So, I was checking my stats an- HOLEY BOHJEEZUM, over a hundred views? Hmm... and only ten reviews... not that I'm unhappy with ten, mind you, I'm very happy with them, just wondering what could be... but, still, I'm very happy with it, I mean, wow!
Responding to reviewers... now!
To Rainy1212: Sorry I didn't thank you for your review last chapter! I was... really distracted when I posted it... my bad. Sorry I made you cry, broskie, but, I'm happy, it was my intent, to make all you people suffer and be sad. With this, I will take over the world! Want an Interweb cookie?
To Skymist20: Thank you! It really makes me happy that people are reading! I update as fast as possible (psst! Reviews help!)
To Cinderstar377: Yeah, I thought it would be cute with the whole slug thing. Sorry I didn't thank you or reply to you last chapter! As I told Rainy1212, I was distracted. Thank you, I had no idea that there were other assassin fics! Well, I knew there was a chance, buuut naivety is golden? :)
To Egyptian Warrior: Thankies. Yep, I pulled that string, and felled Thunderclan like a pine tree.
To yet another, (or maybe the same...?) Guest: Yes, I did. I wanted to A: torture Ravenscorch, because I love him to bits and B: tug a few heartstrings. Plus, ShadowClan is kinda... I dunno, bitey? I loved Dawn too, but I didn't think I'd be able to keep her personality up, so I go rid of her... er, I mean, I killed her to add drama! Hehe...eh...
Other than this hooge arse A/N (oh mai, it's big!) here's the hooge arse chaptah!
-O-
Ravenscorch stumbled, catching his paw on a rock. He barely felt the pain when his ankle twisted. He picked up his paw, and limped along, his blue eyes trained on the ground. Nowhere specific, just the ground. His gaze was blank, his mind in shock.
No... Dawnshadow is NOT gone... she can't be! This is just... just a bad dream, one I'll wake up from, and she'll be there to groom my head... she's not dead... she can't die... no, no, no, no, no! What will her father think... her mother when I get back, and tell them I let these cats kill their daughter? No, they won't think anything, because she's not dead... this is just a test.
Yes! A test, Novastar set it up to see just how loyal I am, to see how I'll react when things get tough... I failed... blood and guts, I failed... she always told me, never love or care, don't get too close, always finish the mission no matter what! Well... actually, we kind of finished the mission... except we all got killed... That's it, I'm dead, and since I've been so horrid my whole life, I'm in Dark Forest, and the Ancestors are punishing me for what I've done!
...but will they punish Dawnshadow? They can't, she was going to have kits... she hated killing those kits... she hated killing cats... it wasn't her fault she was brought up the way she was... I deserve being punished... I didn't hesitate to kill, Dawnshadow said so herself that I had no heart... but she didn't mean that, though... why did she have to go die? Why? She just... gave up. You don't give up... she still could have taken a few down with her... why did she give up?! She didn't need to! Why did I give up?! I could have helped! Why...?
He didn't notice it when they entered the ShadowClan Camp. Nor did he notice it when he was sat down, and a cat, the sister of the queen, demanded answers from him. Only when she swiped her claws over his face did he look up.
Grieving eyes met with grieving eyes.
-O-
Budshell flinched when she saw the pain in his eyes, the sorrow. She almost felt compassion. Almost. Blood dripped down his chin from where she had clawed him. He reached a paw up, and touched the raw scratches, and pulled away. Red glistened on his paw. He frowned, and kept it hovering just above the ground.
"Are you going to answer me, cat? Or are you just going to sit there giving your paw sad eyes?" she raged at him.
"Budshell..." Gorgeswift, her brother, said softly by her side.
She ignored him, "Well?"
The tom met her eyes again, and spoke, his hoarse voice sending shivers down her back. This cat had been screaming... but at what? "What do you want? Can't you just leave me be?" he growled.
"Why did you kill my sister's kits, you pile of frog guts?" Budshell hissed.
"Why did your Clan kill my mate and her kits?" he shot back at her.
"We didn't kill any kits, unlike you,"
"You're wrong, you killed them alright, before they breathed, before they opened their eyes. You killed them before they even lived," he looked wretched.
