The next few seasons passed without much change in the clan other than all of the new faces and the ones that changed or disappeared completely. Wildkit, Tallkit, and Whitekit had become apprenticed, and Nightkit, Oakkit, and Darkkit were almost ready to receive their apprentice names as well. Dawncloud and Wetfoot had three kits: Rowankit, Cedarkit, and Boulderkit. Deerfoot had died from an infected injury in the rat battle, and Littlebird and Hollyflower had died of old age while the elders had still been banished from the clan.
The clan felt empty without all of Brokenstar's warriors around, but the one that had hurt the clan the most was Russetfur's desertion. Amberleaf had taken over taking care of Russetfur's kits when her own two kits were born early and died in minutes. The fact that the young, russet-colored queen had abandoned her kits had hit the clan hard and nearly ruined everyone's memory of her.
Nightstar was working hard as leader, and he was really helping to build back up Shadowclan's reputation and strength. He had needed to make some difficult decisions, but in the end most of them had been for the best, but now, Littlecloud wasn't so sure that he was about to do the right thing.
"Cats of Shadowclan!" he yowled over the restless murmuring below him. "At dawn tomorrow, Thunderclan will understand that we will not tolerate their insistence on protecting Brokenstar! Together with Windclan we will make them regret ever taking in that traitorous murderer!"
The clan answered him with yowls of agreement; the clan wanted blood, Brokenstar's blood, but was this really the right way or doing it?
Yes, Littlecloud had been furious when Wildpaw told the clan what his Thunderclan friend, Swiftpaw, had told him about Brokenstar. He couldn't understand why Thunderclan was protecting him; he was still able to hunt and fight so he should have to take care of himself, but then Littlecloud found out that he was blinded in the attack, and he actually understood, in a way, why Thunderclan hadn't thrown him out into the woods to fend for himself.
His clanmates; however, didn't see any reason why Thunderclan would protect someone like Brokenstar, so the clan was going to force them to drive him out, with a bit of help from Windclan.
"Cinderfur, Wetfoot, Stumpytail, Newtspeck, Fernshade, Mousewing, and Flintfang: you will be fighting tomorrow, so prepare yourselves tonight because at dawn, we strike!"
The clan yowled their agreement, but Littlecloud couldn't help being happy that he wasn't going to be a part of the invasion. Ever since Brokenstar had left, fighting had only become an annoyance to Littlecloud; he didn't really see the point of it. The only thing any clan was gaining from these battles was pride and injured or dead warriors.
Littlecloud had been spending a lot of time in Runningnose's den lately, and it wasn't just because Brownpaw was still there. The medicine cat seemed like the only cat in the clan who understood Littlecloud's dislike of battles, so he spent most of his free time there, so much so that the clan started to joke about whether or not he should be a medicine cat.
He laughed with them when they joked, but he knew he could never be a medicine cat. He could have handled memorizing all of the herbs and treating wounds, and he might have actually enjoyed not having to fight anymore, but the thought of never being able to have a mate and kits forced him away from the profession every time.
He was still clinging to the hope that Dawncloud would realize how much she really cared for Littlecloud, and not his brother. The tabby warrior knew that was a horrible thing to think, but he just couldn't accept that Dawncloud had chosen Wetfoot over him. Of course, she might not have even known that Littlecloud liked her because he had never actually told her. He had been wrong to think that being super nice to her and helping her out whenever he was able to would make her realize how much he cared for her.
He was sure he cared for her, but not entirely sure how much. He had never liked anyone else before, so he wasn't sure if he liked Dawncloud a lot or if someone else would come along that could easily drive her completely out of his thoughts.
Littlecloud shook himself off and headed back into the warriors den for the night. He was tired of dissecting every new conflict in the clan, and he was looking forward to a nice, quiet day to sleep the following day.
…
Littlecloud slept until the sun was high in the sky, and he only got up when he heard Rowanberry announce that the warriors had come back to camp.
Littlecloud poked his head out of the warrior's den, and he was startled to see how battered all of the warriors looked, especially his brother. Littlecloud blinked in shock. It had been two clans verses one; how could they have lost?
