Hero paced outside of the Warriors den, itching in anticipation. After Thistlestar's decree, Hero and his company had agreed to stay in AshClan another week while their wounds healed. During that time, Harestripe's apprentice Fawnpaw had taken a trip to the Spirit Tunnels - winding corridors carved into the face of cliffs where medicine cats were rumored to converse with their ancestors - and had returned a fully fledged medicine cat.

It was the newly named Fawnsoul who watched him pace now, her expression set with unfaltering tolerance as her eyes traced his restless movements. The she-cat had grown in more ways than one, and though she remained small in stature, her healing skill had only increased, and she had become a well-regarded confidant in Whiteshadow's absence. 

"Where are they?" Hero asked impatiently, and though the question was directed mostly to himself, Fawnsoul answered obligingly.

"They'll be here," she assured him, though the confidence in her voice did seemingly nothing to ease his tension. "You're their friend, they aren't going to let you go alone."

Hero exhaled, but smiled faintly in her direction. Fawnsoul accepted this gesture of thanks with a gentle nod, then her ears pricked as the approaching group of cats stole her attention. Hero recognized their voices even before he saw them, though not exactly as he'd expected; these cats had changed since their journey. Jayflight and Swiftpaw didn't argue quite as often - there wasn't much time for it, now that the apprentice spent most of her time off on adventures with Snowpaw. Smokewhisker and Jayflight seemed more friendly towards each other as well, and as he distinguished Lilypool's careful and deliberate pace, he flicked his ears in greeting.

Fawnsoul had disappeared into her den in order to let the cats converse in private, and Hero bubbled with excitement at the prospect of a new quest. "Is everyone ready?"

"No, we came here completely unprepared," Jayflight replied sarcastically, though her tone held a certain lightheartedness, "I actually left my lungs in the Warrior's den, I should probably get those before we leave."

Hero couldn't help but grin at her remark, though Lilypool nodded to him as they approached. "We're ready, Hero. Thistlestar's just about to call a meeting."

"Well, we better hurry then," Hero decided; Thistlestar's meetings tended to be fairly brief and straightforward.

The cats fell in behind Hero as the padded back towards the center of camp, and as they approached, a pair of kits skipped along beside them, begging for them to recount their tales. Snowpaw didn't hesitate to fulfill their request, and the closer they came to the base of the Withered Oak, the larger their company seemed to grow. 

"I bet I could've taken a Faction cat!" Stormkit had boasted at some point or another, while Greykit continued to listen earnestly to Snowpaw's stories.

"I heard Frostshine is retiring to become an elder," Lilypool began, as if in an attempt to strike up conversation. Hero blinked at her, seeming suspicious of her intent, and Lilypool groaned as she discerned his concern. "I'm not trying to hold a discussion because I feel left out, if that's what you're getting at here."

Her tone sounded almost offended, and she turned back to look ahead of them. Hero flicked his ear, following her actions. "She's Snowpaw's mother, isn't she?" He furthered, regaining Lilypool's attention.

"Yes, she is," she responded, "But I'm honestly concerned about her leaving. If she does, Dawnheart's going to try to take charge without a second thought, and poor Brightwillow will be left alone with her."

Hero chuckled, imagining the scenario for himself. Apparently, a previous kittypet named Sky was to be moving into the Nursery as well, she had discovered she was having kits and then taken Lark as a mate - specifically in that order. He considered using this as the next topic of conversation, when Thistlestar's voice called out above the commotion.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather below the Withered Oak for a Clan meeting!"

Hero and Lilypool seated themselves at the edge of the crowd that began to form, and Dawnheart ushered her two kits back towards the nursery, causing both cats to smile in spite of themselves. Snowpaw and Swiftpaw sat directly behind the two, while Smokewhisker settled on either side, and all waited expectantly for Thistlestar's announcement.

"As of now, I will be joining Hero and his team on a diplomatic mission to the city," Thistlestar reported, which had been previously implied, so the cats of AshClan had expected it. The next part of her statement, however, no cat could predict. "During my leave, Russetfire will serve as this Clan's temporary leader. In place of Russetfire, Foxspring will be taking the position of command. Thank you for your time."

