Warriors AU: Blackfoot's Reckoning

Chapter 8

I didn't learn anything. Blackfoot hung her head as the visions faded, sick with shame. Of course the gleam in Goldenflower's eyes had been familiar. He and Brokenstar had been the same: willing to tear apart their Clans to get the power they wanted. Brokenstar had killed her own father and put kits in harm's way, leading to their deaths. Goldenstar had tried to kill his own leader, and when he'd failed, he'd taken over Shadowclan to further his plans for vengeance. They'd cared about nothing but themselves. And I happily followed them both.

Oakstar watched her carefully. "Do you want this life?" she asked.

Blackfoot felt exhausted, but she couldn't stop now. She nodded her head.

"I need you to say it," Oakstar mewed.

"I want this life," Blackfoot whispered.

Oakstar stepped forward and touched her nose to hers. "With this life, I give you judgment. Use it when making difficult decisions. Consider all the possibilities, and consequences, of the choices you make."

As fresh pain shot through her body, Blackfoot felt a terrible despair, thinking about the judgment she'd shown in the past. She'd been convinced so easily that Goldenstar was the solution to all her worries. But the Thunderclan cat hadn't cared about the cats of Shadowclan—he'd just wanted to use them to get his revenge on Sandstorm and Thunderclan. Blackfoot could see that now, watching the past unfold again in front of her eyes.

And it was in following Goldenstar that Blackfoot had done the thing that made her most ashamed now, standing before Starclan.

As Oakstar stepped away, she knew, all the way down to her bones, which cat would step out next from the crowd of Starclan warriors. So when she finally looked up, bracing her paws against the ground as if expecting a blow, she wasn't surprised to see Stonefur watching her.

The Riverclan she-cat looked much better than the last time they'd seen each other. Then, she'd been ragged and half-starved. Now her pale blue-gray pelt was sleek and shone with faint stars. She looked at Blackfoot for several long moments before stepping forward slowly, as if her paws were almost too heavy to lift. Each step seemed so reluctant, like she didn't want to come closer to Blackfoot, but knew she had to.

Blackfoot couldn't blame her. Of course it would be hard for Stonefur to grant a life to the cat who had taken hers.

Stonefur lashed her tail at Blackfoot's shoulder, and Blackfoot felt the present fading...

Blackfoot crouched on one side of Goldenstar's hill of bones, Leopardstar on the other. From the top of the pile, Goldenstar gazed down on the camp he commanded. Around them, the gathered warriors of Tigerclan—once separate as Shadowclan and Riverclan, now united under Goldenstar—quivered with excitement.

At the foot of the Bonehill, in the center of the ring of cats, Tigerclan warriors—Darkstripe, who had been Thunderclan once, and Jaggedtooth, who had once been called Snag—guarded the former Riverclan deputy, Stonefur, and two terrified Riverclan apprentices. All three cats were thin, their ribs showing through their matted fur. Stonefur stood protectively in front of the apprentices, as if trying to shield them from the guards.

From his perch on top of the pile of prey bones, Goldenstar began to speak. "Cats of Tigerclan, you all know the hardships that we have to face. The cold of leaf-bare threatens us. Twolegs threaten us. The other two Clans in the forest, who have not yet realized the wisdom of joining with Tigerclan, are a threat to us. Surrounded as we are by enemies, we must be sure of the loyalty of our own warriors. There is no room in Tigerclan for the half-hearted. No room for cats who might waver in battle or, worse still, turn on their own Clanmates." All around the clearing, Tigerclan yowled in agreement.