Warriors: Flamestar's Path (Lightclan Mini Story)

Chapter 4

Silvershy shoved Flamestar away with a surprising amount of strength, standing protectively over the winged tom. "And if you insist on killing him, you have to go through me!"

"Silvershy..." Flamestar started, her amber eyes wide. "Don't risk your life for this traitor."

"I love him, and I don't want him to die! He's already experienced death once, and I don't want it to happen to him again!" Silvershy snarled, her green eyes burning a hole in Flamestar's face.

Flamestar lashed her tail, refusing to back down. "How many of us has he and his kind killed? This is the only way for justice!"

"He can change!" Silvershy hissed back. "He's a cat just like all of us, with feelings and thoughts. He is kind and gentle... NoName is the one to blame, she made him what he is today!"

"I want to hear it from him then." Flamestar growled, baring her teeth at the frozen tom below Silvershy.

Tyler slowly met her gaze, his eyes still terrified and his body shaking. "I p-promise I'll change. Please just let me live."

Flamestar sank her claws into the ground, but nodded her head. "Fine, you're off the hook." She glanced up at Strike and Dime. "Anybody else have any secret love afairs with the other two?" When nobody spoke, she stalked towards Strike and grabbed him.

She pulled Strike from where he crouched with his friend, tossing him onto the ground beside his brother. With Strike's presence gone, Dime started calling out worriedly for him. "Strike? Strike! Where did you go?" The dark furred tom started patting the ground around him furiously, his brown paws frantic to find the red and black tom. "Don't leave me!" He cried.

Flamestar growled at Dime. "Shut up!"

"Don't kill him!" Dime started towards her, his paws unsteady. His sightless green eyes stared directly at her, angry. Flamestar gasped as Dime found her, his forepaws latching onto her flank and his claws sinking into her skin. She hissed and shook him off, kicking Dime onto the ground.

As Flamestar advanced on Dime, she felt teeth pull on her tail. "Leave him alone you monster!" It was Strike, his red eyes glaring at her.

"Get off!" Flamestar snarled, kicking him away with her hind legs. She glanced up at the spectating cats, they were staring in a stunned silence.

With a frustrated growl, Flamestar brought her claws down upon Strike's neck. He twisted away just in time and her claws only grazed the skin, barely drawing any blood. She hissed and lashed out again, but a blue wing slapped into her paw, covering Strike. She turned to glare up at Tyler. "Stay out of this!" She growled.

"Let my brother and Dime live!" The black and blue tom hissed in return, fury written on his features.

Flamestar bared her teeth, but then saw Silvershy hovering behind Tyler. She was clearly backing up her winged friend. Traitor! She scored the ground with her claws. "You should all be dead!"

"Let them all live." Silvershy meowed, giving Flamestar a long glare.

Flamestar lashed her tail angrily and snarled. "This isn't right! They have to die!"

There was a tense silence that followed. The tension was so high, Flamestar had trouble thinking straight. Then Dime murmured. "Let Strike live. He deserves to have a second chance."

"Why?" Flamestar growled.

"He was a normal warrior once, loyal to his clan. Let him be that warrior once again." Dime's blind gaze was fixed on Flamestar. "Please."

"So you're saying that if I kill you, then I let the two winged demons live?" Flamestar scoffed, shaking her head.

"No, don't kill him!" Strike gasped. "He's blind and helpless!"

"All the more reason to end his misery." Flamestar snapped in reply, glancing behind the red and black tom as Bluesnow emerged from the crowd and joined Silvershy's side.

"Let them all live. They've seen what will happen if they slip up," her sister glanced pointedly at the blood stains on the ground. "They will change their ways. I promise you that."

Flamestar let out a weary sigh, her amber eyes closing briefly as she glanced up at the sky. What do I do, Starclan? She wondered silently. She was exhausted and it was barely sunhigh. She just wanted the day to be over and to sleep peacefully for the next moon. It seemed that the only way to do that was to appeal to everyone's wishes, and let the three evil toms live.

"Fine." She murmured, looking back at everyone. "Dime, Strike and Tyler will live."

Three breathes of relief were heard from around her, following by a cheerful mew of thanks from Silvershy and Bluesnow. The other cats, who had been completely silent, seemed content with her choice.

"Clan dismissed. I will let Silvershy sort everyone out, she will be the new deputy of Lightclan."

Silvershy blinked in surprise, opening her jaws to argue, but Flamestar had already disappeared into the leader's den. The orange she cat collapsed into the only available nest- NoName's nest- and was asleep in moments. She didn't even care that she was laying in her enemy's blood, with the red she cat's still-fading body only a tail-length away.

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