One.
The swirling mass of waves is something that enraptures everyone who decided to survey the river, and the apprentice was no exception. He peered in closer, as if trying to keep the image of the swirling river in mind to stay. He finally moved back, glancing over his shoulder to see if anyone had been watching him; nobody appeared to behind him, which satisfied the tom. After all that had just happened, the last thing the tom wanted to displease his mentor, who would not be particularly happy to see him goofing off again.
I should really try and catch something, maybe that'll cheer Splashfur up, or get her mind off of things. The brown-and-white tom thought, padding alongside the riverbank. He scanned the river closely, trying to find in movement beneath the cover of rushing water.
He had finally halted, crouching beside the bank. In that moment, he had seen it; a bright flash in the water. He lunged his paw forward, catching hold of the fish, flinging it outwards towards the bank.
"Nice catch, Volepaw!" came a sudden voice, causing the tom whip around. A white she-cat stood behind him, her face twisted in a mischievous smirk. "I must say, I'm quite surprised that you can fish; maybe you aren't a complete ditz."
Whilst the tom was caught off guard the fish began to flop around, suffocating. Volepaw immediately focused back on his catch, trying to pin the fish, only for the smooth creature to easily slip from between his paws, and flop its way back into the rushing river. "No!" the apprentice called out in distress, watching hopelessly as his prey escaped.
He turned, flashing a glare at the unperturbed white she-cat, who was casually examining the tom's situation. "If you hadn't spooked me, I would've caught that!" Volepaw grunted, his tail drooping in defeat.
"Sure," the she-cat snidely remarked, ignoring the tom's comments. "I came to tell you that Splashfur and Oaktail have already headed back to camp, and she wanted me to make sure you ended up heading back too."
"Why would she head back without me?" Volepaw asked, padding towards his denmate. "I thought she was going to come and inspect my hunting," the patched tom mewed. "Did something change?"
"I honestly dunno," the white cat admitted, her gaze level. "I think it may have something to do with Cloudstar and Thorntail," she mewed, a small frown appearing on her face. "Maybe Thorntail just received his nine lives."
Volepaw nodded, taking in the information presented to him, sighing. He was honestly tired about hearing of Cloudstar and his sudden, shocking death. It wasn't that he didn't care for his leader, he just didn't like to dwell on the tom's passing. He never liked the subject of death, and he hoped that he would never have to deal with death of a loved one, he didn't know if he would be strong enough to handle something like that.
He then began to think of his mentor, Splashfur, and the effect that this must be having on her. Cloudstar was her father, after all. I guess it's understandable that I've been pushed to the side a bit.
"C'mon, Volepaw," the white she-cat mewed, snapping him out of his thoughts. "We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?" she asked, beginning to pad, beckoning the tom forward with her tail.
Volepaw rushed forward so that he could be beside her, and after a few moments he began to fall into pawstep with the she-cat. "I wonder who Thorntail will make deputy," he pondered, hoping to make conversation. "Who do you think would be a good deputy, Hailpaw?"
"Hm," Hailpaw murmured, raising her head up towards the sky. "Maybe Goldenheart," she suggested, looking over at the brown-and-white apprentice. "I guess the choice doesn't matter, as long as it's in the best interest for the Clan."
Volepaw nodded in agreement, slightly jealous of the fact that Hailpaw always knew the perfect thing to say. He was rather positive that she could talk her way out of anything, if she put her mind to it.
The two continued on their trek back to camp, passing through a dense array of forest that divided the camp from the river; the Clan's main source of prey. He glanced around, ears pricking every time he heard a small rustle or crackle in a tree. The forest also mesmerized the apprentice, albeit to a lesser extent than the river.
The occasional rock and dirt clods clanged against the tom's paws as he padded through the path, flinging them onto the brittle forest ground only a mouse-length away. Volepaw wasn't necessarily used to such a different environment, now that he thought about it. The only time he ever spent in the mysterious forest was when going to the river, or having a surprise training session.
A gentle breeze rustled through the willows that stood gallantly in the distance, eventually reaching the apprentices. The open air, so rare and fleeting in other places, smelled of fish and freshly picked roses. Or maybe that was just Volepaw's imagination. Either way, he knew that they were getting closer to their destination.
The sun seemed to be basking in its own rays, finally filtering through to the forest. It hovered over the horizon, and bright purple and apricot collided with the deep blue sky, though it was rather difficult to see from the trees. He looked over at Hailpaw, who returned his glance. "We're here," the white she-cat announced, leading the way into camp.
As Hailpaw predicted, Thorntail stood atop HighRock, a large and smooth boulder that was effectively positioned more-or-less towards the center of the camp, the golden brown tom appeared to have been talking—but halted as he noticed the two apprentices enter the camp.
"Hailpaw, Volepaw," the prickly tom greeted, looking over the two cats. "It's nice of you both to finally join us." Thorntail mewed, his expression stern. Hailpaw released a sheepish chuckle, and replied, "Sorry,"
Thorntail ignored the she-cat's apology, finally begining to face the Clan again, who were all huddle around to hear the words of the sturdy tom. "As you all know, our beloved leader, Cloudstar, died a few days ago," he paused to allow the Clan to murmur amongst themselves, with one cat occasionally releasing a mournful cry.
"But, as a Clan, we must continue to stay strong," the tom's voice rose over the chatter of the Clan, his gaze skimming over the crowd of cats with fearsome green eyes. "And I, Thornstar, new leader of SmokeClan, will do everything in my power to make sure the Clan continues to stay strong."
The crowd of cats began to cheer, crying out the new leader's name with glee. Volepaw noticed that Hailpaw and the other apprentices were also joining in, so Hailpaw released his own yowl of support, "Thornstar!"
