Hullo all! I'm back with a new update! This chapter seems so long, took me ages to write it! Anyway
Read and Review!
*~*~*Clouds are gathering. Storms are raging. Hearts are breaking. In this Game of Life and Death*~*~*
Chapter 8: Love In a Dark Place
The High Stars dismissed the contestants after their introductions with instructions to follow Tigerstar to where they would be sleeping over the next few days. They had said that the training would be difficult but might save their lives.
And after the shock of meeting Death, all the contestants wanted to learn as much as they could.
Screech padded silently towards the back of the group, his eyes fixed on the back of Berrypaw's head. He was mesmerised by the way she held her head high, even when the High Stars had scorned her for her size and 'failed prodigy' status.
Tigerstar's sudden yowl made him jump. "Stick to the path!" he screeched. "The creatures that walk in the forests will give you nightmares for seasons to come."
Sinkingsun arched her back and hissed at the shadows as if daring them to come and get her. Screech did not understand the strange she-cat and the other tom from her Clan. He had been brought up to not trust anyone from RisingClan. And he wasn't about to forget it.
Again his eyes strayed back to Berrypaw but his heart received a nasty shock when he found her staring right back at him. His eyes flew to his paws and he could feel the heat rushing to his ears. But he wasn't expecting to hear her voice close to his ear. "I saw you watching me before, Screech," she murmured. "Tell me, why would a rogue such as yourself take any interest in a Clan cat like me?"
Screech bit back his harsh response. It would only anger her more. "I am a Clan cat too, Berrypaw. I just haven't been brought up the same way as you," he replied quietly.
"No one in your Clan acts the way a Clan cat should!" Berrypaw growled.
"I know. And it's a harsh way to live," Screech admitted. "But it's my home."
Berrypaw made a disbelieving sound and stalked away. "You better come up with better things to talk about next time," she threw over her shoulder as she stalked off.
Next time?
XxXxXxXxXx
"You will be sleeping and eating here," Tigerstar commanded. "You can't leave here until one of the Callers comes to get you. Once the sun goes down I recommend you vanish into those dens." Then the dark tabby was gone.
Burningmoon stared mindlessly to where he would have expected the sun to be setting. But instead all he saw was a few, almost invisible, streams of light filtering through the thick trees. He sighed, went to enter the den and walked straight into a mass of black fur. "Hey watch it!" hissed an angry voice.
"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't see you there," Burningmoon retorted. It wasn't until the cat he had bumped into turned around that he realised how much trouble he was in. Badgerstrike raised his huge head to stare down at Burningmoon.
"I could turn you into crow food with one swipe," Badgerstrike snarled.
Burningmoon shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "How about we leave the fighting to the arena?" Badgerstrike snarled and disappeared into the den, his tail slapping Burningmoon across the muzzle as he went. Burningmoon hastily backed away from the den entrance. He had decided against sleeping in that den tonight. His eyes flicked over the other 3 dens. Twelve cats, four dens, four cats in each. That's two different Clans sharing the same den! How absurd! His thoughts had almost overrun him when he noticed that the final light sun rays were fading away rapidly. He took a guess of what den he would be sleeping in and dove into it, only to be confronted by Sinkingsun's surprised face.
"Oh hello Burningmoon," she purred. "I wondered where you had gone."
"I was outside…talking to Badgerstrike," he replied awkwardly. He had already picked up on the other two cats in the den. Galesong and Nightfall of WaveClan. Sinkingsun shrugged her shoulders and curled up in her nest.
"Your nest is over there," she murmured pointing to the only empty nest in the den. Burningmoon nodded his thanks to the she-cat and stretched out in his nest. As his eyes closed he thought he saw Dashingfox's gleaming pale green eyes.
XxXxXxXxXx
Wake up.
Wake up little one.
The sun is rising, even though you cannot see it.
It is time for you to learn of things that will save you.
And when the sun sets and you return to your nest.
I will be here also, waiting to watch over you as you sleep.
Wake up.
Berrypaw lurched awake, the last remnants of her strange dream echoing in her mind. The voice sounded frighteningly familiar but she could not put a name to it. She sighed loudly and rolled over in her nest only to open her eyes and see Screech's sleeping figure a few tail lengths away. Despite her hatred towards RogueClan she couldn't help purr when she saw how ruffled his fur was. It was a thought that was neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Screech stirred in his sleep and muttered a name under his breath. Berrypaw.
Berrypaw draw back in shock. Why would he be dreaming about me!? The air suddenly felt hot and sticky within the den and Berrypaw decided that fresh air would be best. She quietly slid out of her nest and into the small camp the contestants had been given.
From the mouth of her den she could see Thorntail practising some battle moves with Shadepaw. The leaves rustled a few tail lengths away from Berrypaw and Nightfall appeared from another den. "Good morning, Berrypaw," he yawned. "Ready for a long day of training?" Berrypaw was slightly taken aback by Nightfall's kindness. In a place like this, kindness was hard to come by.
"Hello Nightfall. Sort of, I don't really want to be here at all," she replied sadly.
Nightfall sighed. "None of us do. I'm going to go. Bye Berrypaw." Berrypaw nodded her goodbye and watched as the black tom took a sparrow from the fresh kill pile. A sighed sadly, she was certain her family would be gathering around the fresh kill pile back at home. The feeling of fur brushing against me made my heart skip a beat.
"You look very beautiful when you're sad," a familiar voice murmured.
Berrypaw groaned inwardly. "What do you want, Screech?"
"Just wanted to say good morning," Screech purred. Berrypaw turned to face him, a sharp comment on the edge of her tongue. But it was lost when she saw the look in his eyes. It was one she had only ever seen mates give each other. It was a look of love. Before Berrypaw could reply a sharp yowl cut her off.
