[X] Ivory

[Mysteryfaith]

Title: Ivory
Author: Mysteryfaith
Chapters: ?
Pairing: ?
Summary: In times of desperate need, enemies from afar come to beg the Clans for shelter. ThunderClan have already accepted them, and have given them small pieces of territory. WindClan has grudgingly done the same, and ShadowClan are just about to catch on. But RiverClan knows the secret of these supposed 'new allies', and they're out to reveal it to the others, no matter how hard it is...
Editor: ?
Cover: ?

First Notes: =o I'm quite excited about this fanfic! It'll be the first RiverClan one I've done in a while, and I love a good, meaty plot to dig my pen into. [Okay, that sounded officially weird.]
Last Notes: If a chapter has a theme song, I've linked the chapter title to a YouTube video. In case the video is unclear about the title of the song or the artist, I've added a list of them here (as well as links ;3) What would be really cool is if you listened to the music as you are reading the chapters ;3

main theme - Iris by Salyu
prologue - Iris Music Box by Salyu
chapter one - To Zanarkland by FFX
chapter two - Odenalli Pi by ES Posthumus

[Mysteryfaith]

prologue

The Clans have moved on. Barely anyone knows the formerly-familiar names of Firestar and Leopardstar any more, but maybe that's a good thing - where their ashes have been set new heroes have risen, and are now leading the Clans towards what could be the best Newleaf in history.

But whilst prey is in abundance and there is finally peace between all warriors, something dark is just around the corner. The new allegiances - Otterstar and Sandyshore of ThunderClan, Stallionstar and Ashbreath of WindClan, Musicstar and Wishwing of ShadowClan and Silverstar and Gorsethorn of RiverClan - are all wary of their new guests, but soon they all succumb to their unnerving desperation - all but one Clan.

Silverstar can't help but be suspicious of these scruffy cats. Though they look worn and woeful, there's something strange about them... something she just can't put her claw on. They are an old and frightful enemy that has scorned Clan history since many seasons ago, but their sins have nearly been forgotten by everyone but Silverstar's ancestors in StarClan. If anyone can warn them of danger, surely those starry warriors can?

As each Clan gives up more and more of their advantages for the cats, can Silverstar try to convince them that something's not right before it's too late? And even if they can bring the Clans to their senses, the force of the enemy is large - their cats are muscular and strong, all trained with battle moves unseen by the forest cats. However, when a mindblowing discovery is made, everything will change for the Clans...

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[Mysteryfaith]

chapter one

Sunlight flickered through the branches of Silverstar's den, lapping at her fur with bright, radiant fingers. She raised her head - a quick sniff for danger, a short sigh of relief at the familiar lack of it - and glanced out of the slit that peeped out from in between the ferns that guarded her den.

Silverstar stretched luxuriously, and began to purr in the morning light. A perfect Clan, she thought for a divine moment, letting the warmth of the sun sink into her skin. She felt blissfully at ease; her Clan was contented with their lifestyle, and she could relax knowing that every cat in her territory was safe.

"Silverstar?" The nervous, quiet voice of Angelpaw drifted through the ferns, and the silver tabby she-cat blinked, turning her head to the sound of the noise. Through the foliage, two large blue eyes were peering through inquizitively.

"Yes, Angelpaw?" Silverstar rolled on to her belly, and shook her fur, watching as a few burrs fell away. She scented the air; Angelpaw was not alone. By the smell of it, she'd brought with her another apprentice, probably younger than her.

Angelpaw poked her head through, nodded respectfully at her leader, and meowed: "Badgerpaw wants to know where Sleetstorm is - he promised to take him hunting today, but he hasn't been around camp since dawn."

So much for a peaceful morning!, Silverstar laughed to herself, comfortably happy as she got to her paws and trotted out of her den. As she padded past Angelpaw, she noticed an even smaller cat cowering behind her.

Her ear flicked with recognition. The white-striped ebony warrior had been given a mentor just a half-moon before, and had taken to following her deputy's apprentice, Angelpaw, everywhere. He tried to imitate her fish-catching skills - which were, for a nine-moon-old apprentice, quite advanced - but ended up just falling in the river wailing, and recieving a scolding from his mentor, Sleetstorm.

"Greetings, Badgerpaw," she meowed, peering over Angelpaw's back to see the tiny tom. He looked so much like a kit - poor cat, she mewed inwardly, nearly regretting giving him a stony mentor like Sleetstorm. She smiled down at him, but he shrunk away, trembling. "I think Sleetstorm just went on the patrol at dawn, and he's a little late back."

