Truthclan: The Quest Begins
Prologue
Mudfire ran as fast as she could, digging her claws into the wet moss as the torrent of wind and rain tore at her pelt and stung her muzzle. "Moonpaw!" she yowled into the screaming storm. Where were the wolves taking her? Suddenly, she felt eyes burning scars into her pelt… dark, wise eyes. Stumbling over her own tail and cursing her weak legs, she turned to look into them. Fear sent ice through her veins as the massive alpha wolf loomed over her, sun-colored eyes glowing with a leader's wisdom. "W-where are you taking my apprentice?" she demanded, trying to steady her voice. "Fear not, flaming-pelted cripple, I am a friend. She is safe." Thornbeam answered with a booming voice. "I am NOT a cripple!" she spat as she struggled to her paws in the mud. "Foolish cat, do you not know me?" Thornbeam asked. Mudfire's already labored breath caught in her chest as the dream flashed in her mind. The huge wolf stood before her on the cliff, eyes boring into hers. "From the bloodshed ashes of the broken clans, a whisper in the frost will come again…a love forbidden will cease all doubt…Only after the last has fallen in clan and pack, the sun will dawn anew… An ally sprung from the shadow of an enemy… The Truth will bring peace again…" "I thought only medicine cats received prophecies… how is it possible?" she gasped. "I see. You fear my kind, for the Dark has captured most of us. Trust me; the Whispered One is safe with the Moonpack." Thornbeam replied. "Moonpaw? But… how?" Mudfire asked. Thornbeam was already gone…
Chapter 1
Hawkfire watched anxiously as the younger warrior twitched and stirred in her nest, clearly uncomfortable. She knew her legs gave her trouble, especially when she slept, but this was worse than ever. I thought I told her not to push herself so much, and in a raging storm, no less! She's been like this for half a moon now!
Moonpaw clawed the den walls, her anger becoming too much to handle, then quickly turning to fear and sorrow. "Frostwhisper?" "Go away, Shadow." The dog-turned-wolf came closer, his gray-blue eyes wide with worry. The young she-cat had been heartbeats away from being a warrior when he'd snatched her up and Thornbeam made her a part of the pack. He slowly crept up to her, their pelts brushing, and Frostwhisper shied away, clearly not in the mood for his affection. "Come with me." He led her into a grove of birches and oaks with a stream at its center. "You will see them again…" "You can't promise me anything." She muttered. "Why? Because I'm a dog?" Shadow snapped, pouncing on the timed little she-cat before him, Growling and bearing his fangs he muttered, "You will never trust us will you?" He then slowly got up, and walked away. "COME!" he demanded at Frostwhisper as he walked towards the stream. "Dear Starclan, help me live through this madness."
Back in the Windclan camp, Hawkfire, Mudfire, and an arrogant young Russian blue named Icetalon were on the dawn patrol. "Ok MudFire you take the patch of grass closest to the clan entrance, I will take the open area, and fox brain here will check out the cave over there." All the cats nodded and took off, for a while all seemed all right. Until Hawkfire met up with an old friend...
"Seems ok here, wait! Why are you here? Wait no! NO!" The next thing Hawkfire saw was red blood fly out of her chest, and a dark cloud creep over her.
Chapter 2
After what seemed like 4 moons, Hawkfire woke up in a dark dust filled alley. "Oh, my head...Where am I?" Hawkfire asked herself, "Why you are in my home HawkPAW!" The voice of the she-cat who spoke did not sound too nice, when Hawkfire got to her paws to face her "foe" her amber eyes shrunk. "*GASP!* Snowclaw?"
