I'm publishing chapter 13. On Friday the 13th. I'mgonnadieeee
Recap: Frostpaw has noticed that Snowpaw is distancing herself from her, and she wonders what's wrong. In the middle of the night, Frostpaw is awakened and she learns that Lightstream is having her kits. However, Willowfall is nowhere to be found, so she helps deliver the kits by herself. Flowerkit is born, and then Darkkit, who is missing an eye. Lightstream is grateful to Frostpaw, but the others are angry with Willowfall, calling her irresponsible. Willowfall talks to Frostpaw later, telling her that she (Frostpaw) has been given a gift by StarClan- the gift of medicine. She asks her to become her apprentice, and Frostpaw agrees.
Chapter 13
Three
[Olivepaw]
"I'm hungry," came the soft complaint of Littlekit, his tiny ginger tabby body shivering, his blue eyes wide. He looked just like his father, Redwhisker.
"Me, too," muttered Brokenkit, who tiredly prodded at a ball of moss. The blue-gray tom, who looked just like his mother, Bluepelt, had been born with a twisted paw. However, it didn't hinder anything he did, and his parents assured him that he would grow up to be a regular warrior.
Icekit sighed and nodded, her light gray fur fluffed up.
"There won't be anything for us to hunt when we become apprentices," she muttered. "We might as well skip over learning how."
"Don't say that," Olivepaw sighed. She was in the nursery, visiting her mother and younger brother again. Lightstream and her week-old kits were all sleeping, though Darkstorm was awake, keeping watch. Bluepelt had left to spend time with her mate, so Bramblestripe had promised she'd watch over her kits. But they were almost old enough to be apprentices and didn't need much supervision.
It was late-afternoon, the snow harsh as usual. Olivepaw's stomach growled in hunger and pain; she hadn't eaten for a day or two, and she knew that conditions were only growing worse. But she tried not to think about it; instead, she thought about the fact that the Gathering was tomorrow night. Of course, she'd gone last moon, so she wasn't sure that she'd be going twice in a row. Still, she was hopeful.
Snowpaw had been talking about tomorrow, too, but for a different reason. Tomorrow, she was getting her warrior name, and her mother, Furzetail, had apparently told her that it was good luck to get her name on the night of the full moon. However, she wouldn't be able to go to the Gathering because she'd be sitting vigil. She didn't seem to mind that much.
Olivepaw had noticed that she hadn't been spending as much time with Frostpaw as she normally was- who, by the way, had recently announced that she would begin training under Willowfall. Everyone had been shocked with her decision, especially because she'd been so close to earning her warrior name. Maybe that's why the two were spending less time together.
But it wasn't only that. Whenever Snowpaw would look at her sister, Olivepaw would swear that she could see disdain in her eyes. Or, maybe that wasn't it. Maybe it was... distrust? But that didn't seem right, either. They used to spend every minute together. Olivepaw wanted to ask her if something had happened between them, but she didn't want to get in her business. Besides, she didn't really like Snowpaw in the first place and thought that she could be a bit of a brat. "A bit" is an exaggeration. An under-exaggeration.
She sighed, watching as Oakkit kept trying to get to his paws before falling over. Bramblestripe was purring in amusement while Darkstorm licked his sleeping mate's ear, a small smile on the new queen's face. Everyone seemed so... happy.
She frowned, her thoughts returning to Cedarpaw... who had really been the focus of her thoughts for the past few days. Ever since they'd gone on that patrol, Willowfall hadn't let him come back to the apprentices' den. It'd already been a week, and Briarclaw still hadn't even taken him hunting.
She flattened her ears. She knew that something was wrong. Very wrong. And he hadn't said a word to her for weeks, other than when he'd muttered the word "dead" over and over to her the day his father had died.
But that was over a moon ago. Since then, he hadn't said a single word. Not to Willowfall, not to Briarclaw, not to his mother, and not to her. She only wished he'd tell her what was wrong.
She let out another sigh, supposing that she'd pay him a visit. A corner of her mind asked her what good that would even do, but she didn't care. She visited him every day, and even though he wouldn't talk to her, she still talked to him. Because she missed him.
