Warriors: Cobwebs

33. The Prisoner

          "Clearwhisker-" Webpaw mewed, and he stepped forward.

     The old medicine cat whirled around, claws displayed, and the old talons caught Webpaw's left ear, shredding the tip and then scraping his face, streaking down to the corner of his left eye. He stumbled sideways and collapsed.

     "How could you?!" Clearwhisker questioned. His voice was shrill and full of pain. "You betrayed your Clan! You killed a kit! What kind of sick monster does that?!"

     Blood dripped onto the dirt floor of the den that was Webpaw's prison, mixing with the already damp soil. The den's bramble walls began to close in on the prisoner. He was would remain trapped within the den, located behind the warriors den, until Fallenstar could decide what to do. Most cats in the Clan questioned her hesitation, convinced that Webpaw should be punished. Killed.

     "I had a reason," Webpaw whispered, now directing his attention to his paws. He could feel his warm blood beginning to slither through his furs and run towards the gaping hole that was his left eye. He glanced up at Clearwhisker, who lashed his thick, droopy-haired tail and then sat. The medicine cat was staring at Webpaw with such intensity that Webpaw felt small, like an ant, and he wished to hide in his little anthill alone. He wished to hide in his fur, the size of a small kit of only two moons old, just like Tigerkit, and call for his mother. But she was dead, just like Tigerkit who he was sure would have been a danger.

     Both were quiet. So quiet that Webpaw could hear the blood running through the veins of his right ear. He couldn't break it, no matter how hard he tried, so he lowered himself to a crouch. He heard Clearwhisker's static voice and could not comprehend the words of the medicine cat.

     A paw slammed against his head, forcing his attention back to his mentor with a sting, and he blinked. Blood now dripped into his eye socket. He opened his dry mouth, pinned back his one and a half ears, and he slowly curled his tail around himself. "I had a dream," he murmured. "A prophecy, and it mentioned a Tiger-"

     "What about a Tiger, huh?" Clearwhisker interrogated, and Webpaw could see the suppressed rage flashing in his eyes. "Just because Tigerkit had 'Tiger' in the name, she isn't automatically part of a prophecy! What did it say anyways?! Why didn't you say anything?!"

     Webpaw felt his nose begin to run, tears forming at the corners of his eyes, and he sniffled, whiskers twitching. "The prophecy said that.. That a Tiger would destroy our Clan and-"

     "I did it for the good of the Clan," Webpaw added with a whisper-shout.

     "It could have been dealt with differently."

     "How?"

     "You should have told me, Webpaw. And it could have been dealt with."

     "They said there were two."

     "Huh?"

     "StarClan said there were two Tigers, one to set it in motion and one to 'end it all'."

     "And you thought that.. By killing Tigerkit.. You could prevent the second?"

          Webpaw was now being stared at by the cat he called his mentor. He was hesitant to think of Clearwhisker as a mentor anymore; Fallenstar would likely have him killed with holly berries from the same leaf as that which contained Tigerkit's death sentence.

     "Yes," he said. Clearwhisker stood, stiffly, as if the stress of the day was turning his joints to stone. It was already moonrise, a half moon shining above to mock Webpaw's treasonous act, whispering of how he would have his name stripped from him. He thought of Brokenbark and how the skeptical cat was right. He pictured Whisperheart's grief and Frozenfoot's expressionless face that masked his sadness. Last of all, he imagined Finchfeather, a cat who trusted him dearly. She was his only link to his true Clan, to PlainClan.

     "Goodbye, Webpaw," Clearwhisker sighed, and he turned and stepped out into the darkness. He wouldn't be going to the Moonpool.

     Webpaw was left alone in the den of darkness, and a black form took roost just outside the front if the bramble bunch. They curled their tail around their paws and stared forward, ears erect as they listened to the forest. They were serene, like a shadow, and for a moment Webpaw thought that Shadesight had returned. But when the cat turned their head, their green eye was much lighter. It was Shadowclaw.

     He glanced over his shoulder and glared at Webpaw. Webpaw turned his head away and set himself down in the mud, allowing the thick ick to sink into his pelt. When he looked back at Shadowclaw, the warrior was staring away, yet he was not silent.

     "I heard you talking to Clearwhisker," he said suddenly, and the fur on Webpaw's neck rose. "That's rude," was all he managed to utter, and he heard Shadowclaw make a noise that sounded similar to a scoff. The black cat was then quiet. Moments passed, or minutes, or possibly several seconds before anyone spoke. Soon, Webpaw decided it would remain quiet. Fallenstar was planning what to do, and in the morning the traitor would discover his punishment. Until then, he was a prisoner.