The black and white she-cat surveyed the crowd, until she spotted Foxspring's bright orange fur standing out against the general dark colors of the majority of AshClan's inhabitants. He glanced at the cats around him, eyes wide with surprise, before he stood to make eye contact with Thistlestar. Hero saw him swallow nervously, astonished by the tom's sudden humble attitude. "I will do my best to serve in my leader's absence."

"Good," Thistlestar nodded, hopping down from her branch, and landing nimbly on the dust-covered ground. Foxspring received a few congratulations from nearby Warriors and Apprentices, though he was soon hidden from view by the larger cats who had begun to disperse. "Time to go, we're wasting daylight."

Hero hesitated, almost amused by her decision, though it was soon quelled by the look she shot him. "Let's go then."

<——————>

Much like the first time they journeyed to the city, the group made good time, and they reached the train tracks by sun high. They all quickly remembered the near death experience that had transpired here, and fell quiet as they crossed the tracks and headed on towards the city.

In due time, the group of cats came to a chain link fence, which was soon identified by an indignant Jayflight as the fence they had first tried to climb as they entered the city. "Alright, this might be a bit difficult," Hero informed Thistlestar, though he trailed off when the confident she-cat confidently strode past him towards the fence. "I don't think-"

His amusement faded into stunned silence as Thistlestar gracefully leaped onto the side of the fence, hooking her claws on the metal and scrambling up to the top with ease. "I climb a giant tree every day," Came her brusque explanation, and she shot them a wry smile before she descended on the other side of the fence, and strutting forward with a swish of her tail. "Keep up if you can."

"Awesome," Snowpaw murmured after a few moments of astonished silence, grinning as he followed her lead, scaling the fence with considerably less finesse.

One by one, each cat managed to clear the obstacle, and Hero again trotted to the forefront of the group, where Thistlestar appeared to be making her way forward in a leisurely fashion.

"You must be Thistlestar."

Hero picked up his pace to reach the leader just as seven cats emerged from the shadows; a number directly proportionate to Hero's own group of cats. He suspected they had been observing the Clan cats' approach since they had crossed the train tracks, by the state of some of these cats, there was no way this patrol had been originally designated to meet them. 

"We've been awaiting you arrival," The voice belonged to Thug, who Hero guessed had been patrolling this area specifically to greet the cats when they reached the city. He was, of course, accompanied by his regular team - Tags, Zero, and Bravo - as well as three cats who he didn't recognize, though judging by their expressions, they recognized him.

Thistlestar dipped her head to the East Faction cats, and all but Zero more or less returned the gesture. The fluffy white tom stared past her at Hero, with an expression he couldn't quite determine. "My younger sister joined your Clan."

"She apologizes for not having told you, but she can make her own decisions," Jayflight jutted in, the timbre of her voice more informative than rude.

"I understand that," Zero responded, sounding somewhat defeated, "I hope she's happy there."

Thug rested a tail on the smaller tom's shoulder, who remained placid. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Thistlestar smiled politely after her initial gesture, "Will you be escorting us back to your camp?"

A few more words were exchanged between Thistlestar and Thug after his leader's question, but Hero had become distracted by the six Faction cats who milled about behind him. Each one had their ears pricked attentively, and even Bravo seemed to glance warily at his surroundings every now and then. These cats were on high alert - Thug seemed relatively nonchalant about how long it had taken Hero to return, but he suspected that things were worse than he had mande them out to be. A dark grey spotted tom who stood near the edge of the group had a long scratch down his flank and a chunk of fur missing from his cheek, and by the look of the wounds, they were fairly recent.

"Hero, we're leaving," Lilypool jolted him out of his thoughts, and he looked away from the tom to see that Thistlestar and Thug had started off down the alleyway. Hero noted that as the Faction cats seemed to form a circle around them, Snowpaw unconsciously moved to the very edge of the group, positioning himself between Swiftpaw and the nearest Faction cat. Jayflight and Smokewhisker lingered behind the group, waiting for Hero and Lilypool to follow.

"Right," came his aloof response, and he followed behind her without another thought as to the matter.

The East Faction cats were certainly more adept at navigating their own territory, and Hero soon found that they were being led along a route than was unbeknownst to all but those who travelled it. The camp was considerably closer to the train tracks than he'd first realized, and if he had to guess, Hero surmised that they had to be growing more desperate to take them down such a secretive route.

