[TB] TWILIGHT -- Chapter 2 (Patreon)

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The entire Gathering sat in stunned silence.

Mudstar’s words hung in the air, thick and oppressive and sharp as claws. Even the leafbare cold didn’t seem so harsh and biting as Mudstar’s accusatory gaze, which swept and burned across the cats gathered below the Great Oak like a wildfire.

Shadepool felt frozen to the earth. He thinks ThunderClan cats killed Onewhisker?

“Are you mad?” hissed Tinystar, finally breaking the silence. His spine was bent, his black fur bristling to its ends. His voice was cracking from incredulity: “Onewhisker was my dear friend, and a friend to all of ThunderClan – what in StarClan’s name makes you think I or any cat here would believe for an instant that any ThunderClan cat had a paw in his death?!”

Tail twitching hesitantly, Russetstar mewed, “I have to agree. ThunderClan and WindClan have been close for seasons - what would there be to gain by killing Onewhisker?”

Mudstar curled his lip. “Then you can all tell me how ThunderClan scent was sprayed onto the earth where Onewhisker’s body was found, as if he were just some territory marking!”

“Is this true?” Tinystar demanded. He looked out at the crowd, to the WindClan cats, beseeching them.

“It is,” Crowflight answered. He got to his paws, looking up at Tinystar from his place beside Tawnypelt and Blackfoot at the foot of the Great Oak. Though Shadepool was sure he was nervous, he looked steady on his paws. “I scented it myself.”

“This is nonsense! Utter fox-dung!” snarled Dustpelt. The dark tabby tom drew forward, the fur between his shoulders bristling. “What makes more sense to me is that Mudstar killed Onewhisker, and he’s trying to shove the blame onto us!”

“Yeah!” snapped Sorreltail. Her white fur gleamed in the moonlight, and she stood up beside her Clanmate. “We wanted Onewhisker to be the leader of WindClan! That's what we fought for! Why in StarClan's name would we kill him?!”

“ThunderClan cats aren’t murderers!” Sootfur added, standing up beside his sister, his tail fluffed out.

The cats in the crowd began to shift and murmur. The WindClan cats drew sharply away from the ThunderClan warriors, while ShadowClan and RiverClan looked uncertain, unsure of where they should stand, ultimately deciding to shuffle apart until WindClan and ThunderClan were facing one another in the open space of the clearing, like two battle parties about to meet.

Shadepool trembled from where she sat beside the medicine cats. She felt Mothwing stiffen beside her.

“Fish-brains!” the RiverClan medicine cat hissed under her breath. “Are they really going to start a fight? Here?”

A WindClan warrior snapped their jaws at a ThunderClan cat - Shadepool couldn't see who was who - while another threatened with unsheathed claws. Dustpelt arched his back and spat at Webfoot, and the two circled, looking to come to blows. Sorreltail and Sootfur flanked him, glaring at WindClan warriors across the snow-dusted way.

Shadepool’s heart couldn’t plummet any lower – it seemed like no matter how illogical it seemed, WindClan did believe that ThunderClan had done this horrible thing; and worse, they were willing to fight for it at a Gathering!

She looked up at the sky. No clouds – not a one! Was even StarClan on WindClan’s side?

A horrible, jagged lump formed in Shadepool’s throat.

Could that mean that it’s true?

“Everyone, stay calm!” Leopardstar snapped over the crowd. She leaned forward on her branch, as if threatening to come down and break up the bedlam herself. “There is to be no blood shed at a Gathering! Have you all forgotten?”

“Dustpelt, behave!” Tinystar snarled.

“But-!” Dustpelt started to protest, but the intense look in Tinystar’s eye made his spine unbend. The brown tabby shot Webfoot a nasty glare before backing down, but Shadepool noted that his claws were still unsheathed, ready to fight, and the gleam of hostility hadn't left Sorreltail or Sootfur's eyes.

