I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who answered my questions and submitted OCs! Please, continue to be as awesome as you all are and submit me more OCs if you have them! I'm also looking for more answers to those questions! A special thank you to blazelight790, who was the first to submit an OC! His story will be featured in this chapter. It isn't a Warriors story, but it's still a story, and I'm following up with what I said in the update.
The featured story for this chapter is The Red Ball of Yarn. "Yellow is sick of Red being oblivious about her feelings for him. After a short encounter with Blue, she learns about something new...the string of fate. Well, she isn't the only one who uses it though. Special OldRival Mangaquest Frantic slight Entourage." I'm not into the Pokemon manga, but it has an interesting concept and is well-written. It has a decent length for a one-shot, too, being over 3,000 words long.
"Get off my tail, you worthless lump!"
"I'm not on your tail!"
"I wasn't talking to you!"
"Then stop looking at me!"
"Hey! You! Get off my tail!"
I flattened my ears, trying - and failing - to block out the annoying sounds of arguing cats. Why couldn't we all just get along for once? For once?
After getting shoved for about the billionth time that night, I got up and walked out, having had enough. We had just lost everything, and here we all were acting like treating each other fairly wasn't important. As far as I was concerned, the Clans were dead. Bramblestar kept trying to claim otherwise, saying that the Clans were still alive as long as there were cats left to live them. Well, that wasn't true. You couldn't have a Clan with three cats.
I walked out into the open, freezing when I saw who was on guard. Ivypool. Keeping low to the ground, I tried to creep around her. I'd been avoiding her ever since Dovewing had died. She and I had never had a very good relationship, something that was only worsened by the lingering feelings I had for her sister. I reminded her of Dovewing, and she reminded me of her. I could barely stand to keep an eye on her now.
I was almost home free when she spoke. Without even looking, she seemed to know I was there. I guess we were more used to each other than I realized.
"Sneaking out? I don't suppose you've got another forbidden lover."
I turned toward her. She still had her back to me, gazing up into the trees. "I'm just going for a walk."
"I'm sure that's the same thing you told your Clanmates when you were seeing my sister."
"Why do you hate me? I didn't do anything to Dovewing."
This time, she looked at me. "She died trying to chase after you."
"That wasn't my fault. I was perfectly safe in my own territory. She knew that. It was her fault that she died. Not mine."
"If you hadn't started meeting her in the first place, she never would have followed you and she'd still be alive."
"And what would have happened when she met another handsome tom in another Clan? The same exact thing."
"You don't know that."
"Yes, I do."
She huffed. "You can try convincing me otherwise. But I stand by my belief. My sister would still be here if it wasn't for you." She looked away from me and back up into the trees.
I watched her for a few moments, my amber eyes boring into her back. I knew I should have felt angry at her for accusing me of killing her sister. At the very least, I should have felt sad at the mere memory of her. But I didn't. I hadn't felt anything over this past quarter moon. Just... numb. Without even really thinking about it, I let my paws carry me away from the grove and into the openness.
I didn't feel anymore. I couldn't feel anymore. Bramblestar, Rowanstar, all those cats, they could feel. It seemed like everyone except me could. No one seemed as broken as I did. They laughed at each other's jokes and quarreled with their rival warriors. I didn't. It was like I was trapped in some other world, seeing and hearing but not feeling. I'd never feel again. Not when every time I tried to feel I got crushed.
I looked down into the pool my paws had carried me to. My reflection was clear for only a second before becoming distorted, an accurate representation of myself. My amber eyes split into chips, my face twisting and bending. Beyond my broken reflection were the stars, still and quiet against the blackened water. Did they cry, too? For the fallen? For the ones they welcomed into their forest? For the ones they turned away? Was their reflection distorted, too?
What was happening to me? Why couldn't I feel, no matter how hard I tried? I sure felt like the kin of the great Tigerstar tonight. Even he was gone now too. The spirit that was supposed to be eternal, forever haunting the darkest corners of a warrior's dreams. But he wasn't. He was gone now, just like everyone else. Hawkfrost. Tawnypelt. Mothwing. Dovewing, Flametail, Dawnpelt. My kits. My Clan. My hope.
"Tigerheart."
I lifted my head, recognizing that voice but denying it to be true. Yet there it was, standing before me in all of its tortoiseshell glory. My mother. She smiled, that sweet, serene smile she had always given me when I woke complaining of a nightmare. Stars shimmered and swirled in her fur, now free of the blood that had stained it in what seemed like another age. Slowly, I stepped toward her. She came forward, and I allowed myself to fall against her. Feeling nothing, but still allowing myself to lean into her warmth.
