"Wake up," I hissed softly into Robinflight's ear.
It was just before dawn, and I wanted for me and for her to get back to camp before any cats noticed our absence.
"Wha?" she muttered as she blinked her eyes open.
"You need to get back to camp before any cat realizes you were gone," I told her.
She stood up and shook her fur as I began to re-scrape snow over the patch we had cleared. It was close to the border, but I needed to make it look like there had been a scuffle. If any cat caught me my excuse was that I had woken up early and I was walking when Robinflight crossed the border and I chased her off.
"Is it okay with you if my excuse for your scent on our border is if I went out for a walk in the morning and I saw you on our territory and I chased you off?" I asked.
Robinflight nodded.
She seemed as tired as I felt.
"We shouldn't visit for a few days, in case cats get suspicious," Robinflight said.
"That probably sounds for the best," I agreed.
"But how will we plan our next time to meet?" she asked.
I shrugged," We'll figure it out."
She nuzzled me and I nuzzled back. I licked her ear and then turned and walked back to camp. I could sense her staring after me, waiting for me to turn around and give one last look at her. So I did. But she was gone already, racing back to camp.
I stretched my cramped legs and ran back to camp, shivering as the wind whipped through my fur. I slowed down as I entered camp.
Lucky for me, it was one of those mornings where no cat wakes up before dawn. I easily snuck into the warriors den without anyone noticing me. I curled up in my nest and shivered. My nest was cold and damp, rather than soft and warm like it normally was. But I was so tired, I easily fell asleep.
"Hurry up and get up Lightningblaze! Pebbleclaw will murder you if you don't!" Adderfang hissed as he rapidly prodded my flank.
I swear it had been only seconds since I fell asleep.
"Come on wake up!" Adderfang had a hint of anger in his voice now.
He stepped abruptly on my tail and I let out a yowl as I leaped to my paws.
"Good. Now hurry up and get out here," he said with urgency.
I followed him out of the warriors den, squinting as the sun hit directly in my eyes.
Pebbleclaw was on Highrock assigning patrols.
"Maplewhisker and Quailfeather, go take the apprentices out for some battle training. Then let them rest and then do the evening patrol later," Pebbleclaw ordered.
"But Littlepaw is your apprentice," Quailfeather protested.
"Well who else is going to take Goosestar's place right now?" Pebbleclaw snapped.
Quailfeather let out a hiss and cursed under her breath.
"What happened to Goosestar?" I whispered in Adderfang's ear.
"He caught whitecough last night. And it's the major case. So naturally Pebbleclaw is in charge now. But Pebbleclaw is older than any cat in the clan right now, so she's at the grumpy should-be-an-elder-now stage," Adderfang replied.
My pelt bristled with fear.
"Will Goosestar die? " I gasped.
Adderfang shrugged.
"I doubt it. He might lose a life, but he still has a few lives left. So he won't die yet," Adderfang reassured me.
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Lightningblaze! Lead a hunting patrol. Take 2 or 3 warriors with you," Pebbleclaw ordered.
"Why does he get to lead a patrol? I'm older than him and more experienced!" Flamepelt protested.
"Do not disobey me Flamepelt," she said sternly.
Flamepelt snarled in defiance. Most of the warriors didn't seem happy that Pebbleclaw was our new temporary leader.
"Adderfang and Sparrowtail can come with me," I said.
Adderfang nodded and Sparrowtail joined me as we exited camp.
"So where are we hunting?" Sparrowtail asked.
"Moorstones," I blurted out.
"I haven't hunted there since I was an apprentice. Rosefur said that there isn't enough prey there worth hunting," Adderfang said.
"Yes that may be true, but as far as I know no cat has hunted there in moons. Because of this, it might be worth a shot," Sparrowtail agreed but disagreed with Adderfang at the same time.
"I think Pebbleclaw should retire. She's been deputy as long as any cat can remember. It's time to give a younger cat a chance to be deputy. Besides, Goosestar will outlive her anyway," Adderfang said.
