Vol. 1/6 ✅️
"Your future - it is a path entwined with thorns. They try to grab you, to pull you into the deepest thicket - and they will succeed. You don't have the power to change your destiny completely, Larkpaw. The only thing you can do is not t...
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The cats of RoseClan had gathered in a semicircle around the Roserock. Larkpaw, together with the other apprentices, sat a little further back. She could feel their nervousness.
"At last there's some drama," Reedpaw hissed, whereupon Larkpaw would have loved to pull her claws over her muzzle. This was a serious situation.
Fortunately, she wasn't the only one who thought so. Elderpaw gave her sister a sharp look. "You don't joke about that. There could've been serious damage."
Reedpaw didn't react to this, but moved a little away from Elderpaw.
You can almost hear the air crackling, Larkpaw thought and shifted restlessly.
Mushroompaw swished his tail at her. "Now keep still," the calico tom hissed quietly, exasperated.
Larkpaw pressed her paws into the ground guiltily. Her gaze wandered to Palestar, Honeyclaw, Gooseleap, Heatherwing and Patternleaf. The Warriors' Council had met some time ago, apparently to discuss how they could best discuss the issue with the Clan.
Now they came over. Palestar scaled the Roserock, while Honeyclaw stood at its base and the cats-in-command joined their Clanmates.
"I'm sure you've all heard what just happened in the camp," Palestar meowed.
The cats looked at each other promisingly. The news had spread like a leaf whirling away in a storm.
"We can't really say why this happened at the moment, because Smallblotch has disappeared," Palestar said. "Could the cats who stayed in the camp tell us what happened in the absence of the others?"
Lilacclaw stepped forward on trembling paws. She seemed to shrink under the intense gaze of the RoseClan cats. "I had been working with Smallblotch to improve the apprentices' den," she said in a surprisingly firm voice. "At some point, I noticed that Smallblotch reacted irritably whenever I came near her. And then she suddenly hissed at me and swatted at me with her paw." At this point, Lilacclaw broke off and looked at the ground in front of her.
Palestar trotted to the edge of the Roserock. "Do you know if Smallblotch had a reason to act like that? Did something happen between you two in the past?"
"I don't know," Lilacclaw answered. "I never meant to hurt her in any way."
Palestar tilted her head. "But Smallblotch must have given a reason, right?" Her tone sounded questioning.
Now Pinefur spoke up. The long-furred she-cat trotted forward a few steps and meowed: "Apparently Smallblotch was angry about Cloverleaf's death. She claimed that someone had killed her."
"But that's impossible!" Duststripe protested. "I thought her cause of death was clear." His voice trailed off.
Larkpaw noticed how differently Smallblotch and Duststripe mourned Cloverleaf. While Smallblotch reacted aggressively, clinging with all her might to her claim that another cat was to blame for Cloverleaf's death, Duststripe barely showed his grief. But Larkpaw knew that his daughter's death didn't leave him cold. He was probably simply overwhelmed with his feelings.
