StarClan isn't real..

Chapter 16

Yellowpaw took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Stormcloud nodded, her eyes worried. "Remember, you don't need to go into detail. Just say what happened, and try to be dramatic." She winked. "But not so dramatic that the Clan is scared... and try to keep your balance on the Tallrock!" She added quickly. "If the Clan gets too loud, just go quiet, and they'll shut up too."

Yellowpaw nodded, amused by Stormcloud's specific orders. Anxiety bubbled in her stomach. "I got it," She mewed.

At Stormcloud's look, Yellowpaw emerged into the clearing. The Clan was already gathered, with Applestar sitting under the Tallrock with Specklebird. The deputy looked calm, but there was something else in his eyes- nervousness?

Weedtooth smiled at Yellowpaw as she neared. Determined now, Yellowpaw pushed her way through the crowd and leapt onto the Tallrock.

It is hard to balance on, Yellowpaw realized, wishing she had a better tail. She shifted her head to see the Clan, and noticed they were looking at her face with concerned expressions. Fallowpaw looked very relieved, Logpaw was looking at his paws, and Finchpaw yawned, clearly bored. The gray she-cat looked up at Yellowpaw, annoyed.

I could be sleeping right now, Finchpaw thought.

Yellowpaw hesitated, and Finchpaw's claws sank into the ground. She didn't wake up so early in the morning for this! She let out an inward groan, and was relieved when Yellowpaw finally started talking. "So... um..." She began. "I think somebody took me out of camp for training or patrol... it was around nighttime... and then the cat who took me out kind of disappeared, and I couldn't-"

"It was Specklebird, wasn't it?" Logpaw, sitting beside Finchpaw, spoke up. Finchpaw rolled his eyes. Who cared who it was? Catching the deputy's eye, Finchpaw saw that he looked paranoid now. Does Yellowpaw suspect anything?

Seeming to remember, Yellowpaw nodded. "Specklebird, yes." She mewed. "But he didn't do anything to me. He was investigating an abandoned badger set, and then I think something like foxes or badgers attacked me." She shuddered, her pelt rippling nervously. "But Specklebird couldn't have attacked me, since it felt like multiple cats."

Specklebird smiled and dipped his head to the she-cat. "Your scent was lost in the thunderpath scent, so I assumed you had returned to camp." He explained.

Yellowpaw nodded. "That's all I remember."

"What about the foxes or badgers? Or wolves?" A warrior named Talontail spoke up, her brown pelt bristling with anticipation. "Larchpaw was attacked by the wolves, so you most likely were, weren't you?"

Talontail's brother, Speckleleg, chimed in. "Yes, that would make the most sense. But the wolf pack has barely left their den in moons!"

Yellowpaw shuffled her paws, and Finchpaw caught a flash of self-consciousness and fear in her eyes. Stupid rogue, Finchpaw thought, annoyed. Can't even handle a little bit of stress. "When Larchpaw was found outside the wolf den, I noticed deathberries were in her pelt... I think she might have found some, and was carrying them with her, maybe? So the wolves might've eaten them too?"

"Then who attacked you?" Aspenwing called.

The Clan suddenly exploded into questions. Yellowpaw lifted a paw, her remaining eye filled with fear. Finchpaw added in, not even needing answers, just enjoying seeing her adoptive sister stressed. Finally, Weedtooth beckoned Yellowpaw over with his tail.

The she-cat ungracefully flopped from the rock and staggered to the medicine den, limping and trembling. The Clan broke into small groups, angrily discussing things.

Finchpaw looked around. Her mentor, Vixentalon, was talking to Sharpbriar and Aspenwing. Good. He was distracted. Heading to her nest, Finchpaw settled in, risking a glance at the medicine den as she did.

Yellowpaw was being herded in by the medicine cats. She felt awful, her pelt hot from emberassment and her ears flat and timid.

"You did fine," Stormcloud soothed her. "It was just-"

Yellowpaw broke away from the medicine cat and whipped around to face her. "No, it wasn't!" She snapped. "I don't know what the Clan wants from me. I tell them what I saw, they get angry. This always happens! I don't know why I can't do anything right!" She stormed off to her nest. "Leave me alone!"

Weedtooth sighed and looked to Stormcloud. "Apprentices," He joked, trying to lighten the mood. Stormcloud just sighed.

"Did you see Specklebird and Finchpaw during the meeting?" Stormcloud whispered to Weedtooth, still looking at Yellowpaw, who was covering her head with her ginger paws. "Specklebird looked nervous at the start of the meeting, and when the warriors got noisy, Finchpaw looked... amused."

Weedtooth sighed. Finchpaw, Logpaw, and Fallowpaw had never been a fan of Yellowpaw, although he didn't know why. "They've never like her," He pointed out. "It must be troubling to see a cat you hate so... um..."

"Injured?" Stormcloud whispered.

Weedtooth nodded. "I wonder where Finchpaw is now," He murmered. "I always wonder why that apprentice acts so morbid and... odd."

***

Finchpaw buried her muzzle beneath her tail, allowing herself to sink into darkness. She focused on the things she hated most; Logpaw, Fallowpaw, Yellowpaw, Blacktooth and Beetleshine, Vixentalon, the way wet grass squelched beneath her paws, when she was trying to sleep but Logpaw was snoring...

She opened her eyes. Ugh. She was still in the apprentices' den.

Trying again, Finchpaw thought of worse things. Larkpaw crying every night, the way Vixentalon would talk like a wise elder, Reedtail, the most cowardly elder in the Clan, so much so that he gave up his leader status... oh, and Yellowpaw.

Opening her eyes, Finchpaw realized it worked. Yes! She was here. Cold ground touched her pads, and a cool breeze ruffled her whiskers.

Rising to her feet, Finchpaw headed towards the wilted undergrowth. Twisted trees stretched all around her, the branches like hooked claws reaching towards her. But she felt no fear. Pools of dry blood squelched beneath her feet, and bloody leaves scattered against the floor. She could hear the whimpering and groaning of other cats, the occasional, "No escape," from the nearest shadow.

Spotting a hole in the ground, covered by a bramble thicket, Finchpaw plunged in. She ignored the thorns that tugged at her fur, and instead focused on the sound of chattering warriors, and the malicant laugh of a forgotten warrior.

As she emerged into the clearing, her mind seemed to settle.

This was it. This was her favorite place in the entire world. The most bloody, morbid forest, where she could do anything she wanted.

The Place of No Stars.