They find an abandoned monster den (garage) to spend the night in. The cats are hungry and weary, causing then to snap at each other. The cats doze fitfully. At one point Moon Shadow tells Gray Wing he is going to go hunting. Gray Wing dozes off and is woken when he hears cats fighting. He and some others find Moon Shadow being attacked by three kittypets. They quickly join the fight, though they don't really know what they are doing since they have never had to fight another cat before. The kittypets run off, telling them that rogues are not welcome here. Back at the den the cats report what happened. Shaded Moss feels they need to leave as soon as they can. Everyone wonders what a rogue is. The next day their journey continues and they leave Twoleg place. They hunt but capture too much prey for everyone to eat. Feeling guilty they leave it behind. Gray Wing sees an animal steal the remainder of their prey. He doesn't know what the animal is, though it does resemble a dog, but he feels it looks mean. They cross some water and find a large den that is dry. Rainswept Flower asks if this could be their new home.
The cats consider her words and even Shaded Moss agrees it is possible. Shaded Moss also feels that they are so close to the mountains they could visit their kin. Everyone can smell a strange scent in the den, but since it does not smell like a predator no one is concerned. Gray Wing disagrees but he seems to be the only one. Turtle Tail even points out to him that everything outside of the mountains would feel strange. Gray Wing wakes up to a strange sound. No guard has been set since everyone felt so safe. Suddenly he realizes what is wrong and yells at everyone to wake up. The den floods with sheep and everyone races to get out. Hawk Swoop gets injured in the escape, but thankfully Cloud Spots knows how to reset her leg. They rest there for the day even though it means being stuck out in the rain. Gray Wing tries to talk to Clear Sky, but his brother wants to be left alone. They continue on their journey and it is hard going. One day Jagged Peak insists that someone is watching them. Gray Wing tells him he is imagining things but then another cat confronts them. The cat seems surprised to see so many cats, but he isn't hostile. He asks where they are from and he misunderstands, thinking they are from Highstones, but Highstones is their end journey. The cats move on and as they go they scent dogs. Everyone scatters. Gray Wing goes through some bushes and finds a thunderpath. Shaded Moss follows him and runs out onto the thunderpath before he can stop him. A monster comes racing by and hits Shaded Moss.
Gray Wing stops anyone else from making the same mistake. Tall Shadow runs out to collect Shaded Moss but there is nothing that can be done for him. They decide to bring his body to the other side of the thunderpath and bury him. After they bury him everyone speaks about their memories of him. Some of the cats are ready to give up but Gray Wing reminds them they need to continue on for Bright Stream and Shaded Moss. After resting the cats go forward, crossing another thunderpath. Jagged Peak panics and Clear Sky has to save him, which causes Clear Sky to lose his temper. Gray Wing notices that all the excitement over almost reaching their new home is subdued again.
Gray Wing and the cats reach what they hope is their new home. Everyone takes turns exploring with different ideas on where to live. Some, like Jagged Peak, want to live in the trees while others, like Gray Wing, want to live on the plains. One day while out chasing a rabbit two rogues attack Gray Wing, causing him to lose the rabbit. When he calls them out on it Wind and Gorse, the rogues, claim he screwed up on his own by crashing into them. Tall Shadow and Hawk Swoop come along and tell the rogues to leave or else. Gray Wing worries that they might have to fight for the right to hunt. Eventually Tall Shadow declares she is in charge, claiming it was Shaded Moss's wish, and says everyone must hunt in pairs.
Turtle Tail tells Gray Wing that he needs to speak with his brother about Bright Stream. When Clear Sky leaves camp alone Gray Wing realizes he will never have a better opportunity. He follows Clear Sky to the water and calls out to him as he starts to climb down. This causes Clear Sky to lose his footing. Gray Wing races forward and catches him, helping him back up, saying he won't lose Clear Sky too. Clear Sky asks him what he means and Gray Wing admits he feels Bright Stream's death is his fault. Clear Sky is surprised, since he has been blaming himself. The brothers make up and explore the rocks next to the water. A rogue tells them that they are not welcome and then jumps into the water, swimming away. After exploring there they explore in the trees. Clear Sky admits to wishing to live in the trees while Gray Wing admits to prefering the open. Gray Wing feels they are being watched but Clear Sky doesn't care. Back at camp Tall Shadow and Moon Shadow are arguing again over the trees. Tall Shadow wants everyone to stay out of them and Moon Shadow wants to hunt there. Hawk Swoop breaks up their argument by suggesting hunting. As the cats hunt they easily catch prey and act excited over it, but Gray Wing feels the excitement is forced.
I feel like I am reading about the birth of WindClan, which is odd because the story has always followed ThunderClan. But maybe their birth story is in here too? Clear Sky and some of the others long for the trees. But this is Gray Wing's story, and he would definitely be a WindClan cat. Though, some cats would favor RiverClan for certain. However, we have also met a female cat named Wind. I cannot remember if the ancient Wind was male or female, but maybe this Wind is the ancient one? Will she somehow wind up living with the tribe? I have so many questions now that they have reached their home. How do they split up into four groups? Well, five, actually. If this is Wind then where is Thunder, Shadow, River, and Sky? Clear Sky cannot be Sky since he clearly prefers the trees. I always assumed the tribe cats would shorten their names and lead their respective clans, but maybe the answer lies with the rogues like Wind. I need to go back and look at previous posts. I want to find out more about the original clan leaders (Thunder and company) even though little was mentioned and I seem to remember there was a tie between SkyClan and ThunderClan involving a father and son. I need to go back and refind that information - limited as it was.
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