Warriors- Dawn of An Era: Shadows of Terror {Book 2} (COMPLETED)

Epilogue

The moon hung lazily over Jumpstar's head as he led his Clan toward the Gathering Hollow. They'd just crossed the tree bridge over the lake and were weaving through the trees that sheltered the mice and squirrels that were forbidden from hunting.

To his right, his deputy, Appletail, tasted the air. "ThunderClan and SkyClan are here," she commented with a glance at Jumpstar. "No scent of ShadowClan."

Jumpstar blinked warmly at his deputy. "Maybe they're just running late." He suggested and pressed on, hearing Sunstorm, Foxblaze, and Spruceheart talking behind him.

The voice of a SkyClan warrior ahead of them made Jumpstar lift his head. "WindClan is here!"

Appletail purred and bounded off to join the other deputies, while Jumpstar strode toward Beetlestar of ThunderClan and Amberstar of SkyClan. Dipping his head to the other leaders, he sat down next to Amberstar.

"ShadowClan and RiverClan should be here soon," purred the SkyClan leader as she looked kindly at the two toms.

Beetlestar shivered in his short tortoiseshell pelt. "They'd better," he meowed. "I'm freezing!"

Jumpstar purred with amusement at the young leader and looked up at the night sky. It was relatively clear, with little to no clouds. "Seems like it'll be a clear night," he commented, looking at the other leaders.

Amberstar nodded and stiffened, sniffing the air. "ShadowClan has arrived," she meowed, turning around to watch the shadowy cats spilled into the clearing.

Instantly, a buzz of uncertainty for the shadowed cats swept through the island and Jumpstar couldn't help but notice something off about the ShadowClan warriors. Their leader, Blizzardstar, held an air of confusion as she clawed her way up the tree and steadied herself on the branch with Beetlestar.

The tortoiseshell tom was the first to speak. "Greetings, Blizzardstar." He meowed, dipping his head respectfully.

Blizzardstar looked up from her paws and gazed at the leaders with an almost dazed look in her hazel eyes. When she looked away, Amberstar tilted her head.

"Get enough sleep last night, Bliz?" She asked, her voice concerned.

When the ShadowClan leader hardly reacted, Jumpstar began to worry. Is she ill? "Blizzardstar?" He meowed, shifting his weight onto his haunches and leaping to the branch she was sitting on. Still, she didn't look up. "Are you alright?"

"I'll tell you all when the Gathering begins," she mumbled and Jumpstar pressed worriedly against her.

"RiverClan is here!" Jumpstar looked up at Featherwind's call and saw Creekstar striding toward them, his head held high with pride.

As the RiverClan leader made his way toward the tree, as he was climbing up it, there was another shout from the gathered cats.

"Who's that?" It was Honeyspirit, and her voice sounded alarmed and on the verge of a growl.

"Outsiders!" Hissed Amberlight, RiverClan's deputy.

Out of all the hisses, a shout came from the ThunderClan cats. "Rushspring!" It was Scarredbelly. The horribly scarred tom was standing in front of his daughter, Viperstrike, his fur fluffed up to twice its size. He was glaring at the gray-and-white tom with orange eyes.

Rushspring waved his tail in acknowledgment of the tom's call and clambered up the tree with ease, settling onto the branch above the other leaders. "DarkClan is here," he meowed humbly, looking calmly at the other leaders.

Amberstar curled her lip. "That's not a real Clan!" She snarled, her claws scratched against the bark.

Jumpstar narrowed his eyes at the tom, his tail curling around Blizzardstar. This is what she meant, he thought. Rushspring's arrival. "What are you doing here, Rushspring?" He demanded, trying to keep his mew steady as he looked up at the so-called DarkClan tom. "You're exiled from ThunderClan."

Rushspring regarded him with cold orange eyes, making his pelt prickle. "My name is Rushstar, Jumpstar." He corrected, his voice cool and calm. "And I am the leader of DarkClan."

Finally, Blizzardstar spoke, her voice a snarl. "DarkClan is not one of the five Clans." She spun on her heels, nearly knocking Jumpstar off the branch before Beetlestar grabbed him to keep him steady.

Rushstar looked at the ShadowClan leader with an amused and taunting gleam in his eyes. "Are you still upset some of your warriors left?" He sneered.

Jumpstar watched the fur along her spine ripple and he rested his tail along her back. "Let's just get on with the Gathering," he murmured in her ear and turned around, slightly uneasy with Rushstar behind him. "WindClan has three new apprentices! Blazepaw, Flarepaw, and Irispaw!"

Murmurs of congratulations for the three apprentices rippled through the clearing, but most of the cats stayed silent, casting mistrustful looks at their DarkClan rivals.

As the Gathering went on, the leaders went, but Rushstar insisted he go last. Jumpstar felt every hair on his pelt prickle with anxiety at the thought of having six Clans living around the lake. He risked a glance at Amberstar and Beetlestar, who looked just as displeased. Prey will be even harder to find during leafbare. He thought.

At long last, it was Rushstar's turn. "DarkClan has a lot of news," he meowed. "We have two new warriors, nine new Clanmates, and seven new apprentices." Rushstar looked at the other leaders and added. "I must warn you all about us. We reside next to ShadowClan and ThunderClan and are struggling to feed our growing Clan. We would greatly appreciate it if you shared some of your land with us."

Right away, a chorus of outraged yowls erupted from the gathered cats and Rushstar silenced them with a flick of his slim tail. "DarkClan has rights to the land just like all of you. ThunderClan and ShadowClan have enough prey, why not share for the well-being of another Clan?"

"Because you're all traitors!" Scarredbelly had leaped to his paws, glaring hatefully at Rushstar. "Have you all not forgotten Rushstar killed to become more powerful?"

Rushstar narrowed his eyes at the warrior. "Brother, you cling to the past like moss to a rotten tree." He meowed. "You need to learn and let go."

Scarredbelly's eyes grew as cold as ice. He lashed his tail, but sat down and glared up at the leader.

Blizzardstar spoke without looking at Rushstar. "I will give you a portion of our territory, Rushstar." She meowed, her tail tip twitching. "From the border we share with the edge of the Twolegplace to the ThunderClan border will be yours. That's it."

Rushstar looked satisfied and he nodded. "I think this concludes this moon's Gathering." He decided and leaped down from the tree in one jump. "DarkClan! We're leaving."

As the new Clan left, anxious meows came from the other five Clans.

Creekstar stepped forward and yowled. "Be quiet!" Once the Clans quieted down, he continued. "We must learn to manage how to live alongside DarkClan. However, we mustn't give up hope that StarClan will help us through this."

Amberstar nodded. "We have to get through this together," she agreed and looked at the other leaders. "I say we send messengers once every quarter-moon to see if DarkClan is causing trouble."

Jumpstar flicked his tail, looking up at the sky. "Until then, we must keep our faith in StarClan that they willed this to happen." He meowed. "WindClan, we're leaving." Leaping down from the branch, he was swallowed by his Clanmates and he shuffled toward the moor.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Creekstar, Amberstar, Beetlestar, and Blizzardstar watching him with sympathy in their eyes. Forcing himself to look away, Jumpstar trudged on. StarClan, please don't let this be a bad omen.