Chapter 7
Despite what Icestar had planned for the night, the next day was quite peaceful. There were few clouds in the sky and a soft breeze occasionally swept through the camp. Since Leaf-Bare was coming, a day like this was rare.
The white she-cat stood by the entrance of her den and glanced around. She hasn't done much yet and was hoping to strike up a conversation with someone. However, she never got the chance when the leader noticed a group gather around the nursery. Curious, she padded over.
"What's going on?" She asked whoever happened to hear her. She had to ask but already had her suspicions.
The cat standing next to her, Lilypool, turned and answered excitedly. "Flowerfrost is having her kits!"
Icestar turned back to the nursery, trying to see past the cats that gathered outside. It wasn't a surprise to see so many cats come over once they heard about kits. There haven't been any in the forest for a while. Obviously, the medicine cats made the group leave for the time being so they wouldn't crowd the queen. Flowerfrost sure had a lot of friends.
Being the leader, Icestar slipped through and made her way to the entrance of the nursery.
"Icestar," Flowerfrost said from inside when she saw the white she-cat. "Come in, you have to see them," she insisted. Blackspot was sitting next to her.
Icestar walked in quietly, over to the queen who was licking two kits' pelts. There was a speckled grey tom and a black and white she-cat.
"Did you name them yet?" The leader asked. She tried to act calm but was actually filled to the brim with joy. She was happy for Flowerfrost and it was good to have kits running around the camp again.
"Not yet," Blackspot answered.
Flowerfrost paused and looked up at her mate with a large smile. "I thought of the perfect names," she announced and continued, now looking back on the kits. "Let's name the she-cat Hollykit and name the tom Ashkit."
"You mean like Hollytail and Ashstar?" The tom meowed. The queen nodded. "Those are great names. What do you think, Icestar?"
Icestar looked at the two small cats. Their eyes were still shut and they occasionally stumbled over their own paws as they tried to make their way over to their mother.
Naming the kits after the previous deputy and leader was something Flowerfrost would think of. Icestar had to admit that the two did resemble the fallen warriors in a way. Icestar began to remember how much she missed them though she never actually forgot. She hoped that heart-aching feeling wouldn't return every time she sees the kits.
"Those names suit them well," she answered simply.
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Bramblestripe stepped outside the warriors den and looked over to the nursery just in time to see Icestar disappear into the gathering cats. She desperately wanted to see the kits but knew it would have to wait until later. Perhaps it would be better to go another time anyway so she wouldn't have to deal with the mob.
With one last glance, she turned around and padded around the den before quickening her pace and running through the forest. Bramblestripe didn't have to run very far before reaching her destination.
"Glad you could make it," Rowanpelt said when he saw the she-cat come forward.
Bramblestripe simply nodded and walked past the brown warrior.
"How are you doing, Breezetail," she asked casually to her brother.
The tom turned to her and replied, "Fine." He wanted to get to the point. Breezetail, Bramblestripe and Rowanpelt made a habit of meeting every once in a while. It always felt a little uncomfortable to be constantly surrounded by so many cats despite being clanmates.
When Rowanpelt walked over to Bramblestripes' side, he gave her a worried look. On second thought, maybe worried wasn't the best word to use as a description. She could also say he looked uncertain or nervous. But the striped she-cat didn't know why.
"Breezetail," the tom began, grabbing his friends' attention. "I couldn't help but notice that something's on your mind."
Breezetail blinked and smiled. "Nothing can get past you," he muttered.
Bramblestripe was ashamed that she wasn't able to notice before. In retrospect, Breezetail did seem distracted but it never registered until Rowanpelt mentioned it.
"It's about Icestar," Breezetail added and looked over to his sister when she let out an accidental sigh.
Seeing as both cats where now on her, Bramblestripe felt pressured into explaining. "Well it seems like she's all you talk about now," she said timidly. One wrong word and Breezetail could easily get offended or angered.
