[I apologise if this chapter is slightly longer than usual and for the amount of time this took to make, it was a struggle to figure out how exactly this was going to play out as this type of cat is a little difficult to kill off. Also sorry about the lack of visual clues, if we get to scene 5 there will probably be one in there.] - Dusk

Glacierstar anxiously listened to her clanmates discussing, miserably watching her mate as she worried about the eventual verdict. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice Rootfrost padding up to her side.

"Eight innocent votes to seven guilty ones, Glacierstar," the ginger she-cat murmured softly, as Glacierstar blinked, hesitating a moment before she pulled herself from her thoughts. Relief flooded her chest as she sighed, thanking her deputy before she got to her paws.

'These votes are becoming closer and closer...'

"Cedarcloud has been voted innocent," the grey she-cat began, as yowls of protest began to break out among the crowd.

"Another innocent vote? How are we ever meant to protect our Clan if we can't make a decision?!" Foxdawn meowed angrily, shooting a worried glance at her kits.

"I agree with Foxdawn," Lynxpaw growled. "I don't trust him, he's always been the most ambitious of us all," the tom spat.

"That's enough," Glacierstar muttered, glaring at her clanmates. "I asked, and you voted, and it was a fair vote. Cedarcloud is innocent. Clan dismissed." The she-cat's tone was firm, and at her words the Clan reluctantly scattered.

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Half a moon had passed since the last incident, and many in the Clan were beginning to hope that perhaps they were safe again.

On this day, the usual quiet of the early morning was broken by Everest's pained yowls from within the medicine den, her mate Thistlehaze anxiously pacing outside as the medicine cat apprentice had forced him out earlier, his kits Lynxpaw and Icepaw watching him quietly.

"I can't wait to meet the new kits," Icepaw purred, his eyes shining at the thought of new siblings. Lynxpaw rolled his eyes, looking away from the den as he lashed his tail impatiently.

"Whatever. You're too soft, I'd rather be training than hanging out with kittens... But, at least if someone tries to attack them, I'll be ready to protect them," Lynxpaw meowed, lifting his chin as he yowled, "I'll be the strongest warrior in this Clan soon!"

Icepaw grinned.

"So you do care then?"

"Shut up!"

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Glacierstar groaned, shaking her head as she finally gave up on sleep, begrudgingly getting to her paws as she prepared to leave her den.

'Never have I heard a queen yowl as much as her...'

"Glacierstar? Are you awake yet?"

The grey she-cat smiled as her mate walked in, padding forward to nuzzle him gently, Cedarcloud purring in response.

"Yes, I've been awake for a while... Ah well, I suppose a sleepless night is worth it for the Clan finally having new life, perhaps these new kits are a sign that things will get better," Glacierstar murmured, sighing as Cedarcloud sat next to her, nodding.

"I certainly felt that way when our lovely kits were born, well, maybe with Gustpaw, Sleetpaw yowled so much for such a tiny kit," the black and white tom joked, his mate shaking her head.

"Now now, you should never compare kits, they were both perfect, just in different ways," the grey she-cat laughed. "Anyway, since I'm awake this early I may as well make myself useful, I'll see you later," she meowed.

Glacierstar was about to walk away, but paused for a moment.

"Also... I'm sorry about everything that happened with your accusation, I know it was a while ago now, but I just can't stop thinking about the way your own clanmates were looking at you," she said, her voice becoming slightly choked as she struggled to look at her mate.

Cedarcloud shook his head.

"You were just doing what you had to, I told you, you couldn't have shown bias toward me anyway. You've always been a good, fair leader, that shouldn't stop just for me. I'll never stop loving you, not even something like that could separate us, nothing ever will," Cedarcloud murmured, gently getting up and pressing his muzzle against her fur.

Glacierstar purred, smiling at him one more time before exiting their den.

Walking away from the den, Glacierstar was about to enter the forest to hunt, when she paused, lifting her nose as she tilted her head, trying to identify the scent. Horror filled her chest as she recognised the scent of fox, sickness mixed in with the deadly scent.

Sick or not... Any fox is still a threat to the Clan, especially while one of our queens is kitting, I need to keep it away from camp! But... the warriors were finally starting to feel safe again.

She paused, struggling to make a decision, before sighing.

I still have six lives left, I'll go and investigate myself, and then if I can't fight it alone, then I'll go and get backup.

With that thought, the she-cat dashed into the forest, focused on the scent. However, she didn't notice the figure that had been silently watching her, and turned in the same direction to follow her.

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Apology on my side, I've been really busy with school and tests and stuff, plus Leafbare isn't the best season for me as I'm low on energy. It's my fault the updates are so far apart :') - Seal
[shhh Seal it's fine, your hard work is very much appreciated] - Dusk

Glacierstar tracked the fox's scent all the way until the edge of their territory. 'I don't care if it's this close to the border, I should protect my Clan above all.' She thought, slowly creeping through the underground to conceal herself from it.