"The name is Shadowheart now". The gray she-cat sneered, her blue eyes shone like shards of ice. She then extended her claws getting ready to swipe again, when a sharp male voice was heard. The voice made Shadowheart spin around so fast, that the cat and dog fangs on her purple kittypet collar sparkled in the setting sun. Then out from the dark shadows came a black cat with one white paw, a blood red collar, and the same cold ice blue eyes as Shadowheart. When Hawkfire saw the male cat, she shrank back in fear. For this cat was Scourge, leader of Bloodclan. "Back off…" she whimpered. "You're supposed to be dead!" "Oh, I am…" the tiny but monstrous tom laughed. "I am…" "And now, so are YOU." Shadowheart growled "Not if I can help it!" Hawkfire leapt up, swiping, clawing and biting, finally ridding the Clans of these traitors. The black tom was gone for good. There was no way he could haunt the Clans ever again.
Chapter 3
Mudfire tore across the clearing, swiping at Brackenthorn's throat. "Why? Why are you doing this?" The dusky tom only stared at her with evil, tormented eyes. "It doesn't matter anymore." He snarled, mingling a strange, awful sadness. "Brackenthorn, please don't!" Morningmist cried, her voice filled with aguish. Her mate had been like this even before he joined the Clans. But now, he was on the edge. He had hidden his evil self, refusing to believe it had come to this. "Stay back! Please! It's too dangerous! You're too late, Morningmist! RUN!" Brackenthorn's voice broke, as if he were in pain worse than death. "I love you. I won't let you!" Morningmist's emerald eyes burned into his, and he suddenly fell to the ground. "RUN!" He got up, his fur bristling in every direction. His mist-blue eyes had turned blood red, and his claws gleamed blacker than the darkest night. "I WON'T forget you!" he yowled; fighting the evil he now was with the last of his strength as he tore away from the camp, the territories, and all clans. "NOOO!" Morningmist cried out, tearing after him, tears flooding and staining her fur. The patrol blocked her way, but she clawed and spat, tearing out tufts of their fur. "Let me go! Please! I have to find him!" she begged, her sobs racking her fragile body. Still, they held her back, more cats surrounding her. "You mousebrain! Do you want MORE scars? Look what he did to you!" Crowfeather snapped, gesturing to the many scars on his matedaughter's body. "I DON'T CARE! You know how it feels to lose someone you loved!" she snapped. Crowfeather's eyes widened in shock at the mention of Leafpool, but before he could say a word, Morningmist gave a pained yowl so full of anguish it was heard by all the clans, and fell to the ground. "She's fainted!" Weedpelt gasped.
Chapter 4
Hawkfire tore through the tall cold grass to get back to her home in the Windclan, when she saw something that would make her heart drop. Her own Father the dark cold killer that ran Shadowclan, he was getting ready to attack wind clan. Hawkfire dashed as fast as her paws would take her, she had to warn the clan!
Back with Froswhisper and Shadow, Froswhisper was getting kind of nervous. "You alright Froswhisper?" Shadow asked, "Yes I think so". Froswhisper replied, then after what seemed like 5 heartbeats. Froswhisper looked to Shadow and asked, "Will you be my mate?" Shadow stiffened. How does she not know? I AM her mate. Thornbeam should have known… She's right; I CAN'T promise her anything, not after that day… Not after— "Shadow, what's wrong?" In his panic, he dashed at her, knocking her over. "Shadow, what in Starclan—" She stopped, suddenly seeing that he was crying. He ran a paw down her chest toward her underbelly area. Her fur parted to reveal a jagged gash-scar. Shadow stared at the she-cat who had been everything to him, and couldn't be; not now. She had saved him from drowning when they were very young… He loved her, and still did, but that scar changed everything… at least in his "brother" 's eyes. My fault… I did this to her! I shouldn't touch her… I can't love her anymore… My fault! MY fault… "Shadow! Please… don't!" Her muzzle was soaked with both of their tears. "It wasn't YOUR fault, my father attacked you, and I had to stop him. "You should've stayed back…" "Are you insane?! He could've killed you!" She was right. Weedpelt was huge even then… He was a puny runt in comparison. The runt of his litter, Shadow had nearly died after his mother left, unable to watch her son waste away. Then Thornbeam found him. A few moons later, he had fallen into the stream bordering the Windclan camp. Moonkit had dragged him out and talked Birchstar into letting him stay. Weedpelt hated him, hated that his daughter loved a "worthless fleapelt" like him, a dog who never seemed to grow. Moonpaw saw Weedpelt pounce on him, and leapt in front of him, leaving Shadow with only a small scar above his eye. He had run away, driven insane by his guilt; he couldn't love her now…
