A/N: Okay here's the second part of my short series! Bloodlust is much more bloodier than slaughter, and it does have one swear word, but I think it worked rather nicely. Anyway I hope you guys like this one, and please review! Next one will be posted tommorow hopefully:)
~Leo~
PART 2: BLOODLUST
Leafpool padded silently through the dark forest. Blood covered her white paws, causing them to appear spiky and wet in nature. Her vision was flooded by a red haze, covering her once beautiful amber stare.
It was time to finish what she began, it was time to kill the tom that caused her the worst pain possible. If it wasn't for Crowfeather, then Leafpool wouldn't be in this situation.
She would have made it back in time to save Cinderpelt's life. She would never have gotten pregnant with Jayfeather, Lionblaze or Hollyleaf. She would never had to gone through the suffering of knowing she disobeyed her clan, and lied to them for all those moons.
Leafpool would never have been outed by Hollyleaf at the gathering, then threatened by death from her daughter. And she would never have lost her daughter to the rock fall, Hollyleaf didn't have to die.
"And my claws aren't nearly as stained as they could be" she meowed happily, while padding towards WindClan.
She knew Crowfeather's daily schedule after all, he always took a nightly walk under the night sky, right by the ThunderClan border. Dark clouds rolled around the forest, scything its the tree tops like sharp claws.
Thunder rolled through the ground, Leafpool could feel the strong vibrations underneath her bloody paws. She had always enjoyed thunderstorms, and it added to the feeling of causing pain to Crowfeather.
As rain began to pour from the darkening sky, the light brown tabby paused at the ThunderClan and WindClan border. At least the storm would cover up her scent, she didn't want Crowfeather to know that she was here, until it was to late.
Ducking behind an Ash tree, Leafpool waited for her moment to strike. After moons of living in agony about the decision to give up her kits, it had finally come out into the open, and now she could get revenge for all her pain.
Leafpool was sorry about killing Brambleclaw, but if she let him go then she couldn't get her revenge, and it had to take surprise to take down the huge deputy. He did a good job raising her kits though, some good it did Hollyleaf.
Leafpool began to wonder if she just told the clan and her kits up front, then maybe their lives would have turned out different. And did she really have to stay in her Medicine Cat position?
Couldn't she have just become a queen, then learned to train as a warrior?
After all Cinderpelt taught her enough about fighting, Leafpool could have learned easily. But Cinderpelt was the reason Leafpool stayed as a Medicine Cat, her clan needed her. And her mentor wouldn't have died in the first place if she hadn't have run off with Crowfeather.
And as soon as the image of her kits father popped into her mind, Leafpool noticed a lithe shape walking down the moor.
There he is, she sneered, her eyes burning with rage and Bloodlust.
It was one thing that Crowfeather got her pregnant, but it was another to leave her to be with that bitch Nightcloud, and that snobby kit Breezepelt. And on top of all of that, to deny her and her kits at the gathering, what did Leafpool just magically become pregnant by StarClan?
Consumed by her fury, Leafpool didn't notice the twig right beneath her front paw, and it snapped as soon as she moved forward. Wincing in stupidity, she turned around to hide behind the tree.
"Is somebody there?" she recognized Crowfeather's voice, as he looked around suspiciously.
It was already to late for him, Leafpool had given herself away.
"Somebody is here!" she growled from behind her tree, walking out into the open to reveal herself.
Crowfeather turned around in an instant, his ears pressed back in surprise. But then they perked up, as he looked at the mother of his kits in confusion.
"Leafpool? Is that you? What are you doing here, what are you doing out in this storm?" he sounded more surprised than worried. But Crowfeather never was worried was he? Just concerned about himself, that's how he always was.
"I'm just looking for a little revenge" she growled, padding towards him until she was a fox-length away.
"What?" he echoed in confusion, "Is...Is that blood on your pelt? Leafpool are you hurt!?".
The light brown Medicine Cat laughed, "Oh don't try and deceive me with your fake pity. You never have had a way with the she-cats Crowfeather. I mean look at you, first Feathertail who died from saving you. Then Nightcloud who's about as bitter as a wet elder, and look at me! I gave you three kits, and what do you do when you find out? Deny not only that they never existed, but that they aren't yours!".
Her amber eyes were tinged with fury, and her claws were aching to slice through his body. But Leafpool couldn't attack yet, the tom needed to know why she was doing this.
