Warriors Unite - Again!

Tigertail padded into the Windclan camp, exhausted from her patrol of the entire border, grabbed a small rabbit from the fresh kill pile, and went to sit by her brothers, Greyheart and Darkstorm, who were splitting a larger rabbit. "Hey guys," she meowed. "I can see that the hunting patrol had good luck today." "Yeah," Darkstorm edgily mewed back. "Starclan gave us strength today," Greyheart purred, swallowing a chunk of rabbit. "How was the border patrol?" "Tiring." The tabby relished her rabbit, purring in delight. "It was quite eventful. At the Thunderclan border, we met a Thunderclan patrol led by Bramblestar himself, and of course, Hedgeleap and Olivescreech chatted for MOONS with some Thunderclan cats, Bearscratch and some apprentice, I think Stripepaw was her name... Then after a few dozen moons, we FINALLY went to mark the rest of the borders. There were some twolegs messing around by the lake, so we had to go around them. Then we met with a small Riverclan group heading to Thunderclan and warned them about the twolegs, Hedgeleap and Olivescreech wanted to chat with them too, but thank STARCLAN that Darkswim isn't chatty. After that, we headed back, but on the way, Fernleaf cut her leg on twoleg barrier remains--you know, the stuff like at the horseplace--and we had to walk back as slowly as mewling kits in the snow." "That does sound very eventful." Though Greyheart and Darkstorm were merely half-listening to her rant, Greyheart seemed to twitch his ears whenever the word "twoleg" was said. Tigertail seemed to notice this and wished to inquire about it. Before she could, however, Hedgeleap called to Greyheart from practically the other side of the camp. The dark grey tom finished up his half of the rabbit and padded over to the other speckled grey tom, saying a few words, then following him out of the camp. Tigertail was baffled by this odd exchange. The popular Greyheart, the clan's possible future deputy, and Hedgeleap, the oddball of Windclan? What business could they possibly be exchanging? Maybe it's about the occurrences today, she thought. Maybe he's just showing him the dangerous things that we came by. But Tigertail couldn't shake the feeling. Greyheart had been acting odd for the past few moons, since almost leafbare. She had talked to Darkstorm about it before, who agreed with her, but was far less interested in discovering his secret. "Darkstorm," she whispered, "remember how we talked before about Greyheart? He's acting weird again." "Myeaf." Darkstorm said with rabbit in his mouth. "Whaf abouf if?" "Well, I think this time, we should follow him to wherever he goes at night every once in a while." Just after she said that, Swiftbird, Tigertail's best friend, came over to them. "Hello Tigertail!" Purred the fluffy-tailed red-tawny cat, sitting beside them. "Swiftbird, you're just in time!" Tigertail then proceeded to tell her about Greyheart's behavior. "Oh my," Swiftbird meowed. "I agree, let's follow them!" "Are you gonna eat that?" Darkstorm was eyeing her small half-eaten rabbit. "No, and neither are you," the tabby declared. "We are going to follow Greyheart and Hedgeleap and solve this case once and for all!" Darkstorm sighed. "Look, I know that you want to know-" "No excuses," Tigertail told him, making him sigh and shake his head. "We sneak out through the dirtplace separately tomorrow night." "Tomorrow night?" Darkstorm grunted. "Can I eat your rabbit before then?" "Oh FINE." Tigertail pushed it over to him and he happily ate it up. "You MAY have it." ~~~ Tigertail was thinking about her plan more that night as she was headed to the gathering with the other Windclan cats. With them were her brothers, Dawnpaw, Volepaw, two new apprentices, Claypaw and Gingerpaw, Falcondusk, Swiftbird's brother, Breezepelt, Kestrelflight, Crowfeather, Heathertail, Larkwing, and Sedgewhisker. When they arrived, they crossed the tree one at a time. She could smell the scents of the other clan cats. Shadowclan and Thunderclan were already there and conversing, while Riverclan was some ways behind Windclan. Rowanstar and Bramblestar were on the branches already, Harestar climbing to meet them. After they were settled and Riverclan arrived, they all began conversing. Tigertail found herself chatting with a plump Riverclan apprentice. The time flew by. She completely forgot that she was going to keep an eye on Greyheart, as she suspected that maybe this had to do with other clan cats. Then she spotted him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed just a bit too friendly with a small light grey Shadowclan she-cat. They were animatedly talking. Tigertail decided to go and see just who this cat was. She snuck through the group of cats and made herself "accidentally" bump into him. Startled, Greyheart stopped talking and looked at her. "Oh, I'm sorry-hey Greyheart! Didn't notice you were there. Who's this?" The dark grey tom looked at her slightly oddly and laughed. "Hey Tigertail! This is Fernfeather of Shadowclan. She was just telling me about her new