Warriors: The Last Saga
Chapter 13
Leafbare
A/N – Wow, okay. I expect my readers are used to my late updates by now, but I apologize all the same. I started this chapter on Nov 2nd, and it all went downhill from there. As I have said the past.. what? Three months? I am trying to revise my whole story to have it make more sense. Of course this will probably happen within the next year considering my poor writing skills. Unfortunately, as I have mentioned in the previous chapter, I sorta lost my website dedicated to TLS. I'm going to make a new one shortly when I have more time. Enjoy and please review! ~SnowArabian
1/6 – Happy New Year guys! This extra long chapter is a tribute to the one year anniversary of The Last Saga! If you haven't noticed, I did a complete update on my story, editing all the chapters and changing it to Tiger X Dove instead of Fox X Dove. I encourage you guys to go back and check it out. Even though most of the writing is still the same, I added in more detail and Tiger X Dove scenes! Anyways, I present to you the 13th chapter, on January 13th, 2013! ;D
A cold winter wind swept through the hollow. A pale gray she-cat crouched outside the cave, awaiting the presence of her leader. She shivered but continued to wait as her need was great. She was the only one awake besides the guards. It was early in the morning and she had gotten little sleep. She yawned and stretched trying to wake up her tired body. Gazing at the moon she realized it was just past moonhigh. Almost falling asleep on her paws, she heard a commanding voice her.
"Come in" the voice boomed, echoing in the cavern cut into the hollow. She shakily got to her feet, and brushed off the dirt and dew gathered on her fur. The she-cat walked into the cave blindly as her eyes were adjusting to the faded light. Seated on a nest of twigs and moss, a rusty orange cat looked down at her. "You requested to see me?" he asked.
"Yes Firestar, I wanted to talk to you about the prophecy."
"The prophecy? The end of the starts draws near. Three must become four to battle the darkness that lasts forever…" Firestar recited. He tilted his head in confusion. "Haven't we already talked about it? Have you found the fourth cat yet, Dovewing?"
"Y-er.. We found her awhile ago.. She was a bit overwhelmed with the whole prophecy and refused to work with us. We've already tried to convince her many times but she doesn't seem to understand. Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Ivypool , and I were going to talk to her again yesterday hoping that time had convinced her, but Jayfeather ended up having to do medicine cat stuff instead."
"I don't see what the problem is then.."
"Well.. you see.. A couple moons ago Jayfeather had a dream about a new prophecy.. It was –"
Brambleclaw rushed into the cave interrupting the meeting. "Firestar! I received news from our dawn patrol that ShadowClan has been acting hostile recently. This morning all of the trees on their side were marked and their patrol refused to leave the border. Thornclaw came back reporting that they started to fight. We're out-numbered, we need back up. "
Firestar blinked, surprised at this news. "Okay, send out the cats who are supposed to go on afternoon patrol. Also send out one of the hunting patrols for backup. Tell them to not fight aggressively but defensively." A shadow crossed his face. "Shadowclan started this, but they're not going to finish it.." Turning to Dovewing he meowed, "I'm sorry, but I think we'll have to talk about this later."
Dovewing nodded politely and left Firestar's cave. She stopped for a second on the highrock marveling over the sunset. Orange, pink, and yellow painted the sky as perfect as a portrait. Light, lazy clouds floated in the sky. The sky was tinted a beautiful rosy pink and the sun spread its rays cascading down touching the canopy of the forest. It was a sight to see.
The pale gray she-cat gasped slightly at the beautiful sight. It also triggered a memory she had kept in the back of her mind hoping it would never resurface. She tore her gaze from the beautiful sunrise, trying as hard as she could to push the thought down beneath the depths of the water. "At the morning of dawn, one cat will rise and save the clans from eternal darkness.." a voice in the back of her mind gently reminded her. Walking down from the high rock she took one last glance at the rising sun. "There is always hope.." she whispered to herself, and hurried down.
Thornclaw leapt out in battle with ShadowClan, he was a part of the reinforcements ThunderClan had sent in order to deal with ShadowClan's unexpected attack. His claws brutally scraped the ground as he ran out into the clearing. Those mouse-brained fools. What do they think they're accomplishing with attacking us by surprise.. He let out a growl and clawed the nearest enemy he could find. A dark brown tabby tom turned in surprise as soon as he felt his back being raked. Tigerheart! The perfect person to practice my new moves on.
