Shademask grunted awake at an urgent prodding. He had half a mind to snarl at whoever had woken him but, truthfully, was grateful for the interruption of the same dark dream that had been haunting him for nearly half a moon now. Upon looking up, he found Lightchaser staring down at him with a mixture of excitement and fear. Instantly, the tom was on his paws.

"What's happening?" he asked, following her out of the den into the moonlit camp. A shriek of pain quickly answered his question. The quick patter of paws caught his attention as Mothpelt streaked from the medicine den, the curtain of ivy covering the entrance swishing in her wake. Stormfall pelted after her.

The duo padded over to the nursery much more calmly, though Shademask's fur still stood on end as another cry escaped the den. Hanging back at the entrance, he saw Thistleshade sitting next to Rainheart grooming her fur in an effort to calm the birthing queen. Rainheart's scarred face was contorted in pure agony.

"Is she going to be okay?" Stormfall asked in a half-whisper as the grey she-cat let out another moan. His eyes were as round as the full moon.

Mothpelt pushed past him, attempting to get to her patient. "Yes, she will be. She's not the first to go through kit-birth, nor will she be the last." She placed a pile of herbs before the queen. "Lightchaser, pass me that stick over there."

The pale tortoiseshell obliged and Mothpelt passed the stick to Rainheart. "Bite down on it when the pain comes." The medicine cat pushed past Stormfall again to get to the pile of herbs she'd brought. The warrior stood frozen, staring at his mate.

Shademask took a step forward, placing a calm tail on his friend's shoulder. "Why don't we take a quick walk? It looks like Rainheart's well taken care of." Over Stormfall's shoulder he saw Mothpelt shoot him a grateful look.

Stormfall did not resist, nor did he agree. The darker tom had to all but drag him out of the nursery. He set their course for the camp exit – up the Fallen Tree and into the forest beyond. They did not speak as they padded over forest floor and clearings lit by the nearly full moon. Shademask kept his ears pricked, aware of Stormfall's heavy breathing.

Finally, the two toms halted before the river that marked the border between RockClan and MoorClan. The younger warrior's breathing had reached a new high and Shademask could hear it wheezing in and out of his throat. Unsure what to do, he just placed his tail on Stormfall's shoulders as the tom had done for him when he needed support.

"What if she dies?" The words came out of Stormfall so quickly Shademask nearly missed them. There was a moment of silence as he came up with a reply.

"She won't die. She's strong. If she can survive Dawnstar, she can survive anything."

Stormfall's racing heart slowed slightly. "But she's so young. Sometimes I wonder if this all happened too soon."

"You're young too," Shademask pointed out. "Neither of you have lived through two season cycles yet."

"That's what I'm saying," Stormfall replied. "What if I'm a terrible father? What if my kits hate us? What if they hate Rainheart?"

The black tom nearly snorted with laughter. "You're worried that your kits won't like you? Stormfall, you're probably the most likeable cat in the Clan, and one of the most responsible while we're at it. You'll make a great father, and Rainheart will be a wonderful mother."

The grey warrior fixed him with round amber eyes. "You really think so?"

Shademask nodded. "I know so."

Stormfall licked his chest fur down modestly. "Thanks."

They remained at the river's edge, looking up at the waxing moon and listening to Stormfall's heartbeat slow to its regular pace. When Shademask knew the tom was calm, he got to his paws.

"I think it's time you meet your kits," he said. The excitement in the tom's steps as they headed back to camp was as palpable as the rock beneath their paws.

//

Three sunrises later, Shademask could hardly believe that the shaking, worried Stormfall ever existed. He was the most doting father and mate ever, according to Oakshade, and having a conversation with him without hearing about Rainheart or the kits was impossible.

There were two of them: grey toms, one lighter and the other darker with faint stripes, who mewled through the night and woke Shademask from his sleep. Though others grumbled about it, Minkfur in particular, Shademask didn't care. In fact, he welcomed being woken from his reoccurring nightmares.

As dusk fell, painting the sky with swaths of indigo and violet, the warrior found his way towards the nursery, where he knew he would find Stormfall. Poking his head in, he found the tom sharing tongues with his mate.

"We're getting ready to head out to the Gathering," he said. Stormfall flicked his tail in acknowledgement.

Before Shademask could turn to leave, however, Rainheart called him back. "Would you like to see them?"

The black tom halted, surprised. On the night of the kits' birth, he had left Stormfall and Rainheart to fawn over their newborn kits; in the days after, he had avoided the nursery. The image of his flashing claws and the pained mewling of his dreams flashed through his mind briefly.

Rainheart continued to look at him warmly out of her single eye and, finally, Shademask nodded. The queen shifted ever so slightly, revealing two tiny bundles of grey, both sound asleep. Their sides rose and fell in unison, paws still against their mother's belly as if they'd slipped into their dreams while suckling.

"We named the darker tabby one Sootkit," Stormfall said proudly. "The smaller grey one we named Owlkit."

Sootstar and Owlstar. Two leaders of Old, leaders of two very different Clans. Shademask stared down at the kits, unsure what to say.

"We'd like you to mentor one of them, when the time comes," Rainheart continued, brushing her tailtip over the kits' backs. "If you're willing of course," she added quickly.

The warrior felt a hardness in his throat. He glanced at the queen's marred face – an injury she would carry forever, an injury he could have prevented. How was it that she trusted him enough to offer him mentorship of one of her kits? Gazing at the little toms his nightmares flashed through his mind once more but, this time, he pushed them down along with the lump in his throat.

"I'd love to," he said. "But for now, I believe Stormfall and I are going to be late for the Gathering."

