Allegiances
ThunderClan
Leader- Foxstar- an odd cat that looks like a fox and a white tipped tail
Deputy- Blackfur- a Black tom with a brown face
Medicine cat- Wingtail- a dark-grey she-cat
Apprentice- Ripplepaw- a long haired gray tom with blue eyes
Warriors- Fantail- dark brown tabby tom with a white underbelly
Flakefur- Golden brown tabby tom- Birdflower's mate
Heartface- ginger she-cat with blue eyes and an unusual heart on her face
Cloverfur- a brown she-cat with a white clover shape on his flank
Apprentices- Vinepaw- a black she-cat cat with white paws and amber eyes- mentor: Cloverfur
Ripplepaw- long haired grey tom with blue eyes- mentor: Wingtail
Queens- Birdflower- dark ginger she-cat with green eyes
Kits- Rootkit- a pale white tom with amber eyes- Birdflower's kit
Fringekit- golden brown she-cat with blue eyes- Birdflower's kit
Crackedkit- a dark brown tabby tom with blue eyes
Elders- Softheart- a long haired black tom
ShadowClan
Leader- Icestar- whiteish-blue she cat with a black tail tip and really sharp teeth- has a scar across her left eye which has made her half blind.
Deputy- Rockpelt- long haired grey tom with amber eyes
Medicine cat- Birdbeak- golden brown tabby tom with a black nose- Icestar's kit
Apprentice- Whistlepaw- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Warriors- Stringpelt- a white and black haired she-cat with blue eyes- Icestar's kit
Blinkingeyes- a pale ginger she-cat who constantly blinks
Puzzledface- a long haired dark brown she- cat who always looks puzzled
Coldfur- a light shade of gray with darker grey spots- Waxflower's mate
Waterclaw- smoky black tom with blue eyes- Icestar's mate
Apprentices- Windpaw- a white tom with blue eyes- mentor: Coldfur
Whistlepaw- a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes- mentor: Birdbeak
Queens- Waxflower- a golden brown she-cat with green eyes
Kits- Coralkit- a dark brown she-cat with grey spots and amber eyes- Waxflower's kit
Curvekit- a grey tabby tom with black stripes and amber eyes- Waxflower's kit
Elders- Lightheart- golden brown she-cat
RiverClan
Leader- Moonstar- silver she-cat with light grey spots and grey eyes
Deputy- Chasingtail- light brown tabby tom with green eyes
Medicine Cat- Heatpelt- dusky brown tom with amber eyes
Apprentice- Seedpaw- a grey she cat with blue eyes
Warriors- Snowpelt- a white tom with brown patches and amber eyes- Candlefoot's mate
Rootfur- a pale brown she-cat with grey eyes
Waspsting- a brownish-yellow tom with a brown and white underbelly
Crystalface- a small tortoiseshell tom with green blueish-white eyes
Apprentices- Shrubpaw- a golden brown tabby tom with amber eyes- mentor: Crystalface
Creakpaw- a dark brown tabby tom with green eyes- mentor: Snowpelt
Seedpaw- a grey she-cat with blue eyes- mentor: Heatpelt
Queens- Candlefoot- a pale yellow she-cat with amber eyes
Kits- Blanketkit- a dark ginger she-cat with a black patch on her pelt- Candlefoot's kit
Nosekit- Tabby tom with green eyes- Candlefoot's kit
Frostkit- Pure white she-cat with icy blue eyes.
Elders- Wakingpelt- tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes
WindClan
Leader- Wildstar- a cream she-cat with light brown blotches and bright green eyes.
Deputy- Weathertail- a black and white she-cat with amber eyes
Medicine Cat- Rainbowfur- a she cat with orange, brown, yellow, and white patches
Apprentice- Mittenpaw- a pale gray tom with a white underbelly
Warriors- Stripedfur- a light grey tom with dark grey stripes and blue eyes
Snowheart- long legged white she-cat with blue eyes- is half deaf
Ratwisker- brown tabby tom with amber eyes- Petalfur's mate
Jumpingheart- a black tom with grey eyes
Apprentices- Grubpaw- a brown she-cat with black stripes- mentor: Snowheart
Mittenpaw- pale grey tom with a white underbelly- mentor: Rainbowfur
Queen- Petalfur- smoky black she-cat with brown eyes
Kits- Smilekit- black tom with a white white underbelly- Petalfur's kit
Wormkit- a pale brown she-cat with brown eyes- Petalfur's kit
Leadkit- a long haired dark grey she-cat with green eyes- Petalfur's kit
Elders- Spikefur- a grey and black tom with amber eyes
Chapter One
Icestar was in the middle of a dream, in which she was in a field with tons of plump mice. It was a wonderful dream. She wished a warrior hadn't come up to her at the moment and scared the mouse away.
