Five Creatures - Chapter Two
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Squirrelstar emerged from her den with a slight limp, her hind-legs aching with every step. The clan below was already teeming with life. She saw Adderpaw sitting next to his parents, the trio of toms sharing a fair-sized squirrel. She purred at the sight of Dogpelt and Foxdust with their adopted son. Stormcloud was coming back through the gorse tunnel with Spotfur and Graymask in tow. Alderheart could be seen next to Hazelfeather, the two talking between one another.
Squirrelstar made her way down to the clearing and bounded her way over to the elders’ den. She walked through the thick bramble entrance and was surprised to see most of the elders already awake.
Bumblestripe, a pale gray tom with black stripes, stripes that were now flecked with gray, lifted his head to look at their guest, “Good morning Squirrelstar.”
At the mention of the leader’s name, Lionblaze and Ivypool both looked over from their nests, nodding their welcome. Even Jayfeather sat up to greet the ThunderClan leader.
“Morning,” Squirrelstar meowed, suddenly very at peace in the quiet elders’ den.
“How can we help you?” Ivypool asked, her voice rasp with age.
Squirrelstar looked over the old she-cat, her eyes following the thick scars that decorated Ivypool’s body. She sighed, memories of the agile and fierce Ivypool flooding her mind. “Just here to see if any of you would like to come to the gathering tonight?”
“Of course I’ll be coming,” Lionblaze heaved himself into a sitting position, his gray-golden pelt clinging to his large frame. “I come every moon.”
“I will also come,” Jayfeather joined his brother, his blind eyes staring directly at Squirrelstar.
The other two awake elders shook their heads, and Rosepetal was still sound asleep. Squirrelstar dipped her head and turned to leave the warm den, stepping out into the sun-filled camp. “Squirrelstar.”
She turned around, looking at Jayfeather, “Yes, Jayfeather?”
“You’re troubled by something,” the old medicine cat croaked, sitting down and sucking in a deep breath. Age had clearly caught up to the tom.
Squirrelstar twitched her whisker, “Always a medicine cat, aren’t you?”
Jayfeather flicked his ear in response, “So?”
“I had a vision, five large creatures clashing in a bloody battle on the island. Blood was spilling into the lake and was splattered across the floor and trees. The creatures,” she paused, suppressing a shudder, “They were larger and more aggressive than anything I’ve ever seen.”
Jayfeather gazed at her intently, not saying a word. His ear twitched as she spoke, “A dark vision.” He interrupted.
Squirrelstar nodded, staring at her paws instead of looking Jayfeather in the eye.
“I suppose we shall see what happens tonight,” he meowed, walking back into the elders’ den.
The gathering came way too soon for Squirrelstar’s liking. As she waited by the entrance to her camp, an overwhelming feeling of dread was consuming her from the inside out. She looked to her deputy for some sense of security, but Fawngaze was engaging in conversation with Harescar, none the wiser to Squirrelstar’s anxiety.
“ThunderClan, let’s go,” she called to her clan, heading off into the woods. Each step through the woods sent pain through her joints and try as she might to ignore the white-hot pain, it didn’t take long for Alderheart to notice. Her medicine cat came to walk beside her, letting her lean against him. Neither of them spoke, but she rested her tail along her shoulders in thanks.
ThunderClan arrived at the gathering after a journey that had tired Squirrelstar more than she would admit. She lead her way to the island, seeing ShadowClan and SkyClan already filling the ranks below the full moon. Squirrelstar sucked in a breath and bounded into the clearing with her clan behind her. She quickly made her way over the leaders’ tree and leaped up to it. She sat below Tigerstar, the dark brown tabby leader of ShadowClan. Hawkstar, a dark gray tom, and leader of SkyClan, nodded his greeting to the ginger she-cat.
None of the leaders seemed to be very conversational as they waited for RiverClan and WindClan to arrive. Even the members of their respective clans sat in a near silence below them, only soft murmurs making their way across the island.
Crowstar and WindClan came first, followed quickly by Reedstar and RiverClan. Tigerstar waited for the two dark leaders to make their way up before he stood, “Let the gathering begin!” His deep voice echoed around the island.
As the members of each clan settled down, Tigerstar stood and shot several looks towards the other leaders. What’s he up to? Squirrelstar thought.
