A/N Hey guys! Another one-shot I felt like doing because...why not. Enjoy Decent into Madness
Lakepaw hopped around "Let's go to the river, Frostshadow!" She said happily. Frostshadow chuckled at her apprentice who had been begging her to go to the river all morning. Frostshadow looked up. "Sunhigh...there should be enough time" she thought. She turned to her apprentice and touched her tail to her shoulder, signaling for her to settle down. "Lakepaw, we can go to the river after we work on some of your fighting moves." Lakepaw groaned, but obeyed none the less. They walked a couple fox-tails away from each other and turned to face one another. Lakepaw got into a crouch and Frostshadow stood still. She flicked her tail and Lakepaw leaped. Frostshadow sidestepped and pushed Lakepaw's side as she flew by. Lakepaw crashed to the ground and Frostshadow leapt and pinned her down. She battered Lakepaw's chest with her paws and Lakepaw twisted to get out of her grasp.
Lakepaw whipped around and took out Frostshadow's legs, making her fall to the ground. Frostshadow tried rolling over onto her paws again but Lakepaw swiped, catching some of her underbelly. Suddenly, an odd rush came over Frostshadow as she got to her paws, in a fluent movement she unsheathed her claws and lashed Lakepaw cross the muzzle. Lakepaw stumbled back in shock, her eyes wide. Frostshadow, whose eye's were also widened, looked down at her own claws. A flow of energy and excitement went through her as she imagined cutting into Lakepaw's flesh. She grew a malicious grin on her face and stalked forward at Lakepaw, who was glued to the ground in fear. Frostshadow barreled over Lakepaw and scored her claws through her muzzle and battered her hard in the head.
Lakepaw fell to the ground and tried to move away, only to get Frostshadow's claws digging into her shoulders. Lakepaw opened her mouth to yowl but Frostshadow quickly slammed her jaw into the dirt. She made a small cut in Lakepaw's throat and heaved her up by her scruff, dragging her to the river. She threw Lakepaw's body into the riverside, belly up. Her blood-thirsty grin only got larger as he sliced a huge gash from Lakepaw's chest to her underbelly. Frostshadow used her paw to hold Lakepaw's jaw closed as she tried to yowl. Taking her paw away, Lakepaw looked up at Frostshadow with fear and sadness in her eyes. "W-why?" She managed to cough out. Frostshadow smirked "Because I can" she said simply before picking up Lakepaw, who was unwilling to do anymore, and threw her into the river. Frostshadow closed her eyes and took in the sound of Lakepaw's body breaking against the rough waves and jagged rocks.
"This...is the new me" she murmured to herself before washing all the blood off and padding back to camp.
A dark brown tabby she-cat jolted awake, stunned by her memory. she looked beside at her mate, Emberstep, who was relaxing in the nursery next to her. "That was so long ago.." she thought, sighing and bored out of her mind. She had recently become plump with kits and was happy but at the same time upset it took away from her exciting free time. Over the moons she had started killing more and more, and thankfully no one found out. She made up some story that Lakepaw had fallen into the river and she couldn't save her in time. Lakepaw's older brother Emberstep, who Frostshadow had a crush on, was sent into deep sadness. She smiled at the thought of her comforting him, which eventually led them to become mates. She winced as she felt an uncomfortable stab of pain in her belly. It went away slowly, but came back in a minute. "Emberstep...I think the kits are coming" she gritted her teeth.
Emberstep's eyes shot open and he ran to the herb cat den, practically shouting that she was going into kitting. In a matter of minutes, the herb cats, Windlash and his apprentice Wrenpaw, were inside the nursery. Windlash put a stick into Frostshadow's jaws and she immediately clamped down on it. "Can I come in?" She heard Emberstep ask from outside. Wrenpaw shook his head "Not until we're done" she said. "Wrenpaw! Stop yacking and come help me" Windlash said. Wrenpaw hurried in. "Ok now give her some raspberry leaves and borage," Windlash instructed to his apprentice.
(A couple hours later)
Frostshadow groaned, her tail curled around her three newborn kits. One was a dark tabby like her, but with all of his paws white. They named him Falconkit. Emberstep had eagerly wanted to name the tom kit with a gray pelt with black streaks in his fur, a black muzzle, ear tips, and forepaw, Rockkit, so she let him. The last kit and the only she-cat was a small russet she-cat with black paws, she was named Russetkit. Falconkit looked like the strongest out of all of them, and she was sure he would be her favorite because of that. She yawned and curled her tail around her kits, then settled her head down on her paws and fell asleep.
XxXxX
Over the next two moons, Frostshadow was surprised her kits were growing so slow. Anytime they ran out of energy they became so slow an old, sick, and injured elder could catch them. She growled lowly to herself, wanting her kits to become stronger. Frostshadow didn't know how Emberstep could be fine with their kits. She sat down outside the nursery and watched them play, thinking up a plan on how she could see if her kits were ever going to get stronger. She got a small grin as an idea popped into her mind. She padded up to her kits as they were playing.
