Chapter 34

FearClan/Willow

All of his senses were muddled, he was vaguely aware of the pain when he cracked open his eyes. The din of a den of reeds surrounded him. Ant and Nettle flanking him protectively, their green eyes trained onto the entrance of the den. Soon the voices from outside of the den were reaching his ears. Angry meows making his head pound, it was an argument. A familiar one at that. Slowly with a groan of pain, he rose to his paws and carefully limped to see what was happening.

His sisters did nothing to stop him, only warning glances to remind him of his fragile spot in FearClan's hierarchy. A dark reminder that he had put everything on the line just to assert himself as a future leader despite being so young. It wasn't the brightest thing he had ever done, but he knew he had a right to know what was going to happen to him. He took short, but long breaths to steady himself from the pain.

In the clearing Heather was standing firm and squared up to a stranger-cat. They were a tom who was cream and white. His fur was smooth, his tail upright in a friendly position as his light-colored gaze was focused on the rouge-leader. The creamy brown she-cat lashed her tail, her fur bristling with fury and a rage that could hardly be contained.

"Who are you to question my authority?" She hissed, ears flattened to her skull.

The cream and white tom blinked coolly, unbothered by the display of aggression before him. "I am not questioning your authority, I am just requesting that for your future leader's safety, you should allow Hawksight to look after him."

"Hawksight, who?" Heather grumbled, her honey-colored eye locking onto the dark brown tabby she-cat furiously. "Is this tom talking about you, Hawk?"

Hawksight hesitated, nodding stiffly before trying to explain. "It is the name I was given before-"

"Silence, traitor!" Heather snarled, "I refuse to have your Clan-cat ways take over this camp anymore. You will no longer look after Willow, nor any other cat. When Pounce returns, I expect him to take charge in teaching you to be a true FearClan-cat!"

"FearClan sounds much too Clan-like." a tortoiseshell grumbled, her tail lashing. "What are they a wanna-be Clan?"

"As if!" Reed spoke up. "We are BloodClan-cats in our hearts!"

"Then why are you not arranged as so?" The cream and white tom asked, looking over the camp. "I understand that BloodClan was once fearsome and began by the late Scourge." At the mention of this, every cat turned their gaze upon the odd tom. He seemed unbothered as his frosty blue eyes raked over the gathered cats with another piece of their history. "Fury took hold as the next leader, her anger and rage leading us to a dark time of scattering. Then Snake and Ice did as well."

"We know the history of BloodClan and it's fragments." Heather snarled. "We began to fragment when the brothers, Snake and Ice, fell out of their brotherhood, causing the Separation into smaller groups."

"You know the history, yet you act like a band of rogues." the tom pointed out harshly. "Where is your honor in being a BloodClan-cat? Was it so awful that you had to leave the fragmented name behind? You could be a River Fragment of BloodClan, but you instead became FearClan."

"Our leader, Cedar, chose the name to separate us from our those traitorous cats." Heather informed him. "We have honor in who we are."

"Honor?" The tom echoed, looking around the camp. "What honor? The honor of bullying a healer and preventing her from doing her work?"

"She killed Cedar!" Heather yowled angrily.

Hawksight looked to the tom and spoke so softly Willow couldn't hear her. Yet, the tom simply nodded to her with a sympathetic gaze, before turning back to Heather. "Clearly your actions, as well as the late Cedar's, were controlled by emotions rather then what is best for the fragment."

"What did that feather-brain tell you?" Shadow growled, standing up beside Heather to back her up.

The black tabby was ignored as the cream and white tom stared at the she-cat before him. "You loved Cedar more then you dare to say. Just as Cedar was blinded by her love that was unrequited like your own."

"Shut your mouth!" Heather shouted, this time sounding as though she had been exposed. "You don't know anything!"

"If I know one thing," the tom meowed, "It is love and how the darkest moments in life can be caused by a lack of understanding."

"Leave." she snarled, obviously trying to clutch onto what was left of her leadership position.