apprentice." Fernfeather happily flicked her tail and her ears gave a friendly twitch. "Fernfeather, this is my sister, Tigertail." "It's nice to meet you!" Fernfeather purred. She seemed to have a very similar overall appearance to Greyheart. "I actually have a sibling myself. Hey Vineburrow!" A dark grey-black tabby poked out from the crowd of cats, his green eyes looking in curiosity. And maybe a bit of fear? Tigertail wondered. He walked over to the three cats. "This is my brother, Vineburrow," Fernfeather said. After Vineburrow came over and began talking, Tigertail felt a glare on her back and shuddered, looking around and noticing that a jet black Riverclan she-cat was glaring at her, yellow eyes fixed, looking away slowly only when she met her gaze. Darkswim is unfriendly as usual, she noted. Salmonclaw is too. She noticed that Darkswim's brother, Salmonclaw, seemed to be in a bad mood and was scowling. What got in his fur? Before she could turn back around to chat with her brother and the Shadowclan cats, the clans quickly settled down and the gathering began. First was Harestar, announcing the new apprentices of Windclan, causing cheers from all over. Tigertail missed most of the gathering though, as she was in another world, thinking about her plan to follow Greyheart to wherever he went at night occasionally. What if he has a friend outside the clan? Or worse, a MATE outside the clan? What if he goes out to eat kittypet food? What if he's thinking about leaving us? What if- "Gathering's over." Greyheart interrupted her thoughts and waved a tail in her face. Most of the cats had already left the island. "Are you alright? You seem spooked." "I-I'm fine," Tigertail stuttered. "Just tired is all..." ~~~ Greyheart and Hedgeleap left almost as soon as the cats fell asleep, or at least they thought they did. The trio left one by one, Darkstorm leaving last, knowing how stubborn Tigertail could be. She would never stop bugging him if he didn't come with her. He slipped through the dirtplace and met the two she-cats outside of the camp. "Okay," Tigertail began. "Let's start by sniffing from where they left the camp." They began searching for the cats' scents, following it to a bush, where it faded away. That's odd... Tigertail sniffed around the bush and discovered that dirt was kicked around the place, disguising their smells. "Strange..." After that, Tigertail asked Darkstorm for his tracking skills. He reluctantly checked the grass for signs of it being walked on and eventually found a path, following it. I wonder what he's actually up to. They were nearing the western border, much to the cats' surprise. "They crossed the border!" Swiftbird froze, fur bristling. "Weren't there twolegs in this area earlier? We need to go back!" Before the young warriors could say anything, they heard the noises of a group of twolegs nearby coming their way, and the sound and stench of the horses whinnying. Oh jeez! Darkstorm looked for a place to run without being seen, but before he could, Tigertail shoved him into a ditch, where they hid. "Great Starclan, why would Gra-" "Shh!" Tigertail hushed him. They waited for an eternity, or so it seemed, until the twolegs were gone. Tigertail peeked out and looked around. "I think it's safe..." The littermates stepped out and looked at their surroundings. "Did you see where Swiftbird went?" Tigertail asked him. "No." Darkstorm shook his head. "She must've gotten separated." "Well no duh!" Tigertail snapped, still a hint of fear in her voice. Just then, as the wind blew against their fur, Darkstorm picked up a scent, and it was none other than the fresh scent of Greyheart and Hedgeleap, along with a few other cats. "I think I found them," Darkstorm meowed silently, ready to follow the scent, before Tigertail pushed him in mud. "Hey!" He hissed. "What was that for?" "You need to disguise your scent, hare-brain," Tigertail snorted before rolling in it herself. Once their scents were sufficiently masked, Darkstorm led the way following the scent. Soon, they got close enough for Tigertail to smell it, and she pushed ahead in the lead. ~~~ When they were far along enough, they noticed that their scents were coming from the barn. "Why would clan cats be hanging around in a smelly barn?" Tigertail wondered. "Most of all, our brother," Darkstorm meowed. "Why would he not trust his own littermates with this? Jeez, you'd think he trusted us-" Then, he coughed, loose horseplace dirt getting caught in his throat. While he was hacking, this slowing his walking, the mackerel tabby she-cat cautiously walked towards the barn and was about to walk inside, until she heard voices and jumped back. "We should try to learn how to make these," a familiar light female voice said. "Indeed," a more velvety and dark feminine voice meowed. "They call it barbed wire," said a soft, light, and syrupy voice. "They use it to keep cattle and horses pinned in." "Let's get one of us to analyze it and teach the rest how to remake it." Greyheart! Tigertail was tense, listening. "It has to be the most