Yet another challenge for FallenClan.
What am I doing with my life.
Haha, anyways, this is the Nine Lives challenge and it will be featuring a character of mine named Flamestar.
He might sorta be in a bit of a future fic I have planned. (far future)
Alrighty, so, there are some suicidal thoughts in this but they don't last very long. I'll put a Trigger warning in the text before and after the thoughts so you can skip that part if you choose to. Also, there will be blood in this. So...yeah. If you don't like blood, then just don't read this. Also, there's a bit of gore towards the end. I don't know if it counts as gore but I'm just being careful.
ANYWAYS (when I finally get to the point lol),
Sit back and enjoy…
Nine Chances
Flamehawk padded quietly along the trail that led to the Moon Pool, his tail lightly brushing the grass as it flicked back and forth slowly. He stopped for a moment and looked behind him, giving his mother, Phoenix, a slightly nervous smile. His mate, Whitenose, stood next to her, giving him a reassuring gaze. Flamehawk felt a little more confident at their reassuring looks.
He took a deep breath and continued on along the trail, the Medicine Cat and his brother, Berryear.
"Are you nervous?" His brother asked, nudging him lightly.
"Yeah...who wouldn't be?" Flamehawk responded, shuddering a little at the thought of becoming leader of RiverClan. The ginger tom just knew that he would never be as great a leader as Graystar…
"It'll be fine, Flamehawk." Berryear responded, giving him yet another reassuring smile.
"And how would you know that?" Flamehawk shot back. When he got nervous...boy, did he get irritated.
"I don't know that," Berryear let out an exasperated sigh. "I was just trying to comfort you."
"I know, I know," Flamehawk muttered. "Sorry. As I said, I'm just nervous."
"Hey, it's okay, I get it." Berryear responded. "Anyways, we're almost here…"
Flamehawk lifted his head after looking at the ground and gasped at the sight of the faint glowing he saw coming from a cave. Just the light...it was beautiful…
Berryear smirked at his reaction. "Pretty, ey?"
Flamehawk nodded and followed his brother, his paws slipping into the paw prints made by countless generations of Medicine cats and Leaders. He was breathless when he saw the Moon Pool.
Great StarClan… He thought, in complete awe. It's beautiful…
The icy blue water reflected the moon above, the light shining down from a hole in the roof of the cave. Flamehawk slowly padded towards it, his eyes locked on the clear blue water.
"Touch your nose to it," Berryear instructed. "And then close your eyes."
Flamehawk crouched down beside the pool, touching his nose to the water and closing his eyes. He shuddered when he felt an icy chill shiver down his spine, almost making him jump back in shock. A moment later, the darkness became more...whole, is a way you could put it. Flamehawk couldn't hear, feel, or smell anything. He was completely unconscious. But then…a faint light started to grow brighter and brighter before him, illuminating a beautiful field in front of him. Flamehawk looked down and saw that he was standing on what looked like a sandy beach.
He started towards the field and was about to step into the grass, but he felt an invisible wall blocking him from doing so. Flamehawk frowned and looked around the field, wondering what was going on. Is this normal? He thought anxiously, pacing back and forth, trying to enter the field from slightly different locations. It didn't work.
Then he saw him.
"Graystar?!" Flamehawk exclaimed, seeing the gray tabby she-cat padding towards him. She looked a lot better than she did when she died.
"Hello, Flamehawk." Graystar responded and dipped her head, her voice as soft and mysterious as it was in life.
Flamehawk dipped his head in return. "I...uh...you look great!" He said, unsure of what to say. Graystar let out a little laugh.
"That's what StarClan does to you," she responded, padding closer to him. Somehow she wasn't blocked by the invisible barrier and was able to easily cross over to the sand. "I've been told that you're here for your Leader ceremony."
"That'd be right," Flamehawk nodded, starting to feel like ants were crawling through his pelt.
Suddenly, eight more cats shimmered into view in the field and Flamehawk narrowed his eyes. What's so special about that darn field anyways?
"Let's get started." Graystar said, her eyes flashing from blue to green for a few moments. Flamehawk wondered why that happened...Eh, it's probably nothing.
"Flamehawk, with this life, I give you strength." Graystar said regally. "Use it well to defend your Clan."
Graystar touched her nose to Flamehawk's forehead and he felt a surge of powerful energy coursing through his body, making him let out a surprised gasp. When Graystar pulled away, the feeling faded. But not entirely. Some of the power still lingered, and Flamehawk knew that now it was part of him.
Graystar stepped away and a new cat, one that Flamehawk barely recognized, padded over.
"Oceanstar?" Flamehawk gasped and dipped his head until it was almost touching the ground.
Oceanstar rolled his eyes. "As you were," he muttered and Flamehawk regained his upright position.
"Sir...it is an honor…" Flamehawk said, almost breathless at the sight of the powerful blue-gray tom.