"I do not see you as my leader." The tom pointed out, "Therefore, I am free to stay wherever I please. My name is Jasmine and I am the advisor of the Giant Garden Fragment of BloodClan. My mate is in BushClan and until I can see him again, I will be taking over as leader. I will advise Willow and any cat you were training."

"How dare you-" Heather tried to speak up, but was silenced by the glare of the dark gray tom beside him.

Jasmine looked around the clearing, flicking his tail. "Young toms and she-cats will be Fragments, the older toms and she-cats will be the Council. Hawksight will be an advisor, I will teach her how to advise through example. Willow remain second-in command until his training is complete at twelve moons of age. I will be an acting leader until he is ready."

Shadow lashed his tail. "What about me, I'm third-in-command."

"No such position exists." Jasmine pointed out. "You will be a fragment with the others."

"How dare you come into our camp and tell us what to do!?" Shadow exclaimed.

The tortoiseshell she-cat stepped forward. "Want to run that by us again, mouse-heart?"

The dark gray tom followed suit, his dark green eyes glittering with malice. "Unlike the rest of you lot, your future leader did more then he should have at such a young age. So I suggest you watch where you are putting your paws."

Shadow backed down, his ears flat and tail thumping the ground, but seeming to realize he was in a losing battle. Willow blinked as he watched, realizing that the power had been shifted. Heather looked deflated and defeated, her fur still fluffed up in agitation. While his father looked puffed up and ready to fight his way back into power. Reed and Timber were crouched low, their tails twitching with uncertainty. Clearly, they were put into their places whether they liked it or not.

Jasmine nodded, looking to Hawksight and gave her a direct order. "You are free to treat Willow. Cedar may have died, but it was not entirely her fault. If she truly had a heart worth loving, she would have never went into battle over and over until it caught up to her."

Hawksight dipped her head, padding away without a word and heading towards Willow's hiding place of a den. He backed up, unsure what he had witnessed as the former medicine cat nosed him back into his nest. Nettle and Ant sat up, their tails twitching nervously.

"What's going to happen to us?" Ant asked, "Heather was my teacher, who will teach me now?"

"Probably one of the new cats." Hawksight replied.

Willow shook his head, "That cream and white tom said he would take over whatever Heather was doing, so perhaps Ant as well."

"Possibly." She murmured, checking his wounds. "I'll see to introducing him to you Ant, until then, just help me protect the store. Rat and Stone will be busy teaching Timber and Reed how to be proper fragments."

"And when they're done with their lessons, they will switch with us?" Nettle asked softly.

"Of course. After all, Jasmine will take his duty seriously. I'm sure he will teach Shadow and Heather how to be proper cats. I doubt it will work, but you never know."

"So I still have to work with Reed?" Nettle murmured.

"Yes," Hawksight answered, looking to her. "Unless Jasmine changes that. Until then, I'm sure Timber will still be your Kit-Watcher. Perhaps she will take over for him. She is a decent cat."

Nettle seemed unsure, but looked back to the den entrance in longing. For nearly four moons it had been just them, Thistle and Juniper left behind from a battle-hungry mother who went to war without a second thought to them. Soon, Thistle was taken while Juniper was punished so severely that he had a deadly infection before being killed. Nothing in their life was suppose to be easy, they weren't full-kittypets like their father once was. Yet, he had only gotten darker and darker to Hawksight, and Willow expected that soon enough his father would shut him out too.

As though summoned by their darkest thoughts, Jasmine entered the reed-den, frosty blue eyes glinting from the rays of sunlight that got through the twined stems, twigs, and branches. His scent was odd, wild with leaves, but gentle with scents of flowers and soured by the same thunderpath-scent that his father once carried. His pinkish-tan nose twitching at the sharp scents of the herbs that lay thickly in his pelt.

"Is all going well so far?" Jasmine asked, his tone serious.

Hawksight nodded, "As well as Icepaw and Poppyclaw have left it." She glanced to him. "Will you be taking Ant under your paws soon?"

