Chapter 16

Buzzardpaw opened his eyes to the Dark Forest, the dim light from the green mushrooms filling the clearing he woke in with an eerie glow. Eaglepaw was sitting next to him, his ears perked as he gazed deeper into the forest. The ShadowClan tom turned his head to him, padding closer.

Buzzardpaw groaned inwardly. Ever since Spottedpaw had attacked him in the mucky river, Eaglepaw tried his hardest to stay as close as he possibly could to Buzzardpaw, speaking up if the spotted brown tom even looked at him funny. I know he's just looking out for me, but I can take care of myself! Spottedpaw just caught me off guard, that's all. This was somewhat true, though Buzzardpaw couldn't say that he was stronger than the RiverClan apprentice. After the water incident, Darkendstreak made a point to make Spottedpaw and Buzzardpaw duel against each other during battle training, with both toms being equally matched and unable to best the other. Spottedpaw had gotten real close the previous night, but Darkendstreak had stepped in before he could claim victory.

Buzzardpaw looked around the dark clearing, trying to catch any movement that signaled that she-cat was around. There was none, however, and Buzzardpaw relaxed.

"I went to your camp today." Eaglepaw mewed, idly licking his paw and drawing it over his ears.

Buzzardpaw perked. "Really? Why?"

"Rogues have been crossing in and out of our territory. They…" Eaglepaw trailed off, as if he wanted to say more, but was unsure.

Buzzardpaw tilted his head, thinking about his time at the barn. The rogues there seemed friendly enough, except those in the "leader's" area. His eyes widened in realization. It couldn't be Orion, could it? "What did they do?"

"They took a clanmate." Eaglepaw mewed at last, looking indecisive.

Buzzardpaw's eyes widened, almost looking like moons. "As a hostage?" Could Orion be capable of taking some cat hostage? Buzzardpaw shuddered at the thought. The dappled tom seemed carefree and nonchalant, not the type that would steal another cat. He narrowed his eyes, angry with himself. I knew I shouldn't have affiliated with the rogues.

Before Eaglepaw could answer, Darkenedstreak materialized in front of the two toms, her ears twitching. She had a thoughtful look on her face, and when her form finally became whole, Buzzardpaw noticed a long scratch on her flank that wasn't there before. Tilting his head, he blinked at her, and she blinked back.

"Sorry I'm late." She mewed after a moment of silence. "I was… handling something." Why does that sound so ominous?

Eaglepaw nodded at the she-cat, his eyes flashing. "What are we working on today?"

She answered his question by padding deeper into the forest. Buzzardpaw followed with Eaglepaw close by, so close that their pelts brushed. Spottedpaw had a habit of ambushing Buzzardpaw while he walked through the woods, and Eaglepaw had caught on quickly. Buzzardpaw was truly grateful for the other tom's concern, but couldn't push away the twinge of annoyance he felt every time Eaglepaw stepped in. He has good intentions, but it's embarrassing how he has to protect me all the time! Buzzardpaw nodded to himself. I have to get stronger! That way, Eaglepaw won't have to worry about me anymore.

The three cats emerged in a small clearing surrounded by towering trees. Buzzardpaw immediately recognized the area, groaning inwardly. Tree climbing. Without a word, the two apprentices began to haul themselves up the massive tree, its splintering bark digging into their paw pads. Feeling his chest tighten, Buzzarpaw's eyes widened in alarm and he leapt onto a sturdy looking branch. He couldn't see Darkenedstreak from here, but he knew she would want him to climb up higher, and readied himself to climb the tree's trunk again. Instead of being able to climb, Buzzardpaw began to cough loudly, his body shuddering with each sharp bark. Eaglepaw had stopped his climbing to look down at him, his eyes flashing with concern. Buzzardpaw waved him off with his tail, his coughing now just a quiet wheeze. The ShadowClan tom nodded and continued his trek up the tree, disappearing in the dark branches.

Digging his claws into his branch, Buzzardpaw steadied himself, catching his breath. He quickly realized that he wasn't alone. Something moved behind the tree's massive trunk, making the branches on the other side dip and sway. Buzzardpaw tilted his head, trying to get a look at what the disturbance was coming from. There's no prey here, right? Then what in StarClan's name could that be?

His question was shortly answered as a cat stepped into his view, their dark green eyes glowing as they stared at him. Buzzardpaw stared back, his eyes narrowing. Spottedpaw. The brown apprentice maneuvered himself around the tree trunk, placing his paws onto the branch that Buzzardpaw was sitting on. It dipped and swayed underneath his weight.

