A/N gaspeth! Birchfall is dead! For how long? Chappie is longish, I think. Maybe. Anywho redid my profile. Pretty cool, check it out. Enjoy!
Chapter 4 Possess
(Whitewing's POV)
He was dead. Dead. How could he? How could've Thornclaw done this?! I turned to look at his mortified face. "Whitewing! I'm so sorry! I didn't think1 Please forgive me!" I tuned out his babble. I heard Sandstorm mutter, "Save your breath" as she realized I wasn't listening.
Honeypaw rushed to us with Firestar, Graystripe, Spiderleg and Cloudtail. Spiderleg and Cloudtail hauled Thornclaw up while Sandstorm, Graystripe and I carried Birchfall's—body. As we trudged back to camp, I heard Cloudtail giving Thornclaw quiet death threats. My eyes were set to the ground as I forced myself not to cry.
When we entered camp everything was quiet until Ferncloud's frantic wails rang out. "My baby! Oh, my baby! Who did this?! Oh, my baby!"
Dustpelt said nothing as he hauled his mate away. I heard him try to stifle a whimper. Firestar jumped to the high rock calling out, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a clan meeting!"
Immediately cats came pouring out of their dens asking about Birchfall, then wailing once they see his body. " There has been a tragedy Thunderclan," Firestar mewed gravely, "Birchfall was attacked and murdered. Until we sort this out, no one is leaving camp until further notice."
He jumped down t us, the patrol. He led us to his den and we sat down. "Explain", he meowed.
Thornclaw burst out. "I didn't mean to kill him! I swear! I was just so angry. So angry…" He trailed off.
"What he means," I said in a dull defeated tone. "What he means is I rejected him. He blamed Birchfall and attacked him. Because of me. IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!" I wailed at the top of my lungs. Sandstorm rubbed against me comforting me, but I was beyond comforting.
"So what do we do?" Asked Sandstorm. "There's only one thing we can do". Answered Firestar. "The penalty for murder is exile"
Everyone was quiet for a moment. "Umm, can I say something?" We turned to see Honeypaw fidgeting with her paws. "What?" Asked Firestar.
"Umm,well you see…" Honeypaw looked nervous. " I don't think Thornclaw killed Birchfall." "WHAT?!" Everyone screamed, including Thornclaw.
"I mean look at Birchfall's body. Those scratches aren't very serious. It would be impossible for him to lose that much amount of blood in such little time. I think something else happened."
"Very good Honeypaw" Sandstorm purred. "It could be possible." I said with a little lighter tone. "I didn't kill Birchfall after all!" Thornclaw nearly jumped with glee.
"So the question stands, what do we do now?" Honeypaw stated. "We do nothing" Firestar answered. "There's no reason to banish Thornclaw if he didn't do anything." He paused for a moment and said, "I'm going to call a meeting."
He jumped down to the highledge and summoned the clan. "Birchfall went ahead of the others to scent an unfamiliar scent. A badger caught him by surprise and killed him. Thornclaw nearly broke his neck attacking the badger. We will sit vigil until dawn." It was moonhigh.
I completely ignored all the cats surrounding Birchfall and cast them aside. I buried my face into his fur and whispered, "I love you." Someone tensed behind me.
Thornclaw had heard me.
(Birchfall's POV)
I woke up in a strange place. Happy, but strange. I was in the old forest, with mist covering the surface. There were stars covering everything. Now and then, I would see little pools of stars . It felt safe here. "Hello Birchfall." A voice said.
I whipped around to see Larchkit. "Larchkit! I've missed you!" I ran up and rubbed against him purring.
He pulled away. "Now is not the time brother. Though it will come soon. Follow me." His words confused me, but I followed.
He led me into Fourtrees, and it was a sight to behold. I've never been there, but I knew. There was a council of past Thunderclan cats. They turned their heads and greeted me. "Am I dead?" I asked.
"Half dead". A blue-gray she cat answered. "Greetings, I am Bluestar." I nodded my head.
