Chapter 10

The moment Kludd had received his new name, everything changed from that point out. Gone were the routine classes each and every day; him, Blaze, and Banshee would go out on scouting missions in many different kingdoms, recruiting Tytos in the Shadow Forest, Ambala, Silverveil, and even Tyto. There was no denying that Silverveil was the hardest for the three of them, as memories of Garth and his Final ceremony came flooding back. Nevertheless, they went, determined to expand the ranks of the Pure Ones.

Kludd's parents, of course, were devastated to find Soren gone that morning. Kludd, of course, made up a lie and said that he had fallen out of the nest into the jaws of a raccoon, and that he had tried to save him. Mrs. P, of course, said nothing, and from that point on, his parents had instructed him to keep a watchful eye on Eglantine. Kludd, of course, swore on his life, but the moment his parents left, so did he.

Of course, he made sure Eglantine never told anyone. "You know what will happen if you tell, right?" Kludd said to Eglantine one evening.

"You'll throw Fluffy to the raccoons." Eglantine replied. Fluffy was her owlipoppen.

"Glaux damn right I will." And with that, Kludd spread his wings and flew off into the night.

When Kludd arrived at the fortress that night, Banshee raced towards him, panicked. "Banshee, what…" Kludd began, but before he could finish the question, Banshee answered it. "Something bad's happened to Blaze. I mean, really bad." With that, Banshee raced back to where he came from, with Kludd following close behind. When he got there, he found Blaze perched on a small stone, tears in her eyes, while Jade and Morgana whispered soothing things into her ear slit.

Banshee made a small coughing sound, and Jade turned her head to find him and Kludd watching the scene, Kludd with eyes wide in shock. Jade then flew down and alighted in front of Kludd. "One night, after you left, the High Tyto summoned Blaze to his chamber. Blaze went, thinking that it was something important, and… and…" She then turned to Blaze, hesitant. "Do you want to tell Bloodstar this part or should I?"

Blaze then made a sound halfway between a sniffle and a sigh. "No, it's okay," she told Jade, "I'll tell him." She then looked Kludd dead in the eye and told her tale. "When I got to his chamber, the High Tyto motioned for me to come in before I could bow my head. When I got there, he said, 'One of my most esteemed commanders wanted to meet you.' I looked at him, confused, and he simply laughed. 'Don't worry, Blaze; I only told him good things.' He then motioned at the wall behind him, and out of that wall… flew Purge, right towards me."

Kludd felt dread building up within his gizzard upon learning that his closest friend came face to face with Garth's father – and his murderer. Blaze went on. "The High Tyto then said he'd leave us to talk alone. When he left, Purge turned towards me and said that since his sons… defection, that he had been looking for a new mate, one that would hatch him a son without any imperfections. He then said that he had heard good things about me, about my rage, and he told me that I was a perfect candidate. I promptly refused that offer, telling him that I had standards and that, for me, mating with an owl like him would be grosnik. Well, that got him really mad, and before I could even register what happened, he pinned me down and…" Blaze's eyes, at this point were filled with tears. "He force – mated me, Bloodstar. It was absolutely awful."

Upon hearing this, Kludd wilfed to about a third of his size. Force – mating, his Da had once told him, was the worst thing a male owl could do to a female. It was loveless, despicable, cruel, and cowardly, his Da had said, before adding that he would be damned to hagsmire before he saw one of his sons force – mate any owl. Blaze then immediately broke down, and Jade rushed back towards her side while Morgana gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "It wasn't your fault, sweetheart," she said quietly, "you did nothing wrong,"

Kludd felt his rage at Purge boil up his insides. First Garth's murder, and now this! Blaze had been closer to Kludd than even Garth had; Kludd and Banshee were probably the only two now who remembered Blaze's true name: Cedar. She was as much a Pure One as Kludd and Banshee were, but Purge was not; Purge was a despicable owl who was pure in body but impure in gizzard. Kludd then made a promise, not so much to Blaze as to himself: he would kill Purge if it was the last thing he did.

