#irisdaze

Lilacfrond had earned her warrior name not long after Wisteriastripe, and had become increasingly irritating ever since. Wisteriastripe wanted to claw the smug look off of her face, but she restrained herself.

"I guarded the camp last night, remember?" Wisteriastripe flicked her ear.

"That's still no excuse to sleep in until sunhigh," Lilacfrond rolled her eyes. "Puddlebud and Yewswoop want you for a hunting patrol by the way. Be grateful I woke you, I could have let you sleep and get into trouble, but a true deputy would look out for all their clanmates."

Her sister left the warrior's den, tail held high. Wisteriastripe had to stop herself from ripping up her mossy bedding as she stretched and climbed out of her nest. Taking a couple of moments to make sure her fur was presentable, she marched into camp, immediately spotting Yewswoop by the entrance tunnel.

"Lilacfrond said you wanted me for a hunting patrol?" She asked, keeping her head held high and trying not to show how much the other warrior still intimidated her. Sharing a den had not done much to soften her perception of Yewswoop, especially after stepping on her tail on the way back from the dirtplace the other night.

Yewswoop's sharp blue-yellow eyes stared Wisteriastripe down for a moment, remaining silent for a painfully long time before responding.

"It's going to be a moment, Blueclaw is flirting with Puddlebud again," She flicked her tail towards where the gray tom was dropping a mouse at Puddlebud's feet. "I don't know why he thinks she would fall for an outsider. He should just keep flirting with Sleekbloom, the two of them seem keen enough on each other, I thought that's why Sleekbloom brought him here."

"Should we rescue her?" Wisteriastripe asked, noticing how Puddlebud's tail was prickling.

"She can handle it, and she'll claw you if you interfere. Besides, I think she's going to eat the mouse. As much as she dislikes the guy, an outsider bringing a clan cat prey does know their rightful place," Yewswoop grinned smugly. "You just got up, right? Go eat something."

Wisteriastripe started to head towards the fresh-kill pile when she saw Violetpaw picking out a shrew. She and her sister had not spoken to each other much since their argument in the woods. Violetpaw met her gaze evenly, and Wisteriastripe faltered. Guilt pricked at her pawsteps as she turned and walked away. Violetpaw probably hated her now, and she was right to. Wisteriastripe knew she should apologize, but whenever she thought of it her tongue turned to ice in her mouth and she couldn't seem to move her paws.

Maybe instead she would go and visit Gingerpath in the healer's den. She could always eat after the hunting patrol, with newleaf here there was more than enough prey to go around, and she knew her friend was getting a little stir crazy being kept in camp.

Fallowcrawl was changing Gingerpath's cobwebs when Wisteriastripe arrived. The wounds oozed slightly with blood and pus, but the ginger and white warrior did not seem to be fazed. His deep blue eyes lit up as Wisteriastripe entered.

"Wisteriastripe! You've come to save me from my boredom!" Gingerpath purred. "I should be out in the forest with you, fighting TigerClan and filling our bellies with prey!"

Fallowcrawl rolled her eyes. "You are using up enough of my cobweb store already!" She said, eyes glinting with humour. She seemed a lot more comfortable after a moon of working on her own, while Primrosestripe remained with Irispaw, who was still sick with whitecough.

"Hey, it's not my fault I ran right into a den of rats! I was chasing that stupid Fringe cat off of our territory!" Gingerpath swiped his claws across the ground, growling.

"And you had succeeded. You got into the rat den in Fringe territory," Fallowcrawl prodded. "The mangy Fringe cat probably led you there on purpose."

"Look, we're already at war with TigerClan, we don't need more groups encroaching on our border," Gingerpath snorted. "Besides, I know that you get me. If you had kept with training as a warrior, you'd agree with me!"

"Maybe so," Fallowcrawl flashed a look at Wisteriastripe and fell silent, dropping her banter with Gingerpath.

"Aw, come on, this is where you are supposed to talk about some fox-dung like how being a healer is your true calling and so much more noble than being a warrior," Gingerpath complained.

Fallowcrawl was saved from answering by the appearance of Shadowstar at the entrance to the den.

"Mom! Is everything okay? Do you need more herbs? Has something happened to Dapplekit or Elkkit?" Fallowcrawl sprang towards the leader.