"Have more respect for your clanmates Adderfang," Sparrowtail ordered.
"I kind of agree with him though. Pebbleclaw should have retired by now," I nodded.
Sparrowtail didn't reply as we approached Moorstones. The rocky area was covered in a blanket of snow like the rest of the moor. Sparrowtail waved his tail to silence us. We all then got down on four paws and began to prowl around the area. Adderfang suddenly thundered off with great speed, most likely after a rabbit. But suddenly I saw him running towards me, with the rabbit in front of him. What a stupid rabbit. It had turned around and managed to escape Adderfang's grasp. I flexed my claws, ready to pounce as it headed straight into my paws.
The rabbit was only a fox-length away when I leaped. I killed it quickly, not letting the blood cover the snow. Adderfang slowed to a halt just before crashing into me.
"Nice catch," Sparrowtail whispered under his breath.
I nodded in thanks. Adderfang must have not heard him. We looked around for awhile longer, but there was no more prey in sight. Sparrowtail almost got a mouse, but it buried itself in the snow before he could get it. He dug furiously in the snow, but the mouse was gone.
"Let's go back to camp," I suggested.
Sparrowtail nodded in agreement. I sighed. This hadn't been a very successful hunting trip. But Sparrowtail and Adderfang were the cats least likely to hold something like this against me. That's why I chose them to come with me, in case I messed up.
Adderfang dragged the rabbit back to camp, I had agreed to let him take it in camp to get the pride. He had chased it. It had just happened to be running towards me.
We entered camp and I saw Pebbleclaw staring at us with vicious, green eyes.
"Lightningblaze!" she yowled my name.
I walked over to her.
"How much prey did you catch?" she demanded.
"A rabbit," I answered.
"That's it?" she shrieked.
"Yes. We decided to chance it and go to Moorstones," I replied.
"What a mouse-brained idea. Moorstones is not for prey-hunting. It is for sun basking in greenleaf," she spat.
"It is leaf-bare Pebbleclaw you should be happy that we caught any prey at all," I hissed.
"Don't talk back to me. I'm in charge," her back fur began to bristle with anger.
I rose on my paws and stuck out my chest. Once you finally become a warrior the puffing out your chest thing does make you look stronger and bigger. It just looks mouse-brained when you are a kit.
She stood on all 4 paws as well, but she was nowhere near as big as me.
"Why don't you move to the elders den you cranky old hag," I whispered under my breath.
Somehow she managed to hear that.
"Alright then, maybe I will! I will move to the elders den! I'll do it right now! Goosestar can declare a new deputy when he gets better," Pebbleclaw snapped.
"But then who will lead the clan while he is ill?" I asked.
"You will," she hissed as she stalked off to the elders den.
I gasped. I couldn't lead this clan. I wouldn't know what to do! I walked over to the medicine cat den to consult Birdsong.
"Will she be okay?" Adderfang demanded.
"I-I don't know," Sweetflower stammered.
I heard Adderfang's teeth grind together anxiously.
"We've done everything we can for her but it doesn't seem like it's working…." Sweetflower's voice trailed off at the end.
She sounded so sad that she had failed to help Windflight heal.
"Um, Sweetflower? Pebbleclaw just declared she's moving to the elder's den and she put me in charge," I told her.
I saw Adderfang's eyes glare with fury for an instant. He wanted to be leader someday as much as I did.
"Oh. Well she was put in charge. And she's been deputy for so long she must know what she's doing. I guess you are the temporary leader. But when Goosestar gets better he will declare a new deputy," Sweetflower replied.
I nodded and looked down at my Father. He was curled up peacefully in his nest, but his nose looked pink (pinker than Sweetflower's) and cold. His fur was matted like he had not groomed it and he had been rolling around in his nest. Cloudstorm was asleep as well, while Breezefur was out on the sun rocks with Ravenclaw. He must have recovered quickly.