That day, Kludd flew out towards Ambala, with Banshee, Stryker, Uglamore, and Purge in tow. Prior to leaving, Kludd flew towards the High Tyto's office to request a change in the scouting patrol, saying that Blaze had been injured the previous night by rogues. Upon hearing this, Ag had originally requested that Sagetalon, a Masked Owl who was initiated the same night as Kludd, take Blaze's place in the patrol, but Kludd objected, asking for Purge to fill Blaze's place as he would be more experienced and may be better able to handle rogues. Upon hearing this, Ag expressed pride in Kludd for taking initiative and not only did he agree to let Purge take Blaze's place, he made Kludd the leader of the patrol. "Take special note of this one, Purge." Ag had said when Purge approached. "I have a feeling he will become a Pure One legend."

They had reached the middle of Ambala when Kludd stopped the patrol. "We should split up from here, so as to cover more ground." Kludd reasoned. "Stryker, take Uglamore and Banshee to the southeast quadrant of Ambala. Me and Purge will cover the northwest quadrant." Stryker simply nodded and flew with Uglamore and Banshee southeast; one of the good things about being someone's favourite, Kludd mused.

When him and Purge had flown a good ways northwest, Kludd settled down onto a maple stump nearby, followed by a rather confused Purge. There was a moment of silence, and then Kludd spoke up. "I was good friends with your son, you know."

Purge looked at Kludd, shocked. "It's true." Kludd went on. "Him and I were in the same pit. He was a skilled fighter and would've made a wonderful –"

Purge quickly cut him off. "I stopped acknowledging him as my son," he growled, "when he became impure in mind. I blame that stupid Sooty he always hung around with; I knew that owl was impure the minute I set eyes on him."

So Garth and Dustin had been in love. Kludd thought to himself. He pressed on. "The only one impure in mind," he growled back, "is you, Purge. The Pure Ones do not believe in cowardice, and yet I see that a coward is among their ranks."

Purge's eyes widened in disbelief at this accusation. "I am not a coward!" he hissed, going into the classic Barn Owl threat display.

Kludd saw this and quickly matched Purge's display with one of his own. "Really?" he replied. "Murdering your own son? Force – mating one of the most promising Pure One soldiers here? What does that say to you? Because to me," he sneered, "those things spell cowardice." He then charged towards Purge, claws extended, and by the time Purge was able to register what was happening, he was laying on the ground, his blood pouring out of his body, while Kludd stood over him and watched. Blood was all over his face and belly, but he didn't care; all he wanted was revenge for Garth – and Blaze. "May you rot in hagsmire." Kludd finally said, and with that, he flew away, leaving Purge to die in Ambala.

"What in the world happened to you?" Marella shreed when she saw Kludd later that night. When Kludd had caught up with the patrol back in Ambala, he told them that a group of rogues killed Purge and that he, in turn, killed one of the rogues in vengeance. However, he had forgotten to wash the blood off his face before flying home that day, so coming up with something to tell his parents would be harder; however, Kludd quickly figured something out.

"I saw a fox scuttling around near the base of the tree." Kludd said breathlessly. "He looked like he might climb the tree any second and snatch Eglantine and after what happened to Soren…" he paused, bowing his head in mock sorrow, "I wanted to do something for you and Da so… I killed it."

"Well, do not ever try that again!" Noctus reprimanded his son. "You could have died fighting that fox!"

"I know, Da." Kludd said with forced shame. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." That night, however, as the family slept, Kludd only had one thought on his brain: What I did Garth, I did for you. And before Kludd went to sleep that night, he could've sworn he heard a voice whispering, "I know."

A/N: Wow, karma is an angry bitch, huh? I, for one, am quite satisfied by Kludd's vengeance on Purge. As it was written in The Outcast, "Stupid creature deserved to die." Oh, and for those of you wondering, Kludd's threat to Eglantine for if she tells Mum and Da is a reference to the movie "Donnie Darko", only I had to modify the line, since owls don't have garbage disposals... As always, show some love and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Guardians of Ga'Hoole or Donnie Darko; full credit goes to their respective writers.