Warrior Cats Fanfiction: Whispers of the Shadows Book 1 Rivers Descending

Chapter Twenty-One

'Silverpaw pricked her ears as she heard her Clanmates running back into camp. Without saying anything to Aspencloud, the silver apprentice leapt out of the medicine cat's den and crossed the clearing. She stopped, aghast at the horrible injuries that covered the cats.

"Dawnpaw?" she asked, threading through Tanglebrook and Waterheart. The two cats were covered in blood, and Waterheart was unsteady on her paws, leaning on Tanglebrook so she could stand. "Dawnpaw?" She couldn't see the large orange and white apprentice anywhere.

Oh, please StarClan, she thought, don't let Dawnpaw be dead! When  she saw her sister stumble into the camp, Minnowtail close behind her. Silverpaw dashed up and wove her tail around Dawnpaw's.

"You're okay!" she purred. Dawnpaw looked at Silverpaw.

"Emberstar's dead," she meowed hoarsely. "We lost the battle." Silverpaw stopped purring and stared at her sister. Please tell me you're joking, she hoped, but Dawnpaw and Minnowtail looked so depressed that it chased all thoughts of hope out of her mind.

"What is ShadowClan going to do because they won the battle?" Dawnpaw shrugged, and Silverpaw leaned closer to her sister. "Where is Emberstar?"

"We had to leave his body," whispered Minnowtail. The new RiverClan leader bent her head and padded softly to the middle of the clearing, where her mate always stood to address the clan. The two sisters watched Minnowtail speak.

"We have lost the battle," she meowed," and Emberstar is dead." She glanced up. "I...I say these words before the body of Emberstar, so that his spirit may hear and approve of my choice." She paused and gazed at her battle-weary clanmates. "Tangle—"

A low hiss came from behind Dawnpaw and Silverpaw, breaking off Minnowtail's next words. A dark brown tabby she-cat with glowing yellow eyes stood, long-legged in the entrance. Lighteye and Thistlestar were on each side of her.

"You are not the leader of RiverClan," the tabby meowed playfully. Her eyes flashed. "I am."

Silverpaw felt her sister shrink away, and she stood straighter. "Minnowtail is the leader of RiverClan. She was the deputy, and the deputy always succeeds the leader." And you're not a Clan cat, she added silently.

"Times are changing," snarled Thistlestar. "My daughter will be the new leader of RiverClan." He glanced at Minnowtail. "Or do we need to kill all of your clanmates first?" Dark, lithe shapes came from behind each and every den, stinking of ShadowClan. The warriors boxed the RiverClan cats into the center of the clearing. Hissing and growling, Dawnpaw and Silverpaw were forced up against a wall of reeds by Grasspaw and Rubypaw.

"Miss us?" Rubypaw sneered. Thistlestar padded to Minnowtail, his daughter at his side.

"Ivy is now the new leader of this clan," he meowed. "There will be no deputy, no warrior code. Only Ivy." He stared at all of the astonished RiverClan cats. He grinned maliciously. "She will make sure of that."

Silverpaw leaned back against the reeds and stared up at the Silverpelt, which had grown dimmer since the last time she looked at them. Why are you doing this? She asked her warrior ancestors. Why are we suffering like this? A paw jabbed her back, and Silverpaw whipped her head around. Behind the reeds, her mother's face looked at hers.

"Silverpaw," she hissed softly, keeping one eye on the ShadowClan apprentices. "You and Dawnpaw need to run. Go through the reeds, and I'll cover you." Silverpaw gaped.

"Softwing..." she said, then looked at the grave expression in her mother's eyes. "You're really doing this?"

Her mother nodded. "Hurry now, Silverpaw. Head for beyond the border." Her eyes softened. "Your father is watching over you. Keep Silverpelt in sight." Softwing leaned over and whispered the same thing to Dawnpaw. The two sisters looked at each other, and Dawnpaw licked between Silverpaw's ears.

"Ready?" she whispered.

Silverpaw nodded. "As ready as I'lll ever be." The two apprentices whipped around and disappeared through the reeds. They could hear the camp in an uproar behind them, and the sound urged the two of them to push themselves even more.

"Where are we going?" Dawnpaw panted.

"Away," Silverpaw responded. "Anywhere but RiverClan or ShadowClan territory."

"We're abandoning RiverClan?" Dawnpaw said. She looked at her sister. "Isn't this breaking the warrior code?"

"No," Silverpaw said. Her paws thrummed as they left the reed bed and started gaining speed across the grass. "If we can get enough cats from RiverClan to join us outside of the territory, we can attack and take our Clan back." Silverpaw growled deep in her throat and turned to her sister.

"We're not breaking the warrior code— we're saving our clan."