The large, golden brown tom rose his paw to silence his supporters, flashing them a toothy grin. "Now, it is time for me to appoint a deputy," Thornstar rested his tail on his paws, his green eyes flashing.
"Leopardsong," he called out. "Will you please arise?"
Murmurs of shock rippled throughout the crowd, nobody had expected Thornstar to choose such a headstrong cat like Leopardsong, but Volepaw figured that the new leader new what he was doing. Like Hailpaw said, he would only choose he thought would be in the best interest of SmokeClan. Volepaw then tried to lift head, hoping to get a good view.
He saw the slender tortoiseshell shape of Leopardsong move from aside Goldenheart, her face expressionless. She carefully padded through the crowd, and carefully leapt up to join Thornstar, her blue eyes gleaming.
Thornstar exchanged a knowing glance with Leopardsong before reciting the ancient words, "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my decision. The new deputy of SmokeClan is Leopardsong."
As the Clan began to chant the newly-appointed deputy's name, Hailpaw leaned over to whisper in the patched apprentice's ear, "He's really putting on a show isn't he? Most leaders don't call up their deputies to join them when appointing them."
Volepaw gave a slight nod of agreement, it was rather odd now that he stopped to think about it. Maybe he's just using this ceremony to try and keep the Clan united, maybe he's just trying to get everyone to stop thinking about Cloudstar.
As the Clan finally began to quiet down again, Leopardsong positioned herself next to Thornstar, who's muzzle was twisted into a smile. "I have only one last thing to say, before you can all go on with your days," the golden-brown tom announced, his tone growing more serious.
"Our faith in StarClan is fragile, volatile. Don't you agree? We say that we can't live without it, that only good can come from it. Yet, it is also dangerous, anyone could easily lie to manipulate others into doing their bidding," Thornstar started, sending the Clan a chilling look of dread.
Volepaw froze, looking over at Hailpaw, seeing her frozen in fear of her leader's words. "What?" some cat called out, others began crying out as well, unsure of what had just happened; what was going on.
"Silence," Leopardsong growled, her tail lashing in contempt of the disruption. "Let our leader finish speaking." she mewed, stepping back so that Thornstar could have full reign.
Volepaw watched in horror, wondering what the new leader was thinking. Why would he talk about our faith in StarClan like that? Is he just pulling an elaborate prank?
"Haven't any of you ever thought about it? How none of us ever seem to grasp the complexity of these magical cats that are in our skies? I've come to the conclusion that they simply don't exist. These are just stories they have us fearing retribution for anything we may do, and frankly, I'm tired of it," the golden leader spoke, his voice unwavering.
"You can only hold on to hope for so long, before everything breaks and you're left with nothing." the leader finished his tirade, his fur, spiked with anger. It was almost as if Thornstar had transformed into another cat after just a few moments, before everyone's own eyes.
"That is why, from this day, SmokeClan doesn't regard StarClan as our heroes or saviors," he growled, green eyes flaring. "You regard the strong as our gods, and that means me. I don't have my nine lives from those make-believe cats, and I don't need them. I'm capable of leading this Clan without them."
"No!" a she-cat called out, moving forward to reveal herself to be none other than Splashfur. "What do you think you're doing? Do you honestly expect us to follow you?"
"No," the tom relented, matching her gaze. "But, I already have all of the support I need."
As if rehearsed, multiple warriors and apprentices began to step forward, surrounding the HighRock and facing towards the rest of the Clan, their expressions ranging from happy to guilty, all while facing the dwindling numbers of cats that were left.
"How could you all? You can't follow him!" Splashfur mewed, struggling to keep her calm. Goldenheart and Oaktail moved to be beside her, facing Thornstar and his followers.
"You see, it was easy to convince enough of them by showing them my strength, and as for the others," he flicked his tail towards a scrawny gray tom, a guilty look plastered onto his face. "Webfur, our beloved medicine cat, also agrees with me," he told the lingering cats. "Right, Webfur?" Thornstar looked down upon the tom, who gave a small nod of his head. "All that Thornstar speaks of is true, StarClan is a lie."
With that, the small number of cats began to grow stronger, fearfully padding to join Thornstar's group. Volepaw fearfully took a pawstep forward, struggling to make a decision on where he stood. Webfur is our medicine cat, he would never lie, would he? Thornstar's group could kill us right now if he wanted it, maybe I should—
"Volepaw, what are you doing?" Hailpaw mewed, snapping him from his thoughts. "You really aren't going to join that freak, are you?" He turned to her, and the looked back towards Thornstar, conflicted.
"Let's just join him, most of the Clan already has," Volepaw pointed out, keeping his voice low. "Better to be safe than sorry." he added, hoping his pleas would win her over. Hailpaw sent him a horrified look, choosing to move past him and huddle along with the few other cats that refused to move.
Volepaw wanted to call out after her, but his brain had other plans, and the apprentice padded towards Thornstar, positioning himself in a group of apprentices that had decided to join. "Good choice," one leaned over to mew. "I can't believe Hailpaw is choosing to not come."
Neither can I.
"No matter what, we will never join a cat like you," Goldenheart told Thornstar, his claws unsheathed. "We are Clan of truth, you can't let your own ideals destroy everything that we believe in!"
Thornstar's eyes narrowed, and he gave a slight shake of his head. "It's a shame none of you see it the way I do, you would all have made great soldiers to our Clan, to my Clan. But, if you refuse to join, I am given no choice," the tom mewed.
"No choice?" Splashfur echoed, pressing a bit closer to the small number of cats that stood with her. "No choice about what?"
Thornstar skillfully leapt down from the HighRock, standing before his mass of followers. Volepaw gulped, afraid for what would happen to his mentor and friend, but there was nothing he could do now but watch as Thornstar began to speak, "You've given me no choice but to punish you."