Skyclan returns

Chapter 13

Hollywing's pelt bristled as the tom–no, Tigerstar–spoke to her. An icy chill scrawled along her spine and she took an instinctive step back. This was the cat she had heard stories about for so long, the cat who had tried to destroy ThunderClan for his ambitions. She crouched down as if she were preparing for a fight, which, for all she knew, she could very well be, and her tail fluffed out to twice its size. "Go away," Hollywing hissed, glad that her voice didn't tremble with nervousness.

"Hollywing, are you actually going to believe the lies that ThunderClan has been telling you?" Tigerstar asked, his voice like sweet honey. Hollywing wasn't fooled.

"I wasn't just born yesterday," she spat in contempt. "I know what you tried to do."

"I tried to make ThunderClan the strongest Clan in the forest," Tigerstar replied evenly. "If Firestar had merely let me do that, ThunderClan would be the most fierce and intelligent Clan that had ever walked the forest."

"You brought BloodClan to the forest!" Hollywing accused. "You tried to kill Bluestar and so many other cats! You disobeyed the warrior code."

Tigerstar's eyes flashed dangerously for a moment, but then his face was so calm that Hollywing wondered if she had imagined it. "Hollywing, you have the power to be a great leader as well," Tigerstar purred, stepping forward again just as Hollywing took another pace back. "Firestar is weak; it would take nothing at all to kill him. As for Brambleclaw, he's a traitor that should be dealt with as well."

Hollywing's fur pricked up in cold realization at his implications. "You want me to kill my father and leader?" she snarled. "I'm a loyal warrior, unlike you who would go so far as to try to destroy the warrior code!"

"You're just like your father," Tigerstar replied contemptuously, finally showing his anger. "Always talking like you're so noble and great. Let me tell you, you're no better than me. You were happy when you were chosen to take temporary command, even though so many of your Clanmates were sick and another had died, weren't you?"

Hollywing winced as if she had been raked with thorn-sharp claws. "I would never go so far as to kill anyone to get a position of power, unlike you," she retorted.

Tigerstar looked at her smugly, knowing he had hit his mark. "Just think on what I've said," he threw over his shoulder as turned and padded away. "Oh, and congratulations on being chosen to run the camp," he added scathingly.

Hollywing couldn't suppress her rage any longer. Releasing a howl, she leaped at Tigerstar, her claws unsheathed as she raked them down his side. Tigerstar hissed and turned around, striking back at Hollywing. His claws missed her ear by less than a tail-length as she ducked and tried to swipe Tigerstar's paws out from under him. Tigerstar nimbly jumped back out of the way, then leaped forward onto Hollywing. She turned on her back quickly and pounded her hind legs into her opponent's stomach, but to no avail.

Hollywing tried to squirm out of Tigerstar's grasp, but he had her firmly pinned down. "Don't think this is over," he hissed into her ear. Then suddenly the pressure was gone and so too was Tigerstar and Hollywing was back in the warriors den, blinking in the afternoon rays of sunlight that streamed in through the branches overhead.

Hollywing stood up slowly, remembering her dream, then shook her head vigorously as if that would shake off her feelings of dread. It didn't. She stretched and looked around the den, trying to get herself reoriented. Mousewhisker was gone, his nest so cold that Hollywing figured he must have left for the patrol he was assigned to much earlier.

Hollywing emerged from the warriors den and glanced briskly around camp. "Brightheart, Lionclaw, Harepaw!" she called to the cats nearest to her. "We're going on a border patrol. Honeyear, Thornclaw, Whitewing, and Icepaw, can you go on a hunting patrol?"

All of the cats she called walked over to the entrance to gather for the patrols. Harepaw practically bounded out of the apprentice den as she headed over to the thorn tunnel, Icepaw following more slowly behind her. Honeyear and Thornclaw, who had been sharing tongues by the fresh-kill pile, stood up and headed over to meet with Icepaw and Whitewing.

Hollywing stood by the thorn tunnel with Harepaw, who was kneading her paws in anticipation. "What border are we going to patrol?" she asked.

"WindClan's," Hollywing replied after a pause. "Just because ShadowClan attacked SkyClan's camp doesn't mean we can let our guard down around another Clan." At this point, Brightheart and Lionclaw had come to join them and they were heading out of camp.

"That's a good idea," Lionclaw commented. Hollywing glanced at him; she hadn't really talked with him since they had become warriors, and she felt a little guilty. Now more than ever she wanted to tell him about her dream, but she was scared how he would react, so she stopped herself. Besides, they were on a patrol; she couldn't just say something like that in front of Harepaw and Brightheart.

Sighing inwardly, Hollywing took one heavy paw step at a time as the patrol moved through the rustling forest, leaving scent marks and searching for enemies.

---

The trees swayed in a gentle breeze, the evening wearing on quickly. Already the first stars were starting to appear in Silverpelt as Hollywing led the patrol back into camp. Try as she might, she hadn't been able to shake off the dream, and every time she was about to kill her prey, she kept imagining that it was Brambleclaw or Firestar. Just the thought of it made a shiver go down her spine.

Hollywing went to the medicine den, intending to report to Firestar when she stopped outside as she heard Jaysight and Leafpool mewing urgently with one another. "Hurry, Jaysight, get the catmint!" Leafpool told her apprentice.

