So...hi, people... I haven't updated since September. Being completely honest, I forgot about this story. October was competition month for marching band, and it was the end of the first nine weeks, in which I realized I suck at US History because my grade was, uh, let's not talk about that... Anyways, I've been really busy, but I'm going to make it up to you with this update. Now that I'm not so busy, I'm going to try and update once a week. I make no promises that it will happen, but I promise that I'm going to try. Well, enough of the apology...let's get to business...
This chapter begins the chapters named after song titles. This one is named after a song by Three Days Grace.
I'm adding a few details into this chapter, but not many. I'm doing that on purpose. This chapter is, for the most part, supposed to move quickly, so the fewer details the better.
Well, that's it for now. I've decided that I'm too lazy to answer all of the review replies right here, so I'll just quickly say thanks for all the reviews and then we can get on with chapter five.
Chapter Five
It's All Over
Ivypool must have forgotten what the word 'fun' meant, because this patrol was not fun for her. It was as opposite of that as one could get.
"Why can't we go by the ShadowClan border again?" Toadstep asked.
"Because we weren't ordered to go there," Spiderleg replied to his son. "We were ordered to go to the WindClan border."
"A patrol was already sent over there, wasn't it?" Mousewhisker mentioned to his younger half-brother.
"Can you all stop arguing for once? Can't we just go on a patrol?" Foxleap asked exasperatingly.
Ivypool twitched her ears. She agreed with Foxleap, but didn't say anything. She signaled with her tail for everyone to follow her. Ivypool padded up to the border. The sun was slowly falling behind the green line which was the moorland. Sunset streaked a beautiful mixture of orange and lavender across the sky as the sun left to make room for the moon. Ivypool halted at the border to greet the two cats who were slowly on their way to their edge of the border.
"Hello, Ivypool." A tortoiseshell she-cat with a large white mark on her head padded up to her.
"Hello, Larkstrike," Ivypool greeted the younger she-cat kindly. "How is everything in WindClan?"
"We're fine," a light brown tom meowed curtly.
"Hello, Crouchleap," Ivypool greeted Larkstrike's brother. "Glad to hear it."
"How is ThunderClan?" Larkstrike asked kindly.
"We're doing great," Spiderleg replied sarcastically. "Just great."
"I see he's in a talkative mood," Larkstrike meowed, nodding to Spiderleg.
Ivypool twitched her whiskers in amusement, trying not to purr. "Where's the rest of your patrol? I can only assume you're the border patrol."
"Uh—it's just us," Larkstrike meowed quickly.
"Is everything okay?" Ivypool asked worriedly.
"Just fine," Crouchleap retorted in reply.
"Well, let us know if we can help with anything," Ivypool meowed kindly.
"We can handle our own problems!" Crouchleap snapped.
Larkstrike glared at her brother. "As opposed to what Crouchleap thinks, I'll be glad to let you know if you can assist us with anything. We're fine right now, but if anything ever happens we'll let you know," she meowed kindly to Ivypool.
"Alright," Ivypool meowed.
"Come on, Larkstrike, let's get back to camp," Crouchleap meowed sourly before turning away and running off.
"Crouchleap, wait for me!" Larkstrike cried, turning her head in the direction her brother had run off. "Bye, Ivypool!" She added before running off.
"Bye, Larkstrike," Ivypool meowed kindly, even though her friend couldn't hear her.
"Why are you being so friendly to WindClan cats?" Spiderleg asked curiously.
Ivypool turned around. "There's nothing wrong with being nice, is there?"
"Sure there is!" Toadstep meowed, stepping up beside his father to join him.
Ivypool sighed. "Whatever," she muttered. Raising her voice, she added, "Let's get back to camp."
"Wait," Toadstep meowed. "I have a thorn in my paw. The rest of you get back to camp. I'll catch up."
"Fine," Spiderleg meowed.
"Do you need any help? I can help you," Ivypool offered kindly.
"Sure, thanks," Toadstep meowed.
"Mousewhisker, Foxleap, let's go," Spiderleg meowed, flicking his tail. The mentioned toms followed Spiderleg away.
"Alright, let me see the thorn," Ivypool meowed. "Cinderheart taught me how to get them out…"
"There isn't a thorn," Toadstep meowed. "I just wanted to talk to you."
"Wh—what?" Ivypool stammered. Please don't let this go where I think it's going to go…
"I knew you'd stick behind to help me," Toadstep meowed. "The thing is, I've been trying to figure out a time to talk to you, but you've always been busy…ever since the war…"
"Well, we've finally finished the repairs to camp," Ivypool meowed awkwardly.
