Russetstripe squared her shoulders, staring at her father who sat in the middle of his den, his ginger-and-white tail as he met his daughter's gaze. Sparks flew in the air between the two, and they hadn't even began to discuss yet. Even though I saved his life, things aren't really that different, are they? Russetstripe thought to herself. Guilt flooded her pelt as she remembered how she had been the one to end Adderstripe's life. It was something she would have to live with for the rest of her life. She had never considered Adderstripe her family, but he had still been her blood kin, and the greatest sin was to kill one of your family.
In the few days that passed Adderstripe's rebellion, Grayflight had been grieved tremendously – he had been a distinguished senior warrior, the mate to Larchcloud and the father of Wildheart. Both she-cats grieved quietly, and Swiftstar had bid goodbye to his fateful friend and warrior. Lightningpaw had received a new mentor, being given to Sandfall. Swiftstar refused to trust the black-and-white tom, and his paranoia was seeing no ends, to the point where he had imprisoned Brambledusk for several days. Russetstripe hadn't heard Brambledusk protesting or fighting for himself, but she couldn't let the tabby rot in his prison.
"What is it?" Swiftstar asked. "Surely you didn't come in here to check on me."
"I was the one who saved your life!" Russetstripe exclaimed, lashing her tail. "And I was the one who you confided in, when you told me that you were a miser and that you didn't deny it, that you couldn't recite the name of the cats who died saving your life anymore! Did you forget all of that?"
Russetstripe expected Swiftstar to shoot back at her, just as he would any other day, but Swiftstar only sighed, rolling his shoulders and eyeing her from amber eyes. "You're smarter than I give you credit for."
"Oh, very funny," Russetstripe grumbled, although the sudden change in her father secretly sent chills down her spine. Of course he's going to change – after all, his own son turned on him. But hopefully it isn't too bad. "Anyway, I'm here to talk to you about Brambledusk. You've had him imprisoned for four days, now."
"I have been sending him food and water," Swiftstar growled. "That's more than I should for that traitorous snake. I should have him rot in there."
"He didn't actually do anything to you, though!" Russetstripe exclaimed. "If he was an actual traitor, he would've attacked you. But he didn't! Please, on his behalf, I ask that you grant him leniency. He's not a traitor."
"Any cat who helped Adderstripe in his rebellion is a traitor and must pay!" Swiftstar roared.
"Then do it to the other cats!" Russetstripe exclaimed. "But not Brambledusk! Did he put his claws in you? No! Did the ShadowClan and ThunderClan cats? Yes! Brambledusk is not the one to blame in this manner! Please!" Russetstripe prostrated herself to the ground, hitting her head as she bowed deeply to her father. "Let Brambledusk go. Please."
"Father." Russetstripe and Swiftstar looked up at the same time to see Scorchclaw limping into the tree that nestled Swiftstar's den. Their eyes widened as the tom winced, going over to Russetstripe and prostrating himself just as she did. "Russetstripe is right. Grant mercy on Brambledusk."
"So," Swiftstar mused. "Both of you agree that Brambledusk should be granted leniency?"
"Yes," both cats said at the same time. Russetstripe wanted to scold her brother for getting out of his nest and walking around, but now wasn't the best time. She had to convince Swiftstar to let their Clanmate live. She could feel Swiftstar's gaze burning in his fur, and when she heard his sigh, her heart flipped in her chest. Thank the gods.
"Fine," Swiftstar growled. "That cursed cat can live. You two deal with him, because I want nothing to do with him. Take him out of his prison, because I have something to plan."
"Something to plan?" Scorchclaw asked, narrowing his amber eyes.
"Go rest, Scorchclaw," Russetstripe ordered her brother. "You're not completely healthy yet, and I don't want you falling on your paws, because then I'm going to have to pick you up!"
"He can stay," Swiftstar said, "because it involves my deputy. Scorchclaw, I have broken off my alliance with Lionstar and I will be launching an attack on ThunderClan's borders, to punish them for joining Adderstripe and attacking me."
Scorchclaw and Russetstripe's eyes widened. "W-what do you mean, them?" Russetstripe asked. "It was just a few lone warriors! I didn't see Lionstar, Talonclaw, Rootstar, or Brookfeather!"
