Chapter 9
FearClan / Willow
The half-moon made the snow glitter before his amber eyes. Twitching his tail, he stepped out into it's cold light. An unfamiliar cat sat in the middle, looking into the night sky. He kept an eye on them as he slowly padded closer. They were as white as the snow around them, even their fur even seemed to twinkle like frost in sunlight. Slowly, the snow-white cat looked to him, their eyes the color of a clear sky.
"Welcome, young Willow." the she-cat mewed, her eyes kind and warm.
"Who are you?" he meowed, keeping at least two cat lengths from her as he looked around for any other cats.
"There is nothing to be afraid of." she mewed gently, her tail curled around her paws. "My name is Frostfur. I have come to give you a warning."
Willow blinked, unsure if he should trust the strange cat as he stood still. "You're a Clan-cat aren't you? Get out of here before the others wake up!"
"Silly kit, no cat is going to wake up." Frostfur purred, amusement dancing in her blue eyes as she rose to her paws. "I have come to give you a message that will benefit your life and many others."
"No, you have to leave. Heather doesn't like Clan-cats. Go away. Go home, anywhere but here." Willow begged, trying to move his paws that seemed to have grown roots.
"Willow," the strange she-cat meowed, urgency glimmering in her eyes. "Listen to me. They are coming. Wake up. Save yourself. Don't climb the slanted tree."
Willow opened his mouth, but a strange barking crashed through. Quickly, he was on his paws, eyes wide as cats yowled and screeched in panic. His long fur fluffed out as he realized it was just a dream, before he could hear Heather's screeching commands.
"To the trees! Everyone, to the trees! Dusk, you useless flea-pelt, get the kits to safety!"
Dusk called out in a blind panic, "Willow go, run. Hawk is waiting outside to help you to safety."
"But-"
"What's happening?" Juniper cried, fear-scent bathing over them as wild screams sounded closer and closer.
"No time to explain, just wake up Thistle, Nettle, and Ant!" Dusk ordered, eyeing outside fearfully.
Willow shook himself out of the last of his sleep and quickly headed out to Hawk. his advisor swiftly led him to a sturdy tree. His dream was long forgotten as he scaled it with her close behind him. He climbed as high as he dared to, only stopping to look down from his branch in horror. The wild cries were growing louder and louder.
Hawk flashed up beside him onto a neighboring branch, her pale green eyes wide in terror. A furious yowl of a cat echoed into the forest. Eyes widening, Willow saw the shapes of Nettle and Juniper flinging themselves onto a tree. Their eyes wild with fear as they scrambled up it, practically clawing one another in their panic.
As they scrabbled to safety, Willow searched for his other sisters, only to see a brownish-gray tabby scale a slanted tree. A voice rang in his head. Don't climb the slanted trees. Before he could try to question it, a long-legged creature exploded from the undergrowth with a pointed maw and a bushy tail. With swift paws, it scaled the slanted tree, it's sharp teeth snapping shut onto the cat's tail and hind legs.
A screech of pain echoed as they were wrenched out of the tree, claws ripping off bark. The creature flung it's head, throwing the small cat into the undergrowth where more excited barks sounded. The creature leaped down from the tree with ease and into the fray. The sound of tearing flesh and screeches of pain filled Willow's head as the screeching was cut short.
Horrified, Willow clung to his branch, digging his claws in as he realized, he didn't know which of his sisters it was. One of them had been captured and were torn apart to death. He tore his gaze away from the undergrowth and looked to Hawk, noticing her pale green eyes fixed into the clearing. He followed her gaze, seeing more of the long-legged creatures, in their jaws a slightly bigger cat.
"N-no..." Willow whispered.
The cat was not moving and the creature carried their prize with their head held high. Someone died and Willow didn't know who it was, but he feared he did know. He looked to Hawk, her eyes closed as though to not see anymore. He feared the worst as he looked away to try and steady himself. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of the creatures bounding away into the forest.
"StarClan, please welcome them." Hawk whispered softly, "Protect their spirits so that they will rest. Please, Finch, guide them for me."
"Hawk, what were they?" Willow asked, staring up at her.
She opened her eyes, looking to him with sorrow. "Those were foxes. A pack of them. At least four or five."
"How many do you think were taken from us?"
"I don't know." she admitted.
The sun slowly rose, bathing the forest in a bluish light. With it, a horrific sight awaited them. Gasps echoed in the trees as the grisly scene was revealed. Bright red blood was splattered on the snow. The sound of claws scrabbling was all around, taking it as a sign, Willow scaled down before Hawk. The bark was slippery, but he ignored the heart stopping slither he ended up in.
Heather called out loudly, "Willow, Shadow, are you both alive?"
"I am!" Shadow called back, somewhere ahead of Willow.
Without waiting for Heather to say his name, he replied, "Me too!"
"Pounce?"
"Still alive and with Timber."
"Where's Reed?"
"Still on my way down!" the golden tabby tom yowled somewhere above them.
"Dusk? Kit-Watcher, where are you?"
Hawk closed her eyes as she landed beside Willow. "She's gone. I know she is."
"Nettle? Juniper?" Heather called, coming out of the shadows as she looked into the trees wildly.
"Up here!" Juniper cried out, struggling to climb back down alone.
"Ant and Thistle..." Heather looked to Hawk, her honey-colored eyes dark in grief. "Are they gone too?"
