eternal: anemone || warrior cats

chapter 2

snakestar

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FURIOUS DIDN'T EVEN begin to describe how livid Snakestar felt. As he gazed around their makeshift camp, observing how lifeless his warriors were, how the fire had faded into hopelessness in their eyes, he found that he wanted nothing more than to sink his claws into Dapplestar's face. 

How dare she? How dare she turn such a wonderful, proud Clan into this? 

As a cold breeze blew past the ShadowClan cats, making them shiver, Snakestar's lips pulled into a snarl, digging his claws angrily into the stone. They should be in their camp, kept warm by pine trees. They'd been so close to victory, and then it'd all gone wrong.

And, as much as he hated Dapplestar, there was only one cat he could put the blame on: Mintberry.

He remembered walking back to camp with her after their first Gathering, speaking to her for the first time in moons, angry at her sudden friendship with Dapplestar. 

"I won't destroy ShadowClan," she'd meowed coldly when he'd confronted her. "Have a little more faith in my loyalty, will you?"

Her words danced through his mind, haunting him. He knew it. He knew her friendship with Dapplestar would cause trouble, but nobody believed him. Snakestar lashed his tail. Now look where they were.

He suddenly realized that if he was ever presented the opportunity to be in the presence of his mangepelt of a sister ever again, he wouldn't hesitate to claw her guts out.

But now, he had to lead. He had a Clan at his every command. He'd worked hard for this.

Picking a boulder, he jumped on top and lashed his tail, letting out a loud yowl. "Let all cats of ShadowClan gather around this boulder for a Clan meeting!"

With less enthusiasm than he would've liked, his Clanmates picked themselves up tiredly and limped over, many of them covered in dried blood and random leaves and spiderwebs to try and cure their wounds. It's clear that they've given up, but Snakestar hadn't - and wouldn't.

"I know the battle hadn't gone as we'd planned," the gray tom meowed, "but we won't give up. ShadowClan won't fall!"

"Just talk peace already!" a voice snapped from the crowd - Birdfrost. The ginger she-cat had always been snappy with Snakestar, and now was no different as her blue eyes blazed. "Enough with this stupid war. Go talk to Dapplestar and get our territory back."

Snakestar lashed his tail angrily at her defiance. "I'd rather stab my eyes out than go crawling to Dapplestar."

Birdfrost hissed. "That can be arranged."

"Woah, woah, enough!" Viperfoot jumped between the two of them just as Birdfrost had slid out her claws and was crouching down, about to leap at Snakestar. "We can't fight each other, that won't solve anything."

"An incompetent leader that lost the territory our ancestors have held for centuries won't solve anything either," Birdfrost spat angrily. 

"Now come on, Birdfrost," Viperfoot meowed, "that's not fair-"

But Snakestar's already snarling in rage. "I lost the territory?" he demanded. "Me? If everyone would recall, it's Mintberry that betrayed us. And, if you all were better combatants, maybe we would've won."

"Snakestar," Viperfoot meowed sharply, but the damage was done. Across their makeshift, barren camp, the cats of ShadowClan bristled their pelts.

But Snakestar still refused to back down. Only a moon ago, he'd been the most loved cat in ShadowClan, the deputy that won them WindClan's land. The switch between that to the foolish, careless leader that lost ShadowClan's territory altogether had been drastic, and he still had yet to accept his new role as the most hated cat.