Chapter 22

Ripplesky sat at the entrance of his den, looking out across the clearing. RiverClan had been fortunate so far this leafbare, but how long would their luck last? Sighing, the silver tom retreated back into the warmth of his den.

Suddenly, the entrance rustled, alerting him. "Who is it?" he called out, whiskers twitching.

"It's me," Minnowfur's familiar voice sounded. "We haven't spent time together in a while. I was just thinking if you were free we could go on a walk..." she trailed off.

Ripplesky nodded. "I'm free right now."

Minnowfur's blue eyes sparkled. "Great! Let's get going!"

Together they padded out of camp, their silver pelts brushing against each other. "I have so much I want to tell you," she meowed quietly. Taking a deep breath she continued with, "I think once Frogpaw becomes a warrior, we're going to be mates. I've liked him for a while now, and he told me last night he feels the same way!"

Ripplesky's eyes widened. "What? You and Frogpaw?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" she questioned, sounding hurt. Flattening her ears to her head she snapped, "Look, if you're going to be grumpy just go back to camp."

"I'm not being grumpy! I was just surprised is all. Keep your fur on," Ripplesky snapped, lashing his tail back and forth. "I'm happy for you."

Minnowfur gave her chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks. "You don't sound very happy. You sound jealous."

"I am jealous," the silver tom growled, digging his claws into the snow. "You have everything I ever wanted, Minnowfur. You're a warrior, you have a mate... I don't have any of that, and I never will all because of Nightsky. She forced me to give up everything!"

His sister stared at him in shock. "I think it's time to stop playing the victim," she whispered, looking down at her paws.

"What are you talking about? I'm not 'playing the victim'! I have every right to be upset," Ripplesky hissed, narrowing his eyes. How could she say that?

Minnowfur looked up, her eyes full of annoyance. "It's time to get over it, Ripplesky. It happened moons ago. You can't keep going through life holding a grudge against everyone because they have a better life than you. If you're so miserable, then leave! No one is stopping you. But I'm sick of hearing about how terrible your life is, and how Nightsky ruined everything. Everyone is sick of hearing it."

Without thinking, Ripplesky lashed out at her. His claws sank into her cheek, ripping skin and fur. Blood immediately welled at the scratch marks, causing his eyes to widen. "Minnowfur-" he began.

"You clawed me!" she shrieked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it!"

Minnowfur began to back away from him, her eyes full of fear. "I never thought you would hurt me. What's gotten into you?"

"I didn't mean it," he repeated, taking a step towards her.

Minnowfur shook her head, before dashing in the direction of camp. Ripplesky wanted to chase after her, but he knew it was useless. He would never catch up to her now, especially since his chest was tightening up. Letting out a hiss of frustration, he stalked back to camp, his ears flattened to his head. Why had Minnowfur acted like that? He had just told her how he felt!

Do cats really think I'm playing the victim? Pushing the thoughts away, he entered camp. To his relief, no cat seemed to know what had just went down between him and his sister.

"You look upset," Waveheart murmured as Ripplesky walked past.

"Minnowfur and I got into a fight," the medicine cat grumbled, not in the mood to talk.

Waveheart wrapped his tail around his son. "I'm sure she'll get over it eventually. Just remember, it's normal for siblings to fight once and a while."

"I clawed her," Ripplesky confessed, tears welling up in his eyes.

Before his father could say anything more, Pebblestripe, Brambletail and Swanfeather raced into camp, followed by an unfamiliar ginger tom. "We've caught the rogue that killed Nightsky!" Pebblestripe screeched.

Immediately, Birchstar raced from his den, eyes wide.

"You've got the wrong cat! I didn't do it," the ginger tom cried out.

Birchstar stalked up to the ginger tom, his eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"My name is Ember," the ginger tom gulped, pressing himself to the ground. "I swear I didn't kill any cat. I don't even know who this Nightscar is!"

"Nightsky," Birchstar correctly harshly. Glancing towards his warriors he asked, "How do you know this is him?"

"We've been picking up his scent towards the gorge for moons now. It's almost as if he's been spying on his," Brambletail meowed.

Ember's eyes glistened with tears. "That's because I have a den around here. My mate was just killed a half moon ago by a badger. We have a son together, and I can't take a chance by moving him to a new location. I would never spy or kill anyone."

As Ripplesky watched, he felt his throat tighten up. Who would Birchstar believe?

"Why should I believe you?" the RiverClan leader snarled. "You don't even carry the scent of kits on your fur." Turning to face Pebblestripe he growled, "I think we should execute him."

