"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather under the Great Oak!"
Slipping out from the medicine cats' den, trying to avoid the yellow-glare of Dappleddusk, Brightstorm looked up to direction of the Great Oak. Oatstar was climbing to the thick branch that gave the perfect vantage point over the clearing--and, Brightstorm noted to herself, with more skill than previous attempts--and the uneasy clan cats already milling about making way over.
The long fingers of dawn had begun to stretch out over the camp, signaling the end of the vigil. Her three kits all still sat silent near Bayspots, the only to look in her direction being Frostspots. Her copper eyes narrowed in gentle disappointment, likely let down by her mother avoiding her own mate for the entirety of the vigil, and she could not bear to meet her gaze for too much long.
"With the rise of the sun, we wish Bayspots a smooth journey to StarClan, and honor her time here with the clan," Oatstar said, and for a beat, Brightstorm could see her mother in him. While many doubted his leadership abilities and whether Darkstar had made the right choice, it was clear he had paid attention to how she addressed the clan.
"Sparrowshadow, Frostspots, Sandfeather--will you help the elders in burying Bayspots?"
The three siblings nodded, with Frostspots glancing again in Brightstorm's direction, while the other two focused wholly on Bayspots. It was strange seeing her so still when in life, she had been so active.
Was she truly in StarClan? Was she looking down upon them in disappointment for what they did to her?
"Now, I know everyone is worried about Eagleburn..."
"The murderer?" hissed Sandfeather, resulting in a ripple of murmurs through the collective of cats.
In a moment of rare assertiveness, Oatstar stomped his forepaw against the branch he stood upon.
"Would you accuse Bayspots the same if she returned with Eagleburn's body?" snapped Oatstar, and Sandfeather recoiled, ears flattening. "All we know is that they both fought. We can't change the outcome."
Letting the cats settle, Oatstar soon continued, "Eagleburn has been nothing but a trustworthy warrior and deputy to this clan. He has never demonstrated any ulterior motives, never has been caught breaking the warrior code, and has always been loyal. Is there any cat willing to deny this?"
Silence controlled the crowd, and Brightstorm, even in the heart of it, felt her skin crawl beneath her fur. She felt as though all eyes were stuck to her, knowing that there had to be more, knowing that she had to know something. The fact they were right bothered her that much more.
"After speaking with Beewatcher and Dappleddusk, we've all agreed that Eagleburn will be relieved of his duties as deputy until he has fully healed, and until we can decide what exactly caused Bayspots to lash out. We understand that everyone is on edge, so he'll be staying in the medicine cats' den under their watch."
Another wave of whispers coursed through the group until Oatstar lifted his tail.
"If anyone has questions, please talk to me, Dappleddusk, or Beewatcher. For now, lets focus on saying goodbye to Bayspots."
Adjourning the meeting with a wave of his tail, Oatstar leaped down to join the elders and warriors in bidding Bayspots a final farewell before she was taken to the burial grounds. Brightstorm, feeling rooted to the spot, only managed to rise when realizing how many curious eyes were upon her. They were surely wondering why she was so reclusive, what she had heard when she had visited Eagleburn, and bowing her head, she hurried to say her farewells to Bayspots.
"This is real, isn't it, Mama?"
Sparrowshadow met her with sorrowful eyes, ears drooping in grief.
"I keep hoping it's a dream."
"I know, my love, I know," Brightstorm murmured, headbutting her son gently and rubbing their cheeks together. "I'm sorry I did not sit with you--I... I was struggling. I'll go with you to the burial place."
Nodding, Sparrowshadow seemed satisfied and ready to forgive Brightstorm for her absence, while her other kits studied her with expressions she could not decipher. Sandfeather turned her head away as she approached, and Frostspots could only offer a solemn look, and Brightstorm took a pawstep back, accepting that both she-cats needed room.
"Let's go," said Oatstar, and with a nod, the cats, joined by three of the clan's elders, gently lifted Bayspots up, and moved in unison to take her to her final resting place.
I'm sorry, Bayspots, Brightstorm thought, gently pressing her nose against her flank. But... maybe Eagleburn was right. Maybe this was for the better.