strategy smart, I assume," said a young male voice. "Greyheart or Stripepaw seem like the best fits for that." Darkstorm walked up, having stopped coughing. "Hey, what did you fi-" "Shh." She put her tail over his mouth. What do they mean? "Learn how to make these," make WHAT? "They call it barbed wire," what the heck is that? "Strategy smart," are they planning an attack? Stripepaw... Wasn't that a Thunderclan cat? "Meeting with other clan cats," she breathed. "I KNEW it." As they left slowly, Darkstorm tripped in a deep puddle and made a splash and a small mew. "What was that?!" "We have to move," Tigertail whisper-yelled. "That's far enough," came a grow behind her. She looked and saw a menacing green-eyed tortoiseshell-white tom, growling. He smelled very strongly of Thunderclan. Great Starclan, we're trapped! "What is it?" The cat she met at the gathering the other night, Fernfeather, stepped out of the barn. "Oh, hello there. We met at the last gathering." Then Greyheart stepped out. "Tigertail! Darkstorm! Hey!" He padded up to them. "It's okay, Viperpool, these are my littermates." "'Hey'?" Tigertail was furious. "You sneak out in the middle of the night and we find out you're meeting with OTHER CLAN CATS? And you just say 'HEY'?!" "Yeah bro, we're gonna need an explanation," Darkstorm said matter-of-factly, smoothing out his fur. "There's a perfectly good one," Greyheart calmly said. "Everyone, come out, it's fine." At that, out stepped a few more cats. There were Hedgeleap, Fernfeather's brother, Vineburrow, Stripepaw, a light dark-striped she-cat, Bearscratch, a heavyset brown Thunderclan tom, Sproutpaw, a silver grey-spotted Riverclan tom, and most surprisingly... Darkswim? Tigertail was baffled. I thought she greatly disliked the other clans. Her demeanor wasn't different. Maybe she just seemed like that all the time... "These are my littermates, Tigertail and Darkstorm," he meowed. "Explain." Tigertail growled, causing the other cats' fur to bristle except for Greyheart's and Darkswim's, who never seemed to show emotion through her fur. "We need to chase them off," grunted Bearscratch. "Oh, and let them run back to Windclan and have them find us out?" Sproutpaw sneered. "Sure, great idea. In fact, let's just go ahead and announce to the world, 'HEY EVERYONE! WE'RE MEETING IN PRIVATE, OUR CLAN LEADERS NOT KNOWING! IT'S TOTALLY CO-'" "Oh, hush," Darkswim meowed. He silenced, mostly because she was his mentor. "Should we imprison them then?" Viperpool asked. "It would be a good way to test out our barbed wire." This caused Tigertail to hiss at him "We're right here, you know." Darkstorm sighed. "Just tell us what you're doing." "Okay," Greyheart said. "Let's take them inside." The other cats hesitantly moved out of the way to let them through. Inside was a twoleg mess. There were big white leaves and odd square platforms, along with many other twoleg artifacts. Sitting by them was another cat that smelled like she lived here, as there was the smell of hay all over her. "What was all the ruckus?" It was that light and syrupy voice from before. She was a fluffy cream color with dark spots on her ears, muzzle, paws, and tail tip, more noticeably being her tail tip. "These are Tigertail and Darkstorm!" Fernfeather purred. "We're about to show them what we do here." "This is Sabrina, a farm cat. She lives here," explained Greyheart. "She helps us with a lot of twoleg things, and is an especially reliable source, being around twolegs all the time." "What do you mean? 'Twoleg things?'" "Oh right..." Greyheart paused. "We are making history right here-- we are the first ever twoleg research group!" Seeing as his siblings were still baffled, he went on. "We observe the many wonders of twolegs, from afar of course." "We observe their behavior," Fernfeather meowed. "Their clothing!" Stripepaw purred. "Their vocabulary," Hedgeleap said. "Sabrina helps us with that." "Their creations..." "Their machinery..." "Their folklore..." "Sabrina even uses the tip of her tail to draw patterns on paper! She calls them the 'Alphabet...'" The more Tigertail heard, the more disturbing it was to her. She almost wanted to flee right then and there, but she kept her composure. What would Starclan think?! "It sounds cool," Darkstorm said. "May I try it sometime?" "Certainly!" Greyheart purred. "You're both welcome to join us any time." Tigertail couldn't shake the unease. These cats grouped together... They all gave off an aura that they individually gave off naturally, but stacked together was far more noticeable and unnerving. She wondered if she could talk them out of this. "Why are you observing twolegs like this?" She asked them. "Don't you know that they are incredibly dangerous?" "Only a few are dangerous," Stripepaw said. "Usually the loud ones are. The chance of danger rises most when you attack them or show signs or aggression. Children are also much more likely to go after you, but are less likely to actually hurt you, being weaker..." "Would you take that risk?" Tigertail asked him, looking him in the eye. Greyheart looked at her oddly. "You know, you don't seem so keen on this idea." "Who WOULD be?" She mrowled. "I'm going back to the camp. