"An attack!" a RiverClan tom, Palepool, yelled. "The rogues are attacking!"
"Get into your positions!" Streamstar ordered, standing up immediately. The cats around him shuffled and did as they were told. Leopardleap, as she had been ordered the night before, came close to her leader.
"You remember what I said about keeping your element a secret?" Streamstar asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"Forget that order," he spoke. "Heal everyone you can, and if they go near water, hit them with everything you have." Leopardleap nodded absently.
"Don't stay close to me," he said then. "Stay near Rank Two, and only break from the group if there is someone to heal or I order you otherwise."
Streamstar charged into battle at that moment and began fighting strongly. Leopardleap, meanwhile, searched quickly for the familiar group of cats she had healed just that night.
Once the gray tabby she-cat found them, she dashed over to them and watched from behind as they fought.
"Leopardleap?" asked a brown tom who's name Leopardleap recalled being Otterwhisker. "What are you doing here? Streamstar told you to—"
"He changed his mind," Leopardleap said quickly. "Just protect me as I heal the others." The brown tom dipped his head respectively.
"As you wish," he responded, and proceeded to bark out orders to the rest of the group.
From then on, it was easy to Leopardleap. With all of the healing she had had to do over the past few moons, she had gotten quite adept at it, and so the skill was now simple to perform during battle. The group of cats around her also worked efficiently, moving to wherever they saw an injured cat even if she didn't notice them.
Leopardleap was behind the frontlines, and she understood why, but she knew Streamstar would be counting on her abilities soon. After all, the rogues were stronger this time, as if they, too, had a healer on their side.
"Thank StarClan for you, Leopardleap," came the voice of the she-cat she was healing. "I hope they have a special place in their hunting grounds for you."
I doubt they do, she thought to herself, and then leaped away from an advancing rogue as one of the toms in the group pounced on him and injured him.
"Be careful," the tom told her. "We wouldn't be half this good without you."
No, you wouldn't be half this good without Streamstar, Rain's mortal wanted to say. Leopardleap gritted her teeth, and went on doing as she was told.
Dusk was approaching as the rogues became fewer in number. Her healing duties were needed less and less, and finally, the cats began to realize who was really behind their success as Streamstar valiantly let his cats toward the river which the ShadowClan and RiverClan border was set.
Leopardleap stayed behind the line of combat, watching. She studied the rogues movements, and for some reason, found them slow. She was cautious then, and eyed each rogue that was closest to her.
It's as if they aren't trying, Leopardleap realized.
It seems so. . . Rain spoke distantly. I'll alert Lightning.
I don't think it would be wise to have Lightning be seen, Leopardleap pointed out. It would weaken Streamstar's image, which seems to be the only thing going for us right now.
Granted point, though there are other ways Lightning can assess the situation than in eagle form.
"Leopardleap! Over here!" called a warrior not far off. The silver tabby dashed over to the wounded she-cat and bent next to her.
"That nasty rogue nearly ripped her throat out—"
Leopardleap cut off the tom as water engulfed the she-cat. In a few moments, her eyes were opening, and she seemed like a newborn kit.
"Silvertail. . .?" the she-cat whispered.
"Thank StarClan!" the gray tom, Silvertail, gasped, touching his nose with hers. "I was so worried, Motheye. . ."
Leopardleap could only stare as they went back to battle, as strong as ever. As she watched them, she noticed their connection, the way they attacked the rogue effiecently without once speaking with one another.
Mudroot and I have that, she thought. But we must be separated. I just wish it didn't have to be that way.
"Leopardleap!"
The silver tabby's gaze snapped toward the shout, knowing it was Streamstar's voice. The rogues were pushing them back, and there was something different. A new scent came to Leopardleap's eyes, and her eyes widened.
ShadowClan cats!
Leopardleap noticed Streamstar trying to keep them at bay, but realized the clan cats were horribly outnumbered. She searched for water, a large source of it. And then she saw it; the border river.
I should—! she stopped herself. If I just blindly go out there and attack, other warriors could be swept over the border. . .I could tell them to run away!
They would know who you are, Rain reminded her, and such declarations can get you wounded.
