Cody The Pikachu: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Legend Of Owlflame Book 2! Here, we finally get to the cat form of the Avatar origins. I've decided to name Wan's cat form Mau, because Egyptian Maus are said to be a valuable breed of cat with ancient roots. Plus, he'll get some speed because the breed has a skin flap running from their flanks to their back knee, allowing them to have greater strides. And I had given him an Ancient name: Fox Claw. Did you know that this was the name I was gonna give Bearclaw before I joined FanFiction? If not, then there you go.
Disclaimer: Will I ever own Legend Of Korra or Warrior Cats? Nope. They belong to Michael DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter.
Summary: The Avatar Cat has gone missing! from United City After the President refused her request to aid the South in the WaterClan civil war, Owlflame headed to FireClan, hoping to find new allies. But suddenly, a dark spirit attacked Korra and dragged her into the ocean. She has washed up on a desolate island wth no memory of who she is. Who can help her find out who she really is?
Uploading Date: June 13, 2014
Enjoy!
...
Origins (part 1)
The blue-gray cat stared weakly up at the sky while tropical trees passed by on either side. Why were these cats here? Where were they taking her? She recalled waking up at the beach, but she couldn't remember anything after that. She groaned as the shadows of the trees passed over her face while the four old cats carried her on their shoulders.
Just as they arrived at a temple in the middle of the jungle, the cat heard a name ringing in her ears: Raava. She didn't know where the word came from, but it left her muttering her name over and over again. It sounded like it was vital to where she was now.
The cats had just arrived at the temple where the Shaman lived at. It was a very old temple that had been around ever since the world had their first few Avatar Cats, made out of piled stones and decorated in tropical plants. Knowing where the Shaman usually worked, they trekked down a long tunnel filled with sleeping bats and into a large chamber with several candles lit around the place. And at the far end of the room at an altar was a skinny and hairless brown she-cat, talking with several more cats about apparently what went on around the island. She must have sensed them, for she turned to face them, mild surprise on her wrinkly face.
"We found the Avatar Cat washed up onshore, but she doesn't remember anything," one elder, a black she-cat meowed.
The Shaman didn't speak, but she nodded towards a table, pointing a paw at the Avatar Cat. They gently placed her on the stone table, where she had started mumbling weakly, "Raava...Raava...Raava..."
"Let me see here," the hairless brown cat croaked, moving a fiery paw over her body. "Hmm...a dark energy has infected her body. We must hurry and extinguish it before it destroys her Avatar Cat Spirit. Let us bring her to the Moon Pond."
So the sages gently picked her up and brought her over to a large hole in the ground, laying her gently on a net for balance. One cat even started using a crank and pulley system to lower her until her tail touched the surface of the water inside the hole. Then she was lowered even more until the water was soaking her pelt, and the Avatar Cat was almost completely submerged except for her face, chest, and paws.
The Shaman nodded as this happened. "It is good right now. Let the waters cleanse the darkness that haunts your spirit..."
In the meantime...
The she-cat opened her eyes right away, feeling her body take on a glowing purple, emitting energy. The space around her appeared as if she was deep underwater, little air bubbles floating around her like stars. She had no idea where she was, but it made her feel slightly safe...that is, until a cat appeared before her. This cat had the same body shape, fur colors, and eyes except that she was surrounded by blue aura, a light blue dividing line of energy just between them.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I am you," the doppelganger meowed.
The first she-cat tilted her head to the side. "And who am I?"
Just then, the twin vanished to be replaced by a handsome golden tom with white arrow markings. She could have sworn she saw him somewhere, but she couldn't remember.
"You are Owlflame, and you are the Avatar Cat," the tom meowed.
This confused the she-cat even more. "I don't know what that is."
The golden cat vanished and was replaced by a white tom, who meowed, "To remember who you are, you must regain your connection with your Avatar Cat Spirit."
Instantly, he vanished, and a large tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat appeared in his place. "If you don't, darkness will engulf the Clans and the world," she meowed in a stoic voice. "You will die, and our era will end."
"How do I regain my connection?" the blue-gray she-cat asked.
The large tortoiseshell vanished, and a dark gray tom with bluish-green eyes appeared in her place. "Go back, and return to the beginning, the dawn of the new Clans," he rasped. "Find Raava."
But he didn't disappear this time. Instead, the she-cat was instantly surrounded by a strong current of water and bubbles, washing her out onto a rock. She climbed onto the rock to be met by a bright ball of light, noticing a cat in the center. He looked quite young, decorated by a bronze pelt flecked with small black spots. His amber eyes glowed with recognition when he saw her, and he smiled with warmness on his face.
"Are you Raava?" the she-cat asked.
The tom shook his head. "No, but I can help you find her. My name is Mau, the ancient word for all cats, and I was formerly known as Fox Claw. And I will show you how I became the first Avatar Cat."
Fourteen hundred moons ago...
Fox Claw snickered as he led the chase through the streets, holding a sack of food in his jaws. He had managed to make another great theft in stealing from the Chew brothers, a gang of cats hogging most of the food. Behind them, three fat cats were pursuing him, shouting all kinds of profanities...that was music to his ears.
"Nobody steals from the Chou brothers!" the little Chew snapped as they pursued him.
Fox Claw turned to look over his shoulder, tying the sack onto the scarf he carried with him. "I just did, actually!"
"You're dead, you smug little punk," the big Chew snarled.
"Really?" Fox Claw asked, jumping onto a railing and turning to look at them. "'Cause I feel quite alive!"
He gave a mock salute and fell back, unsheathing his claws and clinging onto a clothesline, as he sprang back up into a window. Fox Claw watched in amusement as the Chew brothers all fall down after him, grabbing the clotheslines but only pulling them down with them to the ground. He saw a cloth fall down onto them, jumped down onto their heads, and turned towards the left just before the Chew Brothers pulled the cloth off to see him go. The spotted cat ran towards and then across a small bridge, disturbing a flock of pigeons, which all flew into the air as the Chew Brothers reached the bridge. The brothers were quickly hit by bird droppings from above.
With a laugh, Fox Claw jumped over blue rooftops, making his way downwards, swung on a wooden bar, and landed on all four paws. He bounded across more rooftops and looked down at the cats from below; he felt a bit happy that he lived with only a few friends...big crowds weren't his thing. Fox Claw stopped at one point, looking around to see if more Chews were still after him. Once they weren't, he dropped the bag to reveal a roll that tumbled out of there and stooped down to eat.
Just as he is about to take a bite from it, however, the big Chew landed in front of him, the other Chews landing beside him. Fox Claw couldn't understand how these fat cats could catch up with him so easily; they were bigger than him, but he had street smarts on his side.
"Hey there, folks. You're just in time for lunch!" he grunted as he turned and kicked the roll at Big Chew's face.
