Goldenshine's POV

"Goodness, where is Nightwing?" I grumbled, flicking my tail impatiently and trying not to sneeze as I pushed my head deeper into a bush I was peeking into. "She's literally been gone since sunhigh."

Dustystorm let out a snort behind me. "And you literally aren't going to find the answer to your question by sticking your head in shrubs." I shot him a look, ears flattening, and he gave a playful shrug. "But either way, she usually gets back around this time."

I fully pulled my head out of the bush, my fur prickling with a mix of irritation and worry. "So, are you saying we should be concerned, or expect her at any moment now?"

Dustystorm didn't have to answer because right then, we both turned toward the camp entrance as Nightwing's sleek black pelt slipped through the brambles. Dustystorm glanced back at me with that adorable, smug expression of his. "The latter."

"Wow, I wonder how you were able to figure out how to answer me," I shot back dryly, flicking my tail over his nose before darting toward Nightwing. My eyes flicked nervously to the cats gathering around, preparing to leave for the... well, Gathering. "Hey! Thank StarClan you're here, you loosey-goose! We're about to head to the Gathering, and Lilypetal invited you, if you wanted to come."

As I had expected, Nightwing's eyes widened in surprise and she let out an excited gas[. "Your mother, the deputy, invited me to the Gathering? I'm so there!"

I couldn't help but let out an amused sniff – I had perfectly predicted my friend's reaction to that news. "Perfect timing! We're heading out soon," I said, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

Nightwing's ears twitched as she glanced around. "Oooo, how soon? I'm starving, and I was hoping I'd be able to grab something quick to eat before we go."

Dustystorm narrowed his eyes at her, concern flickering in their depths. "When was the last time you ate?"

Nightwing's whiskers twitched nervously. "Oh, I grabbed a small mouse before I left today, but that maybe held me over for two heartbeats?"

I exchanged a look with Dustystorm as we trailed after her to the fresh-kill pile. Strange... "You couldn't hunt while you were out?"

Nightwing didn't look at us, her focus entirely on the pile. "Nope. What do you think I could scarf down quickly?"

Dustystorm flicked his tail. "Another mouse, maybe?"

Nightwing let out a snort. "No, Dustystorm, you practically inhale mice because you hate their guts and can't stand to look at them."

"But they taste so good," Dustystorm protested.

Nightwing purred with amusement, her eyes sparkling. "In honor of Darryl, I will indeed pick a mouse to eat." She reached into the pile, grabbed a mouse, and immediately began to chow down.

I shot Dustystorm a quizzical look. "Darryl?"

"Yes, Darryl," he replied with a solemn nod. "Oh, what a mouse."

I blinked at him, bewildered. "Darryl's... a mouse?"

"A very important one," Dustystorm said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "He's part of the reason I realized I didn't want to be a housecat anymore."

Nightwing piped up, her words muffled by the mouse she was still chewing. "-and part of the reason you realized that you didn't want to be with Chloe anymore."

Dustystorm's tail twitched bitterly, and my eyes jokingly narrowed back at him at the mention of the cat he'd loved before me. "Thank you, my sister," he muttered before looking back at me. "Anyway, Darryl also made me realize how annoying mice are. But hey, I'll still eat them."

I stared at him, completely baffled. "You are so telling me the whole Darryl saga after the Gathering tonight."

As we shared a look, Nightwing stood up, brushing bits of mouse fur off her chest. "Alright, done!"

Dustystorm's eyes narrowed. "That was like two heartbeats—you had to have hidden it back in the pile or something."

"Nope," Nightwing said, giving her whiskers a satisfied twitch. "Trust me—I was that hungry."

I couldn't help but let out a purr of amusement. "I mean, I guess you work up an appetite when you're out taking a walk for so long." I glanced at Dustystorm, wondering if he was just as suspicious as I was about what she'd really been up to. I mean, cats go out and take walks, especially if they've been super busy or... if they've fought against Dark Forest cats a moon ago, but... I don't know. What does she do out there for so long?

But before I could press further, Nightwing suddenly flicked her tail and ears, her gaze shifting toward the camp. "Oh! It looks like everyone is starting to head out!"

Sure enough, I turned to see the patrols already lining up. "Right," I sighed, almost disappointed that I couldn't interrogate my friend anymore. "Are you sure you don't need to stay back for this Gathering, Nightwing? You've been out for most of the day."

