A/N: Hello again everyone, it has been a while since I last uploaded. This means that I have completed Heart of the Moon. This story and Mismatched curse will be open again, so hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long. So, won't keep you waiting any longer, here's the chapter. Thanks to Frostdawn for adding this story as a favorite.
Reviews
DarkWolfScourge (guest) –I know right I do too. Sorry I couldn't upload lol.
Guest- Sorry, but here is a chapter.
Warrior132 (guest) – Thank you.
Cinderpaw (guest) –Sorry, not accepting oc's anymore, not for a while.
Guest- Here you go
Cherryblaze of Breezeclan- Thanks for the suggestions. No problem, I won't need kits for a while.
Thanks for the reviews guys
ON WITH THE CHAPTER
…
Toadsplash's pov
"You better make a good leader Toadsplash," I sat beside Miststar. She was dying. "I'm sorry," I muttered for the tenth time while I was here. "Don't be, I deserved it," she said and smirked. I swayed my tail and sighed. I let out a shaky breath and I saw her flanks stop rising and falling. I breathed in deeply and glanced up at Redflower.
She was preparing the herbs for me to go to the Mooncave. "We will leave at Sunhigh, you should inform the clan," she said without looking up. I nodded and backed out of the den. Everyone was inside the den and I saw Shadestone enter the nursery. It was early dawn. I breathed in and raised my head a little higher. I can do this.
I padded over to the Fog Crevice and leapt onto it. I stared out at the camp. How did Miststar use to do this? I took in a deep breath. "Fogclan, gather around for a clan meeting," I yowled loudly. It took a few moments before I saw Mudstorm's dark brown fur followed by the others. I needed to assign a new deputy as soon as I get back.
My throat became dry when I saw Duskcloud pad out of the den with Palestone at her side. Everyone was sitting down looking up at me. I sat down and neatly curled my tail over my paws. "I will travel to the Mooncave beginning at Sunhigh, Mudstorm and Shadestone will take care of the clan while I am gone," I said loudly.
Mudstorm nodded but Shadestone looked surprised. He was sitting outside the nursery with Flowerpool and their kits. Leopardkit, Dovekit, and Echokit stared wide eyed at me. I smiled slightly but my smile faded when I looked at Duskcloud. Her yellow eyes looked angry and sad.
"That is all," I said and flicked my tail. I leapt down and went to small cave underneath the Fog Crevice that made up the leaders den. It smelled strongly of Miststar still. A shudder went up my spine and I began rolling up the moss she used to sleep in.
"Need help," I turned around and saw Mudstorm sitting by the den entrance. I nodded and he began helping with the moss. We finished a little while after and I padded to the med-cat den to get fresh moss. "The moss is over there," I entered the den and Redflower flicked her tail to a pile of moss near the left side of the den.
I cleared my throat and began dragging some to the den. "Come after when you are done," she said and looked up at me, "I need to tell you something." I nodded and ran to the leaders den. I rolled out the moss and flattened it down with my paws. I lined it with woodpecker feathers that Miststar had in her nest. I purred slightly at my new nest and began padding back to the med-cat den.
"Yes?" I said and sat down near the entrance. "Are you still going to follow up with the plan, or are you going to send a patrol to tell Hailclan to tell them not to prepare to leave," she said and curled her tail neatly over her ginger paws.
"I don't know about that, I was hoping I could talk to Starclan real quick before we return," I said. "Very well," she murmured and padded to her nest. "Get some rest, the travel will be long," she said before curling up and going to sleep. I didn't need rest. I stood up and padded outside. It was almost Sunhigh. I went to the Fog crevice.
I stopped before leaping up and turned around. We need a hunting patrol out. I saw Stripesky basking in the sun. I shrugged and padded over to her. "Stripesky, could you take out a hunting patrol while I am gone, take whoever you want," I said. She lifted her head and nodded slightly.
"Thanks," I murmured and padded away. I can't wait much longer; I need to talk to Duskcloud. I growled inwardly and padded over to the warriors den. I poked my head and looked around. Shadestone snapped his jaws in front of me and smirked.
"Go away," I growled and he rolled his eyes. I made my way to the back of the spacious den, where Duskcloud's nest was. Of course, Palestone stopped me. "She is not in the mood to talk to you," Palestone snapped and Sootear went to her side. Mudstorm and Shadestone padded out of the den, leaving me, Palestone, Sootear, and Duskcloud.