Even with the impending battle, the Faction camp was still bustling with movement. As they walked beneath the stone arches, still in awe of the complex stonework and architecture, Tags flicked her tail and broke away from the main group. The two battle scarred toms followed her dutifully, whilst the third unidentified she-cat inclined her head towards Thug before leaving in the opposite direction.

"What was that about?" Hero inquired, watching Tags with growing curiosity as she and her entourage continued towards a small building. As she did so, a few more cats around seemed to notice her presence, and entered the building in her wake.

Thug didn't turn to address him. "She was promoted to captain of the guard after your departure," he notified the tabby tom, and Hero could detect the subtle note of pride in his voice. "Youngest we've ever had, though she hasn't led any cats into battle quite yet. Not that she won't get her chance."

He finished the statement solemnly, and Hero slowed his gait to fall back among the cats of his own group. Snowpaw had just finished telling Thistlestar everything he knew about the East Faction camp whilst Jayflight pretended to be annoyed by his constant talking, only she seemed to be listening quite intently.

The building loomed over their heads as the group passed under the stone arch, and with an unhurried pace, proceeded to climb the adjacent flight of winding stairs that led to the uppermost floor. Thistlestar raised her head, ears swiveling forward as her posture grew more dignified with each step they took. Few leaders could appear comfortable in such a setting, but Thistlestar was accomplishing this task quite easily.

"Thistlestar," Sunshine hailed his new guest, inclining his head towards her respectfully.

"I am honored to meet with you," Thistlestar resounded evenly, "Though I can't say I've had the pleasure of learning your name."

Sunshine gestured for the leader to follow him up onto his podium to talk away from the group, though she remained rooted to the spot where she stood. "These cats made this discussion possible. If we are to say anything, it will be said in front of them."

The large black tom nodded after a moment, attempting to hide his displeasure at her decision. The East Faction was many times larger than AshClan, and Hero assumed the leader was used to conversing privately in order to keep delicate information from spreading throughout of the masses. Still, he obliged to Thistlestar's demand, and began speaking.

"Very well," Sunshine began, seating himself in front of the group of cats though his gaze remained focused on Thistlestar. Zero and Bravo had stationed themselves on either side of the podium, indicating they were acting as Sunshine's bodyguards if something was to go wrong. The fur on the back of Hero's neck had begun to tingle. "To proceed with the attack, I'll need to be given an approximate number of cats you have-"

"You will be privy to that information once I have agreed to assist you in battle," Thistlestar interrupted, insulted by Sunshine's assumption that she had readily agreed to this battle plan. "I have not yet seen the evidence of this call-to-arms agreement, and I refuse to risk the lives of my own cats for a cause I know nothing about. I came here expecting to be convinced of your cause."

Sunshine stared at her for a long moment, expression unreadable. The cats around Hero tensed. "Fair enough," the cats let out muffled sighs of relief. "Follow me and I will show you the document."

Thistlestar stood to follow him, and Snowpaw hopped to his paws to bound after her. Hero knew he had moved too quickly even before Zero planted himself in front of the apprentice, tail lashing in warning as Snowpaw came to a halt in front of him, ears pinned back against his head. "That's far enough," he hissed, while Snowpaw's mouth remained glued shut, "We have openly invited you here to our home, and our leader is all but unguarded. Stay where you are."

"Hey," Swiftpaw snapped, and Hero flinched as she stepped in front of Snowpaw to face the larger white tom, "Maybe you should pick on someone your own size."

"I said they would come with me," Thistlestar reminded Sunshine, who had yet to have any say in the matter. His gaze was fixed on Swiftpaw.

"Swiftpaw, that's enough," Lilypool murmured in a stern undertone, "You two need to stay out of this." 

For a few painstakingly long seconds, Swiftpaw continued to glare at the tom inches from his own face. Then she whirled around, ignoring Zero completely as she roughly nudged Snowpaw's shoulder. "Let's go," she growled, and the dispirited apprentice trudged after her. 

"Keep your warriors under control," Sunshine muttered, posing it more as an instruction than a suggestion.

"I'll take it under consideration," came Thistlestar's faintly hostile response. She looked back purposefully at Hero and the other Clan cats, denoting that they were to stay behind while she continued to talk with Sunshine.

The four remaining cats obediently padded to the other side of the room, sitting as they watched the two leaders talking on the podium, though none could hear their words. After a few moments, the two cats continued into a chamber sectioned off from the main room, most likely Sunshine's own den. Zero and Bravo again moved to guard the entrance, and Thug passively watched the AshClan cats from where he sat beside the podium.