Chapter 5
"WHAT?" Weedpelt spat, disgusted that his daughter would betray him like this. "You can't stop her this time." Hawkfire replied. "Oh, yes I can" Weedpelt hissed, "Just watch me." He then took off into the woods before Hawkfire could say anything. Hawkfire's ears then stood straight up on full alert, for she heard her father getting closer and closer. She had to warn her mother, no matter how much the leader hated and wanted nothing to do with ANY half-clan cat or kit. She had to warn him and her mother of the threat that loomed in the shadows,
Hawkfire's POV
"What?" she gasped, shocked and heartbroken. "It's true. Your so-called 'mate' is about to attack every clan in the lakebed!" I ran my claws down the rock, he disgusted me, how dare he tell my mother that he loved her, like he EVER cared?! If he hated Windclan so much, then why did he even let 'I love you' come out of his mouth?! I mean, COME ON, what did he think would happen? That mousebrain is a disgrace to the word 'love'! If he knew she was born in Windclan, why did he even bother? He said it shouldn't matter where you come from, and he was right, but as soon as I was born, he turned his back on us all, as if their love never existed; it probably didn't on his part, the fleapelt, and what's worse; my mother never let go of the hope that he might come back to her and try to be a father to me. As if! I HAVE no father! I heard my mother wail in all her pent-up pain and woe. "He really HAS forgotten me," she said with tears and a faraway look in her eyes. I HATE seeing her like this. It's all HIS fault! I must fight my father…. no, DarkStar and his army. I need to show him the pain he caused in both my mother and me….
HawkFire ran to go find the windclan leader, and once she found him, she explained about the deranged killer that was fast approaching, and what they needed to do.
TailStar: That is a problem; I want you, the deputy, and Mudfire to go and fight him off. Is that understood?
Hawkfire: YES SIR!
She then padded off to go find Brakenheart and Mudfire. She needed to tell them the plan of attack on the one she called "father". But as she padded off, she heard the leader mutter "Halfclan scum…" "I'll show him 'scum' " she scoffed under her breath. "He thinks we're nothing but scavenged crowfood" Mudfire grumbled, falling into step with her friend. The murky-ginger she-cat looked miffed. The tuft between her ears was bristling, and she was walking slower than usual. The wraps around her left legs looked uncomfortable. "Just because my mother is Riverclan, he thinks he's perfect! Ha! Well, I'd LOVE to see him keep the clan full-fed after a blizzard" She swiped the air as she said it, making Hawkfire wonder why the clan never saw her as a "true" warrior. Sure, her training had taken longer than most, and the weakness in her left side slowed her down; but what she lacked in speed, she made up for in accuracy and strategy. She fooled her opponents by attacking first with her stronger side until they "spotted her weakness", then, while they were focused on taking out her right, she dug into their flank with her left claws and biting hard on the ear, going limp in the process. She'd make a great deputy. I wonder if TailStar will choose her as the next deputy… thought Hawkfire.
Chapter 6
Shadow slunk into the den, feeling sick with misery. He was tired of all this…this waiting, it was maddening. It had been three days since that day, and Thornbeam was no less weary of the idea. But what a mad, wonderful idea…, Shadow thought as he sank to the ground with a * Blump*. A fitful Frostwhisper was sleeping about two or three tail-lengths away. He crept up to the shivering she-cat, wrapping his tail around her. "I love you; I hope you know that…" he whispered to his now-peacefully-sleeping (mate?); as his eyes closed and peace enveloped him. The she-cat purred softly in her sleep and buried her muzzle in his fur as dreams of doves filled their heads.