"Don't call me 'sir'." Oceanstar huffed. "It's too formal. Just call me Oceanus."
"Yes sir, I mean...uh...Oceanus…" It felt strange to call such a powerful cat by his previous name, but he was just following orders.
"Anways, with this life, I give you courage." Oceanus said boldly, looking down at Flamehawk. "Use it when no one else feels brave enough to stand and fight for what is right."
Flamehawk felt Oceanus touch his nose to his forehead and felt braver and more determined than ever. He felt like he could take on a whole battle patrol by himself and defend his clan, or even take out a few badgers on his own. Oceanus pulled away and stepped back.
A new cat Flamestar had seen a few times before, Nightshard, stepped forward. She was one of the cats who'd saved the Clans a few moons ago, and died while doing so. Flamestar dipped his head repectfully.
"Hello, Flamehawk." Nightshard said, her voice as cold in death as it was in life.
"Greetings, Nightshard." Flamehawk said, dipping his head respectfully once again. He'd already learned the hard way that Nightshard was not a cat to be messed with…
"Let's get this over with," she sighed and stepped closer to him, touching her nose to his forehead. "With this life, I give you curiosity. Don't be afraid to discover new things…"
Flamestar nodded as she stepped back into the field and sighed a little. This was already getting a little tiring. Another cat stepped forward, and he recognized her as Earthpaw, also known as Terra. Flamehawk smiled a the little she-cat. She'd died when she was fairly young so she was still pretty small.
"Hi Flamehawk!" She said happily.
"Hey, Terra." Flamehawk said, crouching down so that Terra could touch her nose to his forehead.
"With this life, I give you determination." The little she-cat said. "When no one else can fight anymore, have the motivation to keep going."
Flamehawk smiled at her once again as she padded back into the field, stopping by her father, Oceanstar. Another cat stepped forward. It was Icestorm, one of his mother's friends. The white tom touched his nose to Flamehawk's forehead.
"With this life I give you faith," he announced boldly. "Use it when it seems all hope in your ancestors is lost."
After a few more lives- forgiveness, friendship, instincts and protection- Flamehawk was exhausted.
"Is...is it over yet?" He mumbled sleepily. Graystar let out a small laugh.
"Not yet," she shook her head. "But soon. There is still one life you have yet to recieve. And it's from someone who really misses you."
Flamehawk looked confused. Who in the world would miss him? He saw an unfamiliar gray tabby tom with handsome green eyes walking towards him. Flamehawk froze. Who was this?
"Flamehawk," the tom said as he walked closer. "Do you...do you remember me?"
"Uh..no...sorry, I haven't ever seen you before." Flamehawk responded, almost stepping away. But something told him to stay put. So he did.
"My name is Grasseyes, I'm sure your mother has told you about me." The tom said. Flamehawk recognized that name.
"Wait...so you're telling me...that you're my…" Flamehawk hesitated.
"Yes, son, I'm your father." Grasseyes nodded. Flamehawk ran forward and embraced his father, wrapping his forelegs around him in a hug. He heard his dad purring and he started to purr too.
"It's really you…" Flamehawk whispered. He pulled away after a few moments of hugging. "Mom said that you died in battle. Is that...true?"
Grasseyes nodded. "I died defending RiverClan. I wish I could say that I was happy to fulfill my dream...of dying for my clan...but it was too soon."
Flamehawk nodded. "Yeah…"
"Unfortunately, there isn't much time to chat." Grasseyes said. "The sun is rising…" he gestured towards field, which was starting to fade away as the sun started to rise into the sky.
Flamehawk nodded again. "It was good to meet you," he said. Grasseyes nodded and touched his nose to Flamehawk's forehead.
"With this life, I give you hope." Grasseyes said. "Use it well when you can't find the light."
Flamehawk nodded and his father stepped back into the field, joining the rest of the group from FallenClan. Graystar stepped forward again.
"I hail you by your new name, Flamestar." She said. "Your old life is no more. You have now recieved the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of RiverClan. Defend it well; care for the younger and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the Warrior Code; live each life with pride and dignity."
Flamehawk, Flamestar, smiled as the group chanted his new name. He felt powerful, but also worried. Would he be able to lead RiverClan as well as Graystar had? The former leader of RiverClan seemed to sense his doubt, and gave him a soft smile.
"Don't worry, you'll do great." She said. "If I didn't think that then I wouldn't have made you deputy."
"I hope you're right," Flamestar responded. "Um...I have a question."
"Ask." Graystar said, turning away for a moment to return to the rest of the group in the field.
"What's with the field?" Flamestar questioned, tilting his head a little. "Why can't I go there?"
"Because the field is StarClan." Graystar answered. "Those who have proven themselves worthy by the time they die come here. You have not yet earned your place among the Stars with the rest of us. But I trust that you will soon enough."
Flamestar nodded. "That makes sense," he said. "I promise that I will be the best leader I can be."
