.”

There was a pause, every cat wondering how Onewhisker might respond. He seemed very aware that each cat there would judge him for how he treated this situation and, without Mudclaw present to press him, Onewhisker decided, “We’ll walk parallel, until they’re out of our land. If you see anything strange, don’t hesitate to inform me – but remember, this is a night of peace. I don’t want fighting.”

“When does that peace start, though?” Smokewillow wondered. “In the forest, it only existed at Fourtrees.”

“We’re not in the forest anymore,” Onewhisker countered, his voice sharp. He blinked at the Gathering patrol and meowed, “Do as I say. For now, I think it’s more than fair to extend a full moon’s peace to the whole night, until something else is decided between all four Clans.”

Onewhisker turned away, then, ending the conversation. He bent his head to Ashfoot’s ear and muttered something, then led the way down the hill. The others followed, Crowflight included. He was somewhat upset that they wouldn’t be joining ThunderClan’s patrol, but at the same time he was relieved: This Gathering was likely to be awkward enough as it was.

They crossed the Verdant Moor with ease, walking parallel to ThunderClan’s patrol – far enough away to be noticed by them, but not close enough to engage in anything other than watching or cautious tail-waving. ThunderClan, as Crowflight hoped, did respect WindClan’s territory, from Tinystar at the head to Whitepaw at the rear.

When they crossed WindClan’s boundary near the Horseplace, a sigh of relief rippled through the WindClan patrol, Crowflight included.

“I hope it’s not like that every moon,” Poppyfoot sighed, her shoulders relaxing.

Softbreeze’s eyes flashed around the lake. “It’s going to be, no doubt about it,” she grumbled.

“Quiet,” Onewhisker hissed. He nodded his head to the Horseplace, and meowed on, “There’s no need to disturb those cats.”

A shape moved in the darkness, wiggling beneath the fence and stepping out. “Too late for that,” grunted a voice belonging to that shape.

The entire Clan tensed, forming an immediate battle-line that made the strange cat press himself against the fence and pin his ears to his skull and his eyes shine with regret. Fear-scent rolled off of him in waves, and it was clear that he was no threat, not on his own; but Crowflight wanted to cuff him anyway. What hare-brain thinks sneaking up on Clan cats is a good idea?

Onewhisker sighed. “Stand down,” he ordered.

With a wave of his tail, the patrol relaxed. Crowflight sighed – the stench of the Horseplace had been enough to mask the loner’s scent from every cat here. How embarrassing!

“You’re one of those barn cats, right?” Ashfoot took a step forward, sniffing at the air between them. “You smell familiar.”

“I-I am, yes,” he mewed. “I’m Smoky.” In the moonlight, Crowflight could see the white of his fur clear as anything, while the gray patches looked like shadowy pools. Around his neck was a strange thing, a flap of some colorful material twisted into a knot that reminded Crowflight of how Shadepaw tied grass around leaves.

Smoky’s eyes were wide as he beheld the WindClan patrol. Clearly, he was intimidated by being so outnumbered – Crowflight had to admit that he was impressed with the loner’s bravery in confronting them all on his own.

“Well, Smoky,” Onewhisker mewed, stepping forward, “I am Onewhisker, leader of WindClan. We’ve taken up residence on the moor, as I’m sure you’ve gathered.”

“I have,” Smoky mewed, his tone cautious. “There’s sure a lot of y’all, isn’t there?”

Ashfoot nodded. “We mean you no harm,” she insisted. “We don’t seek to disturb you or your life here.”

“I sure hope so,” Smoky grumbled. He nodded to the barn. “I’ve got kits, see. Newborns, they are, and there’re more on the way.”

“Congratulations,” Crowflight offered. Something about the loner’s accent reminded him of Purdy, and that was somewhat comforting.

“Uh, thanks.” Smoky’s eyes raked over the gathered Clan cats, most of which clearly wanted to get moving. He seemed to want that, too, as he said, “I-I won’t keep y’all, but I will say t’keep a lookout for predators. Lots of foxes ‘round here when the snows come. They get real hungry, real mean...”

