Shorts Stories

Birdstream's Murder

Birdstream watched as the Fogclan warriors came into the Meeting Rocks for the clan gathering. She looked around trying to spot Cloudfall. He knew something about her that only one other cat knew and he had told her he would tell everyone at the gathering about it. She tried to look for him but couldn't find him. Relieved that he wasn't here, she let herself relax a bit. She focused on the leaders as they silenced the camp and spoke, but she didn't listen to any of their words. She noticed that Dayleap from Fogclan had been staring at her. Did Cloudfall tell her Birdstream's secret? Birdstream started to get uncomfortable again, annoyed at the she-cat staring at her without blinking. It seemed like forever before the leader's dismissed the meeting, allowing the cats to speak for a while and just talk about how their lives were going.

Birdstream saw Dayleap trotting over to her, so she hurried and padded away to join her brother, Shredfur, who was chatting with a tom from Frostclan. "Oh hey," Shredfur greeted her, she replied with a nod. The tom shifted his paws. "What's your name?" She asked. "Firestorm." "Ah." Birdstream nodded, she didn't really care. She sat next to them and they started talking again, she wasn't listening though. She was watching and waiting for Dayleap to find her and come talk to her, and she was prepared to dodge her again.

Then she spotted him. Cloudfall. He had been hiding in a spot that Birdstream couldn't see. She excused herself from the two toms and slinked her way over to the white tom with his black spots all over him. He wasn't talking to anyone, he was alone actually. Birdstream stalked her way to him, making sure she didn't seem suspicious to anyone else. By the time she made it over to him she assumed the meeting was almost over, she had to make it quick. "Birdstream." His mew was cold as he spotted her, so she returned it. "Cloudfall." The tom got to his paws, "I'm going to announce it." Birdstream hurriedly pushed him into the bushes and jumped after him. They were on the other side of the open clearing so no one could see them. "That was stupid of you," he growled, "now all I have to do is shout it." "Why can't you just leave me alone?" She demanded. "You are mates with one of those murderer cats!" He spat. "Thorn and I are none of your business," she hissed. Cloudfall's face twisted into fury, "he tried to murder my clanmates! He tried to murder your own clanmates! You're a traitor and everyone should know it." He shifted his paws into a more comfortable position, and Birdstream's chest filled with rage.

Cloudfall opened his mouth to yell, and Birdstream lunged forward. She pushed him to the ground but he threw her off with his hind legs. "You traitor! Everyone is going to know who you really are and you'll be sent away!" Birdstream turned around to face him, "I won't be sent away! This has nothing to do with you! I don't even know how you found out!" "I saw you way outside your territory near the edge of ours," Cloudfall growled, "with him. You are a traitor, you don't deserve to be a clan cat." He opened his mouth to speak again, and she lunged at him and shoved him backwards. This time was different though when he flew backwards. He held his ground but slipped on a rock and started to fall into the river. His gaze looked terrified and he stared at her. "Please! Help me! Don't let me drown!" Birdstream hurriedly rushed over, she may be mad at him but she couldn't kill him. She tried to grab his scruff, but a floating branch in the river made him lose his grip and slip under the water.

"Cloudfall!" She cried. She chased after him at the edge of the island, trying to get a good spot to grab him. She could see his head bobbing up and down in the rushing waves. "Hold on!" She screeched, racing after him. "What is going on?" She heard a call come from behind her. Springstar. She didn't stop to look over her shoulder to call back, she just yelled, "Cloudfall fell into the river! He's drowning!" She couldn't tell if the white tom was still struggling or if he had given up, she could only see his head but not hear anymore frightful yowls. She watched him go under again, but this time he didn't come back up. She stopped running, panting as she felt the burn in her legs and paws. Springstar had finally caught up to her, and now she realized that Silverstar was there too. She turned her gaze around, she couldn't tell them the truth. "Cloudfall was sitting by himself at the edge, I saw him slip out through the bushes and wanted to make sure everything was okay. He was staring at the water and when I said his name, he, he," she stopped, "I scared him and he slipped and fell in."