lol yay for another update! Oh, and for those who absolutely love Pokemon, guess what I've heard? They're coming out with two new games by April, based off of Pokemon Silver and Gold! I myself and looking forward to playing them...anyways, on a lighter note... Oh, and I also made one more mistake...I made it look like Emberfoot was alive, when in reality, he isn't. He's happy with Leafspots^^
Moonstreak1 - XD thanks! I do my best when it comes to updating!
flareon200 - you shall find out what happens...If you look at my profile you'll get a sneak preview of everything *grins evily* And yes, I tried to make Cinderstar's character as realistic as I could, though it's rather a toughy since it's been a while since I've read the old books...
Willowpool - thanks, I'm trying :)
~Chapter 11~
Why? Why? The question clutched at Dawnstar's mind, forcing her to picture her fallen Clanmates. Though there had not been many, the thought still made her shudder violently. She did not wantto end up like Russetstar, who had pretty much gone mad.
She stared at her own blood-covered fur, blinking rapidly as she did so. Those rogues had done this. She had been shocked and hurt to hear that the leader of BloodClan had been none other than Stormfur and Brook's kit. Apparently he had killed a Tribe cat a while ago and was banished. After that he had set out for revenge, but luckily, his revenge had failed.
"Dawnstar, they're going to bury the bodies," Scorchfur meowed gently.
She nodded slowly. The Tribe cats, who were hit the worse, seemed to take care of everything. StormPride, the Healer, or leader of the Tribe of Rushing Waters, had helped as much as she could. But her herbs would not heal the wounds that had open hearts.
As one Tribe cat dragged Specklepaw's body away, Dawnstar whispered one last good-bye to her kin. She bowed her head in utter regret as she watched them leave.
Specklepaw had been Tawnypelt's kit, so in a way, they were sort of sisters. But Dawnstar didn't have time to grieve for her lost Clanmates. She needed to look to the future, and her Clan needed her now more than ever.
She rose to her paws and padded towards the small group of gathered ShadowClan cats. Shrewfoot and Whitewater were staring at the ground. Their eyes were wide with shock, but they didn't look too battered. Scorchfur was helping to tend to the other wounded cats, so Dawnstar felt herself relax a little.
With such a strong deputy at her side, she could just make this move smoothly. She sat down and started to groom her unkempt fur. It had become messy from the battle, and blood still soaked her fur.
The ShadowClan leader stopped when a sleek gray tabby cat padded towards her. "Greetings," meowed the strange cat with a dip of her head. "Scorchfur has told me much about you." There was a gleam in the cat's amber eyes as she looked at Dawnstar.
Dawnstar ducked her head in embarrassment. "Well, there isn't much to talk about," she replied coolly.
The gray tabby tilted her head to the side. "Is it that easy?" she asked. Than she shook her head. "Perhaps there isn't much, but I would like to have a feast, in honor of the cats who helped save the Tribe."
More embarrassment flashed through Dawnstar as the gray tabby started to walk away. "We wouldn't have done it without your aid," she replied.
The Healer blinked for a moment, than nodded. She padded towards a group of cats who were clustered around what looked like a fresh-kill pile. The gray tabby nodded to a dark brown tabby tom, whose eyes widened.
He murmured something to a dark gray tom, and than the two toms padded towards Dawnstar. They carried a piece of fresh-kill and handed it to her. "Would you like to share?" asked the dark gray tom.
Her belly's rumbling answered for her. The two tom's eyes were gleaming with amusement when Scorchfur approached. "Thank you," Dawnstar mewed. She took part of the fresh-kill and began to chew ravenously.
It had been a while since she'd eaten. In fact, it had been two suns, and now she felt full and content. She watched as Scorchfur finished the prey, and than looked around herself.
All over cats were sharing fresh-kill. Duskpaw, another one of Tawnypelt's kits, was play fighting with what looked like another apprentice. Eagleheart of ThunderClan was chatting with some of the Tribe members, describing what WindClan territory used to look like.
"Why are you a ThunderClan cat than?" asked a bold powerful looking tabby.
Eagleheart tipped his head to the side, and Dawnstar pricked her ears in interest. She had heard that Eagleheart had used to be a WindClan warrior. But something happened to make him join ThunderClan.
"Well, it happened because of Ashstar, the former leader of WindClan. Emberfoot...well, something happened with him and we were best friends." Eagleheart bowed his head sadly. Emberfoot had died back in the lake. Dawnstar remembered seeing the gray tom's body splayed out on the ground, sodden and wet from drowning. "We were welcomed in ThunderClan thanks to Hollystar, and ever since than I've been a loyal ThunderClan warrior."
Silence and understanding followed his words. Dawnstar padded away, feeling slightly ashamed for eavesdropping on him. But at least she now understood why Eagleheart had joined ThunderClan. Hollystar had never given them a good explenation, and Dawnstar suspected she feared an all-out war with WindClan. But despite her predictions, the ThunderClan leader died because of a war.
"We should leave tomorrow," Cinderstar meowed when Dawnstar approached the three other leaders. "The sooner we leave the better."
Weaselstar grunted in agreement, while Reedstar blinked for a moment. "But...what about Stormfur and Brook? Shouldn't we tell them?" he asked.
"If you must then do it now," Cinderstar replied in a gentle tone.
The RiverClan leader nodded and trotted over to where Stormfur and Brook were sharing tongues. Their own kits were busy playing with a couple of apprentices.
"Tomorrow the real journey will begin," Cinderstar sighed. Dawnstar shook her head, suddenly feeling wary. What dangers would they see? And would the Clans be able to cope with leaving the Tribe?