Warrior Cats: The Deaf Warrior

Chapter Thirty Eight

The cat in the picture looks a bit like Scorchheart, but he has shorter fur, and no tabby markings.

Several days had passed since Goosewing had become a warrior. He was indeed struggling with his duties as a warrior, but Fuzzytuft seemed to be struggling more. She never seemed to have the energy to do anything, and he was growing worried for her.

Now it was time for the Gathering. Goosewing and Scorchheart walked together. Goosewing was a little disappointed that neither Fuzzytuft nor Dawnwhisker had been allowed to come to the Gathering, and he felt a little guilty about that, too.

Sheepcloud was also attending this Gathering. He could see her trying to talk to a group of warriors as they neared the fallen tree, but they simply turned around and glared at her. Don't do that! Even though Sheepcloud didn't seem at all proud of his son, he had never stopped loving his mother.

Goosewing crossed the fallen tree, glad that he and Scorchheart had walked at the back of the Clan. Goosewing didn't want to hold anybody up. He nervously shuffled across the fallen tree before stepping on to the island. Scorchheart padded behind him.

ShadowClan and ThunderClan had already arrived, and Scorchheart was already padding over to Badgerpelt. He sat by himself, not even talking to any of his Clanmates. Did Hailheart not attend this Gathering? Goosewing didn't know Hailheart or Badgerpelt well, but he could tell that they were quite close.

Suddenly, Goosewing felt a paw on his shoulder, and he turned around, nearly leaping out of his fur when he saw Leopardtail. Calm down, Goosewing, she's not scary!

Leopardtail smiled at him, looking a little nervous. It hadn't been long since he had last seen the ShadowClan she cat, but she looked even older. Wordlessly, she beckoned to him with his tail, and they headed away from the rest of the cats. Goosewing glanced over his shoulder, and could see that Lilyspots was giving him a suspicious glance, though she didn't say anything. She knows that Leopardtail isn't as bad as she seems, too, even if she tried to kill both of us.

Sitting at the edge of the island, Goosewing forced himself to look at Leopardtail. The elderly she cat spoke slowly, being very considerate of Goosewing's deafness. "First, I wanted to apologise for the way I treated you during that fight. It was wrong of me to try and kill any cat, never mind a deaf one. If that she cat you was with... the grey and white one... if she hasn't made me realise you were deaf," Leopardtail paused, taking a deep breath. "I don't think you would be here now."

Goosewing shivered. He knew that was true. Leopardtail had been prepared to kill both him and Lilyspots, and he knew it was a miracle they were still alive. It was hard not to feel uneasy around Leopardtail knowing how aggressive as had been, and he repeatedly had to remind himself she wasn't all that terrible.

Leopardtail continued to speak. "Your Clanmates were kind too, sparing me. Bluetail was really angry, but I understand. I'll admit, we're stealing too much of your territory, and not even using it."

Goosewing gave a small nod. It was weird to hear Leopardtail admit that.

The ShadowClan cat smiled a little more. "I retired a few days ago, too, and I was thinking, and there's something I'd like to say to you. Something I feel very guilty about."

Goosewing could see the pain in Leopardtail's eyes. Whatever she was about to talk about, he didn't deny that the elder felt very guilty about it.

He gave her a nod, encouraging her to carry on. And then Leopardtail meowed. "I killed Ravenflight."

The ground lurched beneath Goosewing's paws. This cat had killed the mother of Fuzzytuft and Lilyspots! He wanted to run away from her, but the pain in her eyes was too much. He couldn't leave her like this.