Rainy Day's Love part one: Rainy Day speaks

Rainy Day: Hello, traveler! Back for another story already? Well, I have one for you. Sit down and get comfortable!

It's wonderful having my brother as leader. I can get away with so much! Like, for example, having two pieces of fresh kill instead of one, or going out hunting while I'm supposed to be on guard duty, or... Sneaking off to see a MudClan cat every night while the rest of the clan is sleeping.

I've done all of these things. I know it's wrong to love a cat from another clan, but Olivefur saved my life. When MudClan attacked my clan, Snakestar came right at me. I thought I was going to die! Then Olivefur stepped in and went right after his own leader. He betrayed his clan for me! I couldn't help but fall in love with such a hero...

But loving him is hard. I hate being torn between two clans, and knowing that I'll always have a paw in MudClan is somewhat alarming. But what is a lonely she-cat to do? My brothers are my only two friends. Stormstar, being leader and all, is obviously way too busy. Red Eyes left to join MudClan... Which is another paw in MudClan that I have.

I hate having two clans! Especially because of Green Eyes and Muddy Feet. They tore our family apart! Little Fox agrees that it's awful.

Because I don't have any friends in GreenClan, can you really blame me for looking to MudClan? Olivefur is the greatest friend I'll ever have. He'll never be leader because of his kittypet origins, and Dragonstar doesn't like that. He hates kittypets.

I bet Dragonstar would understand how it feels. His mate, Bird Song, and his sisters, Little Fox and Spider Web, are all members of GreenClan. They're all almost ready to be elders, as they are my grandparents. Grandparents of a leader! Now that's old. But none of them want to go to the elder's den yet.

One day, as I was slipping out of camp to go see Olivefur, Stormstar appeared behind me. "Where are you going? This is the third time I've seen you sneak out."

"Hunting." I replied. Stormstar's tail twitched.

"I want you to stay here tonight and guard the camp with Fallenpaw." He said, already on his way to wake the apprentice. I groaned in annoyance, knowing that Olivefur would understand. He had an apprentice too, Fallenpaw's brother Eaglepaw.

"Why does he have to make me stand guard? I'm not even a warrior!" Fallenpaw complained as she flopped down next to me. I didn't answer her, so she glared at me for a second.

"Fallenpaw. You know what it's like having family in another clan. Do you miss them?" I asked her.

"Of course I miss them, I'm not mousebrained!"

I rolled my eyes and looked up at the moon. The full moon was tomorrow, so I'd be able to explain to Olivefur why I hadn't shown up to our meeting.

For the rest of the night I stood staring, the glittering stars of Silverpelt no doubt watching over me. I knew that my mother, Green Eyes, was watching over me. She hated MudClan, so I knew that she would never support me being with Olivefur. Sometimes I think all of StarClan hates me for loving him.

When the night of the gathering rolled around, I couldn't wait to go. Because our clans were so small, we were all allowed to go. As I left the warriors den and walked out into the clearing, I noticed that something was wrong. Liontail was running frantically from her den into a sheltered corner of the cave where it was too dark to see. She disappeared into the shadows while the rest of the clan watched on anxiously.

"What's going on?" I asked Fallenpaw, who had come to stand next to me.

"Fish Scale is dead." She replied, her voice filled with horror.

A moment later Liontail appeared again, looking defeated. "Well?" Demanded Stormstar. Liontail sighed, giving her chest a reassuring lick.

"He's old. Seems to have died peacefully, there are no injuries that I can see." She reported. A horrified gasp came from Bird Song.

"You really think he's that old? He didn't just die! Someone's killed him!" She yowled. Spider Web murmured her agreement, while Little Fox just stared at the spot where Fish Scale lay.

"Bird Song, Little Fox, and Spider Web are excused from the gathering to grieve. The rest of you, come on, because we're late." Stormstar said, glancing at me.

"Let's go!" Fallenpaw said, excited to see her siblings again. I was just excited to see Olivefur.

I followed the apprentice out of the cave, through the forest. The gathering tree was a tree that grew on a tiny island at the widest part of the river. The island was just big enough for both leaders to sit on. The rest of the clan gathered around; Some sat on the stepping stones, which were right next to the island, while some stayed on their side of the border and others crossed the river.

I spotted Olivefur sitting with Tigerstripe near the first stepping stone, on his side of the river. I immediately went to join them, sitting beside Tigerstripe. "Fallenpaw is doing wonderful in her training." I reported. "She's going to make a wonderful warrior someday."

Tigerstripe let out a purr of delight. "I knew it! My kits won't let their father stand in the way. How is Snakestar, anyway?"

The rogue prisoner was kept under a log in Stormstar's den. The log wasn't heavy enough to kill Snakestar, but it was heavy enough to trap him. "He's alright, I suppose." I replied. Suddenly I remembered the way that Bird Song had claimed that Fish Scale was murdered. Could that be true? Fish Scale did argue that we should kill Snakestar often. Perhaps Snakestar had tried to end the teasing and bullying that Fish Scale had always done?

"I'm going to go talk to my daughter." Tigerstripe said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I nodded, glad that I would be able to speak to Olivefur at last. But before I could, a yowl sounded from the gathering tree.

I turned to see that the two leaders had leaped onto a branch, which signaled that the gathering had begun. Dragonstar signaled with his tail for Stormstar to speak first.

"Cats of the clans, I am sorry to bring bad news to the gathering today. Fish Scale is dead." My brother announced. Dragonstar gasped, while the other cats began to murmur.

"What happened?" Olivefur called from beside me. I wanted to purr just hearing his voice. It was wonderful..

"He was old." Stormstar replied simply. I sighed, curling my tail around my forepaws.

Dragonstar gave his news quickly; the apprentices were doing well in their training, prey was thriving, and other news that I didn't care at all for.

Finally it was over, and Stormstar announced that we had to return to camp immediately. I turned away from Olivefur, disappointed, but he stopped me. "Meet with me at the mooncave tonight." He said in a hushed voice. I blinked, confused, but he didn't say anything else.

As we returned to camp, I felt my fur bristling. I couldn't understand why, but I sensed something bad happening. So did Stormstar, I think, as he rushed to the camp faster than a hawk diving for its prey.

When we arrived, I heard a desperate wailing echoing around the cave. I sped up to stand next to Stormstar at the entrance in time to see Snakestar pinning Bird Song to the ground, his claws sinking into her throat.