Chapter Eight: Wondering

"I don't know," Calicofur meowed. "It was from Yellowfang... she said everything was different, now. I didn't really get what she meant."

"Nobody does," Dreamstar purred. "She's kind of strange that way. Then again, it's more strange for me to say that about a cat who I've only seen in my dreams."

"You're very perceptive, though," Calicofur decided. "I believe you. But you seem worried. What's it about?"

"Cloudtail knows..." Dreamstar murmured, looking at her paws. "About... you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry! How'd he find out?"

"He tracked me."

Calicofur narrowed her eyes as she watched Cloudtail pad out of the camp entrance with Brightheart, his mate.

"You don't think-" She began, but Dreamstar cut her off with blazing amber eyes.

"Never!" Dreamstar spat. "Cloudtail's close to me, he'll trust me to make a decision. You don't know him that well, Calicofur. Don't judge him."

"All right," Calicofur mewed, tail-tip twitching. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

Dreamstar sighed. "I know. I've just been so... out of it lately."

"Same here," Calicofur agreed. "Maybe it's because of all the stress we've both had lately... I don't know."

"Have any poppy seeds?" Dreamstar asked hopefully.

"Yes. Come on in."

xxx

"Well, then, it is confirmed," the dark tabby purred, tail lashing back in forth in excitement.

"Calm yourself, Tigerstar," A smaller black cat with a white paw stepped forward. "I thought I had domination once. Obviously, that didn't work."

"If you hadn't broken your allyship with me-"

"Ssh!" A large, black and white cat padded to their sides. "You can both lead this thing together, you know. Have two deputies as well."

"I pick Blackstar!" Tigerstar said quickly. Scourge rolled his eyes.

"Fine... Brokentail?"


"What?" Bone and Brokentail asked at the same time.

"Sorry, Bone; I needed someone who wasn't going to be killed by apprentices this time."

"Now, Blackstar," Tigerstar began. "You are the only one of us who knew Windstar and Dreamstar personally. Tell me, especially, how is my granddaughter's talents?"


Blackstar opened his mouth to speak, when a low growl came.

"He wasn't the only one who knew them."

xxx

Windstar closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. Dreamstar wouldn't... she couldn't... she wasn't that kind of cat! And why would she do something like that? Was it that she wanted to stop meeting him...?

"No," He repeated. Littlecloud and Meadowpaw looked up.

"What is it, Windstar? Found something?"

"Littlecloud," He called. "Come over here. I want your confirmation that these scents are... what they are."

Cautiously, Littlecloud came to his side and sniffed. "Wolf," He said sorrowfully.

"Sniff closer," Windstar instructed in a soft voice.

Littlecloud obeyed, but his eyes grew just as alarmed. "Can't be..." Sniffing closer, he finally straightened.

"Meadowpaw," He meowed. "Do not tell the Clan, but we have our killer."
"Who?"

A look that Windstar had never seen came into Littlecloud's eyes, and he nodded toward him. "Will you do the honors, Windstar?"

Windstar cleared his throat, and made his voice as icy as possible.

"Dreamstar of ThunderClan."

xxx

"Good, that's it! Claw me like you mean it!"

Scarletpaw lunged at her mother with no hesitation, giving a cry of excitement. "Like this?" She swatted at her mother's face with barely sheathed claws.

"Yes, like that!" Dreamstar laughed, backing up. She was a good hunter, but fighting was what she did best. No one in the Clan doubted that her kits would be skilled warriors.

Especially with their father, Dreamstar thought, dodging another one of her daughter's playful blows. "You need to go faster than that!"

"All right!"

After a few moments, Dreamstar began again, her voice more serious now. "In a real battle," She said. "You're opponent may be much bigger, stronger, and older than you. Possibly wiser. So you have to figure out how to get the upper paw."

Scarletpaw was hesistant in her reply.

"Like you were with Blackstar?"

Dreamstar froze as she began to turn, then whirled back to her daughter. "Who told you I fought with Blackstar?" She asked, trying to keep any menace out of her voice. Scarletpaw's green eyes widened.

"T-the elders mentioned it," She stammered. "Goldenflower and Mousefur." She paused. "Dreamstar... Mother, is it true?"

Dreamstar sat down heavily and licked one paw. "Yes," She finally answered. "I did fight Blackstar."

"They... they said it was with Windstar. And you two were the ones who killed him."

Dreamstar closed her eyes. Talking about Windstar would be treacherous ground with her daughter. What if she happened to ask why she had his features, or why Rockpaw had his eyes? Maybe why Birdpaw was so pale?

"Yes," She finally answered. Things couldn't be avoided forever. Still, she wouldn't give the information unless Scarletpaw asked.

"You did?" Scarletpaw's eyes lit up. "Then it is true..."

Dreamstar flattened her ears to her head. "What do you mean?" She meowed, struggling to keep her voice calm.

