Oneshot #1
BluestarxThrushpelt
Bluefur was barely listening to her sister ramble on and on about some tom she had met at the Gathering, and her eyes drifting across camp to a familiar pelt.
"Why is he so small?"
"That is because he was recently made a warrior," said her mother.
"He must be really brave!"
Bluefur couldn't quite get the tom out of her head. He was brave, sure, and loyal to the warrior code. He would make an excellent father to her kits. Bluefur shuddered at the thought.
"You should ask to become his mate."
Bluefur hadn't realized her sister had gone quiet and was watching her until Snowfur spoke. "Huh?"
Snowfur rolled her eyes, amused. "They should have called you Cloudfur, you have so much fluff in your brain." Snowfur purred. "I said, 'You should ask him to become your mate.'"
Bluefur blinked at her sister and then stared at Thrushpelt. He was more then six moons older than her, but not old enough to be out of her league.
"Was that your first hunting session?" He sounded impressed as he looked down at her. She had been an apprentice but the compliment had set her entire coat on fire.
The Clan had praised her for her catch, but Bluefur had only cared about Thrushpelt's compliment. Now, he was all she could think about.
"I think I will," she meowed, flashing her sister a smile. "Wish me luck!"
Bluefur never regretted the decision even after she lost her first litter in a fox attack and became deputy. They never had another litter, but Bluestar was grateful for his support and mourned him when he died. When she started to fall apart, dreams of Thrushpelt and her kits reminded her of her destiny to save the Clan.
Oneshot #2
When Bluestar goes to meet Tigerclaw in Cinderpaw's stead.
Bluestar coughed as her chest shuddered with greencough. She tried to suppress the coughs but she couldn't. Her broken hindleg sent jolts of pain through her body with each painful cough, until finally she succumbed and darkness filled her vision.
She was standing in the center of a forest of trees made entirely out of mist and starlight. Her tiny daughter stood before her, staring up at her with wide sorrowful eyes. Bluestar looked back at her, speechless, a prickling sensation along her back making her fur stand up on end.
"Am I dead?" she asked her kit.
Mosskit nodded. "You shouldn't have left." Her ears twitched anxiously. "ThunderClan needs you to survive your injury, Bluestar."
Bluestar knew she had only two lives left, and now one of them was slipping through her claws. It didn't make any sense.
"Is Tigerclaw nearby? He said he would meet me here."
A flash of some emotion Bluestar couldn't identify flickered across Mosskit's face. "Remember, Bluestar, 'fire alone can save our clan'."
With a sudden jolt, Bluestar awoke to a world of pain. She recognized the dry smells of the medicine cat den instantly as she felt herself being lowered to the floor. Yellowfang's flashed her fangs and snapped at the cats around them, chasing them off. The dark grey she-cat offered her some poppy seeds and Bluestar instantly fell back into the darkness.
When she awoke, Bluestar was groggy and weak. She no longer felt like her lungs would explode at any moment. She looked around at the empty medicine cat den before her eyes settled on her leg. It was tied up in cobwebs and seemed to be locked in a wooden makeshift split. When she moved, she had to bite back a yowl of pain.
"Bluestar," said a familiar meow. She looked up into the white face of her nephew.
"Whitestorm," she said, a hint of relief in her voice. "What happened? Where is Tigerclaw?"
Whitestorm's face twitched in pain, looking very grave. "Bluestar, there is something you need to hear."
Bluestar listened but could not believe her own ears. Whitestorm recounted the bustle of the Clan when it was discovered she had disappeared and every cat was frantic with wanting to track her down. Fireheart had seemingly immediately understood what was happening and he took Cinderpaw with him to the place where Tigerclaw was waiting for them. Fireheart had ordered Cinderpaw to hide in case it was a trap, and Cinderpaw had watched as Tigerclaw attacked Fireheart. When Whitestorm's patrol arrived, Tigerclaw claimed Fireheart had attacked Bluestar, but Cinderpaw had told them the truth.
Bluestar's head spun with shock and pain. She stared incomprehensibly at her nephew as if he had just spoken twoleg. Her deputy had trapped her...?
Mosskit's words echoed in her mind even as her attention shifted to Whitestorm, who looked sad and apprehensive. Suddenly, she remembered Goosefeather's words.
"Forgive me StarClan! He was not supposed to live!"
"I want to speak with my Clan," she meowed, her mouth dry.
"Rest first," said Whitestorm. "You shouldn't appear to the Clan in your condition. We have Tigerclaw in the prison den. He isn't goong anywhere."
