Goodness! The reception I got on chapter one! Three reviews in only a few hours? Usually takes days for that kind of thing. Goodness me. I didin't know this was such a good idea! Anyways, I'm back with a bang on this chapter, and what a long on it is!
Replying to my first reviewer, Ashlight11:
Thank you so much for your review! It made me dance in smarty pants. I'll get along to explaining more about the Clan as I go, adding tidbits here and there. But thank you for reviewing, and yes, that is the question of the deal, isn't it?
To Rainy1212: Yes, I am continuing this story, I plan to actually finish it too *gasp* I've only done that twice.
To Guest: Thanks, will do.
To all, a cyber cookie of your choosing for reviewing.
-O-
"All assassins and apprentices, gather 'round!"
Ravenscorch yawned, and streched out of his nest in the hollow of his tree. He pulled out of the trunk of the large cedar tree, and onto one of the bridges that spanned the Camp. Down the stick and ground vine suspention he padded, brushing past other cats. He paused for a moment to admire his home.
Bridges wound through the canopy of cedar trunks, made by the paws of their anscestors. Some bridges led to shelves of splintered wood where a branch had sheared off, leaving a hollow just large enough for a den, while others connected to one another and through the trees themselves. Near the ground were several root dens for the lower ranked cats, while higher up were the kitting dens.
All the trees, mostly cedar and oak, sat in a huge ring around a large clearing, encircling a large rock with a hole near the peak. The leaders' den. Sticks and stones were woven and placed hither and thither on the trunks, making secure fences.
The tabby tom grinned, and made his way down one of the winding path of bridges, eventually joining with a large mass of other cats on their way down. They arrived at Render Stone in record time.
Ravenscorch shifted uneasily when their deputy, a wisened old gray tom, stepped back, and a figure cloaked in the furs of both prey and fallen enimies stepped forward. The sound of clinking reached all ears when the hood of the cloak was nudged back by the toss of a head. All bowed their necks respectfully under the gaze of their leader.
"Assassins. Trainees. Queens. Kits. I bear exciting news!" Novastar yowled, her silky voice gripping all like a vice, "The war and plan had been set in motion. ThunderClan declared war upon ShadowClan just this morning!"
There were several cheers.
Novastar flicked her ears, the hoops on them clicking, "Yes, very exciting indeed. Assassins and your trainees. I expect you to be battle ready in by sun high. Queens and Kits, should our plan go awry, I want you reinforcing the walls, and cutting the bridges, drawing the spikes and preparing the rocks. Healers and sourcerers, ready your potions and herbs, read the snail tracks and puddles, or whatever you do, I want a clear report on battle before we march."
As each group was mentioned, the cats nodded and called out 'ma'ams'.
"Are my intentions clear?" she growled harshly, stepping forward on the rock legde to look down on her clan.
The whole Camp rocked with cheers.
-O-
Budshell hissed in pain as a claw caught her ear, notching it. She spun, and met her attacker with a downward slam of her paw.
The large orange tom stumbled as his head was smacked into the ground, "ShadowClan filth," he growled, springing up at her.
The blue and red marbled she-cat sprang backwards, narrowly missing his claws, "I don't have a clue about what you're speaking of. My Clan is innocent," she hissed back.
A shrieking bundle of two cats crashed between them, distracting the two for a moment. Budshell flicked her bleeding ear, sending ruby dropplets through the air. The ThunderClan tom bouldered into her, using his broad chest to push her to the ground, "Let me go!" she yowled, kicking at his exposed underbelly.
He bit into her foreleg, right above the elbow. She shrieked in pain when she felt his fangs scrape bone. The she-cat kicked again, and this time she sliced through skin.
He growled, and rolled off of her, "Scum,"
Budshell flattened her ears. She had no clue as to what was going on. The day before, all was fine, and early in the morning, a messanger had come to declare that ThunderClan was to wage war on them. Over what, though?
