Spindle

SUMMARY: We are the hated. The untrusted, the scorned, the villains in every legend and story known to the Clans. We are the ones that mothers warn their kits to stay away from. We are the ones snarled at and laughed at. We are the ones who cause kittens nightmares. But we are still here. We are not weak. And we will not be forgotten.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of the Warriors. That is all the doing of the lovely Erin Hunters.

A/N: So, this story is just a bit of a side one, while I'm working on River and Hail, and Jinxed, and everything else (I know, I'm so naughty, I should be working on those instead of this) but I really loved this kind of a darker series. Also, I've been getting into the Seekers recently, and I've been thinking on writing something for them. Any opinions?


~~ PROLOGUE ~~


"This? This is the place you want to live for the rest of your miserable life?" A figure peered down into the ravine, lips pulled up into a distasteful scowl. It was dark, night time to be precise. Only a few stars glimmered dully in the sky, and mere slither of moon, but the two cats could see as well as day, not uncomfortable in the least. The darkness is where they thrived, where they lived. Where they were cast.

Both figures were swathed in shadows, but the first voice - one of a she-cat's, no doubt - was a dark russet colour, easily visible in the dark. The other was not so much; a dark tawny brown with a lean figure and long whiskers.

"This is where I want us to live for the rest of our miserable lives," the other cat - a tom - corrected, leaning forward so that his pelt was brushing hers. "I couldn't imagine life without you, Hollystream."

"Don't call me that!" The she-cat snapped, drawing away with a fierce hiss. She appeared to bristle to almost half her size. With a sigh, her fur returned to normal, and she leaned back against the tom. "I'm sorry. But that name.. I worked so hard for it. And now, it's nothing."

"I know," the tom murmured, nuzzling her comfortingly. "Me too."

"You would have been a good father, Raven."

"Holly..."

"But they ripped them away," Holly snarled, her tone suddenly vicious and unwelcoming. She tore away from Raven's side, raking her claws down the clay-like earth, scraps of moss and grass clinging to her paw. "They tore our kits away from us. They murdered four innocent beings." Her voice was now dangerously low, filled with such venom and hate that any cat overhearing would have fled for it's life.

But Raven only blinked patiently as Holly raved on. "And they dare to accuse me of murdering cats! 'She's a traitor,' they said. 'She's a menace, a blood-thirsty animal.' Well, they ought to look in the pond and have a good stare at their reflection! They cried for vengeance. For exile! They said, 'cast out the murderer and her accomplice, but take their kits'." Her voice broke, cracking in deep sadness, utter loss and despair. "They took them from us, Raven."

"StarClan will look after them," Raven soothed, flicking his tail anxiously.

Holly snorted, twisting away from him to glare at the sky. "StarClan. Such foolishness. If they truly were real, they would help me. They would not steal the lives of kittens away. No, they're not real, and if they are, then I am glad to be free of them, because I can't imagine anyone crueler."

The two stood in tense silence, simply mourning. Mourning for the old, happy times. For the simpler days, the cheerful days, the easy days. For the four kittens who had passed away. For the many lives taken by a simple mistake.

Eventually, Holly pulled away, swishing her tail back in forth carefully against the forest ground. "Raven," she began slowly. "Go back to MistClan. If you beg, if you talk, they'll let you back in. Say you were misguided, say that I tricked you into helping me. Tell them I was a cruel, heartless fiend. They'll let you in again, I'm sure. After all, in their eyes, you were only my blind helper." As Raven began to protest, she stopped him. "Go and talk to Aspenfeather. She liked you for some time, I'm sure she'll vouch for you."

Surprisingly, Raven purred in dark amusement. "You say that as if you actually expect me to follow those orders. Of course I'm staying, you know that," he reminded, shaking his head. "This is turning into one of those sappy kit tales. Let's go."

He sprung down onto a jagged out cliff, beginning his slow weave down to the ravine. Holly's expression stayed resolute and hardened as she followed her partner. "This is no tale," she corrected harshly. "This is a nightmare."

"But nightmares are just dreams in disguise, aren't they?"

"Then maybe even dreams have their own evil agenda."