Tinystar turned to face the WindClan leader. “Mudstar, these accusations are ridiculous,” he declared, his voice firm. “No warrior of ThunderClan is a murderer, and I would never order my warriors to do such a heinous, cowardly thing!”

“Do you doubt my warriors?” Mudstar growled, his tone low and dangerous. His tail lashed. “They know what they smelled, what they saw. As do I.”

Tinystar’s ears flattened. “I’m not doubting them, or you, either – Onewhisker’s death was some kind of foul play, but to accuse my Clan of it because you don't have an answer is just-”

“So, then, who do you blame?” Mudstar demanded, cutting off the ThunderClan leader.

Tinystar narrowed his eyes to two slits of ice-white fire. “I’m looking at a rather likely candidate right now!” he hissed virulently. “After all, it was you that started a civil war within your own Clan for power!”

The cats of WindClan began to yowl and protest below. Mudstar’s claws gleamed against the Great Oak’s dark bark. With a voice like a crack of thunder, the WindClan leader howled, “I am no murderer!”

“You seemed very willing to become one!” screeched Tinystar. His tail was bristling to its tip. “I wasn’t the only cat that saw you before the cedar tree fell! You would have killed Onewhisker for power had Ashfoot not taken the blow of that tree, don’t you dare deny it!”

“Tinystar, Mudstar, please--” Russetstar tried to shimmy herself closer to the other two leaders, her eyes flashing with concern.

“Don't you dare bring Ashfoot into this!” Mudstar was bristling, his eyes gleaming menacingly. Shadepool saw him trembling, and a thin trickle of blood was running down his leg. “I was fighting for what was best for WindClan, just as I am now – ThunderClan killed Onewhisker, and we will not rest until we find the cat responsible!”

He took a wobbly step towards Tinystar. “If you do not give up Onewhisker’s killer, then all of ThunderClan will suffer!”

“Mudstar, stop this nonsense!” hissed Brackenfur. Shadepool felt her mentor trembling beside her, his voice tremulous as he fought to be heard: “Is another war really what you want?”

“I want justice for WindClan,” Mudstar growled, not bothering to look Brackenfur’s way. “That’s all I have ever wanted.”

“Justice!” howled Webfoot.

“Justice! Justice!” the other WindClan cats echoed.

Shadepool looked over her shoulder and locked eyes with Ryewhisper. She silently urged him to say something, anything that might soothe Mudstar’s and his Clanmate's tempers – but the young tom’s gaze was stern and solemn, even somewhat apologetic, as his eyes flashed to her for a brief moment.

Did he believe it, too?

The entire Gathering was buzzing now, with ThunderClan’s warriors on their paws, ready to face off against the bristling, chanting WindClan cats, StarClan's will be tossed into the raging storm like everything else. RiverClan and ShadowClan huddled at the outskirts, whispering to one another in hushed tones, eyes wide and worried and worse, some bright with curiosity.

“Who could’ve seen this coming?” hissed a RiverClan cat.

“WindClan and ThunderClan have been close for so many seasons,” muttered a nearby ShadowClan queen. “Is it finally over?”

Shadepool felt a flash of frustration. This was going to be the source of ShadowClan and RiverClan gossip for moons, true or not!

“Look at Tinystar!” mewed a RiverClan tom. Shadepool recognized Leafwhisker. “He looks like he’s going to rip Mudstar’s face off!”

“He wouldn’t dare!”

“Well, you know that temper of his... and he’s a ThunderClan cat!” Leafwhisker complained. “They think they can get away with anything...”

“Maybe they did do it...”

Shadepool wanted to claw that cat’s face off herself. She got to her paws, determined to say or do something – but suddenly the clearing plunged into utter darkness, and all the gossip and chatter ceased immediately. The scent of fear grew doubly strong, almost making Shadepool gag.

She looked up. A thin wisp of cloud had come from nowhere and covered the moon, casting a shadowy pall over the clearing. The shroud lasted for no longer than a few heartbeats, but that was more than enough to make Leopardstar yowl for an end to the Gathering.