But Streamstar said—
Not yet, Rain ordered. Leopardleap nodded.
It took only moments to dash over to the nearest Warrior. She told him, "Spread the word: when Streamstar gives the signal, run away from the river. Pass it on to everyone else."
The warrior nodded, and told the next cat, who told more cats, who told more cats. Leopardleap found herself near Streamstar, and sighed with relief.
"It is not in my place to ask something of you, but can you do something for me?" Leopardleap asked him.
"You are my adviser," Streamstar reminded her. "Of course I can do something for you."
"When I tell you, give a signal to the clan cats," she said.
"I told you to use your element whenever you needed to," Streamstar pointed out.
"Rain has a plan," Leopardleap explained. Streamstar stiffened, but said nothing.
Leopardleap studied the movements of the rogues and the clan cats, carefully choosing the ability she would use as she did so. Heart-beat after heart-beat went as she watched the paw steps, and watched the ShadowClan cats with the rogues swim across the river and fight.
Ten had come through, and just when the last one pulled himself onto the bank of the river, Leopardleap said Streamstar as low as she could, "Now."
Streamstar gave a shrill caterwaul and the clan cats immediately retreated from the river. Leopardleap jumped into the air, and with a swipe of her paw, the river's water rose three fox-lengths into the air. The water stalled for a moment before crashing upon the rogues and warriors on the other side.
The cats were pushed back several fox-lengths back as Leopardleap returned the water to the river, and after the last rogue on the RiverClan side of the river fled, the clan cats surged forward and swam to the ShadowClan side. The rogues were shouting for retreat.
They were in ShadowClan territory.
Streamstar kept the advance going. One fox-length into the territory. Two fox-lengths. Then three fox-lengths.
They were in ShadowClan territory.
Leopardleap healed those wounded on the way, and the strength of the clans continued to grow. The rogues would pause, but they would never stop. They would turn and continue retreating.
They were in ShadowClan territory.
Eventually, the entire group turned and faced them with a strong line of defense. Streamstar stopped as soon as he saw this, and his warriors followed the unspoken order. Both sides stared at each other, growling and hissing, but not attacking.
They were in ShadowClan territory.
Streamstar slowly relaxed, and Leopardleap heard whispering. The silence was broken. On the rogues' side, there were lax movements, untensed muscles, and low voices.
They were in ShadowClan territory.
The rogues began to turn away, this time sitting and whispering. Though they eyed the clan cats, they did not seem to want to fight any longer. As the rogues relaxed, so did the clans, and sighs of relief finally came.
"I thought the end of that battle would never come," came Silvertail's voice.
"Rest," Streamstar orded his cats as he faced them. "Otterwhisker, report to the camp what has happened, and send out a hunting party. Motheye and Palepool, you're on patrol duty. Everyone else, get as much rest as you can. The next battle will be harder than the last."
Leopardleap allowed herself to lay down. Her muscles relaxed completely, and she felt at ease. Her strength returned quickly, and she smiled.
They were in ShadowClan territory.
We could use her abilities elsewhere, Darkblaze spoke with narrowed eyes.
If you do this, RiverClan's success on the ShadowClan front will decrease exponentially, Lightning reminded him.
Streamstar has the best group of cats out there, and though they may lose some of the ground they've gained today, he will gain it back. Aside from this, Brambletooth's forces are becoming stronger. Before long, ShadowClan will be ours again.
Not if ShadowClan cats are fighting with them. If ShadowClan wants to be a rogue clan, they won't give up easy.
Emberstar controls them; defeat her, and—
She has nine lives, Lightning pointed out.
Nine lightning bolts would be fast enough, Darkblaze said.
You don't mean that, Lightning told him. You would never hurt anyone with your abilities.
You know me too well, Darkblaze sighed.
Hawkpaw sighed.
Whatever Nyka was planning, it wasn't getting them anywhere.
Hawkpaw had nearly screamed when Nyka had ordered half of the group to stay behind. It was suicide, and though she attempted to say such things to the ice Elemental Mortal, she wouldn't listen.
And now they were fighting a worthless battle.