Graystar smiled. "Good," she said. "Now, the sun has almost risen, it is time for you to return to the land of the living."
Flamestar looked around, and saw that the field, along with everyone but Graystar, had faded.
"Lead your Clan well, Flamestar." Graystar said as she faded away. Flamestar closed his eyes and when he opened them a moment later, he was back at the Moon Pool. He slowly stood up, stretching his legs, which were stiff after crouching down for so long. Flamestar shook out his pelt and turned around to face Berryear.
"Welcome back, Flamestar." Berryear said, smirking slightly.
After five moons of leadership, Flamestar was turning out to be a wonderful leader, not as great as Graystar, but pretty darn good. RiverClan was thriving under his leadership, even though it was the middle of Leaf-Fall. There had been no border disputes and RiverClan was at peace with the other three Clans.
Until today.
Flamestar padded by his mother, the rest of the border patrol behind them. He walked through the grass, glad that today was another peaceful day. But then he heard voices up ahead. He froze.
Flamestar turned around to face his Warriors. "Stay here," he whispered, not wanting to alert whoever might be trespassing on his territory. Flamestar crouched down and crept towards a bush, hiding behind it as he gazed at the ThunderClan border, his eyes narrowed. Flamestar started to growl when he saw that a ThunderClan patrol was trying to hunt on RiverClan territory.
The red tom stepped out from behind the bush and glared at the ThunderClan leader, who was at the head of the patrol and had already caught three mice.
"Foreststar!" He shouted, trying to seem as threatening and bold as possible. But inside, Flamestar was worried. He'd never had to fight another Clan as leader before...what if he screwed up and ended up getting half the Clan killed?
Foreststar's head lifted from where he was sniffing the ground for any sign of prey and his focused expression turned to a scowl. "Flamestar!" He shouted back. "I'm afraid you are trespassing on ThunderClan territory."
Flamestar narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, ThunderClan territory?!" He growled, starting to feel quite enraged. "This is RiverClan territory!"
"Check again, allmighty Flamestar." Foreststar smirked. Flamestar scented the air and realized that ThunderClan had moved the scent markers into RiverClan territory! Flamestar started to growl even louder.
"Foreststar…" He said as calmly as possible. "I suggest that you move your borders back to where they're supposed to be or I will make you do so."
Foreststar snorted. "What do you think you and your little Clan of yellow bellied fish eaters."
Flamestar was furious. How dare Foreststar insult RiverClan like that! "You're going to pay for that!"
"Oh really?" Foreststar smirked. "You and what army?" Flamestar groaned as a group the size of three more border patrols appeared behind Foreststar.
"Come on man, do we really have to do this now?" Flamestar sighed. "You could just give us our land back instead of dying trying to take something that isn't yours."
Foreststar thought about it for a moment. "Hm...I'll say...no." He responded. Within the next few moments, Flamestar had half of ThunderClan charging at him. Good thing he had backup. Flamestar turned around and ran back to the group, stopping when he was beside his mother and turning back around to face the ThunderClan leader and his Warriors.
Flamestar looked behind him, "Marshpaw, go back to camp and get help," He ordered. The blue-gray apprentice nodded and ran away in the direction of camp. Flamestar turned back to the horde coming at them. He shared a glance with Phoenix, and then began running towards the ThunderClan horde, the rest of the patrol following behind him.
Flamestar came face to face with Foreststar almost immediately and hissed at him threateningly. Foreststar struck out at him with unsheathed claws and Flamestar doged him, running to his side and starting to claw it. He smirked when he heard Foreststar let out a screech of pain. Flamestar let out a furious snarl with Foreststar turned around and landed a blow on his cheek, drawing blood with his sharp claws.
Flamestar didn't hesitate to bite down hard on Foreststar's tail, which was thankfully close enough to him so he could grab it. Foreststar clawed Flamestar's muzzle trying to free himself from the other tom's grasp. Flamestar let go and leapt at Foreststar, landing on his back and clawing it viciously.
Foreststar fell to the ground and rolled over, crushing Flamestar with his weight. Flamestar tried to push him off, but he just wasn't strong enough. The red tom was beginning to suffocate. His lungs felt like they were being crushed together as he gasped for air, trying to find someway to get Foreststar off of him.
Suddenly, the other tom's weight was removed and Flamestar struggled to his paws, grateful to whoever had freed him. He looked up from the ground and saw that Marshpaw had returned with more Warriors. The RiverClan battle patrol was now as big as the ThunderClan group. Flamestar saw Foreststar now battling Phoenix and he knew that the ThunderClan leader would not win that fight. He looked around and his heart sunk when he saw that even more ThunderClan cats were racing towards them.
"They must have the whole camp here," Flamestar muttered to himself. He was suddenly being attacked by two powerful ThunderClan Warriors, who he soon realized was actually WindClan. Foreststar must've convinced Spiderstar to help them try to take RiverClan's territory. Flamestar tried his best to fend off the two WindClan Warriors attacking him, but he was already tired and light headed from his fight with Foreststar.
