Jeeze, I haven't updated in a while... I know I always say this but I've been busy as hell with school and figuring out college stuff etc... Sorry :(

Recap: Blossomstar has taken over all four Clans, and leads the surviving ShadowClanners to RiverClan camp after Minnowstar admits to the ones who had stayed back at ShadowClan's camp what had happened. Blossomstar tells them all that she expects them to do as she says. They're told they can't sleep inside, and Ratpaw bitterly complies.

Chapter 34

Resolution

[Snowcloud]

"...He'll always be remembered," a soft voice was murmuring; it was Forestwind, her multi-colored fur ruffling slightly, her head lowered, her eyes closed. Bluebird was standing beside her, comfortingly resting her tail on her back; beside them, Onespot, Frostpaw and Brightpaw, the other medicine cat apprentice, were bowing their heads.

Cats all around murmured prayers to StarClan as they, too, lowered their heads in respect for the tom that lay in the middle of camp, the moonlight shining on him so peacefully that it looked as though he were only asleep. Jaguarpaw, who had been struggling with greencough, had finally died, just an hour ago. Snowcloud watched, standing towards the back of the crowd, a small frown on her face.

"A shame," Blossomstar said softly from where she was perched up in the tree she often sat in. She had a tiny smile on her face as she shook her head. "Leafbare really is a hard time for everyone, isn't it?"

A low growl came from the crowd, and Snowcloud knew who it was before even turning around to look. Minnowbrook was glaring up at Blossomstar, lips pulled back and eyes narrowed.

"At least we weren't the ones to leave him out in the woods, where he could have died."

"You know, it's funny," Blossomstar said loudly, looking around as if she were talking to the entire Clan now. "I was under the impression that it was improper to be so snide towards your leader. Don't you think, Minnowbrook...?"

The silver she-cat's eyes were on fire, but she looked away and didn't say anything else.

"Now, then," Blossomstar continued. "Someone take the kit out and bury him. I'd like to keep this camp smelling nice."

Snowcloud watched silently as several RiverClan cats moved forward and lifted up Jaguarpaw. The crowd cleared a way for them as they quietly made their way out of camp.

The she-cat sighed, looking around in the moonlight. In the week she'd been here, she'd hardly left the camp at all. None of the ShadowClanners had. They were forced to stay here, on this tiny island, only to be ridiculed and persecuted by the RiverClan cats. It was the same thing every day- they'd sit around, sometimes not being allowed to even talk to each other. They'd be called names, and sometimes they'd even be attacked- something Blossomstar condoned, of course. And then, at the end of the day, they'd get fed, if they were lucky. The RiverClanners were always the first to eat, and sometimes the ShadowClanners would have to go a couple of days without a single bite- even if there'd been extra that the RiverClan cats really didn't need.

ShadowClan had completely fallen apart. It was as simple as that.

ShadowClanners watched in silence as Jaguarpaw was taken away. Some of them lowered their heads and curled up next to each other; they still had to sleep outside.

Flicking an ear, she glanced over to see Ratpaw and Frostpaw sitting very close to each other. The tom had his tail wrapped around her, and Frostpaw had her head on his shoulder.

Blinking slowly, she took a step towards them, hesitated for a few seconds, then continued.

As she approached them, Ratpaw gave her a small, sad nod. Frostpaw lifted her head and looked at her, her expression blank, yet slightly cold. It didn't really surprise Snowcloud, seeing as how badly she'd been treating her sister lately.

Snowcloud flattened her ears, her heart beating faster, for some reason. The two apprentices stared at her, sensing she had something to say.

Finally, the warrior murmured, "Frostpaw, I... I want to talk to you."

Frostpaw looked initially surprised, but after a few seconds her eyes narrowed a bit and she regarded her sister coolly.

"I was just about to go to bed," she muttered. "It'll have to wait."

"Frostpaw-"

"Goodnight." With that, the delicate white she-cat, looking even thinner than usual, got to her paws and walked away.

