Poolstar’s Choice

## Prologue

**Written and Edited by Loudfern**

A deafening boom sounded above the RiverClan hollow before a white hot streak of fury split the sky. Heavy rain pounded hard on the carefully woven reeds that made up the nursery roof. Sweetfoot laid in agony in the den, ripples of pain tearing through her body as she tried to give birth to her kits.

“Push harder!” Whiskerface yowled, his words barely heard over the roaring rain. Sweetfoot gasped as another spasm ripped through her.

A brown tom came crashing into the nursery, drenched and exhausted.

“Use this stick!” he yowled pushing a thick stick towards her. Another crack of thunder sounded in the sky, making the nursery shake. The young tom was lurched forward falling in a heap on the other side of the den.

“I can’t do it!!!” Sweetfoot wailed just as another spasm overcame her. Her musky brown body shook violently and she bit down hard on the stick. It snapped clean in half sending splinters into her muzzle.

Whiskerface bent down and yowled into her ear. “Just one more push!”

Sweetfoot felt her screaming body coil in on itself as she forced out a tiny wet bundle of fur. The young tom leapt up and starting licking the small kit furiously.

“Well done!” Whiskerface praised. “One more to go!”  Sweetfoot had never felt pain like this before, pain that tore through her whole body making it feel as if she was burning alive. She wailed as a terrifying boom rang out sending furious forks of lightning dancing dangerously close to the hollow. A fit of spasms ran through Sweetfoot’s body, shaking her and making her screech. Another small pile of soggy fur was pushed out. Sweetfoot lunged forward clamping her jaws around the two kits to bring them closer. Whiskerface and the young tom raced out of the nursery to tell the other cats about her successful kitting. A muscular black tom pushed through the reeds at the entrance. His pelt was drenched, plastered to his frame so that Sweetfoot could see every muscle.

“Sweetfoot!”

“Barkeye!” She beckoned her mate over with her tail. “Come quick so we can name them!” Barkeye trotted over crouching down in front of her.

“We should call this one Muskykit.” He yowled over the rain as he stroked the first born. Sweetfoot nodded weakly her approval.

“And this one will be Poolkit!” Her words were barely audible as a gale ripped through the nursery. A bolt of lightning lit the sky as it crashed into a tree at the edge of the hollow. Sweetfoot gasped. A shuddering cough ran through her igniting flames of pain. Barkeye nuzzled her flanks.

“It’s ok Sweetfoot, stay with me…stay with me.” Sweetfoot looked at her mate longingly, her heart brimming with love.

“I…can’t…” she wheezed. There was a thunderous crack and Whiskerface ran into the den with a panicked she cat hot on his paws.

“We have to leave now!” he screeched. The she cat stared wildly at the cats. “A tree has fallen! There’s fire in the hollow!”

Barkeye yelped and leapt to his paws. “Sweetfoot get up!” Sweetfoot tried to stand but her legs were to weak and she crumpled down. “Go!” she yowled. “Take the kits and go!” Barkeye store at her in disbelief. “No! You‘re coming with!”

“Leave!” she hissed. Another cough caught her and she stretched her eyes wide as the agony of it hit her. She fell limp, and her gaze went blurry. The only think she could hear was her mate screaming out her name. She feebly pushed a kit away from her using the last of her strength. And then she drew one last breath, letting the grip of death overcome her.

“No!” Barkeye screeched.  “Sweetfoot!”. He watched in agony as his mate’s eyes clouded and her whole body went limp. “Sweetfoot!” he wailed again. The rain got even heavier until the reeds of the nursery couldn’t hold the force of it anymore. The reeds gave way and the rain flooded through the nursery. Barkeye managed to clamp his jaws around Poolkit before Whiskerface started pushing him out. “Muskykit!” Barkeye screeched.

“There’s no time! Just take the one you got and go!”  Barkeye raced out of the den with Whiskerface right beside him. The hollow really is on fire! Flames engulfed the RiverClan home. Their dancing tips licking hungrily at anything they were in reach of. Cats ran for their lives leaping over the grass wall, their screeches whipped away by the furious gale. This time Barkeye didn’t hesitate. Water was lapping at his paws and fire was groping for his flanks as he sprinted. A flood and a fire! Poolkit was wailing with terror and confusion as she was raced across the camp. Barkeye leapt over the grass wall with ease continuing to sprint away. The RiverClan cats were all around him, pelting against the force of the wind.

