Chapter Text
Mapleshade hauled herself up onto the sodden riverbank under an overcast sky. Had the sun been visible, it would just be starting to dip towards the horizon, allowing the first teeth of late leaf-fall chill to bite. Rain fell lightly, dampening the soil and pattering rhythmically against the foliage surrounding the river. The ThunderClan queen’s wet tortoiseshell-and-white fur clung to her bulky frame, weighing her down almost as much as the exhaustion she felt from fighting against the river, swollen beyond its normal bounds by several days of rain. As soon as she was clear of the current, she flopped down onto the soil with an unpleasant wet sound.
Fighting to keep her eyes open, Mapleshade watched as a small RiverClan patrol emerged from the dense greenery, led by a stout, well-muscled light brown tom. He looked momentarily surprised, and then flattened his ears aggressively as he approached Mapleshade. He glowered at the sprawled-out ThunderClan queen, narrowing his green eyes and curling his lip.
“Appledusk,” Mapleshade wheezed out to the cats in front of her. “Our… Our kits…”
Appledusk’s eyes widened and tried to shush her, but it was too late.
“What?!” the sharp yowl came from another member of the RiverClan patrol; an elegant, sleek-furred silver tabby standing behind Mapleshade’s mate, her beloved Appledusk.
“Her kits,” growled the light brown tom. “She has lost her kits in the river.”
“Appledusk…” Mapleshade pleaded, coughing.
“She said our kits,” the tabby pressed, flicking her tail. “Ours, meaning, her and you .”
She edged closer to Appledusk, and Mapleshade felt a flash of fury
Stay away from him, RiverClan scum!
“Just find the kits, Eeltail! And bring Splashfoot with you!” snapped Appledusk, his pale brown fur spiking along his spine and shoulders. Eeltail stared at Appledusk intently for a few moments longer, and then whisked her long, plumy tail at the nervous looking gray tom beside her. The two bounded off down the pebbly bank, in search of Mapleshade’s lost kits.
Please, oh StarClan, let them be alive! Mapleshade thought. My precious babies!
Mapleshade looked up at her beloved mate. Appledusk stood over her, expression grim, his large frame casting a faint shadow over the tortoiseshell queen.
“Why have you left ThunderClan?” Appledusk demanded. “I told you to stay away from RiverClan territory.”
Mapleshade groaned, trying to get to her paws, an effort that ultimately failed. All of her muscles ached, and she felt like she could curl up in her nest and sleep for a moon. With a pang of grief, she remembered that she could never again return to her warm nest in the ThunderClan nursery.
“They turned against me… Against us…” Mapleshade muttered.
“What?” Appledusk asked.
“Our kits…” Mapleshade groaned again.
“Did you really bring the kits with you?!” Appledusk hissed. “Mapleshade, how could you be so foolish ?”
Mapleshade curled her claws into the soft, damp ground.
“Thunderclan has forsaken me,” Mapleshade spat with what little strength she had left. “That mouse-heart of a medicine cat told our leader, and he condemned me to exile.”
“Mapleshade, you never should have brought your kits to the river-” Appledusk began scolding Mapleshade, but he was interrupted by the yowls of approaching cats.
“Appledusk!” Eeltail called out. “We found them! We found the kits!”
Mapleshade’s head snapped up, and she felt some of her strength return. Eeltail came bounding over urgently, followed by the pale gray tom known as Splashfoot.
“My kits!” Mapleshade crowed. “My babies! You found them?!”
Eeltail and Splashfoot avoided making eye contact with Mapleshade. With trembling limbs, Mapleshade slowly pushed herself to her paws. Though RiverClan cats were typically more heavy-set than ThunderClan cats, Mapleshade’s large frame still dwarfed both Eeltail and Splashfoot.
“Um… Y-you’re Mapleshade, right?” Splashfoot asked nervously. The tom, though sturdily built and with a noticeable belly, was small for a RiverClan cat. He kept a defensive posture, as if he were ready to run away at any moment.
“Yes,” Mapleshade stepped towards Eeltai and Splashfootl. “Where are my kits? Why have they not followed you? Are they weak? Do they need me to carry them?”
The two RiverClan cats merely shared a sad, knowing look.
“Mapleshade,” Eeltail mewed quietly. “I am so sorry.”
Mapleshade felt a pit open in her belly.
“They can’t be-”
“They- They didn’t survive,” Eeltail’s eyes shone with pity and sadness. She walked up close to Mapleshade, draping her tail over the exiled ThunderClan Queen’s back, unbothered by her sodden fur.
