Hi guys! I'm back with another story. This is a challenge for ScorchClan, and my entry for the contest. This story has two parts, and is centered around revenge. Also, this story takes place in the old territories, before the Great Journey. So, enjoy!

IMPORTANT CHARACTERS: FALCONWING—big, broad-shouldered gray-and-white tom with a ruffled pelt and pale amber eyes

SLEEKSHINE—long-furred brown-and-white she-cat with creamy underbelly

DUSKFOOT—long-legged black she-cat with dark brown paws

PART ONE:

SLEEKSHINE KILLS

Her shriek of pain stirs a murmur of pity within me, but I take it down before it can take me down. I have no choice. She knows too much.

I raise my paw to slam it down on her. Duskfoot rolls out of the way, and I stumble, glaring at her. My fur is bushed to twice its size.

Scrambling away, Duskfoot climbs to her paws, swaying unsteadily on three legs. Her fourth paw is held up above the ground, mangled, a deep bite marking it, and the claws hanging loose. Her face is marred because of me. I don't look her in the eye; I can't do what's necessary if I see my handiwork.

Though I don't actually see it, I know exactly what's there: a long red clawmark running down her face... and through her eye.

My pace quickened. Now I was running, free to do whatever I want. The camp fell away behind me, and the ground flashed beneath my paws. As I ran, I could almost smell my beloved Redfeather's sweet scent, or hear the loud rumble of his voice.

There! Redfeather, a brave, smart ShadowClan warrior, was sitting at the border, gazing out at Highstones. His warm soft eyes lit up as he saw my approach, and he sprang to his paws lightly, racing to meet me, indifferent to the border that screamed, "Keep out!"

We came to a stop, and he pressed his muzzle into my chest fur. His purrs sent trembles throughout my whole body, and I flicked my tail lightly over his, resting my muzzle on his head.

"You're here," he whispered.

"Of course," I murmured back. "Loss of sleep is nowhere near strong enough punishment to keep me from seeing you, my love. Nothing is. I would do anything to be with you, even if that means leaving WindClan."

Redfeather said nothing, only wrapped his tail with mine and placed a thick-furred ginger paw over my own. I was perfectly at peace, feeling the touch of his fur against mine, hearing the loud rumbling purr of my dearest one, swaying rhythmically with him on that serene night.

At that moment, everything went wrong.

It seemed perfect, at first. A cloud drifted across the moon, and the moor was plunged into absolute darkness. Except for one spot. Us.

A shaft of moonlight struck our pelts, and Redfeather's fur shone bright as the sun. He was a roaring inferno, his pelt blazing with strength and fire. His eyes reflected the stars, glittering brightly above, easily visible as the clouds broke apart and the moonlight returned to normal.

For one brilliant, blinding, breath-taking moment, I thought that this was StarClan's will, for us to be together, no matter the barriers. Why else would they have sent that moment of darkness, with only us in the light?

I thought I had understood the meaning of the sign. I thought it meant that Redfeather and I would be together, forever. Any medicine cat likely would've thought the same. I never realized then it was to serve an entirely different purpose.

It was to show Redfeather and I together, me in love with a ShadowClan warrior. It was to show a fellow Clanmate of mine what was happening.

Duskfoot.

I advance toward Duskfoot, my mouth twisted in a snarl. Any sign of pity or mercy within me, and I will never have the strength to kill her.

"Sleekshine, please," Duskfoot begs, blood flowing down her face freely. "You're my friend!"

I hesitate, but only for a moment. The secret cannot get out, I tell myself, to push away my pain at the necessity of this and my conscience. Duskfoot takes this chance to take off across the moor. I growl and leap after her, my paws pounding on the ground. She swerves, and I push harder, desperation racing through me.

She's going for a tunnel! I have to stop her! Duskfoot was a renowned Tunneler in WindClan, and her fellow Tunnelers claimed she could run through them as fast and easily as aboveground. I, on the other paw, am a Moor Runner. I can't stand crawling through a tunnel, the mud above lying heavy on my mind. If she reaches a tunnel that leads back to camp, then even if I was willing to go into myself, there was no way I would ever to be able to catch up with her. I would lose Redfeather forever, and Adderstar would most likely banish me from WindClan forever. I did attack Duskfoot, after all.

Dirt is kicked up behind me as I sprint toward Duskfoot, determined to stop her. Her black pelt wavers in and out of the shadows, but I'm able to keep a bead on her and stay close. She glances behind her, and her eyes light up with panic as she sees I'm drawing closer.

She redoubles her running, but I'm the Moor Runner. Though she may be extremely skilled at tunneling, I was faster than she was aboveground.

Putting on one last burst of speed, I leap for her and my claws latch themselves onto her pelt. She shrieks, and claws at me, wriggling around in an attempt to escape.

The battle doesn't lost long. It ends with me standing above her, panting, paws pressed firmly on her hip and shoulder, keeping her from running. I readjust so that I can raise a paw, claws unsheathed and glinting in the moonlit night.

"Please, Sleekshine," Duskfoot whispers, gazing up at me with round eyes. Her fur is matted with blood, and her eyes glimmer with pain. "I won't tell. I promise. Just, please, let me go."

I want to let her go, to let her live. But I've done this damage to her. Adderstar would get the truth out of her somehow, and I would be exiled or killed. And Duskfoot would tell Adderstar about Redfeather too, and I would be forbidden to ever set eyes on my wonderful beloved mate.

I have to do this. I have to. I have no choice.

This is for Redfeather, I tell myself.

When I step off of her body, she is limp, head lolling, eyes blank. And my paws are stained with her blood.

And there's part one! Keep reading to find out where revenge actually comes into play in this story. Tell me your thoughts on it in the reviews!

—Foreststar