Sorry if Snowpaw seems OOC. I rewrote this chapter with everyone's original personalities. OH DEAR. Say, instead of Snowpaw being a former kittypet, how about a rouge? It seems less cliché, to me anyway. But then I'd have to get rid of the collar removal scene in chapter whatever. Well, how about she was a rouge, and then a Twoleg caught her and put the freaking thing on her for some stupid scientific thingymagummy.

Longest. AN. Ever.

(In my story at least, damn I am sleepy.)


Chapter 15

"Breezestar?" Snowpaw hissed.

Stormpaw was frozen, his entire body tense. Snowpaw warily crossed the border, her fur on end. "Breezestar?"

With a shuddering gasp, Breezestar opened her eyes. She looked around, spotted Snowpaw, and let out a furious growl. "Come back to finish the job, huh? You piece of fox dung! Fight me like a real warrior!" Breezestar jumped to her paws, and promptly let out a shriek of pain. Her hind leg was badly clawed.

Snowpaw drew back her lips in a snarl, and Stormpaw hastily stood in front of her.

"Breezestar, who attacked you?" Stormpaw asked, shooting a warning glance at the white and ginger she-cat.

"What-? Oh, you're ThunderClan apprentices." Breezestar looked them over for a heartbeat, then meowed. "I don't know. His scent was masked, by the smell of badgers."

"Badgers?" Stormpaw mewed, surprised.

"Yes. Any territorial scent was hidden. And it all happened so fast that I couldn't even begin to defend myself." Breezestar growled.

"The WindClan leader, unable to defend herself?" Snowpaw asked skeptically.

Breezestar hissed. "I doubt you'd fare better."

"Want to bet?" Snowpaw growled.

"Snowpaw!" Stormpaw hissed. "This is Breezestar, not Rainstripe. You could claw his face off and probably have half the clan help you hold him down, but if you claw the WindClan leader, you'd be starting a war!"

Snowpaw hissed. "Oh, so being leader means you can insult everybody?"

"Oh, shut up." Stormpaw batted her. "But, are you alright, Breezestar?" Stormpaw meowed, looking up respectfully at the WindClan leader. "Do you need help to get back to camp, or-?"

"I can manage." Breezestar stated shortly. She began a limping jog back towards her camp, and soon she was out of sight.

"Well, that was a close one." Stormpaw meowed as he and Snowpaw crossed back over the border. "What do you think attacked her?"

Snowpaw didn't answer, not because she didn't have an idea, but because she was too incensed. Mangy rabbit chaser…

"Hey." Stormpaw stopped in mid-stride, as if an idea had caught him.

"What?" Snowpaw asked, pausing further up.

Stormpaw flattened his ears and looked around conspiratorially. "What if…"

"Don't keep me waiting, you mouse-brain." Snowpaw meowed, glaring at him.

Stormpaw looked around again. "You know how the WindClan cats attacked our border patrol, apparently under the order of Wildlegs?"

"Yes, but don't tell me-" Snowpaw broke off, her eyes widening.

"What if the cat that attacked Breezestar-" Stormpaw hissed, crouching down. "-was Wildlegs?"

Snowpaw looked shocked. "He's not even deputy! If he killed Breezestar, he wouldn't be leader! Unless he's planning to bump Violeteyes off-"

"Well, it would be easier than killing Breezestar six or seven times over." Stormpaw reasoned.

"Can a leader die more than once, with one wound?" Snowpaw asked.

"Yeah, remember Tigerstar?" Stormpaw meowed, remembering the elder's tales of him. "Killed by Scourge, ripped out all nine lives with one blow."

"But Wildlegs isn't Scourge." Snowpaw murmured. "He's an ordinary warrior, with ordinary skills."

"But there are plenty of injuries an ordinary warrior could inflict to wipe out more than one life." Stormpaw meowed, jumping on Snowpaw and mock biting her neck. "Throat torn out, could bleed to death. Twice." He meowed in amusement as Snowpaw shoved him off. "What else?"

"Broken neck." Snowpaw answered, jumping on Stormpaw and whacking the back of his neck lightly.

Stormpaw shook her off and imitated a tree falling. "Could get pinned and unable to move in order to save more of their lives."

"Where are there trees in WindClan territory? And a falling tree isn't likely to be easy for Wildlegs to rig up." Snowpaw reasoned, spotting a mouse. She dropped instinctively into a hunting crouch and stalked toward it.

With a pounce, she caught the mouse with a paw and bit into it, killing it instantly. Picking it up in her mouth, she mumbled. "Wet's hunt. Den Pwinepelt can't well at us."

"Whaaaaaaat?" Stormpaw asked, cocking his head to the side.

Snowpaw dropped the mouse. "Let's hunt. Then Pinepelt can't yell at us."

"Oooh." Stormpaw nodded. "I scent squirrel. I might as well get something to take Graybite and Amberfang."

"Leave me Onefoot, why don't you?" Snowpaw snapped.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot." Stormpaw mewled, rolling his shoulders.

"Yes, let's forget the rouge-hating old furball.*" Snowpaw growled, but Stormpaw could see that she was amused.

"Blah." Stormpaw stuck out his tongue.

"Blah, yourself." Snowpaw batted at him.

"Ooh, ssh! There's a vole hiding over there!" Stormpaw hissed.