Muttering a few words to her mother and flicking her tail in farewell, she slipped outside of the nursery.
She shivered as she stepped into the clearing. Snow had been falling steadily for a few days now, and she wondered if it would even stop in time for the Gathering. Not many cats were outside; Minnowstar was talking with Harestep, and a few were just returning from a hunting party. They were only carrying a mouse.
She blinked with concern and flicked her tail, wanting to see what would happen.
Minnowstar and Harestep walked over to the patrol when they saw it; Briarclaw, Furzetail, Icewhisker, and Snowpaw, and Ratpaw were all there.
"How did the hunting go?" Minnowstar asked them, though she clearly knew the answer as she eyed the one mouse dangling from Icewhisker's jaws. The tom put it down before he spoke.
"It's getting scarcer by the day," he muttered, glancing at Furzetail, who looked away in worry.
"Minnowstar, this is getting serious," breathed Briarclaw. "At this rate, we won't have enough food to feed the Clan."
Olivepaw flinched at this, and began to lick a paw, pretending to be grooming and not listening.
"And now that Lightstream has kits, we'll have even more mouths to feed," murmured Furzetail. Icewhisker let his tail fall on her back in comfort. Snowpaw's ears were flattened as she stared at the ground. Ratpaw sent her a somewhat concerned glance.
Briarclaw spoke again. "Minnowstar, this is getting to the point where you might want to consider expanding our territory."
Olivepaw pricked her ears and glanced over at the crowd; was he talking about invading one of the other Clans?
"I see," the leader muttered, whiskers twitching. "If that's the case, then we may need to talk with the other Clans at the Gathering tomorrow."
"Minnowstar, don't you think they'll refuse to give us any land?" argued Harestep. "They're facing hard times, too. RiverClan has already invaded WindClan, and tried to take some of our territory, too."
"Maybe RiverClan won't," Minnowstar muttered. "But ThunderClan might. Bumblestar just became a leader; he barely knows how to defend his borders."
"Are you suggesting we take advantage of that and invade?" Furzetail demanded, frowning. "That doesn't seem right."
"It could be the only option we have," growled Minnowstar. "My Clan comes first. And if we need to invade in order to get enough food to survive, then that's what we're going to do."
Ratpaw spoke up for the first time. "But what if they're facing famine, too?" he argued. "If we take land away from them, then their cats could die because of us." His amber eyes were shining intensely, his dark gray fur a bit raised. Olivepaw peered at him as she drew a paw over her ear, wondering why her brother seemed so upset. If it was for the good of ShadowClan, then it would be worth it... Right?
"We will try to negotiate with the other Clans at the Gathering," Minnowstar growled, lashing her tail. "I don't want to have to attack ThunderClan, but if it's our only option, then there's nothing else we can do." Her whiskers twitched and she glanced over at Olivepaw; the apprentice looked away and pretended not to have noticed.
"I'll send another hunting party out later today," the leader muttered. "In the meantime, find some other way to make yourselves useful."
With a flick of the tail, the cats began to disband. Olivepaw locked gazes with her brother, who gave a small, half-hearted smile before he turned and headed for the nursery. The she-cat watched him go and, with a sigh, padded over to the medicine den, slipping through the entrance.
Inside, Willowfall was in the back, showing Frostpaw some herbs as Cedarpaw, lying in his nest, lifted his head upon her arrival.
Willowfall lifted her head, blue eyes shining, a small frown on her face.
"Hello, Olivepaw," she mewed. The apprentice looked at her and stiffly bowed her head.
"H...Hi."
Ever since Olivepaw had witnessed the murder of Emberheart, she couldn't look at the medicine cat the same way again. But it wasn't only that. It seemed as if Willowfall... knew that the apprentice had seen what had happened. Because she would always stiffen up when Olivepaw entered the den, and would look at her in a way that made the younger cat uneasy. If Willowfall did know, then she hadn't said anything.
Olivepaw had contemplated telling someone. But what good would that do? Who would believe her? Besides, if Willowfall found out... Olivepaw lowered her head. She could be killed.
