Chapter Four: A Plot Consumed

WindClan

Amberfur cried despretly as she saw Redshadow knock her apprentice out cold. She didn't like it because a cat should never be teated like that. Hissing with fury, she struck out at Redshadow with all of her strength, but sadly missed. In a blink of an eye, Redshadow had grabbed Tigerpaw once aain and had darted off with her.

Amberfur didn't know how he had done it, but it didn;t matter. She had to give chase! Amberfur darte after him, her amber red pelt rippling in the wind. She was lean and bulit for speed, but she couldn;'t catch him. Redshadow had vanished.

ShadowClan

Redshadow gripped the tiger-like apprentice in his powerful jaws, darting towards RiverClan territory. It was closet. He came closer and closer to the gorge and heran. When he passed RiverClan's scent border, he quickly made it to the camp and then dropped Tigerpaw and caught his breath. After he did that, Redshadow picked tigerpaw back up and went to where Shaodwstar was resting. He sensed the glee about her. Had StormClan been approved?

"Shadowstar," he growled, putting Tigerpaw down. "Look what I have."

Shadowstar twisted her head towards him and looked at the cat before Redshadow. "What is this? A prisinor?"

"Percisly, the Choosen Cat's apprentice at that." Redshadow smiled.

Shadowstar seemed to be even more happy at the news, "We can turn that cat from her Clan! The Choosen Cat can kill her own father she'll do anything to save her apprentice if I know her!"

"That is what I intended." Redshadow lied. He didn't plan to harm this apprentice in any way he could. Maybe he could convert Tigerpaw, but it wasn't likely, she was too old.

Amberfur

Amberfur let out a loud high-pitched yowl of greif. She had lost her apprentice on the first week...what kind of mentor was she? Anger ran through her veins like liquid fire and she swore from that moment on, that she would hunt down and kill the cat who claimed himself as Red. She knew very well ShadowClan was after her, but she didn't really care. A WindClan cat was in trouble, and what would Blacksmoke think when she told him?
A thought crept into the back of her mind as she made her way back to camp. Amberfur turned, she had to speak with Lightstar personally.

Amberfur turned from camp and made her way towards ThunderClan territory. Trailing along a path made by many cats, Amberfur felt the hot sun beating down on her pelt. How long had it been since she had seen its wonderous glory except at dusk and dawn? Too long, that was all she knew.

Trekking through some brambles and growing bracken, Amberfur came upon the scent marker. With her tail trailing the ground, she made her way onto enemy/ally territory. Just a few meters away, she spotted a sun high patrol. Amberfur ignored them from anger and greif.

"Intruder!" came a loud calterwaulter from a cat in the patrol.

Amberfur growled, Lightstar must not have told her Clan yet. When the approaching footsteps grew so close they pounded rythme-like in her ears. When she didn;t flee, the patrol attacked her at full force. Amberfur barley had enough time to blink before three cats were clawing and ripping at her.

She snarled loudly, lashing out at the nearest cat. Her claws cauht his throat, but they did barley any damage. Amberfur tore away and leapt torwards the Owl Tree, racing towards ThunderClan camp. Snarling, and her fur bristling, she sensed the patrol was hot on her tail.

Amberfur sped up until she reached Lightstar's camp. She dove into the entrance and scramble through the gorse. Every cats eyes turned to her and rage pulsed through the whole camp. Amberfur hissed at them all and slunk towards Lightstar's den quick as lightning, like a WindClan cat.

Right as Amberfur approached Lightstar's den, a vision flashed through her mind.

Vision

"Come." Bluestar ordered. She began to walk slowly across the camp toward her den, leaving Fireheart with no choice bu to follow. Once inside, she told him to sit down, and settled herself on her bedding.

"How much do you know?" she asked Fireheart, her blue eyes searching his.

"Only that Oakheart once brought two ThunderClan kits to RiverClan," Fireheart admitted. "He told Graypool-that's the queen who suckled them-that he didn't know where they had come from."

Bluestar nodded, her gaze softening. "I knew Oakheart would stay loyal to me," she murmured. She raised her head. "He was the kits' father," she addded. "Did you guess that much?"

