Chapter Twenty-Six: Mercy

"He's in the tree."

Arrow groaned in defeat as he slithered out of the tree, pouting like he'd just lost the prey he was hunting. That was not the case. Instead he had lost at a very juvenile game of hide and seek that Sunrise had won rather convincingly. Not that she'd had the chance to hide, no she'd been forced to seek for ages while Tornheart watched like a hawk. It wasn't even a normal game of hide and seek. She had been forced to sit in one spot and use her blood power to find Arrow. It was boring, she was done with the game, but Tornheart seemed quite excited to continue it.

"Can we stop now?" Sunrise whined, "I'm bored, and tired, and hungry. Please?"

Tornheart huffed out a sigh. "I'm just trying to understand this power. I've never heard of it before. Not even Crimson could do it."

"Maybe there are some things in this world you don't understand," she muttered, leaning over her shoulder to flatten a bit of fur.

"Perhaps," Tornheart shrugged. "Tell me again how you can tell that it's Arrow and not somebody else."

Sunrise rolled her eyes. They'd been at this for ages. The sun was setting, it was getting cold, and her body ached. She tried not to use her power this much. It made her weak. "Everyone's blood is different. Not super different, it just has a different...feel to it. I don't know, I can't really explain it. I just know it's Arrow. I'm pretty sure it only works if I've smelt their blood before. Like, I can't find Marah with my power because I've never been around when she's bled. But I can find Willowclaw with it."

"Where is Willowclaw right now?" Arrow asked curiously.

"In the basin. He must be bleeding because his scent is stronger, but it's not a lot of blood, probably only a scratch."

"Okay," Tornheart said. "Pull some out of me."

"Wait, what?" Sunrise recoiled.

Tornheart grinned, "pull some blood out of me."

"It's hard to control how much blood I take, I could kill you," she murmured, ears flicking back.

"Then stop yourself from taking more than you need. I want to see this for myself. Go on."

Sunrise nodded slowly and took a deep breath. It was easy to find the vein that ran up Tornheart's throat. Thick blood ran through it, a constant temptation she had to ignore. Her heartbeat was quick too, a clear indication that Tornheart was not as confident as she seemed, or maybe she was just excited - it was hard to tell. She prodded gently at the vein with her mind, trying to coax a tiny slit into it; too big of a slit would kill her. It seemed this time that the blood was going to cooperate quite willingly. A thin stream of it dribbled from the slit and Sunrise commanded it come to her. Tornheart flinched when a slice opened up in her neck. Her eyes went wide at the ribbon of red, dripping, flowed into the air. Sunrise, when she felt she had gathered enough, closed the slit and the flow stopped. She let the freed blood wreathe around her head. It dripped red onto the soft grass.

"That's amazing," Tornheart breathed awestruck.

"And a little creepy," Arrow added. He was eyeing the floating blood very dubiously. "Did it hurt?"

Tornheart shook her head, "I didn't feel a thing up until the point where my skin broke open. That's such a strong power, Sunrise. It's dangerous. You have to promise me you won't use it unless you're with me. Okay?"

"I try not to use it at all," Sunrise snorted. "You don't have to worry about me using it. I've learned what it can do if I'm not careful." It was a lie. She would use her power and make it stronger so that she could protect her family. But Tornheart didn't need to know that. "Can we go back to the basin now?"

"Yes, I've learnt all I can for today. However this does mean that we will be training more often. For now we will keep your new power a secret. The Clans will only react badly."

The patch of flat land they used for training was not far from the basin. It was hidden away in amongst some trees, tucked neatly against sheer cliffs, safe from curious eyes. Emerging from the trees they found the sun had nearly set completely, only a faint light remained. Night was swiftly approaching, darkness spreading from beyond Crimson's mountain. It was cold, approaching freezing. Sunrise didn't have an overly thick pelt, though it had thickened a little with the onset of leaf bare, and she was feeling the chill. She wondered if it was just as cold down in the valley. Sneaking a glance at Tornheart to see if the she-cat would notice she pulled a little of the shadows over herself, letting them settle like a snug second pelt. A slight smile tweaked at her muzzle when Tornheart did not notice.