"Who cares?" Swiftstar snapped. "They're still cats from different Clans that dared to join that treacherous cat and attack me! I have sent Hawkfeather to search the ThunderClan border and to bring me something that I can use as a reason to attack them. He will come back, and he will not let me down."
"Father…" Scorchclaw trailed off.
"Silence, Scorchclaw," Swiftstar hissed, lashing his tail back and forth. "I won't let any of them turn against me again! ThunderClan deserves to be taught a lesson for what it has done. And that is exactly what I will do."
Russetstripe flinched under the fury of Swiftstar's roar, and when he turned his back on them, the two cats walked away from their father's den, the tension thick between them. Russetstripe swallowed, wondering if their father's decision was the best. Had Rootstar taken an official stance in the battle and sent reinforcements to help Adderstripe? Had the same been with Lionstar, as well? Or was this just the work of rogue warriors on their own?
Scorchclaw's eyes were dark, and Russetstripe couldn't tell if he was irritated at his father's decision – or approved of it. After all, Adderstripe was the cat responsible for his near-death experience, so maybe Scorchclaw wanted to attack the ThunderClan cats who had tried to help his half-brother usurp his father. And maybe, that was what Russetstripe should want as well.
Words her father had said a while ago passed through her mind.
"I always thought that the Clans should become one, to make a great land. Safe from any intruder. I can't do it in my lifetime… but there must be some cat who can."
Is this his idea of making a great land? Russetstripe thought to herself as she padded alongside her brother. She shot him a worried glance, watching how he favored his left leg as the two cats walked over to a rabbit burrow at the edge of camp that Brambledusk had been imprisoned in. Russetstripe leaned into the entrance of the burrow, seeing Brambledusk's pale yellow eyes gleam in the darkness.
"Brambledusk!" Scorchclaw called out, peering his head into the dark hole. Russetstripe bit her lip as she noticed him wincing. "You are released."
Brambledusk's pale eyes narrowed, and he came further into view, padding through the tunnel. Russetstripe winced at the icy shards in his eyes, and the pale tabby tom glanced at the two cats, snorting. "Why was I released? So I can live in a Clan full of cats who kill their own kin and worship their parents for being tyrants?"
Scorchclaw's fur bristled, and Russetstripe flattened her ears. Before any of them could spit an insult back at Brambledusk, Brambledusk turned and headed back into the rabbit burrow. Russetstripe watched him go, dismayed. She knew that Brambledusk was Adderstripe's best friend, and that he was feeling the pain of Adderstripe's death the most, even moreso than Scorchclaw or Swiftstar.
As Brambledusk disappeared into the darkness, Scorchclaw clenched his jaw. "If I was around when it happened, I wouldn't have wanted Adderstripe to die," he murmured, half to himself. Russetstripe flinched, but her brother went on. "But you can't change the past. He's dead now, and there's nothing we can do about that. Maybe it was the right thing to do, but we've got to move on."
"Aren't you upset that he did all of this to you?" Russetstripe asked.
"Of course I am." Scorchclaw's amber eyes shadowed. "I really thought we were getting to know each other more. Do you know that a hawk almost took me? Adderstripe pushed me to the side before the hawk could get to me and fought it on his own. All I wanted… was to be his brother." The ginger-and-white tabby tom let out a deep breath. "But I didn't expect him to try to kill me over it."
The pain in her brother's eyes made Russetstripe turn away. Guilt wracked her heart for killing Adderstripe, but she knew she didn't have any other option. It was the only way to save her brother – and her father. I can't beat myself up about it. I know I did the right thing, even if my heart doesn't let me think so. Russetstripe let out a sigh, but just as she tried to say something more to her brother, a hiss made her stop in her tracks. She glanced at the camp entrance, her eyes widening as she saw Hawkfeather, forcing his way in with the scruff of a small dark brown tabby tom hanging from his jaws.
What is he doing? Russetstripe raced over to Hawkfeather, watching with horror as the small cat flailed in his mouth. Hawkfeather dropped the tom to the ground, and just as the small tabby turned to run away, Hawkfeather stepped on his tail, restraining his movement.