She rested her head on mine. "Shh, shh. It's okay, now, my son. Everything will be okay. You'll see."
"Why did they have to do it, Tawnypelt? Why did they have to take everything from me?"
My mother lifted her head off of mine. "Everything in the world has its time, Tigerheart. From the smallest bug to the tallest Twoleg. Everyone must live, and everyone must die. That is a fact of existence. A hard one to accept, but it is a fact."
"But why did it have to be everyone I love? Why couldn't it have been cats that I didn't love?"
"Not even StarClan knows that, my son. Loving someone doesn't protect them from death. If it did, not even Tigerstar would have died. That's why we must make the most of the time we have with those we love, because we never know when their time will come. Even the safest are not safe."
I closed my eyes, leaning further into her. I saw memories flash across my vision of myself in the nursery, snuggled against the curve of my mother's belly, protected on either side by my littermates. "I miss you."
"And I you. But you have not lost everything, Tigerheart. You still have your father."
"He doesn't care about me. All he cares about is being in charge of this stupid journey."
She rested her head on mine again. "Don't say that. Your father loves you very much."
"Yeah, sure. If he loved me, he'd be out here talking to me right now, trying to comfort me over all we've lost. But instead he's snoring away in his den. He doesn't even act like he misses you at all!"
"Your father has a strange way of grieving. Do not let it make you think he doesn't care. He does. As ShadowClan's leader, however, it is his duty to be strong for his Clan."
"What Clan? ShadowClan is dead! Crowfrost and I are the only ones Rowanstar has left to lead!"
"ShadowClan is still alive, Tigerheart. It is your duty to keep it that way. You must build ShadowClan again, back to its former glory. That is the only way our memory will be preserved."
And then she was gone, and I was left to shiver in the cold of the night.
"We need to go this way. The old legends say to follow the moss."
"The reason so many cats got lost back in the day was because of those stupid legends. We aren't relying on some stupid plant to show the way. We're going this way."
"You don't know dung about journeying, Harespring. The Great Journey took place long before you were even dreamed of."
"I've heard the stories!"
"Stories are worth nothing against experience!"
"Both of you, knock it off! Arguing isn't getting us anywhere!"
Rowanstar and Harespring broke their hostile eye contact to look at Bramblestar as he approached. The tabby leader looked tired and thoroughly irritated, as I'm sure any leader would be if he had to constantly break up arguments between two cats who were supposed to be leaders. I lifted a paw and started washing my ears, only half interested in the petty arguing that was currently occurring over where we should head next.
Rowanstar lifted his muzzle. "Harespring here is acting like he's got years worth of experience journeying around, when it's clear he knows nothing of it. The legends say that we should follow the moss, and so that's what we're going to do. Right?"
Bramblestar sighed. "Rowanstar, those legends are a load of dung. The reason they aren't being told anymore is because they got more cats lost than there are in the whole of StarClan. We aren't going to add ourselves to that amount."
Harespring shot a smug look Rowanstar's way. "See? I told you."
The ShadowClan leader glared at his rabbit-munching rival. "Shut up." He hissed.
The brown and white leader stepped forward, claws out. "Or what?" He snarled.
Rowanstar bared his teeth. "Or I'll rip your eyes out. You and the rest of your flea-ridden, dung-eating companions."
"You and what army?"
He kinked his tail toward Crowfrost and I. "That one."
"You seem to be forgetting that I outnumber you greatly, Rowanstar. You wouldn't stand a chance."
"Please! It's common knowledge that ShadowClan pummeled WindClan on a regular basis back in the forest! Brokenstar drove you out of your home!"
"At least WindClan never had a leader who killed kits for fun!"
"At least ShadowClan never had a leader who was so afraid to fight for his home he fled the territory with his Clan!"
"At least WindClan doesn't need to spend their time hiding in the shadows like cowards!"
"At least ShadowClan never let a bunch of rogues live in their camp and eat their prey!"
"Enough!" Bramblestar shoved his way in between the two leaders. "This isn't a competition to see which Clan has the most faults! We are trying to decide which direction to head in, which is clearly something the two of you cannot do! So, I'll decide." He pointed with his tail in a direction neither Rowanstar or Harespring had mentioned. "That's the way we're going, and that's final."
Rowanstar stared at him. "Why that way?"
"Because the bracken said so." He hissed.
At that moment, Mistystar came bolting into the camp with Dewdrop and Featherheart, their jaws laden with prey. After dropping her catch, Mistystar walked over to the other leaders. "Have we decided yet where we are headed next?"
