I'M SO BAD AT UPLOADING THINGS.
Chapter 21: A Prologue to Disaster
Willowleaf dreamt that she and Mouseclaw had gone hunting in the dense forest behind ThunderClan territory, and that they climbed away from the Clans laughing and catching prey only to let it go, hungry only for the company of the other. But then they had separated, and Willowleaf had been unable to find him. So she searched the trees calling his name and searching for his scent to no avail. She could feel him close by, but she couldn't locate him. She opened her mouth to call for him, but he was gone, forever just a scent on the breeze and a name in the back of her mind.
When she woke with a start, it was almost a relief, because Mouseclaw was shaking her. Wait.
"Willowleaf, up." Mouseclaw's fur was on edge, and his eyes were stunned. The cold scent of blood drifted into her nose. At once, she felt fear rock her body. Willowleaf scrambled to her feet, startling Bluemoon, who slept not far away.
"Are we under attack?" Bluemoon spooked when she smelled fear. The words reverberated through the warriors den and opened the eyes of multiple of the warriors. Ignoring them, Willowleaf followed Mouseclaw out of the den and into the clearing.
Doveheart was standing in the center of the clearing with Ferretpelt of ShadowClan. Birdfeather had already offered her shoulder for the grey-and-cream tom to lean on, and she was trying to say something, but Doveheart and Ferretpelt were locked in a conversation. Willowleaf and Mouseclaw stood out of earshot until Doveheart nodded, her eyes dark, and tossed herself onto the Highledge.
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather for a Clan meeting!" Doveheart's voice rang shrilly into the night air, and if Willowleaf was a little bit asleep, she woke up very suddenly then. She stood beside Mouseclaw as the Clan crept alive, but Doveheart was already surveying the warriors that emerged. Her ears twitched constantly as she made notes on what was happening all throughout ThunderClan – and perhaps beyond.
"RiverClan has invaded ShadowClan," said Doveheart. Willowleaf's heart nearly fell out of her chest. Mouseclaw hissed. The cats that were awake were stunned into silence. "We will send aid."
"What?" Foxleap's fur was still ruffled. "We don't have those kind of – "
"This is a conflict between ShadowClan and RiverClan," added Blossomfall. "Why should we get involved?"
"Please!" Ferretpelt was bleeding from a gash in his side that Willowleaf hadn't seen before, but now he turned away form Birdfeather and stared desperately at them. "ShadowClan will owe you a great debt."
"Can't ShadowClan fight its own battles?" called Cloudtail, puffing his chest out.
"They have drawn our warriors to all sides of our territory," said Ferretpelt. "WindClan warriors are with them. They are attacking our kits, our medicine cats…Please!"
"WindClan warriors!" Berrynose got to his feet. "Those mangy fox-hearts!"
"I will go to ShadowClan," said Doveheart. "If I go alone, so be it."
"You won't be alone." Thornclaw got to his paws, his eyes dark. Other warriors yowled their approval, and Doveheart nodded her gratitude. Ferretpelt had leaned on Birdfeather's shoulder again, and Jayfeather hurried from the den with a jawful of herbs for the ShadowClan warrior. Willowleaf's paws tingled, and she felt the battle in her blood. It would be risky to leave their camp too unguarded, especially when WindClan had already taken the effort to draw ThunderClan's best warriors away. But Doveheart met her eyes and read her concerns, and she nodded.
"Sorreltail, Cloudtail, please take care of the camp," she said. "Sorreltail is leader until we return."
"Yes, Doveheart."
"I will take seven of you." She scanned the clearing. "Thornclaw, Squirrelflight, Berrynose, Bumblestripe, Willowleaf, Stealthstep, Honeypaw."
"Don't worry, Willowleaf." Sorreltail's eyes were bright. "We won't let them get to us." Doveheart blinked her gratitude and leaped down from the Highledge. Mouseclaw turned to Willowleaf and licked the top of her head. "Be safe."
"I'll be fine." Her heart pounding, Willowleaf bounded across the clearing to join the others. Doveheart approached them last, turning to the warriors she had gathered.
"Let's be quick," said Doveheart. "I'm uneasy."
So they jogged across the territory, conserving their strength by keeping their pace relatively even and their path relatively clear. No one spoke, but Willowleaf could feel her own thoughts pounding alongside those of her Clanmates. They were united in this deep-rooted disgust over what was happening. Two Clans, attacking one…it was a move reserved only for the darkest of days. She could see the clear misgivings in Thornclaw's eyes and recognized them – this was a cat that had fought the last time two Clans had joined to attack a third, all those moons ago in the days of Tigerstar. The thought led a shiver up Willowleaf's spine. All this time, and they were going backwards.