It had started at late sunhigh, and had continued. Hawkpaw swore she could see the sky darkening and the sun brightening right before it's set. And yet, Nyka's forces had gotten them nowhere.
The apprentice was intrigued with one thing, however. Nyka's army had kept the border the same as it had been since the end of the last battle. No one had gained any ground.
Hawkpaw fought with strength she didn't know she had, and most of the time, she won simply because she found their weak spots ten times faster than they could find hers. She used her element constantly, either to force the breath out of her enemies, or to push them back so she could gain the advantage.
Air had stopped talking to her. Anything he said forced her to be restricted, and she didn't want to be. She wanted to harm as many of these mouse-brained rogues before she died, which she could feel was happening soon.
Hawkpaw surged into a cat, and they went rolling on the ground. She was on the bottom, but with a large gust of wind, he was off of her. The calico she-cat leaped onto the tom and grabbed onto his neck with her teeth. He screamed, but she didn't let go.
"Don't kill me!" he pleaded. "Don't kill me! I'll leave! Please!"
I'm going to die, so why not you? You've sinned more than me. You deserve it.
Once the tom went limp, Hawkpaw leaped away and chased after her next victim. The fight was a gruesome one; she gained nasty cuts and the rogue could no longer stand on his left foreleg. Fortunately, she had won it.
Suddenly, a massive tom crashed into her. For once, she was the one feeling as if she were suffocating. The tom pinned her and raised his unsheathed claws. Hawkpaw struggled slightly, but she stopped herself and stared blankly at the tom.
I deserve this, she told herself. I have killed too many times. I'm going to die anyway. Just get it over with now. She closed her eyes, ready for the pain.
It never came. Hawkpaw opened her eyes and found she was free. Cautiously, she glanced around, finding the massive tom fighting a smaller brown tom. The tom was losing, so Hawkpaw forced the larger tom to stop breathing, to which the smaller tom took the advantage and injured the rogue greatly. After Hawkpaw let the rogue breathe again, it fled the battle field.
Hawkpaw narrowed her eyes as the brown tom met her gaze. "Were you the one who saved me?" The brown tom shrugged, and continued fighting.
Why in StarClan's name did he just shrug? Hawkpaw thought with her tail lashing. He took me from a quick death! He saved me!
She had no time to think. The battle was losing ground, and Nyka's forced were being pushed back. Hawkpaw was forced to fight even more.
One by one, she forced rogues to flee, or to die, depending on the injuries inflicted on herself. Scratches and gashes were scattered around her body, and the parts of her pelt which were once white had become a pinkish color.
Hawkpaw pinned a rogue she was fighting and unsheathed her claws into his stomach. As he yowled in agony, she felt his back claws rip through her own stomach, and released him quickly out of instinct.
As the rogue retreated to his own frontline, Hawkpaw's body began failing. Her legs shook, the noise around her was blurred together, her stomach ached, and her vision became saturated and blurry.
"You need to join the wounded."
Hawkpaw glanced upward and saw the brown tom from before.
"I. . .I can still fight. . ." she said.
"No, you can't," he growled. "You'll die if you fight anymore."
"It's going. . .to happen. . .anyway. . ." Hawkpaw heaved.
"Not today," he said. "You can still be healed. You can still be another number on the field. And besides, you're an adviser, and you're still an Elemental Mortal. You need to stay alive."
"I don't. . .want to!" Hawkpaw shouted.
A rogue came toward them. The brown apprentice had him pinned before Hawkpaw could even realize what was happening. Was her mind really that slow?
The brown apprentice looked back to her.
"Come on, I'll—"
"Otters, advance! Everyone else, retreat to the makeshift camp!"
It was Nyka's voice, announcing the nonsense. Hawkpaw glanced behind her and saw the cats who had stayed behind run forward, toward the frontlines. The cats who had been fighting before slowly retreated far behind the line of skirmish.
"We need to go," the brown tom reminded her.
Hawkpaw's eyes widened as Nyka's army pushed the rogues back. They were gaining more ground. They were winning.
