CHAPTER TWELVE
Stormfire's eyes opened, blinking until they were used to the bright sunshine that poured into the camp. Pushing himself to his paws, Stormfire trotted outside.
Some cats were eating, while others were filing out of camp. Hollyfur was giving out orders, her green gaze sweeping over the cats as she spoke.
Stormfire picked himself a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and sat down to eat. He figured that once he was done he could ask Hollyfur for something to do.
Swiping the scraps of prey off his jaws, Stormfire groomed his pelt. He worked carefully around his scars, giving a disdainful sniff at the exposed flesh.
"Stormfire!"
Stormfire looked up to see that Tornstar standing at the top of the Rockhill. He leaped down to approach Stormfire, a bright light in his eyes.
"What is it, Tornstar?" Stormfire inquired, rising to his paws. Tornstar stopped a few tail-lengths in front of the silver tom, sitting with his tail curled over his paws.
"Come on, I want to go for a walk," Tornstar meowed, jerking his head toward the camp entrance.
Stormfire blinked in surprise. Tornstar wanted to spend time with him? Stormfire narrowed his eyes, suspicion burning in their amber depths. "What's the catch?"
Tornstar's eyes widened, hurt gleaming in his gaze. "Why should there have to be a catch? I just wanted to spend some time with you as a friend."
Stormfire sighed. He hadn't meant to upset Tornstar, but he still had some trust issues with the brown tom. He flicked Tornstar on the ear to take the sting off his words, leading the way over to the camp entrance.
Before the two walked through the bramble tunnel, Tornstar stopped in front of Hollyfur. The black she-cat was still giving orders – several clanmates were crowded around her.
"Stormfire and I are going for a walk," the brown tom meowed, "you're in charge until we get back."
Hollyfur dipped her head. Nodding curtly to Stormfire, Tornstar led the way through the camp entrance. Stormfire followed, wary of the curious looks that bore into his back.
Tornstar pulled ahead a few fox-lengths – Stormfire having to catch up to him. The two trekked in silence, each searching for something to say. Opening his mouth, Stormfire caught scent of a squirrel. The brown creature was digging among the undergrowth, searching for acorns.
Dropping into a crouch, Stormfire crept forward on silent paws. He was aware of Tornstar watching him with intent green eyes. Seeing his chance, Stormfire pounced, landing on the squirrel. He killed it cleanly with a quick bite to the neck, then turned back toward Tornstar, his eyes shining.
"Great catch," the leader congratulated. "I remember when I first taught you to hunt."
"So do I," Stormfire meowed, catching the amusement in his mentor's gaze. "I was terrible." Memories of his first hunt flooded Stormfire's mind. It was true – he'd been awful at it. It'd taken him almost half a moon just to get the crouch right, let alone catch actual prey.
"Come on, let's continue." Tornstar padded off, leaving Stormfire to bury his prey and catch up to him.
It was sunhigh by the time Stormfire and Tornstar had decided to conclude their hunt. They'd caught an admirable sum of prey – a couple of mice, a pigeon, and Stormfire's squirrel.
The two were padding back to camp, their mouths full of prey. Stormfire couldn't help but feel a rush of friendliness toward Tornstar – maybe the brown wasn't so bad after all.
"This should be enough food for the whole Clan," Stormfire commented, his voice muffled by his squirrel and pigeon. "Do you think we could have a feast?"
"Sure," Tornstar replied, his emerald eyes glowing. "It sure would increase some moral around the camp."
Stormfire nodded. He couldn't wait to return to camp. Despite his meal only that morning, he was quite hungry.
"Do you think I'm being too hard?"
"What?" Stormfire mewed, his eyes flickering toward Tornstar. The leader had a questioning look in his eye, his fur smelling of uncertainty.
"The Clan," Tornstar repeated. "Do you think I'm putting too much stress on them with the extra patrols?"
"You're only doing what you think is best," Stormfire comforted. He had to admit that the extra work was a bit overwhelming. The extra patrols were taking their toll on the warriors, Stormfire had noticed that lately they'd been less attentive and focused due to lack of sleep. The same was going for the apprentices; the task of reinforcing the dens and entrance had taken time away from their training.
"You didn't answer my question," Tornstar remarked. "So I'll take that as a 'yes'".
Stormfire felt guilt pierce him like a thorn. He was about to mew something when a familiar scent hit his nose.
LeafClan!
Stormfire stopped, his fur bristling. What was LeafClan doing on DarkClan territory? Setting down his food, Stormfire tasted the air. Beneath the LeafClan scent, he could also smell the salty tang of blood. LeafClan wasn't alone – they was another group of cats with them.
Stormfire turned to Tornstar. The leader dropped his mice and scented the air, and almost at once his fur bristled.
"Go to camp!" he hissed, shoving Stormfire forward. "Tell them we're being attacked! Go now!"
