Chapter 20
A cold wind rustled the reeds that surrounded camp. As Birchstar watched the plants sway in the wind, he let out a sigh. RiverClan had been fortunate so far this leafbare, but how long would it last?
Suddenly, the camp entrance rustled, alerting him of Ripplesky's presence. "How was the meeting?" he called out, padding towards the young medicine cat.
Ripplesky's blue eyes were full of fear. "I need to speak with you in private," he whispered, glancing around the clearing.
Birchstar dipped his head, before padding into his den. As he took a seat in his nest, he couldn't help but think of Morningstar. She had been gone for two moons now, and he thought of her every day. It was hard not to; she was a big part of his life and the mother of his kits. My kits, Birchstar thought in anguish. The RiverClan leader quickly pushed the thought away, before directing his attention back to Ripplesky. "What's going on? Has StarClan given you a prophecy?"
The medicine cat quickly shook his head. "It's SkyClan. Bumblebee says Flystar is planning to drive ThunderClan from the forest."
Birchstar's eyes widened. "Drive them from the forest? How is he going to do that?"
"He wants you and Swiftstar to help him," Ripplesky explained.
"But why now?" Birchstar wondered. ThunderClan had been terrorizing the forest for seasons, so why did Flystar want to deal with them now?
"They've been stealing herbs and trespassing on SkyClan's territory. An elder recently died from sickness, as there was no herbs left to treat him," Ripplesky said.
Birchstar looked down at his paws, lost in thought. "I'd have to speak with Flystar before I make any decision," he whispered. Truth be told, he didn't want to chase ThunderClan from the forest. Despite everything they had been doing lately, Birchstar felt it wasn't fair to punish the entire Clan. It was Ravenstar's fault the Clan was running out of control, not the warriors. After all, she was the one making choices and letting her cats get away with whatever they wanted.
"I think we should stay out of this," Ripplesky meowed. He opened his mouth to say something more, before padding out of the den.
As Birchstar watched him go, he let out a sigh.
It had been four sunrises since his talk with Ripplesky, and Birchstar hadn't heard from Flystar. He had thought about visiting the SkyClan leader himself, but decided against it. He'll come visit me if he wants to talk.
Pushing the thoughts away, Birchstar gazed out across the clearing. Lilypelt's three kits, Sloekit, Duckkit and Cloudkit were all wrestling beside the nursery. A purr rose up in the leader's throat as he watched them play. Reedpaw and Frogpaw were the last kits to be born, so it was refreshing to have a new litter born.
"Cloudkit, be gentle with your sister!" Lilypelt called out, before pulling Cloudkit off Sloekit's back.
"I am being gentle," the cream-colored tom kit protested, lashing his tiny tail.
"No, you're not!" Sloekit argued, giving her ruffled fur a few licks. "You ripped a clump of fur from my shoulder."
Lilypelt's eyes widened. "Are you okay?" she demanded.
Sloekit nodded. "I'm okay," she said, before yawning.
Lilypelt let out a sigh of relief, before herding her kits into the nursery. "I think it's time you three have a nap."
"But I'm not tired!" Duckkit argued.
"You will be later," his mother said, picking him up by the scruff.
As the queen and her kits disappeared into the nursery, Birchstar couldn't help but think of his own kits. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Rainfall and Pikeheart heading towards him. Standing to his paws, he hurried towards them. "Is something wrong?"
Pikeheart exchanged glances with Rainfall. "There's a SkyClan patrol at the border. They want to talk to you."
"Why didn't you bring them back to camp?" Birchstar demanded, narrowing his eyes.
"We weren't sure if you wanted visitors," Rainfall said.
"Fetch them and bring them back immediately," the RiverClan leader ordered. After a few minutes of waiting, his warriors returned to camp, the SkyClan cats in tow. At the lead was Flystar, followed by Petalfall and Bumblebee.
"Greetings, Birchstar. I hope we aren't coming at a bad time," Flystar meowed, dipping his head.
Birchstar shook his head. "You're fine," he told him, before leading Flystar towards his den. Once both leaders had gotten comfortable he said, "Ripplesky told me of your plans."