Willowclaw was sulking when they slipped into the basin. He jumped when Sunrise called his name and she nearly wished she'd kept her mouth shut. He looked awful, fur a tangled mess like he'd been dragged through multiple bushes, eyes hollow and empty. Sitting beside him was Shiverlight, though it looked like she was regretting it. Sunrise could understand his pain, sort of. Icepetal had stormed off after telling him she didn't love him anymore. That wasn't something anyone could get over easily. But then, as she neared the forlorn tom, she noticed something else in his expression; he was afraid.

"Have you seen Icepetal?" he demanded.

"So you did leave her alone. I'm proud of you, Willowclaw," Arrow chirped.

He frowned at Arrow, "don't talk to me like I'm a naive kit."

"In respect to love you kind of are," Arrow retorted.

"You're both acting like kits," Tornheart pointed out. "No, we haven't seen Icepetal since this morning. Why?"

Willowclaw whined pitifully. "That's the problem, no one's seen her since she left this morning. I'm really worried. What if she's gotten herself into trouble? She could be stuck somewhere!"

"I think you should more faith in her," Sunrise purred, "she's strong, you know that."

"But I can't help but worry. What happened this morning...I need to know she's okay. It hurts me to know she's alone out there hurting because of what I did," he said quietly.

A Noble patrol burst into the basin, skidding down the slope and heading straight for Amory. The leader, who had been sharing tongues with Wrenfeather, only gave them half his attention as they hurriedly relayed information to him. Abruptly he stiffened, eyes sliding from Wrenfeather to Willowclaw. An unsatisfied look settled over his face. No one but Sunrise noticed him murmur a few words to Wrenfeather before rising to his feet and setting his sights on their little group. Frantically she nipped at Tornheart's shoulder. At the she-cat's angry grumble she jerked her head in Amory's direction.

"Shut up," Tornheart hissed. "We're about to have company."

"Oh don't cease your conversation on my behalf, do continue," Amory's voice was cold.

Arrow gave him a lazy smile. "We were only reminiscing on our days before arriving back in the valley, honestly it's nothing you need to worry about."

The golden tom snorted. "Well I have something that you should be worrying about. Tell me, do any of you know where Icepetal might be? It's rather important."

"None of us have seen her since this morning," Willowclaw grunted. "So if you know where she is please tell us."

"You see, Willowclaw, I send a patrol down the path to the valley every evening to check for anything suspicious. Normally they don't pick anything up because everyone knows not to go down there, except for one cat. I made myself explicitly clear that no one was to go into the valley. So tell me, why did my patrol pick up Icepetal's scent leaving the mountains?" Amory growled. He looked awfully angry, eyes narrowed to slits and fur bristling.

Willowclaw gaped at him, "she's gone into the valley?!"

"So you didn't know she was going - " Amory's anger deflated - "but you do know why she's gone down there, don't you?"

"She's upset. This morning she found out about something and it tore her apart. She must have thought going into the valley would help clear her head. Why did she do that? She knows what's down there, oh no what happens if the Elementals catch her!?" he panicked.

Amory rumbled out a noise of distaste. "I would be more worried about her finding her way back here alive."

"Why should he worry about that?" Sunrise asked, "isn't that what we want to happen?"

"The punishment for disobeying my rule and going into the valley is death," he explained.

Tornheart stiffened, "so if Icepetal comes back you'll kill her?"

"I did not put that rule in place for no reason. It keeps these Clans safe from venturing down to their deaths; if I was to let her off with only a stern talking to everyone would start thinking they could go down there with no penalty. Icepetal will be killed if she returns. Though I would not hold out hope for her return. That valley will take her life," Amory answered evenly. "She might even already be dead."

Sunrise cleared her throat, making sure she had everyone's attention before speaking. "I will find her."

"What?" Willowclaw blinked, "how?"

"Just watch." She made her way over to the basin edge and stared out over the valley. It was hard to make out anything in the darkness that rested over it. That was going to work to her advantage. Behind her there were shuffled footsteps, the others curiosity dragging them over to her. She smiled. This would show them just how strong she was. At her sides appeared two shadowed, feline shapes: her shadow cats. They watched her with unblinking red eyes, waiting for a command. "Find her," she whispered and they dove right off the edge. Tilting her head back she closed her own eyes and relaxed. Through her shadow cats she could see everything they did, the valley opening up before her as their paws touched the rough grass of WaveClan's moor. It was warmer in the valley.

