Palewing's Tale (One-Shot)

[Herontail]

Before you read, please keep in mind that this is a oneshot, which means there won't be more added to it. Enjoy!

Palewing ran back to camp as fast as she could. She didn’t know what to think of what just happened. She didn’t want to think about it.
Cats yowled in surprised as the new warrior charged into ShadowClan camp. Before she could stop herself, she collided into another warrior, Breezefeather. He screeched and fell over, groaning in pain. “Watch where you’re going! Are you hurt?” he asked.
“No time for that! Get up!” Palewing said hurriedly. “Crowstar’s dead!”
Everyone went silent. Crowstar? Dead? It couldn’t be; he had eight lives! Even the chipper Breezefeather was quiet. An orange she-cat named Redclaws approached. “Show us,” she said, her eyes narrowed. “I want to see this for myself.”
No one argued with Redclaws. They all wanted to see if Palewing wasn’t just crazy. She nodded and padded out of camp, with Redclaws, Breezefeather, and the medicine cat, Ravenblaze close by. It didn’t take long for Palewing to see the black, bloody corpse of her former leader, with ShadowClan’s deputy, Bramblewind, standing over it. “Good, you brought Ravenblaze,” Bramblewind said. “Please tell me you can help him!”
As Ravenblaze felt Crowstar’s breathing and body temperature, Redclaws examined his wounds. Breezefeather and Palewing stood back, unsure what to do. After what felt like forever, Ravenblaze sighed. “He’s had all of his lives ripped out. What could have the power to do that?”
“Or, rather, who?” Redclaws growled, unsheathing her claws. “Crowstar didn’t just die. He was killed. See those teeth marks on his neck? They’re too small to be a badger’s. A fox wouldn’t leave out potential prey, especially when all there is to eat around here is frogs. Plus, wouldn’t there be pawprints everywhere? Or perhaps blood on his claws? Whoever killed him either took him by surprise or was someone he trusted.”
Bramblewind glared at Redclaws. “How do you know this?”
“Back then, it wasn’t uncommon to see a murdered cat. My mentor taught me how to notice these things. He did turn out to be the one who killed one of those cats, though…” Redclaws replied.
“We should let ShadowClan mourn for their leader,” Palewing interrupted.
***
Bramblewind, now Bramblestar, stood on the branch over her new den. She gazed at the numerous cats gathered below her, as if she was studying them. “It is time to choose a deputy,” she said. The silence grew tense. “Bluepelt, will you accept?”
“Yes,” Bluepelt said without hesitation.
“Then our new deputy is Bluepelt.”
Palewing and Redclaws glanced at each other, thinking the same thing: why hasn’t Bramblestar mentioned StarClan once? Why hasn’t she talk about getting her nine lives?
“Now, I want to make this clear: there will be some new rules,” Bramblestar said, before listing them.
1. We do not honor StarClan anymore. They haven’t helped us in our times of need, so we shall abandon them as well. Similarly, the Dark Forest will not be respected, either.
2. Remember the code: the leader’s words are final. Do not speak against me.
3. No matter what anyone says, even Bluepelt, always make sure your leader isn’t against your plans, whether that be fights or patrols.
4. Acknowledge that the other clans are your enemies. Do not speak with them, even during a gathering. Remember that they are there to steal information and use it against you.
5. Failure to comply with your new rules will result in punishment, as minor as an apprentice task to as major as being killed.