Bramblestar pointed in the same direction as before. "That one." He growled, glaring pointedly at Rowanstar and Harespring.
Mistystar, oblivious to the tension between the three toms, just nodded. "Okay. Prey's here, by the way. Help yourselves." She padded away.
As soon as she said that, I was on the newly-formed pile. I sifted through it until I found a nice, plump thrush for myself. Dovewing had introduced me to it during one of our first meetings, and I'd loved it. One of the nice parts about feeling nothing was that grief didn't keep me from enjoying things.
As I settled down to eat, I caught sight of Ivypool. She was sitting on the opposite side of the camp, tucking into a shrew while she talked to Dewdrop. The two of them seemed to be hitting it off pretty well. That was good. If Ivypool took a mate, it would take her mind off of blaming me for her sister's death.
I was busy gulping down my morning meal when a shadow fell over me. Looking up, I found myself looking at the dark ginger face of my father. He glared down at me.
I swallowed my bit of thrush. "What?"
He twitched an ear. "Did you check to see if the queens and kits had been fed first?"
"ShadowClan has no queens or kits."
"ThunderClan does."
"So? We don't help our enemies."
"We are united now, Tigerheart. We must help each other."
"Then what about your little argument with Harespring just before? That wasn't exactly helping, now was it?"
He bit the inside of his cheek, as if he hadn't realized I'd actually been paying attention to the fight. I stared him down, waiting for an answer.
"It's different for leaders."
I laughed and went back to eating my bird.
"Hey!" My father's rough voice cut through my laughter. "I'm not finished talking to you."
I ignored him, blowing off a feather that was stuck to my muzzle.
All of a sudden, a sharp pain shot through my cheek. My head jerked up, my eyes meeting my father's.
Memories flashed through my mind, of my father and I when I was young. Him taking out his frustrations and anger on me. Him treating me like a load of fox dung just because I shared my name with the infamous Tigerstar. Him forcing me to pretend the injuries were from forcing other apprentices to train with claws unsheathed, thus getting me in trouble with Blackstar. Him acting like he was the sweetest, kindest father whenever someone else was around. And my Dark Forest Clanmates had thought those were all training injuries.
Anger blazed through my father's eyes like a wildfire. A low growl rumbled in his throat. "Don't you ever ignore me like that again. You understand me?" He leaned forward, so close that I could smell the frog on his breath.
I swallowed hard. "Yes, sir." I mumbled.
"Stop mumbling!" Another swipe across the cheek.
"Yes, sir!" I said, forcing my voice to come out strong and clear.
He leaned back. "Good." He walked away, joining the other leaders in the center of the camp.
I lowered my head and started eating again, my cheek burning where he'd clawed me. I could feel my fur becoming sticky with blood. Surely in StarClan, my mother must know of my father's treatment of me? And yet she still expected me to love him? How could she be so dense, especially when she had once had a father just like Rowanstar?
I was just finishing cleaning up the remains of my bird when someone approached me. Expecting it to be Rowanstar again, I hesitantly lifted my head. However, it wasn't Rowanstar, but Featherheart. She gasped when she saw my injured cheek. "What happened?" She demanded.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my father glare at me. Forcing my voice to stay level, I answered, "I got caught in a bramble bush when I went for a walk earlier."
Fortunately, she believed me. "Well, you'd better hurry up and get Leafpool to look at that. We're leaving soon." She padded away.
Sighing with relief that my lie hadn't been detected, I hurried over to where Leafpool had her temporary den set up. As the other medicine cats were either missing or dead, she was responsible for the health of all of the cats, not just ThunderClan's. She was busy tying up her herbs into bundles. As I approached her, she looked up at me. "What do you need?"
I met her gaze. "I got caught in a bramble bush and scratched myself. Do you have some herbs for it, possibly?"
She nodded. Reaching into one of the herb bundles, she pulled out some cobweb and a herb I assumed to be marigold. She passed over the cobwebs and started chewing the herb into a pulp. Gingerly, I applied the cobwebs to the scratches on my cheek. It still surprised me how such small wounds could sting so bad.
Once she had finished chewing the herbs into a pulp, Leafpool started smearing it on my cheek. Even though I'd had dozens of wounds treated in my lifetime, I still winced at the stinging created by the application of the poultice. As she smeared it on, her eyes narrowed.
"So this was caused by brambles?"
I felt a flash of nervousness, but I kept it from showing. "Yes, it was."
"Interesting. Normally wounds caused by brambles are more jagged, not smooth like this. These look more like claw wounds." I detected a hint of suspicion in her voice.