“We’ve already detected a nest near our territory,” Ashfoot reported formally. “We’re keeping an eye on them. If they pose any danger to you, we’ll be sure to let you know.”

Smoky blinked. “That’d be real kind of ya,” he mewed, sounding somewhat surprised. Crowflight wasn’t shocked that he wasn’t expecting a gesture like that.

“It was good to meet you,” Onewhisker offered, “but we must be going.”

“Uh, sure.”

As nervous as he seemed, Smoky watched the Clan cats leave. Crowflight glanced over his shoulder – the barn cat didn’t make a move until the Gathering patrol was almost out of sight. Crowflight saw the white splotches of the loner disappear underneath the fence and hurry back to his barn.

“Strange fellow,” Poppyfoot commented, glancing back at Smoky.

“Definitely not Clan material,” Softbreeze agreed. The moonlight turned her gray pelt silver. “Seems like he’d jump at a bug on his paw, not to mention that he’s so plump...”

“You were a barn cat too, weren’t you?” Crowflight wondered. “A mouser, right?” Softbreeze and her two kits had joined the Clan a few moons before Crowflight had left on his journey, so he had been too focused on his training to learn much about how or why she’d come to the Clan in the first place.

Softbreeze sighed. “Well, yes, we were,” she meowed. She nodded her head back to the Horseplace. “That Smoky ought to be careful – the Twolegs I was living with tried to take my Thistle and Weasel from me, soon as they were weaned! That’s why we left the barn.”

Smokewillow bristled. “Why in StarClan’s name would they do that?” he hissed.

“Probably because they didn’t want to feed and tend to three cats, over just one,” Softbreeze answered, her tone bitter. “I wasn’t going to let them take my kits, and I certainly wasn’t going to let them take me to that Cutter after!” Her claws flexed in the long grass. “I gave them a few marks to remember me by before we fled.”

Ashfoot glanced back, her whiskers twitching. “You about took off Tallstar’s whiskers, too!” she purred, “And all he was doing was thinking about whether or not you should join the Clan!”

“What was there to think about?” Softbreeze snorted. Her fur fluffed up. “I was the best mouser in my territory. If he couldn’t find a use for me, I’d find someplace else that would!”

“Well, we’re glad you chose us,” Duskwhisker purred, nudging Softbreeze.

Softbreeze lifted her chin, proud. After a heartbeat, though, the queen looked more somber: “I do hope those kits will be all right, though,” she admitted. “It’s a dangerous thing at times, living with Twolegs... The Clans have their own dangers, sure, but nothing is quite so terrifying as watching one of them lift up your little kitten, and being unable to do anything about it.”

A silence stretched between the cats on the patrol, each one uncertain what to say to Softbreeze. Duskwhisker laid her tail along the queen’s shoulders, and she seemed to appreciate that.

“It’s okay,” Crowflight offered. He tried not to sound awkward, but he knew he did: “In a Clan, we’re strong, because we’re together. You’ll never be powerless with us by your side, Softbreeze.”

“Thank you, Crowflight,” Softbreeze mewed, her tone soft.

Crowflight twitched his whiskers. It felt like a real accomplishment, to be thanked so honestly by a Clanmate. Shadepaw would be proud.

Duskwhisker blinked gratefully at him, over Softbreeze’s shoulder. The gesture make Crowflight pause, uncertainty suddenly flaring in his chest. He remembered how Softbreeze had been one of the cats to listen to Mudclaw’s words in earnest, and how close she and Duskwhisker seemed to be now, after that meeting.

Did they somehow take his words to mean something else?

———————————————————

WindClan was just about the last to arrive, filing in just ahead of ShadowClan, led by Russetstar and Blackfoot. ThunderClan and RiverClan were already there, and Onewhisker immediately headed off to meet Tinystar and Leopardstar at the stump that would serve as the base of their announcements.

