A/U: This chapter has some major spoilers for the third book. I'm not sure if you guys will see it. Anyways, I'm hoping to get more than one review. Last time I only got one review, and that reviewer was Spottedstar of ShadowClan. You receive a Snowkit plushie!
Chapter 10
Worry pricked at Stormstrike as he followed Mistystar towards a pile of sand. Two days had passed since the meeting with his friends. Now they were preparing for their departure, something he never expected to look forward to. Mistystar had been skeptical at first when Stormstrike told her what was happening. She still believed in him, which had always been a surprise. Yet even as he watched his Clanmates he knew that they would never trust him.
The river trickled away as they padded towards a secluded area. None of the Clan dared come here when Mistystar was around. This was where she came to think. Even Mothwing had claimed it to be one of the best places to think.
"You're really leaving, aren't you?" Mistystar asked when she settled down on a moss covered log. Her tail dangled as she crouched in front of him. Pale blue eyes were dark with sorrow as she looked at him.
"I don't have another choice," he told her. "Half of the Clan doesn't trust me. I doubt they ever did, or ever will. They're afraid of me." He shuddered when he imagined the glare Troutfur had given him. She was one of the money cats in RiverClan who looked at him with disdain. Many of them were afraid of what he could do to him. That was what Mistystar had always told him. "They shouldn't have to live in fear just because of me," he added when Mistystar stared at him in surprise.
"Stormstrike, when I took you on as an apprentice, I knew that you would make a fine warrior," she meowed. "I knew that the Clan would never trust you, but I believed in you. I knew that one day you would defend the Clan no matter what."
Stormstrike let out a bitter sigh as he pictured their first apprentice ceremony. The shock on his face was still humorous.
"None of that will matter once I am gone," he growled determinedly. "I'm going in a few days, along with the other Marked. We've made our decision, and that's final."
Mistystar stared at him in shock, but he turned away before she could say anything else. He knew that she would miss him. Mistystar had taken him on as her apprentice because she hoped he would prove the Clan wrong.
A bed of reeds grew around the base of RiverClan camp, concealing the cats that had begun to gather around the fresh-kill pile. The sun was steadily climbing the sky as sunhigh arrived. Stormstrike's belly grumbled with hunger. He wanted more than anything to eat with his sisters for one last time. Nightsong and Streamfur were busy chatting about going on patrols tomorrow. Neither seemed to notice the sorrow that Stormstrike felt.
Nothing could replace the fact that he would be leaving them. Despite how awfully Nightsong had treated him in the past, the two of them had been getting along recently. She had begun to realize that if he became the future leader, he would name her as his deputy. Nightsong had always dreamed of becoming the leader of RiverClan. No cat could stand in her way as she proved herself over and over.
With Stormstrike's departure, she would finally have that chance. He let out a longing sigh and sat beside them as they quarreled over who would make a better deputy.
"I think I would make a good deputy," Streamfur murmured as she chewed into the flesh of her fish. "After all Mistystar said I was the bravest."
Nightsong snorted in disbelief at her sister's comment. "Bravest? Try the most gullible cat in RiverClan!" she hissed.
Streamfur suddenly bared her teeth at Nightsong. Stormstrike dodged to the side when Nightsong sprang after her sister. The two sisters rolled over the fish they had chosen as they quarreled over who was better. A few cats rolled their eyes in annoyance as they too leapt out of the way. They were used to Nightsong's constant jives that were thrown at Streamfur. The pair of sisters were always fighting over something.
"That's enough you two!" The two cats suddenly stopped when they heard Pebblefoot's stern voice. Their father padded towards them, eyes gleaming with anger. "I would have expected better out of you, Nightsong," he added to the larger she-cat.
The black and gray warrior bent her head as Streamfur scrambled away. Stormstrike padded towards him, earning a couple of hisses from Troutfur and Duskfire. He ignored them as his father met his gaze.
"This is why Mistystar won't give either of you apprentices," Pebblefoot continued to scold them. "Act like a warrior and eventually you will have an apprentice of your own."
"I don't think that's possible," Petalfur purred when she joined her mate. "Although Stormstrike would make a good candidate," she added as she looked at her son.
"Don't get your hopes up," Nightsong muttered under her breath.
Stormstrike was about to open his mouth to object when Petalfur cuffed her daughter over the ears. Nightsong shuffled her paws in embarrassment as the whole Clan watched. Her ears flattened when Petalfur met Stormstrike's gaze.
"Something is bothering you," she murmured after a couple of moments of silence.
"I haven't told you what I told Mistystar," Stormstrike mewed as he imagined the look of dismay on his mother's face. That got their attention. Even most of his Clanmates had begun to gather around him as he explained what was going on. Their curiosity was beginning to unnerve him. "I've decided to leave, along with the other Marked."
He swallowed hard when no cat spoke. Petalfur's face had changed from pleased to shocked in less than a heartbeat. Pebblefoot tilted his head in confusion, while Nightsong only lashed her tail in annoyance. Only Streamfur seemed unaware of what was happening. She was oblivious to everything that happened around camp, so long as she got her way.
"Leaving?" Petalfur murmured. Her voice almost became a squeak of surprise. "But why? Why leave with the other Marked?"
"Face it mother," Stormstrike growled. "No cat is ever going to fully accept us. We're too different, and they're terrified of what we could do to them. Honestly I wouldn't blame them for chasing us away." He was surprised by the ferocity in his voice. All he really wanted was for his mother to understand what this meant to him. Right now his friends were more important than his Clan.
"We've accepted you." Stormstrike turned around when he heard Hollowstorm's voice. The dark brown warrior glanced at his paws, as if he felt guilty for saying it. His ears flattened in shame when no cat followed his words.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, my son," Pebblefoot meowed when he approached Stormstrike. "You will always be a member of RiverClan in my eyes, no matter what any cat says."
Stormstrike bowed his head at his father's words. He could only hope and pray that Pebblefoot was right. Yet his heart was already torn between his Clan and one cat in particular. The real reason behind why he was leaving. No cat in RiverClan could discover the truth behind his departure. Not even the medicine cats.
A/U: There are some things that I would like to point out. If you read the bottom of this, than congratulations. People really do pay attention to author notes. There will most likely be three books in this series, and than I am going to focus on Heart of the Sun. After that I will probably start writing a new story when I get more ideas for it. Please remember to leave a review, as they are highly appreciated!
