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Chapter Text

ALLEGIANCES
_____________________________________________________

THUNDERCLAN

Leader - Bluestar

Deputy - Redtail
Apprentice - Dustpaw

Medicine Cat - Spottedleaf

Warriors -
Lionheart
Apprentice - Graypaw
Tigerclaw
Apprentice - Ravenpaw
Whitestorm
Apprentice - Sandpaw
Willowpelt
Darkstripe
Runningwind
Mousefur
Longtail

Apprentices -
Dustpaw
Graypaw
Ravenpaw
Sandpaw

Queens -
Frostfur
Kits - Cinderkit, Brackenkit, Thornkit, Brightkit
Brindleface
Kits - Ashkit, Fernkit
Goldenflower
Kits - Swiftkit
Speckletail

Elders -
Halftail
Smallear
Dappletail
Patchpelt
One-eye
Rosetail
_____________________________________________________

SHADOWCLAN

Leader - Brokenstar

Deputy - Blackfoot

Medicine Cat - Runningnose

Warriors -
Stumpytail
Apprentice - Brownpaw
Boulder
Apprentice - Wetpaw
Clawface
Apprentice - Littlepaw
Nightpelt
Oakfur
Scorchwing

Apprentices -
Brownpaw
Wetpaw
Littlepaw

Queens -
Darkflower
Kits - Rowankit, Cedarkit, Lavenderkit
Tallpoppy

Elders -
Ashfur
Dawncloud
_____________________________________________________

WINDCLAN

Leader - Tallstar

Deputy - Deadfoot

Medicine Cat - Barkface

Warriors -
Cloudrunner
Wrenflight
Onewhisker
Apprentice - Whitepaw
Flytail
Bristlebark
Tornear
Apprentice - Runningpaw
Mudclaw
Apprentice - Webpaw
Ashfoot

Apprentices -
Whitepaw
Runningpaw
Webpaw

Queens -
Morningflower
Kits - Gorsekit, Quailkit

Elders -
Hareflight
Woollytail
Hickerynose
Flailfoot
_____________________________________________________

RIVERCLAN

Leader - Crookedstar

Deputy - Oakheart

Medicine Cat - Mudfur

Warriors -
Leopardfur
Blackclaw
Apprentice - Heavypaw
Timburfur
Vixenleap
Grasswhiskr
Beetlenose
Lilystem
Stonefur
Apprentice - Shadepaw
Mistyfoot
Silverstream
Whiteclaw
Sedgecreek
Loudbelly
Reedtail

Apprentices -
Heavypaw
Shadepaw

Queens -
Mosspelt
Kits - Dawnkit, Woodkit, Robinkit

Elders -
Cedarpelt

Chapter Text

“You’re no leader, Tigerstar. You never were.”

“I only have to beat you. Then I can pick off your Clanmates one by one, moon after moon, till there’s no one left.”

“I’m not going to let you harm another of my cats, not ever.”

“Then you’re going to have to kill me.”

“Has it been worth it, Tigerstar? All the hate? All the deaths?

“Every moment.”

Tigerstar's eyes jolted awake as his heart pounded furiously.

“You lived like a rouge, you can die like a rouge.”

He jumped to his feet, taking in his surroundings. He was standing in the middle of a large forest clearing, the night sky dark above him.

Fourtrees. Back in the old forest.

It only took him a few seconds to realize where he was.

A dark warrior with a raven-black, fluffy pelt and striking, green eyes stood him front of him, looking solemn.

“Oh, Tigerstar,” Leopardfoot whispered. “Oh, my son. What have you done this time?”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Tigerstar forced the words out.

Leopardfoot’s expression was mournful. “I suppose this was partially my fault, anyways.” she mused. “I shouldn’t have agreed to Thistleclaw mentoring you. You needed somebody better in your life, after your father left.”

Tigerstar’s fur bristled. “Thistleclaw was an excellent mentor.”

“He brainwashed you.”

The former ShadowClan leader closed his eyes briefly, reopening them.

“What do you want from me?” he answered sharply. “Why can’t I just go back to the Dark Forest, and live out the rest of eternity in hell?”

Leopardfoot shook her head, a twinge of sorrow in her voice as she spoke. “Because, there are some cats here who think that you need to… Learn your lesson. And I have to be inclined to agree with them.”

“What in the name of StarClan are you going on about?” he snapped.

“How much are you planning on telling him?”

Tigerstar recognized the former blue-furred leader immediately as she stepped out from behind the shadows.

“He needs to know where he’s going.”

“I say just throw him in.”

“To what?”

Leopardfoot and Bluestar glanced back at him.

“To the moment you truly became set on defeating StarClan,” Bluestar’s voice was sharp and commanding.

“I thought he was going to be here as well.” Leopardfoot said.

“Who?”