And I said the idea was mouse-brained, she thought. It was such an intelligent strategy, and I thought—
She felt the sensation of being pulled. Despite her wish to protest, she did not have the energy to talk, and definitely not enough to move. So she allowed it, and focused on staying awake in the process.
Hawkpaw remembered little of what happened next. She knew she was at the makeshift camp behind the combat line, and she knew there was water on her.
There was silence as Hawkpaw's eyes opened. For the first time in what seemed like a day, she could see clearly. Her wounds felt. . .gone. Carefully, she sat up and found that though she was stiff, she was completely healed.
"Leopardleap said not to move much."
The brown apprentice.
Hawkpaw's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"
"Making sure you wake up okay," he said.
"Still trying to save my life?" she growled.
"No, Leopardleap told me to," the brown apprentice spoke.
Then it dawned on her.
"Leopardleap? But she's supposed to be—"
There's been a change of plans, Air interrupted her. Leopardleap will go to each front to perform her healing duties. She is no longer an adviser for Streamstar.
The brown apprentice shrugged.
"Don't ask me, I wouldn't know," he said.
Hawkpaw listened carefully for the sounds of battle, but found none. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Nyka speaking with a few other cats quietly.
"So the battle is over," Hawkpaw concluded. "And we didn't move anywhere."
"Oh, we did," the brown apprentice told her. "Nyka drove them all the way back over the border. You just don't remember being moved to a different camp."
"How long was I. . .?" Hawkpaw wondered, but then she saw the sky. "It's nightfall already. . ."
"Leopardleap said something about trauma, but honestly, I think you just pushed yourself too hard," the brown apprentice said. "Bad things happen to cats who don't give up when there is the option to."
"What do you know? You're just an apprentice," Hawkpaw hissed.
"You are too," he pointed out.
"Yes, but I am far more intelligent, strong, and mature than you," she growled.
"Says who?" the brown apprentice snapped.
"Says everyone I know," she responded. "I've seen things you would only have nightmares about."
"Like a dead sister?" he asked.
Hawkpaw's eyes widened.
"How do you—?
"Sunpaw has told me a lot about you," he said. "He said something about it once."
"Sunpaw? Just who are you?" Hawkpaw asked.
"Rowanpaw of ShadowClan," he answered as his voice wavered. "Though that was a long time ago."
"You're Sunpaw's brother," she said, mostly to herself. "That would mean. . .Wait, why aren't you fighting with him? If you haven't noticed, you're on opposite sides of the lake!"
"Do you honestly think he would want me fighting next to him?" Rowanpaw asked. "Besides, Darkblaze requested that I stay here in RiverClan. I think I was supposed to be fighting on the ShadowClan front, but I. . .I didn't think I could."
"The ShadowClan cats aren't fighting with the rogues, you know," Hawkpaw said.
They are, Air said.
What?! Hawkpaw shrieked. Why—?
"Emberstar is like a goddess to them," Rowanpaw explained, as if he heard the conversation. "Because of her manipulation skills, she was able to convince the clan that the rogues had a right to be angry at the clans, or at least, RiverClan. She's convinced them they're fighting for the greater good."
"That's mouse-brained," Hawkpaw hissed.
"You'd be surprised how persuasive she can be," Rowanpaw said softly, looking distantly ahead of him.
"Let me guess," Hawkpaw began. "You fell for her tricks?"
"Yeah, I did," Rowanpaw admitted, without an ounce of fear or annoyance. It was more like he was reliving a wistful memory. "I killed my own sister for her."
Hawkpaw stiffened.
"Bringing back memories of your own?" he questioned.
"Shut up," she muttered.
"You shouldn't blame yourself, you know," he said. "It wasn't your fault."
"I don't blame myself!" Hawkpaw snapped.
"Why else would you be so willing to sacrifice yourself?" Rowanpaw asked.
"I'm going to die of a disease," Hawkpaw said. "I might as well die a more honorable death in battle as a warrior rather than die because of a disease as a worthless apprentice."
"There's no such thing as an honorable death in battle," Rownapaw told her. "If you die in battle, you give up your chance of turning the tables."
