River (Book 1) A Warriors Fanfiction

Chapter 18

•Riverstorm•

Riverstorm stared after the small, limping form of Brackenstar until he was lost from sight. The gray warrior was so thankful for the SkyClan leader. He had given Riverstorm what the RiverClan tom wanted most: to know that he still had a chance with Sorrelstream. Riverstorm was longing for his best friend and maybe future mate. He wanted to get home as soon as possible.
     "Come on, Riverstorm. I'll have Willowleaf get you fixed up. I think you probably want to get home soon, yes?" Lightstar looked at the gray warrior with a twinkle in his eye. Clearly Brackenstar wasn't the only one who had noticed at Gatherings. Riverstorm nodded. He followed the ThunderClan leader into the small little cave of a medicine den. Willowleaf sat inside, tidying her herbs. Lightstar cleared his throat when they walked in. Willowleaf looked up, clearly frustrated.
     "I just lost my count!" She hissed irritably. She swished her tail impatiently. "What do you want?" She added, apparently still not seeing Riverstorm. Lightstar stepped aside and flicked his tail at the foreign warrior. The pretty medicine cat's eyes widened. "Lightstar! What are you thinking, bringing an enemy warrior into the heart of our camp?! You might as well introduce him to the kits and queens next!" She then relaxed slightly (very slightly); Riverstorm wondered if she had seen the dried blood crusting his neck and leg.
     "I was wondering if you could treat my friend, here. Willowleaf, this is Riverstorm. Riverstorm, Willowleaf." Lightstar said. Willowleaf nodded to Riverstorm, though her tail was still swishing.
     "Come here then, let's take a look at you." Willowleaf sniffed around the RiverClan warrior's leg, and then his neck, and then the rest of his body. The she-cat stared out into the clearing for a moment. She turned to look at Riverstorm again. "I recognize a SkyClan method on you. Was it that tabby, whatsherface, er, Mossypaw, that treated you?" When Riverstorm nodded, the light brown she-cat began to lick the poultice off of his pelt.
     "I know Mossypaw is a medicine cat for a reason, but SkyClan methods are no good when it comes to stopping infection. Marigold and horsetail ought to do it, and they go and use fennel and rosemary. What good is that going to do?! Even when it comes to staunching blood, they use moss instead of cobwebs! Those fools." Willowleaf growled. Riverstorm realized that as she had talked (complained) his ears off, she had been making and applying fresh new poultices. The stinging slowly stopped, as the marigold and horsetail set in. Riverstorm sighed with relief. Willowleaf was right: he hadn't felt this good with 'the SkyClan method.' She looked him in the eye, as though asking him what he thought.
     "It's good." He replied. 'It feels good. Thank you." Willowleaf nodded stiffly and turned back to her leaf sorting. He stared at the grumpy she-cat's back. Somehow, Willowleaf seemed lonely. Riverstorm wondered what had made her this way. He thought about this as he backed out of the medicine den and looked at the gathered Clan in the clearing. Lightstar made his way over, and leapt on top of a tall ledge. The Highledge, ThunderClan called it. Lightstar cleared his throat. All murmurs in the Clan below ceased immediately. It was obvious that Lightstar was greatly respected.
     "Cats of ThunderClan, I have many pieces of news for you. First, Brackenstar is dead, and Shellshine will soon be taking over as leader."
     "How did he die?" Riverstorm heard a faint murmur from the back of the crowd; Lightstar had obviously heard it too, because he stopped and looked down.
     "How, you ask? That brings me to the second piece of news. Cranestar and a dark tom from the Advisory are responsible for my- I mean the SkyClan leader's death. Cranestar is not to be trusted, and we must warn the other Clans. RiverClan, of course, already knows, as they have seen Cranestar's-" Lightstar paused "-strange behavior lately and are full aware of the threat he poses. I heard from this young warrior-" He nodded at Riverstorm "-that many of the senior warriors witnessed Cranestar try to murder him. By the way, that's the third thing. This is Riverstorm, and I want a few volunteers to escort him to his territory. This is for your own safety," Lightstar added, before Riverstorm could protest. "I don't think that any apprentice should be out of the camp without a warrior with them, no kit shall leave the camp, and patrols will have at least three members. Basically, if you're going out of camp, have at least one other cat with you.
      "Fourth, Sunpaw and Moonpaw are home-" Lightstar was cut off by angry yowling from the apprentices' father. Lightstar silenced him with a flick of his tail. "Sunpaw and Moonpaw are home safely, thanks to Riverstorm, Brackenstar, and Beepaw and Mossypaw of SkyClan. I thank you very much, Riverstorm. Moonpaw, I want you to change all the apprentices' bedding until the next Gathering. You are being punished because you worried your father sick, and you simply just ran away without telling anyone or bringing a warrior with you. I would have been happy to help you search for your brother. However, I do appreciate your concern for your brother, and I'm sure he does too.
     "Now, Sunpaw. I am not going to punish you, because-"
     "What?! That's not fair!" Moonpaw yowled. Lightstar held up a paw.
