"Who attacked them?" Caveshadow demanded to know with a loud voice.
Several cats were joining him. "Should we leave in constant fear in our own territory?" Foliagemist stood up and glared at Hailstar. Her tortoiseshell fur began to ruffle.
"What if it was a cat of another Clan who injured them?" Stormpaw asked challengingly with his long, slender tail lashing. "What if it was a RoseClan cat? They cannot be trusted." At the last words, he turned his head back and looked at Fruittail firmly.
The she-kit unsheathed her claws. Why is that flea-ridden piece of dirty crowfood looking at her like that? Teeth clenched, Larkkit stared at Stormpaw and wished his nest would be spiked with thorns tonight.
Suddenly she got poked into the side. Larkkit flinched. "Stop staring so hard! It looks really weird," Sandblossom whispered.
Larkkit tensed. "Of course. I'm sorry."
"Be quiet now!" Swallowfern, who was listening closely, hissed abruptly. "I want to hear what they're saying."
"Sorry again," Larkkit squeaked as quietly as she could and closed her eyes to calm herself down. She was still mad at Stormpaw. His behaviour didn't make any sense. Even though he had always been an annoying tom, he still had enough decency to be respectful. The way he talked bad about RoseClan while the RoseClan medicine cat was residing in the camp didn't sit right with Larkkit. Maybe he's just worried about Heatherpaw and Mapleblossom.
The protests grew louder and louder, each cat meowing something. Some of them had their pelts fluffed up, while they were looking around suspiciously, as if they expected danger to arose in camp.
Hailstar jumped to his paws. "Calm down!" he hissed, but no matter how loud his voice was, it still drowned in the howls of MoonClan. "We won't get answers if you're behaving panicky like this. I will promise you that we will start looking for those responsible soon enough. But you've seen what they did to Mapleblossom and Heatherpaw. We must be careful."
Brightcloud bared her teeth. "My daughter was injured and you expect from us to calm down?" The brown warrior turned her head around. "Are you seriously okay with this? Every moment we waste by talking—"
"Stop that!" Nightblossom finally ordered before Hailstar could intervene. "Have you forgotten what our principles are? There will be no fighting here, and certainly not against Clanmates." The deputy looked just as angry as the rest of the Clan, but she also knew she wouldn't get answers that way.
I admire her for that. At that moment, Larkkit forgot her dislike of Nightblossom for a short while.
The black she-cat's announcement seemed to have had its effect, for the MoonClan cats gradually calmed down, even if there were still low growls here and there. Brightcloud, too, slowly settled down again, but her fur was still fluffed up and she was tense.
Hailstar bowed his head in gratitude to Nightblossom before jumping onto the Moonmound and raising his voice. "I'm at least as shaken as you are. And I too want to know who or what attacked our Clanmates. But in the state they are in now, they cannot give us an answer. And we'll give them time to recover first," he added in a sharp tone as Foliagemist tried to sneak to the medicine cat's den.
"What shall we do in the meantime?" Stripeface asked challengingly. "Not leave the camp anymore? For fear of one of us being the next to be attacked?"
Further back, Stormpaw nodded with eagerness. Larkkit bared her teeth. This morning you were still acting all deprecating and now you're siding with him.
"I never said that," Hailstar firmly contradicted. "The best solution is that from now on no cat leaves the camp alone until we can learn more. Does anyone know where Mapleblossom and Heatherpaw have gone?"
The cats fell silent. At that moment, Blazedew, Willowpaw, Carnationtail, Streamwater and Windheart returned from the hunt. They quickly realised something was wrong and joined the gathering.
"What did we miss?" Blazedew twitched his ears. "Why do all of you look so worried?"
At first, no cat dared to say anything. But when Willowpaw looked around, they became even more nervous. Soon Larkkit understood why. "Where's Heatherpaw? She went out earlier than me. Shouldn't she be back already?"
Poor Willowpaw. Larkkit felt an intense pity deep inside her. The two apprentices shared a strong bond, not only because they were siblings, but also because they were the only apprentices for a long time and had no other like-minded cats. Who will tell him that his sister got hurt so badly that she cannot even stand touch anymore?
