Disclaimer: Warriors by Erin Hunter
You know, instrumental music is beautiful to listen to. I'm listening to Door Harp by Michael Houser.
Chapter 49
Darkfire was relieved when Needlefur came back from that talk with Kinkstar. It had been a very long talk and he had heard yelling and some screams of pain. Needlefur did come back with a bleeding leg and Kinkstar's ears had some new notches in them, but they looked peaceful together. They'd made up. Darkfire was happy for his friend.
That had been more than a quarter moon ago. Now Darkfire was part of ShadowClan once again. He was included in patrols, Clan meetings, and this coming Gathering he was allowed to go to that. Everything was good, except one thing. Kinkstar wouldn't let them go back to Summerheat Camp. She insisted they stay and become ShadowClan warriors again. It didn't matter to her Needlefur had a mate and kits back home. Redstrike had never been important to the ShadowClan leader anyway. As long as Kinkstar was alive, Needlefur wouldn't be able to get back to his mate.
Kinkstar believed Darkfire was content being a ShadowClan warrior. He had Hickorypaw, his daughter, with him and everyone in the Clan knew how his mate had died. They believed he didn't have anything to miss in Summerheat Camp. But they were wrong. Darkfire did miss Coonie. She'd usually come to him from StarClan to talk. Here at the lake she couldn't do that and so Darkfire hadn't spoken to her in over two moons.
Hickorypaw was adjusting. She and the other apprentice, Acornpaw, were friends. Hickorypaw didn't mind all the extra work she had to do. She was happy as long as she could talk to someone. But Darkfire knew deep down she was missing her grandparents and cousins. He knew she had to be missing Woodpaw. They had been close and everyone believed they would become mates. In ShadowClan her only option was Acornpaw, but Fernstripe seemed to believe he was hers. She would glare if she spotted Hickorypaw becoming too close to Acornpaw.
There was also one other problem in the Clan. Some cats didn't seem to like the return of Darkfire and Needlefur. They believed the two should have been killed. Namely those cats were Eveningbreeze and Fernstripe and Redsky, even thought the brown mottled warrior had Hickorypaw as an apprentice. He liked the apprentice, just not the warriors.
Darkfire still didn't trust the new deputy. He hadn't gotten the chance to speak with Kinkstar about her and he told Needlefur to do so the next time they spoke privately. Needlefur didn't seem to see the falseness of Eveningbreeze. He thought she was a good deputy if a bit scornful. But he agreed to pass the warning on.
Darkfire was guarding the camp the night Eveningbreeze and Tigerheart left the camp together. Tigerheart nodded to Darkfire as they left. Darkfire didn't know why they were disappearing so late or where they could go, but he trusted that nothing bad would happen. If Eveningbreeze had left with any other cat, he would have been worried.
When they did come back, he wasn't expecting who they brought with them.
"Fallingsnow?" Darkfire blinked, looking at the tabby.
"Darkfire!" Fallingsnow yelled and ran up to him. She purred and bumped her head into him. "I'm so glad you're not dead!"
"So am I," Darkfire meowed, a small grin on his face.
Darkfire looked back at the other cats. Eveningbreeze was scowling. Tigerheart looked like he was pleased at the reuniting, and Brownfeather (who Darkfire couldn't remember leaving the camp) looked happy and nervous all at the same time. Darkfire wondered what was going on.
Fallingsnow's yell had woken up a few cats. They stuck their head from their dens.
"It's all right," Tigerheart calmed them, "you can go back to sleep."
Some did so reluctantly. Fernstripe didn't go back to sleep. she stayed by the warriors' den, watching suspiciously.
"Lets get this over with," Eveningbreeze hissed. "Come on."
She walked over to the leader's den.
"What's going on?" Darkfire asked. He looked at Tigerheart who wasn't smiling anymore.
"I'm joining ShadowClan," Fallingsnow meowed.
Darkfire stared at her.
"Why?"
"You know that prophecy? Dewstep finally told me," Fallingsnow replied, her head lowered.
"And you came here?" Darkfire didn't think that made sense. Wouldn't she have wanted to avoid this Clan?
"I felt I might as well get it over with," she meowed quietly.
Darkfire wasn't sure she could understand her way of thinking, but he nodded sportively.
By now Kinkstar was awake. She got out of her den and walked over to the group of cats. She didn't look happy. She looked between Brownfeather and Fallingsnow. Eveningbreeze seemed smug again. Darkfire was sure she hadn't reported anything nice to the brown leader.
"Another ThunderClan cat?" Kinkstar meowed. "And another of my warriors disobeying the code?"
Brownfeather looked down.
"Things always seem to happen around you," the leader continued, staring at Darkfire. Darkfire only shrugged. If it did, there was nothing he could do about it.
"How long have you been seeing her?" Kinkstar demanded.
"Three, four moons," Brownfeather nervously answered.
"And no one noticed?" Kinkstar meowed, looking around the dens. Then her eyes rested on Darkfire. She could see he wasn't surprised. So could Fallingsnow, but it looked like she'd hadn't been expecting him to.
"I saw them once while I was in ThunderClan," Darkfire admitted.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Kinkstar growled.
"Brownfeather was in the medicine cat den," Darkfire defended himself. "It wasn't likely that he was going anywhere."
"And after I let him out?" Kinkstar was clearly annoyed with him.
"I didn't have any time to talk with you." Really Darkfire had forgotten. It hadn't been important that Fallingsnow and Brownfeather were still together. He'd been relived to still be alive after all.
