Chapter 5
"Vixenstar, Vixenstar, I need to talk to you! It's about the new cats," Stormflower put in urgently.
"I'm afraid it'll have to wait, Stormflower. I have to tell these cats how it's going to work for them."
"So you're going to show them the camp, then?", Stormflower exclaimed in disbelief.
"Of course not! I don' t want the two rogues to form any ideas in their flea-bitten heads," Vixenstar said through gritted teeth.
"I thought you wanted them to join SpringClan," Poppyfire scoffed while walking by.
"Go now," Vixenstar beckoned to Poppyfire. The tom turned back to face Stormflower and sighed, "What is it, Stormflower?"
"Vixenstar, I wanted to talk to you about the new cats. I-I talked to one of them, the younger one. His name is Ember."
"Stormflower, now is not the time to converse with cats you really don't know!", scolded the SpringClan leader. "And," the Clan leader added , "leave Clan matters like this to wise warriors and other cats in the Clan."
"Ember said that Stonefeather was going to do something bad….something evil," Stormflower recalled.
"Why in StarClan's name would you listen to a cat you just met?" , hissed Vixenstar. The ginger tom leader trotted off to deal with other cats.
"Why not?", Stormflower spoke defiantly. The leader flinched, but Stormflower wasn't sure if Vixenstar had acknowledged what she had just said. Stormflower growled in disgust, and headed towards Tawnyrose. "Tawnyrose, are you alright?" , Stormflower inquired lightly.
The golden she-cat stared off at nothing for what would seem to be the longest time. Then, Stormflower noticed, Tawnyrose's gaze wasn't random, but rather set on Stonefeather, it would seem. "Huh?" , Tawnyrose mumbled.
"It's me, Stormflower…your friend." Tawnyrose snapped back, her face with an embarrassing look on it, like a kit trying to go somewhere they shouldn't. "Tawnyrose, why were you looking at Stonefeather?"
"I was just observing….just observing," sighed Tawnyrose in a longing way.
"Oh no, no way! You cannot already like that cat!" , exclaimed Stormflower.
"I do, though," Tawnyrose said.
"Oh, you're so crazy. Even though you're my best friend, I wonder about you," Stormflower commented. Tawnyrose scoffed at this, but then was silent. "C'mon, let's go get some food." The two she-cats padded over to the fresh-kill pile, where Silverfeather and Yewstripe sat.
"Oh, look, Yewstripe, it's the cat who battled a rogue; it's Stormflower and her mediocre sidekick, Yuckythorn!", Silverfeather rudely commented.
"You know, I killed that tom. As for you, well, I do have some boundaries, as a Clan cat," Stormflower dryly said. At this, Silverfeather withered.
"I thought so," Stormflower said.
"You're sick, you know, just sick!", hissed Silverfeather. Stormflower picked out her prey and then locked eyes with Silverfeather.
"I'm not nearly as sick and rude to cats as you are!", Stormflower snapped. Stormflower and Tawnyrose took their food and walked away.
Sunhigh was approaching, and rays beamed down from the sun onto the camp clearing. It was quite a nice day, and would come to be savored as leaf-bare arrived with its coldness. In the midst of this, Stonefeather and Ember were conversing in seclusion from every other cat. "Ember, why did you tell her that I was going to do something bad?", hissed Stonefeather.
Ember knew, in his heart, he wanted to warn Stormflower, but he replied, "I just wanted to scare her, is all. Why should I have friends in SpringClan if we're going to do what we planned?" Stonefeather looked doubtful, but an angry expression stayed on his face.
"Don't you see that we need friends in the Clan, so they will trust us? We want to rip their leader from them, like my father was taken from me. Father said that Clan leaders have multiple lives, so we'll have to kill Vixenstar several times, and leave his body for all the Clans to see."
Ember was really uncomfortable; a voice inside him wanted to defy his father, to break free of him. That would mean, though, to tell SpringClan of Stonefeather's plan to kill Vixenstar. Then, what would happen? He'd be exiled and Stonefeather would very possibly kill him. That, Ember knew as fact.
Meanwhile, Stormflower was sharing tongues with Tawnyrose, and Talonstorm walked up. "How are we today, she-cats?"
"Oh, we're doing great, Talonstorm. So you're feeling better today, I take it?", Stormflower inquired.
"Oh, yes I am, now that I'm with you…two." An awkward silence passed, and Talonstorm left the two she-cats alone.
"Ooh, someone likes you," cooed Tawnyrose.
"Shut up," Stormflower huffed.