I'll be honest with you. .52, your reply encouraged me to write this two minutes before ten at night. Which means that I am obligated to finish this! PS. I'm currently reading the your first book of "Heart Of Fire", I'm already in love with it. ^^


Chapter 12

"Who Said Traveling Was Easy?"

8/6/16 - 8/7/16

Just before Sunhigh, Lionfur was waiting next to the medicine cat den.

Almost all of WindClan was talking in hushed voices, and waiting nervously.

Mistyleaf, a dark grey she cat, stepped out of the medicine cat den.

Lionfur immediately went to her.

"How is he?" He demanded. Mistyleaf bowed her head.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing more I can do. Branchstar is with StarClan now."

The WindClan cats cried softly, mourning Branchstar's passing.

Lionfur closes his eyes. "He was a wise, great leader…"

"Yes, but now we must travel to Moonpool and receive your nine lives."

Lionfur nodded. "I understand, can I pay Branchstar my respects?"

Mistyleaf nods and allows him inside. Branchstar was a scrawny, heap of brown fur when Lionfur bends down to him. He brushes his nose to Branchstar's ear, and says one word in the faintest voice with a sly smirk,

"Fool."


Stealthpaw had a hard time sleeping after seeing Foxpaw's nervous breakdown.

She feels a paw press on her side. Stealthpaw rolls on her back and flails her front paws weakly to bat the cat away.

Stealthpaw suddenly feels two paws slam on her belly! She wails and swipes her paw, and feels it hit a jaw. She rubs her eyes and sees Flamepaw staring at her, astonished, and bristling his fur.

"What in the name of StarClan is wrong with you?!" He exclaimed, rubbing his jaw.

"Same with you! You must have flipped your biscuit if you wake me up before seven o'clock!"

"Flipped my… Seven o'clock?" Flamepaw stared at her as if she grew a second tail and became a fox.

Stealthpaw realizes her mistake and shook her fur.

"It's a rogue thing. We used to hear Twolegs say it all the time."

It's a little bit of a lie, but it's also the truth… In more ways than one.

Flamepaw just shrugged.

"Palewhisker wanted me to get you, she's says it's important."

Stealthpaw nods and pads out of the den. The sun was barely up when she saw Palewhisker talking to Thornstar and Seabreeze. Thornstar noticed Stealthpaw.

"Palewhisker asked for me?" She questioned.

"Yes. Palewhisker is going to make a trip to Moonpool, and she needs some helpers to go with her."

Stealthpaw blinked in surprise.

"Me? You're not taking Yellowpaw?"

"Yellowflower is old enough to look out for sick patients on her own." Palewhisker replied. "Plus it would be a great experience for you to see what's outside of ThunderClan territory."

Stealthpaw's punishment was lifted last night. So she still has yet to set paw out of the camp in so long.

"Who else is going?" She asks them.

"That's for you to decide." Thornstar said, surprising her. "This will be a good practice for when you become a warrior, you can chose your hunting party and patrols."

"We'll leave after you've chosen a cat." Palewhisker told her.

Stealthpaw immediately went to the apprentices den.

Should I pick Duckpaw? Nah, I think I saw her leave with Blackcloud for her final assessment. Sweetpaw and Rainpaw are doing the same thing…. I don't think Flamepaw would be interested after our little "episode".

"Stealthpaw?" The gold she cat snapped back to reality and was face to face with Squirrelpaw. "You've just spaced out. Is there something wrong?"

I hate it when my brain turns against me.

Stealthpaw had an idea.

"Squirrelpaw. Palewhisker is going to Moonpool and she said she's taking two apprentices with her. Do you wanna go?"

"Moonpool?" Squirrelpaw said, suddenly becoming excited. "Sure thing! I just need to tell Stoatpaw and Flamepaw first."

Squirrelpaw left the den, and Stealthpaw sees him talking to Stoatpaw and Flamepaw by the fresh kill pile. Stoatpaw looked like he was smacked in the face.

Weird. I wonder what's wrong with him?

Stealthpaw and Squirrelpaw pad toward Palewhisker, who was waiting by the thorn barrier. "Are we ready?"

The two apprentices nod. And the three cats left the camp.

The three cats took the dirt path that leads to Moonpool. Stealthpaw was wondering what Moonpool looked like. Was it a huge pool that was in the shape of a moon?