The big Chew grunted in surprise as Fox Claw ran forward, seizing the chance and landing on his back to jump off. However, the middle brother suddenly whirled around and caught him by the scruff, making him yowl in surprise and drop the bag in surprise as well.
"I told you no one steals from us," the little Chew snarled as the big Chew kept Fox Claw pinned to the ground. Fox Claw didn't say anything, but he did grin nervously.
That was when they picked the rogue tom up and threw him over the building, making him yowl again as he fell from above and past the tree tops. Fox Claw landed with a splat into the mud of a pig pen, groaning from disgust and weariness as he tried getting up to his paws. A pig walked up to him and sniffed him as he sat down, getting up once to shake the mud off of his copper pelt. He noticed some pigs going near the bag of rolls he had gotten and quickly ran forward, scooping up the bag and taking off with it, before he leaped over the pig pen's gate and ran off.
What're Cedar Cedar and Crazy Squirrel gonna say when they see me covered in mud? And these buns dirtied up? he thought. But he merely shrugged and thought some more, I can handle it. But those damn Chews! Who do they think they are, starving us like this?!
Dusk arrived when he arrived on the edge of the town. It appeared to be on a very large hill with a tall palace pagoda at the top, where the Chew tribe lived. He padded down the path towards the forest and looked up to see a small old wooden treehouse up ahead; he and his friends had moved there ever since he and Cedar were kits. Fox Claw padded to the closest tree, sank his claws into the bark, and climbed up all the way to the treehouse, where he stepped through the entrance to see three cats just before him. One black-and-white cat was looking up at him in concern and frustration; this was Cedar Branch, his friend and quite a worrywart.
"Did you steal from the Chews again?" the black-and-white cat asked.
"Yeah, and I got nothing to show for it except dirty rolls and scratches," Fox Claw replied, wincing from a wound on his shoulder as he tossed a roll at Cedar Branch. He approached a green rag shelter and meowed, "Yo, Crazy Squirrel! I got some food for you."
He dropped the roll at the entrance of the rag shelter and watched Crazy Squirrel limp out and accept it. As he comes out from the shadows, he was revealed to have one part of him be regular old orange cat...but other parts of him was part tree. Parts of his paws and half his face were made of wood, and there were even twisting branches growing from his shoulder and the top of his head. With a chirp, he took a bite from the roll and smiled, rasping, "Mmm...delicious! Thank you, Fox Claw!"
Fox Claw nodded in acknowledgment and sat back down to prepare eating his share.
Just then, a flash of green and blue made him look up to see who the intruders were. He relaxed, though, when he saw that the intruders were just two skunks, a bold male peafowl, and a woodpecker riding on a skunk's back. Fox Claw could tell that they were getting hungry, for they were eying his roll curiously before looking up at him.
Fox Claw smiled and purred, "You guys are hungry too, huh? Come here, and I'll give you some."
With that, he unsheathed his claws and used them to cut his roll up into small pieces. He laid the pieces down by their feet and stepped back with a cheerful attitude when he saw the animals eat...but that was replaced by what he went through to get food for everyone. The Chews had plenty of food; why couldn't rogues like the three of them get some?
"Why don't you eat something, Fox Claw?" Cedar Branch suggested. "If you don't, you'll become skin and bones."
"I'm fine, Cedar Branch. They need it more than I do," Fox Claw meowed, lapping at some water from the moss on the front part of the house. "Besides, I'm tired of eating scraps. If only there was a way to get into the Chews' food cellar...we'd be eating like kittypets!"
Cedar Branch now looked concerned. "If the Elder Chew catches you sneaking into his palace, you'll end up becoming crowfood. Or worse, he'll send you to the Spirit Wilds in exile."
Instantly, Crazy Squirrel yowled, "No, don't get exiled! You don't want nothing to do with those spirits! They'll get inside ya, scramble up your mind, and turn ya into this: a monster! A horrible monster..." With that, he abandoned his food and retreated into the shadows, his crazy amber eyes forlorn.
"Crazy Squirrel's right. Don't do anything crazy," Cedar Branch added. "You just gotta accept our lives as the way they are. There are two kinds of cats in this world: those with power, and those who don't. And you are one of the don'ts."
Fox Claw grunted and lapped at some more water, thinking over what his friend told him. He was right; unless if they had some kind of special power, then there was no way they could ever fight against the Chews.
"Not for longer, anyway," he murmured with a grin.
...
The next morning, Fox Claw headed back to town, where he heard a commotion going on. A couple of cats were rumored to be out hunting in the Spirit Wilds for several days. As Cedar and Crazy Squirrel had told him, that place was swarming with wild spirits and other animals lurking out there, and they were all deadly. But he also knew that to survive out there, a cat would need the element the land whale they were living on would keep for itself. So here was the chance, waiting out there with the naivety of caught prey.
He headed into the city to find out that, yes, there were cats gathering in a circle around three cats. Fox Claw had heard that they were mighty fighters and hunters, and they could be useful to him to get some of that power.
"Are any of you cats strong?" a big gray cat was yowling for those to hear. "Are any of you fearless? Do you have what it takes to battle the spirits in the wilderness? Then join us in the hunt!"
With a deep breath, he called. "Count me in.
Everyone turned and stared at him in surprise before the cats in the circle began laughing at him. "We're going to be out in the wilds for a moon, kid," the gray cat grunted after laughing. "You won't last ten seconds."
"I can handle myself just fine," Fox Claw replied smugly. "I'm a street cat after all. We all get fire, right?"
"But do you know how to use it?" the larger tom asked with a leer.
Damn! I wasn't expecting that! With a frown, Fox Claw started, "Well, not really, but I-"
"Ah, let him come, Wolf Snout," a tabby cat spoke up. "Not like we got any other volunteers lining up."
Wolf Snout rolled his eyes. "Okay. Welcome to the hunt...but you do what I say on the hunt. Got it?"
Fox Claw nodded, and the cats went on their way out of the city.
To the left of them was a cliff, and on the cliff face were strange swirling patterns. There were two volcanos on both sides of it, with giant mountain ranges further in the distance and possibly reaching the far ends of the continent, and the hill was sitting inside a crater. Fox Claw followed the patrol up to an outcropping at the edge of the crater, the city seen in the distance on the mountain. Pushing ahead, Wolf Snout stood at the edge of the cliff and let out a yowl, followed by the blowing of horns.
All of a sudden, the ground began to shake and rumble under their paws, but the cliff remained intact. The hill rose from the crater, revealing what was beneath it: a huge whale resting in the sand, parts of the stuff crusted over its eyes. It opened its jaws top reveal rows of hair-like baleen, used to catch tiny animals without much effort and then eating them. There was no mistaking what this massive animal was.
"This is it...the land whale," Fox Claw mewed in awe. He had heard many legends about these giant beasts, huge aquatic animals that had decided to take residence in the sand and other spots of earth. They even wielded powers any cat could have imagined.