Hawk blinked sympathetically. "I hope not, but we did see a small cat get taken and a bigger one too. I fear that either Thistle or Ant were taken and Dusk was as well."
"We need a Kit-Watcher." Heather croaked, suddenly seeming so small and afraid.
Willow shook out his fur, "Focus, we have to find my sisters. We have to see if one of them is still alive."
Heather shook herself. "You're right." she raised her voice. "Everyone, look for Ant and Thistle. Shadow, check the blood for any scent of who it belongs to. Pounce keep watch with me from the root, we need to make sure those mange-pelts don't come back."
The black and brown tom nodded grimly. "Of course. Let's go."
Willow didn't wait any longer, he headed straight back to the willow-den. He had to know if anyone was still inside. The moment he reached it, he froze. Blood was near the entrance with the reek of fox and stale fear-scent. Swallowing dryly, he crept inside carefully. The nest he and his siblings slept in looked dug up and lumpy.
Swiftly, he approached it, there was still fear-scent and he hoped it came from a living body. He began to pull the moss and reeds away, a whimper sounded and claws flashed out with a wild snarl. Long brown-gray tabby fur was bushed out and her emerald green eyes filled with fear.
"Ant..." he whispered, recognizing the scent.
She blinked, trembling as she saw it was him. "W-Willow... is everyone alright? Dusk told me to stay put while she tried to fend them off."
Willow shook his head. "We can't find Dusk or Thistle." he whispered, pain searing through him as he buried his face into her shoulder. "Oh, Ant... their gone, gone forever."
"They can't be." she whimpered, trembling in shock. "No, they couldn't be gone."
"Heather, Ant's in here!" Hawk announced, her mew flat with grief.
"Stinging nettles," cursed Reed crossly. "We have lost our only Kit-Watcher and a kit!"
"But Willow is alive." Heather meowed solemnly. "That's what matters most of all. I'm sad to hear that Thistle and Dusk have been killed, but we still have the rest of our pelts and lives to worry about."
Willow trembled with rage, how could Heather find comfort in that? He would never know. Nettle and Juniper soon joined Ant, who looked pathetically to the ground. The black tabby tom flicked his striped tail dismissively. His green eyes glittering with disdain and jealously.
"Of course, why would Heather worry about anyone else? Everyone knows Willow is most important." Juniper scowled at him.
Willow lashed his tail, hissing. "I didn't ask for this!"
His brother sniffed, looking away. "So you say."
Furious, he whirled around and headed back out to where Heather was trying to soothe the ruffled pelts of their members. Her voice was trembling and she was obviously grasping for anything that could bring some comfort to FearClan. He clawed his way up, practically pushing her out of the way rudely.
"FearClan," he snapped, his tail twitching irritably. "We are all alive and well. We have lost Thistle and Dusk. Despite whatever Heather has said, I wish I had died in their place. Dusk fought bravely to protect Ant and Thistle tried to reach safety, I saw it with my own eyes! They failed, but they both kept Ant safe in their own ways. We shall honor them always and keep them in our hearts."
Timber nodded her gray and white head, brown eyes brightening up. "They really did, they sacrificed themselves."
"Of course and I will be thankful for it for the rest of my life. They were braver than I was. I was scared out of my mind, creatures I never seen before, attacking cats I learned to know as FearClan. I will honor them in my own way. I never asked to be given special treatment. If I had died, I'm sure Nettle or Juniper could take my place. Perhaps even Shadow. What I saw after being so rudely awakened proves that we are all cats with the same instinct to run when in danger."
"That is not the way this is run though." Heather interjected, although dipping her head politely. "I understand for what you mean, but no cat can replace you. You have had so much training to be leader, there is no choice but for you to be our leader when the time comes."
"Very well, but I do not wish to be treated special." he looked into her eyes, unflinching as she picked up a paw in defense. "Juniper, Nettle, and Ant will be excellent hunters. Much better than myself. I wish for them to continue their journey as hunters and be much better than I am. I envy their abilities as they must envy that I am given attention. So please, nurture their strengths, Heather. That is all I wished to tell you before FearClan."
The shock on her face was worth it as he leaped down, signaling he was done speaking. Feeling more at ease, his anger faded even as he looked to the willow-den. Juniper may have been jealous since he was allowed to leave first to a safe place, but he was going to do all he could to use his status. If he seemed like a better leader, wouldn't FearClan begin to take him more seriously and not try to protect him all the time?
He glanced to Hawk, her tail twitching as she looked back to Heather and Shadow. Both sharing a dark look, before going back to addressing the cats for repair work and reinforcing the camp walls. Willow ignored them, thinking back to his dream. The snow-white she-cat was beautiful and captivating, but he had no idea where she had come from. He never seen her before.
Frostfur, just who are you and why did you appear to me?
Author Note:
AHHHHH I AM SO LATE IN UPDATING! I was playing Isle of Armor for too long and lost track of my hours! My bad, so have this chapter today for a double feature!
I hope everyone knows, it tore me apart to write this chapter. I liked Dusk a lot and FearClan has very few cats without the three who are romping around Twoleg Place.
I know I didn't write enough to make connections for Thistle and the other kits. Hopefully I can fix that soon.
Anyway, thank you for reading and see you on Friday! - NightSky