Or was it a...moon in shape of a..pool?

Oh my God! My brain just loves turning against me today!

Stealthpaw noticed that they were passing an abandoned house. She sees a very dark brown tabby she cat with a stubby tail peek out, but she looked happy when she saw Squirrelpaw.

"Rodney?" She said. Squirrelpaw rushed up the steps and brushed muzzles with the she cat. "Oh, Rodney, I missed you so much!"

Stealthpaw blinks.

"Wait… Is she his-?"

"Yes," Palewhisker agreed. "This is Squirrelpaw's mother, Mia."

Mia looks up from Squirrelpaw and bows her head to Palewhisker.

"It's good to see you again, Palewhisker. How is Thornstar and your apprentice?"

"He's fine, and Yellowpaw became Yellowflower a few nights ago."

"And mom," Squirrelpaw said. "Thornstar said that if I keep up my training, I'll be made a warrior in Leaf Bare."

Mia purred. "That's wonderful, dear. Where are you heading off to?"

"Moonpool." Palewhisker replied.

"Oh, then I'll let you go. Just be careful on the way back. I saw a group of cats sneaking around here, I don't want to say they're bad, but…"

"You can't be too sure. Thanks for the warning, I'll be sure to tell Thornstar."

Mia watched the three cats pad away and called, "Take care!"


Squirrelpaw fell in beside Stealthpaw.

"So… What do you think of my mom?" He asks her.

"She's nice. It just never crossed my mind because-."

"Half our denmates parents are either dead or in a different Clan?" He joked.

"Yeah… Apparently, my parents used to be kittypets until their Twolegs' houses caught fire and abandoned them. My dad couldn't handle the wilderness and died before I was born, but my mom wasn't a quitter."

"She ended up trespassing on ThunderClan, and coincidentally, she started kitting when Palewhisker and a couple warriors found her. So Thornstar allowed her to stay in ThunderClan for a while until I was three moons old."

"So she just left?"

Squirrelpaw nodded.

"She said that I deserve the best in life, and I wasn't gonna get it with her. It wasn't so bad, I mean, I had Stoatpaw by the time I stayed in the nursery, and he's a blast."

"He's also a bit of a flirt, especially with she cats from other Clans, but it stopped after the ShadowClan attack. I wonder what that means ~?"

Squirrelpaw gave Stealthpaw a teasing look… But the golden she cat stared at him innocently. "No, what does it mean?"

Squirrelpaw blinked at the honesty in her voice and innocence.

Great StarClan. And the she cats have the nerve to call toms dense…


Stealthpaw gazed at a glittering, clear lake that reflects the sunlight. She follows Squirrelpaw and Palewhisker down the slope and pad toward Moonpool.

"Now what?" She asks Palewhisker.

"Now we sleep next to it."

Sleep?! I'm too hyper for sleep!

Stealthpaw laid down as Squirrelpaw did the same. She closes her eyes and tried to sleep…


Stealthpaw feels wind through her fur, and found herself on the hills of the moorland.

The wind was tugging on her fur as a familiar white and ginger she cat padding toward her.

"Hello, Stealthpaw, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

Stealthpaw's jaw drops in shock.

"Pounceclaw!" She stood up and buried her muzzle on Pounceclaw's chest.

"I'm sorry I-." Pounceclaw shushed her. "There was nothing you could do. It was my time to go."

"I'm glad you're looking after my kits, I just hope Leopardstrike will see it too… "

Pounceclaw shook her head. "Never mind. There's someone who wants to see you."

Stealthpaw follows Pounceclaw through the hilltops. She sees dozens of cats chasing rabbits, sunbathing and even sharing tongues.

"So… Is this where cats go when they die?" She asked Pounceclaw.

"Yes. Cats who follow the warrior code, who have been fair and kind, come here after death."

"... Where do the bad ones go?"

"The Dark Forest. Cats who are nothing more than rogues don't deserve to become warriors. They commit crimes during their days of living with malice and ill intent, and they are sent to the Dark Forest as punishment for eternity."

Pounceclaw and Stealthpaw stop near an area circled with heather, and see a pale tabby she cat eating a rabbit. The tabby looks up and sees Stealthpaw.

She gets up and licks her jaws.

