Shattered Streams/Part 3

Chapter 11

Eight moons ago

Snowstorm had been away from the Clan for three sunrises. Every night as she curled up to sleep in some dark corner of the forest, grief overwhelmed her. For what, she didn’t know. Her Clan? Her leadership? Applestar, even though it had been four moons? Jadestar?

She didn’t know if she could ever feel real grief for Jadestar, given what the she-cat had done. Attacking ShadowClan for revenge.

If I were leader, I would never put my personal needs above my Clan’s.

If she were leader?

Snowstorm hadn’t thought about becoming leader since Jadestar died. ''Would I have made a good leader? Maybe if RiverClan wasn’t so… so… ''

Bloodthirsty? Blind? Obedient? Blindly, bloodthirstily obedient?

Maybe of another Clan?

She had already considered the option of going to another Clan; RiverClan would want revenge against her for leaving. She just knew it. She would not bring battle upon an innocent Clan, not like Jadestar had. She would not be Jadestar.

She sighed and swiped her tail over her ears. Where can I go?

A kittypet life would never suit her. A loner would be too, well, lonely. And she couldn’t escape the Clans; even if she could find a way out of the maze of Thunderpaths and Twoleg dwellings that bordered the forest, some part of her wanted to stay near the Clans. Maybe she could venture over to ShadowClan every once in a while to see how her daughter was doing.

Her daughter.

She hadn’t thought much about Pondkit recently. I wonder… I hope she is treated fairly by ShadowClan. In two moons she would be ready for apprenticing.

My daughter…

Then she remembered. There was another cat, not in the Clans, another cat that called Pondkit daughter, though he probably didn’t know it.

Mushroom.