Crowflight flicked his ears. The atmosphere in the Arrival was undoubtedly awkward, as the four Clans hadn’t been so close to one another since they’d come to the lake. Even a half-moon of time apart had created boundaries between them that they were all hesitant to pass over.

It was easier for some than others. Crowflight watched the gray shape of the ShadowClan queen, Finchsong, approach Ferncloud of ThunderClan. They touched noses with a soft purr.

“There you are!” Finchsong mewed eagerly. “How’ve you been? How’s Larchkit? Rushkit and Willowkit miss him so much...”

“He misses them, too!” Ferncloud expressed, her green eyes shining. “He asks about them all the time...”

Crowflight turned his ears away as Tallpoppy and Dawnflower joined them, to chat about their kittens who had all spent nearly a moon together on the Great Journey. He looked to a group of younger cats, which had grown up from around Smokepaw of ShadowClan and Thornpaw, who looked to be catching up with one another, too. When Whitepaw of ThunderClan and Mackerelpaw of RiverClan joined them, though, Crowflight didn’t miss the troubled look passing over Thornpaw’s face.

Wonder what that’s about, he thought. He turned away from the apprentices as Goldenpaw and his sister Rosepaw joined the conversation. Like the queens’ conversation, this just wasn’t for him.

He spotted Duskwhisker slipping into the crowd, her pelt a dark shadow as it passed between cats. She nodded a greeting to Nightwing of ShadowClan and Sootfur of ThunderClan before coming to a stop beside Falcontail of RiverClan. The two exchanged some words, whiskers twitching and breath fogging, before Duskwhisker sat down with him.

Crowflight’s muzzle twitched. She was talking to Falcontail when we visited RiverClan, too, he thought. He didn’t recall them interacting much on the Great Journey, so what was so interesting now?

“There you are!”

Crowflight’s ears pricked. Shadepaw was pushing her way through the crowd, Nightfrost and Mistyfoot following behind her. Stoneheart worked his way through the gathered cats, too, and soon enough all five of them were clustered in the center of the Gathering, together once again.

Conscious of Duskwhisker’s gaze, Crowflight gave Shadepaw a subdued nod of greeting. It gave Shadepaw pause, but she didn’t comment. Mistyfoot and Stoneheart both seemed content to give Crowflight a similar greeting, though affection for him sparkled in their eyes and made Crowflight’s fur prickle.

Nightfrost, on the other paw, had no such caution – he rubbed his side against Crowflight’s, purring. Crowflight sprang away with a hiss.

“Stop that!” He raised a paw, tempted to swat at the ThunderClan tom – though the flash of shock faded quickly, and Crowflight knew he could never go through with it.

Nightfrost wasn’t at all concerned. His blue eyes shining, he purred, “It’s good to be together again!”

“Mistyfoot’s told me that you’ve been all about the lake, recently,” Stoneheart rumbled. “We didn’t see you in ShadowClan, though.” His whiskers twitched wryly. “Scared you’d get lost?”

Crowflight was grateful for the distraction, and he twitched an ear at Stoneheart. “Well, you’re so far away now,” he reasoned. “It just wasn’t practical to see you.” He did feel bad about that, though, so he asked, “Did you ever make anything out of that mess you called a camp?”

It was hard to tell if Stoneheart was offended by that. Recalling how the ShadowClan warrior had treated that kittypet Jacques, Crowflight wished now that he’d taken back his words – thankfully, Stoneheart’s tone was amicable:

“We spent the better part of our time since arriving there cleaning it all out,” he said. He licked his chest fur, casually. “It’s shaping up to be a very good camp, though. Well-hidden, and with plenty of defensive options. And your camp?”

While Crowflight was somewhat glad that ShadowClan’s camp seemed like a pain to deal with, he wasn’t sure if he could really say the same for WindClan’s - the marshy hollow Stoneheart had chosen had been choked to its brim with burrs and brambles, while WindClan’s camp had just had a few stubborn bushes and plants to relocate, an effort that should’ve taken half the time it did.

