Summary: Stories told by the elders have a reputation for being fluffy adventure stories, full of heroic characters from the ancient history of the Clans. But they're not all like that. Oh no, some of them dark, frightening and full of gore. After all, not all Clan cats are nice, are they?
So as you've probably guessed from the summary, this is going to be a collection of Warriors themed horror oneshots that I'll update whenever I feel the need to. Obviously, this is a strong T-rating, that I'll probably have to change to an M at some point. For anyone who doesn't like reading descriptions of blood, guts and gore, then I suggest you don't read the following one-shots. They're not exactly pleasant.
Anyone, without further ado, on to the first one-shot!
A Warrior's Horror Story
Chapter One: (All The Pretty She-Cats):
As a medicine cat, it is a well-known fact that I am not allowed to have a mate. It is decreed in the warrior code, for it may distract or cloud my judgement when it really matters. Of course, as many have learnt the difficult way, the rules of the warrior code are easily broken. No matter how hard you try to remain free of the disease known as love, it always seems to find a way to infect you. Somehow.
Take me for example. I was but a young apprentice when it found me, striving to be the best medicine cat ThunderClan had ever seen. Herbs and poultices were my passion, and learning the enigmatic ways of StarClan was my ambition. I wanted to be my divine ancestors' most humble servant, and go down in the legends of the Clans as just that. Oh the innocence and naivety of youth, for that dream was shattered into a million pieces when I met Amberpaw.
Oh, she was beautiful. The most beautiful cat I had ever seen, and indeed the most beautiful cat I have ever seen. Her pelt was a gorgeous light ginger, emblazoned with tabby stripes of a darker shade. Her frame was slender, and her eyes were the most gentle and yet bewitching cerulean blue, as blue as the river of Sunningrocks. She had the most delicate of ears, soft and dainty, and to top it all off, her tail was long and thin, the same colour as her fur, except that at its tip, it transformed into a cloud-like white. When the sun rays were captured in her pelt, it seemed as if she was branded by fire. I was hopelessly in love with her, and she loved me too.
At first, things between us were fine. We would meet secretly at night, in a hollow oak tree that I had found once while out collecting herbs. Those blissful moons were the best of my life; both of us were far too young to even care about the consequences of our relationship that were sure to take place.
But when my mentor died, forcing me to take up the position of ThunderClan's main medicine cat, and she received her warrior name (Amberheart), responsibility started to get the better of us. Though the feeling of adoration remained, we started to meet each other less and less. Both of us were starting to become aware of the imminent bad ending that our relationship was due.
Then, the arguments began, as did the paranoia. I became convinced that she was meeting someone else, betraying me apparently without shame. Things got gradually worse and worse, until finally, it culminated in an argument. She revealed that my suspicions were correct. She was meeting someone, a tom called Sparrowclaw! Things were said that we didn't mean. Actions were carried out that we didn't mean. She stormed out on me, and I was left alone in the forest. Alone in the hollow tree where I'd experienced my happiest moments, all of them with her. Amberheart.
Oh, Amberheart, how you infected me with your poison.
They found her a few days later. She was lying in the forest, dead. Her guts had been spilled, unborn kits bathing in the bloodied corpse of their mother. Brown fur was discovered scattered around her throat, brown fur that belonged to Sparrowclaw. He denied the accusations against him, but it was clear that he had done it. He had killed my precious Amberheart in cold blood. They never found out who the kits belonged to, but I know they were mine. That must've been why he killed her. After she'd told him that she was in love with me, and was pregnant with my kits, he murdered her out of his own rage.
My leader eventually decided to exile Sparrowclaw, despite the Clan's resounding call for his death. He didn't deserve to survive for what he did. I would've killed that disgusting piece of foxdung myself, but the ones in power saw it fit to show him mercy. Well, he didn't show much mercy to Amberheart, did he?
Thankfully, it seemed I wasn't alone in my desire for vengeance. Amberheart had a sister called Skytail. She was furious with our Clan leader, perhaps even more furious with her than I was. It was our likemindedness that caused us to grow closer.
The she-cat was extremely similar to Amberheart in her frame: the same slender and attractive build, the same posture, and most strikingly, the same tail. It was long and thin, just like Amberheart's, and the same cloud-like white, just like Amberheart's. The only difference was that it was that colour the whole way through, instead of the light shade of ginger that Amberheart had boasted.