She was about to yell at the warrior, but the warrior spoke first.
"Two of the same blood will destroy this clan… unless you do something about it."
Stringpelt woke with a start. Someone was poking her.
"COME ON WAKE UP!" Blinkingeyes was poking her in the side. "It's sunhigh, and Icestar wants you to lead a hunting patrol with Coldfur, Windpaw and me!"
"I'M UP, I'M UP!" The word hunting had made her hungry. She licked her lips after thinking about plump mice, and led the patrol out of the camp.
When everyone went there separate ways looking for prey, Blinkingeyes appeared with a vole in her jaws.
"Hi!" She mumbled. "How's it going?"
Stringpelt spun around quickly. Blinkingeyes always liked to sneak up on her. "YOU JUST SCARED AWAY A SQUIRREL!" She scolded.
"Sorry." Binkingeyes put down the vole. "I just was wondering why you were staring at Windpaw. Do you LIKE him or something!"
Stringpelt stared at her friend. "NO!" She protested. "I was just… thinking about how he is going to be a warrior soon."
"Stop denying it! You love him, don't you?"
"NO!"
"Just admit it and I'll shut up!"
"NO!" Stringpelt screamed so loud that the leaves in the tree above their heads ruffled.
"Nice job." Blinkingeyes said. "You probably scared all the prey in the forest."
"You made me do it!" Once again she and Blinkingeyes had another play fight.
"Will you two quiet down! I'm an apprentice and I'm more mature then you!"
Stringpelt turned around to see Windpaw staring at Blinkingeyes and herself. "Why don't you two hunt together?"
"Want to join us?" Blinkingeyes asked him. Stringpelt could tell she was just trying to embarrass her. Please say no! She thought. But unfortunately, he said yes.
Stringpelt was prepared for the worst. She knew Blinkingeyes was going to make fun of how embarrassed she looked when Windpaw said yes. But strangely, she didn't criticize her.
"OH MY GOSH WINDPAW WAS STARING AT YOU THE WHOLE HUNTING TRIP I THINK HE LIKES YOU!"
That made Stringpelt mad. She was about to scream "I DON'T LIKE WINDPAW!" when he appeared right in front of her face.
"That was fun. Want to do it again sometime?" And, like Blinkingeyes had said, he was staring at her.
"Um… sure." Was all she could say. Maybe Blinkingeyes is right. Maybe he does like me.
This time she wasn't prepared. Once Windpaw was gone, Blinkingeyes bowled her over saying "OH MY GOSH I WAS RIGHT HE DOES LIKE YOU!"
"hey!" She cuffed Blinkingeyes playfully on the ear. "Shut up or you'll wish you never said that!"
Stringpelt was in the middle of sharing tongues with Blinkingeyes when Icestar called the clan together for a meeting. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather for a clan meeting!"
Stringpelt followed Blinkingeyes to the stump where Icestar stood. She heard Blinkingeyes whisper in her ear, "I'll bet you the rest of my mouse that this meeting is for Windpaw's warrior name!"
Blinkingeyes was right. Icestar did the warrior ceremony. "I now give you the name Windheart."
"WINDHEART, WINDHEART!" Her clanmates cheered.
Chapter Two
Birdbeak stared at Windheart. It was a couple of minutes after he had received his warrior name, and the first place he went was over to his sister, Stringpelt. He had suspected for a moon now that Windheart had liked Stringpelt, and now he was sure that his suspicions were correct.
He knew he should feel happy for his sister, but he didn't. There was something inside him that just wouldn't let him. Maybe it's because I can't fall in love. But he knew that wasn't it.He liked to pretend that's what it was, but he knew that the real reason was jealousy. Birdbeak wished he wasn't a medicine cat, that way he could be with Blinkingeyes.