"Should I talk to Goosestar about it?" I asked.
Sweetflower shook her head," No. He's almost as ill as Windflight. He wouldn't be able to reply to you anyway. And right now he needs as much rest as he can."
Windflight suddenly let out a gasp and began coughing frantically. Adderfang and I jumped in fear but Sweetflower showed no sign of alarm. She pushed a big waxy leaf towards her. Then Windflight coughed up some type of green mucus. I gagged. Adderfang's eyes blazed with worry and fear.
"She's going to die isn't she? Is that the sign when a cat is going to die if they have greencough?" Adderfang gasped.
"No! This is the way a cat naturally tries to get rid of the sickness. But it doesn't do anything. It just dehydrates them," Sweetflower replied.
Adderfang nodded.
Then Windflight gasped again, but this time she did not begin coughing. Her eyes suddenly popped open and grew wide. Sweetflower leaped into action.
"Adderfang! Roll her onto her back! Lightningblaze! Press your paw on he chest and force upward as hard as you can! I'll get the yarrow to help her vomit it up!" Sweetflower yowled.
Adderfang shoved her over quickly and I began to thrust my paw upward against her chest with great force. I saw her gasp with each time I did it. I tried, but I couldn't dislodge what was blocking her throat. Adderfang frantically shoved me aside and began to try and do it. Sweetflower began chewing up the leaves quickly and she shoved them down her throat.
"This will make her gag and possibly bring back up what she is choking on," Sweetflower said.
Windflight shuddered for a second, and then with a gasp vomited up the leaves and some more of the green mucus. She shuddered violently in her nest. Sweetflower took a couple poppy seeds and gave them to her.
"There, there Windflight. Everything is okay. Just eat these and you'll fall asleep again," Sweetflower spoke to her in a soothing voice.
Windflight weakly lapped on the seeds on Sweetflower's paw. She was trembling now, most likely with fear as she slowly rolled back on her stomach. Then suddenly her eyes closed and she fell asleep.
Sweetflower sat down and sighed with relief.
"Thank Starclan you two were here right now," she sighed.
Goosestar twitched and moaned. He rolled over his nest, his hind paws kicking at the moss.
"Cats move around and meow a lot in their sleep when they have greencough. Whitecough, not so much. Goosestar has been rolling around in his nest like crazy," she meowed.
"Why isn't Windflight moving around?" Adderfang asked frantically.
"Maybe she hasn't fallen asleep yet?" I suggested.
Adderfang made no recognition of my comment.
Cloudstorm blinked open his eyes and looked around. His nose was almost back to normal, it was losing its pinkish tone.
"It smells funny in here," he commented.
"Sorry, Windflight coughed up mucus again," Sweetflower apologized.
"No it's not that smell. And it's not the smell of herbs either. Or catmint. I know all those smells. It's like a depressing smell. Cold and dark," Cloudstorm shivered.
"I smell it too," I said as I drew in the scents around me.
Then suddenly I gasped violently. I knew that scent. I had smelled it only days ago. That scent had clung to Brambleberry. It was the smell of…death.
I rushed to Windflight's side and began poking her frantically, trying to wake her up.
"Windflight! Windflight!" I yowled.
"Oh no…" Sweetflower whispered.
I continued shaking her, but Windflight didn't respond. The scent of death clung to her now, and her body was already starting to turn cold. But how could she just die like that, right before our eyes?
"Is she dead?" Adderfang gasped.
I nodded, not turning to face him.
He let out a yowl of pain and rage and raced straight out of camp. I sighed and pressed my nose into Windflight's fur. Her true scent still clung to her pelt, slightly.
"I am so sorry that you had to join Starclan so early. You had a whole life ahead of you. You were a great friend, and you will have a special part in my heart forever," I whispered into her fur.
I then backed away and walked out of the den. I knew I needed to announce to the clan what was going on.
"All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey gather here under Highrock for a clan meeting!" I yowled.
