Silence.

Dead silence.

A shudder.

A blink.

A stifled gasp.

A tail twitch.

A flank falling. Rising.

Finally, one brave soul in the coat of orange and white patchwork spoke up. "Flarepaw?"

A moment of hesitation brought an ear flick from the female, though his initial answer was an offending scoff. "I don't know who this 'Flarepaw' is, but I assure you, I'm not her," the reddish she-cat bit out sharply. Fallenpaw blinked- even her words had a similar sharpness. Without immediately replying, he looked her over a few times. She was slender, but thick furred much like her original twin. Her figure seemed a little bigger than her counterpart- normal sized, if you will. Said pelt was in similar shade- a merging of russet hues darkening near her paws which weren't stockings. Instead, they were plain black dipped paws. However, there was one difference that could never be overlooked.

Her eyes.

Flarepaw's were deep, liquid honey-amber puddles of emotion. Rage, fear, enigma. Not one word could describe the intensity of those moon-round orbs.

The stranger's were different. Facing away from the streaming sunlight, they mimicked the hue of a shadowed, pine green forest. Similarly, they pierced into the soul, eerie and nerve wracking.

But one thing was sure.

This wasn't Flarepaw.

"If you're not Flarepaw," the cautious chirp squeaked into the open from the gray she-cat coddling the fallen figure of a darker smoke hue. "Then who are you?"

"Better question," the Flarepaw clone countered easily. "Who are you? I come home to discover a party of five has made shelter in my place of residence. I don't recall making this cave a freelance hideaway. I worked hard to keep this place hidden."

"Obviously not hidden well enough if I found it," Wildpaw coughed under his breath, earning an all too familiar scowl aimed at his direction.

"Regardless, who are you? You're trying my patience," she huffed snarkily, demanding an answer as well as keeping a semi-level tone of voice.

"We're nobodies," the brown tom near the entrance answered quickly. "We're sorry to intrude and we'll be on our way." He moved to take the lead, halting abruptly as the flame furred feline pounced in front, blocking the way beyond.

She hissed. "Nah uh! You're all staying right here until I get my answer I deserve. Nothing goes through these mountains without me knowing about it. I repeat, who are you?"

"Travelers," Fallenpaw pushed himself to the front, facing the unknown with an emotionless expression. Keeping diplomatic propriety was essential in preventing a battle. It was best if the stranger didn't see them as a threat. "We're from the large group of cats on the other side of the mountains."

"The Clans," the reddish feline prompted, blunt and lacking similar emotion.

Everyone blinked, looking at one another in hopes of someone knowing what was going on.

"You know the Clans?" Mistpaw squeaked, padding closer to get a better view at the other she-cat. She was just as, if not more, intimidating as Flarepaw. Her green orbs weren't blazing with hostility, but there was a spark that definitely demanded your respect.

"Of course I know the Clans," the female huffed indignantly. "Everyone around here does."

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you know about them?" Anemonepaw sided up to Fallenpaw, curiosity in his sage eyes. "You remind us of someone we knew from the Clans, but I doubt you were part of them...were you?"

The she-cat shook her head. "Nah. I just remember them from stories when I was but a kit. I was raised up here in the mountains, living off tales of massive feline groups dwelling the areas around here. I also have a sister. She's part of one."

"Which one? Or can you not recall?" the thick cream tom made his voice known, stepping forward out of curiosity beside the small gray she-cat, joining Fallenpaw and Anemonepaw.

"MagmaClan," she said pointedly, sitting down gracefully with a swoop of her tail.

"Too bad we don't have our sixth member, this would've been so much - ow!" Floodpaw's indignant voice rose above them in the rear, subsided as Mistpaw, without remorse, kicked his muzzle with her hind paw.

"Sixth member?" the stranger inquired with a tilt of her slender crown so much like the latter. "Do you means to tell me that there is another? Another member who is from MagmaClan?"

"Her name's Flarepaw," Mistpaw added helpfully.

"You've met my sister?"

Had any of them been eating, they all would've been choking by now. Eyes inflamed to the size of moons, shell shocked and immobile.

The ginger female rolled her own eyes. "Honestly, you gullied up sparrows. If I had any right to assume, I'd say you just saw a ghost."

"Not that far off base," Fallenpaw forced out, looking the stranger straight in her pine green eyes. "You're...you're Blackshadow."


"She's Blackshadow?"

"The one and only." The feline puffed her chest up slightly.