"Contestants it is time for your first training session!" Tigerstar prowled out from the shadows, amber eyes glinting. His loud yowl vibrated throughout the camp, waking those who were sleeping and drawing them out into the crisp, cold morning. Little light reach the dark forest floor and dark shadows stretched out, reaching for the cats with icy cold claws.
Once Tigerstar saw that all the contestants were awake he began to walk away. "Follow me," he tossed over his shoulder. "And stay on the path!"
XxXxXxXxXx
Badgerstrike's paws ached by the time they reached the training ground. Not that it looked anything like somewhere you could train. Ivy climbed up rotten logs, turning them bright green. Mist curled around every corner, covering the ground in a white carpet. It did not look safe nor did it look inviting. "Thank you for bringing them here, you may go now Tigerstar," a voice called out. Badgerstrike couldn't see the body the voice belonged to, despite the voice sounding female. Tigerstar had vanished, leaving the contestants to hover on the edge of the training ground.
"I don't know about anyone else but I'm not going in there," Tinder muttered, his blue gray fur fluffed out.
A high pitched laughter trickled through the mist. "I'm afraid you have no choice." Icy cold wind suddenly blasted the fur of the contestants, pushing them down into the pit by force. Sleet crashed into their pelts, soaking through to their skin, freezing them. "As you can see you are powerless against the weather's power. If it decides to storm then it storms. You have no say in it."
"Show yourself!" Badgerstrike hollered his eyes aflame with anger. He hated being pushed around. Especially by a she-cat.
"Now, where's the fun in that?" the voice mocked. "You need to use your eyes Badgerstrike. Find me." Silence descended over the clearing as the contestants searched every corner of the training ground for the stranger. Sinkingsun, however, did not look down but instead looked up into the tangling branches of an oak tree. And there sat a foggy shape.
She smirked and cleared her throat. "You're sitting in the fork of the oak tree!" she purred. The others muttered their congratulations to the strange she-cat when they too found the foggy shape.
"Well done Sinkingsun," the stranger cooed. "She is a cat who will go far in this competition, simply because she looks in places others wouldn't." In a matter of heart beats, the foggy shape had jumped out of the tree and was padding calmly towards the contestants. As the mist began to clear Badgerstrike recognised their teacher.
High Star Iceshard stopped a few tail lengths in front of the group, her calm amber gaze flitting over them. "I am your teacher for today. And I will be teaching you how to use the weather and the environment to aid you."
"But the weather is something no one can predict," Tinder interrupted. "How can you prepare us for something you cannot control?"
Iceshard laughed quietly. Her laugh sent shivers down Badgerstrike's back. He didn't like this she-cat. Not one bit. "We are the rulers of everything. And we all have powers," she hissed. "Settingsun controls the moon, sun and stars. Without her the moon would never come out at night. Eternity controls the creation of new life. From a kit to a fox even mountain lions, he controls them all. I am in charge of the weather and environment. It would not rain without me. And Death…well he is in charge of escorting the dead to their resting places. He also has the power to create creatures with powers almost as powerful as ours."
Tinder was left speechless by Iceshard's answer and simply stood there gaping at her. Not even he had dreamed of what powers the High Stars possessed. "Now!" Iceshard chirped. "On with the lesson!" She padded further into the training ground and left the others with no choice but to follow her.
"Scenario one," she began. "You are out hunting after a long day of trekking through territory you have never been anywhere near before. Thunder crashes above you and rain begins to pour. You have found yourself stuck under a raging storm. What do you do?"
Screech stifled an amused purr. What kind of a question is that? A new born kit could answer that! "Easy! You take cover!" he scoffed.
"Wrong." Iceshard snarled lashing out at Screech's face with a sharp claw. The tom hissed in pain and when he looked back up he had a fresh cut across his muzzle. "You choose to take cover under a hawthorn bush. You can hear a dull rumbling but pay no attention to it. A few heart beats later a flash flood roars over your hiding spot and you drown. One contestant down. Eleven more to go."
Badgerstrike nodded slightly, despite his hatred for the she-cat, she had a point. Flash floods could be a threat, especially during a storm. "So what would you do then?" he rumbled.
"Run as far away from the storm as you can. If you can't get away from it then climb a tree and wait it out." Iceshard explained. Again Badgerstrike could not find a single flaw in Iceshard's advice. It appeared flawless to him. He would have to listen intently during this lesson if he was to stand any chance of winning the game.
XxXxXxXxXx
The training session took up most of the day and by the time the contestants finally staggered back into camp, they were exhausted. Most when straight to their dens but Screech didn't. Instead he was waiting near the fresh kill pile for Berrypaw.
Berrypaw stumbled over to the fresh kill pile, her tail dragging along the ground. A few cuts still bled after Iceshard's lesson. If you got the answer wrong she scratched you. In the end no one really wanted to answer any questions. "You okay?" Screech asked. His voice made Berrypaw jump slightly but the soothing tone in it was comforting.
"I'm fine," she lied.
Screech gave her a disbelieving look, "Even I know that's not true."
"What do you want?" Berrypaw hissed harsher than she wanted to.
"I just wanted to talk to you," Screech murmured.
Berrypaw twitched her whiskers ever so slightly, the thought of a tom wanting to talk to her was pleasing. "How about we talk in the morning? I'm exhausted."
"I'd like that," Screech purred. As he walked away his fur brushed against Berrypaw's, sending a shiver shooting down her spine. She sighed and began to pad towards the den. Perhaps the next few days won't be so bad.
Wee another chapter over!
Expect another few days wait before the next chapter is updated but I have actually planned out the next two chapters! So I should be able to write them quicker :D
Hunter Out~