Wolf Snout pushed his way to the cliff edge and called, "Great guardian of our city, we are venturing into the Spirit Wilds to bring back fresh-kill for our cats. Please, great guardian, grant us the power of fire."
The whale lazily opened its huge gaping mouth and thundered, "Very well. The power of fire is yours to keep until your return."
"Thank you," Wolf Snout meowed. To Fox Claw, he added, "You get the first shot, kid."
With a gulp and a nod, Fox Claw padded forth, looking behind him once. The spotted bronze-colored cat stepped towards the land whale, who lifted a strange tentacle-like vine that split into two and placed both ends on his forehead and chest.
At once, it felt like his muscles were roaring with power and energy, catching him off guard and causing him to gasp in shock. He stepped a bit back to keep down the fiery buildup inside of him, but it seemed to have erupted from his mouth, for he had breathed fire without truly realizing it. When he felt the vines pull away from him, he looked up to see the vines retracting back to where they came from, looking down to realize that he had unsheathed his claws to bear the new power.
"May the element of fire protect you against the spirits in the wilds," the whale rumbled. "Now go, and feed your hungry cats."
Fox Claw thanked the land whale looked down at his paws, feeling as if they were getting warmed up by warm water. With a deep breath, he turned away from the whale and swiped a paw upwards, and just like that, fire erupted from his claws.
Wow! Look at this! Fox Claw thought, surprise and joy making him unable to get up at first. But with more confidence, he leaped up into the air and swiped again, smiling as more fire came out from them.
"Okay, kid, you got it!" Wolf Snout suddenly exclaimed. "Just try to aim at the spirits, not us, okay?"
"Sure thing," Fox Claw replied with a purr. And when they went on ahead of him to get their fire power, he looked down at his paws and smirked. He was getting one step closer to helping his friends out...if only to get away from this patrol!
Hours later found the cats padding warily through the mist of the Spirit Wilds, their vision blurred by this phenomenon. It was very hard to find prey in mist even if they could smell it faintly. Fox Claw lagged behind, waiting for the time for his plan to get to work. Even so, he was still spooked by having to come through here though there were other cats with him as well.
At the front, Wolf Snout ordered, "Everyone stay close to me. Spirits love to pick off stragglers."
This was it: the time to turn back and reveal this new power to his friends. Fox Claw believed that soon would be the time to revolt against the Chew brothers and finally get a full feast. They could all eat like kings and kittypets! But still...he didn't want to come across one of the spirits that roamed these lands.
So he flattened his ears and mewled in a pathetically timid voice, "Uh, guys? I don't think I can do this anymore."
"Stop that moaning," Wolf Snout snapped. "We haven't even seen a spirit yet."
"I wanna go home," Fox Claw whimpered, crouching even lower. He had to be convincing or else the plan wouldn't work.
Now the larger cat was angry. He stalked up to him and snarled, "Fine, then retreat, you coward! I knew you were one from the start! Go give your fire back to the land whale, and don't ever show your face around me again!"
With that, he stalked away.
But when Wolf Snout was away, Fox Claw smirked, unsheathing the claws on one paw to see the fire around it. The trick had worked, and this was the chance to help everyone throw down the Chew brothers and get food for everyone. He had the fire, and he decided to make full use of it. Making sure that the hunting cats were out of sight, he turned around and headed back to the town on the land whale.
An hour later, he had made it back to the little patch of woods on top of the land whale, climbing up the trees and up to the treehouse. Cedar Branch and Crazy Squirrel were playing Pai Sho, a game Fox Claw had heard was created by the spirits, though he seldom played it due to scavenging for a living.
"Hey Fox Claw. Back already?" Cedar asked, looking up from the game at him.
"What goodies did you snatch for us this time?" Crazy Squirrel added, licking his chops hungrily.
With a sly look, Fox Claw unsheathed the claws on one paw and created a flame at one tip. The two others stared at this in shock before Crazy Squirrel shrieked in fright, scrambling way and shielding himself, and Fox Claw sheathed his claws while putting out the flame.
"Don't tell me you stole that from the land whale!" Cedar Branch meowed in dismay.
"Really?" Fox Claw chuckled with a purr. "Because I just did."
...
Act Two
...
"Fox Claw, you know it's forbidden to bring an element into the city. Just give the fire back."
"Cedar Branch, it's time to stop being afraid of the Chews and show them who's boss. Now we have the power to change things."
The friends were stalking towards the palace where the Chews were living at, many other cats behind them and holding white bags in their mouths. The twilight atmosphere was so filled with tension that a cat could cut it easily with his or her claws. As for their disguises, the rebels had taken their time to roll around in some mud to disguise their bodies and their scents...and no, it wasn't fox dung.
With a breath of determination, he looked up and yowled, "Hey, Chews! Open the gate, and let us in!"
A snarl made the cats look up. They spotted the Elder Chew padding towards the railing of a balcony of the palace pagoda, followed behind by his three sons. Fox Claw sneered from behind his mask; he couldn't wait to pay them back for dirtying up his friends' food.
"What are those filthy peasants doing here?" the big brown cat growled, his squashed face filled with fury.
"Don't worry, father," the big Chew from earlier meowed. "We'll drive them out."
Then after that, the gate opened, and all three Chews stepped out to face them, the gate closing behind them. Fox Claw couldn't believe his luck; these cats were seriously outnumbered, so this could be an easy win.
"Hand over your food, and we won't cause you any trouble," he meowed firmly.
The brothers just stared at him blankly before...they erupted into ridiculous laughter. Fox Claw felt his pelt slightly bristle from their taunting. They were the ones who were outnumbered, and they were going to feel the burn.
"Yeah right!" the big Chew snorted after they stopped laughing. "You're not getting past us. We have the weapons, and what have you got? Nothing!"
Fox Claw allowed a small smile to cross his muzzle. "Nothing, huh?" he asked, getting into a fighting position.
The Chew brothers attempt to charge at the group, but Fox Claw lashed out at them with a blast of fire from his claws. The Chews fell to either side in pure shock, and the gate was blown all the way open.
"Follow me!" he yelled, and they all ran through the gate and onto the palace grounds.
Fox Claw ran towards a shed with doors looked by a bar and shot a fire blast at the door, knocking it down and calling, "Grab as much food as you can! Hurry!"
Many of the cats yowled, and they sped on into the shed, snatching up as much food as they could carry. As they did so, Fox Claw became aware of Cedar Branch falling in beside him.
"Maybe you're right," the black-and-white tom meowed. "Maybe we do have the power to change things."
Fox Claw smiled a bit and went inside after his friend, who had started gnawing hungrily on pieces of meat on the ground. Around him, other cats had gotten into the food supplies and started eating whatever they could find, their appetites like that of a hibernating bear. They already had the plan figured out; they could eat whatever they could find, and then they could take some of it back to their families, who were also in need of some food.