“W-We can take you to their bodies,” Splashfoot stammered, but Mapleshade could barely hear him. Breathing in so deep her lungs ached, Mapleshade let out a shrill wail, caterwauling as loudly as she could, in the hopes that even StarClan could hear her grief.
Reedshine sat in RiverClan camp, lazily dragging her prickly tongue through the long, dark ginger fur on her chest. Clouds filled the late afternoon sky, threatening to unleash another barrage of bitterly cold leaf-fall rain. Camp was largely empty; most cats were in their dens, sheltering from the drizzle. Reedshine stayed out, though; her mate Appledusk left on a border patrol not long ago and she longed for his return. With leaf-bare starting to show its fangs the warmth of his flank against hers was more welcome than ever.
While working on a particularly frustrating tangle in her chest fluff, a noise from the direction of the river caught her off guard. The distant drone of wailing; not of battle, but the unmistakable sound of a cat shrieking in grief. Reedshine swiveled her ears towards the sound, looking up from her grooming. Peering around camp, she found that her clanmates had heard the sound as well, and a majority of them looked as intrigued as she felt. After the yowling sound died away, many cats’ heads turned to the ancient willow tree sitting in a corner of camp. The stems woven into the roots rustled, and a stout, well-muscled black she-cat emerged, her ears pricked and alert. Her pelt, dark as night, had an impressive sheen even in the weak, overcast afternoon light. A burly dark gray tom with unkempt fur bounded over to her, and the two quickly became engrossed in a conversation.
“Darkstar! Spiketail!” a sudden yowling split the air just moments before Splashfoot, one of the cats on Appledusk’s hunting patrol, came barreling through the reed wall surrounding camp. Several cats hissed in alarm, jumping to get out of his way as he scrabbled to a stop on the damp soil ground. The two conversing cats, Riverclan’s leader and deputy, quickly stopped talking, snapping their heads attentively towards Splashfoot.
“Darkstar! Spiketail!” He yowled again, panting, barely able to get his words out. “Darkstar! Appledusk… E-Eeltail, and I-”
Splashfoot stopped, panting as he stood in place. His frame shook and his eyes were wide, he kept opening his mouth and then closing it again.
“-Are all members of this clan, yes,” Darkstar replied patiently. “Splashfoot, remember your exercises. Take a deep breath.”
The pale gray tom was clearly frazzled, shuffling on his paws anxiously, but he obeyed his leader as best he could, inhaling deeply. Darkstar sat front of the panicking warrior, waiting for him to calm down, completely still except for the tip of her tail, twitching apprehensively. Reedshine felt a prickle of anxiety along her spine. Had something happened to the patrol? Was Appledusk okay?
Shortly after, a stocky tom ambled into camp, and Reedshine instantly recognized the pale-brown pelt of her mate. Reedshine rose from her position and pelted over to him, sniffing every inch of his coat anxiously. He seemed fine; he had no wounds, but he wore a dark expression on his face.
Reedshine opened her mouth to ask about the rest of the patrol, but she was interrupted by the rustling of the reed wall. A silver tabby, Eeltail, walked into camp with her tail draped comfortingly over a fourth cat; a huge, bulky tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with a sodden pelt. Reedshine didn’t recognize her, and she recoiled away when the cat’s earthy, forest scent hit her nose.
“I smell ThunderClan,” the calm, threatening voice of Darkstar echoed across camp.
Eeltail nudged the large she-cat towards Darkstar, but she stood with her shoulders hunched and her head down, staring at the ground, completely despondent.
“Eeltail and Appledusk and I found a Thunderclan cat while patrolling,” Splashfoot finally managed to get out.
“I see, Splashfoot,” Darkstar commented. “Thank you, Splashfoot.”
“That’s not all we found,” Eeltail meowed sheepishly, “We- ah, we… um,”
Eeltail fidgeted nervously under Darkstar’s icy blue gaze.
“Well, er, Appledusk better tell you, actually,” Eeltail bowed her head. Darkstar’s eyes flashed to Appledusk. Darkstar waited for her warriors to explain. Reedshine watched apprehensively, but Appledusk’s expression was unreadable.
“We found this Thunderclan queen on the riverbank,” Appledusk declared. “And her three kits. She foolishly tried to cross the swell with them, and the kits tragically drowned. Their bodies are just outside of camp.”
All of the cats in camp gasped. Darkstar, however, was unshaken. She narrowed her eyes, looking between Appledusk and Mapleshade. Reedshine felt uneasy.