“StarClan has had enough, and so have we all!” she snapped, her voice thin from all the yelling and arguing. She glared at Tinystar and Mudstar, not so subtly blaming them for the sudden end to the Gathering. “Let’s go home. All of us.”

Mudstar curled his lip as moonlight returned to the world. It didn’t seem like he was done, for he growled, “Until ThunderClan gives up Onewhisker’s killer, WindClan’s borders are closed – to ThunderClan, and to any Clan that supports them.”

That sent the Clans twittering and murmuring all over again. Mudstar ignored it all and leaped down from the Great Oak as best as he could with his injury. His warriors surrounded him like a barrier of thorns, hissing and spitting at any cat that dared come too close.

Heart throbbing in her ears, Shadepool tried desperately to catch Crowflight’s eye, but he was in the thick of the crowd, shoulder-to-shoulder with Mudstar. Shadepool’s stomach roiled. All her hopes and dreams seemed to be falling out from beneath her, now, and the world seemed to have flipped on its head. Her stomach roiled with nausea.

“Ryewhisper, please, Mudstar can’t just close his borders!” Mothwing entreated, her eyes pale and begging. “That’s bad for all the Clans! You have to talk to him!”

“I have to go,” was all Ryewhisper muttered, before quickly trotting away to join his Clanmates.

Littlecloud got to his paws. “Ryewhisper!” he called.

It was useless. Shadepool watched Ryewhisper join his Clanmates at the cedar tree-bridge, and they left the island as one; a Clan all alone, and all against the world.

Shadepool looked for Brackenfur, wanting something – some solace, some comfort – but found that her mentor was limping away toward the Great Oak, his muzzle down. Scrambling to her paws, Shadepool followed, catching up quickly despite her legs feeling as wobbly as a newborn’s.

Tinystar was down from the Great Oak, now faced with Leopardstar and Russetstar. Beyond them, Tawnypelt and Blackfoot were gathering their respective Clans together, while Dustpelt was hollering for ThunderClan's warriors to rally to him. Brackenfur sidled up to Tinystar, and Shadepool did the same.

“... this is your problem,” Leopardstar was growling. “Handle it.”

“Helpful,” Tinystar grunted. His icy eyes were harsh and his expression hard to read, even for Shadepool.

Leopardstar lashed her tail and stalked away to join Tawnypelt and her Clan. As they left, Shadepool felt a flash of frustration – was Leopardstar not going to offer any help or support? Did she believe Mudstar’s declarations?

“I don’t know if a word of what Mudstar said was true,” Russetstar meowed, her tone more pragmatic, “but now that the accusation is in the air, you need to be careful.”

Tinystar lashed his tail. “We didn’t-”

Russetstar cut him off, raising a paw: “I don’t care whether you did or not.” She said simply. “ThunderClan is in danger, now.”

Tinystar sighed. “Have we your support, then?” he dared to ask.

Russetstar frowned. Shadepool saw her whiskers twitch. “We’ll see.”

It was all she said. The dark ginger she-cat stalked away, tail-tip swishing in the slush. She nodded to Blackfoot, and ShadowClan took off, not far behind RiverClan.

Tinystar spat on the cold earth. “Helpful, the both of them!”

“We should get back to camp,” Brackenfur advised. “Lingering here overlong may upset StarClan, and the others must be told of what’s happened.”

Tinystar sighed again. Shadepool’s pelt prickled. She could tell that her father was not taking this well; but there was little she could do about it, here. She wasn’t even sure how to take any of it herself – it felt like this night was some collective nightmare, and she had only heard the whisperings of it from where she had stood with the other medicine cats.

“Come on, then,” Tinystar mewed. “Let’s go.”

As they rejoined their Clan, Shadepool searched for her brother in the crowd. Nightfrost was with Mousefur, and Shadepool could tell that he was very worried about what had happened - the feeling prickled her pelt like scurrying shrew paws. Shadepool moved to join him, but saw that Mistyfoot was headed their way out of the corner of her eye.