"Stop right there!"
Fox Claw and Cedar Branch turned in the direction of the voice. There were the Chew brothers, leading a large group of cats all unsheathing their claws.
The fur on Cedar Branch's back bristled. "Looks like the Chews found some backup," he hissed.
"Get everyone out of here," Fox Claw told his friend. "I'll try and hold them off."
So Cedar Branch gathered the rebels around him and led them away while Fox Claw rushed at the enemy cats. He leaped forward and swiped some fire at them, pouncing hard on the big Chew's back while swiping his claws at the middle Chew's face, then he threw a wave of fire that knocked down two other cats. Noticing a spear being thrown at him, Fox Claw caught it in his teeth in time and used the enemy's momentum to push him back at the Chews before tossing it away.
Just then, he felt claws rake down his shoulders and back and turned to see the little Chew, who had pounced onto him and was clawing at him. Feeling the blood run down his sides, Fox Claw bucked up and down and finally spun around, fire forming around him and making the little Chew let go of him...but not before he took a hit to the face from a paw slap. With a growl, he finally pounced and landed on the smaller cat, ready to deal a finishing blow.
"No, please! Have mercy!" he wailed. But when Fox Claw was ready to attack, he suddenly, rasped, "Wait a minute...Fox Claw?"
That was when Fox Claw looked to the ground and hissed a curse. The mud had been wiped away from his face, exposing his identity, and he couldn't fight them now. Not after how the invasion was failing. Just then, as he was getting off, several cats launched forward and pinned him to the ground, scratching at whatever part of him they could reach. Fox Claw was forced to stand on his legs after the mauling and forced to be surrounded by several cats, who bared their teeth at him and angrily unsheathed their claws once more.
And lastly, the little Chew stood before them, growling, "Even when you have the power of fire on your side, you're afraid to use it."
Fox Claw looked away in defeat. The little Chew was right; he had a moment to bring out fire's most powerful potential, yet he lacked the skill. Then, with a swipe to the head, Fox Claw fell to the ground, blackness surrounding his mind.
When he came to, it was already morning, and he found himself lying on the outcropping before the land whale, several cats before him glaring at him. Fox Claw recognized the fat old cat who ran the city on the whale, his three sons beside him, and they were flanked by more cats. He did not have any strength left to fight them head-on, but he would not give in so easily to their demands.
The elder's teeth were bared into a snarl as he demanded, "Tell me who else was involved in the rebellion, and I will spare your life."
"Then throw me off this cliff," Fox Claw meowed defiantly. "I'm not telling you anything."
"Then you've left me no choice," the elder growled. "Fox Claw, you are hereby exiled from our land whale. After you leave here, you must never come back, or we will either take your prisoner or kill you."
"Yeah!" the little Chew added, nursing his wounds from the night before. "And give back the fire you stole."
I didn't steal any fire, Fox Claw wanted to say, but he knew that there was no use of lying now. He gave a hiss of surprise as the Elder Chew pushed him out in front of the land whale.
"No, wait!" Fox Claw meowed, and the elder stopped pushing. He limped up to the gigantic animal and lowered his head, mewing, "Great land whale, I am sorry for stealing the fire from you, and I accept my punishment. But I need to be able to protect myself in the Spirit Wilds."
The land whale didn't say anything; it didn't even raise one of those tentacle vine things. Instead, it rumbled, "Never again may you return to this city. But I will allow you to keep the power of the element of fire."
Once the whale finished speaking, some of the guards shoved him towards the Spirit Wilds, blocking his way so he wouldn't try and come back. Fox Claw looked back and noticed two cats spying on him in the bushes nearby: Cedar Branch and Crazy Squirrel. He guessed they were here to see him off...until he heard Crazy Squirrel mutter, "Five whiskers bet he doesn't last till morning." With a sigh, he limped on ahead and into the wilds.
My new home, Fox Claw thought sadly. Ancestors give me strength.
...
It was already sunhigh, but the forest floor was so dark that Fox Claw had to occasionally breathe some fire to light the way. He hadn't had much to eat in a while, and the dead centipede he had even a while back made a rather sorry meal. He couldn't believe he thought he had the power to change things with fire...but that only led him to being kicked out of the city; in fact, he had encouraged other cats to help him in the rebellion. But what was done was done, and now he had to live the true life of a rogue, living off the land.
Well, it's no use moping about it, Fox Claw thought as he pushed carefully through the undergrowth. I gotta find some real food and shelter.
Just then, a spirit snake suddenly flew about him, hissing. With a yowl, Fox Claw threw a fire blast at it, but it abruptly split into two snakes and easily dodged the attack as it glided on by. Fox Claw was very disturbed a moment at seeing this sight before firing another more blast of fire at it, but it flew by and then dodged yet another attack. With a grunt, he kicked a blast at it, but it caused him to stumbled back and fall on his rump...when he was interrupted by a tiny voice.
"Hey, watch where you're stepping, cat!"
Stopping in his tracks, Fox Claw looked around. "Huh?" he muttered, looking around as he let fire light up his claws. "Who said that?"
"Down here!" Fox Claw lifted up a paw looked down to see a small yellow newt glaring up at him. It yelled at him in a tiny squeaky voice, "How'd you like it if I stepped on you, huh?"
"Um...not to be rude or anything, but how could you?" he asked, bemused. "You're just a little newt."
To his shock, the newt started expanding and growing until it was the size of a crocodile. Fox Claw flinched in fright before looking down at his claws; they had just been blown out by the giant newt slamming its large tail down towards him.
"Who's little now, cat?!" it roared, swinging its huge head at him.
Fox Claw jumped back and barely missed being crushed, scrambling to his paws and fleeing as the newt turned to swat him with its tail. He had just run into a forest of big yellow flowers when one suddenly grabbed hold of him with a vine and stuck him into its center. Shocked that flowers could eat cats, he struggled hard to get out, clawing at the inside of the mouth before breathing out fire, unleashing it inside the mouth. The fly trap swelled up and belched the young rogue out, along with a large cloud of smoke, and Fox Claw fled as fast as he could.
Night had fallen, and the stars were shining brightly...but Fox Claw was uneasy about travelling at night. There were plenty of things out here in the Spirit Wilds at night that could give cats nightmares. But he couldn't stop until he arrived at a clearing with soft grass, and he curled up there, trying to sleep. His belly gave a growl, and he knew he had to find something to eat later on; he couldn't hunt, but insects could make a meal for cats who prefer smaller and easier prey.
Suddenly, just as he sighed, tendrils sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around Fox Claw. They covered his mouth, and he grunted and struggled as the tendrils started pulling him under the ground. He couldn't get buried alive, not when he had no place to go, and anger and the will to live made him thrash with all his might until one of his paws was free from its prison. With a grunt, Fox Claw swiped at the tendrils that tied him, he was released, and he climbed out of the hole and ran into the night.
