#this is the first gathering we meet needlepaw | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rainsnap · 1 year

Text

Sparkfire/Sparkstar AU

Making the “find the spark that remains” prophecy thingy to actually be about Sparkpaw instead of ??? Alderpaw? I think? Also a fun “The Dark Forest Won Actually” concept tossed in too because yeah!! drama let’s go!!

This is a major plot drama mashup so buckle in for a wild ride! (I also apologize if the readmore isn’t working, I can’t seem to get it to work on the app?)

:readmore:

We begin at the end. Tigerstar has won. Firestar lays dead beneath his ghostly paws and the Great Battle has turned for the worst. Lionblaze stands besides Tigerstar and Hawkfrost, he had taken their side after all and his undying strength was the end of all the clans.

The land besides the lake was plagued in darkness, a heavy fog spilled out, allowing the ghosts to walk again using bodies stolen during the Great Battle. The body of Brambleclaw was worn by Tigerstar himself. When a few medicine cats fled to the moon pool for guidance, they found it frozen. The stars were blocked out.

Tigerclan returned to life: a throne of bones once more, but now in the clearing of the Gathering. The clans fought their new ruler at first, but then new threats appeared who were more than eager to join Tigerstar’s side. These cats being none other than Sol and Darktail. With living cats and reanimated cats working together to enslave the clan cats, all was lost.

Jayfeather and Dovewing are kept in caves, heavily guarded. Their gifts are now used by Tigerstar, likewise Lionblaze lends a heavy bloodstained paw wherever his twisted leader wishes.

The land is a shadow of what it once was. Starclan is gone and there is no hope. Until Squrrielflight gives birth to her late mate’s kits: Alderkit and Sparkkit. Sparkkit looks so much like Firestar that Squrrielflight hopes she will grow to be a cat just like him. Meanwhile Alderkit looks like his father and that draws Tigerstar’s attention to him from the start.

Alderpaw is trained by Tigerstar, in order to be a strong and powerful warrior. Meanwhile Sparkpaw works in the slums with Squrrielflight, catching what little prey they can find. Squrrielflight teaches Sparkpaw the truth while Alderpaw is kept away from her.

Sparkpaw grows into a rebellious fighter while Alderpaw is an anxious mess who’s trying hard to please Tigerstar but also really hates hurting other cats. The two siblings often meet and talk in secret and one day Sparkpaw declares that she’s leaving (probably add a prophecy like dream that won’t leave her alone) Alderpaw is hesitant, but then tells her to speak to Needlepaw, a cat that has been rather vocal about her dislike of the treatment and who Alderpaw fears might be his next target practice.

Needlepaw, Alderpaw, and Sparkpaw make a plan of escape. They make a break for it, but they’re easily spotted. Different clan cats (Squrrielflight and Ivypool for example) aid in their escape. In the end only Sparkpaw and Needlepaw get away. Alderpaw is caught by Hawkfrost and dragged back to Tigerstar.

Alderpaw is punished by being thrown into the cave with Jayfeather. Jayfeather is missing several chunks of his fur and his temper is worse than anything ever before. But over time Alderpaw and Jayfeather grow closer and Jayfeather teaches him what it means to heal instead of harm.

Meanwhile: Ivypool is imprisoned and visited by Hawkfrost. The tom confesses that Ivypool is right and that this is wrong, he wanted to be a leader, but not like this. The two cats begin to scheme in secret.

Back to Spark and Needle: as the two journey out of the lake territory, they run into a dreadful situation just in time! A cat is leading a badger towards a thunder path, but a monster is heading right towards them! Sparkpaw leaps into action and Needlepaw follows, Needle attacks the badger and Spark launches herself at the cat, throwing both of them off the road in the nick of time.

Once the dust settles, the cat introduces herself as Pebbleshine. A warrior from Skyclan. The two apprentices are amazed! They’ve heard of how grand the clans were before the great battle and are eager to ask this clan for help, but ,, Pebbleshine is lost and alone and was hoping that the clans could help her out. Oh no!

After the three she-cats realize the amount of disappointment going on they decide to settle on trying to find the remainder of Skyclan and to locate other cats who might help them.

—

Several moons later and maybe a montage or two of Sparkpaw befriending strays, loners, and kittypets. (Among these cats is a cat called Lark who has stolen Sparkpaw’s heart) This new makeshift clan finds the original Skyclan. When Leafstar first sees Sparkpaw she at first thinks she’s Firestar, but she’s revealed to be Sparkpaw the prophecy finally makes sense! (Meanwhile: Pebbleshine is overjoyed to be with Hawkwing again and to show him their two daughters Violetkit and Twigkit)

A huge celebration is had at this cat gathering thing. It is here that Leafstar sees that both Sparkpaw and Needlepaw should have their Warrior names by now. Sparkpaw is named Sparkfire and Needlepaw is Needletail, both are given Twigpaw and Violetpaw as apprentices.

To be able to celebrate and to partake in what a clan is supposed to be brings a newfound vigor and joy to Sparkfire. Who declares her plan to save the clans and to make right a wrong that happened before she was even born.

Now with an army by her side, Sparkfire returns to the lake territory. She frets that they are still outnumbered. In secret, Violetpaw and Needletail set out to recruit cats from with Tigerclan only to be caught. But they’re able to work this to their advantage.

Alderpaw, now Aldertalon has now returned to Tigerstar’s side, after moons of believing to be abandoned by Sparkpaw turned his heart cold. Though the longing to be a medicine cat remains in him, he no longer has a will of his own and does whatever Tigerstar commands of him. When Needletail is imprisoned, Aldertalon seeks her out and learns the truth. He’s thrilled and finds his mother and tells her the great news. Only to be caught by Hawkfrost. But too Aldertalon’s surprise, Hawkfrost wants to join the side of the rebellion.

