Warriors | A Prophecy Reborn: Book 2. (A Path Beyond Stars)

~A Path Beyond Stars: Chapter 14~

Moons had passed and the Lake was silent. The ThunderClan patrols hadn't dared to travel near ShadowClan's border in case of an ambush.
As Stonestar had ordered, nobody went to the Gatherings. And now, Stripedpaw and Darkpaw were only a day away from becoming warriors while Willowleaf was close to having her kits.
Coldkit, Brackenkit and Frostkit were days away from getting their mentors.
Reedtail padded over to the fresh-kill pile. Stonestar had told them all to avoid hunting on WindClan or RiverClan territory out of respect, but she knew there had been a select few who had hunted on the empty territory, excluding Pebblesoot who hunted on his own territory as well as ThunderClan's.
"Reedtail," said Russetfire, stopping her.
"Yes?"
"I think kittypets are planning an attack."
"Kittypets?" Reedtail scoffed. "Impossible."
"I'm not too sure," Russetfire admitted, "but I think I had some weird vision last night that involved a small gray kittypet and a strange yellow tom. I think that tom from ShadowClan, Crabclaw, was with them, as well as another kittypet."
Reedtail froze. That sounded like Fluffy and Frog. If they were coming to attack ThunderClan...
"It isn't safe here anymore," Reedtail muttered.
"Ever since Russetwhisker and Silver-Eye died, it never has been," Russetfire agreed."We can't take any chances with Crookedfire out there."
"You think he's still alive?"
"Of course I do! Don't you?"
Reedtail shrugged helplessly. She knew it was nearly impossible that Crookedfire could've died, but it felt easier to just assume so like everyone else did. That way she couldn't get into any more trouble or get more of her friends killed.
A long moment of silence passed before Russetfire spoke again.
"Could you find me some juniper berries when you go out next?" she asked as though the previous conversation hadn't taken place. "You know what they look like, right?"
"Yes," Reedtail nodded as she remembered the blue berries that she had accidentally eaten once as a kit. She remembered Crookedfire scolding her for it after he found out, when Crookedfire seemed innocent like any other cat in ThunderClan.
Pebblesoot's words repeated in her head. Any cat is guilty of something, whether it is true or not.
"I'll get some for you now, if you need them," Reedtail said. Russetfire nodded, smiling as she padded back to her den.
Fernfeather stopped Reedtail on her way out. "I would like to speak with you before you leave."
Reedtail hesitantly followed Fernfeather to the empty warriors' den.
"What's the matter?" she asked the deputy.
It took a moment for Fernfeather to answer. "Stonestar will not recover from his injury," she said finally. "I do not mean to be disrespectful to him, but he is weak. He will not survive what happened, and if he does, he won't be able to do anything."
Reedtail dipped her head. She knew it was true, and Stonestar was bound to die eventually...
"If Stonestar were to pass and I were to become leader," Fernfeather said slowly, "who do you think would make a decent deputy?"
"I... I'm not sure," Reedtail admitted. "Perhaps Windcaller? Or Tigerfur?"
Fernfeather thought for a moment, flicking her tail as she did so. At last, she left the den. "Thank you, Reedtail, for your time."
Reedtail nodded in confusion and relief.
Looking around, she darted outside the camp to find juniper berries for Russetfire.