"Mr. Deputy sir?" Hawkfire asked BrackenHeart, but BrakenHeart glared at her. His piercing ice blue eyes seemed to look right past her Windclan half, and looked right at the Shadowclan half. He then growled under his breath "Her Shadowclan half will take her over soon, then she will be just as evil as whoever her father was. Tch all Shadowclan cats are evil and should never be trusted." He then flexed his claws in and out, like he wanted to kill Hawkfire right there in plain view of Mudfire. But he just gave his black and white pelt a quick lick, and padded off. Hawkfire looked at her friend in worry, then slowly padded off behind the Windclan deputy.
Chapter 7
Frostwhisper looked out of the mouth of the cave she and Shadow had found the night before, and with her ears flat against her head she whispered, "How will Windclan last through this?" As she whispered this, a few snowflakes began to fall. A bit louder so Shadow could hear, she added, "How will my kits live though this weather?" Shadow swung around, eyes widened in surprise. Is that even possible? Unless… No. He was disgusted with himself for even beginning the thought. "Did I hear you correctly, young warrior?" a large voice asked. Thornbeam had overheard and was standing behind them. The enormous wolf loomed over Frostwhisper, staring at them and making the already-scared she-cat shake. He stared right through her, seeking out the truth. "Congratulations", Thornbeam said suddenly, startling them. What surprised Shadow most, though, as Thornbeam dipped his muzzle between Frostwhisper's ears in blessing, was that his voice was warm; almost affectionate, and his vioce was rumbling from deep in his chest; the equivalent of a purr.
Chapter 8
Hawkfire softly padded beside her friend's flank. She wanted all the comfort she could get with the tough evil windclan deputy listening to her every move. But before she could turn to talk to her friend Mudfire, The yowl of a fight peirced the air, and the two halfclan cats ran as fast as they could to the clearing over one of the hills of Windclan, and down into horseplace, and there they saw Brakenheart facing off with DarkStar. But before their paws carried them to the field, they saw Darkstar split Brackenheart in half with a quick slash of his claws. The two she-cats froze. Suddenly, Mudfire yanked Hawkfire down under a thicket with her. "Mudfire what-" "Run..." "What about these two? What about you?" "Just get out of here before he sees you!" "But-" "Hawkfire, you're going to have to just trust me on this.", Mudfire pleaded. Knowing there was no point in trying to talk her best freind out of staying, Hawkfire fled. A foxlegnth away, she looked back; and without stopping, Pleaded with her to be careful, though she knew Mudfire wouldn't hear. Leaping out of the bush and landing on top of Darkstar, Mudfire slashed out, digging into his pelt. She shoved all of her weight onto his windpipe and rolled him over. "What are YOU doing here?!" "Get up." The two circled each other, studying their every move. "I'm not gonna kill my best freind's father.", Mudfire said stiffly. "You just made a big mistake, little cripple.", Darkstar cackled. "Don't you want to save your mate?" "Don't have one." "Are you sure?" Mudfire leapt suddenly, bowling the tom over. "Get... Out.", Mudfire growled. The tom fled clan boundries. Windclan could wait. After all, this was only part of the plan...
