Warriors AU: Skyclan's Destiny

Chapter 32

Poppystar sat in the shadow of the Rockpile; Cherrytail, Haze, and his friends crouched around her as she listened to Haze describing battles and betrayals in his Twolegplace. She had sent Rockshade, Sharpclaw, and Tinycloud back to the warriors' den; the rest of the cats were asleep, except for Cinder, still keeping watch from a ledge halfway up the cliff.

A chill night breeze whispered down the gorge, though at the top of the rocks Poppystar could make out the first pale streaks of dawn. The moon had set, and the warriors of Starclan were fading.

"Please, will you help us?" Haze asked, bringing his story to a close. "You're the only hope we have."

Poppystar felt like a twig whirled around and around in the pool where the river poured out from the cave. Her pelt prickled with annoyance at the way she had been distracted from her discovery that Cherrytail was training her cats secretly at night.

There's no way I'm letting that go unchallenged!

"I need to think," she meowed. "Go to your den now, and I'll let you know what I decide."

Haze looked as if he was about to argue, but Stumpy touched him on the shoulder with her stumpy tail and jerked her head toward the path that led up to their den. Haze gave in and moved off, with Stumpy beside him; Cory dipped his head to Poppystar and murmured. "Thank you for listening," before he followed.

Poppystar was left with Cherrytail; the tortoiseshell and white tom was flexing his claws impatiently.

"I can't see that there's much to think about," he told her, once the Twolegplace cats were out of earshot. "We're going to help them, aren't we? We have the strength and the skills, and what Swift has done is wrong."

Poppystar fixed him with a hard gaze. "Where in the warrior code does it say that we have to use our skills to help other cats? I'm sorry for what has happened to Haze and the others, but I don't see how it's Skyclan's responsibility."

"What?" Cherrytail gave a single lash of his tail. "Look at the way Haze and the others helped us with the rats! And they've hunted for us and carried out all the other warrior duties. Are you saying that Skyclan shouldn't be loyal to them?"

"It's not a matter of loyalty," Poppystar pointed out, determined to keep her temper. "Haze and his friends never intended to stay with us for good. Surely that means they're not warriors like us."

Cherrytail twitched his whiskers. "They're not the only cats to have a life outside the gorge."

"Why does it always have to come back to the daylight warriors?" Poppystar snapped. She took a couple of breaths and continued, "I said I'd think about it, and I will. But it will be my decision, Cherrytail."

Her deputy met her gaze, then nodded and headed off toward the warriors' den.

Poppystar watched him go, then climbed the trail to her own den and settled into her nest. But although she was tired, she couldn't seem to get comfortable in the moss and fern. Her paws prickled with restlessness; leaving the den again, she wandered up the gorge in the growing light of dawn. As she rounded the spur of rock before the training area, she spotted Skywatcher sitting on the edge of the sandy circle; the warrior of Starclan looked up as if she had been waiting for her.

"Greetings, Poppystar," she meowed. "You are troubled."

Poppystar dipped her head. "Greetings, Skywatcher. Do you know what's happening? What the Twolegplace cats want us to do?"

"I do." Skywatcher swept her starry tail around, beckoning Poppystar to sit beside her. "You must feel as though these visitors have been using Skyclan for their own ends."