"Blackshadow..."

"That's my name- don't wear it out."

"Blackshadow..."

"Ok seriously, you all can stop repeating my name as if you're seeing some apparition." The newly discovered Blackshadow sighed with distaste, half talking to herself.

"But you're dead..." Fallenpaw pressed, eyes still blown with the initial shock.

"Well I'm obviously not," the she-cat snapped in exasperation. For effect, she swiped a black forepaw and struck it square on the tom's muzzle. With a yelp of dismay, he tumbled down on his back, rubbing the stinging snout with careful strokes from his pads. "There." She announced, voice sharp. "You felt that. Therefore, I am not a spirit. Ergo, I'm not dead."

"B-But how?" It was a rare sight to see Fallenpaw lose his cool. His feathered tail couldn't stop twitching, his eyes swirling with a whirlpool of emotions. His forepaws began kneading the cave floor, not particularly caring as he scraped his calloused pads. "Flarepaw cried for you. She never cries. I cried with her. She trusted me enough to tell me what she went through. She trusted me! I trusted her! She told me how you stood on the ledge, how it cracked under your weight, how you fell with a howl, how you disappeared from sight, how you fell into a magma pool...You should be dead."

"Should is a loose term. Just because I should be dead, doesn't mean it wasn't possible for me to be alive. And by the way you felt me smack your muzzle, I'm pretty sure you know I'm not dead. Face the facts, Fallenpaw," Blackshadow hissed without having to verify his name beforehand. She knew who he was from the moment their eyes locked. "Yes, Flarepaw saw me fall- she saw the rocks crumble- for StarClan's sake she heard me cry like a newborn kit!" She let her words hang in the air for a moment, dropping her head as she added, "But she didn't see the impact."

Anemonepaw cleared his throat, motioning for Blackshadow to sit. "I think it would do us all some good if you started from the beginning."

Swallowing thickly, the ginger feline took a seat against the cave wall, as if mentally preparing to tell someone her greatest secret. At this point, it might of well as been. No one has ever gotten this far into her past. That's how it was intended. But this was Fallenpaw- Flarepaw's confident. Blackshadow had to trust him, just as her sister had done. "Very well. I'll start from the beginning.

"Fallenpaw knows- Flarepaw wasn't exactly clanborn. Both she and I kept this a closely guarded secret. But before I get too ahead of myself, it all started in the heart of the mountain. One of these many caves I assume. My mother- our mother- was what the clanners would call a 'loner'. She wasn't a clan cat, nor was she raised by twolegs. She just kind of appeared to my knowledge. Regardless, I had a very abusive father. Stiff faced, arrogant and biased, he refused to believe a female could be worth anything more than producing offspring. When Rosemary- mother to Flare and I, stood up against him, she was hurt pretty badly. But it only made her resist further according to the stories. Although this time, when he struck me -" she paused on the note, giving time to toss her head and reveal a scar stretching from her ear down a little ways to the side of her neck. Most of the fur had regrown, but there was a noticeable difference in pelt texture and the clean line was faintly visible. "- Rosemary couldn't take it. She ran away with me into the night and struggled to raise me. There we were, lost, alone, hungry...but away from the tyranny of my father. It was difficult, but we managed to get along peacefully in the mountains for a few moons before everything started spiraling into disaster."

Blackshadow took in an audible breath, swallowing to moisten her arid throat before continuing the tale.

"Rosemary got herself into some trouble while out scouting for a morning meal. She managed to trespass in some territory belonging to a so-called 'MagmaClan'. She got pounced by an orange tabby. That cocky, arrogant, gut writhing worm face got her knocked up and it wasn't long before the bulge in her belly grew again. Little later, when the seasons drew colder, Rosemary gave birth to a pair of kittens: Flare and Smoke. She however, was too weak and lacking food to produce milk. Being the good big sister, I set off bravely without mother's permission, to seek nourishment for my younger kin. Sadly, I returned empty pawed. My hunting wasn't par with any of the other surviving rogues, I was only a few moons old at the time. So when I returned, I was in shock to find my mother gone, Smoke and Flare mewling helplessly. I coddled them all night, desperately trying to keep them warm. It was another day I forced myself to look after the brats. Mother had yet to return and we were all starving. I couldn't just stand and wait around. So I did the only rational thing, I left. I left the cavern, clutching Flare and Smoke in my jaws for the impeccable journey ahead."

