Featherpelt rushed into the den. "Eaglestar!" she called, praying he wasn't dead. She cringed as her paw stepped into a puddle of warm, sticky blood. She prodded her leader with a paw. "Please, Eaglestar! Wake up! Please don't join Starclan yet!" But her leader didn't respond. He just laid there, eyes closed. Featherpelt put her muzzle in his fur. Though she felt no real connection to him, he had still been her leader, mentor, and somewhat of a father figure.
"Who did this to you?" she whispered to the corpse. "Who would kill their own clan leader?"
"You murdered him!" an outrage yowl remarked from behind her, interrupting her vigil.
"What are you talking about?" Featherpelt demanded, turning around to see Birdsong, glaring murderously at her. "I didn't kill- OW!" The pale ginger queen sank her teeth into Featherpelt's tail and hauled her out of the den and into the clearing.
She let go of her tail but stood guard over her. "If you so much as move a whisker, I will kill you myself," she hissed.
"Birdsong?" Breezekit and Skykit peeped their heads from the nursery. "Why is Featherpelt covered in blood?" Breezekit inquired.
"Kits, get back in the nursery," the queen ordered, fiercely. "You'll find out soon enough." The two kits obeyed. As soon as Birdsong turned her back to the nursery, they stuck their heads through the bramble entrance and watched the scene curiously.
Suddenly, the camp started to buzz with activity. Patrols poured from the gorse tunnel, cats either gathering fresh cats for battle training, going on more patrols, or simply staying behind to rest. Featherpelt momentarily forgot her predicament as she watched Cloudflight and Hawkclaw walk out of the tunnel together, side by side. An adder dangled from her friend's jaws, Hawkclaw staring at it with interest. "So, all you had to do was wait for it to strike, and you just caught in your jaws?" she heard him marvel.
Cloudflight nodded. "If really har, fough," she remarked through a mouthful of prey.
Featherpelt's heart leaped for Cloudflight's. Their plan had worked!
As Hawkclaw asked his companion another question, Cloudflight's glanced over at Featherpelt, probably to thank her, when she stared in horror at Featherpelt's paws. She gazed questionably at her. Before Featherpelt could say or do anything, Hawkclaw, who had been wondering why Cloudflight hadn't answered his question, followed her gaze, then glared at the deputy. He excused himself from the white she cat and darted over to Birdsong.
"Birdsong, what's wrong? Why do look as if you are about to kill her?" he asked, his gaze never leaving Featherpelt's.
"This treacherous she-cat murdered Eaglestar," she announced, raising her voice so the clan would hear.
The cats in the clearing gasped. Cloudflight stared at her disbelief. Hawkclaw lost control and barreled into her. The two wrestled in the clearing, cats moving out of their way. His long claws scorched her flank. Featherpelt cuffed him on the ear as hard as she could. Hawkclaw growled in rage and flipped her on her belly. She tried to pummel him off her with her back paws, but he maintained his position over her. He pinned her down and got in her face. Featherpelt craned her head to the side, but Hawkclaw pushed it back in place, so she could see him.
"I bet it hurt Eaglestar more when you ran your claws through his pelt," Hawkclaw snarled. Then, he bent down and wrapped his jaws around Featherpelt's throat.
She tried to inhale, but she was choking. Black spots danced in her vision. She thought she cried out for help, but no one came to her aid. The clan believed Birdsong. She was about to die for something she didn't do.
Suddenly, the pressure from her neck lightened. Her vision cleared enough to see a golden blob push Hawkclaw off her and grappled with him in the dirt. She laid on the ground, coughing and gasping for air. A cat rushed over to her. The cat's scent told her it was Cloudflight. "Whitetail's coming," she whispered. "Falconwing will take care of Hawkclaw."
Featherpelt was surprised to hear that. Falconwing hadn't spoken to her since Eaglestar had appointed her deputy. He went out of his way to avoid her and even stopped sleeping next to her in the Warrior's den.
A shred of hope made its way to the she-cat's heart. Has he forgiven me? She thought.
Featherpelt's vision restored. Whitetail and Silverpaw were busy tending to her injuries while she watched Falconwing and Hawkclaw tussled in the dirt. Hawkclaw had managed to pin his brother down, but Falconwing kicked him off. Hawkclaw landed on his back. Featherpelt heard the wind whoosh out of him. As she watched him flop on the ground, gasping for air, she felt a trill of silent satisfaction that he was experiencing what he had just put her through.
While Hawkclaw struggled to regain his breath, Falconwing nimbly stood over him. When his fit was over, Hawkclaw tried to escape from Falconwing's grasp but failed. He spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at him. "Brother, why are you defending this – this fox heart? She killed our father!" he thundered.