Breezetail shut his eyes for a moment like he was clawed across the face. After a moment of awkward silence, he looked at Bramblestripe again. "You're right," he admitted. "Ever since she combined the four clans, I've been so confused. I-I always loved her but she's not the same cat," the tom said quietly, avoiding anyone's gaze. "Haven't you noticed? At times she'll act the same as before but when it's about the clan, she turned into a totally different cat. I don't know how that happened; I don't know why. But I want to help her even if she doesn't want my help." Breezetail looked up at the two with determination shining in his eyes.
Bramblestripe and Rowanpelt were silent for a moment before the she-cat broke it. "What do you plan on doing about it?"
Breezetail flinched. "I have no idea." Noticing the expression on the cats' faces, he continued. "I just want to help her… Look: I know that something's not right. Everything may seem peaceful and bright but I have a feeling that something dark is also happening."
Bramblestripe tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Her brother groaned, obviously having trouble explain what he meant. "Like…" He paused, scrambling through his mind for the right words to say. He decided to change the point he was getting to, unsure how to fully explain his last statement. "She's changed; we all see it. I don't know who this part-time impersonator is but Icestar needs help fighting back. She needs to wake up."
"Have you thought any of this through?" Rowanpelt asked calmly. "You need to have a plan if you're going to do anything."
The tom shook his head. "I don't really know what I can do right now. I'm kind of just waiting for something to happen," he meowed.
"How about you make something happen yourself?"
Breezetail looked up at the tom, not knowing quite how to reply. The thought didn't occur to him before.
Bramblestripe wasn't sure what Breezetail was trying to do by his vague explanation but she somehow understood his feelings and agreed. They needed to save their friend for whatever sort of darkness has trapped her.
"And how are you going to do anything for Icestar if you're always avoiding her?"
Breezetail didn't respond. He probably wasn't sure how to. Being around the leader always made the tom get nervous.
"Um, don't worry about it," he said with a forced smile. "It'll be fine."
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The day went by a little too quickly for Rockstorm. That's what happens when nothing out of the ordinary happens: everything fades together and in the end, a whole day will only feel like a few heartbeats. And anticipating something that was planned to happen later in the day never helped. It seemed like all the time between that awaiting moment and the present went by faster than it should.
As the sun was setting, the brown tom left camp and padded through the old Thunderclan territory. He somehow managed to convince Hawkwing that he was on his side but hopefully, he won't have to keep up the act for much longer.
Icestar already went over everything before he left the Forestclan camp with him and the others. Hawkwing had no way of knowing that Icestar was onto him so Rockstorm shouldn't be nervous but he was. He didn't like to lie unless it was absolutely necessary and jumping into necessary situations like this wasn't something he liked to make a habit of.
It was right before Sundown when the warrior arrived at the Thunderclan base. He was one of the last to come and everyone else was already gathered around Hawkwing, waiting for him to address them. Once a couple more cats came in, the deputy began.
"It seems that everyone has arrived," he started scanning the cats. "I'll explain what we're doing one more time. We'll simply go straight into the camp and surround Icestars' den. I'll go in and we'll bring her out in front of the entire clan as our hostage, forcing them to give leadership to me. Before that begins, I'll send out a smaller ground to hunt down those pesky guards who I all sent hunting."
That much was true but since Icestar knew his plans, she told them not to go just in case. In fact, they would all be coming with her to greet Hawkwing later.
"Now of course, I've thought this trough more then I'm letting on but if I explain everything, we'll run out of time." He paused and glanced at the sky. "It's just about time. Let's go."
What is he doing? Rockstorm couldn't help wondering. He doubted Hawkwing really thought it all through and he expected the deputy to at least give some sort of motivational speech to his followers but no.
Rockstorm realized the others were already following Hawkwing out of the camp and quickly went after them. When Icestar intervenes, he hoped the scene won't be too uncomfortable.
The brown tom was trapped in the middle of the small army of cats that marched towards Forestclan camp. He couldn't see anything in front of him except for more cats. They all looked confident in what they were doing? How could they have so much confidence in a cat like Hawkwing?