“Eeltail, Splashfoot, bring the bodies into camp,” Darkstar commanded. “As the Warrior Code explains, we will let these kits rest peacefully.”
“Yes, Darkstar!” Eeltail nodded briskly. She seemed glad for the excuse to leave camp, peeling away from Mapleshade and nosing Splashfoot out with her.
“Why was this ThunderClan queen in our territory?” Darkstar then turned to Appledusk.
“I don’t know,” Appledusk responded. Reedshine felt a prickle of uneasiness. She knew her mate, and she could tell when he was lying. Darkstar’s eyes bored into Appledusk, but he didn’t add anything further.
“Appledusk,” the unfamiliar queen’s voice was ragged and sounded exhausted. She sounded as if she were pleading with him.
“Be quiet, Mapleshade,” Appledusk snapped at her. Mapleshade flattened her ears, her eyes igniting.
“Appledusk, those were our kits!” Mapleshade hissed.
Reedshine widened her eyes in shock.
“ Your kits?!” Reedshine yowled. She looked frantically between Appledusk and Mapleshade. Appledusk avoided her gaze, and Mapleshade stared at her incredulously.
“What’s it to you?” spat the ThunderClan queen.
“Appledusk is my mate!” Reedshine snarled. “You’re- You’re lying! Those kits are not Appledusk’s!”
Mapleshade puffed up her fur, striding towards Reedshine menacingly.
“Appledusk is my mate, leech-eater,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “Not yours. He’s mine. My kits are his .”
Several warning growls rumbled at Mapleshade’s aggressive behavior, but no cat moved a muscle. Reedshine hoped her fear didn’t show; Mapleshade was a wide, bulky cat with long, vicious claws. She glared at Mapleshade, then turned to Appledusk, who was still refusing to look at her.
“Appledusk, she’s lying, isn’t she? She’s just trying to ruin your- your reputation! Because of the accident at Sunningrocks!” Reedshine pleaded. “You wouldn’t… surely , you didn’t!”
But Appledusk couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Appledusk, your mate has asked you a question,” Darkstar interjected icily. “Do not ignore her.”
Appledusk turned his gaze to Darkstar, eyes full of hatred. Then, he finally looked to Reedshine.
“Mapleshade’s kits are mine.”
As if on cue, Eeltail and Splashfoot returned to camp with the bodies of the three kits. One tortoiseshell, one black, and one the unmistakable pale brown of Appledusk’s pelt. Reedshine’s legs felt weak. Similarly, she saw Mapleshade hanging her head, unable to look at the tiny, drenched forms.
“Appledusk!” Reedshine wailed. “Why did you do this to me?!”
“It wasn’t about you,” Appledusk said. “I… I was foolish. I made a mistake.”
Reedshine noticed Mapleshade’s ears flattening in shock.
“These kits may be mine by blood, but I do not claim them,” Appledusk said. He raised his head to Darkstar. “They are not RiverClan. I want nothing to do with them, or their mother. She is as foolish as she is a coward, for running away from her Clan.”
Mapleshade’s eyes widened, and she snarled at him.
“Fox-heart! My clan cast me out! My kits and I had nowhere to go!” Mapleshade yowled. “You are their father, and I am their mother! We are mates! I cannot disclaim them, so neither can you!”
“We are not mates, Mapleshade,” Appledusk replied. “We never were.”
Appledusk walked over to Reedshine, pressing his side against hers. Mapleshade glared at the two of them.
“Reedshine is my mate,” Appledusk mewed firmly. Reedshine felt queasy, and stepped away from him quickly. His head snapped around to look at her in shock.
“Appledusk,” Reedshine started slowly. “You… you had kits with another cat while we were mates?”
“Yes, I did, Reedshine, but it didn’t mean anything,” Appledusk tried to reassure her. “She doesn’t mean anything, her or her wretched, half-clan kits. They are nothing. They aren’t you. You are everything to me, Reedshine.”
Reedshine continued to back away from him, her eyes burning and her paws shaky.
“You fox-heart!” came a snarl from across the clearing. It was Mapleshade. She was more furious than Reedshine had ever seen a cat in her life. “You told me you had no mate! That I was your true love!”
“Quiet, please,” Darkstar mewed. Mapleshade was practically spitting with anger, but not even she dared disobey a direct order from a clan leader.
“Eeltail, Splashfoot,” Darkstar requested. “Help the elders bury these kits. As they are half RiverClan and their birth Clan has rejected them, I grant them the right to rest here in our territory.”