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about thi-" Before she could even turn around, she heard the door close. There was a chuckling amongst the cats. An oddly creepy chuckle. "This isn't funny!" Tigertail pawed at the ground. "It's a lot to take in, okay?" "Oh Tigertail," Greyheart purred lowly. "It's just as you said, 'would you take that risk?' In this case, NO." ~~~ Three cats leapt on her and pinned her down, making her thrash around. This surprised Darkstorm, fur bristling, as he took a step forward before his brother stepped in front of him. "What are you going to do to her?!" "Well, we can't just let you two return," he said. "Especially not her, seeing her reaction. We're going to have to... properly initiate you. Bring forth the initiation liquid." Sabrina stepped forward with a twoleg item, some sort of small round colorful shiny pebble. The other cats forced her mouth open, pouring the liquid into her mouth, and forcing her to swallow it. Once they were sure it was swallowed, they let her go. ~~~ "You know what?" Greyheart mewed. "I think you're right. Let's let her go home. Sorry sis, just wanted to know how you would react... Hey! She's fast..." As soon as the door away open and the cats released their grasp, Tigertail dashed as fast as she could to the moors. She continued to step in the mud though, and that slowed her down. Need... to tell... Harestar... Her heart was racing. My brother is insane! As she was running, her vision got blurry. Her legs started to spasm, then her head. She got a massive headache and could barely breathe. This continued for a few minutes, until the last thing she heard was Swiftbird screeching her name. ~~~ "So just so we're clear, this won't hurt?" "It won't," Greyheart reassured. "It's just a thing that we all do when we join." What a shame, thought Greyheart. My own brother and sister... It's too bad that they have to suffer. I at least hinted to Sabrina not to give him a lethal dose. As the liquid was being poured down his throat, they released him. They were far more gentle than with Tigertail. A few minutes passed and Darkstorm felt his knees grow wobbly, and his muscles began to throb. "You said this wouldn't hurt!" "It doesn't normally," Greyheart said. Yes... YES... If this is affecting him now, then Tigertail should be nearly dead soon. "My head is pounding. M-make it stop!" Darkstorm yelled. "It will all be over soon..." And it was. Darkstorm passed out, still breathing. Bearscratch moved him to the hay and covered him so that the twolegs wouldn't notice him sleeping there. "He will wake up and hopefully remember nothing from last night," Greyheart purred. "I don't understand," Viperpool began. "Why couldn't we kill him, exactly?" "Because, Viperpool," the grey tom explained, "he is my brother and littermate, and most obviously has pure intentions. Unlike Tigertail. She would have turned us in, one way or another. If she wouldn't, she would at least tell her friend Swiftbird, whom she talks to about everything, and then SHE would spill the beans." "She would let the cat out of the bag?" Sabrina purred and giggled. "Let's add that one to the vocabulary," Vineburrow mrowled. "But... what does it mean, exactly?" The cats continued to converse, whilst Greyheart watched over Darkstorm's form, stroking his cheek with his tail. Fernfeather walked over to him and sat. "Are you alright?" She asked, concerned. "You just had to kill your own sister." Greyheart was silent for a few moments. "If one cat has to die, even if it's my own sister, for the sake of progress for all the clans, then I we make that sacrifice." He continued to stroke his brother's cheek. "Our discoveries and research will benefit the clans for eternity." "How are you so sure?" Fernfeather tilted her head. "Because the clans have never tried to tame the twolegs..."

All the Clans knew about the infamous affair between Ryewhisker and Cloudberry. Cloudberry’s kit, named after the now-dead father, would be the talk of the Gatherings until he was an elder, it seemed. It wasn’t a new idea, however, this business of inter-Clan bonding. It had just been the first time in recent history where a love between the Clans had gone so south. With this incident in everyone’s minds, it would have made sense that situations like this would have been avoided with extreme prejudice. But what law enforced by the tongue can dissuade the inner rulings of the heart? It was Leafbare, and Tigertail had just emerged from the medicine den. She had just learned she was pregnant, and of course her mate was not of her Clan. Nevertheless, a law cannot quell a new queen’s excitement. She stood at the mouth of the den for a few heartbeats, tail twitching, eyes shining, before she remembered the fate of Cloudberry. But that could never happen to her, could it? The first thing she wanted to do was tell her brothers, not her mate, because the three siblings