After a few more minutes of being beaten up by the WindClan Warriors, Flamestar fell to the ground, bleeding heavily from a wound in his side. He barely saw the looks of shame on the Warriors' faces when they realized what they had done before they ran away from him to fight someone else. Flamestar felt his grasp on life slipping away...and slowly, he closed his eyes.
Flamestar opened his eyes and looked around. He couldn't feel...anything. No pain, no blood, no light headedness. Just...nothing. He realized that he was back on the bridge to StarClan, standing in the sand as he gazed at the field. Flamestar saw Graystar walking towards him, and he dipped his head.
"Am I...dead?" He asked hesitantly, looking into her eyes. Graystar nodded and pointed to a figured below them, laying in the grass with a few Warriors standing around them. Flamestar realized that it was him laying on the grass and he shuddered. It felt creepy to see his own body bleeding out and staining the once green grass red.
"Your body is in the process of losing a life." Graystar explained. "Once we heal you, you can go back."
"And how long will that take?" Flamestar questioned, feeling the need to help his Warriors defeat the opposing side in the battle.
"Not too much time." Graystar reassured him. Flamestar huffed and sat down, curling his tail around his paws and waiting.
After a few moments, he felt a tugging feeling, like something was summoning him back to the waking world.
"You may leave now," Graystar said and Flamestar closed his eyes, feeling himself transfer back into his body.
He opened his eyes again and stood up, smiling at the relieved faces of his Warriors.
"Uh...you're back!" Alderleap exclaimed. Flamestar nodded and gestured towards the battle.
"Let's go," he said, running back into the flurry of claws and teeth. Flamestar stopped in the direct center of the battle and his heart sunk once more when he saw that RiverClan was losing. A moment later, Phoenix was by his side.
"We're not going to win this!" Flamestar sighed, looking at his mother for some sort of advice. The red she-cat sighed a little, sitting down. Flamestar knew what she was thinking. "No. No no no no no no NO! You're not going to use the last of your powers to defend RiverClan, I can't ask you to do that."
"You don't have to ask." Phoenix responded, looking at her son. "I'm old, Flamestar. My friends have moved on and there is no reason for me to stay. I've never done anything right in my life, just give me this."
Flamestar blinked back tears. "No," he said forcefully. "I refuse to let you go through with this."
Phoenix licked his forehead comfortingly. "I've taught you all that I can, and it's time for me to move on as well."
"But I don't want to lose you!" Flamestar cried.
"You won't lose me," Phoenix shook her head. "I'll always be with you...watching you...protecting you…"
Flamestar sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to be able to change her mind. He stood up and looked around, then yowled, "RIVERCLAN! RETREAT!" And he started running. He ran like there was no tomorrow. Because if he didn't, there would be no tomorrow for him. Flamestar made sure that everyone who was still living had gotten back to camp. He felt a tear slipping down his face when he heard an explosion coming from the direction of the battle.
It had been a moon since Phoenix had used the last of her powers to save RiverClan from ThunderClan and WindClan. Flamestar had been trying his best to lead the Clan as well as he did before, and he somehow managed it, with the help of his deputy and his mate. Foreststar and many of his Warriors had died along with half of the WindClan patrol that had helped attack RiverClan. So now ThunderClan had a new, smarter leader named Featherstar. She was very wise and made peace with RiverClan almost immediately after recieving her name and nine lives.
Flamestar was now on a border patrol with a few Warriors, feeling a lot better than he had for the past few days. Thankfully, it was pretty quiet today and nobody was trying to steal RiverClan territory anymore.
"Lovely day, isn't it?" A gray Warrior named Palefoot asked Flamestar, walking up beside him.
Flamestar nodded in agreement. "It sure is," he said, looking up at the sky.
"How's Whitenose doing?" Palefoot questioned, a grin on her face.
"She's...fine…" Flamestar said, a little confused as to why Palefoot was asking. "Why do you ask?"
"Don't you know?" Palefoot tilted her head and furrowed her brow.
"Know what?" Flamestar huffed.
"She's expecting kits!" Palefoot exclaimed, smiling widely at Flamestar. The red leader froze, staring at the gray Warrior with a shocked expression.
"She's what?" He hissed, feeling extremely surprised.
"She's expecting kits." Palefoot repeated. Flamestar started to smile, his tail tip flicking back and forth happily.
"Well let's get this patrol done with so that I can go see her." He said and started to walk faster than he had before, hastily marking the borders. When the borders were marked, Flamestar began to speed walk back to camp, unable to keep himself from smiling. StarClan, Whitenose was expecting his kits! He was so happy and excited to be a father.
I just wish that Phoenix was here too… He thought with a sigh and slowed down for a moment before continuing on at a slightly slower pace.