Again the two cats nodded, taking on the grim task. As they trudged out of camp with the kits’ bodies, several of the elders followed to assist them.
“Darkstar, please let me stay here,” Mapleshade turned from the kits, begging to the RiverClan leader. “My clan rejected me as well. I have nowhere to go, and if my kits are buried here, I want to stay near them.”
Reedshine felt a sting of pity at the desperation in the ThunderClan queen’s voice. Darkstar heaved a deep sigh, and shook her head sadly.
“I am sorry, Mapleshade,” Darkstar mewed. “I grant your kits burial rights because they are half RiverClan. But you are not a RiverClan Cat. You are ThunderClan. You cannot stay here.”
Mapleshade gaped at her. Then, she lashed her tail angrily, drawing her lips back into a snarl, looking wildly between Appledusk and Darkstar, and occasionally flashing a look at Reedshine. Reedshine averted her gaze. She couldn’t help but feel that Darkstar’s order was unfair, but she had no right to argue with her leader.
“You’ll all be sorry,” Mapleshade snarled. “You, Appledusk, for violating me and my trust. And you too, Darkstar, for turning me away. I will make all of RiverClan regret this decision.”
“Mapleshade,” Darkstar mewed. “You have been in our camp long enough. You must leave our territory now. I will allow you safe passage to leave, but you mustn’t return here. Now, go.”
Darkstar’s tone was even, but the underlying message was clear. Mapleshade, furious as she was, accepted her fate. She pushed past Reedshine roughly, lashing her tail as she stalked out of camp.
The cats of RiverClan stayed silent and still after Mapleshade’s departure. Reedshine felt dizzy; she wasn’t sure how to cope with anything that just happened. A few of her clanmates were staring at her apologetically, but despite their sympathy their gazes all felt red-hot on her pelt. She turned towards the warriors den, wanting nothing more than to curl up in her nest and disappear.
“Reedshine-” she heard Appledusk begin.
“Leave me alone,” Reedshine mewed miserably. “I’m going to sleep.”
Appledusk sidled up next to Reedshine, attempting to nuzzle her as she walked. She jerked away from him, flattening her ears angrily.
“I told you to leave me alone!” she snapped. Appledusk didn’t listen, and walked towards her again, trying to press his side against hers. His touch, once so comforting to her, suddenly felt like claws on her skin. She shoved him away, a little more roughly than she intended.
“What’s the matter with you?” Appledusk demanded. “We’re mates!”
Earlier, she would have agreed with him. But now, the idea of being mates with Appledusk made Reedshine feel awful.
“No, we’re not,” Reedshine looked away from him.
“What?!” Appledusk exclaimed. “You’re going to- you’re leaving me over this?”
Reedshine whipped around to face him, unable to believe her ears. How does he not grasp the severity of his actions?
“Appledusk, I trusted you!” she wailed. “You said I was your mate, and your true love. Yet you said the same thing to Mapleshade!”
“I was lying to her!” Appledusk lashed his tail. “I only meant it when I said it to you . Stop being so mouse-brained!”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Reedshine spat. “We are not mates, Appledusk, not anymore, and I regret that we ever were.”
Appledusk’s fur drooped, and Reedshine turned away again to stomp off to the warriors’ den. She felt the stares of her clanmates on her pelt, and her stomach squirmed uncomfortably. Part of her felt bad for being so harsh to Appledusk. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was being foolish and angry. She pushed her way into the dark den. All of the nests were empty; the commotion of Mapleshade’s arrival had drawn nearly every cat out into the camp’s clearing. Heaving a great sigh, Reedshine circled a few times on her nest, and then settled down. She kneaded at the moss absentmindedly, but in her agitation she unsheathed her claws and shredded the soft bedding. She rolled over and looked at the wall of woven reeds; she always liked sleeping in the far back of the den. Several shells and feathers were woven into the wall next to her nest, most were gifts from Appledusk. She hissed and swatted at the decorations, sending a few shells clattering to the ground.
Reedshine was closing her eyes and preparing to sleep when a loud yowl came from the clearing.
“DARKSTAR! DARKSTAR!!” it was the shrill wail of Eeltail. Alarmed, Reedshine got up and scrabbled to the den entrance, sending scraps of moss flying. She poked her head through the opening in the tightly woven reeds. Eeltail had burst back into camp, her fur bushed, dragging a small, pale-brown form by the scruff.
One of Mapleshade’s dead kits, Reedshine observed. But, why….?
“Darkstar! One of the kits is still alive!”