"I'm just fine," Shadowstar purred. "You don't need to worry, though I appreciate the concern. You have become a fine healer. No, I'm here because Primrosestripe asked me for a favour. Ah! Wisteriastripe! You're here too! Good, you may want to be here for this."

"You made it!" Primrosestripe called from outside a stone den on the opposite end of the healer's clearing. She waved her tail at the leader. Beside her, Irispaw lay, unconscious.

Wisteriastripe did not like how skinny her sister looked. From what she had heard, newleaf was supposed to chase away the whitecough, but Fallowcrawl said that it sometimes lingered a moon or two. Looking at her sister, she couldn't help thinking she looked like a corpse.

"What's going on?" Wisteriastripe asked, taking her place next to Shadowstar.

"Primrosestripe is concerned that Irispaw won't pull through, and she wanted me to give her a full mediator's name, in case it is her time to join StarClan," Shadowstar said solemnly. "We'll stay over here, but Wisteriastripe, you should witness this. Irispaw should have at least one of her kin here for this moment."

Primrosestripe nudged Irispaw, whispering something to her, though the two of them were too far away to hear. Irispaw barely looked alive as she opened her eyes, and was immediately wracked with a fit of coughing.

"I, Shadowstar, leader of BleakClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand your noble code, and I commend her to you as a mediator in her turn. Irispaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to bring peace and order to this clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Irispaw's voice, barely audible, was more like a croak.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your mediator name. Irispaw, from this moment on you will be known as Irisdaze. StarClan honours your commitment, and we welcome you as a full mediator of BleakClan, the first we have had in a while."

"Irisdaze! Irisdaze! Irisdaze!" Wisteriastripe made sure to cheer loudly for her sister to make up for how few voices were present. She was glad to hear her friends join in.

Irispaw cracked a brief smile before falling unconscious again. Primrosestripe picked her up and carried her back inside the den.

"I will announce Irisdaze's new name to the clan once all the patrols are back tonight. StarClan willing, Irisdaze will pull through to enjoy it." Though Shadowstar's words were hopeful, Wisteriastripe could see the hollowness in the leader's eyes.

"Well, at the very least she will go to StarClan with her full name," Fallowcrawl said quietly.

Wisteriastripe did not want to think about her sister dying anymore. "I've got a patrol to go on," She said, abruptly turning and leaving. Fallowcrawl and Gingerpath did not try to stop her.

***

Wisteriastripe had caught frustratingly little prey on the patrol. Irisdaze's thin body kept flashing across her mind, haunting her. She had never been particularly close to Irisdaze -- she didn't know if anyone was -- but as she started thinking back to all the small moments where her sister had shown affection to her, she felt guilty for not paying her more attention.

To make everything worse, she could tell that Puddlebud and Yewswoop were not happy with her performance. Though she trailed behind them, they made no effort to lower their voices.

"Why expect a kittypet to catch anything?" Puddlebud sniffed.

Wisteriastripe wanted to hurl herself at the older warrior, but she knew that would not be a fight she could win, especially if Yewswoop stepped in. Aside from Rushseed, these two were BleakClan's most formidable warriors. Instead, she stewed on her anger, hoping to use it to fuel her hunt, but it turned out anger was just as unhelpful as anxiety.

By the time the patrol was nearing its end, Yewswoop and Puddlebud had caught three pieces of prey each, and Wisteriastripe was still empty-pawed. The older warriors had begun to turn back to camp, and Wisteriastripe was growing desperate to catch something, anything.

She focused on her senses, finally pushing all her other thoughts from her mind. She couldn't smell any prey, but she was suddenly aware of a cracking sound. Her eyes shot up to see a branch beginning to fall, heading straight for Yewswoop. The smoky cream warrior was chatting to her former mentor, oblivious to the danger she was in.

Wisteriastripe shot forward, barrelling Yewswoop out of the way. The other warrior snarled, immediately sinking her claws into Wisteriastripe's shoulder and baring her teeth.

"Traitor! I knew we should never trust you!" Yewswoop easily pinned Wisteriastripe down, and she saw her heart stopped as jaws lunged for her throat.

"Yewswoop, stop!" Puddlebud shouted. The gray and white warrior was staring wide-eyed at the branch. "Wisteriastripe just saved your life."

Yewswoop's tail lashed as she turned to look back at the branch, eyes widening. She sheathed her claws, and turned back to Wisteriastripe. "You could have died."