“ShadowClan suffered this leaf-bare, as I’m sure every clan did. We lost many warriors, but also welcome Snowleg as a new warrior of ShadowClan!” Tigerstar called out.
All around members of each clan called out the she-cat’s name. Squirrelstar saw the white she-cat ducking in embarrassment. “ShadowClan has also caught the scent of several loners in our territory, we have not seen these loners, but notice their scents deep in our territory.” Tigerstar sat down, nodding at Crowstar as the dark gray tom stood.
“WindClan also lost many this leaf-bare, and like ShadowClan we have scented a few loners throughout our territory. As the weather warms, we are welcomed by an influx of prey and WindClan will continue to prosper,” Crowstar meowed, sitting back down after his quick news.
So both of those clans have scented the loners. Who are they? Dark Forest warriors? Squirrelstar felt a flurry of panic rise in her stomach before she noticed the leaders all looking at her for ThunderClan’s news. She shook out her fur and stood, looking down at all the cats looking up at her, “ThunderClan, like I presume everyone here has, has also scented loners in our territory. We lost many warriors to this leaf-bare, but new-leaf brings warm weather and warm weather fills our forest with prey.” She sat down, noticing that her legs were shaking as she did so.
Reedstar and Hawkstar both gave similar speeches about their clans, with no one in the gathering being surprised by the dark news that each leader mentioned. Only Hawkstar added something new to his news, “It would also appear that our clan, and every clan here, has shrunk in ranks. Our clans haven’t looked this thin in seasons.”
Tigerstar snarled at Hawkstar, “Are you calling ShadowClan weak?”
“I am not saying that one clan is weaker than another, just that each clan seems to be struggling more so than the average. These loners could pose a threat to each clan. I say that if anyone catches these loners, then the other leaders are to be informed,” Hawkstar said calmly, his tail-tip twitching.
“I agree with Hawkstar,” Squirrelstar voiced, turning to look up at Tigerstar.
Just as Tigerstar opened his mouth to speak, another voice cut him off, “I can assure you, we mean no harm.”
In an instant, each leader was on their paws, claws unsheathed. Squirrelstar felt the fur on her neck stand on end as they turned to look at the source of the voice. From the bushes came a large black tom, his broad shoulders pushing aside the foliage. “We’re just passing through.”
“We?” Reedstar spat, “I count one.”
The black tom blinked blankly at Reedstar and flicked his tail. From behind him came four more cats, all of various sizes and stature.
“State your business here,” Squirrelstar demanded, her ears pressed tight to her head. Below her, she could see her warriors also tense and ready for a signal to attack.
“Like I said, we’re just passing through,” the black tom, almost like a leader to the loners, rose his head to make eye contact with Squirrelstar.
“What’s your name?” Riverspirit, the deputy of RiverClan, asked.
“People call me Wolf. These cats behind me are basically my family. We are just looking for a place to settle. I apologize for hunting in your territories, I can assure you that you will not see us again,” the leader swore.
As the loners turned to leave, Crowstar leaned forward, “Wait!”
They paused, each one of them looking back at the clan cats.
“You said you’re looking for a place to settle. Why not stay?” Crowstar opined.
“Are you insane?” Tigerstar growled, snapping his head around to glare at the lithe tom.
“There are five loners, five clans. As Hawkstar so astutely pointed out, us clans are thin. We could use the extra paws,” Crowstar retorted, keeping his gaze calm with Tigerstar.
“You want to split us up?” the calico loner asked.
Squirrelstar looked over the loners, each one of them seemed different from the last. They didn’t seem like they were related in any sense, and what Crowstar said, actually made a lot of sense. She looked down at Fawngaze who met her own gaze with a questioning look. Squirrelstar pushed aside her pride and stood up once more, “I agree with Crowstar. If the loners are willing to split up, then why shouldn’t they be able to join us?”
“Unlike you, Squirrelstar, ShadowClan doesn’t need outsiders to make us strong,” Tigerstar hissed.
“Then we will take two of them,” Squirrelstar retorted, lashing her tail.
“Reedstar, Hawkstar, do you two agree with these two mousebrained fools?” Tigerstar redirected his gaze to the two quiet leaders.