"Hello, Buzzardkit. You sick?" Spottedpaw mewed, his voice icy.

"No, I-"

"Oh, I don't really care to know." Spottedpaw rudely interrupted, his eyes glittering. "But say, that's a nice branch you've got there." He pushed his weight onto the branch, causing it to sag more. Buzzardpaw dug his claws in deeper, not knowing what Spottedpaw was going to do next. "Though, it seems it can't support the both of us. Maybe you should move."

Buzzardpaw glared at the RiverClan apprentice, baring his teeth at him. "I found this branch first, you'll have to go somewhere else."

Spottedpaw clicked his tongue a few times, shaking his head. "Tsk, I'm afraid that I cannot, Buzzy. I've been climbing this tree all night, and I really need a place to rest."

Buzzardpaw grunted, his tail lashing in annoyance. "Too bad. You'll have to climb up higher to find another branch, like Eaglepaw did."

Buzzardpaw noticed Spottedpaw bristling slightly, fighting to keep his voice calm. "But I really want this one. Please, Buzz-Buzz? I promise I won't mess with you anymore." His last statement came out as a purr, letting Buzzardpaw know that he was bluffing.

Buzzardpaw scoffed at him, lifting his chin. "Fat chance."

Spottedpaw's eyes flashed, and for a heartbeat, Buzzardpaw was sure he would strike him. He was surprised however, to hear Spottedpaw's calm mew. "Fine. Have it your way then." The RiverClan tom climbed back up the trunk of the tree, resting on a branch right above Buzzardpaw's. Buzzardpaw smirked, his chest puffed out in victory. His triumph was short lived however, as Spottedpaw had leapt down from the higher branch onto Buzzardpaw's, filling the silent forest with a loud, echoey crack.

Buzzardpaw yowled in fear as his branch began to plummet to the ground. He wasn't close enough to the tree's trunk to leap to safety like Spottedpaw, who was grasping the thick tree tightly as he watched Buzzardpaw's decent. Buzzardpaw flailed his claws around, trying to grab onto another branch as they raced past him. The ground was rushing up to meet him, and in one final attempt to save himself, Buzzardpaw flung out paws, barely grabbing onto a low hanging branch. His hind paws dangled in the air below him, scrabbling to grab a hold of the trunk. He clung onto the flimsy wood tightly, his back aching from the sharp twigs and splinters he crashed into as he fell. He was still high above the ground but could see Darkendstreak clearly, who was racing towards him with wide eyes.

"What in Tigerstar's name happened to you?" She yowled, coming closer to the tree.

Buzzardpaw swung his back paws, making the weak branch he was holding creak and groan. When he heard the branch snap, he used his momentum to launch himself at the tree trunk, quickly making his descent down to the soggy floor. His eyes were wide and fearful as he looked at his mentor.

"Spottedpaw… He purposefully made the branch I was sitting on fall!"

Darkendstreak's tail lashed angrily. "Oh, that foxheart!" She sniffed Buzzardpaw's body. "Are you hurt?"

Buzzardpaw shook his head, blinking the dizziness away. Though he was in a state of shock, he wasn't hurt badly and felt that he could continue training for the night. I have to prove myself! He tried to stop his body from trembling.

Darkendstreak gave a disbelieving grunt, but beckoned with her tail for him to follow anyways. "Come on then, we still have time. I'll collect Eaglepaw, you go to the training hollow."

Buzzardpaw nodded, his paws shaky. He eventually emerged in the clearing, a few cats battling along the outskirts. Buzzardpaw took in deep breaths, finally calming himself down. He rose as Darkendstreak appeared with Eaglepaw and Rippleclaw in tow. Buzzardpaw narrowed his eyes at the RiverClan warrior. The blue colored tom met his gaze, a small smirk on his face.

Darkendstreak approached him. "Rippleclaw will be your opponent for tonight. I expect this fight to go better than the last one." Her comment sounded more like a warning than encouragement.

Buzzardpaw and Rippleclaw faced each other closer to the edge of the clearing, their hackles raised. A small movement in the nearby undergrowth caught his attention, but he snapped back into focus at Darkendstreak's hiss.

"Ready? Begin!"