The two spent the time heading back to camp hunting and talking more about possible murder theories. Snowpaw darkly suggested death by annoyance when Stormpaw tried to tell her a joke about the badger, the fox, and the Twoleg.

"Where have you been?" Pinepelt asked angrily as the pair dragged their catch back into camp. "I expected you two back ages ago."

"Sorry, Pinepelt." Snowpaw growled.

"I should have expected this, a lazy rouge can't be expected to abide by time schedules." Pinepelt snarled.

"And how much have you caught, oh mighty deputy sir?" Snowpaw shot, her eyes flashing.

Pinepelt bristled and hissed, when Flamestar walked back into camp. "Oh, hello, you two. Nice catch, you can take that squirrel and the vole to Graybite and Amberfang, Oakpaw fed Onefoot."

"Yes, Flamestar." Snowpaw picked up the vole in her jaws, while Stormpaw hastily grabbed the squirrel. The pair headed to the elder's den.

"…And the ShadowClan leader wanted the meaningless blood-shed to end, due to ShadowClan cats being badly wounded or even killed by the fights of the other three. She devised a plan, to scare the other three leaders into stopping the violence. So, with the help of a few rouges living nearby, Russetstar gathered the other three leaders on a foggy night by the Moonpool. She stood in front of Thornstar, Rainstar, and Ashstar, her eyes shining. With two of the rouges speaking in an overlay with her, the other three leaders thought that the ShadowClan leader was possessed by spirits of StarClan. The remaining four rouges paced through the fog, their eyes shining eerily, and the WindClan, ThunderClan, and RiverClan leaders fell silent as Russetstar and the rouges told them to stop their meaningless killing." Amberfang was saying, speaking to the three small bundles of fur on the floor in front of her.

"Oh, hello, Stormpaw. Snowpaw." Graybite, who was grooming herself in a corner, rasped.

"Hi, Graybite. Hungry?" Snowpaw meowed, placing the vole in front of Graybite.

"Oh, thank you." Graybite rumbled, taking a ravenous bite out of the fresh-kill.

"You're Snowpaw?" One of the small bundles of fur squeaked. Only then did Snowpaw realize that they were Shadekit, Twilightkit, and Whitekit. All three were staring up at Snowpaw with large blue eyes. Well, Twilightkit had one eye still closed.

"Yeah, I'm Snowpaw." Snowpaw purred, looking at the kits.

"Wow. You're big!" Whitekit mewled.

"You're gonna get big soon." Snowpaw told the white tom-kit.

"Yeah, and then I'll be the biggest warrior ever!" Whitekit proclaimed, pouncing on Twilightkit.

"Ow, Whitekit!" Twilightkit wailed. "You poked my sore eye!"

"Sowwy." Whitekit apologized.

"I'll take the squirrel, Stormpaw." Amberfang meowed. "Do you want to listen to the rest of my story?"

"Sorry, I can't." Snowpaw meowed. "I've gotta go help Barkpelt with some repairs to his den."

"Oh, alright." Amberfang rasped, looking slightly disappointed.

Snowpaw nodded to the kits, and then headed to the medicine cat's den. "Barkpelt?" She called.

"He's out gathering thyme." Tawnyflower answered, busy mixing a poultice in the corner. "Did he shanghai you into fixing his den for him?"

Snowpaw nodded, looking embarrassed. "What's up with Twilightkit's eye? It hasn't opened like the others."

"She was playing with her siblings near the the dust patch in camp yesterday, and Shadekit pinned her to the ground and she got dust in her eye. When I looked at it, it had gotten infected and swollen closed. She's alright, but she has to manage with just one eye." Tawnyflower explained, extending a claw to cut up some leaves.

"Ooh, that's nasty." Snowpaw commented.

"Well, she's young, so it should heal fast. I think some cat may have brought something back from outside the camp and it got in the dust, and that's why it got infected. But I won't bore you with the details." Tawnyflower sighed, pushing the pile into a corner.

"When will Barkpelt be back?" Snowpaw asked.

"Soon, or I may have Flamestar send out a search party." Tawnyflower chuckled, and Snowpaw rolled her eyes.

"Call me when he comes back, please?" Snowpaw meowed, turning to leave.

"Wild fire will burn the moors, and the breeze will yield darkness." A low rasp escaped Tawnyflower's mouth. Her eyes seemed to burn into Snowpaw's pelt. "The calm before the storm…"

"...What?" Snowpaw asked, turning to stare at the medicine cat.

"What? Oh, sorry. I guess I caught a whiff of some catmint." Tawnyflower meowed, shaking her head, the burning look in her eyes gone. "But I'll call you when my very late apprentice comes back with that thyme."

"Right…" Snowpaw hastily backed out of the den, her mind reeling.

"Wild fire will burn the moors, and the breeze will yield darkness." Snowpaw muttered. "What does that mean?"

But she had a very nasty feeling that the warning had come from StarClan. And it seemed be talking about WindClan.

What if Stormpaw's suspicions about Breezestar's attacker was true, and even now Wildlegs was planning to kill her and her deputy?

"Sometimes I wish I never got involved in this nonsense." Snowpaw muttered, gouging the ground with her claws.

*I'm referring to Snowpaw as a former rouge because I think I need to change her from a kittypet to a rouge.