Frostbone's Slavery

Chapter 15: The Dead of Winter

Warning: Contains spoilers for Sandclan's Destiny Book 2: The Faded Stars

With one snowflake came more, carrying over an entire Leaf-bare. Wolfstar's plan was to take the warriors from other clans into his camp and keep them there. Cats who ally live alongside him and the ones who don't die slow. Frostbone felt sick to the pits of her stomach.

It was a merciless midnight as the cats of Venomclan stealthily snuck into Sandclan territory. They had already dropped off the cats from Birdclan at their camp, and Sandclan was next. Oakclan was helping them with their dastardly deed.

Frostbone padded next to Coalspots. "It's not fair." She whispered to him, "Why does Cougarfang trust you but not me when both our clans are evil?"

The tall white and black tom whispered over to her as they padded through rich fields now cold and frosted, "Because Cougarfang and I go back. Way back. I saved his life, he owes me."

Frostbone hissed between her teeth, mist forming from her breath in a swirling cloud.

They reached Sandclan camp.

"What are you going to do about Cougarfang, then?" She asked him sourly.

"Carry him gentle. You'll help me." They snuck into the warrior's den with the rest of the cats, oddly silent despite the fact there were lots of them crowding in one area. Leaf-bare nights were always oddly quiet though. Their paws crunched the frosted grass softly as they bit into the scruffs and tails of the cats. As the cat's eyes burst open and their jaws did the same, another cat would come to cover up their face to muffle their yowl.

They saw Cougarfang, curled up besides his littermate.

His littermate.

Frostbone remembered her specifically from the battle. Longscar fought her for the most part, and she had come out of as a grievance. Her ears were gone but they were gone neatly, leaving behind a smooth head. One eye was gone, leaving only the one surrounded in black fur, giving her a grim look.

Her tail was also gone, right from the base. It would be particularly difficult to carry her. Coalspots hooked Cougarfang's scruff and Frostbone bit into his tail. An Oakclanner named Redcloud muffled him with a violent smirk on her face that caused both Coalspots and Frostbone to glance at one another in worry of the sadistic she-cat.

They carried him with some difficulty along. They brought him to other cats, and Cougarfang's yellow eyes were rolling in his head crazily, trying to assess the situation but the cats were coated in shadows. The only thing he could do was smell the cat who was covering his mouth and nose.

Bigstar was a problem. She needed Wolfstar and other naturally tall cats to carry her. When they did, she thrashed until more paws had to clamp her nose and mouth. The lack of air soon made her woozy and weak until she surrendered and they proceeded to carry her away.

The kits were the easiest, but the queens, in seeing their kits being taken away, grew to a panic. The golden she-cat queen leapt forward but was knocked down and carried as well.

Coalspots and Cougarfang went alongside their leaders.

"To Rockclan now." Wolfstar growled, his voice as quiet as the wind, but just as cold.

*~*~*

The camp was packed with confused cats, some sleeping and some awake and yowling in protest.

"When the sun rises, you will choose your alliances! You can either choose death, or independence, or live and depend on me, your true leader!" Wolfstar's  voice boomed.

Frostbone and Coalspots sat next to him and Birchstar.

Soon the sun did rise, and alliances were made.

Frostbone watched as Blackstar again allied with Venomclan, and she saw Wolfstar roll his eyes but nobody else seemed to. He welcomed her back. Blizzardstar denied allyship with Wolfstar, but her clan seemed to disagree. They piled her and attacked her, until one cat rose up, a cat named Tigerleap, who promised loyalty to Wolfstar. The rest of Rockclan followed.

Coalspots stirred besides her, "This is wrong. It  happened all so quick, surely it'd fall quick as well. Certainly, with leaders such as these. Remember The Great Battle?"

Frostbone nodded, but she wasn't so sure.

*~*~*

Moons went by. Sickness struck, as Sootleaf had promised. Death came, as Sootleaf had dreamt of. Blood ofttimes stained the snow a deep red. She noticed as Skullcrush trained against enemy apprentices, and Bloodpaw did the same. She watched as Bloodpaw battered an innocent black she-cat from Sandclan, an apprentice, like him. Frostbone looked away.

She was in the warrior's den, the stone she sat on cold and the moss hard. Guards circled all around, guards from Greenclan and Oakclan and Rockclan. They made sure no cat ran away. A moon before, one cat did, but everyone just figured her to be dead and brushed it off.

Frostbone was well-fed. More cats to hunt for one clan meant more prey. It was four clans hunting for two clans, the rest of the cats were starved.

Frostbone saw Cougarfang looking thin, every detail of his bones apparent through his now thin pelt. He was huddled shivering in a group with his clan, his usually determined eyes still containing only some of it's luster.

"Frostbone." She heard a voice. She turned around to see Coalspots. She was wishing for Redwillow instead. Redwillow wasn't so well-fed, other Venomclanners saw to that. They sometimes teased him for being weaker, teased him for doubting Wolfstar. They would say things like: "Look at us now, thriving in the middle of leaf-bare! This is what happens when you doubt Wolfstar- you get surprised. You get proven wrong."

Or: "Weakling! Look at us now. Strong. But not you, you're no true Venomclanner!"

But it was instead Coalspots.

Frostbone looked up, "What."

He beckoned her to follow him by flicking his tail. He went, his lean and well-fed muscles rolling as he did.

She followed, leaping down and into the cold snow, her paws immediately becoming chill and numb. She trudged through it, some parts of it reeking of blood and stained a nasty red, too. She cringed her nose as he led her behind the Tangled Willow and near the sheer stone wall that lay behind their camp a good few tree-lengths away.

Cougarfang was there as well now, sitting like a skeleton with fur hanging on him desperately. He looked angry at them both.

"I am sorry." He apologized, quietly. "I do understand you are both... in this... with me. In this... rebellion of sorts."

"Not a successful one." Coalspots concluded, "And that needs to change. Umm." He frowned, his usually friendly blue eyes now thoughtful. They darkened and he spoke, "There's nothing much we can do." He looked away.

Frostbone lashed her tail, "Venomclan's medicine cat is a good soul. He's had dreams of this. He's had dreams of everything that's about to come. Can we possibly prevent it?"

"No." Cougarfang looked up. "The future is set."