After some time passes, more and more cats have heard of the news: a spark shall burn the tiger out. The prophecy makes it to Tigerstar’s ears and just as he’s about to ask from where has it come from, he sees it on the horizon. A swarm of cats spill out into the heart of Tigerclan. Led by what looks to be Firestar, but it is not!

Sparkfire and Tigerstar clash as the rest of the world swirls into chaos. Several things happen: Hawkfrost is killed while saving Ivypool and Dovewing, Needletail is drowned by Darktail, Darktail is slain by Hawkwing, Crowfeather injures Breezepelt in order to save Leafpool, Squrrielflight rescues Jayfeather who stubbornly remains to heal and to aid, Lionblaze drowns without a scratch on him, and the Great Battle is fought again and again, the Darkness rears its ugly head and tries to stamp out the blazing fire.

Only this time, Starclan comes to the aid of the clans and with them cats older than the clans themselves. The very cats Jayfeather has been casually time traveling to and talking with just for this very moment.

Tigerstar falls to Sparkfire and his reign has come to an end. Without him, the empire crumbles, the fog clears, and the dead return to being dead.

The aftermath:

Sparkstar watches over Thunderclan with her mate, Larkwing, as deputy. The two work hard to return the clan to its former glory. Aldertalon becomes Alderheart as he turns away from violence and walks the path of a Medicine cat under the watchful eyes of the blind Jayfeather.

Most of the story returns to the clans settling at the lake. Save for like some differences such as Leafpool living with Crowfeather in Windclan now as mates (Leafpool still acts as a medicine cat) Twigbranch stays in Skyclan with her family, Violetshine is mates with Tree (Tree joined Sparkfire’s makeshift clan), and Squrrielflight mostly retires since the poor lady went through a lot.

As to how the rest of the series would continue off of this??? I’m not sure. I suppose The Broken Code would turn instead to the clans trying to fix the brokenness left behind by Tigerstar. But I do know this adds more umph to Nightheart’s story. Since his mother is the leader, named after Firestar, and being a great cat (the true fourth cat of the prophecy that Firestar mistook at himself) would have far more pressure on him than what the canon has currently.

Side stories that are happening but I just didn’t mention them above:

- Tigerheart is hanging out with his evil family too, but is only keeping up this act so that he can secretly care for Dovewing.

- a lot of cats died, including the leaders so like only Leafstar is the original leader of a clan. This is to help cull the clans a bit and to act as a restart, so the cats are all fresh and new for the next arc.

Alternatives to the AU include:

- Brambleclaw isn’t dead, just possessed, so when Sparkfire kills Tigerstar she’s just killing his ghost and saves her dad. But this needs the “Brambleclaw isn’t trash” plot change first to be acceptable tbh.

- Hawkfrost is killed by Tigerstar when the betrayal rebel plot is found out.

- Darktail and Sol weaken the clans first before the Great Battle occurs.

- Lionblaze isn’t evil, instead he’s imprisoned too.

- Crowfeather and Leafpool are killed by Breezepelt.

- Hollyleaf doesn’t die in the great battle but is living in the tunnels still. She aids in Sparkpaw’s escape early on.

#errornoises #Warrior cats #warrior cats AU #warrior cats rewrite #sparkpelt #alderheart #needletail

16 notes · View notes

everybody-loves-purdy · 5 years

Text

Ok I shared this idea a while ago to another warrior cats blog but I think I’m going to mention it here as well, one big prediction I have about Silent Thaw is that Tree is going to get murdered at some point, by possessed Bramblestar.

Tree’s ghost powers are well known to everyone at the lake and if possessed Bramblestar can put two and two together, he is going to realise at some point that Tree can really mess up his plans. Think about it, once Tree meets real Bramblestar and figures out what is going on, all he needs to do is use his power at a gathering to make real Bramblestar visible. That would most likely result in game over for possessed Bramblestar as his secret would be out. So in order to pad this story out to six books, I believe the most logical thing to do from a writing standpoint would be to kill Tree.

Not only would this pad out the books, it would give us some Rootpaw development. He’s been hating his dad for so long, but what would he do if his father was murdered? Also this would mean he would have to figure everything out on his own, and do it in secret at that, as he would probably be able to guess who killed Tree and why, and so would probably be very paranoid seeing as the imposter runs an entire neighbouring clan.

Now that Squirrelflight’s Hope has been released, we know she knows about the ghost powers being inherited, so if she figures out that Bramblestar is an imposter, she’s probably going to confront Rootpaw and/or Needlepaw about ghost powers. I think Rootpaw would lie at first because he might be scared it’s a trick, but the two may start working together nearer to the arcs conclusion.

#theory #tree #silent thaw #rootpaw #rootspring #warrior cats #wc #warriors #skyclan #bramblestar #thunderclan #squirrelflight #needlepaw #violetshine

99 notes · View notes

yoshifan4456 · 4 years

Text

Graystripe’s final story - 4/4 - notes edition

The story takes place in one day. It’s about 25 mins long. At the current time, Graystripe’s calculation of his age is about as good as mine.

As you can tell, there are some new characters.

Baystar - the Baypaw we have right now. She grows up fast. 3rd oldest cat in ThunderClan.

Alderheart - same Alderheart we’ve got right now. He acts similar to how he does in present Bramblestar day. He also looks pretty much the same. He did not expect to live as long as he has.

Ivystar - Ivypool as leader. I know, I know... making it in Ivystar times would have been cooler but I DIDN’T WANNA. She was killed by a falling tree.

