Sharptalon was huddled beside Stormgaze. He didn't like his mate's sister much, but he figured that he'd grieve with her. 

Monarchwing's body was placed in the clearing, along with her two dead sons. Her nameless son had died shortly after his mother had died. He'd only lived for a few seconds. Wingkit was tucked up in the nursery, having no idea that her two brothers and mother were dead. 

Lighttail, Coriander, and Stalkfire were crouched closest to Monarchwing's body. Sharptalon thought that Stormgaze would sit with her dead sister, but she stayed by Sharptalon. 

"I'm... so sorry about your sister. She didn't deserve this," Sharptalon murmured, pressing against Stormgaze. Rain pounded on his fur, making him shiver.

"Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault," Stormgaze murmured. She hunched her shoulders, sighing. "First my father, now my sister. I hope I don't lose anyone else," she whimpered. 

Sharptalon thought about his dead mother. He missed her deeply. "I miss my mother," he sighed. "I hate to think about her, but..."

Stormgaze pressed against him. "I miss my sister and father," she murmured.

Sharptalon glanced at her. He thought about his father and sister. They'd left to join the rogues. But he knew that they didn't even care about him. Stormgaze was lucky to have kin that loved and cared about her. 

"The gathering is in another moon," a voice sounded behind Sharptalon. He turned, seeing Squirrelstar. 

"It's going to be hard for other cats to hear that a queen and her two sons have died," Squirrelstar pointed out. Her fur was slicked by the rain. Rain bounced off her whiskers and ears.

"I know. But maybe we shouldn't report it. It might make others think that we're weak, hearing that we lost a good warrior and two kits that would've grown into fine warriors," Sharptalon meowed. 

"That won't make us look weak!" Stormgaze bristled. She lashed her tail, shifting her paws. "Just... report this if you want."

"I'm sorry, Stormgaze," Sharptalon murmured. "I didn't mean to upset you." 

Stormgaze looked at him. "It's ok," she mewed. "Can we have a talk in private?" She asked. Her eyes were clouded with concern. 

Sharptalon felt worry crawling up his spine. "Yeah." 

Stormgaze led him to a corner in the camp, her eyes clouded with worry. "Sharp-Sharptalon," she whispered. "I'm so scared."

"Why?" Sharptalon glanced down at her. He blinked, his heart pounding in his ears. 

"I'm expecting your... kits," Stormgaze murmured. She purred slightly, then stopped. "But... oh, Sharptalon, I'm so scared I'll die--like Monarchwing!" She gasped.

Sharptalon stepped closer, resting his chin on Stormgaze's head. "There's no need to be scared. You'll live through this, ok? I promise. I'm proud of you," he purred. He felt love swelling inside him.

"What am I going to tell Stalkfire or Coriander? They'll be so... furious," Stormgaze murmured. Her tail lashed.

"Maybe you can surprise them?" Sharptalon insisted. No, she should tell her family. He hunched his shoulders. "You should.... tell them. They'll be happy, trust me."

"Sharptalon." Lighttail slowly padded over. "I want you grieving beside me, like a good brother." 

"Lighttail, I can't. I wasn't as close to Monarchwing as you were," Sharptalon murmured. He blinked sympathetically at his brother, hoping he would understand. 

"Please! You're the only kin I have left!" Lighttail cried. "The only kin I can trust. Everyone else died or betrayed us."

"What about you daughter; Wingkit?" Sharptalon prompted. "She's still alive, isn't she? You should be taking care of her."

"I...I don't think I can. It won't be the same. Not without Monarchwing," Lighttail whimpered. 

"If you won't take care of your daughter, then I will," Stormgaze meowed. Rain streamed from her fur. 

"No, Stormgaze. Ambertuft is already taking care of Wingkit," Sharptalon pointed out. 

"I can't believe this," Lighttail whispered. "I can't even take care of my own daughter. I'm... not strong enough," he whimpered, his mew cracking.

"Just because Monarchwing isn't here doesn't mean that you can act like Wingkit isn't your daughter," Sharptalon sighed. He padded forward, resting his tail on Lighttail's shoulders. "I can be a good brother and foster her," he whispered. 

"You would do that for me?" Lighttail gasped. 

"Of course I would, mouse-brain," Sharptalon purred. "Go and grieve more if you need to. I'll check on Wingkit."

Sharptalon pushed through the reeds, Lighttail at his side. He leaped over the stream, his paws skidding the pebbles. 

"Hey, Sharptalon? Thanks for agreeing to take care of Wingkit," Lighttail meowed. 

"Well, you're welcome," Sharptalon murmured. He looked up, seeing Tigerstar on the branch of the large blossom tree. Tawnypelt was sitting among the roots of the tree. 

"We're the second Clan to arrive," Lighttail murmured. He flicked his tail. Sadness glittered in his eyes. "I should've stayed behind to grieve for Monarchwing."

"I'm glad you came with me though," Sharptalon purred.

Squirrelstar leaped on her branch. Ivypool took her place beside Tawnypelt. Mothstripe, Twistedfoot, and Flamedawn padded over to where Flametail, Ravenbreeze, and Turtlepaw sat.