were very close. It only felt right to Tigertail that her brothers should know before anyone else. But Cloudberry’s lesson stopped her, and the ginger tabby halted between the warrior’s den and the medicine den. They were up late last night with a patrol, she reasoned to herself. This can wait. And with those words, she had made an unconscious pact with herself not to tell anyone. There was still more tragedy to come for poor Tigertail, because she too had broken the newest of the new laws: the Warrior Code, Duststar of Windclan had called it. It had all begun on her first day of apprentice training. “This is where Skyclan lives,” Stonefoot was saying in his slow voice. Tigerpaw wanted to bounce up and down to let out her excitement, but she had to restrain herself. She wasn’t a kit anymore, after all. Not after this morning, when the ‘kit’ in her name had been changed to ‘paw’ and the entire Clan had called her name, as if she were a hero. She wanted to be that hero someday. Though Tigerpaw had been disappointed she couldn’t share this first tour of the territory with her brothers, Greypaw and Darkpaw, she couldn’t let that dull her excitement. “Can Skyclan really fly?” Tigerpaw asked a little shyly. Stonefoot looked confused. “You haven’t taken old Bluewhisker’s stories to heart, have you?” The older tom purred indulgently as they looked out into Skyclan’s home. “Of course not!” Tigerpaw insisted, though she may have just been surprised to have been steered wrong by an elder. “Take a good look, young one. I believe that in order to truly appreciate your own home, you must first understand what another’s is. I especially want to impress upon you the importance of eating the prey which has been given to us and not longing for the prey of others.” Tigerpaw didn’t really understand that part, but Stonefoot was telling her more about Clan politics than anything else. Just a moon ago, Windclan had been accused of stealing Riverclan’s fish. “Oh look, it’s a Skyclan patrol. And there’s a smaller cat with them. I bet they’re doing the same thing as we are, Tigerpaw. Greetings!” Stonefoot called out cheerfully. The cats in the distance, two large cats and a smaller one, stopped and began walking towards Stonefoot and Tigerpaw. “Hello, Stonefoot,” a gray and white tabby she-cat purred as she approached. Beside her was a dark brown tabby she-cat. Tigerpaw’s green eyes widened in awe. “Pinewhisker! Always a pleasure.” Stonefoot stepped forward to touch noses with her. “And this is...?” “Mapleleaf,” Pinewhisker replied. “And this is...oh where did he go?” Mapleleaf sighed in annoyance. “You’ve got to keep my brother under control! I warned you about him,” the dark brown tabby let out a soft mrrow of frustration she didn’t really mean. “I’m...here...” a small voice mewed. A brown and white head with amber eyes looked out from under Pinewhisker’s legs, ears flattened. “This is Hazelpaw, my apprentice,” Pinewhisker explained, stepping back so the young cat was in sight. What a mouse-brain, hiding from other Clan cats! Tigerpaw thought. Hazelpaw kept his eyes on the ground, as if he had found something about it particularly interesting. “You’re embarrassing me!” Mapleleaf hissed at him. “You seem young to be an apprentice,” Tigerpaw stated plainly. “Now, now Tigerpaw. No need to be rude,” Stonefoot cuffed her ear affectionately. “This is my apprentice, Tigerpaw,” he said to the Skyclan cats. “Honeypelt says Thunderclan cats are named because they can turn into the monsters from the Thunderpath,” Hazelpaw muttered. Mapleleaf groaned. “Stop listening to that old mouse-brain!” Stonefoot and Pinewhisker exchanged amused looks. And that was how they had met. Tigertail lay in the afternoon sun, letting it warm her belly and imagining the tiny lives inside her. She wondered what they’d think of her. Meanwhile, Greyheart and Darkstorm sat with their heads close together a bit away from camp. It’d been at least a moon since they’d become warriors, and already they had seen battle. “Surely we can tell Tigertail. She’s our sister!” Darkstorm was saying in a low murmur. Greyheart shook his head. “Duststar told us to keep quiet, so we keep quiet!” he hissed. “I don’t care what that old fleabag says, Tigertail has a right to know!” Darkstorm’s voice rose a little, just enough to make Greyheart nervous. “Quiet!” he mewled, eyes widening. “Just because our leader is old doesn’t mean his word counts for nothing.” “You’re not seriously suggesting that the oldest cats have the clearest minds, are you? Remember how Bluewhisker used to tell us those horror stories about other Clans and then cackle at our frightened faces? Dustar’s rule is coming to an end, if you ask me. I’m telling our sister, whether you like it or not. Stonetail never said anything about keeping quiet.” Darkstorm stood up to catch Tigertail while she was napping, but Greyheart grabbed his brother’s tail to hold him back. “Obviously he agrees with our leader! He’s the deputy, for Starclan’s sake!” Greyheart’s whisper held as much emphasis as relatively possible