FireClan
Nightfire stretched, her claws sliding gently from their sheaths. It had been a long night, and the black she-cat wasn't sure she was prepared for a new day after everything that had happened. What would Bloodstar do to her after she had sided with his opponent? Nightfire padded out of the warriors den, passing the fresh-kill pile on her way out of camp. Her stomach was churning, but she wasn't hungry. She wouldn't have changed her decision to stick up for Ashfeather last night, but the consequences of her choice were worrying. As were some of the things Ashfeather had said. The silvery tabby
had sounded like she had bees in her brain. Suddenly, something Foxflame had said came to mind.
There is wisdom in Ashfeather's words. It may not always make sense to us, but there is wisdom in her words. Listen to her. Ashfeather had suggested that Bloodstar couldn't use his powers. Could that be true? Nightfire had seen her leader use fire on many occasions.
There is wisdom in Ashfeather's words. "Alright, I get it, Foxflame!" she hissed aloud, irritated by her friend's constant appearance in her thoughts. Why did he always show up? Without warning, another voice sounded behind her. "What? What do you get?" Nightfire whipped around to see Foxflame himself with scratches on his pelt and dark lines under his eyes. "Nothing," she murmured, padding up to him. "You look awful. What happened?" The ginger tom shook his head. "It's kind of a long story." Nightfire didn't say anything as Foxflame wrestled with himself, trying to decide if she could know whatever it was that he had on his mind. "Anyway," he meowed after a few moments, "Snowclaw asked me to head a border patrol since she had to leave to go somewhere." Foxflame seemed puzzled about this. "With my apprentice," he added. Nightfire remembered that both Mudpaw and the deputy had been chosen by Heathersong and StarClan, so they had a meeting to go to. Foxflame could wait for an explanation. His story was more important at the moment. "Maybe I could go with you and you could tell me that long story?" the black she-cat asked, smiling widely in hopes that he would cave. "Well, I guess." Foxflame stared at the ground again with the determined expression that meant he was thinking hard about something. "Yeah, I'd like that." When the tabby tom looked back up, his handsome face was lit with his usual gentle smile. "Alright then, let's go." Nightfire grinned impishly and dashed in the direction of the nearest border, the LeafClan border. "Hey!" Foxflame called as he ran after her, causing the devilish she-cat to laugh. Life was so much easier when she could have fun with Foxflame.
(Woah there, Nightfire. Be careful about what goes through your head. Someone's going to get themselves into trouble!)
WaterClan
When Stormcall woke to Rainstar standing over him, he knew he had outstayed his welcome.
But Dawnsinger isn't better yet! he wanted to protest, though he knew he could say no such thing to the leader who had allowed an enemy warrior to stay in her camp for so long. The gray tom got to his feet and dipped his head to the intimidating she-cat. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Silverleaf lying, still asleep, against Dawnsinger's back. Rainstar followed his gaze and smiled gently. "I know you're worried, but Silverleaf and Pinefeather will take good care of her." Pinefeather was the WaterClan medicine cat whom Stormcall had become very aquianted with since Dawnsinger's accident. "If it weren't for your sister, Dawnsinger wouldn't be alive," Rainstar mewed thoughtfully. "Silverleaf is certainly a brave cat. I knew they were friends, but I had no idea that she would risk her life for Dawnsinger in such a way. You must be very grateful." In truth, Stormcall hadn't thought much about Silverleaf; all his worries had revolved around his dying mate. Rainstar turned her pale silvery eyes back to him, though they were much softer now. She chuckled at the expression on his face - Stormcall himself didn't know what he looked like, though he imagined it was puzzled - and mrowed merrily, "You are grateful now that I've made you think about it." Stormcall's ears and tail drooped in shame as he sat awkwardly, kind of wanting to laugh at himself. "Come," Rainstar meowed once her chuckles had subsided. The two of them padded out of the medicine den and through the camp, ignoring the gazes of any passing WaterClan cats. When they had just passed through the camp entrance, Rainstar stopped and turned to the AirClan tom. "Your sister is powerful," she meowed. "Do not forget it." Stormcall had a brief flashback at the leader's words. Someone else had said that a long time ago, on a cold stormy night when he had still been in WaterClan. Maybe Rainstar was remembering, too. "Goodbye, Stormcall." The blue-gray leader dipped her head in parting and padded back to her den, leaving Stormcall standing outside the thick barrier of leaves.
I guess the only thing left to do is go home. With that, the gray tom trotted off in the direction of his home territory.
Please be alright, Dawnsinger.AirClan
Ashfeather crept into the medicine den, the only proper den in AirClan camp, slightly afraid of what she would find. Ashwhisker was asleep in a corner, but in the center of the space lay a heap of unmoving black fur. Nightfeather. Ashfeather's breath caught in her throat as she stumbled towards him, tears threatening to fall. She buried her muzzle in his dark fur and breathed in his blood-tainted scent. The tom was still alive, but just barely.
