Disclaimer: I don't own the Warrior Cats series!
Title: Red Pearls
Summary: Brightfur just wanted to be a medicine cat. Her mentor, Ravenwind, has very different ideas on what that means- for her and for ShadowClan. With Ravenwind controlling her every move and more than willing to kill to keep it that way, Brightfur will need more than just luck to live to tell the tale.
Chapter Title: Prologue
...
Allegiances!
ShadowClan:
Leader: Alderstar- long-furred dark tabby tom
Deputy: Duskspring- gray tom
Medicine Cat: Ravenwind- small black she-cat
Warriors:
Honeyflower- long-furred yellow tabby she-cat
Stonebreeze- gray and white spotted tom
Apprentice: Smokepaw
Newtfrost- calico tom
Slatestep- short-haired gray she-cat
Badgerthroat- black she-cat with white belly, throat, and face
Apprentice: Briarpaw
Mossyear- gray striped she-cat
Leafleg- dark brown tom
Addershine- creamy yellow tom
Apprentices:
Smokepaw- lithe black she-cat.
Briarpaw- tortoiseshell tom
Queens:
Puddle- blue she-cat with no eyes. Former rogue, currently an elder. Mother to Barkkit (black and white spotted tom) and Rainkit (blue she-cat)
Fallingfeather- long-furred black she-cat. Mother to Graykit (gray tom), Hawkkit (black and gray tom), and Flowerkit (black-striped she-cat)
Elders:
Flowerstrike- black tom with white spots (vitiligo)
Skyberry- silver and white tabby she-cat
Alderstar bowed his large head over the body of his son, Birchpaw. The rest of ShadowClan milled about around him, licking their wounds. He could feel them snatching looks, waiting for him to say something, but it felt like the air had left his lungs.
Ravenwind dipped her head as she approached, sitting down. The medicine cat was almost ridiculously tiny in comparison to him- but, then, she looked that way with most warriors. "StarClan will take care of him, Alderstar," she murmured near his ear. "But only you can take vengeance."
He turned away. "Can't this wait until after the vigil?"
"Of course," she meowed, standing up. "Just don't forget who took your son from you, Alderstar. WindClan must pay."
Alderstar didn't reply. He appreciated Ravenwind as much as anyone else in ShadowClan- the medicine cat had served them dutifully for some time now- but even he had to admit she could very easily develop tunnel vision. Last season her ire had been directed to RiverClan, and now it was against WindClan. Birchpaw's death would only serve to stir her passions more. We'll deal with that later. For now, I just want to grieve.
"Mind if I join you?" Duskspring asked, coming up on his left side.
"That depends," Alderstar meowed, eyes narrowed. "Are you here to try and get me to send out a patrol?"
"No, sir."
"Then sit."
The gray tom politely lowered his ears and approached, wrapping his tail around the dark tabby's side. "I do wish to speak to you, though. May I?"
Alderstar let out a long sigh. "Go ahead."
Duskspring tilted his head to the side, gesturing to a conspicuously empty space by Stonebreeze. "I think Smokepaw could use some reassurances of her own, when you're up for it," the deputy explained. "She and Birchpaw were padding after each other for some time now."
"Later," Alderstar decided. "After the vigil is over."
He nodded and said nothing more. The two toms leaned supportively against each other.
Ravenwind was waiting for Alderstar the next morning, a vole at her paws. She gestured to it with her tail. "For you," she said graciously. "As an apology for yesterday."
"Thanks, but I need to do something," he grunted, still a little hurt by her callousness. "Have you seen Smokepaw?"
She stared at him a moment, flabbergasted by his refusal, then shrugged. "I saw her leave earlier. I don't think she's been back since."
"Was Stonebreeze with her?"
"No. She went by herself." Ravenwind's amber eyes seemed to go through his fur and into his very soul as she studied him. Alderstar suppressed a shiver. "Be careful, Alderstar. I'd hate for you to be hurt too."
He flicked his tail dismissively. "I won't go far. Thanks again for the fresh-kill, but I'm really not hungry." Alderstar called the rest over his shoulder as he jogged away. "Just put it back on the pile!"
The familiar pine-scent of ShadowClan filled Alderstar's nostrils as he slipped through the trees. It gave him some form of comfort. He hadn't slept well last night- he didn't think he would for some time- which made it hard to put one paw in front of the other, but he had given Duskspring his word, and he would keep it. Alderstar could practically taste Smokepaw's grief on the wind as he followed her trail across the boggy terrain.
Alderstar's heart twisted as he found the lithe black-striped molly at the rock pile that covered Birchpaw's grave site. The apprentice had awkwardly long legs, with ears that were almost twice the size of her head. One of said large ears twitched as he padded closer.
"Sorry, Alderstar," she meowed, stepping away. "I just wanted to pay my respects. I didn't get the chance yesterday."
The large tom sat down. "It does my heart good to see him be visited." Alderstar lightly elbowed her side. "It hurts right now, for all of us, but he'll always be in our hearts."
"That's not the problem, Alderstar."
"May I ask what is?"
Smokepaw sighed. "I'm having his kits."
"Oh. Oh, dear."
She glared at him. "That doesn't make me feel any better, you know."
Alderstar winced. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just a little surprised." He'd known, of course, that his son had had an interest in Smokepaw, and that it had been mutual, but he hadn't thought they had actually crossed the boundary into mates. "Of all the things I expected today, finding out I'm going to be a grandpa wasn't among them." Sensing her discomfort, he gave her a quick lick behind the ear. "But I'm glad! I'm really, really glad. If you want to keep them, I'll be with you every pawstep of the way."
"And if I don't?" Smokepaw asked.
"I'll still be your side," he replied. "I'm your leader. It's kind of my job to be."
The apprentice smiled at him. "Thanks, Alderstar. That means a lot."
Alderstar nudged her. "Now, come on," he urged. "Let's leave this sad day behind us. With a little luck, maybe your litter will never have to face hard times like these."
Author's Note: Heeey, new Warriors story! This one is much looser than Resilience for me- there's no set time frame, I mean, so I don't need to worry about the timeline as much.
I really like the name Alder. It's just a nice name.
-Mandaree1