“To the barn!” some cat yelled. Barkeye changed his direction to the barn, a dark looming shape not too far away. A crack of thunder boomed menacingly making the cats run faster. So close! So close! The wooden floor of the barn was only a few tail lengths away. The rain pounded harder and faster making seeing ahead seem impossible. So close! So close! Finally, Barkeye felt his paws land on the soft partially rotten floor of the barn. Cats poured in after him all sighing with relief. Barkeye gently placed a wailing Poolkit down feeling himself collapse as his exhausted legs gave way, too weak to hold the wait of his drenched pelt.

Whiskerface and his apprentice Troutpaw were padding around the barn, checking each cat’s injuries and trying to help with the shock. Whiskerface looked rattled and Barkeye noticed a patch of missing fur on the medicine cat’s leg where the flames had just nicked him.

“Cats!” RiverClan’s leader Snowstar had moved to the centre of the barn. “We are facing a terrible storm. Our camp has been destroyed and we have lost two cats.” Barkeye felt unbearable grief wash through him as he remembered grey swirling water washing over his mate’s lifeless body. As he remembered the same grey swirling water drowning Muskykit.  “but don’t stress!” Snowstar continued, “The storm will pass overnight and tomorrow at dawn we will travel back to the hollow to start repairing it. We will bury our dead clanmates’ bodies and give them a proper fare well. Now get some rest. Tomorrow we will need as much strength as we can get.”

Although the old silver she cats words were strong and convincing, Barkeye couldn’t help but notice the flicker of worry and fear in her eyes as she turned away. A small furry body pressed against his own. Twitching his whiskers in slight amusement, Barkeye wrapped his tail around the kit keeping her as close to him as possible. You’re the last bit of Sweetfoot I have. Thunder rumbled above the barn. Suddenly distraught, he pressed his eyes shut. How can RiverClan survive?

## Chapter 1

**Written by Beechflight, Edited by Ottie**

“Fruitbelly, could you please hand me that stick?” Barkeye asked. Fruitbelly prodded a thin, dark holly stick and laid it by Barkeye.  Rushreed and Frostbird were laying a dried reed across what was to be the new nursery. Dapplesun and Smallear meticulously weaved the reeds together. Sandbark, a nursery queen, impatiently nosed a large ball of moss and scuffed her claws across the muddy ground. Her kits, Leopardkit and Ripplekit, tore off a section of moss and began playing around with it, tussling the mossball like a piece of crow-food.

“Ripplekit! Put that moss back this instant! Leopardkit, what has gotten into you? If you keep fighting with your littermate I might ask for a divider between both of you!” Sandbark scolded. Leopardkit whimpered in shame.

Poolkit stood behind a rock. From it, she could see the bustle of the clan working to rebuild her clan. She pondered on her thoughts. Flashes of bright light against a dark, stormy night flooded her head. She could feel herself drowning, choking in the dirty, muddy water. Poolkit could feel her father dripping his salty, wet tears along the rushing, bubbling water. She could see her dead, cold, lifeless littermates, and her mother. Oh, her mother… Poolkit remembered struggling against the current to try and take one last drink of her mother’s sweet, flowery milk. Poolkit felt jaws clamp around her scruff as she screamed in terror and sadness, seeing the only things she ever loved, apart from her parents, being torn away in the deadly claws of the flood that night, the night that claimed so many lives. A voice, so familiar, whispered in her head. It was her mother’s. You can choose to let the cats suffer, or you can tear RiverClan in two. Choose wisely, Poolkit. Poolkit took in a deep breath as her mother’s scent wafted around her.

“Poolkit! Come look!” Leopardkit exclaimed. Poolkit was snapped from her daydreaming as she bounded over towards Leopardkit and Ripplekit. The two littermates were standing over a pool of water. Poolkit gazed into for a second before she saw a reflection in the small puddle. There was a bush, burning and dripping blood at the same time. Poolkit dabbled her paw in the pool. When she pulled it out, it was coated with blood. She looked at the puddle again. The burning bush was gone. Another voice echoed in her head. Poolkit, your decision determines the fate of your Clan. Choose wisely, Poolkit. She looked up to the sky, more confused than ever. Why would StarClan show her a burning bush dripping with blood? Why would they give a prophecy to her? It was all so confusing. She looked at her paw covered in blood. There was a cut that was sealed in on her right paw. Poolkit walked over to the medicine den.

