Chapter Text
The sounds of the forest around her guided Moonwhisper forward as she padded through the woods, her movements smooth and graceful. Her world was dark, but her ears were sharp, catching even the tiniest rustling of leaves, or the sound of a rodent burrowing underground. Her sister, Milkywhite, had just given birth to her mate’s kits, and was staying in the healer’s den to recover. Moonwhisper was the deputy of RainClan, and while part of her duties included ensuring the Clan stayed fed, She would always have a soft spot for her littermate.
Her ears pricked to the sound of tiny feet shuffling in the underbrush. She crouched, holding the tension in her muscles, before prancing forward, zeroing in on the sound, coming down heavy on her paws. She felt the animal-- A vole, she was sure of it, scramble away, and she chased after it, honing in on the sound of its frantic movements.
She lept and zigzagged behind the vole, nostrils flared and ears standing up straight. She was closing in, she could feel it. The vole would be hers, and her sister would be fed--
Moonwhisper ran straight into something furry and solid. She reared back, senses scrambled while she tried to adjust. She sniffed the air, her ears swivelling around to collect as much information as she could. Something in front of her was moving, she could hear it. And it smelled like a cat. A cat from BrightClan.
“He-llo?” Meowed a crackling voice, almost like it hadn’t been used very often. “You ran into me,” the voice stated, almost shouting, like the owner of the voice couldn’t hear how loud she was being.
“I wouldn’t have done that if you weren’t in my way,” Moonwhisper sniffed. She flicked her tail behind her, sitting. “Couldn’t you tell I was hunting?”
“I didn’t hear you,” the other cat replied, and there was clearly a gesture that Moonwhisper missed. “How come you didn’t see me? I’m not very camouflaged,”
Moonwhisper blinked. Was she serious? Everyone knew who Moonwhisper was, or at least about her. She was her Clan’s deputy, for StarClan’s sake!
“I can’t see,” Moonwhisper said flatly. “I’m blind. My eyes? Don’t work. Surely you’ve heard of me. I’m the RainClan deputy?”
“Oh,” the other cat meowed, sounding surprised. “You’re Moonwhisper. I didn’t recognize you. I’ve only ever seen you in the dark at gatherings,”
“Yeah, that’s me,” Moonwhisper mentally rolled her eyes. “How come you didn’t move out of the way? Didn’t you hear me coming?”
“No, I just told you, I couldn’t hear you!” the cat meowed impatiently.
“Why?” Moonwhisper frowned.
“Don’t you recognize me ? I’m Sunsight. The BrightClan deputy? And I’m Deaf, I can’t hear,”
Moonwhisper burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Sunsight asked, surprised.
“I thought your voice sounded familiar! Wow, that’s embarrassing, neither of us can recognize the deputy of the other Clan!” Moonwhisper replied in between giggles. “So, if you can’t hear, how are you responding to what I’m saying?”
Sunsight laughed awkwardly. “I, uh, read lips. Not many cats outside of BrightClan know sign language,”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Moonwhisper nodded. “We don’t really have a reason to, though,” she pointed out. “Our Clans don’t really get along,”
Moonwhisper paused, realizing what she had just said, in relation to what she was doing. RainClan and BrightClan didn’t get along. Moonwhisper was the RainClan deputy. Moonwhisper was laughing and chatting with the BrightClan deputy.
“Er, uh--” Moonwhisper started awkwardly. “I mean, no offense to you, but I probably shouldn’t be talking to you. It’s against the Warrior Code,” she said, but her heart wasn’t in it. She frowned, puzzled by this.
“Right,” Sunsight said, and Moonwhisper assumed she nodded. Was that a hint of disappointment in her voice? Silence wound around them as they stood there, sitting across from each other, neither moving to leave.
“Do you think--” Sunsight started, but she was cut off by Moonwhisper.
“What Miststar doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?” Moonwhisper laughed, slightly uncomfortable. What was happening right now? She was a warrior of RainClan. Not only that, she was the deputy. She was betraying her Clan. To even think what she had just said would be to spit on StarClan’s very name.
So why couldn’t she bring herself to leave?
“I, uh, I guess,” Sunsight agreed, sounding hopeful. “Our leaders trust us to make decisions for the good of the Clan. Maybe…” Sunsight trailed off.
