Thunder, Clear Sky, and Petal go on the patrol to mark the new border. As promised, Clear Sky has Thunder start. But as Thunder is laying the border they run into Misty. Clear Sky tries to kick her off of their new land but she refuses. Petal attacks her but starts to lose. Clear Sky pins Misty down but she still refuses to leave so Clear Sky kills her. Thunder is worried that Clear Sky will be angry with him for not attacking Misty but instead his father compliments him for his compassion. Thunder doesn't feel complimented, however, instead he feels threatened. Petal leaves to mark the border and Thunder continues marking his section. He finds Misty's kits and realizes that is why she refused to leave. Clear Sky debates killing the kits. Thunder is horrified but Petal returns and offers to raise them. Relieved, Thunder offers to help her. As they bring the kits back to the camp Thunder realizes he doesn't know if Clear Sky would have actually killed them.
Gray Wing wakes up. Some time has passed and he has been working on healing. He and Turtle Tail are also working on healing their relationship. Pebble Heart comes over to him and whispers that he has had another dream. He feels there is something bad on the edge of the trees, past Clear Sky's territory. Just then Wind Runner shows up and jumps onto the rock. Gray Wing can see that everyone is confused since she is acting like their leader. She tells everyone how Frost attacked her and Thunder just watched. Then she announces that Clear Sky has murdered Misty and quite possibly her kits too. Gray Wing is horrified to find out his adopted son is involved in all of this. He asks Pebble Heart if this is what he dreamed of, but the young kit tells him no. The cats want to go attack Clear Sky and Gray Wing realizes things will quickly get out of hand. He asserts himself and calms everyone down while picking some cats to go with him and confront Clear Sky.
The cats enter Clear Sky's territory and find Bumble. She is badly wounded. The area smells of fox - and of Clear Sky. Everyone but Gray Wing decides that Clear Sky did this and Gray Wing realizes this is what Pebble Heart's dream was about. When Clear Sky arrives the other cats want to attack him but Gray Wing wishes to hear his brother's side of the story. Clear Sky tells them he only meant to frighten Bumble out of his territory. When she fainted from hunger he left. When he heard the fox he raced back to Bumble but it was already too late. No one but Gray Wing believes him, and Gray Wing won't speak in his defense. Clear Sky leaves. Turtle Tail and Bumble say their goodbyes to each other. Back at their camp Gray Wing reports on what they found and how they buried Bumble. Some cats - including Wind Runner - want to go attack Clear Sky's group in retaliation. Gray Wing and Tall Shadow calm everyone down, telling them that they cannot do that while worked up over Bumble's death, and that they need to keep an eye on Clear Sky's group. Wind Runner is unhappy but accepts the decision. Gray Wing and Tall Shadow talk aside together. They acknowledge that they are officially running the group together. Gray Wing then talks to Turtle Tail, telling her that he believes Clear Sky when he says Bumble's death is not his fault however he also believes Clear Sky is up to something and he needs to figure it out.
Thunder returns to camp with fresh-kill for Petal and the kits. Then two new cats, Fircone and Nettle, tell him they want to talk in private. They tell Thunder that while they are happy to join a group some of the things - such as killing cats - make them uneasy. They wish Thunder to speak with Clear Sky. They feel he is the only one who can make his father see that some of the cats are unhappy with how out of hand things are getting. Thunder approaches his father and starts to talk about how the land is recovering so maybe they don't need to keep expanding. Silence falls across the clearing as everyone leans in to listen to the conversation. Clear Sky challenges the group, asking if anyone agrees with Thunder however even though many do they are too scared to speak up. Clear Sky calls Frost up and starts to berate him for getting injured. While Thunder does not like the cat he speaks up in Frost's defense. Clear Sky shoves Thunder's face down towards Frost's injury and demands he clean it if he is so worried about it. To Thunder's surprise Quick Water speaks up. She tells Clear Sky that he is supposed to be their leader, not their tormentor. Clear Sky apologizes for not explaining himself better and then orders Thunder to take Frost away and leave him where the maggots will get him. Thunder is horrified that Clear Sky is asking him to abandon someone in their group who has only ever contributed. He refuses. He wonders what he is supposed to do now and then decides the only thing he can do is ask Gray Wing if he can return him. He announces to the cats that he is leaving for good, and taking Frost with him. Everyone starts yelling, either in protest or agreement. Suddenly the fox arrives and Clear Sky blames Thunder for its arrival. He shoves Thunder right into the fox's path and Thunder can't help but wonder if Clear Sky is trying to kill him. Thunder fights off the fox before Leaf and Falling Feather can help him. Leaf has respect in his eyes as he tells Thunder what a good job he did. Clear Sky compliments him, saying a cat taught him well. Thunder coldly responds that it wasn't Clear Sky. Thunder realizes he no longer trusts Clear Sky. He also realizes no one will leave with them. Falling Feather offers to escort the two cats to the border. Thunder and Clear Sky exchange a few more cross words, with Clear Sky telling him if he leaves he can never return. Thunder sees Clear Sky through the trees following them, but his father never says anything. Falling Feather leaves them at the border and the two cats head towards the moor.
Young Pebble Heart is clearly a medicine cat - or at least a future medicine cat. Dreams of the Moonstone, dreams of Bumble's death, plus his knowledge of herbs - these are medicine cat qualities. Cloud Spots might know herbs, but he do not dream. Neither does anyone else who knows of herbs. I wonder if they will in the future?
And I am glad Thunder has left his father's camp. He clearly did not belong there. But that had to be painful and what Clear Sky did to Frost was wrong - however I am shocked no one else joined him. But between Misty's murder, the attempted murder of her kits, tormenting Thunder, and leaving Frost for dead, Clear Sky is clearly a terrible ruler. At this point in time I can't help but wonder if there is any salvaging him.
As for Gray Wing, Tall Shadow, and Wind Runner leadership needs to be clearly defined and soon. It is not fair for everyone else to constantly wonder who is actually in charge. I have a feeling it won't be Gray Wing. Other then the obvious Wind Runner/WindClan, I have a feeling Gray Wing's lungs will never heal.
No comments:
Post a Comment