Buzzardpaw leapt at Rippleclaw, swiping his unsheathed claws at his head. The warrior dodged at the last second, lunging at him. Buzzardpaw was fast on his paws, whipping his body around to met Rippleclaw's face with his own head. Rippleclaw crumbled from the impact, hissing in agony as his face crunched against the apprentice's hard skull. Buzzardpaw winced from the attack as well, leaping back to regain his composure.

Buzzardpaw dashed at the stunned warrior again, feigning for his left but actually hitting his right flank, barely avoiding the warrior's jaws snapping for his throat. Buzzardpaw painted in shock, crouching down. He could have killed me! Rippleclaw glowered at him, his tail lashing angrily. Buzzardpaw bunched his muscles, leaping into the air as the RiverClan tom charged at him. He kicked Rippleclaw's cheek as he passed beneath him, earning a loud hiss from his opponent. Before he could retaliate, Buzzardpaw grasped Rippleclaw's hindquarters with his front paws, pinning his bottom half to the ground. He prepared to land a stinging bite to the tom's spine, but was stunned by a swift blow to his head. What the?

It was impossible for Rippleclaw to hit him in this position. Buzzardpaw whipped his head to the dense undergrowth, the dark fronds shivering as if something were hiding in them. Before Buzzardpaw could investigate, Rippleclaw came crashing down on him, grasping his scruff in his jaws. Buzzardpaw struggled under the warrior's strength, bucking and kicking in an attempt to dislodge him. Remembering a technique Darkendstreak had taught him, Buzzardpaw thrusted his rump into the warrior's belly, pushing his weight into his forepaws and throwing himself backwards. Rippleclaw fell onto his back from the force of the move, with Buzzardpaw resting on the blue tom's belly. Buzzardpaw quickly leapt off of the warrior and lifted his paw, bringing it crashing down onto the tom's soft chest fur. Before he could sink his claws in, a weight barreled into him at full force, throwing him off and pinning him. Buzzardpaw kicked his new attacker off and wrestled with him, coming face to face with none other than Spottedpaw.

The two apprentices slashed viciously at each other, blood and fur flying everywhere as they brawled. Buzzardpaw yelped as Spottedpaw grasped his neck fur in his jaws, sinking his teeth into the thick fluff. Buzzardpaw kicked feebly, trying his hardest to escape. He felt sharp blows to his belly, indicating that Rippleclaw was attacking him as well. They're both trying to kill me!

"Stop!" Darkendstreak's voice yowled, Rippleclaw's assault on his belly immediately ceasing. Spottedpaw however, only sunk his teeth in deeper, making blood gush as he had finally reached Buzzardpaw's neck. Buzzardpaw gasped in shock and pain, kicking the spotted tom as hard as he could. He felt the familiar tightening in his chest, leading to a loud fit of coughing and wheezing. Weakened by his coughing, Buzzardpaw gave up trying to get Spottedpaw off of him, his own blood soaking the RiverClan apprentice's pelt.

Suddenly, Spottedpaw flew across the clearing, thrown off by Eaglepaw. Buzzardpaw rolled onto his paws, still coughing, causing blood to spurt from his neck wound. It hurt badly, but he could tell it wasn't deep enough to be fatal. Thank Starclan!

Spottedpaw and Eaglepaw faced each other, the hackles raised and pelts bristling. Spottedpaw's teeth were stained with blood as he glared at the ShadowClan tom.

"Let me finish what I started!" Spottedpaw hissed, spitting blood out with each word.

"Over my dead body!" Eaglepaw growled, bunching his muscles. Spottedpaw lunged for him, but quickly twisted in the air, landing only a whisker length from Buzzardpaw. The spotted tom lifted his paw to land a stinging blow on him, but was thrown to the ground by Darkendstreak.

"I've had enough of this!" She hissed, her voice echoing through the forest. Her dark amber eyes glowed red, sending a shudder down Buzzardpaw's spine. Spottedpaw's aggressive demeanor changed into a more fearful one, and he dashed for the woods as quickly as his paws could take him. Just before he escaped, Darkendstreak faded away then reappeared on top of him, pinning him down. The spotted tom's emerald eyes shone with fear, and his eyes widened to the size of moons. Darkenedstreak grabbed his scruff roughly with her jaws, wrenching his head up and exposing his throat. She dangled her claws dangerously near the soft flesh, her shadowy claws reflecting the sickly green light. Spottedpaw's eyes grew impossibly wider, practically filling his entire face. Tears burst from his green optics, and his blood covered maw trembled fearfully. Darkenedstreak beckoned Buzzardpaw closer with her tail, and Buzzardpaw reluctantly shuffled towards them.

