Chapter 9
Over the next few days, Leopardfur got little to no sleep. The cat she killed prowled inside of her mind; his dying gasps and the Dark Forest cats' maniacal laughing made her shiver. After three days of torment, her dreams changed.
One night, she was a ghost over her sleeping body. Lightningstar appeared, but as a shadow with glowing blue eyes. "Do not regret what you have done. It was a brave deed, not a merciless murder," he purred in a charismatic voice.
"I've never killed another cat before, let alone destroy a cat!" She screamed, surprised that the sleeping cats in the warriors den did not wake. "How is that justified? I no longer have a place in StarClan. They'll never accept me as a warrior."
Lightningstar sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "We will rule the StarClan cats after not too long, not those glittery dream-walkers."
Leopardfur tilted her head. "What do you mean?" she questioned.
Lightningstar jumped onto one of the ledges in the den and perched. His eyes squinted into thin icy slits. "All will be revealed in good time, young one. But I must tell you something, something that StarClan has kept from you. Your parents, leader, and medicine cat have sworn to never tell you by StarClan, but I am a separate cat and fear that you will go your whole life without knowing this." He cleared his throat, the growled in a strange voice, "She will be great: greater than all of the Clans combined, but her destiny will be shaken. Lightning will strike her heart, flames will claw her pelt, and water will steal her."
Lightningstar's words made Leopardfur's head spin. "What goes it mean? Who is the cat in the prophecy?"
Lightningstar smiled menacingly, flashing his pearly fangs. "StarClan and the cats you love have made you live a lie by keeping this from you. The cat in the prophecy is you, Leopardfur."
Leopardfur woke up with a jolt. Me? He must be mouse-brained…I'm nothing special, just a good fighter. To clear her head, she ran out to the river. The late greenleaf sun scorched her fur, so she sat down on a ridge in the shallow part to cool down. She looked down at her reflection, surprised at how different she looked. Her fur was dull and shaggy, not its usual sleek self. Her bright amber eyes lost their luster and looked bloodshot. She looked more like an elder than a new warrior from all the burdens carried on her.
What if I just jumped into this river and drifted away, she wondered. Laughing at the crazy thought, she stood back up and tried to walk out of the river, but slipped on a mossy rock and lost her footing. The current dragged her into deeper waters, too strong for her to swim. She yowled out of desperation.
StarClan save me! Suddenly she saw a black and white shape drawing closer – a MarshClan cat! To her surprise and relief, it was Hollowstrike.
"Hold still," he grunted as he grabbed her by the scruff. She obeyed without hesitation and allowed him to carry her back to land.
When they were both safe from the water, he shook her fur and growled, "Don't you ever learn? SunClan cats and water do not mix!"
"I know how to swim," she coughed.
"Like a newborn kit, then," he sneered.
That comment struck Leopardfur like a snake. She had swum in the Dark Forest River, where the water was nearly ice. This arrogant MarshClan warrior has no idea what I've been through with my training! "I just panicked, that's all. If you came here to insult me, then why did you save me?"
Hollowstrike sat down and licked his paw. "I couldn't just watch another cat die," he said softly.
Leopardfur was surprised by his sudden change in attitude, and felt guilty. She could watch another cat die without hesitation, even if it was her making the kill. Hollowstrike was pure at heart, not a cold-blooded murderer like Leopardfur. "Well…thanks," she purred. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction that he saved her life twice from careless mistakes, but she couldn't help but remember her previous feelings for him.
He nodded, and then ran back to the edge of the river. "Not every MarshClan cat wants to help a SunClan cat, so be careful Leopardpaw," he warned.
"My name is Leopardfur," she corrected him.
"Congrats," he murmured, and then swam back to his side of the border.
Leopardfur sighed and stared at him swim back with grace. She wondered how swimming came so natural to him, while she still struggled after months of training. No, I cannot still have feelings for him! He rejected me and he's not in my Clan. Why can't I just find love in my own Clan, like Rockfoot?
She stood up, shook her fur, and then looked back across the border one last time. What she saw shocked her; Hollowstrike was nuzzling a black she-cat with white paws. Leopardfur's blood boiled and she snarled. Unable to cope with the jealousy, she began running.
She didn't run back home, or even in her territory. She just ran and ran to escape the images in her head. She saw herself ripping out the other she-cat's throat in front of Hollowstrike to make him suffer. Next, she moved onto his imaginary kits and ripped their heads off. Hollowstrike pleaded for her to stop, but the bloodlust caused her to race into the MarshClan camp and slaughter every cat. She imagined killing his family, friends, and everybody else he loved in front of the black tom. In the image, she laughed like a maniac, licking the blood off of her paws, and smiling while she killed.
Leopardfur stopped in her tracks. What am I becoming?
Over the next few weeks, Leopardfur began changing. She was no longer an enthusiastic apprentice, but a bitter warrior. She no longer cared about loyalty or compassion; neither did she care about herself. A monster, fueled by resentment and anger, grew deep inside of her.
Her Clanmates began to notice the changes, but were too frightened to bother her about it. She attempted to keep in isolation as much as possible so she wouldn't lash out, but she still had warrior duties.
As her nightly visits to the Dark Forest grew more frequent, her mind clouded over even more. She felt evil urges more occasionally, and her bloodlust grew stronger. The Dark Forest warriors were still reserved about their plans to conquer StarClan, but she knew they would tell her in good time.
A few moons after Leopardfur's warrior ceremony, leaf-fall was beginning. With the changing seasons, she also changed for the worse. Any time some cat tried to ask her about her problems, she would either scare them off or ignore them.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Skyrock for a Clan meeting!" Skystar called one evening. The SunClan cats left their dens for the meeting, including the reluctant Leopardfur.
"Tonight there will be two ceremonies. First, we will have a new warrior join us. Foxpaw, please step forward," the grey leader announced.
Foxpaw bounded forward, his tail twitching with excitement. "I, Skystar, leader of SunClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Foxpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Foxpaw said.
"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Foxpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Foxfur. StarClan honors your wisdom and persistence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SunClan."
While the other cats called out the new name, Leopardfur sat away from the crowd with watchful eyes. She didn't speak a single word for her brother.
Next, Skystar made Dovefeather's kits into apprentices. Turkeypaw, Applepaw, and Silverpaw were apprenticed to Mistystripe, Scorchfang, and Flowertail.
"Leopardfur, you will mentor Ivypaw. Teach her your fierceness that you learned from Tigerwhisker," Skystar said and gave her a stern look, causing her to stand up and walk into the crowd. She touched noses with her new apprentice, feeling a jolt of excitement. Do I really deserve this, she thought.
The Clan called out the new names, and then the meeting was adjourned. "What are we going to do first?" Ivypaw asked. A strange sense of déjà-vu hit Leopardfur while she remembered her simple life as an apprentice. Now she was the wise mentor with the innocent apprentice.
Leopardfur felt a new sense of hope. Her apprentice was a young life that would help pull her out of the dark tunnel of evil. "Let's go explore the territory," she said and ran out of the camp. Ivypaw followed, but her small legs made them slow down.
Leopardfur showed her the whole territory, just like when Tigerwhisker showed her seasons ago. When they passed the river she sighed sadly, looking at the distance with remorse. I bet he has a family now, with beautiful kits, she guessed. Only Ivypaw was able to break her attention. They explored and toured the land until sunset, then headed back to camp to rest for the night.
Sadistic much? Normally I would go into detail with her emotions but I decided not to...there will plenty of emotions later.
Read and review!
~Skyy