     "Because," he began again, "I think that you suffered enough already. I am deeply sorry that I forced you to become a medicine cat apprentice. I only did so because Willowleaf suggested it, and I trust her judgement because she has been right about these sorts of things in the past. Sunpaw, I am going to give you the option to remain training as a medicine cat, or return to being a warrior apprentice. If you do decide to train as a warrior again, you will have some catching up to do. Do you understand?" Lightstar looked the small golden tom right in the eyes. Sunpaw nodded.
     "Take a few days to decide, so that you are not as rash as the other night." Lightstar's eyes twinkled. Sunpaw nodded again, and Riverstorm saw him knead the ground in embarrassment. Lightstar looked down at Riverstorm, and they exchanged an amused glance. Lightstar turned to the crowd again.
     "Fifth, before SkyClan can share this news with you all, I would like to tell you, as it concerns me. A long time ago—okay, I guess I'm not that old—A while ago, there were three kits born to a RiverClan she-cat, and a ThunderClan tom." Riverstorm noticed that a gray warrior fidgeted, as though uncomfortable, but Lightstar apparently didn't see. He kept going. "There was a gray tom, a mostly orange tom, and a white tom. As you may have guessed, I was that white tom, Lightkit. My brothers were Rockkit and Brackenkit. We were named by our adopted Clans. The eldest of us, Rockkit was given to the Advisory, as it customary. Brackenkit was given to SkyClan, and I remained in ThunderClan. Our mother, the RiverClan she-cat, also happened to be a medicine cat. The medicine cat. Yes, my mother is Birdtail. My father is still unknown, though I know that he is one of two gray toms sitting in front of me."
     Riverstorm noticed that the same gray warrior fidgeted again. He definitely looked old enough to be Lightstar's father. The other gray warrior—ThunderClan's deputy, Stormheart—just looked confused. Lightstar continued, still not seeing. "You all might have figured out that Brackenkit grew up to be one of the greatest warriors SkyClan has ever seen: Brackenstar. Sadly, our other brother, Rocksplitter was killed, ironically, by a falling boulder that crushed him. Now I am the only one of my litter left." Lightstar looked at down at his Clan. "Stormheart, Stoneclaw, will you please step forward." The two gray warriors did as they were told, Stormheart still looking confused, and Stoneclaw looking nervous, as he had been while sitting in the crowd. Lightstar took a deep breath. He looked about as nervous as his senior warrior.
     "I think it's time for the Clans to know what happened all those moons ago. Whichever one of you is my father, will you please, for my sake, step up and tell me?"
     Both toms sighed, but it was Stormheart who stepped forward. He glanced at his fellow warrior beside him and spoke. "It was I, Lightstar. I am your father." The entire Clan gasped, Stoneclaw's eyes widened and his mouth fell open, and Icewing, Stormheart's current mate, yowled, "How could you?" Lightstar drew in another sharp breath. Riverstorm was simply shocked.
     "To be honest, that's not who I was expecting. My deputy is my father." He turned to Stoneclaw as the senior warrior struggled to get words out of his mouth. "Yes?" Stoneclaw spluttered for a moment before he finally seemed to find his voice.
     "Lightstar, it wasn't him. He's only ever had one mate, Icewing. Have you ever seen me have a mate? No. But I've told I lost kits many moons ago. Stormheart was still an apprentice when you were born, I was a warrior. Yes, Birdtail and I were young and in love. Stormheart was still padding after Icewing, who was in the litter born before his. It was me and Birdtail who broke the warrior code. I am too tied to ThunderClan, and she's a medicine cat, bound to her duties. So we settled for giving up the kits we had. I lost two kits, Rockkit and Brackenkit, but I still had one kit with me. Lightstar, I am logically the only cat who could be your father, and I am." The gray tom's legs were visibly shaking, but his face held a look of utmost confidence. Now it was Lightstar who looked confused.
     "Stoneclaw- but Storm- how..." The white tom turned to his deputy. "Stormheart?" The dark warrior looked just as shocked as rest of the Clan. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Riverstorm exchanged a glance with Lightstar. The leader was clearly just as bewildered as him. "Riverstorm, I think it's time you go home. I will tell you everything at the next
Gathering. Hollypelt?" He nodded to a black she-cat. "Will you take another warrior and escort Riverstorm to the RiverClan border?" The she-cat—Hollypelt—dipped her head and murmured something to another warrior. They both came over to Riverstorm.
"I am Hollypelt and this is Briarpool. We are going to take you home. Please lean on one of us for support if you need it." Riverstorm nodded and they silently slipped out of the camp. None of them said anything, and soon they were at the familiar border. The RiverClan tom dipped his head in thanks.
"Thank you for taking me here. I will be fine from here. Give Lightstar my thanks and say goodbye." The two she-cats nodded to him and turned back toward their own territory. Riverstorm sniffed the cool air, relishing the breeze amidst the bright skies. He was finally home, he was going to tell Sorrelstream how much he loved her, and he was going to rid the Clans of Cranestar for once and for all.