"Nope!" Nightwing replied, her eyes bright with determination.

I rolled my eyes. "I should've expected that answer."

"Of course you should have," she said with a flick of her tail. "No way I was going to stay back—not when Lilypetal invited me by name! And besides, the first Gathering after the Dark Forest battle ought to be interesting."

Dustystorm's eyes widened with sudden realization. "Great StarClan, I didn't even think of that. How is everyone going to act around each other?"

"I mean," I said, shrugging, "I would hope after all of us fought to the death together, there'd still be some respect left over!" But even as I said it, doubt gnawed at my mind. "It is weird though. After everything we went through together, we have to go back to our borders—literal and figurative ones."

Dustystorm purred and nudged me playfully. "Wow, you're so poetic!"

I nudged him back, but my mind continued to fill with worry. "It's just... there are Clan cats that showed their true colors that night."

Dustystorm's warm gaze faded, and I slowed my pace, an uncomfortable chill prickling down my spine. "Yeah... and they still get to stand by their Clans and pretend like they didn't just full-on betray their Clanmates."

Nightwing's eyes narrowed. "That's insane to me. Surely they won't be getting off easy."

"I certainly hope not," I murmured, a certain tom and his black pelt briefly flashing through my mind, but I quickly forced it away.

Dustystorm almost seemed to sense my uneasiness, and who I was thinking of. Chloe was brought up a bit ago, so I guess we were even.

And just like the sweet, understanding tom that Dustystorm was, he wrapped his tail around my back in a comforting gesture. "Anyway, we've got a bit of time before we reach the island—how about I give you a preview of the Darryl saga?"

Nightwing let out a groan. "Oh no, not this story again!"

Dustystorm ignored her, staring warmly and excitedly at me. "It's a good one. Trust me."

And that is exactly what my mate did as ThunderClan continued to travel to the island. Dustystorm wasn't able to give me the entirety of the Darryl saga – but all I had gotten so far was that Darryl was a mouse that Dustystorm had chased around his Twoleg home for several days and couldn't catch. As a cat who'd been snatching mice since I was six moons old... I tried not to be concerned. But also knowing that Dustystorm had been a kittypet for most of his life... I tried to reserve judgment. Nevertheless, I was glad that this silly mouse had brought this silly, sweet, and amazing tom to me. And not to Chloe.

I then flicked my ears, surprising myself. What?

Before we knew it, the island that stood in the middle of the lake came into sight, and a chill ran down my spine to see that the other Clans were already there. I really did wonder what this was going to be like – what the dynamic would be like, what certain cats would be acting like...

I actually found myself having to take a deep breath as me, Dustystorm and Nightwing got our turn to walk across the log that led to the island. I could already feel several eyes on us as we made our way across.

Dustystorm was still next to me with his tail around my back, and right behind me, Nightwing was making her way across, her soft pawsteps barely making a sound. I flicked my tail to tap her shoulder, hoping it came off as reassuring, but honestly, my nerves were all over the place. As my paws hit the island, it felt like the ground was still swaying, like I hadn't really left that log behind.

"Are we ready for this?" Dustystorm asked in a low voice. He shot me a warm glance, the kind that usually made my worries melt away, but tonight, it was a little harder to find that spark.

"I guess we're about to find out," I muttered. I kept my eyes on the cats already gathering in the clearing, their pelts blurring together in the half-light. The last time we'd all been in one place... well, it didn't exactly go great, did it? A battle like that, with so much betrayal and bloodshed—it was hard to believe we could just... what, pretend it never happened? But here we were, trying to act like it was business as usual.

Nightwing caught up to my side, her dark fur almost blending into the shadows. "You good?" she whispered, nudging me with her shoulder.

Are you, miss out-wandering-in-the-forest-all-day? "Yeah, sure," I lied, trying to force a bit of my usual enthusiasm into my voice.

Dustystorm nudged my side gently. "We've got this," he murmured.

We sure do.

I actually found my nerves slowly beginning to ebb away as ThunderClan padded deeper onto the island, and I got to see just how the Clans were interacting with each other. Sure, there was an air of nerves and tension, but at the same time, it seems like these cats were just happy to be together for a reason that wasn't... you know, fighting dead evil demon cats?

We hadn't been here long – a few moments, in fact – but I could see (and hope) that this Gathering was going to be just fine. I think everyone else wanted to go back to normalcy just as much as I did.

