Oakface laid next to Whitestem, his face buried in her fur. He heard her meowing softly, telling him about her day. He purred, and gently licked her ear. He listened carefully to what she was saying, his body completely relaxed. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling, when he heard her stop talking.
"Whitestem?" he called softly, raising his head. He saw her gaze staring up at the sky, and he followed her eyes up to silverpelt. "Whitestem?" he called again, and her ear twitched.
"Do you think he's up there?" she asked softly.
His stomach clenched. "Of course, I do. All good cats go to StarClan."
"But he wasn't a good cat. He . . . he hurt cats."
"We all do. He didn't hurt them like some people do."
"But . . ." Whitestem sighed, shaking her head. "You're right. What was I thinking?" She rested her head against his flank, warming him.
Oakface watched her gaze. Her gaze seemed clouded, unfocused. He nudged her. "Want to hear about my day?" he asked gently.
Whitestem blinked at him gratefully, and he began to talk about his day. He watched her. Her gaze went clouded again, and Oakface knew instantly that she wasn't paying attention to him. She was thinking about her first mate.
He tried to not feel jealous. He tried to feel glad that she let him get this close when she let no one get close to her anymore.
He looked to the sky. He needed to take what he was given, because he knew he would get this nowhere else.
Oakface sighed.
Oakface didn't remember much of his grandfather, Blazestar. He knew him, of course, because he had stepped down from being leader and took up the name Blazetail—despite the fact everyone continued to call him Blazestar—while Oakface was still an apprentice. It was shortly before Shaderose had been banished from RiverClan, Firestorm became deputy, and Featherwhisker's death.
What Oakface did remember though, was him and his mentor, Crookedleg, stumbling upon the broken body of Blazestar lying in the river by the ShadowClan border.
Oakpaw heard Crookedleg's gasp before his eyes landed on his grandfather's body. He froze, and took a step back as Crookedleg raced forward as fast as he could to pull their previous leader's body from the river. Oakpaw looked up to the ShadowClan side, and saw a border patrol consisting of Shaderose, Darkfang, and his half-brother, Shadowpaw. He wanted to rush to her side, ask her if she missed him, but the reality of the situation kept him grounded.
Shaderose yelped loudly, and she ran to the side of the river. "Blazestar!" she yowled pitifully, and nearly jumped in the stream, when Crookedleg snapped, "Don't you dare step any further onto our territory! Get back!"
"He's my father!" she shouted back in dismay. "You're not going to let me see him?"
"No! For all I know, you three have done it! Now, go!" Crookedleg shouted back, growling ferociously, before he dug his teeth into the scruff of Blazestar's neck, and began to drag him out of the river.
Shaderose stared at them in shock, then shook her head, and turned, running back towards her mate, before they took off, while Oakpaw was forced to drag his body back to camp.
Oakface shivered. He remembered grieving with Firestorm, Stonepaw, Frozenstar, and his other clanmates. He remembered how Firestorm had gotten this look in her eyes, and how he knew it wasn't a good sign.
But, that was long ago, and it's changed now. Shaderose had returned, and Firestorm—now Firestar—let her back in without a second thought. Oakface didn't know if it was for his and Stonestorm's sake, or if Firestar had forgiven her, but he was grateful that she allowed her to return.
Bramblejaw forgave her as well, and now his parents were reunited. They had another litter, and he was proud to call Brookpaw his apprentice. Shaderose was a good addition to the clan as well, and it was like she never even left in the first place.
Padding along the lake with Brookpaw, he was telling her about some hunting methods. "The other clans have different hunting methods, which is understandable, since they live in different conditions. RiverClan is surrounded by streams and fish, so we mainly hunt fish. We—" His ears pricked, and he looked up when he heard someone crashing through the brush.
He relaxed when he saw Graypaw—Brookpaw's and Pouncepaw's littermate, and medicine cat apprentice—rush through the brush. "Graypaw, what can I help you with?"
Graypaw tensed, and her claws tore up the ground. "Come quick. Please. Shaderose and Bramblejaw . . . they're dying," she said, her stomach clenching. She tore her eyes away. "T-their patrol got attacked by a badger. S-Stonestorm sent me. Please."
Oakface tensed, and without waiting for the other two, he took off running through the undergrowth back to camp. He heard the other two following him quickly.
He burst into the camp, and pushed his way through the crowd to the medicine cat den. When he entered, his eyes widened. Stonestorm, Pouncepaw, and Firestar sat next to two crumpled bodies. He pushed his way between Stonestorm and Pouncepaw, holding back a noise of despair as he saw his parents' bodies.
"You're too late," Stonestorm said softly as Graypaw and Brookpaw appeared by their sides. "They've already left to join StarClan."