"The thing is, I think you're really brave, Ivypool," Toadstep began, "and I want to spend a lot of time with you. We're friends, right?"
"Uh…sure…" Ivypool replied awkwardly.
"I want to be more than friends," Toadstep meowed. "I want to be more than just friends with you. I want to be your mate. Ivypool, will you be my mate?"
"I—I…" Ivypool didn't know what to say. She couldn't say anything. She looked at Toadstep, who patiently waited for her reply. His amber stare was burning into her pelt. Ivypool struggled to find words. "I…I…"
Any day now, Ivypool thought to herself. Finally making her decision on how to relay the information to the tom, she took a deep breath and meowed, "I'm sorry, Toadstep. You're a nice tom, but…no. We're cousins," Ivypool added, the excuse returning to her in the middle of her explanation. I didn't think about that, and I really don't care that we're kin, it's just that I don't want a mate!
"We—we are?" Toadstep asked. He blinked.
"Y—yeah," Ivypool stammered slowly. "Birchfall, my father, is Spiderleg's younger brother."
"Well, I don't care if we're kin or not!" Toadstep exclaimed. "Cousins, huh? I don't care if we're cousins. That's not that close of kin…besides, it doesn't change how I feel about you! I still love you! So I'll ask it again. Ivypool, will you be my mate?"
And here I thought I'd dodged it… Ivypool took in a deep breath and answered before she could think about it anymore.
"No," Ivypool meowed. "I don't want a mate."
"No?" Toadstep looked like he was about to fall apart into a thousand pieces. "Wh—why not?"
"I don't…"
"You don't want a mate?" Toadstep asked softly, repeating what she had already said. "Why not?"
"I—I…I don't love cats…" Ivypool stammered in reply.
"You don't love your mother and father? You don't love Whitewing or Birchfall? Or Dovewing?" Toadstep asked her, his eyes wide with alarm and shock.
"No, it's not that! I love my family! But I treat my family like my friends…and my friends like my family…and I don't want to change that. I don't love anyone more than anyone else. I'd do anything to protect any of you," Ivypool added softly.
Toadstep closed his eyes. "I…I'm sorry. I'm really trying to understand what you're saying, but…" Toadstep opened his eyes. "I don't."
Ivypool twitched her tail-tip and nodded. "I know. I know you don't. I didn't think you would. No one else that I've explained it to has."
"What do you mean?" Toadstep asked.
"You're not the first cat to ask to be my mate," Ivypool retorted sourly. "I've turned down one cat already…" Two…but why does it feel like three before him? "…and I'm tired of doing so. I'm sorry, Toadstep, but can we…can we please just be friends? No more than friends?"
"Ivypool, I…I can't change the way I feel about you…" Toadstep replied.
"Well, at least you didn't find a replacement…" Ivypool muttered sourly.
"Wh—what?" Toadstep exclaimed. "The other tom…found a replacement?"
"Did I say that out loud?" Ivypool asked, lifting her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean for you to hear that. Can we stay friends? Even though I've turned you down, we can still be…friends, right? We don't have to end our friendship because of this, right?" Ivypool added.
"Of course we can be friends," Toadstep meowed. "But…you know that I still love you, right? Even if you don't love me?" he added.
"Of course I do," Ivypool replied. "But I still want to be your friend."
"And I still want to be yours," Toadstep added.
"Cool. Are we cool?" Ivypool asked.
"Absolutely," Toadstep replied.
Ivypool nodded. "Cool." She looked up at the sky. It was pitch black with the exception of the white moon and a few stars. "Oh no…I'm sure Leafpool's noticed I'm gone by now…It's almost moonrise already…what happened to the time?"
"I thought it was only sunfall," Toadstep agreed. "How mysterious."
"Toadstep! Ivypool!" the two cats turned at Foxleap's voice. "Um…what's taking so long? You should have been back at camp a long time ago!"
"A long time ago? It's only been a few minutes!" Ivypool protested. She looked at Toadstep to see her own shock reflected on his face. "Where did the time go?"
"I'm not sure, but Toadstep, you can go ahead back to camp to let everyone know you're okay. I need to talk to Ivypool about something," Foxleap added.
"Uh, sure..." Toadstep replied. "Ivypool, will you be okay?"
"Yeah," Ivypool replied. "Make sure Leafpool isn't in hysterics for me, will you? She told me to stay in camp but I lied to Squirrelflight saying I was good to go."