Ember leaped to his paws and made a run towards the camp entrance. Swanfeather and Brambletail leaped onto him, pinning him down. Ember struggled under their weight, but he could not escape. "Please let me go! I didn't do it!"

Together, the two RiverClan she-cats dragged him into the center of the clearing, where they continued to pin him down. Birchstar stood over him, his eyes blazing with fury. "I don't want to do this, but you've given me no choice. By killing our medicine cat, you have broken the peace we once had with rogues. I cannot let you live after this."

"I didn't do it," Ember repeated one last time.

Ripplesky stood there in shock. He wanted to speak up, but he couldn't find any words. As he watched Birchstar execute Ember, his heart began to pound wildly and his chest tightened up. Pretty soon, the silver medicine cat felt as if he was stuck in a trance, unable to move or think.

"Go bury him," Birchstar sighed, snapping Ripplesky from his thoughts. Swanfeather, Pebblestripe and Brambletail nodded, before gathering around the body.

Blinking, Ripplesky glanced down at Ember's dead body. Another cat is dead because of me, he thought, his stomach churning. I should have said something! He then remembered Ember's son. "Birchstar," he croaked.

Birchstar spun around to face him. "What?"

"We need to find Ember's son. Otherwise he'll die," Ripplesky meowed.

Birchstar's eyes glistened with tears, but he said nothing. "All right. Take Pikeheart with you." Without saying another word, the RiverClan leader headed for his den, his tail dragging in the dirt.

After finding the deputy, Ripplesky headed out of camp, Pikeheart trailing after him. "His scent trail leads this way," Pikeheart commented, sniffing at some reeds.

Stepping back, the medicine cat allowed for Pikeheart to take the lead. They followed the scent trail towards a grove of aspen trees, before coming to a halt. Pricking his ears, Ripplesky tried to see if he could hear any tiny cries. To his relief, he picked up a faint mewling sound coming from a clump of ferns.

"I found him," Ripplesky meowed, pushing back the ferns to reveal a tiny ginger kit, about a moon old.

The ginger kit shrank back, hissing. "Who are you?"

"Your father has sent me," he lied. As Ripplesky looked down at the little kit, he could feel tears forming in his eyes. How could he possibly tell the kit that his father was dead? All because of me.

"Where is he?" the kit squeaked, looking past Ripplesky.

"He had to go on a little trip, so I'll be taking care of you from now on," Ripplesky said.

"When will he be back?"

"I-I don't know. I'm sure he'll be back soon. For now, you'll have to come live with me." Ripplesky gently picked up the kit in his jaws, before padding back to Pikeheart. As soon as the deputy laid eyes on the kit, he let out a heavy sigh.

"What is your name, little fellow?" Pikeheart questioned.

"Nick," the kit answered, completely oblivious to Pikeheart's sadness.

"Well, Nick, Ripplesky and I will be taking care of you for now on. There's a whole bunch of us back at camp, even more kits you can play with. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

Nick nodded happily. "I know. He said my daddy had to go on a trip for a while, but I don't mind. I just hope he comes back soon. I miss him a lot."

Pikeheart exchanged glances with Ripplesky, but said nothing more. When they arrived at camp, Birchstar was waiting for them at the camp entrance. "I see you've found him," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. "Take him to the nursery so Lilypelt can look after him. I'm sure he's tired and hungry."

Ripplesky nodded, before carrying the kit into the nursery. Lilypelt was sitting up in her nest, with her three kits curled beside her belly. "Birchstar told me everything. Just lay him down here, and I'll take good care of him." Carefully, the medicine cat placed Nick down beside Lilypelt. The ginger tom let out a big yawn, before curling up beside her. As Lilypelt lulled him to sleep, Ripplesky backed out of the den.

"I feel completely awful," Birchstar confessed as soon as Ripplesky walked out. "I should have let him go. Now that poor little kit has no family. Just think what Morningstar would say!"

Ripplesky flattened his ears to his head. Deep inside, he couldn't shake the feeling of guilt. Slowly he opened his mouth and whispered, "Can I talk to you in your den?"

Birchstar blinked in surprise, before leading him inside. Once both toms were settled, the RiverClan leader asked, "What's wrong?"

The silver tom took a deep breath. Thoughts were racing through his head. "Ember didn't kill Nightsky," Ripplesky muttered. "I did."


Once again, I'm sorry I haven't been updating regularly. Just after I posted the last chapter, my computer broke again. I'm also very busy with school work. But thank you for all the support you guys are giving me. I appreciate it so much, and I hope you will like this chapter.