Rockstorm noticed he recognized every cat around him. There was Spottedfire, Mudfoot, Swiftpelt, Thistlescar, Fernpetal, Thornear, Lionpelt and several other cats from Thunderclan. Not surprising.
Without warning, the cats in front of him stopped abruptly, causing anyone who was caught off guard to almost walk into the one ahead of them. Rockstorm stopped himself short of stepping on Lionpelts' tail.
He tried to look through the crowd so he could see why Hawkwing suddenly stopped but to no avail. He had to depend on his hearing to understand the situation.
"About time you show your true colors," a voice said. Rockstorm knew the cat who was speaking was Icestar.
"I-Icestar," Hawkwing began. He was cause completely by surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I can ask you the same thing," she replied. The leader was obviously messing with Hawkwing now. She knew what he was doing but chose to listen to his excuse anyway.
At this point, Rockstorm was able to squeeze himself through the group so only a couple of cats where in front of him. He had a much better view of the situation now. Just as Hawkwing had many cats behind him, Icestar was also followed by a large group. He spotted Bluefire, Dawnfall and Streamheart near the front. Probably to prove that she already knew about his plan.
Hawkwing cleared his throat before replying, probably to stall for a moment. "I'm just leading a large hunting party," he lied. "Since the territory is so large now, I figured the parties should be larger too."
"Oh?" There was amusement in the she-cats voice. "In that case, I'm just hunting too. Did you catch anything? I just caught a whole clan-full of prey." Rockstorm stopped himself from chuckling at the last heartbeat as he glanced at the cats around him. They all tried to look calm but their eyes showed how nervous they truly where. He could easily imagine the thoughts spiraling through their heads.
We've been caught. Did Icestar always know about the plan? Is there a spy among us? What will Hawkwing say? Can we get out of this alive?
Hawkwing looked unsure of how to respond to Icestars' comment. Seeing as he wasn't going to say anything, the leader continued.
She looked past the tom. "It's saddening to see so many traitors. Dawnfall-"she turned to the she-cat standing next to her-"what do you think is the appropriate punishment for treachery?"
"I can think of many ways to deal with them," the orange cat responded with a smirk and her claws unsheathed.
Icestar turned back to Hawkwing. "You look surprised. You're probably wondering how I found you here, right?" He didn't reply. "Well I had a little help but that's aside the point."
Inside Rockstorm, he knew many cats must have been suspecting him but he was glad Icestar didn't reveal anything. Otherwise, they might come back for revenge or something for spying. At the moment, there was no real proof.
"I don't know what you're-"
"Save it," Icestar growled, cutting off Hawkwing's desperate attempt to save his pelt. "I know you've been plotting to overthrow me but that's pointless now. Besides even if you were to get away with it, using me as a hostage is such a cowardly way to take over. Why don't you try with your own strength and your own power?"
"Don't lecture me, Icestar," the deputy demanded. "I don't need you telling me how to get things done. I've been a leader longer than you have."
"Then you should have more confidence in your ability. But if you don't that's fine too. But how else will you prove to the clan that you have the right to lead them?"
Hawkwing glared at Icestar for a long moment. No one spoke a word before he finally spoke up. "Fine," he said quietly. "I'll just take you out myself!"
After being embarrassed and humiliated, Hawkwing charged at Icestar. As the raging cat got closer, Icestar stayed completely still. Rockstorm got tense, wanting to jump in and stop the deputy but couldn't in his position.
A tails' length away from the leader, Hawkwing raised his claws only to be slashed on the side and shoved onto his back. Dawnfall was the one who clawed him and Streamheart stepped in and pushed him away. Bluefire stepped in front of Icestar to take a hit if the two failed to stop Hawkstar.
Dawnfall had no problem attacking her former leader.
The tom looked over to the cats who protected Icestar with rage. The three of them stepped out of Icestars' way when she walked towards the fallen deputy.
"You see? You tried to use your own power only to be stopped by mine," she meowed with a mocking expression.
