Two Clans

 TWO CLANS

Episode Nine, Season Six, of Rise.

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Two Clans
It’s two days after the war is over when news hits us. I’m out hunting alone—I turned down offers from my friends to join me. Even Terran couldn’t convince me to bring company along with me. It just felt stupid; it wasn’t as if I needed protection in case an enemy decided to ambush me.

The peace feels more threatening than the war but I’m glad for the silence of the forest.

I stay far away from the graves that hold my sister and Aleric and end up near the Dip. I’ve spent enough time moping around there and crying. I hunt near the Blood Army border, where in the distance, I can see the towering buildings of the Twolegplace. I feel myself drawn back towards it, wondering if cats are flourishing there now that Aleric has given the prey back.

Lucien and Gemma, the two Twolegplace cats Aleric had brought back with him, had already left. I talked to them about the situation and they say that many of the cats are happy now and the hunting grounds—a lush meadow-like area with plentiful amounts of prey—are providing for all the families in need.

When I asked Analese, she mentioned that the only reason Aleric didn’t know of the prey supply was because only the first members of the High Committee had known about it and had kept it hidden from Aleric when he joined up.

“Possibly because of his upbringing,” Analese had suggested, “his parents were murdered and Aleric was always…strange. I think deep down everyone knew he had a good heart.”

My heart still aches to think that even when he had sunk so far down in his grief for his parents, Aleric still knew what was right and what was wrong. He just hadn’t acted until Karina.

And maybe Elena, though Analese didn’t tell me all of it.

She only told brief snippets, like how she was Elena’s best friend and how Analese had first met Aleric through Elena. “He was the same emotionless tom you knew, but he also had such a sweet and caring personality. It was clashing, but at that time, I hadn’t thought of it,” Analese had admitted.

She told me they had fallen in love. Then she told me Aleric had killed her.

My blood had chilled at the thought and I could imagine the scene. The dark brown tom standing over this she-cat with love and anguish in his eyes. It was a look he had given Karina when he was dying.

Before I can dwell more on my thoughts, pounding footsteps alert me and I whirl around on instinct to find Nightshadow panting in front of me. I blink at him. ''Why would we need to run now? What danger are we running from?''

“The Coalition is splitting up.” Nightshadow blurts out.

“What?” I stare at him in shock.

“The Coalition is splitting up.” Nightshadow repeats.

“I heard you the first time,” I say crossly, “I just…I didn’t expect it to happen I guess. Not after meeting the Coalition as a unified front and living in peace with each other for so long.”

Nightshadow shakes his head. “It’s…strange for me to think about it too. But we’re always meant to be two Clans. Whitestar and Amberstar may be allies enough that they can rule together, but before, Hawkstar and Amberstar disagreed on many things. While we may be at peace now, we won’t always be.”

“When the two Clans split, will there be war one day?” I dare to ask.

The black tom shrugs, though hope stays in his eyes. “I hope not. We’ve been through enough war to last a lifetime, though I can’t say as the generations go on, there won’t be rivalries and border disputes. The Coalition territory is large, but it’s meant for two Clans.”

It turns out, the camp we’re occupying now is the DawnClan one. They had expanded it to accommodate for two Clans, but both were small.

“Where will you go?” I ask, tipping my head at my friend. If I recall correctly, he and Feathershine are from different Clans.

Nightshadow frowns. “I don’t know,” he hesitates, “I want to be with Feathershine because we’re mates, but my loyalty has always been to Whitestar and DuskClan. But I haven’t thought about the borders for a very long time; Amberstar even gave Applewhisker to me as an apprentice.”

“Is she not DuskClan?” I frown.

“She’s DawnClan.”

Indeed, the lines between the two Clans had blurred. I don’t know how the cats will split, considering many of the cats had mated between Clans. Kits had parents from both Clans. How would any of them choose?