Bluestar ignored him. “I know. He’s late.”

“I’m right here.”

Tigerstar spun around to see a raven-black cat stepping out from the shadows, his green eyes flickering in the dark.

Ravenpaw.

“Ravenpaw,” Tigerstar stated, staring at his former apprentice.

The loner dipped his head. “Hello, Tigerstar. It’s been a while.”

“Ninety moons, give or take,” Tigerstar hissed. He looked at his mother. “What is this?”

“Tigerstar…” Leopardfoot breathed heavily. “You will have to make a decision… Now that you know what happens in the end, how it all goes down… Tigerclaw, I have faith in you. Believe in yourself. I love you.”

Chapter Text

Shapes and colors were swirling around him.

Tigerstar felt half unconscious, even though he was fully awake. He could hear voices and screaming around him, but it felt like every sound was miles away. It felt like he was trapped, unable to move.

“Tigerclaw!”

Tigerclaw snapped his head up.

A familiar looking tortoiseshell tom with a thick, bushy tail reminiscent of a fox stood in front of him, pinned to a rock, gasping for air.

Oh, for StarClan’s sake.

This is NOT happening.

Tigerclaw could barely make out what was going on.

It took him only a few moments to realize where he was - The Sunningrocks, back in the old forest.

Over a dozen cats were seemingly appearing around him as his eyes came into focus. A mix of RiverClan and ThunderClan warriors - And more RiverClan cats were approaching from the lake.

He could just make out Mistystar (no, Mistyfoot) and Stonefur, side by side. The two RiverClan warriors seemed like they were right next to him, but at the same time, a mile away.

“Tigerclaw!”

Leopardfoot’s words came back to him.

“You will have to make a decision…”

Tigerclaw groaned.

"Oh, dear StarClan, Mother," he muttered under his breath.

Then, he leapt forward.

“Redtail!”

Tigerclaw pushed the ThunderClan cat out of the way, into safety. The deputy gasped for a breath again.

I did NOT just do that.

“Redtail, Tigerclaw, what are you doing?”

Tigerclaw looked up to see Mousefur wblindly slashing at RiverClan warriors as she scurried over to the two of them. She was followed by a young, skinny black tom.

Ravenpaw.

“Mousefur!” Redtail jumped up. “What are you-”

Suddenly, the fighting ceased to an end as a voice rang out.

“RiverClan! Retreat!”

Oakheart yowled for his warriors to step back.

Oh shoot.

Oakheart was supposed to die here, wasn’t he?

That's my bad.

The RiverClan cats began to flee back into the river, one after another. Mistyfoot and Stonefur were two of the last to leave, shooting dirty looks towards the direction of the ThunderClan warriors. Tigerclaw turned back to his ex-Clanmates to see Redtail leaning onto Mousefur for support, blood dripping from a deep wound in his leg that had gone uunnoticed before.

“Ravenpaw, what are you doing here?” Tigerclaw snapped, looking at his former (current??) apprentice.

The first time he had done this, Tigerclaw had found his apprentice shaking with fear by a tree after the battle. This was quite the difference.

Ravenpaw stared at him with piercing eyes.

“I think you know,” his voice was too quiet for Mousefur or Redtail to hear, not that they were paying attention, anyways.

This is all a dream, isn’t it?

But cats don’t dream in the Dark Forest.

Redtail began to take a few steps forward, shakily, and Ravenpaw rushed to support his other side.

“Come on,” Ravenpaw’s voice was hollow. “Let’s go.”

So, is this my life now?

Tigerclaw followed his Clanmates through the forest, at a slow pace because of Redtail’s leg.

Even being forced to live in StarClan would be better than this.

“Redtail!” a voice called out.

Tigerclaw realized with a jolt that the group was already back in camp.

Time travel really messes with your head, huh?

Lionheart was rushing towards them, Spottedleaf a few steps behind.

“What happened?” the medicine cat stopped in her tracks as she stared at her brother.

“Leopardfur,” Redtail clenched his teeth.

“Come on, I’ll take a look.”

Tigerclaw watched Spottedleaf helped Redtail over to her den while more of his Clanmates (former Clanmates??) began to swarm around them. He scanned his surroundings, taking in the sight of the former ThunderClan base, feeling a pang in his heart as he spotted Goldenflower near the warrior’s den, next to Willowpelt.

“Tigerclaw.

Bluestar looked weaker than she had appeared during the final battle and when Tigerclaw had spoken to her at Fourtrees.

“Spottedleaf is attending to Redtail’s injuries,” he told the leader, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. “We gave RiverClan a good fight.”

“Any casualties?” Bluestar checked, and Tigerclaw noticed fear in her eyes, that she managed to hide well. Fear, that he now realized was for Oakheart.

“No,” Tigerclaw confirmed. “We’re sure of it.”