"What are you doing?" Russetstripe barked at Hawkfeather, studying the tom he was holding down. His head reached the length of Russetstripe's arm – he was barely an apprentice! And from the scent of oak and birch that clung to his pelt, he must have been a ThunderClan apprentice. His amber eyes were wide with fear, but Hawkfeather had him in an iron clad hold. "That's just an apprentice!"
Hawkfeather spun to face Russetstripe, his dark fur bristling. "He was trespassing on our territory!" he snarled at her. "I don't tolerate intruders, no matter how old they are."
"I didn't mean to!" the ThunderClan apprentice protested, his tabby fur fluffed up with fear and his tail tucked between his legs as he looked up with round eyes at the two warriors. "Please let me go!"
"Not a chance." Hawkfeather shook his head. "I'm bringing you to Swiftstar, and we'll see what he thinks about you."
"Hawkfeather, he's just a kit!" Russetstripe protested as the tabby tom dragged the apprentice with him as if he was deadweight. But her complaints didn't reach Hawkfeather's ears when he strutted across the camp and dropped the apprentice in front of the Tall Branch. As the apprentice landed with a thud, Swiftstar exited the den, his amber eyes dull.
Swiftstar examined the apprentice flatly, and the apprentice scrambled to his feet, staring at the WindClan leader with wide eyes. He stepped back, his tail twitching, his ears flattened in fear. "P-please… don't hurt me."
The ThunderClan apprentice was starting to draw a crowd. Scorchclaw's amber eyes were narrowed in suspicion as he regarded the apprentice. Dovewillow and Thrushwing exchanged curious glances, and Sandfall and Aspenstep stepped forward to examine the apprentice. Lightningpaw and Cinderpaw's eyes were wide with shock. The ThunderClan apprentice couldn't be older than those two cats.
"I recognize you," Swiftstar rumbled in his chest. "You are Emberpaw, the son of Rootstar."
Russetstripe's blood turned cold. Hawkfeather dragged back the son of Rootstar into our camp?! That makes this thing ten times worse! The dark tabby apprentice looked nothing like his graceful, composed father. He was crouched to the ground, his ears flat, his eyes round with terror as he stared at the cat the Clans called the Viper of WindClan.
Emberpaw finally nodded. "Yes… I'm Rootstar's son. So will you please let me go?"
"Hawkfeather, where did you find him?" Swiftstar asked.
"In the heart of the moor," Hawkfeather replied, staring at Emberpaw with visible disdain in his eyes. Russetstripe swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering that Grayflight was Hawkfeather's best friend. He wants to avenge him, no matter what, and if it starts with an apprentice… then that's fine with him.
"What were you doing so deep in our territory?" Swiftstar asked, leaning into Emberpaw.
"I… got lost." Emberpaw crouched down. "I was chasing a squirrel… I didn't even know where I was going until it got away from me. Please, I didn't catch the squirrel, and I know what I did was wrong! Just let me go home."
"Hmm." Swiftstar clicked his tongue. "Do you know what happened to me, Emberpaw?"
"No…" Emberpaw clenched his jaw. "Am I supposed to?"
Swiftstar narrowed his eyes. "Several of your Clanmates joined my treacherous son in trying to kill me, that's what happened. Your Clan cannot go unpunished. Did Rootstar know this, Emberpaw?"
Emberpaw shook his head wildly. "My father didn't know anything!" he exclaimed. "If he did, he would've stopped them!"
"Well, it's too late for that now." Swiftstar's thin tail twitched up grass. "I'm holding you hostage in my camp, Emberpaw. Scorchclaw, send a messenger to ThunderClan's camp and tell them we have Rootstar's son. They'll send a patrol to attack, and I'll be waiting."
"Father, I—" Scorchclaw's words were cut off with a voice sharper than claws.
"Now." Swiftstar hissed through clenched teeth. Scorchclaw glanced at the ground before looking over his shoulder, flicking his tail towards Gorseflight. Gorseflight walked over to him, his yellow eyes wide with worry, and when Scorchclaw whispered in his ear, Gorseflight let out a small gasp. When Swiftstar focused his icy glare on the white-and-gray warrior, Gorseflight lowered his head and bounded out of camp, his tail streaming behind him. Russetstripe bit her lip as Swiftstar regarded the small ThunderClan apprentice again.