“It’s looking great,” Shadepaw chimed in, when Crowflight hesitated too long. “From what I saw, anyway.”

Crowflight shot her a look. Did she really have to do that?

He was about to open his jaws to say something when Nightfrost chimed in: “Our camp is awesome!” he crowed. "We’ve cleared it all out, and we’ve almost got every den done!”

“We did have a very confused squirrel fall in,” Mistyfoot added, chuckling. “It landed right on Graystripe!”

“I’m not surprised,” Stoneheart mewed. “It must’ve thought all the bushes were still there for it to climb over.”

Mistyfoot nodded her head. “That's what we thought. I’m sure the prey will get used to our presence soon enough...”

“Cats of all four Clans, hear us!”

“Finally,” muttered Dustpelt, who was sitting nearby with Blackclaw and Oakfur. “It’s too cold to dawdle!”

Gradually every cat shifted their focus to the tree stump. Crowflight suppressed a wince – Leopardstar, Russetstar, and Tinystar had taken their place firmly atop the wooden surface, looking out over all... but Onewhisker stood awkwardly with the deputies, his gaze smoldering with what Crowflight guessed was embarrassment. There just wasn’t enough room on the stump for all four leaders.

Not a great start to his first Gathering as our leader, Crowflight thought.

“We gather here beneath the full moon, under StarClan’s gaze for the first time in this new land,” Leopardstar called, her voice carrying over the lowlands.

As eldest of the leaders, it was her right to speak first: “RiverClan has settled well into our new camp. Tawnypelt, Falcontail, and Ripplecloud drove off some very curious foxes that thought it wise to sniff about our territory, and we are joined by a new warrior tonight: Mackarelshine.”

“Mackarelshine, Mackarelshine!”

“ThunderClan has good news as well,” Tinystar went on, when Leopardstar stepped back. “Snowstep, Ashfur, Cinderpelt, and Swiftfoot dealt with a nesting badger, but other than that we’ve taken well to our new forest home! Whitepaw has earned her warrior name, becoming Whitewing.”

“Whitewing! Whitewing!”

“ShadowClan is in good health as well,” Russetstar meowed, “with only a small bout of whitecough to report. We thank Mothwing of RiverClan for delivering herbs to help us overcome the illness before it spread. Not only that, but Smokepaw has taken his warrior name – Smokeflower, in honor of his mother.”

“Smokeflower, Smokeflower!”

“Wow, every Clan has new warriors this moon,” muttered Nightfrost. “I thought it would just be us!”

Mistyfoot leaned down and murmured, “I don’t think any leader would pass up the opportunity to show off a bit tonight...”

Crowflight’s heart sank, and he looked back at the other apprentices. Not every leader, he thought dismally. No wonder Thornpaw had looked so dejected seeing her peers – every other cat her age had moved on without her!

“WindClan is doing well,” Onewhisker meowed, forcing himself to speak more loudly than usual due to his awkward position. “We’ve detected a nest of foxes near our territory and are monitoring it, and we thank both ThunderClan and RiverClan for sharing their herbs with us when Whitetail caught whitecough. She has recovered, but chose to stay behind just in case the illness lingered. Robinwing is expecting kits as well!”

There was a moment where it seemed like every cat was leaning in, waiting for Onewhisker to announce something more – specifically a new warrior, like the other Clans had done. But Onewhisker lowered his muzzle, and with a flick of his tail, deferred to the other leaders.

It wasn’t outright, but there was some disappointment in the crowd. Crowflight spotted several cats glancing Thornpaw’s way, though the apprentice did her best to ignore them. When Smokeflower moved to say something to her, Thornpaw jerked back, stalking away to sit firmly with the other 'paws, none of whom seemed eager to test her mood as they shuffled awkwardly around her.

When Crowflight drew his gaze back, his eyes met Shadepaw’s. She didn’t need to say anything – he knew she knew why Thornpaw hadn’t been given a warrior name. He saw Shadepaw’s paws work in the dirt, and he decided to focus on anything but that.

