Chapter 14

"Saving Private Foxflame."

8/8/16 - 8/9/16

Stealthpaw heard the sound of wailing. She opens her eyes and saw nothing but darkness. Stealthpaw could barely see her own nose without the dimly, green lit fungus growing up on the tree trunks. She heard the wailing become louder, and she recognized it.

Foxflame?

Stealthpaw gets up and pads toward the bramble bushes where the yowl was coming from. She crouches down and peers through the thorns. Foxflame was pinned down by a tortoiseshell and white she cat, but he kicked his hind legs in her stomach and scrambled to his paws.

"How dare you?!" The she cat spat. "I brought you up since you were a kit, when nobody wanted you!"

"I don't care!" Foxflame lashed his tail. "I never should have listened to you! I'm not doing your so called training anymore-!"

The tortoiseshell she cat smacked Foxflame down and rendered him unconscious.

"Stop it!" Stealthpaw yowled, jumping out of the brambles. The tortoiseshell turned her gaze on her, maliciously.

"Well, well, well." She purred, padding toward Stealthpaw. "If isn't the fake kitty cat?"

"F-Fake…?"

"Don't play dumb with me," the tortoiseshell sneered. "Everyone from the goody two paws StarClan to here in the Dark Forest knows about the slow Twoleg who became a cat!"

Stealthpaw's fur bristles wildly. The tortoiseshell smirked at her horror.

"Just in case you didn't know, my name is Mapleshade."

Stealthpaw sees gleaming, evil eyes peering through the darkness, all staring at her.

"Welcome to your end."

Mapleshade lunged and pinned Stealthpaw down. The gold she cat bit on her throat and raked her claws on her shoulders before kicking her away. Then, Foxflame knocked her aside.

"Let's go - now!"

Foxflame and Stealthpaw ran from the countless voices screaming at them. Foxflame was running through the shadows in Stealthpaw's mind, but he seems to know where he's going.

Foxflame suddenly came to an abrupt stop.

"Fox dung! I don't recognize this stream!" He glared at the swampy, murky brook separating them from the land on the other side.

"We'll have to cross it." Foxflame turned to Stealthpaw and nudged her forward.

"Wha-?! Why me?!"

"Just go, I'll meet you on the other side!"

Stealthpaw quickly places both paws in the water and felt herself plunge.

She struggled to keep her head up the current as she sees Foxflame swimming toward her before her head plunged into the water again.

She feels teeth grasping her scruff and pull her toward the shore, and saw… Foxflame staring at her in horror.

"Stealthpaw, are you okay?!"

Wait… Then who fished me out?

She turned her attention to the ginger cat as Stealthpaw sees dozens of cats charging toward them.

"There's no time!" The ginger she cat said. She pushes through the dead brambles without another word. Foxflame made sure Stealthpaw went ahead first, and they were almost blinded by the sunlight.

The yowls of the Dark Forest cats faded behind the healthy bramble bushes.

Foxflame dips his head to the ginger she cat.

"Thank you for saving us."

"I shouldn't have to!" The she cat snapped. "What kind of mouse brain goes to the Dark Forest willingly?!"

Stealthpaw scanned the ginger she cat carefully; her pelt is bright ginger, like Foxflame's, with a slender, strong build and has a white chest and paws, and tabby stripes and almost gold eyes.

"Wait… Are you related to Foxflame?" She asked. "You look like him."

Foxflame looks at the she cat closer. His nose twitched, and his amber eyes widen with shock.

"You… You still smell like the nursery…" Foxflame's fore legs shook slightly.

"A-Are you Hawkstorm?"

"... Yes, I am."

Foxflame sobs, and he brushed his muzzle with Hawkstorm and rests his head on her shoulder. Hawkstorm licked his ears.

"I know, I know…" She whispers. "I'm so sorry you had to go through it alone. Trust me, if I had been there, Stormtail would have lost a tail and an ear."

"Nobody would tell me! Nobody told me, they just pretended that you didn't exist! They pretended that I didn't-!"

"I know, little one." Hawkstorm said as Foxflame removes his head from her shoulder.

"But let me tell you something. You have the strength of a ShadowClan cat, but you have the heart of ThunderClan. And that's the thing that's important to our Clan, not for your heritage."

Foxflame nods sadly.

"I'll see you again, right?"

"I'll always be in your dreams." She replied. Foxflame's body vanished in the wind, and Stealthpaw assumes that he woke up. She turned to look at Hawkstorm.

"As for you, little Twoleg." Hawkstorm purred. "Please don't stop looking out for my son, and thank you all for being there for him."

Stealthpaw's vision began to cloud over with darkness, and she accepted it.


The weather began to get colder. And for thin pelts it's a freezing nightmare, which is exactly what Crowstar was experiencing. He crosses the tree to the Gathering island, and sees a tawny gold tom waiting expectantly, with his tail curled over his paws.

"I've been expecting you."

"I assume you're Lionstar now."

Crowstar sees a cream colored she cat next to him, her stomach was heavy and swollen.

"Who is she?"

Lionstar looks at the she cat - who shrunk under his stare - and smiles.

"This is just Thrushwing, my mate. Don't worry, she won't say anything."

Thrushwing tensed when Lionstar's tail brushed her spine. She forced herself to nod.

Crowstar ignored her plight and sits down in front of Lionstar.

"Stormtail tells me that you talking about wanting to see me."

"I wanted to discuss the situation with ThunderClan." Lionstar replied calmly.

Crowstar narrowed his blue eyes, and Lionstar chuckled.

"Everyone isn't blind to the hostilities between your Clan and ThunderClan, but you're going about it too obviously. Your openly challenging Thornstar and his cats and it won't win over the rest of the other Clans."

Crowstar tilts his head.

"What are you proposing?"

Lionstar can see the interest in Crowstar's eyes so obviously. The black tom was just as eager for dominance as Lionstar, and he had no idea about his true intentions…

"Let me show you the best way to disguise your scent…"