Last time, it was Redtail and Oakheart.

Bluestar nodded slowly. “Thank you, Tigerclaw.”

The leader turned around, and Tigerclaw noticed a slight tremble in her steps as she walked towards her den.

“Tigerclaw,” Whitestorm walked up to him as the Clan began to disperse, going back to what they were doing before. “Have you met the newest apprentice yet?”

Oh no.

“Yes?” Tigerclaw strode to keep up with the white warrior.

Whitestorm stopped in his tracks, in front of the apprentices’ den. “Firepaw!”

A smaller, younger, and less battle-worn version of Firestar, followed by Graystripe, slipped out of the den.

“H- Hi,” Firestar- No, Firepaw said, his voice shaking as he stood next to Graypaw.

Even NOW, he's insufferable.

“Tigerclaw, this is Firepaw,” Whitestorm introduced them.

"You lived like a rogue, you can die like a rogue."

Firestar's words echoed in Tigerclaw's head.

“Firepaw,” Tigerclaw forced himself to say. “Bluestar’s taking in strays now, huh?”

Whitestorm gave him a look.

“Who’s his mentor?” Tigerclaw asked, even though he fully well knew the answer.

“We’re all going to help out, for now, at least,” Whitestorm answered. “Bluestar doesn’t have that many choices, anyways.”

“Firepaw, Graypaw, you two can head back to what you were doing,” the white warrior said to the two apprentices.

Firepaw nodded respectfully while Graypaw dragged him off.

“Wait,” a thought suddenly came to Tigerclaw after the two apprentices had disappeared back into their den. “Where’s Ravenpaw?”

“He’s with Spottedleaf,” Whitestorm answered. “Had a small cut above his eye, nothing major. I just talked to her a few moments ago.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll see you later, I have to go talk to Bluestar,” Whitestorm told Tigerclaw, and he nodded.

Tigerclaw stood in silence for a few moments, thinking about how much he hated Leopardfoot and Bluestar, when a familiar, apprentice-sized cat suddenly leapt towards him.

It was Dustpelt- No, Dustpaw, the one who practically worshipped him and Darkstripe when he was an apprentice.

Before Firestar brainwashed him with his "we're all friends here" nonsense.

“Tigerclaw!” Dustpaw said excitedly. “How was the battle? How come Ravenpaw got to go? Redtail said that I’m not ready yet, which I think is really, really unfair because I bet Ravenpaw just hid the entire time, while I would totally go out and fight and I bet I could do a much better job than Ravenpaw and-”

Oh, dear StarClan, will he ever shut up.

“Dustpelt,” Tigerclaw said hurriedly. “Do you need anything, or…”

“Yeah, I- Wait.”

Oh, shoot.

“Who’s Dustpelt?”

Tigerclaw blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Dustpelt,” the apprentice said slowly. “You just called me that.”

Tigerclaw shook his head steadily.

If there was one thing he was good at, it was gaslighting.

“No, I called you Dustpaw. That is your name, isn’t it?”

“No, I swear-”

“Are you questioning me?”

Dustpaw shook his head. “N-No, I just thought-”

“If you’re hearing wrong, go see Spottedleaf.”

“But, I-”

“Bye. Run along now.”

Tigerclaw took a deep breath as he watched Dustpaw trudge off to go bother Darkstripe.

This is going to be a LONG ninety moons, isn't it.

Chapter Text

Tigerclaw did not expect to find Longtail cowering on the ground in Spottedleaf’s den.

The young tabby was sitting on the ground with his tail curled around himself, whining to Spottedleaf as she tended to Redtail.

“Spottedleaf, you have to believe me.” he was saying. “He could have taken out my eye, he’s insane-”

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one who provoked him.” Spottedleaf responded dryly.

“Well, I…”

“What happened?” Tigerclaw asked as he stepped inside.

“That kittypet.” Longtail hissed, and Spottedleaf rolled her eyes.

“Tell me about it,” Tigerclaw muttered under his breath. “Finally, somebody who I can relate to.”

“You missed the big fight,” Spottedleaf told Tigerclaw, her mouth twitching slightly in amusement.

“I don’t see how this can be allowed.” Longtail insisted, and Tigerclaw nodded earnestly. “I mean, he’s a kittypet-”

“It’s Bluestar’s decision,” Spottedleaf told him shortly. She glanced at Tigerclaw. “Did you need something, or…”

“Ravenpaw. He’s not here?”

“He just left,” Longtail answered.

“You could leave as well, you know,” Spottedleaf suggested.

“I’m injured,” Longtail mewed stiffly, and the medicine cat rolled her eyes again.

“Give Ravenpaw a day’s rest.” she told Tigerclaw. “He’ll be completely fine for training tomorrow.”

Tigerclaw nodded. “Good.”