Squirrelflight - not much different. She never went back to ThunderClan, and ended up becoming good friends with Slatefur. He did have a crush on her, but he didn’t have enough courage to confess that. Instead, Squirrelflight does, and they become mates just three moons before her death in battle. She was pregnant at the time, and gave birth to Slatekit and Cloverkit in StarClan (named after her ShadowClan friends). She had trouble choosing mates in StarClan, but ended up picking Slatefur after learning that Bramblestar was interested in taking an unknown WindClan she-cat in as a mate. Bramblestar’s sad. Eventually, they become friends again. But never mates.

Stormfur - is dead. Brook is too. Their kits are not.

Blossomheart - Graystripe’s great granddaughter. Blossomfall died not too long before she was born. She has a brother named Leopardspot, but he purposely got himself killed recently for an unknown reason. She looks like her grandmother. A lot.

Twotail - A white she-cat with a genetic mutation that branches the tip of her tail into two tips. Her original name was Tailkit, then Tailpaw, but her parents requested she was named Twotail when she became a warrior. She brags about her tail a lot.

Other clans:

RiverClan - Mistystar stays leader until about halfway through Ivystar’s leadership, where she drowns in a flood. At the time, the deputy was Grayneedle (Graykit from current times), who became Graystar. After him, the leader was Reedstar (NOT Reedwhisker, Mistystar’s son, but rather his son, Reedleaf). He is the current leader.

WindClan - Harestar was killed by Breezepelt, trying to help his father become leader. He staged it while ThunderClan was attacking, so it was assumed he was killed by a ThunderClan warrior. Breezepelt kept killing deputy after deputy during battles until he was chosen by Crowstar. Soon after, he also staged his death, but didn’t really know what to do then. The first thing that came to mind was attacking ThunderClan. In the battle, he killed Lionblaze. The next moon, after finding ThunderClan and RiverClan scents on his borders, attacked both clans and held Leafpool, Reedwhisker, Reedkit, Stonekit, and Sandkit prisoner. He managed to get them to admit that they had been secretly meeting and that the kits were theirs at a gathering. Once they said that, he had his warriors kill the parents of the kits in front of them. The other clans attacked WindClan at the gathering, with StarClan on their side, and managed to kill Breezestar and save the kits, distributing them fairly among the other clans: Reedkit to RiverClan, Sandkit to ThunderClan, and Stonekit to ShadowClan. Breezestar’s successor was Applestar, his daughter.

ShadowClan - Tigerstar eventually died of old age. His deputy was Scorchfur at the time, so he became Scorchstar. Frondwhisker was his deputy. But not for long. The death was so terrible, nobody talks about it, and Graystripe even said that it’s the most disturbing death since Tigerstar 1′s. Next, Lightleap. Died the next day. Then her sister, Pouncestep took over. Died. Scorchstar stopped putting up deputies after that and decided that when he died, they’d do a poll like they did in ThunderClan. Shadowsight is alive. But he lives in constant fear that the killer of his siblings would come and get him too.

SkyClan - driven out by Brambleposter. It’s unknown what happened to everyone besides Violetshine, Tree, and their kits. They moved to ShadowClan. Rootpaw became Rootspring and Needlepaw became Needlefang. Needlefang died of old age and Rootspring died via food poisoning from Shadowsight, who wanted his best friend to die a peaceful death instead of being murdered by the mystery cat.

That’s all i got.

Thanks for reading this far.

3 notes · View notes

need1etail · 5 years

Text

Chapter Twenty-Four

Alderpaw stood on the ridge, a stiff breeze ruffling his fur, and looked down the slope where they lake lay glittering in the morning sunshine. He gripped Twigkit’s scruff in his mouth; her tiny paws flailed in the air in front of Alderpaw as she let out high-pitched squeaks. Alderpaw gently set her down in the rough grass.

“We’re almost home!” he breathed out.

After they’d left the tunnel, he and Needlepaw had journeyed on until night fell, when they’d made a temporary den near the place where they had seen the Twolegs and eaten their food. Needlepaw caught a couple mice, and they fed the kits again. Now the woods and moorland around the lake stretched in front of them, and before sunhigh they would be back in their camps.

Needlepaw toiled up the ridge and stood beside him, letting Violetkit down into the grass next to her sister. “Made it!” she panted.

“I guess we ought to say goodbye,” Alderpaw began, feeling awkward. “You’ll RiverClan to get back to your territory—it’s the quickest way.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Needlepaw agreed.

“Uh . . . Needlepaw . . .” Feeling even more uncomfortable, Alderpaw turned to face her. “Maybe you could keep quiet about what happened at the gorge, at least until I’ve had the chance to my dad, er, Bramblestar. I told you, the whole SkyClan thing is a secret.”

He cringed inwardly as he spoke knowing how unlikely it was that Needlepaw would keep a secret to oblige to a ThunderClan cat. He expected her to hiss at him in anger, but she simply stared at him, her mouth clamped shut.

“Okay, then.” Alderpaw realized the best he could hope for was a quick getaway. “If you could just help me get Violetkit on my back—”

Needlepaw’s jaws gaped open at that. “What are you talking about?” she demanded. “I’m not leaving the shadow kits here. I helped find them! And which cat says that they’re going to ThunderClan.”

Alderpaw could hardly believe what he was hearing. She’s got bees in her brain! “If it weren’t for my dream, and what Sandstorm told me, we never would have found the kits!”

Needlepaw’s neck fur began to rise and she flattened her ears. “If it weren’t for me,” she pointed out, her voice turning into a low growl, “and my idea to go through the tunnel, you would still be standing in front of that stupid Thunderpath trying to figure out what different ‘way of thinking’ Sandstorm was meowing about. Are you kidding me?”

