Chapter Six: Framed

Swampleg looked up at the sound of Winterpaw's gasp. Winterpaw flattened himself against the ground, praying to StarClan that they couldn't hear his heart pounding. After a moment, Swampleg returned his gaze to their pray. Winterpaw gazed around hopelessly. What could he do? He couldn't just stand by and watch Sunstreak die, but he also stood no chance against two seasoned warriors in a battle. What could a little newbie apprentice do?

The sound of more cats approaching made Flickertail and Swampleg look up suddenly. They dashed away into the bushes, leaving Sunstreak, who's attempts to free himself were growing weaker and weaker. Winterpaw sprang forward and began to knaw furiously at the thorn branch around his uncle's throat. Relief flickered through Sunstreak's eyes and he let himself go limp, unconscious. Winterpaw managed to break through the vine around Sunstreak's neck and began to claw off the rest of his binds.

"I think I heard something over here!" Flickertail's worried voice carried to Winterpaw's ears and the apprentice's head shot up. The dark tabby pushed through the bushes and stopped suddenly, his eyes widening as if in horror. But Winterpaw saw the glimmer of satisfaction behind the act. Copperstar, Wildpath and Swampleg appeared behind him.

"You!" Swampleg spat, lunging forward, claws unsheathed. Winterpaw yowled in terror and crouched down next to Sunstreak, waiting for the worst.

"Swampleg, stay put!" Copperstar commanded. Winterpaw dared to raise his head and look up into her angry yellow eyes. "Winterpaw, what is going on here?"

"I-I found him here," Winterpaw began fearfully, his teeth chattering. "He was-"

Flickertail snarled furiously and Winterpaw fell silent. "Such lies! You were obviously trying to kill him and make it look like an accident!"

"That's ridiculous, Flickertail." Copperstar's voice was soft, but the tone was sharp and cold. "Sunstreak is Winterpaw's kin. Why would he want to kill him? It's not like Winterpaw has anything to gain from it." Flickertail lashed his tail angrily but didn't reply. Copperstar nodded to Wildpath, who stepped forward and freed Sunstreak from the last of his bonds. Then she and Swampleg lifted his unconscious form and hurried after the rest of the Clan.

Copperstar looked back at Winterpaw once they were alone. Her expression was unreadable. "I know you didn't do anything, Winterpaw." The golden leader murmured. "Sunstreak will tell us that much when he wakes up."

If he wakes up. Winterpaw thought ominously. But he followed his leader back to camp.

---

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the High Branch for a Clan meeting!" Copperstar's summoning rang throughout the clearing, though it wasn't necessary. News of Sunstreak's condition had spread, and many cats had already been waiting beneath the High Branch for their leader to explain. Once the last few stragglers found a place beneath the branch, Copperstar started to address the Clan:

"Cats of ShadowClan, I'm sorry to announce that Sunstreak was injured today on the way back from the Gathering. It is unclear what happened, but he seems to have gotten into some sort of accident-"

"It was no accident!" Flickertail raised his voice above the leader's. "It was that demon apprentice! He was trying to kill Sunstreak, his own kin!"

Outraged yowls came from every cat at Flickertail's outburst, some defending and some accusing Winterpaw. To the white tom's dismay, most cats seemed ready to believe that he was capable of such a despicable act. Whistlepaw pressed close against his brother's flank, challenging any cat to try and harm him. Copperstar was screeching for silence, but Flickertail and Swampleg were in control now, working the Clan up against Winterpaw.

"STOP!" To everyone's surprise, it wasn't Copperstar's voice that finally sounded above the others, but Foxmask's. The young ginger warrior had lept to her feet next to a rather startled Wildpath and was glaring furiously at Flickertail. "You aren't leader here, Flickertail! Now sit down, shut up, and stop making a fool of yourself!"

The Clan stared back at the ginger she-cat, and she sat down again in embarrassment. Wildpath gave her an affectionate lick, murmuring something in her ear. Flickertail, still standing in the middle of all the excited ShadowClan cats, opened and closed his mouth in disbelief a few times before sitting heavily. His tail twitched more than usual and he started whispering hurriedly into Swampleg's ear.

Copperstar let her angry gaze sweep across the clearing before continuing, "Thank you, Foxmask. As I was saying, Sunstreak was in an accident on the way back from the Gathering and will be recovering in Dreamstep's den for a while. Until then, Wildpath will be acting as deputy."