"Yes, Bumblebee said she told him. So, are you in or not?" Flystar's gaze burned into Birchstar's pelt, making him grow hot.
"I don't know..." Birchstar murmured. "Surely StarClan wouldn't approve? After all, there's supposed to be five Clans in the forest."
Flystar's neck fur began to bristle. "And you think StarClan would approve of ThunderClan's behavior?" Birchstar opened his mouth to reply, but Flystar quickly continued, "If there is supposed to be five Clans in the forest, explain why there are only four seasons? Or why there are only four oaks at Fourtrees? ThunderClan does not deserve to live in this forest anymore. Everyone would be better off without them!" The SkyClan leader's eyes were blazing with fury as he spoke.
Birchstar's heartbeat quickened as he watched Flystar. "The number of seasons or amount of trees have nothing to do with the Clans. These things have been around longer than the Clans were even thought of. It's foolish to even think-"
"Why are you standing up for them?" Flystar demanded. "They killed Morningstar!"
The RiverClan leader flattened his ears to his head. "I'm not defending them," he argued. "I just don't think StarClan would approve of this."
"So you won't help us?" Flystar questioned, narrowing his eyes.
"I never said that," Birchstar huffed, growing annoyed with the SkyClan tom. He wanted to avenge Morningstar's death, but he wasn't sure it would be worth it. ThunderClan had a strong army, and had already proven time and time again they would fight like rogues. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to teach them a lesson," he finally decided.
Flystar's eyes gleamed. "Good to hear," he whispered. "The battle will be tomorrow, so make sure your warriors are prepared."
All was quiet as the RiverClan warriors made their way towards Fourtrees. When they reached the rise, Birchstar paused to scent the air. We're early, he realized. As he lead his cats down into the clearing, Birchstar couldn't help but feel panicked. They were supposed to meet WindClan here for the battle. What if Swiftstar had changed his mind and backed out?
As if he could read Birchstar's thoughts, Puddlefur meowed, "Where is WindClan? You said they would be here."
"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Splashflower said.
Birchstar leaped onto the Great Rock as he waited for WindClan. The gray-brown tom glanced down at his warriors, fear clinging to his pelt. He had brought along every cat, except for Sootpelt, Minnowfur, Ripplesky and Lilypelt. Ripplesky and Minnowfur had tried arguing with him, but he had refused to bring them along. If ThunderClan retaliated by attacking RiverClan's camp, Birchstar wanted to make sure there were enough cats to help Lilypelt and the kits escape.
Suddenly, the undergrowth rustled, alerting him of another cat's presence. A few seconds later, a stream of WindClan cats came pouring into the clearing. Swiftstar was at the lead, his eyes shining bright. "I'm sorry we kept you waiting. My warriors and I had to deal with a fox."
Birchstar dipped his head. "We haven't been waiting too long. Shall we get going?"
Swiftstar nodded, before heading in the direction of ThunderClan's territory. Birchstar leaped down from the Great Rock and followed after him. As they trekked through the thick undergrowth, Birchstar kept his ears pricked for any signs of ThunderClan. I wonder where Flystar is.
When they neared camp, Swiftstar paused. The WindClan leader lifted his tail up, signaling for all cats to stop. Turning to face Birchstar he whispered, "I'm going to take my warriors around the left side. Flystar said he would come in from the right."
"So you want us to enter from the front?" the RiverClan leader asked.
Swiftstar nodded. "Precisely."
As the WindClan warriors positioned themselves, Birchstar looked around for SkyClan. To his relief, he spotted lithe shapes slinking through the undergrowth, surrounding the right side of ThunderClan's camp. We've got them surrounded. Birchstar let out a sigh, before stalking close to the camp entrance. Briarpelt and Waveheart flanked him, their shallow breaths sounding in his ear.
Finally, Flystar's yowl sounded. Waves of SkyClan cats poured into ThunderClan's camp. RiverClan and WindClan followed after them. The once quiet clearing was now alive with wrestling cats. This won't be much of a fight, Birchstar realized quickly. ThunderClan was badly outnumbered. They would stand no chance against three Clans.
