Zodiac (warrior cats)

Chapter 41

Staring out onto the snow covered forest,Charredsoul couldn't help but divert his gaze to his dark ginger paws. It had been half a moon since the battle with Ferretleap, and since the young warrior discovered his power had evolved.
But how can my paws make fire? I thought I could only control it, not create it!
At least he hadn't seriously injured Ferretleap, the tom darted out of the tree before Charredsoul could get him, but he was sure he aimed a ball of fire at the WindClan cats shoulder.
"Are you watching?" a hiss came from a fiery pelted she-cat looking at him with a glare.
"What? Oh yes, good job Fierypaw" he congratulated his new apprentice on her mouse she caught.
Charredsoul was still adjusting to having an apprentice of his own, but it did help that she was one of the fast learning apprentices. Charredsoul felt bad for his mother Scorchcloud who had to train the wily apprentice Fernpaw, who was brother to Stormpaw.
Fernpaw wasn' exactly the brightest of the apprentices, one of the warriors had to explain to him thoroughly that prey couldn't be eaten alive. What a poor Starling.
"Hey what's going on back at camp?" his blaze furred apprentice asked, flicking her tail to a commotion at the entrance of ThunderClan camp.
"I don't know" he meowed while dropping his vole, "But let's find out." The two ginger cats walked over to the small gathering, and Charredsoul froze as the scent of fox drifted through the air.
"What's wrong?" he asked his brother Sandblaze who had a solemn look spread across his beige-furred face.
Sandblaze turned, "Didn't you hear? I thought everyone knew by now!".
His brother shook his head, "No, heard what?".
"Honeyfrost is dead" a deep meow came from Burntpelt, Charredsoul and Sandblaze's father, "A fox was trying to steal Vixenkit and Berrykit from the nursery, she sacrificed her life for them."
Honeyfrost, dead? At first Charredsoul thought perhaps he heard his father wrong, the great deputy of ThunderClan couldn't be dead! Not only was she the deputy, but the daughter of two of the greatest ThunderClan cats, Poppystar and Berrynose.
Plenty of strong blood flowed through ThunderClan, in fact Charredsoul himself was a distant descendent of Firestar, his father Burntpelt was Lionblaze's son.
"Dovestar is holding the deputy ceremony at Moon-High" Pepperfoot meowed sadly, "We better get back and make sure the kits and queens are protected."
Padding through the Thorn-Tunnel, Charredsoul made sure Fierypaw stook close to him, he didn't want her seeing the grizzly sight of Honeyfrost's death.
Charredsoul didn't even need to see his former deputies body to know it was bad, one of the strongest warriors in the clan, Leopardfang had a disgusted and horrified expression on his face.
"The moons almost above our heads" Fierypaw noted, lifting her head to look up into the starlit sky.
Staring at the Half Moon in the sky, Charredsoul felt himself overcome with fear. Only half a moon left until the first full moon of Leaf-Bare...and the day four of the Zodiacs die.
"I wonder what happened to the fox?" Fierypaw asked as Beaverpaw padded by.
"Kestreltail and I chased it off" he bragged with a smirk, "I'm going to be a warrior before you know it!".
Charredsoul's apprentice chuckled, "You still have kit fur Beaverpaw, oh yes I can just see ShadowClan trembling in their pelts now!". The brown-furred tom shook his fur in embarrassment and padded away to gather around Honeyfrost's body.
"Why must you terrorize him now?" Charredsoul sighed, "You know Honeyfrost was his mother...""What?" Fierypaw snapped, "No I didn't, but she...she's deputy!". The warrior made sure no one was around to hear and then turned to his apprentice,
"Didn't you think it was a bit odd that Quilfur was deputy for two-moons? And that Honeyfrost returned to her duties after Beaverkit was born?".
The apprentice chuffed, "How could I know that bee-brain? I was born half a moon after him! It's not my fault..." Charredsoul could hear the edginess in her voice, but also Fierypaw probably felt a little guilty.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the High-Ledge for a clan meeting!".
Cats lifted their heads at Dovestar's call, the fluffy gray she-cat standing majestically on the tall ledge. As he went to join the clan, Charredsoul darted to the side as Mothspots litter dove under his feet.
"Nightkit, Hollykit, Dewkit!" she scolded the litter, her golden spotted body trying to gather them all.
"Here" Charredsoul meowed, running forward and picking up Nightkit and Hollykit in his jaws.
"Thank you" Mothspots meowed as Fierypaw carried Dewkit into the nursery.
"No problem" he turned to leave as Dovestar carried on with her announcement.
"Cats of ThunderClan!" she bellowed out across the hollow, "It is my deepest sorrow to have to name a deputy so soon. I envisioned Honeyfrost outliving myself, and earning the name Honeystar."
She paused as many cats bent there heads in sorrow, and even a few let out howls of remorse. Images of the strong golden deputy always comforting any cat who was hurt or ill, or even sad.
Honeyfrost had always been there for Charredsoul and any other cat, she told him that just because he was different, didn't mean he didn't have the same heart of a warrior every other cat did.
"I say these words before the spirits of StarClan, so they may hear and abide by my chocie" Dovestar closed her eyes as she rose her head into the sky.
"Charredsoul shall be the new deputy of ThunderClan!" the echo rang out through all the ears of ThunderClan cats, almost every single cat gasped.
"Him?" a growl came from Mallowfall, "He's nothing more than a kit! Making Lionblaze deputy would have been better!".
"Hey" the golden elder snapped, "I was leader thank you very much, now shut your mouth before I shut it for you." The gray tom lowered his head in submission, as Sandblaze pushed Charredsoul forward.
"Th...Thank you Dovestar" he stuttered, still wondering if this was a dream or not. The gray-furred leader could tell he was shocked, and comfortingly laid her tail on his shoulder.
"May you serve your clan for many moons, and one day receive your nine lives as StarClan destined you to" her voice held certainty that it would happen one day.
But Charredsoul wasn't so sure, what if he was one of the four who died? And if that was the case, then Dovestar would be holding this exact ceremony in less than a moon.