Morning came hours later...and Fox Claw felt terrible. He hadn't slept, he hadn't eaten much, and he had been shaken by what went bump in the night, looking left and right for any signs of danger. Just as he was feeling even hungrier, he trudged by a tree with fungus growing on it and strange golden-and-black berries growing on a vine. Fox Claw looked up at the berries and slowly licked his lips, feeling his belly growl so loudly that it would likely erupt into a roar.
No harm in trying. Damn, I'm so hungry right now!
Bunching his muscles, he slowly climbed the small plant until he was on the branch where the berries were growing. With a smile, Fox Claw licked at the berry...only to yelp in pain when he felt something sting his nose hard. Glaring at him in a group were hornets, buzzing angrily; these were probably disguised as berries! He yelped, fell out of the tree, and got back up and ran from them...only to go careening towards a cliff and falling off the edge, yowling in surprise and pain as he bounced off a rock and fell further down.
When he landed on the grass below, Fox Claw grunted and wearily got to his paws, aware that his legs were shaking from weariness. But before him, to his joy, was an oasis: it was a rocky island in the middle of a pond, nestled between tall cliffs with a waterfall behind it. On the island were fruiting trees and shrubs with berries, and in the middle were a bathing pool, where spirits were relaxing. A group of stepping stones connected to the oasis, and a spirit snake slithered on them, holding a dead mouse in its jaws. Fox Claw licked his lips hungrily with a grin, and, forgetting the weariness he felt in his legs, padded forward and set one paw onto one of the stepping stones.
Suddenly, a tall spirit appeared in a swirl of stars in front of Fox Claw and shoved him back with enough force to send him flying to the other side. It was a spirit raccoon, his arms crossed as he glared down at Fox Claw in contempt.
"You are not welcome in this oasis, cat," the raccoon snapped.
"Please, you gotta help me," Fox Claw begged. "I haven't eaten all day, and I haven't slept all night."
The raccoon snorted and turned away, arms folded across his chest. "Sorry, not my problem," he said, not sounding sorry.
Running out of patience, Fox Claw snapped, "Let me pass!" and swiped his claws at it, fire surrounding the tips. However, the raccoon reacted not in fright but in anger.
"How dare you use fire against me?!" he screeched as he suddenly vanished into thin air. Fox Claw heard him land behind him and pick him up by the scruff, adding, "Off with you, filthy cat!"
And with that, he threw Fox Claw into a large bush along the path behind them. Fox Claw stumbled his way out of the bushes, feeling weaker than before. That last bit of hope had been shattered to pieces all because he wasn't a spirit.
He had just started padding through the bushes when he heard the sound of music, the kind of arts he would often hear in the streets of his old home. Fox Claw crept through the bushes until he spotted many different spirits walking down the path that led to the oasis, and he hid from them. To his amazement, the raccoon that had kicked him out was greeting them pompously yet warmly before letting them pass, and they went into the water as they relaxed. Those spirits were allowed in all because they were spirits...and if only he could find a way without alerting them...
Smirking at an idea forming in his head, Fox Claw lowered himself into some mud until he was rolling around in it and disguised his scent. He even brushed himself against leafy bushes and rolled around in grass for added measure, just to be sure to trick the spirits that easily. Once he was done, he stepped out of the bushes and joined the other spirits on their march towards the oasis, amazed that they didn't get suspicious about his scent; perhaps they couldn't smell anything bad? At last, they had arrived at the oasis entrance, stopping right in front of the guardian of the place.
"And who might you be?" the raccoon asked, trying to peer at him closely.
"I am Muddy, the Mud Spirit, Spirit of mud and junk," Fox Claw replied in a husky voice. "And I would like to enter your oasis for a while."
The raccoon nodded. "Ah, very well. You may pass."
Fox Claw couldn't believed that worked so well. This raccoon must not have had much education in disguises. With a purr, he started to pad on ahead...until he heard the raccoon speak again.
"Wait a second! Something stinks...and I heard purring," the raccoon was saying. He pulled part of the disguise off and spat, "HA! I knew I smelled a cat!"
Caught in the act, Fox Claw tried giving the spirits a sheepish grin just before the spirit grabbed a hold of him. He threw the young cat into the water below the bridge, and the other spirits stopped to look as Fox Claw landed in the water with a large splash. He sat up in the water, spitting some out in shock and fury, as his disguise came off of him and littered the water with leaves and mud.
With a hiss, Fox Claw rolled over onto his paws and shook the water off of his fur before glaring up at the anmals. "Come on, let me in!" he shouted up to them. "Just for a little while!"
The raccoon sniffed haughtily. "No! Cats are not allowed here! Go back to your land whale!"
"Oh, I'd love to," Fox Claw retorted. But his belly gave an agonized growl, and he mumbled, "...except I was exiled. I can't go back."
"That's too bad," a baby elephant spirit remarked.
"Poor kitty," added a baby hippo spirit.
"Don't pity him!" the raccoon snapped at them. "He's just like every other cat; ugly, destructive, and disrespectful to nature."
Insulted, Fox Claw snapped back, "Hey, who you calling ugly, ugly?"
The raccoon looked startled at the insult, though he still looked angry.
Behind him, the spirits looked at him briefly before the elephant calf said helpfully, "If you can't go back to your city, how about you live in another one?"
"What?" Never before had Fox Claw known there were actually other land whales; he had only heard of that in myths. "There are other land whales?"
To his irritation, the raccoon mocked him, "'There are other land whales?' Of course there are, dozens of them all around the earth! Boy, not only are you cats ugly and disrespectful, but you sure are stupid too!"
This guy's really pissing me off! Fox Claw thought with a growl. Out loud, he meowed, "So which way to the nearest land whale?"
"Hmm..." The raccoon put on a mock thinking face. "I think it's on the other side of the valley...the none-of-your-beeswax valley!"
Then he started laughing hysterically at his own poor joke, looking to the other spirits for approval. Fox Claw found himself unsheathing his claws, hoping to sink them into the raccoon's body...but he didn't have the power to do so. Besides, he guessed he was no match for a raccoon anyways.
"Oh, that's funny, buddy," Fox Claw growled. "You know what? Go ahead and laugh your whiskers off. I'll find a land whale myself."
So he turned around and started wading through the water, aware of the spirits watching him. He had not taken more than a few steps when he suddenly stepped into a deeper part of the pond, disappearing from view.
"Good luck!" he heard the baby hippo call after him.
...
Like I needed that pond anyways, Fox Claw thought angrily as he climbed down a small hill. I just need something to eat, and then I'll be on my way.
