Shorts Stories

Birdstream's Murder

She glanced up at Spingstar and Silverstar, both of their gazes full of shock. "I didn't mean to! I really didn't mean to!" She begged that they would understand, and that they wouldn't question her story. Springstar came over to her and touched his nose to her head, "we will find him." "What if he's dead?" Birdstream croaked out. "It was an accident," Silverstar's mew wasn't as soft as Springstar's. "He had to of washed up on shore somewhere, let's go look." Springstar led the way along the edge, watching his step. Birdstream felt sick to her stomach, not only because she caused Cloudfall to fall in, but also because she was hoping he was truly dead. If he wasn't, he would surely tell them everything and tell them that she tried to murder him. They padded along for a while, then Silverstar murmured, "there." She pointed with her tail to a washed up body on the land, his leg twisted in a crack between a log's branches. "I'll fetch a medicine cat," Silverstar mewed as she rushed away. "Hurry, Birdstream," Springstar called as he charged for the Fogclan warrior.

She followed, holding her breath. They crossed the river by jumping on stones and logs that were stiffly stuck inside of it, strong enough to hold their weight. Springstar ran over to Cloudfall's limp body, touching his nose to him. Birdstream started to feel dizzy, worry and sickness pricking her stomach. Springstar pulled his head away from his warrior, dull eyes and a small whisper, "I don't think he made it. We will wait for a medicine cat though." Birdstream sat next to the leader, staring at the limp body in front of them. What had she done? "Springstar!" Specklestone's frightened call came from a small distance, making the two silent cats turn their heads. The tortoiseshell tom was running to them, fear and confusion splattered across his face. He was panting by the time he spotted Cloudfall's body, "so, Silverstar wasn't lying." His mew was quiet as he trotted over to Cloudfall, touching his nose to the white tom's throat. He sat there for a while, and Birdstream nervously shifted her paws. Specklestone slowly drew his head away, turning his sad eyes to the Fogclan leader. "It's too late, he's with Starclan now." Springstar sadly nodded his head, Birdstream dropped to the ground.

Springstar placed his tail on her back, "it's not your fault." It is. I pushed him in. I'm an awful cat. Instead of spilling the truth, Birdstream just nodded her head. "Let's go break the news to everyone, and Birdstream can go back to Fireclan with her clanmates." Springstar's mew was full of sorrow, but he still got to his paws and led Birdstream back to the clearing. "Is everything all right?" Splashstar asked, eyeing the three cats as they came back. Springstar let go of Birdstream, and she trotted over to Shredfur. "What happened?" Her brother whispered, leaving Birdstream to just duck her head in shame. "One of my warriors has had a terrible incident," Springstar mewed aloud, "Cloudfall fell into the river and drowned." Gasps flew around the camp. "At a gathering?" Swallowflight asked. "Was Starclan angry with him?" Duskstem called. "Did someone kill him?" Dayleap pressed, and Birdstream couldn't help but watch as the she-cats gaze landed on her. Springstar shook his head, "he walked alone by himself to the edge of the river, and a warrior went to check on him which startled him. He slipped and fell into the river. The warrior did their best to try to save him, calling for help. However, Cloudfall couldn't escape the pull of the water and was sucked underneath, causing him to drown."

"Who was the warrior?" Hazelfern demanded. Springstar took a deep breath, "Birdstream, from Fireclan." All the cats turned their gazes to her, surprised, shocked, angry, sad, betrayed, all emotions she never wanted to see. "You murdered him!" Hazelfern hissed. "It was an accident!" Birdstream objected, "I just wanted to see if he was okay!" "Why? Did you like him?" Pebblesplash asked. Birdstream shook her head, "no! I just thought it would be the right thing to do!" More cats started joining in all the accusations hitting her from every angle. It wasn't stopped until Springstar silenced them with a hiss. "It was an accident, it isn't her fault. Birdstream is not a murderer and she never will be."

She was thankful for his words, but she knew the truth. She ducked back behind Shredur, hiding herself from all the stares. She knew what truly happened, what she did, and it will haunt her forever. "This meeting is over," Springstar announced, gathering his warriors and leading them over to Cloudfall. "It's okay," Shredfur whispered, "you were just trying to help him out. It was an accident." Birdstream nodded, an accident. The clan cats made their way out of the clearing and to their own territory and camps. "Birdstream, I need to speak with you." Silverstar called for her. Birdstream felt her heart fall out of her chest, and she just wanted to cover herself in dirt and sink away from all of this. "Don't worry," Shredfur tried comforting her, "you'll be fine." She gave him a small nod, then padded over to her leader's den. Silverstar was waiting inside the dark den while the rest of the warriors were going to sleep, her gaze hard as Birdstream sat in front of her. "You've caused a great problem for Fireclan, Birdstream." Birdstream faced the ground, "I know. I'm so sorry, it really was an accident."

"Accident or not, a Fogclan warrior is dead. All the other clans are going to blame you for a while, which will also blame Fireclan for having horrible warriors. I want you to stay in our territory for a while, no more gatherings. You can still do patrols and all of that, but you will not be getting close to borders, it could be dangerous for you at the moment. I understand it was an accident, and I'm sorry this happened to you, but we need to keep you and Fireclan safe. You understand, don't you?" Silverstar's mew had a little snare in it, like she was giving Birdstream a little bit of threatening to make sure she listened. Birdstream glanced up at her leader, who was giving her a blank stare. "I understand, Silverstar," she whispered. Silverstar nodded, "good, you can go now." Birdstream gave her a small dip of her head, then turned to exit the den. "Oh, and Birdstream." She turned her gaze around to face her leader, who had an expression on her gaze that made Birdstream shiver. "It was an accident," Silverstar pressed, "right?" Birdstream nodded, "yes." Silverstar stared at her, unblocking. After a few heartbeats, the leader flicked her tail in dismissal of Birdstream, and she turned to trot away. What was Silverstar thinking of Birdstream? Or even worse, what would she do?