"Uh oh…" Toadstep meowed. "This should be bad, then…right?"
"Probably," Ivypool nodded. "See you back at camp."
"See you," Toadstep meowed before running off.
When he was gone, Foxleap meowed, "You lied to Squirrelflight? Well that won't end well. Trust me, I should know. She was my mentor. Making her mad isn't the best of ideas."
"I know, I know…" Ivypool replied, "…but I needed to get out of camp."
"Most cats that fall off of a cliff aren't so eager to get out of camp," Foxleap meowed. "Especially when they possibly have a head injury. That's what I love about you. You're so brave and always so eager to help your Clanmates."
Oh no...great StarClan, no...
"Ivypool, I love you!" Foxleap meowed. "Ivypool, please be my mate!"
Ivypool looked away. She couldn't meet his gaze. I can't do this! I can't turn down four toms in three days! Why, StarClan…why me?
"You probably think I love Hazeltail, but I don't. Ivypool, I love you! Please believe me! Hazeltail's your friend, right? She's probably told you differently, but…don't listen to her lies! Just listen to me! You can trust me, can't you? Ivypool, will you be my mate?" Foxleap repeated.
Ivypool jerked her head up as she was drawn into a sense of déjà vu.
"Foxleap said he wanted to be my mate but I know that he loves Rosepetal!" Hazeltail exclaimed.
Ivypool blinked. When did that happen? I remember that, but…I feel like I'm missing something…
"You can trust me." Hazeltail's voice again. Where do I remember this from? When do I remember this from?
"Ivypool? Hello, Ivypool? Are you okay?" Foxleap asked. He was right at her side.
Ivypool jumped back. "Get away from me!" She snapped, hissing at him.
Foxleap jumped back, his eyes wide with alarm. "Ivypool? Ivypool, are you okay?" he asked curiously.
Ivypool didn't know where her sudden anger came from, but it continued to grow inside of her.
"Don't ever talk to me again!" she hissed at the reddish-brown tabby tom. "Don't even come near me! If you come near me again…I'll kill you!"
Foxleap was shaking with fear. "Y…yes…yes ma'am…" he whispered. Then he turned tail and ran away.
Ivypool stared after him. Her anger suddenly faded away. "What…what just happened?" she asked herself as she blinked a couple of times. "Foxleap, wait! Come back! Please!"
"That was quite a show you put on." Ivypool whipped around to see Mousewhisker padding out from behind the bushes.
"M—Mousewhisker?" she exclaimed. "Wh—what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you," Mousewhisker replied, "about the same thing he wanted to talk to you about, except I'm expecting a different answer."
"You want to be my mate?" Ivypool asked coldly, all of her anger returning.
"Yes," Mousewhisker replied simply. His voice and his facial expression showed a soothing calmness, except Ivypool was the opposite of calm.
"What about Icecloud, Mousewhisker? She's expecting your kits," Ivypool meowed coldly. "You're going to be a father, and you're willing to walk away from your mate like that because you want to be my mate instead? I don't think so. You'd better walk away, or…"
"Or what?" Mousewhisker asked. "You'll tell Icecloud about what I've asked you?"
"You won't be around to suffer the consequences of me telling her," Ivypool replied coldly, her voice much deeper than before. "You better leave, now, or I'll kill you and put your remains in your kits' fresh-kill!"
Mousewhisker's green eyes were so wide that Ivypool could see the whites around them.
"I will always love you…" Mousewhisker whispered. He stood there a few more moments before letting his fear get the best of him. Ivypool had never seen a cat run as fast as Mousewhisker had as he ran away from her.
Ivypool let out a sigh of relief, only to turn around at the slight ruffle of leaves. She was horrified to see her black-pelted uncle, his brown underbelly barely visible.
"Spiderleg," she greeted him.
"Hello, Ivypool. Hopefully I'll have better luck than them," Spiderleg meowed.
"You want to be my mate?" Ivypool asked coldly, just as she'd asked Mousewhisker.
"Yes," Spiderleg replied. "Daisy…was a mistake. I think you'd be a much better mate. We don't have to have kits if you don't want, but we can still be mates. We can still have fun, if you know what I mean, but…"
"Get away from me!" Ivypool snarled. She stepped forward. "I will rip you into pieces. Don't believe me? Try me."
Spiderleg backed away from her slowly. "I see your training in the Dark Forest rubbed off on you after all."
"That's it!" Ivypool snarled. She leaped at the tom with unsheathed claws. Spiderleg jumped to the left, but Ivypool landed quickly on her feet and changed her direction before Spiderleg could even think about it. Ivypool knocked him down to the ground. She lifted a paw.
