Omen of the Sun Book Three: Dusk

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sunpool

The first thing Sunpool thought was, fox-dung, another enemy.

Then she got a better look at the cat pushing his way through the Clan, and realized, stomach sinking, who this cat was.

Oakfrost. A cat who she had thought she might have one day loved, a cat who she had nearly killed. A cat who was now insane.

"Sunpool!" He bellowed, eyes unfocused as he stared at her, stopping in the middle of the crowd. FlowerClan's medicine cat, Budfur, slid through the crowd after Oakfrost.

Oakfrost had changed. He was massive, towering over the rest of his Clanmates, and his fur was matted with so much filth it didn't have its rich, mahogany brown hue, and was a dark brown-gray, tangled mess. His eyes were dull, and his mouth was framed by a foamy, whitish substance.

Did I do this to him? Sunpool wondered, her heart sinking.

"Sunpool," Cinderstorm murmured, "how does he know you?"

Sunpool was torn. She knew that if she wanted the trust of these cats, she needed to tell the truth. Besides, it was the right thing to do. On the other hand, telling could make her allegiance with FlowerClan disintegrate. She didn't want to risk it, but what could she say? It wasn't fair to Oakfrost, and she felt like she owed him this, at least.

"I-" she started, and swallowed. In the face of Oakheart, she couldn't stop the words from tumbling out. At least she would know she had told the truth, even if nobody would side with her anymore. "When I trained with the Dark Forest, I met Oakpaw at a Gathering. We met almost every night for about a moon. I was very young, and though my feelings were very undefined back then, when I think about it now I never wanted to be anything more than friends with Oakfrost. But I- I think Oakfrost wanted to be more, wanted to be mates, and one night, one of my-" another swallow, "my Clanmates found us. I walked away and never looked back."

The night was silent as she told her story. Even Oakfrost was quiet.

"And then-" she swallowed again, "the next night, I was in the Dark Forest, and Lionscar - he was my mentor in the Dark Forest - made Oakfrost and I fight. I... I took it too far, and I... I nearly killed him."

It felt better when she had said it. The entire Clan stare at her.

"And I forgot about him," she whispered. "I forgot all about him."

The Clan was silent as she lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Oakfrost. I am so, so sorry."

No cat spoke, until finally Cheetahstar opened his mouth. "Thank you for telling us that, Sunpool," he said.

She dipped her head, too ashamed to speak.

Sunpool hadn't thought of Oakfrost in moons and moons and moons, and had only remembered him once about three moons ago. Finally, everything was starting to fall into place: too many times had she started things she would never finish. Too many times had she affected cats' lives in a negative way and then done nothing to set it right. Frost, Goldleaf, Oakfrost... she was almost as bad as Applestar.

She made a decision, standing before the crowd of silent cats. If she went on from this, then she wouldn't stop until she killed Applestar. That could be her redemption. She didn't care what StarClan thought. This was her redemption.

Finally, Cheetahstar spoke. "Sunpool, I-" He stopped, coughed, then continued. "I will continue to stand by you."

An eruption of yowls immediately started up.

"You will stand by her, even when she drove your son insane?"

"What happened to Clan loyalty, Cheetahstar?"

"Why are you just abandoning us?"

Cheetahstar cut in, his voice loud as he fought for the attention of the crowd. "Enough! First off, a FlowerClan cat never goes back on his promises. Secondly, Oakfrost's mental health is a serious matter that is monitored by myself and Budfur. Sunpool did not drive him insane, no matter what she may have said. She simply does not understand the matter fully. None of you do."

Dimly, Sunpool felt shock. Shock at what Cheetahstar was saying. Was it really possible that she hadn't caused Oakfrost's insanity? Another emotion flooded through her: release. Even at Cheeahstar's small statement, which could be very easily be proven wrong, she was relieved to know that she hadn't caused Oakfrost to be like this.

Cheetahstar had started to speak again. "And how dare you accuse me of abandoning my Clan! The express reason I am doing this is to rid the Clans of Applestar. Each and every one of you know exactly how I feel about Applestar. If at all possible, I want to aid in every way I can in her downfall from power. I will help Sunpool with this, then I will return to lead FlowerClan. If any of you would like to follow me, you will be a part of removing Applestar from power. I will appoint Jayflight as leader in my stead, and if he would like to join Sunpool and I, I will appoint a senior warrior as leader." He sent a challenging look down at the cats that stared back at him, angry. "Tonight, we will rest, and tomorrow, we will leave. If you would like to join us, please step forward and join myself, Sunpool, Cinderstorm, and Lightningfeather now."

Almost hesitantly, three warriors slowly stepped forward, coming to rest next to Lightningfeather. Then an apprentice. Then Jayflight calmly walked forward.

That was all of the cats that joined them, just three she-cats and two toms. But Sunpool felt so much gratitude to them, she couldn't speak.

Finally, Cheetahstar dipped his head. "Thank you. I will now appoint a deputy to rule in my stead. His gaze swept across the Clan, until coming to rest on a light silver she-cat. "Minnowflight, will you lead the Clan in my stead?"

"I will, Cheetahstar," the she-cat replied firmly.

And so it was decided, Sunpool thought, as Cheetahstar dismissed the Clan.

I'm sad because half of this deleted including Cheetahstar's rant which I loved 😔

I hate this app and I love this app

~Rainfeather