"I hope Swiftpaw and Snowpaw are alright," Lilypool sighed.

"They'll be fine," Hero consoled. He'd considered going after the two apprentices himself, but he found himself struggling to leave his clanmates in such a hostile environment. Besides, Swiftpaw and Snowpaw were most likely wandering around the East Faction camp. He doubted they would go far.

Fifteen minutes passed.

Hero was impressed by how still all three Faction cats had remained. Thug seemed to survey them unblinkingly, his mind obviously elsewhere, whilst Jayflight and Smokewhisker had started to have a debate on the importance of having a podium. Swiftpaw and Snowpaw were still gone, though Hero's mind were occupied with more worrisome thought.

Half an hour passed.

Lilypool had begun to pace, and while she stayed dead silent, she seemed to be thinking something over internally. Jayflight had apparently won the argument with Smokewhisker, and was now bored out of her mind.

"I can hear them from here," Lilypool announced. She had moved as close to the door as Thug had permitted.

"How does it sound?"

Lilypool was quiet for a moment. "Not good," she concluded, features creased with worry.

One hour passed. 

Lilypool had been ushered away from the door by Thug; she hadn't been able to hear the leaders' conversation anyway. 

"This sucks," Jayflight complained, sprawled out on the floor with her legs outstretched. 

"I wonder why those pedestals are so far apart," Smokewhisker thought aloud, having spent much of his time observing the random fixtures around the room. 

Jayflight lifted her head to see what he was referring to. "I bet I could jump that far."

There was still no sign of the apprentices.

Two hours passed.

After her third attempt thing to leap from the windowsill onto the chandelier hanging from the cieling, Jayflight had finally conceded her fifth wager and was now being tended to by one of the Faction's caretakers for the cuts and scrapes she had acquired. Thug had traded places with Zero, who was now in charge of preventing Jayflight from doing stupid things, much to her annoyance.

Lilypool had fallen asleep in the corner, and was so motionless that Smokewhisker checked on her every now and then to make sure she wasn't dead. All four cats were hungry, and Hero had asked Jayflight's caretaker to look for Snowpaw and Swiftpaw if she has the chance. She had agreed, apologizing for not being able to feed their guests. They had none to spare.

All four cats suddenly jumped up when the two leaders pushed through the fabric that covered the chamber's opening in place of doors, Thistlestar staring directly ahead as she strode towards the center for the room.

"Perhaps if you weren't so close-minded-" Sunshine started, and Thistlestar spun to face him with such animosity he stopped his own insult short.

"Don't you dare talk to me about being close-minded," she spat, claws digging into the wooden floorboards as she stepped closer to him, and he waved off Thug, who had moved as if to intervene. "You're as good as dead without my help, I thought you would be mature enough to acknowledge that fact.

"My cats can more than hold their own," Sunshine objected.

"Oh, is that so?" came Thistlestar's incredulous scoff.

"I take it the meeting isn't going very well, then?"

Hero, along with nearly every other cat in the room, directed their attention to the source of the voice. Standing at the top of the staircase, fur hanging loosely from his lithe frame, a black and white tom stood between a pair of smaller apprentices. Thistlestar exhaled, a grin plastered to her face as if she had forgotten about the argument completely.

"You're welcome, losers," Swiftpaw yawned, before she and Snowpaw proudly strutted forward to join Hero and the rest of the Clan cats. Whiteshadow raised his chin, and when Thistlestar rushed to meet him, he buried his face in her fur. For a few heartwarming moments, Thistlestar rested her head on her son's shoulder, and he looked happy.

"They told me everything," Whiteshadow told her, fumbling over his own words as his emotions got the best of him.

"We have a lot to talk about," Thistlestar laughed, breathing deeply but refusing to break contact.

Whiteshadow nodded. "We do, but not right now," He agreed, then looking up at Sunshine, who waited expectantly for the reunion to end. "Right now, we have a call-to-arms agreement to negotiate."

They did share a few more words before they both broke away from each other, turning back to Sunshine. As they followed him back to the chamber to continue discussing the agreement, Whiteshadow looked over his shoulder, and though he said nothing, Hero knew what the look meant.

Thank you.

Again, sorry for the delay! Still working to get this story back on track. Tell me how you liked it in the comments!

~Frost