Badgerpaw nodded, and scampered off, stopping every few steps to check that Angelpaw was following. Silverstar sighed; it was kind but cruel for the she-cat to be mothering him like that. She had to learn too, and so did Badgerpaw - but still, he needed guidance, and maybe have Angelpaw as a helper wouldn't be too disastrous.

"Silverstar!" From the carefully weaved reeds of the medicine cat den bounded her muscular deputy, Gorsethorn. The brown tabby tom's green eyes sparkled with worry, and he was flexing his claws anxiously; that's unusual, Silverstar muttered to herself. Normally her deputy was extremely calm and collected.

"Last night at the Gathering," Gorsethorn began, "I overheard a WindClan cat talking to her friend. I don't know how much of this is true, but apparently they chased a family of full-grown badgers into our territory." His brow creased with worry.

Silverstar frowned. "That is bad news... well, fetch Salmonwhisker and Petalheart and take them out to the border to investigate. Even if you see a badger, report back to me immediately." Trust WindClan to ruin her morning.

Gorsethorn nodded, and called out curt cries to the warriors Silverstar had mentioned. The three warriors set off into the forest, followed by Angelpaw and a rather confused-looking Badgerpaw. As the sound of their hurried pawsteps faded away, Silverstar cast a glance around her; well, even if some of the warriors were troubled, the others were probably enjoying a -

"Silverstar! Silverstar, come quick!" The furiously desperate howls of Rookpaw flew through the air towards her, startling her. "ThunderClan on our territory!"

The silver she-cat's fur bristled, and she shot through the gorse barrier, flicking her tail for some of the warriors who were sat around the camp to follow her. She leapt over a few of the small estuaries that were spread across her territory until she reached the river, where two patrols of opposite Clans sat staring at eachother.

On one side, Rookpaw and Gorsethorn's patrol were sitting with lashing tails, as if trying to tempt the ThunderClan warriors to cross to their side - if they dare. On the other, six strong warriors were sat shivering, a few strands of fur on their shoulders dripping with the icy river water.

"Well?" spat Silverstar, immediately protective of her Clanmates. She felt her heart wrench as she saw Badgerpaw sat quivering behind Angelpaw, his terrified face complete with trembling whiskers and huge, glistening eyes. "Introduce yourselves, then!"

A strong golden tom stepped forwards, nodding respectfully to the RiverClan leader. "Greetings, Silverstar. I am Dandelionfoot, and these" - he indicated with his tail to each warrior sat around him - "are warriors of ThunderClan."

"Well, I can smell that!" Sleetstorm hissed, hackles rising. "We could smell your stench from fox-tails away." He wrinkled his nose, and his whiskers shivered; Silverstar rolled her eyes at him as he exaggerated. He was always one to play up to the part of the insulting warrior whenever a border skirmish was possible.

Dandelionfoot politely ignored the ginger warrior's insulting remark and continued. "We were sent by Otterstar to discuss an urgent matter with you. All the Clan leaders are meeting with their deputies and a few warriors at the Gathering place."

Silverstar frowned. "An urgent matter? Elaborate, Dandelionfoot - why should my warriors and I travel out to the Gathering place now, when we could be hunting and defending our territory?"

The ThunderClan tom wrapped his tongue around his lips, apparently not expecting this much talking between Clans. "We've had some non-Clan guests, and we feel that the other Clans should be involved."

"Guests, eh? Surely guests are important enough to announce at the Gathering yesterday, don't you think?" Silverstar couldn't help but challenge these cats - no matter how perfect the morning was, she had to defend her territory, and in the eyes of her Clan keeping quiet was a sign of weakness. "Who are they?"

Dandelionfoot's whiskers twitched with respect for the hostile leader; at least he appreciates my protective attitude, Silverstar thought smugly. "You, of course, have a right to know of our guests. Otterstar would really like to introduce them to you at the meeting, but for now I can tell you that they were once our enemies."

"Enemies?" Silverstar spat, outraged that these cats could stroll to her border and tell her to meet with enemies! "I should've known you'd be to soft on intruders! No, I won't meet with your enemies, ThunderClan - now get off of my territory!"

Dandelionfoot blinked. "May I remind you we are on the border, and have not set a paw in the river?"

Sleetstorm snorted. "Your fur suggests otherwise," he meowed dangerously, indicating to the cats' tufts of wet fur. Clearly they'd tried to cross before the patrol found them, but had come out on their own side knowing not to attempt it again.

Ignoring the ginger warrior once again, Dandelionfoot continued: "You don't understand, Silverstar. These cats were once our enemies, but now they are hungry and homeless, so we have provided them a temporary home in our forest. We have come to ask you if you would so kindly talk to Otterstar and the other leaders to discuss these cats' welfare."