Everyone was silent.
“Speak now if you have anything against these rules. Keep in mind you’d already be breaking the second law,” Bramblestar growled.
Nothing.
“Good. Clan dismissed.”
***
Palewing smiled as Scorchpaw brought back a limp frog. “Good job! You’re doing so well!” she said, praising her apprentice.
Scorchpaw, however, didn’t look happy. “I don’t like these rules,” he uttered.
“Me neither, but don’t say that out loud,” Palewing whispered.
“What’s the Dark Forest, anyway?” Scorchpaw asked.
Palewing thought for a moment. “Well, it’s like StarClan, except bad cats go there. Some Dark Forest cats are alright, but a lot of them go crazy from being stuck in eternal darkness and, thus, lash out at both the living cats, who are free from the binds of death, and StarClan, who died and received better afterlives,” She explained.
Scorchpaw’s eyes widened. “Tell me more!”
“Well, all I can say is that the Dark Forest’s first act of war was to cause a great battle that costed many lives, and their most recent petty revenge scheme had been to persuade a bunch of cats to kill other cats. One of the killed cats was Smokefang, our old deputy, killed by Blackflight, Redclaw’s mentor. Bluepelt, Breezefeather’s old mentor and our new deputy, would’ve also been killed by Blackflight if I hadn’t stopped him,” Palewing said.
Scorchpaw smiled. “I’m so glad you’re my mentor,” he said.
“Me too,” Palewing smiled back.
***
The Gathering had come. Many cats were on the island, but they were all anxiously chattering amongst each other. It was worrying.
The four leaders, Bramblestar, Creekstar, Oakstar, and Lilystar, watched their clans from atop a large stone. It wasn’t long until Lilystar, the leader of WindClan, called for the meeting to begin. “Cats of all clans, I am ashamed to say that our old leader, Jaystar, has died,” she said. Everyone started muttering, but they were quickly silenced when she continued speaking. “As the leader of WindClan, I have made new rules for my clan to follow. We now worship the Dark Forest, speaking back at me is prohibited, all plans must be agreed to by me before they can be followed, and all cats must acknowledge that all other clans are their enemies. Failure to comply results in punishment, as minor as an apprentice task to as major as being killed.”
When Oakstar of ThunderClan spoke, it was eerily almost the same as Lilystar’s speech, word by word. The only difference was that worship in general, similar to Bramblestar’s rules, weren’t allowed. Creekstar had the same speech as well, except her clan still honored StarClan. Finally, Bramblestar spoke the same words as everyone else, naming the rules she had enforced on ShadowClan.
It was scary.
When ShadowClan returned home, Palewing saw Redclaws and Ravenblaze whispering together. The two she-cats quickly started digging into their frogs when Bramblestar entered camp.
It wasn’t the last time Palewing saw them together. The next time she saw them, they were sneaking out of camp. This repeated for the next few days until Palewing couldn’t handle it. When they started leaving, Palewing hurried to them. “Where are you going?” she whispered.
Ravenblaze turned to leave without another word, but Redclaws hissed at her. “We can trust Palewing. She’s been as unhappy as us.”
“Fine,” Ravenblaze said, narrowing her eyes. “If she betrays us, however, I want her to know I can fight just as well as a warrior.”
Palewing found herself traveling with the two all the way to the island where Gatherings were held. To her surprise, she saw other cats there. From ThunderClan was Ryefur and Leafstrike. Turtleheart, Kiteshine, and Kestreltooth were RiverClan cats. WindClan only had one cat: Meadowpaw. “Hello!” Turtleheart said cheerfully. “You guys brought two new cats? Great!”
“Actually,” Ravenblaze spoke. “We only brought Palewing.”
“But what about the apprentice?”
Everyone turned around and saw Scorchpaw, sheepishly lying down in an awkward stalking position. “What are you doing here?” Palewing whispered.
“I wanted to join the meeting! I’ve seen one of them and I wanted to help get rid of the leaders,” Scorchpaw replied.
“So, that’s what this is? A rebellion?” Palewing asked. “Well, count me in.”
“You know what would be perfect?” Kestreltooth chimed in.
Kiteshine rolled her eyes, even though she, too, was smiling. “Here we go.”
“You guys should’ve convinced Breezefeather to come!” Kestreltooth complained. “That way, everyone who agrees with us would be here!”
“He’s a coward, though,” Ravenblaze growled. “Plus, we need to make plans to overthrow the leaders.”
Ryefur nodded. “We should start with Bramblestar; she only has one life and will be the easiest to take down. Plus, her warriors are tough- “
“Except for Breezefeather,” Ravenblaze chimed in.
“So if we defeat Bramblestar, we will have them on our side. Now, we need plans and information, preferably from Ravenblaze, Redclaws, Palewing, or Scorchpaw.”
***
The cats of ShadowClan gathered beneath the branch where Bramblestar sat on. “In case you haven’t heard, Lilystar’s cats have crossed the border, undoubtedly stealing prey. We must attack!”
Cats yowled in agreement. Redclaws unsheathed her claws and yowled along, and Palewing did the same. Breezefeather was the only one who didn’t yowl. “Bramblestar?”
Everyone suddenly went quiet. Bramblestar leaped from her branch to face Breezefeather. “What?” she growled.
“They just crossed the border. We have no proof they stole prey! You don’t need to attack them,” he said.