"Imprison him," Swiftstar ordered. At the callous order, Russetstripe gasped, watching Hawkfeather take Emberpaw away violently and shove him into one of the rabbit burrows, next to Brambledusk's prison. The tabby tom disappeared into the shadows as Hawkfeather tossed him farther than Russetstripe could see. Russetstripe swallowed the lump in her throat, watching Hawkfeather trot away as if nothing was wrong. She turned to look at her father, opening her mouth, ready to speak, but Swiftstar talked before she could.
"I'm not going to let ThunderClan walk away with their paws clean after helping a traitor try to kill me," Swiftstar growled. "They will pay with their lives. Rootstar will send a patrol to retrieve Emberpaw, and hopefully he will be on the patrol, seeing as Emberpaw is his son. Once he comes, I will kill him. He will see what it is like to have your life threatened because of your son. And I don't want to hear any of your whining, Russetstripe. You don't know how to lead a Clan." Her father turned on his heel, disappearing into his den, and Russetstripe could only watch him helplessly.
She glanced at her brother, whose eyes focused on his father's disappearing figure. Scorchclaw was deputy now – couldn't he do something? But the ginger-and-white tabby tom only shook his head miserably at Russetstripe, and Russetstripe hitched a breath in her throat. When Swiftstar decided on something, no cat could change his mind. Oh, gods, Russetstripe thought. Please, protect Emberpaw from my father's rage. Seeing the tabby tom tossed so callously in the rabbit burrow made Russetstripe's blood burn with fury, and the ginger she-cat marched over to the fresh-kill pile. She grabbed a rabbit in her jaws and walked towards the rabbit burrow.
"Russetstripe!" Scorchclaw called. "Don't!"
But Russetstripe ignored her brother's pleas and entered the rabbit burrow. Shadows engulfed the tunnel and the only thing that allowed Russetstripe to see anything was a single shaft of sunlight. But it was enough to illuminate Emberpaw's dark brown tabby pelt, curled up in a ball as the tom shoved his nose into his tail. He looked up as Russetstripe entered, his yellow eyes round with fear.
Russetstripe dropped the rabbit at Emberpaw's paws. "This is for you," the she-cat said. Pity crossed her face at the desperation and terror on Emberpaw's face. He's so young… too young to be a hostage.
"Thanks, I guess," Emberpaw muttered. "But I'm not really hungry."
"So you plan to starve yourself?" Russetstripe snapped at him, her tail twitching. "What nonsense!"
"Give it to some cat else." Emberpaw shoved the rabbit back to Russetstripe. "I don't have an appetite. I don't want to waste your prey."
"Then, I'll split it with you. Just this once." Russetstripe sat down next to the tabby.
"No!" Emberpaw protested. "I'm all right, thank you."
"Saying things like that will just make you want to eat it more once you can't anymore," Russetstripe remarked. "Come on, surely you know how to eat without regard to anyone but yourself."
"I don't want it," Emberpaw repeated.
"I told you to eat it, didn't I?" Russetstripe snapped, her nostrils flaring.
"But your leader didn't give me permission to eat! If I eat without his—mmph!" Russetstripe couldn't stand anymore of the apprentice's blabbering, and so she ripped a chunk from the rabbit and forced it into Emberpaw's mouth.
"Shut up and listen to me," Russetstripe growled as the tabby reluctantly chewed on the rabbit. "You're… you're going to need strength if you're going to have to deal with my father." And I wish I could help you, Russetstripe thought. No, wait. "I'll do my best to keep you safe, all right? But you have to be strong."
"I don't want to be here," Emberpaw confessed, swallowing the rabbit in his throat when he finished chewing.
"Will your father fight to get you out?" Russetstripe asked.
"I don't know," Emberpaw said. "My father doesn't like war."
"But you're his son," Russetstripe said, wrinkling her eye whiskers as she looked down the anxious apprentice up and down. "He has to come get you."
"You're right," Emberpaw sighed, looking out the rabbit burrow. "He'll come… I have faith in my father."
Russetstripe swallowed the words and gave the tabby apprentice a nod. "Let me know if you need anything." With her tail twitching behind her striped back, the ginger she-cat left the tom alone. Guilt for his imprisonment twitched in Russetstripe's heart, and she knew the resentment her Clan had for ThunderClan cats. She could only hope they would treat him well.