Chapter 3, deputy. Who, me?
Little bits of cold pinched Leafcloud's cheeks. She opened her eyes, blinking snow off her eyelashes.
She could see ahead of her. She was lying in a sheltered little cave. She scrambled out of it, and onto a snowy plateau.
She instantly saw Rockpool lying limp on the snow, but knew he wasn't dead.
She looked up. The sun had just peeked over the horizon. She scanned the flat land.
There was a large boulder lying in the middle of it. Leafcloud scampered over.
Lying limply on it was Nightwind.
"Oh!" she rasped, leaping onto the rock beside her friend. "I thought that Demon had killed you."
She looked around again. Where was Demon?
Then she saw something she hadn't noticed earlier.
It was a huge golden fire, raging beneath a golden pathway. The pathway was thin and had no rail.
She stepped cautiously over to it. Burned hard into the pathway were two sets of paw prints. She wondered who made them.
Leafcloud padded back. It made her uneasy.
She looked into the sky. She jerked in shock.
Brilliant colors danced in the sky in three huge, thick ribbons. She watched them for a while, then turned her attention back to the earth.
She sniffed around for Shadowflight, but the fresh snow had covered up any trail the she-cat might have left. She shrugged.
"Leafcloud…" came a strained, raspy voice from behind her.
She whirled around. Nightwind was stumbling off the boulder. She wasn't bleeding, but she looked as if she had just been in a battle.
"Leafcloud," Nightwind rasped again, "Shadowflight went over that path. S-she went after Demon, He ran over it first. They were fighting. I couldn't see very well. I couldn't feel my paws on the cold rock, and I saw Demon and Shadowflight as if from a load of green light. I couldn't hear them talking."
Leafcloud nodded.
"Come on," she said, "Let's wake Rockpool and find the others."
XXX
"Over here! I smell Skyfeather! Do you have any trace of Ashfur?"
"No," Rockpool yowled, coming around a corner of rock and facing Leafcloud. "He may be gone."
Leafcloud smirked. "No loss."
Instantly Rockpool stopped smiling, and he was stock still. "You don't care that ThunderClan needs a new deputy?"
"Er…who do you think it will be?"
Rockpool didn't answer.
Nightwind padded around the rock, followed by a dirty long-haired white she-cat.
"Skyfeather!" Leafcloud yelped.
"Oh hi guys," she mewed, licking her pelt clean. "I guess that poison of love has worn off." She laughed. "Where's Shadowflight?"
"Er…she's gone, or dead," Leafcloud said.
Skyfeather nodded, looking worried. Nightwind explained what had happened to her.
"Let's go back," Rockpool muttered. They were all sitting around Highstones.
XXX
Rockpool was silent as he padded through WindClan territory and to home. He knew that his beloved Shadowflight was gone. Gone, before he could confess his love to her. Well, at least Aspenleaf wasn't going anywhere.
He sighed at the thought of Aspenleaf. She was boring, stupid, and had no real purpose. She had absolutely no personality. He liked Shadowflight because she was interesting.
They padded down the ravine and entered camp.
Ravenstar was on top of the Highrock, with the Clan assembled before her.
"We will pray to StarClan that they come home…Rockpool?"
She turned her head sharply. "Rockpool? Skyfeather? Nightwind? Leafcloud?"
They stared back at her blankly.
"Oh! Where is Demon? Where is Ashfur? Where is…no…is she…is she…dead?"
Soon Nightwind was explaining, with the others throwing in scary bits and stuff.
Ravenstar tumbled off the Highrock. "This is magic!" she shrieked, "Why is there magic…? It never was like this when I was a young warrior!"
"At least Demon is gone," Shalepelt drawled loudly, swaggering into the middle of camp. "We're basically safe. And no one needed Shadowflight anyway! She wasn't much use, was she? To bad for poor Ashfur, though."
At this speech, Ravenstar's eyes flashed and her fur bristled angrily. Rockpool snarled and crouched down.
Then Skyfeather sauntered over to Shalepelt. Before the unsuspecting she-cat could utter a peep, Skyfeather smacked her hard in the face.
"That's from Shadowflight," she snarled, as Shalepelt's light red blood dribbled out. Skyfeather leaped on Shalepelt and bit her shoulder. "And that's from the other half of the Clan, the Shadowflight supporters."
Shalepelt struggled to her feet, and stumbled away to a corner of camp.
Ravenstar looked up at the moon. "It is almost moonrise. I assume Ashfur won't be coming back. I think I know who they new deputy will be."
She raised her eyes, as the cats tightened their group. Ravenstar coughed loudly.
"I say these words before Ashfur, so that his spirit may hear and approve my choice."
She looked down at the crowd and her face twisted doubtfully. "Rockpool will be the new deputy for ThunderClan."
Nobody breathed. Rockpool could feel his blood warming up with excitement.
Yes! He thought, closing his eyes, tasting the victory on his tongue.
His friends cheered him loudly, but a lot of other cats stalked away angrily.
"StarClan," Shalepelt drawled loudly, "I wonder if Ravenstar is losing her mind. Maybe I'm just going blind, but I can see pretty well now."
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