"I need to talk to you in private." She told me. The other cats disappeared.
"Why am I here?" I asked. "That is the reason why I need to talk to you." She answered.
There was a moment of silence. "What happened to Thornclaw?"
"Nothing."
"Noting? I thought he killed me."
"He didn't, we did. And Firestar figured it out." Bluestar lashed her tail frustradly.
What? Why did Starclan kill me? Did I deserve to die?" I mewed frantically. Oh no, Ferncloud! Dustpelt! Whitewing.
"You did nothing wrong!" Bluestar meowed reassuringly. "It's just-well…we were trying to banish Thornclaw."
"What did he ever do to Starclan? Why do you want him gone?" My tone switched to suspicion. How could Starclan kill me to get rid of Thornclaw? I don't like him, but he doesn't deserve this!
"He did nothing-yet. We were trying to prevent him doing something. We were desperate." Bluestar said exasperated.
"Explain." I hissed, miffed. Starclan had no right!
Bluestar was deep in thought, as if trying to avoid my question. Finally, she gave in. "The prophecy. Before I tell you, vow to never tell anyone except Whitewing."
Whitewing was involved? Realization dawned on me. The promise. Our destiny. Something to do with Thornclaw. Stupid promise. "I promise."
Bluestar's eyes clouded and spoke, her voice thick with premonition. "When thorn slashes birch, darkness will prevail, and the stars will die in the failing light."
That didn't sound good. I was about to ask something but Bluestar snapped out of her trance, suddenly frantic. "It's dawn! We have to get you back to your body!" She grabbed my scruff and hauled me to the nearest starry poll.
"Good luck young warrior. Don't fail us. And she pushed me in.
I felt like I was falling through the sky. I looked down, panicking. I was falling through the sky! The Thunderclan camp came nearer and nearer till I slammed into my body, letting out a startled gasp. I heaved a big breath and opened my eyes. Whitewing was staring at me with unexplainable joy.
(Whitewing's POV)
I looked up to see Birchfall's eyes open as he gave a startled gasp. He was alive! I was so happy all I could do was nuzzle deeper and deeper into his heaving flank. His heartbeat was in a flutter. It felt nice after the eerie silence. I could only breath in his scent one more time before Ferncloud barreled me over, covering Birchfall with sticky rough licks.
"Don't you ever scare me like that ever again. Ever!" She wailed licking him even more. Dustpelt looked as if Ferncloud had just kitted, looking at Birchfall like he would a newborn kit.
"C'mon love, give him some room. He needs his strength." He mewed, leading Ferncloud to the warriors' den.
I helped him up, nearly bursting with joy. "Birchfall, are you ok?" I asked him.
He was muttering a flurry of words I couldn't understand. I sighed and led him to Leafpool's den. "Some thyme and water should do the trick." Leafpool said giving it to him.
After he ate, he calmed down quite a bit collapsing on a bed of moss. "Water" he croaked. I was nearly back with water in three seconds. He gulped it down.
Again I asked, "Are you ok?"
He began, more clear now, enough that cats could understand him. "When thorn slashes birch, darkness will prevail, and the stars will die in the failing light."
He repeated this about five times before Leafpool heard him. She gasped and dropped a bundle of herbs. She rushed out of the den muttering something about checking on the elders. "Birchfall?" I asked nervously.
"Whitewing!" He exclaimed, seeming to come out of his trance. "I'm so sorry! I tried to fight it but Starclan killed me! They want Thornclaw gone!"
He was talking in an even faster tone than before. "Shh," I soothed, "let's tell Thornclaw and Firestar about this."
"We can't." He said firmly. He told me everything about his conversation with Bluestar.
"No one? Not a soul?" He nodded. "Poor Thornclaw" I breathed. Leafpool padded in, mystified. "Well, let's leave Birchfall to get some rest."
I nodded and started to walk out. "Wait, don't go." Birchfall pleaded.