We weren't in love. I can tell you that straight away. We were just two cats, struck by grief, consoling each other. Muddled in with the rest of her confused emotions, I think that maybe, she thought that she loved me. I, however, wasn't that deluded. But that didn't stop me from indulging myself.
One night, when she was relying on my ministrations more than ever before, I decided to take her somewhere. Somewhere that I hadn't been since Amberheart died. I took her to the hollow tree, where I'd spent so many amazing nights with her sister. I enjoyed a single night with her, one where I especially appreciated her tail. StarClan, and how much it was like Amberheart's.
But that was the problem in the end. She would never be Amberheart.
Many moons later, I was out collecting herbs on one of the most breathtaking Greenleaf days I had ever witnessed. Such was the heat of the sun, and the brightness of the light that seemed to fill every nook and cranny of the forest with golden light, that I thought I might faint. After I'd gathered all the poppy seeds I needed, I thought it pointless to waste such good weather. Why not take a walk?
And it was this leisurely stroll that took me to Sunningrocks. I loved the place- when I was an apprentice, I often found myself admiring the sheer natural splendour and pristinity of the water. Lost in thoughts of my appreciation for the day that had graced us, I sprawled out luxuriously on one of the boulders, enjoying the feel of the warmth in my fur. I should point out that at this particular moment in time, the area belonged to ThunderClan, which was exactly why I was so surprised when a RiverClan she-cat emerged from the river.
Almost instinctively, I sprang back, fueled by my hostile feelings towards her Clan. She tilted her head to one side, a strange emotion in her eyes that I simply couldn't read. They were wet with water, which at first I assumed was because of the fact she had just been swimming. In actual fact, she was crying.
And it was then that I noticed it. Her eyes... oh, her eyes. They were identical to Amberheart's. Gentle, bewitching, and most importantly, a deep cerulean blue. Incidentally, just like the river of Sunningrocks. They were perfect.
My hostility evaporated faster than it had come. I called out to her, asking what was wrong, and she answered me. I knew that if she hadn't been in such a state of sadness, there was no way she would greet a stranger in the same way, but it didn't matter. She told me that her mate had just broken up with her, and that she was heartbroken. I soon fixed that.
I took her to the hollow tree, and just like Skytail we enjoyed a few brief moments of pleasure. But the problem remained. She would never be Amberheart.
Long, tedious seasons passed after my encounter with the RiverClan she-cat. I continued to do the same thing on repeat, an endless cycle of the same medicine cat duties sunrise after sunrise after sunrise. Leaffall, with its hues of dark brown, yellow and red, merged with Newleaf, and Newleaf merged with Greenleaf until finally, destiny came to rest on a harsher Leafbare than the rest. Snow covered the ground like a kittypet's blanket, smothering the lush green grass and shrubs until they suffocated. The leaves abandoned the trees, leaving them to rot. Prey disappeared from the forest completely, and slowly but surely, ThunderClan got hungry. Too hungry to cope. Cats begun to die. There was nothing I could do.
I was on my way back from a half-moon gathering of all the medicine cats. I was weak and my pelt, usually neatly groomed and tidy, was tattered and muddy. After making it through WindClan territory, a blizzard started. I was exhausted, and could hardly walk. My legs collapsed under the pressure. Starving and half dead, I thought that was the end of me.
My eyes began to close. I saw lights flash. Was that it?
Then suddenly, from the gloomy darkness, teeth fixed themselves into the scruff of my neck. I managed to crane my head upwards. A loner she-cat had found me! I was saved! I couldn't see her properly for the lack of light, but that was the least of my worries. Slowly and surely, she dragged me back in the direction of ThunderClan territory. Once we were under the cover of trees (no matter how bare they were), I asked her to take me to a place I knew she'd love. The hollow tree. A place where I knew we'd be safe.
Finally, we got inside, and now that the light had improved, I could see my saviour for the first time. The sight that graced my eyes was a wonderful one. Her pelt was the spitting image of Amberheart's. The same light ginger colour and the same tabby stripes of a darker shade. It made me all the more grateful. Despite the state I was in, I reached up and muzzled her cheek. My breath had well and truly been taken away.
But the next morning, she was gone, and for the same reason as the two before her. She was similar to Amberheart, but not the same cat.
Amberheart.
Oh, my sweet, poisonous Amberheart.
When that awful Leafbare had come and gone, the memories of her were stronger than ever. The loner she-cat had made me remember just how much I loved her, and just how passionate I still felt towards her. I needed her. I needed her by my side. I need her now.