Stringpelt knew that her brother was thinking about Blinkingeyes. She went over to her after talking to Windheart and decided it was her turn to annoy Blinkineyes. But before she could say anything, Blinkingeyes was all ready talking about Windheart.
"OH MY GOSH!" She screamed. "I'm telling you Windpaw… I mean Windheart, totally loves you! I'm so jealous!"
Stringpelt knew she was talking about Birdbeak when she said jealous. She had known that she and Birdbeak had been secretly in love, but she had to pretend she didn't know that. "What are you talking about 'jealous'?" She asked, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, did I say jealous… I meant… HAPPY!" Blinkingeyes sounded nervous.
"Oh come on, Blinkingeyes, I already know you secretly love Birdbeak." Stringpelt tried to calm her down.
"You do, Oh, Good!... Wait a second, how did you know!" Blinkingeyes stared at her in confusion.
"Oh, just suspicions." Stringpelt said, curling up next to Blinkingeyes. She nearly jumped out of her nest when Windheart curled up close to her.
Birdbeak was in a field, grooming himself, when a shape appeared in front of his face.
"I am Leafleaper." It said. "I have a message for you. I will show you where you must go to receive it." He showed a place, in the mountains Birdbeak guessed, that was damp and scary.. "You will get a message there." Leafleaper continued, "Who will bring peace between 2 clans."
Birdbeak woke in the middle of the dream because Whistlepaw had prodded him. "What is it?" He groaned.
"It's Blinkingeyes!" Whistlepaw told her. "I think she has whitecough!"
Birdbeak nearly ran out of his nest, but he stopped himself, knowing it would give away his secret love. "Ok, take care of her while I go get some herbs." He said. He watched Whistlepaw run out of his den before he got the herbs.
"BLINKINGEYES," Stringpelt nearly woke up the whole clan, but quieted herself. "what is going on? Are you OK?"
"Uggggg…" Blinkingeyes moaned. "My stomach!" She coughed a couple of times, then lay down and coughed some more.
Stringpelt ran to get Birdbeak, but halted when Whistlepaw walked in. "How is Blinkingeyes doing?" She asked. "Is she ok? Birdbeak told me to watch over her while he got some herbs."
Stringpelt didn't reply, but just brought her over to where Blinkingeyes was and waited. Luckily, Windheart was still asleep. Oh thank goodness he is asleep, Stringpelt thought. Or else he would be asking me millions of questions.
Where are my herbs? Birdbeak was franticly running about, looking for herbs. Oh, where are they! Birdbeak thought he was going to die from thinking about how much Blinkingeyes was suffering. But he focused on finding the herbs he needed. After searching for what seemed like moons, he finally found what he needed. This isn't enough, but it will have to do until I can find some more.
When Birdbeak finally got to Blinkingeyes, she was half asleep, and he didn't want to wake her up, but he had to. Slowly, he poked her on the shoulder. "Eat this." He whispered. "It will help you feel better." He left when he was sure she had swallowed it, and then went back to his den and doze off.
It wasn't until morning when he remembered his dream. Many thoughts about how he shouldn't go yet were roaming in his head, like What if Blinkingeyes gets sicker, and Whistlepaw doesn't know how to cure it? And What if I leave Stringpelt alone, and she ends up falling in-love with Windheart? I can't leave! I just can't!
Stringpelt could tell that something was troubling her brother. So after she renewed the Borders with Windheart and Waterclaw, she went to go see her brother.
"Birdbeak?" She called. "Birdbeak, are you in here?"
"Yes." Came the reply.
"Can I talk to you?"
"Sure."
"Is something bothering you?"
"Maybe."
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
"No, not really."
"Why not?"
"Because."
Stringpelt knew not to argue with her brother, so after a soft, "Ok, Bye." She left. But unluckily, Windheart was waiting outside for her.
Chapter Three
"Hi Stringpelt, how's it going?"
Stringpelt wished she could just run away, screaming 'I DON'T LOVE YOU, WINDHEART!' But she couldn't. It would break his heart. So instead, she said, "Oh, nothing much. My brother just won't talk to me."
Stringpelt walked away with Windheart talking to her…
"Gosh darnit!" Birdbeak exclaimed. "He's doing it again!" Birdbeak watched in horror as Windheart walked away with Stringpelt at his side. I wonder what they are talking about…
"Can I talk to you?" Windheart had asked her not to long ago, and once she said 'sure!' He lead her out of the camp and into an abandoned part of the camp.
