Set out to kill the adder.
This was their task. Silverleaf had found a faint scent of it among the Burning Trees, where the patrol was now headed. No one had smelled the snake before this morning, but Tumblestar was eager to 'kill it before it kills us'. From the way Tumblestar elaborated on the importance of the adder's death, you'd think that the other two Clans were plotting to fight GreenClan. Tumblestar was quick to assure everyone that Darkstorm, Silverleaf, Poolflame, and Wolfmask would rid of the snake, because sending the strongest warriors was the best news! Of course, Tumblestar himself would never fulfill such a task . . .
As the patrol set foot into the Burning Trees, the lively green forest behind them quickly turned into an ashen black. This was where the wildfire had struck, leaving soot to blanket everything like snow. Burned rubbish was all that was left, aside from few emerging plants. It was the perfect place to hide a snake. Before the wildfire, this piece of territory was known as the 'Golden Wood'. Prey used to be so plentiful here. It was hard to imagine what the snake found for quarry — but Darkstorm was certain he didn't want it to be one of the queens' unlucky kits.
Smoke still clung to the blackened rubble like a scar that just didn't fade. As Silverleaf lead the patrol through the soot and ashes, Darkstorm found himself struggling to hold back memories of the flames. He had only been an apprentice when their first camp burned down, the fire killing his best friend and two others in its flurry. Silverleaf's mother had been killed, as had GreenClan's previous leader. But it was Owlpaw's death that hurt Darkstorm still.
Darkstorm heaved a sigh, not caring that it earned him a few curious glances. He wasn't the only one who was upset by the memories. He waited up so he was at the back of the patrol, wanting to be left to his thoughts for a while. He wanted a few moments to grief in this smoke-scented ashen woodland.
Owlpaw was boasting about the large crow he'd caught. He was chattering away despite the thunderstorm coming. Darkpaw listened halfheartedly, waiting for the heavy pound of rain. The two of them were sheltered inside the apprentice den with the others, having gotten their training in chores done early, before the storm was set to strike. It was a good thing Ebonymist was an excellent storm watcher!
"Hey Owlpaw!" Darkpaw called, giving his noisy friend a nudge. "Don't you wonder what would happen if there was a forest fire? I mean, that'll never happen, but they say the night Lightningstar was born that there was one."
Owlpaw shrugged. "I wouldn't be so sure, Darkpaw. Ebonymist works wonders, but that wouldn't protect us from a wildfire."
Indeed it didn't.
Owlpaw was dead now, buried somewhere among the soot and ashes. Darkstorm couldn't even tell where the camp used to be. All he knew was that Owlpaw had gotten trapped in the apprentice den that fateful night. Darkstorm shuddered, hardly watching where he was going before he bumped into Wolfmask.
"Watch it!" Wolfmask snapped. He turned back, his yellow eyes blazing. "Tumblestar shouldn't have let you come! You can't handle facing Owlpaw's death!"
Darkstorm unsheathed his claws, digging them in the soft sooty ground. "You weren't even born when the fire happened!" he shot back, growling. "How would you know what it's like to nearly join StarClan? You don't!"
The whole patrol had drawn to a stop, Poolflame and Silverleaf's eyes trained on the two toms. Darkstorm twitched his tail-tip uneasily. Everyone on this patrol was younger than him. Wolfmask was the most recent warrior, though he was 'excelled in training' having been trained by the mighty Tumblestar himself. Poolflame and Silverleaf, on the other paw, were kits when the wildfire occurred.
Silverleaf cleared her throat, her blue eyes resting nervously on each of them. "We have a snake on the loose," she pointed out. "We should dispose of it and get back to camp before the sun falls." She turned, continuing to lead the patrol seemingly aimlessly into the Burning Trees.
As the cinder began to be everywhere, Darkstorm became convinced that Silverleaf didn't know where she was taking them. So far he'd not once caught scent of an adder — let alone another living thing. There were a few greens sprouting here and there, some little trees that were barely above Darkstorm's shoulder. There was a reason no one wanted the Burning Trees to be part of GreenClan's territory anymore. All the same, for whatever reason, Silverleaf had been venturing out in this part of the land and found a snake-scent.
"It has to be around here somewhere!" Silverleaf hissed, her jaws parted to draw in scents. "It was supposed to be near . . ."
"Near what?" Poolflame growled, lashing her tail. "Everything around here looks the same! All black, all sooty, all ashen! How could have you possibly memorized where you found it? What were you even doing out here?"
