The evening darkness moved upon the WindClan camp like a dark shadow devouring prey. Cats wept and shared tongues with Palespeck one last time. Adderstorm watched as Starlingwing sat next to Frostleap and Pebblepelt, nuzzling their shoulders and speaking words of comfort. Redstripe padded out of the medicine den finally, his ears went back in grief when he saw Palespeck's corpse.
We're all slowly losing hope. And Heronstar needs to pick the new deputy by moonhigh. It must be a difficult decision to make when you're grieving. Adderstorm thought. It was his turn to share tongues with Palespeck. He quietly stepped over to the former deputy's body, which was cleaned up and smelling a lot nicer thanks to Silveroak's help.
"May you find peace in StarClan, Palespeck. We will all miss you." The brown tabby leaned down, pressing his nose into her fur. His nose was met with a cold, stiff sensation and he shuddered. No matter how many cats he sat vigil for, he figured he would never get used to how a corpse felt under his touch. Cold and lifeless.
He stepped back to let other cats sit with her, bumping into Hollywish. The she-cat looked up at him miserably, "Remember when we all trained together?" her mew was shaky.
"Yeah, of course, I do. She was a great mentor to you, Hollywish." Adderstorm's voice softened and he settled next to her as they both watched cats come and go from Palespeck.
The silver dappled she-cat let out a sigh, "She was. And she would have made a great leader as well. I can't imagine any cat doing a better job as her in the deputy position." Her tail twitched and she glanced over at her father, Heronstar. The small gray tom was speaking with Silveroak outside her den, away from the earshot of others.
Adderstorm nodded in agreement, "But Heronstar does need to choose a cat. I'm sure whoever it is will do a fine job in filling Palespeck's paws."
"Are you completely mouse-brained?" Silveroak's spoke louder now. Adderstorm's ears perked up at the anger in her voice.
"We can't attack RiverClan tonight, you need to appoint a new deputy! Get those bees out of your head and realize that your clan comes first, Heronstar. Not battles." The medicine cat's words were harsh and demanding. Hollywish tensed, her claws flexing into the ground beneath her paws.
Heronstar growled back, trying to quiet the conversation, "I'm tired of us being treated like we're a clan of traitors. This so-called prophecy or warning from StarClan has yet to happen. Maybe RiverClan and Adderstorm were mistaken."
"StarClan are never mistaken, Heronstar. You know as well as I do talking with Tanglestar is the option you need to take. For tonight, you comfort your clanmates." Silveroak hissed, lashing her tail as she stormed away from her brother. Hollywish bounded over to Heronstar, leaving Adderstorm to himself.
When moonhigh came, Heronstar leapt up onto Sky Stone. His light gray fur ruffled slightly in the breeze. All cats looked up to him, waiting for the inevitable announcement of the new clan deputy. Badgerfur shushed her kits gently as she watched from the nursery entrance.
"Cats of WindClan, I stand before you here tonight, to express my grievances to Palespeck. She was an amazing warrior, a determined deputy, but she was murdered before she could ever accept her nine lives and lead this clan after me." Heronstar spoke, his voice booming through the camp.
"I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors and Palespeck may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of WindClan is Embermask."
"Embermask! Embermask! Embermask!" The clan chanted. Adderstorm's stress faded away, Embermask was certainly a great choice.
The kits immediately barrelled out of the nursery, their eyes wide with amazement. Badgerfur picked up Blossomkit by her scruff and put her back at the den entrance carefully, "All of you settle down, you can congratulate your father later." Badgerfur purred, her voice filled with pride for her mate. The kits mewed in protest, but the queen nudged them into their nests again.
YOU ARE READING
Warriors: Loyalty Dwindles (COMPLETE)
FanfictionAdder had always heard stories about the four Clans from his mother. Those stories stuck with him for moons even after her death; and living as a rogue, he eventually sought out to find Windclan. However, Windclan has been losing a lot of cats late...