“Hello, Poolkit. Not in here to mess with my herbs, are you? You know how Mossfoot doesn’t like for you to mess around in my herb stores,” Whiskerface chuckled. Poolkit shook her head, then showed her paw covered in blood, and the cut.

“I don’t see anything,” Whiskerface meowed. Poolkit frowned and specifically pointed out where the cut was. She even showed Whiskerface up close. Whiskerface laughed again.

“Poolkit, you must be seeing things. There is no cut, no blood, nothing is there. I’ll give you some dock to put on your cut, if that makes you happy,” Whiskerface stated. Snakepaw rose from his nest and padded over to Poolkit.

“I see it,” he mewed. Snakepaw grabbed a few herbs and chewed them into a poultice. He spat it out onto his paw and rubbed it into Poolkit’s cut. He took a mossball soaked in water and scrubbed the blood off of her paw. Snakepaw threw the dirty mossball out of the medicine den.

Snakepaw whispered, “You can tell me anything you know, Poolkit. I promise I’ll keep the secret with StarClan.”

Poolkit nodded, then said, “Well… I got a prophecy from StarClan. Then, Leopardkit and Ripplekit found a pool with a reflection of a burning bush dripping blood. No one else saw it. I put my paw in the water, and found it covered in blood. Then the reflection was gone. I-I don’t know exactly what was going on. The prophecy kept pounding at my head, and a cut appeared. I came straight to the medicine den, and the rest is what you know.” Snakepaw nodded, then suggested Poolkit head out. She bounded off towards Mossfoot, who was calling her.

“Popkin, why were you in the medicine den? Messing with Whiskerface’s herbs, I see?” Mossfoot inquired. Poolkit shook her head.

“I got a cut,” Poolkit mewed.

“Oh, honey! That cut could get infected and-”

“Mama, that’s why I went to the medicine den. It’s all healed. It was just a small cut, and Snakepaw healed me.”

“Okay, honey.” Mossfoot whisked her tail towards the makeshift nursery to indicate it was naptime. The sharp, brisk thorns of the nursery and the cool draft of late leaf-bare reminded Poolkit of the bustle and rush to get the camp rebuilt. As Poolkit drifted off into a light sleep, her mother’s voice echoed in her head with the prophecy. You can let the cats suffer, or you can tear RiverClan in two.

## Chapter 3

**Written by Silverleaf, Edited by Riverfrost**

Poolpaw opened her deep blue eyes. A gentle breeze blew through RiverClan's camp, the churning water along it's banks, and the birdsong that was sung from the trees. A melody fell in step along with the cool air, and it wove around camp, lighting up the mood.

Cats sat at the fresh-kill pile. They gestured Poolpaw to come join them. Everything is so peaceful here, she thought, relishing the joyful mood around camp.

But the thought didn't last long. Suddenly, a Twoleg appeared at the entrance of camp. Poolpaw watched in horror as it multiplied, until there were so many she couldn't see any of her Clanmates anymore. She shrieked and ran, trying to gain safety. But the Twolegs brought their monsters and began cutting through the camp. Trees were falling, trapping her Clanmates, and there was no way to escape . . .

Gasping, Poolpaw woke up once more. Looking around, she felt relieved to be in the apprentices den, safe from Twolegs, safe from their monsters. Glancing outside, she saw that it was still nighttime, but it would dawn soon. It was just a dream, she told herself, it was just a dream.

In the two moons since she had been made an apprentice, Twolegs were destroying RiverClan's territory. Though they hadn't gotten close to camp, the Clan was worried that they would soon. It was affecting Poolpaw worse than anyone. She knew that if the Twolegs didn't stop, they would lose cats, and Poolpaw had already lost her mother and brother.

Why can't Twolegs stay where they belong, Poolpaw thought, grumbling to herself.

"Are you okay?" A voice popped into Poolpaw's thoughts. "I heard you thrashing around in your sleep." It was Stormpaw. He was staring at her with concern in his green eyes.

"What? Oh yes, I'm fine." Poolpaw didn't meet his gaze. She didn't want her denmate knowing that Twolegs haunted her dreams at night.

"Okay then." He didn't look totally convinced, but he curled back into his nest. Poolpaw tried to sleep as well, but eventually she ended up getting up and walked out of the apprentice's den.

Outside, Poolpaw saw that most cats weren't up yet. Softwater, Poolpaw's mentor, was guarding the camp entrance. She looked surprised as Poolpaw made her way towards the fresh-kill pile.