“Now is perhaps our most important announcement,” Leopardstar meowed, his voice demanding attention and silence once more. “We have each had the last half moon to get to know our new lands, and test out our tentative boundaries. As agreed, we will finalize our territories tonight, in the light of the full moon and in the sight of StarClan.”

As eldest leader she, again, wasted no time going first: “RiverClan takes the nearest river branch as its border to the Arrival, and we will mark our boundary with ShadowClan along the edge of the woods and follow that down to the lake to where the shallows end.” Her gaze turned to Russetstar. “Is that sufficient?”

Russetstar twitched her whiskers. Crowflight wasn’t sure if she was happy with that, as it gave RiverClan access to a good chunk of marshland that ran along the shore of the lake.

“It will do,” Russetstar meowed firmly. Her gaze looked to Tinystar. “ShadowClan’s border with ThunderClan will take the stream as its guide, but it will stretch to accommodate the greenleaf Twolegplace and go until the trees end. What do you think, Tinystar?”

Tinystar frowned. “Is it not enough for your border to simply follow the stream entirely?”

Russetstar’s shoulders tensed. “That stream bends sharply into the heart of the woods. Taking it as our only border marker might be easier, but it gives ShadowClan far less land – the Deep Woods behind our woodland is unsuitable for us to use.”

Tinystar hesitated, looking as if he might argue; but then the small black tom nodded and meowed, “That will be fine, then. ThunderClan accepts this.”

“We sure do,” mumbled Swiftfoot. The scarred, ragged tom was sitting with Cloudtail, one of his mates. “Let them have that Twolegplace...”

Tinystar didn’t hear his warrior, Crowflight guessed. ThunderClan’s leader looked down at Onewhisker, his eyes turned to icy silver disks in the moonlight.

“ThunderClan has decided that we will take the river as our border with WindClan,” Tinystar meowed.

Crowflight’s ears pricked in surprise. The WindClan cats dotted throughout the crowd seemed just as shocked, mumbling amongst themselves. There was an eagerness to it that was somewhat comforting.

If Tinystar is willingly giving it up, then that means Onewhisker has to agree to take the woods back! Perhaps that would soothe Mudclaw’s sore spot over the issue?

Onewhisker’s eyes were wide, and for a moment he didn’t speak. Ashfoot nudged him, however, jolting him back to the present.

“I... thank you, Tinystar. The river will make for an easy boundary between our Clans,” Onewhisker mewed, gaining traction as he spoke. “As far as WindClan’s other border, we’ve decided that the Horseplace serves as a decent enough marker for us. We will take the fence partway, and then follow it down to the lake, to just where the shore becomes marshy.”

“That leaves the lands here as a good neutral ground,” Russetstar meowed on. Her eyes grated over the other cats. “We can decide what’s to be done with it later, but for now, as it serves as our Gathering-place, it should be treated as Fourtrees was.”

“Agreed,” Tinystar mewed instantly.

“Definitely,” Onewhisker said, nodding.

Leopardstar only grunted. Crowflight guessed she might like to get her paws on this space, with its low hills, wetter land, and easy lake access.

WindClan would like it, too, he thought, narrowing his gaze at Leopardstar. RiverClan had always been very pushy and proud, and it was satisfying to see Leopardstar not getting something she so clearly wanted.

“The boundaries are set, then,” Tinystar declared. His ice-blue eyes raked the crowd. “With all of you, and our ancestors, as witness. The leniency offered before is gone, and the warrior code remains firm – there will be no trespass tolerated in any Clan’s land. Is that understood?”

There was a rumble of agreement throughout the crowd. Every cat seemed happy with the land they’d gotten, and frankly Crowflight was, more than anything, glad that the dispute over the border shift was finally settled – and in a way that made Onewhisker look as if he hadn’t stepped out of a deal he’d made.

Before the Gathering was called to a close, however, Brackenfur stepped forward. Barkface, Ryewhisper, Mothwing, and Littlecloud moved with him.

Brackenfur raised his muzzle and meowed, “I know it’s cold, and we want to get home, but there is still more to discuss.”