Budshell narrowed her eyes, "Then their idiot mother shouldn't have got into battle,"
-O-
Something snapped inside Ravenscorch. He reared up on his haunches, and caterwauled as loud as he could, "Don't you DARE speak of Dawnshadow like that!" his claws unsheathed, cats gasped, "She was a good cat, not a monster like me... she never wanted to kill kits, but she faced death by mauling of her Clan if she didn't do as she was bidden! You call her an idiot, but she was just doing her part to stay alive!" his wail turned into a low growl.
The she-cat, the tom had called her Budshell, staggered back in fright.
"And I failed to keep my end of the promise we made..."
-O-
Budshell flattened her ears.
The tom cat gave her a feral look, and his fur stood up again, his blue eyes seeming like fire, "Leave me!" he roared, baring his fangs.
Claw-heathen, one of the guards, struck the cat, pinning him down to the ground, "Any more bursts like that, and we'll kill you," he growled.
"Then so let it be," the tom hissed, poison leaking out of his words, "So let it be,"
-O-
"Budshell, are you alright?" the blue and red marbled she-cat spun at the mention of her name.
Her sister, Eveninglight, was sitting next to her, a worried expression on her face, "I should be asking you that," she sighed, leaning against her sister's side.
"I'll heal. Things happen, and when stuff goes sideways, you just gotta bear through it,"
Budshell couldn't help but smirk at her sister. Rough, tough and growly Eveninglight, no one had ever thought she would have kits, they always said it would be Budshell stuck with the life of mother dearest. It was a surprise when Eveninglight had kits.
"Yeah, I guess..." she meowed, twitching her notched ear.
"You coming on the attack on WindClan?"
Budshell perked up a little, "Dunno, when is it?"
"Four or so sunrises. Yellowstar wants us ready as soon as possible,"
"I might go... but, this whole assassin business seems... strange," Budshell flicked her tail.
Eveninglight quirked an eye-ridge at her sister, "Strange? WindClan just didn't want to dirty their paws,"
"I suppose... that tom... do you think he was telling the truth?" she asked, pulling up a paw to nibble at a shedding claw.
Her sister gave her yet another odd look, "I don't think so, not at all. Those cats... there's something more to them than just assassins, sweety, they're liars too,"
Budshell looked up to her older sister and frowned, Then why are we believing them and attacking WindClan? She thought.
-O-
Ravenscorch laid in the temporary nest the leader, Yellowstar, had provided for him. He was still out in the open, but it was better than sitting in the dust.
He stared at his outstretched paws. The fur on the tips of his toes was stiff with dried blood. The blood of the kits. He extended his claws. There were tufts of soft fur under them. Also from the kits. He sighed softly, and laid his head down. He caught a glimpse of his chest fur, stained brown from the dried lifeblood of Dawnshadow. It was but one of the painful reminders that she was gone.
There was a pitter-patter. Then silence. Another patter, and a squeak. He could spy three kits, he had no idea of how they'd not been caught in the attack, creeping up on him. He lay still, watching them like squirrels. He snapped his head to the side, surprising the youngsters.
"Ah!" one squeaked, diving behind a lump of left over nesting material, "Did he see us?" he could hear the whisper.
"Yes," Ravenscorch said in a harsh tone, "I did,"
They all mewed in surprise, and took off running to the nursery, all except one. A small brown tabby tom.
"Well," he said, "you scare them, but you don't scare me," he said a matter of factly.
Ravenscorch snorted, and buried his nose in the nest, "What do you want, kit?"
The youngling stayed a good distance away from the nest, being mindful of the older cat's space, "I'm curious. You killed the other kits in the nursery, and I want to know why," he sat down with a bump.
"It was my mission. Too bad you escaped," Ravenscorch said irritably.
The kit seemed unfazed, "I didn't escape. I wasn't there. My mother took me and my other siblings out to explore some of the territory. It was awesome, 'cause now I'll be more prepared for when I'm an apprentice," he puffed out his chest.
"You won't be too prepared when I smash you like a moth. Beat it, kid," Ravenscorch growled.