Falconwing readjusted his position on him and returned the glare. "I think you are attacking an innocent cat. Did you bother to check underneath her claws to see if there was any fur?"
The thought didn't seem to have registered to Hawkclaw. "Well, no, but-"
"He shouldn't have to!" Birdsong cut in. "I saw her standing over my mate's body. Her paws are covered in his blood. That's more than enough proof!"
Falconwing shook his head. "Birdsong, when Cherryheart died, you were seen standing over her body. Does that mean you killed her?"
"Of course not!" Birdsong cried, indignantly. "She had been killed by a Shadowclan warrior, and I was saying my final good-byes to her."
"Well, don't you think Featherpelt was doing the same thing?"
Birdsong was silent.
"I thought so." Falconwing released Hawkclaw, then, padded over to Featherpelt. Genuine concern and sympathy plastered his features. "Featherpelt, what really happened in Eaglestar's den?" he demanded.
Featherpelt took a deep breath and spilled to the whole Clan what had transpired this morning, leaving out the part about the Thunderclan scent among the thrush. Tensions were high enough in the clan already. She didn't want her clan to start accusing each other of traitors. "Then, I came into the den to report what I saw when I found Eaglestar dead," she concluded.
Just as she finished that sentence, a boom of thunder shook the clearing. The cats glanced uneasily at the sky as dark, gray clouds started to gather and block out the sun.
"It's a sign from Starclan," Hawkclaw yowled. "She's lying."
"Shut up, Hawkclaw! You're not a medicine cat," Silverpaw chided.
Whitetail gave his apprentice a surprised yet stern look. Featherpelt was impressed at her daughter's courage. She used to be afraid to stand up for others. His apprentice returned a sour look that said, "Well, he's not."
"Silverpaw's right," Whitetail mewed to Hawkclaw. He sounded as if he was trying to keep the annoyance out of his tone. "You're not a medicine cat. That thunder just happened to sound after her words."
The tom snorted. "Whatever. I still think she's lying. She never met us at the Great Sycamore at Sun High, and I don't see a mouse in the fresh-kill pile."
"Well, I don't think she is," Falconwing and Cloudflight said at the same time. Cloudflight looked away, embarrassed.
"Check under her claws!" the elder Blackfang yelled.
"Yeah, check under her claws!" echoed a newly made warrior named Heatherfur.
Pretty soon the whole clan repeated the command over and over again until Falconwing silenced them with a flick of his tail. "Okay, Featherpelt. Show me your claws," he said.
Featherpelt breathed a sigh of relief and extended a forepaw. She was glad she hadn't scratched Hawkclaw, for his coat was almost the same shade of brown as Eaglestar's. Falconwing pulled out a tuft of fur from Featherpelt's claws and dropped it on the ground to examine it. Featherpelt cursed. The hair that had been extracted from her claws was brown, the same shade as Eaglestar's. That stupid mouse! Why couldn't I have caught a squirrel?
Falconwing stared at it, horrified. "I don't believe it," he muttered.
"What is it, Falconwing?" Heatherfur's sister Blossumleaf called.
"She killed him," Falconwing announced in shock.
"I thought she was innocent," Hawkclaw sneered.
His brother narrowed his eyes him. "Silence." He focused his attention to Featherpelt. His eyes glistened with rage, grief, but worst of all, betrayal. "Leave, Featherpelt," he croaked.
Featherpelt's eyes widened in shock. "I swear to you by Starclan I didn't kill him!" she protested.
"Of course, you killed him! The evidence is right there." Hawkclaw gestured to the fur tuft with his tail. He turned to his brother. "Execute the traitor," he whispered to his brother. "She deserves it."
"I said, 'Leave'," Falconwing repeated, as if he had never him, "As of right now, you are exiled. If any of my cats find you on our territory, they have the right to kill you. Go."
The clan cleared a path to the gorse tunnel, giving her a wide berth. As she trudged towards the tunnel, she glanced at Cloudflight. Their eyes met, then, she averted her gaze as soon as she noticed Hawkclaw glaring at her. Featherpelt glanced at her kits. Silverpaw took a sudden interest in her paws. Sunpaw just at stared her, mirroring the emotions of the clan – shock, disbelief, and anger. She cast a final look at her former mate. An expressionless mask covered his face. All traces of warmth and kindness were gone.
"Justice!" Birdsong sang.
Featherpelt made it to the gorse tunnel. She cast a sad, final look around her former home. She knew this would be the last time she would ever stand in her camp. "Good-bye, Thunderclan," she muttered and walked out of the clearing….
