(Book 1) Warriors: Separations - Six Stars

Chapter 14

The full moon hung high in the sky. Cherry, Misty and Taurus were all walking ahead of Cinder. Cinder shuddered. It was leaf-fall, and since she was a hairless cat, she didn't have much fur to protect herself against the cold winds. She tried to shake the thought of how awful leaf-bare would be for her.

The four loners were walking to the clan's monthly full moon meeting. Even though they weren't clan cats, they liked to eavesdrop on what drama was going on in the clans. Ever since Speckledstones became deputy of Windclan, he had too many duties to sneak out and tell them what was going on in his clan. However, she was aware of some Shadowclan drama, thanks to their visit to Shadowclan.

The group of loners heard the quiet murmurs of cats from all four clans sharing gossip and talking, as though their borders didn't exist. Cinder had heard about the truce that each clan shared, how every full moon, every clan would come together and share news about their clans. The leaders sat on top of a big rock, and the deputies and medicine cats sat below the rock.

Cherry and Taurus settled in an elder bush around the perimeter of the meeting and began chatting with each other as they waited for the clans to start their meeting. Cinder and Misty sat down next to each other, watching patiently, not saying a word, for the meeting to start.

Finally, once all the clans were there, Thunderclan's leader–Heartstar–let out a yowl to let everyone know that the meeting was starting.

Heartstar started first. She straightened herself up and gazed around the clearing before speaking, her light pink-ish and pale fur glowing under the dazzling moonlight, and her amber eyes shone brightly as she began. "Thunderclan is well. Prey is doing good, thanks to the trees providing shelter and protection, and the clan is thriving." she said. But then her eyes darkened, and she continued, "However, one of our kits has unfortunately died." she mewed sadly.

The clans gasped, and murmured their condolences. It seemed like everyone shared grief for the kit that passed away. Skystar looked at Heartstar, his eyes clouded with sadness. "What kit died? And how did it happen?" he asked the Thunderclan leader. Heartstar's expression only grew graver as she went on. "Violetkit, part of Oakheart's litter, was brutally murdered by an apprentice, Blackpaw." she meowed, her voice shaking a little as she finished. "We exiled him just a day ago, he is no longer part of the clans." she mewed, her tone hardening. Some sort of grieving air surrounded the clearing as cats from all cans dipped their heads and murmured their condolences for Oakheart to have lost her kit.

Cinder murmured her grief as well, however no one but Misty could hear it, and Misty just dipped her head to acknowledge the grief that everyone else felt.

Heartstar stepped back and Skystar stepped forward, his light pale fur glowing just as brightly as Heartstar's. Skystar began. "Prey is running well in Windclan as well, and our clan remains strong." He continued, "However, we have also exiled a cat. Our deputy, Whiteclaw, attempted to poison me with deathberries, however accidentally ended up almost killing Emberheart–our medicine cat–instead." he mewed. His voice didn't shake, and his demeanor was confident, however Cinder thought she saw a hint of remorse in his eyes.

Cinder heard all the gasps of shock coming from the crowd, and cats began fighting one another about why Whiteclaw would do such a thing.

"I thought she was a loyal deputy, how could this happen?!"

"Did she admit to it?!"

"Who's the new deputy?!"

Skystar waited until the confused yowls died down to speak again. "Whiteclaw admitted in front of her whole clan that she tried to poison me, however her plans were quickly changed to poisoning Emberheart. I have made Speckledstones the new deputy, however we don't know yet exactly why Whiteclaw did what she did." he mewed decisively.