Chapter two: Lionblaze

Lionblaze was eating a small vole out in the clearing. With one last bite, the muscular warrior sat up noticing Cinderheart out in the clearing. The she-cat turned her face, her beautiful eyes staring into his own.

Lionblaze padded over to her. "We better go out on our hunting patrol." he purred. Cinderheart smiled with a quick nodded, and they both headed to find the rest of the cats.

As Lionblaze walked with Cinderheart, he spotted Hazeltail who stood with the rest of the anxious cats.

Hazeltail looked around, "Is everyone ready?" The young she-cat said, her eyes filled with excitement. With nods of approval, the she-cat turned and led the warriors out with Foxleap by her side.

Lionblaze turned his head, looking at Cinderheart. She swiftly moved through the forest, her paws barely making a sound when she stepped on the forest floor. Cinderheart looked up at him with the corner of her eye. "What are you staring at?" She asked with a smirk.

Lionblaze chuckled. "You. It's just so hard not to look at such a beautiful cat like you" He purred looking deeply in her eyes. Cinderheart blushed looking away with a purr.

Hazeltail led the patrol half the way into the forest, growing tired and slowed down, letting Foxleap take her place.

Lionblaze hooked his gaze onto Hazeltail. Her belly seemed bigger, and it took more effort for her to walk. Was she having kits soon? A sudden movement cut through Lionblaze's thoughts. Turning his head stood a large fox; its amber eyes locked onto Hazeltail letting out a deep growl. Lionblaze's fur stood up as he heard the hiss from Cinderheart behind him. The fox charged at the smaller she-cat, but Cinderheart raced in front of her friend.

"Cinderheart, no!" Lionblaze yelled as he watched her leap onto the fox, clawing at its muzzle. The fox leaped back shaking its head. Just then, three more large foxes leaped from the bush growling and barking at the smaller cats. Foxleap jumped into acting blocking one fox from attacking Hazeltail. Foxleap hissed, standing on his hind legs biting the side of the larger animal's chin, clawing its chest. The fox hissed and tossed him off with a grunt.

Lionblaze hesitated, watching Foxleap. The warrior growled. "You stay away from her!" He cried, using his strong, powerful legs to jump onto his back.

Bumblestripe Yowled as he took on one of the foxes. He fought well, acting quickly, and making smart choices where to attack. The fox grew tired, as it ran into the bushes. Lionblaze turned back to Cinderheart who was fighting two foxes at a time. Lionblaze leaped onto one of them, turning to the She-cat he loved. "Cinderheart! Go get help from the clan!"
The she-cat looked up from the fox, still clawing down hard into its side. "Are you mouse-brain? I won't let you fight these two alone!" she yelped.

Lionblaze growled. "I can do this myself!" he stared into her eyes. Something flashed in Cinderheart's eyes. She remembered. He had powers that no one else had. The cat looked into Lionblazes eyes one last time before turning away from the fox and running towards the camp, but a fox was blocking her way. Lionblaze wanted to help her but felt a fox behind him, charging at the golden warrior with snarls. He leaped over onto its backside clawing down its leg. Blood poured out, as the fox yowled. Turning, the fox tried to kick him off, but Lionblaze was already giving hard blows on the muzzle, clinging on his head. The fox shook him off, limping away.

Lionblaze waited until the fox was fully gone, then quickly turned thinking about Cinderheart as he saw her in the jaws of the large fox. Her body was limp and weak. Lionblaze's eyes went wide as he kicked the large animal with his strong blacklegs, and pushed over the fox onto its side.

Cinderheart poured out of its jaws, landing hard on the ground. Confused, Lionblaze turned to see Foxtail's injuries. He was trying as hard as he could to protect Hazeltail, but didn't have enough strength.

Turning back, Cinderheart pushed herself up as the five cats looked up at the foxes which were growling and hissing. Lionblaze started to get a little worried. The helpless cats flinched, thinking that they would get destroyed by the foxes but Lionblaze leaped at a fox as it just kicked its chest. The fox tumbled over as Lionblaze landed on his paws getting back up leaping again, but they pushed him back down. He felt the hot breath of the foxes about to clamp down on him.

Why couldn't I fight the foxes? Why are my powers not working? How am I going to protect the others? He asked himself.

Lionblaze closed his eyes at the thought of Cinderheart, but the fox never bit down on him. There was another movement in the bush, making the fox turn its head. It was silent until something leaped out. Lionblaze's eyes narrowed as he realized it was Dovewing and a group of cats. He spotted Bramblestar in the crowed.

The cats yowled their battle cries, running to where the foxes where. The foxes backed up with surprise trying to fight with the little energy they had left. Soon, the larger animals quickly realized that this wasn't there fight, and ran away. The Clan cats cheered in there victory as they watched the foxes run away.

Lionblaze pushed himself up to his feel, staring with shock. "How did you know we were in danger? We were so far from camp!" He cried as Bramblestar turned his head.

"You should thank Dovewing." He replied padding up to him. "She told us you were in danger." He explained as Dovewing turned her head. She winked at him, making her ears twitch. He understood that she used her powers to find them. The golden tom let out a sigh in relief knowing everything was okay.

Dovewing sat down next to him. "It was weird. I had my senses out because I was following Jayfeather and right when I realized that I could hear the fight with the foxes, my senses stopped. I now can't reach out anymore." She said tilting her head to the side. "The last thing I saw was the battle." She explained. "When you were fighting, did your powers not work?" She asked curiously.

Lionblaze blinked his eyes, and started to put the pieces together. "Well now that I think about it, I do remembering not being able to fight as well in the battle. The foxes kept pushing me over as if I was some piece of road kill."

Dovewing looked up. "I guess Starclan took back our powers. . . For good now. Now since they are not needed for the Dark Forest battle, we might not ever get them back" She whispered as the wind tugged on her fur.

Lionblaze looked up into the sky, which was turning into a dark filled sky with little stares watching over them. "I glad it's over." He told her. "We now can forget about our old bad memories. This is a new start for everyone." He said as he watched Bumblestripe walk next to Dovewing's flank. Dovewing purred as she got up beside him.

Dovewing turned and smiled to Bumblestripe. "Let's go home." She purred as she stood up next to the large and strong warrior's side.

Lionblaze watched Dovewing and Bumblestripe walk away together back to camp. All he could now think about was Cinderheart. He spotted her sitting next to Bramblestar, who was checking her wounds. He saw that she did have some deep gashes, but Foxtail came from the bushes with some cobwebs and pressed them on her cuts. He got up and slowly limped his way to her side, sitting down next to her.

Dovewing was right. It really was over and now he could be focused on more than one thing. He could have Cinderheart as a mate, just like he always wanted.