"This brings the end of you," Ivypool sneered. "You never were of any use to me. I tried using you to get Firestar killed, but you didn't work and I had to go to Ashfur instead."
"You're not Ivypool!" Spiderleg exclaimed. "You're…"
Ivypool sliced open Spiderleg's belly. "And that's enough of that, isn't it?" Spiderleg tried crying out in pain, but Ivypool shoved her tail into Spiderleg's mouth. Spiderleg bit down on it harshly, but Ivypool simply laughed. "Shh…it'll be all better soon enough…"
"Ivypool?" Ivypool whirled around at the sound of a tom's voice. She ripped her tail from between Spiderleg's teeth. When she saw him she felt her anger slipping away. Ivypool suddenly saw the faint shape of a dark brown tabby tom, his ice-blue eyes gleaming.
"I'll be seeing you, Ivypool," he meowed before fading away.
Ivypool widened her eyes as she realized what happened. "Oh StarClan, no…" she whispered to herself. She nearly fell over with shock.
"Ivypool? Ivypool?" The black-and-gray tom ran over to her. "Ivypool, are you okay?"
"Bumblestripe…" she whispered. She leaned on him for support. "No, I'm not okay…it's…it's all over…" she whispered.
"Ivypool, what did you…Why did you kill Spiderleg?" Bumblestripe asked.
"It wasn't me…" Ivypool whispered. "I was angry at him, sure, but…Hawkfrost, he…he did something to me…he took over my body and killed Spiderleg, I swear…Bumblestripe, do you believe me?" she asked.
Bumblestripe stepped away from her. "This is from your training in the Dark Forest?" he asked.
"Most likely," Ivypool replied. I really don't know, she thought to herself, but what difference does it make?
"Ivypool, I love you, but…I don't believe you…" Bumblestripe stammered. "Dovewing and Jayfeather sent me to find you after Foxleap and Mousewhisker ran back to camp, both terrified out of their skin. Neither of them will say anything except for your name. Everyone is starting to get concerned. Bramblestar said that if I wasn't back soon he'd send an entire patrol. Are you going to tell him about Hawkfrost?"
"No…" Ivypool whispered. "I'll tell him I found Spiderleg dead and that I froze in horror."
"But what about Foxleap and Mousewhisker? What did you do to them?" Bumblestripe asked.
"Hawkfrost told them I was going to kill them…" Ivypool whispered.
"That's terrible!" Bumblestripe exclaimed. Then he shifted gears. "Hey, why were you mad at them, anyway?"
"They wanted to be my mate," Ivypool replied softly.
"Really?" Bumblestripe asked.
"Yes," Ivypool replied. She got to her paws. "Bumblestripe, thank you for listening to me, but…perhaps it's better if the Clan thinks I'm suffering from a head injury after all."
"A head injury…that's what you're going to tell them?" Bumblestripe exclaimed.
"Yes," Ivypool replied. "Why else would I kill Spiderleg and threaten Foxleap and Mousewhisker?"
"Good point," Bumblestripe meowed.
"Right?" Ivypool muttered. "Perhaps I am suffering from a head injury…" she suddenly whispered. Everything started fading black. She could see a light brown tom in the corner of her eye, green eyes staring at her, but she couldn't focus on it as it ran away because it all just turned black.
"Ivypool? Ivypool!" Bumblestripe exclaimed.
Ivypool felt herself falling before blacking out. Just as her conscience faded she could hear Hawkfrost's sneering voice.
I'll be seeing you, Ivypool…I won't leave you alone until I bring your world to an end and more…
Ah, the taunting from Hawkfrost continues. He said it's nowhere close to being over, but his direct involvement is going to be set aside for a while as other issues come first...
So...Ivypool's threats...kind of lame, yeah? Sorry about that...
How many blondes does it take to screw in a light bulb? How many toms does it take to piss Ivypool off into killing one of them?
Okay...absolutely terrible pun...I'm sorry...
Moving on...
Bumblestripe, Hazeltail (who she doesn't remember), Jayfeather, Toadstep, Foxleap, Mousewhisker, Spiderleg, Crouchleap…who's next? And yes, I said Crouchleap. His eyes are green and he's a light brown tom. I left a hint, but you're welcome for telling you ahead of time.
Next chapter is going to be a special chapter. It will be titled "You'll Never Know," after the VersaEmerge song. It will be Hazeltail's POV. Like I said, special chapter.
See ya next time!
~Icy