"You know, I'm getting rather tired of that. Why is your Clan... mmm... in such a tiff?" she asked, leaping out of his outstretched claws again, "Tsk, you'll need to do better,"
"Save your tainted words for the Dark Forest. Those kits didn't need to die!"
Now she was truly interested. The orange tom, Spitfire if she remembered right, barreled at her again, this time pinning her more eficciantly. Budshell spat in his face, "What kits?"
His whiskers trembled in rage, "The ones your filthy Clan killed!"
Budshell hissed, and reared her head forward, landing a bite on his chest. He stumbled away, "I don't know what you're talking about, tom," she said, swishing her tail.
"Oh, trust me, you will,"
-O-
Ravenscorch led his deadly group along into the Thunderclan Camp. Apparently, they were among the strongest Clans around the lake... well, not for very long at least. The five discovered the enterance to the old quarry easily, pushing throught brambles and thorns until they stood in the clearing of the Camp itself.
Biteswift smirked, and yowled as loud as she could. Cats began to peek out from a few dens, mostly queens and elders, though a few warriors had stayed.
"Greetings ThunderClan," Ravenscorch purred loudly, stalking forward.
The three warriors that had been left, and two queens came to meet them, fur bristling, "Who are you?" an older warrior growled threateningly, "Who let you in?"
"Your incompetent guards. Don't worry they'll live... maybe. To answer your other question, I am Ravenscorch, and these are my companions, who's names are so utterly boring, you'll not want me to recite them," he grinned at his group, whom all gave him a scowl.
"Why are you here?" the warrior's voice was rising.
"Why, to take your Camp and Clan," Biteswift snarked behind his leader.
"Yeah?" a small apprentice squeaked from behind a queen, most likely it's mother, "You an' what army?"
The five purred, and Ravenscorch sneezed a laugh, "This one," he said, his voice turning cold and somber.
AssassinClan cats flooded into the Camp, faster than water into a hole. All of them had their simple vine paw bracelets around foreleg ankles, and war collars of the same material.
"I suggest you, uh, you know, surrender now," Siege-ear sniggered.
"You can't do this!" the warrior growled when a few assassins began to prod the ThunderClan cats away.
"We just did, Dawnshadow purred from Ravenscorch's side.
"So let it be,"
-O-
Ravenscorch grinned from ear to ear, singing the rowdy war song with his fellow Assassins. He really didn't know the words, it was a barracks song, the song of the lesser Assassins, but he sang at every part he knew.
They were seated in a huge circle on the inside of the ThunderClan camp, some of them up the huge tree in the middle of the hollow, others on the Highledge. Novastar had sent half of her warriors into the capture, twenty four in all. Nearby, the ThunderClan warriors sat, broken and desheveled. Some, like their stupid leader, had protested, and attacked, and had been beaten until they submitted. The kits and apprentices were all seperated from the main group and surrounded by the more vicious Assassins to discourage any escapes and attacks. Two or three young ones had already been killed in response to the deputy lashing out.
Ravenscorch frowned when he saw Rendersnarl, one of the meaner cats of his Clan, swatting a small kit from paw to paw, chuckling to himself with glee. He padded swiftly to the large cat, and caught his paw when he went to smack the kit, this time with unsheathed claws.
"Rendersnarl, my good fellow, I do believe killing kits and harming them is only needed when there is trouble amongst the ranks, not for enjoyment," Ravenscorch said, a hint of a growl in his tone.
Rendersnarl bared his teeth, and pushed the tom's paw away, smacking the kit again with more force. It cried out in pain. The ThunderClan cats looked ready to burst with anger. Ravenscorch snarled at the huge cat, and threw his weight into him. Rendersnarl yelped in surprise, and fell heavily, Ravenscorch's teeth scraping at the skin on the back of his neck, "Clanmate, I don't think it would be wise to anger Her Terror's personal Assassin, now would it?" he said softly in Rendersnarl's ear.