“I cannot say that RiverClan would benefit nor not benefit from having the additional paws, especially since if they cannot swim or fish, then they would be no help to our clan,” Reedstar began. Tigerstar shot a smug look at Crowstar. “However, if they can swim-”
“I can,” the calico spoke again, “I grew up fishing.”
Reedstar looked at him with a look of surprise, his jaw hanging open as if his comment had been sucked from his mouth. “Then I uh...” he trailed off, “See no problem with it.”
“Hawkstar?” Tigerstar pressed.
The gray tom had been silent through the entire debate, his golden gaze locked solid on the loners. “What do the loners think? Do they want to split up? Would they be willing to do so? How old are they? We would have to teach these loners the entire way of the clans.”
“How old are you?” A voice called from the crowd.
Wolf pinned his ears back in embarrassment, “We range from six to seven moons old. Crocodile here,” he pointed to the calico with his tail, “Is the oldest.”
“There’s no way you’re only six moons!” Lionblaze called out, shouldering his way through the crowd. While being an elder, Lionblaze was still a formidable enemy. The golden tom came face-to-face with Wolf, baring his teeth.
“Wait!” Another voice shouted above the commotion. From the crowd came Paleripple, a RiverClan she-cat. “I have bore kits myself and can clearly see the kitten fur still on their pelts. Any queen or father who paid attention to his kits could see that.”
“Then they would be apprentices, or could be if they decided to join us,” Hawkstar continued. “If they are willing to split up and willing to learn our ways, I see no harm in one of them joining our ranks. If ThunderClan’s history is any indication, sometimes outsiders can be beneficial to the clan,” Hawkstar looked defiantly at Tigerstar, “Or are you going to argue that Firestar should’ve never come to the forest?”
Tigerstar, now alone in his argument, froze where he stood. He searched the other leaders for any sign of support but found none.
“You, loners! Each of you could find a home in our clans, would you be willing to learn our customs in exchange for a place to sleep, friends to have, and food in your stomachs?” Crowstar finally asked.
The island was shot with silence, even a mouse could’ve been heard as they awaited their answer. Wolf turned around and began talking in hush whispers to his comrades. Squirrelstar held her breath as she awaited their answer. Her tail stiff and she felt herself wanting them to say yes more than no.
Wolf turned back around and locked eyes with Squirrelstar, “If you are willing to have us, then we would be honored to be welcomed into your clans.”
“ThunderClan would be more than happy to have you with us Wolf,” Squirrelstar spoke first, dipping her head to the large black-and-gray tom.
“How should we decide who gets who?” Hawkstar asked, tilting his head.
“It’s obvious that Crocodile,” Squirrelstar noted to herself that the name felt weird on her tongue, “Should go with RiverClan if he knows how to swim and fish.”
Reedstar nodded in agreement.
“I would take great pleasure in joining ThunderClan,” Wolf meowed, returning Squirrelstar’s gesture.
“My name is Phoenix,” a multicolored tom spoke up from behind Wolf, “If I may chime in, I would like to join Hawkstar, I believe that is the name of the gray cat on the tree, and his clan. I like your values.”
Hawkstar twitched his tail, “Welcome to SkyClan.”
“You,” Tigerstar directed his attention to the solid black loner in the back, “If we have decided to take in loners to our clan, it would appear that you would fit in best with ShadowClan. Join us, dark warrior.”
The black tom walked forward, only his yellow eyes noticeable, “With great pleasure. You can call me Panther.”
“That leaves you, Crowstar, with me,” a large, thick-furred brown cat looked up at the leaders, “My name is Moose.”
“Your names are odd, obvious tales of your heritage, but we welcome you to the clans. I suppose each leader will take you back to their respective camps with them. I hope you each find these clans to be your true home,” Crowstar finished the gathering. He leaped down and beckoned forward his warriors and his newest member.
The clans began to disperse and Squirrelstar immediately found Jayfeather as they left the island, “Five cats, five creatures in my dream, coincidence?”
Jayfeather sighed, “It is definitely odd, even I can’t deny that. I find it even stranger that they had to discuss if they were going to separate or not. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what their true intentions are. I hope, for all the clans, that they truly just want to find homes.”
Squirrelstar looked back at Wolf, now closer to the tom she noticed how large he truly was for his age, she tried not to let her sudden shiver of fear show when she turned back to Jayfeather, “We can only hope.”