After touching his nose to mine, Dustystorm left me and went off into the crowd to speak to some of his friends in WindClan. After all, Dustystorm and I had been chosen to fight with WindClan the night of the battle.

But of course, I would forever hold a grudge that he didn't stay by my side. Rude. Just kidding. Maybe. And Nightwing began speaking with Minnowtail of RiverClan as soon as we'd gotten onto the island.

Now that I was alone, I took a moment to simply scan my gaze around the island, continuing to feel relieved as I saw all of the Clans mingling with each other and showing genuine enthusiasm at seeing friends from other Clans. It's almost as if this battle didn't even happen.

I then felt my stomach twist as I noticed a flash of black out of the corner of my eye – the same one I'd been trying to forget about earlier. Well, if only it were that easy.

I forced myself to shift my gaze just a bit and let it lay on the black pelt of a tom that I had a long history with – a history longer that I'd like to admit to anyone. I am still baffled that I ever called that tom my mate, I thought to myself as I simultaneously felt a chill run down my spine and my stomach twist even tighter. He seemed so kind, brave, charming, smart... even until the end of our time together.

I then sat down and took a deep breath. But even then... I could tell that there was an anger in him that even all of those wonderful qualities couldn't hide. I still hadn't completely been able to digest the fact that he'd trained in the Dark Forest, for one. But... the fact that after all that he shared, he tried to hurt me and Dustystorm... or worse... and the fact that he betrayed every cat that had ever been by his side to fight with the Dark Forest...

I then shut my eyes for a moment, the emotion I'd been pushing down earlier as I'd spoken with Dustystorm and Nightwing finally coming to the forefront. I can never get over that. I shouldn't. I almost fully regret ever crossing paths with him, and fully regretted running into him in the forest that fateful night and agreeing to meet with him again.

I then opened my eyes again, shifting my gaze to the dark gray tom that was padding next to Snowstorm, chatting with a couple of cats from ShadowClan. But I could never fully regret my time with Breezepelt because of that stupid furball over there.

And what a journey that stupid furball – Swiftflight, my only son and only kit – had been on. He had nearly followed his father's path – having trained in the Dark Forest for moons under the guidance of Ashfur (that being one of many horrible things that that gray-speckled tom had done). But Snowstorm, his best friend, and Snowflight, my sister, had brought him back down to earth. But I fully believe that Snowstorm was only part of what made him come to his senses. He knew what was right all along.

I then let out a sigh and a wave of love run through me as I continued to stare back at my son. Which is why he was so easily able to then become a son I could not be more proud of. He is nothing like his father, and I couldn't ask for more.

I then narrowed my eyes as I began to shift my gaze back to Breezepelt, but immediately flicked my ears in surprise to see that he was staring right back at me. I broke my gaze away as quickly as I could, but just enough to where I could still see him out of my peripheral vision. What business did this tom have looking my way?

I then felt a wave of anger beginning to grow inside of me. Why is he here at all? How could WindClan possibly trust him again?

Out of the corner of my eye, I was shocked to observe that the black tom's eyes weren't dark. In fact, they seemed worried, nervous, searching... Shocking, I thought to myself. You tried to kill me and my mate, and you think you can look at me that way? Why?

I then forced myself to pad forward, and away. It's not worth it to know. He is evil, a traitor, and someone that no cat could ever trust.

I then paused for a moment, looking over my shoulder back towards my son, who was still with Snowstorm and the ShadowClan cats.

And then, as much as I didn't want to, I looked back at Breezepelt for just a heartbeat, giving him a dark, yet confused stare. If you come anywhere near me or my son, you're crowfood.

I then broke my gaze from his and padded away once again, now telling myself that he didn't deserve my eyeballs for any more time.

And as I continued to walk through the crowd, I found myself getting closer to the large oak tree that the leaders stood on, the medicine cats and deputies sitting at the bottom of the tree sitting among the roots.

I couldn't help but feel a wave of comfort as my eyes immediately fell on the gray tabby pelt of my best friend in the entire world (somehow). Jayfeather was turned away from me, his head down as he seemed to be sniffing among some plants that were growing around this tree.

He seemed to scent me and hear me as soon as I approached, and he lifted his head and turned around to face me.

It was almost as if he could see my facial expression and sense just how uncomfortable I was feeling right now. "What's wrong with you?" he meowed, in his usually slightly bitter tone.

