Chapter 32: Betrayal

Fireheart, Cloudpaw, and Darkstripe were out hunting when they caught a both familiar and unfamiliar scent. It wasn't a clan cat. It was Brokenstar's rogues. They ran their way back to camp to find it embroiled in a battle. Fireheart was about to enter the fight when Darkstripe redirected him.

"This isn't an invasion. It's an assassination!"

The two fought their way towards Bluestar's den where the only possible target of the assassination would be. They could hear the fighting from the entrance. The pair burst in to see Tigerclaw assaulting the leader. Fireheart threw himself at the traitor while Darkstripe moved Bluestar away from the scuffle. It was all he could do. He couldn't fight those eyes and claws. Greystripe came running in to see what the commotion was about. He saw Fireheart fighting the deputy and moved to help. Tigerclaw was eventually pinned, and the camp became silent. The rogues had been driven off.

Soon Greystripe and Fireheart dragged Tigerclaw out with Bluestar watching. Tigerclaw complied begrudgingly. He knew he was beat.

"Why are you dragging the deputy like that?!"

Bluestar reacted violently. "Because he is a traitor!"

"But Tigerclaw would never betray the clan!"

"Do you not think I know when a cat is trying to kill me! Tigerclaw! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I planned to kill you because you've let the clan grow weak! You are a sickness that will destroy this clan! I could have made Thunderclan the strongest clan. So strong that we'd drive all the rest out!"

"Enough! Fireheart. I know you've always suspected him of treachery. You've been looking for it. Would you share what you've found?"

Darkstripe had moved into the crowd of listening cats. He had prepared himself for this moment. To finally admit to himself that Tigerclaw had betrayed him and hopefully sever that tie that bound him to Tigerclaw's will. Fireheart began with his investigation of Redtail's murder. Tigerclaw had killed the deputy and threatened the only witness to the point where they faked their own death. Some cats could not or would not believe it yet. It was too out of character in their mind.

"Tigerclaw has always been a code breaker from what I've found."

Many cats, Bluestar included, were utterly shocked at the statement.

"I've heard from Whitestorm that he occasionally eats while hunting. I've heard from Goldenflower that he eats before the elders. He sometimes eats before his own mate, a queen. These are relatively minor code breaks, but to prove he's always been a code breaker, I've gotten a story that Bluestar can confirm. When Tigerclaw was an apprentice, he assaulted a kit who happened to wander into the territory. Bluestar was a witness to this. Even after assaulting the kit, he left the kit who is now a cat threatening words. 'You will never forget me.'"

Darkstripe felt it. He could finally admit to himself that Tigerclaw had betrayed him. He still feared the cat, but the binding was in tatters. Unfortunately for Darkstripe, Fireheart wasn't done.

"He has been abusive to every apprentice he's had."

Darkstripe froze. This wasn't supposed to happen! Fireheart wasn't supposed to tell!

Fireheart read the crowd and thought they needed that one last nail in the coffin. They needed to know what that cat did to Darkstripe.

Darkstripe could not hear at this point. The apprentice that looked up to him so dearly was now something he could not feel. He'd been betrayed again! The cat he trusted most just told his secrets to the whole clan. He could feel their eyes on him. Was it pity? He couldn't tell. He just wanted it to stop. All the eyes. They were green or gold. Traitor's and liar's eyes. He could not move under their scrutiny. He felt a light shove and looked. It was Cloudpaw, but his eyes kept flashing the liar's green and his normal color. He didn't know what to do. He looked for any cat that didn't bear the traitor yellow and liar green. His eyes stopped at Bluestar. Bluestar had no eyes. They were gone. Broken! She was shattered by the events of this betrayal. Somehow Darkstripe knew if he looked at his reflection, he'd look the same.

Cloudpaw was deeply distressed by what Fireheart had revealed. His poor dad had suffered so much, and something had set him off. His gaze was glassy. The stares! Oh, the stares toward his dad. He knew they were shredding whatever was left of Darkstripe's mind. He tried to draw his attention with a light shove. He wanted his dad to see him, and for a moment he did, but it was filled with a fearful distrust. Cloudpaw didn't even see Tigerclaw leave. His father was not OK. He saw Darkstripe look at every cat in camp with growing uneasiness before his eyes locked on Bluestar. Cloudpaw looked and saw the same look on his clan leader. The two were the same at this moment.

Darkstripe spaced himself from every cat. He didn't want to talk or look at them. They had those eyes. They were liars or traitors in his mind. He couldn't trust anyone but Bluestar. Darkstripe made his way to Bluestar's den, not to tell anything, but to be away from all those cats with those eyes he hated to see. Bluestar let him in. They needed each other right now. They both were Broken.

Bluestar let Darkstripe in because she could feel he was the same. She didn't see things the way he did, but she did feel a growing paranoia towards every cat in the clan besides Fireheart and Darkstripe. Darkstripe was simply too distressed and mentally damaged that she couldn't imagine him betraying her. He curled up next to her and said nothing. Bluestar knew this action well. It was a cat looking for comfort from the only one they could trust. It reminded her of her kits. She let him stay.

It was nearing Moon high when Fireheart made his way in.

"You need to name a deputy soon."

Bluestar begrudgingly nodded. She decided to ask the cat who was like her his opinion.

"Who do you think I should pick?"

"It doesn't matter. They're all liars or traitors."

Bluestar was slightly taken aback.

"Liars?"

"Fireheart made me a promise and he lied. They're all Tigerclaws or Firehearts. I can't trust any one of them."

"What about me?"

"You are just like me. We're both Broken."

Bluestar assumed he meant the word instead of the name. Bluestar knew she could only trust one cat now. Every cat was a traitor except a cat too broken for the job and a cat she now knew was a promise breaker. She didn't have a choice, so she decided to break one code as a sort of revenge for leaving a cat just like her. She waited for Moon high to pass before calling for a meeting. She named Fireheart the deputy. She silently wished him ill luck as she made her way back to the other broken cat. He'd be her kit until he was no longer broken like her. She started to groom him like a kit. He wasn't objecting as she noticed the rise and fall of his chest indicating he'd fallen asleep.