He turned around and walked out of the den while Spottedleaf shouted a “you’re welcome!” at him.

The tabby warrior spotted Ravenpaw sitting by himself, near the apprentice’s den, his tail wrapped around himself.

Oh, when I get my paws on that little brat-

“Tigerclaw!” Ravenpaw jumped up as his mentor approached him. “I-I- I was with S-Spottedleaf, don’t worry, she said that I can train tomorrow-”

“Cut the act.”

Ravenpaw’s tail dropped. “Dustpelt says that you’re acting weird.”

Tigerclaw flinched. “Dustpaw need to learn to keep to himself.”

“You’ve got to be more careful,” Ravenpaw said, his voice rising slightly with annoyance. “If cats find out we’re from the fut-”

“Oh, would you mind saying that a bit louder?” Tigerclaw hissed. “I don’t think they quite heard you all the way over in ShadowClan’s camp-”

They had now drawn the attention of Frostfur and Brindleface, who were staring at the two from the opening of the nursery.

“We’re going hunting.” Tigerclaw told Ravenpaw suddenly.

Ravenpaw smirked slightly. “Spottedleaf said I can’t-”

“I don’t care what Spottedleaf said, you and I both know you’re perfectly fine. We’re going hunting. Now.”

Ravenpaw sighed with defeat and reluctantly followed his mentor (former mentor?? Tigerclaw couldn’t quite figure that out yet) out of the ThunderClan camp, avoiding making eye contact with Frostfur and Brindleface.

“There,” Tigerclaw said sarcastically once they were a somewhat safe distance away, at least out of earshot of the camp. “Now, you can yell all you want about how we were sent here from the future for StarClan-knows-what.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want Crookedstar to think ThunderClan is going insane,” the apprentice said dryly, jerking his head in the direction of the river.

“So, what’s going on, then?” Tigerclaw asked impatiently. “What’s the deal with this whole time-traveling thing?”

Ravenpaw looked annoyed. “What, you think I know? I’m just as lost as you are.”

“I don’t know, you seemed awfully friendly with Bluestar and my mother.”

“What are you talking about?” Ravenpaw scoffed.

“You know, you seemed to know what was going on. I don’t even get the point of this.”

“You heard Leopardfoot. “You have to make a decision”, blah, blah, blah.”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Tigerclaw mocked.

“You’re so immature.”

Tigerclaw shook his head slowly. “This is insanity.”

“Oh, but everything that you did- All of the Clan cats you killed, the war and bloodshed you caused- That wasn’t?”

“That was completely justified, I-”

“Ahem.”

Tigerclaw and Ravenpaw both swiveled around, and Tigerclaw nearly choked when he saw the two warriors standing in front of him, wide-eyed.

Both were toms. One of them had a sun-colored and ginger pelt with a ripped ear, while the other towered over the ginger cat, and sported multiple scars over his muzzle.

Oh no.

“Sunstar, Pinestar,” Tigerclaw’s voice was cold. “To what do I owe this wonderful pleasure?”

“How long were you two standing there?” Ravenpaw asked nervously.

Tigerclaw wondered briefly how his apprentice knew who the two cats were, considering he had just been born when Sunstar died, but he figured that the former loner must have met them in StarClan.

“Long enough,” Sunstar said, chuckling slightly.

“Oh, so you two think this is funny, huh?” Tigerclaw mewed defensively.

“Yes, hilarious,” his father answered dryly. “StarClan should really do this more often.”

“Yeah, we really should.” Sunstar agreed.

“I volunteer Firestar,” Tigerclaw suggested immediately, and Ravenpaw nearly choked. “Maybe Brambleclaw, as well.”

“What I don’t understand is why I was roped into all of this,” Ravenpaw glared at the two StarClan cats. “This is his punishment, isn’t it?” the dark apprentice gestured towards his mentor.

Sunstar sighed. “Both of you are here because we believe that you have the power to change the past, for the good.”

“Woah, woah,” Ravenpaw shuffled his paws. “I’m so confused. How do you two know what happens in the future- Or, our past- Or- Great StarClan, I don’t even know.”

“StarClan works in mysterious ways,” Sunstar answered, and Tigerclaw groaned.

“This is why I hate StarClan,” he muttered under his breath. “Why can’t I ever get a straight answer?”

“That didn’t really answer my question…” Ravenpaw mewed in agreement.

Pinestar sighed. “Tigerstar…”

“Tigerclaw,” Ravenpaw corrected, smirking.

“Tigerclaw. I have faith in you. Make the right decisions this time around.”

“Yes, because you’re the perfect role model for making right decisions.”

Pinestar stared at the ground, shuffling leaves around with his paws. “Cats can change, Tigerclaw. I know that you can, as well.”

The four of them were silent for several moments.

“We should head back now,” Tigerclaw spoke up, looking at the sky. “It’ll be dark soon enough.”