"Thank you for bringing her to me, Pounceclaw." She said.

"No problem, you still owe me a rabbit!" Pounceclaw padded away and left Stealthpaw alone.

"Come here," the pale tabby told her. "We have a lot to discuss."

Stealthpaw slides down the slope. Something about this cat's voice sounds familiar to her…

"Do you recognize my voice?" She asked her. Stealthpaw's fur stood on end when she heard the she cat's voice again.

"Y-You're that voice in my head!"

"That's right. I'm Deerheart, WindClan's previous deputy."

"Really? Branchstar mentioned you at the last Gathering I went to. Everyone misses you."

Deerheart chuckled.

"I guess I underestimated my life's worth."

"But, why are you talking to me? I'm from ThunderClan."

"In StarClan, Clan boundaries don't exist." Deerheart told her.

"Besides, I heard something in my Clan that got me killed in the first place, and I come to see it through."

"Do you remember these words? Shadows will engulf the booming thunder, winds will roar as unnecessary blood will spill, but the stealthiest of cats will end the war in flames."

Stealthpaw blinked. "That's what a black and white cat told me! Who was he?"

"That was Hallowstar," Deerheart replied. "You see, we both heard the same prophecy from our medicine cats. We were looking for a cat who was fit for the task, but we ended up with nothing."

"Then we realized that we were looking in the wrong place, so we looked at Twolegs, but we still came up with nothing. The Twolegs we've found weren't enough for the task, in fact, they would have backed down at the first sign of danger… That's when we found you."

Stealthpaw blinked at her.

"How did I get here?"

Deerheart sighed and stared at her sadly.

"You died…"

Stealthpaw bristles her fur.

"How did I die?"

"You were trying to get your mother's attention, again, and she hit you and screamed at you. You ran out of the house so fast, you were crying so hard that… You didn't see a huge monster heading towards you."

"Twolegs in white pelts tried to save you for days, but you died despite their efforts."

Stealthpaw trembled with intense emotions.

"Did my mom feel guilty? Did my dad show up?"

Deerheart said,

"Your mother was rattled with guilt, she broke down when the Twolegs in white pelts told you passed. As for your father… He knew, and he wanted nothing to do with your mother or brothers after that."

"I didn't tell you the first time because it was too painful for even me to watch. You've been rejected your whole life for something that was out of your control, you didn't need to be hurt by what happened in your previous life."

Stealthpaw could barely breathe. All of this, she remembers now. So much pain, and unrelenting torture. No wonder Deerheart didn't tell her. It hurt so much…

"I know," Deerheart whispered sympathetically. "I know it's horrible to hear this."

"... So what does the prophecy mean?" Stealthpaw wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"The Shadows is ShadowClan - obviously - and it's war toward ThunderClan, which is proven by Stormtail demanding for Foxpaw, and Crowstar's crime."

"And the winds will roar."

Deerheart scowled.

"It's referring to Lionfur, he's my brother...and the reason I'm here in the first place."

Stealthpaw gasps.

"Why would he do that?!" Even though Stealthpaw resented her two brothers for always making their mother ignore her, they always stood up for her whenever their mother turns her anger on her.

"Power, simple as that." Deerheart replied. "Our parents didn't truly love us. They only had us because WindClan needed kits, we realized this when we became apprentices and they stopped being mates. I always looked out for Lionfur as a mother should, and I gave him the love and strict discipline that I could, but I guess I was blind to his true intentions."

"Branchstar was old, and he thought it would be best to have my brother take my place when I died. He thought Lionfur was just like me, but he made a mistake, and realized it too late."

"He died? So that means.."

"Lionfur will become leader."

Stealthpaw stood on her paws in urgency.

"But they can't make him a leader! He killed you, he might have killed Branchstar too!"

Deerheart shook her head.

"It's the warrior code. When a leader dies, the deputy becomes the next leader of the Clan. Brokenstar proved that right, no matter how much of a bloodthirsty tyrant he was."

Stealthpaw's tail bushed.

"So he's gonna do what he wants and there's nothing we can do?"

"No. This is why you're here, Stealthpaw." Deerheart said.

"You have to make sure the truth comes out, because if Lionfur continues what he's doing, he could ruin the four Clans entirely. You must uncover the truth before next Green Leaf!"

