Redblaze's Regret {COMPLETE}

Chapter 2

 By sunhigh, the rain had eased off and the clouds had cleared, and that night the moon was in perfect view for the Gathering. Redblaze lay outside the warriors' den, absentmindedly picking at a fish, as Ashstar called the names of the cats attending. He was a little surprised to hear his name called, and before he knew it he was leaving with the Gathering patrol, along with Ashstar, Birchclaw, Nightwhisper, Silverheart, Bristlepelt, Cloudsplash, Pebblenose, Specklepaw, Mudpelt, Beechpaw, Cinderfrost, Poppywhisker, and Troutleap. He tried to walk next to his littermates, but they bounded ahead of him with sideways glances of annoyance.

Redblaze sighed. He supposed he didn't care. So he fell to the back of the patrol and found himself padding next to Troutleap. The gray elder was surprisingly able to keep up despite his age, and kept pace with the younger warriors just fine. "It's nice to still be able to come to Gatherings," he commented to Redblaze. "Poor old Blacktail just can't make the journey anymore."

Redblaze nodded his acknowledgement. "He's even more sour these days," Troutleap went on, and Redblaze suppressed a groan. He didn't care to hear the ramblings of an elder, even if Troutleap was generally bearable. "He swears to StarClan he won't make it through leaf-bare. I keep telling him otherwise, of course. Blacktail is as tough as they come, hardly any weaker than when he was a warrior, even though that was many, many moons ago."

Redblaze bounded forward in an attempt to get away from Troutleap. Part of him felt bad; Troutleap was very kind for an elder, but right now he didn't want to listen to any cat's endless talking. He moved forward through the group and kept pace with Mudpelt and Beechpaw. The patrol came to the river and paused briefly while everyone caught up, then Ashstar began to lead them across the stepping stones.

While Redblaze was waiting his turn to cross, he was approached by Bristlepelt. The white and orange warrior was looking at him with a strange look in his eyes. "A young warrior like yourself has no place being so rude to an elder," he said calmly.

Redblaze looked down at the ground, embarrassed. "Sorry," he muttered. "I just didn't want to talk to him."

Bristlepelt's whiskers twitched. "You know, there's a lot you can learn from Troutleap. He's an experienced warrior."

Redblaze flicked his tail, annoyed. "I can talk to him anytime I want," he retorted. "I shouldn't have to talk to him when I don't want to!"

Bristlepelt was silent for a few moments. Most of the Gathering patrol had crossed the river. Redblaze was turning to follow when Bristlepelt murmured, "There's something else going on, isn't there?"

Redblaze stopped. Without turning back around, he said, "It's none of your business."

He expected Bristlepelt to get angry, but he didn't. Instead he said softly, "You're not the only cat who lost someone. She was my daughter."

Redblaze let out a low growl and scratched the dirt with his claws. Your daughter was a murderer, he thought bitterly. He said, "If we're measuring our losses, which one of us lost more?" With that, he padded away, not waiting for Bristlepelt's response.

As he crossed the stones, he wondered if what he'd said was too harsh, but he pushed the thought away. He just walked with the patrol to Fourtrees, where he saw that WindClan had already arrived. As RiverClan poured into the hollow, Redblaze found himself alone. Cinderfrost and Poppywhisker were heading away to talk to other warriors, and there were no other RiverClan cats for him to follow. He sighed.

Looking around, Redblaze saw Yellowbird, a young WindClan warrior, and padded over to join her. She greeted him with a flick of her tail as ShadowClan poured into the hollow. Icetail and Snakefang, two of their younger warriors, joined Redblaze and Yellowbird. Redblaze had known them all since he was an apprentice, when Flamepelt brought him to his first Gathering. A pang of sadness hit Redblaze; this was his first Gathering without his mentor.