And so when Willowfall had come back from the Moonpool half a moon ago, and when she'd told Minnowstar that she'd seen Emberheart and that it hadn't been a murder, Olivepaw had kept her mouth shut.
A couple of times, she'd thought about telling Cedarpaw. But that wouldn't do any good, either. He wouldn't have even spoken. When they were younger, she'd tell him everything.
"Hi, Olivepaw," Frostpaw mewed with a kind smile, breaking the other she-cat from her thoughts. She'd noticed that Frostpaw was much more tolerable without Snowpaw by her side. Especially since she'd become a medicine cat apprentice. Now, she was almost... pleasant to be around.
"Hey," Olivepaw murmured. The two medicine cats didn't say anything after that; they already knew why she was there.
The dark brown tabby she-cat made her way over to where Cedarpaw was sitting up, his tail curling around his paws. He blinked softly, that same frown on his face as usual.
"Hey, Cedarpaw," she murmured, her voice low. The two she-cats turned their backs and went back to their herbs.
The tom flicked his ear and glanced at his paws; not uncomfortably, but as if what she'd said to him made him feel somehow... ashamed. She blinked softly.
"I hope you can come back to the apprentices' den soon," she muttered. "Now that Frostpaw's training to become a medicine cat, it's just me, Ratpaw, and Snowpaw... And Snowpaw's becoming a warrior tomorrow."
Cedarpaw glanced up at her, blinking softly as he looked at her and listened. She looked back at him, his gaze making her feel uncomfortable after a few seconds. She looked away.
"Remember when we were kits and we were always together?" she asked quietly. "We'd tell each other all our secrets. Sometimes we'd sneak out of camp together, but we were never caught." She glanced up at him; now he was looking away, a frown on his face.
Olivepaw continued. "...I'd always come to you if something was wrong," she muttered. "And you'd always come to me."
Their eyes met again; his amber ones were glowing intensely- sadly, almost.
"Cedarpaw, please- just talk to me," the she-cat pleaded, tail twitching. "You haven't said a word for over a moon, now. After everything we've been through together, don't you trust me enough to just tell me what's wrong...?"
The tom flinched, slightly, and lowered his head. He glanced over at Frostpaw and Willowfall, who were oblivious.
Olivepaw followed his gaze, not speaking for a few moments.
"...You know what they're saying, right?" she asked rigidly, looking back at him. "They say you're depressed because of your father, and-"
He suddenly looked up at her, his eyes dark, a strange expression on her face that made Olivepaw shut her mouth. She hadn't quite seen a face like that on the tom before.
"Sorry," she muttered before shaking her head. "Cedarpaw, please, just... Tell me what's going on."
There was a long silence. The tom glanced over at the medicine cats again, who were talking amongst themselves. He looked back at her before closing his eyes, letting out a long sigh. Then he looked at Olivepaw right in the eyes, opening his mouth as if he was actually going to speak.
All of a sudden, a loud screech was heard, making the two apprentices jump. Before Olivepaw even had time to think, another screech was heard, followed by another, and another. Eyes widening in alarm, she glanced over at the medicine cats, whose tails were lifted in worry. Something was happening outside.
Sending a quick glance at Cedarpaw, the she-cat raced outside, her fur fluffed up.
When she was in the clearing, she skidded to a halt, her eyes widening at what she saw. Through the falling snow, she could see a large group of cats at the top of the hollow opposite from where she stood. She blinked, trying to figure out who it was. But when she saw that the sleek white she-cat at the front of the group had one blue eye and one amber, she let out a gasp.
RiverClan.
By now, most of ShadowClan's cats had come outside to see what was going on, and a tense feeling filled the air. She spotted Ratpaw as he came out of the nursery, and she ran over to meet him.
"What's going on?" she hissed in a low voice. Her brother stared at her, confusion in his eyes.
"I don't know," he murmured. "But we're about to find out."
A second later, a voice called out, "What is the meaning of this?"