It was Barkwhisker who finally had the courage to reveal the truth to Willowpaw. "She and Mapleblossom got attacked," the dark brown tabby tom muttered tentatively.
"Attacked?" Willowpaw's voice was shrill. "Is Heatherpaw hurt? How bad is it? I need to see her!"
Before he could get the chance to run to the medicine cat's den, Blazedew blocked his way. "Don't act too hastily," the light ginger warrior mewed. "Both of them certainly need to rest now. You'll see Heatherpaw soon enough again."
Blazedew looked around, hoping for his Clanmates' support. But they avoided his gaze.
"Willowpaw." Nightblossom took a step towards the dark ginger apprentice. "Her eyes were clawed out. We don't know if she'll survive the night." Her voice was unusually soft and a pitiful gleam glowed in her otherwise so cold eyes. Nervously, she ripped out the grass with her claws and sat back down next to the Moonmound.
Dashkit gasped. "Was it right from her to say that?"
Swallowfern stared grimly to the gathered cats. "I suppose so," she murmured. "It's better for Willowpaw if he knows the truth. Lying to him would lead to him losing the trust in his Clanmates."
Willowpaw stayed silent for a few heartbeats, just staring at Nightblossom with his river-green eyes. Never before had Larkkit seen such sorrow in one's expression. She couldn't imagine what was going on in his mind at the moment. Heatherpaw was fine this morning! She was always fine. How come she might die now? It felt wrong. That was not how things are supposed to be. StarClan must be evil if they take an apprentice away.
Slowly, Willowpaw retreated until he finally turned and fled into the apprentices' den.
"Willowpaw!" Blazedew called after him, but then he seemed to remember the emotional state his apprentice was in and let his tail and head hang.
Brightcloud slid to his side and licked his shoulder comfortingly. "I should have been there," the light brown tabby she-cat murmured in a choked voice. "This should have happened to me."
Blazedew avoided her gaze. "It wouldn't make Willowpaw feel any less bad."
"I know." Brightcloud pressed against him, trembling. "But I would have deserved it."
Sandblossom sighed. "Is she still blaming herself for Wrenfall's death? It was moons ago, and it was clear that it was impossible to save him. Brightcloud has to learn to leave the past and move on."
That's not very nice from her! "Who was Wrenfall?" Larkkit asked out of curiosity.
"Brightcloud mate — well, former mate, since he died — and the father of Willowpaw and Heatherpaw," Sandblossom answered. "He was the deputy of MoonClan. One night, during the Gathering on the Willow Island, a storm arose, stronger and more merciless than any other storm before. Most cats were able to flee to their territories, but Wrenfall, who stayed behind to look for any forgotten cats, was hit by a branch almost as big as a tree. It broke his spine. He couldn't move anymore, let alone make a sound. All of us knew he was still on the island. We have also heard the branch falling, but none of us dared to go back there." Sandblossom kneaded the grass with her paws. "We fetched Wrenfall's body the day after, when the storm had stopped. He looked horrible. His body was twisted and crushed—"
Swallowfern hissed. "Don't scare them like that!" Reproachfully, she looked at her denmate while licking her kits' backs.
Sandblossom didn't flinch. "Death is part of our lives," she meowed monotonously. "It's better if they learn it early enough."
"But not that early!" The gentle expression in Swallowfern's eyes disappeared. She fluffed up her fur and arched her back. A sinister growl wandered up her throat and she opened her mouth wide as if she was about to attack Sandblossom.
Completely scared to death, Larkkit, Amberkit, Dashkit and Leafkit backed away.
"Please don't fight!" Leafkit squeaked, trembling and with his eyes wide open.
"You're Clanmates!" Larkkit screeched. "What should we do if we lost you?" She had never seen this behaviour in Swallowfern. It scared her. She shouldn't be scared of her own mother. But that was exactly how she felt at the moment. I wish I never asked about Wrenfall!
Swallowfern glared at Sandblossom for a while longer before she retreated, snorting.
Larkkit looked helplessly back and forth between the two older queens. I don't want to lose you.
Larkkit stared in a daze. Last night she could hardly sleep, too many thoughts kept her wide awake. Heatherpaw, the conflict between Swallowfern and Sandblossom, Wrenfall. Too many worries for a kit.