Alderpaw felt his own pelt bristling as anger swelled up and swirled inside him. “Are you kidding me?” he hissed. Part of him knew that he was wrong to let his fury out on Needlepaw, but he was so frustrated that he couldn’t help it. “This was my quest in the first place! Besides, do you really think I’d let you take the kits back to ShadowClan, where there aren’t any rules, and apprentices run around wild thinking up new ways to break the warrior code? You said it yourself, Russetstar doesn’t punish cats anymore, she’s just an old mouse-brain. I might just take them back to the rogues in the gorge.”

“Coward!” Needlepaw spat, her face full of disgust and hurt. “We never would have made it back here if we hadn’t broken the warrior code a few times at least. Alderpaw, you’re so blinded by the rules that you can’t see what’s in front of your own nose!”

Alderpaw couldn’t reply; the mewling of the kits was all that broke the silence. He and Needlepaw looked down at the squirming bundles of fur, and Alderpaw found his concern for them overpowering his anger at Needlepaw. He could see the same feeling in her green gaze.

“There’s only one fair way to resolve this,” she mewed after a few moments. “We divide the kits up and each take one back to our own Clan.”

Alderpaw looked down at the kits, snuggled together and mewling. An ache tugged at his heart. “We can’t do that,” he responded, his voice suddenly meek. “It would be wrong. Don’t you see, Needlepaw? These kits only have each other now. It’s like Sparkpaw and me: I don’t always agree with her, but I can’t imagine life without her.”

Needlepaw was silent, gazing down at the kits. I wonder if she has any cats she cares about as much as Sparkpaw and I care for each other, Alderpaw thought.

Then, as Alderpaw kept watching Needlepaw and the kits, he was distracted by the yowling of a cat from farther down the slope. Instinctively he and Needlepaw moved in front of the kits to guard them. But when Alderpaw looked down and spotted the cat, he let out a joyful yelp of delight.

“Squirrelflight!”

His mother was bounding up the slope, with three other ThunderClan cats behind him: Toadstep, Jayflight, and Berrynose. Alderpaw dashed down to meet them beside the horseplace fence. “Momma!” he cried, emotion welling up inside him. He bowled into his mother, tears stinging his eyes.

“Oh thank StarClan you’re safe!” Squirrelflight mewed, covering his face in swift licks. “When the others returned home and said they lost you, I thought you were gone, and I—” She broke off with a sob and hugged him tight.

Alderpaw enjoyed the sweet embrace of his mother. Her soft fur brushed his nose and he drank in her familiar scent. “I’m so sorry about Sandstorm,” he murmured. “I tried to save her, I really did.”

“Don’t worry,” Squirrelflight meowed, licking his ear. “I know she was happy when she joined StarClan.”

“Are the others okay?” Alderpaw asked, looking up at Jayflight, not breaking the sweet embrace with his mom.

“Everyone’s fine,” Jayflight assured him. “We got back to camp yesterday and told the others what happened. Every cat was devastated to think you had drowned. We looked for you and Needlepaw back beside the river, but we couldn’t find you.”

“So this morning,” Toadstep continued, coming to stand beside Alderpaw. “Bramblestar sent us out as a search part, with Jayflight and I to guide us back to the place where you went missing.”

“How didn’t you drown?” Berrynose asked, gazing down at Alderpaw as if he couldn’t quite believe he was there.

“Needlepaw helped me out of the river,” Alderpaw explained. “She’s here too, just a bit farther up the hill.”

He began to retrace his paw steps, leading the other cats back to the ridge where he had left Needlepaw and the kits.

“Hi,” the ShadowClan she-cat mewed as the ThunderClan patrol came up to her. “As you see, we’ve brought company.” With one paw she swept the grasses aside to reveal the two kits, now dozing in a mound of fur.

Squirrelflight and the others, murmuring in surprise, surrounded the kits and gaze down at them.

“They’re adorable!” Toadstep exclaimed.

“Who are they?” Berrynose asked, giving them a suspicious sniff. “Where did you find them?”

“I can tell you all that later,” Alderpaw replied, “but right now these kits need care. They’re not well, so we were going to take them back to the ThunderClan camp to nurse them back to health.

Needlepaw glared at him. “Actually—”

“That’s a good idea.” Squirrelflight spoke with authority. Needlepaw turned to her glare to the deputy of ThunderClan, and Alderpaw hoped she wouldn’t start arguing “Alderpaw, you’re the medicine cat yourself, so you can help watch over them.”

“But I found the kits too!” Of course. Needlepaw’s shoulder fur began to rise again. “That is, we found them together. We think maybe the kits are . . . well they’re what StarClan wanted s to find.”

The ThunderClan patrol exchanged surprised glances. “Do you believe that?” Jayflight asked Alderpaw.

“I think they could be,” Alderpaw replied, “but I’m not sure yet.”

“Then this is what we’ll do,” Squirrelflight decided. “We’ll take the kits back to ThunderClan now, so that they can be cared for, and then—”

“They can be cared for just as well in ShadowClan,” Needlepaw interrupted.

Can they? Alderpaw wondered. ThunderClan has two medicine cats—plus Jayflight who has enough experience—while ShadowClan only has Littlecloud, and he’s growing old.

Squirrelflight gave Needlepaw a quelling look, as if she wasn’t used to apprentices who argued all the time. “Let me finish,” she meowed, her voice firm. “The next Gathering is in a few days, and we can bring the kits there to decide what will be done with them. Is that okay, Needlepaw? After all, we can all agree that what’s most important is to get the kits well again.”

Needlepaw ducked her head. “Okay,” she muttered.

Alderpaw noticed that she looked almost chastened by Squirrelflight’s decisive tones. Well, I’ve never seen that before!

“Are you okay getting back to the ShadowClan camp?” Squirrelflight continued to Needlepaw. “Should you even be out on your own.”