Excited murmurs passed around the clearing as the young she-cat nodded her acceptance. "I'll do my best, Copperstar." Wildpath mewed solemnly

With that, the meeting broke up and each cat went into their separate groups to gossip. Foxmask congratulated Wildpath quickly, then dashed over to where Winterpaw and Whistlepaw were sitting. She pressed her muzzle anxiously against Winterpaw's. "I'm sorry…Flickertail gets me so fired up sometimes! You should hear the way he talks in the Warrior's den. As if he owns the place!" She kneaded the ground angrily with her paws.

"I can't believe Copperstar isn't going to punish him for speaking out like that!" Whistlepaw hissed. His tail was still wrapped protectively around his brother, who was staring at the ground dejectedly.

"Hey, cheer up, Winterpaw." Foxmask purred, nuzzling him again. "Once Sunstreak wakes up, he'll tell everyone it was just an accident and you had nothing to do with it."

"But it wasn't an accident." His voice sounded alien and dethatched to him, as though some other cat was speaking. But Winterpaw looked up into Foxmask's beautiful amber eyes and whispered to her and his brother, "Flickertail and Swampleg were trying to kill him. Coming back from the Gathering I noticed that Sunstreak and the two of them were missing, and when I tried to find them I saw Flickertail and Swampleg watching Sunstreak struggling and dying."

Whistlepaw and Foxmask stared at him as if he had just sprouted an extra head or two. "But…But why would anyone want to kill Sunstreak?" Foxmask meowed, puzzled. "He's never done anything for anyone to hold a grudge against him…"

"Unless they want to be deputy themselves!" Whistlepaw snarled. "Remember that story that the elders tell about Tigerstar? He killed the deputy of ThunderClan so he would be made deputy himself, then tried to kill the leader! When he was exiled he took over ShadowClan and the tried to take over the whole forest." His blue eyes darted from his brother to the young warrior. "What if Flickertail's planning to kill Copperstar next?"

"We shouldn't spread rumors." Winterpaw urged. "I don't know if they were really even trying to kill Sunstreak. Besides, if we start telling tales about them and they turn out to be false, then we're no better than when they spread rumors about me." Whistlepaw didn't look convinced, but he said nothing further on the subject, only turned sharply away and padded over to the fresh kill pile.

Foxmask pressed against Winterpaw encouragingly. "I know you didn't do anything wrong. When Sunstreak wakes up maybe he'll say this was all just a big misunderstanding."

"I hope you're right, Foxmask." Winterpaw sighed. He bid her good night and went to curl up in the apprentice den.

---

Seven sunsets passed and still Sunstreak didn't wake up. Dreamstep continued to report that the deputy had many cuts all over his body, and most of them were infected. For some reason he never seemed to have the right herb in his store, even if he could swear to StarClan he'd just collected some the day before. Winterpaw visited him whenever he could, but there wasn't much he could do. Most of the Clan was giving up hope that Sunstreak would ever recover.

Winterpaw was having trouble concentrating on his training with Sunstreak's condition nagging at the back of his mind. He was clumsy and unenthusiastic, an unwelcome change from his usual ready-to-learn self. Copperstar was sympathetic, but that didn't make her lighten up on Winterpaw at all. She still had high hopes for the young white tom, no matter what the rest of her Clan thought.

"Stop worrying so much, Winterpaw." Whistlepaw told him warmly one day as they were lounging around outside the apprentice den. "Sunstreak will wake up, and when he does he'll tell everyone what really happened."

"What if he doesn't wake up?" Winterpaw wailed. This one question had been eating at him for as long as Sunstreak had been in the Medicine Cat's den. "What if he…Dies?"

Whistlepaw's expression turned grave. "Even if he dies, Copperstar still can't blame you without any real proof. As long as you haven't done anything, then there's no way anyone can punish you."

Just then, Dreamstep hurried out into the clearing and made straight for Copperstar's den. The eyes of every cat in the Clan followed him until he disappeared into the leader's den under high branch. Whistlepaw and Winterpaw exchanged a glance, then bounded across the clearing. They stopped just outside the den and perked up their ears to listen.

"…fever has broken." Dreamstep was meowing. "It's taken a long time, but I think he'll make a full recovery."

