Distant Sun - Thunder

Chapter 23

Heatherpaw slips out through the dirtplace after her sister. Petalpaw glances around before motioning for Heatherpaw to follow.

"Wait, this isn't the way to the clearing," Heatherpaw meows quietly, realizing that they weren't going to the same clearing as last time.

"We switch it up every time we meet so we aren't found out," Petalpaw explains. "C'mon."

The undergrowth tugs at Heatherpaw's fur as she follows her sister. She frowns as she pulls away from the thorn bushes. These thorn bushes surely would have to be removed before the new kits were born, otherwise they might get injured through their thin kitten pelts.

Petalpaw finally stops in a clearing, where Ironsong, Sapphireeyes and Rubyheart were waiting. Petalpaw greets the three siblings and sits at the edge of the clearing. Heatherpaw sits next to her sister, still not feeling comfortable enough with the others to socialize.

The bushes tremble as Goldenlight and Tallwing enter the clearing. Tallwing glances around and gives a short nod to the others around. Heatherpaw kneads the ground, hoping that the others would get here soon.

Quickly, the last four arrive and Tallwing finally straightens up and starts the meeting.

"Since we now know of someone who could help us, how do we want to get information to them?" Tallwing asks.

"I think Heatherpaw should be a messenger of sorts," Climbtail meows. "Since she's friends with Lakestar's nephew."

Heatherpaw jolts, she isn't sure if she wants to be a messenger with the threat of being caught by Spottedstar.

"Perhaps, but how are we going to make sure the information gets to them reliably?" Tallwing meows. "We don't have a way of telling him when to meet."

"BirchClan patrols are usually on a reliable schedule, we could try and catch one of them then," Petalpaw meows.

"But that brings up the problem of your own patrol again," Ratclaw meows. "Cats outside of this group could report back to Spottedstar, causing some problems."

"Oh yeah," Petalpaw looks away embarrassedly.

"I could sneak into their camp," Heatherpaw meows meekly. "I know where the apprentice's den is and if I do well, I won't be caught."

There was a silence that made Heatherpaw regret speaking up.

"That's quite dangerous," Mirrorpool meows gently. "Are you sure?"

Heatherpaw squares her shoulders and decides that she can't be meek right now. "Yeah, yeah, I can do that."

Tallwing gets a look of pride in her eyes and Heatherpaw realizes that Tallwing is not the cat she once thought she was. Heatherpaw had once thought that Tallwing was weak and pathetic, but now she knew that Tallwing was a lot stronger than she let on. She was leading these cats to a new era of RowanClan, a better RowanClan without having to worry about their leader creating new and terrible rules.

"Alright then, Heatherpaw will sneak into BirchClan and relay information. After this, though, we need to have you set up meetings so that we don't have to risk it every time," Tallwing meows.

There were murmurs of agreement from the cats around. Heatherpaw's anxiety slips away at the confidence the others seemed to have in her. She was going to be a big part of this and it was going to be great.

***

Heatherpaw slips past the big birch trees and finds the camp quickly. It was easy to find as BirchClan doesn't change camps like RowanClan does to keep themselves warm in the winter. Heatherpaw sniffs around, finding many unfamiliar scents around. She prays silently that she would be able to find the apprentice's den quickly so that her scent wouldn't stick to the foliage. Heatherpaw then catches a familiar scent.

Flowerpaw.

"Flowerpaw!" Heatherpaw hisses quietly, hoping that the other she-cat wasn't sleeping.

"Heatherpaw?" Flowerpaw's head pokes out from underneath a root.

Heatherpaw gives Flowerpaw a small smile when their eyes meet. "Hi," Heatherpaw greets.

"What are you doing here?" Flowerpaw demands. "Someone could catch you! Plus, Yewclaw is on guard tonight and he doesn't take kindly to trespassers."

"I'm here to pass on a message," Heatherpaw meows. "We need it to get to Lakestar."

"Hold on, 'we?' there's more of you in our territory?" Flowerpaw's eyes dart around, searching the trees for the dark pelts of RowanClan cats.

"No, I'm the only one here," Heatherpaw assures. "I'm here on the behalf of my Clanmates."

"Ok... what's up?" Flowerpaw asks.

"There's twelve cats in RowanClan who are against Spottedstar and we need the help of the other Clans to get her to stop," Heatherpaw begins. "Tallwing has a plan to get rid of her, but the details are still being worked on. With the help of BirchClan and WillowClan, we can get the Clans back to normal."

Flowerpaw's eyes light up. "How can I help?"