Heads turned to see Minnowstar making her way through the crowd, her light blue eyes narrowed to slits as she looked up at Blossomstar. Her silver tabby pelt was spotted with snow.
"Hello, Minnowstar," purred Blossomstar, who grinned at the ShadowClanners. Her mismatching eyes made Olivepaw shiver. Beside her, a large black tom stood; the apprentice recognized him as Blacktail, who she had just seen several days earlier.
"Why are you on ShadowClan territory?" Minnowstar demanded in a low growl.
"Blacktail told me what happened last week," the leader mewed softly, calmly. "One of my warriors has been in the medicine den half-dead because of one of your apprentices."
Olivepaw flinched, thinking about Cedarpaw. She glanced around, but she didn't see him in the crowd. He must have stayed inside.
"Your cats were on our territory," Minnowstar growled. "You cannot blame this on us. Your cats attacked first and threatened to bring one of my apprentices back to your camp."
Blossomstar let out a high-pitched giggle that made Olivepaw's fur stand on end.
"Now, that's not true," the RiverClan leader purred. "We had only come to your territory asking- or, dare I say, begging- you for some territory. Our Clan is growing bigger and bigger, and we have more mouths to feed. You all remember Sagewhisker, don't you...?"
Eyes darted to where, from the crowd of RiverClan warriors, a light gray she-cat stepped forward, eyes narrowed to slits. Surrounding her were three cats- a gray tabby tom, a calico she-cat, and an orange and black tom; they had all been ThunderClan warriors.
"Sagewhisker?" Harestep meowed in disbelief as he stood beside Minnowstar. "What's going on?"
"It seems there's a bit of trouble in ThunderClan," Blossomstar mewed, blinking her odd eyes as a smiled played at her lips. She was clearly enjoying herself. "Nobody seems to have much of a liking for that kittypet, Bumblestar. Sagewhisker, along with Flaxclaw, Lilytooth, and Waspfang have left and have joined RiverClan."
Murmurs of shock went around the clearing. Olivepaw narrowed her eyes slightly. They only joined RiverClan because it's gaining more power, she thought bitterly.
"Your point being?" growled Minnowstar, tail lashing in irritation.
Blossomstar grinned at her, tilting her head.
"Well, Minnowstar, I'll cut to the chase. We need more territory. We're asking you for territory. And if you refuse, we'll just have to take it by force." She tilted her head the other way, teeth gleaming as she smiled. "And wouldn't it be a pity to have to resort to violence...? Especially because our Clan is now larger than yours."
"Our Clan is growing, too," hissed Minnowstar. "We need territory as badly as you. Food has already run out here; it wouldn't do you any good, anyway."
Blossomstar let out a sigh.
"So is that a no?"
Minnowstar glared at her, not responding.
The RiverClan leader sighed again, shrugging softly.
"Very well," she murmured, eyes suddenly gleaming intensely. "We gave you a chance." There was a moment of silence before the she-cat lifted her head and yowled, "RiverClan, attack!"
Within seconds, the RiverClanners had let out battle cries as they charged down the shallow slope, the snow in their eyes that gleamed in the fading light.
Fighting was suddenly all around Olivepaw, and it was hard for her to see straight or even distinguish the RiverClan warriors from her own.
But a second later, a cat bowled into her, shoving her into the snow with a thud.
Hissing, she looked up to see a light tan she-cat, green eyes flashing, a smirk on her face. She was small and looked very young; younger than her.
"Who are you?" Olivepaw growled, staring up at the she-cat. "You're hardly more than a kit!"
The she-cat snarled loudly at this, suddenly slashing her claws against Olivepaw's face. The ShadowClanner hissed as she felt fresh blood upon her cheek as it splattered onto the snow.
"My name is Tanpaw," the cat growled, sharp teeth glinting. "And I may be young, but I assure you that I could kill you without batting an eye."
Olivepaw stared back at her, irritation surging through her. This cat was so arrogant that the ShadowClanner found that she had to hold back laughter.