Bluestar hardly heard him but she nodded mutely and he left her to her thoughts. Bluestar feot horrible. How could she have not seen the signs? Tigerclaw was Thistleclaw's apprentice. They had shared too much of the same darkness from the start. Bluestar felt like a fool.
I can correct this, she thought. I can appoint a new deputy. Her thoughts drifted to Mosskit's words but she dismissed them. Fireheart was far too young to be deputy. Her thoughts immediately turned to her remaining senior warrior. She hoped StarClan would approve.
"Cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!"
Bluestar's leg was beyond repair but she insisted on climbing the High Rock despite it. She wasnt about to let the injury stop her from speaking to her Clanmates or journeying to the Gathering. She looked down upon her Clan, at her new deputy, Whitestorm, and then at the apprentices who twitched eagerly waiting for her words. The whole Clan already knew what to expect.
"I, Bluestar, ask our warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentice. They have trained hard to understand your noble code and I commend them as warriors in their turn." She looked down at the she-cat. "Cinderpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior and protect this Clan even at the cost of your own life?"
Cinderpaw nodded, her whole body trembling with barely contained excitement. "I do!"
"Then, from this moment on you shall be known sss s Cinderheart. StarClan thanks you for your courage and energy and we welcome you as a full member of ThunderClan!"
Oneshot #3
Yellowfang Never Became a Medicine Cat
Yellowfang watched proudly as her son and daughters padded around camp, three strong ShadowClan apprentices. The pale ginger she-cat, Wishpaw, and the creamy she-cat, Hopepaw, were like gifts from StarClan, with a pension for keeping their brother's ego in check. Yellowfang purred in amusement as the three of them rolled in the grass and mud.
"They are just like us," purred a familiar voice.
The dark grey she-cat purred at her mate. "It's good to see you, Raggedpelt. Or should I be calling you Raggedstar?"
The dark brown tom bowed his head. "I have my nine lives now, Yellowfang." His eyes gleamed in excitement.
"I hope you aren't going to forget me in the middle of all your new duties." Yellowfang sounded almost grumpy.
Raggedstar bumped her shoulder with his head. Amusement sparkled in his eyes. "I would never forget about you. You wouldn't let me."
"True that," said Yellowfang, curling her tail around Raggedstar's.
Yellowfang had never been more happy to have remained a warrior. Even though now ShadowClan was without a medicine cat, she could stand here with her mate while watching her kits slowly become the warriors they were always meant to be.
Oneshot #4
When No One is Leader of ThunderClan
Fireheart could barely believe it. He was numb, watching as the Clan bristled and flexed around him like a living breathing mass of anger. The whole Clan faced down their deputy and stared down at the bloody mess of grayish-blue fur. Fireheart's heart pounded in his chest, an endless rhythmic pounding that seemed to go on forever.
Why wasn't she rising? Fireheart had no idea how many lives she had left. A chill rippled through his pelt. Had that been her last one?
Fireheart could barely hear what was happening around him. He felt someone press into his side and he glanced sideways at his apprentice and nephew, Cloudpaw, whose eyes were so round they were as big as the full moon. Another cat appeared on his otherside and pressed into his fur and he couldn't bring himself to react to the ginger she-cat.
A ripple of unease spread through the Clan as they began to gathering around the fallen body of their leader. When Fireheart looked around, he noticed that Tigerclaw was nowhere to be seen. Had he missed what happened to the tom?
Whitestorm nosed his way through the crowd of cats and dropped down beside Bluestar's still body, resting his head on her shoulder. Fireheart followed, padding away from Cloudpaw and Sandstorm to rest his head against his leader's head. Her scent filled her nose, faint and cold. He curled around her, trying to get his thoughts together as grief finally welled up and pushed away the numbness.
I failed you, he thought, I'm so sorry.
The Clan was leaderless and silent. Darkstripe had tried to step up and become the new leader, but everyone had quickly shot down that idea because of his prior relationship with Tigerclaw. Some turned their heads towards Brokenstar, while others nominated Whitestorm for the position of leader. Everyone waited with baited breath for some sign from StarClan as to who would become the next leader.
Meanwhile, the Clan was starting to look and act less and less like a Clan. Whitestorm was the only surviving senior warrior and he took up position as the unofficial deputy, organizing patrols and making sure the Clan was both fed and still keeping up regular border patrols.
Fireheart emerged from the warrior den, still numb from Bluestar's death a few days earlier. The noise of the camp moving about in stony silence made his pelt crawl with anxiety. How could the Clan survive what was to come? They were effectively a group of rogues, with only the Warrior Code preventing them from truely falling apart. How were they going to survive the next season without a leader with nine lives to guide them?