"I will have to, I do not trust that she-cat to treat her with respect and teach her right. I'm sure her hunting skills are excellent, but an emotionally compromised cat will be blinded." Jasmine explained, looking to Ant. "I just hope that Ant won't mind much. I've always been a Kit-Watcher myself before becoming an Advisor. So my ways might be a tad more gentle."

"How long will you take over for Heather?" Ant asked, her mew small and uncertain.

Jasmine glanced to Hawksight. "How long until the missing three cats return?"

"Lion, Berry, and Moth have until the first new-growth of newleaf." Hawksight informed him. "With how close it is now, I don't think Heather would allow them to return."

"Then when they do return from their mission then I will step down for whatever leader they have brought."

Willow lifted his head. "You can't! What if they are just as battle-hungry as Heather? What if they are a tom trying to court her or something?"

"Young tom, I don't think we have to worry about those." Jasmine meowed. "Going by what I can see: Heather would have already had a tom by now. Since she does not, it's safe to say that she won't be swayed that easily."

"Even if they are going to the Giant Garden fragment?" Willow asked, starting to feel some relief, but curiosity. Just why would Heather not be swayed that easily? Was she, in some ways, like Jasmine seemed to be about having a tom for a mate in BushClan?

"I know the leader of that fragment, I am the advisor of it. Of course I never expect any cat to believe me. To them it's just a dirt-box that has yet to be cleaned for a quarter moon." Jasmine pointed out, sweeping on as though he had said nothing so strange to them. "Quail has never found the right cat who holds his interest well, but he is as fair as any cat can come. He never minds where your heart may say you love, all he cares about is if you can put in the work."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

Jasmine blinked warmly to him. "Some cats are not like others, but they are still a cat. Toms can love another tom just as fairly as a she-cat can love another she-cat. Toms and she-cats can love each other just as they can change who they identify as. We have come a long way from the battle-hungry days. The only ones who manage to be that way are the ones who refuse to let their aggression die."

Nettle blinked, stepping forward. "You mean, if your leader comes here, we won't be forced to battle yet?"

The tom shook his head as he spoke gently. "Of course not. He would wait until your at most ten moons old. He decides that by then you should be big enough and skilled enough to fight with the others on equal grounds. Just remember, you are at most six moons now, you have plenty of time to get stronger and faster."

"Yet, Willow will become a leader on their twelfth moon, right?" Hawksight asked while her claws kneaded the mossy bedding. "Wouldn't it be too soon? Would he have enough experience?"

"First born kits often are taught since they are weaned on how to be a proper leader." Jasmine informed her kindly. "By the time they are a fragment at twelve moons old, they would be second-in-command to continue by learning from their leader and being able to take on some of the tasks. Any other second-in-command who isn't the leader's kit would only be in the position to help the kit should they need guidance. The advisor is to help the leader or the lower ranking members."

"So he should be ready by then?"

"As ready as he will ever be. Given that FearClan has somehow left it's fragmented history behind so quickly, I wouldn't be surprised if he was fully ready by his twelfth moon. You have done well in advising him, but once Quail is here with the rest of his group, I cannot say what will happen to Nettle and Ant."

"Why not?" Nettle asked.

Willow watched as the frosty blue eyes were shadowed in worry as the advisor glanced over them. "Once your twelfth moon comes, you both will be fragments. I cannot say what could happen between then and now. BloodClan fragments often fight like rouges if they can. I expect a battle within a moon's time if they are truly coming to aid in one."

"So we might not even survive?" Ant whispered, looking to Willow.

Pain seared through the silver tabby, he couldn't imagine a life without his sisters. They were all he had left to trust that were his kin. Let alone what could happen to Hawksight should the battle come. Would she survive or be forced to fight? He already made her fight and that alone made him feel guilty for being that selfish. Not to mention, he really has no idea how he had gotten hurt so badly and lived!

