Life...is a weird thing. One minute, you're waking up to the sun, then next, your sight is fading to black as your breath gets shorter and shorter. Life is a thing a lot of cats take for granted, especially those who thought they were invincible, the ones who thought they could, can, rule by bloodshed. It doesn't matter if you've been a good cat believing in your Clan and standing by your Clanmates for your whole life, death will come and find you, whether you want it or not.
This all has to do with one cat in particular: Specklepaw. This she-cat was thrown out of a Clan that she had called home, just because the leader didn't want her to overthrow him. But this story is getting ahead of itself. Perhaps if you knew the past, you would understand.
Specklepaw opened one of her eyes to see sunlight streaming into the Apprentice's den. Groaning, she rolled over on her sight, trying to get comfortable again. Though the she-cat was interrupted trying to fall back asleep, by her mentor hissing into the den, "Specklepaw, get your lazy tail out of the den!" It was none other than Rabbitpounce, the light brown tom known for his anger and temper.
The young Apprentice groaned and struggled to her paws. "Do I have to?" Specklepaw whined, arching her back in a stretch, before she continued, "We practiced all last night and I'm still sore."
Rabbitpounce narrowed his blue eyes and snapped loud enough to wake up the other Apprentice, "Just because you're the leader's kit, doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."
The other Apprentice moaned as they woke up and shot glares to Specklepaw, like it was her fault. Flinching from the other Apprentice's glares, Specklepaw muttered under her breath, "I wasn't hinting to that."
The Warrior grunted, though said nothing in return. Whirling around he glanced over his shoulder and meowed, "Come on, we have to train." Without another word, Rabbitpounce stalked out of the clearing and towards the entrance to the camp. Scrambling after him, the speckled Apprentice wondered why everyone was so angry today. Usually Rabbitpounce's temper didn't flare up this often, nor did the Apprentice's seem so tense. Maybe it's because of Leaf-Fall turning into Leaf-Bare, The new Apprentice thought to herself, frowning slightly.
Soon Rabbitpounce slowed down in the clearing of the forest, the ground covered in sand. Around the clearing countless trees stood, like watch guards. Specklepaw glanced up at the sky, dark clouds drew across the sky, and sometimes the occasional spark of yellow would flash in the sky. Gulping her anxiety down, the cream she-cat lashed her tail back and forth, not accepting her nervousness.
Turning around to face his Apprentice, Rabbitpounce called out to her, "Specklepaw, today I'm going to teach you more fighting techniques." The Warrior flicked his tail to the side, and the Apprentice could have sworn he muttered, "You're going to need it soon." Though, the she-cat couldn't tell for sure... In a louder voice, Rabbitpounce called to her, "I've taught you the basics of fighting, so I'm moving onto the next idea; the leap-and-hold. Since you might be facing up against a lot of bigger opponents, this will be the move you'll most likely be using in that battle."
"Now, what you need to do," Rabbitpounce continued, padding up next to Specklepaw, "is when your opponent gets near you, jump on his or her back and grip it with your claws unsheathed. There, you can't be harmed from their claws or teeth. Watch out though, they may roll on their backs to squash you." Specklepaw nodded, her eyes set in determination, crouching down. Rabbitpounce padded a couple ways away from the Apprentice and crouched down as well. "Good, now let's see what you can do."
For a while, the two kept practicing, until Rabbitpounce saw fit. Breathing heavily, the Warrior nodded to the Apprentice. "Good, I think it's time we headed back," He meowed to her, his voice raspy from the practice. Specklepaw nodded, gulping in air, her paws feeling heavy as they padded back to the camp.
When they got closer to CrystalClan's camp, shouts could be heard, growing louder and louder. Specklepaw glanced at Rabbitpounce in the corner of her eyes, and asked, "W-what's going on in there?"
The light brown tom shrugged, though looked worried. "I have no idea," He murmured, padding into the entrance of the camp. The young Apprentice padded after him, her spine fur rippling with each step she took.
A semi-circle was formed around the entrance to the Leader's den, cats hissing and spitting as they yelled. "Momma!" Specklepaw gasped, seeing a flash of light cream fur behind the circle. She shoved her way through the crowd, trying to get to her mother. When she got to her leader's side, she let out a faint gasp, her eyes wide in panic.
Blood spilled from her mother's wounds, her breath getting weaker and weaker. Smiling up at her daughter, the leader managed to whisper, "My dear Specklepaw...run away-" Her sentence was cut off by the deputy, Lightningstrike, pressing his paw against her throat. The last words were gurgled as her mother's eyes faded into darkness.
"Mom- Momma?" Specklepaw breathed, feeling faint.
Lightningstrike glared down at Specklepaw, his yellow eyes flashing dangerously. Though, his eyes flickered around the camp, as he spoke, "Cats of CrystalClan, no longer are we held back by the mousebrained ways of Featherstar. CrystalClan will be made better, stronger, and faster. We will be able to rule this forest with having no one dying of hunger."
A roar of acceptance wove across the crowd, growing louder and louder, but to the speckled Apprentice, the sound was just a quiet hum in the background. Her mind wasn't registering what happened. They had killed her. Her mother, their leader. Featherstar was dead, gone, never coming back. Finally it snapped, her mind finally understanding it. Heaves of tears streamed down her face, never stopping, as she gasped for breath, feeling like she was falling into a chasm.
Specklepaw was thrust out of her lapsing into shut-down, when Lightningstrike hissed down to her, "And you." Shoving her away from her mother, Specklepaw stumbled backwards, blinking dumbly up at the deputy, the now new leader. "I here-by banish you from CrystalClan, never to return!" The yellow tom hissed in her face, his lips drew back to show his fang.
This can't be happening... This is all a dream! It has to be! The Apprentice stumbled backwards, though smacked into the paws of the other cats, who glared down at her. One of them leaned into her and hissed, "Run away from here, and never come back!" Specklepaw let out a choked gasp and turned tail and ran. A chorus of laughter following after her as she ran away from CrystalClan, the place she called home.
It has been moons since Specklepaw has been banished from CrystalClan. She would have been a Warrior if she was still there, though, she wasn't disappointed. Because now...now she is Leader of EmptyClan, with a whole army of cats following her every Clan. CrystalClan would pay for what they did. Specklepaw- no, Specklestar, would get her revenge.
Just you wait.