"N-no, sir," Rendersnarl whimpered.
"Good," he slunk off of the larger cat, scoring his claws down his flank in a stretch. Rendersnarl growled, but did nothing, "But, try your luck again, and we'll get to see just how vicious these ThunderClan cats are,"
Renderscorch staggered to his paws, "Sir,"
But, Ravenscorch ignored him, and went swiftly to where the small kit still cowered, shivering in the dust, "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
The kit looked up at him with scared, yet very surprised eyes, "No," she whimpered.
"Can you walk?"
She tried to get to her paws, but fell, "No,"
Ravenscorch sighed, and looked over the scrap. Her gray fur was brown with dirt, and caked with blood and mud, lumps were torn out where Rendersnarl's claws had snagged. He muttered something under his breath, and turned his attention to the ThunderClan leader, "You there, where's your healer?"
Before he could answer, a sprightly gray she-cat pushed through the crowd, "Here," she said, her voice betraying just how young she was. Ravenscorch could just remember he had killed her mentor earlier.
He picked the young kit up by her scruff, and the whole ThunderClan gasped. The tom set her down gently at the paws of the healer, "Take care of her. I apologize for my Clanmate's stupidity, he is of the lower ranks, and they don't tend to think," Ravenscorch could just hear Rendersnarl's hiss somewhere behind him.
The healer look astonished, "I- thank you, there has been enough death today," she said softly, leaning down the lick the top of the kit's head.
"And there is room for more tomorrow," Ravenscorch answered, making sure she heard the steely tone in his voice. He rounded away from her, and padded back into the throng of his Clanmates. Only when he sat down did he notice how quiet it had gotten. All eyes were on him.
Dawnshadow appeared at his side, and purred, "Maybe you do have a bit of warmth in that cold heart of yours," she teased.
"Hmph,"
The cats all around them purred laughs, and went back to talking and singing.
"I need to get back to Camp, Dawn," he said after a moment, "I need to speak with Her Evilness, and plan the next attack,"
Dawnshadow sneezed softly, "Mind if I tag along?"
He cast a sidelong glance to her, "Why not?"
-O-
"Novastar? Ravenscorch and his group are requesting an audience," Smokeshiver, the AssassinClan deputy, called into the den.
"He may have it,"
Smokeshiver meowed a thank you, and nodded to Ravenscorch and Dawnshadow. The two bowed their heads, and padded in from the rock ledge into the large den.
Novastar sat on a nest of feathers and fur, held atop a mound of bones, nibbling on a thrush. She flicked a peirced ear, the hoops jingling against the rib bone studs, "Yes, what is it?" she said, spitting gristle from her mouth.
"Greetings, Novastar, this cat would like to know the next step to take in the invasion, so he may get his cats ready," Ravenscorch meowed, slipping into a formal manner of speech.
The black cat looked interested, and tossed the thrush aside. It landed with a thud, and Ravenscorch's stomach gurgled; it had been awhile since he had last eaten. Novastar climbed down from her pyre, a few bones clanking down, "You don't need to bow your head, and humble your voice, Assassin, not at the moment. I should be the one doing so, seeing as how you made this grand victory possible,"
Ravenscorch met her milky white eyes with his own, his black pupils connecting with her slitted red ones, "Thank you, but I cannot take your praise. It's my job to serve. That's why I came here today, so I could ask on the next mission,"
Novastar sat down in front of the two cats, her long, fluffy tail curling around her paws, "Hmm, yes, the next misison. We need more sabotage, ShadowClan mayhaps? Lead a trail to WindClan, they have grudges among one another from another time," she licked at a paw, and dragged it carefully over an ear.
"Yes, Your Darkness. When will this need to be done?"
Novastar grinned, "Oh, don't be too hasty to attack the leaf, young one, it may just lead you to be far too tired to attack more. We will wait for a few days, tire out the ThunderClan cats so they have no will to fight, then, you and your band will cross the border, and repeat what you did in ThunderClan,"
Dawnshadow looked hesitant to speak at first, then offered her piece, "Do we need to kill all the kits, ma'am?" she asked quietly.
