Chapter 30: FearClan

Ever so slowly, the leaves fell, branches clattered, prey became scarce. The half moon was approaching as well as the upcoming leafbare. Lion was bringing back a mouse from her hunts, looking around before hearing the commotion back in camp. She had gone hunting while Hawk stayed behind to advise young Willow. Twitching her ears, she padded into the camp, her amber eyes locking onto her den where crushed and clawed plants lay.

Her heart fell, they had been so close to being prepared! Lion dropped her prey as Willow shot out with Hawk close behind. Agitation sparked in her pale green eyes as she glared back to the den, hissing. "How dare you!"

"What's going on?" Lion called out, her mew sounding as bewildered as she felt.

Shadow came out, rage glittering in his eyes as his lips peeled back in a snarl. "Hawk has been stashing useless plants!"

At that, the creamy brown rouge leader was on her paws, growling. "Plants!? You're supposed to bring back prey, not inedible plants!"

Hawk rounded on the rogue leader, "They're important for the kits! It'll keep them alive and healthy!"

"Like their mother?" Heather snapped, arching her back. "You are to hunt and advise Willow, if you cannot follow simple instructions than why are you even advising him?"

Lion blinked, feeling lost, but worried. She padded up to Heather, "Hawk had plants in there?"

She could feel the look of betrayal, but she ignored it in favor of appearing slow-witted and innocent. Especially when Shadow glanced at her in shock. "How can you not know? The den reeks of it!"

"I thought she just wanted it to smell better." Lion mewed innocently, "I honestly didn't think twice on why she collected them. She was hunting well, so I thought it was okay."

Heather seemed to simmer down, snorting. "Hawk go back to your duties. Lion, come with me."

Lion twitched her whiskers, feeling uneasy. "May I ask what for?"

"I have a mission I need to tell you of. You will take part in it and it cannot wait any longer." Heather replied, her honey-colored eyes glaring at her. "I am still picking cats for this mission, but I am considering you above Hawk and Dusk. Now, with me for the privacy."

Lion nodded, "Right, let me go place my prey in the pile and I'll get to you."

"No need." Heather growled, looking to Shadow, "Fetch the prey Lion left behind on the ground. We will talk later on what to do with Hawk after her advising duties."

The black tabby lashed his tail, but followed the orders without a complaint. Lion shot an apologetic glance to Hawk, but the she-cat wasn't meeting her gaze. Her only true friend had been hurt by her actions. Slowly, she padded after the rouge leader, worried that they may not have much longer to get to the half moon meeting place for more information.

Heather led the way to the willow tree, climbing onto a gnarled root and leaping onto another and behind it, out of sight. Lion swallowed dryly before following, hesitating to judge the distance before leaping again, back paws scrambling to haul herself to the other side. Amber eyes wide as she dropped onto soft grass and soil.

"So what is the mission I might go on?" Lion mewed, keeping her voice level.

The creamy brown she-cat blinked slowly, her white fore paws placed together in a dainty manner. "The clan-cats have a much larger group then our own. They have kits to fill their ranks, something we cannot even bother with. As such, we must find another fragment of our past."

"Fragment?" Lion mewed softly, the fur on her shoulders rising. "You mean BloodClan, don't you? That horrible group of cats you left behind for a reason?"

Heather shook her head, "There are many fragments of BloodClan. Some still reside in the Twoleg Place. As such, we need to send a small patrol there to find their traces and enlist them into our cause. BloodClan was once a powerful group who was feared by many. Those clan-cats had thwarted them and broke them apart over and over. The fragments left behind became their own way of life."

"You truly believe a fragment of them will be able to defeat the clan-cats?" Lion asked, her mew dark with uncertainty.

Heather looked to her paws, "It's the only way. We left our roots to prove that we didn't have to become clan-cats. Now, we know we should have never left the way of life we had before. Times have changed and with a tom to be our leader, I need to remind them of their roots."

"Like a tree branch, you have tried to lead a path away from the trunk, but you keep going back like everything had changed." the reddish-brown she-cat meowed scathingly. "Whatever, it's your decision."

The rogue leader looked away, her eyes flashing with anger. "Quite. Well, I'm still looking over each cat to see who will be best to be on this expedition to save FearClan from falling apart due to those mouse-hearts."

"May it go as you wish for it to then." Lion replied, turning away, "May I go back to my duties, I might have to clean up the mess Shadow left behind."

"Very well, go on ahead. I have cats to consider and to consult Shadow for a proper punishment for Hawk."

Swiftly, she turned, scaling back up the roots to sit on the highest one. The wind tugged her her fur, cold penetrating through her thickening fur and piercing her skin. She shivered, knowing leafbare wasn't that far away. She bounded her way down, half slithering the last few tail lengths to reach solid ground.

Looking to her den, crushed plants lay on the outside, their healing juices leaking onto the ground. Quietly, she lipped inside the den, their nests had been ruined. Anger seeped into her all over again. Rage flowed through her limbs, the desire to end the cycle of becoming a victim was making her tremble as she struggled to calm herself. The most pitiful of all, was Hawk curled up in the corner of the den.

"I have failed you." Lion growled, looking away as hot shame flowed over her. "Hawk, I only said what I said to not be punished."

"So I have to be punished alone?" Hawk mewed softly, sounding broken.

Lion looked up, rage pouring out of her in an instant. "This half moon we are hunting at night. Do not forget that, Hawk."

"It's too late." the former medicine cat murmured. "It's far too late."

"Then let them suffer!" Lion snapped, "We can make a stash outside of camp."

"We can't. It wouldn't be protected enough and we will loose a lot to frost." Hawk whispered.

"Then they aren't meant to survive." she growled, pulling the nests back together. "After this half moon I might not even be here. Heather wants to send a small group of cats to bring more here."

"So I am to be all alone in this."

"Unfortunately, but I will do what I can. Even if it costs my life. Those kits are doomed no matter how we look at it." Lion told her, "We can only do what we can now and let nature take it's course. Whether your belief says it's wrong or not, it is not everyone else's problem. You must understand that, Hawk. Only you believe in those spirit-cats here. Only you have the knowledge to save them, if they can't see it, then why bother trying to change the fates as it should be?"

"StarClan told me to protect Willow." Hawk answered her softly. "Of all the kits, I will keep him alive. No matter how much pain I must go through. That much, you should come to accept by now of my beliefs."

Lion was silent, the wind howled outside of their den, shuddering the walls around them. Looking down, she knew. They had very different paths to walk. Even together, they seemed to be so alone in the end.