Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, warrior cats.
OceanBlueSeaEyes: I agree with you completely!
Shadowfur1017: Is that a bad thing?
Wyldclaw: I tried to make it as ominous as possible!
The Darkness Inside me: Thankyou! I love Deeppool too!
8Hollysplash8: Thankyou! I don't mind caps!
Burrfrost: thanks! That's cool! I'll PM you if I need names!
Guest: Sorry about cliffhangers, but they keep my readers interested! Thankyou! *also slaps Frostpaw*
Dovesong: okay!
Raindew: thanks!
Speckleflash: I felt exactly the same way! Hollyleaf was one of my favourite characters!
Thankyou to Raindew for being my 200th Reviewer!
The next few moons passed fairly peacefully in Hollystorm's mind; no battles, no drama, and, fortunately, no more killings. Unfortunately, that all stopped.
"Hollystorm? Can we go hunting?" questioned Pigeonpaw, hopping paw to paw restlessly, amber eyes gleaming with life. Hollystorm laughed, and heaved to her paws, shaking out her lengthy, thick fur and stretching her jaws in a yawn.
"I'll ask Squirrelflight if I can lead a patrol." She meowed, before bounding over to the highledge, which Bramblestar and the deputy were sitting, tails twined. The dusky warrior grinned inwardly, and gave a short, sharp cough to alert the two cats of her presence. Squirrelflight looked up, green eyes flickering in surprise.
"What can I do for you, Hollystorm?" she asked, regaining her composure and organising herself into a more dignified sitting position.
"Could I take a hunting patrol out?" the warrior asked, gesturing towards the fresh-kill pile, which had dwindled to a tiny heap consisting of only two mice and a pigeon. Squirrelflight nodded distractedly, and turned back to Bramblestar, flicking her tail in dismissal.
"Brackenfur, Berrynose, Pigeonpaw, Thornclaw and Frostpaw! Hunting patrol!" Hollystorm wanted to keep the young white she-cat in her sight, but she still regretted having to patrol with her: she was a dreadful show-off. All the cats whose names had been called began to assemble by the camp entrance, and, upon Hollystorm's word, they raced into the forest, paws skimming over the forest floor. Once they were a little way from camp, Hollystorm halted the group with a swish of her tail. There was a frosty chill in the air which seemed to herald the arrival of leaf-bare, and the ground was already littered with brittle, dry leaves, so the black warrior tried to form a successful hunting strategy in her head.
"Because the leaves are so loud, a group of cats hunting would disturb the prey, so I think we should split up." She announced, looking over the patrol to see if they approved.
"Sounds good to me." Finalised Brackenfur, before dipping his head in farewell and plunging into the undergrowth. The group scattered, and Hollystorm was left alone in the clearing. She raised her nose to the sky, and cast about for a scent, eyes lighting up as she caught a scent trail for a squirrel. She dropped into a crouch, catching sight of the bushy-tailed creature, crouched amongst the tree roots. She slid forwards, pawsteps light so as not to disturb the crackling leaves. She was within a fox-length of her prize, when, suddenly, a scream echoed out into the forest, and the squirrel looked up wildly and darted up the tree to safety. Hollystorm cursed under her breath before racing into the forest in the direction of the scream. She burst through a barrier of undergrowth, and froze in horror.
Frostpaw stood over the limp body of Berrynose, blood splattered over her pure white fur. Her paw was covered in the red liquid, and the warrior in front of her had a deep gash sliced down his face, a jagged red line that split through his forehead, one eye, his nose and all the way down to his neck. But the most horrific thing in the whole scene was the look on Frostpaw's face; a cold, murderous smile that seemed to scream one single thing.
I killed, and I enjoyed it.
Suddenly, there was a shriek from behind Hollystorm, and she whirled around to see Brackenfur, a look of pure horror on his face. He glanced at the dead body of Berrynose, then whirled on Frostpaw, yowling,
"You murderer!" before launching himself at the young she-cat. Hollystorm half expected the white apprentice to be caught up in the whirlwind of Brackenfur's fury, but she stood, calm, relaxed, until the last second, where she swerved, ducked under the russet warrior's slashing claws and raised a paw, claws outstretched. Hollystorm screamed a warning, but it was too late. A look of extreme surprise and pain flashed across Brackenfur's vision as the vicious apprentice sliced her claws along the length of the warrior's stomach. An arc of blood scattered onto the ground, and the black warrior witnessing the event gave a shudder of pure fear as Brackenfur thudded to the ground, convulsed once, and lay still, blood still gushing from the wound in his stomach. Frostpaw looked up grimly, a smear of blood wiped down one side of her face, a look of icy delight in her eyes. She grinned at Hollystorm, whose eyes were stretched wide in a mixture of shock and terror. Her legs were shaking so badly that she could hardly stand, and the sickening stench of blood made her feel faint. Frostpaw fixed her with an icy stare, and hissed,
"Tell anyone, and it's Deeppool next."
Oh my great Starclan 201 reviews! THANKYOU SO MUCH! I'm so sorry that this chapter is so short, but I hope it's interesting! Review!
Storm!