Tales of the Departed - IrisClan
Fogtail's Challenge
Why should you hold the power of the stars
If you cannot even feel their weight?
Ignoring the looks of his clanmates, the gray tabby brushed past the vines and rushed into the leaderâs den.Â
âFogtail?â Weedstar whined. âYou know Iâm having my alone timeâŠâÂ
âWe need to talk.â
The brown tabby didnât move from his nest.
âNot now.â
âWeedstarââ
âI said, not now!â The leader bristled, making his scrawny body bigger than it truly was. âFogtail, youâre more than capableâ Wait, what happened to you?â
His whiskers twitched in frustration with the blood trails in his den, but he inspected his brotherâs wounds. There were claw marks along his back and his eye⊠was now gone.Â
âThe rogues ambushed us! Dappledsky is dead, and we couldnât even bring her body back!â Fogtail growled, trying to keep his frustration from showing. âThis is what Iâve been telling you. Why would they pass the opportunity to attack when our clanâs been dealing with the sickness!?â
Weedstar stayed silent for a moment.
âWell, they clearly breached our agreement,â He sighed. âFor now, get yourself patched up and tell her family. Iâll think of a plan.â
âFoxdung, a plan!â Fogtail snapped. âYour solution is always talking and thinking, but you never do anything! Did talking fix the rogues? Did thinking fix the sickness?â
âThereâs nothing wrong with peace talks. Itâs not my fault that the rogues betrayed us!â
The leader stepped to the exit as he continued.
âAnd Iâve told everyone to stop catching prey near the river, yet they still end up eating something sick. Why do I have to make the solution to their mousebrained decisions?â
âYou think an apprentice can see it?â Fogtail growled. âYou think itâs their fault the poison is scentless?â
âShouldnât you think you can do something more, Weedstar?â
âUgh, here we go again. Your apprentice is going to be fine!â He scoffed. âSheâs young and sheâll survive. The only ones weâve lost are old bags of bones. Itâll be fineââ
âYou call cats losing their clanmates fine?â Fogtail stepped into Weedstarâs gaze, forcing him to look at his bloodied face. âYou call this fine!?â
âDeath and injuries are part of a warriorâs life. Stop acting immature and get over yourself.âÂ
Fogtailâs claws dug deeper into the ground.
âWhy are you alwaysââ
âI am the leader. You are the deputy,â Weedstarâs voice lost its smooth and carefree tinge. There was no longer any emotion left. âNow, go see the healer. Let Dappledskyâs family know she died nobly. And get those noon patrolsââ
He staggered back, surprised by the blow Fogtail had delivered.Â
Fogtail took a deep breath as the cheek of his brother started to bleed. He shouldnât do this. He had to stay calm. He could stay calm, like all those years ago.
âYouâŠâ He shut his eyes. âYou never knew what a warriorâs lifeâs like.â
Weedstar raised a brow as his brother stayed still, not taking the steps to the denâs exit.
âFogtail,â He sighed. âIâve been doing everything I canââ
A blur of gray and black crossed his vision. Weedstar found himself being dragged out the leaderâs den, and he hit the hard ground below. Surprised gasps and yowls echoed throughout the camp.
âWeedstar,â Fogtail growled from the top of the clanâs hightree. âIâve had enough of your bullshit!â
âIs Weedstar okay? Whereâs Dappledsky?â
âWhatâs going on?â
âIâm caring for enough sick cats! Whyâd you throw him off the tree!?â
The deputy disregarded their whispers and yowls. All he could see was how feeble Weedstar looked.
Was this worthless cat fitting to be called leader? Was this the cat IrisClan looked up to?Â
The one mother oh so loved dearly?
âBy my right under the skies of StarClan, and for the sake of our clanâŠâ
âIs heâŠ?â
âBut Weedstarâs an alrighââ
âFinally!â
âI challenge you for the leadership of IrisClan!â
The leaderâs ears flattened.Â
âYouâŠ! You canât do this, Fogtail!â His meow was suddenly laced with fear. âYou know I have seven livesââ
The gray tabby didnât care as he jumped down, coming face to face with his brother.Â
âOnce the challenge has started, thereâs no turning back,â Fogtail growled. âFight me. Show me what warriorâs life youâve lived. Show me what mother taught you!â
Weedstar gazed around the camp.
