Chapter Seven
The night was long and heart wrenching, Pebblespots body placed in the center of camp for vigil. Crimsongaze had clung to the dead she-cat's side all night, her face shadowed with grief for her friend. Pebblespot's brothers, Antlerheart and Boartusk, also seemed unbelievably distressed and uncomfortable while sitting vigil. Since their parents had died, the two brothers had always tried to take care of Pebblespots the best they could. Her death would haunt them for many seasons. Webpelt was also unnaturally quiet as he lay at Pebblespot's head. His eyes were closed almost the whole night, but he was not sleeping. All of their other camp mates lay scattered across the clearing, whispering to each other or staring down at their paws.
Moonstar lay at Pebblespot's left side, her nose gently touching the pretty calico's fur. She could feel Blight laying beside her but his presence was not enough to calm the turmoil of her emotions. She raised her head and looked around at her warriors, taking in their expressions. Her gaze rested on Fernpaw for a few moments longer than the rest, she felt that the apprentice looked stricken with terror and disbelief. Fernpaw had left Webpelt's den a moon after Morningsun's death, but she still refused to speak of what had happened.
She could feel Blight shifting beside her, tucking his paws underneath him. "Everything alright," he asked in a hushed tone. Moonstar shook her head sadly, feeling defeated. "How can I go on leading my group when I'm so terrified all my warriors are going to die the same horrible fate," she whispered. Blight nudged her encouragingly with his muzzle, his musky scent calming her a tiny bit.
"I could always bring some of my guards to help protect your group," he volunteered. As far as he knew, his group wasn't having any issues with any predators and there was plenty of guards. They could always spare a few strong toms. Moonstar didn't know how she felt about that, how would it look to her camp mates if she assumed they needed help from other cats? "I'll have to call a meeting in the morning and see what everyone thinks about it," she mewed softly.
It was almost dawn, the elders would be taking Pebblespot's body out for burial at any moment. As Hawkfeather and Foxleap stood, so did Antlerheart and Boartusk. "We will help you," they meowed to the two elders. As they lifted Pebblespot's body onto Foxleap's shoulders, Moonstar could hear Hawkfeather muttering, "That's two young, energetic cats who have been murdered now. Hopefully we've seen the last of it." Moonstar wasn't so sure that they had.
Moonstar had gone to her den as soon as the small patrol had left the camp to bury Pebblespots. Her camp mates milled about the clearing, clearly waiting for their leader to call a meeting. She wasn't so sure what she would say to them, or what they would think about Blight's offer to supply them with more guards. "Moonstar," a soft voice called into her den. She recognized it at once, it was her mother, Maplestripe.
"Come in," she meowed as her mother slid into the den. "I would think you would invite me in," she huffed. It lightened her mood a little to have her mother here to talk with her. "Now, I've come to see what you've been thinking to do about this whole situation," she meowed curtly.
"Well, Blight told me he could bring some more guards to our camp to help protect us," she began. Maplestripe looked a little uncertain about that, but stayed silent as she continued. "I don't want any apprentices to leave the camp without a full patrol of atleast four warriors with them. I will also increase the patrols, maybe we can find some kind of trace of what might be out there," she mewed hopefully.
"Maybe," Maplestripe meowed. "You could always go with Berrysplash to the Shimmering Pond to speak with the Star Runners," she offered. Moonstar had not thought about that. She always assumed that if their ancestors needed to tell them something, they would send Berrysplash a sign. Maybe she would have to seek them out herself and demand some answers.
Moonstar touched her nose to her mother's shoulder before preparing to leave the den. She always valued her mother's guidance when she was feeling off or confused. She felt like the deaths of her group mates was making her react too harshly, what could be making her emotions so erratic? One moment she would be feeling somewhat alright and then panic and anxiety would set in.
She felt Maplestripe lick her shoulder in turn before she stood to leave. She decided that she would accept Blight's offer for more guards but she would also travel with Berrysplash to the Shimmering Pond to speak with the Star Runners. She hoped that her group wasn't too upset with her decisions but they were hers to make as leader and she felt this was the best course of action.
With one deep breath, Moonstar padded into the clearing with Maplestripe right behind her. She tried to hold her head high, despite the whirl wind of emotions she could feel surging inside of her. What is wrong with me, she thought for what seemed to be the millionth time that morning. Almost all of her camp mates were already assembled around the clearing, snapping their attention to her as she appeared from her den.
"Let all cats old enough to feel the sand between their claws gather for a meeting," she called, summoning the last remaining members of her group. She could feel her stomach crawling with what she assumed was her jittery nerves. "I have come to speak with you all about what we are going to do concerning this unknown threat," she began. She noticed uncomfortably how disturbed Fernpaw looked at her place at the edge of the clearing. Her brother, Tinypaw, was nudging her softly with his paw but she was unresponsive.
"Blight has offered to supply us with some of his guards, they will help to protect the camp and to strengthen any patrols that would happen to go out into the jungle," she meowed loudly, making sure every cat could hear her. Some of her group mates nodded with agreement but she also realized that a few looked uncertain, maybe even suspicious of Blight's offer to help protect them. She did not feel any uncertainty that he would do anything to protect her and her cats, he knew how much they meant to her.
Blight had stepped forward from the crowd, his black pelt shining in the scant sunlight. "My guards are trustworthy and strong, you can count on them to keep you all safe," he meowed sincerely. Many of the warriors relaxed but a few, such as Boartusk and Antlerheart, still looked tense and suspicious.
Moonstar carried on without a moment's pause, gaining confidence as she addressed her group, "I will also be traveling with Berrysplash to the Shimmering Pond so we may commune with the Star Runners. I am confident that they will have some news to share with us there." Most of her group seemed satisfied with this decision, but she could tell that Berrysplash was a little confused. She probably should have gone to talk with her first, but she had hoped they could leave as soon as possible.
The meeting ended with a flick of Moonstar's fluffy tail, the warriors and apprentices dispersing to go about their daily tasks. They looked worn with exhaustion but she knew they would still attepmt to hunt and patrol the territory to try and find a trace of this elusive predator. Boartusk sat near the entrance, waiting for the rest of his dawn patrol to gather. "Are you going hunting," Moonstar called out to him.
He shook his head, his whiskers still drooped with grief. "Some of the others wanted to try and scout where you found Pebblespots, to see if we can find a scent," he meowed. "Take Blight with you, so he may return to his camp and gather some guards," she mewed as she trotted up to the warrior. Almost instantly, Blight approached from behind them and waved his tail in greeting to the burly brown warrior.
"I'll only need escourted to the trees," he meowed, "and I can also show you where we found Pebblespots." Moonstar could see Boartusk still eyeing Blight with some sort of suspicion or disgust, but he dipped his head politely and waited for the rest of the patrol to appear. Moonstar purred as Blight touched his nose to her cheek quickly, "I'll talk to you when you get back," he whispered.
Moonstar could see Berrysplash waiting for her a few fox lengths away, her tail twitching with impatience. She bounded over to the spirit walker's side, her fur spiked with embarrasment. Berrysplash stood and they both started to pad toward the camp entrance. "I'm sorry for not discussing this with you first," she began appoligetically.
"You know what's best for us," Berrysplash mewed quickly, cutting off Moonstar's attempt to reconcile with her. The journey to the Shimmering Pond would be long, hopefully the spirit walker's temper would cool before they arrived. Moonstar hoped that her ancestors would share with her their guidance, she felt that she needed it now more than ever.