given his volume. But of course his argument fell on deaf ears as the dark gray-black tom stomped away. Greyheart knew his brother wasn’t in the right mind to break such delicate news, so he hurried on behind him. “Tigertail,” Darkstorm mewed as he nudged the dark ginger tabby out of her doze. “There’s something I need to tell you.” Tigertail stretched out, her front and back legs each facing different directions as she yawned widely. Then she stood up and stretched some more before flopping back on the ground. “Oh! How nice! I’ve got a surprise for you too!” Tigertail replied, nudging Darkstorm with her head. “Also, have I told you how much I love you, brother? I just want you to know that I will always listen to you and believe you when you think something’s wrong, and I will always be here for you.” “Umm...okay.” But before he could tell her what he wanted to say, Greyheart appeared just in time to hear Tigertail say, “Also I think you should go hunt me a squirrel.” She lifted a paw to lick and swiped it over her ear. Darkstorm’s tail whipped back and forth impatiently. Of course she had only wanted something from him. “Tigertail, I’m so sorry!” Greyheart breathed, his green eyes clouded. His sister blinked her own identical eyes quizzically. “Oh...you didn’t...sorry...” Greyheart hung his head. “I was just about to--” Darkstorm began before Greyheart swiped his tail over his brother’s lips. “Tigertail said she was hungry and you said you’d get her something? You’re such a dear! Let me help too! Bye, Tigertail!” Greyheart nudged Darkstorm along and the two were out the bramble barrier before Tigertail could stick her tongue back in her mouth. “Why didn’t you let me tell Tigertail that Hazelwhisker is dead?” snapped Darkstorm as soon as they were out hunting in the forest where no one could hear them. “We’re not supposed to tell anyone!” Greyheart repeated. “Besides, he meant a lot to her, even you have to have noticed that? We have to approach this more delicately.” Darkstorm shrugged moodily but didn’t answer. To this day they don’t know how they did it, but for the next moon the siblings avoided each other, only sometimes on purpose. No one told anyone anyone’s secret, and the strong bonds which had held them together as kits began fraying. They started talking to each other again at the night of the full moon Gathering, right after the Skyclan leader Birchstar revealed the border skirmish caused the death of his warrior Hazelwhisker. Apparently he had accidentally fallen into a rushing river and most certainly died of exposure, but cats were arguing that he had been pushed. Most likely it had been accidental, if anyone had pushed him, but Skyclan wanted someone to punish, so they rounded on Thunderclan. Of course all their harsh words and unsheathed claws caused Starclan to cover the moon, and that was that. Tigertail had been going to tell Hazelwhisker about the kits at that Gathering. Her brothers had been there, on the day her mate had died, and had been forbidden to tell anyone what had happened. Tigertail was distraught, to say the least. From then on, more cats continued having love affairs between Clan borders despite the pain it had caused every time. It stands to reason, then, that you can lead a cat away from water, but you can’t keep them from drinking.

Tiger Tail walked out into the bright morning sun, feeling the warm rays of the sun shine on her in her group. Their brother, Dark Storm, and Grey Heart, had been out hunting with his friends, Half Claw and Shade Heart. Tiger Tail didn't like them very much, seeing as they were cast out of Dust's group. She wished that Dark Storm wouldn't always be so close to the outcasts of a group that considered casting a cat out a very high cost, only casting out the worst. Grey Heart didn't seem to mind, though, or at least it seemed. She wasn't for sure, as Grey Heart, as well, wasn't around much anymore! The siblings had grown farther and farther away with the three outcasts coming along. Tiger Tail sighed as Grey Heart brushed past her as he returned, walking over to their group leader. Tiger Tail wrinkled up her nose at the smell of blood. He wasn't carrying anything, though. "Probably just got close to the kill at messed up.." "Good morning, Rushing River." Grey Heart said, sitting next to Rushing River, soon to be Rushingstar. Rushing River looked at Grey Heart, thinking he might want information from him on his brother's behaviour. Rushing River stared at Grey Heart, fluffing up his light grey fur, dark blue eyes narrowing at Grey Heart. "Grey Heart, you are my associate, and would make a great leader, but if you're trying to get information off of me for your brother-" Rushing River was cut off by Tiger Tail, who had happened to be watching and listening to their conversation. She walked over towards the pair, angry at her leader, and she made it clear. Tiger Tail walked in front of Rushing River, eyes narrowed. Seeing her leader's surprise made her even more angry. How dare he think she wouldn't stand up for her brother? They