"Maybe you aren't such a kittypet," Puddlebud sheepishly. "Maybe Rushseed was right. Show more guts like that, and you'll be a warrior I'd be glad to fight alongside."

"Next TigerClan battle, you and me are going to fight side by side," Yewswoop grinned, resting her tail of Wisteriastripe's flank. "Let's see who can take down the most cats, eh?"

"You're on!" Wisteriastripe growled playfully. Suddenly, Yewswoop didn't seem like someone she should be afraid of. Maybe someday she would even come to consider these two intimidating warriors to be her friends.

***

"BleakClan welcomes one new warrior, and one new mediator. We are proud to have Lilacfrond and Irisdaze join Wisteriastripe as fully-fledged members of BleakClan," Shadowstar announced. "We hope that Violetpaw and Lavenderpaw will soon join them."

Wisteriastripe was aware of several TigerClan glares burning into her pelt. She caught the gaze of Crocuspaw for a moment before looking away. She'd be sure to wipe that look off of his face next battle.

Around the gathered cats, six tall columnar trees swayed gently in the night. The clearing was bathed in the light of the full moon, signalling a truce. The six leaders stood on a large flat stone in the center of Sixtrees, looking over the gathered clans.

"We have two new warriors, Flitclash and Midnightwhisker," Icystar said, glaring at Shadowstar and she stepped forth to make TigerClan's announcements. "Midnightwhisker completed his training under Mistback, after the loss of his first mentor, Patchoulispider."

Wisteriastripe saw Rushseed snarl in delight at the mention of her kill in the first battle against TigerClan. Icystar turned towards the BleakClan deputy, suddenly looking very tired, but said nothing.

"Auburnsnarl is also expecting kits. That is all." Icystar dipped her head, stepping back.

"You better not kill them too, like you did with Almondpaw," Crocuspaw growled in Wisteriastripe's ear, snaking up behind her. "I don't care if I'm a healer, I'll kill you if you murder another sibling of mine."

"I let Shadegleam go, didn't I?" Wisteriastripe hissed back, unsure why she felt the need to defend herself.

"Only because I was there. I saw how you were looking at him, you would have killed him in a heartbeat," Crocuspaw said. "You are nothing but a murderer, and that's all you will ever be."

"You just don't understand what it is like to be a warrior," Wisteriastripe snarled. "Spilling blood is the greatest glory a cat can achieve."

"You keep telling yourself that," Crocuspaw's cobalt eyes flashed. "I know you and your siblings are outsiders, Almondpaw and I were outsiders too. Out of everyone, you should understand most why warriors must stop shedding so much blood."

"Ah that explains it," Wisteriastripe's tone hardened as she tried to hide her fear. "You're a kittypet."

"My parents were rogues, thank you very much, and friends of TigerClan," Crocuspaw snarled. "Look, I don't know why I am telling you this, but when I went to the Moonhollow for the first time, I received a prophecy-"

Despite herself, Wisteriastripe's ears pricked. The healer apprentice's tone had changed, he was suddenly less hostile, and more furtive. He was looking around, like he was scared he was going to be caught.

"Wisteriastripe, you don't need to be hanging out with this pathetic healer, come sit with me and Puddlebud," Yewswoop suddenly stepped in-between the two young cats. "You look like you're about to rip each other apart anyways, and we can't have you breaking the truce."

Wisteriastripe looked back at Crocuspaw, who was suddenly looking at her desperately. She turned back to Yewswoop, and walked with her to where Puddlebud was sitting. As curious as she was about Crocuspaw's prophecy, she couldn't show any interest with Yewswoop present.

"Be glad I rescued you there. Cats can't fall in love outside of their clans, you are too valuable a warrior to make such a mistake," Yewswoop said seriously.

"What? Ew. Never!" Wisteriastripe balked. "No, Crocuspaw and I hate each other. He's the last cat I would ever-"

"Good." Yewswoop's steely gaze hardened. "Keep it that way. The warrior code only speaks against mates across clans, but even being friends is too dangerous. The other clans are our enemies, remember that."

Wisteriastripe turned her attention back to the leaders. She had missed the news from SnowyClan, MulberryClan and IvyClan. Now, Flurryfern stood at the front of the Announcement Stone, representing KinkClan.

"KinkClan is recovering from yellowcough, though some cats are still sick. We have one new warrior, Batwhistle." Flurryfern said.