Fireheart padded towards Whitestorm, who greeted him with a nod.
"It's good to see you up and about again, Fireheart. I have just finished sending out the sunhigh patrols," meowed Whitestorm. He studied Fireheart's face calmly and knowingly. "You are worried about the Clan."
"How can we be a Clan without a leader?" asked Fireheart, glancing around. He just joined the Clan when he was six moons old, and he was not keen on losing his only home so soon after bringing his nephew and second apprentice into the Clan.
Whitestorm frowned. "I don't know." The white warrior gazed over his fellow Clanmates. "No one could have expected this."
"Actually, that isn't true," said Fireheart. "I knew Tigerclaw wanted to take over the Clan. He killed Redtail in the hopes that he'd become deputy."
Whitestorm bowed his head. "That hardly matters now," he meowed sadly. "Let us just pray that StarClan will send us a message soon."
Fireheart nodded, his gaze traveling up the stars.
Please, StarClan, he thought. Send us a sign soon.
Oneshot #5
Darkstripe Becomes Leader of ThunderClan (Continued From Previous Oneshot)
Bluestar was dead; Tigerclaw was exiled. With Whitestorm too old to become leader, that left the only other nearly senior warrior as the only available candidate. All he needed was a way to get into power (and convince the others of his awesomeness).
Darkstripe had never been particularly ambitious, but even he could see that the opportunity was too good to miss. Besides,being leader of Thunderclan was better than being one of its lowly warriors. He had trained two apprentices who had proved themselves as loyal ThunderClan warriors. Sure, he hadn't made a good impression on the Clan when they exiled Tigerclaw, but Darkstripe could argue that he hadn't really smelled the opportunity until now.
The dark grey tabby didn't even bother to glance around as he bent to chow down on the mouse beneath his paws. It was greenleaf and the forest was full of rich, fat prey. The Clan wouldn't miss the prey Darkstripe ate. He stared thoughtfully down at the mouse, however, studying the darker grey fur that was unusual for the usually brown creatures. In the right light, it could look like his own pelt. Suddenly, Darkstripe wasn't so hungry as he sniffed curiously at his freshkill. Then, he smiled to himself.
He hadn't even had to go searching. StarClan had landed his chance right into his paws. Darkstripe purred; he liked when things went his way. He picked up the piece of prey - along with his other catches - and brought it back to camp, careful to put to put the dark grey mouse in the right light and to leave it where only the medicine cat could possibly find it. Then he padded to the edge of the camp and watched eagerly and expectantly for Yellowfang - or hopefully Cinderpelt - to notice.
Instead, Darkstripe felt almost horrified as a familiar red ginger tom headed towards the medicine cat den and halted, as if smelling something. Darkstripe was fully aware of where the mouse lay, just out of sight in the shadows, and he tensed in shock as Fireheart quickly found the freshkill.
Don't touch the prey, you dumb kittypet!
The ginger tom paused and leaned back, his eyes flickering around in confusion. Then he disappeared into the medicine cat den. Darkstripe felt like his fur was about to fall off his pelt in shock. Darkstripe was even more shocked when Yellowfang stepped out of the medicine cat den, her hard yellow gaze flat as she searched around for the prey Darkstripe had left behind. She sniffed it curiously and disdainfully before turning around and going back in.
And...?
Darkstripe couldn't yet bring himself to be disappointed. Yellowfang was an ex-ShadowClan cat. If necessary, she could be convinced of his legitimacy. Not that he had anything to convince her... Darkstripe was suddenly reminded how very little he had planned for this and how very easily it could fall apart.
StarClan chose this for me! I'm only doing what they want! They won't reject me; even they understand that this Clan needs a leader or it will fall apart! Why not me?
Darkstripe clawed the earth in uncertainty, the loose dirty collecting between his toes. Tigerclaw had a chance; he was stronger, older and much better at everything than Darkstripe was. He was the only logical choice for ThunderClan's next leader.
Yet he's the one banished.
Encouraged, Darkstripe turned away from the medicine cat den and slipped into the warrior den. For the first time in his life, he would put his faith in StarClan. Excitement prickled his paws and he curled up to sleep. He didn't go into a deep sleep, for the first time his excitement keeping him as a light sleeper.
A paw prodded his side and he woke to the smell of Whitestorm close by. "Darkstripe, Cinderpelt and Yellowfang want to speak with you."