"One cat couldn't impact the end of a war," Hawkpaw spat.
"If we didn't have Darkblaze, where would we be right now?" Rowanpaw asked. "Or Nyka and Streamstar? Or Leopardleap? You would be dead, if not for her."
"The only thing I have is intelligence, there is no way—"
"Intelligence is the only way to win," Rowanpaw interrupted her. "If this were just two forces battling it out, do you realize how quickly we'd be losing right now? They outnumber us. By a lot. If it weren't for Darkblaze's intelligence, we'd be crowfood right now."
"See? You don't need me," Hawkpaw hissed. "You need Darkblaze."
"He's only one very intelligent cat, and look what he's done for us?" Rowanpaw said. "Imagine if you were there with him, making equally smart decisions. We'd be unstoppable."
"I don't deserve it," Hawkpaw said, shaking her head.
"When are you going to realize you do deserve to be in equal ranks with him? To be alive? What have you done that is so horrible it needs death as a punishment?"
"I've killed many cats on the battle field," she said.
"So has Nyka. So have others. Didn't you hear? Ten rogues were killed yesterday."
"I've let Nyka down too many times—"
"Darkblaze has made worse mistakes, according to Nyka."
"I'm going to die anyway, I can take the risks."
"Then do all you can before you die."
"I don't want to die like that."
Rowanpaw sighed. "You're just making things up now. Why don't you just say it? You still blame yourself for your sister."
"I don't—"
"Denial is illogical," he said. "Even I know that." Hawkpaw narrowed her eyes.
"Don't act all innocent," Hawkpaw snapped. "You're in the same situation as I am!"
Rowanpaw stiffened. ". . .Yes, I am. But you see, I have a reason to blame myself. You don't."
"I have just as much reason! I murdered my own sister!"
"I wouldn't call an accident murder," Rowanpaw said. Hawkpaw clenched her jaw and stared at him. He stared straight back. "Others may have called you a killer, and being as young as you were, you had a right to believe them. But you aren't a monster, murderer, or killer. You didn't know about your abilities, you didn't know what you were doing, and you didn't want to kill your sister. If you didn't know, it wasn't murder. It was an accident."
Hawkpaw couldn't say anything. She wanted to. She wanted to argue with him and accept the blame so that it could be easier. But she couldn't. The logic in his reasoning was too great.
"I'm going to get some fresh-kill," Rowanpaw announced.
As he left, Hawkpaw felt something she had only felt with Echostrike. Her heart dropped, and she felt a pit in her stomach. Her body didn't want him to leave.
She didn't want him to leave.
The second day of war was over.
WindClan had suffered defeat. The their border was several fox-lengths away, and with injured Warriors and no Elementals to help them, things did not seem to be getting better. The cats within the clans were growing depressed. How could they win such a hopeless war?
ThunderClan fared better, but not by much. Neither border had moved that day, but the number of wounded cats increased. Leopardleap was not quick enough for some.
Despite all of this, the success in RiverClan made everything worth it. Streamstar had led his followers more than seven fox-lengths past the border, and the rogues had several more injuries than their foes. On the other front, Nyka's ingenious plan allowed them to take their land back.
The cats in this clan were hopeful and proud. Some began to respect Nyka, and the seeds of respect were planted.
Leopardleap's contribution to the injured cats raised morale more than anyone could have hoped for. Knowing they could be healed instantly gave them that desperate hope they all desired so greatly.
A/n :: I do not own Warriors
Hello everyone! =) It was a little quicker this time, eh? Only a 10 day wait! =)
I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I don't paticularly know why, but the part with Hawkpaw and Rowanpaw. . .It was so touching to me to have two cats in basically the same situation helping each other indirectly. Plus, we get to learn about Rowanpaw's character a bit more, which is always fun for me.
Next will be a Darkblaze/Mudroot/maybe Sunpaw chapter. ^.^ Lots of neat stuff happening there.
Oh! If any of you want to read more of my writing(for those of you who actually enjoy it XD), I do have another story (well, a bunch of short stories) featuring other OC's posted right now. =)
{o} The Assassin's Anthem, may darkness be with you.