Peace Before the Storm

 peace before the storm



 episode one of this war of mine

The dark ocean spread out as far as the eye could see. The waters seemed to merge with the cloudless midnight sky. A full moon glowed overhead and on the water's surface. While the moon in the sky was untouched, waves broke the reflected moon. Far away, pointed rocks appeared to be stabbing into the sky, as if the land was at war with the sky.

"Hey, Fawnstep! You're falling behind!"

I broke out of my trance and glanced toward the speaker. It was a white she-cat with some black spots on her head and tail - Brightstar, the leader of TideClan.

"S-sorry, Brightstar!" I stammer, leaping down from the rock I'd been standing on. I was a few tail-lengths behind everyone, but I didn't want to run. Fortunately, there was one cat waiting for me. Unfortunately, I didn't like this one cat.

I fall into step with Blackpaw, Brightstar's daughter. The apprentice grins at me as she purrs, "Geez, Fawnstep, you really gotta pay more attention!" She gently shoves me with her shoulder.

I glance sideways at the younger cat. "Please be quiet, Blackpaw." I mumble, looking at my paws. I try to walk faster, but she somehow manages to keep up. I almost start to run, but as soon as the thought crossed my mind I got rid of it. There were so many things that could go wrong, since we were walking along rocks made slippery by the water.

Eventually my Clan reached its destination - the Tidepath. It shares the first part of its name with the first medicine cat, Tideheart. Legend says that Tideheart used this path to cross the ocean and found the three Clans.

Anyway, the Tidepath is where the Clans hold Gatherings. We sit on either side of the path, and the leaders take their places on the flat-topped rocks. This is probably my fourth Gathering, despite being a warrior for a whole season-circle.

GorseClan's scent flows over me - the scent of pines and grass. Their leader, Sootstar, is already sitting in his place on one of the rocks, casually cleaning his fur. Drawing a paw over his ear, he glances over at us.

Brightstar leaps up onto the rock, her tail twitching. "Hello, Sootstar." she mews a bit coolly.

"Brightstar." Sootstar replies simply, dipping his head in respect for the she-cat.

The atmosphere just shifted from light-hearted to dark in that instant. The chatter among the cats died down as the two leaders stared at each other with dark eyes.

Another thing about these Clans: The leaders are always siblings. When they're one moon old they're taken from their birth Clan and raised in a different Clan. Brightstar and her siblings were born in GorseClan, and while Sootstar got to stay with his mother the other two were taken away. I heard Brightstar was really close with her mother before she was taken away. Maybe she was jealous of her brother.

Most of my Clanmates had already settled amongst the GorseClan cats. Even Blackpaw, who had been clinging to me like thorns, had broken away and joined two other apprentices. My mother, Sandblaze, was sharing tongues with a GorseClan queen. My sister Cloudface was telling a story to a small apprentice, swiping at the air and acting as if she was fighting something. The apprentice looked delighted and sometimes mimicked her movements.

After a long while of waiting, another scent mingled with the others as cats streamed into the gatheringplace. FloodClan had finally arrived.

Diverstar strode in at the head of the group. Some cats shuffled to the side to allow her to pass, but she didn't even glance at them. She gracefully bounded up onto her rock, nodding briefly to her siblings before declaring, "Let the Gathering begin!"

Brightstar looked annoyed, and Sootstar shook his head.

As Diverstar began to speak, I heard a voice next to me. "Fawnstep, hey!"

I angle my ear toward the voice, and turn to face the FloodClan warrior Rippletail. Her silver fur is groomed neatly, sleek and shiny.

"Hi, Rippletail." I reply in a hushed voice. "Can we talk later? I don't want to get in trouble with the leaders..."

"Oh, c'mon!" Rippletail rolls her eyes. "Nothing even happened. A litter of four was born, and that's it for FloodClan. Three of 'em might be the next leaders, whatever." She licks her paw and draws it over her head.

"Yes, but what if something important happened in GorseClan?" I hiss.

"Hey! You two, out to the side." It's Diverstar's husky voice. I bow my head in shame and embarrassment as cats turn to stare at me and Rippletail. "Stop talking or you'll be sent back to your Clans."

As the leader continues talking about the news in her Clan, Rippletail hisses, "Let's ditch." She stands and turns away, looking back over her striped shoulder as if she expects me to follow.

"D-ditch? The Gathering!?" I gasp. "Rippletail, this is a sacred thing!" She doesn't know a thing about respect!

"Eh, whatever. If you decide that I'm right - which I am - then I'll be scaring kittypets in the forest." She grins and slips off unnoticed by anyone else.

I heave a sigh and focus back on Diverstar.