She sniffed the air again, meanwhile looking for a weak spot she could hit. 'It's a vixen, and she smells of milk and sickness.' Glancing around the leaves, Glacierstar saw the fox was limping, a huge infected wound on her hind leg making the scent of sickness make sense. As the fox turned her face towards her, Glacierstar noticed a torn ear and cloudy eye. 'She probably got into a fight with another fox or predator,' she guessed.

She knew that she should still be careful, though. Injured foxes were equally, if not more, dangerous. 'With my lives, I'm stronger than a weakened fox, I should be able to chase it off.' She concluded. She snuck around to the other side of the clearing, and attacked the fox from behind. The vixen turned around with a snarl, her good eye focusing on the cat in front of her.

Glacierstar dodged a swipe and jumped onto the fox's back, pummelling her hind-quarters. The fox threw her off with a snarl, raking a huge claw over the grey she-cat's flank, making Glacierstar yowl out in pain. She rolled to the side to dodge the vixen's other claw and instead bit into it, the fox snarling in protest.

The fight hadn't been going on for long, but the vixen was already tiring, her hind leg slowing her down. Glacierstar saw a small gap and lunged forwards. Slashing her claws down the vixen's chest, she had mistimed when her own injury slowed her down. The fox's strong jaws came crashing down on her spine, and she heard two snaps, then felt only pain. Her vision slowly faded until at last she felt nothing.

The grey she-cat slowly opened her eyes, seeing starry cats surrounding her left and right. In front of her was a tom she recognised, her deputy's beloved mate, Flashstorm.

The brown tom was saying something, and the first words she caught were "...we can't help you." "You can't help me with what?" Glacierstar asked. "The fox snapped your spine in two places, we can only heal one, the one that ended your life," Flashstorm answered.

Glacierstar froze in shock, "You're telling me I'll be paralysed for the rest of my life?" The starry warrior nodded sadly, "I'm sorry." His green eyes sparkled in the dark. "We can't waste time," he started to say when a fellow StarClan cat interrupted him. "There's danger, go, now!" The she-cat meowed. As Glacierstar's vision faded she recognised her, Heatherdusk, Dawngaze's mate.

The grey she-cat opened her eyes, pain flaring through her back as she tried to get up. With no sign of the fox, she looked around, frantically searching for the danger Heatherdusk mentioned. She saw a silhouette at the end of the clearing, slowly approaching her.

As the figure neared, she recognised them. "What are you doing here? I thought I had ordered no cat to go out alone?" She asked, confused. The cat scoffed, "as if I'd take orders from a broken cat. You were already such a weak leader, and now you've gotten yourself paralysed, how fitting."

They lunged towards her, muscles rippling under their pelt, quickly aiming a few precise hits towards Glacierstar's vital organs. The she-cat tried to defend herself, but a ripple of pain from her back stopped her from moving, laying at the cat's mercy. Their claws easily sliced open her neck, Glacierstar slowly losing consciousness as she felt them slice open more wounds all over her pelt. 'I'm sorry Cedarcloud, I failed to protect the Clan.'

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A wail of shock was heard as a border patrol found their leader dead. Gustpaw and Sleetpaw rushed forward to their mother's body. A scent hit their nose. "That's a fox," Fogwhisper growled. "Gustpaw, Sleetpaw, help Shiverhawk carry Glacierstar back to camp and ask Rootfrost to send a patrol this way, we'll track the fox and chase it out."

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The Clan was silent as the patrol carried their leader's body into camp, the joy of having new life in TundraClan had been tainted by the sight of Glacierstar's blood covered pelt, Everest watching from within the nursery in horror as she curled around her new kits, Firkit, Cherrykit and Eaglekit.

Rootfrost was shaking her head, pacing as she waited for the cats to bring their leader forward.

"I don't understand, how can she be dead? She had six lives, six!" the she-cat cried, as a grief filled Dawngaze tried to comfort her.

Within the crowd, Birdpaw was trying to console a shaking Gustpaw, while Sleetpaw sobbed against her father's pelt. Cedarcloud swallowed, closing his eyes as he pulled his daughter closer, unable to look at his mate's limp form.

"I suppose there are just some wounds that StarClan cannot heal," the elder murmured, the Clan observing in horror as Glacierstar's body came into closer view.

The ginger she-cat nodded quietly, before stopping her pacing when she caught sight of frightened eyes within the crowd. She sighed, setting her emotions aside for a minute as she stepped forward to observe her leader's pelt.

"Hmm... there seems to be evidence that this wasn't just a fox attack, there are the marks of another cat's claws on her pelt," Rootfrost muttered, as cats around her gasped.

"Perhaps another cat took advantage of her weakened state, such a cowardly thing to do," Thistlehaze hissed, as Rootfrost meowed her agreement.

"We may not have any clues, but surely none of our young apprentices could've done this? It takes experience to inflict such awful damage like this," Dawngaze observed from the deputy's side.

"You may be right about that Dawngaze... We must accuse another cat, we cannot let the death of our leader go unpunished!" Rootfrost yowled.

A voice cried out.

"I accuse...!"

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Attacked: Glacierstar

Healed: Fogwhisper (incorrect)

Accused: Accuser, please check PMs.

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