A/N: For the LawlClan Monthly Challenge. The plot is "The afterlife is not what the protagonist expected."
Many mucho thanks to my Beta, AmberyAmber.
-Monster-
Two cats perched on the lake shore, their tails entwined as they watched the rippling surface of the water and listened to the familiar sounds of the forest. The she-cat pressed her nose into the tom's fur and he purred softly.
"I love you, Stormblaze." The she-cat's voice was as gentle as the waves on the shore.
Lovingly, the blue-grey tom licked her head. "And I love you, Robinsong," he murmured.
The two cats stayed close for a while, gazing at the reflection of the stars in the lake; savoring the moment.
"We should head back to camp," Stormblaze meowed, breaking the silence. "It's not good for you to be out so long."
Robinsong snorted. "My kits aren't due for another moon. Besides," she added more gently, "I want to spend more time with you."
Stormblaze got to his paws. "No," he said firmly. "You need your rest, and I have dawn patrol tomorrow."
The tortoiseshell she-cat sighed, "Another time, maybe."
Stormblaze rubbed gently against her swollen flank. "I'll always have time for you," he purred.
The two cats headed back up the slope to ShadowClan camp; Stormblaze never leaving his mate's side. Robinsong began to slow, panting.
"Are you alright?" Stormblaze asked, his eyes wide and anxious. "Do you need water?"
"No," she panted. "Just a little rest. It gets tiring carrying around all this extra weight." Robinsong's eyes brimmed with happiness at the mention of her future kits.
The blue-grey tom sat down, his tail brushing against her flank. "We'll wait then."
The two ShadowClan cats entered camp and a tall, grey cat came rushing out of the nursery. "Robinsong!" the queen scolded, "You should know better than to go out like that when you're so close to having your kits."
The wrathful she-cat rounded on Stormblaze with her ears laid back, "And you! Don't you care at all for your mate's health? That walk could have hurt her!"
Stormblaze was about to snap a response, but Robinsong beat him to it. "Ashfang, I'm fine," she growled, her ears laid back. "And I'm the one who suggested going out, not Stormblaze. Why don't you try minding your own business for once?" Robinsong hissed.
Ashfang drew back, her tail lashing. "Just be careful next time," she muttered and scurried back to the nursery.
Robinsong flicked her tail. "She worries about me," she meowed.
"So I noticed," Stormblaze growled as his ear twitched with annoyance.
The tortoiseshell cat then turned and padded toward the nursery.
"Goodnight, Robinsong," Stormblaze called after her. She waved her tail, acknowledging that she had heard.
Stormblaze padded into the warrior's den and picked his way around the bodies of sleeping cats. He settled into his own nest and immediately closed his eyes. He missed the warmth of Robinsong's body next to his. Stormblaze couldn't wait until she finally had her kits and could move back into the warrior's den; after the kits were apprenticed of course. He would be a father then. A father... With that happy note in mind, Stormblaze drifted off to sleep.
Stormblaze woke with a paw prodding his side and a voice meowing, "Stormblaze, wake up." The ShadowClan tom slowly opened his eyes and blinked. "Dawn patrol," Specklefrost meowed and ducked out of the den.
Stormblaze stretched briefly, then padded outside. He shook himself, his thick fur fluffing up from the chilly morning. The rest of the dawn patrol waited by the entrance as he made his way over. "Right," Cedarstripe meowed, "let's go."
The patrol silently filed out behind the dark brown tabby, their pawsteps making a faint crunch on the frosty pine needles.
Foxfur dropped back and joined Stormblaze. "How's Robinsong?" the ginger tom asked.
"As healthy as ever," Stormblaze purred. "Her kits are due for next moon."
"And you'll be a dad, eh?" Foxfur nudged his friend's shoulder none too gently, and Stormblaze's chest puffed out proudly.
"Hey, you two, quiet down back there. You'll scare all the prey between here and the lake," Specklefrost meowed over her shoulder.
"So, what does it matter," Foxfur meowed loudly. "It's not like we're on hunting patrol."
