New chappie! Sorry this one took a little longer- I was writing the first chappie for Brownstar and my co-fic, "What If", if you want to check it out. Anyway, still Crowfeather's POV. Here we go...
When dawn finally came, Ashfoot's body had grown cold. Crowfeather blinked the fatigue out of his eyes- he hadn't slept the night. Neither had Onestar- he could see the brown tabby's fur bristling, his tail twitching back and forth. He had arrived late in the night, along with most of the other warriors and elders. Morningflower lay with her nose buried in her friend's fur, her beautiful eyes closed tightly. Crowfeather couldn't tell if she was asleep, or simply lost in the memories of the queen that she had known for so long.
Crowfeather's limbs were stiff as he stretched. He lifted his gaze to a last shining star in the sky. What will WindClan do without you to guide, us Ashfoot? he wondered. Who will remind us of everything we've been through?
One by one, the other cats stirred, and then a group was organized to bury Crowfeather's mother. The elders hoisted her body upon their shoulders and carried her off the rise silently, warriors hanging behind them to help dig the grave.
Onestar watched them go, Moonfrost at his side. "WindClan will never forget you, Ashfoot," he murmured. "And neither will I, for all you did for me."
Crowfeather approached him carefully. "Onestar," he meowed. "Will you be naming the new deputy soon?"
Onestar looked at him, and his hazy expression made the warrior wonder if he had even given it a thought. "Yes, of course," he meowed finally, and then padded away. Crowfeather thought he was heading for the tree stump that he usually called the cats from, but instead he made for his den and disappeared inside of it.
After a while the cats returned from burying Ashfoot. As the sun slowly rose, they milled around the camp, speaking in anxious groups, pretending that their eyes didn't wander to the leader's den as they awaited Onestar's announcement.
Crowfeather sat outside the warriors' den, his head on his paws. He was tired from his all-night vigil, but in truth it was only grief that made him worry. He hadn't realized how much he would miss Ashfoot.
Funny how you never realize how much you care until it's too late.
At least he had told her. No matter her reaction, he knew that he would have never forgiven himself letting her die without telling him the whole truth. Her reaction hadn't exactly surprised him- indeed, how could he expect anything else?- but somehow he had imagined that, in her dying state, she would have been able to understand. But she hadn't.
How could she? I'm betraying the Clan!
That was what went over and over again through Crowfeather's mind. And still, despite that, all he could think of was how much he wanted to see Leafpool.
To distract himself, he swiveled his ears towards the conversation beside him.
"Who will be the new deputy?" wondered Goldheart, wrapping her tail around her paws.
"This is an important decision for Onestar," Morningflower commented in her soft voice. "It's his first real deputy...he hardly had any time to choose Ashfoot, after all. This one will be with a proper ceremony."
"He should pick Crowfeather," Gingerpaw meowed loudly. "After all, he was the one that saved us all from starvation."
Crowfeather froze, startled out of his grief. Himself as deputy? There was no way he would ever be chosen! He was too young and inexperianced, to start with. While in WindClan a cat didn't have to have had an apprentice to be made a deputy (the harsher life of the moors toughened warriors more quickly), he had never heard of a deputy being chosen that hadn't.
The cats in the group echoed his own thoughts, but Oatwhisker caught his eye. The elder's old gaze had a twinkle in it, beneath the empty sorrow for Ashfoot. "Well, Crowfeather?" he croaked. "Would you like to be deputy?"
Crowfeather paused. "It doesn't matter what I want," he mewed at last. "I'm not ready. I'm too young. And Onestar knows it. He'd never pick me."
Fogkit, from around Whitetail's legs, lifted her head, young eyes shining. "Why wouldn't he?" she wondered. "You did twice what any other warrior did. And who cares about how old you are?"
"She's right, you know," Nettleclaw commented. "Look at her. Five moons, and she's already a bigger pest than any kit before her!"
Fogkit spat playfully at him, which only made the tom purr with laughter, his massive shoulders shaking. The other cats in the group grabbed ahold of this thin joke to fend off their sorrow at their deputy's death, all except Oatwhisker, who turned back to Crowfeather. He inclined his head as if thinking deeply, and the gray-black cat took the time to back away. He didn't want to answer any more questions.
Crowfeather padded across the clearing to the top of the rise. He knew he wouldn't be bothered there. He lifted his head, enjoying the fierce winds that buffeted him in a way that only the WindClan cats could. There was something about the way that the ari moved through his fur that made him feel as if he were flying.
But I can't, he reminded himself. And I'll always be here, where trouble and lies follow me like bad smell does crowfood.
The sky was a pale blue, the same color as Ashfoot's eyes. Crowfeather imagined that his mother was watching him now. Somehow he had the feeling that she really was, and that didn't bother him. Despite how prickly he was, he didn't mind the thought of having a StarClan cat over him.
But I already have that, he thought. Feathertail.
That brought too many thoughts of Leafpool for Crowfeather to fend off, and he was relieved when Onestar came out of his den at that moment. The tabby tom made his way to the wide tree stump. Crowfeather caught his eye, but could not read the expression there. He came flocking with the rest of the Clan to gather below his leader.
Onestar watched them all with a level stare before he began. "WindClan warriors, elders, apprentices and queens," he meowed. "The time has come to appoint a new deputy."
(AN: I tweaked the ceremony, since I thought it would be different for different Clans. Crowfeather's warrior ceremony was, even if you look past the name thing.) He paused for a moment, and Crowfeather could almost taste the anticipation in the air. "I will never forget Ashfoot, nor her support during all that happened in the past few moons. I say the new deputy now, knowing that she can hear and grant them the strength and wisdom that we so admired in her." Another pause, during which he took a breath. "I have chosen this cat for their support to me, for their courage and intelligence, for the fire in them that few cats can match." His eyes widened with certainty. "Crowfeather will be the new deputy of WindClan."
I know, not exactly the hugest surprise ever. But it fits. And btw, I made it so that cats without apprentices can be WindClan deputies, and gave a reason too. So there should be no argument there!
Reviews are appriciated!