"Is your clan filled with mouse-brained kits?! How could ShadowClan come up with the stupidest plan to attack us!" Thornclaw hissed, taunting Tigerheart.
Tigerheart remained silent, but fended off Thornclaw's attacks. He didn't seem to try to attack his opponent either, he was just playing defensive. Thornclaw growled. How dare he pretend like his opponents are nothing compared to him. I'm going to make this battle one he won't soon forget! Thornclaw launched into the air landing a couple of fur-shredding slashes. The golden brown tabby tom's pelt was a blur as he ducked under Tigerheart and clawed his belly. Tigerheart's claws flashed and snagged Thornclaw's ear.
"I'm not fighting back, and yet you still attack me?" Tigerheart replied, slightly wincing at his new wounds.
"It's your clan which brought this on, not ours."
Tigerheart getting slightly annoyed at the golden tom, pounced and snagged his opponent's pelt in his claws. Thornclaw twisted and managed to throw off Tigerheart. Blood dribbled down into his eyes from the clawed ear, but he continued to fight.
Hawkpaw ran up and clawed Tigerheart a couple times from the back. "Looked like you need some help in battle, Thornclaw!" He meowed and before Tigerheart's paw came down and his sleek pelt, he slipped out and whipped around to Tigerheart's other side.
"Thanks Hawkpaw," Thornclaw said with his clenched jaw. With Hawkpaw distracting Tigerheart, he was able to check out his surroundings. Ivypool was fighting Tawnypelt, Robinpaw and Blossomfall were fighting Toadfoot and Applefur, and Rosepetal and Foxleap were fighting Redwillow and Oakfur. Looks like the fight is to our advantage, but you never know what tricks ShadowClan has up their sleeve.
"Don't you think this is a bit unfair.. Two against one?" Tigerheart growled, annoyance showing clearly in his voice.
"Don't you think it's unfair for your Clan to attack us when we are renewing the borders?" Hawkpaw shot back.
Hawkpaw and Thornclaw coordinated their attacks against Tigerheart. With Hawkpaw's speed and Thornclaw's sharp thinking, the two were able to pull together combos of attacks that not even Tigerheart could fend off. Maybe now the Clans won't underestimate ThunderClan..
"Oww! That hurts!" Briarpaw yelped in pain.
"Stop squirming, hold still. I have to do this." The blind medicine cat grumbled. She's such a pain sometimes. Right now, Briarpaw's earned her spot at the top of my annoyance list. She wants me to help her with her stretching, but complains when I do. I would much rather continue sorting herbs than have her complain more!
"I would stop squirming if you weren't hurting me." Briarpaw glared at Jayfeather. "Why do we even have to do these stupid stretches anyways.."
Jayfeather clenched his teeth. "These stretches would go a whole lot faster if you didn't complain about everything." The gray tabby tom examined her injured leg. "It looks better, at least more so than it was. And if you weren't so stubborn we wouldn't even be in this situation."
"There you go again, blaming it all on me. There are times when I wish medicine cats weren't so grumpy.."
Jayfeather remained silent, but had a whole string of insults running through his head. He instructed her to stretch her leg one more time and then she could rest. Watching Briarpaw gently stretching her leg, reminded Jayfeather of three previous cats. Cinderpelt, Cinderheart, and Briarlight..
Unfortunately out of the three cats, only Cinderheart was able to continue to be a full time warrior. Then again, it was destined. StarClan had given ThunderClan's old medicine cat, Cinderpelt, another chance at life as a warrior, and brought her back as Cinderheart. Briarlight had been crippled much more than Briarpaw had, and it was hard for her to complete regular warrior tasks. But all the same, Briarlight tried as hard as any other cat.
I remember Leafpool was freaking out because she remembered Cinderpelt, and wondered if the same leg injury had happened for a reason. At the thought of Leafpool, Jayfeather shook his head to remove the thoughts.
Briarpaw had finished stretching her injured leg, and Jayfeather could hear her slightly panting. The blind medicine cat could feel her eyes find his face, focusing on them. "If I keep doing these stretches, I'll get back to being a regular apprentice, right?" Her voice was filled with worry, and she seemed on the verge of tears. Unlike before, the harsh, cutting tone of her voice had become quieter and more thoughtful.