Noticing a grouse hopping around and pecking at the ground, Fox Claw lowered himself deeper into the grass. If he was going to stay out here for a while, then he would have to teach himself how to hunt. Once it was busy, he pounced...only for the grouse to squawk in fright and take flight, cawing loudly for all of the forest to hear. Fox Claw growled in frustration and followed it, panting until he had arrived in the middle of a thicket, the grouse nowhere in sight. With another growl, he was going to turn away when he heard a bray of fright and sadness.
Hanging from a nearby rowan tree branch on the right was a young fallow deer fawn in a hunter's net trap. Fox Claw felt his belly growl louder and licked his lips in eagerness of eating freshly-caught meat; perhaps he didn't need to really hunt after all. He unsheathed his claws and stalked forward, letting his claws catch fire as he took step-by-step towards the young fawn, which spotted him and cried louder.
Wait, what am I doing?! It's just a baby! his conscious was yelling at him. And when he thought about it some more, he looked into the eyes of the fawn, which stopped and lowered its head and ears in defeat. There was no other choice; he could not kill the fawn.
"It's okay, fawn," Fox Claw meowed kindly. "I'm gonna get you out of this trap."
He began climbing the tree and settled down on it, unsheathing one claw and began scratching at the rope of the trap. Fox Claw saw the fawn looking at him with dark wide eyes, and seeing the innocence in those eyes made him scratch harder; whoever had made this rope must have wanted it to be as thick as clay. He had just held onto a branch with his hind paws and dangled upside down when he heard a familiar voice.
"Finally, we caught something. Get it down."
Shocked, Fox Claw recognized the voice. It belonged to Wolf Snout, the head of the hunting party he pretended to be a part of the day before. He flipped back onto the branch and backed away until he was sure he was out of their sight just as the big gray tom stalked out from the bushes. By the way they were looking at the fawn, he guessed that they would not go easy on it. Even if he wanted to catch and eat the fawn like he felt before, he would give it an honorable death blow...but not today.
With a hiss, Fox Claw stepped over to the edge of the tree branch. "Back off," he growled.
"Fox Claw?" Wolf Snout's eyes were wide with recognition. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What does it look like? I got exiled," Fox Claw retorted. "I'm saving this fawn."
Wolf Snout glared sternly up at him. "That fawn's now our prey, kid. You know how hard it is for a cat to catch a fawn? Now get lost."
But Fox Claw stayed where he was. He hissed, "You're gonna have to fight me first."
With that, he leaped down from the branch, raking some of the cats with fiery claws. The hunters grunted in pain before he finally landed on the ground and raced off, hoping to lure them away from the young fawn. He had to save this fawn even if these hunters would try and kill him for it.
...
Act Three
...
Fox Claw looked to his side as a blast of fire passed by him from behind, narrowly missing his nose. He watched another fire blast pass by before he skidded to a halt, coming across a small grassy clearing. The hunters were gaining up to him, but the bronze-colored tom leaped over the grass, grabbing a low hanging vine in his jaws and swinging over. As the first tabby hunter behind him stepped into the grass, he sank deep into it, where vines started to ensnare the hunter, causing him to yowl in fright as they dragged him into the ground. Wolf Snout and the other two hunters stepped into the grass and also began to be ensnared, but they blasted the tendrils back with fire until they were free, but the first hunter was dragged under to his death.
Those are the same vines that trapped me last night! Fox Claw realized in amazement after landing on the other side. Nature's helping me fight these hunters! Now if only I can find those hornets...
He darted away until they were out of sight and looked up to see familiar black-and-golden objects in the nearest tree; these were the hornets disguised as berries. He jumped up to grab a bushel or two before watching the hunters come into view, snarls etched on their faces. Fox Claw turned and threw the fruit down at the ground, where the hornets were stirred up and turned on the hunters, gathering one of them up and carrying the tabby cat far away. Wolf Snout and the remaining hunter still alive looked back in shock as the other hunter was taken away to his doom, then they turned back to pursue Fox Claw, who had raced away and dodged every attack...
...until one powerful blast struck him in the back, catching him off guard. He felt his head scrape against a thick piece of rock, grunting in pain as he slammed against a tree trunk. Fox Claw slid to the ground and was quickly found, pinned down to the ground by Wolf Snout.
"Looks like you're out of tricks this time," the big gray tom snarled. "Nowhere to run...nowhere to evade us. You crossed the line this time, you smug little punk."
Fox Claw tried to get up, but the pressure on his throat kept him to the ground. With their fiery claws raised and ready to end him, he stopped struggling and laid still on his side. Wolf Snout was right; without any friends or tricks, there was no way out of this.
"CATS!"
Just then, the raccoon guarding the spirit oasis suddenly appeared behind them, startling the two cats into letting Fox Claw go. It leaped at the hunter with a loud screech and phased into his body with a blue light, possessing him. The tabby cat began to spasm and consort until his body black, and his ears smaller. In his new body, it was now talking, glaring around at Wolf Snout, who backed away in terror.
"CATS!" the raccoon shrieked again, using the cat to jump onto the big gray cat and scratch him. "FILTHY STINKING SCOUNDRELS!"
Wolf Snout screeched in terror and ran off, then the possessed hunter quivered and cried out in pain as the raccoon jumped out of his body, watching him coolly. The tabby cat sighed in relief before looking at his paws...and his face changed from relief to pure horror. He ran off with a wail while the raccoon bent down and gently picked Fox Claw up. This rude animal had saved his life, and he had no way to repay him.
"Eh...what's he screaming about?" he remarked, still watching where the cats ran off. "He looks way better now."
But Fox Claw had not looked at what else he did, for he had fallen unconscious.
When he came to later, he opened his eyes and looked up to see several familiar faces. Those faces belonged to the baby elephant and the baby hippo...and the deer fawn he had rescued had joined them. Fox Claw now realized he was in water, for it started glowing a bright blue, and he sighed in relief as a warm feeling washed through his entire body. Not far away, the raccoon was watching him with a wary eye, not as aggressive as before but still careful.
"Man, I feel great," Fox Claw sighed, feeling the glowing of the water wash over him. "What's in this water?"
"It has special healing properties," the raccoon said in a kind voice. "We use it for emergencies, and we saw you needed it a lot."
Fox Claw sat up with a groan just as a spirit tossed a freshly-killed mouse over to him, and he tucked in right away, the flavors of the wild resting on his tongue. "Thanks...thanks a lot," he meowed after he had swallowed some mouse meat. "So what did you do to that hunter?"
The raccoon looked over his shoulder. "Spirits are able to take over a cat's body for a pretty short time. If I had stayed in there any longer, I would've killed him...which I actually did consider."
"Well, thanks for saving my pelt back there," Fox Claw replied, though he was a bit disturbed by this new fact. "But...why'd you do it? Don't you hate me?"
Much to his surprise, the raccoon nodded without looking angry. "I did, but I saw you save the fallow deer fawn from those hunters. I've never seen such an act of selflessness from a cat before."