Snowcloud watched her leave, a frown on her face. Ratpaw looked at her curiously before taking a step closer to her.

"...What's going on?" he asked, his voice low. "You haven't spoken to her in weeks."

Snowcloud's frown deepened, and she turned away. In the week she had been here in RiverClan, she had had time to think.

"Ratpaw, I..." She sighed, turning to look at him. "I want to tell you. About why I've been acting this way. But... I can't. Not yet."

The tom stared at her, a look of worry in his eyes.

"Snowcloud, what's-"

"I'm going to get some sleep," she murmured, looking down. "Sorry, Ratpaw. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

Without waiting for him to respond, she turned and slowly padded away, ears flattened. Shivering, she curled up into as tight a ball as she could manage. The wind whistled in her ears and ruffled her pelt, the cold seeping into her skin, reaching her bones. She wished more than ever that she could sleep inside, for once. But she couldn't. None of them could.

And before she knew it, she was no longer lying in the snow. She was in the all too familiar field of poppies, a warm wind ruffling her fur as she opened her eyes, the white light from the sky coming down to meet her. Squinting, she staggered to her paws, lashing her tail as she looked around. She was hoping she would wind up here tonight. She always used to feel so excited to open her eyes and see this forest before her. Happiness would bubble up inside of her when she'd see Emberheart come and talk to her. For a while, she thought that Emberheart was the only friend she really had. She'd talk to her, and Emberheart would listen. She seemed to understand her.

But something, and Snowcloud didn't quite know what, slowly began to change. Perhaps it was the night she had announced at the Gathering that Willowfall had killed Emberheart and Graystar, and hearing the truth- that Willowfall done it to protect the ones she loved. Her kits.

But Emberheart... She'd been telling Snowcloud otherwise. That Willowfall was evil. And Willowfall wasn't the only one being labeled as such.

Frostpaw...

For weeks, Snowcloud had kept that prophecy in her mind- "With Leafbare will come the Frost that will kill all." That was why she had been acting so cold towards her sister. And of course, it had been a shock when Emberheart had told her that the only way to stop her would be to end her life. And that only Snowcloud could do it.

She frowned, looking around, waiting impatiently, and almost nervously, for Emberheart to appear.

She didn't have to wait long; a few moments later, a flash of red appeared in the trees, and Emberheart emerged from the undergrowth, looking absolutely delighted.

"Hello, there, Snowcloud!" she purred, sitting down and wrapping her tail around her legs when she reached her. "I'm sorry I haven't been keeping in touch. StarClan has been so busy. I haven't had the chance to thank you for what you did at the last Gathering. Because of you, everyone could see Willowfall for who she really is- a murderer. The Clans will be better off without her."

"...Clan," muttered Snowcloud bitterly, looking down. "The Clan."

Emberheart frowned. "Ah, yes. There seems to be only one Clan, now."

A surge of irritation went through Snowcloud, and she suddenly lifted her head, glaring at Emberheart.

"Well, why don't you do anything about it?" she demanded. "StarClan isn't supposed to allow this sort of thing! There were always meant to be four Clans. Always. And yet, StarClan seems to be sitting back, not lifting a paw to stop this!" She flexed her claws, digging them into the soft ground. "Cats are dying. Can't you see how we're being treated? Everyone who isn't a pure RiverClan cat is being persecuted. We have to sleep outside, we're lucky if we get to eat just a scrap of food in a day... Why are you letting this happen?"

Emberheart blinked, looking a bit surprised. Then, she frowned, letting out a long, deep sigh as she looked away sadly.

"Some things are beyond the control of StarClan, I'm afraid," she murmured softly. "Of course we don't condone what Blossomstar is doing. But we cannot control the fate of the Clans. If there really were meant to be four Clans, then what is happening now won't last."

Snowcloud narrowed her eyes, taking a step back. "This is ridiculous," she growled. "...But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to talk to you about Frostpaw."