“I’ll be fine, thanks,” Needlepaw responded with a sniff. Clearly she was fed up with that question, and her respectful demeanor hadn’t lasted long. Turning to Alderpaw, she added, “I’ll see you around, then.”

Alderpaw stared at her, wondering if she had even taken in what he said about keeping SkyClan a secret. “I’ll look out for you at the Gathering,” he promised.

As Needlepaw turned away, Alderpaw felt a claw-scratch of pain at his heart. I thought that, after all we’ve been through together, there would be something . . . I dunno, more.

He thought that Needlepaw looked sad, too, as she gave him a last look before bounding away down the slope in the direction of RiverClan.

Then, as he watched her, Squirrelflight brushed her pelt against his, her eyes glowing with love for her kit. “You’ve done so well, Alderpaw!”

“Yes, ThunderClan will be proud of you,” Toadstep told him. “And I can’t wait to hear what Rosepetal will say when she sees the kits!”

While Jayflight and Berrynose congratulated him, too, Alderpaw felt his chest fill with pride and tears sting his eyes. I feel like a hero! Oh, StarClan, it’s so good to be home!

11 notes · View notes

need1etail · 5 years

Text

Chapter Twenty-Five

Alderpaw poked his head through the entrance to the nursery. “Is it okay to come in?” he called softly, not wanting to wake the kits.

“Sure!” Lilyheart called back. “But watch where you’re putting your paws.”

As Alderpaw became used to the dim light of the nursery, he could see why Lilyheart had told him to be careful. Her own three kits, Leafkit, Larkkit, and Honeykit, were rolling around play fighting on the thick moss and bracken that covered the nursery floor. Violetkit and Twigkit, their eyes now fully open, sat watching with wide, curious eyes.

“That’s how you learn to fight when you’re an apprentice,” Leafkit told the younger kits, sitting up and shaking scraps of moss from her calico pelt.

“What’s an apprentice?” Twigkit asked.

“It’s when you’re six moons old and you have a mentor, and learn how to become a warrior,” Larkkit replied.

“And then you get to fight foxes and badgers and rival cats,” Honeykit added. She leaped on top of her brother, growling as fiercely as she could. “Get out of our camp, you stinky badger!”

“Stinky yourself!” Larkkit retorted, battering his sister with his hind paws.

Alderpaw skirted the battling kits and settled down in the moss beside Lilyheart. “You’ve got your paws full here,” he mewed.

“I know, but I love it,” Lilyheart purred. “I have Daisy to help. She’s out getting fresh-kill for us right now.”

“That’s great,” Alderpaw mewed. “So how are you two doing?” he asked, stretching out his neck and touching noses with Violetkit then Twigkit.

“We’re fine, thank you,” Violetkit replied.

Alderpaw could see that she was right. There was no need to worry about the kits’ health anymore. In the few days they had been in camp, their little bodies began to plump up, and their fur was glossy. Though their eyes were open, wide and bright, they were still kitten gray, and Alderpaw knew it would be a while before they got their normal color.

“It’s so nice here with our mother,” Twigkit added, leaning close to Lilyheart.

“She’s not your mother!” Leafkit piped up before Alderpaw or Lilyheart could respond. “She’s our mother. You came from a long way away—beyond the lake, even.”

The two younger kits glanced at each other, confused and a little hurt. Twigkit looked at Alderpaw with eyes that made his heart ache for her.

“Don’t worry, little ones,” Lilyheart mewed, bending her head to lick each kit around the ears. “I love you just as much as if I were your real mother.”

“That’s right,” Alderpaw agreed, nuzzling the kits with warm affection. “All you need to know is that you’re very special.”

Reassured, the two kits began to purr in content. For a moment, Alderpaw gave himself up to the satisfaction of having saved them, whatever that might mean.

“They really are lovely,” Lilyheart meowed. “I’d be happy to keep them as part of my family. And my kits love them too!”

Alderpaw nodded, but he knew that the real decision about the kits’ future would be made at the Gathering that night. I hope they’ll be allowed to stay here, he thought, realizing how attached he had become to them. But that’s not for me to decide.

Emerging from the nursery, Alderpaw almost slammed into Jayflight. The gray warrior was standing just outside the den with Berrynose at his side.

“There you are!” Jayflight exclaimed, his voice cross. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“I was just visiting the kits,” Alderpaw explained.

Jayflight snorted. “I should have known.”

“I think it’s nice that you’re just taking such a liking to the kits,” Berrynose meowed, giving Jayflight a shove. Alderpaw purred, knowing his cousin was just being cranky.

Jayflight only sniffed and turned to look at Alderpaw. “Bramblestar and Leafpool want to talk to you. They’ll be in his den.”

There had been a time when Alderpaw would have been worried by a summons from his father. Now, although he felt slightly nervous, anticipation was stirring inside him.

As he and Jayflight padded toward the leader’s den, Alderpaw remembered his return to the camp a few days before. All his Clan had been excited to welcome him back, and Sparkpaw had barely left his side since. As soon as he got home, she started telling him all that had changed: Brackenfur finally convinced Bramblestar to let him work on the dens once more, she had gotten permission from Leafpool to let Alderpaw sleep in the apprentice den once more, and Cloudtail, Brightheart, and Daisy had finally joined the elders, though Daisy continued to stay in the nursery and help with the kits.

Bramblestar had taken the first opportunity to draw Alderpaw aside to ask for his view of what had happened in the gorge.

“It was so frustrating!” Alderpaw admitted. “We should have gotten there in time to save SkyClan from the rogues. I feel like I’ve failed”

Bramblestar wrapped his tail around his son and licked his ear to comfort him. “I’m puzzled,” he confessed. “Why would StarClan send you a vision when it was already too late to do anything about it?” He must have noticed the hurt look Alderpaw’s face, because he quickly added, “But you shouldn’t worry, it was not your fault, Alderpaw.”