This is how I felt. Foxflame's voice sounded in her head, and suddenly she understood. The worry, the pain, the misery, the panic. No wonder her brother had been so depressed when he had heard about the Battle of the Eclipse, when DarkClan had almost wiped out SunClan. Ashfeather began to inspect her mate's body, gently licking the gashes along his flank and shoulder. A brief flash of anger rose as she thought of the evil cat who had done this. The evil dead cat.
That's what happens when you mess with the cats I love! She felt no regret for killing the DarkClan cat. In fact, she felt justified and powerful.
I hope Icestar knows who killed her warrior. May I strike fear into her worm-infested heart!EarthClan
"Anyone want to join a border patrol?" Dirtpath woke to the sound of her deputy's voice. A border patrol. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, the dappled she-cat rose to her paws, ready to answer Dappleheart's request. Then she remembered the request of someone more important. Heathersong. Heathersong had called her to a meeting of chosen cats. Chosen cats. A tingle shot through her spine at the thought of it. "Love to, but I have to go!" Dirtpath mewed, shooting past her deputy and towards the medicine den. Lightwhisper. She needed to get Lightwhisper. She had thought briefly the night before about how she would manage to get the injured she-cat all the way to the Gathering-place with her broken leg. Maybe Sunheart would have some ideas. Or maybe Lightwhisper herself would come up with a way.
There's only one way to find out. The dappled warrior crept into the medicine den, Lightwhisper's stark white fur standing out against the dark earth floor. She was still sleeping. "Lightwhisper," Dirtpath murmured, tentatively placing a paw on the young cat's shoulder. "Lightwhisper."
RockClan
Whiterunner smiled, happy to be in such cheerful company. "It depends on what you mean by 'this time'. I sure hope we will. StarClan obviously thought we could." StarClan. That brought a faint frown to the white tom's face. StarClan had not been as active as they could have been, allowing Icestar to pluck dozens of unsuspecting cats from their homes and take them captive.
Don't think like that. he scolded himself.
They probably had very little control over the matter until now. Whiterunner understood what that felt like. He had developed feelings for Heathersong at a very young age, but, to his dismay, he had been unable to stop her from becoming a medicine cat where she was out of reach.
Sometimes you just don't have control over things like that. Until now. Maybe now, if he was smart enough, he could change things for the two of them.
DarkClan
Mosscloud hissed in annoyance and set down the captured AirClan tom who was still unconscious. "Don't go complaining to me," she snapped at Blackclaw. "If you have a problem, take it up with Icestar."
Not that Icestar would do anything about it. She would just find you annoying and wipe the thought from your pathetic head. The brindled she-cat turned away and sniffed the area the patrol had paused in. Their scent was here, only a day old. Also there was...Icestar's? A few days old, too. How strange. "This is the place where we should stop and wait for Icestar," Darkclaw, the navigating prodigy, meowed, interrupting Mosscloud's thoughts. "Alright," she replied sourly. "Beats carrying this lug around." She kicked the white AirClan cat where he lay motionless. "Now, Mosscloud," a silky voice purred from nowhere, startling Mosscloud out of her fur. "You know that's not how we treat each other in DarkClan." Icestar leapt down from a gnarled oak tree in front of the small group, a smirk on her fair face. The rest of her minions padded out of the undergrowth behind her in rank formation, including a new face Mosscloud did not recognize. The brindled cat quickly turned her gaze back to her leader and bowed her head as all the cats behind her followed suit. "In DarkClan," Icestar meowed, gliding ever closer, "We leave a few nice surprises for our sleeping clanmates." Mosscloud winced as her leader slid out her wickedly sharp claws and scored them across the unconscious tom's back. "There. Now he'll have some impressive scars to show off to his clanmates. He can brag that he obtained them from the leader herself." Icestar waved her tail and chuckled at herself briefly. "Pondfur!" she snapped, breaking out of the act she had put on for her terrified subjects. The patched tom padded out of the ranks, his head and tail down. He carried a ball of moss in his jaws, and began using it to sop up the blood that was now collecting on the AirClan tom's back.
She was planning to do that. Mosscloud thought in horror. Icestar froze as the thought sounded inside her own head, but thankfully chose to ignore it. "You are all allowed to hunt now," she meowed loudly so every cat could hear her. "Stay out of FireClan territory, though. I don't want them to know we're here." The white she-cat flicked her tail sharply, sending most of the minions trotting in different directions to catch something to feed their hungry bellies. Out of the corner of her eye, Mosscloud noticed Hopeflight padding beside a ginger tom, Flamefoot. "We can hunt together if you'd like..." Hopeflight meowed, her words dying away as she trotted out of earshot. If only Mosscloud had someone to hunt with... "You five will stay here," Icestar meowed, turning back to the small patrol. "I must not be vulnerable as I take command of my new minion." Mosscloud nodded in understanding and turned so that her back was to her leader and the AirClan tom. The other members of her patrol did the same, forming a protective ring around the two white cats. Icestar knelt over her victim, and the screams began.
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