"Yes, but it doesn't hurt to pick up a few extra pieces of prey for the Clan," Cedarstripe interjected. "Especially when leaf-bare is approaching."
Foxfur flicked his ear and mumbled into Stormblaze's ear, "Leave it to the senior warrior to spoil all the fun."
The blue-grey tom was about to agree when Cedarstripe stopped abruptly and raised his tail in warning. The patrol froze, their breath making smoky puffs in the cold air. The wind shifted, and ruffled the cats' fur.
Nothing.
The ginger tom snorted and took a step forward. "So now can we-" Foxfur was cut off when something crashed into him, throwing him fox-lengths away. Stormblaze was prepared to go see if he was okay, but Specklefrost was closer.
"Badger," Cedarstripe yowled.
Stormblaze whipped around and saw the badger for the first time. It was a huge female, with its white stripe gleaming ominously in the rising sun. Stormblaze watched as its long, blunt claws swung at the Cedarstripe, but the warrior dodged nimbly. Stormblaze then raced toward the creature, claws outstretched. He raked his claws through its matted fur, causing drops of blood to splatter his face.
The badger roared in rage and swung its large paws, knocking Stormblaze off his feet. His head hit the ground hard and his vision became foggy. Through blurred eyes he saw Foxfur draw the badger away from him, dancing just out of its reach. The badger charged toward Foxfur, and Specklefrost clawed it as it raced past.
Stormblaze scrambled to his feet, his head spinning. He shook his head to clear it.
The three cats had surrounded the badger, swiping at it with their claws. Their lips were drawn back in snarls. The badger shook its massive head, as if choosing which cat to attack first.
Stomblaze saw his opportunity and leaped onto its back, digging his claws in deep. The badger roared and reared on its hind legs. He sprang from its back just as it toppled over. Without thinking, he lunged for its exposed belly, drawing his claws down it.
"Stormblaze! Back away, now!" Cedarstripe yowled, but Stormblaze barely heard.
Suddenly, a large paw slammed down on his head and Stormblaze let out a cry of pain. He slumped to the ground, and felt blood slowly trickle down his face. He looked up to see a shape looming over him. Blunt claws swung toward him and bowled him away, making a deep gash in his chest. "Stormblaze!" someone shrieked.
He tumbled head over tail, and his vision faded into a black haze. Stormblaze heard nothing but the constant beat of his own heart. He felt paws pounding the ground and eventually the heavier paws retreated.
He felt breath stir the fur on the back of his neck. "He's alive!" a cat's voice echoed.
Robinsong lounged in a mossy nest in the nursery, listening to the constant ramblings of Ashfang.
"And then I said to myself, 'Ashfang, you need to-'" The grey queen fell silent when she heard yowls and pawsteps outside.
"I wonder what that could be," Robinsong meowed as she scrambled to her feet.
The two queens emerged from the nursery to see a crowd gathered. Robinsong padded up to a cat and asked, "What's happening?"
The cat simply gave her a look of despair and then stepped back. The tortoiseshell queen pushed her way past the cats, only to freeze at what she saw. "Oh, StarClan," she whispered, her eyes wide with horror.
She dashed over to her mate's body. His blue-grey fur was coated in mud and dirt. "Stormblaze, Stormblaze!" she cried, her voice growing in anxiety.
"Out of my way!" the medicine cat, Thistlepelt, snapped as he pushed through to Stormblaze. He took one look and meowed, "Put him in my den."
Robinsong trailed closely behind, not taking her eyes off her mate as they carried him into the medicine cat's den. From behind her she faintly heard, "We were attacked by a badger, Stormblaze got too close..." She didn't listen anymore.
"Now everyone out!" Thistlepelt barked. "I need room."
Wide-eyed, Robinsong stared at him. "You can stay," he meowed distractedly.
The tortoiseshell queen said nothing as Thistlepelt sent his apprentice to get herbs from the storage and wrapped cobwebs around Stormblaze's wounds. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "He's going to be fine, right?" she asked, her eyes pleading and desperate.
Thistlepelt met her amber eyes. "I don't know."
A few days later.