Alderpaw shrugged, feeling uneasy. “I feel like I’ve missed something important . . . I feel like Sandstorm died for nothing. Every cat keeps telling me it wasn’t my fault, and for a while I believed it, but . . . now?”

“You are not to blame for Sandstorm’s death,” Bramblestar tried to assure him, though it didn’t work much. “I grieve for her, and so does the rest of our Clan. But going on the quest is what Sandstorm wanted. Remember how hard Squirrelflight tried to forbid her from going? She was determined, and you would have never convinced her otherwise.”

“I guess so . . .,” Alderpaw mewed, though he couldn’t suppress his feeling of guilt.

“Meanwhile,” Bramblestar meowed, changing the subject, “I’ve spoken to other cats who went on the quest with you about keeping SkyClan secret, at least for now.”

“I hope it was okay to tell them . . .,” Alderpaw began apologetically, remembering once again that Needlepaw shared the secret, too.

“It’s fine, Alderpaw. You didn’t have much choice.”

“So what are you going to do about SkyClan—or what remains of it?” Alderpaw asked, relieved by his father’s approval. “And what about those horrible rogues in the gorge.”

“I’ve thought it over,” Bramblestar replied, his amber gaze fixed on Alderpaw, “and I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s nothing ThunderClan can do for SkyClan for now.”

“But—” Alderpaw began to protest.

Bramblestar overrode him. “SkyClan has scattered, and no cat knows where they have gone. Unless ThunderClan gets more information . . .”

Alderpaw felt the weight of his Clan leader’s stare. He means another vision. Anxiety rose inside of him like a gathering storm cloud. Will I have one? What if I don’t?

“I told the rest of the Clan that you reached the place you saw in your vision,” Bramblestar continued briskly, “but you found nothing there. That should be enough to keep SkyClan a secret until we get a stronger sign from StarClan. At least . . .” He hesitated. “What about Needlepaw?”

“I asked her to keep the secret,” Alderpaw replied, “but I don’t know whether she will.”

Bramblestar nodded thoughtfully. “Well, it’s the best we can do for now,” he decided at last. “We’ll discuss the kits later, with Leafpool, Jayflight, and Squirrelflight.”

Thinking back to that earlier meeting, Alderpaw assured that now he was being summoned to talk about Twigkit and Violetkit. I hope they can stay with us, he thought.

He climbed up the tumbled rocks after Jayflight, scrambling for a moment before entering his father’s den, seeing Leafpool and Squirrelflight waiting with Bramblestar in his den on the highledge.

“Good you’re here,” Bramblestar meowed, sweeping his tail affectionately along Alderpaw’s back, as if he was still amazed his son was alive after alive. “Have you recovered form your journey yet?”

“Yes, I’m fine, thank you,” Alderpaw replied.

“Then we need to talk about the future,” Bramblestar announced. “Most urgently, about Twigkit and Violetkit.” With a wave of his tail, he invited the other cats to sit down. “Alderpaw, tell us what you know.”

Alderpaw stayed on his paws as he described how Sandstorm had come to him in a dream, and given him the clue that allowed him and Needlepaw to find the kits in the tunnel.

“Needlepaw really helped?” Leafpool asked, sounding surprised.

“Oh yeah. It was her idea to go through the tunnel. And she helped me bring the kits back to the lake, and helped feed and care for them, too. She was pretty gentle with them.”

“So the question remains what to do with them now,” Bramblestar continued. “Jayflight, do you think that they could be ‘what you find in the shadows’, according to the prophecy?”

Jayflight wriggled his shoulders af if he felt uncomfortable in his pelt. “I’m not sure. It feels too simple. Maybe they’re just a pair of abandoned kits. Their mother was probably killed on the Thunderpath, or maybe a fox got her.”

“But Sandstorm told Alderpaw there was still time to succeed on his quest,” Leafpool pointed out, her eyes shadows as she named her dead mother. “And then she told him how to find the kits. I think they could well be ‘what you find in the shadows’, and if we embrace them, the ‘sky will clear’.”

“Alderpaw, what do you think?” Squirrelflight asked.

Alderpaw blinked nervously at being put on the spot. “They could be,” he replied, “but I think it’s soon to be sure. We’ll know more when the kits grow older.”

Jayflight let out a snort. “I can’t see ShadowClan agreeing to that! And much as I hate to admit it, they have a point. As Alderpaw tells it, Needlepaw was at least half responsible for finding the kits, and so ShadowClan has a claim to them.”

“It wouldn’t be fair,” Squirrelflight growled, sending a glare toward Jayflight, which took Alderpaw off guard. “They’re sisters, and they have no say in this.” She turned to Bramblestar. “Remember how hurt you were when Tawnypaw left you? Would you really feel right tearing these two kits apart.”

Bramblestar’s eyes clouded with grief and he blinked rapidly. “It is true that ShadowClan has a claim to them, though,” he agreed with Jayflight with a sigh. Squirrelflight huffed and lashed her tail. “We’ll wait and see what’s said at the Gathering.”

“We know what ShadowClan will say.” Jayflight twitched his whiskers. “Even though the last thing Russetstar needs is two more young cats to keep track of.”

Bramblestar let out a rumble of amusement from deep in his chest, but that comment made Alderpaw uncomfortable. Would the kits be well taken care of in ShadowClan? What if Russetstar didn’t pay enough attention to them? He shook out his pelt, praying to StarClan that the Gathering went smoothly that night.

