deputy auditions

it took a lot to get his fur ruffled, since he was very hard to upset, but that leafbare his fur must have been bristling in anger. he could smell the shadowclan scent on the territory close to the border which continued for some time up to a patch of brush littered with snow. it was clear that there was still some shadowclan warrior on their territory for whatever reason they thought to come up with to justify their actions of trespassing, as it was clear there was no scent headed back, and hailcloud was not pleased.

he planned to give whoever it was a piece of his mind, not quite a fight but definitely a scolding. if it was an apprentice, perhaps he'd be a bit more restrictive with his tongue because he knew that all too often the younger cats tended to get a bit too overzealous- running head first after prey not keeping an eye or nose on where the prey was taking them which caused some trespassing accidents. part of him, that was still trying to think logically, even attempted to justify their actions himself; maybe they had no food which pushed them to hunt over the border, and if that was the case, maybe he'd let them go if they split half of their bounty. partially, he thought, because shadowclan had mothers and kittens and elders who didn't need to starve just because windclan couldn't spare a scrawny mouse. they needed to be selfish, he continued, because then they'd survive, but letting some clumsy apprentice run off with a mouse and taking the rest back home shouldn't have been too much of a wrong.

he opened his mouth to speak as the scent lead him to a brush; a sparse bush that seemed a bit out of place that was covered in snow. he wanted to scare the daylights out of whoever it was, as indicated with his slow and quiet movements, yet no words came out of his mouth as his brown-amber eyes landed on the tiny trespasser. this wasn't an apprentice, or a warrior, or even some senile elder who went on a walk and got lost. no, this was a half frozen kitten covered in the scent of shadowclan that was sneezing. dear starclan, of course he was the one out of all the cats in the clan to find a neighbors child, it was just his luck. however, it was also the kits luck too.

hailcloud was known to be a fatherly tom, and he would not neglect a kit or just leave them to die. he was not like that. despite his loyalty, there were things he just refused to do. he was sure if one of his kittens decided to go on an adventure outside of camp, ending up on another territory, that he would be forever grateful if they took care of the child before returning them. no family, regardless of their allegiances, needed to be broken up due to petty rivalries or not being of the same clan the kitten found themselves in. after all, it wasn't the kits fault that they weren't a windclan cat and the kits parents didn't need to loose a child because their kit wasn't a windclan-er either. no, he was not going to let the kit starve or freeze to death; that was also the warrior code, after all, wasn't it? no kit should be neglected, regardless of the clan.

now hailcloud wasn't a doctor, and he knew this cat needed their medicine cat along with some food, but the father side of him knew there was no way this kit was making it back to the camp alive without some warmth. there was snow, it was an open territory so the wind could push the blankets of cold substance covering their territory every which way it wanted, and the temperatures were freezing. so that was his first manner of business, more than willing to lay down in the snow which would melt with his body heat and drench his white fur- he didn't care, youth was more important than a nearly middle aged cat, and pulled the half frozen thing close to him and between his two front paws. he mimicked his mates behavior, licking the fur backwards to get the blood circulating. the kitten was a bit of a big fellow, must have been about four moons and just overly-curious. too curious for their own good. he knew of some of the younger cats like that, one of his children at some point had been like that too. it was an endearing trait, as curiosity was a wonderful thing, but one that shouldn't be fueled too much in his opinion as it got them into situations like the one he was in right now.

he'd continue this for a while, trying to get the ginger cat curled up against his chest warm, before bringing him back. once he hadn't quite accomplished the feat of getting the cat warm, since it was the middle of winter and all, but he was satisfied enough that the kitten wouldn't die on him, he picked the scrawny guy up by the scruff and began to hurriedly make his way back to the camp. the white tom was ready to justify himself, and explain his actions, but he was also ready to stand his ground if any of the more stand-offish cats wanted to throw the kitten out.

Emberlight’s chest heaved a huge sigh as she padded, weary pawed, from the medicine cat’s den and back into the clearing. She was buffeted by a howling, icy wind that raked her whiskers back and brought tears to her eyes. The wind lifted snow from the frozen ground and spun it, creating miniature whispery white cyclones that died as quickly as they were born, but not before they carried grainy snowflakes that hissed into the deputy’s already cold face. The clearing was empty save for these tiny dervishes. Leaf-bare had descended on the four Clans with a vengeance that Emberlight had never before seen. She wondered fleetingly if StarClan was punishing them for some transgression. But no, that could not be it. Scorchstar would have told her if StarClan was unleashing its wrath upon the Clans.

A hacking cough came from behind her. Emberlight glanced over her shoulder at the reeds-and-branches wall that hid the entrance to the medicine cat’s den. Leaf-bare had incapacitated many of her warriors, most of her apprentices, and all but one of the elders. She had just come from visiting those that had fallen ill with whitecough. None of the cats looked good; Emberlight had looked grimly upon noses crusted with snot, streaming eyes, and bodies trembling despite the extra moss that had been salvaged from other dens. The medicine cat did not say that they were worried, but Emberlight didn’t need to hear it. It seemed that heavy paws were pressing down on the medicine cat’s shoulders.

Emberlight understood how they felt. While the medicine cat was waging war against the illness that was ravaging the Clan, Emberlight was desperately trying to find enough food to sustain them. The cold had driven all the prey underground. The river had frozen over moons ago. And now her Clan had ribs showing through their pelts, their eyes dull with hunger. Traveling herbs could only keep them afloat for so long and Emberlight was loathe to replete their stores of herbs any more than was necessary.