Hawkwing didn't bother hiding the hatred that covered his face as he dug his claws into the earth. He eventually stood back up and turned to the cats standing behind him. "If you consider them to be your power, then let me show you mine. I didn't want to take over with bloodshed but I guess it was unavoidable."
"You just don't know when to quit," the white she-cat muttered.
By signaling with his tail, Hawkwings' followed charged forward. Everyone behind Icestar did the same.
Rockstorm was the only one who didn't run into battle. He watched as the two sides collided followed by growling and hissing as they fought each other viciously.
"Rockstorm," one cat said. Mudfoot escaped the frenzy and noticed the brown tom standing on the sidelines. "What're you doing? Fight someone, already!"
Rockstorm didn't reply but just started at the tom. If he attacked his allies, they would just attack him back, mistaking him for an enemy. If he attacked the traitors, it would be just like yelling out hey, I was the spy!
Rockstorm simply shrugged. What are you going to do if they found out? Sure he would be in danger but anyone who attacked one of Icestars' guards would have the deal with the others.
"Sure thing," he said in reply to Mudfoot before running at the tom and clawing his chest. Mudfoot was taken off-guard and couldn't defend himself.
Whether Mudfoot understood why he was being attacked or not, he fought the tom back. Rockstorm was bit on the left leg and clawed on his side but Mudfoot was also hurt.
Rockstorm managed to make a considerably deep cut on his chest. Mudfoot backed up as blood dripped from his pelt. Seeing as he was losing the fight, the tom escaped into the chaos. Rockstorm didn't know if he fled to scene entirely or just found another opponent but that didn't matter.
He made his way through the battle, searching for someone who may have needed help. The tom ended up finding Icestar and Hawkwing fighting but he didn't interfere to help out the leader.
Surrounded by the ongoing battle, Hawkwing launched himself at Icestar who countered by latching her laws into his arms and throwing him in another direction. The tom was unfortunate enough to land on a rock. He flinched at the pain but forced himself onto his legs.
As he was still trying to gather up some strength, Icestar moved quickly and clawed his chest. Hawkwing fell onto his side, unmoving. After a few heartbeats, the leader twitched slightly.
Rockstorm gasped when he realized Hawkwing just lost a life.
Icestar only looked at him for a moment before turning and glanced around her. The others began to notice was happened and the fighting eventually stopped all together.
"Is this the cat you still wish to follow?" Icestar asked the spectators. "You all gathered because you thought he was stronger than me. I'm willing to forgive those who realize the mistake they made."
Whispers and murmurs spread through the group of cats but no cat spoke up.
Breaking the silence, Hawkwing began to cough a few times before regaining consciousness. He was awake but was still injured from the damage he'd taken. His muscles tensed as if he was trying to stand but up but he continued to lie on the ground.
"Now you all know what will happen if you go against Starclans' wishes. Let's all get back to camp. I'll decide what to do with Hawkwing, and any traitors who still see him as a leader, later."
After a heartbeat of hesitation, the cats began to leave the scene except for Icestar, Bluefire, Dawnfall, Streamheart, Hawkwing and Rockstorm.
The brown tom wasn't quite sure how to take in everything he's just seen. Icestar put on quite the show but whenever she spoke of punishment, he began to get nervous even though he wasn't the one in danger. Something told him that whatever she had in mind was worse than just doing simple tasks for apprentices.
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A/N: That took much longer than I anticipated… Sorry for the wait.
The kit's names, Hollykit and Ashkit, where thought up by Blizzardblitz. I slightly changed their appearances though. Thanks for the help, everyone!
Remember important characters such as Breezetail and Shadowthorn? I feel terrible about not adding them in recently. I've been totally neglecting them but this is probably the most difficult story I will ever right. I have so many things going on, so many characters; I can't keep it all straight. Bear with me on this. I also fear I'm rushing this too much…
But one thing is certain: I'm never writing a one-clan story ever again. ,
Well thanks for reading and please review!
Have a nice day~