I wonder what this is all about…Stringpelt wondered. Why is he taking me out of the camp? But then she realized what he was trying to do. OH PLEASE, BIRDBEAK, HELP ME!
"STRINGPELT!" Birdbeak screamed when he saw Windheart leading her out of the camp. "I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!"
Luckily, Stringpelt just said a few words, which he guessed were 'Hang on a second' and she raced right over.
"What is it?" She asked anxiously.
"I need you to get some herbs for me. Could you get me… poppy seeds and Marigold, oh, and don't forget to get me cobwebs too!"
"Ok!" Stringpelt raced away, as if she was anxious to get back to Windheart. "Grrrrrr…" He mumbled, and then walked to the warriors den to check on Blinkingeyes.
"Windheart!" Stringpelt wheezed, "Want to come with me to get some herbs for Birdbeak?" Stringpelt instantly wished she hadn't said that. I'm just making it seem like I like him too! She couldn't help but gasp.
"Umm… sure, why not?" Windheart sounded as if he didn't want to go, but was just doing it to make her happy.
"Are you sure?" Stringpelt was hoping maybe he would make an excuse to not go, but he insisted on going, and the whole way there he talked.
"Umm… I'm sorry could you repeat that?" Stringpelt was paying little attention to what Windheart was saying, but she wanted to make herself look like an idiot.
Chapter Four
"Umm… Never mind." Stringpelt was happy to know he didn't want to repeat himself.
Eventually, after they had delivered the herbs to Birdbeak, Windheart decided to repeat himself. "Come with me." He demanded.
Stringpelt didn't know what to do except but follow him.
Windheart lead Stringpelt to a strange cave that she had never seen before.
Birdbeak was in the middle of a dream. In the dream, he was in a cave. It was dark and damp. He had never seen this cave before. In fact, it wasn't even in the forest. It was in no clan's territory.
Suddenly a Shape popped in front of his face. He was scared for a moment, but then realized it was only Leafleaper. "What do you want?" He asked angrily.
"I want you to go to the place I told you to go to. Come to this cave, It is called the Starcave, by the way, and something will be there that will help you."
Birdbeak awoke. Well, that was a strange dream. He thought. But he decided to go to the strange cave.
"Before we go in there," Windheart told her, but Stringpelt interrupted.
"WE ARE GOING IN THERE!" She could hear her echo inside the cave.
"AS I WAS SAYING…" Windheart continued, "There is something I must tell you."
Oh no… Stringpelt worried. It's coming. Gosh, why can't I just tell him I don't love him? And after she had thought about it, she realized why. Because I DO love him.
"Stringpelt! What are you doing here!" Birdbeak was surprised to see his sister and Windheart here.
"Oh, um… We were just exploring." Stringpelt lied.
"Did you go in there? What's it like?"
"Why are you here, anyways?" Windheart interrupted in an annoyed tone.
"DON'T TALK TO MY BROTHER THAT WAY!" Stringpelt scolded.
While Windheart apologized to Stringpelt, Birdbeak snuck in the cave. It was damp, and dark. Birdbeak trembled, but went on.
Inside the cave, Birdbeak found a puddle of water, with a drip of a stream running into it. This is strange Birdbeak wondered. Why did Leafleaper send me here?
Outside the cave, Windheart and Stringpelt were still arguing.
"Well, Well if you had been nicer to Birdbeak maybe I wouldn't be arguing with you anyway!" Stringpelt stomped off, angry, but at the same time sad. She wanted to be friends with Windheart, but now she couldn't.
Birdbeak decided to take a drink of the water. He lapped up a couple of drops, and waited.
When it was sundown, and nothing had happened, Birdbeak decided to leave. Maybe Leafleaper was wrong. Maybe this is the wrong cave. But Birdbeak felt dizzy, and when he had made it to the camp, he collapsed.
"Birdbeak!" Whistlepaw almost woke Icestar from her evening nap.
"What's going on?" Rockpelt questioned.
"IT'S BIRDBEAK!" Whistlepaw rushed over to where Birdbeak lay. "I think he's hurt!"