"My name's not kid, slug brain-" Ravenscorch mentally flinched, remembering Dawnshadow calling him that- "I'm Spitkit... most the others call me Spits though,"
"That's great, now get lost,"
"What's your name? Everybody says it's something nasty and cruel," Spits said, tilting his head.
"Kid. For the last time. Beat. It," Ravenscorch's growl raised a little higher.
"But I-"
He snarled angrily, and lashed his stump tail. The kit squeaked in fright, and jumped away.
"Hey, be nice to the kits!" Ravenscorch reeled away when a paw struck his face.
-O-
Budshell hissed at him angrily.
"Like I was going to kill them," the tom said quietly, "What do you want?" he looked up, obviously spotting the rat at her paws.
"Bringing you food. Though, if it were my choice, I'd see you starve. But, Yellowstar wants otherwise,"
He grunted, "Then let me starve. I don't want food, save it for those who need it,"
"Alright... I guess I can't force you," Budshell had no problem just leaving the pathetic cat. She padded away, dropping the bird back onto the pile, bumping into the medicine cat on the way, "Oh, hi Fierceclaw, what are you up to?" she asked to large tom.
He twitched his whiskers, looking fretful, "Off to look at that assassin. Yellowstar wants him mostly alive," he dragged a paw over his eye.
Budshell fought back a smirk. It was iconic to see such a large cat going about being medicine cat. Most healers were small, "Mmm. He was holding that left paw of his a bit funny, though you might want to twist it a little before treating it,"
Fierceclaw sighed, "I know you're still upset- don't snap at me about it, I know you're more than that- but, I have to treat him the best I can, I'm a medicine cat, so it's hard to hold grudges... a sprain, you say? Hmm...poppy seeds to lessen pain..." he rattled off a list of herbs under his breath as he walked away.
-O-
Ravenscorch lay on his side. He could hear a squirrel chuckling somewhere farther away from the Camp. Dawnshadow's favorite food. His stomach growled, but he ignored it. Maybe, if no one payed any attention to him, he would be fortunate enough to waste away.
He grunted when a paw poked him in the side.
"C'mon, you layabout, get up,"
He just laid there. He didn't want to move.
"You need to get up so I can treat your paw, moron,"
"Go away," the mourning tabby tom meowed.
"No. Get. Up." each word was punctuated with a paw jab.
"Let me die... I don't want to live anymore," Ravenscorch moaned, curling into a tighter ball.
"Yes you do. You want to avenge your mate, young'un,"
Ravenscorch lifted his head a little, undaunted by the huge cat before him. His size could nearly challenge Gorseshiver's, "My mate..." he said, feeling more lost than he sounded.
"Yes, your mate, kit. I have a feeling she wouldn't want you to just sit here and die of infected wounds,"
He sat up a little, "I hurt my paw... I think... I don't know, really..."
The gray healer inspected the limb, sniffing at it carefully, "Can you unsheathe your claws?" he asked.
Ravenscorch slid them out.
"Hmm... it's a sprain. Eat a couple of poppy seeds, and you'll be good. I'm out of the herbs that dispel swelling right now, need to send my lazy apprentice to go find more... those scratches on your sides, where did you get those?" the cat moved to his side, sniffing.
"When they cornered my group in the woods. They held me down so I didn't interfere," Ravenscorch said bitterly.
"Uh huh... Slidepaw, fetch me a borage root, if you would, and maybe a bit of cobweb for his face,"
A puny apprentice, Ravenscorch just noticed she was sitting there, nodded vigorously, and dashed away.
"Now if I could get her to be like that all the time. I say, are you going to eat those poppy seeds, or just stare at them?" the healer snapped at him.
"I'll just stare for now. I'm no fool, poppy makes one sleep. I'll suffer through the pain for now," Ravenscorch said sharply.
The healer frowned, "Well, I don't think it would hurt for you to sleep. Nobody's going to kill you, Yellowstar wants you alive... not that that's any better than death,"
The young apprentice returned, a root in her mouth and cobwebs on her tail, "I found them!" she said brightly, spitting out the root, and offering her tail to her mentor.
