Dedicated to Mothstar.
"Rekindled"
Wind ruffled the tom's ragged pelt, grief worn into the once sleek black fur. His amber eyes bored into the puddle of rainwater in front of him. Memories danced through his mind: playing in the meadow as a kit, his first gathering, sitting the vigil the night after receiving his warrior name. All the joy-filled memories when life was simple. He was young and innocent back then, untouched by the grasp of darkness. Before the trauma of half-siblings, the struggle of good and evil inside of him, and giving up everything he once knew. Life was untroubled back then. However, the memory that tainted all the others also hung in his thoughts; it was always there, never leaving, never changing.
He had gone out on a hunting patrol earlier that day. It was his first one, and what did he catch? Nothing. When he returned home, the look of disapproval in his father's eyes was slightly more prevalent than usual. The relationship between his father and himself had always been strained; he rationalized that his father's heart was still in the clutches of a cat from another Clan. There were always stories floating around camp; rumors. The black tom, an apprentice back then, did not know what to make of the theories. He simply let them drift away on the breeze.
That night he curled up under the stars, pelt brisling. His Clan seemed to not even notice his presence, much less the beautiful she-cat he longed to impress. A dream soon filled his head. He was somewhere he had never been before; it was an unusually eerie clearing where storm clouds blurred out the moonlight. In front of him sat four cats, none of which he was familiar with. There was a dark brown tabby tom situated atop a smooth but stained rock, right beside another tom with long, dark brown tabby fur. The two toms seated in the grass were a sleek black-and-gray tabby and a dark brown tom with broad shoulders.
"Do you wish to become one of the strongest warriors alive?" the first brown tabby tom's deep voice boomed down to the young apprentice. The apprentice's amber eyes meet the unfamiliar cat's amber eyes of a lighter hue.
"Yes," he said after a moment's hesitation. He dipped his head in the way his Clan taught him to as a sign of respect.
The dark brown tom sitting in the grasses stood and approached him, circling him and giving him a good look over. "We have been watching you. You have immense power and the drive of a true warrior. I think it is time that we trained you in ways that your Clan cannot offer. What do you think, Brokenstar?"
"I say he is ready," the second brown tabby tom growled in approval.
The first tabby nodded, "Then he shall be trained. Breezepaw, we wish to teach you the true ways of a warrior and help you grow into the fiercest cat WindClan has ever seen. This is Darkstripe. He will be your mentor." The tom motioned to the black and gray tom with his tail that had not said a word yet.
Therefore, he trained with his WindClan Clanmates in the daytime and with his Clanmates in the Dark Forest at night. He grew to appreciate and respect each one of his Dark Forest Clanmates for different reasons. He was always closest to Tigerstar, the cat that spoke first to him. The former leader was always hard on him, but he taught him more than he could've ever wished to know. His relationship with his father grew worse as the moons went on and the seasons changed. Before he even knew it, he was given his warrior name of Breezepelt. His leader, Onestar, praised him for being fierce yet loyal. Breezepelt felt conflicted about this; was he betraying his Clan by training in the Dark Forest? Surely not, if anything the Clan was betraying him by making him carry the weight of the weak. He always had to carry other cats' weight. It was around this time that things took a turn from bad to worse and worse to a nightmare.
Hollyleaf, a warrior of ThunderClan that he'd always despised, announced at a Gathering that his own father had broken the Warrior Code so many moons ago and mated with ThunderClan's medicine cat. Thus, Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze became his three unwanted half-siblings. He was related to half-Clan cats. That was just not possible. And yet, his entire world crumbled before his eyes. He couldn't walk through camp without cats whispering in the background or sleep beside his Clanmates. No one would eat the prey he caught or go on patrol with him. They all blocked him out more than they ever had before. He felt rage building inside of him and the only place he could vent was the Dark Forest. The cats there were the only ones that understood him. That was his only outlet; his only sanctuary of peace stood in that tattered forest.
Eventually, he started to connive with the Dark Forest cats and plot his revenge on all those whom had caused him pain, caused all of the Dark Forest warriors pain. The ones who appropriated his dream of becoming WindClan's most valued warrior from him. With his hopes shattered, all he could do to revive his dreams was to train and recruit warriors for the Dark Forest. They planned a new empire, a grand one where the weak would be forgotten and the strong would thrive. Breezepelt was done playing other cats' games and dealing with their problems. He was ready to take matters into his own paws.
This led to the grand finale, the big bloodbath at the end of the Clans. Although it was not the end, was it? Six moons later, he could still feel the chilling wind against his pelt as he darted through the forest. He dove into the battle, slashing at the traitors who had deceived him. He was doing great, until his father, his own fox-hearted father, halted him in his path to victory, glory, and power.
"I should have done something much earlier. But now it's too late. You chose the Dark Forest," his father's words still rang in his ears, and the force of the shove that came afterwards. "Get out of here!"
And for once, he actually listened to his father.
"Breeze?" a voice interrupted his session of reflection, "It's almost time."