The moon was shining brightly overhead. The constellations of StarClan reached over the blackened sky. That night, the night when everything changed, I was lonely and sad, reminiscing about my precious little she-cat. How pretty she was. How radiant.
I wanted to be close to her again. I wanted to feel her sweltering prescence once more. And I knew where I could do that. In the only place in the world that was important to me.
I crept out of the medicine cat den, totally silent, making sure not to disturb any of my sleeping Clanmates. My mind, for what felt like the first time in moons, was clear. I knew what I had to do, and with all the stealth of a ShadowClanner, I padded out into our territory. I had walked the path to the hollow tree so many times and my pawsteps were swift and quiet. Not even the sharpest owl could have heard me.
But as I grew closer to the hollow tree, I begun to realise that something was wrong. There was a familiar scent on the air, one that evoked foreboding and hatred in my heart. It took me a few moments to put a face to it, but when I did it, it was already too late. Standing at the entrance to Amberheart and I's den, was Sparrowclaw.
He glared at me, eyes full of venom. 'Surprised to see me?' the tom growled.
I shrugged. 'Not really.'
Sparrowclaw carried on like this for a while, before finally, he seemed to rediscover the ability to speak. 'It was you, wasn't it?'
'What do you mean?'
'Don't play games with me!' he shouted, unsheathing his claws and digging them into the ground. 'I know you killed Amberheart!'
My eyes narrowed, but he ploughed on before I could say anything.
'It took me so long to figure it out,' he said, voice wavering. 'But I know now. I know the truth. She never told me that you were in love, but she often took moonhigh walks. She must've been meeting you, and you were so desperate to accuse me of killing her. I was blind not to see the truth.'
He waited for a reaction, but I didn't give him the pleasure.
'You must've argued a couple of days before they found her body. I- I'm guessing she told you that she didn't want to meet you anymore, and that she was pregnant with my kits. You got angry, didn't you? Youslaughtered Amberheart, and then you had the nerve to blame me for it! You stole some of my fur from my nest, and laid it around her body, didn't you, you mangy piece of foxdung!'
Sparrowclaw's voice had risen to a very high-pitched shriek by the time he'd finished. He was breathing heavily, and his face was contorted with more rage than I'd ever seen from someone in my entire life. It was really quite impressive, to be honest. Really quite impressive.
I stepped forward, but he backed away, baring his fangs. 'Don't come near me, murderer!' he hissed.
That made me smile. Smile very broadly. 'Oh, but you're wrong, aren't you Sparrowclaw?' I giggled. 'You're still wrong.'
'What are you talking about?'
'Amberheart's not dead,' I whispered gently, taking another step towards him. 'Far from it. She's alive, and living well.'
Sparrowclaw's eyes widened to the size of the moon. 'W- what?' he rasped.
'She's in there,' I told him, gesturing towards the hollow tree. 'This is where we used to meet, you know? It's where she's been living all this time.'
He glanced at me, and then at the bark of the tree, and then back again. I could see he was confused, and even a little afraid.
'Go on,' I said brightly. 'Go and greet my Amberheart.'
Sparrowclaw opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was blinking rapidly, and his whiskers trembled. I half expected him to turn around and run away me, but he held his ground. Some foolish part of him was determined to find out what I meant.
He turned around to face the bark of the tree. My smile only widened, satisfied that he was going to see her. Ever so slowly, he padded inside, and I followed him.
Something lay on the floor of the den. Something that vaguely resembled the shape of a cat. Blood was splattered across the walls and floor of the tree, staining two small nests that lay to one side scarlet. Light ginger fur lay around the edges and inside of the shape, some of which were tinged tabby brown. The fur built up to the top of the shape, where the largest stain of blood was. Two gentle, bewitching cerulean blue eyes were placed on the ground, gouged out from their owner. Their pupils were still, staring at the top of the trunk. Down at the bottom of the shape was a tail. It was long and thin, and a cloud-like white all over, cut off from the rest of its body.
'Well go on then!' I exclaimed cheerfully. 'Say hello! She's been dying to meet you!'
All the pretty she-cats, eh?
So yeah, that was the first one-shot in my Warriors Horror Story collection! Pretty dark and macabre towards the end, so I hope it hit the mark. Obviously, it was designed to be scary. Please tell me what you thought in a review!