They heard fighting as soon as they crashed over the border and into ShadowClan land. The darkness between the pines engulfed them entirely, but Willowleaf could see her claws sharp against the forest floor and Berrynose's stumpy tail in front of her guiding the way along a path Doveheart knew thanks to her senses. Yowls rang through the trees like cawing birds. Willowleaf didn't need to hear like Doveheart to know that this battle ran throughout ShadowClan territory. This was a brilliant war strategy but a cruel trick.
The cats burst into ShadowClan camp and found it in chaos. RiverClan warriors, their pelts streaked with dark mud, swarmed from all sides, closing in on weary ShadowClan cats that guarded their sick and young and old. Doveheart called an empty instruction, but it the ThunderClan warriors needed no guidance. Willowleaf swept towards the nursery, her paws in time with Bumblestripe's, and they spun to defend a bleeding Ivytail as she hissed and batted away two RiverClan warriors. Shoving the bigger of the two off Ivytail, Willowleaf dug her teeth into muddy fur and scored her claws down the chest of the warrior. She looked down and found it to be Mosspelt, who yowled at Willowleaf's attack. Mosspelt's blue eyes cleared, and her confusion at seeing Willowleaf soon hardened into fury. Willowleaf found herself being pushed back, and she crouched low, letting Mosspelt's attack sail over her head. Bumblestripe was locked in combat with the other nursery attacker, but Ivytail, breathing heavily, dropped to Willowleaf's side to help with Mosspelt.
"How dare you go after kits!" Ivytail's voice was shaking. "Have you never had your own, Mosspelt?"
"Kits with corrupted hearts are not kits I want in my world!" Mosspelt's eyes had never been colder. The words were so terrifying Willowleaf wished this was a dream, and she could go back to the world where she had lost Mouseclaw. What had things come from, if ordinary warriors no longer cared about kits?
Ivytail streaked forward, screaming her anger and putting all her force into one attack, and Willowleaf forced herself to advance as well, raking her claws down Mosspelt's side as Ivytail kept her occupied at the front. It took three more rotations of Willowleaf's body, three more claw marks, and Mosspelt screeched in half-fury, half-pain before spinning and bolting from the battle. Ivytail sat back, suddenly unable to keep herself upright.
"Are you alright?" Willowleaf fell to the former queen's side, catching her weight against her shoulder. Ivytail hissed in pain from her injuries. "Let's get you to Flametail."
"Thank you, Willowleaf." Ivytail stood on her own paws and shook her head. "I want to defend the nursery."
"You won't be much good in this state." She cast a glance at Bumblestripe, who nodded. "Bumblestripe will stay here."
Casting a look over her shoulder, the ShadowClan cat hesitated.
"We're your allies," promised Bumblestripe. "Please, trust us."
"Trust ThunderClan," said Ivytail, but she knew she had no choice but to rest. "I thought I'd never see the day."
Willowleaf led her to Flametail's den but soon instructed Ivytail to take shelter in the apprentice's den instead, because the medicine den was another source of knotted chaos. Stealthstep and Honeypaw barred the entrance to the den against six warriors, two of which were from WindClan. They were joined by Heatwhisker, Toadfoot, and Marshpaw, but still, it was a tough battle. Willowleaf wanted to join in, and then a howl rose up so shrill and loud it put owl cries to shame. All cats paused to hear this distress, but Willowleaf had sensed disaster and death firsthand. She knew that this kind of yowl was the worst kind of pain imaginable, but she had lived through enough pain that she was deaf to its shrillness. So her paws moved quickly, and she bounded up to Blackstar's den, which was positioned between three rocks, as Reedwhisker and four warriors bounded out, not looking at her. Willowleaf almost pursued them, but Reedwhisker tipped his head back and cried out a retreat signal. RiverClan warriors streamed out of the camp like the very water they lived around.
Hesitant, Willowleaf stepped inside the leader's den. The smell of blood was everywhere. Doveheart was within, her pelt covered in blood as she crouched low. Her eyes were pulled back flat against her head. Tawnypelt and Rowanclaw stood within, too, their paws shaking. Oakfur was the one crooning his heartache to the heavens, for lying in a heap in the worst of the bloodstain was Blackstar. Willowleaf knew what dead cats looked like, so she didn't bother asking. She just hollowly took a few steps into the den.
"This can't be happening." Tawnypelt's tail drooped. "Blackstar…"
First Onestar, now Blackstar. Willowleaf blinked, taking in the sight of the big white cat's corpse. She had considered Blackstar even more of a solid force than Onestar had been. Onestar at least had been the kind of cat to change his mind. Blackstar was stubborn and ruthless until he saw it benefited him to be otherwise. But he looked about the same as the cats she had killed. Dead cats all had the same look to them.
"Oakfur." Rowanclaw spoke first, trying to interrupt the deputy's cries. "Oakfur!"
