A/N: Hey guys, here's a little one-shot I wrote for the wonderful day of Halloween! This kind of just popped into my head last night when I was watching repeats of Eastwick on the computer. I know its a bit corny and not realistic, but I think it turned out nicely. Well how was all of yours Halloween, mine was pretty much boring.
Not the most traditional Halloween, I saw Michael Jacksons "This is It", and then gave out candy with my two nephews. Hmm thats all for now, keep watch for Zodiac which I should be posting tommorow! Please drop a review if you can!
~Leo~
HOLLOWS EVE
Crisp leaves spiraled onto the already scattered ground,a gust of wind blowing them into the air, almost as if they were flying. The round moon hung low in the sky, its normal silver shade now tinted with gold.
Lights bounced in the distance, as two cats strained to see through the darkness.
"I still don't know why you had to drag me out here Foxleap, Twoleg's do strange things all the time!". A red-furred tom ignored the cat, a white she-cat, and turned to look behind him.
"I'm telling you Icecloud somethings going on in Twolegplace tonight, lets go check it out!" he got up out from behind the bramble bush they were hidden under, and padded towards the flickering lights.
"Are you crazy?" the white she-cat spat, "Twoleg's are mean and destructive, how do you know what they're doing right now isn't a threat to us?" she questioned him with a bright blue glare.
Foxleap turned, "Because I met a kittypet today that told me all about it! It's something called Halloween, they twoleg's do it every Leaf-Fall!".
"Do what exactly?" another voice sounded, making not only Icecloud jump, but her red furred brother as well. The voice belonged to a large flame colored tom, with eyes as green as the blades of grass beneath the three cats.
"Fi...Firestar" Icecloud stammered, "We were just umm...." she trailed off without a good explanation, or even an explanation whatsoever as to why they were here.
"Did I hear you mention Halloween Foxleap?" the old tom asked through the darkness, padding towards the young warrior.
"Yes" the tom meowed nervously, "I met a kittypet on the border that told me all about it. The twoleg's dress up like ugly scary things and go around to different twoleg homes to get sweet food like honey! It sounded really cool!".
For a moment something flickered behind the leader's gaze and then he smiled finally.
"I remember that day" he meowed like it was yesterdy, "It was when I was just a kitten, my house folk brought pumpkins into the house and made faces out of them. It was one of the happiest days I remember!".
Icecloud and her brother both turned to each other, unsure of what to do next, until Firestar finally lifted his head.
"So are we going to check this Halloween out, or aren't we?".
Fire-lit pumpkins scattered in rows across twoleg fences lay in front of the three cats of ThunderClan, the flames flickering to glow the carved faces eerily.
Twoleg's of every shape and kind walked alongside the thunderpath, carrying what looked like big leaves to hold food in.
"This is so weird" Icecloud hissed from behind a small shrub, "I can't believe they do this every leaf-fall, even ShadowClan isn't this creepy!".
"I think its cool" Foxleap mentioned, stepping out from the darkness to see what was happening. A sweet smell filled the air, and before either of the two cats behind the shrub knew it,
Foxleap padded onto the Thunderpath, "Do any of you have any honey?" he meowed to the passing twoleg's.
Some talked in their language and pointed at him, while others leaned down to pet him on the head. Instead of scratching their eyes out, Foxleap instead purred and rubbed up against them, hoping to get some honey.
"Idiot!" a furious hiss came from Icecloud, who was peering nervously behind the fence, "Get back here right now!".
"I can't hear you!" Foxleap meowed, nuzzling a twoleg's paw as they rubbed behind his ears. Finally some sort of hard honey-like piece of food fell out of their carrying-leaf, and instantly Foxleap bent down to lick it.
"It's covered in some kind of clear cob-web!" he hissed irritably, "Give me my honey!".
"Here" a meow came from behind the red-warrior, "Let me get that".
Foxleap smiled at the newcomer, a lithe black cat with a dash of white across her chest.
"Thanks" the young tom meowed as the black cat slashed the veil across the hard honey, and opened it for him. Without hearing a your welcome, Foxleap darted forward and began licking at the surface.