Darkstorm pricked his ears with interest. Poolflame was finally voicing the questions in his head. Wolfmask also eagerly looked toward the two she-cats, waiting. Silverleaf was trembling, her silver tabby fur fluffed in fright. She looked so spooked, as if she was staring at the snake itself. But she wasn't, for there was still no snake-scent in the air.
"Okay, okay. I was out here trying to find our first camp. Ebonymist said that some herbs might be growing in the old medicine den, so I thought that maybe I could salvage some. But . . . I got lost and I found the snake-scent near Lightning Creek. I had to follow the creek to get back to the Green Wood."
Wolfmask looked around. "There's no Lightning Creek in sight. Darkstorm, do you remember where that is?"
He nodded. Indeed, he did. Darkstorm took lead of the patrol.
~.~
They weren't even to Lightning Creek before they saw a shed snakeskin and caught trace of fresh snake-scent. The flimsy skin suggested that this was a long snake. The mood of the patrol quickly shifted, everyone's eyes glancing here and there, watching for beady eyes. It was then that Darkstorm realized how fearful Tumblestar was. Adders had killed one of Tumblestar's sisters. But Tumblestar had seven lives left! He would be better to fend off a snake.
Set out to kill the adder.
This was their task. Darkstorm now regretted even volunteering to come on the patrol. Silverleaf didn't know where she'd found the scent, Poolflame was in a state of despair, and only Wolfmask looked around for the foul beast. Darkstorm padded to his side, feeling more at use to be standing guard. Lightning Creek was still a ways off, to his knowledge. He didn't have proper bearings among the Burning Trees.
The patrol dared not continue onward, for fear of the snake rooted their paws. Darkstorm's fur pricked with unease. The snake could be anywhere! If only there weren't so many mounds of ash . . .
Poolflame's screech rippled in the air before anyone knew what happened. An adder sunk its fangs in her neck. She died quickly to say the least. Only Wolfmask seemed to be alert, as he launched himself at the snake. The adder held on tight to Poolflame, even as Wolfmask clawed at its muzzle. Scales flittered to the ground. Giving a fearsome yowl, Wolfmask buried his own fangs in the snake's neck. The adder wriggled, its tail going wild and fangs trying to rid their hold on Poolflame. But Wolfmask held firm, waiting the long time it took for it to die.
At last, breathless, Wolfmask backed away from the dead adder. Darkstorm was still trying to register what happened, trying to force his limbs to move. The snake was dead — as was Poolflame — and their mission was over. Darkstorm shuddered, trying to block the lifeless picture of Poolflame from his mind. The Burning Trees really did bring destruction. It was as if the trees were banishing life.
Silverleaf sobbed, pressing her nose to Poolflame's fur. Poolflame was still hooked by the adder's deadly fangs. It was a sad sight to see: Poolflame's body and the snake's corpse tangled. Darkstorm was overcome with grief. The Burning Trees were haunted.
Set out to kill the adder.
Their mission was accomplished . . . but Poolflame was dead. Poolflame was the daughter of Addertooth and Mintlight. Addertooth. Did his name curse her? Was it his bloodline that caused her death? All because of Tumblestar's plea she was dead. Poolflame couldn't even be brought back to camp . . . if they could find camp, that is.
~.~
Darkstorm's head was spinning. He no longer knew where he was or how he got there. Poolflame . . . dead. Silverleaf . . . gone. Wolfmask . . . gone. He didn't remember leaving them. He didn't remember much other than that horrifying screech. Grief shook his body. Darkstorm could hardly see where he was heading. He couldn't bring himself to even care about the thistles that clawed at his pelt. Burrs clung to his fur and even a thorn had lodged itself in his paw. At least, he assumed it was a thorn. His paw hurt so much. He couldn't see, couldn't think. All he knew was that he had to keep going.
~.~
Set out to kill the adder.
What adder? He couldn't remember. Hunger weighed like a stone in his belly. Darkstorm wished he could know if it was day or night. How much time had passed? He was thirsty, too. Darkstorm was beginning to see now, slowly, though. Glimpses of green entered his vision, but he was still lost. He couldn't tell if he was in the Green Wood or still among the Burning Trees. Why had he gone into the Burning Trees?
At times he thought he heard his name, but when he looked, there was just a blur of green. Darkstorm had once tried using his voice to call back, but all he could muster was a few mumbled syllables.
He felt like he was stumbling through a foggy dream. Everything was surreal. All the grief, all the pain, all the confusion . . . just a dream.
~.~
"Darkstorm!"