Chapter 9
Later back at the camp, the clan held a burial ceremony for BrakenHeart, The clans Loyal Deputy. His son IceTalon was shaken and crying very hard. It was not even a moon ago when he lost his mother FlameClaw to a thunder-path Monster, and now he lost his father? He did not know what he was going to do now…. But his sister SwiftWind was nowhere to be seen, nobody knew if she was dead or alive….. Not even IceTalon knew….. After the burial ceremony and silent vigil. TailStar got ready to speak, but before he did, MudFire saw a cold look in his gold eyes. "I, TailStar, say these words before the body of BrakenHeart, so that his spirit may hear and approve my choice. HawkFire will be the new deputy of WindClan!" Yowls of agreement and disagreement rang through the clan, "It is decided!" TailStar said as he leaped down from his perch on the high hill then trotted away, the 2 she-cats just looked at each other in shock. They did not know what to do… Later Mudfire overheard TailStar talking to one of the warriors, "It is all part of the plan to get rid of that ShadowClan reject, we can trust River or even ThunderClan more then ShadowClan. So I figured If that half ShadowClan she-cat is deputy, she will die a horrible death like my best warrior did… StarClan, protect BrakenHeart while he lives with you"…. Why, if he weren't twice my size, I'd flatten him! Mudfire dashed to hear freind's side, eyes huge with fear. "Hawkfire, you have to get out of here, NOW! He's going to kill you!" "NO." Hawkfire replied defiantly. "If that piece of badger meat wants to kill me, he'll have to cripple me first!" Mudfire sighed, knowing she couldn't change Hawkfire's mind. It had been that way since the two were kits. After her mother died of a fatal wound, Hawkkit had rescued her and, dispite being about the same age, pretty much raised her... "You were so tiny then.", Hawkfire mused, apperently sharing the same recollection. "Feathers, I just don't want to lose you... I'd never forgive myself." Hawkfire smiled at the use of the nickname Mudfire had given her when they were apprentices. Others didn't really understand it, but Hawkfire liked it; it was an affectionate reminder of just how close the two of them were. "Mudfire, you know that no matter what, I'll be there for you... because even after I'm gone, you'll still be stuck with me, Muddypaws..." Hawkfire replied, using her own nicname for her freind. The two she cats touched noses to reassure eachother, then they trotted off.
Chapter 10
"Halfling welp!" Growled Gristleclaw as he slammed Littletuft out of his way. The young hybrid wimpered and stalked up to Gristleclaw untill his muzzle touched the black tom's nose. "Just because I'm half dog doesn't make me any less of a cat than you are, Gristleclaw." "You?" Gristlecaw almost laughed at the thought. "YOU'RE nothing but a disgraceful abomination, a freak! Just like your worthless father; and your sick tramp of a mother. You should never have been born." Gristleclaw ranted as he struck him again; blood flying from the halfling's face. Littletuft struggled to his paws and glared at him, the wound dripping red specks onto the ground. "Now I see the resemblance", Gristleclaw taunted. "Daddy's little prince isn't so tough now, is he?" "Shut up!" screamed Littletuft in a sound more like meowing than barking as he launched himself into Gristleclaw's chest, knocking him over. "Go ahead, get your revenge, strike, you little runt!" "NO." "What do you mean, 'no'?" Gristleclaw asked, confused. "Petty revenge would make me no better than you are, nothing but a big bully..." Littletuft explained as he turned and walked away. "Spoken like a true leader, Littletuft." Shadow said later that night as he cleaned the dried blood from his son's tiny face. Frostwhisper was NOT happy. She slunk out of the den and pinned Gristleclaw down. "If you EVER strike my son, or anyone else, I'll-" "You'll what? You'll kill me?" "No. I'm not a monster. But I won't hesitate to make you wish you WERE dead. You make me sick." The she-cat turned around to meet his eyes. "By the way, I know what you did to Mudfire."
"Tch, you know nothing" spat the tom "I know more than you think." the she-cat said.
Chapter 11
7 moons later the clan was covered in a thick blanket of snow. Every where you looked there was snow and ice! The worst of it was there was barely even 2 rabbits on the fresh-kill pile, the ones that were there were no bigger then a mouse! And as a result of that all the cats there were as thin as twigs! HawkFire the new deputy. And Mudfire were on guard duty, Mudfire was shivering against the cold. And it did not help that she was thin from 3 moons of not eating, every bone in her ribcage was easily seen. As well as her spine and hip bones, she was just about to ask Hawk if there was anything left on the fresh-kill pile when her stomach let out a loud growl reminding her there was no food, and sending a waive of pain though her tiny body. Hawkfire looked at her friend in worry, but there was nothing much she could do. She herself was starved and weekend from moons of no food, so she felt her friends pain. She padded over to her to try to keep her warm…. "Don't Worry Muddypaws". Hawk said through a shivering breath. "I will keep you warm and as happy as I can". After she said that she padded to the fresh kill pile and came back with a rabbit for her friend. "Here, eat up" as she said this her own stomach growled.