Novastar gave her an odd look, "Yes, why wouldn't you? The more you slaughter, the more angry they'll get! The more angry they are, the less likely they are to notice small details! It's brilliant,"
Dawnshadow nodded.
"Now, leave me. I must rest,"
"Yes, Novastar," the two cats replied respectfully.
-O-
"You know, Raven, I didn't mean it yesterday when I said you were cold," Dawnshadow said.
Ravenscorch sighed, "I know, you were just... upset,"
They padded along a beaten path in the dark comfines of the Camp, occasionally weaving around a group of chatting cats. Though the Clan was large itself, the Camp only contained so much room, only six or seven trees, though that changed every season.
"Good late-day, Ravenscorch," a black and gray tabby meowed swiftly as he galloped past the two cats, obviously on some sort of personal mission.
"You too, Seasonwhisker," Ravenscorch called after his friend.
The tom turned his attention to Dawnshadow, "Anyways, where were we?"
"Me saying sorry,"
"Oh, yes, continue on, then," Ravenscorch said playfully, ducking a swipe from her paw.
"You bafoon. I'm sorry I was so mean, it's just, you're so loyal to her, it scares me," Dawnshadow said with a low meow.
Ravenscorch wandered to a patch of sunlight filtering through the dense canopy of conifers above. Dawnshadow nodded her thanks to him, and circled a few times before laying down in the grass. Ravenscorch settled next to her.
"How so?" he asked, grooming her head.
She sighed, and leaned her whole body against his, "Well, just think, what if she went completely off her nut, more than she already is, and made you her total assassin? Her grunt, making you do her dirty work... what if she sent you after the Clan itself? Made you kill cats you cared about?" she shuddered.
Ravenscorch's pelt went cold for a moment. He had never really thought of that. In his eyes, Novastar was the perfect leader, though a little crazy sometimes, the kind of leader he would always be happy to follow, "Dawn, if it came to her going that crazy..." he looked around to see if any cat was around, then leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I'd smash her like a vole,"
The black and gray tabby she-cat jerked away in surprise, "Really? For your friends?" she asked.
His expression darkened slightly, "I don't have friends, just comrades, my squad. I'd do it for you,"
Dawnshadow purred softly, "Wow, you're just as romantic as a slug, Raven. But, thank you, it makes me feel better to know that I... or, rather we, will be safe when she goes nuts,"
Ravenscorch flicked his ears in confusion, "Well, yeah, we'll both be fine, of course we will,"
The she-cat grew a deadpan look, and sighed, "No, you nitwit, not we as in you and I,"
He cocked his head, "Then what do you mean?"
She gave an exasperated groan, "Ravenscorch! You're killing me here! Think really hard about 'we' if it's not you and me,"
He thought for a moment, and it came to him, "We... you mean...?"
Finally, she grinned, "Yes, you stupid lump of fur. Kits. That's why I was being so moody after the raid," she said.
"Wow... I... wow..." Ravenscorch purred, nudging his head against hers, "You see, this is why I love you being my mate, you're full of surprises. I never know what to expect!"
Dawnshadow meowed a laugh, "You've got the romantic skills of a slug, and the smarts of one too. But, I can't get rid of you yet, you're stuck to me," she said in mock annoyance.
"Well, if I'm stuck to you, then I'm stuck to you like the slug I am,"
-O-
Well, I'll be. I finished a new chapter in record time. A bit of insight on Ravenscorch and Dawnshadow, and more on what the Camp looks like. After I get ahold of my kindle again (I lost it somehow...) I'll be able to check which territories are where, and describe where the Camp is for you guys. And, if you havn't picked it up yet, most of the AssassinClan cats are some dark color, black, gray, dark brown, all that stuffs.