"I'm going to sit with someone else," Lighttail murmured. He padded over to where Applefur sat with ShadowClan.

Sharptalon saw Sparkpelt talking with Foxleap and saw Brackenclaw sitting by her brother, Molefur. I don't know who to sit with. Stalkfire and Stormgaze had stayed behind in camp to grieve for their sister. I'll sit by myself. 

Sharptalon took a place near the stream, keeping to himself. Eventually RiverClan and WindClan showed up. 

"Are we ready to start the gathering?" Squirrelstar asked, her green eyes dull.

"You can go first, Squirrelstar," Tigerstar meowed, dipping his head to her. 

"Well... Oh, how do I start? We... lost Monarchwing. She died while giving birth, but had two toms and a she-kit. But the two toms died..." Squirrelstar murmured, her eyes clouded. 

"I'm so sorry," Tigerstar mewed, his eyes clouded with sympathy. "StarClan will welcome her and her kits."

"That's terrible," Flowerstar murmured, her mew cracking. "Monarchwing was a kind cat."

Gorsestar shifted his paws. "I'm sorry to hear that, Squirrelstar."

"But, Leafpool gave birth to Auburnkit and Peachkit soon after." Squirrelstar lifted her head. "My sister may have been a medicine cat before, but she's retired from her duties."

Gorsestar bristled. "That doesn't explain why Crowfeather betrayed his Clanmates. Maybe all that time being hidden away from his Clan made him forget about loyalty," he snarled.

"Shut up, Gorsestar!" Berrynose hissed. "Let's not forget that you ran away from your Clan when they were fighting those rogues! That got many of your Clanmates killed, and it got Onestar killed too!" He hissed.

Gorsestar gasped, bristling. He didn't reply. 

"Berrynose. Don't talk bad like that to a Clan leader. Ever," Squirrelstar hissed. 

"Yes, Squirrelstar. I'm sorry," Berrynose murmured.

"Now, lets get back on focus," Tigerstar meowed quickly, clearly impatient. "ShadowClan has four new apprentices: Birchpaw, Slatepaw, Lionpaw, and Puddlepaw."

"Birchpaw! Slatepaw! Lionpaw! Puddlepaw!" The Clans cheered. 

Tigerstar lifted his tail. "Snowbird gave birth to a new litter of kits, which will make us strong. And Needlepaw earned her warrior name, Needletail," he announced proudly.

Sharptalon bristled, ignoring the cheering of Needletail's name. Was Tigerstar rubbing Snowbird's new kits in ThunderClan's faces? He'd heard that a queen and her two kits had died, and he seemed to make it seem like ThunderClan's loss was ShadowClan's gain.

"The prey is running well in WindClan," Gorsestar meowed. "We are still struggling with this sickness, though," he murmured. 

"What kind of sickness?" Mothstripe asked. 

"I'm not sure. A crazy fox bit Kestrelflight while he was out collecting herbs. Kestrelflight isn't doing too good though. He has these... fits. He sometimes can't even remember which herb he's using," Gorsestar murmured. "I'm worried what will happen to him."

"Does anyone else have the sickness?" Squirrelstar asked. 

"Kestrelflight only. Well, a few other warriors are sick. Sedgewhisker and Sparkfur are sick, and I was recently sick myself. But they aren't acting as crazy as Kestrelflight is. He snaps at every cat even if they don't bother him," Gorsestar meowed.

"I've tried to help him but all he does is lash out and scream," Rabbittail meowed. "I can't figure out what's wrong with him," he murmured. 

"I'll come over to your camp tomorrow and see if I can figure something out," Mothstripe meowed. "Squirrelstar, is it ok with you?" 

"Fine by me," Squirrelstar meowed. "I'm sorry about Kestrelflight. I hope he gets better soon."

"Don't be sorry, Squirrelstar. It's not your fault," Gorsestar meowed. 

"Well, the prey in RiverClan is running well. Or should it say swimming? We have have three new Apprentices: Briarpaw, Dawnpaw, and Alderpaw," Flowerstar announced.

As the Clans cheered their names, Sharptalon turned around. He thought he heard rustling in the bushes. A ghostly tail poking from the bushes caught his attention.

Sharptalon looked around, making sure no cat was watching him. He sneaked forward, leaping the stream and pushing through the reeds. He saw the dark outline of a cat. Wolffang. The dark gray Dark Forest tom was staring at him.

"Wolffang. What do you want?" Sharptalon asked. 

Wolffang's amber eyes glowed. "The sickness that Gorsestar is talking about... It will be a threat to the Clans."

"Yeah?" Sharptalon prompted. 

"Which means you need to kill Kestrelflight, Sharptalon. He's got this new sickness and he'll spread it," Wolffang growled. 

"What? Are you crazy? I'm not killing a medicine cat!" Sharptalon gasped. He lashed his tail.

"But think about this... What are you going to do if this sickness spreads to your Clan?" Wolffang began. "Think about Stormgaze and her kits. Think about Lighttail and Wingkit."

"There's no way that it will spread to them," Sharptalon hissed. He lashed his tail, watching Wolffang's figure fade.