"Mmm..., Icecloud!" he meowed in between licks, "You should really try this, it's better than anything I've tasted!".
Cautiously the white she-cat and Firestar crept out of the shrub, and onto the Thunderpath.
"Hello" the black she-cat bent her head in welcome, "My names Samara, its a pleasure to meet you." "
Hi!" Firestar responded while nodding, "My name is Firestar, and this is Icecloud" he introduced the white she-cat, who was looking at her rather oddly.
"And thats my brother Foxleap" she mumbled at the red-furred tom who was totally obsessed with the hard honey. "Stop eating that!" she hissed, "Who knows whats in that, it could give you belly worms!".
Foxleap barely looked up, "It's worth it, come on you have to try it!" he pushed it towards her.
"No thanks" Icecloud spat in disgust, "Now come on why are we even here, lets just go back home."
"Wait!" a meow came from Samara who was standing next to Foxleap, "I can show you something you'll never forget, something that you're Grandchildren's kin will pass on through the generations."
All cats perked their ears at once, Firestar and Icecloud both looking intrigued.
"Is it something to eat?" Foxleap asked hopefully, licking his lips as he stood up.
"No" Samara answered while curling her tail, "But it does have to with Halloween, and I think after this you'll appreciate it much more."
That was all the mysterious she-cat said, before she began padding down a side Thunderpath, leaving all three of the cats confused.
"What do we do?" Icecloud asked nervously to Firestar, "Do we follow her?". Firestar stared at the black she-cat while she was walking away, then nodded.
"She knows something, and I intend to find out exactly what it is" and with that, the leader of ThunderClan wove through the passing twoleg's, his tail disappearing behind a nearby tree.
"Well come on", Icecloud snapped, dragging her brother by the scruff to get him away from the honey. "Let's go find out what that crazy cat has to show us so we can just go home" she whispered, padding into the alley and into the shadows.
Crows cawed above, their calls echoing from the Rowan Tree they were perched in. The four cats wove in between large stones, this was where Samara had brought them.
"What is this place?" Firestar asked, raising his head to look at the large circular stones that were sticking out of the earths floor.
Samara leapt atop one of them and looked down, "Its a graveyard, this is where the Twoleg's bury their dead".
Icecloud gasped in horror, and immediately leapt atop a grave stone, looking at Samara in disgust.
"Why did you bring us to look at some dead twolegs?" Foxleap asked, bending down to sniff the dirt below him. Fog drifted in from the sides of this place of the dead, creating a blanket of of white around the four cats.
"Because" Samara meowed leaping back down from the stone, "I think there's something the three of you should see."
Icecloud and her brother exchanged an uneasy glance, as Firestar nodded for them to follow the mysterious she-cat. Shadows seemed to wreathe around every corner, darting out like a hawk diving for its prey.
Icecloud shivered as she stared up at the round moon, but then all at once the land became dark, as a cloud covered the light pouring down.
"Let's just go home" she mentioned to her brother and Firestar, but she couldn't see either of them through the blankets of darkness. Waiting for an answer or a response whatsoever, Icecloud paused from trekking onwards.
"Hello?" she asked out into the shadows. Nothing but branches swaying could be heard, causing the white warrior to panic. "
Foxleap?" she shrieked loudly, "Firestar, where are you?".
Her heart pounding loudly, Icecloud immediately did the opposite thing she should have done, and raced away in any direction possible. But as she began pounding the earth underneath her, Icecloud gasped as the ground disappeared into thin air.
"Help!" she yowled, but no one answered.
With a hard thud, the white she-cat hit the dirt below her, and writhed as she landed on her back paw. Light soon began to flood into the ditch, and Icecloud sighed happily as the moon became whole again.
"Foxleap I swear to StarClan when I catch you, you'll be cleaning my bedding for moons!" she swore at her brother, after all it was his fault they came here.
Almost instantly a ginger head poked into the ditch, "Hey you alright?".
"I'm fine!" Icecloud snapped, "Just get me out of this ditch!".
Foxleap began to reach his paw for her to grab, but stopped as his eyes widened. Icecloud waited a short moment, but after her brother did nothing she began to get angered.