“Maybe what?” Moonwhisper pressed.
“No, it’s silly,” the BrightClan cat let out a breathy laugh.
“Tell me!” Moonwhisper all but demanded. “Please?” She added hastily.
“Maybe if we can become friends… we can convince our Clans to stop fighting,” Sunsight said, voice dripping with hesitation. “See, I told you it was silly--” she rushed, and Moonwhisper could hear her paws padding up and down.
“No! That isn’t silly!” Moonwhisper almost shouted. Her tail flicked up to cover her snout, embarrassed. “I mean, it’s a nice idea. Part of our duties as deputies is to keep our Clans safe, right? What better way to do that than… become allies?”
“Exactly!” Sunsight said enthusiastically, her voice laced with a smile that sounded like sunshine.
Her smile sounds lovely, Moonwhisper thought. Her eyes widened slightly. Get it together, Moonwhisper. You’re a warrior of RainClan. The Warrior Code forbids you from making friends with cats outside your Clan. If we can’t trust StarClan to know what’s right and wrong, who can we trust?
But there was something about this cat…
-
Moonwhisper was still thinking about her encounter with Sunsight, even as she took her position as night guard outside the cavern system where RainClan kept their camp. She stamped her paw impatiently. This was stupid. There was no way, no way she could be friends with Sunsight. She’d understand. It was just a chance encounter. They’d never see each other again, apart from at gatherings, and they’d silently agree that neither should talk about the meeting in the forest.
But…
There was so much Moonwhisper wanted to say to Sunsight, so much she wanted to ask her. What was she doing so close to RainClan territory, just sitting there? What was it like, being a Deaf deputy? Did she have to work twice as hard because of her disability, too?
RainClan was Moonwhisper’s home. She loved the cats she protected, and she could never imagine another life. But even though she couldn’t see, she could feel her Clanmates casting pitying glances her way, or shaking their head in disappointment whenever she made a mistake. It was awful when she was an apprentice.
“We should just move her to the elder’s den,” the warriors would whisper at night. “There’s no way she’ll ever become a warrior without her sight. How will she fight? How will she hunt?”
Did the cats in BrightClan say the same things about Sunsight? What had she gone through to get where she was now? How similar were they, really, despite living in different Clans?
This type of thinking was something she’d never explored. It was always Us and Them. Ever since she was a kit, she had been taught to be wary of cats outside RainClan.
But why? Sunsight seemed nice enough. She didn’t claw Moonwhisper’s face off when she ran into her, which was a pretty low bar, but still!
“Moonwhisper?”
She jumped. Her ears turned before her head did. “Miststar?” Moonwhisper’s head tilted. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“Your shift as night guard ended a while ago,” Miststar meowed, sounding amused. “Echopelt sent me to relieve you, since you didn’t seem to hear him,”
“Oh,” Moonwhisper said simply, wrapping her tail around her back legs. “I’m sorry. I must’ve been lost in thought,”
“I’d say almost certainly,” Miststar purred. “You had that… pensive look on your face. Is something on your mind, Moonwhisper?”
Moonwhisper hesitated.
“Miststar, do you think… sometimes… StarClan could be wrong?” Moonwhisper asked hesitantly. Miststar was silent for a moment, and Moonwhisper could feel her ears burning.
“What could you possibly mean by that?” Miststar finally answered, sounding offended, but mostly amused.
“Do you think they could make mistakes? That maybe parts of the Warrior Code are, I don’t know, outdated?” Moonwhisper rushed nervously.
There was the silence again. The sound of insects buzzing filled Moonwhisper’s ears.
“I’m not sure,” Miststar said after a while. “I don’t think anyone can truly answer that. Our ancestors are not perfect, of course, but I think they wrote the Warrior Code with the Clans’ best interest in mind,” she continued. “Nothing good will come from doubting it. Whatever is troubling you, Moonwhisper, clear it from your mind. Do not let it distract you from your duties to your Clan. You will make a great leader one day, as long as you stay true,”
Moonwhisper sat, mulling her leader’s words over. She wanted to accept them. She wanted to take her advice, to go back to her life, but something was twisting inside her, and she just couldn’t.
What if things could be different?
“Goodnight, Moonwhisper. I suggest you get some rest. You’re leading the dawn patrol tomorrow,”
“Goodnight, Miststar,” Moonwhisper said, but her mind was elsewhere. She wandered into the cavern, towards the warriors’ den.
