Warrior cats, what if Rusty decided to stay a kittypet?

Dawn of Fox

Bluestar lifted her head as a cat entered her den.

"Bluestar." Tigerclaw dipped his head respectfully to her.

The brown tom had been checking in with her since Foxpaw had been banished earlier that day. She appreciated it greatly, and was still reeling from the turn of events. An apprentice had killed her strongest warrior. Her deputy. Should she be more wary? Especially after Foxpaw's warning as she left. Was it wise to make an enemy of her? She couldn't have stayed in camp though.

"Will we leave for the gathering soon?" He asked.

Bluestar nodded vaguely. "Yes. After I announce the new deputy."

Tigerclaw bowed his head and left the den.

She padded out a few moments after him, and jumped up to HighRock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath HighRock." She called out. 

Cats swarmed below her, curious to hear her announcement. She thought about what to say as they grouped together. Multiple cats had visited her den to suggest different cats for deputies. Two had said Whitestorm. The others, Tigerclaw. He had been the one to reveal the truth about Foxpaw. A definite show of loyalty to go against his apprentice for the clan.

Everyone was there now, Bluestar needed to make a choice.

"We lost a great deputy today." She began. "Lionheart was a strong, loyal, and kind cat. He was a deputy, a mate, a father. Now he hunts with StarClan. With much thought, I have chosen Tigerclaw as the cat to succeed him."

Murmurs of congratulations eddied through the crowd and Tigerclaw came to stand in front of HighRock. He lifted his head to face his leader.

"I will serve my clan with my life." He promised.

"I have no doubt that you will." Bluestar replied. "We will leave for the gathering now. No one is to speak of Foxpaw. We must not show our weakness."

She hopped down and walked to the exit, waiting a few moments before the chosen cats had come to her. They left moments later.

***

They were the last clan to arrive at the gathering. Brokenstar, Tallstar, and Crookedstar were already up in the trees. As her claw dispersed into the chaos, Bluestar leapt up to join the other leaders and Tigerclaw sat himself below.

"Shall we begin?" She said.

"I'll start." Crookedstar volunteered. "Our fish have been swimming in RiverClan. Twolegs have been staying near our river but pose no threat so far." He nodded to Tallstar.

"Rabbits are running, in WindClan. Though one of our kits was taken by an eagle. We mourn his loss greatly." Tallstar stepped back and motioned for Bluestar to speak.

"Prey has been fine. We lost an apprentice recently, they were killed by another cat." Bluestar paused at the gasps in the crowd. 

"Do you know who killed them?" Brokenstar asked.

"No." Bluestar lied. It wasn't any of the clans buisness to know what Foxpaw had done. They would only be smug. The other clans had shared their doubts in Foxpaw when she first came, and she didn't need them to see them as true. "We are currently investigating this. Our deputy, Lionheart was bitten by an adder. He hunts with StarClan now."

Brokenstar narrowed his eyes at her. "So many losses... Is ThunderClan weak?"

"No." Bluestar snapped at him. "Only unlucky. We are strong. Tigerclaw is our new deputy. You may speak now Brokenstar." She said.

Brokenstar bared his teeth and stepped forward. "Prey has been running. Unfortunately, our deputy has also died. We mourn Blackfoot greatly. A new cat has come to our clan. This is my new deputy." He dipped his tail down to the cat below him, a she-cat with familiar blue eyes. "Her name is Foxheart."