Warrior Cats: Undeniable Darkness (Incomplete)

Chapter 2

          Moonstar's intense green stare was focused on the ShadowClan cat, bold with interest. She expected him to start explaining but his nerves and politeness pushed him into silence and she shuffled into a more comfortable crouch.

          "So Thistlefur, is prey running well in ShadowClan, are the cats alright?" He seemed to squirm uncomfortably at the unexpected questions, clearly reluctant to reveal the well-being of his Clan but answered anyway. Moonstar smirked, satisfied.

          "ShadowClan is well, Hazelkit will be becoming an apprentice soon and Seedspot is expecting. The mice are running into our paws and prey is no longer scarce," he finished. Moonstar nodded, unconvinced, knowing he was trying to make ShadowClan look stronger than they really were.

          The Clans had only just made it through a tough leaf-bare, losing many cats. Eclipseheart, one of ThunderClan's strongest hunters, had been brutally killed by the frost, along with Sweetkit and Kestrelpaw. She had heard of death from other Clans, including her brother Leafpelt, who had moved to WindClan at a young age. Although the loss had hurt her terribly, and as much as she hated to admit it, his death hadn't changed her too much as he had belonged to a different Clan. Shaking her head, she turned her focus back to Thistlefur.

          "So why has Skyclaw brought you to our camp?"

          "Well... It's just," he struggled to get his words out and Moonstar leaned forward to encourage him, "Waspstar has banished me." Whatever she had been expecting, this wasn't it, and she let out a tiny gasp at his words.

          "Why?" She managed to say.

          "Somecat told Waspstar I had been seeing Hootmoon of RiverClan and obviously since Lionpool and Foxspot, he's cracked down on punishments." Moonstar remembered the incident with the pair as if it were yesterday though it had happened a moon ago.

          Foxspot had been a Windclan warrior and Lionpool a ShadowClan and they had been meeting in secret and at Gatherings. Although half-clan love affairs had been becoming more common, StarClan had sent a badger to prey on the pair when meeting on the Gathering island once. However brutal it may sound, the message had been received loud and clear and the punishments for love affairs had been reinforced, with StarClan sending another message at a Gathering. The clan rules had weakened and at the full moon the warrior code had been chanted, reminding the cats of their ancestors and rules, which would carry on at every Gathering.

          StarClan had been angry that the Clans had seemed to have forgotten the warrior code. The rules were so frequently broken that they had questioned whether all the cats were rogues. Obviously the Clans had protested and promised to follow the code more closely; it had been created for a reason and they didn't want to be the reason it was destroyed.

          "I see," Moonstar murmured.

          "And that I-" He tumbled over his words and shortly stopped and collected himself. Moonstar wondered what he was holding back. "Er... Where was I? Oh yes, somecat told Waspstar, but it's a lie! I don't know who would say that when I am a loyal ShadowClan warrior. Hootmoon is an enemy!" His expression changed to a dark fury and Moonstar laid her tail over his shoulders to calm him.

          "I don't know exactly what I can do. Or what you want me to do," she added.

          "Anything you can!" Thistlefur pleaded, his face becoming more defeated than angry.

          "Well, how about the Gathering? It's tomorrow night, so we could take you along and bring it up if you'd like," Moonstar said, thoughtfully. His eyes lit up at the idea and he nodded eagerly. "For now you must rest. I'll get some cats to make you a nest in the warriors' den." His face fell.

          "I can't stay here! Waspstar will think I'm even more of a traitor!"

          "Relax. Everything will be fine. And where else are you going to stay?" She asked, in a matter-of-fact way. Thistlefur reconsidered and bowed his head.

          "I'm sorry. I thank you for letting me stay in your camp," His emerald eyes were trained on the ground in remorse. Moonstar reached out a paw to lift his chin.

          "Keep your dignity, I couldn't let you turn rogue! You're still a warrior even if you no longer belong to ShadowClan," Thistlefur blinked gratefully, and the ThunderClan leader gazed weakly back.

**********

          Meanwhile, Skyclaw paced the camp nervously. He stopped at the entrance to Highledge again, catching drifts of conversation; clearly the pair were not keeping their voices hushed. He couldn't believe his ears! This cat had been banished and he'd brought him back to the camp! He'd put cats in danger! Well technically he hadn't - Thistlefur had been banished for love not hate - but he still felt guilty.

          Paw steps sounded in the den and he raced to the freshkill pile to make it look as though he hadn't been listening. He grimly picked a scrawny mouse and settled down in the corner of the clearing, biting off a chunk and swallowing it whole. As he'd expected, Moonstar emerged from her den, followed by Thistlefur, and started to scramble down the rock pile.

          "Antlertail! Lilycloud!" Moonstar called and two cats pushed their way out of the warriors' den hastily.

          "Yes Moonstar?" They chimed.

          "Please could you make Thistlefur a nest in the warriors' den?" The ShadowClan tom looked nervously down at his paws as Antlertail questioned who he was.

          "The ShadowClan cat, mouse-brain!" Lilycloud scolded, rolling her eyes. She nodded to Moonstar and Antlertail followed her back inside. Skyclaw watched the conversation pan out and shut his eyes briefly. Thank StarClan they didn't question Moonstar.

          Little did he know, Thistlefur was thinking the exact same thing.