The Exile wrote:the flames spread through the forest swiftly despite the lea-
fbare weather. smoke filled the sky and noses while thunde-
rclan's lands began to glow orange. in camp, palestar anno-
unced that they needed to leave. the fire was creeping closer,
and it seemed there was only minutes before the camp was
engulfed. "follow me to the lake!" he shouted. the whole rest
of the clan - four cats - ran after him as he lead them to the
lake. it was cooler and there was a thin layer of icy snow
underpaw, but adrenaline coursed through the veins of the
cats. slatekit coughed.
"i'm voting cutstripe," crowflight immediately stated as they
drew to a halt. after a while, begoniastorm nodded, signifyi-
ng that he would do the same.
"begoniastorm," cutstripe retorted.
palestar paused, increasingly unsure. he didn't know anymo-
re, and if they didn't exile the right cat, thunderclan was do-
omed for sure. he felt a great weight on his wide shoulders.
finally, he said softly, "cutstripe... er, slatekit."
"slatekit?" begoniastorm cried. "a kit?"
the leader's long fur bristled, but, true to his character, he
stayed silent. unfortunately, most of his clanmates seemed
to share his indecision. "alright," said cutstripe, drawing him-
self up. "i'm switching my vote to our beloved deputy, crowf-
light." he sent the spotted tom a knowing look that no one
else could've picked up on.
"crowflight," palestar quietly mewed. while cutstripe seemed
unnervingly calm, crowflight's fur immediately bristled.
"i tried to protect you!" he roared, grey tail lashing. "i swear
by starclan that it's cutstripe!"
"strong words for a traitor," the accused replied smoothly.
crowflight practically shook. the small tom threw himself at
cutstripe, tackling him and landing a few blows while he was
still shocked. palestar had to push his second-in-command
away, leaving cutstripe to brush translucent bits of ice off of
his pelt as he got to his paws.
crowflight stood in his place as palestar padded away, not
really wanting to disappoint him. but he still said with move-
ment, "i saw him! he tried to kill me! this singed fur?" he
twisted to show more of his right side, which to the trained
eye looked intentionally burnt. but was it really done by cut-
stripe? "cutstripe pushed me against a burning tree to watch
me burn!"
eyes drifted to cutstripe, but he slowly drew in a breath to
stay calm. "i did no such thing, crowflight."
"yes you did!" he howled, throwing his head back. "he did! i'm
living proof! palestar, please..."
doubt set in again. palestar swallowed, glancing between the
two cats. he mentally weighed the options. it all rested on
him. "i'm sorry, cutstripe..." his voice trailed off, and he coul-
dn't find it within himself to continue.
"you better be," the blue-eyed warrior snarled, but his fur st-
ill seemed to lay flat. that fact didn't sit well with palestar.
"fools, all of you!" his claws emerged, but he didn't aim a blow
at anyone. cutstripe looked at the remaining kit. "come with
me, slatekit. you shouldn't live with these killers."
as aloof as he was, begoniastorm drew slatekit closer to his
own orangeish fur.
"fine," cutstripe spat. "have it your way, cowards! you aren't
even a clan anymore." with that, he spun around and ran into
the forest, intentionally kicking little bits of icy snow at his
clanmates.
crowflight turned to his clanmates. "look at him go," he said.
"see, i told you he was the killer. i saw him, i swear. i-i know
where he goes to get the fire. i tried to follow him once. he
kills us, but he doesn't work alone."
begoniastorm faintly nodded. "that makes sense."
"it's in this cave. kind of by the moonpool, if you know where
that is. praise starclan: i spotted a stream above the cave. it's
really tiny and only trickles, but it's there. at night one day, i
started to divert it a little. there's a hole in the cave ceiling,
it looks, because there's a lot of smoke coming from it."
"did you move the stream so it flowed into the cave?" begoni-
astorm asked. when crowflight replied with a negative, he
looked vaguely disappointed.
"but i'm only one cat," crowflight said quickly. "you all can
help me. it's still a ways from the hole, but it's close. i work-
ed on it for a few nights."