"Kill him." Darkenedstreak's mew was barely audible, though Buzzardpaw couldn't tell if it was from her mouthful of fur, or the blood rushing through his ears. She wants me to kill him? I can't do that!

"I…"

"Kill him." Darkendstreak repeated, her voice calm.

"I cant!"

Darkendstreak blinked at him, her red eyes looking too small for their sockets. The sight was extremely frightening, and Buzzardpaw began to tremble almost as much as Spottedpaw. "Think about all the times he's tried to hurt you, to kill you." She mewed, biting into the apprentices scruff harder. Blood began to well around her jaws. "Why is this any different? This is just revenge."

I don't want revenge! Buzzardpaw wanted to scream, but his jaws wouldn't move. His tongue felt too big for his mouth, and his paws felt like they were rooted to the spot. He wrenched his head to Rippleclaw, who was staring at him with a horrified expression. Eaglepaw's eyes were wide, but something glinted in them, as if he was wondering if Buzzardpaw was capable of doing it. I'm not! ...Am I?

Darkendstreak was still staring at him, her pupils turning into odd swirls. Her eyes spun around in her skull, making Buzzardpaw dizzy. She spoke again, though this time her mouth didn't move. "Kill him. Kill him. Kill him." Her voice in his head grew louder and louder, to the point where he couldn't bear it anymore. Spottedpaw stared at Buzzardpaw as he unwillingly inched towards him, the tears pouring from his eyes even faster. The brown and white apprentice's eyes pleaded with him, and Buzzardpaw regained control of his body for a heartbeat, sheathing his claws back into his pads. The unseen force was stronger though, and forced them back out, making him stand directly in front of Spottedpaw. As soon as the force came, it disappeared, and Buzzardpaw had regained control of his body again. He stared into Spottedpaw's eyes, who stared back at him pathetically. Without a word, Buzzardpaw sliced his claws across the apprentice's neck, breaking the skin and splattering blood over his paws and the forest floor.

Spottedpaw's enormous eyes widened in shock, a disgusting gurgling sound came from his throat as he tried to scream. Darkenedstreak let go of the apprentice's scruff, sending his head crashing to the bloody ground. Buzzardpaw stared at the jerking body before him with wide eyes, his vision becoming blurry with tears. What have I done? StarClan, what have I done!? Spottedpaw looked at him once more with weak eyes, an intense, burning hatred flashing in them momentarily. The apprentice's body began to fade, until nothing but his blood remained on the forest floor. A choking sound came from Rippleclaw, who then dashed into the forest, his tail between his legs. The bushes next to the area he had ran through vibrated suspiciously, and Buzzardpaw could have sworn he saw a pair of discolored eyes flashing through them, but he was too surprised to question it.

Buzzardpaw stared at his bloodied paws in shock, barely ignoring Darkenedstreak's quiet voice. "You've done it." She was saying. "You're one of us now."

"I… I didn't have to kill him." Buzzardpaw squeaked, his voice barely a whisper.

Darkenedstreak pressed her muzzle to his ear, her breath cold. "Oh, young, innocent Buzzardpaw, but you did. He was interfering with the prophecy, and we can't have anyone cause harm to our savior."

Eaglepaw had shuffled next to Buzzardpaw, his voice as quiet as his. "S-Savior?" The ShadowClan apprentice stammered. Buzzardpaw had never heard him sound so fearful before. He shuddered violently. I don't want to feel like this. I don't want to scare anycat.

Darkendstreak hummed. "Mhm. You two are destined for great things. You'll be legends." She paused. "The power of the prophecy is strong, but the power of kin is stronger. Your shared blood holds power more than any cat that has ever existed."

Buzzardpaw finally broke from his state of shock, lifting his head. "What?"

Darkenedstreak gazed at him, her now amber eyes warm. "You still don't know? Huh, I thought I had practically spelled it out for you." Buzzardpaw continued to stare at her in confusion, prompting a small chuckle from her. "You two are kin. Buzzardpaw, Eaglepaw is your brother."

What!?


Author's note:

The big reveal! Did you already figure it out, or was this a surprise to you as well? Let me know in the comments!

The next three chapters are VERY important to the plot. If you've been following along but havent favorited the story yet, make sure you do now! Chapters 17, 18, and 19 will be posted next Monday, Wednesday and Friday respectively.

Thanks for reading!

~MeltingPopsicles