"I wanna be a patrol guard like mama! She's fearless!" Rockkit squeaked with glee. She purred and gathered her kits around. "I think you're all old enough to go outside of camp now" she smiled. Her kits widened their eyes and let out an excited squeal. "Yay!" They started running around randomly. She flicked her tail for them to calm down and gathered them again. "Now come on, it'll be an adventure" she told them. Emberstep tilted his head "Want me to come with you?" Frostshadow shook her head. "No, I want to do this on my own" she picked Rockkit up by the scruff and Russetkit and Falconkit rode on her back. She dipped her head to a camp guard as she left. They didn't think anything of the deputy carrying her kits out of camp, and they never would.
She stopped in the tree line of a meadow, she could smell fresh fox scent and smirked. She dropped her kits down and looked at each one of them. Without saying a word, she swung her claws into Russetkit's head and the kit dropped to the ground, dead on impact. "Hmmm, not strong at all" she thought, then picked Falconkit up by the scruff and threw him into the base of a tree. He let out a small squeak before his neck cracked. She furrowed her eyebrows-like-marks. "Pity, I thought he would be the tough one" Frostshadow looked down at Rockkit and slashed her claws up his side, he fell over and hit his head hard on the ground, then went silent. He spat "Pitiful" then began to pad away. She heard small, fast breathing, and turned around. Seeing Rockkit barley conscience.
She padded over and put some moss over him. Then Frostshadow picked up her two kits and threw them into the nearby fox den. The fox angrily stomped out and growled at her. She hissed and raised her hackles. The fox leaped and scored her side. She grit her teeth and let the fox do some damage to her before throwing it off and giving it some wound to think about. The fox slunk back into its den and she picked up Rockkit, then hurriedly bounded back to the camp. She jumped into camp, her muscles tense and her eyes wide with fear. "Fox! A fox got them!" She yowled, putting Rockkit down. Emberstep and Windlash rushed to her side. "Wrenpaw! Get Rockkit into the den! Emberstep, help me get Frostshadow there too!" He ordered. The herb cat apprentice nodded and carried Rockkit over to the herb cat den. Frostshadow grunted as she was placed into a moss nest and the herb cats quickly started treating both patients. Emberstep rubbed his muzzle in her fur, then looked around with wide eyes. "Where are Falconkit and Russetkit?" He asked in a scared voice.
Frostshadow looked down and said "The fox...I couldn't save them in time" in a sad voice. Emberstep's eyes widened more and he leaned his head up and let out a pained caterwaul. She licked his ear comfortingly, hoping her mate could be strong.
XxXxX
Only a couple moons later, Frostshadow had noticed a change in Emberstep. He was no longer that brave, courageous tom she loved, but a weak, fragile shell of himself. It was hard making a purr or keeping a smile when he was around, but the worst thing was holding back a gag of disgust every time he accompanied her. On another note, Rockkit was finally growing and didn't seem to remember anything from the "fox attack". The clan had built a patrol to kill the fox and look for any lasting evidence of her two kits. She held back a grin as she saw the looks on their faces as her clanmates saw the bloody corpses of Falconkit and Russetkit. The fox must have had a good meal.
She couldn't help but let a soft smile slip, and Scorchstone, the father of a newborn kit named Flowerkit, glanced over at her with an uneasy face. "What are you smiling about?" he asked cautiously. Frostshadow shook her head. "I'm just glad we found a scent trail" she said. The questioning tom flicked his tail while saying, "We haven't found any scent trails yet," and he narrowed his eyes. Frostshadow brushed it off "Oh, I almost forgot, there is a scent over here" she said calmly. Scorchstone padded over and sniffed, then his eyes lit up and he called the patrol over. Realizing that everyone was looking at her now, Frostshadow signaled for them to follow and they set off after the fox.
Their paws beat against the forest ground as they all bounded after it. It hadn't taken long to find the fox now the chase was on. Frostshadow was naturally in the front, leading the charge with a snarling face and pounding muscles. Once she caught up with the fox, she pounced and tackled it. Soon the rest of the patrol was on the spot and tore up the fox. It bit left and right but despite it's strength, it wouldn't win against eight cats trained to fight. She felt her blood pump hard when the skirmish was over, she now had a new scar brandishing her pelt, though she welcomed it.
They had traveled all the way to the river that Frostshadow threw most of her demolished kills in. She felt the longing to kill again and got an idea. There was one cat she had seen getting extremely...under par..lately. She got up onto a rock and yowled out. "We're done here, someone get rid of the fox and then we will depart back to camp," she ordered in a natural leader sounding voice. The cats nodded and took off after one threw the fox's body in the river. Frostshadow looked over to make sure everyone was gone and pelted back to camp.
Once there the cats dispersed. She went straight to Emberstep and nuzzled him, purring. "I have a special place to show you" she said sweetly. He faintly smiled and got up. "Where?" She smiled and flicked his nose with her tail. "It's a secret, all I can tell you is that it's on the territory," she said. He nodded and followed her. This would be the perfect time, it was almost Moonhigh so most of the clan would be asleep or be going to sleep. The dark brown tabby she-cat and her dark russet mate arrived at the riverside. She perched herself up on a rock that jutted out to become a small overhang over the rushing water. She sighed happily and stared down at it.
