Warriors; Roar of the River

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The moon was a round, bright white circle in the darkness as Emberleaf padded toward the edge of the island. Her eyes flicked around the cats near her, cats of the Clans united by tragedy but also split by lost trust. Although a number of cats remained to hear what StarClan really had to say, and Emberleaf was ready to tell them, a much larger number of cats had acted out of sheer concern for their lives and their loved ones.

“Emberleaf, how’d you get here?” She heard just as Sparrowstripe rubbed his muzzle along hers. She pressed her nose to his ear for a brief moment and mewed, “I had to run the whole way.”

“On those stubby legs?”

Amusement rushed through her, but her smile faded when she saw the bites on his foreleg. He wasn’t limping, but Emberleaf was worried, and she knew now was no time to be joking around. “You know I’m good at running, if I choose to be. It was just that I was trying to hurry.”

“Don’t stress over it,” he mewed, and his gaze dropped to his paws as he moved over the tree bridge. Emberleaf followed, her tail straight to help her balance, but she didn’t need it. As she leapt off on the other side, she scented Darkstar and turned to see him behind her. One of his eyes was missing, and his ear was split. She dipped her head to him, noticing that he didn’t look pained, only tired. The gray in his muzzle startled her. When she was a kit, he was young and full of energy. Nonetheless, Darkstar was a great leader.

“The whole Clan owes you and your brother an apology,” Darkstar meowed. “I will say, I’ve never thought Yellowfang was speaking the truth, about the Clans being destroyed, but I’m sure Minnowstar will be back to take more lives. We might kill each other before any dark times befall us.”

“You were just trying to look out for ShadowClan,” Emberleaf responded. “None of us expected Shadefall to be the one to fulfill the prophecy.”

“Yeah, well, the prophecy claims that all three of you will rise up to conquer the Clans. And I’ve never heard of a prophecy to be wrong,” Darkstar reminded her.

Emberleaf laid her ears back. “I haven’t heard of one, either. Maybe it means Blackfeather and I can help you by addressing all the Clans, starting with telling everyone what’s happening in StarClan. They’re torn into two sides, just like us, but there’s a lot more than that,” she meowed. “And then I want to talk to Shadefall, as soon as possible, but I don’t want my pelt ripped off. And maybe I can get him on our side. The prophecy would make sense then. We could conquer the Clans and lead them on the right path, right?”

Darkstar shrugged. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “The prophecy tells me that only the white bird can be trusted, and even though it’s been a long time since I’ve even considered the prophecy, it was our first warning. I’ve come to the conclusion that Thistlekit is the white bird, but some of our ancestors were telling me that he wasn’t to be trusted.”

“That’s the problem. Since StarClan is divided, and Flameheat’s lies have recruited many cats to lie to Minnowstar and other warriors, there’s no telling how many lies we’ll be told before this is all solved.” Emberleaf noticed that Sparrowstripe was glancing at her, looking appalled. “I promise, everything will be explained,” Darkstar mewed from behind her. “I’ve kept my Clan in the dark for so long, even Goldenshade…”