Warriors | A Prophecy Reborn: Book 2. (A Path Beyond Stars)

~A Path Beyond Stars: Chapter 11~

"Reedtail," someone whispered. "Reedtail, wake up."
She shook her head and opened her eyes to see Whitestripe standing next to her, staring straight at her.
"What is it?" Reedtail grumbled.
"Ashpelt's missing, and I can't find Spiraltail or Pebblesoot," said the gray tabby.
Reedtail lazily lifted her head to the clearing and saw the moon in the sky, shining bright. It was nearing a full-moon. She turned back to Whitestripe, her eyebrow raised, unimpressed.
"I know it's late," Whitestripe sighed, "but they're up to something and I know Horizon or Half-Sight are involved in one way or another."
"I doubt Horizon would be much of a threat," Reedtail whispered. "She is completely harmless."
"Just come with me!" Whitestripe urged, and the two she-cats left to look around the border. No scent of ShadowClan cats, nor rogues, were anywhere in the area.
"I'm suspicious," Whitestripe said suddenly as they walked.
"That's obvious," Reedtail commented.
"Not only of what's happening to the Clans," she said sternly. "Of you."
Not this again, she complained to herself. "Fine then. What about me?"
"You've been acting strange lately, ever since Stonestar asked you to find him not long ago," Whitestripe pointed out. "He told you something and I want to know what."
Well, Reedtail thought, he didn't exactly say I couldn't tell my friends.
Is it a good idea though? With all the danger surrounding the Clan?
Whitestripe seemed determined to get an answer in any way she could.
Reedtail sighed and shook her head. "Stonestar told me," she began reluctantly, "that he... is my father."
Whitestripe's eyes turned to slits, and Reedtail readied herself in case she decided to attack for her own odd reason.
"Then who is your mother?" Whitestripe asked in a wavering tone.
Dead, Reedtail thought to herself. "Runningstar," she said aloud. Whitestripe's face looked as though it had been drained of all life.
"Do Ashpelt and Spiraltail know?" Whitestripe asked her. "Does anybody else know?"
"I suspect Specklefern and the elders definitely know, as does Fernfeather," Reedtail confirmed. "Other than the senior warriors, queens and elders, none of our friends, or... siblings, know."
She did not receive a response. Whitestripe simply paused, turned her ears right, then charged off. Reedtail hurried off.
"Bad idea," said a voice not too far away. The she-cats slowed to a walk and crouched to hide behind a rock. "We can't just go charging across the Lake looking for Half-Sight."
Ashpelt's voice was unmistakable, and very clear in the cool air that swept through Reedtail's fur. She shivered.
Whitestripe flicked her ear impatiently as they listened to the conversation.
Spiraltail spoke this time. "Perhaps we should talk with our friends on the matter. The more warriors that help, the more of a chance we stand against Half-Sight and his rogues."
"That may be so," came Pebblesoot's angry growl, "but who would we know to trust?"
"Whitestripe, Flameclaw and Reedtail are trustworthy, I assure you."
"Even so, any cat is guilty of something, whether it is true or not. One of them is bound to turn against you eventually, and it will most likely be the one you trust the most."
"Does RiverClan do loyalty different around in your territory?" Ashpelt countered. "Last I checked, loyalty belonged to every Clan, and to those not part of one. Clanborn or not, our warriors are loyal, perhaps even more so than most others in the Lake. We will always uphold the warrior code, and I feel you would do well to remember it yourself."
Reedtail caught a brief glimpse of Pebblesoot's scowl of disapproval from behind the rock, but his anger slowly faded into remorse.
Spiraltail glanced over her shoulder to peer at Reedtail and Whitestripe. She beckoned them over and they got up from their aching crouch and padded over.
Pebblesoot's fur bristled before he realised who had arrived.
"I heard you talking," Whitestripe said before anyone else could speak. "You three should be more quiet when speaking. What if Crookedfire had heard you?"
"His ears are not as sharp as yours, Whitestripe," Ashpelt pointed out.
"And I'm surprised how sharp yours are," Pebblesoot muttered suspiciously.
"You won't be able to defeat Half-Sight if you don't learn to trust us while we help restore your Clan," Spiraltail grumbled.
"I trust who I choose," Pebblesoot retorted, "and the list grows smaller each minute I spend in ThunderClan. I do not trust Tigerfur or Spidertail, and that Medicine Cat of yours is more suspicious than the two combined."
"Spidertail and Crookedfire are understandable suspects," Ashpelt interrupted. "They don't really do much to help themselves. Tigerfur, on the other paw, minds his own business and actually follows the orders he's given. Spidertail's not disloyal, but he could be a bit more cooperative."
"And I've heard about you and that brown she-cat," Pebblesoot added scornfully. "You seem to like each other. She shouldn't be involved in any battle."
Ashpelt licked his chest in embarrassment.
"Ashpelt?" Reedtail interrupted. "I want to talk to you and Spiraltail for a second."
Her half-siblings nodded and they padded away, making sure they were far enough so Pebblesoot wouldn't be able to eavesdrop, but still in Whitestripe's line of sight.
"What?" Ashpelt said, twitching impatiently.
Reedtail took a deep breath. She wanted to tell them now in case something happened to any of them, including Reedtail herself. And since Runningstar was already dead, and Stonestar still hung on his final life, who else would tell them?
