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The stars of Silverpelt twinkled in the night sky, a dazzling display of shining lights that covered the vast expanse of StarClan's hunting grounds. Gardenias and moonflowers sprout up from the forest floor, their petals greeting the moonlight as the wind softly sways the tree branches back and forth. It's a warm night, fireflies dancing above the moss-covered undergrowth, their tiny lights reflecting upon the clear water of a pond, deep as the ocean and shimmering with energy.
It used to be a popular spot for the cats of StarClan, where they would cast their gazes down on RosyClan as the still living cats go about their days. But tonight, naught but two cats wander along the water's edge, long-furred coats snagging on twigs and leaves. They stop a little ways away from the pond, settling down in the muddy grass with twin sighs.
Goldenstar, a golden tabby she-cat, grins mischievously as she drapes more leaves over her dark brown-furred companion's head, the masked tom grumbling about the herbs already stuck in his fur and brushing the leaves away with his tail, acting as if Goldenstar had done him a great injustice while utterly failing at hiding his smile, clearly not truely upset with her.
They fall silent after a while, the mirth dying off as RosyClan's first and third leader watch some of the leaves land in the pond, causing ripples on the water's surface, a sense of peace enveloping the two cats while the water slowly calms, pristine and unchanging once again. Just as it always is.
The wind in the trees begins to pick up slightly and the thorns crawling along the edge of StarClan's border with the Dark Forest rustle, though the two leaders keep their backs towards the murky woods, they can tell someone is there, watching them with calculating eyes. The strength of the Dark Forest has been growing lately, their numbers increasing more and more.
It both worries and saddens Goldenstar, she never could have imagined that the tiny Clan of ten cats she started would grow to have so many thorns among their ranks, cats with claws steeped in the blood of their Clanmates. The golden molly sighs heavily as she shares a glance with Boulderstar, the son of RosyClan's first deputy and a great leader in his own right, she's glad Dovestar chose him as her deputy.
"You doing alright?" He asks, tail curling around his body, "I know we're sitting pretty close to the Dark Forest's border but it's not like they can cross over or anything," a huff sounds from within the thorns but there's no one to be seen once the two old leaders turn to look, whoever was there left quickly.
"It's not that," Goldenstar admits quietly, sighing again before fixing the other leader with a tired gaze, "Boulderstar, why do so many cats end up as murderers? Is this what my Clan's legacy will be?"
Boulderstar blinks then leans forward to offer a comforting nuzzle, "I'm sure it won't be, there's plenty of good cats both here in StarClan and still living, compared to five Dark Forest cats. That's not too bad, right?"
"Three of those cats were Clan founders and one of them was a medicine cat,"
"Oh," Boulderstar meows awkwardly, "yeah I must admit that's not the best track record as far as Clan founders go but hey, it could've been worse, at least no one is secretly planning to take over the Clan and put only their own family members in charge,"
A sparrow chirps in the tree above the two cats and they both almost chitter at it before remembering they're supposed to be having a serious conversation.
"I just keep thinking that maybe I could've done something more, if I had been a better leader then maybe none of these murders would have ever happened, or I should have never started RosyClan at all I-"
"What are you talking about," Boulderstar cuts in, interrupting Goldenstar, "you were a great leader, these cats made their own choices, you didn't hold your claws to their throat and force them to do it, did you?"
Goldenstar shakes her head no, but- "I chose Dovestar to be my deputy,"
"And I chose Sweetstar, we couldn't have known that they'd do what they did then, they were both great warriors."
"So we're fifty/fifty on evil leaders, does that sound like a good thing for a Clan to have?"
"Well I mean, it gives hope for Ryestar right? If the pattern continues then she'll be a great leader, not sure what that says about the cat who'll be leader after her though,"
"You're ridiculous," Goldenstar tells him, trying with all her might to remain serious, curse that stupid furball for making her laugh when she's trying to be self-deprecating.
"Thanks it's my greatest quality."
Before either of them can say anything else, an earsplitting wail echoes across the entirety of StarClan, shattering the conversation in pieces as both leaders recognize the voice, it's Blissbloom and she sounds distraught.
At once, and with their worries temporarily forgotten, they race towards the more populated area of StarClan, where they find the white ticked tabby she-cat standing next to her mate, the gray tabby tom's tail wrapped around her flank as more cats approach to see what's going on.
Goldenstar feels a cold pang in her heart as she and Boulderstar stop right beside the couple, stunned silent at the sight of the cat who just joined StarClan. Blissbloom and Rapidflower's youngest daughter, Rindlemallow, stands before them, the claw-marks that undoubtedly caused her death fading away as stars spread out across her black fur, blending in with her spotted pelt. Her white-furred chest is heaving, sobs wrenching from her throat as the young cat falls forward into the paws of her parents, only uttering one single word, a name.
"Saprose,"
Goldenstar's claws dig deep into the earth, it didn't sound like a last cry for help, Rindlemallow's voice was tinged with hurt and disbelief. It couldn't be so, could it? Was it Saprose who killed her?
Did Saprose murder her own sibling?
From the tears and the knowing look in Blissbloom's mismatched bronze and sage-green eyes Goldenstar's assumption was correct. She and the other StarClan cats watched in silence as Blissbloom led her daughter away, offering every ounce of support as the two vanished into the ferns.
Surprisingly, Rapidflower didn't follow them, his cyan eyes lost and unfocused. The medicine cat seemed rooted to the spot, breath hitching as he suddenly fixed Goldenstar with a look so intense she worried if he was about to lash out.
"I thought," he meowed with such hopelessness in his tone that it made Goldestar's fur stand on end, "I thought that, after I uncovered Stagpatch's crimes that everything would finally be over, but now my own daughter is a murderer!"
In his pain, he seemed to have temporarily forgotten that the now Dark Forest-dwelling mediator was only responsible for one death, not all of them. Rapidflower had discovered his lies while both were still living and had hoped that finally, no more Clanmates would meet their untimely deaths at the paws of their own Clanmates.
Goldenstar didn't know what to do, she wanted to comfort him but truthfully she didn't think there was anything she could say that would help, at least not right now, not so soon after Rindlemallow's death and Saprose's murder. She didn't have time to think of anything either, as Ratvalley and Pridechaser pushed themselves through the crowd to come collect their son, the two elders leading Rapidflower away, presumably back to Blissbloom and the rest of their little family.
Slowly, the gathered cats vanished all vanished into the undergrowth, leaving Goldenstar and Boulderstar alone once again.
"So, uh, surely it can't get any worse than this right?"
The tom quickly shut his mouth as Goldenstar levelled him with a very disappointed glare.