Thistlepelt glanced up from sorting herbs when he heard a choking sound coming from Stormblaze's nest. He raced over to see the blue-grey tom being racked by painful spasms. The medicine cat called over his apprentice. "Get Robinsong."
Robinsong hurried from the nursery to the medicine cat den, her eyes wide. "What's wrong?" she asked nervously when she entered.
Thistlepelt looked up, and Robinsong knew what he was going to say even before he said it. "Robinsong," he meowed, his voice cracking, "Stormblaze is on his way to StarClan."
The queen nodded and moved to the nest slowly, her body trembling. She looked into the nest and saw that Stormblaze's eyes were open. His blue eyes were wide and scared. "I'm here, Stormblaze," Robinsong whispered, her voice shaking.
Stormblaze's mouth moved, but no sound came out. He coughed, and blood bubbled up to his lips. "Can't you give him something to make it less painful?!" Robinsong wailed.
Thistlepelt lowered his gaze. "I already did," he mewed softly.
Robinsong returned to her amber eyes to her mate. "You'll be okay," she whispered softly. "StarClan will welcome you."
Stormblaze's eyes were still wide and pained. He opened his mouth again, and this time Robinsong heard something faint. "I'll never get to see our kits," he choked.
He coughed again and sent droplets of blood splattering Robinsong's face. "Yes you will," she mewed quietly, ignoring it. "You'll see them from StarClan."
Stormblaze shook his head, and his chest heaved. "They'll never see their father," his voice sounded garbled from the blood.
Robinsong felt pain rising in her chest. "I'll tell them all about you," she murmured, her voice cracked. "I'll tell them about the time when you were an apprentice and you brought back a crow, and your mentor was so impressed. I'll tell them about that time when you chased off a rogue all on your own. I'll tell them about how you were the greatest warrior ShadowClan has ever known. I'll tell them-" her voice trailed off when she saw Stormblaze's eyes drifting closed.
She pushed her nose into his matted chest fur. "I love you, Stormblaze."
Stormblaze's voice was so faint, it was barely audible. "And I love you, Robinsong."
Robinsong gently stroked his head with her tail until his breathing slowed to a complete stop. She hung her head mournfully, and then let out a low wail.
Stormblaze opened his eyes. He saw Robinsong leaning over him, wailing. What just happened? Was this what it felt like to die? He stood up shakily and saw himself lying in the nest. He heard pawsteps behind him and glanced around. "Sagepaw...?" he meowed in confusion.
The glimmering shape of his sister nodded to him. "I'm here to take you to StarClan, brother."
Stormblaze gazed at Robinsong sadly. "She can't see us?" he asked quietly.
Sagepaw shook her head slowly.
The blue-grey tom looked at his paws, which he noticed were now interspersed with tiny stars, like dewdrops.
"We should go now, Stormblaze," Sagepaw mewed.
The two siblings walked silently up an invisible path to the stars, and Stormblaze kept looking back over his shoulder. He watched his body being carried out of the medicine cat den and saw Robinsong following slowly with her tail dragging in the dust.
"What do you mean I can't visit her?!" Stormblaze trembled with rage.
"You can only visit leaders and medicine cats in dreams," Sagepaw replied calmly, her tail flicking back and forth.
The ShadowClan tom hissed and paced back and forth restlessly. "That's not true," he growled. "There are plenty of times when StarClan visited warriors in dreams."
The pale brown she-cat looked at her paws. "Those were cats destined for greatness."
Stormblaze froze. "Are you saying Robinsong isn't important?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.
His sister looked stunned. "N-no," she stuttered, "it's just she's... she's..."
"So that's how it works here? StarClan chooses favorites and speaks to them?" He snorted angrily and whipped around.
"Stormblaze? Where are you going?" Sagepaw called after him anxiously.
The blue-grey tom didn't reply and continued racing through the trees.
"Mousedung," Sagepaw muttered and followed after him.
Stormblaze pelted through the green forest. He hated StarClan. It made him sick just looking at it. It was all too perfect; the trees were too green, the water too clear, the stars too bright. Worst of all, there was no Robinsong; no kits.
