“You let my clan die!” Aspen’Spirit hissed, his brown tail lashing. The other medicine cats stared at each other with guilty looks. Rabbit’Step, the ForestClan medicine cat, was the first to speak. “It was not our decision, Aspen’Spirit.” She meowed, “It was the choice of our respective leaders that we had to follow.” Aspen’Spirit snarled, “Isn’t the medicine cat supposed to be the spiritual guide of the clan? Of the leader? Does an attempted genocide seem like something StarClan would allow any cat to do!?” Pale’Stripe stepped forward, their eyes glistened with worry. “Aspen’Spirit please, you know we all were just trying to help our clans.” The SteelClan medicine cat stared at them, “So was Spark’Moon.”
Aspen’Spirit stalked away down the tunnel, the meeting now left behind. He sighed and padded towards the SteelClan border. Proceeding with his duties as a medicine cat alone was more than painful, knowing that the routine that was set in stone was destroyed. Aspen’Spirit felt the fur rise along his spine. What dignity could the leaders possibly get out of slaughtering a clan? The leaders…the leaders. ‘This is all their fault!’ Aspen’Spirit thought, claws unsheathed. They need to pay for the deaths of his clan mates. Turning, he bounded along the edges of ForestClan territory, heading for the shared lands.
Upon arriving, he skittered to a halt at the sight of a MeadowClan patrol approaching, talking among themselves. Aspen’Spirit wedged himself between two rocks, keeping as still as possible. He had learned it from Red’Snake, who used the rocky layout of SteelClan’s territory to their advantage. The patrol padded past him, thankfully he wasn’t spotted by them. Brush’Star was among this patrol, however, and Aspen’Spirit let out a soft hiss when they were out of sight. Aspen’Spirit heaved himself from the stones and carried on. He knew the quickest one to get to was Brush’Star, seeing how he was the weakest out of the three. But Raven’Star would be occupied elsewhere, so it gave a better opportunity.
According to Spark’Moon and Pale’Stripe, Raven’Star frequently visited a memorial for one of the cats who helped find the territory for her clan. She only did so when the clan was resting or during medicine cat meetings when the camp was mostly vacant. Aspen’Spirit never really understood why some cat finding a strange abandoned twoleg den was so special, but he didn’t dare question the leader’s practices. He knew his clan was no better than stealing bits and pieces from abandoned items from twolegs. Padding onto crisp grass, Aspen’Spirit crept his way around RuinClan territory. He wasn’t familiar with the habits and paths of RuinClan warriors, so this would be more difficult to achieve.
Sure enough, he could hear pawsteps approaching. Ducking behind a tall and rather rounded stone, Aspen’Spirit kept himself hidden while peeking out to see who was passing by. Then, a familiar black and white cat padded past him, intent on the path ahead. Raven’Star. Aspen’Spirit narrowed his eyes, stalking after her one step at a time. Eventually, Aspen’Spirit paused, hiding among another oddly shaped stone as Raven’Star approached what looked to be a shrine. Raven’Star knelt in front of the shrine, bowing her head. Unsheathing his claws, Aspen’Spirit launched himself at the RuinClan leader.
He pinned her onto the prickly grass with a thud. Raven’Star looked up at him, her eyes widened with surprise. “Aspen’Spirit!” She meowed, “What are you doing here?” Aspen’Spirit lashed his tail, “Avenging the lives of my clanmates that you stole.” He growled, letting his claws sink into her fur. Raven’Star managed to kick off the medicine cat, before standing and pinning him. Aspen’Spirit struggled to throw her off, considering she was larger than him. But after a while struggling, the leader stumbled backward, slamming her head on a thin and tall stone. Raven’Star fell limp onto grass, red staining the stone. Aspen’Spirit could feel his heart pounding, before standing up on shaking legs. He knew the yowls from the skirmish would alert the other RuinClan cats, so he bounded away heading for the shared land once more.