Silverstar hissed - ThunderClan always were pathetic peacemakers. "We don't need to care about these cats' welfare!" she growled, feeling Gorsethorn puff up with pride beside her. "We care about RiverClan, and if necessary we'll observe the other Clans, but we do not need the burden of lying beggars on our backs!" She whirled around, ready to return to her den.

Dandelionfoot's allies seemed to deflate; obviously they knew that this meeting was over. "Wait!" the diplomatic warrior called. His eyes sparkled with desperation. "Please, Silverstar! This is urgent!"

The RiverClan leader narrowed her eyes. "I've told you once, and I won't tell you again, ThunderClan -"

"Silverstar!" Gorsethorn voice was restrained as he gazed up at her. He'd turned around to follow her, but still looked as if he wanted to stay. "Will you consider going to this? I don't think it's a trivial matter - I really think we'd better go."

Silverstar frowned, baring her fangs. "You aren't going soft, are you, Gorsethorn? Come, and quickly - it's important that we get back to our camp so we can do some real work today, instead of chatting with these cats 'til dawn!"

"But Silverstar!" Her deputy stayed where he was, defiantly scratching the pebble-strewn sand beneath him. "If you won't go, let me take a patrol there." With pleading eyes, he added: "Don't you trust me?"

Silverstar's hackles rose. "Gorsethorn, of course I trust you! I don't trust them." She lashed her tail back to the ThunderClan warriors. Seeing his eyes, she sighed. "Must you be so insistant?"

"This is important," Dandelionfoot called from the shore, "and it'd be nice if you could make up your minds about coming quickly. We were supposed to be at ShadowClan by sunhigh."

Silverstar ignored the ginger warrior, and turned to her deputy. "If you're so sure that this is important, then I'll go. But you have to stay here and look after the Clan." Gorsethorn didn't seem too upset with that idea; so long as someone goes, he's happy, Silverstar realised.

She turned around to face Dandelionfoot. "Okay, ThunderClan. My warriors and I will attend your meeting. When should we leave?"

"The meeting will be at the Gathering place, and it has already begun. We might suggest you take only a few warriors - we have only taken a few of ours."

Silverstar narrowed her eyes. "If you're all going with Otterstar and Sandyshore, that makes your patrol eight. We will match your amount." The ThunderClan tom opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head. "That is final."

Seeing she wouldn't go any less than eight, Dandelionfoot nodded. "Yes, Silverstar." He looked at his allies, and murmured something to the large, muscular tom to his left. The larger cat muttered a reply, then sprinted away into the depths of the forest, followed by all of the patrol apart from its leader.

Silverstar looked around her. There were nine warriors, and if Gorsethorn returned to camp, that would make the perfect patrol. "Gorsethorn, go to my den for now. The rest of you, follow me to the Gathering place."

Angelpaw's eyes lit up with excitement; "My first gathering!" she exclaimed. Gorsethorn smiled at her as he walked past, but said nothing - he knew not to ruin this young she-cat's exalt.

Silverstar leapt into the flowing waters, and heard the splashes as her warriors followed her. She heard a squeal of terror from Badgerpaw, and a comforting grunt from Angelpaw, accompanied by an annoyed snap from Sleetstorm. However, all she could feel was the lapping waves, and she struck out with her paws, fighting the tide.

It wasn't long before she was on the other side, and her warriors were sat on the shore beside her. Badgerpaw was the last to collapse on to the sand, panting and glancing around wildly. Sleetstorm bent down to hiss in his ear, but Silverstar raised her paw to silence them all, and the dejected ginger tom sat up straight next to his somewhat disappointing apprentice.

"There will be no fighting at this Gathering," the leader announced to her patrol, "and I expect you all to be civilized in front of the other Clans. If the other warriors begin to threaten us at all, we leave immediately - we won't even stop to announce our leaving." She looked around. "Understood?"

"Yes!" they replied - some less enthusiastic than others. Sleetstorm glared at Badgerpaw, who scrambled clumsily to his paws, and Angelpaw trotted up beside her leader.

"This Gathering place," the white she-cat meowed, glancing up at the silver warrior. "I've only heard stories about it from the other apprentices. Is it true that it goes on forever?"

Silverstar chuckled. "Indeed, Angelpaw. It stretches on towards the horizon, and it never, ever stops moving. It is a blessing from StarClan."

"And is it really so sacred that any cat who touches it with their tongue dies?"

Silverstar frowned. "Well, touching it can be excused by our ancestors, but if you were to drink it then you would die, yes."

"So what is it? They've never really told me what it was - only those things."

"The Gathering place, Angelpaw," Silverstar meowed, her chest swelling up with pride, "is the sea."

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