Smokepaw sat outside the apprentice's den in the newly-built WindClan camp. The tom absentmindedly stared off into the distance, paying no attention to the cats around him nor the tension between them.
Tallstar, the leader of his clan and a cat he looked up too, had died two days prior. The old, black and white tom passed away not too long after the four clans had begun searching for new territories. Now, Onewhisker was now leader of WindClan - not Mudclaw.
The apprentice didn't know any details as to why, only that the now deceased leader appointed Onewhisker as deputy just before he passed on, swiping leadership away from the previous deputy suddenly. Unsurprisingly, some of his clanmates believed that Mudclaw deserved to be leader. Mudclaw was offered by the new leader to be his deputy, but he refused with bitterness in his voice and mouthed-off about Tallstar.
Smokepaw? He didn't care that Mudclaw wasn't leader. Though he disliked that he was speaking ill of the dead.
All the grey tom cared about at the moment was the death of Tallstar. While they hadn't known each other for long, he had shown him kindness that Smokepaw only associated with his Grandfather. In fact, Tallstar reminded him of his Grandfather in more ways than one; the look of wisdom in his eyes; the sound of his voice; his mannerisms. Losing Tallstar was like losing his Grandfather all over again.
Unpleasant and uninvited memories were pushed to the forefront on his mind. The tom could almost feel the brisk autumn air of the day his Grandfather was buried, he could almost hear the wind...and the sobs of his mother and grandmother. Smokepaw buried his face into paws as his expression twisted from the memory. '(I'm not upset.)', he tried to convince himself, '(I'm not upset.)'.
Even the unpleasant thoughts about home made him long for France. He missed his friends; his family; his job at Born Bad (even if he believed every customer was a snobby hipster); he missed playing with his band, The Rusty Keys, in small bars or pubs and secretly hoping that their big break was just around the corner; hell, he even missed the air which was more carbon dioxide than oxygen.
The apprentice suddenly felt a nudging in his side. He ignored it, silently willing whoever it was to go away and leave him be. Yet they persisted, nudging him a second and third time. "(Lord, give me strength,)" he mumbled, lifting his head from his paws. He saw Nightcloud, a new warrior, "what's up, Nightcloud?" he asked.
The she-cat, when Smokepaw first joined, hadn't payed any real attention to him due to the language barrier - the grey tom though she just didn't like him because he spoke 'gibberish'. But once he learned English, he found that Nightcloud was actually good company when Crowclaw wasn't around.
Too bad both of his friends couldn't stand each other.
"What are you doing?" The she-cat inquired.
"Nothing." Smokepaw replied.
"You sure?" Nightcloud pressed on.
The apprentice nodded. He didn't have anything against the black she-cat - he thought she was kind of cute, actually - but he wanted be by himself for now.
"Oh, okay then," The black she-cat mewed, sitting at Smokepaw's side - a little too close, in his opinion. The two cats sat in silence for a brief moment before Nightcloud interrupted the sweet, sweet silence Smokepaw was enjoying. "Do you think Mudclaw deserves to be leader?" she inquired suddenly.
The grey tom wondered until how long someone asked him for his opinion on the matter. Everyone in WindClan seemed to be on one side or the other. It wasn't hard to understand why; no WindClan cat had been present to hear Tallstar appoint Onewhisker as deputy - only Firestar was. It wasn't hard to understand why Onestar had only half the clan's support and the other half believed he was the ThunderClan leader's puppet.
"He was deputy for a long time, so yes - I guess he deserves it," he answered. He really didn't care, but telling Nightcloud what she wanted to hear would get her off his back hopefully.
The black warrior's eyes seemed to light up at his words, "I knew you thought that," she purred. She scooted a little closer to him, so close their pelts were almost brushing against one another.
Crowclaw suddenly padded up to the two, "buzz off, Nightcloud!" he hissed.
"Why should I?!" The she-cat spat back.
"Because nobody wants to hear you whine!" The grey-black warrior retorted.
Smokepaw exhaled though his nose, giving the two cats an exasperated glare. The two warriors didn't like each other - at all. They both ended up arguing and antagonising each other until someone told them to pipe down. He was not in the mood to be dealing with them both.
"You know what? Fine!" Nightcloud snorted, holding her head high indignantly. Before she left, she turned to the grey apprentice, "do you want to share some prey later?" she inquired.
"Maybe." Smokepaw replied.
"Oh, okay. I'll see you then!" The black she-cat mewed before finally walking off.
"Thank StarClan," Crowclaw snorted once she was out of earshot, "I can't stand that she-cat! How are you even friends with her?!"
"You can't stand anyone," the apprentice stated casually, "and I can stand her because I don't hate everyone like you do,"
"Yes I can! I can stand and I don't hate Feathertail, you, Sparkclaw, Sunblaze, and Coldpaw! You guys are pretty cool," The warrior replied with a defensive tone. "Did you notice how even though you said 'maybe' Nightcloud thinks you're going to share prey?" Crowclaw suddenly added.
"Yep. She has a talent for only hearing what she wants to hear," Smokepaw meowed whilst grooming his fur.
"mhmm," Crowclaw agreed, "by the way, do you actually believe that Mudclaw deserves to be leader?" he inquired.
"I just said that to get Nightcloud off of my back - I don't actually care," Responded the apprentice. He wanted WindClan's situation to change very soon, he didn't know if he could go another day hearing nothing about the ex-deputy and the new leader.
"Me neither; I know Mudclaw was my mentor, but I really don't care whose in charge - as long as they're not a fox-hearted piece of crowfood," the smokey grey tom stated.
"I second that." Smokepaw mewed.