"What are you doing up so early?" Softwater asked.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Well, then I guess you can join the dawn patrol." Poolpaw turned around and saw Rushpool, RiverClan's deputy. "I'm leading it, and Frostbird and Tawnyear are coming with us."

"Okay." She felt relieved to do something. Perhaps it would take her mind off things.

But no, it did nothing of the kind. By the time they'd returned back to camp, she'd been shaking so hard that Rushpool had ordered her to go see Whiskerface. Frostbird had snapped at her each time she jumped during the patrol.

"Honestly," he had growled, "stop behaving like a kit. It's only Twolegs. They'll be gone soon, before they get any closer." Still, Poolpaw wasn't reassured.

Padding towards the medicine cat den, she saw that it was nearly past sunhigh. Her stomach growled in hunger, reminding her that she'd not eaten yet today. But prey was getting scarce now that a lot of their territory was already gone.

How much more territory will the Twolegs take? Poolpaw was afraid of the answer.

She poked her silver and brown head into the medicine cat den. Despite it being leaf-fall, Whiskerface and Snakepaw had managed to collect a lot of herbs. Pretty soon, when leaf-bare hit, they'd be well stocked.

"Hi Poolpaw." Snakepaw's bright green eyes glinted in the sunlight as he stepped forward. "Whiskerface went to see how Sandbark was doing with her kits. How can I help you?"

"Oh, it's nothing really." Poolpaw quickly explained how the dawn patrol went this morning. She felt satisfied that Whiskerface wasn't there; usually he made such a fuss that you ended up eating more herbs than you actually needed. Still, he was a good medicine cat, and was liked by every cat in the Clan.

Snakepaw listened thoughfully. "Here," he said, getting out a leafy green bundle. He plucked two leaves and laid them in front of her. "It's thyme," he explained as Poolpaw sniffed it carefully. "It helps with shock."

As she chewed the leaves, Snakepaw continued talking. "Did you know? Snowstar is planning to invade WindClan to get more territory."

Poolpaw's blue eyes widened. "Really? But-- but Frostbird said that the Twolegs would be gone soon."

Snakepaw shook his head. "That's no what I heard. Besides, we really need it, Twolegs or no Twolegs. The Clan is getting bigger, with more mouths to feed."

He's right, Poolpaw thought, but we can't go into battle. It's just . . . wrong. "Still, we don't need to go into battle against WindClan. We can find prey another way."

The medicine cat apprentice stared at her, his eyes darkening. "If we don't, there might not be a RiverClan left to care for. Don't you see, Poolpaw? We must."

"I do see." Poolpaw turned, walking out of the medicine cat den. Dappled sunlight filtered into camp, lighting up her face. "I just don't want to."

## Chapter 4 (not done; got a bit ahead due to pending inactivity next week) -Oak

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join be beneath (no given place in the books) for a Clan Meeting!"

Snowstar's voice rang out clearly across the RiverClan camp, and with its authoritative tone the RiverClan cats trickled into the clearing from their separate tongue-sharing spots: Outside the Warriors den, near the camp entrance, the sun-dappled spot just outside the Medicine Cat's . Mossfoot and  lumbered out of the nursery, their kits darting in and out between their paws, and RiverClan's deputy, Rushpool, padded anxiously to the foot of the (still doesn't have a name) and sat down, casting a reassuring glance across his Clanmates.

Poolpaw sat distractedly in the back of the crowd, eyeing the camp entrance like a hawk and longing for her father, , to pad in. When he didn't, and when Snowstar began her speech, she sighed and faced her leader.

"As many of you know, there has been a recent... breach of borders involving the Twolegs. They have scared away our prey, and now cats are going hungry. As your leader, I cannot let this happen, so I have decided we will invade WindClan."

What? Poolpaw thought to herself, shocked. A battle? I haven't trained enough yet!

Agreeing with her thought process, a chorus of yowled protests filled the air, threatening to suffocate everyone. "Snowstar," she called out with the bravest voice she could summon, "Do we have to do this?"

"Enough!!" Snowstar rasped in reply, casting a menacing glance from her perch down onto Poolpaw. "What the leader says, goes. That is final. Poolpaw, what gives you the audacity to speak against me?"

"I-I was just saying..."

"You were saying what a smart move your leader made, and now the Clan will be well fed. Do you understand? Now, if you would go clean out the nursery and elder's dens, please?"

"Snowstar-"

"Now."