Shadepool pulled back. She watched Nightfrost turn to face Mistyfoot, who said something Shadepool couldn’t hear. It didn’t matter – Nightfrost's worry calmed, replaced by a warm feeling of comfort that spread through him and seemed to smother everything else.

To Shadepool, it felt like hot thorns piercing her skin.

She put herself beside Brackenfur and Tinystar. Without a deputy in ThunderClan, she supposed that this was the best place for her, anyway.

“What are you going to do?” Dustpelt demanded, pushing forward between Tinystar and Brackenfur. “Mudstar’s accusations can’t be allowed to stand!”

“Yeah!” hissed Brightheart, from just behind. “This is just ridiculous! Who does he think he is?”

“Is WindClan going to attack us?” worried Sun. Her tail swished uncertainly where she walked with Sorreltail. “Even after we helped them? After we've helped each other?”

Shadepool glanced at the ginger she-cat, feeling sorry for her. Sun had grown up in the Tribe of Rushing Water, a solitary group of cats that lived in the mountains between the old forest and the lake. Though she was a full warrior of ThunderClan now, it seemed like she was still grasping the complexities of the Clans and their relationships with one another.

“We are going home,” Tinystar declared, his voice louder than all of theirs. He pulled his chin up, using his demeanor to tower above his Clan, as his short legs did him no favors there. “In silence.”

Reluctantly, ThunderClan quieted down. Tinystar nodded and led them over the tree-bridge. Shadepool kept an eye on Brackenfur, but her mentor seemed to handle it well, despite how troublesome his leg was being this leafbare.

The group made their way through the reeds and marshes, heading up into the hills – only to draw to a sudden halt. Looking up, Shadepool’s stomach plummeted.

There, along the line of hills, was a patrol of WindClan warriors. Their bodies were lean and barely visible in the light of the coming dawn, but the winds sweeping down from their territory brought their scent down to the ThunderClan cats, strong and aggressive.

Crowflight... Shadepool breathed in his smell, a mix of longing and fear in her belly.

The dark tom drew close, his blue eyes hard to read, though Shadepool guessed he was very tired. He met Tinystar just beyond WindClan’s border with the neutral territory, his tail still as the reeds but shoulders stiff.

“WindClan’s borders are closed to ThunderClan,” Crowflight declared, his tone firm. “You heard Mudstar.”

Tinystar opened his jaws, likely to snap – but he shut them, and then sighed. “I had at least thought he would let us take the short way home one more time,” he mewed resignedly. “Very well.”

He turned around, and with a twirl of his tail, the rest of ThunderClan obeyed, though they did not do so happily: Dustpelt spat at Crowflight’s paws, while Sootfur tore at a reed with his claws as if it were a WindClan warrior. Sorreltail glared at the line of WindClan cats, and Sun drew herself up to copy her. Brightheart and Snowstep protected Ferncloud with their bodies. Mistyfoot, Nightheart, and Mousefur turned away with little fuss, but there was an unbearable pain in Nightfrost’s eyes as he glanced back at Crowflight.

Shadepool was the last to move, begging for Crowflight to meet her eye. She wanted something from him, anything – this wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go! They were going to meet in secret, in the ferns behind the Great Oak, and talk about their love, about their future...

At least, that was what Shadepool had imagined.

As if he could sense her feelings, Crowflight glanced at her. Shadepool felt a rush of love and confidence at the warmth of his gaze – he hadn’t forgotten!

Quietly, he mouthed, “River. Tomorrow night, moonhigh.”

Shadepool gave the smallest of nods. Crowflight hared off, tail up high, a signal of victory to his Clanmates. Shadepool guessed from the look of them that they were disappointed that they didn’t get to tear any ThunderClan fur, but she didn’t care.

At least there was something hopeful to look forward to.