As Stringpelt marched into camp, she found all the cats around in a circle. What's going on? She asked herself.
She pushed her way to the front, and found her brother lying on the floor.
"I see you have found the cave." Leafleaper was once again in Birdbeak's dreams. "Now that you have drunk the water, you can speak clearly to Starclan. Here is what you must do. You must make sure Whistlepaw never makes ANY friends."
"But 'Whistlepaw has the right to have some friends!" Birdbeak had protested.
"Hush, and let me talk." Birdbeak was surprised at how calm Leafleaper was. "If you make sure that this happens, you will be at peace. You and 3 others will do this."
"Others?" Birdbeak asked, but by then Leafleaper was gone.
Birdbeak awoke, with only one thing on his mind. I can't go. What about Stringpelt and Blinkingeyes? I can't leave them. But it was a message from Starclan. Oh, what should I do?
Chapter Five
"Stringpelt!"
Stringpelt turned around to see Windheart running toward her. "I told you to leave me alone!" She tried to get him to leave her alone, but he insisted not to.
"I just wanted to say… I'm sorry."
Stringpelt didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry too, Windheart." Was all she could come up with. But then she had an idea. "I wanted to be your friend, but I guess now I can't."
"Oh, um…" Windheart felt heartbroken. "Ok. I'll talk to you later."
Oh darnit! Stringpelt thought. I was hoping maybe he would say something good.
"Stringpelt, wait!" Once again, Windheart was bounding back.
"What is it!" Stringpelt whished she hadn't made herself sound so annoyed.
"Um, can you meet me in the den after we get something to eat? There has been something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time."
Blinkingeyes awoke feeling better. She decided to go see Birdbeak to see if her whitecough was gone, but first she noticed Windheart and Stringpelt talking together and decided to find out what she had missed between them first.
"So," Blinkingeyes asked mischievously "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, nothing." Windheart replied, although Blinkingeyes didn't believe him.
"So, uh, do you want me to leave you alone?" Blinkingeyes urged.
"Um, maybe you should go see Birdbeak about that whitecough." Blinkingeyes didn't like the way Stringpelt emphasized on the name Birdbeak. But she knew she should go, and she did.
Birdbeak heard someone call his name. "Who is it?" He said calmly.
"It's Blinkingeyes."
"Hello." Birdbeak touched noses with her as she came in. "Are you feeling better?"
"I feel better," she said, "But I don't know if I am better."
"Well, open your mouth so I can have a look at your throat." Blinkingeyes parted her jaws, and just by looking at her throat Birdbeak could tell that she was getting better. "Your getting better," He reported, "But you still aren't completely better. Take some herbs."
As Blinkingeyes left, Birdbeak wished he wasn't a medicine cat. There's so much work to do, and so many things to fulfill, and so many rules.
Birdbeak decided to talk to his sister.
"Hi, Birdbeak, what's up?" Stringpelt said cheerfully as her brother walked in.
"Oh, nothing. I don't mean to interrupt you, but can I talk to you for a minute?" Birdbeak said casually.
"Sure!" Stringpelt walked over to the medicine cats den.
She seems pretty happy right now. Birdbeak noted.
As soon as they got to the den, Birdbeak just spilled out everything about the dreams, about the water, and about how he whished he wasn't a medicine cat.
"It's ok." Stringpelt said reassuringly. "I think you should do what Leafleaper says.. I'll help you."
"No, it's ok. According to my dreams 3 other cats are going to help me."
"Do you know who they are?"
"No, but I'm going to find out tonight. According to my dreams, I'm supposed to meet at the cave with them."
Chapter 6
It was almost midnight, and Birdbeak was almost at the Starcave. Stringpelt had offered to go, but he refused to let her go. As he walked in the cave, he saw only one cat there, the one who had given his mother the scar. "Waspsting." He grumbled.
"What?" Waspsting didn't seem to realize that Birdbeak was mad. "What did I do?" He went on.
It was a little past midnight, and Cloverfur had arrived, but there was still one cat missing. The cat that was supposed to represent WindClan had not shown up. Finally, when the cats were about to leave, Snowheart came into sight.
"Sorry I'm late!" She gasped. "Foreststar wouldn't let me go until I had gotten at least a little sleep."
"YOU TOLD YOUR LEADER!" All the other cats exclaimed.
