Disclaimer: Rated T for mild violence and strong language.
Prologue
A young black tom stared out into the white snowy landscape from within the confines of his dark shelter. He was curled up and lit a small fire from the palm of his paw close to his chest, keeping the vital warmth within his own body. His icy blue eyes flickered between the white tundra outside and the interwoven branches that caged him in. The walls of his confines were made of thick roots that overlapped each other, creating a small den. The entrance was secured with a single piece of milkweed that tied the branches together at a single point. The flame flickered in the tom's paw. Despite the tom possessing the power to destroy the cage, he did not take any action in doing so. He simply sat within the cage and waited quietly.
"It's time, Raventail."
As the black tom blinked momentarily, a large, dark-gray tabby tom had appeared and spoke to him. He had a large stature with a scar that stretched from his shoulder to the joint of his left leg, almost exactly the opposite of Raventail's small, unscathed build. He possessed dark amber eyes that bore into the very depths of Raventail's soul, as if reading his every movement. Despite his heavy build, Raventail hadn't even heard his footsteps in the deep snow or shown any kind of presence.
The dark-gray tabby unsheathed a claw and cut the milkweed lock, springing the twigs open. Raventail erased the small flame from his paw and stood up, feeling a slight chill from the draft that blew through his fur. He slowly padded towards the entrance, locking gazes with the gray tabby that had stood guard outside his shelter. Neither cat blinked, fixating only on each other's eyes as they passed each other. Raventail felt his heartbeat slowly rise from the tension, but eventually broke his stare and turned back in front of him.
As Raventail stepped into the snow, his vision adjusted to the outside. A large open clearing was covered with a blanket of snow, and colossal trees surrounded the area as if to create a natural barrier for the clearing. There were holes carved into the trees, with Raventail's own shelter built at one of the roots. Rows of cats were already waiting for him on the ground, their gazes stuck to every inch of his pelt. A few cats began to whisper to each other after seeing his appearance, but were quickly silenced by those around them. Raventail approached the center of the cats and sat down, unfazed by the eyes trained on him. He swept his eyes over the faces of the cats. A mixture of expressions were seen, with some cats holding looks of anger and rage while others were of sadness and disappointment. One cat in particular, a brown she-cat, was on the verge of tears as she watched the scene play in front of her.
The dark-gray tom had followed Raventail closely and stopped just behind him. Despite not being able to see him directly, his presence alone was enough to send Raventail's survival instincts on full alert. Raventail wasn't sure why, but he possessed an uncommon aura that shouted "danger" from him. Raventail daringly peered over his shoulder to steal a glance at the tabby, but only saw the gray tom sitting on his hind legs and peacefully licking his own paws. "Tsh, playing me for a fool… acting as if this has nothing to do with him," thought Raventail, digging his claws into the snow beneath him.
"Let all cats, old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the High Branch for a clan meeting!"
Raventail's train of thought was broken when a cat yowled for attention from the tip of a branch above him. All of the cats present turned to the new figure that had summoned them. A pure silver she-cat gracefully sat with her paws tucked beneath her tail, her dark blue eyes resembling that of a calm ocean. Her pelt, which was roughly cleaned from a recent grooming, bore several thin scratches in various places. Her outside appearance gave a tranquil atmosphere, but her dark blue eyes bore nothing but a raging tidal wave, ready to destroy anything that stood in its way. Raventail's claws unsheathed, curling deeper into the dirt below as his muscles contracted. His calm and refined nature wavered where he stood, barely able to contain the immeasurable rage that flooded out of him in waves. He narrowed his icy blue eyes and bore his gaze into the one that stood above him. However, the expression on the she-cat remained composed and monotone, despite the fury of the black tom being directed at her.
She breathed in the crisp air and spoke in a booming voice.
"Raventail, it is time to deliver your final decision. I gave you three days to decide whether to stay here and repent for your actions, or exile. Which will it be?"
"Do I really need to say it?" spat the black tom.
"Yes. What is your final answer?"
Raventail paused for a brief moment, then answered calmly.
"I choose exile."
"Raventail, wait! Think about this!" shouted the brown she-cat, her tears finally breaking out.
"You think I haven't thought about it? This is my final answer."
"Very well. I, Featherstar, hereby sentence you to exile. Should you be found by any of our warriors after sunrise tomorrow morning, they will have permission to execute you."
"Good luck," retaliated Raventail.
"Please wait, Featherstar! There must be another way!"
"Please, Brittlewhisker. The decision has already been made," replied Featherstar sternly to the brown she-cat.
A bright orange tom padded up to Brittlewhisker's side and placed his tail on her shoulder to comfort her.
"If this is what he wants, then we should let him take this path. It is not our place to judge how he should live his life," spoke the orange tom.
"But surely there is something we could do! Anything! He is our son, you know? How could you not be more worried about this?"