Cats gathered in the clearing but worried murmurs rippled through the cats. I spotted Pebbleclaw sitting next to Acorntail, and she seemed thoroughly amused.
"I know I am not supposed to be calling this meeting, but Pebbleclaw has retired to the elders den. And she has proclaimed me as the new temporary leader. You can even ask her herself. Once Goosestar recovers he will be able to choose a new deputy. But until then, I will be in charge. Does anyone choose to defy me?" I asked.
The only response I got was all those eyes staring at me.
"Very well. I also have bad news for the clan. Windflight joined Starclan this afternoon. She died bravely, and her loyalty towards Windclan will never be forgotten. We will sit vigil for her tonight," I announced.
Dawnstripe (her sister) burst from the nursery, yowling in rage as she ran straight through the crowd towards the medicine cat den. Maplewhisker (her mother) followed her, gasping frantic sobs. Brackenclaw (her father) just sat in the crowd in shock. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes wide in shock. He was practically frozen to the ground.
"This meeting is over," I flicked my tail in dismissal and leaped off of Highledge.
Jetkit came bouncing over to me immediately, his little green eyes burning with curiosity and worry.
"What's going on? Is Mother okay?" he asked.
"She'll be fine. She's just very sad. Her sister just joined Starclan," I explained softly.
"Whadda you mean she joined Starclan? Why would she join a rival clan? Windclan is the best clan of all!" Jetkit boasted.
I couldn't help but purr with laughter.
"No silly, Starclan is where cats go when they pass away. Starclan is made up of our ancestors. The cats who have gone before us. They are always watching over us, but at night when the sky is dark, every star in the sky is a cat from Starclan, watching us from Silverpelt," I explained.
Jetkit nodded. It would have been hard for a kit this young to understand Starclan. But yet Jetkit seemed to understand perfectly. He was a very smart kit.
"When will you teach me some battle moves Lightningblaze?" he asked, breaking my train of thought.
"When you're a bit older," I replied.
"But I'm a bit older every day!" he protested.
"Maybe after leaf-bare is over. That way your paws won't freeze," I promised.
"You promise?" he meowed.
The snow was cold for his little paws. I could already see him shivering.
"I promise," I meowed.
He smiled and just as Rosefur called him into the nursery he turned around and leaped over there, his paws leaving the tiniest footprints in the snow. Pebbleclaw walked over to me.
"That was strong of you to address the clan like that. I would hope that you are Goosestar's next deputy, but you have only been a warrior for days. You are actually supposed to still be an apprentice for another 3 moons. And plus, you haven't had an apprentice yet, and I don't think you will soon. But you have the confidence and loyalty to be a deputy," she praised me.
"No offense but you never seemed like you had much confidence," I murmured.
"I had confidence in choosing you to be our temporary leader," she pawed my chest when she said "you".
Then suddenly she turned around and walked away like she had never talked to me.
"She's madder than a hare," I muttered under my breath.
Then suddenly Adderfang came bursting into camp.
"Thunderclan has invaded!" he spluttered between his gasps.
I could tell he had been sprinting back to camp from wherever he was.
My heart suddenly lurched when I realized all these cats were turning to me for orders.
"How many are there?" I asked urgently.
"Probably 9 warriors or so,"
"Littlepaw, Quailfeather, Breezefur, and Mumblefoot will stay here to defend the camp. Hide the queens, kits, and elders in Goosestar's den," I ordered quickly.
I saw Mumblefoot's face fall as his name was called to stay here, but he was needed here to defend everyone. Was it a bad thing to be bringing practically the entire clan into battle? Would that bring more deaths? Then suddenly I had an idea.
"We will have two groups of attackers. The first group will charge now, and the second will follow shortly. The second wave of attackers should finish them off. Maplewhisker, Lilyfoot, Flamepelt, and Thrushpaw will be the second attack group. Everyone else is part of the first. Now go!" I yowled.