“I’m going to choose Feathershine,” Nightshadow decides, “I want to be there for my mate and my kits. I’ll miss the old friends I had in DuskClan, but we’re all allies now. I know all the DawnClan cats and it’s not as if I haven’t been a loyal warrior in Amberstar’s ranks either. She’s a strong leader and I won’t be too sad to leave my Clan.”

Still, I think, the decisions will be hard.

“Where will we go?”

“We?” Nightshadow doesn’t get my question at first.

“The rogues,” I clarify, “the non-Clan cats.”

My first thought is to return to the Twolegplace. After all, there is prey there now. But my sisters are Clan apprentices. And I no longer feel like the Twolegplace is home now.

Nightshadow furrows his brow in thought. “Amberstar mentioned that the rogues are free to choose whichever Clan they please. I suspect all of us will have free passage between the two Clans for awhile until hostility between Clans drive us apart again.”

“I think I’d rather stay outside of Clan territory,” I decide. I can’t imagine choosing a Clan and fighting against the other cats for a border dispute. I’ve had enough of fighting and hostility. I want to belong to both Clans or neither.

“Terran and Karina said they’d like that too,” Nightshadow admits, “I just wasn’t sure if you’d want to be with your sisters.”

Alarm flashes through me. “What Clan are my sisters joining?” Feathershine is DawnClan, so Emerald will follow her mentor, but what about Jewel? She is Flameshadow’s apprentice and I remember him being DuskClan.

“Both are going to DawnClan,” Nightshadow assures me. I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Flameshadow will go between Clans to make sure Jewel is trained enough, but since the DawnClan medicine cat has long been deceased, Jewel will take over the role.”

I feel proud of my sister in that moment; she’s grown up so much. Emerald too: she’ll grow up to be a strong warrior. Ruby would have been pleased too.

“So you’re all going to DawnClan?” I clarify. If I wanted, I could join the rest of my friends in DawnClan. But Terran and Karina want to settle outside of the Clans as well; my home will always be with my mate.

Nightshadow bobs his head. “Do you want to come back to camp with me? I think the cats are making the final decisions and the moves will happen soon.”

Alarm flashes through me. So soon, everything I’ve known of the Coalition will splinter and shatter. I don’t know if I’m ready for that sort of loss. And I also realize that I’m not ready to settle down. I want to keep moving and my paws ache to feel the gravel of the Twolegplace under my paw.

I don’t want to make my home there, no, I want to live in the forest. But there are lost memories I have yet to uncover and I want to head to the Twolegplace to find them. I want to learn more about my parents.

But that’s not it. Memories of my friends, Calypso and Presidia will be there too. Childhood memories of Ruby. And most of all, Aleric will be there. I wonder if Karina will want to learn the truth about the tom who would have been her mate. I wonder if it’ll give her closure for his death.

“Bryce?”

I snap my attention to Nightshadow, who is watching me patiently. “Hm? Oh yeah, sure, I’ll be right behind you.”

I follow him back to the camp, the territory so familiar to my paws. I don’t know how I’m going to face this change. Every tree, every stone seems to be calling out to me. At least I know I won’t be going far, just to the edge of the Clans’ territory.

When we reach camp, I go to see my sisters first, who are sharing a piece of prey outside of our shared den. I’ll miss this den as well, knowing that my sisters will be in DawnClan while I will remain outside.

“How are you two doing in your training?” I ask, settling down beside them.

“Good!” Emerald purrs, “Feathershine is teaching me how to fight. She says I’ll have an assessment soon!”

My heart aches at the thought of Emerald ever having to need to use those moves. I’m glad they made it out of the final fight alive—they were so brave.

“That’s good,” I purr along with her. “And you, Jewel?”

“Flameshadow says I’m almost ready to take over for DawnClan,” she says quietly, her blue eyes watching me carefully.

My sisters are growing up so fast.

“Are you going to stay in DawnClan with us?” Jewel finally asks.