"This is unforgiveable." Oakfur stopped yelling for a few moments to speak. His small frame vibrated, powered by his fury and grief. "RiverClan will pay for this."
"The Clan should know." Rowanclaw tipped his head to the side. Oakfur nodded a few times, as if convincing himself of something. He began to leave, then turned to Doveheart and Willowleaf.
"Thank you for coming," said Oakfur hollowly. "ShadowClan will repay you."
"ShadowClan owes ThunderClan nothing." Doveheart shook her head. "This was a murder, not a battle. You heard Reedwhisker. These cats were here for Blackstar's blood."
Willowleaf's jaw dropped slightly, but she closed it as she followed Doveheart from the den. The ThunderClan deputy hopped into the center of the camp and called the rest of the Clan to her. Willowleaf looked around at her Clanmates as they approached, scanning them quickly. Stealthstep appeared to be limping, and Honeypaw's shoulder was bleeding pretty badly, but nothing otherwise looked as though it wouldn't recover in a day or two.
"What is going on?" said Bumblestripe. Doveheart nodded up at Oakfur, who had appeared on top of the Highbranch that ShadowClan used for announcements. For a few minutes, the Clans seemed frozen in the moment, and then ShadowClan cats poured into their camp, bleeding and crying and making enough noise that Oakfur had to point his muzzle at the sky and call for attention again. When ShadowClan had gathered, Oakfur took a long breath and sighed.
"RiverClan and WindClan united against us," said Oakfur. "They aimed to destroy ShadowClan." He took a deep breath. "Blackstar walks with StarClan once and for all."
His words were met by gasps. Cats shrank back in fear and worry. Willowleaf understood entirely how they felt. Death was always to be met with fear and worry and shock. It wasn't a process that seemed like it could happen to some cats. Or a process that should have happened at all, really. But they would recover.
"I will go to the Moontree at morning light," said Oakfur. He turned sad eyes to the crowd of ThunderClan cats. "Though they were not quick enough to save Blackstar, we owe ThunderClan our gratitude for coming to our aid."
"Two Clans have united to hurt a third," said Doveheart again. "It was our task to rise to stop such needless violence."
"All the same." Oakfur dipped his head, and the rest of ShadowClan follow. The feeling of being bowed down to, even if it was somewhat resentful in some cases, was both unnerving and satisfying.
"This is a grave omen," said Flametail. The orange medicine cat stood in the center of the clearing, shaking his head. As if talking directly to the stars, he turned his eyes to the sky. "StarClan has spoken. When Wind and River unite, the blood of both will flow."
It wasn't a real prophecy. Doveheart and Willowleaf exchanged a look.
"What does that mean?" asked one of the apprentices. Marshpaw, maybe?
"It is the end for WindClan and RiverClan," said Flametail. "StarClan has forseen this. The four Clans will become only two."
"Two?" said a warrior. "Does that mean…?"
"RiverClan and WindClan have broken every code between the Clans." Flametail's voice seemed to carry the weight of all of StarClan. Willowleaf could imagine the shadowy ancestors laughing as they delivered this message. She narrowed her eyes. It was Old StarClan, even though Old StarClan was with Willowshine, too? "It is time for them to be eradicated."
"No matter what StarClan supposedly says, you can't actually do it." Willowleaf found herself pacing forwards and speaking. Her heart was in her throat.
"StarClan commands our skies," said Flametail. "Perhaps ThunderClan has forgotten this." He tilted his head to the side, and Willowleaf bristled. A growl rose in Squirrelflight's throat.
"Enough," said Doveheart suddenly. "We're going now. ShadowClan can react to such cryptic words on their own. Until ThunderClan hears this message from Jayfeather or Birdfeather, we take no action."
"Thank you," said Oakfur again. Doveheart flicked her tail as they turned. "We will escort you home."
Willowleaf's pelt bristled as she turned to trudge out of ShadowClan camp.
"That wasn't your place," said Doveheart. She flicked Willowleaf with the edge of her tail, voice cold.
"Eradicate WindClan and RiverClan…" Berrynose spoke in a quiet voice. "I wonder."
"There's no way," said Thornclaw, shouldering his way out of the camp. They fell into step with their escorts and didn't speak any more on the matter. ShadowClan had sent Crowfrost, Owlclaw, and Tigerheart to guide them home. Willowleaf walked beside Honeypaw, eyes fixed on her paws. Her heart was ice-cold. Whatever message Flametail was getting, it was only Old StarClan bringing about the war that was to come. The heavens were toying with them like a kit would play with a ball of moss. StarClan was pushing them just as easily, tossing them between their ideas and prophecies and convincing them to reach back just a little farther, to play just a little rougher. Soon the ball of moss would fall apart. Soon the border would fall. Soon the Clans would reach their judgment day, and Willowleaf would have to figure out how not to destroy the world.