"The elders also spoke of 'Sun and Snow'," Scarletpaw explained cautiously. "Mother, your pelt is like the sun, and Windstar's is of snow. Goldenflower said that you two used to be friends, and when he was being framed for murder, you defended him-"

"That was long ago," Dreamstar hissed, placing the tip of her tail on Scarletpaw's mouth. "We have parted ways. Sun and Snow has been taken care of."

"But-"

"No buts."

"May we join?" Cloudtail's meow interrupted them as the fluffy white tom padded into view with his apprentice, Lightpaw. A stab of pain hit Dreamstar's heart when she saw the light tabby apprentice who had been named after her friend, Lightfur.

"Of course," She said calmly. "What would you like to do?"

"Perhaps we may demonstrate to Scarletpaw and Lightpaw how warriors fight in battle," Cloudtail suggested. There was a strange glitter in his blue eyes that Dreamstar wondered about.

"All right," She finally agreed, then backed up a few steps. But even as she was still backing up, Cloudtail charged at her, knocking into the smaller cat.

"Oof!" The Clan leader stumbled back a few paces, surprised that Cloudtail(who wasn't even her deputy, a senior warrior!) knocked into her that hard during a mock fight. Embarrassment came to the tips of her whiskers.

See, StarClan? That's your great 'Sun'?

Scarletpaw looked a bit embarrassed as well, as if she couldn't believe her mother had been displaced in something like this.

"All right, Dreamstar?" Cloudtail asked innocently. But there was something in his tone, something in his eyes, that chilled Dreamstar to the bone.

"Fine," She finally meowed, struggling to keep her tone light-hearted. "Do you really think something like that would hurt me?"

Cloudtail shook his head wordlessly, keeping his eyes from meeting hers. Dreamstar kneaded the ground with her paws nervously. Why was she nervous?

The leader and the warrior took their positions again. Cloudtail looked strangely determined. In an involuntary response, Dreamstar's muscles rippled under her pelt.

"Murrr-ow!"

Cloudtail charged her again, but this time, she was ready, leaping out of the way to find herself nearly scratching him. Quickly, she sheathed her long claws, but still let her paw swat his shoulder. Hard.

For some some reason, Cloudtail seemed furious about this, and suddenly twisted to sink his teeth into Dreamstar's hind leg.

"Cloudtail!" She yowled in pain. "Get off of me!"

The white tom didn't listen, only biting down harder. With a rush of adrenaline, Dreamstar realized that she had to treat this like a real fight.

Snarling, her fangs glinting in the sunlight, she leaped into the air, forcing Cloudtail to let go of her leg, and landed on top of the tom's back, a favorite move of hers. Her claws sank into his shoulders.

Letting out a yowl of pain and anger, Cloudtail began struggling to take hold of her, and though she didn't have complete control of him, Dreamstar was able to keep him from biting her again.

At that point, Scarletpaw bounded into the scene, hissing, "Get away from my mother!" Lightpaw hung back, looking scared and worried.

"Come on!" Scarletpaw called, trying to help her mother restrain the out of control warrior.

"He's my mentor!"

"She's your leader!"

Just as Scarletpaw spoke, Birchpelt, followed by Rockpaw, came. The gray tabby tom's amber eyes widened, and Rockpaw growled low in his throat. Both ran over, each taking hold of Cloudtail. The tom fought for what seemed like forever, until suddenly, he simply sank to the ground.

"CLOUDTAIL!!!!" Dreamstar yowled at the top of her lungs. Everyone froze, including herself. She had never used that kind of voice before.

The tom looked up at her with his dark blue eyes, ones that now looked frightened and confused.

"Do you know what could have happened?" Dreamstar asked, her voice now cold. "You seemed like you wanted to take all of my lives, one by one. Not only that, but you could have killed Scarletpaw in trying to kill me!"

"I wasn't trying to kill you," Cloudtail whispered. "I don't know what I was doing. I was there... but not."

"Oh... no..." Dreamstar stared bleakly into the distance. Birchpelt had a sharp intake of breath when he realized what she was thinking of.

"No, that can't be it," He said.

"The symptoms fit," Dreamstar sighed, bowing her head. "Anger, attacks, unable to control yourself... Cloudtail, what if you have the Fury Sickness?"

Cloudtail laid his head on his paws, unable to speak.

"The Fury Sickness?" Scarletpaw echoed.

"It's when a warrior has uncontrollable anger," Dreamstar explained. "They get it from being bitten by other animals who have it, or by eating a piece of prey who also was diseased. There is no cure, it just drives them insane until they die or kill themselves."

"Cloudtail, have you eaten any strange-tasting prey or been in a fight with some animal lately?" Birchpelt asked.

"Brightheart and I... we came across a fox," Cloudtail murmured. "It was weak, barely a fight at all... but I've been feeling strange. What if I have the sickness?"

"Then..." Birchpelt looked at his leader. Dreamstar swallowed.

"Then we both have it."

xxx

Will they, or won't they? Your call!