I let out a sigh and sat next to the medicine cat. "Can you tell your half-brother to stop staring at me and making me feel weird?"

"What in the name of StarClan are you meowing on about?" Jayfeather replied, his eyes narrowing – his words were full of annoyance, but his blind blue eyes seemed to be full of concern. He then seemed to stare off into the crowd as if he could see. "Breezepelt?"

"No, your other half-brother – the one that Leafpool had with... Snowfeather named... Sneezepelt," I teased to the tom.

Of course, he let out an annoyed hiss. "Wow, Leafpool gets around," he muttered, bringing me to let out a quiet purr. "Breezepelt's staring at you?"

"Yes! What makes him think he can look in my direction? Or yours? Or anybody's?" I then began to rant. And hoping he wouldn't notice, I glanced back in the WindClan tom's direction. "Is he not ashamed?"

"Last time I was around him, he certainly wasn't," Jayfeather breathed, almost seeming to follow my gaze. "But that was a half-moon ago. Maybe he hit his head and realized he has remorse."

"I don't believe that," I then muttered.

"Didn't expect you to. Because that doesn't happen."

"Then what did happen?" I pressed to Jayfeather after I gave him a small nudge on the shoulder with my own.

"No idea," Jayfeather answered. "I don't know, and I don't care."

I then felt the medicine cat's gaze shift towards me, and he gave me a flick on the ear with his tail. "And you shouldn't either. You have no reason to give him the time of day."

I let out a sigh. "I know," I breathed. "I just..."

I then trailed off, standing up and feeling my eyes widen as I noticed movement come from Breezepelt's direction. "Oh, no..."

"What? What's going on?" Jayfeather pressed to me, his fur brushing mine as he stood up as well.

I couldn't answer my friend immediately, my head spinning and my heart pounding as I noticed Breezepelt padding across the clearing – heading towards someone.

Heading towards the dark gray pelt of my son. No. "That son of a heap of foxdung is walking towards Swiftflight," I then nearly growled.

I then was tempted to shake it away as I felt Jayfeather place the tip of his tail on my shoulder. "Stay here," the tom urged me. "Swiftflight is a full-grown cat who's stood up for himself many times. He can handle himself."

But do I want him to have to handle himself? I don't want Breezepelt talking to him, and I can imagine that Swiftflight feels the same.

I was almost tempted to ignore Jayfeather's words, when suddenly a yowl came from the tree above us – the yowl from Blackstar, ShadowClan's leader, that told us that it was time to begin the Gathering.

And as I had hoped, Breezepelt stopped in his tracks, disappointment and annoyance seeming to fill his gaze, before he turned around and joined his Clan once again. Good riddance, I then thought to myself. I don't think Swiftlfight even noticed that Breezepelt had been heading his way.

Then, as I took a relieved breath and was about to join the rest of the crowd, I felt Jayfeather give me a small nudge. "Don't worry about Breezepelt," he told me in a tone that was actually a bit warm and reassuring. "He's the most unpredictable cat that I've ever met, and I'm sure you'd agree. You'll probably just had to continue to deal with his precariousness for a while."

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting out a sigh. "I know. Thanks, Jayfeather."

I then touched my nose to the tom's ear before padding ahead to join the rest of the Clans in the clearing. "I'll see you later." How can you be the crankiest cat in all of the Clans, but still make me feel better about these trivial things? I wondered as a wave of gratitude for the ThunderClan medicine cat filled my heart. Oh, maybe because we spent moons holding each other up after trying to bring back my sister. That could be it.

Feeling a bit better, but still a bit on edge from what I'd experienced before the Gathering even began, I sat down next to Dustystorm and Cherryfall – my former apprentice and my son's mate – as Blackstar began the Gathering, addressing the battle that all of us had just faced and had come out of stronger.

It was truly empowering, and brought me to let out a relieved, content sigh. We're out of this stronger, that's for sure. And while this truce between us remains here, we have to return to our normal boundaries, which will be weird after all that we went through together.

I then narrowed my eyes, slightly glancing over my shoulder again to look back at Breezepelt, who was sitting next to Heathertail. I knew that things couldn't be completely normal post the Dark Forest battle, especially with cats like Breezepelt. I told myself. These little weird encounters are just things that I'm going to have to deal with, and that's okay. Within reason, that is.