“Go on, then,” Leopardstar meowed, waving a paw. “Be quick about it.”

What else was there? Crowflight glanced at Shadepaw, who did not meet his gaze. She wasn’t standing with the other medicine cats in this, which either meant that she had tried to and was shot down by Brackenfur, or had simply wanted to avoid that even happening.

“For one,” Littlecloud piped up, easily ignoring Leopardstar’s tone, “we medicine cats think that we ought to establish a route around the lake that allows for our Clans to communicate with one another safely.”

Barkface’s ears twitched at the grumblings erupting from the crowd. His voice was thin and rasping: “Before you get your fur in knots, think – several times this past half-moon, cats have been needed to go from one Clan to another, asking for aid. Even before arriving here, the Clans have relied on one another in one case or another. The journey is longer now than it was before, and with how our territories are arranged, a cat might need to pass between several Clan territories to reach their destination!”

Brackenfur’s gaze beseeched the leaders. “We must allow for this to happen! We cannot be completely cut off from one another.”

Tinystar blinked down at his medicine cat. He nodded and mewed, “I agree with you, wholeheartedly. It is in our best interests to be able to communicate with one another, as quickly and safely as possible.”

Leopardstar frowned. “Do you have a solution in mind?” she wondered, glancing at the other leaders.

Tinystar was clearly thinking. “Not quite. What do you all think?”

There was a moment’s pause. Then, Russetstar’s tail twitched: “What about this – a route that goes close to the lake’s shore, so that it’s easy to identify a messenger? Allowing for some leeway for more unstable terrain, this would keep that messenger out of most of another Clan’s land and create the most efficient way around the lake.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Onewhisker offered. “I agree to this.”

“As do I,” Tinystar mewed.

“RiverClan will tolerate it,” Leopardstar decided.

“Then it is so,” Russetstar declared. Raising her voice, she announced: “Cats may travel to and from another Clan’s territory, but only for peaceful messages or errands, and they must stay as close to the lake as possible and take no prey. Let it stand for all time!”

“Let it stand for all time!”

The medicine cats seemed satisfied with that, yet they lingered on their paws. Tinystar looked down at Brackenfur expectantly as the cries of the crowd died down.

“What else is there?” he asked his medicine cat.

Brackenfur turned to face the crowd, this time. His voice rang out in the clear, cold air: “We medicine cats must ask that every cat keep their eyes and, most importantly, their hearts, open as they explore their new territories. We have yet to find the place where StarClan will make contact with us, a place like the Moonstone.”

“Please,” Littlecloud entreated, his eyes wide, “tell us if you feel or see anything out of the ordinary!”

“Can’t we just go back to the Moonstone?” asked Goldenpaw, from the back of the crowd.

“It’s much too far,” Mothwing reasoned, looking at her Clanmate with soft eyes. “And we will not dare to borrow the Tribe’s ancestral grounds, either.”

“StarClan led us here,” Shadepaw meowed from beside Crowflight. “That must mean that there is a place, here, where we can speak with them!”

“Without StarClan, the Clans move forward unguided,” Brackenfur went on, his gaze dark and worried. “Our ancestors’ words will never reach us, and without StarClan... the four Clans will no doubt struggle greatly.”

A chorus of concern rippled through the Clans. The idea of no contact with StarClan was very much an uncomfortable, frightening one; Crowflight looked to his own Clanmates, spotting Softbreeze and Smokewillow sharing concerned glances, and Duskwhisker looked stiff where she sat beside Falcontail. The RiverClan tom must’ve asked her something, because only her mouth moved in a reply that Crowflight did not hear.

Worse of all, more than one cat stared at Onewhisker. It was plain now what might happen without contact with StarClan – the chain of command for an entire Clan could break down. Having no deputy was one thing, if a Clan already had a StarClan-approved leader – but what was a Clan without a properly blessed leader?

Crowflight felt sick to his stomach, and wished more than anything that Brackenfur had said nothing at all.