Jumping into battle, Birchstar hooked his claws into Duskfur's pelt. The silver she-cat spun around, hissing, before aiming a blow to his muzzle. Birchstar nipped at her back leg, pulling clumps of fur out. As he turned to spit her fur out, Duskfur clawed at his shoulder. The two cats wrestled on the ground for a few minutes, before Duskfur pulled away and raced into the undergrowth.
As Birchstar watched her go, he spotted Frogpaw fighting against a gray tabby apprentice. As he watched the apprentice, Birchstar felt a sense of pride. Frogpaw was a formidable fighter, and would be an excellent warrior some day. Turning away from the apprentices, Birchstar looked around for a cat he could take on. There weren't many options, as most of the ThunderClan warriors were already fighting against another cat.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ravenstar locked in battle against a small gray-and-white tom. For a second, Birchstar thought she was fighting against a young apprentice. He then realized it was Cloudstorm, a young SkyClan warrior. Ravenstar had him pinned, and was ready to give him a killing bite. Birchstar raced forward, ready to help his ally, but Cloudstorm was too quick.
As hard as he could, Cloudstorm kicked up with his back legs, knocking the breath from Ravenstar. The black she-cat fell off, gasping for a breath. Now vulnerable, Cloudstorm jumped onto her shoulders, pulling her to the ground. The two cats wrestled on the ground, screeching and yowling. Ravenstar jerked around under his weight, trying to free herself. Finally, the ThunderClan she-cat pulled free, a clump of her fur hanging from the corner of Cloudstorm's mouth.
Ravenstar turned and fled, climbing to the top of the High Rock. The gray-and-white SkyClan tom chased after her, his eyes narrowed with determination. As he climbed up to the top of the High Rock, Ravenstar flattened herself to the ground. "Stay back!" she warned, her eyes wide with fear.
Cloudstorm wriggled his haunches, before springing on top of her. As they fought, Birchstar noticed they were heading straight towards the edge. While the High Rock wasn't that large, a fall from the top would cause serious injures, and perhaps even death.
"Watch out!" he yowled, coming to the rescue.
It was too late though. As Ravenstar reared up to aim a blow at Cloudstorm's shoulder, she lost her footing and fell back. Cloudstorm tried to grab her, but it was too late. Before Ravenstar could even react or twist herself around, she landed on her neck, breaking it instantly.
The clearing grew silent as the cats gathered around her body. "Is she dead?" Stoatfur questioned, hovering over her body.
Redheart pushed his way through the crowd, his eyes blazing with fury. Pushing Stoatfur aside he hissed, "You've killed her!"
"She was asking for it," Pikeheart spat, echoing Ravenstar's words after she had killed Morningstar.
"We weren't doing anything," the ThunderClan deputy - now leader - growled. Turning to face Cloudstorm he screeched, "This is all your fault!"
Cloudstorm shrank back, eyes wide. "It was an accident. I didn't mean for it to happen."
"I don't care. You still killed her, and I'll never forgive you for it. I will make SkyClan pay for this, if it's the last thing I do!" Redheart lashed his tail back and forth before ordering, "Get out of my camp immediately."
"No," Swiftstar argued as he limped forward. "We won this battle, so we want you to leave the forest at once."
"Why should we? This is our home, and it always has been. My Clan has already been defeated, isn't that enough for you? Can't you just leave us alone?"
Swiftstar opened his mouth to speak, but Birchstar cut him off. "Redheart's right. ThunderClan is too weak to be a threat to us. Let's just go home." Gathering up his warriors, Birchstar headed up the ravine and towards the river. In the distance, he could hear WindClan and SkyClan following after him.
This chapter was originally going to be from Cloudstorm (Cloudstar)'s point of view, but I was having bad writer's block. I had trouble writing this as well, so I went back and rewrote it. I'm very pleased at how it turned out, even though I was having trouble. I hope you will all enjoy it. Also, thanks so much for all the reviews. :)
Thanks for reading! Next chapter will return to Ripplesky's point of view.
To Echoheart: Of course! I'll look forward to seeing it.