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The deafening wail of Brightstorm's anguished cry alerted the entirety of the camp. Suntuft poked out her head from the nursery to investigate, while warriors beginning their day turned away from their fresh-kill and grooming to look.
Paws planted in the center of camp, frozen to the packed earth, Brightstorm could not begin to believe what she saw.
"Eagleburn, what happened?!"
Black fur slick with blood, and mouth full of Bayspots's fur as he dragged her in by the scruff, with a tenderness he did not particularly care to part unto the she-cat, he set her down softly upon the camp floor. Immediately did Brightstorm swarm them, her heart cleaving in two at the sight.
Her Bayspots, her beloved Bayspots--
The ground gave way beneath her, and were it not for Eagleburn's strong, sturdy shoulder suddenly against her flank to hold her steady, Brightstorm would have collapsed.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, giving her a soothing lick to the ear, but Brightstorm was numb to it.
Her eyes were transfixed to Bayspots, struggling to parse that this was reality, and not just a bad dream.
"What's going on?"
Dappleddusk trotted out, followed by Oatstar and Beewatcher. The medicine cat pulled herself by both to check on Bayspots, flashing a grim look to Dappleddusk.
"I don't know if it is wise for me to discuss it out here," quietly Eagleburn suggested, head turning in the direction of Oatstar's scent.
"If this may be a danger to the rest of us, we should know!" yowled a warrior in the growing crowd, and a chorus of meows rose in agreement.
Beewatcher shifted focus to check on Eagleburn's injuries, glancing elsewhere again, but this time at Oatstar.
Their leader looked terrified, unable to mask his fear as he looked between the bloodied body of Bayspots, and how ravaged Eagleburn looked, fresh wounds still dripping onto the dry, cold earth.
"Oatstar, this is your decision," prompted Beewatcher quietly, and he quickly shook himself out. Had he not known better, he would have almost sworn that Eagleburn's blind eyes were looking coldly upon him.
"It's okay, Eagleburn," meowed Oatstar, voice lifting to feign confidence and strength, when in reality, his legs felt feather-weak. "I think it'll be better you explain what happened. Otherwise rumors might spread."
Eagleburn, quiet for a long moment, finally bowed his head in obedient acknowledgement.
"... Bayspots tried to take my life."
A gasp rippled through the gathered cats. For the first time, Brightstorm's head whipped back up, eyes blown wide as she looked at Eagleburn in shock.
"She lured me out into the woods under the pretense of discussion, and attacked me. I had only intended to knock her out and bring her back, but I..."
Eagleburn lowered his head, ears flattening. The clan was like quiet chaos--whispers of shock rippled throughout, news spreading like wildfire even to the elders' den. Some apprentices were gently shooed away from older warriors, trying to spare them the gruesome sight. But from the crowd, three cats emerged.
"You murderer!"
Sandfeather's devastated shriek split the camp in two, parting ways like a shifting tide as she rushed forward. Before she could reach Eagleburn her siblings, Sparrowshadow and Frostspots, cut her off, blocking her way to the deputy. Eagleburn stood firm, unshaken by the attempt.
"You killed her! Why would you kill her?!" Sandfeather sobbed, and Eagleburn dipped his head.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, and finally did Brightstorm find her paws, joining her kits in consoling Sandfeather. "I didn't want to, I..."
"Let's not debate morals out here."
Beewatcher's stern voice cut off any further heated debate. The young she-cat was a commanding presence, and as Sandfeather was soothed with licks and purrs from her siblings and remaining parent, the medicine cat pushed way between the groups.
"I have looked over Bayspots's body, and Eagleburn as well. His story lines up. She has black fur in between her claws, just as he has gray in his own. And by the patterns of bite and claws marks on his body..."
Eagleburn held still as she lifted a demonstrating paw, gliding it over the visible marks on his chest, neck, and shoulders.
"She was trying to go for a killing bite. Without her here with us to tell her story, there's no use throwing accusations."
The crowd quieted under Beewatcher's stern eyes, and Dappleddusk strode up, providing her daughter with the additional support of her fierce presence.
"I have one request," Eagleburn said, and all turned to him, curious.
"I would like Dappleddusk to serve as interim deputy while I prove my innocence. If that is okay with you, Oatstar."
Oatstar, hesitating, quickly nodded, not seemingly delighted to have his deputy swapped out, but seeing no good reason to argue otherwise.