I bite my lip. “I don’t know,” I admit. I want to be with my sisters—they’re all I have left of my family—but I don’t want to be tied down to a Clan. It isn’t the life I want to live, especially if one day there might be conflict with DuskClan. I don’t think it will happen in my lifetime, but I know one day there will be hostilities between the two, just like before the war.

“I want to stay outside of the Clans,” I admit to them. “But I promise I’ll visit you in DawnClan as much as I can.”

“And we’ll visit you!” Emerald smiles, the news not bothering her as much.

But Jewel is silent. She’s always been more of my inner self, and I wonder how much she relies on my as I rely on her and Emerald. I hope she won’t be hurt by my decision to stay out of the Clans.

“You’ll visit a lot?” She asks.

“Of course,” I lean forward and lick the top of her head.

“And will Terran come with you?” Emerald asks eagerly. “And Karina?”

“Of course.” I say again. There’s an empty hole in my chest as Emerald stops there and doesn’t ask about anyone else. I wonder if they remember Aleric of or if they had known him enough to realize that he was a friend.

“Will you be with Ruby?” Jewel blinks up at me.

Tears gather in my throat but I nod at that. “We’ll be in the clearing close to the graves. When you come visit, we can go see Ruby together.”

I wonder how Karina will feel about that, being so close to where we buried Aleric. She hasn’t gone to his grave and I don’t think she ever will. Not until she settles the love inside of her.

Terran’s scent washes over me and I purr as he touches his nose to mine. “Hey, Bryce. Nightshadow told me the news.”

I glance at my sisters. “Can I talk to you alone? In the den?”

Terran bobs his head up and down. “Yeah sure. Karina went hunting for once so I think the den is completely empty.”

I excuse myself from my sisters and Terran and I head into the den. He sits me down and looks into my eyes carefully. I examine the light blue of his eyes, the white spots clear like crystal. “What is it?” There isn’t any worry in his voice, though I know he will always be slightly worried for my safety just like I will be with him.

“I don’t want to stay here.” I tell him.

“Then we won’t,” Terran says automatically. “We’ll go wherever you want to go. I think Karina will like the change.”

“I meant I don’t want to stay in the Clan,” I correct myself. “I want to live outside of it and just visit our friends when we want to. Everyone is going to DawnClan but…it feels too much like tying ourselves down after so many moons of fighting for our freedom. I’d rather live like a rogue.”

Terran smiles softly at me. “I will go wherever you go.”

I lean against him. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Bryce.”

There is a heartbeat of silence before I spring my next surprise on him. “I want to go to the Twolegplace.”

Terran pulls back in surprise and searches my gaze. “I thought you said you wanted to live outside of the Clans. Karina and I talked about it; we’d like that too.”

“No, no! I do want that,” I reassure him, “I just mean…I want to go back to the Twolegplace for a final visit. Finish where this all started, you know? There are some memories I want to revisit and some last words I want to say. Plus, I want to learn everything: about my parents, about Presidia and Calypso, and of…Aleric.”

Terran gets a slightly faraway look. “It seems a little final, don’t you think?” He murmurs, “It’s not like we’re going to die now. We’ll still come back to the forest and live out our lives in peace.”

“I know,” I give a small laugh. “But the Twolegplace isn’t home now. I want to let it go. But I want to see everyone one last time.”

Terran brushes his nose against mine. “I’ll go wherever you go.” He repeats, “I’d like to see them again too. I wonder what the others will say.”

“Nightshadow, Feathershine, and Applewhisker might stay in the Clans because that’s their home. They didn’t know Presidia and Calypso that well. Of course they’d go for Aleric, but I think it’s time they focus on DawnClan. They’re Clan cats after all, while we aren’t.”

The white tom nods. “Karina might not want to come.”

I give a soft sigh. “I know.”

“But I’ll go with you.” Terran smiles and I lean in and breathe in his scent. “Even if you wanted me to walk off the ends of the earth with you, I’d do it. Even if we never came home, I’d go anyway.”

“I love you,” I murmur.

The End.