Then Flamestar scented something and he froze, raising his tail to signal the Warriors behind him to stop walking. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, hoping that the scent was stale… He really didn't want to deal with foxes today.
"Do you guys smell that?" He asked quietly, turning around to face the rest of the patrol. A few cats nodded. Great. Now I've gotta drive out a fox.
Flamestar cautiously turned back around and scanned the territory with his eyes, looking for any trace of a fox. As if on cue, two foxes lept out of the bushes and at the patrol. Flamestar let out an angry screech and ran towards one of the foxes that was reaching for Palefoot, scratching its muzzle violently.
The fox let out a yelp and turned to Flamestar, snapping at his ear. The red tom pulled away before teeth could meet flesh and hissed threateningly at the fox, arching his back and fluffing out his fur. The fox started to circle him and Flamestar made sure that the fox was within his eyesight at all times. He wasn't going to risk getting injured when he had kits on the way.
Suddenly, the fox leapt at him and before Flamestar could dodge it, the fox's teeth was in his scruff, shaking him around aggressively. Flamestar growled and lashed out at the fox with all his claws and he was shook, trying to claw it somehow. His claws caught the fox on the ear and it dropped him, trying to recover from the blow.
Flamestar lunged at it, starting to claw its side. He saw Palefoot begin to claw its other side. Soon the fox started to run away from the patrol. Flamestar looked around and he sighed when he saw that the other fox had pinned down Snowheart, trying to sink its teeth into the white tom's throat.
He raced forward but let out a shocked yowl when another fox appeared out of nowhere, pinning Flamestar down and sinking its teeth into his throat. Flamestar let out a yowl of surprise and agony, his vision starting to fade as he ble out from the new wound in his neck. He felt his life slipping out of reach and soon he blacked out.
Flamestar opened his eyes, groaning when he saw that he was back in- or outside- StarClan. Graystar was sitting in the field, grooming her fur.
"Talk about a surprise attack," she said with a little laugh. Flamestar rolled his eyes and sat down, waiting to be transferred back to his body before the fox did more damage. He looked down at let out a relieved sigh when he saw that the rest of the Warriors that were on the patrol were driving the foxes away from his body.
Flamestar was suddenly yanked back into the living world, letting out a gasp as he woke up and lept to his paws, looking around at the three foxes. Wait...three? I could have sworn that there were only two when I lost a life… He just shrugged it off and started to help his Warriors, fighting off the trio of foxes.
Everything was a blurr as Flamestar and the rest of the patrol attacked the foxes, driving them away from camp and out of the territory. It was like everything was on fast-forward as they fought. Flamestar let out a relieved sigh when they were gone and sat down, resting for a few moments. Then he realized that there was blood all over his fur, which had turned a darker shade of red.
The rest of the patrol looked at him worriedly before Flamestar collapsed on the ground, blacking out again. He gasped as he woke up in StarClan, letting out a loud, frustrated groan.
"TWO LIVES?!" He shouted. "TWO LIVES IN ONE DAY?!"
Graystar looked unimpressed with him. "Well maybe if you weren't so reckless then you wouldn't lose as many lives!" She retorted. Flamestar let out another groan at sat down, waiting impatiently to be brought back to life with only six lives remaining.
He felt another tug back to the living world and closed his eyes, feeling himself drift down from the border between StarClan and...whatever that dark area behind him was and back to his body. He opened his eyes and sat up, shaking out his pelt. Flamestar felt a little weak, he had to admit, and was thankful that Palefoot let him lean against her as they walked back to camp, all bleeding at least a little from the foxes.
Flamestar was immediately brought to the medicine den when they arrived back at camp. Berryear was about to treat his wounds but Flamestar stopped him.
"Take care of them first," he said, gesturing towards the other cats that were on the patrol. "I've got more lives to lose than they do."
Berryear nodded and began to take care of the others. Suddenly, Whitenose came running into the Medicine den, crouching down beside Flamestar and licking his muzzle.
"StarClan, I'm so glad you're okay!" She exclaimed. "I thought that you weren't going to come back!"
Flamestar smiled weakly. "Of course I would come back," he said. "I can't leave you behind when we've got kits on the way…"
Whitenose gasped. "How did you know?" She asked him, narrowing her eyes a little.
"Um...uh...Graystar told me…" Flamestar lied, not wanting Palefoot to get on Whitenose's bad side.
The pretty white she-cat sighed. "Well, she's right, I'm expecting kits." She said with a smile. Flamestar purred and nuzzled his mate. Then Berryear walked over to them, clearing his throat.
"Uh...Whitenose...if you don't mind…" He gestured towards the exit of the den. "I've gotta treat Flamestar's wounds."
Whitenose nodded and padded out of the den, but not before shooting a smile at Flamestar. He smiled back at her and then rested his head on his paws while Berryear treated his wounds.