There was another drawn out pause, the others comprehending the story with silence. They awaited the bigger she-cat to continue. She didn't disappoint.

"It wasn't long before we found another cave leading into the network of tunnels winding around under the volcanic mountain. It was certainly warmer than outside, the internal magma pools heating the air and the rock surroundings. It was there I came face to face with my siblings' father. He didn't recognize me, but Rosemary told me all about him before she disappeared. About the bulky orange tabby tomcat with eyes like the ocean. A jagged nick in his left ear. Black nose. White toes. Yeah, I knew who he was."

"What is the meaning of this?" he exclaimed as the red ginger nosed a pair of kits to his white-toed paws.

"Your kits," grumbled Blackshadow. "Your's and Rosemary's. You know, the cat you 'attacked' when crossing into your territory?" Her muzzle wrinkled in distaste. It was obvious she didn't like this cat. "Yeah, these are yours, disgusting worm pelt."

"Worm pelt!" the little ginger kit, almost a replica of Blackshadow squeaked and giggled. Blackshadow bit back a grin of satisfaction.

Across from them, the tabby was still in shock. He was sniffing both kits tentatively, trying to make sense of everything. "So what have you come here for?"

"Daft mouse," the small she-cat hissed under her breath. Regardless of how made up her attempted insults sounded, it gave her a rush of something to watch the tabby frown and the female kitten repeat it. "Rosemary's gone missing and I can't hunt and these kits are going to die and so now I'm giving them to you. You're their father, look after them."

"Long story short, I managed to convince him to take in the kits, albeit begrudgingly. It was obvious the warrior was in his prime and didn't want to be weighed down by kits. It turned out he already had an official mate within the Clan and said mate was displeased to find her nest shared with the spawn of the warrior and some rogue. And it only took a few days before her wrath turned sour against Rosemary's kits. Smoke- he was denied milk. He died in his sleep soon after, malnourished and fatigued. Sparktail, the queen, denied all claims against her and told everyone Smoke was the one who refused to drink. I couldn't let that happen to my sister. So before any more damage could be dealt, I- old enough to be an apprentice- ran away with my younger sibling."

The dryness was creeping up against her throat again, forcing another large swallow and a cough.

"I raised her. I raised little Flare to the best of my abilities. We struggled, but I learned a few hunting tactics from our brief visit with MagmaClan. I kept us both in traveling condition and gave her little tips on fighting. She was eager, but also defiant. I don't know where she got it from, but once she hit four moons, she started on the sass. We got into more arguments than necessary. She nitpicked at nearly everything I said. I remember, one day in particular, we were in a heated conversation. I wouldn't let her leave the little hole I discovered. She was too young to go out wandering by herself and I wasn't planning on taking her with me. I forced her to stay or else she wasn't going to receive an evening meal. Infuriated, she agreed, and I went to go find food. But when I came back..." Tears welled in Blackshadow's pine eyes. "When I came back, she was gone. I can't remember how long I ran around, screeching her name, begging her to be OK. I finally received an answer and bolted towards the cries of fear. Flare had gotten herself stuck on a high rock ledge, hovering above a set of small magma pools. I saw her shaking in fear as she wailed to go back home. I raced to her rescue, climbing up the thin pathway as quick as I could. It didn't hold my weight though. Just as I had grabbed her scruff, the rock gave way and we both started to tumble. In a panic, I threw Flare to the side, knowing she'd land somewhere safe on another perch. But I fell, howling the entire way down. Then silence."

Fallenpaw in particular leaned closer, desperate to know the difference in Flarepaw's story and Blackshadow's.

"The thing is, I did fall. I did legitimately land beside a pool. It all went black when my head cracked against the stone. I didn't remember breathing. I lost consciousness, and even worse...my life." Blackshadow saw the gaping jaws of the other five, quickly jumping ahead before any questions could be asked. "When my eyes opened, I saw myself surrounded by nothing but white. Just a vast sea of emptiness. Then, strolling casually from the light, a golden pelt sauntered into view. Black feet, black ears, black tailtip. One eye the color of a deep lake, the other the hue of blood. Around his neck hung a crimson collar, adorned with some kind of fancy coiled black ribbon."


Gosh darn it! XD Anything sounding familiar there in the last paragraph?

Because I hate ending on such an abrupt ending, the next chapter will be up very soon. There's also the fact I ended up writing a thousand words over my usual chapter limit so I decided to make it two chapters. Enjoy as I crawl away from my hiatus!

- Snarky