"Are you Duskcloud," I said angrily. "No," she growled. "Then you aren't the one I want to talk to," I snapped and she flattened her ears. Sootear remained quiet and I shot him a glare. He hissed and padded pass me.
Palestone sat down with her fur bristling. I looked behind her and I saw a glimpse of Duskcloud's yellow eyes. "Please," I murmured. Palestone perked her ears up and swayed her tail. "Go away," Duskcloud growled and stood up. Palestone moved out of the way and Duskcloud crouched down ready to attack.
""I need to talk to you," I said. "I said go away," she snarled and lashed her tail. I stayed where I was and sighed. "Just hear me out, you don't have to talk," I said. "No," she said less angrily this time. She sat down and closed her eyes. Palestone stood up and went to her side.
"Toadsplash, it's time to go," I flattened my ears at Redflower's call. "You have to go," Duskcloud said and looked up at me. I turned around and stalked outside. "Let's go," I murmured and Redflower and I began padding out of camp.
…
Snowstrike's pov
"You sure nobody will go look for you," Fang said as we padded to the cave. "I'm sure, I just said I went hunting, unless something happens, nobody will look for me," I said and entered the cave.
Smokeblaze was sitting there. "Snowpaw?" he said and tilted his head. "It's Snowstrike, what are you doing here," I said. "Oh ya, I didn't tell you I have a brother and three sisters," Fang came up behind me and purred.
"It's Smoke," he said and shook out his pelt. "Go hunt Smoke," Fang said and Smoke rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't want to disturb you two," Smoke said and smirked. "Go," Fang growled and Smoke padded outside. "So, who are your sisters?" I said and sat down.
"I don't think it'll be a good idea to tell you," he said and smiled. I purred and nuzzled him. "So, any idea when the clan is leaving," he said and layed next to me. I stretched and layed down as well. "In about a moon or two, once everyone is well fed, no sickness, enough herbs, and the kits can travel on their own," I said and layed my head on his flank.
"Good, means more time with you," he purred and I smiled. "I have a question," I said and looked up at him. I met his amber gaze and he tilted his head. "Why didn't you kill me while you had the chance," I said. "You always ask that you know," he said and smiled.
"You never give me a proper answer," I said and flicked my tail at his nose. "Well, I don't know, I felt like something was holding me back, I wanted to, but at the same time I didn't want to. Does that make sense?" he said and looked at me "In some ways," I purred and touched my nose to his.
We would always spend time like this, just talking curled up with each other. I loved it. I heard the pounding of paws and I lifted my head. Smoke ran into the cave panting. "Toadsplash and Redflower, on their way here, most likely to the Mooncave since Redflower had herbs," he said and panted
"Where's the Mooncave?" I asked and sat up. "Just a little higher from here, Fang hide," Smoke said and Fang went to the crack where he stored his herbs. "Snowstrike, you can go in with him," Smoke said and flicked his tail. I stood up and padded over to it. Fang was huddled against a small patch of flowers.
He had his nose close up to one of the flowers. He was trying to cover the scent of Fogclan with something else. He didn't want to become blinded. I scooted up close to him and he buried his nose into my shoulder. Smoke came in and looked out towards the cave exit. We sat in silence and I felt Fang stiffen next to me.
I glanced outside and saw brown fur. Toadsplash. He stood near the entrance of the den and tilted his head. "It's not here, climb higher," Redflower said and leapt up. Toadsplash narrowed his eyes and Fang opened his eyes to stare out at him. Toadsplash shook his head and leapt up where Redflower leapt up to.
Fang sighed and rested his head against my shoulder. I licked his ear and he lifted his head right away. "Fox," he snarled and unsheathed his claws. "We can drive it away, don't worry," Smoke said and stepped out of the smaller cave. I followed him and Fang stepped out last. I saw, in the distance, the russet brown fur of a fox. Fang snarled and sprinted out of the cave.
"Fang, come on," Smoke said and chased after him. I lashed my tail and stood outside the cave. Fang leapt at the fox and it backed away shaking its head. I saw Smoke pull Fang off the fox and it sprinted away with blood dripping down its muzzle. Fang pushed Smoke aside and he shook his head.
