Warriors: Rising Storm #1: Robin's Call

Chapter 7

Shadepaw felt herself wake up. She stretched and stood up, remembering Pebbleclaw's death, a fresh wave of grief nearly knocked her over. She walked out of the den and saw Pebbleclaw and Icepetal's bodies laying in the clearing. Dried blood spiked Shadepaw's fur as she padded over to the two dead cats, until the familiar summon was called. 

"All cats old enough to fight their own battles, gather here beneath the highledge!" Shadepaw padded over where she usually sits for meetings and sat down. She watched as Dustpaw and his littermates padded over to her. She felt Dustpaw press up against her.

Eaglestar stared at the cats below. "As you should know, rogues attacked us the other night."

Cats in the clearing let out angry yowls.

"Two brave warriors of ours died, Pebbleclaw and Icepetal."

Sad murmurs past within the cats gathered

Eaglestar's eyes rested on Eclipse. "We still have one rogue left!" He roared, outraged.

"Drive him out!" Hazelflash, the elder, demanded.

"Kill him!" Softsong shouted.

"Feed his body to the rats!" Robinheart snarled.

The leader raised his tail to silence the cats. "I also lost a life during this rogue attack, I'm still getting back my strength, so I might need somebody else to kill him..."

Cats began to explode into cheers.

Shadepaw felt breath stir in her ear. "If he lost a life in the battle, that means he's on his last life!" Dustpaw hissed silently to her.

Shadepaw flicked her destroyed ear, telling him that she heard him. She looked over at Eclipse, who met her gaze almost at once, his gaze was pleading. She stood up and cleared her throat. "I don't think Eclipse should be punished," she shared, raising her voice against the clamor.

Eaglestar's gaze snapped over to her, glowing with interest. "Eclipse?"

Shadepaw's eyes hardened. "Yes, Eclipse," she growled. She continued, "When I was getting attacked by the rogues' leader, he saved me, risking his life."

Robinheart suddenly stood up. "Are you sure it wasn't Pebbleclaw?" she asked, a sneer in her voice.

Shadepaw pushed down the wave of grief that almost overwhelmed her. "No, it was Eclipse," she snarled, locking eyes with her mother. Robinheart just snarled and turned away. "I'd like to request him as a warrior of MountainClan."

Shocked gasped erupted from the cats gathered in the clearing. Shadepaw felt Dustpaw stiffen besides her.

Robinheart still looked furious. "You probably betrayed the clan! How do you know that mangy rogue's name?" Her tail lashed side-to-side.

"It came up in conversa-" She was cut of by her mother.

"What if you killed Pebbleclaw?" Robinheart accused, her eyes blazing with a strong flame.

Addertail stepped forward. "Shadepaw would never kill a clanmate!" she hissed, her pelt fluffing. 

Shadepaw was only half aware of her mentor standing up for her. Shock pulsed through her body. Do my clanmates believe that outrageous out burst?

Silver fur flashed at the corner of Shadepaw's eye as Thistlejaw stood up. His  eyes were calm as he gazed at Robinheart, who was clearly angry. "Robinheart, she's your daughter for StarClan's sake," he pointed out. "And why would she kill her father?" he questioned, his tail tip twitching. "Anyway, you should know that Shadepaw's claw marks would be much smaller than that."