"Why are you smiling?" Tanpaw demanded loudly, lifting a paw and suddenly bringing her claws down Olivepaw's chest. The older she-cat let out a yowl of pain; fury surging through her, she kicked out her back legs, sending the RiverClanner off.
Olivepaw leaped to her paws, panting as blood dripped down her dark brown fur. Tanpaw stood up and faced her opponent, eyes narrowed to slits, fur fluffed out.
"Blossomstar says that ShadowClan cats are filth," Tanpaw snarled, claws flexed as she shook the snow from her fur. "She says that they aren't worthy of their land. That if it were up to her, they wouldn't even be living."
"What are you saying?" rasped Olivepaw, a bit shocked that the RiverClan leader would say something like that. "There have always been four Clans. And if that ever changes, then the wrath of StarClan will be felt."
A wide grin slowly fell upon the other cat's mouth before she starting laughing softly. Olivepaw pulled her lips back, wanting to smack the younger apprentice across the face; but she held back and waited for her to speak.
"Four Clans?" laughed the tan she-cat, shaking her head softly. "Do you not realize what is happening?"
"What are you talking about?" Olivepaw demanded, trying not to show her unease.
Tanpaw stared at her as if she were crazy and started to laugh again.
"There won't be four Clans for much longer," she purred. "Soon, RiverClan will own the entire lake. That's what Blossomstar tells us." Tanpaw saw that the ShadowClanner was too shocked to speak, so she continued. "WindClan has already lost half of its territory," she explained as if Olivepaw were a kit. "Soon, they'll lose it all. And ThunderClan is weak right now; with that kittypet as a leader, they'll fall in the blink of an eye, especially now that we have their former deputy on our side. As for you?" She chuckled lightly, pausing to flick a paw. "Well... You're being taken care of right now."
Olivepaw stared at her in disbelief.
"You're crazy," she muttered. "Blossomstar will never be able to take over the other Clans. StarClan won't allow it."
"We'll see about that," Tanpaw mewed, and a second later, she let out a snarl as she lunged forward.
Caught off guard, Olivepaw winced, preparing for the hit; but suddenly, someone pushed her aside. Stumbling, she managed to save herself from falling on the ground.
Glancing over to see what had happened, her eyes widened when she saw Cedarpaw and Tanpaw tussling in the snow; the she-cat had tried to pin him down, but even though they were the same size, the tom was stronger than her. Cedarpaw rolled over and batted at her paws, tripping her. She fell to the ground, her belly exposed as Cedarpaw pinned her down, a paw at her throat.
Olivepaw stood frozen for a moment, a flash of fear going through her mind as she pictured what could happen. Last time, Cedarpaw had almost killed Sunnyheart. What if he was about to try and do the same thing to this apprentice? She blinked softly when she realized that both times, he had been protecting her.
"Who are you?" hissed Tanpaw, furious. "Get off me!" She lashed out a paw, but he ducked his head to avoid it. He then drew his claws across her chest; blood stained her pale fur as she let out a screech. He dealt another blow, this time along her side. She hissed, eyes clenched together in pain.
"Let her go, Cedarpaw," breathed Olivepaw, running forward. "She's hardly more than a kit. She doesn't know how to properly fight, yet."
Fury shot through Tanpaw's eyes, but she didn't argue. Cedarpaw looked at Olivepaw silently, amber eyes shining as he stepped back, freeing the younger apprentice.
Tanpaw got to her paws, shaken, blood dripping from clumps of fur and into the snow. She narrowed her eyes to slits and glanced back and forth between the ShadowClanners, realizing that she was outnumbered.
"RiverClan will win," she rasped, her voice near a growl. "You'll see." With that, she turned and ran off, vanishing into the crowd of fighting cats.
Olivepaw let out a sigh of relief and glanced over at the tom. He watched Tanpaw go before he slowly turned to her.
"...Thank you," Olivepaw muttered, staring at her paws. "...For trying to protect me, that is." She glanced up at him; the tom's eyes were glowing, a frown on his face, but he said nothing, as usual. "Are you sure you should be out of Willowfall's den?" she asked quietly. He stared at her. "I mean... Just be careful," she added quietly. He looked at her for a few more moments before nodding.
