Warriors: Distant Echoes

CHAPTER 18

Side by side, Sleetpaw and Lightningblaze were out in the territory as usual. However, instead of training, they were headed towards the Star Peaks to meet the rest of the rebellion group for another meeting. The soft grey clouds in the sky had brought a light drizzly rain onto the territory, the droplets sliding down the two cats' pelts as they walked through the lush green grass amongst the pine trees.

Sleetpaw was anxious about the meeting - after all, what was there to even say? They said it pretty clearly last meeting. There's no way to easily dispose of Hailstar. What more could they do? But he felt a little more relaxed beside Lightningblaze. Over the course of his training with his mentor so far, he had grown close to him. Lightningblaze felt almost like a father to Sleetpaw. He cared for Sleetpaw more than than his real father Hailstar or his adoptive father Lynxclaw ever could.

Before Sleetpaw knew it, the two of them had arrived. The Star Peaks loomed above, and in their shade, soaked by the rain, were Fogmist, Cloudstorm and Mantisclaw. Lightningblaze mewed a greeting to the other cats before sitting down in the grass, Sleetpaw right beside him.

"Hello, Lightningblaze," Fogmist nodded. "We were just discussing how to possibly get rid of three lives of a leader without being caught. Any ideas?"
"...Not particularly." Lightningblaze sighed.
"These meetings are going nowhere!" Fogmist groaned. "This whole idea feels hopeless. I'd have half a mind to just run away and build our own clan."
"We can't give up." Lightningblaze said sternly. "VultureClan wasn't always this terrible and it deserves to be restored to its former glory. Besides, if we left, Hailstar would call us all traitors and have us hunted down and killed by patrols!"
"Former glory? Lightningblaze, you were hardly a warrior when Hailstar took over! You don't know anything about the old VultureClan!" Fogmist laughed.
"The elders taught me." Lightningblaze muttered. "And I'm not resting until the clan is thriving as it once did. We need to get rid of Hailstar."
"Well said, Lightningblaze," Cloudstorm nodded. "But we still have no ideas on how to get rid of him."

The cats silently glanced at each other for a moment, waiting for someone to pitch a solution, as if a miraculous plan would suddenly unfold in front of their paws like a gift from StarClan itself. But nothing came. Instead, it was Sleetpaw who broke the silence.

"W-Well, we need to consider ways we could whittle down each life undetected," Sleetpaw said. "There must be some way to kill a cat without leaving evidence behind or being present at the scene. If we could just do that three times...well, find three different ways, probably, considering he'd suspect it if it happened twice..."
"Good idea, Sleetpaw," Mantisclaw nodded. "But what methods are there? I can't even think of one, let alone three."
"Poison." Fogmist said sharply.
"And where would we find poison?" Cloudstorm asked.
"Well, there must be some poisonous plants around. Just slip some into his herbs when he sees Heronfeather for a cold in leafbare or something." Fogmist shrugged.
"It's not the worst idea we've had," Cloudstorm mewed. "But how would you get past Heronfeather? He's Hailstar's brother. He wouldn't just sit there and watch you lace his herbs with poison!"
"...True." Fogmist sighed.

The cats fell silent again. This was harder than they thought. Anything they did would have to get past Heronfeather, or Bearfang, or any of Hailstar's closest followers. How could they possibly find three ways to take his lives?

"Perhaps..." Lightningblaze mused. "We don't be sneaky about it. We risk our lives, sure, but the easiest way to kill a cat is with your own teeth and claws. If we could pull off three successful attempts, then he would be gone."
"Who would risk dying for that stupid plan?" Fogmist spat.
"I would." Lightningblaze responded smoothly. "Do you not know the warrior code, Fogmist? The safety of the whole clan is more valuable than the life of a single cat. If I were to die, I'd like to go down knowing I've created a brighter future."
"Well, you can charge right into your death if you want, but I doubt you'll find two other cats willing to do so after you take his first life. Or even three, if you fail to even kill him once!" Fogmist said.
"We mustn't forget Bearfang, too. He's just as crooked, and he would end up leader if Hailstar died," Mantisclaw added. "And if Bearfang died first, Hailstar would just promote another one of his loyal followers to succeed him. Somehow, we have to kill them both at once."

The rain was getting stronger now. Instead of a light drizzle, it was pouring down, the raindrops hammering against the ground and soaking the cats' pelts until their fur hung heavy on their backs.

"...This is going to take a lot more planning than I thought." Lightningblaze sighed. "But for now, we should return to camp and mull things over on our own and shelter from this torrential rain. We will meet here again in exactly three days time to properly plan what we will do to get rid of Hailstar and Bearfang. Meeting dismissed."