They both began padding back to the cave. "It wasn't doing anything you know," I heard Smoke say to Fang. "I know, I hate foxes," Fang purred mischievously and bounded up next to me. I nuzzled him and he sighed. "I think you should head back to camp now," he murmured and I saw the sun slowly falling.
"You been here since Sunhigh," he said and licked the side of my muzzle. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow," I purred and licked his cheek. He flicked his tail at my nose purring. I smiled and brushed pass him before padding back to camp.
I made it to camp quickly and hunted along the way. "There you are where were you?" Whiteheart greeted me when I entered camp. "Hunting, I really couldn't find much," I said and padded to the fresh-kill pile. I put my fish and vole on the pile. "Well, guess what," Whiteheart purred and looked at something.
I followed her gaze and saw Bluestorm speaking with Cloudshadow. "What," I said. Whiteheart looked at me and smiled. "Bluestorm likes me," she said and her smile grew wider. "So, are you two mates?" I asked. "Yep," she said and began jumping up and down. "Good," I murmured and picked out a raven from the fresh-kill pile.
"You look happy," she said and followed me to an empty spot in camp. I placed the raven down and nudged it to her. She took a bite and passed it to me. "What makes you say that," I said and took a bite.
"Well, normally you would ignore me," she said and smiled. She was talking about yesterday. I didn't ignore her; I just couldn't stop thinking about meeting Fang. "I wasn't ignoring you, I was just… thinking," I said.
"Right," she said and took another bite. I took another bite and we ate in silence. "When do you think we will leave," she said once we finished. "To go to the abandoned forest, in about a moon. Weren't you listening to Icestar yesterday during the meeting," I said and licked a paw.
"Oh, I forgot," she said and began grooming her leg. "Hello," I looked up and saw Bluestorm, Goldenhawk, and Cloudshadow standing there. "Hi," Whiteheart purred, but I ignored them. I flicked my ear and rested my head on my paws. "Snowstrike," I groaned and lifted my head.
I saw Mosskit, Cloverkit, Midnightkit, Stonekit, Rainkit, and Silverkit running to me. I shook out my fur and sat up. "Where were you, we wanted to play with you," Mosskit squeaked and crouched down playfully. She leapt at my tail, which I moved out of the way.
"I was hunting," I said and nudged Stonekit with my nose softly. He giggled and growled. "Attack," he yowled and all the kits leapt at me. I pretended that they won and layed on my side. I laughed and flicked my tail at Cloverkit and Midnightkit. I closed my eyes and held by breath. "We win," Rainkit squeaked and I peeked open my eyes.
When she came closer, I opened my eyes and growled playfully. They all giggled and I ended up spending the rest of the day playing with the kits. The sun was down and the moon was beginning to rise.
They were all panting and I sat up with my tail curled around my paws. Silverkit and Cloverkit yawned and so did the rest of them. "Come on, it's time for you to go to sleep," I said and nudged Midnightkit with my nose. They all protested but went to the den anyway.
I yawned. Playing with them tired me out. I stood up and padded over to the warriors den. I curled up in my nest and covered my face with my tail. I sighed and fell asleep quickly.
…
Toadsplash's pov
"You are now Toadstar," Miststar yowled and the other Starclan warriors began chanting my new name. She somehow made it to Starclan instead of the Dark Forest. So did my dad. They started disappearing and I woke up in the Mooncave. The light disappeared and it was completely dark.
I stood up and made my way out of the cave. Redflower was sitting outside the cave. "Let's go, if we move quickly, you will have enough time to appoint the new deputy," Redflower said and I nodded. I wasn't able to ask them for help. This is my choice.
I lashed my tail and we began padding back to camp. I was quiet all the way back. I was thinking about Duskcloud. I didn't start thinking about who to make the new deputy once we entered camp.
"Good luck," Redflower murmured and padded to her den. I cleared my throat and made my way to the Fog Crevice. I leapt up onto it and closed my eyes. "Welcome Toadstar," I looked down and saw Mudstorm staring up at me. I smiled slightly and yowled.
The clan gathered around the Fog Crevice. The choice was obvious. But is he the right choice? I don't think so. "I must appoint the new deputy," I said and looked around. "With much thought, I have decided, the new deputy is Shadestone," I said and raised my head.
