Chapter 1
Littleclaw stared in satisfaction at his bramble pit, and the boulder leaning precariously over it.
with a grin
"Nothing can stop me now," he murmured to himself with satisfaction.
- - -
Stonepelt was carefully grooming himself with Flowerheart's help.
"I can't wait for that old bag of bones to retire and Hawkstar to name me deputy!" he purred. "And Flowerheart, I think I've got a tick at the base of my tail..."
"I'll go to Sunheart," she purred back at him. She saw the jealous glances from several apprentices and tried to shrug off the uncertainty pricking at her pelt. Stonepelt's a great cat, she told herself. Everyone in the Clan admires him. Sure, he can be a little self-centered at times, but-
Flowerheart was knocked out of her thoughts by Fawnpaw crashing into her and taking the mouse-bile soaked moss she was carrying. The apprentice ran back to her friends, and then to Stonepelt.
Any cat would give a paw and their tail to be in my position, she thought. Quit worrying.
Chapter 2
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Talltree for a Clan meeting!" yowled Hawkstar. The Clan knew what was about to happen- they saw Stonepelt and Duskfoot sitting at the base of the old pine tree where Hawkstar made his den. No one noticed that Littleclaw was nowhere to be seen.
"Now Duskfoot," meowed Hawkstar, "is it your wish to retire from the life of a warrior and live as an elder?"
"Yes," mewed Duskfoot. "I've served the Clan for many long moons, but I feel that now would be a good time to retire."
"Then may StarClan grant you many moons of rest," replied Hawkstar. Duskfoot joined the rest of the Clan. Hawkstar turned to Stonepelt, eliciting joyful yowls from several apprentices.
"Stonepelt!" shouted Berrypaw.
"I love you!" yowled Hazelpaw.
"I've got a piece of moss from your nest!" meowed Fawnpaw. Hawkstar waited for their shouting to die down.
"It is stated in the warrior code that, after a deputy dies, retires, or is otherwise unable to fulfill their... deputy-ish... duties, a replacement must be named by moonhigh. However, I have had one in mind for some time now. A cat who embodies all of the qualities a great warrior should possess- strength, bravery, cunning, dashing good looks, roguish charm. Stonepelt!"
The apprentices led the cheering as Stonepelt spoke up.
"You know, most cats would give a speech at this juncture about how 'oh, I'd never dreamed I'd be deputy' and 'I will serve the Clan until my dying breath' and other stuff like that," meowed Stonepelt. "But I don't have time for that. I instead will tell you that I'm not the only cat who deserves celebration here." He got up from where he had been sitting and padded around the Talltree.
"Like my certainly-serious-mate-and-not-just-a-one-time-hookup Flowerheart always says- c'mon, Flowerheart, stand up." She did, and IceClan cheered for her. Or, at least, IceClan minus Fawnpaw, Berrypaw and Hazelpaw.
"Yeah, she's a very... nice... she-cat. Anyways, she's always meowing about how the Clan is a body that can't function without any of its parts, even the elders who don't really hunt or fight or anything. I guess they give the apprentices something to do or something like that..."
Flowerheart fidgeted uncomfortably as Stonepelt continued, not really paying attention to what he was saying.
"...but yeah," meowed Stonepelt finally, jumping up on the Talltree, "thank you, IceClan for suppo-" He had stepped on a slippery, barkless patch on one of the branches and fallen into a bramble-filled pit. There was a yowl of victory as a small tabby tom stepped out into the crowd. Littleclaw.
Chapter 3
The small tom padded up to a huge boulder perched on a slope.
"What's the meaning of this?" demanded Hawkstar.
"Oh, I'll tell you," meowed Littleclaw. Flowerheart stared at him in disbelief.
"I really don't know how none of you noticed how foxhearted Stonepelt is," continued the warrior. "He puts on his faulty little mask of being a good, noble warrior, when he's actually no better than a rogue, using the cats around him to get in power. Believe me, I'll be doing the Clan a favor." He was about to push the boulder over when he heard a tearing sound from Stonepelt's direction.
"That's... not good..."
He was bowled over and pinned down by the powerful tom before he could finish his plan.
"Ooh, a boulder," meowed Stonepelt contemptuously. "Let's see if this plan works any better than your others."
"Don't-" Littleclaw tried to warn him, but the rock tumbled down the slope, scattering the cats. Stonepelt had been flung against the Talltree and ran away, wailing like a kit. The glow of victory was short-lived, however.
He looked down the camp to see that Flowerheart was pinned against the camp walls, bleeding badly and struggling to breathe. Great StarClan, no! he wanted to yowl. But the words wouldn't come out. All he could do was pick his way through the confused throng to where Flowerheart lay, gasping raggedly.
"F-f-flowerheart?" choked Littleclaw.
"Littleclaw?" replied Flowerheart weakly.
"I'm here. Sunheart's right here too- she can help you get better- I'm so sorry, it wasn't supposed to turn out like this-"
"It's okay. Stonepelt-" Her eyes glazed over and she was still.
"No," sobbed Littleclaw. "No no no no..." He couldn't say anything more. He felt a piece of him dying as well, too broken to keep going on. IceClan stared on in silence.
"Uh... I was going to say..." meowed Hawkstar awkwardly, "that Littleclaw's the new deputy of IceClan." The leader laughed nervously while the Clan cheered a lukewarm cheer. Littleclaw turned to the Clan. His clan now, he supposed.
"I win," he meowed. "I win. I've got it all, everything I ever..."
Epilogue
"After that," mewed Littlestar, "nothing really mattered. Sure, I became deputy, and then leader, but it felt hollow without Flowerheart at my side." He looked down at his paws. "I ended up with about the same crowd Stonepelt had had- opportunistic cats who'll pad after anyone with power. I just didn't have the cats I wanted..." He couldn't continue.
Windspirit had no idea what to say. She bowed her head politely, thanked him for telling her his story, and padded away painfully.
"Goodbye, Littleclaw."