Frostpaw entered the den to find that Fallowclaw was gone from her moss bed. Shadefur was crouched next to Pinepaw, who was looking slightly better physically and had his ears tucked back in annoyance.
"I'm telling you, one moment she was there, and the next she just wasn't," Pinepaw snapped at Shadefur. "She vanished into thin air! Now can I go outside now? I've been stuck here forever."
Shadefur sighed heavily. "It was only one night, and you were injured badly. But I suppose a little fresh air wouldn't be so harmful. Just take it easy, and don't move too fast. Now let me send you off with some fresh cobwebs first." As he turned to the back of the den, he called out, "How was your training, Frostpaw?"
She jumped, having forgotten that she was still standing there idly. "Pretty good, actually," she responded when he came out with a bundle of cobwebs in his mouth. The only attention Pinepaw gave her was a quick glance.
Shadefur nodded casually as he tore off the soiled and frayed cobwebs, and then began to apply the fresh ones to her brother's wound. Frostpaw padded over to look. The injury was no longer bleeding, but it still made her cringe at the sight of it. Then Shadefur was finished, and he sat watching Pinepaw shuffle outside with his back to her.
"What happened?" Frostpaw demanded immediately, knowing that she didn't have to specify.
"She vanished," Shadefur replied simply, turning to look her in the eye. "Just as your brother said. 'One moment she was there, and the next she just wasn't.'"
"How could you let her go like that?" she cried, her voice rising. She stood and began pacing through the den, her thoughts racing. "She was so ill last night, so ill…we can't just let her wander off alone! What if she ventures into another Clan's territory?"
Shadefur stood and moved closer to her with silent paw steps. "Frostpaw," he meowed softly. "There wasn't anything I could do about it."
She started to argue further, but he interrupted her. "But there is something we can do now. We can go search for her."
Frostpaw's anxious thoughts were soothed slightly. She nodded swiftly. "Then let's go."
…
Two moons later, after much searching, no trace had been found of the missing deputy. The Clan wondered about the fate of Fallowclaw, and why she had mysteriously vanished, and many grieved, believing that she had been taken by her injuries, or a natural cause. Shadefur and Frostpaw never spoke of what they had observed, mostly in desperate hope that their predictions were false.
But the Plague haunted Frostpaw, filling her dreams and waking thoughts with visions of what StarClan had shown her at her first half-moon meeting, and of the unfortunate deputy. Her energy and enthusiasm had all but burned out from the burden of bearing this, and amount of work that Shadefur had been giving her to do as his apprentice.
Now the cats of ThunderClan were gathering around the Highrock for a Clan meeting. Frostpaw saw the cats sitting in the clearing from the medicine cat den, and, dropping the herbs she had been organizing, she hurried over.
Falconstar began speaking as soon as she settled down. "The Gathering will be held tonight," he announced.
Frostpaw flattened her ears at this, recalling the first time she had attended a Gathering. They had missed the social beginning to the event since ThunderClan had arrived late, and she had only been able to witness the leaders mentioning a few minor events before they headed back home again. It hadn't been worth the effort in her opinion, and therefore she disliked the idea of going again.
"The cats who will be attending are Nettlefang, Ravenwind, Jaggeddust, Pinepaw, Rootwind, Shadefur, Frostpaw, Buzzardwing, Gingerpaw, Tanglefoot, Yewtail, and I. We will leave at sunset."
Frostpaw saw her brother's fur tingle at the mention of his name. She remembered that he had been unable to attend the last Gathering due to his injuries.
"Now, sadly, I must inform you all that we are likely waiting in vain for Fallowclaw to reappear. I believe that she had long since passed into StarClan, and therefore, due to how well Nettlefang has been performing as a replacement, I think it is time I appointed him as the official deputy. Please come forward."
Nettlefang beamed at his and did as he was told, his head held high with pride.
"I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice," meowed Falconstar. "The new deputy of ThunderClan is Nettlefang."
"Nettlefang, Nettlefang, Nettlefang!" cheered the crowd. Frostpaw joined in to show her support, as although she was skeptical of the tom's pride, she knew that he would still make a good deputy.
"Meeting adjourned," concluded Falconstar. He leaped off the Highrock and went to personally congratulate the new deputy.
Frostpaw became aware that Shadefur was watching her, and she didn't need him to say anything to know that he wanted her to get back to work. She shuffled obediently back into the medicine cat den, grumbling about the Gathering, and stared numbly at the pile of herbs laying on the flat gray rock that she had been organizing earlier. Shadefur preferred the herbs to be organized by their effects, so she began to place the chickweed and catmint into a separate bundle.
As she went to place some herbs in the storage, she passed by the empty moss bed that Fallowclaw had occupied when she was wounded. The image of the sickly she-cat's jaws snapping mere inches from her paw flashed explosively in her mind, causing her to jolt with sudden fear. The herbs that she had been carrying fluttered to the ground. Trembling slightly, Frostpaw picked them back up and moved to complete her task as quick as possible so she could leave the den and the memories altogether.