"Yes Briarpaw, you will be back to a regular apprentice soon. You just need to let your leg heal and have StarClan watch over you."
A sigh of relief escaped Briarpaw, as she shifted her weight and her breathing slowly became more even.
"I know what it's like Briarpaw.. To be the odd one out of your siblings. But you will be as great as them, I just know it.." Jayfeather quietly whispered to the sleeping apprentice, and turned back to his herb sorting.
"Thornclaw tells me that you did an amazing job in battle, Hawkpaw," Spiderleg acknowledged. "I only wish that I could have fought with you and given tips!"
"And I know that you did a great job fighting yesterday, Robinpaw," Blossomfall purred. "You were quick and smart when we fought Toadfoot and Applefur. You were even able to take on a full warrior without my help for half the battle!"
Hawkpaw and Robinpaw's spirits rose as they heard their mentors praise them.
"Today, we're going to take a break from our regular hunting, and work on battle moves in case ShadowClan or WindClan decide to pick a fight with us anytime soon." Spiderleg explained, already moving out of the camp.
"Next time another Clan attacks us, they won't know what hit them with our apprentices!" Blossomfall winked at the apprentices and followed Spiderleg.
"Sounds fun!" Chirped Hawkpaw and Robinpaw running to catch up with their mentors.
"So the trick in raking your opponent's belly is to strike when they are least expecting it. Thornclaw says that you were able to claw Tigerheart's belly, but I figure that Robinpaw might not know how to." Spiderleg meowed.
"First, you'll need to have your opponent not expecting your every move. Some cats are great at fending off attacks, but not amazing at attacking back. You have to dive under in a fluid motion." Blossomfall explained. "Do either of you know why attacking the opponent's belly is a great strategy?"
"It is one of the more vulnerable places of all cats and even though its pretty hard to accomplish, once you do the cat won't be attacking as viciously." Robinpaw answered.
"Correct, now watch as Blossomfall tries to rake my belly, claws retracted of course."
The two apprentices watched as their two mentors demonstrated certain situations in which it was a good or bad idea to use the specific move.
"What happens if this move is used on you? What would you do then?" Hawkpaw asked.
"Good question. If that happens, depending on how injured you were, you would definitely want to play defensive and wait for assistance to attack aggressively." Blossomfall answered.
"But isn't that what they want you to do? Wouldn't they eventually win since you were injured?" Robinpaw questioned.
"That is usually the case. Sometimes if you're lucky and not too injured, you can do the same to your opponent making you equally weak. But considering how vulnerable your belly is, sometimes having the upper hand in battle is impossible," said Spiderleg.
"So basically if you use this move, then you have the advantage and are able to win more easily." Blossomfall concluded. "This move is very helpful to use mid fight when you aren't getting anywhere in your fight. Does this make sense?"
The two apprentices nodded.
"Good, now I think we've had a day. If you guys aren't exhausted, then Blossomfall and I sure are!" Spiderleg exclaimed, and led the way back to camp.
A pale faint golden sun was slowly sinking behind the soft lapping waves of the lake. It spread it's rays across the water making it shimmer. A pale she-cat sat alone at the edge, not touching the water, but having the waves come only a tail-length away. Even though it's leafbare, the lake looks as beautiful as ever. Even through all of these prophecies and the giant mess all the Clans have become, there were some things that would stay the same forever.
Dovewing felt a wintery breeze ruffle her fur seeming to come from WindClan. So many things have changed. ThunderClan used to be the only Clan close to WindClan. Now they think of us as their enemies.
A myriad of shadows grew darker and more prominent as the sun sank lower into the lake, reminding her of ShadowClan. We have never been the closest of Clans with ShadowClan, but with the surprise attack this morning, we can confirm that we are at the top of their hate list.
The sky began to drizzle, showing that Leafbare had the most unpredictable weather. After darting under a tree closer to the forest but still looking out at the sun, Dovewing pondered about Riverclan. They've been such a help to us in the past few moons. Jayfeather seems especially close to Mothwing, I wonder if it's about something that only she understands since she doesn't believe in StarClan. I guess you could consider them our allies, but what are the costs of our alliance?
