Chapter 18: Raid

Darkstripe was patrolling the Shadowclan border when his group found bones. It stank of Shadowclan scent. Darkstripe was furious.

"How dare those kitnappers disrespect us!" Hissed Darkstripe. "After all we've done for them, Shadowclan can't get any lower."

Darkstripe was storming. His mood was riling every other cat up on the patrol. They quickly returned to camp to arrange a battle patrol. Tigerclaw called every able warrior but Fireheart to raid Shadowclan. On the way out Darkstripe shot an apologetic glance back at Dustpaw for not taking him out for the battle. On the battle patrol Darkstripe was finally calming down when he realized too much was moving at once. It wasn't likely for Shadowclan to pull that kind of disrespect at the moment because it would be too resource intensive and costly. Just as they were about to cross the border, Brackenpaw came hurtling up.

"Brokenstar is attacking the camp!"

The battle patrol turned quickly and sprinted to camp as fast as possible. By the time they got back, the battle was already over. Clawface was dead and a clearly blinded Brokenstar was being escorted into the medicine den.

"What happened?" Tigerclaw shouted. Quickly Fireheart gave a rundown on the raid Brokenstar led on the camp.

Bluestar listened intently as well before Fireheart stated, "Sandpawn and Dustpaw fought like warriors."

Darkstripe looked with pride upon his apprentice. He quickly brushed against said apprentice before Bluestar called a meeting. Dustpaw was named Dustpelt and Sandpaw was named Sandstorm. Darkstripe couldn't be prouder. He made his way to his apprentice.

"I am so proud of you. Your legacy will be great, and I know you'll become one of the clan's most trusted warriors before you know it."

Dustpelt was beaming under his mentor's praise.

"Just one final piece of advice before you start making a name for yourself and I can't call you my apprentice anymore. Always be true to yourself and your beliefs, but don't be so inflexible that you'll be shattered by the waves of change."

Darkstripe padded away to let his apprentice think on his words. It was soon time for Bluestar to call another meeting. This time to address Brokenstar. Darkstripe hated that cat with a passion. Betrayal and kit killing were the two biggest things that could set Darkstripe off and Brokenstar had done both is spades. If it was up to him, he'd have mutilated the cat and left him in the carrion place for the rats to devour, but Darkstripe knew he was biased.

"What shall we do with Brokenstar?"

Many cats shouted for his death including Darkstripe before he regained his composure. Darkstripe then came up with a solution.

"Give him to Riverclan!"

Many cats turned to him perplexed and somewhat angry. Bluestar gave him a cold stare before stating, "continue."

"We can't give him to Shadowclan or Windclan because they'll slaughter him regardless of the code. We are too biased because he attacked us. The only clan that can judge him according to the code is Riverclan. They were never directly attacked."

Bluestar gained a thoughtful expression. It wasn't a bad idea, but it did undermine her ability to remain unbiased. As she pondered, she realized Darkstripe was likely right, but she needed to make it look like a compromise to instill her authority.

"Very well. Brokenstar will remain our prisoner until his wounds are healed. Then he will be given to Riverclan to face judgement."

Darkstripe would usually be smug, but the idea of having that twisted cat in the camp one more day made his skin crawl. Blind or not, Darkstripe knew that Brokenstar could likely kill a cat or kit. He'd heard too many stories. Darkstripe made his way to Yellowfang to make his discomfort known.

"Have you done something to keep Brokenstar sedated?"

"He's on poppy seeds right now. Besides, he's blind. He poses no threat."

"I know well that isn't true. A true warrior fights will all their senses. Losing one will only hamper him, but not remove the threat."

"You think he could best you the way he is now?"

"No, but I have no doubt he could best say a kit."

Yellowfang stiffened.

"Keep a close eye on him. I've been told rats often feign being weaker than they are. I'd try to keep him disoriented, so he never learns to navigate the camp on his own. The last thing we need is him creeping into the warrior's den in the dead of night to slit our throats."

Yellowfang nodded more seriously.

"I'll make sure he's under poppy seeds at night and try to keep him from learning the camp."

"You better. Its more than just your life on the line."

Darkstripe stopped his usual routine to instead stand vigil on the inside of the camp. He did not trust Brokenstar one bit. He'd often herd kits away for fear Brokenstar would lash out at them. Darkstripe was like a hawk, waiting for Brokenstar's one slip up or the one moment Brokenstar proved well enough to get rid of. It was extremely mentally taxing. Darkstripe wouldn't sleep unless some other cat was watching and forced Yellowfang to pick Brokenstar's meals up for fear of him tampering with the fresh kill pile.

Soon enough the full moon was upon them. Darkstripe was in no state to travel given how his paranoia had kept him from sleeping. Often Longtail or Dustpelt had to force him to rest. Even then, his dreams were fitful filled with nightmares of Brokenstar killing the kits or murdering the clan in their sleep. What disturbed Darkstripe most about these dreams were Brokenstar's eyes. They were back, but not his. They were Tigerclaw's. Those eyes haunted him, paralyzed him, betrayed him. They were filled with such malice. Sometimes he'd hear a voice asking him to kill the kits. Those were the worst nightmares because no matter how much he wanted to resist, those eyes were Tigerclaw's, and Darkstripe could never disobey Tigerclaw. He'd kill all those kits in his dream wailing for them the whole time, begging for them to run, but they never would. They'd stare at him with such childish trust until he'd start slaughtering them. Their ghosts would taunt him all the while calling him a spineless murderer. He'd always wake in a panic attack with those.

Longtail had taken to sleeping next to him to try and comfort him. Even Tigerclaw was a bit concerned.