Blood spattered the ground, marking the blades of grass red. Soon, with a loud thump a body struck the exact spot. A dark shape loomed over it, pale yellow eyes as cold as ice. Claws glinted red in the moonlight and sunk into the fur of a silver tabby. The cat dragged its claws across the body, scoring marks, and padded away, one singular bloody track following under its right forepaw. It sat by a rushing river, and dipped its bloody paw into the clear water, purring as it felt the coldness of the stream climb into its heart.
The water seemed to slowly explode in red, and the fur was washed away as well. Tail low, the cat headed back into the dense forest. "Welcome back, Firestar." A voice grunted. Sedgepelt. Firestar glanced at the speckled grey cat, whose blue eyes were dark. The tom clambered up the stone hill and into his nest, closing his yellow eyes and drifting into dark sleep.
He found himself in a darker version of the forest he grew to know, every leaf dripping with blood, and the only light coming from fungi growing around the trees that towered over him. "Welcome, Firestar..." A grim voice growled.
"Hello, Brightstar." Firestar responded. The golden-patched tom had been his mentor in the past as only he seemed to fit properly for the once misunderstood and strange apprentice.
"You may think my mentoring days are over, yes? Well, you're deeply wrong; I'll mentor you until my spirit fades!" Brightstar hissed. Firestar flicked an ear, not intimidated by his former mentor. Brightstar, around the end of his leadership, was known for being the complete opposite his name implies; he soon decided his time was over and managed to sneak a few deathberries in the middle of the night. He died quickly after, and when the medicine cat, Leafheart, had wanted to speak with Brightstar, she was the only one to discover his death at the time, but the only one to know exactly how, but never told the Clan how he had died. Redstrike had to mentor Firestar a few moons, before Leafheart decided Redstrike would be the leader, and Firestar, once known as Fireleap, would be the deputy.
On his way to the moonstone with the deputy, Redstar had been greeted by enemy patrols, but within Mothermouth, Fireleap had murdered him, taken the lives instead, and reported to the Clan.
Firestar stared at his mentor, tail lashing. "I know everything I need to, Brightstar. I am far too exhausted to train tonight."
"No, you aren't!" Brightstar snapped, lashing out with long claws. Firestar blocked the dangerous attack with a thick branch that had fallen nearby. The branch actually snapped due to the force of the attack. Brightstar lunged at his former apprentice, sinking his thorn-sharp teeth into the ginger tabby's scruff and dragging him back.
"Get off of me!" Firestar snarled, shoving Brightstar off and causing the golden-patched old tom to fall backwards. Firestar suddenly jolted awake. He felt something warm flow down his neck. He got up, padded out of the den, and retrieved some moss soaked in water and set it over his wound, soon managing to wrap it around his neck.
"Hey, Firestar!" A voice meowed. The leader jumped as he finally noticed a brown tabby below him.
"Oh, uh...hello Nettlepaw." Firestar responded nervously.
"Why is that moss around your neck?"
"Err..." Firestar hoped he wouldn't ask that. "Uh...b-because I'm cold!"
"But Leaf-bare is only in a week."
"Well...h-having thick fur allows you to get over-heated quickly!" Firestar hissed.
"But your fur..." Nettlepaw pointed out.
"It's nothing!" The leader growled, bolting out of the camp quickly.
"What's wrong with him?" Nettlepaw muttered.
Firestar headed to the RiverClan border as silently as his large paws could make him. He sat down on a rock that rose out of the stream, but was a little damp from the water occasionally splashing over the surface. Soon a pale ginger tabby padded towards him, ears perked upwards.
"Firestar? What're you doing here?" The tabby, a she-cat, hissed.
"I wanted to see you." He purred.
"Well?"
"How're you doing? Are you expecting kits?"
"I-I....yes, Firestar." The tabby sighed.
"Good, Oakstar." Firestar purred, nuzzling the tabby.
"I just...don't know what to say about me expecting kits! It's not easy to lie, but maybe the deputy can join in to make the Clan think he was the father."
"Or," Firestar suggested. "You could always say that the father died."
"I guess so...but no one died from RiverClan recently...except for Tigerblaze, the deputy before Raincreek."
"There. Use Tigerblaze."
"But...that would betray his name." Oakstar sighed.
"Oakstar, think of it this way. It's either do or die."
"Y-You're not going to kill me will you?"
"What? Of course not!" Firestar murmured. "Just think that either you do lie, or you die by the paws of someone else."
