Chapter 1
Author's Note:
I do not own Warriors or Wicked.
"Is it true?"
"Is she finally dead?"
Night covered the forest as the emeralds around the camp glowed with a shine of silver in the moonlight. All around the clearing, everything from the plants to the forest floor seemed to be a shade of deep green.
Anxious whispers echoed through the Clan of cats gathered at the center of their camp. They looked around for any sign of their leader, believing he of all cats would tell them what had really happened that night. Suddenly, one of the apprentices looked up towards the Highledge.
"Look! It's Flowerheart!" Mudpaw mewed eagerly.
All the cats fixed their gazes on the she-cat who was padding her way up the rock. Her pelt was pure white with the exception of two golden ears, a golden tail and a few splotches of gold on her back. Her ears twitched with recognition when she gazed at her Clan, but her eyes , which were a mix of sky blue and green, seemed to be far off in thought.
"Is it true?" A gray queen asked. "Is she…dead?"
The air was filled with silence. No one dared make a sound as they waited for the answer. Flowerheart lifted her face and took a deep breath as the Clan held theirs and said,
"Yes. I am pleased to announce that Ivystar is dead. She was killed at the Moonpool last night, by the kittypet you may know as Dorothy. Let us thank StarClan that she has delivered us from this wicked cat who would have stopped at nothing to destroy us all."
The Clan cats presently began yowling joyously at this good news, mewing and noisily chattering amongst themselves.
"I never thought I'd live to see the day she died!" mewed a ginger tom.
"I was beginning to think she would never die!" replied a tabby apprentice.
"And know, we can rest in peace, knowing our kits are safe." Added a white queen as she bent to lick her kit affectionately while the queens around her nodded in agreement.
"And to think, all because of that kittypet Dorothy. Speaking of which, where is she? And where is Graystar for that matter?"
Flowerheart hesitated for a brief second before answering,
"Both Dorothy and Graystar have decided to leave the Clan on their own free will. They left at sunrise and we can only ask StarClan to watch over them now. As deputy of EmeraldClan, I will take Graystar's place as leader and travel to the Moonpool tomorrow to receive my nine lives. I hope you will accept me as your new leader and I will do all I can to be a wise and fair leader to you all."
At the news that their leader had simply chosen to abandon them, the cats exchanged looks of confusion and bewilderment. But soon they realized that Flowerheart would make a fine leader, some even thought she might make an even better one. The Clan mewed its unanimous approval at their new leader. Pleased, Flowerheart beamed with happiness as they continued to talk amongst themselves.
"I always knew her evil ways would be the end of her." rasped a ginger elder.
Another tom shook his head in agreement. "Evil since the day she was born."
"But is that true?" The Clan turned to face Flowerheart, their ears perked as she continued,
"You know, she was born the same as any of us. It just goes to show that dangerousness of evil, it can happen to anyone. In fact, she was once just an innocent kit. After all, she had a mother and father, as so many do…"
"Mapletail, will you be alright while I'm gone?"
"I'll be fine, Finchpelt."
Mapletail, a golden brown she-cat affectionately nuzzled her mate. He looked at her lovingly with his light blue eyes, but she averted her own amber ones as he did so. Finchpelt gave her a curt nod instead and left on the dusk patrol. As soon as he left, she sighed.
"Are we alone now?" purred a tabby gray tom who was entering the den from the back entrance. Mapletail purred happily and licked his ear.
"Now we are."
"Good, I brought you something," the tom flicked his tail for her to follow. They padded outside silently, making sure none of the other cats in camp could see them. Finally, the tom stopped at the front of a twoleg nest. His eyes darted until they rested on what he had been looking for. He nudged a white twoleg-thing that was filled with a green substance Mapletail had never seen before.
"Oscar, what is this?" she asked curiously.
"It's milk! I know its green, but trust me, it tastes just fine. Besides, wild cats like us never get the chance to drink milk often, why not take advantage of the opportunity?"
Mapletail hesitated, unsure of whether to drink it or not.
"Are you sure it's safe?"
Oscar gave an amused purr. "Of course I am. Here, I'll even drink some with you."
"You know I love you, right?"
"Of course I do." With a purr, he nuzzled her and licked her ear lightly.
And with that, the two cat set down to lapping up the green milk until the plate had been licked clean. The tom wiped his whiskers with his tongue as he finished.
"How did you like it?" he asked.
"Actually, it was really good…."
"It's coming!"
"Now?" Finchpelt raced towards the nursery where Mistfeather was trying to ease Mapletail's pain by trying to feed her herbs, but every time she tried to put them near her mouth, she would just screech louder.
Mapletail's whole body shook as spasms overtook her as she tried laboriously to bring the kittens inside her into the world. She yowled in pain and raked the dirt with her claws until finally there was a small bundle at her side.
Finchpelt looked on with wonder and pride as Mistfeather released the kit from its sac.
"Is it a tom or she-cat? he asked anxiously.
"It's a beautiful little she-cat, why she—what is this! What's wrong with her?" her voice escaladed to a yowl as she flinched away from the kit.
"What? What's wrong?" Finchpelt pushed his way to pick up his daughter when he too was overcome with shock and dropped the kitten back at her mother's stomach. Although she was very frail, Mapletail looked up with wide eyes at both of the cats staring at her kit.
"Why? What is it?" she couldn't keep the sheer panic out of her voice. Finchpelt slowly looked up at his mate.
"She's green."
"So you see, it couldn't have been easy…" but by now, the other cats had lost interest in Flowerheart's story, too busy celebrating the death of the leader of ShadowClan. But just then, an apprentice turned to look towards the Highledge.
"Is it true, Flowerheart, that during the time of the Four Clans, that you were her…friend?" he asked.
Silence. The whole Clan was now waiting for her answer. Wide eyed and uncertain, the whole clearing stared astonished at Flowerheart. She was beginning to feel nervous; she could feel every gaze burning into her pelt. Her throat was dry as she searched for the right words to say.
"Well, it depends what you mean by "friend". I mean, our paths did cross, a long time ago…in ThunderClan…"