A chilly wind ruffled the surface to the lake, breaking up the reflection of the full moon, which floated serenely in the sky above. Branches creaked and rustled in the blast, and dead leaves whirled through the air.

Alderpaw fluffed out his fur against the cold as he padded along the lakeshore with his Clanmates. Violetkit rode on his back, her tiny claws digging deep into his pelt. Beside him Sparkpaw was carrying Twigkit.

“I don’t think RiverClan and WindClan know anything about our quest to find SkyClan, or ‘what you find in the shadows’,” she meowed to Alderpaw. “Won’t they be surprised! I mean, that we found what lies in the shadows, anyway. They’ll be furious enough to claw their own ears off when they discover that a ThunderClan cat found it.”

“But Bramblestar isn’t completely sure the prophecy refers to these kits,” Alderpaw pointed out, his voice mild.

“You mean he won’t say,” Sparkpaw responded. She gave an excited bounce, nearly dislodging Twigkit, who let out a squeak of alarm. “Oops, sorry, Twigkit. Anyway,” Sparkpaw continued, “the kits are totally what you find in the shadows, and you’d have to be the stupidest furball in the forest not to know it!”

Alderpaw blinked contentedly and let her chatter on as they splashed through the stream and followed Bramblestar and the senior warriors alongside the lake through WindClan territory. It was good to be with Sparkpaw again and to bask in her cheerful confidence, after all the dangers they had suffered.

They were drawing near to the edge of WindClan territory when Alderpaw spotted Mudstar and his cats streaming down the hillside and heading around the lake ahead of them, past the horseplace.

“Who are all those cats?” Violetkit asked, sounding nervous.

“Oh, that’s WindClan,” Alderpaw replied.

“Has no cat told you about the Clans?” Sparkpaw asked. “They should have! Honestly . . . Well,” she went on obviously delighted to show off her knowledge to the kits, “there are four Clans around the lake. We’re ThunderClan—we’re the best. Those skinny rabbit-chasers up ahead are WindClan, and then there’s RiverClan and ShadowClan. You’ll meet cats from all of them tonight.”

“Yes, all the Clans meet at the full moon. It’s called a Gathering,” Alderpaw added. “On that island is the lake—can you see it?” He waved his tail toward the dark bulk of island.

“I’m scared!” Twigkit squeaked. “I don’t want to meet so many cats.”

“There’s nothing to be scared of,” Sparkpaw told her, her tone brisk. “Cats never fight at a Gathering. In fact, you’re both very lucky. Kits aren’t usually allowed to go to Gatherings. You’re only here because you’re special.”

“Think of what you’ll get to tell Leafkit, Larkkit, and Honeykit when you get home,” Alderpaw meowed. If you get home, he added to himself, feeling anxiety stab through him.

Twigkit and Violetkit clung on tightly as Alderpaw and Sparkpaw carried them across the tree-bridge to the island. Pushing through the bushes to reach the clearing around the Great Oak, Alderpaw saw the open space filled with cats. The scents of the other three Clans hung heavily in the air, and realized that ThunderClan was the last to arrive.

He and Sparkpaw settled down with the kits in the shelter of a bush at the edge of the clearing, while the kits gazed around with huge eyes.

“I didn’t think there were so many cats in the world!” Violetkit mewed.

Almost at once Alderpaw spotted Needlepaw at the far side of the clearing beyond the Great Oak. Her eyes widened at the sight of Alderpaw.

Alderpaw expected her—and half of him wanted her—to cross the clearing to meet him but she didn’t move until a white she-cat, Beepaw, Alderpaw recognized, padded up to her. Needlepaw exchanged a few words with her, then turned her back on Alderpaw and walked away with the she-cat at her side. Alderpaw lost sight of her in the crowd.

An odd, empty feeling gathered in Alderpaw’s belly. He was happy to be back with his own Clan, especially when his Clanmates were so pleased with him, but he still felt bad about the way Needlepaw had gone home alone without much of a farewell. He was nervous, too, about what she might have told her Clanmates SkyClan. Part of him wanted to bound across the clearing and find her, but he knew for now his place was with the kits. And when the final decision was made about their future, he and Needlepaw would be rivals

No longer my sister. Enemies. He shuddered, wanting to sob at the thought.

Alderpaw realized that while he was lost in his thoughts, the four leaders had leaped up into the branches of the Great Oak. The deputies had gathered on the roots, while the medicine cats sat nearby. Gradually silence fell over the cats in the clearing.

“Why don’t I begin?” Mistystar meowed when she had greeted the Clans. “Prey has been plentiful in RiverClan and—”

She broke off with an annoyed look as Russetstar interrupted her by rising to her paws and pacing to the end of her branch.

“Why are we acting like this is a typical Gathering?” the ShadowClan leader demanded, her green eyes burning. “I know Bramblestar has news to share—don’t you?” she added, turning to the ThunderClan leader and giving him a hard stare.

Bramblestar froze for a moment. Alderpaw knew what he must be thinking, and he felt the same flare of panic and anxiety. Did Needlepaw tell Russetstar about SkyClan?

“News that might relate to the prophecy? Maybe about some young cats?” Rowanstar continued, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Surely you want to tell us all about that.”

Alderpaw let himself breathe again. She didn’t give away the secret.

Clearing his throat, Bramblestar rose to his paws. “Yes, I do have news,” he meowed, raising his voice so that every cat in the clearing could hear him. “But I’m not sure it relates to the prophecy. Our medicine cat apprentice, Alderpaw, went on a quest to find what lies in the shadows. Sadly, our wise elder, Sandstorm, died on this quest, and her whole Clan grieves for her. But on his way home, Alderpaw found those two kits”—Bramblestar pointed with his tail—”just outside our territories.”