"Yeah," Snowheart sounded ashamed. "was I not supposed to?"
"I don't know," Birdbeak said.
Windheart had asked Stringpelt to meet her in the warriors den that night, and Stringpelt had a pretty good idea of what it was going to be about.
Stringpelt walked into the warriors den, luckily no one was there. She found Windheart hiding in the corner, and she ran over to him.
"What is it?" She asked happily, although she knew what he was going to say.
"I have to tell you something." Windheart said.
This is it…Stringpelt's heart was beating really hard as she thought about that.
"I want to be with you, Stringpelt, I really do…"
Oh my gosh! Stringpelt couldn't contain the excitement.
"But… I'm already in love with Puzzledface."
Stringpelt slumped down to the ground. "But… But… I thought…" She stammered.
"I love you, Stringpelt, I really do, but Puzzledface is going to the nursery soon…"
He's already mated with someone…Stringpelt started to cry. I HATE Puzzledface, I really do, I HATE her!
"Stringpelt…" Windheart started, but before he had finished, Stringpelt had gone, and no one had seen her for days.
Birdbeak wandered out of his nest. Stringpelt had been missing for 3 days now. Roomer had it she committed suicide because of a warrior she hated. But Birdbeak knew one person who knew why she ran away. He prodded Windheart awake, just before dawn, and brought him to his den.
"I know you know what happened to my sister." Birdbeak demanded.
"Yes, I do." Windheart replied calmly.
"Well, tell me!" Birdbeak demanded again.
"She ran away."
"Why?"
"Because… because I broke her heart."
"What did you do!"
"I told her I was in-love with someone else."
Somehow, Birdbeak felt happy. He knew he shouldn't, but he did. Something made him HAPPY that his sister wasn't.
Stringpelt hid in the hole in the tree. She was just outside Riverclan territory, where she found a HUGE tree that was hollow. She stayed hidden in there, and where she was there was a decent amount of prey for a whole clan.
Stringpelt knew she had to do something. Something EVIL. Somehow she would hurt Windheart and Puzzledface for what they had done to her. And she would do it tonight. But the nagging question was… How am I going to do this without being seen?
It was a little after moonhigh, and every clan member was asleep, except for Stringpelt and Birdbeak. Stringpelt knew this was a good time to attack, but she didn't know her brother was awake. She crept into the warriors den where Windheart and Puzzledface where sleeping right next to each other.
She prodded Puzzledface awake.
"Stringpelt, is that you?" Puzzledface had her eyes squinted, and her head just barely lifted.
"Surprise!" Stringpelt whispered as she swung her claws right against Puzzledface's face.
"MROW!" Puzzledface screeched in agony. She was sent straight to the ground, squirming.
Stringpelt knew she should leave.
Birdbeak awoke to a screech. Someone must be hurt! He thought. He ran outside his den, right when he saw a cat rushing by. He didn't get a close enough look at the cat, but he was pretty sure it was his sister. He watched her leave the camp. Why is she leaving?
His thoughts were interrupted by Whistlepaw. "What are you just standing around for?" She asked hurriedly. "Someone is hurt. Come on!"
Chapter Seven
Stringpelt didn't know what to do for her next attack. The blow she had given Puzzledface didn't kill her, and that was bothering Stringpelt. She knew that Puzzledface would tell everyone that she hurt her. And she didn't know what she was going to do to kill Windheart.
But then an idea struck her.
It was just after moonhigh again, and Stringpelt prodded Windheart awake.
"Stringpelt!" Windheart whispered excitedly.
"SSHHHH! Someone might wake up!" She hissed back. "Come with me!"
Stringpelt lead Windheart to the end of the territory, and then told him, in an evil voice, of course, what she had done to Puzzledface, and what she was going to do to him.
"And no one will know," She said, "because way out here, no one will find your dead body until morning!" At that moment, she started to attack. She first did what Waspsting had done to her mother. She scratched his eye out, so he jumped backward, and couldn't see out of his eyes. She made him temporarily blind. Then she attacked his flank. Windheart tried to attack back, but since he couldn't see, he raked his claws against a tree, which he thought was Stringpelt.
Stringpelt jumped on Windheart's back, digging her claws in, and Windheart shook her off, then ran aimlessly around. Stringpelt decided to leave him. He's so badly hurt, she thought, He'll die soon. I'll just let him suffer. Then she left.
