Warriors: Broken

Chapter 15

⠀⠀ Voleclaw froze at the sight of a tiny black and gray kit waiting for him at the entrance of the camp. Behind him, a tortoiseshell she cat, tabby tom, and a dull orange kit sat with nervous expressions directed towards Violetstar. She grinned sadly and touched noses with each one.

⠀⠀ "Thank you for bringing Emberkit back, but we cannot keep him here. We have no she cats with milk," she mewed. Blossomfall simply shook her head and smiled.

⠀⠀ "No. We're here to join Windclan. In exchange for you accepting us, you get to remain with Emberkit," she replied. Flamestripe, the dark swirled tabby with white paws and an orange spot on his head, nodded and licked his mate's ear. Voleclaw grinned and gave Violetstar a pleading look as his son barreled towards him in a blur of fluff. She chuckled and nodded, silently thanking Starclan for her new members.

✵✵✵✵✵

⠀⠀ Lockwing was now 15 moons, and it was the beginning of Greenleaf. She hadn't attended any other gatherings, but heard a rumor that Thunderclan's deputy, Hollowtail, had resigned due to getting attacked by a monster and receiving the same injury a cat by the name of Cinderpelt had many moons ago. Wrenflight had taken Hollowtail's place, making her one of the youngest deputies the clans had known.

⠀⠀ "Lockwing!" Ciphercry trotted up to her, his pale eyes shining. "Guess what I found!" he mewed excitedly. She gave him a curious look and laughed. Business in Windclan had been running smoothly for the past few moons, making it easy to feel lighthearted.

⠀⠀ "What?" she mewed in response. He simply shook his head and grinned.

⠀⠀ "Follow me."

⠀⠀ The pair trotted into the fog, Lockwing following the tom to the very edge of Windclan territory that separated rogues from themselves. Ciphercry stopped at a small pond teaming with fish. What in the name of Starclan? She thought to herself as the tom scooped a fish into his claws.

⠀⠀ "I caught them," he mewed proudly. "It took me about half a moon, but now we have fish for when we're low on rabbits." Thoroughly impressed, she gave him a lick on the ear. He grinned and offered her a bite of the fish he had caught.

⠀⠀ "I haven't had fish for a long time," she mewed, eyeing the slimy creature. Ciphercry frowned and looked at his paws. Feeling guilty, she took a bite, surprised that it was actually good. "Oh... wow," she laughed. "That's not that bad." They stood and trotted back to the camp, grinning as Lionkit and Emberkit came bounding towards them.

⠀⠀ "We get to be apprentices in two moons!" Emberkit squeaked. Blossomfall rolled her eyes and herded the pair back to the nursery.

⠀⠀ "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Tallrock for a clan meeting!" she yowled. Cats gathered with confused expressions. The oldest apprentices had half a moon until they became warriors. "Thunderclan has sent us a threat stating that if we don't surrender a section of territory, they will be taking it by force. I am here to get your opinions on what we should do."

⠀⠀ "Don't give it to them!" a voice immediately rang out.

⠀⠀ "Are you crazy? They'll tear us to shreds! We may be fast, but they're too strong!" another hissed.

⠀⠀ "I think that you've forgotten how many members they've lost recently," the cat sitting next to him growled. Violetstar sighed and turned her attention to Lockwing, the only cat that had spied on them recently.

⠀⠀ "What do you think?" she asked hopefully.

⠀⠀ "Well..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I'm assuming that Thunderclan is in turmoil at the moment, and they need to prove to Shadowclan that they're still powerful as well. We're just the unlucky, and easier, target." Murmurs of agreement rippled behind her until Coalfoot finally spoke.

⠀⠀ "Do you have a plan?"

⠀⠀ She thought for a moment, thinking of her clan's best traits. They were fast, silent, and intelligent.

⠀⠀ "Yes," she mewed. "First, we'll need to clear the camp of all vulnerable cats. I know a place at the edge of rogue territory with water, food, and the shelter of a hollowed log and the gnarled roots of a tree. We'll have three or four warriors guarding them there. Next, we'll need to move all of our current fresh kill to around the camp, and, as much as I hate to say it, roll in it. We have to disguise our scents with rotten prey. Today we should hunt for the remainder of it and move the cats that are unable to fight to the safe place. Ciphercry can take you there." Violetstar gave her an odd look, but nodded as the kits and queen stepped forward, along with the elders.

⠀⠀ "Frozenleaf, Lilymist, Hailcloud, and Swanfrost, you'll be guarding them," Violetstar instructed. They nodded and gathered in a group, waiting to hear the remainder of the plan. "We have until tomorrow at moonhigh," the tabby pointed out.

⠀⠀ "The rest of us will gather into a large group in a valley so that we're all together. It'd be foolish to split up. We will, however, have two scouts on top of hills. We'll need our fastest runners."

⠀⠀ "That would be Shyleaf and Bearwhisker," Voleclaw mewed. A white she cat stepped forward, followed by a silver tom.

⠀⠀ "Mosh of us that will be in the valley will have to be hiding within clumps of grass, rabbit holes, and anything else you can find. There will be five or six standing in the middle, including Violetstar and Voleclaw, to lure the Thunderclan cats in. We'll also need to set out rotting prey in obvious places, just to confuse them and also give them a reason for the terrible smell. Any questions?" she mewed at last.

⠀⠀ "Yeah. Do you expect us to go hungry for the day?" an angry voice hissed.

⠀⠀ "I already said that we're hunting for all of today," she growled. "Any questions that aren't mousebrained?" The rest of the clan shook their heads. "Perfect. Let's hunt."

⠀⠀ Violetstar padded down front the Tallrock and watched as the elders, kits, queen, and four warriors padded out of the camp. Lockwing padded to her side, wincing at how nervous the feline seemed to be.

⠀⠀ "We'll be fine," she murmured, though she needed as much convincing as anyone.

⠀⠀"Your mother told you the story of Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing, right?" she asked quietly. Lockwing nodded with a shrug.

⠀⠀ "Either her or the elders. Why?"

⠀⠀ "Well, I just believe that it's Windclan's turn to have a prophecy."

⠀⠀ The golden she cat gave her an odd look, but shrugged. Maybe it was. Starclan hadn't been particularly kind to Windclan until the past few moons, but even then, it ended in battle. It always did.

⠀⠀ "I suppose," she replied, again with a shrug. "What kind of prophecy would there be, though?"

⠀⠀ "I don't know," the older tabby admitted. "But whatever, or whoever it is, I'm sure that they know."