the stars aligned | 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Chapter 10

Echo was lying near the den that night, eating a wood mouse, when Rainclaw dropped a fish down beside her.

"Can I join you?" he asked, and after she nodded he lay down beside her, their pelts brushing slightly.

They ate in comfortable silence. Echo finished off her mouse and licked her lips to catch any last morsel. Rainclaw tossed the fish bones away as the last of the sunshine disappeared.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he suggested. "I never gave you a tour of our territory."

"Sure," Echo agreed, rising to her paws and following him out of camp.

The moon was almost full, and the dim light turned their pelts to shining silver. Rainclaw led her down to the river, which was dappled with stars and small ripples as fish swam under the surface.

"This is the main river," Rainclaw explained. He flicked his tail to the forest on the other side. "That's ThunderClan territory. We can't cross the border — borders are re-marked every few days."

Echo listened intently as he showed her a gathering of rocks further down the river, on the far bank. "This is Sunningrocks," he meowed. "We've been fighting with ThunderClan over it for moons." There was a hint of anger in his tone.

"Why not just share it?" Echo suggested, slightly confused. Why did the Clans have to fight at all? Surely it would be simpler if they just shared the territories?

But Rainclaw shook his head. "It was ours originally," he hissed, his anger directed at the non-existent cats across the river. "StarClan gave it to us, but the river changed and now those squirrel-eaters think they own it."

"Oh," was all Echo could say. It still didn't make much sense to her. "What's StarClan?" she asked instead, curiosity prickling her pelt once more. There was so much to learn about Clan life.

Rainclaw looked up at the stars above them. "StarClan is our warrior ancestors," he began. "That cluster of stars there is Silverpelt — each star is a StarClan warrior." His blue eyes turned dull. "My parents are up there."

Echo's eyes widened. She rested her tail on his flank and leaned against him. "I'm so sorry," she started, unsure of what to say.

"It wasn't your fault," Rainclaw meowed her. "My mother was killed in a battle with rouges, and my father fell in the gorge."

At the mention of the gorge, Echo's mind was drawn back to her vision. She shook the memory away and concentrated on the stars above her.

"I'm sure they're looking down at you," Echo reassured him. "I never met my father."

He glanced at her. "Really? I just assumed it was Sylvester."

"No!" Echo purred with amusement. "No, he's my mother's brother."

"Well, it's a good thing he's not you father then," Rainclaw joined in with her purring.

They sat and watched the stars for a moment, enjoying the cool breeze and each other's company. Echo then heard the crunch of a fallen leaf behind them, and whipped around, ears pricked. She spotted a pair of sage eyes watching her through the grass, and the flash of a grey tabby pelt as the cat turned and bounded alway. Claire? But why what would her mother be doing out of camp? Did she follow her?

"What was that?" Rainclaw asked, glancing around.

"Just a rabbit, or something," Echo answered him. She didn't want him to know Claire had been spying on them. Why did she follow us out of camp?

Rainclaw frowned but settled down again. "We should come back tomorrow, and I can teach you to fish," he decided. "I'm on the sunhigh patrol, but afterwards I have nothing to do."

"Great!" Echo agreed. "And I can learn to swim, too?"

She wasn't keep on getting in the water, but if it meant she'd be more likely to join RiverClan then she needed to learn. Plus it means more time with Rainclaw. She shied away from the thought. He was a friend, she thought, but she wasn't quite sure yet; he could be plotting to kill her. The fear and pain she'd felt in her vision flashed back.

"Of course," Rainclaw purred. "And you can experience Sunningrocks in the daytime — it's nice to lie on the warm rocks!"

Echo glanced up; the almost-full moon was nearing the middle of the sky. "We should get back to camp," she suggested, and tiredness suddenly rushed through her.

Rainclaw seemed to have the same effect. "We should," he mumbled, and then they turned and padded slowly back to the small island RiverClan called home.

Rainclaw murmured goodnight to her as they crept inside and hurried away to his den. Echo padded drowsily inside the loner's den, stepping over the sleeping bodies of Aquarius and Cloudy to reach her nest beside Claire's.

As she lay down, her mother stirred beside her. She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at Echo. "Don't get to comfortable with RiverClan," she warned, and then laid her head down to sleep.

Echo was unsure of what that meant. Did Claire plan on leaving soon? She shrugged her mother's comment away and curled up on her nest, tucking her tail over her muzzle. She slowed her thoughts and dozed off into sleep.