"And you won't after this," Kinkstar growled at him.
In that instant Darkfire realized he couldn't warn her about Eveningbreeze. She wouldn't want to listen to what he had to say after this. He was still a low member of the Clan and Kinkstar was already fed up with him, even if he had told her how to find the murderer. No one had seen the tom since and Kinkstar really wanted to catch him.
"What about these code traitors?" Eveningbreeze meowed, staring at Brownfeather and Fallingsnow.
They were now sitting side by side. It didn't seem to matter to them that they were on trial. As long as they were together they were happy. or at least felt safer. Darkfire could tell Fallingsnow really did love Brownfeather. she was here with him and hadn't run away when she got the chance.
"What are you doing here?" Kinkstar asked Fallingsnow. She seemed confused on that point.
"I want to join ShadowClan," Fallingsnow meowed.
Kinkstar blinked in amazement.
"And why would that be?" she challenged. "Does ThunderClan want ShadowClan secrets?"
"I'm not a spy," Fallingsnow's eyes narrowed. "I want to join so I can be with Brownfeather."
"And you're willing to give up ThunderClan for him?" Eveningbreeze demanded. She started at the dark brown tabby.
"I am," Fallingsnow meowed. "There wasn't anything there for me anyway."
"What makes you say that?" Kinkstar asked. "You have your family."
Fallingsnow looked down. "I know. And I will miss them, but I didn't like the rest of ThunderClan. They always teased me about my name, or ignored me. Firestar always looked over me. I didn't fit in very well."
"And we're supposed to believe that load of mouse dung?" Eveningbreeze spat. "I say we kill them now. Brownfeather for disobeying the code and Fallingsnow for trespassing."
Darkfire could tell the dark gray she-cat was angry. He realized she hated Fallingsnow. When ever she looked at the younger warrior, her lip would curl.
"I think we should," Tigerheart meowed.
That got everyone's attention. They waited for him to continue.
"In these passed four months we've been seeing a lot of Fallingsnow. I remember when she came to us at the Gathering. She's crossed our borders and has spoken to many of our warriors. She's defended Brownfeather. She is closer to us than to ThunderClan I think."
"Then don't think," Eveningbreeze growled.
"I love Brownfeather," Fallingsnow meowed almost at the same time. "I want to join this clan for him. I don t want him to die because he'd disobeying the code. So I have to join ShadowClan to keep the code."
Darkfire could tell she was trying to use ShadowClan interest against them. They wanted to keep the code, so she said she wanted to keep it. Darkfire realized Fallingsnow knew how to manipulate cats. however, her gamble had to pay off. If Kinkstar didn't believe her or didn't care, than Fallingsnow could be killed or kicked out. It wouldn't matter for her love of Brownfeather.
Kinkstar got done glaring at her deputy and looked over at Tigerheart.
"You're doing this for your son aren't you?"
Tigerheart lowered his head.
"I want him to be happy. And killing Fallingsnow would be devastating. I think she's will to become a ShadowClan warrior."
"What do you think?" Kinkstar turned to Darkfire.
"Other cats haven't fit into ThunderClan before," Darkfire pointed out. "If she is a spy then she'll leave once things get dangerous, like of a fox attacks or that murdering rogue. I know she loves Brownfeather though. StarClan must have brought her to this point safely. Think of all the things that could have gotten her killed before."
Kinkstar gave a small smile. Yes, she could remember. Fallingsnow had played dangerous with ShadowClan before. And every time she'd gotten out safely.
"And yet, Brownfeather still needs to be punished," Kinkstar meowed turning to face the young couple.
Everyone but Eveningbreeze and Fernstripe tensed. Tigerheart looked devastated.
"I can think of a few things that I can do," Kinkstar continued. "Kill fallingsnow, refuse to let her in, or kill Brownfeather."
Tigerheart looked like he didn't like that idea. Neither did Darkfire.
"I won't let you kill him!" fallingsnow meowed standing up to block Brownfeather from Kinkstar's view. "I never will let you do that!"
Kinkstar blinked her big eyes slowly. It was as if she were saying, and what could you do about it. I'm surrounded by all my warriors and you are one cat.
"This has happened before," Kinkstar meowed, ignoring the young warrior. "the code has been broken by a Shadowclan cat. I was willing to have my son killed for his disobedience. Do you have the same passion for the code as I did?" She turned her eyes on Tigerheart whose face had hardened. then she turned and looked at Darkfire. "Would you be willing to give the death blow again?"
Darkfire felt his heart constrict. He stared at Kinkstar in horror. No he never wanted to do that again. Fallingsnow would get hurt trying to defend her lover. Darkfire could not tell Dewstep that he had crushed his daughter. It would have been horrible.
"Brownfeather did disobey the code," Kinkstar meowed. "And I can't let all of my cats do that. We wouldn't be a Clan. And we need to be strengthened."
Eveningbreeze nodded at that. Fallingsnow looked between the two toms. it was like she was deciding who would attack first and who she would have to defeat to protect Brownfeather. Darkfire shook his head at her. He wouldn't harm either of them. if he had to, he would awaken Hickorypaw and get out of ShadowClan, running off with Fallingsnow and Brownfeather.
"So I will deliver the punishment," Kinkstar meowed. She slowly walked forward to Brownfeather. Tigerheart tensed. Darkfire flexed his claws while Eveningbreeze grinned maliciously.
Is Brownfeather really going to die and will Darkfire turn against Kinkstar?