Rainheart nodded happily, bidding her mate goodbye, and the two headed out to the gathering RockClan party.

"There you are!" Lightchaser teased. "I was beginning to think you two weren't coming."

"And miss the Gathering where Sprucestar announces the birth of my kits?" Stormfall replied indignantly. "Absolutely not!"

Purring, Lightchaser flicked her littermate's nose with her tail. Then, they were off for High Rocks.

RockClan filtered in through the old DarkClan entrance just as SeaClan arrived from the direction of the old truth-teller's den. Sprucestar and Mothpelt headed straight for the Speaking Rock, where Gannetstar and Lilyfeather already waited. Shademask felt Lightchaser press her nose to his cheek before going off to find her SeaClan friends.

"Shademask. Good to see you." The black tom turned to see a battle-scarred ginger warrior.

"Flamestrike," he greeted. "How are you?"

The ginger tom sat down awkwardly and Shademask's eyes flitted over the bump where his leg used to be. The warrior had been badly injured in the battle against DarkClan and the only way to get rid of the infection in his leg had been to remove it.

"Still adjusting," Flamestrike replied truthfully. "But my fighting skills are getting better, thanks to this lovely warrior here." He brought his tail around a she-cat as she padded up to them. For a moment, confusion filled Shademask – she looked very much like Lightchaser. Then, he saw the sway of her belly and her copper eyes found his.

"I'm Tawnybreeze," she said, her voice both soft and powerful at the same time.

"Warrior and fastest cat of SeaClan," Flamestrike boasted. "And my mate."

Shademask purred. "And mother of yours kits, I assume?"

The ginger tom nodded, nuzzling his mate. "Lilyfeather says she's due by the next Gathering."

"Congratulations," the RockClan tom said. "Lightchaser and Cinderblossom will be delighted to hear."

Flamestrike twitched his whiskers. "There's Cinderblossom now. Shall we?" Tawnybreeze blinked an affirmative response and the SeaClan mates moved off.

"Hope everything's going well in RockClan!" Flamestrike called back. Shademask flicked his tail, having caught sight of the arriving MoorClan party. He knew few of the MoorClan members, as most of them were former alley cats, but he caught the tortoiseshell pelt of Dapplefrost the moment she entered. He had not seen her since the division of the Clans.

The she-cat's face soured as he approached. Following her line of sight, he saw the backs of the two cats he had just spoken to.

"Dapplefrost," he said and the angry look dissipated slightly into irritation.

"Shademask," she replied, looking over his shoulder. The tom shifted, cutting her off from the image of Flamestrike and Tawnybreeze.

"Haven't seen you in a while," he said. "How are your kits?"

The she-cat brightened slightly at his question. "Spiderkit's growing strong, she's going to make such a fine warrior someday. She's almost an apprentice, it won't be long before Tallstar assigns her a mentor. Stonekit is a little bit quiet, but I think he'll be fine once he's an apprentice."

The tom nodded along. "And your third?" Her expression soured again instantly and he backtracked, unsure of what he'd said wrong. "You did have a third, didn't you?"

Dapplefrost narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Rosekit is troublesome. But she'll most likely become Crowleaf's apprentice." The pure dismissal in her voice shocked Shademask.

Thankfully, he did not have to respond as Tallstar called the beginning of the Gathering. Shademask dipped his head to the MoorClan she-cat and went off in search of Lightchaser.

Tallstar was reporting a lack of news from MoorClan as Shademask settled down beside his mate and her littermate, Beetlefang. The two she-cats had been incredibly close, especially considering their rivalry earlier in life, ever since their return to DarkClan.

"SeaClan would like to announce the apprenticeship of four new apprentices: Birchpaw,  Flypaw, Specklepaw, and Windpaw," Gannetstar shouted down to the gathered Clans. "Their mentors, Flamestrike, Shardtooth, Beetlefang, and Cobaltwing are all here tonight."

Shademask leaned past Lightchaser, catching Beetlefang's eye. The usually prickly she-cat actually looked excited.

"Are congratulations in order?" he whispered.

The black SeaClan warrior puffed out her chest proudly. "Specklepaw's the most ambitious of the lot too."

Sinking back into his spot, Shademask purred as the Beetlefang he remembered reappeared.

Sprucestar was now addressing the Clans. "RockClan has two new kits: Owlkit and Sootkit. Rainheart is recovering well and Stormfall is taking good care of her." The grey tom almost looked embarrassed as the entirety of the gathered Clans turned their attention to him.

"Here's to another peaceful moon," Tallstar said, effectively ending the Gathering.

"See you next moon," Beetlefang said, touching her nose to Lightchaser's.

"Until next Gathering," Lightchaser replied. Shademask nodded to the SeaClan she-cat as she went to join her Clan. As he and Lightchaser turned to join their own he noticed the spring in his mate's step.

"You seem happy," he purred, genuinely glad to see her in a good mood.

"I am," she said. "Sometimes I think about how much Beetlefang and I used to hate each other and how close we are now. It feels like DarkClan only ever kept everyone apart. There are three Clans now and we're all closer than ever."

Shademask twitched his whiskers happily.

Yet, when he looked back at the other Clans, he saw the look of pure hatred on Dapplefrost's face. It would be too easy to say that the fall of DarkClan had fixed everything. There were still betrayals stirring somewhere far beneath the surface – he just didn't quite know where.

// Merry Christmas Eve eve! I'm really looking forward to the holidays and hopefully doing some extra writing. Let me know what you're looking forward to most this Christmas season! Also, let me know if you have any fan theories/predictions ;)