Warriors: War of the Clans - Darkness

Chapter 15

Lion shifted her gaze from Lizard to Tree. "You two know each other?"

Tree stared at the two. "L-Lizard?" He whispered faintly. "Dusty?"

"Yes, Joshua, it's us," Dusty meowed, gaze burning through the cream and light brown tom.

"I thought you two were dead, or taken by the fur-less," Tree stepped forward, touching noses with Dusty and Lizard.

Lion flicked her tail tip and stepped in between Tree and the brothers. "What's going on here? Tree, who are these two?"

Tree looked away. "They're my nephews."

Mud tipped her head to one side. "Nephews?"

Tree turned back to Lion. "They are my brother's kits. And I haven't seen them for so long." He looked back at Lizard and Dusty. Lion motioned Tree to follow her, and after a moment of hesitation, he followed.

Once they were out of Lizard and Dusty's earshot, Lion inquired, "Why do they keep calling you Joshua? Your name is Tree, right?"

Tree frowned. "Joshua used to be my name, when I lived in the desert."

This only made Lion more confused. "Why did you change it? And where is the 'desert'?"

Tree sighed. "It's going to take a long time."

"We have all evening," Lion countered. When Tree still didn't seem convinced, she said, "You can go ahead and eat with Lizard and Dusty. I'll meet you on the top of the barn after sunset."

"Thank you," Tree meowed, dashing over to Dusty and Lizard.

Lion turned away from the reunion, and padded over to the barn. She extended her claws and leaped, digging them into the soft red wood. She dashed up the side of the barn, her claws keeping her from slipping. She pushed herself off at the top, landing gracefully on the roof. The ripping of wood told her that someone had followed her. She turned her head to see that Magpie had followed her up. She turned away and sighed.

"I swear, if you say that Tree is actually your long-lost brother or something, save it for tomorrow. I'm done with that for today. Or pretty much all moon."

"No, I think Rising Dawn has had enough of that." He laughed. Lion turned and looked at him. Rising Dawn was good for him. He had loosened up a lot over the past moon when the group started.

"Y'know, I don't think I've ever heard you laugh," Lion commented.

"Well, I didn't have much to laugh at before. But here, I feel safe." He watched Brak and Frost playing with the twoleg kits. He sighed unhappily.

"What's on your mind?" Lion asked at his sudden change of mood.

"It's Tree. And the new cats. I mean, I thought I knew Tree. He basically raised us, so I thought I would know almost everything about him, at least more than other cats. But apparently not." He turned his gaze to where Lizard and Dusty were laughing with Tree.

Lion felt a rush of sympathy for the white and black healer. She rested her tail tip on his shoulders. "I don't think Tree was hiding anything from you. I think he purposefully forgot about his past for a long time, the whole time he was in Dreaded Night. I've heard of cats doing that, when they don't want to remember anymore."

"He never did talk about his past. Not even how he got into Dreaded Night. Do you think that he did something bad in his past?" Magpie asked a bit shakily.

Lion narrowed her eyes at the three new cats. "I don't know. But I hope to find out tonight."

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