We all poured out of camp and thundered towards the border. We saw the Thunderclan cats on the other side of the hill. They were walking at a normal pace. They must have been planning to attack the camp or the nearest patrol. I spotted Snowstorm, the Thunderclan deputy at the lead. I was leading our group of cats, even though we were sprinting.
I stopped them right in front of Snowstorm, snarling.
"Windclan has had rights to the forest beside the stream for too long! Today we will take it back!" Snowstorm yowled.
Yowls and screeches of agreement followed Snowstorm's statement.
Luckily Swiftstar seemed to be nowhere in sight, so it wouldn't be odd if Goosestar wasn't here.
"Never! That territory belongs to Windclan!" I yelled back.
Yowls and screeches of Windclan followed in agreement.
"Thunderclan…ATTACK!" he screeched as he surged forward.
I let out a battle screech and Windclan raced forward. I immediately lunged at Snowstorm, my claws unsheathed. I dug my claws into his chest, and his thick, silky, white fur was instantly covered in blood. He let out a yowl and managed to rip me from his chest. I had held my grasp too strong, and I felt my claw getting wrenched in the process. I let out a yowl in pain. Taking his chance Snowstorm lunged a set of huge claws at my muzzle, but I fought past the stinging pain in time to duck. He let out a hiss of anger and impatience and swung again. I ducked again and lashed out my good paw at his muzzle, clawing it. I felt a whisker being plucked from his muzzle, and I flicked it out from between my claws.
That's when Snowstorm got angry and picked it up notch. He did some move that was so fast it was all a blur. All I knew was that my chest was now bleeding. The scarlet blood barely showed against my black coat, while Snowstorm's blood stood out worse then a white blossom in the middle of a mud puddle.
I pelted by Snowstorm, raking my claws down his side and then biting down swiftly and quickly on his flank. He spun around to face me again. He dove forward quickly and managed to bite my shoulder. I let out a yowl of pain as blood oozed from it. I let out a snarl and leaped on him and we went tumbling. To my disadvantage I landed on my belly, with Snowstorm on top of me. He clawed furiously at my underbelly but I surged forward before he could cause too much damage. I threw him into the air, and he landed on one of his own cats, who struggled beneath his weight. I saw the second wave running down the hill, helping pick off some more of the Thunderclan cats.
I was now on top of Snowstorm, and clawing at his underbelly. He attempted to kick me off, but I was too strong. Snowstorm took one glance and saw most of his clan fleeing back to the other side of the border.
"THUNDERCLAN! RETREAT!" he yowled the orders.
I clawed him one more time before letting him up.
"You win this time Lightningpaw. I am surprised an apprentice was allowed to lead his clan into battle," he hissed.
"It is Lightningblaze now. And never underestimate Windclan. We are stronger than ever. Now go back to the forest, where you belong," I snarled back at him.
Snowstorm let out one last hiss and then raced back to the border with his few Clanmates that hadn't fled back yet. I turned to face my clan.
"Is anyone gravely injured?" I yowled.
I spread my gaze across them, but all them were standing. Sparrowtail's leg was curled up like he would be limping, but otherwise everyone was fine. Brackenclaw seemed the least injured of them all.
"Brackenclaw help Sparrowtail back to camp if he needs help," I said as I began to walk back to camp.
Brackenclaw nodded and Sparrowtail reluctantly leaned on his side. Thrushpaw's light gray pelt was streaked with blood, but she was walking perfectly fine and I didn't see much damage on her. It must have all been Thunderclan blood.
We walked into camp and I saw Quailfeather counting us all. After we all entered camp she let out a huge sigh of relief. Birdsong and Sweetflower came out of their den, carrying bundles of herbs.
"The most injured cats come first. Others will have to wait momentarily. But I want to make sure every cat is checked," Birdsong ordered.
Sparrowtail stepped forward to let Sweetflower check him.
"Lightningblaze get over here, it looks like you can barely stand," Birdsong ordered.