"Come on are you going to get me out of here or not?".
Foxleap just kept on staring, "Umm Icecloud, whatever you do don't look behind you" his green eyes rounded as Firestar joined him.
"What?" she snorted, doing the total opposite of what her brother said, and turned around.
At first the white she-cat saw nothing but brown dirt, until she made out thin stick-like objects pointing outwards. But they weren't sticks at all, they were bones, and from the looks of it, cat bones.
"Get me out of here!" she shrieked like an owl, scrambling up the mound enough so Firestar could grab her scruff. "What in StarClan's name is wrong with you?" Icecloud hissed at Samara, who was curling her tail in amusement, "I could have broken my paw!".
"Then maybe you shouldn't have wondered away in the darkness, around these parts cats tend to never come back" Samara held her gaze for a short moment, before looking down into the grave.
"This is where the twolegs bury their pets, most never visit again, but on some occasions they come back."
The three ThunderClan cats only stared, their various expressions ranging from horror, disgust and interest. No one said a word, until finally Firestar stepped forward.
"But why are we here? Whats so memorable about graves, we bury our dead right outside our clans camp, its nothing new".
Samara curled her mouth in a bit of a smile, "But I bet your dead don't come back to life once a year, not like the Graves of the Forgotten."
"What are the Graves of the Forgotten?" Foxleap asked with whimper, as he looked at Samara intently.
"They are the graves of the cats who are no longer visited by those who once loved them. Its a legend that once every year, on the night of Halloween, their spirits haunt these very ground, lusting for revenge."
The red-furred toms eyes rounded, as he looked behind his shoulder.
Icecloud simply snorted, "And thats why we're here? For StarClan's sake if we wanted to hear stupid elder tales we could have listened to Mousefur and Purdy!".
"Is it true?" Foxleap asked, totally ignoring his sisters comment. The black she-cats eyes reflected the moonlight, as she padded behind the three cats of ThunderClan.
"They say that if you close your eyes, and listen when the moon is full, you can see the very spirits that haunt this land. And if you truly believe in the magic of Halloween, you can even meet some of the dead."
"I want to!" Foxleap instantly stated, sitting down onto the cold ground, curling his tail and closing his eyes.
Icecloud gaped for a moment at her brothers stupidity, but as Firestar did the same, she figured she had no other choice then to listen. Positioning themselves into a row, all three cats closed their eyes, and perked their ears forward to listen to the spirits.
For a moment nothing could be heard, even the swaying off the branches in the wind had ceased. But then a peculiar noise made all three turn their heads, whispering began to encircle them.
"What are they saying?" Foxleap meowed, breaking the silence.
"Shh" Samara meowed quietly, "You'll anger the spirits."
Foxleap silenced himself once more, as the whispering intensified. All three could feel a presence around them, not a normal figure passing by, but something mysterious.
Icecloud could faintly see shadows from the inside of her eye lids and instantly she opened them.
"No!" she shrieked, taking only one glance at the image before her, a racing away back towards the forest. Hearing what happened, Foxleap and Firestar did the same as well, but not with the same reaction.
"Woah" Foxleap gasped, the sight before him taking his breath away.
Behind Samara, stood countless numbers of cats. But these cats were different, their pelts were see-through like clouds, and their eyes looked sickly and evil.
Feeling uneasy, the noble Firestar even began to back away, and with one last look he took after Icecloud.
"Umm I have to go" Foxleap meowed with unease, "But it was nice meeting you Samara, bye ghosts!".
And with that, the red-furred tom ran after his sister and leader, back to the safety of ThunderClan camp.
"You see?" Samara chuckled to the countless number of dead cats around her, "I knew they couldn't handle it, we'll just have to wait until next year."
A few of the cats grunted in reply, and then soon began vanishing into thin air, like wisps of smoke after a fire. The cats all around Samara began to disappear, and with one last glare at the moon, so did she.
So on this dark and perhaps to some, fun, day of Leaf-Fall, these three cats learned a lesson. Have your wits about you, because you never know who the living and dead are, and where the line is drawn between the two.
Especially on this night, of all Hallows Eve.