THE STOLEN || OLD - being rewritten

Chapter 20 - { A Bitter Reunion }

I will not speak of your sin, there was a way out for him.
The mirror chose not, your values are all shot.

Darkpaw didn't remember returning to camp or falling asleep, but when she woke, she was in Whisperstar's den, in Whisperstar's nest that was lined thickly with feathers and fur, being full of fresh moss and bracken; keeping out the chill from the stone floor and insulating the warmth of Darkpaw's small body. Blinking, she looked around the den. It had been decorated slightly. There were shells and wilting flowers in cracks and crevices as well as feathers hanging from the lichen that draped down from the roof of the small, dark cave.

"Finally awake my little raven?" Whisperstar's voice sounded in the darkness as the she-cat entered the den with a chaffinch. "I was just about to wake you so you could eat." The ebony feline sauntered forward in the darkness to give Darkpaw her meal.

Darkpaw wasn't hungry, but she forced herself to eat the still warm prey, taking off chunks of flesh and chewing slowly before swallowing. She was still dizzy and hurt from her fight with Shadowpaw. She couldn't shake her brother from her mind. His words, the way he said them, how he looked and how he felt. Part of her was enraged with him for being so presumptuous but another part of her was devastated that he felt that way and that they had grown so far apart. She loved her brother more than anything. And now, part of him seemed to hate her.

Darkpaw didn't know how to cope with that.

"Don't let them get to you my dear. With time they will grow up and learn how to properly respect you as their superior." Whisperstar mewed in a soft voice as Darkpaw slowly ate the small bird.

"Whisperstar!" A cat called from outside the den.

Whisperstar's expression changed with the blink of an eye, annoyance and frustration clouding her gaze as her expression turned blank. "What?" She demanded.

Pineclaw entered the den, his fur slightly spiked out. "It's the clan cats. Some of them have assembled at the gathering place and are demanding to see you. They want a meeting." Pineclaw panted, his pale green gaze catching in the half light.

Whisperstar stiffened, her tail lashing. "On your feet, Darkpaw. You must come with us."

Darkpaw swallowed her last mouthful and forced herself up to her paws, stretching as she followed Whisperstar and Pineclaw out of the den. The three cats began bounding across camp. With a wave of her tail Darkpaw beckoned Sagepaw, the grey she-cat coming up beside her as the four felines left camp and made their way for the old gathering place.

"What's going on?" Sagepaw asked under her breath to Darkpaw as the two she-cats ran behind Whisperstar and Pineclaw.

Darkpaw shook her head. "I'm not sure. Apparently the remaining clan cats want a meeting with Whisperstar." The dark tortoiseshell breathed.

Sagepaw frowned with concern, looking back to where they were running. "That can't be good." The grey tabby murmured as they ran with a sense of urgency. Upon approaching the old gathering place Darkpaw could see Sunwillow, Antwhisker, Crowdusk, and Snakeleg. All their pelts were spiked and their claws were unsheathed, as were the clan cat's.

Darkpaw's pale yellow green eyes widened as she recognized the mottled black and white pelt of Mosspelt. The skinny tortoiseshell wanted to scream and cry out there and then, running into Mosspelt's warm and safe embrace where she would always stay in times of uncertainty and doubt. But she couldn't. She had cats who relied on her back in The Legion. Good cats who wanted to destroy Whisperstar. What would break her though, is that from this meeting, Mosspelt would leave believing Darkpaw to be a traitor; an enemy to the clans, disloyal to her BlazingClan blood.