"Well, I guess I'm a special case. There are no more cats to fight. Not now that the Clans are united." I cursed myself when I realized I was talking a bit too fast.
"Rivalries still exist, even if we are united under a common cause."
"This was caused by brambles." I said firmly.
"Okay then." I could tell by her tone that she didn't quite believe me.
Thankfully, she didn't push the situation any further. She wiped her paws off on the grass. "You're all set. Come back tomorrow for more, okay? And don't rub at it."
I stood up. "I won't, Leafpool. Thank you."
Shortly after that, we were on our way. Thanks to the natural divisions formed by Clan rivalries, I ended up having to walk with Crowfrost on either side of my father. I kept my eyes off of Rowanstar, knowing that if I looked at him for so much as a second I'd regret it later. I could tell he was keeping close watch on me, waiting to see if I'd stay with him the entire way or try and go elsewhere.
"Hi, Tigerheart!"
I turned my head as Perchleap bounded up to walk beside me. Her eyes were shimmering with excitement. I didn't know how that was even possible under our current circumstances, but didn't bring it up. "How does your wound feel? Featherheart told me about how you got stuck in a bramble bush. Funny, huh?"
I nodded. "Yeah, funny." I laughed a little to further my point, but to me it sounded very fake.
Fortunately, Perchleap didn't pick up on it. "Did it sting when Leafpool treated it?"
I shook my head, knowing my father was listening. He'd claw me if he knew I'd let something so small cause me pain. "No, it didn't hurt. I'm used to it by now, I guess."
"Yeah, you must be, since ShadowClan warriors train with their claws unsheathed and everything!"
I sighed. That rumor was one I wished would die. ShadowClan didn't train with claws unsheathed. The only reason that rumor started was because a bunch of biased ThunderClan cats decided the Brokenstar stories were getting too boring. Now if the rumor had said that ShadowClan cats were abusive to their kits, that would have been true. At least in my case.
"Is it scary? Training with claws unsheathed?"
"You get used to it after a while." No sense in trying to put that rumor down. I'd probably get in trouble for it anyway.
She nodded, eyes wide. It still surprised me how naïve some cats could be. Didn't she get that not all ShadowClan cats were bad? Or did she think we were all little Brokenstars and Tigerstars?
At that moment, she started rambling on about RiverClan and how her lifestyle was different than mine. I ended up tuning her out, not because I didn't like her but because I wasn't really in the mood to listen. Especially with the memory of this morning still burning on my cheek.
The Clans continued our journey. We traversed through the forest, eventually reaching a rocky outcrop that forced us to assume a single-file line. Even when she ended up behind me, Perchleap didn't stop talking. Great StarClan, why couldn't she-cats be less annoying when they had a crush on someone?
All of a sudden, we stopped. I bumped into Rowanstar, who shot me a glare. I flattened my ears, knowing I'd pay for that later even though I couldn't have helped it. I stretched my neck to see why we had stopped.
Just ahead of Bramblestar, who was in the lead, the path had fallen away. We were decently high up now, making a fall from this height likely lethal. I watched as Bramblestar jumped across, his powerful hind legs making it easy for him to do so. As soon as he was across, he made room for Rowanstar to jump over. As with Bramblestar, my father had not a single problem with jumping over.
Then it was my turn. I made the mistake of looking down, and felt nauseous as I did so. I'd never particularly cared for heights, getting queasy whenever I was high off the ground. Even in the old days when Dovepaw and I had climbed to the top of that Twoleg nest, I had been afraid.
"Come on, Tigerheart!" My father called, aggravated. "We don't have all day."
Swallowing my fear, I bunched my muscles and jumped. I extended my paws to reach the other side. My front paws collided with the edge of the other side, and I gripped it with my claws, scrabbling for a hold with my hind legs.
Sighing, my father grabbed my scruff and hauled me over the edge. I made eye contact with him as I got up, and he flashed me a look that told me I was in for it later for embarrassing him. I lowered my gaze.
Pretty soon, everyone had made the jump. No sooner had we started again than an argument broke out in the back.
"You're a coward, Emberfoot!"
"What in the name of StarClan are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about! The way you stood there and shook before you jumped? That was such a coward's move!"
I could hear Bramblestar's aggravated sigh as he stopped everyone. Shuffling his way along the cliff side, he made his way toward the argument. Rowanstar went as well, motioning for me to follow. I did, even though I wasn't sure what I could even do to help.
