Warriors: The Gates of StarClan

Chapter 7

Ivysplash woke before sunrise the next morning to leave. She said goodbye to Amberstar and padded silently through the reed tunnel.

The faint silhouette of Lightningfrost was outlined against the bushes as Ivysplash approached. The brown tom's ears were pricked and his tail twitched vigilantly. Ivysplash was careful to stay downwind of him as she crept through the bushes. When she was out of his earshot, she began racing toward the greenleaf twoleg place. Its looming shape began to emerge from the marshes as a sliver of the sun appeared on the horizon. Ivysplash slowed her pace and padded to the RiverClan border to wait. Before long, Lionstorm and Tigerpelt joined her.

"What should we do about Ravenfang?" Lionstorm hissed. Here he comes! Get down!" whispered Tigerpelt, slapping her tail over Lionstorm's mouth. The three cats ducked behind a bush and fell silent.

Ravenfang paused at the edge of the trees with three other cats behind him. Great, Ivysplash thought, peeking out from behind the spiky leaves. Ravenfang's leading the dawn patrol.

Suddenly a squeak of pain split the tense air. Ravenfang's ears instantly pointed toward the bush.

"Sorry. Thorn in my pad," Tigerpelt whispered.

Ravenfang murmured something to his Clanmates before padding up to the bush where the other cats were hiding. He looked straight at Ivysplash through the wide leaves and then stepped around the bush. "What are you doing here?" he hissed. "This is ShadowClan territory." Then he recognized them. "Ivysplash? Lionstorm? Tigerpelt?" he whispered, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Yes, it's us," Lionstorm answered. "Will you come with us?" Ivysplash asked.

"Please?" Tigerpelt pleaded.

"O-okay," the black tom replied.

"Let's go before the others know you're gone," Lionstorm meowed quickly. The four cats crept silently out of the bush and down to the Thunderpath. Ivysplash breathed deeply and sneezed. The black grit and stink seemed to swallow her up. She almost missed Lionstorm's signal: "Now!"

The cats bolted across the Thunderpath and barreled into each other on the other side, long before the next monster whizzed by.

"That was easy," Tigerpelt huffed. "Let's keep going."

Suddenly, a yowl rang out in the cool morning air. "Ravenfang! Where are you?"

"Get down!" Ravenfang hissed. "The patrol knows I'm gone."

The other three cats crouched down, and the ShadowClan cat cocked his ears toward the lake. "They've left," he reported. Then he hung his head. "They must think I've either abandoned my Clan or that I'm dead." After a moment, he meowed, "I have to go back. You three can make this journey." He stood up and ran across the Thunderpath again. "Good luck."

"Ravenfang!" Tigerpelt yowled. Lionstorm slapped his tail over her mouth. "Quiet!"

A thought popped into Ivysplash's head. "Wait a moment. Lionstorm, what was your birth Clan?"

"ThunderClan, of course."

"Tigerpelt?"

The dark she-cat paused, surprise clouding her gaze. "I don't know."

"We can't go now," Lionstorm meowed quietly. "We need four cats. We should wait until the next Gathering and look for the true Raven then."

~~~~~

Tigerpelt trailed behind Ivysplash and Lionstorm as they made their way back to the lake. A WindClan patrol stopped Ivysplash and Lionstorm near Horseplace. "You wouldn't happen to be trespassing, would you?" growled a pale gray tom. Ivysplash willed Tigerpelt to stay behind, hidden in the reeds in RiverClan territory.

"We were just..." Lionstorm trailed off.

"...Looking for something." Ivysplash finished, thinking quickly, although it wasn't completely false.

The tom glanced at her. Ivysplash quickly looked at the ground, in case the WindClan cats recognized her as being a RiverClan warrior. The tom stared at them long and hard. "Whatever you're looking for, you can discuss it with Dovestar."