"Alright...let's hope they believe it." Oakstar whispered. Firestar licked her forehead.
"Don't say a thing about me, though!" Firestar purred. "See you tomorrow at moonhigh?"
"Of course!" Oakstar meowed, bounding away.
"Alright. Bye!" Firestar called gently, before padding away. He soon bumped into a gray cat.
"What was that?" It hissed, green eyes blazing with fury.
"F-Fernfeather!" Firestar nearly screeched.
"Why didn't you tell me you were with someone already?" Fernfeather wailed.
"I-I..." Firestar was lossed for words.
"You...you betrayed me!" She snarled.
"Fernfeather, you don't understand-"
"No, Firestar. I do understand. What I see is that you lied!"
"Wait-"
"Go away. I never want to see your face again!" She snarled, before rushing away. Firestar followed after.
"Fernfeather?" Firestar called nervously. "W-where'd you go?" She had vanished in the undergrowth before he could say a thing more. Out of breath, the tabby searched, before falling over.
"Fernfeather..."
---
A gray shape loomed above, green eyes narrowed. "Get. Up." It snarled. "Be glad I dragged you back here instead of leaving you like you left me."
"Fernfeather?" Firestar murmured, getting to his paws. "I'm sorry...please...come back."
"No. I'll find someone else. Someone I can trust." Fernfeather spat. "You lied to me, went with someone else, and now she is expecting your kits! My heart is dead thanks to you!"
"But I never meant-"
"Oh, you did mean it, Firestar. Leaders like you shouldn't even exist, yet StarClan gave you the gift of life, and this is what you do with it?"
"I said I'm sorry!" Firestar snapped, barely stopping himself from scratching the grey cat. Fernfeather flinched.
"Sorry doesn't mean a thing." Fernfeather hissed before padding away. Firestar flicked his tail. She shouldn't be his deputy if she was going to act like this. The tom headed back to his den and curled up.
He heard one of the other cats comforting Fernfeather; Stormwing. "Hey, it's okay, Fernfeather! Don't worry about Firestar." He purred, nuzzling Fernfeather.
"It is not okay." Fernfeather growled. Suddenly, a yowl split the crackling air of the camp.
"Ivystripe is dead!" A wail sounded from the entrance of the camp. Pinepaw! Firestar growled nervously.
"What happened to him?"
"How did he die?"
Voices bustled around the camp as though it were a gathering. Firestar padded out of his den and yowled for silence. "Pinepaw. Tell us what happened. Where is Ivystripe?"
"Well, Goldenpelt, Hawkscar, and Lilyfur, my mentor, took a patrol around the borders." Pinepaw explained. "Just at the WindClan border, Ivystripe was bleeding, but seemed to have been killed only a night before. He has scars all over him, along with blood here and there."
Firestar pinned his ears back. "Those WindClan fools!" He spat, claws unsheathing. I cannot let them find the truth... Firestar nervously thought. "I say we get back at them, make them pay for their actions tonight!"
The brown apprentice below nodded in agreement, and soon Ivystripe's body was lying in the camp, the medicine cat, Leafheart, and her apprentice, Ashpool, cleaning the blood and scars, and grooming his fur. A few elders, Aldertail, Heatherfang, and Mapledusk were tucking his legs under his body and helping with the grooming.
When everything was done, the Clan sat in a silent vigil for the fallen warrior, who was known well for his amazing hunting ability. "He hunts with StarClan now." Leafheart murmured. Greycloud had been his sister, and she sat closest to him, fighting the urge to scare off the others so she could be alone. Ivytail's mate, Nightfoot, sat on the opposite side, while Greycloud's mate, Foxtail, sat beside Greycloud.
"I wish I could see his beautiful blue eyes once more before he went..." Nightfoot whispered. Greycloud growled. Is that all she cares about? How he looks? What a disgrace! The thick-furred grey she-cat thought angrily. Her green eyes narrowed in distrust at Nightfoot, while Foxtail flicked an ear.
Soon the elders carried him away. The cats watched the silver tabby disappear in the gorse tunnel. "Cats of ThunderClan!" Firestar suddenly called.
"We will strike WindClan tonight and destroy what we can, tear everything we can, to honor our fallen warrior!" He yowled. "Lionrunner, Timberpaw, Goldenpelt, Hawkscar, Lilyfur, Pinepaw, Birchfeather, and I will be the main patrol. Greycloud, Nightfoot, Foxtail, and Darkheart will be support."