Crowfeather stood there in surprise, his mouth gaping. "But, but don't you see Leafpool? If you would have just told me you were expecting my kits, then we would have worked it out! And how was I supposed to react about Hollyleaf, Jayfeather and Lionblaze? I was under the pressure of four clans, and not to mention my own mate and son!".
Leafpool just shook her head in denial, this was all just one of his games to try and convince her otherwise. The same game that entranced her in the first place!
"Enough talking Crowfeather" she growled, while un-sheathing her claws. "Your like a sickness that works its way into its host. Devouring everything in sight, and causing endless pain and torment. And in the end your left happy, while the host is left to burn in eternal agony. Well now your that host, and its time for the agony."
Leafpool swiped a paw at the gray toms face, causing blood to spatter the dark green grass. The wound left him in shock, frozen to the ground, unable to move as the she-cat prepared for another shock. Leafpool wanted to put him in as much pain as possible before killing him, it was only fair.
"Leafpool" he choked, "Please don't" blood was dripping from the WindClan tom's once handsome face.
"Shut up!" she snapped, slashing one claw across his muzzle. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she kept slashing through his face, until Crowfeather fell to the ground motionless.
Oh no, had she killed him already? But the WindClan tom was choking on his breath, luckily he was still alive.
"I wonder if you'll see your daughter in StarClan?" she asked quietly, bending down to whisper in his ear. "Maybe then you'll realize what wrongs you have commited" and with that, Leafpool sunk her white fangs into Crowfeather's neck, thrashing him until his life faded into StarClan.
As the WindClan cat died slowly, Leafpool looked up to the sky, finally feeling at peace. Justice and Revenge had been served alright, but at what cost?
Squirrelflight stared out into the dark forest, worry filling her jade eyes. Brambleclaw had been gone so long, something happened to him, and there was nothing she could do about it!
"Firestar let me go out there and look for him!" she meowed, turning around to look her father in the eye.
"Squirrelflight no" he told her sternly, "It's to dangerous. I'm sure he's just taking extra precautions, after all it is a pretty strong storm."
The ginger she-cat sighed, "I hope so".
Lightning crackled across the skies horizon, lighting up the ThunderClan camp in bright white light. Squirrelflight saw the ridge where she first fell into the camp, maybe she could keep an eye out for Brambleclaw or any danger from up there!
"I'm going onto the ridge to look for any danger" she told her father, if she can't look for him in the forest, then she'll look from up top.
"Alright" Firestar nodded, "But be careful, do you want me to see someone with you?".
"No" Squirrelflight hissed, just because she was the leaders daughter didn't mean she deserved extra treatment.
None of the other cats in the clan had a guard, other than Poppyfrost and her kits. Leaping onto the rocky ledge, Squirrelflight climbed it carefully, the surface was wet and slippery from the rain.
As the got to the top, the lithe she-cat noticed the sky changing. Clouds rolled like hordes of cattle, and the sky was tinged with a purple color, hazing through the chilly air.
Reaching the top, Squirrelflight found a comfortable place to sit, and to look out across the forest. She could see through the trees, and hopefully could spot Brambleclaw if he was anywhere near ThunderClan camp.
No sign of any cats, let alone her former mate.
Former mate. The words burnt Squirrelflight right to the soul. The moment Hollyleaf blurted out the truth, part of Squirrelflight died. She had wanted to tell Brambleclaw so badly, but he loved those kits so much, and if he didn't know they were his own, then that would've changed.
Her daughter, no nieces death shocked all of the clan. Her and Brambleclaw had been in silent mourning for days, the only one that didn't mourn was Leafpool.
Leafpool, where was her sister? From the first point of this terror, until now, she hadn't seen her sister even once! But where would she have gone in the middle of the night, was it possible that Leafpool was hurt, or even killed?
"No" Squirrelflight growled to herself, "I cant think of that right now, she's fine."
"Oh but are you sure?" a voice sounded faintly behind Squirrelflight.
Instantly turning around, the she-cat gasped in shock. It couldn't be true, Squirrelflight was seeing a ghost!
"Holl...Hollyleaf? Is that really you?" her daughter hadn't died after all!
The black she-cat was completely blended into the darkness, only her bright green eyes were visible.
"It is me" she growled, stepping towards Squirrelflight. "Did you all think I had been crushed to death under the rocks? No I was trapped down there for a moon! I had to survive on eating cockroaches and ants, look at my fur!".
Squirrelflight was in complete shock as the black warrior walked closer, lightning lit up the surroundings.
"Oh" she gasped, Hollyleaf's fur was missing patches, she looked like a monster!