It didn't really surprise me to see that the other cat in the argument was Breezepelt. Out of all of the cats in the Clans, he was the worst. That was definitely saying something, seeing as I knew of Rowanstar's true nature.
"Alright, what's going on back here?" Bramblestar demanded.
Emberfoot glared at his black-furred Clanmate. "He's accusing me of cowardice!"
Bramblestar glanced at Breezepelt. "Well?"
He lifted his muzzle. "It's true."
The grey tom snarled. "Say that again to my face, you load of fox dung!"
Breezepelt fixed his amber eyes on Emberfoot. "You're a coward."
"You mange-ridden fleabag!"
A smug look formed on Breezepelt's face. "What are you gonna do? Push me off the cliff? Oh wait- I forgot. You're too cowardly to do that."
I glanced at my father. Rowanstar was watching this all with a passive face, as if the scene before him wasn't a problem. Why did he even bother coming back here if all he was going to do was watch?
Bramblestar stepped forward. "Breezepelt, that's enough."
The WindClan warrior ignored him. "Why don't you just go back to the nursery, Emberkit?"
"That's it!" Emberfoot spat. He sprang at Breezepelt, who greeted him with claws unsheathed. The two cats started tumbling around on the path, nearly knocking the others off the edge.
"Hey!" Bramblestar snarled. He lunged forward, trying to grab Emberfoot. Finally, Rowanstar took action. He ran forward and managed to grab Breezepelt. He hauled the warrior back, kicking and screaming. Shortly after, Bramblestar grabbed Emberfoot and hauled him back as well.
Bramblestar held Breezepelt down with a paw. "What in the name of StarClan is the matter with you two? You're supposed to be Clanmates!"
"Tell Breezepelt that!" Emberfoot spat. "He started it!"
"The Clans are dead, anyway." Breezepelt growled. "As far as I'm concerned, I have no Clanmates anymore."
At least I wasn't the only one who thought the time of the Clans was over.
Bramblestar leaned down close to Breezepelt. In a low voice, he growled, "Well, as far as I am concerned, you do. Now-"
"What is going on back here?"
I turned as Harespring shoved his way over to us, pinning me against the cliff side as he did so. "Would someone care to explain to me why my warriors are being pinned against the rocks like a couple of fugitives?"
My father turned a hostile gaze on the WindClan leader. "I would be happy to, Harespring." He hauled Emberfoot to his feet. "Breezepelt thought it appropriate to accuse Emberfoot of cowardice, so instead of letting us handle it, Emberfoot decided to attack Breezepelt."
"And you two just decided that you were in the position to attempt and handle my warriors' problems?"
"Funny you should mention that they are 'your warriors', seeing as Breezepelt seems to think the Clans are dead." Rowanstar commented levelly.
Harespring glared at his amber-eyed warrior. "Is that so?"
Breezepelt stared back at his leader defiantly. "I'm the only one around here that's willing to speak the truth. The rest of you are hiding under the rocks acting like we still have a chance."
Harespring bared his teeth. "There's always a chance, Breezepelt."
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."
WindClan's leader let his gaze slowly travel from Breezepelt to Emberfoot and back again. "I don't want to hear about any more fighting or arguing. If I do, I will personally shove you both over these cliffs. Got it?"
Emberfoot nodded sullenly, while Breezepelt only continued to stare at his leader in anger.
"Good." He growled. He whipped around and pushed his way back to his original position.
Rowanstar and Bramblestar both let the two WindClan warriors up. Silently, the three of us made our way back to the front and got going again.
As we walked, I thought about what Breezepelt had said. It was good to know I wasn't the only cat who could clearly see that the Clans were dead. This journey was pointless. We were better off just staying back at the lake and waiting until we had all been blasted into a better life. It would have been better than the drama we had to deal with now. I wondered how long it would be until Breezepelt slit Harespring's throat in his sleep. Onestar had been a fool to let Breezepelt stay in WindClan after he'd sided with the Dark Forest.
I could tell by the way they were walking that Rowanstar and Bramblestar were both losing confidence in the Clans' ability to stay alive. I could only wonder one thing as we winded around yet another bend in the path.
How much longer would it take for us to tear ourselves apart?
A lot of people said that they wanted to see a Tigerheart POV, so here you go. We never really saw any physically abusive parents in the Warriors series, so I decided to experiment with it by having Rowanstar be abusive toward Tigerheart. Speaking of Tigerheart, he seems to be taking this whole thing a lot harder than most cats... or so we think. This whole thing seems to be stirring up a lot of discontent in the Clans, and it is only a matter of time before it all blows up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to submit more OCs if you have them!