âIsnât he gonna move?â
âNo wonder the rogues attacked usâŠâ
ââŠFine! If you die, itâs not my fault. Youâre bringing this upon yourself!â
He shook his pelt and leapt at Fogtail. The gray tabby dodged the blow. Ignoring the pain from his slashed shoulder, he pinned Weedstar down and ripped through his throat.
âThat quickly..!â
âBut he mentioned seven lives. Fogtail isnât going to lastâŠâ
âAre Weedstarâs kits even old enough to be deputy?â
Coughing up the blood from his healed wound, the leader staggered up. His eyes narrowed.
The next lives were all a blur.
The secondâ Weedstar pinned Fogtail down. A moment of hesitation flashed in the tabbyâs eyes. His deputy raked through his belly.
Thirdâ The leader fought harder, giving Fogtail several scratches. He clamped his jaws around Weedstarâs throat.
Fourthâ He didnât let go, but the taste was overwhelming.
Fifthâ The blood clung to his furâ
Sixthâ Shaking pawsâ
Seventhâ
The last. At last.
Weedstarâs body was covered in red.
The clearing was nearly red.
Utter silence filled the camp.
Everyone was afraid.
Fogtail wasâŠÂ
Afraid.
Was this really what he wanted..?
If he really didnât care for Weedstar, why did he spend all that time to help him? To cover for him?
Weedstar wasnât all that bad. His brother had even made him deputy.
A decision made in rage.
But this time, one he couldnât take back.
âStarClan has not intervened,â The healer, Rimethorn, snapped Fogtail out of his trance. He stood before the tom, herbs ready. âThe moon remains uncovered, and to have had the strength to fight⊠It is undeniable that Fogtail is IrisClanâs new leader.â
With a nod, Fogtail allowed him to start wrapping his wounds.
âWe canât follow a murderer!â
âYoung one, these challenges are nothing new to the history of IrisClan.â
âWe needed a strong leader, anyway!â
âI havenât heard of kin doing it beforeâŠâ
âGiven everything maybe they werenât true famiââ
âWeedstar may be imperfect, but he treated me like a real brother,â Fogtailâs voice silenced them all. âIâm sure some of us do⊠care for him deeply. I do not expect you to forgive nor understand my choice. But I will let you know I have done this for the good of the clan.â
The only response from his clanmates was silence. If anyone still disagreed, they didnât make any moves. Not yet.
âRimethorn will need to focus on the sick. I will travel to the Moonstone with only⊠Dogweb and Moonfleck. Until my kin is of age, Gravelpelt will be the acting deputy.â
A spotted blue she-cat stepped forward. Gravelpeltâs expression was sternâ even disapproving. But she was one of the few cats he could trust.
And he knew no cat held any malice or grudges against her.
Under the wary gaze of his clanmates, his group departed.Â
ââŠWas it necessary to challenge Weedstar?â Moonfleck meowed softly. The sand-pelted tabby wasnât afraid, but his green eyes showed concern. âTo kill him?â
ââŠI donât know.â Fogtail blinked. âI⊠I just⊠ItâsâŠâ
He stomped through the forest, trying to get rid of his guilt.
âUgh! Weedstarâs always put so much work on me! Why should he have nine lives when Iâm always putting myself on the line!?â
âI had to do it, Moonfleck,â He hissed. âIâll prove to our clan why.â
âSome of them will put up a fight, Fogtail,â The senior warrior, Dogweb, meowed. âAre you prepared for that?â
âIf thatâs the cost to be leader, so be it,â Fogtail lashed his tail angrily. âOnce we return, do not enter the camp. If I have received my lives, then I should fight.â
About Weedstar and Fogtail - COMING SOON
The Old Clans - COMING SOON
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