With that, the fawn shyly came up to the young bronze-pelted cat and gave his face a soft nuzzle. Fox Claw had never interacted with other animals like this except for his mother and littermates.
"See?" he told the raccoon with a smirk. "Told you I'm not a bad cat."
"Guess I underestimated you, cat," the spirit remarked. "I'm sorry for being quite rude to you."
Fox Claw nodded in return, showing that there was nothing to forgive. All was forgiven already.
"Are you off to find another whale?" the baby hippo spirit from earlier asked.
Fox Claw stood up and stretched his legs out. "I was...but after seeing what those cats almost did to this fawn, I think I've had enough of other cats for a while. I've decided to stay here in the wild and learn the ways of the spirits."
When he said this, the baby elephant spirit cheered, "Yay! What a great idea!"
"That'll be fun!" the baby hippo spirit added.
"Hold on," the raccoon said, raising a paw for silence. "A cat living with spirits? I don't recall that ever happening before."
"First time for everything, right?" Fox Claw asked with a wink.
The raccoon tucked his paw under his chin to think. Finally, he looked back up and said, "Aw, I guess we'll try. And since you're now our new pet, I think I'll call you 'Smelly.'"
Fox Claw tilted his head to the side. "It's Fox Claw, actually."
"Eh...I like Smelly better," the raccoon replied. "But in case others ask, how about we give you another name? Some of my friends here suggested Mau, the Egyptian word for cat, one of the first cats in existence. To all of us, you're Mau...but you'll always be Smelly to me," he added with a chuckle.
"Then Mau it is," the newly-named Mau purred. He was surrounded by new friends now; he could even find out what his destiny was out here.
...
Cedar Branch and Crazy Squirrel had been scavenging for leftovers around the city when they spotted Wolf Snout running back, wounded and alone. Ever since Fox Claw had been banished from this land whale, finding food had been getting harder. The elderly Crazy Squirrel was getting on in moons, so Cedar Branch did most of the scavenging, though this was hard because Fox Claw had done most of it.
"What happened in the wilds?" several cats asked while approaching him. "Where are the others?
"Gone...damn spirits killed 'em," Wolf Snout coughed, groaning as blood leaked more from his wounds. "They were protecting that kid Fox Claw...kinda like a mother would for her kits."
That was enough to make Cedar Branch smile. He turned to Crazy Squirrel and shared a smile, purring, "Did you hear that? Fox Claw's still out there! He's alive!"
...
A white spirit griffin circled around in the air in a figure-eight motion, keeping an eye on Mau as he honed his fire skills at the oasis. He was on his hind paws and practicing what all griffins in the past knew when they were ready to breathe fire: the Dancing Griffin. It had been over a year since he had lived in the Spirit Wilds with the other spirits, and he had befriended many spirits over the moons...including the newt that almost stepped on him. Said spirit and others clapped and cheered as Mau turned and blew some fire away from them and into the sky, the griffin circling around and among the flames without singing a feather. He leaped up and did a spinning back kick, creating an arc of flame and preparing for anything that dared to threaten them.
Then, one day, something happened that made him a legend in the land whale city.
"The way Fox Claw moved the fire, it was like nothing I've ever seen. He used it like it was an extension of his body." It was Wolf Snout's voice that suddenly spoke, and Mau saw the spirits flee as a result. It was time to show him who he was messing with: him when it came to spirits.
He noticed said cat and his new gang approaching the bridge and launching fire attacks on him. Ready this time, Mau got to his feet, spun around, and caught the fire blast between his forepaws, throwing it back at them hard. It hit the ground between their feet and knocked them back by surprise, causing some of them to even claw at each other by accident. With a yowl, Wolf Snout and his pack quickly got up and ran off, yowling that spirits were attacking.
Mau shook his head, tutting to himself with a smirk. Those guys never learn a thing, he thought as he looked back around him. The spirits had come out of their hiding places, and they cheered for him and praised him for the tricks he had come up with for the fire he used. A walking apple spirit placed a small hollowed-out bowl of cream, the kind of drink upper-class cats would drink, and Mau purred his thanks as he bent down to lap some up. He was like their king, their savior and protector. He had been serving them first, providing entertainment, knowledge of cats, and protection from intruders like Wolf Snout.
The next day, Mau had gone off to hunt some more, having learned from spirit weasels, when he spotted a crowd of cats just outside of the land whale city. A black-and-white cat was standing in the center...and Mau recognized him as Cedar Branch, Crazy Squirrel beside him. The young rogue was looking a lot more confident than the last time he saw him.
"Fox Claw has proven that with the power of fire, anyone can survive out there in the wilds!" Cedar Branch was yowling. "We don't have to live under the Chews' rules anymore; we're our own cats. We should leave this land whale city and start over! We'll start our own tribe! Who's with me?!"
He had seen the crowd cheer, and he even saw them get their fire power from the land whale (except for Crazy Squirrel). But after that...he never saw them again for a long time.
Two more moons had passed, and Mau felt stronger than before, feeling that it was his time to learn more from other land whales. With the other spirits gathering around the spirit oasis, he called his deer companion over to him. Luna had finally become a young adult, a young beautiful doe, as she bore a traveling pack and a saddle on her back. Mau rubbed his head against her foreleg, and the deer bent her head down to gently nuzzle him.
"You ready to go, Luna?" Mau asked softly with a smile. When she lowered herself to the ground, he jumped on and purred, "Atta girl."
"You sure you want to leave?" the raccoon asked, stepping forward.
Mau nodded. "Yeah. I think it's time I see the rest of the world and find the other land whales."
The raccoon smiled as he closed his paws together and bowed to him. "Then may StarClan give you soft moss to sleep in. I'm proud to call you my friend, Smelly."
Mau smiled back. "Thanks for everything. Good-bye, everyone."
"We'll miss you," the baby elephant spirit said.
Mau nodded back to them before gently prodding Luna's sides with a tap of his hind paw. The young fallow deer trotted away from the group and over the stepping stones until it was walking away from the spirit oasis. Looking back, Mau saw the spirits still waving farewell and realized how much he would miss that place. The friends he had made when he was exiled...he wouldn't see them again for possibly a long while.
...
Many days later in the badlands, Mau and Luna had arrived at a pond in the middle of the forest, a pond not as large as the spirit oasis but big enough for them to share. Mau bent low to lap some of the cooling liquid up while Luna had taken to wading around, feasting on water lilies on the surface, her ears flicking around for danger. They had passed by many things and had gotten through many obstacles, including harsh snow and rain, scorching heat, dangerous cliffs, and even wild predators looking for an easy meal.
As Mau climbed out of the pool, he looked down at his reflection. He had never really looked at himself and seen how much of a wild cat he had become. His appearance had gotten scruffier, he looked as lean as a ferret, and his bronze-colored fur was starting to get a bit duller. He looked back at Luna climbing out of the pool beside him to rest against some rocks and noticed the canteen on the side of her saddle; it had run out the day before. Not wasting any time, he ran over to pluck it from the saddle and went back to the water, filling it up the best he could until it was full.