...
When the sky was a brilliant shade of red and orange, the cats that had been chosen were preparing to leave for the Gathering. Dusk was falling in the forest, and the low sun was hidden by the shadowy trees.
Frostpaw stood next to her mentor as they waited to start moving. Soon Falconstar joined them and lead them out into the dark forest. She could hear the soft padding of many paws, and the buzzing of chatter all around her. Rather than joining in, Frostpaw held her head low and focused only on pressing forward to Fourtrees. Soon the long and tiring journey there and back would be over, and she could crawl into her bed and sleep deeply. That is, assuming she wouldn't be woken up early by Shadefur as he had been doing often lately.
By the time they arrived at Fourtrees, the moon hung high in the night sky. This time she could see only one Clan already gathered in the moon-lit clearing below. From the fishy smell that wafted towards her, causing her to wrinkle her nose in distaste, she guessed that it was RiverClan.
Falconstar waved his tail, signaling that they could go. Frostpaw waited for everyone to pass her before heading down into the clearing herself.
She blinked, watching her Clan mingle with the RiverClan cats. It was still strange to her to see and smell two different Clans together. She was almost grateful that she had missed this part last time, as she didn't know who she was supposed to talk to. Then she saw Shadefur talking with the RiverClan medicine cat and his apprentice, so she padded over to join them.
She had only just exchanged a warm greeting with Robinpaw, who had become a good friend of hers, when she began picking up other scents. She glanced up to see that WindClan and ShadowClan had arrived. As she saw them looking down at the clearing, she took notice of how furious the leader of ShadowClan, Patchstar, looked. It was so intense that she could almost feel the heat of his fury, so she quickly turned away, afraid that it was aimed at her for some reason.
As soon as the two Clans dropped into the clearing, the ShadowClan leader charged onto the Great Rock, took a brief moment to glare ferociously at the crowd beneath, causing all chatter to still, before roaring, "ThunderClan are murderers!"
It was surprising how quickly the atmosphere changed. Instant chaos followed. The three leaders of the other Clans all scrambled in a mad rush to get onto the rock as well, and Frostpaw observed Falconstar seemed very offended by Patchstar's outburst, so much that she knew that he was itching to thrust the raging leader off the rock. ThunderClan as a whole, of course, also seemed to have the same desires their leader. RiverClan and WindClan merely glanced at each other in numb shock, while the cats of ShadowClan were all throwing insults and accusations at the ThunderClan cats.
She could hear the RiverClan and WindClan leaders, Reefstar and Mudstar, trying to ask for calm, but their desperate words were drowned out as Patchstar began to pace back and forth, his eyes blazing. "For the past few days, we have been discovering the white skeletal remains of our prey scattered all throughout our territory with ThunderClan scent reeking off the bones. How very insulting," Patchstar spat, saliva flying. Frostpaw merely huddled in a corner as the leader raged, fearing that violence might break out soon. Many of cats around her were arching their backs and hissing with fury. She sympathized with Reefwind and Mudclaw, for they were both so very worried at the situation that they became subdued as she had.
But it only got worse as Patchstar continued to rant. "I suppose ThunderClan felt rather proud of their savage deeds, for you know what we found dead and picked clean on our territory today?" The ShadowClan leader was beyond enraged now as he leaned forward to screech the answer. "The dead body of one of our senior warriors, Addertail!"
Frostpaw covered her ears as cats everywhere yowled in grief, outrage, and shock. She managed to make out Falconstar sticking his face in Patchstar's and angrily denying all that he had been accused of. All she knew was that no one in her Clan could have possibly committed the crimes that Patchstar had named. Then, just before everyone came to blows, a dark, ominous shadow covered the moon, blotting out the light and pitching the Clans into gloom. The sudden change was greeted with eerie silence.
Frostpaw wondered briefly if StarClan was frustrated with how badly the meeting had gone, but she didn't have much time to dwell on that subject. She could hear the sound of staggered footfalls and labored breathing, and desperately wished that her eyes would adjust. Then she felt her fur stand erect upon hearing a shrill, high-pitched giggle that was so very wrong in ever way. She was reminded all too well of her first half-moon meeting, and she feared that if she regained her vision, she would see a circle of deathly cats surrounding her again. She felt very alone and terrified despite knowing she was actually surrounded by fellow Clan cats. Where was that StarClan cat who had saved her last time?
She felt a tail on her shoulder, and she jumped, scared out of her mind. Then she made out the face of her mentor in the dark, and she was temporarily reassured, but only for a moment.
Because Frostpaw's eyes adjusted to the blackness just in time to see the former ThunderClan deputy burst into the clearing, saliva spilling from her gaping jaws and a hungry, insane look in her dark eyes.