Warrior Cats: Rainfall

Chapter Eighteen

"I never said to murder her," Sootpelt argued.

"A traitor's a traitor!" Stonestar huffed. "She was given a second chance, and she wasted it."

Treefur cried out in frantic emotion, "You're a murderer, you are no better than she is!"

"I am better than she would ever be!" Stonestar snapped.

"Is that really true?" Treefur narrowed his eyes. "Are you any better than. . .Haunting? Or. . .Sal-inja? For killing her?"

The gray leader's sharp stare dulled as he realized what he had done.

"Great StarClan, what did I do. . ."

Treefur, still angry at his sister's death, took advantage of Stonestar's uncertainty. "You are just like them! A murderous leader who wants nothing more than his own protection!"

"No," Stonestar narrowed his eyes at the ground.

"Yes! What would your brother think?" Treefur kept pressing on. "Think of my mother, Ice!"

That confused Ashfrost. Stonestar had a brother? If so, where was he? And Treefur's mother? Ice?

"I AM NOT LIKE THEM!" Stonestar yowled and bolted over to Treefur. He pounced just tail-lengths away and pinned the light brown tom to the ground.

Treefur grunted under the weight. Stonestar was much heavier and of much bigger build than he.

"Just like them," Treefur croaked.

Sootpelt put his paw on the ground, "I, Sootpelt, deputy of LightningClan, challenge Stonestar for his position as leader!"

Silence reigned over the camp. It was cruel irony. Stonestar, when he was deputy for Nettlestar, challenged Nettlestar for leadership because of Nettlestar's unstable mental condition. Nettlestar had, however, regained ownership of himself. Now, it was Stonestar's deputy who challenged him.

"You want a challenge?" Stonestar eyed the deputy over his back.

"You are clearly unstable and not fit to be a leader. The murder of Nightwing shall forever be on your shoulders. If anything, exile should've been the worst you could give her," Sootpelt flicked his ear. "What do you demand to be the challenge?"

Stonestar ignored the previous message and jumped to the challenge, "A fight. Cause me to lose a life, you win and I will properly resign from the leader's position. If I pin you down for ten seconds, I win, and you will be exiled."

Dawnpaw gaped, "A fight?"

Sharppaw laughed, "It'll be so cool!"

Tigerpaw scuffed his brother on his ear, "It's a fight, mouse-brain! It's not good!"

Olivepaw scuttered next to Ashfrost, "Why are they fighting?"

"Sootpelt thinks Stonestar isn't a good leader, and is going to fight him to prove so."

"That doesn't seem fair," Olivepaw gulped.

"Either way, our Clan is in great danger," the gray warrior sighed to herself.

The two gray toms circled each other in the middle of the camp, each pair of eyes was slitted with menace. Their muscles were bunched up and ready to be put into action. While Stonestar was of bigger build, his advantage was also his weakness. Sootpelt was a sturdy, lean, and agile tom, and could easily outwit the hefty leader. But once Stonestar had Sootpelt under him, it would be difficult for Sootpelt to escape.

Before the fight started, a rustle by the elder's den caught her ear. She turned to look at the lonely den to see Yang emerge in hopes to watch. The weak, old elder hardly left the den. But no wonder he's watching this event.

Sootpelt striked first to bring a blow to the side of Stonestar's face. The leader, distracted by Yang's arrival, stumbled backwards from the impact. Blood dribbled down his light gray cheek. Not wasting any time, Sootpelt pounced forward to bring the leader down onto his back. His attempt, however, was unsuccessful as Stonestar kicked him back while he was in the air. The dark gray tom thumped on the ground, briefly stunned before standing back up.

Mousefoot sighed, "I'm not sure about this. Something is up about this, I feel like."

"What could possibly be up about this?" Ashfrost flicked her ear. "They're fighting to determine who would be the better leader. It's happened before."

"Exactly," Mousefoot agreed. "But it's almost like it was all-"

A yowl of anger erupted from Stonestar as Sootpelt shoved his claws into the large tom's throat. Ashfrost gasped as she watched blood gurgle from the wound and drip down from his mouth. His green eyes rolled up until all you could see was the whites of his eyes. The leader went limp within seconds.

The camp was silent with shock.

Then, Stonestar's body violently shuddered as he lost a life. Sootpelt now stood to the side, nonchalantly cleaning the blood off his paws. The leader's green eyes rolled back to their normal state, and his throat wound stopped bleeding but didn't heal. The weak, gray tom rose slowly and stared at the ground.

"My last declaration as leader," he croaked. "Is that Sootpelt, is now Sootstar."

Sootpelt (not officially going by the name of Sootstar until he receives his nine lives) flicked his tail, "Decide what you want, become an elder, or leave the Clan."

His head rose and his eyes gazed at his successor with contempt, "I'd rather leave then live with my defeat here."

"Very well, you are no longer welcome in LightningClan," Sootpelt announced. "Aspenshade, Flowerstorm, I would like both of you to accompany me to the Moonbush where I shall receive my nine lives."

Just then, rain sprinkled from the heavy cluster of clouds above. It quickly picked up the pace and every cat was racing to get inside their dens. How convenient the rain's timing was made Ashfrost uneasy. Was this a sign from StarClan that the reign of Sootstar would not be a good one? Or. . .perhaps it was just rain. She sighed and crawled into the warrior's den. She curled up in a tight ball to preserve warmth and wrapped her tail around her. Ashfrost bushed up her tail to keep her warmer and began to snuggle into sleep. She felt the familiar presence of Mousefoot curl up beside her, and instantly she felt safer.