The dark rogue waved the white tabby off with his tail, rising to dip into the rain puddle before him. He worked out all the tangles in his fur and licked it back to its once sleek beauty. A light brown tabby she-cat approached him. She looked strikingly like a cat he once knew, a cat he once loved. The only difference was the white on her chest and the more prevalent hint of purple in her blue eyes. The way she perched in a tree and crouched to stalk a rabbit were the exact same as his once-love; even her name.
"Heather," the word flowed off his tongue in a whisper as his eyes met the gorgeous she-cat's.
"Ready?" her elegant voice murmured back gently. The black tom nodded, stepping forward as their pelts brushed. Warmth filled his stomach for the first time in a long time. Tonight was the night he became a new cat; this was the night that would change his life forever. He was ready to put his past behind him and step up to his destiny. He was born a leader, and he would die a leader. He just messed up a bit in between, but it was those misfortunes that taught him what he needed to know to set himself on the right path. He would never forgive the clans for the life they robbed him of, but he would create something greater, something grander, than they could ever build.
Breeze jumped up on the rock, a smooth one much like the one Tigerstar stood upon so many moons ago. Muzzle raised to the full moon, he remembered a time like this when he was seasons younger, all those moons ago. His first Gathering had left him speechless, even though he was one who did not know how to keep his mouth shut. Now, Breeze had his own Gathering all to himself, a dream come true.
"Friends, brothers, sisters," he called the cats below him to attention. "Welcome. I am honored that you have all come out to join me. Tonight, we found the Lost Gang. I will be your leader and train each and every one of you to forget your weaknesses and take on your strengths. The lost will be found, and the found will be glorified. We will become the strongest and most feared cats walking these streets, and no one will mess with us!"
Yowls broke out all across the clearing. In the past six moons, Breeze had lost himself, and found himself again. He made new friends and learned to live the life of a rogue, always on the edge. It was a life he enjoyed and with his new Gang, hoped would let him prosper for seasons to come. It was different roaming about a city than the rolling hills of WindClan, but he almost liked it more. Just almost, there were still tangs of his past tucked deep in his heart. It still hurt sometimes, but he was moving on to a brighter future. A future where he would train cats to become the fiercest of fighters, no matter what walk of life they came from.
In the Lost Gang, every cat would be accepted. Over the past six moons, Breeze had come to realize that the Dark Forest's plan for an empire had been too reckless. He still agreed that the strong should not have to serve the weak, but he figured that the weak should be given a chance to prove themselves and learn to have confidence and courage. Before, the Dark Forest selected cats who they thought were worthing enough to train with them. Now, Breeze would open this opportunity up to everyone. Heather would teach them about herbs and be there when kits were born, although she definitely was not a medicine cat. She could fight and defend herself just as well as Breeze himself. That was one of the things he liked about her, her fight.
The rogues he met and the friends he made in the city were some of the best he could've asked for. They got him. Not in a way that the Dark Forest warriors did, but they all understood that the past is the past and everyone's past is complicated. They let go of the past, something that the Clans could never bear to do. Breeze's life finally turned around.
He spotted his mother in the crowd, her midnight pelt shimmering like never before. Night had also adjusted well to her new life, although it was a bit harder on her. She still longed to go back to the Clans sometimes, but Breeze could not allow that. He needed her here.
"Let me introduce my second-in-command. This is Light, and he will be in charge of a lot of your training," Breeze lifted a paw to motion to the white tabby tom sitting below him. After that, he flicked his tail to the familiar brown tabby. "This is Heather. She will be teach you all how to heal and clean your own wounds."
More cheers echoed through the clearing, which was situated behind a twoleg baseball field. Along with adjusting to the life of rogue in the city, Breeze also picked up on some of the twoleg tongue. He scanned the crowd, his eyes lastly meeting Heather's blue-purple orbs, and he knew everything would be alright. Breeze raised his nose to the sky and released a yowl, which was soon copied by the rest of the Lost Gang. The flame of Breeze's destiny was rekindled with new life.
Author's Note: I'm considering extending this into a full story or doing more one-shots of how he met Heather, Light, and some other members of the Lost Gang. What do you think? Please review, and check out my other Warriors Fanfic, "Sincerely, The Reality of Warriors." Mothstar actually won a one-shot dedicated to her through that, so that's what this is. It's a Dear FanFiction style story. Thanks for reading!
Review Question: Should I continue based off this one-shot?
Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.
Update: I think I will continue on. I like this, a rogue group. Who writes stories about them? I miss my rogue roleplays...maybe this will compensate for them. I think I'll do a five chapter short on how he met Heather, get a little background down, and then start on the real thing. I was thinking about having him create a group to attack the Clans, but I don't think Breeze would ever go back there. He's changed. Breezepelt would, but Breeze is a bit different, a bit wiser. Maybe I'll put that in the extended ending I'm planning to do, from the Clans' side. Of course, that will probably come later, after I finish this project.