"Is he ready to talk yet?" Copperstar asked anxiously. Her voice sounded strained. Winterpaw hadn't realized that the noble leader was just as worried about her trustworthy deputy as everyone else. She always seemed so calm about everything.

"I don't think so." The Medicine Cat said after a short pause. "He still needs to sleep for a while."

"Alright. I'll announce this to the Clan." The two apprentices heard a rustling sound as Copperstar stood up from her bed and started out of the den. Hurriedly they scrambled away from the tree so as not to let anyone know that they'd been eavesdropping. A moment later Copperstar emerged from her den with Dreamstep and leapt onto the High Branch, giving the usual summoning.

"Dreamstep has just informed me that Sunstreak will make a full recovery." The ShadowClan leader announced once the Clan had assembled. "He should be back on his feet in just a matter of days." Happy yowls went up from the Clan, the loudest from Winterpaw, Whistlepaw and Foxmask. Flickertail, however, didn't look happy at all. Winterpaw even noticed he looked a little scared. As Copperstar jumped off the High Branch, he leaned over and whispered something urgently in Swampleg's ear. Winterpaw knew they were up to something, but he decided to just wait until Sunstreak told everyone what really happened.

--

I couldn't see anything. Everywhere I looked was the same impenetrable pitch black darkness. I stared around for a while and eventually noticed a small light in the distance. It was coming closer. Whatever it was, I decided to meet it.

As I got closer, I saw it was another cat bounding towards me. He was a huge tom, all white with jet-black paws. I realized immediately that it must be Blackstar, on of my ancestors. Thick muscles rippled under his starry coat. "Greetings, Winterpaw." He rumbled when he was close enough for me to hear him. "I am Blackstar, a leader of ShadowClan from very long ago."

"A-Am I dreaming? Are you from StarClan?" I asked nervously. Usually only leaders and Medicine Cats were able to meet StarClan in their dreams.

"Yes. I have something very important to tell you," The legendary leader meowed. "There are traitors in ShadowClan, cut from the same evil as Tigerstar was. Your kin is in danger."

"You mean Sunstreak?" I mewed. Blackstar didn't answer. He started to fade a bit, only a faint outline still visible in darkness. "Wait! Don't go! Tell me what you mean!" But he was already gone. Suddenly whatever ground I had been standing on disappeared and I dropped into the darkness.

--

"Winterpaw! Wake up!" Whistlepaw was meowing, shaking his brother. Winterpaw sat up quickly in his nest, shaking and staring into his brother's worried blue eyes. "What's wrong, Winterpaw? You were muttering in your sleep and thrashing around."

Suddenly the weight of his dream settled down on Winterpaw. "We've got to go help Sunstreak." Without waiting for Whistlepaw's response, he jumped out of his nest and disappeared out of the den. Confused, Whistlepaw followed close behind. The two brothers streaked across the camp silently but stopped as they approached Dreamstep's den and heard voices.

"…So you can forget about being deputy, Flickertail." Sunstreak rasped. "I'm going right now to Copperstar's den to tell her what you did."

Flickertail's reply was to soft to hear, and the brother apprentices leaned in closer, straining their ears to hear what Sunstreak said next.

"In your dreams…I know what you've been planning with Swampleg…Trying to frame Winterpaw…it ends now." Sunstreak's bed creaked as he stood up, getting ready to find Copperstar. However, before he could go further than his own bed Winterpaw and Whistlepaw heard a heavy thud, and an angry yowl which quickly turned to a scream of pain. Then there was silence.

Winterpaw and Whistlepaw burst into the den. Flickertail was crouched over the unmoving Sunstreak. Blood soaked the ground around them, lapping at Flickertail's paws. The dark brown tom looked up at the two apprentices, and an evil look crossed his eye. "Perfect timing, demon. Good luck wriggling your way out of this one." With that, he crashed through the wall of the hollow and disappeared into the forest. Without hesitation, Whistlepaw sprang after him, leaving Winterpaw alone with his dead uncle.

----

Poor Sunstreak. He would have made a great leader some day.

Things are getting heavyyyyyyyy. How will Winterpaw get out of this bind?

Sorry it's taken so long to get up this chapter. I'm a very forgetful person, and sophomore year is harder than all my junior friends say it should be.

Anyway, please review.