The cats he had called to had lined up. Night was close. "I suggest you eat and get as much rest as you can. Do as best as you can!" Leafheart yowled.
The water seemed to slowly explode in red, and the fur was washed away as well. Tail low, the cat headed back into the dense forest. "Welcome back, Firestar." A voice grunted. Sedgepelt. Firestar glanced at the speckled grey cat, whose blue eyes were dark. The tom clambered up the stone hill and into his nest, closing his yellow eyes and drifting into dark sleep.
He found himself in a darker version of the forest he grew to know, every leaf dripping with blood, and the only light coming from fungi growing around the trees that towered over him. "Welcome, Firestar..." A grim voice growled.
"Hello, Brightstar." Firestar responded. The golden-patched tom had been his mentor in the past as only he seemed to fit properly for the once misunderstood and strange apprentice.
"You may think my mentoring days are over, yes? Well, you're deeply wrong; I'll mentor you until my spirit fades!" Brightstar hissed. Firestar flicked an ear, not intimidated by his former mentor. Brightstar, around the end of his leadership, was known for being the complete opposite his name implies; he soon decided his time was over and managed to sneak a few deathberries in the middle of the night. He died quickly after, and when the medicine cat, Leafheart, had wanted to speak with Brightstar, she was the only one to discover his death at the time, but the only one to know exactly how, but never told the Clan how he had died. Redstrike had to mentor Firestar a few moons, before Leafheart decided Redstrike would be the leader, and Firestar, once known as Fireleap, would be the deputy.
On his way to the moonstone with the deputy, Redstar had been greeted by enemy patrols, but within Mothermouth, Fireleap had murdered him, taken the lives instead, and reported to the Clan.
Firestar stared at his mentor, tail lashing. "I know everything I need to, Brightstar. I am far too exhausted to train tonight."
"No, you aren't!" Brightstar snapped, lashing out with long claws. Firestar blocked the dangerous attack with a thick branch that had fallen nearby. The branch actually snapped due to the force of the attack. Brightstar lunged at his former apprentice, sinking his thorn-sharp teeth into the ginger tabby's scruff and dragging him back.
"Get off of me!" Firestar snarled, shoving Brightstar off and causing the golden-patched old tom to fall backwards. Firestar suddenly jolted awake. He felt something warm flow down his neck. He got up, padded out of the den, and retrieved some moss soaked in water and set it over his wound, soon managing to wrap it around his neck.
"Hey, Firestar!" A voice meowed. The leader jumped as he finally noticed a brown tabby below him.
"Oh, uh...hello Nettlepaw." Firestar responded nervously.
"Why is that moss around your neck?"
"Err..." Firestar hoped he wouldn't ask that. "Uh...b-because I'm cold!"
"But Leaf-bare is only in a week."
"Well...h-having thick fur allows you to get over-heated quickly!" Firestar hissed.
"But your fur..." Nettlepaw pointed out.
"It's nothing!" The leader growled, bolting out of the camp quickly.
"What's wrong with him?" Nettlepaw muttered.
Firestar headed to the RiverClan border as silently as his large paws could make him. He sat down on a rock that rose out of the stream, but was a little damp from the water occasionally splashing over the surface. Soon a pale ginger tabby padded towards him, ears perked upwards.
"Firestar? What're you doing here?" The tabby, a she-cat, hissed.
"I wanted to see you." He purred.
"Well?"
"How're you doing? Are you expecting kits?"
"I-I....yes, Firestar." The tabby sighed.
"Good, Oakstar." Firestar purred, nuzzling the tabby.
"I just...don't know what to say about me expecting kits! It's not easy to lie, but maybe the deputy can join in to make the Clan think he was the father."
"Or," Firestar suggested. "You could always say that the father died."
"I guess so...but no one died from RiverClan recently...except for Tigerblaze, the deputy before Raincreek."
"There. Use Tigerblaze."
"But...that would betray his name." Oakstar sighed.
"Oakstar, think of it this way. It's either do or die."
"Y-You're not going to kill me will you?"
"What? Of course not!" Firestar murmured. "Just think that either you do lie, or you die by the paws of someone else."
"Alright...let's hope they believe it." Oakstar whispered. Firestar licked her forehead.
"Don't say a thing about me, though!" Firestar purred. "See you tomorrow at moonhigh?"