"That is fine. Dappleddusk, do you agree?"
While still displaying an outwardly stern and severe mask, it wasn't too difficult to see that Dappleddusk was surprised, but likewise preening under the fact she had been chosen for such an important role.
"Of course," she meowed. "Anything for the clan."
Oatstar nodded his confirmation, and finding his voice, he waved his tail.
"Eagleburn, you will stay in the medicine cats' den for the time being while we sort this out. Brightstorm, are you in good enough condition to help prepare Bayspots's vigil...?"
Flank warmed by Suntuft's arrival, Brightstorm found the strength to nod.
"Okay. While we don't know if Bayspots really did attack Eagleburn without any other witnesses, she still deserves a proper vigil. StarClan will be her final judgment."
The camp was silent, save for Sandfeather's crying. It seemed the chaos of the moment had passed as shock overtook everything. Could such a loyal warrior have turned against their own deputy? And why would she have done such a thing?
Eagleburn knew what questions ran through all of their minds, but he had to play his part carefully. To reveal everything here and now could be a dangerous play, and for the time being, he softly meowed to Beewatcher that he was ready to follow her to the medicine cats' den.
Like a prisoner of war, DawnClan's deputy was led away by Beewatcher and Dappleddusk, the other medicine cats watching curiously from the maw of the den.
Her world flipped upside down, Brightstorm could barely hear the words of condolences and comfort spared to her by her clanmates. Her mind was a whirling mess, and the only one who could bring answers to all of these questions was being guarded in the medicine cats' den.
i did a whoopsidoodle and forgot to mention it (i think), but some moons ago, bayspots and brightstorm had their first litter! the two cats aren't on good terms at this time, with bayspots seemingly falling out of love with brightstorm, but at the time of their litter's birth, both she-cats had been smitten.
fresh into matehood, it made sense that quickly after, kits would arrive.
brightstorm was the one to carry their litter, but after a difficult birth she nearly died from, the two she-cats agreed that this would be their last litter.
they both cherished and doted on their kits as a result, perhaps spoiling them too much at times. all three cats are now young adults thriving in the clan, demonstrating themselves to be pillars of their community much like brightstorm and their grandmother, boulderfrost.
now, onto the kits in question...
(ignore how sandfeather is somehow younger, they were all born in one litter, but maybe i hecked up the code when editing ages for the older cats?)
SANDFEATHER is a young she-cat with a voracious appetite for life. the first to go galloping out of the den with bayspots worriedly trotting after her, while brightstorm quietly basked in how similar her daughter was to her, sandfeather has an unwavering spirit of adventure. she has recently escaped the terrible, awful confines of the nursery after giving birth to brightstorm and bayspots's first set of grandkits!
... well, almost escaped.
one of the nursery helpers has to wrangle her back often, reminding her that until her kits are apprentice-aged, they rely on her for nutrition and guidance.
much as she loves her little ones, she itches to go exploring again.
SPARROWSHADOW, the only tom-cat from the litter. keen and intelligent, he often was the one encouraging sandfeather onward and using her as a means of testing things.
what would happen if she climbed to the top of the tree where a bee's nest was? could she knock down the honey if she broke the branch as its weakest point, and also avoid getting stung?
now that he's older, he's much better about not unnecessarily risking his sister (and himself!) for their hare-brained schemes. he enjoys doting on his new niblings, and has the strongest connection out of the three with bayspots.
FROSTSPOTS, the second she-cat of the litter. once with a similarly huge appetite for adventure like her sister, after getting lost in the leaf-bare snow on one such adventure, she withdrew deep within herself. that trip out of camp cost her a foreleg to frostbite, and while she has learned how to fulfill her warrior duties on three legs, she doesn't do them with as much excitement as her kin.
reserved, quiet, and cautious, frostspots prefers playing kitsitter to her niblings, and has a lot of unspoken anxiety surrounding her parents' deteriorating relationship.
those wisest in the clan will point out that frostspots is the best cat to go to for any and all information. keen and always keeping tabs, she knows about almost all of the latest quarrels, the whereabouts of any cats, and more.
she doesn't see this as a strength of hers, but a weakness from her constant fear of things going wrong.