His name rang through clear for the first time. In that split second, he was no longer lost in the wilderness, no longer walking among the fogginess. His memory came crashing into him as if Poolflame and the adder's death had happened mere heartbeats ago. Maybe it was. He didn't remember what had happened afterwards.
Darkstorm was in the medicine den. Ebonymist had been the one to call his name and pull him from that drowsy state. He looked at himself, seeing his left front paw bound with cobwebs. His shoulder had a gash, though it wasn't a deep one. Aside from scratches and burrs, nothing else was wrong. But Darkstorm's head still throbbed.
"How long has it been?" he asked, closing his eyes to shut out the pain. He felt . . . changed. Maybe he was.
"How long has it been since what? Since you left on your mission? Since we found you half-dead all the way in SunClan territory?" Ebonymist hadn't changed. She was the same snappy medicine cat, kind until she was impatient. Darkstorm heard her sigh. "It has been four days since you left on the mission. It has been two days since we found you."
Darkstorm peered through a slit in his eyelid, watching her as she called to presumably Tumblestar. It was but a few heartbeats later when Tumblestar, Silverleaf, and Wolfmask entered the den. Darkstorm quickly shut his eyes, pushing out those memories of that patrol.
"You said he's awake!" Tumblestar growled. Darkstorm could picture his fiery amber eyes.
Ebonymist sighed again. "He is. The poor fellow has his eyes closed because he doesn't want to see you. He just asked me how long it has been, Tumblestar. I don't lie."
A sharp claw prodded him, unmistakably belonging to Tumblestar. Darkstorm jolted, leaping to his paws. He snarled at Tumblestar. "Because of you Poolflame is dead!"
Tumblestar said nothing, looking Darkstorm over. "He's changed." He spoke to Ebonymist as if Darkstorm couldn't hear him. "That's not the same warrior I sent on a mission to kill a silly little snake."
"So it's a 'silly little snake' now? Is that what you've taken to call Poolflame's killer?" Silverleaf spat, disgust plaguing her expression. "It could've been any of us that died!"
Tumblestar regarded her with a cold gaze. "At least my former apprentice still shows me respect!" he hissed. "He was the one who killed the silly little snake nonetheless!"
"How can you say something so incredulous?" Wolfmask growled. "There was a second snake, too! That one nicked Darkstorm! Silverleaf was the one to kill that snake! He almost died, too!"
Darkstorm glanced again at his cobweb-bound paw. He remembered the pain. How had he survived? He didn't know, didn't remember. Was that why he'd been so foggy? So drowsy?
Tumblestar and the others continued their argument. Darkstorm crept back to his nest, shutting them out. He wanted to forget the pain.
~.~
After about a quarter-moon, Darkstorm was on patrols again. He was kept away from the border against the Burning Trees, but that didn't bother him. He hunted and fought as if his paw was perfectly fine. There were still pricks in his paw where the snake had gotten him, though they didn't often show. Darkstorm was as good as new. But he was changed.
Darkstorm no longer quarreled with the younger warriors. Instead, he turned his quarrel to Tumblestar where they shot things back and forth for the longest of time. Darkstorm was always the one to be interrupted. Silverleaf would push him away, while Tumblestar would be staring after him with a haughty look. Not once had Darkstorm gotten the last word, but one day that would change. One day he'd be the one to show Tumblestar just how much he had changed.
Set out to kill the adder.
That had been their task. Sometimes, the words still rang in Darkstorm's ears. Sometimes he still heard them as if Tumblestar had given the order heartbeats ago. He remembered how eager he had been to kill the foul beast. He was ashamed of how prideful he'd been. Darkstorm used to be considered one of the strongest warriors of his Clan, but Tumblestar had taken that from him, too. Wolfmask's new apprentice, Tanglepaw, was said to sometimes get trained by Tumblestar as well.
It was clear Tumblestar was already making out his warriors, shaping their skills so they matched his. Darkstorm thought this was unfair. Each apprentice was supposed to have their own signature moves, not mimic Tumblestar's. But Darkstorm hadn't been given an apprentice yet.
Set out to kill the adder.
Darkstorm wished he could've taken part in the vigil they'd held for Poolflame. Instead, he mourned for her every time he caught a faint scent of the smokiness of the Burning Trees. This was usually often, as he tried to stay out of camp as much as possible. Only Silverleaf seemed to understand his desperate need to escape.
Set out to kill the adder.
If only it were that easy. Tumblestar hadn't been the one to venture into the Burning Trees, looking for a snake they didn't even know for sure existed.
Set out to kill the adder.
Sometimes Darkstorm wished the second snake had gotten him.
Set out to kill the adder.
Mission accomplished.