More Dark Forest shenanigans
This fic has reached 10 chapters? Amazing. Glad people have been receptive of it so far.
I could still use some help and ideas on where to take Ignite though. I have a general idea but I'm not good with the stuff inbetween.
Why does everything I write feel forced af.
Sorry for small chapter ;-;
Please review!
It had been a strange quarter-moon for Ivypool. The Dark Forest training sessions, no matter how many times she dreamt her way there, never felt like the norm to her. She hated the Dark Forest, with its murky, swampy ground and the constant darkness and chill that made it felt like it was always leafbare. She also really hated the cats there, the ones who manipulated her into joining.
She had been so jealous of Dovewing getting the cool power and attention, being part of a prophecy. Ivypool now had a pivotal part to play in spying on the Dark Forest, a part to play just like Dovewing, but everything over the past seasons made her realize how much she hated the responsibility. Dovewing only got powers because of a prophecy? That was fine, she could keep the powers. She wanted her normal life back thank you very much.
"Tonight will hopefully change everything we know."
Ivypool shifted her eyes back to Tigerstar at his growl. The dark leader was looking agitated, claws curling into the tree stump he was sitting on. Other Dark Forest warriors stared up at him, eyes gleaming in excitement.
She glanced next to her to peak at the living trainees. Breezepelt, Tigerheart, and Redwillow looked indifferent. Hollowflight trembled excitedly next to Beetlewhisker. Mousewhisker and Blossomfall stood next to her, the two shuffling their paws. Did none of these cats know how evil the Dark Forest was?
She kept her embarrassment to herself at the realization that she didn't know herself when she was first invited to join. She had to be told that she was being fooled...
"We've taken you trainees on special patrols, arming yourselves with knowledge of your battle territory, showing you the best places to fight, the best places for a tactical advantage," he growled.
"Where to corner your prey," Thistleclaw growled, swishing his long, gray tail.
Tigerstar nodded to his words, and Ivypool show other cats do the same in the corner of her eye. "We're not done yet though. Our next patrol will see us return to Thunderclan territory." A pit formed in Ivypool's stomach. Hadn't these cats seen enough of Thunderclan territory already?
"So what is the point of this special patrol if we've seen all we've need to see?" Breezepelt questioned, bored.
Tigerstar's eyes gleamed, ambition plain for all to see. "Because there's a spot in Thunderclan territory that wasn't there before when we were there."
The pit only grew larger; she knew exactly what he was talking about. He wanted to check out the crash site, where a big rock had fallen from the sky and created a big crater. No one in Thunderclan wanted to get near it, being the place where Firestar had underwent a drastic change.
Firestar was the other strange thing over the past quarter-moon. She couldn't help but admit that she was also scared of her leader. The news about the Windclan battle had traveled fast, especially the part where Firestar had spat out a stream of fire and almost killed Onestar had Sandstorm not been there to stop him.
The scales, the wings, his claws and tail- everything about him was so different, so unnatural. Many cats feared him, either for his appearance, for his actions at the battle, or because of his new weird behavior. Nevertheless, Firestar tried to put a smile on his face and act natural around them, refraining from using his new abilities in front of them all. Lately he had been warming up to flying around them.
But no matter what he did or how much he tried to please his clan, Firestar always held an air of sadness. He always looked as if he was a stranger in camp, afraid of getting too near anyone.
She felt bad for him; he was clearly miserable with his new form. The only time she saw him truly happy was when he was with Sandstorm, or Brambleclaw, or his daughters, Squirrelflight and Leafpool. Everyone else was treated with caution.
Blossomfall and Mousewhisker shifted uncomfortably, also knowing the location in Thunderclan territory Tigerstar was talking about.
Brokenstar shot up eagerly, "This I have to see."
Thistleclaw grinned. "I'm coming this time."
Tigerstar nodded. He turned to Ivypool, Blossomfall, and Mousewhisker. "You three are definitely coming, since you all know the way. I'm sure you know very well about where I'm talking about." He noticed their uncomfortable stances. "There won't be anything to worry about on this night," he said, mockingly gentle. Ivypool knew that he didn't actually care.
Tigerstar picked other cats from other clans and soon they were off into the shadows of the Dark Forest. After walking through slippery moss and past foul-smelling bogs, the shadowy forest melted into the familiar scents of Thunderclan territory.
Tigerstar gave the three Thunderclan warriors a nod, and Ivypool gathered up her courage and led the patrol. It wasn't long before they reached the downwards slope that lead to the big rock from the sky. The Dark Forest warriors eyes' gleamed in the darkness and they bounded forward, the living warriors following more slowly.
"So this is it?" Brokenstar gave an excited meow as he circled it.
"I don't see what the big deal is; it's just a rock. A big rock that supposedly fell from the sky, but still a rock," Breezepelt rolled his eyes.
"Didn't your fellow trainees tell you?" Thistleclaw gave him a sad, mocking pout. He dropped the look with a laugh. "This is where Firestar changed."
The living warriors faces turned from bored to fearful quick.
Hollowflight gulped. "This is where he got those scary-looking claws?" he yelped.
"There was a stone that fell off from the rock that attached itself onto Firestar, from what I heard. But I don't think there's anything else here," Mousewhisker said uncertainly.
The Dark Forest cats grinned. "Have any Thunderclan cats been here since he changed?" Tigerstar asked.
Mousewhisker gave a calculating expression, trying to think if any of his clanmates had been brave enough to come back. He shook his head. "We haven't been patrolling here and if we do pass by, we tend to avoid this area. If anyone's brave enough to come back here, then they haven't talked about it."
"Not to mention we would know if someone changed like Firestar did," Blossomfall added.
Tigerstar gave a nod. "There's always a possibility for more of those stones." He bounded forward, circling the rock with Brokenstar.
Oh no, was Tigerstar trying to find a stone like the one in Firestar? The already present pit in Ivypool's stomach turned into a pit of dread. If Tigerstar found a stone that could transform him into something like Firestar, the Dark Forest would be unstoppable!
The Dark Forest cats thoroughly examined the big rock, not finding anything of interest.
"Think there are more of those stones inside of it?" Brokenstar asked.
"Well crack it open and find out. Oh, wait, you can't," Thistleclaw sneered. Brokenstar gave him a growl before returning to examining the rock.
Ivypool gave an inward sigh of relief at their frustrated expressions. Perhaps Tigerstar was wasting his time trying to find another stone. There might have been just the one, the one that attached itself to Firestar. Maybe with Firestar's help, the Dark Forest would be easily defeated.
The Dark Forest warriors decided to give up for the night and led everyone back to the Dark Forest. She managed to get through an entire night without any injuries on her. Thank Starclan.
No Dragon Firestar this chapter :(
Tigerstar is unfortunately wasting his time. There's only one stone and it's currently attached to Firestar. Even if you cracked the rock/meteor open, you would only find more rock inside.
Why haven't humans caught onto to the fact that a meteor crashed down onto Earth yet? Welcome to a fantasy world where cats have formed their own colonies and religion and kept it hidden from human eyes for over 50 years. Maybe it slipped past their detection or something.
Tell me how I did.