SCAPEGOATS - a warrior cat fanfiction

six

    The rain hadn't dried by the time the patrol returned to ShadowClan, and the ground was even damper than before. The mud clung to Dewhowl's paws, seeping into his fur as he walked alongside Asphodelstar. The patrol had made a stop to hunt and caught only a few frogs that had appeared to take in the after-rain atmosphere before trudging along. The tantalizing scent made the medicine cat's stomach growl with hunger, he hadn't eaten since the evening before, and now the sun was setting below them once again.

    Asphodelstar pestered the medicine cat with questions, mainly about what SkyClan said and their treatment of him, but a few pried deeper; ones about any SkyClan plans, which he was unable to answer due to having nothing to report. He felt as though the young leader was paranoid, and wanted the medicine cat to confirm his suspicion that the clans were planning something sinister for ShadowClan.

    "SkyClan isn't pleased with the isolation, but they aren't planning anything. I think they'll leave us alone." Dewhowl meowed uncomfortably. SkyClan treated him somewhat fairly, they offered him a den to stay in, and he was forever grateful for Tawnybringer and her company. He couldn't ask for anything more. They didn't seem to have any ideas for the pine-thriving clan, not that he knew off at least.

The questions were odd, considering how Asphodelstar had boldly confirmed that he did not care what the other clans thought about ShadowClan's isolation and that whatever false accusations they made against them would be disregarded. Now, he seemed terrified that the surrounding Clans would do something to them.

    Asphodelstar huffed. "Did they treat you well at least? They didn't try and hurt you, did they?" He eyed him with concern.

    "No, they didn't." Dewhowl meowed. "I assure you, I'm fine."

    "Good." The leader nodded, pleased. "I don't know what I'd do if our only medicine got hurt because I refused to listen." He added.

    The medicine cat's ears twitched. Was Dewhowl hearing correctly? "Didn't listen to what, exactly?" He asked, subconsciously trying to get Asphodelstar to admit that Dewhowl had indeed had a vision. I told you! He thought confidently. Certainly, if he was regretting his decision earlier, he wouldn't doubt him again when he shared the vision from the Moonpool. Excitement tingled in his mud-sodden paws.

    "But—" — cue Dewhowl's enthusiasm draining — "I don't think ShadowClan is in danger. What if StarClan is just trying to scare us?" Asphodelstar went on. "I'm not going to be swayed by a bunch of dead cats."

    Dewhowl gasped at the leader's indignant declaration. He certainly was hearing things now. "Have you learned nothing?" The tom couldn't help but sound exasperated. What was the tom saying, surely he wouldn't say that they should give up StarClan too? "StarClan is what guides us, without them we would be as lowly as...as..."

    "The Kin." Mapleember meowed, sending a shiver down Dewhowl's spine at the grim mention. The wretched rouges of The Kin had overthrown ShadowClan many, uncountable seasons ago, leaving them unfaithful to the code and StarClan. "Without StarClan we would be a bunch of kittypets playing make-believe. No matter if we stand with the lake clans or without, we cannot forget StarClan, remember that Asphodelstar." She added with such regality and power, she was truly fit to be the next leader. Dewhowl blinked warmly at the older she-cat, and she gave him a soft nod.

"I suppose I will," Asphodelstar grumbled, his tail swishing in irritation. Despite being the leader, Mapleember was older by nine moons — making her fifty-two moons while Asphodelstar was forty-three — and clearly, the leader had respect for the older molly and her wise advice.

The rest of the walk was quiet and calm, the only interactions were between the warriors as they talked among themselves through the frogs in their mouths. However, the peace lasted only for a few minutes as they edged closer to camp before the sound of rustling echoed through the air. Suddenly a scrawny cat with white fur and wide, mossy green eyes jumped out of a few rain-soaked bushes, their fur spiked. "Asphodelstar!" They sounded in a rush. "The Warriors' den, it's been crushed by the tree!" They explained quickly before bounding off, the patrol following after a few shared glances and gasp. Asphodelstar was the first to gallop away, taking swiftly after the ShadowClan feline.

Dewhowl felt the air seize in his throat. What happened to the Warriors' den? Then it flooded him, had the storm caused this? It was raining hard, I wouldn't be so surprised. He thought as he jogged through the marshy pines, reaching the camp in a matter of minutes. As they approached, all he could hear was wailing, and when he slipped past the thorn tunnel he could see why.

Three cats were laying on the ground, blood splattered across the ground and their pelts soaked. Many others were covered in mud, their pelts clinging to their muscles. He rushed to the cats in the center, the ShadowClan cats that were gathered around giving him space as he walked his way through. He craned his neck down to take a sniff at each one of them — all of them smelling fine except the one on the far right. He had to hold back a gag, his nose scrunching up as something sour swept over his tongue. He studied their pelt and felt for anything with his paws. He couldn't hear their breathing, and their chest did not rise with each passing moment. He shook his head after a few moments, backing away from the feline. As if they knew by the shake alone, a few cats took the body away and left Dewhowl with the last two survivors.

They were scratched and beaten up, blood oozing out of some of their shallow cuts. They were breathing luckily, and he hoped that they only had a few minor injuries. However, they did remain unmoving for the most part. "Stagface, Mapleember, help me move them to the den." He ordered, and the two felines quickly joined his side and hoisted the two warriors into their backs. He helped Stagface, the feline blinking appreciatively at him.

    As they walked, he saw the massive pine that crashed into the Warriors' Den. A few cats have gathered around, inspecting the remains. It was completely shattered, the tree had fallen directly in the middle of the den and covered most of the entrance. Sticks and brambles were strewn about in the mud, half-sunken.

    The two cats gently placed the two warriors into fresh moss bedding in the medicine cat hollow, stepping away. "Need anything else?" Mapleember asked, her ear flicking.

    "No, thank you." Dewhowl dismissed them with a flick of his tail, and the two warriors made their way out. He knelt to get a better look once their tails disappeared, the deep red-orange of the setting sun helping him see what exactly happened. The first cat was a tomcat named Slightcoat, who seemed to have taken most of the damage. Their fur was caked in mud while shallow scars dotted their pelt and face.

The other was Skyjaw, who only had a few shallow gashes along his flank and chest from what he could see. Yet what he couldn't place was caused the tomcat's shallow breathing. He pressed a paw to their chest gingerly and felt something terribly wrong underneath his fur that answered his question about their labored breathing. Two or more of his ribs were shattered, and Dewhowl could only assume that he had stuck underneath the tree and was pried out by his clanmates. He felt a twinge of pain, how awful would it had felt to have a tree crash into your body?

But just as he tried to sloppily map out a plan to save the poor tomcat from his suffering, he could feel their life draining. Their breathing got worse and worse with each strained breath, and their eyes squeezed tighter in pain as their teeth were gritted. If he wasn't stricken with panic, he would've missed Slightcoat waking up, painfully shifting around in his nest as he tried to get a better view of the blue-gray tabby.

"Dewhowl...?" The brown-furred tom meowed with a hoarse voice. "What's happening?"