I realized my legs were shaking with effort to keep standing, and my whole body was numb with pain. I walked over to Birdsong and she began to look over me.
"Ooh you've got a nasty bite wound there. Your chest scrapes are still oozing blood, but your muzzle scrapes will heal quickly. You might want to be careful with your underbelly wounds though. And lemme see that paw you are tucking by your chest," Birdsong ordered.
I held out my left forepaw and she examined for only a few seconds.
"You wrenched your claw too. Okay. Lay down so I can stop the bleeding," she said.
I laid down and she pawed some cobwebs at my chest and my shoulder. After the bleeding stopped I got up again and she ordered me to lick the blood away while she treated Maplewhisker's few scrapes quickly. Most of the blood on me was my own, which wasn't a good sign. My body probably hadn't fully recovered from our battle with Riverclan only a few days ago. Then suddenly I realized that some of the cats I had sent into battle with Thunderclan may have not fully recovered from their previous wounds. If they were injured in the same place they would be in serious pain and possibly scarred for life.
I finished licking off the leftover blood and Birdsong applied some marigold to my bite and scrapes and some dock to my wrenched claw.
"Now try and stay off that paw for awhile, and don't use that claw for anything. Tomorrow come in for some more marigold and dock for your injuries," Birdsong ordered.
"Thanks," I replied as I walked away.
"Lightningblaze? Are you okay?" Thrushpaw asked as she padded up to me.
She had one long scrape down her shoulder that wasn't very deep and was no longer bleeding and there was a small nick on the tip of her ear. Somehow, both of my ears had no nicks or scars on them.
"I'm fine. Just a few scrapes and bites. No big deal," I shrugged.
"Okay," she meowed as she licked my forehead.
I walked over to the medicine cat den and peered inside. Goosestar was awake.
"How did the battle go?" he croaked.
"We won, and no one died or is permanently crippled," I reported.
A faint smile crossed his lips.
"Good, that means Thunderclan and Riverclan will stay off our borders for awhile," he smiled.
"Did Birdsong tell you already-" I started.
"Yes I know Pebbleclaw has retired and placed you as our new temporary leader. I am fine with that; Pebbleclaw knows what she is doing. I think it will be a good experience for you, after all," he coughed.
I nodded and exited the den, glad I at least had Goosestar permission. He had never been too much of a Father to me, and probably never would. He had acted more like a mentor than anything else.
I peered up at the sun. It was almost sundown, to my surprise. My belly roared with hunger and I grabbed a rabbit from the fresh-kill pile. It was stringy and tasted like splintered wood, but at least my belly was full with something. Suddenly I felt immensely guilty for eating the whole thing.
This could have given both Thrushpaw and Littlepaw full bellies tonight…or two warriors a meal to get them through until tomorrow…or enough to feed Snowkit, Hawkkit, Turtlekit, and give a few mouthfuls to Dawnstripe. I thought guiltily.
I padded sadly into the warriors den and curled up in my nest. I closed my eyes but sleep did not come.
Do not feel guilty! It is your own clanmates fault for not grabbing the prey first! a familiar voice snapped in my head.
Nightfur! I screeched in my head as anger roared up in my body like a fire.
Stupid Brambleclaw. I have escaped from his grasp yet again, but this time he will never catch me. And I will finally be able to fulfill my true destiny. he laughed menacingly.
It is not your destiny! It is your ambition that is just leading your clanmates into a lake of blood and death! I spat angrily.
And with that I clenched my eyes shut and managed to force Nightfur out of my head. He let out one last, loud snarl and disappeared. I immediately felt lighter and happier with his soul out of my body. I then fell into a very uneasy sleep.
This is more of a filler chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways! I know it's kinda odd that Lightningblaze got to be leader….but I thought I'd give it a shot! ;D Please reviewww! And also, please check out my new story "The Golden Warriors" that is currently in create-a-cat mode!