"Of course I'm worried! However, doing so will do no one any good. He has decided to take this path, so our only way to show our support for him is to let him go."
"Flametail is right, Brittlewhisker," voiced another cat in the clearing, trying to comfort her.
Raventail spat at the commotion in disgust. He watched the pitiable site in front of him before padding to the camp entrance. He brushed the glares off from his fellow clanmates casually, without any care in the world. When he finally reached the camp entrance made up of overarching branches in the shape of an arch, he stole one last look at the crowd behind him before disappearing into the white wilderness.
The landscape was a sheet of snow, littered with colossal trees that touched the heavens. The thick fog cut Raventail's visibility to only a couple meters, but he knew the layout of the land better than anyone. He could hear the faint cries of his mother slowly dissipate into the wind as he pushed forward, ignorant to her distant calling. His white breath came out in short, heavy tufts as he trekked through the layers of snow.
"'To be abandoned by my friends and clan mates… this is truly a tragic ending!' is what I presume you must be thinking, no?"
A deep, condescending voice sounded from behind him, and Raventail turned to see who had spoken. However, no one was around him. The voice echoed through the fog once more.
"'Oh, how I wish I could tell them how wrong I was! I wish I could go back and fix everything I had ever done!', right?"
"Don't you have better things to do than pulling petty pranks like this, Stormclaw?"
Almost as if on cue, the fog lightened to reveal a cat with the same dark gray fur from earlier perched on a branch above him.
"Lighten up, Raventail! I'm just giving you my heart-filled farewell. You wouldn't be so cold as to turn that down, would you?"
"As the deputy, I expected you to tend to your weak clan instead of giving farewells to a rogue."
"I'm just that thoughtful, you know?"
Stormclaw's appearance had suddenly disappeared from the branch right before Raventail's eyes. Raventail looked around, until he suddenly felt fur firmly pressing against the center of his spine. He could feel a breath against his ear as a voice whispered right next to him.
"You know what's an interesting thought? I could kill you right here, bury you, and no one would be the wiser."
Raventail's senses were on full alert again. He unsheathed his claws and whipped around to face Stormtail, only to find more fog. "Using the fog as cover, huh?", Raventail thought.
"You'll have to be a little faster than that to catch me, you know?" taunted Stormclaw.
Raventail focused. He gathered his thoughts into heating up his paws, until the physical forms of his paws began to waver. Suddenly, his front paws burst into flames. He outstretched a paw in front of him and spoke out in a clear tone.
"「ＨＥＡＴ ＷＡＶＥ!」"
From within his paw, a light began to shine brightly and a strong wave of heat blasted from out of his paws. The heat quickly scattered the fog within the area away, revealing the surrounding trees. Raventail took the time to carefully observe his surroundings to pinpoint his enemy, but he was still hidden.
The voice spoke next to Raventail's ear once again.
"Don't get cocky, Raventail. The others may be easy pickings for you, but it would be an insult to compare them to me."
"How is he so fast?" thought Raventail.
He felt a breath on the back of his neck, sending a chill down his spine.
"It's unfortunate that it's not sunrise yet… I would have loved to keep playing", meowed Stormclaw.
Raventail turned around to his right side this time, but Stormclaw had already returned to the branch he arrived on.
"Why do you support them, Stormclaw? The way the clan is so relaxed, despite having the capability to control more territory? The clan could easily become as strong as one of the four great clans of the forest, but no one has the ambition. Doesn't it irritate you? If you join me, we could create a clan that is unmatched in power," questioned Raventail.
"What? And leave my family to join your little power-hungry escapade? You must be joking," scoffed Stormclaw.
"We could form a clan that is unrivaled, stronger than anyone. Train those that want to be trained, and only accept those that have the aptitude for success. I could use your strength, Stormtail…"
Raventail and Stormtail's gazes locked, tension hovering in the air like a thick cloud. They each held their positions until Stormtail's shoulders eased and let out a sigh.
"I suggest you leave the territory completely before sunrise. Next time I won't be so lenient in battle."
In the next moment, Stormtail disappeared from the branch and reappeared behind Raventail a foxlength away.
"Those with selfish ambitions receive slow, painful ends. Don't do anything you will regret, Raventail."
With his final words, Stormtail padded off back into the fog. This time, Raventail was truly alone now.
"...Tsk. He really was toying with me…"
Raventail began padding in the opposite direction of Stormtail.
"I will show you the true power of my ambitions, Stormtail. Only then, will you see that I was right."
Raventail's black pelt glowed under the white backdrop like a beacon until the snow began to pick up once again, swallowing his figure up as he disappeared into the fog.
A/N: If you have read my previous attempts at creating a story for cats with powers, you probably know that this is my third attempt. I try to improve on it each time, but I end up getting stuck in writer's block and re-writing the story once again. Hopefully this time I'll stick to this one, lol. Hope you enjoyed.