Alderpaw realized that every cat was staring at him and the two kits with him and Sparkpaw. He wanted to hide under the nearest bush, but he made himself sit still and meet the curiosity with a calm gaze.

“I don’t think that’s quite right, Bramblestar,” Russetstar went on with a hint of a snarl to her meow. “Don’t you mean that Alderpaw and Needlepaw found the kits, working together? Didn’t Needlepaw save Alderpaw’s life on the quest, helping him to shore when he was drowning?”

Bramblestar lowered his head. “Yes, that’s true.”

Squirrelflight looked at her mate, annoyance in her gaze. She stood from her spot beside the other deputies. “What was Needlepaw doing on her own in the first place?” she challenged, her eyes narrow. “Is it normal for ShadowClan apprentices to wander off by themselves?”

Russetstar raised her eyes and glared at the deputy, her gaze blazing. “That is not your concern,” she snapped; Alderpaw could tell that she was embarrassed by the question. “ShadowClan can look after its own apprentices, thank you very much. What’s important is that ThunderClan did not find these kits without help. And what I understand,” she added, twitching her whiskers, “is that the kits were brought to ThunderClan for urgent care from your medicine cats, but that where they would stay permanently would be decided at this meeting.”

Before Bramblestar could respond, Mistystar took a step forward. “I think Mudstar and I would appreciate a bit more information,” she meowed politely. “This is the first we’ve heard about this quest.”

Mudstar nodded. “Yes, I agree,” he meowed. “Is this just another case of ThunderClan thinking it can control the whole forest?”

Alderpaw was surprised by the brown leader’s hostility. Isn’t WindClan our allies? Why are they being such big badgers? “Not at all,” Bramblestar replied. Alderpaw saw that Squirrelflight was making an effort to hold off her temper.

The ThunderClan leader launched into an account of the quest, although he left out any mention of SkyClan. “Sandstorm’s spirit guided Alderpaw to discover the kits,” he finished. “That makes me think that they must be important for us somehow, even if they’re not ‘what you find in the shadows’ from the prophecy.”

The cats in the clearing broke out into excited speculation and argument. Alderpaw was worried that the noise and curiosity would overwhelm the kittens, but they seemed untroubled by it; they were sitting together, both their paws tucked under their tiny bodies, listening to what was going on but clearly not understanding that their future was being decided.

Up in the branches of the Great Oak, the leaders were wrangling too.

“You’ll never convince me that those kits are what we were meant to embrace,” Mudstar announced. “I mean . . . they’re kits! What do they know.”

“They don’t have to know anything,” Russetstar pointed out with an irritated lash of her tail. “But StarClan guided us to them, and that’s good enough for me.”

Mistystar nodded in agreement.

“We can’t be sure about this,” Bramblestar meowed, his glance sweeping around to take in the other three leaders. Alderpaw could tell that he was getting flustered. He’s losing hope that we’re going to be able to keep the kits. “Not until the kits grow and reveal more about themselves. What is clear is that it’s the Clans’ responsibility to take care of them.”

“That’s all well and good,” Russetstar responded, baring her teeth at the beginning of a snarl, “but it doesn’t mean the kits need to stay in ThunderClan. Perhaps both of them belong in ShadowClan with Needlepaw, who helped find and care for them.”

“But they’re happy and safe now,” Bramblestar argued. “It would be cruel to move them.”

“You would say that, Bramblestar,” Mudstar snorted. “All that interests you is keeping the kits for ThunderClan.”

Alderpaw sent a hard glare at the WindClan leader. We are only interested in keeping the kits safe and happy! he wanted to hiss to him. But he kept his mouth shut.

“It looks like that, Bramblestar.” Mistystar sounded almost apologetic. “But the prophecy is to every Clan, not just ThunderClan. You don’t have the right to keep the kits.”

“That’s so unfair!” Sparkpaw exclaimed, but Alderpaw waved his tail for her to keep quiet. He didn’t want to miss a single word of the argument.

Bramblestar looked thoughtful, then a hopeless look crossed his face. No. “Fine,” Bramblestar meowed. Alderpaw’s anxiety spiked and he instinctively wrapped his tail around the kits, forcing himself not to cry. “ShadowClan may have one kit—”

“Are you insane?” Squirrelflight hissed, jumping up next to her mate. The Clans were shocked, murmuring to one another about her. “Of course we’re not going to split up the kits!” She whipped her head around to glare at Russetstar. “No, Russetstar, you absolutely cannot have either of these kits. You think you deserve these kits especially after you showed that you aren’t even able to control your own apprentices?” Russetstar opened her mouth to object, but Squirrelflight cut her off. “NO. Twigkit and Violetkit are coming home with us and that is final.” She gave Bramblestar one last glare. “The Gathering is over.”

Before any cat could object, Squirrelflight leapt down from the branch and trotted over to Alderpaw. She snatched up Violetkit and turned to slink off the island. Alderpaw stared in surprise. Forcing himself to move, he picked up Twigkit and followed his mother, followed closely by Sparkpaw, who looked smug. He glanced one last time over his shoulder to see Needlepaw glaring at him, her eyes burning with rage.

Bramblestar jumped down from his spot on the Great Oak and followed his kits and mate. Soon, the whole Clan was leaving the island. Alderpaw’s heart swelled with happiness. Twigkit and Violetkit will grow up together happily in ThunderClan. He caught up with Squirrelflight so Twigkit and Violetkit could be close. “Thank you,” he mumbled through Twigkit’s downy kit fur.

Squirrelflight’s angry glare softened and she nodded to her son. For the first time in moons, Alderpaw’s anxiety dissolved. “Everything will be okay,” he murmured to Twigkit. She looked up at him with big, gray eyes. “I promise.”

7 notes · View notes