Bramblestar’s eyes widened for a moment. “You dare disobey me?!” she snarled. “Keep going, I want to hear every word you say that’ll make your punishment worse than it already is at this moment.”
Breezefeather opened his mouth to speak, took one long look at Bramblestar, then shut his mouth. “Of course, Bramblestar,” he said, bowing his head in submission.
“Now, ShadowClan, to WindClan!” Bramblestar yelled.
***
Many battles have passed. Old wounds kept reopening and new ones always appeared. Herbs were so low, all the cats could do was lie down and hope for their wounds to heal. Or perhaps to die from blood loss. No one was sure which fate was better.
Poor Breezefeather had been subjected to hunting for the elders without a meal for a few days. It was only when he was growing weak from starvation when Bramblestar allowed him to eat a rabbit they had plundered from WindClan’s fresh-kill pile. Fortunately, the day to attack had come. Outside the very camp, Ryefur, Leafstrike, Turtleheart, Kiteshine, Kestreltooth, and Meadowpaw sat in the tall pine trees, ready to fight. All Ravenblaze had to do was yowl, “Attack!” and all the cats would rush in to kill Bramblestar.
Palewing sat next to Redclaws and Ravenblaze, eating the oddest assortment of prey (squirrel, fish, and thrush respectively), when Ravenblaze turned her head towards them and whispered, “We’ll do it once we finish eating. Palewing and Redclaws nodded.
Too soon and too long after, their prey was nothing but a pile of bones, feathers, and fur. Everyone was chattering amongst themselves. Everything was peaceful. Next thing they knew, Ravenblaze had yelled, “Attack!” and everyone was fighting.
Ravenblaze ran to aid Scorchpaw and Meadowpaw, who were fighting a powerful warrior named Badgerstripe, so it was just Palewing and Redclaws who rushed towards Bramblestar. Before they could reach her, however, Bluepelt jumped in front of them and clawed them.
Even when Palewing and Redclaws fought together, Bluepelt proved to be too powerful. They barely scratched him while he tore their fur and left them many more scars. They were going to lose!
“Stop!” Breezefeather leaped in between the three cats. “Bluepelt, what are you doing?”
“Fighting for my leader, of course!” Bluepelt growled.
Breezefeather smiled. “Well, yeah, but remember what you used to tell me when I was an apprentice and you were my mentor?”
“What?”
“’The world is always full of surprises, so always be careful.’”
“…What are you saying?”
“Well, I’m saying that I’m about to beat you myself.”
Next thing Palewing knew, Breezefeather was on top of Bluepelt, digging his claws deep into his fur and pinning him down with extraordinary strength. “Now, you two should go find Bramblestar. She isn’t going to just lie down and die.”
Redclaws nodded and rushed towards Bramblestar, hissing. Palewing followed, claws unsheathed.
Bramblestar was sitting on top of the branch, staring at the battle with glee, when Redclaws jumped onto the branch with her. Bramblestar hissed, getting ready to fight. “Traitor!” she spat.
“What are you going to do? Kill me for being a traitor?” Redclaws mocked.
“I can and I will!”
“Well, fine by me,” Redclaws said. “Especially if I take you down with me.”
With that, Redclaws charged towards Bramblestar and tackled her, sending them both flying off the branch. Before they hit the ground, Bramblestar kicked Redclaws off of her, and they both landed on the ground with a sickening “Crack!”
“Redclaws!” Palewing shrieked, but before she could run towards her friend, Bramblestar stated laughing coldly.
Although Bramblestar was dying, her voice was clear and strong. “You really think you’ve stopped us, Palewing?” she chuckled, smiling cruelly. “Bramblestar may die, but I will live. As long as there is evil in the clans, the Dark Forest will never die. The Dark Forest will prevail! The Dark Forest will prevail! The Dark Forest will prevail!”
With that, Bramblestar died, and whatever spoke to Palewing at the end was gone. She shook the feeling of dread she had gotten away and ran towards Redclaws. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Redclaws didn’t nod. Or shake her head. Or move. Or breathe. She had died as well.
Palewing stopped herself from crying and turned her head towards the fighting cats. “Bramblestar is dead!” she yelled.
Breezefeather let go of a horribly scarred Bluepelt, who quickly tried cleaning his wounds. He, Badgerstripe, and all the other ShadowClan cats that followed Bramblestar acted as if they had woken up from a bad dream and they could remember everything that happened in it.
While the cats cleaned their wounds and Ravenblaze tried to help them without herbs, Palewing thought to herself. Bramblestar had been controlled by a Dark Forest cat... does that mean the rest of the leaders were as well? What would happen to ShadowClan now, with two of their leaders and one of their greatest warriors dead? What would happen to the other clans, with their leaders controlled by cats who have grown insane? Could they save them without murdering innocent leaders?
Palewing sighed. Whatever they did, the clans would stick together to drive out the Dark Forest, no matter how many times they tried to attack. After cleaning some of her own wounds, she padded towards the scarred cats to tell them everything.

Is there anything that bothers you? Or something you really enjoyed? Please share your thoughts! I will be improving this story if I ever have the time. And yes, I purposely ended on a cliffhanger.


You can also ask silly questions, like some fun facts about the character's backstories. Have a nice day!