"...and three of the four kits are nearly one moon. We must have the Wise Ones tell us which three shall become the leaders." Diverstar sits and nods at Brightstar. Brightstar narrows her eyes at the she-cat before standing and padding up to the edge of the rock.

The white she-cat clears her throat and announces, "The arrival of newleaf has been a great benefit to TideClan. Prey and herbs are abundant - our medicine cats have a full store. But with abundant resources comes trespassers." Brightstar narrows her eyes at the crowd. "I haven't caught scent of any other Clan cats, but rogues have crossed our territory. Stay alert.

"Also, we have two new warriors." she continues. "Sadly, Robinsong cannot attend the Gathering because of an injury. However, his sister could, and I'd like to welcome Rooktail as a warrior."

A pure black she-cat sitting in the front row stands. Rooktail was my second apprentice, after Mintpaw. After Mintpaw's untimely death - she fell from one of the highrocks and probably broke her neck. We were never able to find the body, but Brightstar promised me another apprentice. And that was Rooktail.

Chants of Rooktail's name sounded from the crowd of cats, and Rooktail lifts her head proudly. Robinsong should've been here with her.

After the cheers had faded, Brightstar steps back and nods to Sootstar. The GorseClan tom stands and calls out, "My warriors have reporting seeing a fox in the territory. We all know what happened when a fox caught a cat last greenleaf..." His gaze meets the queen my mother was talking with, and the she-cat hangs her head. "So be careful and watch where you st--"

"Hey!" some cat yowled. "That's only in the forest! Foxes don't go near the ocean."

Sootstar's eyes harden as he glares at the cat. "We don't know that for a fact. TideClan and FloodClan are in as much danger from foxes as we are."

Before the other leaders could respond, Sootstar went on. "One of our kits have become an apprentice. She could not attend, but her name is Thunderpaw." He pauses, as if he's thinking about something. Then he continues, "The fox I mentioned earlier was behaving strangely. It never chased the patrol, despite them being almost ten tail-lengths away. Still, be careful."

When he was finished with the report, a low murmur rose up from the cats.

"A fox? How scary!"

"C'mon, foxes won't come anywhere near TideClan."

"I heard that a few years ago, a fox bit the head clean off a warrior's neck!"

"You have to be kidding!"

"Forget the fox! We could kill it with one strike!"

A yowl rose above the rest. "TideClan, to me!" It was Brightstar. I rejoin my Clanmates, trying to avoid Blackpaw by staying on the outer edge, and we flock back to camp. Waiting for us at the camp entrance is the medicine cat apprentice Windpaw, who stayed behind to care for Robinsong. Once he sees us he stands and briskly heads over to Brightstar. They exchange a few words, and afterwards Brightstar seems distressed.

The rest of us slip back into camp. The first thing I do is head for the medicine cats' den to see how Robinsong is doing. The medicine cat, an intimidating she-cat named Leopardheart, looks as if she's guarding the den.

She glances up as I draw near and she stands. I almost veer away, but I try to keep my voice steady as I meow, "I'd like to see Robinsong."

Leopardheart shakes her head regretfully. "Sorry, Fawnstep. He's asleep right now." she says in a hushed voice.

"Oh. S-sorry to bother you then. Bye." I turn and swiftly pad back to the warriors' den. Before I'm even inside, I can hear muffled coughing.

I poke my head inside. Most cats were already asleep, but one cat was awake. It was an older warrior, Leafheart. He was hanging his head and trying to silence his coughing, but failing.

Some cat looks at him and snaps, "If you don't stop coughing I'm gonna kick you into the elders' den!"

Leafheart bows his head and, his voice hoarse, begins to choke out an apology, but is cut off by a hacking cough. "I should go--" He stands and rushes past me, his fur bristling.

I want nothing more than to curl up in my nest and sleep, but I follow Leafheart. The dark tabby stumbles toward Leopardheart, and the spotted she-cat instantly jumps up and leads him into the den.

From across camp, Windpaw emerges from Brightstar's den, a tired look in his eyes. He heads straight for the medicine cats' den, but I rush to stop him. He yelps in surprise, then sighs. "What is it, Fawnstep?"

"What were you talking about?"

"Wh-what?"

"With Brightstar. Earlier and just now."

Windpaw shuffles his paws. "Medicine cat stuff. Now move, I-- why isn't Leopardheart guarding the den!?" he gasps. He shoulders past me. "Sorry, Fawnstep! Can't talk now!" He melts into the shadows of the medicine cats' den, leaving me standing alone in the silent clearing.

I don't want to get in trouble with Leopardheart, but I'm curious as to why Windpaw was dodging the question. After a heartbeat, I decide to go back to my den and rest. It's not like there's anything to worry about. Everything's okay.