The Exile wrote:
A yowl from Frostystar, and all the cats were gathering in a
small circle. Frostystar no longer sat above the clan, as there
was so few of them left that it just didn't seem right. They
seemed ever more reluctant to cast their votes, though the
spark of hope in each cats' eyes wasn't hard to miss. No one,
apart from the guard, knew what had spooked the murderer
that night, though the fact that all seven were still alive left
them hoping that they might actually catch the murderer
this time round.
Riverclan's brief stroke of luck would not last long, however.
Littlemoon sat next to Frostystar, the same feeling of pride
welling up inside of him as the clan talked of how no one
was murdered. He cast a glance towards Frostystar, his pale
yellow eyes scanning the she-cat as he tried to work out if
she knew that he had saved her life. She didn't. Littlemoon
looked away; perhaps it was best that she didn't know, as
he might become a target for the murderer if he revealed
such precious information.
The cats began to cast their votes. Sadness stabbed at
Littlemoon's heart as he heard Frostystar vote for him, but
he wouldn't show it. He had to stay strong, to prove to his
sisters that he was more than just the runt of his litter.
Shaking his hurt away, Littlemoon listened as Littleflame
cast her vote. Turtlefoot? The medicine cat looked over
at the queen, who had her tail curled protectively around
Fawnkit. Not knowing who to vote for, Littlemoon simply
nodded in Littleflame's direction, and cast his vote for
Turtlefoot too.
Foxtail and Honeypaw didn't vote, instead keeping silent
the whole time, their heads hanging low and lost in
their thoughts. Turtlefoot and Fawnkit both cast their
votes: Littlemoon. The medicine cat froze, his tail fluffed
up as he took the words in, "B-But...you can't!" Littlemoon
yelped, quite unlike his normal self, "Starclan wouldn't have
given me the prophecy if they thought I...If I was going to
destroy the clan" he stuttered, cowering as the stares of
all the other six cats fell on him. Frostystar tilted her head
and opened her mouth, about to say something but seeming
to think better of it. Littleflame, Foxtail, and Honeypaw
all had sympathy in their eyes, none of them having voted
for the tom. Fawnkit's eyes were full of a newfound fear
as they gazed upon the medicine cat, while Turtlefoot's
expression was unreadable.
"Littlemoon, the clan has voted for you to leave" Frostystar
finally said, her voice firm. Littlemoon's mouth hung open,
though he soon recovered from his shock, "I protected you!"
he suddenly hissed, fur fluffing up, half from anger and half
from fear. He knew that if he left and happened to run into
the rogues, he wouldn't stand a chance against them, and
the thought of that scared him, "Since that very first murder,
I've been protecting you, Frostystar. I protected you over my
own apprentice!" That last statement seemed to leave the
tom's mouth before he had chance to realise what he was
saying. Even if Duckpaw had been exiled rather than killed,
why hadn't he protected his own apprentice? Why hadn't he
protested against exiling Blazeheart, and as a result, Duckpaw
too? Horrified by the thought, Littlemoon shot out of camp
before another word was said.
Leaving Riverclan territory, Littlemoon wandered until dark
descended on the clans. Riverclan was unprotected; another
of his clanmates would die this night, and there was nothing
he could do about it.
Littlemoon hadn't realised he had strayed into Thunderclan
territory. An angered yowl soon alerted him to the world
outside of his own head, however, and he looked up to see
a small, sandy coloured rogue. The rogue, a young looking
tom, launched straight at the medicine cat, leaving a long
gash across his cheek. Littlemoon yowled back, unsheathing
his claws and preparing to fight back, when the rogue's eyes
flickered to something behind him. Littlemoon turned to look
as the rogue fled, only to see the familiar eyes of Blazeheart
staring back at him, with two Thunderclan warriors either
side. A late night hunting patrol. "You've been exiled too?"
Blazeheart asked, sympathy in her voice. Littlemoon
nodded, and began to tell Blazeheart everything, speaking as
though the other Thunderclan warriors weren't there. When he
had finished, one of the other warriors spoke before Blazeheart
had time to respond, "We've heard what is happening in
Riverclan from Blazeheart and Duckpaw. Come with us". The
four cats headed back to Thunderclan camp together.
Littlemoon became a warrior, with the help of Blazeheart
who acted almost as a mentor, and lived the rest of his life in
peace. The horrors of the murderer in Riverclan still haunted
him, however, and even many moons after being exiled, he still
had the occasional nightmare of the murderer coming for him, too.
Your luck has run out, Riverclan! You have exiled your guard!
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