Ravenpaw remained silent, but he nodded, following his mentor’s gaze.

Sunstar nodded. “We wish you the best. You two are StarClan’s only hope.”

****

“They are one hundred percent not telling us something,” Tigerclaw scoffed as he and Ravenpaw trudged back to the camp. He looked at the younger cat. “What did Bluestar and Leopardfoot tell you?”

“Nothing!” Ravenpaw said defensively. “I’m just as confused as you are-”

“If this is supposed to be my punishment from StarClan, then what I don’t understand is why you’re here.”

“You heard Sunstar. “We’re ‘StarClan’s only hope.’”

“I’d rather not be StarClan’s only hope.”

Ravenpaw sighed. “Look, you’re already doing better. You didn’t kill Redtail, right?”

“That was an accident. I fully meant to kill him.”

“And you’re already being nicer to Firestar- Firepaw, I mean.”

“No, I still hate him.”

“That’s nice,” Ravenpaw muttered sarcastically.

****

The following morning, Tigerclaw was woken up by Whitestorm shaking him.

“What the hell?” he muttered sleepily.

“Training!” his denmate hissed. “Have you forgotten how to wake up early?”

Yeah, moons in the Dark Forest will do that do you.

“It’s sunrise. Redtail and Lionheart are already outside.”

Tigerclaw got up reluctantly and followed the white warrior of of their den. The two of them headed through the all-too-familiar path down the side of the valley and over the ravine, into the sandy hollow where Tigerclaw learned how to fight.

Redtail and Lionheart, as well as Sandpaw and Dustpaw, were already waiting there for them, and Tigerclaw strained to remember what had happened last time.

Right. It was just Lionheart and I, and Firepaw and Graypaw were late.

Just like this time.

The first time, Spottedleaf had forced Ravenpaw to take several more days of rest, but Ravenpaw’s injuries appeared to be less severe this time around.

Thirty seconds after Tigerclaw and Whitestorm had joined their Clanmates, Ravenpaw, Firepaw, and Graypaw burst into the hollow, panting.

“In the future, I expect all three of you to be punctual,” Tigerclaw growled, looking directly at Ravenpaw.

Lionheart rolled his eyes. “Tigerclaw got here less than a minute before you three did,” he meowed gently. “Besides, we had a busy day yesterday, I expected that you would have been tired.”

Redtail looked at Firepaw. “Because you haven’t been assigned a mentor yet, Lionheart and I will be training you together.” he explained.

Yes, yes, yes, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Tigerclaw figured that because Redtail survived, and was still the deputy, he wanted to have a part in training Firepaw, which he certainly wasn’t going to protest.

The nine of them split up. Redtail and Lionheart took Firepaw, Graypaw, and a very reluctant Dustpaw on a tour around the forest, mainly for Firepaw’s benefit. Meanwhile, Tigerclaw and Whitestorm took Ravenpaw and Sandpaw hunting.

Sandstorm was the same as Tigerclaw remembered - Too energetic for her own good. Ravenpaw, meanwhile, was perhaps even more skittish than he had been the first time they did this.

He was probably worried that two StarClan cats would appear out of nowhere again. Because Tigerclaw wouldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t freaked out about that either.

They returned to camp just when the sky was beginning to darken, and shortly after, Redtail and Lionheart returned with the three other apprentices.

“Tigerclaw!” Redtail called as he dropped off fresh-kill in the pile. “Are you and Ravenpaw ready?”

What?

“For what?”

Redtail blinked. “The Gathering?”

Oh, shoot.

Chapter Text

“Lionheart, Whitestorm, Sandpaw, Tigerclaw, Ravenpaw, Mousefur, Dustpaw,” Bluestar yelled out. “You’ll be joining Redtail, Spottedleaf, and I for the Gathering tonight.”

Ah, yes, the good old days, when leaders would actually list only a couple warriors to come to the Gathering, instead of the chaos that is the lake territories.

Tigerclaw followed Redtail to where their follow chosen Clanmates were gathered, along with a few elders who had decided on going, and were waiting for Bluestar to give the clear.

“Do you remember what happened at this Gathering?” Ravenpaw said to Tigerclaw in his attempt at a whisper as they followed their Clanmates out of the ThunderClan camp.

“No, I don’t, because I wasn’t at this one,” Tigerclaw reminded him as the two dropped to the back of the Clan. “You were still in Spottedleaf’s den, pretending to be injured, so apparently to Bluestar that meant I wasn’t going, either.”

“Aww, that’s so nice of you," Ravenpaw meowed sarcastically. “You stayed back here in solidarity for me.” he paused. “And, for the record, I was not pretending to be injured.”

“Probably nothing important happened, anyways. Otherwise, I’d remember.”

“The next one was when everything went to chaos," Ravenpaw said. “After your mouse-brained deputy drove out WindClan.”

