viperfoot

~~~

MINTBERRY'S SURPRISED EXPRESSION could almost compete with the one Viperfoot wore when he heard about the prophecy.

Viperfoot cursed himself. In the heat of the moment, he'd forgotten about injured Snakestrike, who was in the medicine den to await his treatment. "Mintberry, I'm sorry, I forgot he was there, he's just here to-"

Mintberry stood up suddenly, disappearing into the herb storage. When she came out, she carried herbs and cobwebs, working on Snakestrike quickly. Anyone could tell that she wanted to get him out of the medicine den quickly.

"Ow-" Snakestrike winced as she pushed down rather harshly with the cobwebs.

"Okay, you're all done," Mintberry mewed stiffly, straightening.

Snakestrike sat up. "Can I have a poppy seed or something? My wounds are-"

"No, we're running low, you're fine," the gray tabby answered. "Out you go, now, you need rest, deputy."

As Snakestrike slipped out of the medicine den, Viperfoot bid Mintberry a quick farewell before following. It was only sunhigh.

Viperfoot hoped to talk to Snakestrike about... Well, everything. How to proceed about the Great Secret was pretty high up on the list. But his brother didn't seem to share the same thought, not even glancing back at Viperfoot as he limped into the leaders den.

Viperfoot sighed. ShadowClan's leader and deputy were injured. Great, just great. What was Snakestrike thinking, throwing himself at the rogues?

But the large gray tom's attention shifted when he caught a flash of tortoiseshell fur in the corner of his eyes. Briarlight.

The tortoiseshell she-cat was heading for the fresh-kill pile, but Viperfoot jumped in front of her, halting her in her tracks. Briarlight's yellow eyes narrowed, but Viperfoot spoke before she could say anything.

Because the prophecy was about him and his siblings, so why would Rainstar know it?

Because Briarlight mentioned that Lilylight had been meeting up with another Clan's tom, that Viperfoot and his littermates were half-Clan.

That could only lead to one conclusion:

"My dad's from RiverClan."

Briarlight's face wrinkled. "What?"

"My dad - Icestrike - was a RiverClan cat," Viperfoot repeated firmly. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Briarlight let out a dry laugh. "Sure, you're right. Congratulations, you've figured it out. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"Why didn't anyone tell me before?" Viperfoot interrupted. He could feel himself trembling. "You're my aunt. Why didn't you - or anyone else in this Clan - tell me?"

Briarlight hummed. "What's the point? Have you suddenly saved the world because you found out you're half RiverClan? No." The tortoiseshell flicked her tail. "The Clan doesn't like to talk about ugly history, and my sister bringing a RiverClan tom to the Burnt Sycamore almost every night seems to be pretty ugly history. Nobody wants to think about it, just like nobody wants to discuss the fact that Ivorystar's dad is a loner."

"What?" This was news to Viperfoot. "Isn't- isn't her dad Eaglestorm?" Frozenpaw and Sweetpaw's was, and he'd assumed they were all from the same parents.

Briarlight rolled her eyes. "Does Ivorystar look like she's Eaglestorm's kit?"

The tortoiseshell had a point there; Eaglestorm, a tom with orange fur and yellow eyes, was obviously Frozenpaw and Sweetpaw's dad, but Ivorystar and Clearfrost had none of his features.

"Now if I were you, I wouldn't bring this up again," Briarlight meowed. "I've known Ivorystar since she was a kit, and she, more than most, hates the ugly history. And she's got plenty of that with your mother."

The tortoiseshell didn't say any more, dodging around Viperfoot to the prey pile. The large gray tom stared wordlessly after her, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Ivorystar and Lilylight were close enough to once have history together, even though it might've turned ugly. They might've been friends, enemies, who knows.

Before Viperfoot could ponder on this any longer, Snakestrike appeared from the leaders den, leaping - the best he could with his injuries - onto the Clanrock. "Let every cat of ShadowClan gather around the Clanrock for a Clan meeting!"

Confused murmurs were passed around, but eventually, Viperfoot and his Clanmates found themselves a spot around the Clanrock. Viperfoot took a seat next to Frozenpaw, giving the white she-cat a 'I've got news' look.

Frozenpaw nodded and mouthed 'Tell me later'.

"As you all know," Snakestrike meowed, his voice booming across the clearing, "there have been no attacks from RiverClan for the past few moons. We believe that they're weakened by Splashfoot's death, which means we need to take this opportunity.

"An attack of our own has been planned, on WindClan. They're closer and hypothetically easier to take out. With them down, we'll easily move onto RiverClan and win the war."

Cats immediately turned to their friends, meowing excitedly at the prospect. The war, the seemingly never ending war that's dragged on for several seasons, might finally come to a close, with ShadowClan as the victor. Snakestrike had to yowl to get attention again.

"But this attack can't go wrong! It either makes or breaks us," the deputy meowed.

More like it makes or breaks him, Viperfoot thought, twitching his pelt. It's his chance to prove himself, so it has to go right.

"I want everyone to be put into training again," Snakestrike continued. "We'll have rotations set up for running, climbing, and combat: offense and defense. I need every cat to have double the strength, stamina, and speed they have now. Patrols will still be run, but out of that time, you're expected to be training. Ivorystar and I will oversee this."

"Snakestrike." A voice piped up from the crowd - Eaglestorm, Frozenpaw and Sweetpaw's dad. The orange tom was staring intensely at the deputy when he spoke. "When you say everyone, do you mean-"

"Everyone, I mean everyone," Snakestrike mewed firmly. "Warriors, elders-"

Murmurs started at his words, but Viperfoot could tell most cats were excited. They were excited over the prospect of attacking WindClan, of training again, the elders especially. Viperfoot saw Tigerstrike give Frostlight an eager look.

"-even the kits."

Now those words caused a bit more negative commotion. Tigerstrike, originally happy at the prospect of training for everyone, now raised his voice angrily. "Kits?! You can't train kits, Snakestrike!"

Snakestrike looked at the elder coolly. "And why's that?"

"It's against the Warrior Code!" Tigerstrike spat. "Plus, what will you need to train them for? Are you planning to send them into battle?"

Snakestrike shrugged. "If it comes down to it."

And then the whole Clan exploded. Shouts rang through the clearing, saying that this was unsafe, unjust. The kits, on the other paw - Blazekit, Violetkit, and Lionkit, belonging to Berrylight - were meowing excitedly as their mother shushed them. Snakestrike tried yowling for attention again, but nobody paid him any attention.

"Kits?" Viperfoot hissed as Frozenpaw wore a concerned look. "Is he crazy?"

Suddenly, a new voice joined the conversation, rising louder than the rest, bringing everyone into a silence. "I'm sorry, is there a problem here?"