"Perhaps, but in a moon's time you would be seven moons old, so you might not take part in it. Whoever has to teach you may though." Jasmine tried to explain, but clearly his mind was elsewhere.

"Are you worried about your mate?" Willow asked softly.

Slowly, the tom nodded. "BloodClan was bound by blood and fury, but a true Clan is bound by kin and loyalty. He walks a path I cannot dream of walking, but I know he will give up that path for me, just as I must give up my own to be with him again."

"Has an advisor ever done that before?" Nettle asked, sounding almost appalled.

"Who knows." the cream and white advisor shrugged. "All I can hope is that Quail will be understanding. I took the position because I wanted to look after everyone as though they are all my kits. Now that I know where my mate is, I want to be with him more then anything. He looks like a strong cat, but like any cat whose heart is misunderstood, he needs me to lean on. I owe it to him to listen to his troubles after so many moons away from him."

Willow nodded, feeling more and more that he could understand. "You should have a right to walk beside your mate. Just as I have every right to walk beside my sisters. It may not be the same kind of love, but I am determined to make sure they are respected for who they are."

"Quail will." Jasmine promised him. "He knows respect is to be earned hrough actions just as giving respect to certain cats."

"Then I want you to make a request for me, on behalf of where your heart lies and Hawksight's worries." Willow looked the older tom in the eyes, blinking slowly to get his point across. "Ask him, before you leave forever, to allow me to reach my twelfth moon before battle comes again."

"May I know what this may do for you or him?" Jasmine inquired.

Willow nodded stiffly. "So should anything happen to him or Heather, I can take over as leader. I will learn as much as I can before then so should anything happen I'm ready to continue."

Jasmine blinked, surprise glinting deep within the icy pools of his eyes before dipping his head respectfully. "Very well, before I leave I will do you one better. I will teach you how to assess a cat to be your second-in-command so you have someone you trust and know you can lean on should you need them."

"That would be greatly appreciated." he replied, feeling more soothed inside.

"Good, now rest. Your sisters may stay here with you until I am finished reteaching these old cats on how to be proper." Jasmine rose to his paws and slipped back out of the den, only the faint rustle and clatter of the reeds being the only sign he had ever been with them.

Hawksight glanced over to them, warmth in her pale green eyes. "Thank you Willow. That will give me enough time to gather the herbs I will need to prepare for such a battle."

"You are very welcome." he replied back, resting his head on one foreleg as comfortably as he could.

The pain from his flank was blinding, his nerves had kept him blind to it, but now it was a growing sting that he could hardly handle. As though she could tell, the dark brown tabby she-cat gave him a couple poppy seeds from the leaf wrap they were given. He could only hope he had done enough. After all, he was young and he knew he wasn't the smartest of the selfless. He was a mix of two cats he felt he hardly knew.

One he hardly known for a moon of his life, but he hears the stories of how she was vicious and practically a bully to everyone around her. How true was it, he didn't know. All he did know was, his own father, Shadow, was just as mysterious. He almost couldn't remember ever seeing him not angry. The closest he ever got was when speaking to him from cat to cat before he blew up all over again.

Their relationship was so strained that he wondered what Hawksight had meant. What kind of cat was his father before he became like this? Why couldn't he remember what he was like before Cedar died? As sleep slowly took over his senses, he just had to hope that, somehow, he would find out the truth of his father. After all, he found it very hard to believe that he would let his love of Cedar create such a division between them. After all, Ant looked the most like their mother, or so Heather has said, but Shadow doesn't favor her over the rest of them. The question remained unspoken as darkness engulfed his mind and the noise of the clearing faded into a faint buzz.

Author Note:

This chapter came out a lot faster then usual! I really had this one thought out enough that it flowed so beautifully into over 3,000 words. I think I will make 3k the next goal for the sequel to this story to make it more enjoyable with less chapters.

I also apologize for not updating every Monday/Friday, but I will try harder to now that it's flowing so much better.

Anywho, thank you so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night! - NightSky