"Ah, yes," Emberheart mewed, looking troubled. "Snowcloud, it is necessary that you do something soon. If you wait, then everything will be destroyed because of her-"

"Really, now?" Snowcloud said rigidly, lashing her tail. "Answer me this, Emberheart. What more could she possibly to do the Clans, now?"

Emberheart stared at her, as if unable to comprehend how this cat could possibly speak out against her.

"That's not all," Snowcloud muttered. "She hasn't done anything wrong so far. She was my best friend, and I lost her because of what you told me. I really took what you said to heart. I really did think she was a danger to us all." She shook her head, taking in a deep breath. "Tell me this, Emberheart. How come you told me this prophecy of Frostpaw, but didn't give me any clue as to what Blossomstar would do to us? And how come you were the only one who seemed to confirm the prophecy was even about Frostpaw?"

"I already told you, Snowcloud," Emberheart said, suddenly standing up. She was evidently trying hard to stay calm. "The prophecy's validity has been confirmed with the rest of StarClan-"

"Then I'd like to talk to them," Snowcloud growled. "Take me to the rest of StarClan. I want to talk to them myself."

Emberheart's eyes slowly began to narrow, lips pulled back slightly.

"You think I'm lying, then, are you?" she hissed, suddenly so aggressive that Snowcloud took a step back. "You think I made it up? I am part of StarClan! Don't you think that if I was giving you a false prophecy, someone would do something about it?"

"For all I know, you're keeping it well-hidden from them," Snowcloud snapped back, actually a bit surprised with herself for how she was acting. But she didn't care. She had had time to think this all through. "You're using me, aren't you? You already made me tell everyone what Willowfall had done."

"Which was true!" Emberheart yelled. "She admitted it, herself!"

"She did it to protect her kits," growled Snowcloud. "If I were her, I probably would have done the same thing."

"And how do you know she wasn't lying?" countered Emberheart.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Emberheart's eyes were blazing now, her fur rising.

"You have some gall to accuse me of such a thing," she growled, her voice dangerously low. But, trying to calm herself down, she lashed her tail and looked at her. "Consider this, Snowcloud. If you think I'm lying to you- why would I lie about Frostpaw being part of the prophecy? What could I possibly gain? I hardly knew her at all. Making up a fake prophecy just to get you to kill her would be a lot of work, wouldn't it? I can't think of a single reason as to why that would benefit me."

Snowcloud narrowed her eyes, staring at her. She wanted to think of a comeback, she wanted something to say, but... She had to admit, Emberheart had a good point. When she was alive, she and Frostpaw hardly ever interacted. What good would it do for her to create a false prophecy about her?

Suddenly, Snowcloud's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. She stared at the she-cat before her, her entire body suddenly becoming numb, her heart beginning to beat quickly and loud against her chest. Her muscles grew stiff, her mind suddenly churning wildly.

Of course, it was just a theory. But... But if it were true...

If it were true...

"I... I want to wake up now," Snowcloud murmured shakily as she stared at her paws, her eyes still wide.

"What's the matter with you?" growled Emberheart.

"I want to wake up," repeated Snowcloud, her voice more hoarse this time. She suddenly looked up at Emberheart with an expression close to horror. "I want to wake up," she spoke, louder, now. "I want to-!"

Her eyes suddenly shot open, and she leapt to her paws, panting, her eyes wide. It was dark; probably the middle of the night. Everyone else seemed to be asleep. It was snowing lightly, and the cold breeze made her shiver.

Still breathing deeply, she numbly took a few steps forward; through the trees and dead bushes, she could see patches of the lake.

Shivering, she let out a shaky breath, lowering her head and clenching her eyes shut. For a few moments, she just stood there in silence, looking almost in pain.

Then, she opened them, and turned to look over at where Ratpaw and Frostpaw were sleeping side by side. She frowned, her ears flattening slightly. She wanted to tell them, but she couldn't. She didn't want to put them in danger. And besides, she didn't even know if she was right.

Letting out a sigh, she looked back towards the lake, a look of unshakable resolution set on her face.

She had to find Willowfall.

Alala review please? :)

Till next time,

Pearly