The cough petered out behind her, only to be replaced by the thin wail of one of the kits in the nursery. The queens were having a hard time producing milk for their young. The last time that Emberlight had visited the nursery – as Emberlight liked to have an active paw in the molding of RiverClan’s future warriors, and besides they were just plain cute – she had been dismayed by the weakness of queens and kits alike. She had decreed that elders, kits, and the sick were to be given first pick of the prey.

Now all she had to do was find some.

Emberlight trekked resolutely across the clearing and out into the frozen forest. Bare branches creaked and groaned as the wind tore through them. The snow was shallow in certain places and very deep in others, probably the result of the wind whipping it around. Emberlight cursed as she sank chin-deep into a particularly deep spot of snow. Wriggling out of it, already frustrated and frozen to the bone, she bounded onward toward Bunny Burrows. As the driest piece of land in RiverClan during greenleaf, it had the least amount of ice in leaf-bare. That was her best place to perhaps pounce on a piece of prey that was braving the elements for food.

As she approached the Burrows, Emberlight detected the faint scent of RiverClan warriors. Perhaps a hunting patrol? She thought. If her warriors were already here she wasn’t going to clutter up the area with more cat scent. No, she would see if they were almost done and ask how the hunting had been here. After all, hunting wasn’t her strongest skill; if the area had already been depleted for the day she would move on.

She quieted her paws, moving stealthily into the wind through the snowy trees to avoid startling the hunters by noise or scent. Emberlight dropped into a crouch as the scent grew stronger, brushing her ginger belly fur against the cold snow, and she paused, listening intently, to ensure that there was not an active hunt going on before revealing herself. What she heard made her hackles rise.

“Only one rabbit,” Mouseclaw said, his voice mournful. “And it’s mostly skin and bone.”

A soft voice – Blackheart – responded. “It’s better than nothing.” He paused and then said, “We better eat fast and get back to camp. We won’t find anything else today.”

Emberlight shifted slightly, peeking around the trunk of the tree she had stopped behind. The two warriors were indeed sharing a rabbit. Hot anger roared through her and she unsheathed her claws. How dare they! Emberlight did not want to believe what she was seeing. Prey had been scarce, yes, but there were more vulnerable members of the Clan that needed that rabbit more than Mouseclaw and Blackheart. But here they were, gulping down food while their Clan struggled to survive.

They were not just breaking the warrior code. They were doing something so much more unspeakable by eating that rabbit: they were condemning their friends, their kin, their Clan to death with their selfishness! She sank her claws into the snow.

The two warriors quickly finished the rabbit and kicked snow and dirt over its remains. “Remember when we found that squirrel two days ago?” She heard Mouseclaw say as the warriors began to head toward camp, their faces screwed up against the wind. “Wish we’d found another today.”

Emberlight waited until the warriors were out of sight and earshot before she emerged from her hiding place. Her anger had settled into an ice-cold rage that stilled the ferocity humming through her. Her response must be calculated, measured; she must make an example out of Mouseclaw and Blackheart so that no RiverClan cat would ever dare to do what those two traitors had just done. Emberlight lashed her tail once before she too turned and headed for camp.

Every paw-step was heavy with the knowledge of what she was about to do. Emberlight would not allow herself to feel sorrow for the punishment that she already had in mind. She padded into camp with her head up, her pale yellow-green eyes narrowing as she spotted Mouseclaw and Blackheart convening with other warriors who had just returned from hunting. Now was the time to act.

She padded her way over to the group. “How was the prey running?” Emberlight meowed, eyes flicking from face to face. A new warrior, fresh-faced, said that his patrol had found a few pieces of prey but nothing substantial. “And you?” She turned her attention to Mouseclaw and Blackheart.

Both toms shook their heads. “Nothing, Emberlight.” Mouseclaw meowed.

“Is that so?” Emberlight said softly. And now they are lying to my face! She turned and padded to the center of the clearing. The hunters followed her slowly; they were now looking at her with apprehensive expressions. “And you did your best, Mouseclaw, Blackheart, since your Clan will die in these conditions without food?”

Blackheart took a step forward. “Emberlight, the prey is scarce.”

Her gaze sharpened into a stony glare. “Traitor.” Voice soft with menace, Emberlight said, “I call you both traitors.”

Fear began to spark in Blackheart’s eyes. “Emberlight – ”

“Traitors!” She hissed. “I accuse you both of breaking the warrior code by hunting for yourselves, and in doing so turning your backs on your weakened Clanmates. There is no use denying it. I saw you with my own eyes eat that rabbit that should have gone to the elders and kits. I am ashamed of you both. Ashamed that you would betray your Clan like this.” She paused, the tip of her tail twitching contemptuously. “And I am ashamed that you are RiverClan. If I have my way, you both will be demoted to apprentices and will go nowhere outside of camp without a warrior.” Emberlight bared her teeth at them. Her voice was thick with anger as she continued. “We three are going to see Scorchstar, and you will be truthful about your prey stealing or I will see to it that you will never set paw in RiverClan territory again. Am I understood?”

Blackheart and Mouseclaw nodded mutely. They looked appropriately horrified but she was not satisfied with their response.

“I asked, am I understood?” She snarled.

“Yes, Emberlight,” the two warriors responded.

Emberlight jerked her head toward Scorchstar’s den. “Go.” As the two toms padded away, their heads low, she turned to the small knot of warriors that had watched. “Learn from their mistakes,” she growled, fixing them all in a firm stare. “Neither I nor Scorchstar will tolerate that kind of behavior. This leaf bare is hard, but we will get through it so long as we support each other.” With a last nod, Emberlight squared her shoulders and followed Blackheart and Mouseclaw to Scorchstar’s den.