Oakface stared at their bodies, deeply shaken. What were they going to do? Shaderose was a teacher, she created new fighting moves, and taught everyone in the clan. What were they going to do without their wisdom? As for Bramblejaw, the whole clan respected him deeply, and looked to him for advice.
"What are we going to do?" Oakface asked softly, eyes softening.
"I don't know," Stonestorm replied.
Oakface buried his face in Tigerpaw's fur, and he murmured, "Please recover. Please. I don't know if I can lose you too." He then raised his head and began to gently lick at his son's ear. Newtsplash limped around in the background, his bones creaking loudly as he gathered herbs. Graypaw ran around, trying to get herbs to the injured cats. Oakface pressed himself closer to his son, trying to ease his pain, but knew it wasn't. "I can't lose you. Not after we lost Lakepaw and Blackpaw. Please make it . . ." His head shot up as a shadow fell over the entrance, and his ears twitched as he saw Raggedhawk—Stonestar's deputy—in the entrance.
"Oakface, Stonestar is requesting your presence."
"I'm busy," Oakface replied, glaring at Raggedhawk.
"I know, I'm sorry, but he really needs your assistance. I'm of no help."
Oakface opened his mouth to respond, when Graypaw rushed over to him. "I'll be right here with Tigerpaw. I'll come and get you if something happens. He'll be fine, okay?" she said, trying to reassure him.
Oakface sighed, and stood up. Graypaw immediately replaced him. Tigerpaw's eyes opened momentarily, before they closed against. Oakface's eyes went to the large wound on his flank, and he turned his head away. He hated his brother for letting this happen.
He followed Raggedhawk out of the medicine cat den, and towards the leader's den.
"Stonestar? I've brought Oakface," Raggedhawk called.
"Let him in."
Raggedhawk stepped to the side, and sat down near the entrance, while Oakface stepped into the den.
His eyes landed on his brother sitting in the middle of the den, large claw marks scratched into the dirt in front of him. "What do you need, Stonestar?" he asked, mouth dry.
"I'm going to lead another attack against ShadowClan," he said, "You're going to lead one of the patrols. I need you to help me to decide who to take."
Oakface tensed, and he could feel his lips curling back into a snarl. "Stonestar," he said, trying to keep his voice level, "We just attacked ShadowClan two days ago. Our warriors aren't ready . . . but I can only assume that you've already had this discussion with Raggedhawk."
"We need to keep going. We can't stop. We need to be ahead of them. We can't allow them to attack first."
Oakface couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward, so he was muzzle to muzzle with Stonestar. "We most certainly can! This stupid war was all your doing. You wouldn't have to be worrying about this if you hadn't have started this needless war. This is all your doing. We can stop."
Stonestar shook his head. "No. We can't. We must not show any weakness."
"You mean you can't show any weakness," Oakface retorted. "You can't show anything but brutality towards ShadowClan because Shadowstar is our half-brother. I don't see you needlessly fighting with WindClan. This must stop, Stonestar. You can have good relations with Shadowstar, it doesn't denote weakness."
Stonestar's amber eyes hardened. "I will go into this fight with or without you, Oakface. I'm sorry with what has happened to your kits, and to your mate, but I cannot change it. This is going to be for the better. So, you must make your choice, join me in the fight tonight, or don't."
Oakface growled low in his throat. He wanted to stay here with Tigerpaw, but he knew that if he didn't go, that Stonestar wouldn't know when to quit.
"You will want to bring Snowfoot, and Mintflower. They've recovered from our last battle. They will be able to handle this fight. Thrushskip . . ."
Oakface stood next to Snowfoot and Cedartooth on the river separating RiverClan and ShadowClan. His eyes watched the undergrowth, trying to see if there was any movement. He didn't know why he would expect to see anything, when he knew ShadowClan couldn't have recovered—
He stopped, ears perking up, and his jaw clenched when he saw movement. He was surprised that he had been wrong. He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look, and his stomach dropped when he saw it was Brackenclaw, their half-brother.
Oakface turned to the cats behind him. "Come on," he said, before he let out a howl, and took off. He dove into the river, and then quickly came up on the other side, as ShadowClan cats began to swarm the clearing. He lunged at the nearest cat, and he momentarily hesitated when he saw it was Shadowstar's mate, Leopardpelt, but he knew that he couldn't stop just because of who she was. He slashed his claws across her shoulder, and snarled. She snarled back, but she didn't stop to attack him, instead she ran off.
Oakface's eyes followed her, confused, before he realized that she was going to help her son, Pinepaw. Deciding to let her go, he turned and darted off into the fray.
