April Gathering 2020

Spotlake took in Crowsprirt's response. He wanted to risk his life to do what was right. And I won't stop you. She thought.

Spotlake watched as one of the Starclan cats jumped up onto the great rock and simply touched noses with Finchstar and then he fell of the Great rock. Spotlake's green eyes widened in horror. Starclan already killed two leaders. Now her leader was dead. Starclan wasn't afraid to strike down leaders. And this is what scared Spotlake.

Spottedstar tensed until every muscle in his body strained so hard he thought he would snap under the pressure. One of the strange ancestral cats was pacing the clearing like a predator, laying eyes on the SkyClan cats and stepping closer than an outsider cat would ever be permitted in any other circumstances. He stopped by Swansong and Redpaw, then moved on and found young Juniperpaw isolated by himself. The ginger leader's claws slid from their sheathes and gripped the Great Rock beneath him like it was a swaying branch and his balance was in danger. He grit his teeth, trying and failing to suppress the growl that sparked in his chest again. Wolfcall was still at the base of the Great Rock, Firflower, Sagelight, and Murkpelt had abstained from the Gathering, and Spottedstar was pinned to his spot by panic. Deerfrost was gone for good. Maybe that was a fatal mistake. His youngest son was truly at the mercy of the star-laden cat before them, and it drove the SkyClan leader mad with desperation to appease him.

The group spoke to the cats who cried out and to each other. They quarreled within their ranks even as they insulted the living cats around them, calling individuals out by their actions and blood status. 'Vixenstar. Badgerstar. Brackenstar. Are they all leaders? 'Our clanmate.' Allegiances that last even through death. Five of them. Representatives?' Spottedstar's mind raced as quickly as his heart. His pulse sounded so clearly in his ears that he thought the other leaders standing next to him might hear, although he cared little for their opinions at the moment. He didn't catch the name of the tom that still had Juniperpaw in his grasp. Watching the apprentice's yellow eyes widen with fear made Spottedstar squirm in his place, feeling more helpless than he ever had in his life. Then, the she-cat called Vixenstar stepped forward to address everyone present in a tone of voice that expressed total control. She called them the Righteous Ones. She disparaged Finchstar's leadership. At the end, she called for his death, and a horrified hush fell over the crowd. 'One of us?' It seemed almost as if there was an expectation for one of the leaders on the Great Rock to turn and strike Finchstar, and if one of them didn't, then it would fall to a deputy or a warrior close by. And, as the situation with Juniperpaw left Spottedstar with the impression of an implied threat, the temptation to splatter the blood of his WindClan rival all over the sacred space was alarmingly strong. His claws flexed against the stone. He'd killed another leader before. They had nine lives. Surely this would merely be a demonstrative warning?

A few shrieks of defiance rose from the crowd below, and Spottedstar's hardened gaze slipped from the other leaders to the few who spoke out. Whatever they said didn't really register until the clearing began to echo with murmurs and yowls of agreement. It seemed the living cats were rallying against the dead ones. The only SkyClan cat to speak out was Swansong, and while he wished she would have kept quiet to stay safe, he found her words reasonable. She upheld the honor of the code yet criticized the StarClan cats' methods. He would have been proud if he wasn't so tangibly close to catastrophe. 'It's true that they've already killed some of us. Trying to force us to kill Finchstar for them... is cruel. I don't like him, but I've died before and I don't wish it on him. Oh, Juniperpaw...' If there was a gap to do it, he'd missed it. Finchstar spoke out against the Righteous Ones, gallant and composed as usual. Spottedstar had to admit that Finchstar's unshakable confidence was irritatingly admirable. Few cats could look so good while saying such stupid things.

He was inspiring, apparently. WindClan cats raced to take his punishment, and Spottedstar wondered what he did that made him so beloved. Was he perhaps jealous of the dedication of the moor cats to their leader, as self-destructive as Finchstar was? Even deputies were crying out now, Raventail of WindClan and Ravenmist of ShadowClan adding their refusals to those of the assembled rebels. No one would strike him down. Either they didn't have the courage to do it or they had too much courage to do it.

One StarClan she-cat, Vixenstar, was already at the top of the Great Rock. It was growing overcrowded, forcing some of the leaders precariously towards the edge. The other she-cat, name unknown, spoke kindly to an apprentice who had pushed back. It was a different kind of tone than the other Righteous Few cats took on, but it was still dangerous. She explained that she'd already spoken with Finchstar about the situation, and Spottedstar wasn't surprised that the patched leader hadn't heeded her at all. He found himself agreeing with what the she-cat said. Love had been unkind to her as well. Then, she joined the leaders up on the Great Rock, and Spottedstar took a step backwards to avoid being bumped. His hind paw scraped the air as he stumbled, having expected more space behind him but only finding a short drop. He glanced down at his footing to make sure he didn't fall off, and when he looked back, Finchstar had crumpled to his paws without a sound.

"What?" Spottedstar gasped, watching wide-eyed as the small she-cat pulled Finchstar's corpse to the ground below softly. He stared blankly, deaf to the new uproar that filled Fourtrees as cats of all clans protested the death. The StarClan cats exited in starbursts, glittering like cinders before fading from their places. Juniperpaw was left alone now, but the SkyClan leader's eyes remained trained on Finchstar, cold numbness sweeping over him. He wasn't moving, even when his clan crowded around him. Had Thornstar and Torrentstar died like this? Was this death just as final? He didn't like Finchstar. He didn't even respect him. But somehow, Finchstar's abrupt execution filled Spottedstar with such a profound sense of loss and dread that he wondered how he was supposed to come back to another Gathering without an annoying harebrain to disagree with.

Spottedstar pulled himself out of his thoughts, looking around the clearing at the scattered and downcast cats of the forest. The implications of three murdered leaders were not lost on him. He glanced at Oakstar, the only other leader besides himself whose clan not yet been struck such a fatal blow. Morbidly, he wondered which of the two would be next and suddenly felt as though the Righteous Few might make an example of him even if the blood in his veins was as pure as the gentle waters of the Moonlit Stream. The icy dread spread quickly from his heart to his toes and everywhere in between and he exhaled a breath of uncertainty. "SkyClan, gather! We're headed home!" Spottedstar called and jumped from the Great Rock, not meeting any other leader's gaze and counting his clanmates as they grouped up at the edge of the clearing. Soon, they left the mess behind, but the gloom still followed.