He scraped them off, and nudged her away, "Thank you, but be a little faster next time," the healer meowed gruffly.
"Yes sir!" she purred before running off.
"Hmph, slow pawed little snip..." the healer gnawed at the root for a few moments before spitting them out onto his paw, "This may sting a little,"
Ravenscorch gritted his teeth when the paw dabbed the poultice on, the juices running through the scratches and setting them aflame, "Nothing I can't handle," he ground out.
The medicine cat nodded, and sat up on his haunches, reaching his paw up to swath the still bleeding ear with cobwebs, "There you are. When did you get that nick, kid?"
"A few minutes ago, from the moody she-cat you call Budshell,"
"Slow healer, eh? I suppose so, if your ear's still beading up some, but, no cat ever died from ear cuts, so you're fine,"
Ravenscorch laid down again, settling his chin on the edge of the nest, "I would like to thank you... but, I'm afraid your efforts are in vain. I'm going to die anyways,"
The medicine cat looked disturbed, "I wouldn't count my prey before it's caught, kid. Yellowstar still has a soft spot in her, maybe you can invoke it?"
Ravenscorch gave him a look, plainly saying 'are you crazy?'
"But, what do I know? I'm just a tired old healing cat with a bouncy apprentice!" now that he mentioned it, Ravenscorch could see the signs of age on the cat. A wrinkle here, a patch of scars there, a few gray hairs dotting his muzzle, "Don't be so dour, youngster, things get worse before they get better,"
Then, he left, leaving Ravenscorch to ponder on the conversation.
-O-
"Is it Scarface?"
"No, go away,"
"Haretalon?"
"No,"
"Logface?"
"I hate you,"
"Blue-ears?"
"Go die in a hole, kit,"
"Simba?"
"What?"
"Never mind... Fishpelt?"
"For the last time, no, go away you useless lump of fur," the cat hissed at Spitkit.
He had been trying to figure out his name for the last while. He gasped in mock hurt, "Pff, and I thought we were friends... I mean, gosh, I told you my name, so it's not very polite of you to not tell me yours," he fidgeted his white tipped paws.
"Go away,"
"No! Not until you tell me your name!" Spits puffed stubbornly.
"You don't want to know me, kid. I'm a murderer, it would just soil your overall being if you knew my name,"
"I don't care,"
The cat fell silent.
"Growlthorn?"
"Not again," the tabby groaned.
"Boulderswipe?"
"Come on kid, leave me be... wait, why are the queens even letting you over here?" the cat pushed himself up to a sitting position.
"Oh, because they don't like me. My momma doesn't care too much, so they don't mind if I poke around with you... Dumbleroar?"
"What am I, a sorcerer? No, kid,"
"It's Spits!" Spitkit said indignantly.
"Will you leave me alone if I tell you?"
"Yes," though he was looping his tail behind his back.
"They call me Ravenscorch in my Clan," the tabby tom finally said.
Spitkit let his tail flop back onto the ground, and purred, "I like that name, it's cool,"
"Good, maybe you can go find it cool in a different corner," Ravenscorch mumbled.
"Nope, looped my tail. What's your Clan called?"
"Go away, Spitkit,"
"Ooh, you used my name! Anyways-"
"Youngster, leave him be. He looks like he's tired of your constant prattling,"
Spits whirled, and squeaked when he bumped into the foreleg of his leader, "Yellowstar! I-uh, yes, ma'am... but I learned his name!"
"Spitkit," Ravenscorch hissed.
"His name is Ravenscorch! Isn't that the coolest name? I like it," Spits bounced all around his leader.
"Yes, yes, quite... cat, come with me, I'm sure you'll have something to say about this whole...kerfuffle, hmm?
-O-
Cliff hanger-y thing! Gawd, why am I so mean to poor Ravenscorch? Jeezum, I thought killing poor Dawnshadow was enough, then I sent the little terror that is Spits after him! Gosh... I feel bad for my own chara.
Review, and I'll... hmm... I dunno, slap you, then put a band-aide over it? Naw, I'll just give you the cyber cookie of your choosing.