Yo!
Early chapter! Think of it as an early Christmas present, or whatever holiday you celebrate around this time of year.
I know the last chapter had you all confused, but considering we found out that that suspicious silver tom was Wavepaw, and this chapter is the same events of the last one, except from Wavepaw's perspective. So now you'll find the answers to most of the questions you had!
Review replies:
Riverglade: NO WAY AM I SPOILING IT
Lightningstrike: Your answers will be coming right up!
Kai Lover911: Ah, I should add that to the poll on my profile! (PS GO VOTE PEEPS)
Snowcrystal: High five for you! That reference was from Papers Please, if anyone's heard of that game.
Rainmist: I'm sure. Don't worry, you'll understand all of it soon. Or not, but eventually.
Well, let's kick this one off!
Note: Special appearance in this chapter, bet you can't guess who it is! If you feel like it, scroll down now and write in your review who you think it is, and then see if your guess was right or not. Scroll down. Come on, you can do it. Done? Okay, great.
Warning: A couple dark themes in this chapter, but probably nothing you haven't seen before. But if you really like Wavepaw, your opinion of him might change a little after you see how... um... just read it.
Disclaimer: I don't own warriors!
Chapter 19.
Wavepaw glanced nervously from Creampelt to Cloudfall, and then to Fallowspots's scowling face. He could sense the tension roiling in the moist air of the evening.
"Wavepaw." Creampelt murmured to him, stepping a little closer. "Wavepaw, don't worry about all of this. The grown up cats will sort it out."
Wrinkling his nose in distaste at her wording, Wavepaw shifted his weight away from her.
"Sure." He said coldly and flippantly. "I'm sure you'll figure it all out."
Creampelt bristled slightly at his tone, but slid away from him nonetheless. He sighed as she went back to Fallowspots, rasping her tongue over his ear and murmuring comforting words to him. Wavepaw watched with gritted teeth as Fallowspots's twisted expression loosened and he twined his gray and white tabby-banded tail with hers.
He turned away in disgust, only to come face to face with his wide-eyed mother.
"Another one, huh? At least I don't need to do-" Cloudfall broke off, glancing down at him quickly, then going back to shooting poisoned thorns at Creampelt with her eyes. "We used to be close, you know."
Wavepaw stared at his mother, unsure of where she was going with this.
"You and Fallowspots?" He asked tentatively, not wanting to set off Cloudfall.
"No." Cloudfall opened her mouth, then closed it again, then opened it again. "Creampelt and I. Closer than most sisters."
"Sisters?" Wavepaw was completely taken aback. "You- really?"
"Yes..." Cloudfall went silent.
He looked away, curious but wary. He had simply assumed Cloudfall had no siblings, or they had died. Creampelt, now that he thought about it, had some physical similarites to his mother. Both of their pelts were fluffy and pale, and their eyes, while different colours, were the same shape and had a similar shine. Looking at them now, he was shocked he couldn't see it before.
"She... ended our relationship." Cloudfall murmured, flicking her tail subtly in Creampelt's direction without looking at her. "She thought I was... in love with the same tom as her. I told him how I felt, we became mates, and... then she stole him. He was like the air under my wings, and then she stole him away from me. Of course that was only after... Well, now I'm falling, don't you see?"
Wavepaw's mind whirled trying to sort out what she meant. Him... she means Fallowspots, doesn't she? But why... Creampelt stole him? But they aren't mates... are they? After what? Why didn't I know that Creampelt was Cloudfall's sister? Surely some cat would have mentioned it... Wavepaw tried to catch his mother's eye, but she stared straight ahead, green eyes turned into icicles.
They walked in silence back to the camp, Crowpaw and Seedpaw trailing behind their mentors with a serious air, as though they knew it wasn't the time to procure friendly banter between littermates.
By the time they had reached camp, Wavepaw's thoughts had steadily drained away from mulling over the strange interactions between Creampelt, Cloudfall, and Fallowspots, to day-dreaming about Lightningpaw.
He imagined the way her fur had rippled in the moonlight, as smooth as the stones he had raced across to reach the lake shore where he had saved her.
He imagined the way her voice quivered and fluttered as she talked to him.
He imagined the way her fur would feel tearing beneath his claws.
Wait, what?! His eyes snapped open wide. What is wrong with me? Why would I want to hurt her? I don't want anything to hurt her, ever! I want to protect her from everything! I want to see her bleed.
Wavepaw's silver fur stood on end as the never-ending flow of blackened thoughts inondated his mind, pushing back any fuzzy memories, replacing them with dark images of a dying, bleeding, hurting Lightningpaw, that gave him shivers.
Why I am I thinking this? His thoughts raced as he furtively pushed back the pictures. I don't want this! I would give anything to see her blood.
...
"Well, get a good night's rest, Wavepaw." His father muttered to him as they reached camp, uncharacteristic kindness, however gruff, decorating his voice.