"We're all out!" Jaysight exclaimed despairingly, desperately it seemed.

"No, this is bad," Leafpool muttered. "We're losing him."

Hollywing rushed into the medicine den, panicked. "What's wrong?" she asked Leafpool, even though she knew what it was as soon as she entered the den. Her stomach twisted harshly as she saw Brambleclaw's still form; if she hadn't overheard the medicine cats' conversation, she would've thought he was already dead. His sides were hardly moving with each breath and the smell of sickness pervaded the air with an ominous prediction of death.

Leafpool shook her head in defeat and Hollywing could see Jaysight's pelt bristling with dread. Unable to bear the sight, Hollywing looked away and quickly went up to Firestar to report that everything was as it should be. He nodded in understanding and she left in a hurry, wanting to be as far away from this place as possible.

Mousewhisker was coming out of the warriors' den just as Hollywing rushed passed it to the fresh-kill pile. "Hey, what's wrong?" Mousewhisker asked, noticing Hollywing's anxiety right away. She shook her head, not able to speak for a moment.

Taking a deep breath, Hollywing finally replied, "Brambleclaw is dying." Mousewhisker placed his tail comfortingly on Hollywing's shoulders, but she felt so out of it that she didn't even notice the gesture. What would she do if Brambleclaw died? It was one thing when Daisy, a cat she barely even knew, died, but what would happen if her father, the deputy of ThunderClan, passed away?

Hollywing was dragged back down to reality when a wail sounded from the medicine den. It was all too clear that that had been Squirrelflight, and there was only one reason why she would ever release such a wild and grief-stricken cry. Jaysight slowly padded out of the medicine den in a defeated sort of way, with his tail dragging and his ears flat against his head. He looked over at Hollywing and shook his head, as if he knew what she was thinking.

Hollywing was barely able to restrain her own yowl of grief as Cloudtail and Thornclaw carried Brambleclaw to the center of the clearing, with the wailing Squirrelflight close behind. Most of the cats had come to see why Squirrelflight was wailing, their pelts bristling in alarm, but when they saw the limp body of their former deputy, everything seemed to dissolve.

Firestar and Leafpool were sitting outside the medicine den, watching the procession with a mixture of grief and stress on both parts. Firestar caught Hollywing's eye and nodded. Surprised, it took Hollywing a moment to realize that Firestar was telling her to start the ceremony.

Standing in the center of the clearing, Hollywing gave the call to gather the Clan together, though it was hardly necessary. Hollywing was astounded that her voice didn't break or even stutter, being as close to snapping as she was. Once she ended, she lay down by her dead father and rested her nose in his fur, already getting cold in the chilly leaf-fall weather.

Each cat came and gave their final respects to their fallen Clanmate, but Hollywing hardly noticed anything through the haze in her mind. Not even Firestar, calling a Clan meeting after everyone who wasn't very close to Brambleclaw had backed away, awakened her to her senses. Mousewhisker nudged Hollywing and she gave him a dull look as he nodded to Firestar. Hollywing sat up and gave her leader a blank look as the Clan regrouped around them.

"I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve my choice," Firestar started, and a ripple of surprise ran through the crowded cats. Was Firestar really going to appoint a new deputy so soon? Hollywing glanced up and was shocked to see that it was already nearing moonhigh; that was most likely the reason why the vigil and the deputy appointment were taking place so soon, but somehow, Hollywing couldn't find it in her to care one way or another.

"The new deputy will be Hollywing," Firestar ended. These words shattered the haze enveloping Hollywing's mind and brought on an awful sense of confusion and heavy weight of responsibility. This was right, it shouldn't be happening. She had only been a full warrior for about two moons and had just been given an apprentice, and now she was supposed to take over from her father as deputy? That was just too much to handle.

A hush had fallen over the clearing as everyone watched Hollywing, and she wondered if they were expecting her to do something. I don't know what to do, she thought, as she continued to stare at Firestar with confusion and a plea for help. "That is all," Firestar ended, then padded back to the medicine den.

Hollywing ran after him, suddenly feeling very angry and frustrated. "Why?" she hissed, sliding to a stop in front of him. "I don't want to be the deputy and you know I have little experience in such matters."

"It was StarClan's will," Firestar replied simply, and walked past her. "I've been uncertain about it until now, but now I know that this is your destiny. I know you will serve your Clan well and try your hardest." With that, Firestar disappeared into the medicine den, leaving behind a still fuming Hollywing.

Hollywing returned to the center of the clearing, where she received a few congratulations before she took up her place in front of her father once again, Squirrelflight on her one side and Lionclaw on the other. Memories of her father flooded into her mind and she felt a fresh throb of pain within herself. Before she knew it, Dustpelt and Squirrelflight were taking Brambleclaw away to be buried, Mousefur still being sick and Longtail still being blind; what shocker there.

Hollywing watched them take him away until he was out of sight before starting to head over to the medicine den. Then she stopped halfway there, turned around, and padded into the warriors' den. There was no way she could face Firestar with her mind in as much chaos as it was and she felt like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all last time when she had the dream about Tigerstar.

Sighing with frustration, Hollywing hardly laid her head down on her paws and wrapped her tail around her when sleep grabbed her and pulled her into its mysterious, unfathomable depths.