High Speed Winds

Chapter 7

  "The new leader of FogClan, shall be Branchfire." Panicscar declared to the remains of FogClan after long moments of examination.

A small brown she-cat with a ginger tail sat up tall as the clan purred.

"How do you connect with StarClan?" She asked the newly declared leader.

"To receive my nine lives, I need to go to the Fallen Spirit Pond." Branchfire mewed.

Panicscar dipped her head to the gathered clan, and jumped from the down from the branch of a tree.

As the she-cat passed Branchfire, the two cats shared a look of seriousness.

She will make a good leader for FogClan, and will mend what Wildstar had ruined, Panicscar decided.

**********

The bramble walls of MistClan's camp were utterly destroyed.

Curlstar, the leader of MistClan, sat at the edge of the camp barrier, deep in conversation with a ginger tom. The leader's curled tail twitched with frustration. Panicscar immediately recognized Vineclaw, and shock struck her, hollowing out her chest.

She let out a hiss and padded towards the FogClan cat.

"What are you doing here?" She growled as she approached them.

Curlstar shot her a look of impatience, but let Vineclaw speak.

"After you left me to die down in the gorge," He stopped to roll his eyes.

As he continued, Panicscar noticed that his pelt was covered with deep flesh wounds. Dried blood stained his pelt, and gave him the smell of crow-food. Panicscar wrinkled her nose in disgust, her tail tip twitching with annoyance.

"I climbed back up to the jungle and found MistClan." Vineclaw mewed, finishing.

"Did you throw him off of the cliff edge?" Curlstar questioned her from behind.

Panicscar turned around, to be face-to-face with the leader.

"Yes, I did," the she-cat replied with indifference and not a hint of hesitation. She stood tall, unregretful of her actions. He deserves it. Panicscar let out a snort of frustration.

Curlstar flicked his tail as he stood, and as he padded to the Tall rock, the MistClan leader quietly meowed in a joking, soft tone so that Vineclaw couldn't hear, "Well, it's no wonder."

Panicscar watched as the leader padded away to check on the nursery. She could feel furious glares burn into her pelt, and she looked at the bristling Vineclaw, his eyes narrowed and his pupils slits. The scarred grey she-cat merely bared her fangs mockingly.

Vineclaw rolled his eyes and looked away, gazing out to the MistClan camp. He watched the cats share tongues and eat fresh-kill, and comfort each other after the attack. Panicscar saw a glimmer of sympathy in his eyes, and she tilted her head in surprise. This cat is full of surprises. Like the fact that he's alive.

When Vineclaw realized she was staring, his gaze hardened and she forced her eyes to flick away to the camp as well. She sat down, watching the cats share affection and comfort.

Just like DrizzleClan... A small smile grew on her lips.

Wait...

Her eyes stopped upon the purple-pelted Opalstorm and the fiery Scarletpelt, sitting alone and staring at their paws nervously. They barely picked at the prey in front of them.