It caught me off guard. If this was last moon, or even last night, would've said no. But I'd nearly lost him, and I would never let that happen again. Leafpool nodded at me and I curled up next to him. He purred and I purred back. It was pure bliss.
(Birchfall's POV)
I awoke around sunset feeling refreshed. Whitewing padded up to me with a vole dangling from her jaws. "Morning sleepyhead." She purred setting it down in front of me. I devoured it in a few bites.
I stood up heading toward the center of camp, where Graystripe was organizing patrols. "Can I go on a hunting patrol?" I asked hopefully.
Graystripe looked unsure for a second, but nodded. "You can go with Dustpelt and Thornclaw.
Ugh. I was about to reject, but Dustpelt looked hopeful, even a little eager. "Sure." Dustpelt flicked his tail and led us out.
We separated and I decided to hunt near Sky Oak. I strained my ears for any signs of prey. I heard a mouse scurrying two tail lengths away. Dropping into a hunter's crouch I silently stalked my prey. Right as I pounced, a movement caught my attention. The mouse darted away and I hissed in frustration. The movement came back and I pounced on it. It squealed and to my surprise it was a rouge, as old as any apprentice. "Please, don't hurt me." He whimpered.
"Don't worry I won't I promised the young cat. He was a black-gray tom with amber eyes.
I helped him to his feet. "I'm taking you to my camp. Firestar will know what to do with you." I half expected him to flee, but followed beside me.
"What's your name?" I asked.
He paused for a moment and said, "Shade, my name's Shade."
The Dark Forest
"Remember Darkstripe," Tigerstar said, "I'll get you when it's time."
Darkstripe looked at the murky pool. "I'm not sure I want to-AHH!"
Tigerstar pushed him into the pool. Darkstripe's spirit soared through the barrier and into the living. "The Sun," he breathed, "I've missed you."
It's bright light warmed his dark spirit. Now, to look for my prey, he thought. Aha! He spotted a weak apprentice traveling with a young warrior. He wasn't as good as possessing bodies as Tigerstar was, but he was still pretty good.
He plummeted down towards his prey and collided with his body. The weakling went limp as Darkstripe pushed through his memories and into his central command. A mini version of the apprentice was unconscious. He dragged his mini me into the cave next to Central Command and covered it with a boulder.
Darkstripe looked out of his eyes, adjusting to the surroundings. They turned from amber to blue. "The young warrior next to him asked, "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine" he said in a weak, pathetic voice.
"Hey, weren't your eyes amber?" The warrior asked him.
He pretended to be surprised. "Were they amber? I have blue eyes, not amber!" The warrior didn't look convinced, but padded along.
Eventually we met with two cats. One cat Darkstripe didn't recognize, but the other I nearly snarled at. Dustpelt. That piece of crowfood look confused. "Birchfall, who is this?"
"Yeah", the other cat mewed what did you drag in?" Darkstripe nearly lunged at him.
"I didn't drag him here, he chose to come." Birchfall spit out angrily.
The tension between the two warriors was immense. "Let it go Thornclaw. We have no choice but to take him to camp. What's your name?" Dustpelt asked.
He whimpered in faux weakness. The one named Birchfall came to my defense. "I'm sure he'll answer any questions when he's strong enough. His name his Shade."
Dustpelt grunted in approval and flicked his tail for us to follow. Padding behind the two younger warriors, I overheard their argument.
"Whitewing is mine."
"Didn't look like that last night."
"I killed you once, I can kill you again."
"Everyone knows you didn't kill me faker."
Just wait."
This is exactly what Darkstripe was looking for. Sabotage. There was even a she cat involved. Oh Tigerstar, he thought sinisterly, this is going to be fun.
A/N Another cliffie! I was totally prepared to banish Thornclaw, but his fan girls made me fear the flames I would get, so I had to redo the whole chapter. I hope you're happy! Yay, my longest chappie ever! What damage will Darkstripe do? Next chapter will be up soon. Twistey out.