With twitching eyelids, Larkkit saw Fruittail getting ready to leave for StarClan's Peninsula. The RoseClan medicine cat had suggested staying behind to help, but Hailstar felt that there shouldn't be so many cats missing from the half moon meeting.
Larkkit was uncomfortably warm under her pelt, even though a cool wind was blowing. Everything will be fine again. Finstrike and Motleycloud will cure Heatherpaw. And then life will be as it was before.
Suddenly Dashkit and Leafkit passed her. Squeaking and yowling, they pulled on a long, tangly tendril.
Are they serious? Larkkit felt rage rising in her. She hated how inconsiderate her littermates were. "Are you seriously playing?" the tortico she-kit hissed, having trouble to keep her voice quiet and calm enough.
Leafkit stopped and looked at his sister as if she just asked him why cats and mice couldn't be friends. "Well, yes. What else are we supposed to do, go on patrols?" He purred amusedly and continued to play with the tendril.
Without looking back, Larkkit walked away. She strayed through the camp, looking around, trying to think of other things.
But it was impossible. Heatherpaw's desperate meowing, her hiding her face between her paws -the pictures of yesterday were so vibrant in her head that it made the impression that it was happening over and over again.
Larkkit shook violently and dropped onto the grass in front of a thornbush. Here, in this part of the camp, the wildly growing shrubs were mostly higher than the dens, which was why it was a good hiding place. No cat would find and annoy her.
Larkkit curled up into a ball. Maybe the worries would go away if she slept a little. This had been helping before.
Unfortunately, her plan was destroyed by a cat approaching. Larkkit looked up in annoyance. Just go away!
To her surprise, it was Brightcloud. Her amber eyes were dull and pale. She looked at Larkkit, but at the same time she didn't even seem to acknowledge her presence.
Undecided, Larkkit opened her mouth to say something. But what should she say to a sad mother? She didn't want to get in trouble.
Brightcloud blinked slowly. "Soon it will be over," she whispered, her voice raspy and quiet. Then she continued to trot emotionlessly through the camp.
Larkkit watched her. What did she mean by 'soon it will be over?' Doesn't she trust the medicine cats' abilities? Heatherpaw won't die. She won't. Heatherpaw...
It was too much. Suddenly Larkkit felt like she had too little space. She stood up and began to run around. Faster and faster her paws moved. She didn't have a particular destination in mind. She just wanted the voices in her head to stop.
Heatherpaw won't survive. She will die. And I will too. Every cat will. But I don't want to die!
Burning with indescribable anger, Larkkit pressed her paws into the ground and came abruptly to a halt.
She noticed that she entered the main section of the camp again. Some cats looked at her in surprise, but soon afterwards they didn't seem to care about the kit's weird behaviour any further.
Larkkit spotted her littermates, however, she wasn't in the mood to go to them.
Then she saw how Brightcloud sneaked towards the leader's den. Her tail was hanging down and she dragged her paws. It looked like the light of the life had left her. She wasn't Brightcloud anymore, just an empty shell.
What does she want to talk about with Hailstar? Even though she knew it was forbidden to eavesdrop on conversations with the leader, Larkkit's worries were too strong.
Larkkit looked around before disappearing between two small bushes. The branches were densely leafy, so no cat would see her easily.
She pointed her ears forward and tried to hear what happened in the leader's den, but Hailstar and Brightcloud were whispering too quietly for her to recognise the topic.
After a while, which seemed like a whole moon, Brightcloud left the leader's den, followed by Hailstar. The grey dappled tom jumped onto the Moonmound and his voice sounded loud, yet not as firm as always, "All cats of MoonClan shall gather around the Moonmound for the sharing of news!"
Surprised, Larkkit lifted her head, so jerkily that she bumped into the branch ceiling and some thorns dug into her head fur. "Ow!" she wailed, startled by the stabbing pain. "StarClan-damn thorns!"
She gazed at her hiding place and cursed the thorns in her head while she was wriggling out.
Testing, Larkkit stroke over her head with the top side of her paw. It hurt a bit when she touched it and she could feel a pulsation, but luckily there was no blood dying her white paw red as she looked at it.
In the meantime, the whole Clan had gathered around the Moonmound. They sat in small groups and whispered to each other.
