Warriors: Solemn Wishes (Warrior Cats Fan Story)

Chapter 6

A whole moon-cycle had passed, with Redwhisker having waited in silent anticipation for the Gathering. Aside from the chance meeting with Acorntail at the beginning of the moon, life had continued on as usual for the most part. The constant mockery and degradation from his Clanmates was part of his lifestyle for him, so he went through the moon fairly unfazed by it, keeping his head down and accepting it. Or at least he would've, had he not thought about Acorntail at every turn. Always thinking of her reaction to it, always thinking what she dealt with back in her own home. Always thinking of what her life was, and how she would react to what his life was.

It made him angrier every time he thought about her.

Because it was not fair, was it? It was not fair that he could never legitimately meet her. The only thing he had to rely on was a chance meeting at the border, and those were not only rare, but against the code. The Gatherings, as she had already told him, were off-limits to her. So how could he ever learn more about her, maybe even become her friend and form a deeper bond, if the world was rigged against all possible ways for them to communicate? It's not fair, he would muse in silent rage. It just isn't fair.

And now that the Gathering was upon him, he was determined to find answers.

Well, that was what he told himself. He knew the answers already; he knew that Acorntail was kept from Gatherings, and he knew why. What he really wanted to hear - or rather, to see - was the shocked look on the WindClan cats' faces as he told them he knew what they were hiding, and expose them in front of all three other Clans. What time could be better? If he could not fight for himself, he would fight for Acorntail. Finally, a battle I can win.

So as RiverClan set off for the Gathering once again, he kept rehearsing his plan in mind, making little adjustments here and there as he revised and revised and revised. He would walk up to WindClan cats, and- No, wait, he would wait for them to talk to him. No, that would take too long and there was no guarantee that it would- No, wait, they always said something to him each Gathering, it was a given. So he should be patient. Right? Anyway, once he got their attention, either way, he would say, "Where's your squir-" No, that's too objectifying. No, he would say "I know about the squirrel." No, that would be incriminating, wouldn't it? What about..."A little bird told me about-" No, no, no, then they would probably incriminate an innocent Clanmate, thinking they told him about Acorntail. Hmmm...

His panic seemed to be knocked up a peg with every step he took towards the island. His legs began shaking, his fur standing on end for no apparent reason. There was no suspicion about his nerves among his Clanmates; they could easily dismiss this as him being nervous about seeing the rest of the Clans. They were not blind to the harassment he received from other Clans, they just didn't care.

As Redwhisker's paws pattered precariously across the tree bridge on the island, he considered keeping his mouth quiet and not starting any trouble at all by calling out WindClan. It would be better for him in the long run, would it not? He would not start any drama; he would not risk getting punished for things he should not know; he would not risk starting hostility between RiverClan and WindClan.

But he also would not get answers for Acorntail.

As he leapt onto the island and automatically went off to the side, he kept contemplating this in his head. He noticed WindClan seemed to have arrived mere moments before RiverClan got here, as the moor Clan was still settling down. Its members were trotting around, chattering with each other, milling about. A fair number of them glanced back at the tree bridge as RiverClan arrived. Anyone who looked at Redwhisker seemed to adopt an automatic smirk, not having forgotten his shenanigans at the last Gathering.

Redwhisker gulped dryly, and as he padded onto the grassy, foliage-encompassed island, he gazed around the large clearing, trying to catch sight of Acorntail. He was not sure why he did; he knew she wouldn't be there. And sure enough, she wasn't. He only saw the mostly-lanky paws of the WindClan cats, as they began to mingle with the sleek-furred webbed paws of RiverClan. No squirrel ran among them.