Chapter 9

Starheart headed to camp, Brambleclaw's scruff was in her mouth. "Who is going to be leader?" Spiderleg asked quietly.

"Leafpool gets to choose." Brackenfur answered.

"I know two cats who aren't going to be leader." Ferncloud muttered. Starheart's fur bristled.

"You don't know what's been happening? Do you?" Starheart hissed at the older warrior.

"All I know is you better teach that cat some respect." Ferncloud replied.

"I'm starting to wonder why StarClan only let one of your kits live." Starheart hissed.

Ferncloud stared at the ground. Starheart hit a raw nerve. She gently put down her brother's body. "I have no kin! All my life the twolegs had caused problems. They had killed three of my kits. My mother was killed by Tigerstar, now my brother and one of my last kits has died. I have also lost my mate to Hawkfrost. I'm glad he died!"

Starheart was about to his at Ferncloud again when she realized if she did everyone would know that Moonstream's father was Hawkfrost and have more the reason to hate her.

"We'll bury them here and I'll go get the elders." Ferncloud mewed quietly.

Starheart put Brambleclaw's body down and started to dig.

---

Moonstream ran to the camp. The first thing she heard was "So the new warrior is too important to sit vigil?" Moonstream turned around to see Dewspot.

"Dewspot, you don't understand!"

"Sure I do! It wasn't your mother that Tigerstar meant to bring – it was you!" Dewspot mewed.

Moonstream wanted to bite him. No one had brought up the story of her mother's past for a long time. Moonstream pounced on him.

"Moonstream!" Flamepaw and Amberpaw tried to pull her off of the young warrior.

"What is going on here?" Sandstorm and Leafpool came to where the cats were.

Moonstream got off of Dewspot and Flamepaw and Amberpaw let go of her. "Moonstream come with me until this is sorted out." Leafpool mewed.

"Yes," she followed the ThunderClan medicine cat to her den.

"What happened?"

"Starheart told me to wait for her before I started to explain." Moonstream explained.

Leafpool's ears perked up and Moonstream turned to see her mother.

"Moonstream go wait outside." Starheart mewed softly.

"Yes mother," Moonstream padded away and tried to here the two sisters talking but they were in the far corner of the medicine cat den – where cats with kitten, green or blackcough stayed. Fortunately no one was there. Unfortunately Moonstream could not hear the two she-cats.

"Moonstream come," Starheart mewed

"Does she understand?" Moonstream asked.

"Yes," Starheart mewed, "Now come, we have to go out hunting."

"Then who will tell the Clan about the rats?" Moonstream asked.

"Leafpool, now come." Starheart looked like she had her teeth gritted so she wouldn't hiss.

"Leafpool's going to exile me isn't she?"

"I don't know." Starheart admitted.

They came back with they're catches. "Starheart!" Whitenose ran to her slowly. Her once enlarged stomach was small again.

"You've kitted!" Moonstream cried.

"Yes, but that's not the good news." Whitenose mewed, "Leafpool wants to make you leader!"

"Really?" Moonstream looked up at Starheart, "Congratulations!"

Starheart padded to the camp. She couldn't carry on this kind of responsibility.

"Leafpool, please, reconsider your choice." Starheart asked her sister.

"I think I made a perfect choice." Leafpool answered simply.

Leafpool headed to her den.

"Leafpool!"

"Mother, why are you arguing with her, don't you think she made the right choice?" Moonstream asked.

"There are many cats that are much more worthy of the task then me." Starheart explained.

"Come on Starheart we have to head to the Moonpool tonight." Leafpool mewed.

Starheart followed her sister out towards the direction of the Moonpool.

---

Starheart was in the middle of the Island but there were no cats there. She knew cats from StarClan should have been flooding in. Starheart saw one cat – Hawkfrost.

"Hawkfrost!" Starheart ran to him.

"StarClan has not accepted you to walk under there skies and so you cannot receive your lives." Hawkfrost explained.

"No!" she ran to him to see he had disappeared.

--

"Did you receive your lives?" Leafpool asked.

"No," Starheart answered.

"What?" Leafpool sounded shocked.

Starheart headed off to the direction of the ThunderClan camp.