“That was Brokenstar, not Blackstar,” Tigerclaw snapped.

“Blackstar’s the deputy now, he was obviously involved.”

“Whatever,” Tigerclaw kicked a rock as they walked through the forest, several fox-lengths behind their Clanmates so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“What do you suppose we do about WindClan?” Ravenpaw asked.

Tigerclaw looked at him weirdly. “What do you mean?”

Ravenpaw sighed. “We can’t very well let Brokenstar terrorize them until they leave.”

“Of course we can,” Tigerclaw said. “I never really liked Tallstar much, anyways, I think he deserves this.”

“Don’t say that,” Ravenpaw meowed, his voice rising slightly. “If we can prevent something-”

“What are you talking about, Ravenpaw?”

“Great StarClan!” Tigerclaw jumped back nearly a tail-length as Dustpaw padded over to them.

How does he just come out of nowhere like that?

“Nothing, Dustpelt-I-mean-Dustpaw,” Tigerclaw snapped, recollecting himself. “Go bother Redtail.”

Dustpaw frowned. “You just called me that name again.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This is the second time you’ve called me Dustpelt,” the apprentice said slowly. “Are you having memory problems or something?”

“Something along those lines,” Ravenpaw muttered under his breath, and Tigerclaw glared at him.

“Go on, then," he flicked his tail towards Dustpaw. “Shoo.”

Tigerclaw watched his apprentice’s brother reluctantly run over to his mentor, nearly knocking over poor Rosetail.

“Was he always this nosy?” he hissed to Ravenpaw.

“You don’t know the worst of it.” the dark apprentice muttered.

When they reached Fourtrees, Tigerclaw realized that they were the third Clan to arrive.

“I’m going to go find Sandpaw and Dustpaw while we wait for RiverClan,” Ravenpaw told Tigerclaw. “You know, so I can convince Dustpaw that you’re not completely insane.”

Tigerclaw nodded as he sat down near the back of the crowd.

After a few moments, Darkstripe approached him.

“You’re not usually not one to hang back, are you?” his former apprentice asked lightly.

“Yep. I know.”

“So… What are you doing?”

“Stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Just observing.”

“Observing what?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Tigerclaw snapped, finally losing patience. He gestured with his tail towards Cloudrunner and Nightstar- Nightpelt- Who were chatting with each other a few tail-lengths away. “Why don’t you go join them?”

Darkstripe reluctantly stalked off towards the WindClan and ShadowClan cats, finally leaving Tigerclaw on his own.

“Tigerclaw?”

Oh, for StarClan’s sake.

“What is it?” he snapped, swiveling around to find himself face-to-face with Mistyfoot.

RiverClan must have arrived. He noted.

“Mistyfoot,” he greeted casually, keeping his voice level.

Tigerclaw thought about the future leader’s true parentage before his thoughts wandered over to his kits in RiverClan.

Mothwing is a good medicine cat.

Her foolish brother, on the other paw…

He would never admit it, but it pained him slightly to think about Hawkfrost. He had shown promise, yes, but let his lunacy get ahead of him.

Especially when it came to his death by the paws of Brambleclaw.

“How are you, Tigerclaw?” Mistyfoot asked, sounding unconcerned but wary at the same time.

“Well enough, Mistyfoot,” the ThunderClan warrior answered, refraining himself by calling the gray cat by her leader name. He didn’t need another Dustpaw.

“Prey is running well?”

“Yes," Tigerclaw also abstained from mentioning the Sunningrocks. “As for you?”

“Wonderfully.” Mistyfoot looked like she was gritting her teeth.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Tigerclaw smirked slightly.

The RiverClan cat seemed as if she was about to respond, but was cut off by Tallstar’s voice.

“Cats of all Clans!” he yowled out from on top of the Great Rock. “Welcome to the Gathering tonight! Who would like to share first?”

Brokenstar stepped forward calmly. “I will, if nobody has any objects.” he said smoothly, and the other three leaders nodded with approvement.

Tigerclaw strained his ears, eager to hear what his predecessor and future (past??) ally would have to say.

“Prey is running well in ShadowClan,” he announced, before proceeding to present a new warrior, Dawncloud, as well as a couple new apprentices, one of them being Littlepaw.

Littlecloud. Tigerclaw realized as he remembered the future ShadowClan medicine cat.

“Tallpoppy is also expecting Blackfoot’s kits,” Brokenstar finished, stepping back.

Tigerclaw was slightly disappointed that there wouldn’t be any drama from ShadowClan that night.

“I’ll go next,” Bluestar proceeded to say that ThunderClan had two new apprentices, Graypaw, and Firepaw, but Tigerclaw noticed she refrained from mentioning anything about Firepaw being a former kittypet.