The past two and a half moons had been pretty good for Flamestar. Whitenose had given birth to three healthy kits, a tom and two she-kits. Their names were Redkit, Firekit, and Shatteredkit. And they were absolutely perfect. Flamestar couldn't have asked for more wonderful kits.
Redkit had seemed a little scrawny at first, but she was turning out to be just perfect. Shatteredkit looked like he would be a good leader someday, too. He was already large for a kit his age. And Firekit was absolutely beautiful. Everyone that had already seen her had said the same about his firstborn daughter. With her sleek red fur that shone in the sunlight and her glowing green eyes…
Flamestar had to be honest, Firekit looked a lot like Phoenix. She was a little painful to look at, but he was glad that there was something in this world that made him think of his mother.
Anyways, it was a slightly dreary day. It'd been about a week since his kits were born and Flamestar had made sure that there were extra patrols out. He didn't want to take any chances of the other Clans hurting his children.
Flamestar sat on top of the Wet Rock, staring down at the camp. There was a small wind that blew through the camp occasionally, ruffling Flamestar's fur and making him shiver. He glanced at the Nursery and hoped that Whitenose and his kits were warm enough. Might as well check. He thought with a shrug and headed towards the Nursery, poking his head inside.
"Whitenose?" He said quietly, spotting his mate curled up around their kits. The pretty white she-cat lifted her head and gave Flamestar a tired smile.
"Come to check up on me again?" She asked him and moved her tail a little so he could see the kits. Flamestar beamed at the sight of the little furballs and moved closer so that he could nuzzle them all lovingly. Redkit let out a little squeak when he touched her and he chuckled a little.
"They're so adorable," he whispered sweetly. Whitenose nodded in agreement.
"Of course they are," she purred. "They look like you."
Flamestar smiled. "They look like you too," he said and nuzzled his mate. "There's no possible way that they couldn't be adorable. They opened their eyes yet?"
Whitenose shook her head. "No, not yet." She answered. "But I'm sure at least one of them will soon."
"I hope so," Flamestar said. Suddenly, he heard someone claling his name. "Well, I've gotta run, I'll see you later, love."
Whitenose nodded and Flamestar padded out of the Nursery to go on a quick patrol.
It was night by the time Flamestar got back. A couple of ShadowClan Apprentices had thought that it would be funny to try to fish in RiverClan's Territory. They'd been so scared and embarrassed when Flamestar had shown up with a few Warriors. And the look on Rainstar's face was priceless.
Flamestar yawned and padded towards his den, wanting to go to sleep almost immediately. But...he heard something coming from the Nursery. It was...sobbing...The red tom immediately froze and looked towards the tightly built den, narrowing his eyes and creeping towards the Nursery. He looked inside and his heart leapt into his throat when he saw Swifttail standing over Whitenose, who was bleeding from a wound in her cheek.
"NOW TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE!" Swifttail growled, raising his paw to strike Whitenose again.
Whitenose shook her head. "No! I'm never letting you get your claws on them!"
Flamestar saw that she was hiding the three kits with her tail and let out a small breath of relief. They didn't seem to be hurt at all. Flamestar froze again when he saw Swifttail about to kill Whitenose. He lept forward...but he was too late. Just before Flamestar pounced on Swifttail, he dug his claws into Whitenose's throat, ripping through it. The red leader dug his teeth into Swifttail's throat, only letting go when he heard the snap of his spine breaking.
Flamestar stood up and rushed over to Whitenose, tears forming in his eyes as she bled to death in front of him. He moved her tail a little and grabbed the kits, quickly handing Shatteredkit and Firekit to another queen, Snowflower. He was about to grab Redkit when he noticed that her eyes were open. She had light green and blue dichromatic eyes. Flamestar sighed and hoped that she didn't see what had happened.
He picked her up by the scruff and handed her over to Snowflower, who gasped when she finally looked at him. Flamestar furrowed his brow and looked down at his chest, realizing that he was covered in blood. Within a few seconds, Flamestar fell to the ground and darkness came over him.
He woke up in StarClan, Graystar standing in the field once again. "I guess I died." He sighed, looking at the former leader of RiverClan.
"Yep, you did." Graystar nodded.
"Do I have to go back?" He asked quietly. "Whitenose is dead…"
Graystar's gaze hardened. "Yes, you have to go back." She said firmly. "If you don't, who will lead RiverClan?"
Flamestar sighed again. "Fine. Send me back."
Beginning of TW
It had been three moons since Whitenose had died, and Flamestar had hardly come out of his den. He didn't want to be leader anymore. He didn't want to be a father anymore. Heck, he didn't even want to be alive anymore… It was just too much of a burden, knowing he failed to save his mate. But it'd be selfish to give up. He had kits to live for...even if they didn't know he was their father. Flamestar had chosen to keep it from Shatteredkit and Firekit that he was their father. He couldn't keep it from Redkit, though, since she'd seen him. It was hard for him to do...but it would keep his kits safe.