Deerheart's body blew away with the wind that picked up. Stealthpaw was lifted off the ground and into a whirling eye of the tornado. She sees two red eyes that turned amber, and a lion's head that opened its jaws and swallowed her whole.


Stealthpaw jumped up with wild fur as her breathing quickens.

"Stealthpaw? Are you okay?" Squirrelpaw asks her. "You took a long time to get up."

Stealthpaw swallowed and gets on her paws.

"I-I'm fine. I just wanna go home."

Palewhisker stared at her and nodded.

"Yes, let's go."

The three cats prepared to leave when they saw a dark grey she cat appear with a dark golden tom.

Lionfur! Stealthpaw held her breath when Lionfur and the she cat came down.

"Greetings, Palewhisker."

"Mistyleaf." Palewhisker greeted. "What are you here for?"

"Branchstar passed away this morning." Mistyleaf replied. "We're here to give Lionfur his nine lives."

He doesn't deserve it! He killed his own sister!

Stealthpaw wanted to scream, but her throat felt like a rock was lodged inside. It felt horrible.

It was like she watched a movie, and she's the only one who knows who's bad and what happens next.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Palewhisker told her. "I hope Lionfur leads WindClan with the same glory Branchstar did."

He won't! He's a danger to everyone!

Stealthpaw looks at Lionfur, who locks gazes with her. The tawny gold tom frowned briefly as his eyes hardened.

"I'll make WindClan strong." He promised Palewhisker.

Stealthpaw couldn't take it. She padded past Lionfur, tensing up a bit, and climbed up the slope to the dirt path.

Lionfur watches her leave with Squirrelpaw and Palewhisker with a curious state before his attention turned to Mistyleaf.

"I'm ready."


Inside the apprentices den that night, Stealthpaw couldn't shake off what Deerheart told her, about Lionfur and her previous life. She could still feel the blunt force of the truck's front hitting her side. Drifting in and out of consciousnesses repeatedly.

But it hurt more when she realized, that after all the neglect and abuse, all it took was her death for her mother to finally feel sorry, to finally notice her.

Was her life back there really that insignificant?

"Stealthpaw?"

She looks to see Stoatpaw staring at her in concern.

"What's wrong?"

Stealthpaw wanted to tell him everything. The pain and all, but she couldn't.

The feelings she bottled up was beginning to spill.

Stealthpaw buried her nose in her nest and sobbed. She feels fur next to her and a tail entwining with her own.

Stealthpaw glances over to see Stoatpaw grooming her fur.

"It's okay." Stoatpaw said. "Just smile."

Stealthpaw grew a weak smile, and buried her head on Stoatpaw's chest Ashe quietly cried.


Mousepatch, Eaglecry and Thornstar were looking through the bushes late that night.

"Do you smell him?" Mousepatch asked Eaglecry.

"No. Not a thing." She said. Eaglecry was the best trackers in ThunderClan, it was terrifying if she couldn't find him.

"Where could Foxpaw have gone?! I shouldn't have made him hunt alone!" Mousepatch cried as Thornstar approached him.

"He must think I don't trust him, I should have talked to him-!"

"It's okay, Mousepatch." Thornstar assured the dark grey tom.

"We know you care about Foxpaw. We just need to keep looking."

"Uh, Thornstar."

The ThunderClan leader sees Eaglecry pointing her paw at a bramble bush.

The two toms look at the thorns and found ginger fur tufts.

"It's Foxpaw's!" Mousepatch exclaimed.

"Yes, and it's mixed with pine tree scent like someone tried to hide it,"

Eaglecry said.

Thornstar's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Foxpaw is stolen by ShadowClan."

2,889 words. Enjoy this hugely written chapter (in my view) and be sure to review!

So Squirrelpaw is called Rodney by his kittypet-turned-loner mother. There's a hidden reference to an old CartoonNetwork show behind that, although I'm firing blanks with how barren this reference might be... It's from a cartoon called "Squirrel Boy", and one of the main characters was an anthropomorphic squirrel named Rodney.

My God, Stealthpaw is oblivious to Stoatpaw's emotions! This is something I like to call the early onset of the "Ash Ketchum" syndrome. But don't worry, it won't last forever.

Next time, the Clan discovers Foxpaw's kidnapping!