He ran until he came to a stream. He bent down to lap up the icy water, allowing it to cool his throat. What's the point of all this beauty, he thought, if I can't share it with those I love?
Stormblaze laid on the bank of the stream with his paw dangling so it touched the surface of the water. He watched as a watery trail formed behind his paw and heard someone pad up behind him.
"Stormblaze-"
"What do you want, Sagepaw?" he snapped without turning his head to look at her.
"I just wanted you to know that I understand what you're going through," Sagepaw mewed and ducked her head.
Stormblaze turned his head to her, his blue eyes full of pain. "You were never in love, Sagepaw. All you had to leave behind was me," his voice was no longer angry, but it was dripping with sadness.
"But I was in love, Stormblaze," she murmured. "In love with my Clan, my friends, the life I had. Do you think it was easy for me to leave all that behind?"
The blue-grey tom looked at the water again and didn't reply.
Sagepaw padded forward, her paws barely making a sound on the soft grass. She rested her light brown tail on his shoulder. "Come with me, I want to show you something."
"What is this?" Stormblaze asked curiously, looking into the Pool.
"This is how cats from StarClan watch the cats in the Clans," Sagepaw meowed.
He stared blankly at it. "All I see is water."
Sagepaw scoffed. "Just look into the Pool and think of who you want to see."
The ShadowClan tom gazed into the Pool and thought of Robinsong. His mind strayed to that night by the lake. Their last night together... The Pool rippled and showed an image of a tortoiseshell queen asleep in the cozy nursery. "Robinsong..." Stormblaze murmured, his eyes widened as he was suddenly compelled to go to her.
He moved a paw forward and accidentally stepped in the Pool, causing the image to dissolve. Stormblaze breathed heavily and stared at his wet paws.
One moon later...
"Stormblaze!" Sagepaw yowled.
Stormblaze watched as his prey disappeared into the green undergrowth. "Now look what you've done-"
"Robinsong is having her kits," Sagepaw interrupted.
He froze for a second, then ran toward the direction of the Pools, Sagepaw close on his heels. Stormblaze skidded to a halt in front of a Pool, his paws splashing drops of water ahead of him.
"Stormblaze, maybe you shouldn't watch. You know what happened last time you saw her," Sagepaw meowed uncertainly, remembering how a few days ago Stormblaze had tried to leave StarClan to go to her. It had taken a long time for her to convince him to stay. Finally, it had seemed like he was getting used to life without Robinsong.
Stormblaze ignored her and stared intently at the Pool. The water rippled, and they saw a dark nursery. A queen was lying in the corner, panting hard and Thistlepelt was crouched beside her, coaxing her to eat some herbs.
"Just stay calm, Robinsong," Ashfang meowed as she held up some dripping moss the queen's mouth.
Stormblaze watched, never taking his eyes off the Pool. Sagepaw looked over at him worriedly.
Robinsong let out a yowl of pain, and Stormblaze stiffened.
"Stormblaze, don't-" Sagepaw warned.
"She needs me," he murmured, his eyes starting to glass over.
"She's in capable paws," Sagepaw growled. "There's nothing you can do."
Another yowl came from the Pool, and for the first time Stormblaze looked at his sister. "I'm going to her." His voice was determined.
"No, you're not."
The blue-grey cat roughly pushed past her and growled, "You can't stop me."
"Don't do it," she warned, "you'll only make things worse."
Stormblaze ignored her and broke into a run.
"You don't even know where to go!" Sagepaw screamed after him.
Stormblaze ran blindly, jumping over objects as they came across his path. He didn't know where to go, in fact, he didn't even know what he was looking for, but he was going to find a way out of StarClan. He would find a way to Robinsong.
The ShadowClan cat slowed when he saw three cats ahead, who looked like they might have been hunting. Maybe they would know where to go. "Excuse me," he called to them, and the cats turned in his direction. "Do you know where the Gate to StarClan is?"
One cat, who couldn't have been older than eight moons, tipped her head curiously. "Why do you need to know?"
"I was told that I need to go to one of the Clan leaders," Stormblaze lied smoothly. "Something about a prophecy."