Stormfire took off, speeding through the forest. He couldn't help but remember the terror in Tornstar's eyes as he told him to run. Has Lionclaw finally decided to attack us? The thought sent shivers down Stormfire's spine. He'd remembered his brother's razor-sharp claws, and the strong scent of blood could only mean that he had a group of cats just like him. Great StarClan! Has he formed a Clan!?
Seeing the camp entrance, Stormfire crashed through the bramble tunnel, some of the thorns scraping against his skin. All his clanmates turned toward him curiously, blinking their eyes in confusion.
"What's up with you?" Blazefur asked, tilting his head to the side.
"We're being invaded!" Stormfire gasped, his chest burning from all the running. "Defend the camp!"
Everyone jumped up at once, their fur bristling and claws unsheathed. Willowmist and Watersplash rushed to protect the nursery, forming a line in front of the den. Cloudheart was protecting the nursery. All other warriors stood guarding the entrance, fire in their eyes.
Glancing around, Stormfire could see that there were no apprentices. Probably gone off with their mentors, he thought despairingly. With so few cats in the camp, it was likely that they'd be outnumbered.
Stormfire flicked his ears – he could hear pawsteps. Tensing his muscles, he was relieved when he saw Tornstar crash through, followed by Hawkwing, Goldenstep, Cedarpelt, Thunderfall, Eagleheart and the apprentices. The party whipped around, forming a line at the camp entrance.
More sounds of pawsteps were coming from outside the camp, but these steps were heavier and quicker. Heartbeats later, cat crashed through, growls emanating from their throats. Stormfire gasped as a black tom slammed into him, its red eyes burning like lava.
Rolling with the impact, Stormfire clawed the black tom across the head, a shade of red spraying from the wound. The black tom hissed and threw Stormfire off, his strength surprising.
Stormfire hardly had time to recover before his opponent slammed his paw into his side. Stormfire felt the breath rush out of him, followed by fire sparking in his chest. He was flipped over, and found the black tom smiling wickedly as he stood over him, his claws soaked in blood.
What kinds of cats are these!? Stormfire thought, terror swirling itself around him. The way they're fighting, and the bloodlust in their eyes…
Stormfire pushed the tom off him, horror forming a pit in his stomach as he took in the scene around him.
They were losing.
Hawkwing and Eagleheart were fighting side by side, but they were bleeding heavily, their bodies covered in gashes. Cedarpelt was pinned beneath a dark-brown tom, trying viciously to set herself free.
Racing forward, Stormfire was about to help Cedarpelt when another cat leaped on top of him. Stormfire felt sharp claws dig into his back, and he couldn't help himself from hissing in pain. Twisting his head, the tabby locked eyes with his attacker.
Lionclaw!
Lionclaw's green eyes widened as he realized he was standing over his brother. The light of battle instantly vanished from his gaze, replaced with a mixture of sorrow, hatred and confusion. Stormfire's brother shut his eyes, pinning his ears against his head as if he were hearing some loud noise. Seeing his chance to escape, Stormfire wiggled free from Lionclaw's grasp, colliding with the cat that had Cedarpelt pinned.
The two rolled over on the ground in a flurry of teeth and claws. Red droplets flew here and there, blood saturating the soil. The two broke apart, Stormfire bleeding heavily from deep gashes along his flank. His whole body burned – some of his scars had been reopened.
Hissing, Stormfire readied himself for another attack, but it never came. The brown tom's head perked up, and he raced away through the camp entrance with a whisk of his tail.
The rest of the opposite's battle party followed, leaving the severely damaged camp behind them. In a matter of heartbeats they were all gone.
Stormfire felt lava wrap itself around his heart. Did they think they could away with an attack like that so easily? Stormfire raced after the retreating Clan, anger propelling him forward. He thought he heard a warning yowl from Tornstar, but he ignored it.
Crashing through the bramble tunnel, Stormfire pelted for the LeafClan border. Bushes and trees whizzed past him in a blur – him being completely oblivious to his surroundings. He hardly stopped himself from crossing into LeafClan – he knew that if he fought, it'd be a battle that he wouldn't win.
Growling, let out a furious yowl, all his hatred being released in one screech. He slumped to the floor, breathing heavily from his run.
"You look terrible."
Stormfire jerked his head upward to see Lionclaw sitting with tail wrapped around his paws at the LeafClan border. His green eyes were still glazed, showing that same confused look he shown in the battle.
"I hate you," Stormfire hissed, his voice dripping with poison.
Lionclaw didn't say anything, but Stormfire thought he saw a small spark of hurt flash in his brother's gaze. Good!
"I need you to do me a favor," Lionclaw mewed, his tail swishing in the grass. "It's important."
"Why should I do anything for you!?" Stormfire growled, hardly stopping himself from ripping his brother's throat out. He'd just attacked a Clan, and now he was asking favors?!
"Meet me at the Gathering place tonight," Lionclaw meowed, "I have something to discuss with you." Without waiting for a reply, he swiveled around and padded away, leaving Stormfire to stare after him.