“Moonwhisper,”
She had just gotten back from the patrol, and was sat beside a rather large rock pillar in the main cavern of the RainClan camp, eating a bat. Her ears tilted towards Miststar’s voice, and she swallowed the bite she had just finished chewing.
“Yes, Miststar?” She meowed.
“I just overheard something interesting on my way past the apprentices’ den. It seems you had an encounter with a BrightClan cat and chose not to inform me,” The leader stated.
“Yes, Miststar, I did. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it didn’t seem important,” Moonwhisper said evenly. Behind her, she lashed her tail. Why was everyone so concerned with this?
“You were very distracted when you returned to camp after hunting yesterday,” Miststar pointed out. “You asked me a very interesting question. I’m wondering if these things are related,”
Bat dung. This wasn’t going away, was it?
“...They were,” Moonwhisper answered hesitantly. “It’s not going to be a problem, I promise. I had a simple conversation with the BrightClan deputy, then I made sure she left our territory before returning to camp,”
“You’d do well to make sure it doesn’t become a problem, Moonwhisper. Remember what I told you last night. Stay focused,” Miststar said, then Moonwhisper listened to her pawsteps as she walked away. Moonwhisper sighed.
“Let all cats old enough to venture from the caverns gather around the Centerstone for a Clan meeting,” Mistsar’s voice came again from the middle of the cavern. Moonwhisper picked up her half-eaten bat and walked forward, taking a seat near the edge of the crowd.
“Tonight is the monthly gathering,” Miststar said once the Clan was settled. “I will now announce the cats who have been chosen to go.” The Clan waited for her to continue. “Crowfang, Geodeleap, Sharpclaw, and Slatewind are the warriors attending the gathering tonight,” Miststar declared. “Batpaw, Darkpaw, Jaggedpaw, Cavepaw, and Mosspaw are the apprentices chosen,” she finished. The Clan began to chat amongst themselves around Moonwhisper, and she sighed.
“Moonwhisper! Moonwhisper!”
Moonwhisper scanned the crowd with her ears. “Yes, Mosspaw?”
“Didja hear? Did you? I’m going to the gathering!” Mosspaw purred proudly, and Moonwhisper could hear the apprentice’s paws hit the cave floor as she jumped up and down. Moonwhisper smiled fondly.
“Yes, I heard,” she meowed. “I don’t have much of a choice if I can’t see, do I?” she quipped. Mosspaw giggled.
“Are you excited? I can’t wait to see Lemonpaw! I met him at the last gathering, and he told me about all the pretty flowers in BrightClan! I wish I could see them for myself,” Mosspaw babbled. Moonwhisper frowned, furrowing her brows.
“You shouldn’t be too friendly with BrightClan cats, Mosspaw,” she warned.
“But why?” Mosspaw asked. “Isn’t that the point of gatherings? To stop fighting and make friends?”
“Well- yes, but you have to understand that RainClan and BrightClan will always be at odds. We’re simply too different. Besides, StarClan forbids us from growing close to cats outside our Clan,” Moonwhisper explained. A part of her felt like she was reminding herself of these facts as she did.
“That’s dumb,” Mosspaw said after a moment of hesitation. “They’re just cats, like us. And we all go to StarClan when we die, so why do we have to hate each other while we’re alive? Wouldn’t things be better if we worked together?”
Moonwhisper kicked herself mentally. Was this her fault? She herself was having the very same thoughts, every time she thought about Sunsight. But surely StarClan knew what was best… right?
“That’s just how things are,” Moonwhisper said with finality.
“What? Moonwhisper, come on! That’s not a reason!” Mosspaw complained. “What’s the point? It doesn’t make sense!” she needled.
“You will stop asking these types of questions,” Moonwhisper snapped, “or I will tell Miststar to forbid you from attending the gathering tonight,”
Mosspaw was silent. Moonwhisper’s heart panged. Her apprentice was right. It didn’t make sense.
“Yes, Moonwhisper,” Mosspaw said finally, with a mix of dejection and bitterness. Moonwhisper listened to her pawsteps as she trudged away towards the apprentices’ den. Once she was out of earshot, Moonwhisper let out a woosh of breath.