Suddenly, a loud screech was heard that made Olivepaw's fur stand on end. She lifted her head; it seemed as if the fighting had begun to stop, and now cats were gathering together to see what had happened. Sharing a glance, the two apprentices ran forward.
Pushing through the crowd, Olivepaw struggled to see what had happened. She finally got to the front of the group, halting and letting out a weak gasp at what she saw.
Blossomstar was standing still, white fur coated with blood and snow, mismatching eyes gleaming in the fading daylight. At her paws lay a lump of light brown fur, covered in blood. Two huge amber eyes were open.
"Owlwing," Olivepaw breathed, her heart nearly stopping.
Owlwing was dead.
It was dead silent for a moment before Minnowstar suddenly stepped forward, letting out a fiercely loud snarl.
"You killed her," she hissed at the ShadowClanner, eyes blazing. "How dare you? She was only fifteen moons old!"
"Perhaps you'll now consider giving up?" Blossomstar asked softly, unfazed. "Or must we continue this battle?"
"Murderer," Minnowstar hissed, looking as if she would attack any moment. "You're a pathetic coward."
"We gave you a chance," Blossomstar stated simply. "Do you still refuse to give us land?"
"Yes," Minnowstar growled loudly.
The RiverClan leader sighed, shaking her head as if in pity. "Very well," she murmured, her blue and amber eyes suddenly locking on Olivepaw.
A second later, Blossomstar darted forward, leaping at Olivepaw and shoving her to the ground before the apprentice even knew what was happening. She was quickly pinned down, her head crushing into the snow as she felt sharp claws lightly touching the skin of her neck.
"Nobody come near," Blossomstar called out, eyes gleaming, "or this apprentice will die."
Olivepaw sucked in a breath, heart drumming against her chest. From where she lay, she could see Cedarpaw staring at them in horror; even he didn't dare move.
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Minnowstar. "Let her go!"
"Here's the deal, Minnowstar," Blossomstar said quickly, sounding crazy. "Agree to give up some territory, right here, right now. If you don't, this apprentice will die, and you will be the one to blame for being so selfish that you'd let this young she-cat's life go to waste. Is that really what you want cats to think of you?"
Everyone was silent. Olivepaw held her breath, feeling the leader's claws slowly begin to press more firmly against her throat. For a moment, she truly thought that Minnowstar would say no, and that she was going to die.
"...Fine," the ShadowClan leader hissed after what seemed like ages. "You win. Take some territory. It won't help you, anyway. Now get off of her."
ShadowClan cats stared at their leader in disbelief, but they knew that she didn't have a choice.
Blossomstar grinned widely before she stepped back, letting Olivepaw go.
"Glad we could come to an agreement, Minnowstar," she purred. "We'll mark our new borders on the way out. See you tomorrow night at the Gathering."
Lifting her head, she looked at her Clan; "RiverClan, let's go!"
The RiverClanners grouped together; most of them were bleeding, but none of them had received fatal wounds. Blossomstar began to lead them up the slope, all of them chatting excitedly until their voices had faded away and they were gone, leaving the ShadowClan cats alone in the blood-stained hollow.
Olivepaw shakily got to her paws, a bit breathless. Cedarpaw approached her, looking concerned. He then pressed his pelt against hers; she blinked in surprise but didn't pull away.
Cats were beginning to gather around Owlwing as Minnowstar said a few words. Olivepaw wasn't even listening. She only stared soundlessly at the body, pressed against Cedarpaw, who was silent.
Three.
Three cats had died in the span of only one moon.
Reedfur, Emberheart, and now Owlwing...
Three.
...Three.
As the sun finally began to set behind the black clouds, Olivepaw shut her eyes and shivered. All she could do was think about what Tanpaw had told her, and imagine the sort of things that were in store for them as Leafbare grew even harsher.
Wrote this while listening to music from The Hunger Games movie. #Winnerupinhere
Tell me what you all think :) Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing so far, you all mean so much to me! Reviewers get Blossomstar plushies ;)
Till next time,
Pearly