The other Clans will figure it out anyways, if they remember that there was never any talks of a “Firekit” in the nursery.

Bluestar also did not mention anything about the Sunningrocks, only giving a side glance to Crookedstar when she said the typical line “prey is running well”. She then added the Clan has four new kits, born to Frostfur and Lionheart, before allowing WindClan’s leader to talk.

Tallstar made his speech, and Tigerclaw couldn’t care enough to listen. Crookedstar stepped up afterwards.

“Our deputy, Oakheart, is healing from an unfortunate incident," Crookedstar looked pointedly at Bluestar, and for the first time that evening, Tigerclaw realized that the RiverClan deputy wasn’t sitting in his usual spot underneath the Great Rock with Redtail, Deadfoot, and Blackfoot.

Bluestar suddenly seemed very interested in looking at her paws, and Tigerclaw snickered.

“Thankfully, we had no casualties,” Crookedstar glared at the ThunderClan leader again. He then continued the rest of his speech, including announcing that his daughter, Silverstream had become a warrior.

Tigerclaw remembered Silverstream, Graystripe’s RiverClan mate, and the mother of Feathertail and Stonefur. He had hated how close the two had become to Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt.

Crookedstar’s voice broke his train of thought.

“-good. I believe that it all?”

The four leaders concluded the Gathering, and all of them jumped off of the Great Rock to join their Clanmates.

Tigerclaw turned around, expecting Mistyfoot to still be there, but he realized she must have gone off to join the rest of her Clan.

“Boring Gathering, huh?”

Tigerclaw looked up to see his apprentice coming over.

The tabby warrior smiled slightly. “Crookedstar confronting Bluestar was pretty funny.”

“You have a messed-up sense of humor.”

“Maybe.”

The two walked in silence through the forest, once again at the back of ThunderClan’s entourage.

“Training tomorrow,” Tigerclaw reminded the younger cat once they had arrived back at camp.

“What?”

Tigerclaw’s mouth twitched. “Sunrise. Don’t be late this time. Time traveling doesn’t excuse you from being late, you know.”

Ravenpaw sighed. “I’ll be there.”

Chapter Text

“I still don’t understand what the whole point of this is.”

Ravenpaw kicked a small stick with his paw. “And you think I know?”

“I wasn’t asking you, mouse-brain.”

“That’s nice.”

“I think you’re even more idiotic than you were when you were younger.”

“That’s nice.”

“StarClan, I hate Pinestar so much,” Tigerclaw found himself changing the topic slightly as he spotted a vole scramble by.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yep. That coward. Abandoned the Clan, has the nerve to go to StarClan and then show up here-”

Ravenpaw laughed darkly. “You of all warriors, with all that you did and caused, with the murders you were solely responsible for, is the last cat in the forest that should be criticizing him. Do you even hear yourself right now?”

“I tend not to really listen,” Tigerclaw admitted. “I just can’t even look at my father. That cowardly, flea-brained, idiot-” he stopped short as soon as he saw his apprentice’s amused expression. “And he’s behind me, isn’t he?”

“Hello, Tigerclaw.”

The tabby warrior stepped back slightly, turning around to stand next to Ravenpaw, who was clutching a thrush in his mouth. He groaned internally what he saw two StarClan warriors in front of him.

His father and Sunstar.

“You didn’t… Hear all of that, did you?” he flinched.

Pinestar winced. “Only the part where you called me a cowardly, flea-brained, idiot,” he assured.

Ravenpaw choked slightly, dropping his thrush onto the dirt as he held back a laugh.

“So, what now?” Tigerclaw snapped. “Come to gloat about how miserable I am here?”

“Actually, we were amused at first, but now it’s just getting a bit pathetic,” Sunstar confessed.

“Example; Dustpaw,” Pinestar coughed.

“Don’t even get me started on Dustpelt-I-mean-paw!” Tigerclaw ranted. “That kit is way too nosy for his own being-”

“For the record, I actually agree with you for once,” Ravenpaw put in.

Sunstar twitched his whiskers amusingly.

“Wait, you’re distracting me,” Tigerclaw turned around to look at Sunstar and Pinestar again. “I want to know why I’m being subjected to the worse punishment StarClan could think of. Heads up for the future, the Dark Forest is better than this.”

“That’s the point, mouse brain,” Ravenpaw snapped. “This is to punish you for everything that you did, otherwise you’d just get to spend the rest of eternity with your best friends in the Dark Forest.”

“I actually don’t really like any of them, Hawkfrost was really the only somewhat tolerable one,” Tigerclaw corrected.

“In any case-” Pinestar started to say before he was interrupted by his former deputy.

“We sent you here because we believe you two have the power to change the future, for the better,” Sunstar explained.

“Yes, I already got that part,” Tigerclaw muttered under his breath. “But why us? Why not your favorite, your lord and savior, perfect Firestar?”