Blinking, Darkstripe stared at the warrior for a long moment even as the unofficial deputy turned and walked out. Excitement suddenly filled Darkstripe's paws but he mentally told himself to reign himself in. He groomed himself so his fur was all flat, before he sauntered out of the warriors den. He spotted Cinderpelt and Yellowfang right away and he immediately headed over, his fur prickling with excitement.
"What is it?" he asked tersely.
"As if you had anything better to do," snapped Yellowfang, fur prickling and her eyes screaming, "You lazy foxdung! I know what you did!"
Darkstripe's fur prickled uneasily. Yellowfang always unnerved him, and not just because she wasn't ThunderClan. "Says the medicine cat who hadn't even noticed Brokenstar was plotting with the enemy." He turned his attention to Cinderpelt. "What did you want?"
Cinderpelt smiled, but Darkstripe felt that it was forced. "StarClan must be smiling on you Darkstripe. They've sent a sign and chosen you as the new leader of ThunderClan."
Darkstripe felt his fur fluff up in pride and his face twisted in smug satisfaction. "I see," he said. "It's good that StarClan recognizes a loyal warrior."
Yellowfang gave him a look so cold it could have caused snow to suddenly explode out of the ground. Cinderpelt didn't even notice as she leaned forward. "I'll announce it to the Clan soon. Yellowfang will take you to see StarClan and have your leadership ceremony."
Darkstripe got the uncomfortable feeling that Cinderpelt was staring straight through her pelt. The idea of asking Cinderpelt to come instead of the ex-ShadowClan cat evaporated with his discomfort. Darkstripe hid his discomfort behind a sneer. "Well, then, hurry up."
Yellowfang's fur rippled as she padded away and leaped up onto the Highrock, yowling for the attention of the Clan. She explained the sign of the dark grey mouse with black stripes and said it was a sign from StarClan that Darkstripe was to become the next leader. Darkstripe noticed immediately how unenthused the entire Clan was with this news, and suddenly the smug satisfaction began to evaporate.
But StarClan chose me.
Darkstripe bounded up to the top of the Highrock and noticed the faces of the cats down below watching him with a mixture of outright hatred - Cloudpaw looked ready to laser him with his blue eye beams - and resignation - Fireheart looked like his entire world was crumbling beneath his paws - and various degrees of hope, pride and disgust. This was not what Darkstripe imagined his Clan would look like when he took over.
That kittypet has really softened them up.
Darkstripe looked at the expression on Fireheart's face and couldn't help being pleased by it.
"Cats of ThunderClan! I welcome this great honor bestowed upon me by our warrior ancestors and I promise to lead ThunderClan well in the times to come!" Unease filled him at the dead silence of the Clan. He bowed his head, trying to mask his confusion. "My first act as leader will be to make sure our Clan is no longer without a deputy. Unfortunately, since Bluestar has been buried and Tigerclaw is no longer with us, there is no one but StarClan and us to witness this."
He glanced around the Clan and his gaze settled on Longtail before dismissing him as a coward and dismissing Dustpelt as too inexperienced. He cleared his throat and raised his voice. "I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our ancestors may hear and approve my choice. Whitestorm will be the new deputy of ThunderClan. Whitestorm, you are a good warrior and have proven you are good a deputy as well."
Whitestorm blinked and bowed his head. "Darkstripe - Darkstar - cats of ThunderClan, I have always been honored to serve the Clan and I swear I will do everything I can to serve you."
The Clan errupted into meows of congratulation, shouting "Whitestorm! Whitestorm!" Darkstripe felt strangely neglected.
The Clan will see me for the warrior I am eventually. StarClan has already seen it, so why not them?
Darkstripe's gaze drifted to Fireheart, who had rushed forward to congratulate Whitestorm with the rest of the Clan. The ginger tom looked sad, as if he knew what would inevitably come. Darkstripe narrowed his eyes, but decided against throwing the kittypets out, even if Cloudpaw was annoying as fox-scent. The Clan was going to need more warriors in case Tigerclaw comes back. He wasn't going to be pleased Darkstripe had done something Tigerclaw had not. A shiver went up his spine. Maybe becoming the leader was a bad idea.
Frowning, Darkstripe bounded down the High Rock and padded over toward Yellowfang. "Whenever you're ready, medicine cat."
"I'm already ready, 'leader cat'," meowed Yellowfang. "Cinderpelt, the herbs?"
The young medicine cat nodded and hobbled away to collect the herbs. Darkstripe could already tell the trip to Highstoneswas going to be uncomfortable.
