Chapter thirty-nine  

Froststar paused at the camp entrance. He did not want to go into camp and face his Clan, with three dead bodies. Oh, stop being a mouse-heart! Just go in there. Froststar took a breath, then pushed through the thorn barrier.

Heads turned, and the meowing began.

"They're back!"

"Please deal with Quickflash! She is out of her mind!"

"Is Froststar okay? Did he lose any lives?"

"Where are my kits?"

"Who's hurt?"

"Did we win?"

Froststar ignored all of it, pushing past the crowd of cats. Mistfeather was beside him in a heartbeat. "You're bleeding a lot. Sit down, I'll get Wishfeather."

"No, no," he muttered, staggering past her, dragging himself up onto high ledge. He took some deep breathes, ignoring the pain of his many wounds. Now that his adrenaline was wearing off, he felt it. "Clan!" he began. He could only raise his voice so much. "I have an announcement. We have been successful. SkyClan and RiverClan have bowed to us. But, at a grave price. We have lost Poppyfeather, Mousetuft, and Whiteclaw." He glanced down at the bodies. Mossypelt was crouched over his sister, Mousetuft, Robinflight stroking his back with her tail. Lilysplash was burying her nose in Whiteclaw's fur, and Shadeblossom was stroking Poppyfeather's head. Mousetuft, he wasn't worried about. Poppyfeather was dull as a rock, but she was still good muscle for his group. But Whiteclaw, had been a good supporter. He was a heavy loss.

Froststar felt light-headed. Blood was pouring from his wounds fast now. "They..... they will be missed. Tomorrow, and the next few days, will be for healing. After, we will further deal with RiverClan and SkyClan..... the kits.... and apprentices that need to be made Warriors. For now.... for now..." Froststar swayed a bit. "For now, put the kits in the nursery, and bury... the dead." The world blurred before his eyes.