Fireheart shook his head. But it made sense, then, that Oakheart had been so desperate for Graypool to care for the helpless kits. "What exactly happened to your kits?" he demanded, curiousity making him unguarded. "Oakheart didn't steal them. did he?"

The Clan leader's ears flickered impatiently. "Of course not." Her eyes met Fireheart's, suddenly cloude with a pain he coul not begin to imagine. "No he didn't steal them, I gave them away.

Fireheart stared in disbelief. There was nothing he could do but wait for the she-cat to explain.

"My warrior name was Bluefur," she began. "Like you, I wanted nothing more than to serve my Clan. Oakheart and I met at a Gathering early one leaf-bare, wheb we were still young and foolish. We were not mates for long. When I discovered I was to have kits, I intended to bare them for ThunderClan. No cat cat asked me who the father was-if a queen does not wish to tell, that is her choice."...

The vision cleared at Amberfur found herself itting in Lightstar's den with the she-cat looking curously at her, with a questioning look in her eyes. Amberfur shook her head.

"Wha'?" she questioned herself. "Bluestar, Fireheart, Oakheart? Who are they?" She ofcourse knew Bluestar, but Fireheart and Oakstar were unfimilar. Was it possible Fireheart was Firestar?

"Who are they? Amberfur, what would you happen to know about these cats that make you curious?" Lightstar asked, her voice stern.

"I-I'm not sure...I saw Bluestar speaking with Fireheart about her kits..." Amberfur's voice trailed off. "Bluestar betrayed her Clan to Oakheart."

"How do you know that secret?" Lightstar demanded, her fur bristling and her voice harsh.

"Bluestar told Fireheart just now!" Amberfur insisted.

"Perpostris! That happened many, many moons ago!" Lightstar hissed.

"I don't understand..." Amberfur argued and then sighed. "I wanted your opinion with something important."

"You chaged the subject, but very well, what is it?"

"Should I give myself up to ShadowClan or risk getting my apprentice killed?" Amberfur asked, waiting for an answer.

WindClan

Windstar looked around camp for his daughter. Everybody was awake now and they all wanted to know what had happened. Windstar told them and now he had to round up a search party. He left camp after a few moments and found a scent trail, it was Amberfur's.

Windstar followed it until he came upon ThunderClan's border. He knew instantly where his daughter had gone. To Lightstar. It was that simple. Windstar turne back, Amberfur was safe so there was no reason to pursue her.

He traveled back to WindClan camp, knowing that they had to rescue Tigerpaw. It would happen quickly, Windstar hoped.

ShadowClan

Shadowstar took the apprentice and drug her towards the place where RiverCLan cept their prisinors. She put Tigerpaw into the deep den and ordered a RiverClan cat to guard it.

"I'm not listening to you!" the warrior hissed. "You are not my leader!"

Shadowstar suddenly bristled, "You are with StormCla and so you will obey me or Heartstar or you will speak with her personally!"

The warrior recoiled, as if insulted and just nodded. Shadowstar watched him settle down next to the den entrance. She turned, and padded away. StormClan would need to learn better obeidance.

Shadowstar padded into Heart star's den and informed her of what had just happened. The warrior turned out to be called Rivertwister. Rivertwister, she had been told, did not take kindly to orders from anyone, but he was a good warrior.

"I shall annouce that RiverClan should obey you too, and tell them that we are StormClan." Heartstar mewed in her rough voice.

Shadowstar watched Heartstar pad out her den and out into her camp. Her gaze followed the she-cat as she leapt up onto a fallen log. Heartstar called her Clan and Shadowstar padded out to join Heartstar. She leapt up beside the cat and waited.

"RiverClan, my warriors, queens, and apprentices-kits and elders too-we-as in me and Shadowstar-have agreed to a partnership. We have become a new Clan, not two, but one. We are StormCLan. You are to listen to me or Shadowstar."

Shadowstar joined in, "That goes for my warriors too, later, tommrow, we will go to our camp with some RiverClan warriors. We must get aquainted with one another before we do anything, but I asure you, WindClan will fall. We even have one of their former warriors, Rabbitfoot, now know as Blackmoon."