were littermate, and just the though of Grey Heart trying to get information off of their leader upset her very much. "Grey Heart would never do a thing! Rushing River, how could you even say anything so horrible about him? You know as well as I do that Grey Heart would never even consider a thing! I can not believe you!" Tigertail spewed out, getting flustered in the process. Grey Heart and Rushing River looked confused at her, both surprised at her outburst. Rushing River fluffed out his fur even more, before glaring deeply at Tiger Tail. "This is between me and your brother. Now, you should leave and hunt. Before you cause more trouble between us all. You've already stirred up camp, now rumours. You should be ashamed. Grey Heart, my den, now." Rushing River said, shaking his head at Tiger Tail. Tiger Tail hissed lowly, brushing past any cat in her way to leave camp. As she walked, she heard other cats. She was questionable about going towards the sound, but figured it would be fine. As Tiger Tail got closer, she heard louder noises, and this time it wasn't just cats. Tiger Tail heard a deep snarl and she ran out into the clearing area where it was coming from. Once she got there, she saw Dark Storm on a fox, who was awfully close to two bodies. "Half Claw and Shade Heart.." Tiger Tail though, her fur fluffed out. "Dark Storm!" SHe cried out, running towards him and the fox, sinking her teeth into its russet-crimson pelt. Dark Storm seemed relieved at this, and tumbled off the creature, falling face first on the dirt. Tiger Tail swiped at the fox's flank, drawing blood. The fox yelped, running off. Tiger Tail immediately ran to Dark Storm, who was on the dirt, sleeping. Tiger Tail flipped her brother over, seeing many scratching, only a few from the fox. She rushed over to Shade Heart and Half Claw and grabbed their scruffs to turn them over. They had two claw marks each on their necks, not fresh. She looked around, waiting for their killer to jump at them. This hadn't been done by the fox, it was new. Dark Storm..no, he couldn't have done it, as he had a similar one on his torso, barely missing his neck. She ran over to Dark Storm, making sure he was still alive and breathing. Tiger Tail heard his raspy breathing, but he was still alive, "Let's get you out of here..." Tiger Tail mumbled, feeling terrified. She picked him up by his scruff, racing to camp as fast as she could, hoping she could get Hare Foot to tend to him before it was too late. Tiger Tail collapsed in the entrance before yowling, "Half Claw and Shade Heart are dead! There's a killer in camp!" Before dropping her brother and blacking out herself, being welcomed by the strings of sleep. ***** Hare Foot was the first thing Tiger Tail saw once she woke up next to her brother. She shot up, thinking she wasn't in the medicine den, somewhere else. Hare Foot jumped up and blocked the exit. "Oh no you don't," she chuckled softly, "you're staying here. You're still weak." Hare Foot said, nudging Tiger Tail towards her nest. The she-cat followed Hare Foot, feeling much more comfortable now that she knew where she was. Though it still didn't make her happy, knowing that anyone of her fellow campmates could be the killer of two cats, and the attempted kill of Dark Storm. Hare Foot smiled as Tiger Tail was in her nest. "I'm guessing you'd like to know what happened while you were here? You and Dark Storm have been out for about three days!" Tiger Tail was shocked at this, but nodded vigorously, making sure not accidently hit her brother in the process. Hare Foot smiled again before continuing. "Alright, then. After you ran into camp, and shared the news, everyone, including Rushing River panicked. Well, everyone except for Grey Heart. I think he just seemed..shocked? I'm not for sure. I brought you both in, and most cats have kept eyes on the ones they think is the killer. I've had nothing but complaints about me needing to kill a cat who is supposedly the killer. Another cat has been killed, one that suspected Grey Heart and Dark Storm, and Leaping Flight. Her name was Flight Strike, I believe. Was found a few days ago, actually.." Hare Foot took a breath, "that was the first and second day, too! Rushing River told the other leaders what had happened, and they reported that two of their cats each had gone missing! Seems like it's the same cat, though. We've been stuck in camp for a while, and that's about it. And before you ask, yes, Dark Storm is going to be fine, so don't worry." A few minutes after Hare Foot had finished, Dark Storm had woken up himself. "Glad..to know I'm going to be fine. Could've handled that cat myself..though." Dark Storm commented, laying his head on his paws. Hare Foot shook her head, grinning. "Glad to see you're awake, the both of you. Now, Dark Storm ca-" "Dark Storm! You're alive, you've made it! I'm so glad, I thought you were gone at that point!" Tiger Tail interrupted, purring loudly at her brother, rubbing against him. Dark Storm looked revolted at this, but purred back. Hare Foot sighed, "As I was