"Okay, that's enough, come down." Mistfeather's voice sounded far away, as she lead him down from high ledge. During both battles, he hadn't realized how injured he had gotten. Mistfeather, and another cat, Fernclaw he believed, lead him to Wishfeather's den. He lay down on soft moss. Mistfeather began to lick his wounds. It didn't take long for him to slip into a fitful pain-filled sleep.

~~~~~~~~

Dusk was just beginning to fall. Ivyclaw lay under high-ledge, head on her paws. At first glance she was resting, but if anyone watched her, they would be able to tell that she was alert. Her wounds had been treated, and the pain was reduced to a dull throb. She understood, though, the second she stood up and moved around they would hurt again.

However, that was the least of the tortoiseshell's concern. She had survived the battle with RiverClan, but it had been horrific. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see the dying cats. Every time she twitched and ear, she could hear the screams of pain. Every time she inhaled, she could smell the reek of fear and blood. Every time she swallowed, she could taste it.

Ivyclaw had been in many, many battles, her senior warrior seasons weren't that far away. But nothing had been compared to this one. The ThunderClan warriors had descended upon RiverClan like foxes on a rabbit. Ivyclaw had seen at least six bodies when they had left.

And the kits, they had taken the kits! Ivyclaw had always known her younger brother hadn't been quite right, but this was pure evil and it had to be stopped.

After Stormlight and Willowlight had died, Ivyclaw had felt completely alone. She had never been bothered by not having any littermates, and only two siblings, but now she wished she had more. Willowlight had always had trouble having kits, which is the reason why all their age gaps were large with no pattern, and there was only one surviving kit per litter.

Without any kin (Froststar absolutely didn't count) she felt more alone than ever. But then she found Honeyflower and her daughter, Cherrynose, the only ones not brainwashed by Froststar and his supporters or too afraid to do something about it.

By now, every cat was either sleeping, talking quietly, or eating the prey that Larktalon's patrol had managed to catch. Getting rid of her apprentice hadn't been hard. She had nothing against Dawnpaw despite that fact that her father was Froststar. Dawnpaw seemed to be the most like her mother, and the more decent than Tigerpaw and Darkpaw, who were both showing signs of being exactly like Froststar. But Dawnpaw was very clever, and if Ivyclaw wasn't careful, that would turn into evil cunning.

I need to, as her mentor, influence her to be kind. But that's going to be very, very hard. Froststar will have his eye on me. Ivyclaw bit back a hiss. Her eyes looked over at Honeyflower, who was sitting with Cherrynose. After a few moments she looked over too, and they locked eyes. Ivyclaw nodded every so slightly, and Honeyflower blinked twice in response. Ivyclaw got up and yawned. She stretched carefully, wincing as her wounds stung. Shaking out her paws and biding her time, Ivyclaw slowly ambled over to the thorn entrance. Robinflight was standing guard, thank StarClan. Ivyclaw knew that Robinflight was not a Froststar supporter. She also knew that Robinflight was a realist, and knew she had to openly support Froststar if didn't want to die. Maybe if she didn't have kits, she would join Ivyclaw's tiny resistance, but she had Leopardpaw, Specklepaw, and Treepaw to worry about. Robinflight nodded to Ivyclaw as she slipped out, and said nothing as Honeyflower and Cherrynose followed shortly after.

Once far enough away from camp, they stopped. "We need to recruit Mossypelt," Ivyclaw announced.

"Are you sure? We can't be hasty about these choices," Cherrynose murmured.

Ivyclaw nodded. "I'm sure. If we get him now, make him see his sister died because of Froststar, we can bring him in."

"That won't be enough," Honeyflower said. "He's a father. He has Robinflight and his kits to lose."

"Mouse-dung, you're right!" Ivyclaw cursed. "But we're out of time. We need to try."

"But our whole plan could be sabotaged!" Cherrynose insisted.

"I think we should try," Honeyflower said. Her face was hardened into a look of concentration. She was thinking. "We might be able to convince him his family will be in danger if he doesn't join us."

"No. They'll be in danger anyway," Ivyclaw sighed. This was hopeless.

"No. I know. I'm a mother," Honeyflower said. "Let me do the talking. I have an idea."

Fate might just have been on their side, because they found Mossypelt quickly. He was outside, yowling his grief into the night sky. He was by the creek, claws stuck in the damp dirt. Moonlight filtered through the trees, its pattern dancing across his black fur, making him look dappled with silver.

"Mossypelt," Ivyclaw called out. His head snapped towards them, his mouth slamming shut. His eyes narrowed.

"Go away! Don't you see? I want to be by myself!" He leaped to his paws, arching his back.

"Please calm down, Mossypelt," Cherrynose said.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? My sister is dead, and Specklepaw is critically injured!"

"And who's fault is that?" Ivyclaw asked, stepping up and seizing the chance. Mossypelt paused, and his eyes locked with Ivyclaw's. "It's Froststar's and you know it." She then locked eyes with Honeyflower and nodded. Take it away. The honey-colored queen stepped towards Mossypelt.

"Mossypelt. We both know your sister would be alive and Specklepaw would be fine if it wasn't for Froststar," she meowed, resting her tail on his back. Mossypelt looked at his paws.

"Battles are just part of Clan life. I can't go blaming my leader."

"But it's unnecessary fighting! Froststar is conquering others Clans! He's killing. It's wrong Mossypelt, you know that!" Honeyflower insisted.

"I know," Mossypelt sighed. "But there's nothing we can do."

"Maybe not yet," Honeyflower replied, walking in front of him and looking him in the eye. "But soon there will be. And when that time comes, don't you want to be on the right side? You'll be hero to your family. All we need you to do is to tell us that you are on our side. That you are against Froststar. We won't make you do anything you're not okay with, and we promise not to rat you out."

Ivyclaw could see the uncertainty in his eyes as he gazed at the honey-colored she-cat. Come on. So close. "Do it for your Clan. Do it for StarClan. Do it for your family." There was a moment of silence, and Ivyclaw held her breath.

"I'll join you," Mossypelt finally said. "I'll do it for us all."

~~~~~

Coldrose sat upright in her nest, tail wrapped tightly around her stomach. Her battle wounds throbbed, but that wasn't what was concerning her. While in the medicine cat den, Wishfeather had told her that she was farther along in her pregnancy then they had originally thought, just that the kits were small. Especially if she could feel them moving a lot. Oh, and there would be two of them.

The kits were restless in her stomach, distressed because of what had just happened. She was glad of this, though, because it meant they had survived it. But at the same time, anxiety swelled up inside her. Because there was one more thing.

The kits would also be coming early. And she was far, far from ready.