Warriors: Air (Warrior Cats Fan Fiction Book Three)

Chapter Nine

A week had passed since the battle with Bloodclan. Lightfrost watched as the Clan walked around the Snowclan camp, talking and healing. She had gotten her wish, she had killed Burn herself, but she still wasn't satisfied. Her brown paws itched to fight something more...

Lightfrost turned to Brownstep. They were technically mates now, but she knew he had only agreed because she had insisted. In truth, she didn't feel anything towards him, she was using him. And now, she would put his loyalty to the test.

"Are you ready?" She asked him.

Brownstep nodded, although his amber eyes looked unsure.

They had planned this. It was no or never.

Lightfrost quietly left camp with Brownstep following her.

Lightfrost led the way into the woods, and came to a clearing. There, they found Redfur, Blizzardflight, Windyclaw, and Brownstep's sister, Dawnglide, waiting.

"Do you all still want to do this?" Lightfrost asked, looking at each of them in turn.

One by one, the Snowclan cats nodded.

Lightfrost grinned. "Let's go."

Lightfrost and her group burst into the Airclan camp.

"What is the meaning of this?" Bonestar demanded. The white tom leaped to his paws, but at that same moment Lightfrost lunged at him. Caught off guard, she tackled him to the ground.

"You're a piece of fox-dung!" Lightfrost growled in his ear. "You left my mother to raise me and my siblings all on her own! My sister died and you didn't even care!"

Bonestar gasped as Lightfrost spoke these words. Around her, her Clanmates were fighting Airclan Warriors. The battle had started. Two Airclan cats reached Lightfrost and pulled her off of Bonestar and pinned her to the ground.

"Wait!" Bonestar cried, leaping to his paws. "Release her!"

The two Warriors reluctantly released Lightfrost.

Bonestar gazed at her with sad eyes. "Are you really my daughter?" He whispered.

"Yes," Lightfrost spat. "But I want nothing to do with you, just like you wanted nothing to do with me!"

"You look just like Flightbreeze," Bonestar said, his voice breaking. "I knew she went to Snowclan, I..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Lightfrost screamed. She jumped at Bonestar again as the two Clans continued to fight around them. But she wasn't paying attention to them, all she cared about was fighting her deadbeat dad.

"STOP!" A new voice growled, and sharp claws dug into Lightfrost's side and yanked her off of Bonestar again.

Lightfrost whipped around to face the new attacker, but it was Marshstar.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Marshstar exclaimed.

Lightfrost realized that the fighting had come to an end. Cats from both Snowclan and Airclan were staring at Marshstar and Bonestar, and Lightfrost, who was in between them.

"Bonestar deserves to die!" Lightfrost yelled. "He didn't care about me or my litter-mates, or my mother!"

"That's not true!" Bonestar protested. "Flightbreeze chose not to come to Airclan to be with me, she chose Snowclan! I didn't even know she was expecting my kits! I..."

"Liar!" Lightfrost yelled, but she didn't leap at her father again. The fight was over.

Marshstar glared fiercely at Lightfrost.

"This is unacceptable behavior," she told her. "A week after our battle with Bloodclan, no less! Lightfrost, what were you thinking?"

Lightfrost suddenly didn't know what to say.

"Because of your actions," Marshstar continued, "you will be banished from Snowclan..."

"You can't banish her!" Brownstep cried, stepping forward to stand next to Lightfrost.

Marshstar glared at her son.

"I'm ashamed of you, Brownstep," she hissed. "You joined Lightfrost's coup, as did these other cats." She looked out at the other Snowclan cats who had joined in the senseless fight. They all hung their heads. "Rest assured, you will all be punished too." Marshstar turned back to her son, her blue eyes blazing with anger. "So tell me, why shouldn't I banish Lightfrost?"

"Because she's my mate!" Brownstep announced. "And she's expecting my kits."

The whole clearing went silent. Lightfrost gaped at Brownstep.
"I'm not.." she started, but when Brownstep shot her a fierce look, she knew to shut up at once. She wasn't expecting kits, but she had to play along, or else she would be exiled from Snowclan.

"Is this true?" Marshstar demanded, a shocked expression on her face. "I had no idea that you were mates! You're both so young!"

"I know," Brownstep said, hanging his head.

"It was my fault," Lightfrost said, speaking up. She looked at Brownstep. "I pushed him," she said thickly. "But I never wanted a mate, I was just using him."

"Really?" Brownstep asked, shocked.

"Yes," Lightfrost said, looking away. "I don't love you, Brownstep. I'm sorry."

There was an icy silence as both Clan Leaders, and all the Warriors, stared at her.

"Very well," Marshstar said at last, letting out a long sigh. "Lightfrost, I will not exile you until your kits come. But you will be confined to camp where I can keep an eye on you. Then, I will decide your punishment."

"I understand," Lightfrost meowed. When Marshstar turned away, she glared at her behind her back.

I will take you down, Marshstar, she thought. Just not today.

Lightfrost turned around and glared at Bonestar too, then turned away from him. She had nothing else to say to the father who didn't care about her, whether he had actually known about her or not.

She had wanted to kill him, like she had killed Burn, but now it didn't seem worth it.

Bonestar didn't push it. He turned around and started helping his wounded Clanmates.

Coward, Lightfrost thought.

She and the Snowclan rebels followed Marshstar through the woods in a shameful silence. Brownstep fell into step beside her in the back, and started talking in a whisper.

"I bought you some time," he said. "You have to decide what to do with it."

"I know," Lightfrost admitted. She had two choices now: actually have kits, and stay confined in the Clan, or keep lying until the kits clearly didn't come, then she'd be exiled. Which option was better?

It was true, she didn't love Brownstep, she had used him, but she could keep using him. He clearly cared about her, and in some twisted way, she cared about him, too.

Even though her world was falling apart, she wasn't scared about the future. Whatever choice she made, whatever happened, it would all work out in the end.

And she would become Leader one day.

It was only a matter of time.