saying, Dark Storm, can you tell me what you saw before the killer left?" Hare Foot asked, making Dark Storm look hurt, like he didn't want to remember. He shook his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Hare Foot, no. I didn't see anything, but I should have. I was one the ground too fast. Was the first one he knocked down, though." Hare Foot brightened up at this, though. The siblings looked confused. "What did I say that was so...'important'?" Dark Storm asked, puzzled. Hare Foot shook her head, "You don't understand? He! You said he. We've narrowed it down, the cat is a male! Not a female!" Hare Foot announced, happily. They had narrowed down it a bit, just a little, though. Dark Storm sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, sorry, but that isn't good for my case." Darkstorm said. They'll still think I'm the killer, you know?" Dark Storm sighed again, flicking his tail angrily. He started to get huffy, not happy that the clan would think he was the killer, as it just didn't make sense. Hare Foot chuckled at this, but her laugh turned dark quickly. "Yes, but you were here while the real killer killed Flight Strike." Hare Foot said darkly, narrowing her eyes and looking down. The siblings both nodded solemnly, saddened by the loss of their groupmates. "Alright, both of you. Go and tell Rushing River what you know, alright? We've covered a few key points." They both nodded again before balancing on one another as they walked out, hearing 'oohs' and 'aahs' about how they made it through. Excited voices tumbled through, but it wasn't shared by the two. One of their group mates was still a murderer. ***** After Dark Storm and Tiger Tail told the group, excitement rose, knowing that they had managed to narrow down at least the gender of the cat. The next few weeks were blurs, three more cats had been attacked and found, each in all groups, making tensions rise. Three more weeks had passed and by then the groups had settled down a bit, as the cat was not attacking. Once again, though, their hopes were shattered at Dust's group ended up losing their leader to the cat. Almost all of the cats were in fear now. Tiger Tail was walking in the forest along with her brother Dark Storm to get and get Grey Heart and Shattered Moss. The pair had been out hunting, and hadn't come back past the 'curfew', when every cat was expected back in camp. Suddenly, Tiger Tail and Dark Storm heard a screech, and raced towards the sound. To their horror, they saw Grey Heart standing over Shattered Moss's body, paw on throat. "Grey Heart!" Tiger Tail screamed at her brother, seeing him turn towards him. Once distracted, Shattered Moss kicked him off and with a quick bite to his neck, and it was all over. The three cats panted and cried together as the picked up the body of Grey Heart, the group killer. ***** The days after the death of Grey Heart were painful, the death of a group mate was always like that. But this one even more. How could it have been Grey Heart? The quiet, levelheaded cat they had known and loved, the cat who would've been a leader! He never got a chance to explain, as blind fury made Shattered Moss do away with reasoning and throw in instinct. Tiger Tail and Dark Storm were very sad at this point, not getting over their emotions until many moons later, always wishing it could have been different, a different cat like Fox Tooth, who was always making threats to everyone, or Ice Bird, who no one liked, or even Snake Sky, the kind, quiet tom. But it would've made sense for it to be them since they had troublesome histories, but not Grey Heart. After 24 months went by, 2 years, Tiger Tail had a dream, and in her dream was her very own brother, Grey Heart. "Hello, Tiger Tail." Grey Heart said. "Listen, don't talk. I did what I did those years, long ago, because I had to. I was not in the right mindset, I had a fever that would have killed me. Hare Foot could do nothing, but she tried. I target the cats I did who I knew would die like me, as well. Hare Foot let it slip, her conversation with the other group healers of this fever. All the cats I killed were the ones who were sick- and dying." After that dream, however, Grey Heart was never mentioned again, forgotten through time, just known as the group killer. Or at least, Tiger Tail wished to believe. She wanted a reason, and she wouldn't back down from her wish until it was fulfilled. If there wasn't a reason, then her brother was just a killer of the groups, the "legend of Grey Heart, the killer that had been hidden" was all he would amount to. But Tiger Tail eventually moved on, wanting that part of her life to be over with and done forever. She hoped that one day she might know his reasonings, and maybe talk with Grey Heart again. After her dream, she woke up to a light grey misty sky, and saw a huge streak of lightning cross the sky before showing the bright moon. Although he brother never said why, it seemed like she knew. She didn't know why, but it was a start. The lighting cut across the light grey sky again. She smiled.