End of TW
Flamestar lifted his head a little when he saw his deputy, Fernflame, at the entrance of his den.
"Flamestar," she said quietly. "It's...almost time for the gathering…"
The red tom sighed heavily and slowly stood up. "Do you mind choosing who gets to go?" He asked.
"Already did, sir." Fernflame nodded. "Nettleeye, Palefoot, Iceflame…" Flamestar was half-listening as Fernflame listed off the names of some cats. When she was done, Flamestar snapped back to attention.
"Oh...uh...sounds good." He nodded. "Let's go."
Flamestar padded out of the den, blinking at the sunset, even though it wasn't really that bright. He'd just spent so long in his dark den that he wasn't used to hardly any light. He sighed and gathered the chosen Warriors together, heading out of camp and towards the island.
When they arrived, Flamestar took his place on the tree next to Featherstar, the ThunderClan leader. He dipped his head to her respectfully and she did the same. Soon after WindClan finally arrived, Featherstar called the Clans together.
"Let all Clans gather together for the gathering!" She said loudly, causing everyone to stop their conversations and pay attention to the four leaders. Flamestar held back a yawn as Spiderstar started to announce the names of the new Apprentices and Warriors in WindClan. Featherstar didn't have much to say but when they got to Rainstar...well, she wasn't very happy, for some reason. Flamestar was surprised when she turned to face him, of all cats, a hard glare on her face.
"RiverClan has been stealing ShadowClan's prey!" She hissed. Flamestar heard many cats gasp after she said that, and Flamestar narrowed his eyes.
"Excuse me?" He growled, glaring back at her. "Why would we do that? There are plenty of fish in the river and lake for us!"
"That's exactly why we're having this conversation." Rainstar rolled her eyes. "Why would you steal prey? Why did you do it? As you said, there are plenty of fish in the lake and river."
Flamestar sighed. "We didn't steal prey." He said firmly.
"Are you accusing me of lying?" Rainstar gasped dramatically. "There was RiverClan scent on the ShadowClan side of the border."
"It's true! I smelled it!" A voice from the group of ShadowClan cats shouted. Flamestar looked down at the Warriors and saw that WindClan was siding with ShadowClan while ThunderClan was jumping to RiverClan's defense as they argued.
"Careful...you'll break the truce…" Flamestar said.
"Who cares about the truce?" Rainstar growled. "What's StarClan gonna do? Zap us with lightning? I don't think so!"
As soon as Rainstar said that, the ShadowClan and WindClan Warriors lept at the other two Clans, locked in a battle of claws and teeth. Flamestar's eyes widened and he lept down from the tree to help his Warriors. He charged into the battle, pulling a black and white she-cat off Marshpaw and helping the young tom fend off a red WindClan Warrior.
When Marshpaw was fine on his own, Flamestar looked arounf for Rainstar. He spotted the ShadowClan leader standing over to the body of Iceflame, Whitenose's brother. Flamestar felt rage and fury forming inside of him, threatening to explode. The red tom raced towards Rainstar and lept at her, clawing her muzzle and the side of her face. She let out a screech of fury and tried to land a blow on Flamestar's shoulder, but he dodged her quickly and started to claw her side.
Flamestar smirked a little when he saw that he was beating Rainstar, but someone suddenly pulled him away from her. Flamestar felt claws digging into his shoulders as he was forced onto his back on the ground, struggling to get free. He let out a loud screech as Rainstar started to claw his belly. The only thing he saw after that was blood…
Then be blacked out, dying from blood loss. When Flamestar, opened his eyes again, he saw Graystar staring at him with a blank expression on her face.
"Rainstar broke the truce!" The red tom gasped. "Are you going to do anything about it?"
Graystar sat down and slowly shook her head. Flamestar stared at her, feeling completely shocked that she was just going to sit there and do nothing while cats died at what was supposed to be a peaceful gathering. A moment later, Flamestar was pulled back to his body. He woke up to see Rainstar had disappeared into the battle, leaving Flamestar alone.
He slowly got to his paws, looking around at the battle. There were too many WindClan and ShadowClan Warriors and not enough ThunderClan or RiverClan Warriors…How would they win this?
Flamestar felt hopeless. There was nothing he could do to save his Clan… He couldn't save his mate, he couldn't save his mother, and he could hardly even save himself. There was nothing that could be done.
He was giving up.
Flamestar slowly walked to the middle of the battle and sat down, staring at the ground. He barely flinched as WindClan and ShadowClan Warriors' claws dug into his flesh, blood starting to cover his fur. He looked up for a moment and saw the scared, hopeless faces of his Clan. He'd failed them, just like he'd failed everyone else. A moment later, he died again.
"FLAMESTAR!" He heard someone shout. Flamestar slowly opened his eyes to see an absolutely furious Graystar glaring at him.