They have a right to know, she thought encouragingly to herself.
"Stonestar is your father," she began shortly.
"Yes, we know," Ashpelt sighed.
Something is on his mind, Reedtail thought, then continued.
"Well... Stonestar is my father, too."
Ashpelt's eyes slowly widened. Spiraltail, however, did not look surprised in any way. "I thought so," she muttered.
"That makes you-" Ashpelt started.
"Your sister," Reedtail finished hesitantly. "Grayfur is not my mother. My mother is dead."
"Runningstar," Ashpelt breathed. Reedtail dipped her head as confirmation.
A long moment of silence flew between the three for a while, and the only thing that broke the deafening silence was the growl of Pebblesoot and angered hissing of Whitestripe.
Reedtail ran to Whitestripe's side, claws unsheathed and teeth bared. Dark shadows zoomed past the trees and rocks in front of them.
"Show yourselves, cowards!" Whitestripe hissed.
The rustling stopped and a fluffy gray cat crept out from behind a tree with a small black she-cat next to her.
"You two again?" Reedtail huffed.
"Don't attack us," the dark gray kittypet warned.
"You're trespassing on our territory and don't want us to attack?" Ashpelt scoffed. "Bold."
Fluffy growled. "There's a cat around our home. We know he's from around here, so you better go and get him or he'll have the dogs to deal with."
Reedtail and the other ThunderClan warriors exchanged confused and worried glances, then turned back to the kittypet.
"What does he look like?" Spiraltail asked, moving forward.
"He's a black and gray colour," the spotted cat said. "He's blind in one eye."
"Half-Sight," Reedtail muttered.
"Who?"
"Nobody," she said quickly. "We'll try and get him away from your nest."
Fluffy looked offended at the word 'nest', but ran off with her friend. "Come, sister!" Fluffy called to the spotted cat as she darted off.
Reedtail looked at Ashpelt, who seemed concerned. "Should we warn Stonestar?" she asked her friends.
"He'd wonder where we heard the news," Whitestripe pointed out, glaring scornfully after the kittypets.
"And it's late," Spiraltail added. "We should... probably get some rest."
That's not like Spiraltail, to ignore a mission, Reedtail thought skeptically.
When she turned to Pebblesoot, the RiverClan warrior had an ugly scowl on his face. "What do you think?" she asked him.
"I think we should tear the rogue apart," Pebblesoot spat, his fur bristling.
"Calm yourself, young warrior," chided a peaceful tone from the camp entrance. They all turned to see Beeflower standing before them.
The warriors all flattened their ears with their heads bowed, either in embarrassment or shame.
"Worry not," hummed the elder. "Stonestar will not prevent you if you require help in exterminating Half-Sight."
"We can't take the time to warn anyone here," Pebblesoot argued. "Yes, they deserve to know, but why not leave someone behind so they can deliver the message while we attack?"
Beeflower did not flinch, though she did tilt her head off to the side to look at Spiraltail.
"Stonestar wishes to speak with you."
Spiraltail padded off alongside Beeflower, leaving Pebblesoot, Ashpelt, Whitestripe and Reedtail standing there, speechless and surprised.
"We can't trust anyone," Pebblesoot reminded her stubbornly.
"You can't trust anyone," she pointed out. "This is our Clan. We know who not to trust, thanks very much."
"A cat with a coat similar to hers was part of the group that attacked my Clan," Pebblesoot replied angrily. "And one with fur like that queen in the Nursery."
Does he mean Fuzzyear? Reedtail thought in great disbelief. Fuzzyear was no traitor. Reedtail wouldn't even begin to think of her as a suspect either, because she was the only queen, other than Grayfur, who had defended her when falsely accused of treachery.
The truth there was that Reedtail hadn't done anything wrong. She had obeyed Stonestar and Fernfeather, and she couldn't imagine turning on her Clan.
Her mind returned to Crookedfire and his accusations. He tried to exile me from the Clan, she thought bitterly. He is still trying to. I can guarantee he won't stop until I'm gone for good. I wonder where that'll leave my friends?
She doubted Crookedfire would try to kill her half-siblings while Reedtail, Fernfeather and Stonestar were around. He had already taken care of Reedtail's mother, after all...
"Fuzzyear isn't a traitor," Ashpelt snapped back, making Pebblesoot jump in surprise. "She wouldn't kill another Clan's leader, let alone help in a massacre, and neither would Beeflower."
"Beeflower is too old and Fuzzyear has kits to care for," Whitestripe agreed. "In this season, any kit or elder is vulnerable."
Pebblesoot huffed disbelievingly, but he didn't deny the fact that Beeflower and Fuzzyear, like most other cats of ThunderClan, had their own worries already.
"We should rest," Reedtail suggested. "You especially."
"Shouldn't we help the kittypets?" Ashpelt said, nodding in the direction Fluffy went in.
"We can't risk it," Reedtail said, shaking her head. "I don't trust them, and Crookedfire's not in his den. We should wait until the sun rises, then we can slip away during a hunting patrol."
Whitestripe exchanged a glance with Ashpelt, and they reluctantly made their way back to camp, following Reedtail.
Reedtail heard Pebblesoot mutter, before he followed, "They have to be alive..."