Dark Prophecies: Wolftuft's Shadow

Chapter Eight

Wolftuft yawned as she awoke from her dim dream. She sniffed a battle scar on her side, and scoffed. "Lousy TabbyClan cats..." she muttered and stood up. She glanced at Willowpaw, now known as Willowsong, and smiled. He had asked her to be his mate the minute they became warriors. He was the only soft part of her now. Willowsong lifted his head and gazed at Wolftuft. 

"Good morning, Wolftuft!" He purrs.

 "Morning..." Wolftuft mutters.

 "You should get that wound checked out, it could get infected..." Willowsong murmurs. 

"Right, right.." Wolftuft starts to walk out of the den. Willowsong follows after her. Wolftuft pads into the Medicine Cat Den. "Hey SheepPelt, could you check out a wound I got while hunting last night?" She eyes her side. SheepPelt nods.

 "Of course." Wolftuft laid on her side and sighed. SheepPelt examined it closely. "It's not infected, thank GalaxyClan..." she murmurs. 

"It's not a big deal if it is, I've had worse." Wolftuft chuckles. 

"Oh it is." SheepPelt sniffs her stomach. 

"Why?" Wolftuft narrows her eyes. SheepPelt leaned in near Wolftuft's ear. 

"Why? Your expecting kits!" She exclaimed in a whisper. Wolftuft's eyes widen.

 "K...Kits?..." she whimpers.

 "Shhh, you should surprise Willowsong with this wonderful news!" SheepPelt purrs. Wolftuft stands up.

 "Yeah... yeah okay..." She sighs and walks out of the den. She digs her claws into the soft dirt. "Everything is falling apart..." she mutters. A burning hot pelt brushed against her. "Burning Flame?..." Wolftuft looks beside her.

 "Don't be a toad-brain Wolftuft, with kits... Your blood will go on. Besides, I have a plan..." he smirks and disappears. Wolftuft's ears perk up. 

"He's right..." Wolftuft smiles, and walks around to look for Willowsong. Tawnystar gets in her way. 

"Wolftuft, I want you to go to the gathering tonight. Eat and rest up." She smiles and walks away. 

"Great..." Wolftuft turns to the Fresh Kill Pile. "I'll tell him tomorrow then..." she mutters as she pulls out a lizard. She peels off the skin and bites into its flesh. Once finishing, she pads into the warriors den and slumps onto her side. She lets out a yawn and falls asleep.

         What seemed like moments she was awoken by Chillynose. "Come on, Wolftuft. We're leaving." He grunts. Wolftuft stands up and pads out of the den. The clear night sky sparkled with stars. The cats that were going to the gathering gathered up and headed out of camp. Wolftuft hurried behind them. The cats tread through the forest of pine trees and emerge into an open clearing, the second part of their territory. As they ventured further, they reached the river that separated DustClan and TabbyClan. The TabbyClan cats already had arrived. 

"Greetings, Tawnystar." Redstar dipped his head in greeting to the tortoiseshell leader. Tawnystar dips her head respectfully and sits down. Cats from both clans lap at the water together. Wolftuft spots Hazelpetal and feels herself fill with dread and hatred. 

"The mouse-heart better keep her muzzle shut..." she mutters. Hazelpetal whispers into Redstar's ear. Redstar dips his head and steps backwards. 

"Let the gathering begin, Tawnystar, you may start." Redstar gazes at the DustClan leader. 

"DustClan is thriving, we will have plenty prey for the coming leaf-fall. We spotted a fox a couple sunrises ago, but we chased it away from both territories." She purrs. 

"Good." Redstar nods. "TabbyClan lost a cat this moon, my newest warrior, Hazelpetal, will explain..." Redstar steps back, and Hazelpetal takes his place. Wolftuft feels her stomach sink. Hazelpetal clears her throat and glares at Wolftuft.

 "Our warriors reported scenting DustClan on our territory, I was put in charge for making a patrol to investigate. I brought Darkfur and Snowpaw with me." Her voice cracks a little at the mention of Snowpaw. "I recognized the scent, and told Darkfur to report to Redstar... Wolftuft gave us a surprise visit and..." Hazelpetal dug her claws into the ground. "She murdered Snowpaw." She hisses. Wolftuft feels eyes on her, all around her. "She attacked me, then fled.. Snowpaw's mentor named Snowpaw Snowheart... for protecting me..." She steps backwards. Wolftuft looks around. 

'Someone defend me! Please!' No one spoke until Tawnystar turned towards her. 

"The gathering is over. Let's go." She mutters and races away from the river. The DustClan cats quickly follow. Wolftuft turns to look at Hazelpetal, who was glaring intensely at her. She snarls and shakes her head. 

"Forget her, I need to think of something to say..." she mumbles.

      Once back in the camp, Tawnystar called for a clan meeting. As cats gathered, Wolftuft felt her fear grow more and more. Cats circled around her, as if the news had already spread. Tawnystar gazed down at Wolftuft, her eyes cold and unforgiving. "Hazelpetal claimed you attacked and killed Snowpaw, and attacked her, is this true?" Wolftuft sighed, and nodded her head. Willowsong, who was nearby, stared at her in shock. Other cats started whispering to each other. "Then you will be exiled from this clan, and from this forest." Tawnystar hissed, and approached her closely. "I thought you would be something wonderful... Spikytooth was an excellent mentor, I wish he would've lived longer." She sighs and turns away. Wolftuft narrows her eyes. 

"I did it." The cats started to grow panicked.

 "Excuse me?" Tawnystar turns her head.

 "I killed him, I killed Spikytooth!" Wolftuft hisses. "He damaged me, in more ways then I can think..." Tawnystar shakes her head. 

"I don't believe a word from a traitor like you. Leave, and never come back." Tawnystar's scarily calm voice echoed through the clan. Wolftuft snarled and raced out of the camp. The brambles and needles tore off some of her fur, but she didn't care at this point. 

"They don't understand, it's not my fault!" She hissed out. The scent of Burning Flame overwhelmed her. She slowed down and looked around. "What do you want..." she snarled. Burning Flame emerged from the bushes, and smirked. 

"This is exactly part of the plan! Listen, when-" interrupting him, was the sound of leaves cracking. He fades away, as Willowsong takes his place. 

"I'm not going to leave you alone in the wild." He murmurs. "Everyone has a reason for everything after all." He smiles warmly. Wolftuft felt warmth fill her. She rests her head on his. 

"Thank you, Willowsong. I'm glad someone understands me..." she murmurs. 

"I'll always be here with you, my love. No matter what." He murmurs back at her.
"Always and forever."