Somehow, Windheart was still just barely alive in the morning, and he was near the camp.
Whistlepaw had gone hunting, since Birdbeak said he could manage on his own, when she saw Windheart lying on the ground, still breathing, but badly hurt. She didn't scream, but she ran back to camp, calling for Birdbeak to bring poppy seeds, marigold, burdock root, and cobwebs. Birdbeak did just that, and Whistlepaw lead him right to where Windheart lay.
Birdbeak brought all the herbs Whistlepaw had said to bring, and found Windheart lying on the ground, almost dead. "Eat this!" She demanded, handing him the poppy seeds.
Windheart obeyed, and ate the herbs, then fell unconscious.
Birdbeak rubbed his wounds with marigold and burdock root, then covered him with cobwebs. He carried Windheart's body back to his den with Whistlepaw's help.
Stringpelt lay in her tree, wondering what she should do about Puzzledface. She had to think of something, or else Puzzledface would wake up and tell the clan what she had done. Stringpelt knew she couldn't get her brother to help her, or so she thought. She didn't know that her brother didn't care about anyone, and if it came to evil, he would do it.
Stringpelt was wondering around the unused territory, hunting, when she saw her brother wandering by.
"Birdbeak!" She said, pretending to be happy to see him.
"Stringpelt, I just can't take it!"
"What is it?
"The clan! I hate them! I hate them all! They make me so furious! Why did I have to be medicine cat? Why don't I get things that other warriors do? Why did I ever listen to them? I should have left a long time ago! But I didn't know where to go!"
"You could stay with me." Stringpelt offered. "I know a nice tree that is big enough for both of us to stay in.
And that was when Stringpelt and Birdbeak joined together to destroy the clan.
Chapter Eight
Birdbeak and Stringpelt sat in wonder, deciding what to do with the clan next. They decided to attack again, but first they had to find some warriors who would help them.
The first cat to join them was an old WindClan cat that was kicked out of camp as an apprentice. His name was Softpaw.
The next cat was an old kittypet that ran away from the twolegs named Ham.
And the last two cats were cats that belonged to neither twolegs nor a clan. They were rouges, named Fervota and Ray.
These six cats planned on attacking the ShadowClan camp when half of the clan was gone for the full moon. All of the apprentices would be gone, and there would only be two warriors left. The rest would be queens, kits, and elders.
But Stringpelt and Birdbeak didn't know that the cats left behind were going to be Windheart and Blinkingeyes.
The six cats arrived at the camp a little after the clan had left for the gathering.
The walked into the camp, no one knew they were there, except for Windheart, who was guarding the camp.
"Wait here!" Stringpelt told her allies. "I should be able to take care of him. It will be a leaf of catnip!" She strolled into the camp, showing off by moving her shoulders in front of Windheart's face. "I'm just coming in to see my friend, you know. Blinkingeyes."
When Birdbeak heard Stringpelt say Blinkingeyes, he was suddenly worried. What would Blinkingeyes think of him now, that he had left camp to be with his evil sister?
But when he thought about it more, he realized he was happy, and she was not. It made him even happier, because for once he was happy when no one else important was. He then realized why am I like this! Why am I so happy! Poor Blinkingeyes isn't and I'm laughing at her pain!
Stringpelt did manage to somehow get past Windheart, and all the cats were amazed. All she had to do was swing her claws in front of his face and he ran off.
But Stringpelt didn't notice Blinkingeyes staring at her, with an evil look on her face.
"You… you traitor!" She spat.
"That's me!" Stringpelt said menacingly. "And I would like you to meet my NEW friends!"
Stringpelt couldn't forget the look on Blinkingeye's face when she saw Birdbeak among them. And she couldn't forget how Blinkingeye's looked when Birdbeak just stared at her with squinted eyes, because Blinkingeye's was sad for her friends.
But Stringpelt soon recovered, after all she was evil, and started to attack the camp. "Attack!" She yowled, and all the cats leaped at the warriors and the queens.
They had fought for a long time, when Ray heard footsteps, and yelled for her allies to leave. They obeyed, and when the Clan came back, no one except the people who were still at the camp ever knew there was a battle.
But the clan did know about Stringpelt and Birdbeak.