"Where is Olivestar? He should be here." Leafstar, the leader of IvyClan interrupted. The silver tabby molly's tail was flicking with irritation.

"Olivestar chose to stay back to be with the ill cats. He is a devoted leader, who wants to see his clan healthy again," Flurryfern said, exchanging and awkward look with Owlfeather. The head healer was staring at him intensely with an unreadable expression.

"That's all well and good, but a leader should be here, to put on a strong front. Olivestar is very young, perhaps he is unsuited to leadership. You seem far better at the role, Flurryfern," Snowstar, the leader of MulberryClan said. The spotted calico had a softness to her gold eyes, but they showed a hint of warning.

"Oh, it looks as though Olivestar has decided to join us after all! Here he comes!" SnowyClan's leader, Daisystar, shouted. The black molly flicked her pale gray tail towards the treeline, where a gray tom with a darker stripe down his back was approaching.

Flurryfern and Owlfeather suddenly looked utterly panicked. Wisteriastripe was certain she could even smell fear-scent from them. Owlfeather rushed forward, and began murmuring something to Olivestar, but the leader pushed her aside and kept walking.

"You really thought you would keep me from joining the gathering?" Olivestar's tail was flicking. Though his body was young, he carried himself with the stiffness and composure of a much older cat. "Pitiful, this is why I will be making Oliveears deputy as soon as we get home."

"Oliveears? But that's Olivestar's warrior name-" Puddlebud gasped, and shut her mouth.

"What do you mean?" Wisteriastripe asked.

"Shhh, I want to listen," Puddlebud hissed.

"Dapplestar, Bristlestar, you disgust me," Olivestar snarled at Shadowstar and Icystar. "You really think your little secret wouldn't come out?"

"He thinks he's Rootstar!" A commotion was beginning among the gathered cats. There were so many whispers, Wisteriastripe couldn't tell where they were coming from. "Olivestar had star fever!"

Wisteriastripe gasped. Trouthowl had told nursery stories of star fever. Sometimes a leader wasn't strong enough to carry nine lives, and they began to lose themselves in the memories of those who had gifted them their lives. Star fever had no cure, and a leader with it would waste away until their body gave out completely, lives draining away rapidly.

"Please, let us take Olivestar back to our clan!" Owlfeather pleaded. "He is not well."

"It is clear he had very few lives left," Snowstar sniffed. "It's pitiful, I thought KinkClan was supposed to be intelligent."

"I want to hear what he has to say, let him stay." Daisystar's eyes gleamed hungrily.

"What are you talking about?" Shadowstar asked, addressing Olivestar directly. "What did Dapplestar do?"

"Yes, what did Dapplestar do?" Wisteriastripe's stomach twisted, she did not like how Rushseed was looking at Shadowstar as she spoke.

"Don't play dumb, Dapplestar. I've seen you and Bristlestar, here at Sixtrees. Do you think no one noticed you were carrying kits, before Bristlestar announced the birth of Rimepaw? Do you think no one can see the similarities between Bristlestar and Shadowblaze?" Olivestar snarled. "Neither of you are fit to be leaders, you should be stripped of your lives and turned out of the clans, you have broken the code in the worst way possible."

The soft murmur of whispers around the clearing now burst into an uproar. Shadowstar stood frozen on top of the Announcement Stone, not doing anything to fight against the accusations.

"Half clan! Weak-blooded!" Rushseed's insults were the loudest. "Leadership was never yours to hold, Dapplestar broke the legacy she carried! I don't want TigerClan spawn leading me!"

"Watch what you say about TigerClan!" Ivystar hissed.

"You have half-clan spawn too, I think Shadowstar and Rimestripe should be driven from the forest!" Rushseed snarled. She whipped her head around, as though looking for the TigerClan warrior.

"Rimestripe is home recovering from a mangled leg one of your warriors gave him," Icystar hissed. "We will deal with him how we see fit, you focus on your own clan. BleakClan has meddled enough in TigerClan business."

"Clouds are covering the moon!" Snowstar announced, standing up. "TigerClan, go home and make your own choices about Rimestripe. BleakClan, go home and figure out whether you want a half-clan cat leading you, and for StarClan's sake, KinkClan, take Olivestar home and do the right thing. I want to see Flurrystar here next gathering. Tonight's gathering is done."