Whiteriver's Truth

Chapter 9

   She felt tired so she started walking over to the apprentice den knowing she would be up most of the night for Mistyeye's vigil. When she reached it, Bravepelt came out with a worried look on his face. It instantly changed to one of relief when he saw her walking over to him and he quickly rushed over to meet her.
   "Where have you been all day? I check the apprentice den because I thought you would be tired from training this morning, but you weren't there then I saw Swiftfeather and she said you were talking with Mistyeye, but when I check the medicine den you weren't there either. I have been very worried about you." He rambled.
   Whitepaw looked down at her paws suddenly feeling guilty for causing Bravepelt to worry so much about her. Although at the same time she felt her face flush knowing how much the tom cared for her. "I just went for a walk in the forest." She said. "I just felt like I had to clear my mind."
   "Of what? What happened this morning?" He asked still seeming worried about her.
   She was hesitant to answer, but when she looked at his face, she could see that he cared for her and was worried about her. She knew she didn't have anything to fear about him. She took a deep breath and answered. "Mistyeye told me..." She paused. "Silverdust... wasn't my real father." Her voice was soft and quiet.
   Bravepelt's face turned from one of worry to one of empathy and concern. "Oh." He managed to get out. "Who was it then?"
   She looked up at him and she had no fear of letting him know that truth she had found out only this morning. "His name is Harley. He's a rouge so apparently." She paused knowing that once she said it she would be admitting to herself it was true despite not wanting to believe. "Apparently I'm only half clan born." She finally said out loud.
   Bravepelt looked at her and clearly noticed the shame she could feel knowing this information. "I don't think that matters. You are a full and loyal ThunderClan cat no matter who your parents are." He purred walking closer to her to lick her on the ear for comfort.
They say there for a moment while Whitepaw inhaled his scent feeling like the only thing in the world at that moment was them.
Suddenly, Bravepelt pulled away from her to look at her. "Shouldn't you let Birchblaze know. It's his father too."
Whitepaw had forgotten about that. She was so focused on herself that she didn't realize it would affect her brother to. A fear suddenly raised in her chest at the thought of telling him the hard truth. He had always tried to be loyal to his clan and always wanted to prove himself to Silverdust who he still believed was their father. If it had hurt her that much, how would it affect him and would he take it out on her. She didn't want to find out. "I don't think I should tell him yet." She finally said.
"Well if Mistyeye only told you, then I guess you're right, but he does deserve the truth eventually." Bravepelt meowed.
They stayed seated next to each other enjoying feeling the other's pelts pressed up against each other.

***

It had been a quarter moon since the death of Mistyeye. Brightwhisker had finally started to show and as much as it was good for the clan to have more kits, she wasn't as excited as everyone else as she was getting questioned multiple times a day for who the father was. Whitepaw had promised not to tell anyone so she had started to confide in her with all her troubles about the pregnancy and the pressuring questions from the other cats.
That night it was a full moon and it would be the first gathering Whitepaw would get to go to since the battle. She was excited as she waited for the sun to set and the anticipation grew stronger the darker the sky got, but the sun still remained in the sky, the top of it poking above the trees.
That morning during training with Clovernose had also made her day good. She told her that she seemed to be doing a lot better and they would do an assessment the next morning so it promised that she would be finally getting her warrior name the next day.
Bravepelt and Whitepaw sat together under some shade both eating their own birds. Despite the excitement and joy the day had brought her, her thoughts were still troubled with the news Mistyeye had given her before her passing. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to know more and go find him like Mistyeye had intended, but she wanted to stay loyal to her clan and she felt that if she left to search for him, she would in a way be betraying her clan and what she had believed most her life.
There was no trace of leaf-bare left making each cat going to the gathering that night excited to walk through the newleaf forest. Eventually the sun had set and Goldenstar gathered the cats intended to go. Once every cat was there, they left.
Whitepaw's paws were tingling with excitement as they walked through the forest. She was excited to see her friends from other clans again after 2 long moons.
   The moon had finally reached the highest point in the sky as they reached fourtrees. Goldenstar stopped the travelling cat with a wave of his tail until he felt like it was save to join and then with a flick of his tail, the ThunderClan cats started to pour into the clearing.
   ThunderClan was the second to arrive with WindClan being first. Their leader Heatherstar was seated on top of the Great Rock and was quickly joined by Goldenstar with a respectful nod of his head. Not long after, ShadowClan and RiverClan joined nearly at the same time and then all the clan cats had mingled around the clearing talking with friends from other clans putting all rivalry and hostility aside.