He took a seat beside her. "Is this it?" Emberstep asked, his head tilted. "Yes, it is," she replied. "This is where I threw Lakepaw after I murdered her," Frostshadow giggled. Emberstep perked up his ears and tensed. "W-what?" he asked, not sure if he heard her right. "This is where I threw Lakepaw off after I murdered her, and you'll be going in there too." He, much like his sister, was frozen in shock. She looked at him and laughed. "Thought so, a true warrior would try and push me in first, but a weakling like you, and your sister I might add, just stand their in shock."
"Y-you killed her?" he whispered. Frostshadow nodded, unsheathing her claws. He paid no attention, an anger rising in his chest. "What about Russetkit and Falconkit?" He asked in a slightly angrier tone. She smirked, "Killed them, threw the rest to the fox," she replied, shrugging. Emberstep unsheathed his claws. "And Riverstep? Ravenpaw? Flintshard? or Lichentuft?! Did you kill them too!" he yowled. Good thing it was nighttime, or he would have brought a patrol out. "Quiet down, the clan will hear you," she playfully scolded.
Emberstep stepped towards her. "They won't hear you when you're drowning in the river!" he spat spitefully. "Ooo, growing some guts now huh?" She taunted, swiping him across the cheek with a hard paw and unsheathed claws. He hissed and tackled her over onto the grass. Emberstep snarled in her face, while Frostshadow smiled back. The dark russet tom dug his claws into her, but before he could attempt to lift her up and into the river, she lunged forward and bit into the crevice of his neck. His eyes widened and he jumped off.
"Over so soon?" She teased, getting to her paws. She rushed forward and rammed him to the ground. He tried to get up but she reared up and slammed down on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. She laughed while slamming down on one of his legs, watching him gasp for air too. Knowing he couldn't swim, being in his shocked state and having an injured leg, Frostshadow grabbed her mate by the scruff and pushed him into the water. He scrabbled at the wet rocks but ultimately slipped under. After positive he had sunk to the bottom, she washed off her paws once again and padded back to camp.
She dipped her head to the camp guards as she padded in and slipped into the nursery. She curled up around her kit and dozed off to sleep.
.
.
.
For awhile at least. She was waken up from her sleep to hear her clanmates in a tizzy. She padded out and blinked her still blurry eyes. For once since that fateful day with Lakepaw she widened her eyes, feeling a small trickle of fear. What stood in the middle of camp was a soaking wet, limping, Emberstep. His eyes only showed malice as he caught her sight. "Tell them yourself how you killed our kits, our clanmates!" He yowled for all too hear. Anyone who wasn't already awake padded out of their dens curiously. Quailstar was standing on the Highrock, looking down at her with disappointment. "Frostshadow, is what he says true?" Still stunned, she stuttered. The rage boiled up in her chest as she stared at Emberstep, though a tiny part of her congratulated him on how he had enough bravery and strength to drag himself back into camp and face her.
Quailstar's disappointed gaze now turned hard. "Nothing?" She said again, looking at Frostshadow. Scorchstone stepped forward. "I noticed something, Frostshadow had been...smiling at the sight of her dead kits. When we investigated the fox den." Another cat stepped up. "Yeah! And...I found her scent outside the fox den, though very faint, it was hers!" Her paws were glued to the ground as some of her clanmates shouted her...mistakes..up to Quailstar. "Then Frostshadow, as an official order by your leader, I sentence you to death." She said loudly. The clan nodded at her sentence and started closing in on her. Soon she was surrounded by a circle of her clanmates, most of them ready to shred into her fur.
Frostshadow whirled around, looking at every cat with an insane look. "You're all so idiotic and weak! I could have made this clan strong! Better than anyone else!" She spat. "But now I see you're all pathetic weaklings who don't deserve to live" she unsheathed her claws. The clan bristled and Quailstar flicked her tail without saying anything. The clan cats leaped at her in a swarm. Frostshadow clawed and bit anywhere she could. This was a rush! What a true warrior should feel like. She laughed as she slashed someone's throat. She couldn't feel the pain being dealt to her by every cat from the rush of adrenaline. They clawed, bit, kicked, and overall maimed her. Quailstar flicked her tail again and the cats backed off into a circle again. A couple dead bodies stayed where they died, one being Leopardstripe, Frostshadow's old mentor. Her glazed eyes stared up at Frostshadow with horror and disbelief instead of the praise they once held.
Craning her head over with the last of her strength, she looked around the camp clearing with herself in the center of it. She was taking in heavy breathes and her sides heaved with searing pain Frostshadow gazed her eyes over the crowd of cats and stopped on one particular clanmate. She peered over at Rockkit. He stared at her with his eyes filled with horror. His mother wasn't fearless, she was feared, and she loved it.