Thunder boomed in the sky, bring lightning quickly after it. ThunderClan. My home, and my Clan. My friends, family, and kits are here. A distant look overcame Dovewing as she stared out at the horizon, watching the last of the sun's golden ray's disappear. The sky was nearly black and Dovewing could only see a tail-length in front of her. Exhaustion sunk into her as she realized how much she had done today. These are the four Clans, once we were strong and prosperous, but the Dark Forest is tearing us apart. I don't know how much weight the Clans will bear until they break. And when they finally do.. that is the day that the Dark Forest will strike..
After a long, tiring day of his medicine cat duties, Jayfeather settled down in his moss den. Briarpaw was snoozing near the front of his den, and the rest of the Clan was settling down into their nests for the night. Right about to fall asleep, Jayfeather heard pawsteps. Even though he didn't have the best ears of the Clan, that was Dovewing of course, his impaired eyes had given him better hearing as a trade. His ears perked up trying to trace the sound of the footprints. Who would be out this late? Curiosity overcoming him, Jayfeather got up slowly and silently. He walked past Briarpaw quietly so he would not wake her up.
Right as Jayfeather walked to the entrance of his den, he heard a quiet voice whispering a line over and over to herself. "It's going to be okay.." Normally even with his excellent hearing that would have been impossible to hear, but he could only because it was so quiet in the camp. It took a few moments for Jayfeather to place the voice, but when he finally did he was surprised. Dovewing? What was she doing out?
Even though Jayfeather was blind, he could feel the shining light of the stars above him. Cold, wet raindrops fell on his pelt. His fascination never dulled when came out at night and felt bright stars shining down on him. Just the thought of his ancient ancestors looking down on him made him feel proud and confident.
There may only be four living Clans. But there is always five Clans no matter what. StarClan. Jayfeather was just about to head back to his cozy nest when a certain white she-cat crossed his mind.
"Half Moon.." he whispered, sorrow in his voice.
His memories of the dream came back to his mind quickly and sharply as if he had the dream a minute ago. The sweet scent of her cherry blossom scented pelt filled his mind. He remembered her pleading voice. Is Half Moon asking me to disobey Rock's orders, or to do what's right? That's the problem with our starry ancestors, they can never give a straight answer.
Jayfeather was soon reminded of the Tribe of Rushing Water, and how the last few visits had gone. Last time we left then, they seemed fine. Maybe a bit more hostile and unwilling at the idea of having Clan cats in their presence, but there didn't seem to be any immediate trouble.. I wonder why Half Moon has summoned me to help the Tribe.
Jayfeather thought about asking Dovewing to see if she could project her hearing to the Tribe, which could be a bit of a stretch, but she was able to hear the beavers the summer the lake was nearly empty. Even if she is able to, I bet it'll exhaust her enough that she'll have to rest for a week.. The blind medicine cat knew that his brother, Lionblaze could do nothing for him right now, but it would be helpful if he went along if they decided to make the trip. Firestar won't like it if I ask to go to the Tribe again.. It was hard enough last time to convince him. And without knowing the desperate need, I'm sure he'll say no. Plus with the Dark Forest haunting the Clans, it certainly isn't wise for us to leave now..
The two choices it seemed, were to either disobey Rock's orders, ignore the prophecies and help the Tribe of Rushing Water with whatever their problem is, or to ignore Half Moon's plea and continue with life in the Clans. Neither of them I can really do without having unfortunate consequences.. Jayfeather felt broken and useless. I'm stuck deciding between my destiny, and a desperate plea. The choice I make could affect the Clans forever.. Half Moon's voice replayed over and over in Jayfeather's ears as he made his way back to his moss nest.
"Remember; your destiny is what you make of it.."
A/N – And this 3k chapter is finally finished! Sorry for not updating earlier, had a bit of delay in plans.. Wow, this sort of chapter is the type I should be writing every update. A complete day in the life of the Clan cats. I might have to work on that a bit.. Anyways, expect the next chapter either at the end of January or the beginning of February. Please review, I would love to know what you think of my new revamp and this chapter! I'll keep working on that website! Thanks, and see ya next time! ~ SnowArabian