The two toms sat in silence before Smokepaw's stomach growled, "I think I'll go get some prey with Nightcloud now," he murmured, "see you later," he added. Crowclaw replied with his own farewell as his friend walked off.
He approached the she-cat in question, finding her talking with Mudclaw. As she talked away, the ex-deputy kept his constant scowl while sending side glances at the leader - the cat he believed didn't deserve to be leader. Not Onestar's. Being near Mudclaw alone made Smokepaw uneasy. That tom was on the verge of doing something drastic, he felt it in his bones.
After the two cats ended their conversation, Nightcloud bumped into Smokepaw as they were both walking away. "Sorry, Smokepaw, I didn't see you there," she apologised.
"Oh, it's fine," the apprentice replied, "what were you talking to Mudclaw about?" there was a hint of worry in his voice. He didn't like the idea of Nightcloud chatting with someone on the verge of snapping.
"I was just telling him how you think he deserves to be leader," the black she-cat smiled.
"uh-huh," Smokepaw replied. '(Nothing good's coming from that.)' he thought to himself. If Mudclaw thought he had the apprentice's full, unconditional support then he was mistaken. Perhaps he should have told the she-cat what he actually thought rather than trying to appease her.
"Sooo...do you want to share some prey now?" Nightcloud inquired.
"Yep." Responded the grey cat.
The two cats padded over to the fresh-kill pile, picking out a large hare. They chose to sit outside the Warriors den and began digging in. Smokepaw nibbled at his side of their dinner, keeping quiet.
"You know, you eat funny," The warrior commented.
Smokepaw swallowed his food, "it's just how I was raised," he replied. He had to bite back a sarcastic response. It wasn't his fault he was the only one with table manners and who didn't eat like an animal. Well, they were animals but that was besides the point.
"Oh, I see," Nightcloud meowed. "Do you think you'll be made a warrior soon?"
"Soon, hopefully," answered Smokepaw. He had been wondering when he was going to be called up to be pronounced a warrior. Both Sunblaze and Sparkclaw had been pronounced warriors soon after they returned from the journey, and Coldpaw had been told Leopardstar was going to test him after RiverClan founded their new territory and camp - he found it unfair that Tallstar nor Onestar had told him anything yet. He done just as much as they three had.
"What do you think your name would be?" the she-cat inquired.
"I...don't know actually," he shrugged, "as long as it isn't dumb sounding I don't care,"
"I think you'll get a good name, no matter what," Nightcloud responded with a smile, scooting closer to him.
"As long as you're happy, I guess," Smokepaw grinned. He hadn't realised until now, but Nightcloud had taken his mind off of Tallstar and the longing for home that accompanied him.
"Wow! I've never seen you actually smile before," the black she-cat purred, "and I thought you were moodier than Crowclaw," she teased.
The apprentice laughed at the comment, "yes, well don't get used to it," he replied.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you actually know how to smile," she retorted with a playful tone, nudging the apprentice.
"My secret is safe, thank goodness," the grey tom smiled again.
Nightcloud opened her mouth to reply, but her words died off. She felt that something was wrong - very wrong. The she-cat looked around the camp, sighting Mudclaw stalking his way over towards Onestar. He nodded to several warriors, each of them nodding in return.
"Something's wrong..." The warrior murmured to herself, feeling her fur stand on end from the anxious feeling bubbling in her stomach. The ex-deputy nodded towards the two of them.
Both cats gave the brown tabby a confused look in response. What was that about? Smokepaw's attention soon turned to the sky after feeling a droplet of water land on his snout. Looking up he saw that the sky was blanketed by dark grey clouds, threatening to let loose a downpour.
"What is this? A movie? Nature's so cliché," the tom muttered to himself as it began to rain.
The cats who Mudclaw nodded towards so began following him, stopping just short of Onestar's den. "Onestar!" The ex-deputy yowled.
The WindClan leader turned to face the mob of WindClan cats. "Mudclaw, what's the meaning of this?!" he demanded, scanning over the group of warriors - his warriors - standing before him. Each cat looked ready for battle. The sight made both fear and anger bubble together in his body. He knew his reign as leader was being threatened.
"What does it look like? I'm taking my rightful place as leader!" Mudclaw snapped. In response, those who hadn't sided with him rose to their paws and began hissing. Yet he was unfazed.
"You're outnumbered, Mudclaw. Step down now and I'll forget this ever happened," The light brown tabby glared.
The dark brown tabby yowled in response. Cats began slithering into WindClan camp, spitting and hissing. Smokepaw could tell from the scents that these cats were from RiverClan and ShadowClan.
Two cats stood out among the crowd; a brown tabby tom from RiverClan and a black cat from ShadowClan. The brown tabby was Hawkfrost. Smokepaw had seen him before - he was Coldpaw's mentor if he remembered correctly. And the ShadowClan cat? He couldn't forget what he looked like; it was Shade.
Shade had joined ShadowClan.
The WindClan apprentice felt his body freeze up in response, a feeling of overwhelming disgust erupted from the pit of his stomach. For a cat who wanted nothing more than to live normally, he sure wanted to be everywhere he and his three friends were.
"Last chance, Onestar!" Mudclaw growled, "give me what's rightfully mine! Give me what I deserve!" he roared.
onestar sat in silence. Surely the ex-deputy knew that only one cat from each clan could have nine lives at a time. Even if he obliged and let the dark brown tabby take his place, he could never truly be leader of WindClan. "...you know I can't oblige, Mudclaw." he finally said.
Mudclaw's amber eyes widened, then his expression twisted into one of pure hatred and rage. He unleashed a war cry, charging forward.
Then all hell broke loose.