Warriors: Fire and Ice - Book Two (Completed)

Chapter Twenty Four

After a long meeting of if Brokenstar should be killed or not was rising high above the trees. Ripples of angry voices rang out. Bluestar jumped onto the highrock. "Silence!" She growled. The Clan fell silent and they all looked up at Bluestar, twitching their tails with anticipation.

"He stays here and will be tended to. He will be held here as a prisoner." Bluestar began. "After that, we will discuss his future again. And from now on, he will be known as Brokentail, not Brokenstar. We cannot take away the lives that StarClan gave him, but this cat is no longer a Clan leader."

Bluestar's gaze fell on Whitestorm and Darkstripe. "How were Sandpaw and Dustpaw during the fight with the rogues?"

Whitestorm took a step forward and dipped his head, "She did very well. Like a warrior."

"Yes, they both fought like warriors." Darkstripe puffed out his chest.

Bluestar turned to Dustpaw and Sandpaw. She flicked her tail and the two apprentices padded closer to the highrock. Sandpaw's paw ached with excitement. Dustpaw began trembling with excitement as well. They were at last going to be warriors!

"I, Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon these two apprentices, Dustpaw and Sandpaw. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend them as warriors in their turn." She paused and jumped down, landing in front of Dustpaw. "Dustpaw and Sandpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Dustpaw nearly jumped for joy as Bluestar stood in front of him. "I do." he meowed proudly.

"I do." Sandpaw echoed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Dustpaw, from this moment on you'll be known as Dustpelt. StarClan honors your courage and your spirit." She turned to Sandpaw and meowed. "Sandpaw, from this moment on you'll be known as Sandstorm."

The two warriors licked Bluestar's shoulders. Then they both turned to face their former mentors with pride. Bluestar dipped her head, then turned to face the Clan. "In tradition of our ancestors, these two new warriors sit vigil while we sleep. But before they do, we will all eat together in celebration." She finished. 

The Clan yowled in agreement and padded off towards the fresh-kill pile. Waterlily wasn't hungry. She felt sick to the stomach with having to care for a trader that wanted to end all clans. She turned to face Brokentail and looked at him unknowingly on what to do with him. He looked as if he was sleeping, but she wasn't sure. He then lifted his head. "You don't want any fresh-kill?" He growled, calmly.

Waterlily puffed out her fur in surprise. "How'd you know I was still here?"

"I may be blind, but I can still hear and smell." He retorted.

Waterlily flinched from his surprise in tone. He was fairly calm, and showed no signs of suffering from any pain or remorse. "No. I'm not hungry." She finally answered. 

"Ah, the mighty medicine cat speaks." He lifted his chin a little higher. "You were a kittypet, right?" He added.

"I was." She growled. "What's it to ya?

"Temper, temper." He mewed, with a bit of laughter in his voice. "I am not going to press you for any answers."

Waterlily felt pressure building up inside her. Her paws trembled anxiously and her whiskers twitched angrily. But then she smoothed out her fur by shaking it. She softly sighed, then looked down at Brokenstar. "I'm a medicine cat now to ThunderClan and ThunderClan only." She softly growled. 

Brokentail didn't respond, but she could tell that he wanted to. He held in his tongue, then Yellowfang padded into the den with two plump mice in her jaws. She dropped one in front of Waterlily. "Eat." She demanded.

Waterlily dipped her head, then took the mouse a few fox-lengths away from Brokentail. She laid down and settle the mouse on her paws, ready to take in morsels of it. She devoured the mouse within just a few bites and swallows. She must have been really hungry, but thought she wasn't. Waterlily stood up, licked the blood from her lips, then turned to face Yellowfang. She leaned close to her, and whispered. "Is Brokentail gonna eat." 

Yellowfang shook her head. "No. He may be my son, but he is still a traitor to the Clans. He will eat in time, but to celebrate two new warrior arrivals, he shouldn't celebrate for them." She whispered so lightly that Brokentail couldn't hear her.

***

The setting sun disappeared almost too quickly. Darkness covered the camp, and the camp was quiet. Waterlily stayed where she was and closed her eyes to sleep. She opened them and looked around. She was in ThunderClan territory. She lifted her nose and sniffed the air. ShadowClan scent was everywhere. She shook her head, then sniffed again. The scent of ShadowClan was all around her now. Was Brokentail's scent filling the air and making its way into  her dream? She then looked around, trying to see clearly, but she couldn't focus. Her eyes clouded and she tried blinking to see again, but couldn't. All she could see was a pair of bright blue eyes staring down at her. 

She jolted awake and looked around desperately. Brokentail was sound asleep by the small pond at the end of the den. Yellowfang lay just a few tail-lengths away from him. She panted hard, then closed her eyes to re-gather herself. Then she started to breathe slower, and relaxed her muscles. She laid her head back down on her paws and closed her eyes again to sleep, in hopes that she doesn't dream of those pretty blue eyes ever again.