Whipping around with a hiss, Stormfire stalked back to camp, his mind a whirling frenzy. He led an attack on your Clan! What does he want to discuss? Should I go see him? Why is he so evil!?
Pushing through the camp entrance, Stormfire was greeted with the sound of sorrow and turmoil filling the camp. Cats were pacing this way and that, snarling and lashing their tails.
"Why would LeafClan do something like this?" Thunderfall growled, slashing the dirt with his claws. "We've done nothing to deserve this!"
"I don't think it was just LeafClan," Spottedpelt commented, flicking her ear. "There was another group of cats with them – they smelled like they came from Twolegplace."
"Who cares who was involved?" Hawkwing hissed, his fur bristling wildly. "They attacked us! For no reason whatsoever! We shouldn't be standing here, we should be getting revenge!"
"And get shredded even more?" Stormfire piped up, stalking over to the brown tabby tom. "I know you're upset, Hawkwing, but we can't just blindly leap into battle."
Hawkwing didn't say anything, but there was a fire in his eyes.
"Where's Cloudheart?" Stormfire inquired, gazing around the camp. He couldn't see the white she-cat anywhere.
"She went to go collect herbs," Goldenstep reported, jerking her head toward the camp entrance.
"Why?" Stormfire asked, tilting his head to the side. "Don't we have enough herbs here?"
"We did," Willowmist snarled, flicking her tail disdainfully at the medicine den. "But those foxhearts destroyed everything!"
Stormfire choked, a pit forming itself in his stomach. LeafClan destroyed all their herbs?
"That's not all," Blazefur mewed. "They demolished all are prey, too."
"Where's Tornstar?" Stormfire asked, his voice shaking with worry. Had Lionclaw taken the brown tom hostage? The thought sent shivers down Stormfire's spine, making his heart tremble.
"He's over there – dying," Willowmist pointed with her tail to a broken brown body lying a few foxlengths away.
"He's dying?" Stormfire mewed incredulously, gawking at Willowmist. He raced over to the brown tom and crouched over him, his eyes raking over the deep gashes that lined Tornstar's body. He was still breathing, but the stench of death hung heavily in the vicinity.
"Tornstar?" Stormfire whispered, gently prodding his mentor with his paw. Tornstar wearily opened his eyes, recognition and relief flooding his gaze at the sight of Stormfire. The brown tom tried to mew something, but a mouthful of blood came up instead.
"We need to start rebuilding the camp!" Stormfire called, turning to each warrior that was in the camp. "Where's Blossom and Brick?" He mewed, noticing he couldn't find the two.
"They went hunting," Eagleheart responded.
"Will you take another party to restock the pile?" Stormfire asked. Eagleheart nodded, gathering Willowmist and Hawkwing. The three filed out of camp, their fur swishing through the bramble tunnel.
"The apprentices can start rebuilding all the dens," Stormfire decided, gazing around. Each den had been destroyed, scraps of ivy tendrils and bramble lying scattered in the camp. "Goldenstep, can you organize another hunting party? The Clan needs to be well fed."
"Of course," Goldenstep meowed, taking Blazefur and Watersplash.
"The rest can lead a border along the LeafClan boundary," Stormfire ordered. Warriors streamed out of camp, their tails whisking behind them.
We'll grow back, Stormfire told himself, helping Spottedpelt pick up some bundles of dislodged moss. Slowly but surely, and this time we'll be stronger.
Stormfire pelted through the forest, trees and bushes whizzing by in a blur. Stars twinkled in the night sky, a cold breeze whispering in the dark.
I shouldn't be doing this, Stormfire reflected, feeling guilt prick his heart. He was going to see Lionclaw.
Questions that he wanted to ask his brother bubbled in Stormfire's mind, lightning raging inside his head. Don't worry, he told himself, shaking his head to clear it. They'll all be answered tonight.
Reaching the Gathering Hollow, Stormfire leaped in, almost instantly spotting his silver brother standing in the center.
"You actually showed up!" Lionclaw mewed happily, his eyes brightening with joy.
"What do you want?" Stormfire hissed, anger suddenly wreathing around him. His blood was boiling, the heat radiating from his body unbearable.
"I just wanted to talk to you," Lionclaw meowed, flicking his ear irritably.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Lionclaw was silent for a few moments, his gaze dropping to the ground. Finally, he spoke. "I feel conflicted," he admitted. "The voices in my head keep telling me to kill you."
"Voices in your head?" Stormfire inquired, feeling his stomach clench. "Are you crazy?"
"I prefer the term 'insane'," Lionclaw corrected. "Anyway, the point is, I don't want to kill you – which is why I'm making this proposal."
"What proposal?" Stormfire questioned, his heart quickening. Did Lionclaw want something, or was he going to give Stormfire something for something else in exchange?
"I want you to join my Clan."
Yeah, sorry I went dark for a while there - school. But don't worry; three day weekend! This gives me time to work more on my stories! What do you guys think of Lionclaw's proposal? Should Stormfire accept? Another Dabble coming out today, so stay tuned!
Toxic out!