Wavepaw barely registered his father's words, much less his tone. His thoughts were swamped with Lightningpaw at his blood-stained paws, crying out as he clawed her again and again. No! Why is this happening? I don't want this! He cried out against the ceaseless tide of blood-soaked thoughts. Help!
Nodding with a wild look in his brilliant blue eyes, he dashed into the apprentices' den, ignoring Fallowspots's noise of surpries, and settled into his sparsely cushioned nest made of reeds and a couple feathers from the thrush he'd eaten that morning.
As he closed his eyes, praying for a merciful release from his dark thoughts, his thoughts landed on the one thing he never expected to think about.
His stillborn sister.
Of course, he couldn't remember her at all, but his mother had told him about her, and sometimes in her darkest moments, would say that she thought Fallowspots might still love her if their third daughter had survived.
Wavepaw's mind darted to another memory from his first day as an apprentice, when Ripplepaw had cheerily remarked that they wouldn't need to be fished out of ponds anymore. He watched again in his mind as Fallowspots's green eyes darkened at the mention of... ponds.
Why? He wondered.Another memory resurfaced. He had been in the nursery, asking about his dead sister on one of Cloudfall's good days. She had told him about her silver, gray, white fur, her unopened eyes, her fluffy, limp fur, and her unused name. Pondkit. That was what they were going to name her.
Those were his last thoughts before darkness crashed against his conciousness like a black wave.
...
"H- hello?" Wavepaw squeaked, staring around at the blurred landscape, trying to make sense of his situation. "Who's there?"
"No one." A quiet voice came from behind him. "But me."
"Who- who are you?" He whipped around, studying the cat that stood before him with her head dipped in quiet defeat. "What's wrong?"
She looked up slowly, if her motion could be described as looking. Her eyes were completely sealed shut, her head hanging limply and lifelessly in front of her.
"What's wrong? I'm not alive. I'm not alive, Wavepaw." Her voice grew in intensity. "I'm not alive, brother!"
"Brother- but you couldn't be-" Wavepaw broke off staring at her in terror. "Are you Pondkit?"
"Well, being called a kit is a new one." The cat chuckled, voice barely a raspy breeze. "No cat calls me that. I'm no kit. No kit could see what I've seen. Your future is a dark one, brother. If you still need something to call me... well, the medicine cat name I never received, I suppose. How about Pondfrost?"
"Pondfrost? Is that your name?" Wavepaw staggered away from her. "But how are you here?"
The cat chuckled again, sorrow drenching her dry purr.
"Well, brother, let me tell you. Death is boring." Her frank tone was heavy with pain. "There's nothing to do, or be done for you now. Let me tell you what I mean. Those thoughts?"
"How do you know about that?" Wavepaw interrupted, shocked and horrified.
"I know far too much." Pondfrost sighed, then tilted her head towards him. "Listen. There is something to be done about those thoughts. They're a product of your distance."
"What do you mean?" Wavepaw demanded, then recoiled as the cat's face twisted in anger.
Suddenly, the cat in front of him no longer seemed a still born, dead spirit kit. As she swelled in anger, Wavepaw stepped backwards, increasing the distance between himself and his insane-looking spirit-sister.
"Listen!" She roared, then dropped her mew to a deathly whisper. "There is a way to stop these thoughts. You need to see Lightningpaw. Lightningpaw can help you."
"But she won't talk to me! And how am I supposed to get to ThunderClan?" Wavepaw demanded, lashing his plumy tail. "We don't even share a border with tham, and it's the middle of the night!"
"You'll find a way." Pondfrost promised, fading.
"What? Wait!" He called, leaping towards the fading spirit.
It was too late. His still-born sister was gone, floating away through StarClan. He hissed in frustration as his paws lashed through empty air.
The land around him began to dissipate as the dream faded, no matter how much he yowled to the open sky for answers.
...
Wavepaw opened his eyes, glancing around fearfully for a glimpse of the strange cat that had visited him in his dreams, but there was no sign of the gray, white, and silver cat.
He shivered, remembering the cat's intense words. Those thoughts are a product of your distance. But what does that mean? He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, studying the dark den. Dark den... great StarClan! It's barely past moon-high! What is with me waking up in the middle of the night like this? I'm RiverClan, not stinking ShadowClan!
Sighing, he curled his fluffy silver tail over his nose and tried to sleep.
No! Please! The screams of Lightningpaw broke into his conciousness. What's happening? Is Lightningpaw in trouble? If it's that fox-heart, Breezepaw, I swear, I'll tear out his stomach and feed it to the minnows. I need to see her!
His pelt burning with urgency, Wavepaw leapt to his paws and raced out of the den. His vision was blinded by worry and fear for Lightningpaw, but his paws knew the right direction instinctively.
Lightningpaw. Lightningpaw. Lightningpaw. His heart pounded out. I need to see her. Is this was Pondfrost meant? A product of our distance... can I destroy the thoughts and screams by getting closer to her?