"Of course!" Oakstar meowed, bounding away.
"Alright. Bye!" Firestar called gently, before padding away. He soon bumped into a gray cat.
"What was that?" It hissed, green eyes blazing with fury.
"F-Fernfeather!" Firestar nearly screeched.
"Why didn't you tell me you were with someone already?" Fernfeather wailed.
"I-I..." Firestar was lossed for words.
"You...you betrayed me!" She snarled.
"Fernfeather, you don't understand-"
"No, Firestar. I do understand. What I see is that you lied!"
"Wait-"
"Go away. I never want to see your face again!" She snarled, before rushing away. Firestar followed after.
"Fernfeather?" Firestar called nervously. "W-where'd you go?" She had vanished in the undergrowth before he could say a thing more. Out of breath, the tabby searched, before falling over.
"Fernfeather..."
---
A gray shape loomed above, green eyes narrowed. "Get. Up." It snarled. "Be glad I dragged you back here instead of leaving you like you left me."
"Fernfeather?" Firestar murmured, getting to his paws. "I'm sorry...please...come back."
"No. I'll find someone else. Someone I can trust." Fernfeather spat. "You lied to me, went with someone else, and now she is expecting your kits! My heart is dead thanks to you!"
"But I never meant-"
"Oh, you did mean it, Firestar. Leaders like you shouldn't even exist, yet StarClan gave you the gift of life, and this is what you do with it?"
"I said I'm sorry!" Firestar snapped, barely stopping himself from scratching the grey cat. Fernfeather flinched.
"Sorry doesn't mean a thing." Fernfeather hissed before padding away. Firestar flicked his tail. She shouldn't be his deputy if she was going to act like this. The tom headed back to his den and curled up.
He heard one of the other cats comforting Fernfeather; Stormwing. "Hey, it's okay, Fernfeather! Don't worry about Firestar." He purred, nuzzling Fernfeather.
"It is not okay." Fernfeather growled. Suddenly, a yowl split the crackling air of the camp.
"Ivystripe is dead!" A wail sounded from the entrance of the camp. Pinepaw! Firestar growled nervously.
"What happened to him?"
"How did he die?"
Voices bustled around the camp as though it were a gathering. Firestar padded out of his den and yowled for silence. "Pinepaw. Tell us what happened. Where is Ivystripe?"
"Well, Goldenpelt, Hawkscar, and Lilyfur, my mentor, took a patrol around the borders." Pinepaw explained. "Just at the WindClan border, Ivystripe was bleeding, but seemed to have been killed only a night before. He has scars all over him, along with blood here and there."
Firestar pinned his ears back. "Those WindClan fools!" He spat, claws unsheathing. I cannot let them find the truth... Firestar nervously thought. "I say we get back at them, make them pay for their actions tonight!"
The brown apprentice below nodded in agreement, and soon Ivystripe's body was lying in the camp, the medicine cat, Leafheart, and her apprentice, Ashpool, cleaning the blood and scars, and grooming his fur. A few elders, Aldertail, Heatherfang, and Mapledusk were tucking his legs under his body and helping with the grooming.
When everything was done, the Clan sat in a silent vigil for the fallen warrior, who was known well for his amazing hunting ability. "He hunts with StarClan now." Leafheart murmured. Greycloud had been his sister, and she sat closest to him, fighting the urge to scare off the others so she could be alone. Ivytail's mate, Nightfoot, sat on the opposite side, while Greycloud's mate, Foxtail, sat beside Greycloud.
"I wish I could see his beautiful blue eyes once more before he went..." Nightfoot whispered. Greycloud growled. Is that all she cares about? How he looks? What a disgrace! The thick-furred grey she-cat thought angrily. Her green eyes narrowed in distrust at Nightfoot, while Foxtail flicked an ear.
Soon the elders carried him away. The cats watched the silver tabby disappear in the gorse tunnel. "Cats of ThunderClan!" Firestar suddenly called.
"We will strike WindClan tonight and destroy what we can, tear everything we can, to honor our fallen warrior!" He yowled. "Lionrunner, Timberpaw, Goldenpelt, Hawkscar, Lilyfur, Pinepaw, Birchfeather, and I will be the main patrol. Greycloud, Nightfoot, Foxtail, and Darkheart will be support."
The cats he had called to had lined up. Night was close. "I suggest you eat and get as much rest as you can. Do as best as you can!" Leafheart yowled.