The Clash of Stars Book 1: The Key

Chapter 18: Ottercall

The setting sun stained the shores red as the Clan gathered outside the beach cave. At the assembly of cat's center was Snailnose's body, the broad-faced tom looking small even with the apprentices clustered around him. Mistysmoke, one of the warriors, sat with them. Her head was bowed in mourning. Around them were the rest of CoveClan. Snailnose had been the oldest cat in the Clan, and was very beloved.

Only Ottercall hung back, fur mingling with Crowflutter's. The dark gray cleric leaned into her friend's flank, eyes still wide with shock.

"He was seeming better," she murmured. "I thought maybe it was just a bout of stomach ache — we get them all the time — and they never last so long. But then it got worse overnight." She shook her head, tail curling around her paws. "I don't know what happened. He went from sore to dead in five days." Forcing back a sob, Crowflutter turned to bury her muzzle further into Ottercall's shoulder fur.

Ottercall sighed, resting her chin on Crowflutter's head to comfort her. "You did your best," she reassured her. "StarClan itself couldn't have tried harder than you." Crowflutter didn't answer, and Ottercall tried to ignore the hollow feeling in her chest that something very, very bad was on the horizon.

From the shore Shadeflower padded over, Brookstream close behind. Both cats carried bundles of seaweed in their jaws, which clinked as they walked.

"Where's Ripplestar?" Ottercall asked.

Shadeflower hesitated, exchanging a glance with Brookstream, and then set down his bundle. "She's ... coming," he replied, and then added in a mutter, "I think."

"You think?" demanded Ottercall. She struggled to keep her voice level so as to not further upset Crowflutter.

"I know, she's been frustrating," Shadeflower sighed, glancing away, eyes shining with guilt. "I'm sorry that I'm not better help. She doesn't listen to me."

Ottercall sighed, letting her fur flatten. "Right," she replied. "It's not your fault."

"I never wanted to be deputy, you know," Shadeflower went on. "You'd probably make a better deputy than me."

Ottercall shook her head. "No, you aren't the problem. We just need Ripplestar to listen."

Shadeflower flicked his tail, unconvinced. "Well, whether Ripplestar joins us or not, I have a duty to carry out." He bent down to pick up his bundle again, and nodded to Brookstream. Together, they padded to Snailnose's body, the cats parting to let them through.

Crowflutter stood up, beckoning Ottercall to follow after her brother. When they joined the rest of the Clan, the seaweed bundles were now laid out, revealing a collection of seashells. Shadeflower and Brookstream laid the shells around Snailnose's body, and Ottercall could hear low murmurs of grief rise from one of the elders, Doewhisper. The other two, Hailwhisker and Tinystep, pressed closer to her sides.

Shadeflower finished laying out the shells and took a step back to face the Clan, his former apprentice by his side. "Snailnose was a valued member of CoveClan," he began soberly. "He was an exceptional warrior before he retired, and he provided endless knowledge and stories to our kits. Yes, Hailwhisker?"

The pale gray and white elder had stood up and waved his tail. As eyes turned to him, he sat down, narrowing his green eyes at Shadeflower. "Shouldn't Ripplestar be carrying out this ceremony?" he rasped. "You're just the deputy."

Ottercall winced. Just the deputy. Being the Clan's second-in-command didn't carry the same weight in CoveClan as it once had.

Shadeflower looked similarly uncomfortable, but before he could speak in defense of himself, Ashthroat snapped from the middle of the crowd, "She has other matters to attend to, than the funeral of an elder who got himself sick."