"Brokenstar lives," Nightstar snarled. "Those Thunderclan traitors were willing to lay down their lives to protect Brokenstar. I don't know how they live with themselves." Their leader retreated into his den, mumbling about how wrong all of this was.
Littlecloud padded over to Wetfoot, who Runningnose was treating first and sat down beside him. "What in the name of Starclan happened to all of you? You look like you faced ten clans, not one."
Wetfoot glared at him, but his gaze softened when he realized his brother was joking. "That Tigerclaw is stronger than nine clans by himself, and some apprentice warned the clan before we got close enough to fight properly," Wetfoot growled. "We weren't willing to die for the sake of Brokenstar, but apparently they were. I will never understand Thunderclan cats."
Littlecloud laughed. "Yeah, they sure do things differently than the rest of us," he chuckled.
Wetfoot couldn't help but smile too, a smile which was soon replaced with a grimace. "Ow!" he hissed, turning on Runningnose. "What was that stuff?"
"It will keep the wounds from getting infected," Runningnose answered briskly, ignoring the young warrior's harsh tone. "Just leave it alone, and whatever you do, do not lick it off."
Wetfoot swallowed and nodded solemnly at the medicine cat, terrified at what Runningnose had used to treat him.
Littlecloud recognized the herb that had been used instantly, and couldn't help chuckling to himself quietly at Runningnose's cunningness. The herb wasn't poisonous at all, but it was rare, and it would take forever to get more if Wetfoot carelessly licked it off. Littlecloud was forced to turn away and head back to the warriors den so he would avoid ruining Runningnose's brilliant lie with his laughter.
…
Most of the next few moons passed without anything particularly interesting happening. Shadowclan heard news that Brokenstar had died which kept them from allying with Windclan again against the cruel leader.
Whitethroat, Tallpoppy, and Wildfur had received their warrior names, plus Oakkit, Nightkit, and Darkkit became apprentices, and Wetfoot became mentor to Oakpaw, looking incredibly pleased that he had an apprentice of his own now. Nightstar had asked Littlecloud if he wanted to train Nightpaw, but he had turned him down. He had only ever wanted Blossomkit as an apprentice, and it just felt wrong to try to train some other kit. He knew he'd have to have an apprentice eventually, but he just didn't feel ready for the responsibility right now.
He could wait; he decided. He had plenty of time to get an apprentice.
…
It was three days before the gathering, four days after the three new apprentices had been named, and one day before the worst crisis since Brokenstar hit Shadowclan, but no one knew of it at that time.
Wetfoot had sent Oakpaw on his first solo hunting mission to see if he could catch anything before sunset. The gray warrior was waiting in camp when the young apprentice returned, talking to Dawncloud about their kits. They were going to be apprentices in about a moon, and both parents were very excited.
Wetfoot motioned for Oakpaw to set his catch of three frogs and a large mouse that must have wandered over from Thunderclan territory onto the fresh kill pile and get some rest while he finished talking to his mate.
By the time he had finally gotten around to checking out his apprentices kill the rest of the hunting patrols had brought back food and most of the clan had taken their pick of prey. Two of Oakpaw's frogs were gone, but the large mouse and the single frog that was covering it remained. Wetfoot lifted up the frog to see how well it had been killed, but dropped it in shock when he caught sight of what he thought had been a mouse only moments before.
"Oakpaw!" he summoned his apprentice quickly. "Where did you catch this rat?"
His apprentice shrunk back, sure he had done something wrong, but unsure of what it was. "Um… Near carrionplace," he mewed slowly, unsure of himself. "Was that bad?"
"Yes, Oakpaw," Wetpaw growled, not too sympathetically. "We don't eat carrionplace rats because they carry a disease powerful enough to wipe out an entire clan!"
Oakpaw's eyes widened in terror. "B-But no one's eaten it, so it's okay, right?" The tiny apprentice was shaking, terrified of what he might have done to his clan.
"No!" Wetfoot hissed. "Its disease has probably spread to the other pieces of freshkill already, and many cats have already served themselves."
He turned to the rest of the clan who had not even noticed that Wetfoot and Oakpaw's terrifying discussion was even going on. "How many of you have served yourself or someone else from the freshkill pile already?" Wetfoot yowled loudly so every cat could hear him.
In response, more than half of the clan raised their tails.
…
