Prologue
Ivypool awoke to soft grass underneath her paws and trees surrounding the field she stood in.
'Wait- this is the place I first met Hawkfrost!' She thought, fear and confusion churning in her belly.
"Hello?" she meowed, her mew echoing, though she wasn't in a cave.
Suddenly, she felt a soft pelt brush against her's, and she turned her head to see a dark brown tabby tom with icy-blue eyes.
"Hawkfrost," Ivypool murmured, her surprise catching in her throat as she was now speechless.
"I know what you're wondering. I died in the Dark Forest." Hawkfrost mewed, his eyes chips of ice.
"No... this isn't happening!" Ivypool hissed, backing away slowly and lashing her dark silver-and-white tail in fury and confusion.
Hawkfrost purred in amusement, brushing his tail along her flank.
"Oh, Ivypool," he whispered in her ear. "Sometimes things just happen."
Ivypool hissed at him, her claws extended as she flashed her paw across the side of his face.
Hawkfrost seemed unfazed by her attack, as he just stood taller, towering above her with a smirk on his face as crimson liquids started to drip onto the bright green grass beside him, staining it.
Ivypool closed her eyes, her heart pounding hard in her chest.
'Wake up, Ivypool. Wake up!' She willed herself silently. But all that came was the bristling of her fur.
"Are you scared, my love?" Hawkfrost sneered. "After all, you did betray us."
Ivypool felt thorn-sharp claws rake down her sides.
"Please, just leave me alone!" she wailed aloud, slipping under his legs as she dashed across the field.
She realized that there were large stones now surrounding her, and she was trapped. She turned around, and noticed Hawkfrost standing behind her.
"The Dark Forest and I are planning on launching another attack on the Clans. You won't tell anyone, will you?" Hawkfrost hissed.
"Of course I will!" Ivypool spat, shocked that Hawkfrost would reveal a secret like that.
"Then I guess I'll have to kill Dovewing and the rest of your family. One by one." Hawkfrost shrugged as he spoke.
"No! Wait! Ivypool mewed as Hawkfrost began to stalk away.
Hawkfrost halted, turning on her with a smug smirk on his face.
"Yes?" he queried in a faked sweet tone.
"Fine, I won't tell anyone," Ivypool muttered, knowing that he'd just kill them either way. Although she didn't want him to kill them right away, she'd still have time to figure this out.
Hawkfrost tipped his head back to look at the clear, pale-blue sky. The stones around them turned into the misty forest, while clouds began to dot the sky. They were shadowed when the lush canopy of tree leaves stretched out above, sending down shower after shower of dark green leaves.
"Goodnight, dearest Ivypool," Hawkfrost meowed.
Ivypool blinked away the bleary sleepiness in her eyes as she awoke with a start.
She noticed Dovewing shifting in her sleep, and on her other side she noticed Thornclaw and Blossomfall snuggled up together, their fur mingled.
Ivypool sighed as she gazed at the newly founded couple. Would she ever find a mate?
She shook her head to clear out the nonsense that surged through her as she stood up and arched her back in the milky dawn light that filtered through the brambles that sheltered the warriors' den.
"Ivypool, since you're awake, you can lead the dawn patrol," Squirrelflight mewed, padding up to her.
The ginger she-cat had seemed to have been able to grasp the duties of the deputy in such a short amount of time.
"OK," Ivypool responded, flexing her claws so they shredded some of the evergreen grass.
"Who should I take?" she asked.
"You choose," Squirrelflight meowed, padding away.
"Thornclaw, Blossomfall and Brackenfur, you're coming with me on the dawn patrol," she loudly informed the snoozing warriors.
The warriors she had called stood up, following her out into the wild of the forest.
As Ivypool gazed up at the sky, she remembered Hawkfrost's warning.
'Tell a soul, and I'll kill your family, one by one.'
Sorry if the font and other stuff is changing/not working, but there's something odd going on with the FanFiction story thingy.