Warriors AU: Forest of Secrets

Chapter 6

"What?" Sandstorm was so astonished he could hardly speak. "Are you saying that Blackclaw and Stonefur came from Thunderclan?"

"Yes." Rippleclaw gave her chest fur a couple of licks. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

Sandstorm was stunned. "Did Bluefur steal them?" he asked.

Rippleclaw's fur bristled, and she drew her lips back in a snarl. "Bluefur was a noble warrior. He would never stoop to stealing kits!"

"I'm sorry." Alarmed, Sandstorm crouched and flattened his ears. "I didn't mean... It's just so hard to believe!"

Rippleclaw sniffed, and her fur gradually lay flat again. Sandstorm was still struggling with what she had just told him. If Bluefur hadn't stolen the kits, perhaps rogue cats had taken them from the Thunderclan camp—but why? And why abandon them so quickly, when the scent of their Clan was still on their fur?

"Then... if they were Thunderclan kits, why did you look after them?" he stammered. What Clan would willingly take in enemy kits, and in a season when prey was already scarce?

Rippleclaw shrugged. "Because Bluefur asked me to. He may not have been deputy back then, but he was a fine young warrior. I'd recently given birth to kits of my own, but all except one died in the bitter cold. I had plenty of milk to spare, and the poor little scraps would never have lived to see the sunrise if some cat hadn't cared for them. Their Thunderclan scent soon faded," she went on. "And even if Bluefur hadn't told the truth about where they came from, I respected him enough not to ask any more questions. Thanks to Bluefur, and to me, they grew into strong kits, and now they're good warriors—a credit to their Clan."

"Do Blackclaw and Stonefur know all this?" Sandstorm asked.

"Now listen to me," rasped Rippleclaw. "Blackclaw and Stonefur know nothing, and if you tell them what I've just told you, I'll rip your liver out and feed it to the crows." She thrust her head forward and drew her lips back as she spoke, baring her teeth. In spite of her age, Sandstorm flinched.

"They never doubted that I'm their real mother," Rippleclaw growled. "I like to think they even look a bit like me."

As she spoke, Sandstorm felt something stir in his mind, like the twitch of a fallen leaf that betrayed the mouse sheltering beneath it. He thought that what Rippleclaw had just said should mean something to him, but when he tried to capture the thought it scuttled away.

"They have always been loyal to Riverclan," Rippleclaw insisted. "I don't want that loyalty to be divided now. I've heard the gossip about you, Sandstorm—I know you were once a kittypet—so you should understand more than any cat what it means to have a paw in two places."

Sandstorm knew he would never make any cat go through the uncertainties that he suffered himself about not fully belonging to his Clan. "I promise I'll never tell them," he meowed solemnly. "I swear by Starclan."

The old cat relaxed and stretched, her front paws extended and her rump in the air. "I accept your word, Sandstorm," she replied. "I don't know if this has helped you at all. But it might explain why Bluefur would never let a Thunderclan cat harm Blackclaw or Stonefur. Even if he claimed to know nothing about where they came from, he would have smelled the Thunderclan scent on them as clearly as I did. As far as they're concerned, they are loyal only to Riverclan, but it would seem that Bluefur's loyalties were divided on their behalf."

"I'm very grateful to you," Sandstorm purred, trying to sound as respectful as he could. "I don't know what this means in relation to what I have to find out, but I really think it's important, for both our Clans."

"That's as may be," mewed Rippleclaw. She frowned. "But now that I've told you everything, you must leave our territory."

"Of course," Sandstorm meowed. "You won't even know I've been here. And Rippleclaw..." He paused before thrusting his way out of the bush and held her green gaze for a moment. "Thank you."