The next cat was Brush’Star. He was almost always alone and was only with his clanmates during patrols or gatherings. Aspen’Spirit knew of some of the behaviors of MeadowClan cats by observing them from the SteelClan border. Long grass flicked at AspenSpirit’s face as he trekked his way along the border of MeadowClan, keeping clear of any hunting or border patrols. Brush’Star would likely be drinking from a pool near the SteelClan border, as he usually did after a patrol. The faint scent of SteelClan border marks alerted Aspen’Spirit of his destination, and he began to stalk among the tall grass. Peeking through slim stalks, he could see Brush’Star drinking from the pool of water, isolated from his clanmates.
Aspen’Spirit tensed his hind-quarters, keeping his front paws planted in the dirt. With a hiss, Aspen’Spirit leaped at Brush’Star, sinking his teeth into the leader’s throat as soon as he made impact. The old leader tried struggling but by then it was too late for retaliation. Brush’Star went limp beneath him, and Aspen’Spirit let go of his neck. The leader’s head fell and splashed in the pool, turning the water crimson. Aspen’Spirit could feel red dripping from his muzzle but he simply made his way to the stream bordering SteelClan and ForestClan. Only one cat left, Tree’Star. The sheer thought of him made Aspen’Spirit seethe with hatred. Aspen’Spirit stopped at the stream, washing his muzzle before continuing onward.
The tall pines looming over AspenSpirit’s head made his fur prickle. Birds were beginning to chirp in the trees, announcing the morning to the whole forest. Tree’Star was likely going to be on a hunting patrol this early, so it would be easier to get him alone. Aspen’Spirit climbed up an oak tree, with dense leaves to hide among. It took a long while until he heard the cats of ForestClan start to approach. Tree’Star wasn’t among them though, besides, it was a border patrol skirting the edge of SteelClan. Aspen’Spirit curled his lip in scorn remembering the battle. His belly rumbled and his throat was dry but Aspen’Spirit ignored it. All that mattered now was waiting to make Tree’Star regret daring to lay a claw on SteelClan.
Dusk was approaching swiftly, and Aspen’Spirit was remained hidden in the oak tree. He had seen many cats pass by, but none of them were the cat he was looking for. There was a crackle of bracken, and a large brown tabby padded through. Tree’Star was finally at AspenSpirit’s paws. The medicine cat let go of the branch and landed directly onto TreeStar’s back, digging his claws into the leader’s shoulders and flank. Aspen’Spirit tried to get a tight hold of TreeStar’s neck, but sheer struggle from the leader’s thrashing made it almost impossible. Tree’Star yowled and rolled around, trying to get the medicine cat off but Aspen’Spirit only dug his claws farther in to keep himself steady. Aspen’Spirit felt a small tear in the leader’s throat and he pulled. This gave Tree’Star a quick advantage as he managed to buck off Aspen’Spirit. The leader hissed at him, lunging at the smaller cat.
Aspen’Spirit quickly struck his paw at the newly made tear in the leader’s neck, deepening it. Tree’Star staggered backward, falling onto the forest floor. There was hardly any time for Aspen’Spirit to react as he could hear ForestClan cats quickly approaching. Aspen’Spirit turned and raced away as fast as he could, hearing the yowls echo through the trees as more cats arrived at the oak tree. Aspen’Spirit ran to the SteelClan border, not even stopping to drink from the stream as he raced across. He stopped to catch his breath when he was well clear of the border. Aspen’Spirit let himself sink onto the grass of SteelClan territory, hearing crickets chirping away into the oncoming night.
He must’ve dozed off because he woke up when stars were speckling the sky, the breeze cool against his pelt. Aspen’Spirit stood up and stretched his legs, making his way back to camp. He made sure to stop and wash away the scents of the other clans in a stream before heading down into the ravine. All the cats would be sleeping in their nests by now, so Aspen’Spirit was sure to quietly yet swiftly make his way into the medicine den. Curling up into his mossy nest, Aspen’Spirit tried to keep his mind off of the events that had just occurred. The leader’s that hurt his clanmates were dead, and now his vengeance, at least for now, was finished.