"What do you want?" He muttered, staring at his paws.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Graystar growled, her gaze penetrating him soul and making him almost shiver.
"There's nothing I can do," Flamestar said hopelessly. "There's too many ShadowClan and WindClan cats...I'll never be able to defeat them…"
Graystar sighed heavily. "Flamestar, you don't have to do everything by yourself!" She exclaimed. "Yes, you won't be able to defeat them by yourself, but you have help!"
Flamestar realized that he was being an idiot. He kept thinking that he was supposed to bring his Clan to victory, but he was wrong. The whole Clan had to work together to defeat the enemy, or else they would never win. Flamestar straightened up, staring at Graystar right in the eyes.
"Send me back," he said firmly and closed his eyes, waiting to be brought back down to his body. A moment later he opened his eyes and was back in the heat of the battle. Flamestar stood up, feeling fierce and vicious after the short pep talk from Graystar. He looked around and saw Palefoot being attacked by two ShadowClan Warriors. He leapt towards them and grabbed the scruff of one of the Warriors, ripping them off of Palefoot and tossing them aside effortlessly.
Flamestar helped Palefoot with the other ShadowClan Warrior, clawing at their muzzle and eyes. Everything was a blurr as Flamestar ran around, helping RiverClan and ThunderClan fend off the opposing Clans. The battle was a flurry of teeth and claws and it seemed like Flamestar was on auto-pilot. His every move was swift and dangerous.
Soon, the fighting died down. Flamestar looked around, seeing the body of Rainstar. He sat and watched for a few moments, but she didn't move. She had lost her last life in the battle. Flamestar let out a heavy sigh.
"Let's go home, RiverClan." He announced and headed back to camp, his Warriors following him.
It had been twelve moons since the battle. Flamestar had discovered that his only remaining kit, Redfire, had powers. She could turn into an ice monster. Flamestar was extremely impressed and proud of his daughter. She'd also become a Warrior two moons ago and was one of the best fighters in the Clan.
The past twelve moons had been fairly peaceful. There hadn't been a single border disturbance since ShadowClan and WindClan's defeat. It seemed that all was well.
Until one night, when Flamestar was out on a moonlit walk with himself and his thoughts. He was thinking about Whitenose, remembering her wonderful laugh, her beautiful smile, and her kind personality. He missed her a lot, but he could keep going without her. He really had no choice, after all. But he was happy that she was most likely at peace in StarClan.
Then he heard a twig snap, and froze. He looked around at his surroundings, eyes narrowed, but didn't see anything. Flamestar just shrugged and figured that it was probably just an animal that had stepped on a twig. He continued on his way, admiring the moon that was high in the sky.
He heard another twig snap, and froze again. What was that? Flamestar sighed a little. Couldn't he just have a peaceful walk by himself with no interruptions? He looked around again, and suddenly heard an angry screech coming from behind him. He felt claws dig into his back and flip him over.
Flamestar gasped when he saw who his attacker was. It was his daughter!
"R-redfire?!" He gasped, staring up at her with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"
He fought the urge to look away as she went into her ice form, ice spikes forming on her tail and on her back.
He realized what she was here to do...Refire was going to kill him…
"Why are you doing this?!" Flamestar hissed at her and she hesitated. Flamestar's heart sunk when she didn't answer him and just mdug her claws into his shoulders. Flamestar let out a screech of paina nd tried to free himself from her grasp, but her claws just went deeper and deeper into him everytime he tried to move.
The next thing Flamestar knew, was that there were icicles impaling his body, blood pooling around him. Flamestar felt his vision go blurry and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He opened them again and looked to Graystar, who was staring at him with yet another blank expression.
A few moments passed, and Flamestar didn't feel any tug back to the living world. He furrowed his brow and looked at Graystar once more.
"Why aren't I going back?" He asked hesitantly. The former leader of RiverClan sighed.
"The damage done to your body is...too fatal for us to heal." She informed him and gestured towards the window to the living world. Flamestar watched as his body lost its remaining three lives, a large puddle of blood around him. He looked back at Graystar once again and sighed a little.
"Then I guess my time is up," he said quietly.
Graystar nodded and gestured for him to come into the field. "You've earned your place in StarClan." She said and dipped her head. Flamestar padded out of the sand and into the field, realizing how soft the bright green grass was. Everything was so...peaceful here. Flamestar looked around and smiled when he saw the familiar faces of his mother, mate, and deceased kits. He ran towards them, getting in on a group hug.
"I missed you guys," he said quietly, snuggling into his mate's fur and purring loudly.
"I missed you too, Flamestar." Whitenose purred, wrapping her tail around Flamestar.
He was at peace with his family. He was home in StarClan.
Word count: 7,612
Well. There's that.
That is officially the longest thing I have ever written.
Wow.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this and if you did I'd appreciate it if you leave a review. Really, they make my day.
-Phoenix