Warriors: FlowerClan's War #1 - A Clan's Choice

Chapter 17 - Dewstar

Dewstar looked sadly back at Lightningstar as the golden she-cat walked away, her tail drooping. Dewstar had wanted so much to help, but she had been taught by Splashstar that if she endangered PondClan cats with a decision that they didn't benefit from, she had failed as a leader.

Splashstar had been very wise, so Dewstar always tried to apply her advice in any way she could. She hadn't been doing that lately.

Dewstar thought about running after Lightningstar and telling her PondClan would help in any way they could, but something stopped her.

She saw a flash of Splashstar's white and ginger pelt, but when she looked around there was no sign of the long dead cat.

She brushed it off as another symptom of the illness she was going through and eventually walked into the forest for some hunting. She was starting to feel better, but she had lost a life a few days earlier. Now, she only had one life left.

It was a strange sensation, knowing she could drop dead at any moment after so long of feeling invincible.

As Dewstar stepped into the forest the wind picked up and almost knocked her over. She shivered as she regained her balance, fluffing up her fur against the cold. It's almost leaf-bare, she thought.

Dewstar scented mouse through the wind and was stalking forward when she spotted a cat staring at her from behind a tree. It was Splashstar!

Dewstar had never been visited by a StarClan cat outside of her dreams. She bounded over to the white and ginger she-cat, dipping her head when she reached her.

"Hello, Splashstar. I am honored to be visited by my past leader." Splashstar nodded, wrapping her thin tail around her paws.

"You made a good decision earlier." Dewstar puffed out her chest in pride. Splashstar didn't give her praise often when she had been alive, so Dewstar always had to work her hardest in an attempt to earn it.

"Thank you. You trained me well for these kinds of things."

"Of course, I did. I had to make sure you would fill my paw steps as leader. As I always say, a weak leader makes a weak Clan." Dewstar's leader training had been harsh, but it had shaped each decision she had made during her leadership. It had shaped them a little too much, some cats might say.

"What do you think of FlowerClan?" It might be good to get a StarClan cat's point of view, Dewstar thought.

"Well, they're hardly a real clan. Their leader is a kittypet! And she has the nerve to go around, spreading lies about our Clan!? You should have clawed her throat out when you had the chance."

"The other Clans seem to trust them... At least, Lightningstar seemed to trust them enough to ask for their help."

"Lightningstar is the leader of those RainClan scum. They hardly deserve to be a Clan either. I would take the kittypet over them in a heartbeat." Dewstar's heart seemed to stop. She knew that Splashstar had clashed with RainClan during her leadership, but she never knew that she felt so intensely about them.

"You shouldn't speak about them that way. We haven't fought with RainClan in moons and the battles we did have always ended in peace." Splashstar nodded reluctantly.

"Well, PondClan will always clash with RainClan. It's just how our Clans are. Why do you think nobody objects when we suggest fighting RainClan? Our Clan cares more about showing RainClan we are strong than their own happiness." Splashstar walked slowly around Dewstar in a wide circle, her starry pelt glittering. "You could suggest any rule you wanted after a PondClan victory over RainClan and they couldn't care less."

"All of PondClan's rules are fair and just. Clearly, my clanmates care enough to stop the leader from making up silly ones."

"Oh, really? They let me ban the leaders of PondClan from having mates, remember? No one even questioned it until you came along." Dewstar had changed that rule early in her leadership.

"So? That rule would seem sensible to most cats."

"You changed it so you could take a mate, but no one ended up loving you!" Splashstar smiled widely. Dewstar had never seen her be this cruel. Had she been like this when she was alive?

"I don't need a mate. Why are we talking about this, anyways? All I want to know is if I made the right decision not to help Lightningstar. With a reason this time, not just because they made you mad." Splashstar nodded. She seemed to grow as she walked around Dewstar.

Dewstar's vision grew blurry until everything went black. The darkness faded into Highstones, particularly one of the caves on the side. Cats were gathered around it, their pelts prickling.

Foxes jumped out of the cave, landing on the smallest cats. Wait, they were kits! The entirety of both RainClan and StoneClan was gathered around the cave, fighting for their lives.

Dewstar watched in horror as cats were ripped apart in front of her. She flinched as a kit's throat was slashed open, the body flung into an ever growing pile of dead cats.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them the ground was wet with blood, but the bodies were gone. Splashstar was standing next to her.

"Why did you show me that!?" Dewstar sobbed, digging her claws into the ground.

"This is what will happen. All of RainClan and StoneClan will be destroyed. Their territories will be be free."

"Free for what...? Nothing good can come out of the death of this many cats!" Dewstar struggled to keep her voice steady.

"Free for PondClan to take, of course! Think of all that prey, wasted on inferior cats. If you ignore those fox hearts now, you will get all of it and more."

"No, I can't do that. RainClan and StoneClan have done nothing wrong. Those battles were pointless, most of them were our fault. Even during my reign we've wrongly fought with them." Dewstar raised her voice, trying to talk some sense into the StarClan cat.

"And who do you think caused those battles? Me! I've influenced so many battles over the moons. I've whispered instructions in your ears so many times, you've gotten used to being furious over every little thing by now."

Dewstar thought back to all those times she has caught herself fuming over something small another Clan had done. Could it really be all Splashstar's fault?

"I will not just sit back and watch them all die!"

"I thought you wanted to make me proud? To be like me? You would be welcomed into my part of StarClan with the highest honors if you make this simple choice..." Dewstar thought about it for a moment.

"...NO! I never want to be like you! Now that I know what you really want, you can rest assured knowing I will erase every mention of you from the Clan!" Splashstar's eyes widened, but she still had a smug look on her face. "If you EVER appear in MY Clan again, I will make sure you are sent to the Dark Forest as soon as I arrive in StarClan! Now leave before I walk straight to the Moonstone to talk to StarClan!"

Splashstar was still smiling. Her white and ginger pelt melted into the forest, but her striking green eyes were still there for a moment, glaring at the cat in front of her.

Then Dewstar was left alone in the silent forest.