Her shadow cats moved quick, their senses heightened and stronger than any mortal creature. They danced across the darkness smothering WaveClan's cliffs, eyes picking up nothing but prey. It was oddly quiet and still. They raced quicker, dashing across the moorland. A flicker of movement where the moor changed into forest - CedarClan's territory she assumed - caught their attention and they slunk after it, blending into the darkness with ease. Pricked ears caught the sound of voices embroiled in an argument, and they weren't being quiet about their disagreement. Sunrise flinched. It was the Elementals. She recognised Ice's voice.

"I asked for all of them, not just one. What am I supposed to do with this?"

"It really doesn't not concern me, it's your grudge, not mine. Just kill her or something."

There was a long sigh. "I suppose killing her might bring the others into the valley for revenge."

"At least wait until she wakes up. You might be able to beat information out of her," Fire purred.

"That is a rather good idea. It was rather foolish of you to come back down here alone wasn't it, Icepetal?"

Sunrise snarled and her shadow cats did the same.

"The Shadowstalker knows! She's sent beasts down, look I can see their eyes!"

Pulling herself out of her shadow cats she sucked in a deep breath and tugged violently at the thick shadows coating the valley. At her command they sharpened to lethal points and shot through the trees towards the Elementals. As far away as she was Sunrise could not hear any cries of pain but she knew her shadows had found their marks, they always did. The explosion of fire only helped to solidify that fact. She sent another wave of sharpened shadows. A boisterous wind circled the valley, quickly forming a tornado that barrelled straight for them. It was nothing to an enraged Sunrise. With a jerk of her head darkness enveloped the tornado and sent it back the way it had came. Curling her lip she formed more shadow cats. This is what you get for stealing her.

Her anger built and built with each attack they sent. She destroyed the shards of ice with a wall of black, then sent back her own shards. Through her shadow cats she felt their panic and saw their frantic attempts to protect themselves. A ball of flame shrieked towards the basin but was snagged before it could make it, flung to the ground where it exploded with an angry roar. When the ground beneath her paws began to shake and crack she knew she had to finish it. She had to show them she was stronger. They'd give Icepetal back if she did that. They would. All the darkness lurched upwards and the valley looked like it was bathed in daylight, there wasn't a spot of black anywhere. It all dangled in the air, circling and circling until it became a thick ball. She could hear them shouting at each other, demanding they tell each other what was going on. Not even she knew what would happen when she dropped it but they were all about to find out.

It fell and when it hit the ground the force shook the valley and shook the mountains. There were yelps and cries of fear from behind her but she ignored them. Everything in her was buzzing, every nerve on fire, it felt so good to throw everything she had into her power. Had she killed them? What had her ball of darkness even done? Nothing was happening. It was dead quiet. Gently she slipped back into the body of a shadow cat. The valley looked okay, it seemed like the shadows had simply crashed back into their rightful places. But the Elementals, where were they? She found them in the forest, crumpled in four heaps. They were alive. Her entire body sagged. Not even that had killed them. She'd failed. Why couldn't she just kill them?!

Someone nudged her shoulder, gently turning her away from the valley. Tornheart folded herself around Sunrise, pressing the shaking apprentice as close to her body as possible. Sunrise shifted her head so that she could talk. "I tried so hard. Why couldn't I do it? Why couldn't I kill them? What's the use of all this power if I can't kill them?!" she cried hoarsely.

"Your power wasn't given to you just to kill them. It doesn't matter if you can't," Tornheart murmured into her fur.

"I just want to protect everyone," Sunrise whispered.

Willowclaw nuzzled her gently. "They have her, don't they?"

"Yes."

Icepetal woke with a groan. The skin around her neck felt raw, and it stung. Pretending it didn't bother her as much as it did she peeked through slightly opened eyelids. It was quiet. There was nothing around her accept greenery. Shifting she glanced over her shoulder. She was sprawled under a bush, she could see the roots and the thin branches holding it up. Puzzled she inched her way out of it. Strangely enough she wasn't injured anywhere else. Hadn't Earth mentioned taking her to Ice? Shouldn't she be dead by now? She wasn't going to spend too much time hanging around to find out what had happened. All she had to do was get back to the mountains.

Emerging from the bush she shook the twigs and leaves from her pelt, scowling when she noticed the tangles and knots. She was in CedarClan's territory, their forest was much lighter and warmer than the other territories. A deep inhale brought the taste of salt on the air; in CedarClan but awfully close to WaveClan. That would make getting back to the mountains a little harder, the journey a lot longer than she wanted. She was more than curious to know why she was still alive, and why she was alone. Had something happened?