"What's going on?" Caveshadow asked. His eyes were directed towards the tunnel to the medicine cat's den. "Are there any news about the attack?"
Spotpelt next to him shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think so."
Larkkit's family joined her. "Again a gathering?" Swallowfern's nose twitched. "Let's hear what Hailstar has to say."
"He said 'all cats'," Larkkit began. "Why? Normally it's 'cats aged six moons and older'."
"I guess it's because there's an issue that affects all of us. And that's not a good sign - well, in most cases."
Slowly silence returned. Nightblossom hurried towards the Moonmound and stretched her head, exchanging a few words with Hailstar. Her glossy fur ruffled up when she sat down.
From the medicine cat's den came Motleycloud. She looked exhausted, as if she had hardly slept.
Hailstar stood up. "Cats of MoonClan," he meowed. "Brightcloud has something to tell you."
A restless murmur ran through the rows as Lightcloud stepped forward to the front of the moon mound. She looked at her Clanmates with an uncomprehending expression in her eyes. "I will leave the Clan."
At first the cats only reacted with silence. No tail whipped, no ear twitched. They all had to realise Brightcloud's blunt proclamation first.
Finally, Willowpaw was one of the first to jump up and rush forward. "You mustn't do that!" he hissed in exasperation. He threw himself on the ground in front of Brightcloud. "Are you seriously going to leave us at this time? Do you want to leave Heatherpaw in her present state? What kind of mother are you? There was a time when I looked up to you because nothing could faze you, but if you're going to leave, you're not my mother anymore!"
The surge of emotion that hit Larkkit like a violent gust of wind felt much worse than Willowpaw's exclamation, and that had been extreme enough.
"Yes." Brightcloud nodded slowly.
"She doesn't seem to care about her kits' feelings at all," Larkkit whispered, shocked.
"I don't belong here anymore," the light brown warrior continued. "Too much misfortune has befallen those closest to me, and at no moment have I been with them. I could not help them. That is why I must leave. Do you understand?" Her voice became shriller. "There was nothing I could do. I should have been there to stop it."
"You can't just run away!" Blazedew shouted indignantly, and Larkkit remembered how he had stood by Brightcloud last night. "It wasn't your fault at all. How could it have been? No one could have foreseen it. And no one blames you for it."
I bet he's really interested in Brightcloud. He's so overly concerned about her; it's not like him at all.
Brightcloud demonstratively turned her head away and moved her mouth, but spoke too softly. "I know that's not true," she continued louder. "I'm not a good cat. I deserve to be exiled." Her bright amber eyes met Blazedew's dark amber ones. For a short moment an affectionate spark was lighting up in her pupils before she returned to her numb expression.
In disbelief, Blazedew retreated. "That's not right," he only growled. It was obvious that he would do anything to stop Brightcloud from doing what she was doing. But nothing and no one would be able to change her mind.
After Brightcloud's brief confrontation with Willowpaw and Blazedew, Motleycloud was the only one to try again. "Heatherpaw hasn't woken up yet, but her condition is stable so far. There's a chance she'll pull through."
"What is that chance?" Brightcloud interrupted her. "And if she does survive, what is to become of her? She can't see anything, oh StarClan! She'll be useless as a warrior, and moving into the elders' den would be too early."
Some cats gasped indignantly. Larkkit could hardly believe what she had just heard. Doesn't Brightcloud love Heatherpaw? Otherwise she wouldn't say something like that.
"No cat is useless here," Hailstar objected. "No matter what happens, Heatherpaw will always be a part of the Clan."
Brightcloud shook her head. "I can't bear to be here anymore," she meowed in a firm tone. "I'm going to leave. My mind is made up."
From that moment on, no one dared to disagree.
Hailstar bowed his head. "Your wish shall not be denied. MoonClan wishes you to find peace elsewhere - wherever that may be. For many moons you were a loyal Clanmate, a true asset to the Clan. But now your heart leads you away from here. From now on, your name should be Bright, to sever ties with Clan life once and for all."
Larkkit's jaw dropped. Normally only cats banished for a crime were stripped of their clan name. Did Hailstar think this decision was such a bad thing?
Thankfully, Brightcloud — no, Bright — nodded and without a goodbye, she moved towards the Hilltunnel.