“Well-” Sunstar began.

Tigerclaw’s eyes widened. “Oh, don’t tell me that he actually somehow survived yet another tree falling on him. I swear to StarClan, all of that hard work I did sitting around in the Dark Forest just for nothing…”

“Don’t worry, this time the tree was on fire.” Ravenpaw said darkly. “I think it did the trick.”

Pinestar nodded. “He did lose his last life, but not from the tree, more from the wounds you inflicted in him.”

“The whole lightning striking the tree thing was sorta our little touch,” Sunstar added. “We- StarClan- Thought that we’d spice it up a bit, you know? Add some sort of symbolic meaning to his death.”

Tigerclaw nodded, satisfied. “He died because of me? That’s good to hear.”

At least one thing I tried to do actually worked out for once. It took me a couple tries, but I got there.

Ravenpaw glared at him, and Tigerclaw figured it was a good time to change the subject

“So, I kind of understand why I’m here, but then, for the thousandth time, why him?” The tabby warrior jerked his head towards his apprentice.

Pinestar shared a look with the other former ThunderClan leader. “That information is undisclosed, unfortunately. StarClan is putting our trust into you two.”

Before Tigerclaw could protest, the two StarClan warriors had vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

“Oh, I hate StarClan so much,” Tigerclaw ranted. “‘Undisclosed information’- What does that even mean?”

“I think it’s something that we’re supposed to figure out ourselves,” Ravenpaw said slowly, thinking about it.

“Oh, yeah, genius?” Tigerclaw snapped. “Why don’t you figure it out, then?”

“You’re impatient.”

“You’re insufferable.

“You’re straight up evil,” Ravenpaw retorted.

That was a good comeback. Tigerclaw had to admit.

****

“So, what were you and Ravenpaw doing all day?” Whitestorm asked Tigerclaw casually as the two were getting there share from the fresh-kill pile later that day, and the tabby warrior nearly froze.

“Oh, uh, we were just hunting,” Tigerclaw stammered.

Whitestorm looked skeptical. “You were out from dawn to a few heartbeats ago, and you only had one thrush between the two of you?”

Yes, because we spent the entire time either arguing or talking to dead cats.

He tried to quickly think of something to say to get the white warrior to stop sounding so suspicious.

“I, uh, if I’m being honest, we had a few heart-to-heart chats that took up a lot of the day,” Tigerclaw tried to sound sincere even though it was paining him to say it.

Whitestorm nodded as he sat down, seeming to understand. “Ah, I get it. It’s sweet how close the two of you are.”

Tigerclaw nearly choked. “Yep… So close… Sometimes, a little too close.”

He glared at Ravenpaw, who was sitting a few tail-lengths away nearby Firepaw and Graypaw, with a mix of amusement and embarrassment on his face.

“Heart-to-heart chats?” He heard Graypaw say doubtfully as the three of them got up and headed towards their den. “Since when do you and Tigerclaw have heart-to-heart chats?”

Tigerclaw was thankful that Whitestorm didn’t seem to hear them.

“So, uh, what were you and Sandpaw up to?” he asked, trying to draw the attention away from him and Ravenpaw.

“Really just battle training, today,” Whitestorm explained. “We were out in the gorge along with Lionheart, Firepaw and Graypaw. Firepaw’s shaping up to be quite the warrior, you know.”

Tigerclaw tried to hide his scowl.

Lionheart and Redtail made their way over, and to Tigerclaw’s relief, the conversation turned away from training.

“I was in the nursery earlier, visiting Ashkit and Fernkit-” Whitestorm had begun, when Tigerclaw frowned, taking a bite from the vole in front of him.

“Wait, Ashfur?” he said.

Oh, shoot.

“What do you mean, ‘Ashfur’?” Lionheart asked, frowning.

“Ashkit,” Tigerclaw said quickly. “Uh, brain freeze moment. You know.”

He had forgotten that Ashfur and Ferncloud were technically Whitestorm’s kits.

“I see,” Lionheart still had an odd look on his face. “Didn’t I hear you call Dustpaw ‘Dustpelt’ the other day?” He mentioned offhandedly.

“Yeah, Ravenpaw said he’s been having memory problems.”

Oh StarClan, not him.

Tigerclaw groaned as he realized Dustpaw had decided to show up at that moment, and that the apprentice had unfortunately remembered what Ravenpaw told him the previous night.

Why does he always seem to show up at the absolute worst times?

"Thank you for your helpful input, Dustpelt-I-mean-Dustpaw, go bather someone else."

Whitestorm, Lionheart, and Redtail all seemed to be incredibly confused, and all three of them were giving each other odd looks.

"You were saying, Tigerclaw?" Redtail asked pointedly.

Tigerclaw chuckled nervously. "It's been a long day for me, don't ask any questions."