Return- Hawkfrost x Ivypool

Chapter Eighteen

Ivystar paused as she stepped off the tree-bridge to settle her fur, which was standing up and bristling. She glanced back at Lionblaze, Dovewing, Jayfeather, Hawkfrost and Ravenwhisper, who shot her puzzled glances in return.

"Hurry," Jayfeather meowed impatiently.

Ivystar sighed and continued forward, paws hitting wet ground. She opened her mouth to taste the air, catching the scent of Onestar.

Her warriors (and medicine cat) followed her off the bridge, padding towards the center of the island. Ravenwhisper jumped off the bridge last, landing with a soft thump.

From the Gathering place, Onestar turned his head to look at Ivystar. He nodded slightly and turned back to a small tabby tom next to him. The grey tom sighed and glanced down at the sand, looking dejected.

"Who're you?" Jayfeather asked, sniffing the air next to the small grey tom. 

The tom scooted a little farther away from Jayfeather before replying, "Featherpaw. Meadowleaf's training me to be a medicine cat."

Jayfeather nodded and turned away from Featherpaw, who quivered slightly under the gaze of the ThunderClan cats. As they sat in awkward silence, pawsteps thudded across the tree-bridge.

"Flintstar is coming with five warriors," Fernstem, WindClan's deputy, reported to her leader. "I don't know what possessed her to bring so many."

"She's never trusted us and she never will," Onestar remarked, more to himself than any other cat. "I can't blame her. I was suspicious when I heard of this meeting, but I've been through this chaos once."

"You're not the only one," Mistystar meowed as she slid out of the lake, water rolling down her glossy pelt. "Everyone here besides, well, you-" she glanced at Ravenwhisper, "has been through this before."

"Unfortunately. I don't understand how they've returned so soon." Onestar's gaze scanned the water. "You didn't bring any warriors?"

Mistystar tilted her head in mock confusion. "Why would I? ThunderClan isn't one to start a fight under the pretense of an important meeting. Especially since they told us that we could bring warriors."

"Well, ThunderClan might not have schemes planned, but ShadowClan might."

"And I should just ignore the obvious fact that you also have no such reservations about attacking Clans at their weakest?"

"Your Clan was part of that battle," Onestar growled back.

Mistystar flicked her tail. "You were a leader, and your decisions were law. I was forced to attack by Leopardstar. Besides that, the fact that you know exactly what I'm talking about and are willing to defend yourself means that you know you instigated a despicable attack and are still fine with it."

Onestar grumbled under his breath and turned away from Mistystar, whose gaze glowed with smug triumph.

"That's going to bless my memory for years," Ravenwhisper muttered to herself as Flintstar arrived.

The cats all sat down together as Flintstar's warriors crowded behind their leader, glaring at the other Clans like they believed they would strike at any moment.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Ivystar began. She tried to hide the slight tremors in her mew, but by how the ShadowClan warriors glanced among themselves, she hadn't done very well. Speaking more steadily, she continued, "As you now know, the Dark Forest has risen again in an impossibly short time. They are responsible for the death of WindClan's medicine cat. And if we don't stop them, they will be responsible for the deaths of all of us. We need to work together to defeat them when the time comes."