Almost everyone let out a gasp. They probably expected me to choose my brother. "I-I accept this honor," Shadestone said. His eyes were wide in shock. Mudstorm didn't look mad. I did promise him when Miststar was still here, and we were still evil. But I changed. "We need as much loyalty as we need, you start tomorrow," I said to him and began padding to my den.
I stopped near the entrance and turned around. Duskcloud was padding out of camp. Now's my chance. I quickly turned around and followed her. As I expected, she was at the Fogless Hill. What surprised me, was that she walked passed it and headed for the mountains. I followed her all the way.
We finally made it near the bottom of the mountain and Duskcloud stopped. "Smokeblaze, where are you," I heard her murmur. I saw the bushes rustle and two cats came out. Fang and Smokeblaze. Duskcloud flattened her ears. "I said Smokeblaze, not you Fang," she snarled.
"Come on, you did worst things than I ever would," he said and smirked. She hissed and Smokeblaze sat in front of her. "What's wrong," he said. "It's T-Toadstar," she said and looked down.
"What did he do, I'll kill him if you want," Fang said and I gulped. "Don't you dare go near him," she snarled and narrowed her eyes. Smokeblaze placed his tail on her shoulder gently. "What did he do," he said calmer than Fang.
She explained how everything was a 'lie'. Fang lifted his nose in the air and stiffened. He looked in my direction and I froze. He stared at me for a while and then smirked. "Looks like he followed you here Dusk," Fang said. "That isn't my name anymore," Duskcloud snarled and followed his gaze.
I backed away deeper in the bush I was hiding and accidently crumbled a leaf with my back paw. "Toadstar, come out now," Fang snarled and I saw his claws unsheathe. "Toadstar?" Smokeblaze said. "Miststar is dead," Duskcloud simply said and stood up.
"Come out, before I drag you out, you choose," Fang said and licked his paw boredly. I sighed. There was no hiding now. I carefully stood up and stepped out of the bush. Fang stiffened again and he shook his head. "You followed me," Duskcloud said and looked at me.
"I needed to talk to you," I murmured. "Smokeblaze, take Fang away before he ends up killing him," I heard Duskcloud murmur and Smokeblaze stood up. "It's Smoke," he snarled before leading Fang away.
"Why did you follow me," Duskcloud said. "I needed to talk to you, you wouldn't talk to me in camp and Palestone didn't let me get close to you," I said. "For good reason," Duskcloud said and lashed her tail.
She narrowed her eyes and lashed her tail again. "Just please listen to me," I said. I hated to beg. "How do I know what you say is true, everything you said was a lie," she snarled. "No it wasn't, I love you," I said. "Oh really, so if you would have stayed the same way you used to be, would you still love me," she said and glared at me.
I never thought of that. "Would you," I whispered. She must have heard. "I don't know," she said. "Yes, I was forced to change myself, did I want to, at the time I did. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you, but I couldn't stop myself," I said and warily took a step closer.
"I made a mistake, I know what I did was wrong, but I can fix this," I said and sat down. Duskcloud opened her mouth, but I cut her off. "I don't want things to go back to the way they were, when you wanted to kill me," I said. She closed her mouth and looked down.
The bushes rustled and Smokeblaze came back out. "I believe his words," he said and looked at me. "He lied to me once, what makes you think he won't do it again," Duskcloud muttered. "Just give it a try, if he does, then Fang can kill him," Smokeblaze said and smirked.
"I heard that," I hear the distant call from Fang. "You were supposed to," Smokeblaze threw his head back and yowled back. "I think you two should head back," he said before padding away into the bushes. Duskcloud sighed and stood up.
"So, can you give me another chance?" I asked hopefully. She looked up and stared at me. "Fine," she muttered and walked pass me. I stood up and followed her. I easily caught up with her and gave a quick lick to the ear. She didn't move out of the way.
"Don't think I forgive you fully yet Toadstar," she said and smirked. I smiled slightly and we walked back to camp.
…
A/N: Yay, he is leader, she is giving him another chance, Snowstrike still hasn't gotten caught, and Bluestorm and Whiteheart are mates. Hope this was a good sort of welcome back chapter.
QOTD: *Forgot to do one of these last chapter again XD* would you have given Toadsplash/star another chance if you were Duskcloud.
There will be another chapter in two days. I am glad to continue this, but kind of sad that Heart of the Moon ended. Please review, favorite, and follow.
Thank you and peace out.
~Wolfcreations14 :3