They didn't speak. No one could muster the words. A leader had been killed, and their leader was still out in the hills somewhere, abducted no doubt by WindClan. She knew the camp was safe, for Doveheart would have known the second enemy claws rained down on ThunderClan territory. The deputy walked in the front, next to Tigerheart but refusing to even acknowledge his existence. Willowleaf knew they had a connection, that he knew a lot but wouldn't speak to anyone but Doveheart for some reason. It scared her to know that he was such an unknown.
As they reached the border, the ShadowClan cats sat and peered at them, eyes glossy with grief.
"I'm sorry about Blackstar." Thornclaw bowed his head. "He was truly a great leader."
"The only leader I could ever imagine ShadowClan having." Bumblestripe nodded his agreement. Willowleaf mumbled her assent, wishing Blackstar's spirit well. Hopefully, the old leader would find his way into New StarClan, where he would be safe. If there was any "safety" at all anymore, in the heavens or in the Clans.
"Thank you." Crowfrost dipped his head.
"May StarClan look down favorably on Oakfur in this difficult time," added Doveheart. Willowleaf wanted to jump at the word StarClan. Oh, how she hated them! She wanted to go up to the stars herself and scold them for making all this happen. "I have every faith in his abilities." How could Doveheart speak so peacefully of StarClan? She played her part perfectly. It set Willowleaf's teeth on edge just thinking of the traitorous star-pelts. "If ShadowClan needs anything, they have a friend in ThunderClan."
"We'll be fine," said Owlclaw a little curtly.
"Simply an offer," said Doveheart, voice calm. "In these days, it can be good to know who your friends are."
Willowleaf tried to nod, but Tigerheart was staring at her, amber eyes fixated. She didn't like the way that he was watching her, like a hawk about to swoop in on its prey. As ThunderClan turned away, she felt his eyes stay trained on her, and she paused a little. She was at the back of the party, anyways, and in their grief and shock, they hardly noticed. Honeypaw and Stealthstep needed to get back to camp anyways. Crowfrost and Owlclaw turned away, but Tigerheart sat perfectly still, just watching. Willowleaf stopped and held his gaze until Tigerheart stood up and calmly took the necessary steps across the border. Willowleaf took a deep breath.
"Get off our land," she said coldly. "We may be your allies, but that doesn't mean we get to share hunting ground."
"You have guts, thinking you can challenge StarClan." Willowleaf narrowed her eyes at Tigerheart's low-spoken words. "But maybe that's not what's good for your Clan right now."
"What are you saying?" Willowleaf's hackles were rising of her own accord. She felt a chill settle over her body, seeping out from her heart and covering her entire frame, dazzling down to her paws. She could control it now, but it wouldn't take much for her to let herself slip. How would Tigerheart look entirely frozen? Probably the same as every other dead cat looked.
"Watch where you step, Willowleaf." Tigerheart's eyes flashed. "You don't want to contradict Flametail again."
"Is that a threat?" She knew that the air between them had chilled, but Tigerheart didn't flinch.
"Some things are meant to happen," he said. "Sometimes things have to be destroyed if you're going to rebuild a perfect world."
"What does that mean?" said Willowleaf, but she heard a cat moving through the undergrowth behind her, and Crowfrost called for Tigerheart between the trees. "Are you threatening me?"
Tigerheart cast her one more look and backed into the shadows of his own land.
"Willowleaf?" Bumblestripe stuck his head through the undergrowth. "What's wrong? Are you coming?"
"Yeah, sorry," said Willowleaf. "I thought I heard something funny. I thought it might have been more RiverClan cats." She sniffed the air for effect. "Guess I was imagining it."
She turned to follow Bumblestripe, thinking of course of her dreams of destroying the world. Was it a perfect world, the one covered in ice? Perhaps. It had a sense of perfection in it. Everything was frozen in its natural state. That was perfection. But that was perfection that could not be rebuilt. So what was Tigerheart saying? That they needed to rebuild the Clans after they destroyed them?
It didn't feel like her goal, but it didn't feel like the goal of Old StarClan either. She didn't know what to say. Her stomach felt empty, and the image of dead Blackstar kept popping into her head. Some things were meant to happen for a reason. Onestar had died in Birdfeather's fire. Blackstar had died in a cruel RiverClan-WindClan attack. Bramblestar had only been given five lives, and he had given them all in an earthquake. And she had been chosen to destroy the world. Was it all for a reason?
Willowleaf decided it had to be for a reason. So she captured that belief with her claws and held it close to her ice-cold heart. Somehow, the idea of this being pre-determined allowed some of the frost around her soul to melt.
Okay, not going to comment much on this, since I'm going to upload another chapter right now. Will say more then! But still, Tigerheart. Ah. Tigerheart.
That's all.
~Elsi