Mau had just attached the flask back onto the saddle when Luna suddenly started stamping the ground, ears twitching. It was a sign that danger was nearby. And just like that, many spirits were running past them, animals and plants of different colors, shapes, and sizes.
"The all-powerful spirits are battling!" one bird spirit was yelling.
"They're gonna wipe out the valley!" a badger spirit bellowed.
All-powerful spirits? Mau wondered, sharing a look with Luna. Let's see what's going on.
So they ran through the forest and down the hill, jumping off rocks and tree stumps, and Mau noticed long scrapes of earth in the ground along the way. Whatever had been doing all this must have been angry enough in a fight to actually harm the earth and those around them. Once they made it to the bottom of the hill, Mau saw that what those spirits were saying was true: two massive spirits were battling fox-lengths away from him. One was a massive white dove with blue markings on its body and sky-blue eyes, while the other was a massive black snake with black markings on its body and blood-red eyes. Both have what appears to be a single eye in the center of their chests.
As they wrestled, they formed a giant sphere with the apperance of a yin-yang, an ancient symbol. Disturbed flocks of birds flew above them as the two spirits rolled into the mountains surrounding them, causing parts of the mountain to break off and fall down. The two split for a moment, but the white dove was still hanging on to the black snake with its talons, wings beating hard. As for the snake, it hissed once before leaning up and trying to catch the dove in its gaping jaws only to be rebuffed by a powerful swipe to the head with the other foot.
Mau frowned at this; if they kept going on like this, who knows what kind of damage they could do? With a yowl, he ran forward and lashed out at the dove's feet with fiery claws, forcing the bird to take flight.
"Stop!" he screeched. "If you don't, you'll destroy everything!"
However, the dove turned to him and snapped with a female voice, "Don't interfere, cat! This doesn't concern you!"
The snake attempted to wriggle away, but the dove grabbed him behind the head with her foot and slammed him down. Mau glared back up at the dove and yowled, "It does when the lives of spirits and animals are in danger!"
"If you're a friend to spirits as you say, then help me by using your fire," the snake hissed with a deep male voice. "Set me free!"
"Don't involve the cat, Vaatu!" the dove snapped, her talons sinking deeper into the snake's throat. "This is between us."
The snake hissed and began coiling up, rasping, "Save me, cat...please. She has kept me prisoner for nearly a thousand years."
"A thousand years?" That had to be too long for a spirit to stay like this. Mau glared back up at the dove and snarled, "Hey! Let him go!"
With a hiss, he leaped forward, fire surround his claws as he shot it at the battling spirits. The dove let go of Vaatu even though her foot was connected to his body and swiped her wing at Mau, catching him and throwing him into some bushes. While she had been distracted, Vaatu attempted to wriggle away from the scene, but the dove held on tight to him.
So Mau swiped another pawful of fire at them, severing the long wisps on energy the dove had on her talons. The dove turned to glare at him and lashed a wing out at him, and leaped to the side. While this went on, Vaatu tried to wriggle free and lashed his tail out at the dove, but she managed to keep her hold on him and pecked him back angrily. Mau looked on in worry; how was he going to separate those two without causing anymore damage?
Then he noticed a last strand of wisps connecting the dove's talons to Vaatu's body...that had to be the weak point. Grimacing with determination, Mau ran forth and leaped hard at them, turning in the air and swiping his claws down diagonally as he shot out an arc of flame at them. His aim was true; a bright light shone from where the fire had struck their weak points, followed by a big burst of energy. The dove shrieked in pain and fell back, suddenly shrinking and kicking at the ground with her freed foot. Vaatu slithered up into the air and towards a nearby mountain before turning back to Mau.
"Thank you, cat," Vaatu hissed to the bronze-colored cat. "You have performed a great service for the spirits."
With a hiss and a chuckle, the huge black snake rose up into the air and glided away over towards the mountains. A furious shriek made Mau and Luna look up to see the dove glaring irately down at him; the former realized that they were in trouble, but he didn't care. He didn't want anyone bullying anyone else.
"You FOOL!" the huge white dove exclaimed angrily, beating her wings furiously. "Do you realize what you've just done?!"
Mau glared up at the giant white dove in defiance. "Yeah, I helped a spirit who was being bullied by you!"
The dove glared sternly down at him. "You are gravely mistaken, cat. I was keeping him under control until you showed up."
"And what gives you the right to do that?" Mau retorted.
"You don't even know who I am, do you?" the dove asked.
Mau tilted his head to the side. "No. Should I?"
The dove nodded before calming down and landed beside him. "Yes, you should. My name is Raava. That spirit serpent you freed is Vaatu, the force of darkness and chaos. I, however, am the force of light and peace. Since the beginning of time, back when the ancient Clans roamed the earth, we have battled over the fate of this world and StarClan. And for all the moons past, I have helped keep darkness under control and the world in balance...until you came along," she added, her blue eyes glinting irritably.
"So by freeing Vaatu...I let chaos into the world?" Mau asked, not liking where this was going.
"Yes!" Raava exclaimed, her anger rising once again as she towered over him. "Both of our realms are now headed toward annihilation, and it's all your fault!"
Mau lowered his head, thinking over what he had done. And he realized that what Raava said to him was true: he had just doomed the entire world to perish at the fangs of Vaatu. He could not believed he had been tricked by the serpent spirit, who had been so convincing yet so conniving. But thanks to a naïve mind and rash thinking, he had just started an area of darkness.
...
Meanwhile, back in the present day, the blue-gray cat had started waking up, blinking a bit yet feeling so weak. She looked up at the cats looking down at her with concern before closing her eyes and murmuring four words:
"Raava, I found you..."
To be continued...
...
Cody The Pikachu: There you go, folks, and I hope you like it! If there's anything wrong with this chapter, let me know, and I'll fix it. As long as you're polite about it, by the way. And by the way, I had turned those commercial breaks into acts and doing the names of numbers now.
Speaking of by the way...did you see the trailer for Legend Of Korra Book 3? Because it's AWESOME! Toph has another daughter named Su Ji, who has a daughter of her own...who can AIRBEND! Yep, AirBending is here and hasn't really been gone! The Dai Li are up to no good again, and they've taken AirBenders hostage. Plus, there are criminals trying to kill Korra, and one of them is a woman who's like Combustion Man! And...ZUKO IS BACK! ZUKO IS BACK! And he has his own dragon! How awesome is this season gonna be?!
Read and review, everyone! Anyone who does so will get a virtual plush doll or figurine of your favorite Legend Of Korra character, either here now or will come later in the future. I do NOT allow any flames in this story or any other story of mine, but I DO welcome advice, questions of any kind, and constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.
See ya next time! And Happy Friday the 13th!