"You aren't going anywhere," Wind hissed, knocking Icepetal over with a gust. "I did not just spend half the night recovering for you to escape."

"If you didn't want me to escape maybe you shouldn't have left me alone," she spat back, glaring at Wind.

The little she-cat frowned deeply. She looked exhausted, and her fur was an awful mess of dried blood and dirt. Icepetal arched a brow. Had there been a fight while she'd been unconscious? Maybe someone had come to get her back, if anyone even knew where she was. She flinched. Would Willowclaw care that she'd gone missing? Probably not. It seemed that, for now, she would have to survive on her own.

"Had a rough night?" she purred and grinned slyly.

"It wasn't exactly how I had imagined our first night together would go, sweetheart." Cyrith stumbled into view looking just as disheveled, and a little singed. "We haven't seen you since we broke into that cozy little basin of yours. Have you missed us?" Ah, there it was, a tiny little plea to pretend that they hadn't been meeting up in secret. That was fine, she could act.

"Can't say I have," Icepetal retorted.

Cyrith pouted, "you've hurt my feelings."

"Oh? I hadn't realised you had any," she gasped mockingly.

"Don't act like a kit around the Clanner, Fire. We have a reputation to uphold." Ice leaped down the trunk of a tree. Like the other two she looked roughed up, but in slightly better shape. Wounds that healed themselves certainly seemed to help with getting bloodstains out of fur. Icepetal tried to peer down at the wound ringing her neck to see if it had bled at all. Unsuccessful she flopped back against the grass with a sigh.

Fire huffed. "I don't see how me having a little fun is going to affect our murderous reputation."

"It's annoying," Ice sneered, picking her way through the grass to look down at Icepetal. "How stupid of you to come down here. I would have thought you of all cats would have avoided the valley."

Icepetal shrugged, not taking her eyes off of Ice, staring the other down. "I wanted to see for myself what had happened to my home. You've made a rather large mess of it."

"We live here now," Wind reminded, pausing her grooming, "we can do whatever we want."

"Yes but Crimson ordered you to exterminate the Clans. You can't do that lazing around here when we're up in the mountains. Come to think of it you haven't been back since Sunrise nearly killed Earth. Don't tell me you're...scared?" Icepetal laughed.

Her laugh was cut off by a paw slamming into her throat. She grit her teeth to stop the pained whine from filtering out. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Fire look away. So he cared enough to not want to watch her death. That was nice. "What that little kit did to us has not phased us. When we decide to kill you all then we will. For now we are simply enjoying the game we are playing." Ice leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I'm almost tempted to let you live just so you can watch me rip that kit's throat out."

"Who attacked you?" she choked out. This wasn't really going to plan but she had to keep herself alive for as long as possible. Eventually she would be able to escape. "I'm not stupid, I know something happened during the night."

Ice removed her paw. "Fine, I'll entertain your fantasies of your Clans winning for the last time in your life. Your Shadowstalker caught us off guard. She must be close to you to have gotten so angry at finding out we'd caught you. It was a messy fight. She didn't even leave the mountain but was still able to do a fair amount of damage." She grinned darkly, "but we are immortal and your Shadowstalker does not understand her power. We will win in the end."

"I think you might be underestimating Sunrise. She's stronger than you think."

The Elemental rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. A little kit like her doesn't stand a chance against us. Stop pretending you're going to win."

"Who says I'm pretending? We are going to win," Icepetal said.

Ice made a pained noise, "no one told me you Clanners could be so stubborn. You have nothing to beat us with. Sure you have a Wielder and a Shadowstalker but they won't help you when we decide to end you all. It doesn't matter, not to you any way."

"I did not carry her all the way from my territory for you two to have a conversation," Earth growled in a voice like gravel. "Get this over with. I hate playing."

"Fine, fine." She leaned down and her grin turned malicious. "I think I'll slit you open from throat to tail and take you back for your friends to see. How does that sound? I'll enjoy their cries."

Icepetal smirked and Ice recoiled, but wasn't quick enough. Her claws caught in Ice's ear and tore most of it off. The Elemental howled, eyes narrowed to enraged pinpricks. "Sorry but I'm not really in the mood for being slit open, maybe another time?" She rolled onto her paws, slipping into a low crouch. Her tail lashed behind her. This she could do. She wouldn't mind dying so much if she'd given her all beforehand.

