Book One of the How the Mighty Fall Trilogy
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Stonetail is a headstrong young warrior and the daughter of Greystar, a formidable she-cat known for her strict adherence to the code. All her life, she has practiced honor, valor, and fait...
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While other cats form small clusters throughout camp, Stonetail ignores them all. Her pelt prickles with outrage, and unable to contain her fury, she swipes at the nearest pine. Sticky sap dribbles from the gouges she makes in the tree, and chunks of bark lodge themselves below her claws. She should care how uncomfortable the sensation is, and yet she does not
The only thing on her mind is her punishment.
Greystar must have selected Stonetail to watch the loners as retribution for her cruel accusations following the council's dismissal. Insulted, it seemed like the pale leader wanted the final say in the matter. In fact, Stonetail realizes her accusations may have been true. Perhaps Greystar only chose to provide the loners asylum in order to spite her daughter.
Letting out a wordless, frustrated snarl, Stonetail pays no heed to the wary glances of her Clanmates and marches into Greystar's den. "They are not my responsibility!" she hisses, sinking her claws into a stray moss scrap when her mother does not turn around to face her. "Did you hear me? I will not be the one to look after them!"
Greystar flicks her ears, but remains curled in her nest. Her voice is low and stern. "Did you hear me?" she parrots. "You are not the only one who will be training them in our ways. Streamheart will join you."
"That's not what I mean!" Stonetail shouts. "Find someone else to hover over them, because I have other things to do. For StarClan's sake, I have an apprentice, and those loners are not worth more than she is. Especially not now, not when she's so close to her assessments." The scene that afternoon bites at Stonetail. How is she supposed to make things right with Thrushpaw if she's busy teaching a loner basic Clan decency? Her apprentice has to come first, and as she opens her mouth to reiterate this, Greystar cuts her off.
"Thrushpaw is no longer your apprentice. She spoke to me earlier and admitted that she does not wish to be a warrior. I made arrangements for her to take up training as a medicine cat instead; Robinfoot will oversee her from now on."
The ground seems to fall out from beneath Stonetail. Thrushpaw wants to become a medicine cat? She wants to learn from someone else? It becomes horrifically clear how badly Stonetail has failed the little tabby. If she had just paid her apprentice the slightest bit more heed, if she hadn't been so insistent that Thrushpaw fight her way through training tooth and claw, then maybe it wouldn't come as such a shock that warriorhood isn't the proper path for Thrushpaw to pursue. Apologies pile up on her tongue, each one more panicked than the last, and Stonetail has to clamp her jaws shut to fight them.
"Additionally," Greystar continues, talking over any sounds of protest her daughter might choke out, "offering shelter was your idea. I don't recall anyone else making the suggestion that they could be useful to us if given the chance, and I will not put those loners in the care of someone who would rather drive them out. You made the suggestion, you no longer have an apprentice, and you will take responsibility for those toms. I did not raise you to develop solutions you are unwilling to implement yourself. Are we clear?"