He hated that he recognized some of these cats. He saw Raventail and Brackenclaw—their other half-siblings—fighting side by side, and he saw their mates as well. He saw Shadowstar's other kit, Nightpaw, being guided out of the clearing by Birchlight, ShadowClan's blind medicine cat, as well as Oakface's half-brother. So many of his kin were here, and it was hard to find someone to fight who wasn't.
He yelped loudly as he was tackled by a black blur, and he looked up in panic to his attacker. He relaxed when he saw it was Shadowstar, and when Shadowstar relaxed as well. Shadowstar's claws dug slightly into Oakface's skin.
"You shouldn't be here," Shadowstar said breathlessly, a large wound on his shoulder. "You shouldn't have attacked us again."
"I know. Trust me, I don't want to be, but if I didn't, Stonestar wouldn't know when to turn back. I told him not too."
"We need this to stop."
"It won't. Not until you promise to leave RiverClan alone. Stonestar has something to prove, and he has nothing to lose. He will lose all of RiverClan before he stops," Oakface replied.
Shadowstar's jaw snapped shut momentarily, before he went to open it again. His ears perked up when heard howling, and Shadowstar's head whipped around. "Nightpaw!" Shadowstar howled, abandoning Oakface and running towards his daughter.
Oakface got up, and shook himself. He looked around the clearing, trying to find Stonestar when he got tackled again. A rush of air escaped his lungs as he was forced into the river. For StarClan's sake, he thought as he looked up at his attacker.
His attacker was a cream-colored tom with a white muzzle, underbelly, and front paws. The top half of his head was black, and he had black rings on his tail. It took Oakface to realize that this was Mystery, Raventail's mate.
Mystery had his paw pressed firmly against Oakface's shoulder, preventing him from getting up. Oakface shoved against him. "Let go of me, Mystery!" he shouted.
"No. This war won't end unless I give your brother a reason, and I've found that reason," Mystery said, his voice bitter. "Your clanmates killed my daughters, Seedpaw and Meadowpaw. I'm not going let it happen to the others, or anyone else."
"Please, Mystery, if you just let me go, I'll go talk to Stonestar and this will end, please—" Oakface begged, and tried to get up once more, but Mystery pressed harder against him.
"No," Mystery snapped. "This ends here and now. I won't allow this to happen." Before Oakface could speak, there was a flash of claws, and Oakface's throat was ripped open. He gasped and choked for air as his blood spilled into the river.
Mystery watched him, and took a step back, before he ran off into the fight again. Oakface watched him, his eyes as wide as they could possibly go, and his mouth open. Blood rushed down his throat and into his lungs, effectively choking him. He felt his eyes drift shut, and the next thing he knew, he could breathe.
He scrambled to his paws, and he backed into the water, confused as to how he could breathe . . . but then he saw his dead body in the stream and he knew what happened.
Oakface watched, completely stunned, as his body rested against the shore, and water lapped over it. It didn't take long for Stonestar to stumble across it as he was searching for his next victim.
Stonestar stopped, and his eyes went wide. He let out a yowl of despair, before he rushed into the water, and touched his nose to Oakface's cheek. He dropped to the ground, murmuring, "Oakface I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," over and over again.
The two clans stopped. Oakface searched the crowd, and he saw Mystery there at the back, not looking at the scene, while Oakface's kin stepped forward to see what was happening.
Raventail let out a loud cry upon seeing his body, and Brackenclaw stood still, while Nightpaw was murmuring into Birchlight's ear about what was happening. Pinepaw was pressed firmly against his mother's side, while Shadowstar padded forward slowly.
When he approached Stonestar, he gently touched his nose to Stonestar's cheek. Stonestar flinched away, and let out a warning growl, but it failed in his throat. He sat down, shoulders slouching.
"We need to end this," Shadowstar said softly. "This can't continue anymore."
Stonestar swallowed harshly, and nodded. "Oakface warned me not to fight tonight," he said, and his voice cracked. "He said this wasn't a good idea. I should have listened."
"You're listening now."
"I should have listened before. Before it caused Whitestem to die, and then Lakepaw, then Blackpaw. I've killed my own kin with this needless war," Stonestar murmured, and then gently shook his head. He stood up on shaky legs. "This war is over. I . . . I don't care what the other clans think of me. I've lost my brother. This is enough." He swallowed harshly, before he picked Oakface's body up by the scruff. He signaled with his tail, and the RiverClan cats began to limp away from the ShadowClan cats.
Oakface watched this, and he sighed. At least now this war was over . . .
He looked upwards, hearing someone calling his name. He closed his eyes, and followed the light. When he reopened them, he saw Whitestem smiling at him softly, with Lakepaw and Blackpaw by her side. Behind her, he saw Shaderose, Bramblejaw, Featherwhisker, and Blazestar.
Oakface smiled tiredly, and joined his family.