"let's go," palestar interrupted. he glanced at the forest that
cutstripe had disappeared into, and the other cats did the
same.
enough was said. the four vestiges of thunderclan headed
into the burning woods, determination painted on their faces.
the thunderclanner padded into the family's cave, fur ruffled
and eyes blazing.
the chill had driven all of the cats away from the cave entran-
ce, save for one black tom: aramis, who had been banned
from warming himself by the fire. the black cat immediately
flew to his paws, scurrying away with a shout. "i'll get mothe-
r!"
"no!" the cutthroat exclaimed, but it was futile. aramis was
almost halfway across the cave.
they paced, emotions a strange mixture of distress and chol-
er. it peaked when the tall, scarred, light brown molly appea-
red. "you're early," she observed.
they couldn't choke out a reply. instead, "they're almost gone,
mother. i can't work from the inside anymore, but there's only
a kit and three adults left."
"what are you implying?" mother rose to her full height with a
snarling expression, peering down at the smaller cat and into
their soul. they took a breath and refused to cower.
"i was exiled."
"you're almost as useless as ralph!" she thundered. she exhal-
ed with the sound of a bull about to charge, and her brown
tail lashed dangerously. claws unsheathed. "you never deser-
ved a true name!"
the anger and fear bubbled over in the thunderclan cat. "be-
cause i already have it!" was the cat about to confess a true
loyalty to thunderclan that had been hidden deep down all
along like in a storybook clichรฉ? alas, they continued. "it's
cutstripe! i don't need some bloody name from a coward like
you!"
mother hissed. "coward? you have the wrong c-" she was
cut off when cutstripe leapt at her, knocking the breath out
of her lungs. she wasn't pinned, but action was enough. she
slashed at him, landing but a shallow scratch on his pink
nose. "you son of a bitch! i should've chosen any cat but you!"
the cat darted towards her, scratching her belly, but she
rolled over so he couldn't get very far. they fought and foug-
ht, edging ever-closer to the blaze. finally, cutstripe ran
towards the pile of kindling and seized the first stick he could
find. he careened towards the fire, sticking the twig into it
frantically. mother loomed closer, claws clicking on the stone
floor. the killer's eyes widened and they thrust the burning
stick forward, waving it menacingly. it had no effect on the
creamy brown molly, who lowered her head like a bull with
a savage snarl. she leapt at him, claws outstretched and into
the fire. panic cascaded through cutstripe as orange and red
engulfed him, mother digging her sharp claws into his chest.
heat pressed his sides and he cried out, coughing. smoke and
fire enveloped the pair. mother was fearless, without pain,
as she raised a paw to deal the killing blow.
suddenly, freezing water poured through the hole in the cav-
e's ceiling. it surged downwards, smothering the flames.
what crowflight hadn't mentioned was that he had widened
the stream, and with the help of thunderclan, his goal was
fulfilled. the cave was flooded, pushing the family out.
mother was knocked off of cutstripe, and he sucked in a deep
breath that was part water. the cats pooled onto the grass at
the cave's entrance, water trickling down their pelts as they
stood up, freezing.
thunderclan had fled, unwilling to face these cats that had
killed their clanmates. they had fled to the moonpool, for
palestar had not received his nine lives. "i will lead this clan
to greatness. i will return us to our former glory and accom-
plish what leaders before me could not. i will protect all of
you with every fiber of my being, every fur on my pelt. i will
not let thunderclan fall to chaos like it has now!" he had
cried.
cutstripe coughed, getting to his paws and shaking his striped
pelt. "mother!" he yowled huskily. she began to rise, fur slick
and darkened by the water. cutstripe charged at her, slicing
his claws into her neck. she made a chilling gurgling howl and
lashed out, clawing the tom rather superficially. mother coll-
apsed. cutstripe grinned grimly, jumping to the nearest stump
to stand above the cats.
"mother is dead! it is now my turn to lead you!"
congratulations, thunderclan, you won! but at what cost?