Ravenflower had been quietly admiring the grey morning, when all of a sudden there was a terrifying wail.Turning around, the black and white molly spotted a patrol returning with a limp body carried on Braircloud's back. ''Stonenose!'' exclaimed Fritillarystar, astonished to find that the quiet medicine cat had long since succumbed, without any of them knowing too! ''Stonenose was a good cat.'' Dustfoot murmured quietly, pressing his nose to the former healer's cold shoulder. ''He was, an excellent mentor to Smallwhisker too.'' replied Bramblefur, nodding grimly. An aura of despair settled on MoorClan for a moment,reminding most of them of the agony they'd felt when Ternheart had passed away.
''Dogs! Dogs on our terr-...'' Smallwhisker yowled, her voice trailing off to a pained croak; at Braircloud's paws lay an old friend.
''W-what happened to him?'' the tortoiseshell glanced at the others for answers they didn't have. Nightclaw sat down beside her daughter, resting her tail kindly on her skinny shoulders. ''Stonenose will be looked after in Starclan; don't you worry, my sprout.'' The tortoiseshell shook her head and glared bitterly at the sky; a glare that cursed the stars above. ''They didn't look after Ternheart.'' Smallwhisker sighed, with the weight of a secret being given out. ''Why would they look after Stonenose?''
The silence that descended on the cats of MoorClan was broken only by their newest member. ''Then what do we do?'' Linnettail murmured nervously, staring at Stonenose; his eyes were gazing blankly at her, sending chills rippling up her spine. Fritillarystar had told her that she'd been sent by StarClan and to think they'd supposedly abandoned them all made her wonder their reasons for sending her Fritillarystar's way if they'd just abandoned MoorClan. What if it hadn't been StarClan that sent her, and some other mysterious and less benevolent force? ''Do we still bury Stonenose?''
Nightclaw stepped forward, full of solemnity. ''Of course we do; it's only right.'' She murmured, eyes mournful. It was evident that the black-molly wasn't just mourning the death of Stonenose but also the growing gap between her and her daughter; Smallwhisker had chosen not to share her burdens, a sure sign that she'd grown up and away from Nightclaw. ''Nightclaw's right, Stonenose deserves to be buried with honour.'' replied Braircloud, followed by a quietly agreeing Bramblefur. As the cats of MoorClan slowly nodded assent, Fritillarystar stepped forward. ''Very well, we'll bury Stonenose.'' The tortoiseshell sent a warning glare Smallwhisker's way. ''And I'll talk to you later, Smallwhisker.''
By the time they reached the lightning oak, the clouds appeared as though drenched in blood. Stonenose was unceremoniously dumped into a shallow grave; the ground was far too cold to be digging holes into. ''We shall grieve his death for moons to come.'' sighed Fritillarystar, although she didn't believe her own words; she preferred the more outspoken nature of Smallwhisker, who didn't cower under the words of others the way Stonenose had. ''He was a wise mentor to Smallwhisker and a faithful medicine cat of MoorClan.'' The tortoiseshell paused for a few moments. ''Let us fall silent in honour of Stonenose, he shall appear under the sign of the dew-speckled stone.
The air around them seemed to have a sadness clinging to it, one that couldn't just be breathed away. A fallen clanmate was never a good thing, but when a cat held such power, it was an even worse thing. The silence that lingered was almost unbearable, and it seemed slightly off and then something struck. A yowl broke the silence as Robinstorm crashed onto Fritillarystar, starting what MoorClan never saw coming.
Tortoiseshell fur on tortoiseshell fur, Fritillarystar glared angrily at Robinstorm. ''Traitorous leech.'' she hissed, burying her claws into Robinstorm's soft belly. ''You're the traitor! You know Nettlefang wasn't the culprit!'' Robinstorm snarled in reply. ''He was with me and Ravenflo-!'' claws ripped through her belly, ending Robinstorm's words with a pained screech. ''Nettlefang was a traitor!'' Fritillarystar sneered. ''Lesser cats like you, you wouldn't be able to tell but I saw evil dancing in his eyes! The dark forest!'' With contempt, Fritillarystar heaved Robinstorm off her, sending the bloodied molly sprawling onto the ground.
''Lesser cat, my arse!'' yowled Avocet, barreling into the gloating leader. The small white and black molly ripped at Fritillarystar's throat, the leader's experience no match for Avocet's ferocity and many moons of scuffling in tight alleys. Fritillarystar gagged and writhed, seeing stars and darkness at the edges of her vision. ''Ge-!'' She panted, terrifyingly unable to draw in breath. All around MoorClan was tussling, nobody there to save her. It was just Fritillarystar, the rogue and the stars that collected at the edges of her vision.
Stars patterned the moor around her, revealing a mournful young tom standing in front of her. ''Fritillarystar, I'm Rookpaw and you've lost clarity.'' The black apprentice sighed, shaking with cold and fear. Fritillarystar blinked, noting with horror that a curtain of darkness was being drawn across her eyes. ''N-no! I must not let Robinstorm win, I must not let injustice reign supreme!'' snarled Fritillarystar, pelt bristling with outrage. Far below, while she was dwelling in Starclan for the time being, Nightclaw was wrestling with Lightning; their skills evenly matched. ''I have no quarrel with you!'' shouted the white tom, only to get smacked across the face. Nightclaw wasn't taking any chances, these rogues had attacked out of the blue and who was to say that he was telling the truth? Nearby Hollytail and Dawnpool were hissing at Snailstep, outraged he'd snatched Dawnpool's role from right under her paws. All three thought the other was wrong, that the other was unjust and selfish. Either way, Moorclan was being torn apart.
''Oh, but it's already reigning supreme.'' Rookpaw piped up, bright eyes twinkling like fireflies. The young apprentice's voice suddenly infuriated Fritillarystar and with a vicious snarl, she leaped to her paws. ''Are you implying that I've been unjust?'' She swiped a paw at the starry apprentice, sending him stumbling backwards in fear. ''I've been nothing but just, Rookpaw, and a young apprentice like you wouldn't know that.'' She hissed, sending Rookpaw fading away; she didn't care for the young apprentice.
And then she saw white paws, a white chest, and a white face with two gleaming eyes; one green and the other blue.
''Hello Fritillarystar.'' crooned Swanstar, watching mockingly as the tortoiseshell scrambled to her paws. Even as Fritillarystar snarled and threatened her, Swanstar calmly licked a paw and drew it over her ears. ''I won't let you bring chaos to MoorClan!'' The tortoiseshell hissed, swiping at Swanstar, whom looked up from her cleaning and let out a soft chuckle. ''Oh, you're even more blind than that dear Hazelkit; take a look around, you brought chaos here without my help.''
''W-what...'' Fritillarystar muttered, gazing around the battlefield; the battlefield that was as blood-drenched as the clouds above. Her deputy had ravaged Hollytail's handsome face, Smallwhisker was snarling at anyone who came close to Stonenose's body,
Darkheart was threatening Oakfeather and where tranquility had once settled, was indeed the chaos that Swanstar hadn't wrought.
The battle is raging; three cats have died so far, who?
(Pick three cats; but don't pick Robin or Fritillary please)
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