"I'm sorry" the black she-cat hissed through the shadows, "Am I scaring you mother? Oh wait, I forgot you aren't my mother!! My real mother is that piece of rat meat your worrying about this very instant. And you know Squirrelflight? You have a reason to be worried."
None of this was happening, Hollyleaf was alive, and something had happened to Leafpool.
"You...You didn't hurt her did you?" she asked quietly, could Hollyleaf really hurt her birth mother?
"Oh I did more than that" she growled, "That rule breaker deserved to die by my claws. And so do you."
Squirrelflight looked down at the cliff below her, already knowing what was coming. But perhaps she deserved this, after everything she did to Leafpool's three kits, not to mention breaking Brambleclaw's heart.
As Hollyleaf moved, her aunt raised her ginger head.
"Just tell me one thing" Squirrelflight asked, accepting what was coming.
Hollyleaf stopped, "What is it?". "Were you happy when you were a kit? I mean did you have a good life until everything became shattered?" she just had to know, if she raised them right, then perhaps this wasn't her fault.
"You mean until you ruined it?" Hollyleaf growled, "Yes I did, that was when I thought the warrior code was upheld by every cat, I guess I was wrong."
I guess you were, Squirrelflight thought silently, closing her eyes. Her body was numb by the time Hollyleaf pushed her off the ledge, and her body crashed like a falling tree against the ground.
Ivypaw pushed through the ferns, sniffing the air. What was that metallic smell? It smelled like blood, but it wasn't from any prey, no it smelled different.
"Squirrelflight?" she meowed through the darkness.
Firestar had ordered Ivypaw to check on his daughter, and perhaps to watch out for any signs of danger. Jumping onto the ledge, Ivypaw didn't know how anyone got used to climbing this wall.
It was hard enough to do it when it wasn't slippery, but now it was almost impossible. The silver tabby leapt once more, before she made it to the top. Sighing happily that she made it without killing herself, Ivypaw turned to look around.
"Of course" she groaned, Squirrelflight wasn't anywhere to be seen, she had left!
"I'll probably kill myself climbing back down" Ivypaw turned towards the ledge, but gasped as a cat was in her way. She had never seen this cat before, but then again she could barely see anything in this darkness.
"Excuse me" she meowed politely, trying to turn around the cat.
"Oh don't go" the cat growled, "I have something to show you."
Ivypaw stopped, that voice it was so eery, but she didn't recognize it at all. The cat wrapped her tail around Ivypaw's silver shoulders, and guided her towards the ledge. Reluctant, the she-cat kept her feet away from the edge, in case this she-cat did anything funny.
After all there was a killer on the loose, but could this be the killer?
"Look there" the cat told her, "Look what I've done to upheld the warrior code."
"The warrior code" Ivypaw breathed, so this cat obeyed it as well, so she couldn't be a killer.
Peering over the edge, Ivypaw gasped in complete shock, and backed away swiftly.
"You...You killed Squirrelflight! You killed my own kin! Who are you?". This was the murderer, and now she was going to murder her as well!
"Calm down" the cat snapped, "I'm your kin as well, didn't you mother ever tell you about me?".
Ivypaw squinted her eyes through the darkness, and noticed the she-cats bright green eyes. Those eyes, they were the same as hers and Whitewings!
"Hollyleaf?" She asked reluctantly, "Your...Your dead though! My mother told me you died when the tunnels collapsed!".
Hollyleaf chuckled, "Does it look like I'm dead? I survived, I survived through everything in my way! And so can you Ivypaw, so can you." Could any of this really be real? She was talkking to this dead cat who was her kin, and on top of that was a murderer as well!
"Don't you ever get jealous Ivypaw?" she asked, "I've seen the way you act around your sister Dovepaw. The one that has all the power" she raised her eyes.
Ivypaw froze as she mentioned her sisters name, "Don't speak about that stupid cat of a sister" she growled, "Everyone is always saying how perfect Dovepaw is. How powerful Dovepaw is. How good a sister Dovepaw is! I'm sick of it!".
So much anger burned inside of Ivypaw, but she had to control it.
"You feel that?" Hollyleaf asked, "It's called anger, and the longing for revenge. Would you like to get revenge Ivypaw?".
Lowering her gaze, the she-cat thought for a moment. Maybe if Dovepaw was out of the picture, than everything in her life would be better. Looking up at Hollyleaf, Ivypaw nodded.
"I want revenge, but how?".