His blurred vision gradually grew clearer, until he could see that he was nearing the swampy border of RiverClan and WindClan. His pawsteps slowed until he was barely moving forwards. Can I do this? He wondered, pausing in the cold air. It was a temperature at which when he stood completely still, he hovered on the edge of freezing and normal, but when a breeze blew, or he moved, an icy wave washed over his fur.
Thinking about Lightningpaw like that... is bad. But so long as no one finds out, I'm okay... If I cross the border, I'll be trespassing. He realized. That's breaking the warrior code.
He could feel the mud giving way beneath his feet as he sank into the marsh. I've got to decide. Try to get rid of the thoughts, but risk punishment... or live with the fact that I'm a monster. He thought. No. I need to cure myself. I need to see Lightningpaw.
With his mind made up, he took and deep breath and stepped towards the border.
At what price? I can't do it! Wavepaw turned around, hoping no cat had seen how close he had been to crossing, when a thought crashed against his mind with the force of a badger. Lightningpaw running away, blood dripping behind her, as he ran towards her, claws savaging the earth with every step he took. No! What have I done? I need her!
Shaking, he forced himself to turn back around and take another couple quavering pawsteps until he was just across the border, standing on WindClan territory.
Then he heard a loud snarl, and his drooping head snapped up to see what had made the noise. He barely saw a flash of cream beneath the moonlight before he heard another, sharper and lower yowl of attack from the large heather bush directly across from him.
There was barely a heart-beat of twisting fur, hissing growls, and unsheathed claws, before he was pinned under the claws of a furious cream she-cat with brown flecks, whose green eyes blazed with fury under the light of the stars.
"W- what?" He squealed, whipping his head back and forth. "What's going on?"
"You!" The cream she-cat snarled. "You're his son, aren't you?"
Fallowspots? How does she know Fallowspots? Wavepaw's thoughts were twisted with panic. Play dumb, play dumb...
"Whose?" He tried to make his voice as normal as a cat's could be when pinned under the claws of an enemy warrior who obviously had some sort of issue with his father.
"Oatpad, back off." A tall, lithe golden she-cat ordered authoritatively, stepping forwards. "Who are you, and why are you on WindClan territory?"
Why are you on WindClan territory? Oatpad. Why are you on WindClan territory? I've heard that name before. The words rang emptily in his ears. Why am I on WindClan territory? Why in StarClan's name am I on WindClan territroy on the middle of the night?! What am I doing?! Where have I heard her name before?!
"Wavepaw!" Oatpad growled, snapping him out of his daze. "Answer her!"
"It's not my fault!" He flailed under her. "I'm not to blame! It's a spell!"
Pondfrost! What has she done to me? I can't be on WindClan territory! Wavepaw shrieked internally.
"What are you mewing about?" The golden she-cat tilted her head in confusion.
"I didn't do it!" Wavepaw bristled, the conversation with his dead sister invading his thoughts and sucking any common sense he might have otherwise used. "She's making me!"
Wavepaw's tail lashed from side to side, and his eyes blinked open and shut quickly as he tried to get a grip on himself.
"What do you mean?" He bit back a hiss at the grating sound of Breezepaw's, his enemy's, voice. "What's wrong with you? What's happening? Why are you doing this?"
Before Wavepaw could contain himself, he felt his blazing blue eyes catch Breezepaw's concerned green gaze and pin it there.
"You." His voice was sharper and colder than the point of an icicle.
The gray tabby standing next to Breezepaw leaned over and murmured something in his ear. The gesture reminded Wavepaw so much of what Creampelt did to Fallowspots that Wavepaw felt a stab of gratitude to the gray stranger for distracting Breezepaw from Lightningpaw's perfection.
His gaze snapped back to the cream and brown-flecked queen.
"Get off our territory." Her breath was hot on his face. "And tell your mother that Oatpad says hello."
Wavepaw stared at her, utterly perplexed as to what the dangerous request could mean. He had heard his mother whispering Oatpad's name in her sleep once... that's where he'd heard it! Cloudfall had said her name.
Not wanting to be around a cat whose name his mother had said with such venom, unconciouslessly, for another moment, Wavepaw shot off from under her claws, back across the border, and streaked towards the camp.
As he raced back, he realized he had completely failed to see Lightningpaw. He would need to live with his dark thoughts for longer than he expected.
Ugh. I had trouble writing this one. Stressing about work 'n' stuff that I need to do... Not fun. But I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I don't think I screwed up anything too royally, unless I did, in which case I will probably fix it.
Lightningstrike is getting the bonus scene for being the 75TH FRICKING REVIEWER. 75. HOW DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN?! Thanks. Thanks, thanks, thanks. So much I can't even say to you all.
We've hit a couple milestones with all this. 75 reviews, as I am going to internally gush about for a little longer, and second of all, 50 000 words! How did that happen? I... WOW. I didn't think this crazy little plot idea of mine and the support of you guys was going to drive me so far...
Please stay tuned for the bonus scene and the next chapter.
Don't forget to review! 75. That still isn't really processing.
Pondfrost