The young cat's eyes lit up. "Well, you're headed in the wrong direction. It's that way," the cat beside her replied, gesturing with his tail. "You'll know it when you see it."
Stormblaze dipped his head. "Thank you."
With that, he padded away in the direction the tom had indicated, forcing his paws to move slowly and evenly, so as not to arise their suspicions. Behind him he heard the apprentice meow, "Wow! A prophecy! Do you think we'll get to do something for it?"
When he was sure they were out of earshot he started to run, his claws tearing up clumps of grass. He weaved through the towering pine trees, and sent prey scattering from the sound of his pounding paws. He had to get to Robinsong before it was too late. He pushed himself harder, running as fast as his legs would allow. Finally, something came into view. It looked something like a spiraling vortex with stars spinning around in the center. This must be the Entrance to StarClan; Stormblaze recognized it from when he first came here.
He slowed his pace when he saw two cats on either side of it, one a pitch black cat, the other completely white. Their pelts were glittering with stars and their eyes burned with white fire. They must be guarding it, Stormblaze realized. Probably to keep cats like me from leaving, he thought angrily.
Stormblaze stopped completely when he saw two cats emerge from the vortex, one cat with its eyes stretched wide in awe. His opinion will change when he finds out what these cats are really like, Stormblaze thought bitterly.
As the two cats padded away he started to think about how he would get past the guards. Maybe he could trick them, like he had those other cats. Either way, it was worth a shot. Stormblaze sauntered out into the open, leaving the concealing shade of the trees. "Greetings," he meowed to the two cats.
The black and white cats stared at him, but didn't reply. Stormblaze cleared his throat, "I need to use the Gate."
"You have not been given permission to use the Gate," the black cat meowed, not taking his eyes off Stormblaze.
"Yes, well," his eyes flickered nervously, "I was told it was an emergency."
"Very well, use it at your own risk," the white cat replied this time.
Stormblaze felt his heart skip a beat. They were letting him go, just like that.
"Stormblaze!" a voice screamed, "what are you doing?!"
The blue-grey tom whipped around and saw Sagepaw racing toward him. "Get out of here, Sagepaw," he hissed.
The small, brown she-cat stopped in front of him. "Stormblaze, you can't leave," she growled.
"Why do you care?" he spat.
"Because there are penalties for the cats who try to leave."
"I don't believe you," he growled as he turned toward the Gate again.
Sagepaw stood in his way. "Please, if you try to leave someone will get hurt."
Stormblaze snorted and pushed her out of the way, then ran toward the starry vortex. "No!" Sagepaw yowled and jumped on him, pinning him to the ground with her claws.
"Get off me, Sagepaw!" Stormblaze spat viciously as he tried to push her off.
"The reason you're here is because of me!" Sagepaw spat.
Her brother's eyes widened and he stopped fighting."What?"
"Whenever a cat tries to leave StarClan," Sagepaw explained, without loosening her grip, "a cat in the Clans dies. I tried to leave, and you died."
"But... Why?" Stormblaze breathed.
Sagepaw shook her head. "I don't know, but if you go, it might kill Robinsong, or one of the kits."
He stared at her. "The kits?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
The she-cat slowly got off Stormblaze and replied, "Didn't I tell you? While you were leaving Robinsong had four healthy kits."
Stormblaze got to his paws and stared at the Portal for a moment. "Come on, let's go," he meowed, looking away.
Sagepaw looked at the Gate, "You don't mean..."
"No," he meowed, with something like regret in his eyes. "I would never endanger any of their lives. I'll watch them from StarClan." "I trust Robinsong to raise them well," he added.
His sister breathed a sigh of relief and followed Stormblaze as they walked in the direction of the Pools. As the two cats padded away Stormblaze asked, "So, why do you think it's so important for us to stay in StarClan?"
"I have no idea..." Sagepaw murmured.
A/N: Hmm. Makes you think doesn't it? Why does StarClan insist they stay there, and why is it that StarClan isn't allowed to speak to ordinary cats?Writing this one-shot totally changed my view on StarClan. =P
-Monster-