"When will you learn?" Ice shouted, tossing shards at Icepetal. They only managed to slice shallow wounds but they stung nearly as badly as the raw skin around her neck. Ice leaped at her and Icepetal grabbed at her shoulders as she crashed into her. Rolling them Icepetal ended up on top, teeth sunk firmly into the soft skin of her belly, claws latching onto her face. Hindlegs pushing up into her belly flung her away and she nearly knocked Cyrith over.

He just looked at her. "Can't you just give up?"

"I'm not the type to give up." She spat blood from her mouth and straightened to intercept Ice's next attack. It came in the form of a sharp icicle that could have speared Icepetal straight through the head if she hadn't thrown herself to the ground. Instead thudded into a tree behind her. The next one sliced into her back. Crying out she stumbled, foreleg bending at an awkward angle as she frantically tried to regain her footing. Looking up she expected to see her death hurtling towards her but all she saw was Wind blow Ice over.

"If I were you," Earth rumbled beside her, "I would remain where you are."

"This is getting ridiculous," Wind was scolding Ice, "now who's behaving like a kit? Stay there. If I see you make any attempt to continue this stupid fight I'll get Earth to tie you down."

She stepped away from Ice and headed towards Icepetal, face pulled into a curious expression. "Do me a favour, Clan cat, and lie on your side."

"Uh, why?" Icepetal was thoroughly confused now.

"You've gotten fatter since I last saw you and I'm curious. Lie down or I'll make you." Wind poked her in the side with a claw. "Hurry up I haven't got all day."

Following Wind's instruction Icepetal stretched out on her side, head raised to watch the Elemental press her ear against her stomach. Did it look bigger? It wasn't like she was over-eating, it was leaf bare, there was hardly enough prey to keep Shiverlight and her kits satisfied. Squinting at her belly Icepetal could see that it was a little on the plump side. Odd.

Wind stiffened abruptly and made a noise of dissatisfaction. "You're not killing her, Ice. Not right now."

"No way," Cyrith breathed, staring at Icepetal's stomach with wonder.

"What?" Icepetal snapped, "what are you going on about?"

Ice snarked, "explain yourself, Wind. She's a Clan cat, why can't I kill her?"

"She is expecting kits."

"I'm what?" Icepetal exclaimed and was ignored.

"Why does that stop me killing her? If I do I'm stopping even more Clan cats from being born! That's what we want, isn't it?" Ice seethed.

Wind lashed her tail. "I might have murdered living kits before but I refuse to stand by and watch you kill unborn ones. That is where I draw the line. Murdering unborn kits is an awful thing to do."

"Do you expect me to wait till they are born before I kill her? What happens to the kits then? Do I get to kill them too? That's rather cruel, don't you think?" Ice snorted.

"No, you will not kill the kits the moment they are born. They will be returned to the other Clanners where they can die with them. This is not something you can argue against, Ice," Wind replied.

Ice curled her lip clearly angry. "What do the rest of you think?"

"Killing kits still in their mother's stomach just seems...wrong," Cyrith shivered.

Earth nodded, "unborn life should be given the chance to live."

"I can't believe this. The most powerful creatures in the world brought low and made weak by a few unborn kittens. Ridiculous," Ice spat. "Weaklings. Fine, have it your way. She will be kept alive until she gives birth to the little monsters and then she will die. You three will be responsible for looking after her, I won't have anything to do with her until I slit her throat. She better not escape or I will go up into the mountains and kill her."

"Hang on," Icepetal sputtered, "don't I get a say in this? They are my kits." Pregnant she couldn't believe it. There were tiny lives growing inside her. She eyed her stomach dubiously. Just how many were there? They had saved her life, for the next few moons any way.

"It's either die now or die later," Cyrith pointed out. "Wouldn't you like your kits to live a little before they die?"

Wouldn't it be fairer on the kits for them to die now and not feel a thing? It was selfish, but she wanted to see them with her own eyes. Would they look like her or Willowclaw? She froze, and blinked rapidly. They were Willowclaw's kits, she was sure of it. She was having his kits and she'd told him she didn't love him. Oh no.

"It's decided then," Wind glared at Ice. "She has until her kits are born."

an: my laptop broke and I had to write this up on my ipad. so if there's any stupid mistakes or missing punctuation, that's why.