Chapter 4: Snapping
It had been a week since the horrible visit from her "leader". It was time to get back to her daily activities, besides hunting. Not bothering to clean her pelt she got up and memorized her herbs inside the den. After that she exited and began to do her battle move practices.
Half-way through it she heard snickering above her. Whirling her large head around she glared at the snickering cat.
"Inform me kindly what is so funny." She hissed at none-other than Softpaw and a friend of hers that she did not know.
"You really do look like the pit-beast." She smirked. "I was right, you were wrong."
"Come down here and say that to my face!" Wolfpaw dared. Her yellow eyes burned with pure rage.
Softpaw stumbled back a bit. "Uh, no." She seemed to suddenly grow nervous, and Wolfpaw had no idea why.
"What, scared of the pit-beast?" Wolfpaw suddenly let out a low laugh. It felt good to scare her, let her feel the fear she used to when she slept alone for the first time!
"Just stay down in your pit, Wolfpaw!" Softpaw sneered. "Lets go, Frogpaw." She turned tail and ran, her brown tabby friend following.
"That's right, run!" She yelled at the fleeing she-cats. Anger and loneliness swamped her. What was she becoming?
She sat down and tried to remember the time before the pit. She had been young, kind, and happy. Brave, willing to sacrifice herself for the clan, willing to live in the pit for the rest of her life. When did she change? Was it when she was alone, because her friends had stopped visiting her altogether?
Wolfpaw did not know, all she knew now was that she was no longer the kind Wolfpaw of before. No longer was she the small cat who begged for some company, just one cat every day, now she was so angry she picked a fight with all who came near. What about Stormpaw?
He would hate her now.
She finished her battle practice, that she would never use, and ran around the pit quite a few times, more so than normal.
Her day passed as usual, though she was hungrier because it was leaf-bare. She got lucky once more and caught a fat rat and skinned that one too before eating its warm meet. With two rat pelts in the den she fell into a deep slumber.
She trotted through misty woods. Woods? Not the ugly rocky pit! She let out a yowl of unfiltered joy and raced forward, loving the feeling of grass beneath her paws. It was so wonderful, it not being that horrible hard rock. She let her strong muscles propel her forward, farther, faster.
She stopped short though, so she could stare at the stone before her. It was five times her height, and it was like a large quartz, but somewhat yellower. It made her its captive, she couldn't help but just stare at it. How long she stared at it in her dream, she had no idea, but the thing that snapped her out of her trance was a voice in her ear.
"Accept it?"
"What?" She snapped, looking around like an untamed wild animal.
"The power." It promised.
"What power, the power to escape?" She asked eagerly.
"The glow."
She began to grow frustrated. "What glow? Yes, it is glowing yellow." She told the bodiless voice.
"Has power."
"This is getting no where. If I accept it can I escape?" She growled.
"Never escape the demons."
She awoke with no memories of the dream, but feeling slightly annoyed. being annoyed was usual for her though, everything annoyed her now, everything angered her. She got up and realized it was still night time, and snowing faintly. She knew it wouldn't stick, but it would be enough to drive her already scarce prey underground.
Growling at nothing she exited the den and let the light cold breeze ruffle her ungroomed pelt. It had been ungroomed for a while now, but she couldn't bring herself to clean it, even out of boredom.
Mutterings around her pit alerted her and she hid in the shadows, not knowing why she felt the urge to hid. That was when the scent hit her nose, FeatherClans enemy, BoneClan! Most likely mounting an attack on her clan to! She resisted the urge to growl and reminded herself she could do nothing down there. As they walked around her pit a cat accidentally slipped in.
"Oh great." The cat who fell complained.
After some debating and discussion they decided to come back for him and help him out. Ha, the fools! They left him there and she watched him from the shadows, while he remained unaware and shivering.
It was time for some fun.
"No escape." She hissed and walked around him, sticking to the shadows her black pelt blended in with.
He jerked up. "What? Is anyone there?" When no one responded, he hunkered down again.
Minutes later she spoke again. "Stuck forever." She walked silently around him.
He looked around fearfully, but did not call out. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from cackling.
Five minutes passed. "Death soon." She promised.
Looking around wildly he got up and began to pace, his fur bristling in fear. "Nothing is here!" He muttered to himself. "Stop being such a scaredy mouse, Whitebird!" His pure white pelt flashed in the dark as his green eyes darted to look everywhere at once.
Screeched in the distance from the battle grew closer for a while, then grew farther. They had always been there in the background, but as the yells are furious warriors grew smaller and the victory voices of FeatherClan grew strong her whimpered. Surely they would allow him to escape, right?
The battle that had started two hours after Moon high, ended at dawn. The patrols to make sure all had left came around the pit as the sun really began to shine.
"Hey look!" A bloody and bruised Grasspaw called out. "A cat is stuck in the pit!" He chuckled.
This struck her as strange, and she also hated it with every fiber of her being. Why was he laughing?
"He seems fine, which is odd." Talonscar commented as she trotted up.
Whitebird glared up at them. "Why is that odd?" He chattered. "Because it is so bloody cold out?"
"No," Softpaw laughed, walking up. "Because the pit-beast lives down there!"
He looked around, wide-eyed. "Pit-beast?" He whimpered.
Grasspaw scoffed. "Come off it, Wolfpaw is just a cat."
"No she isn't, Grassheart, the last time I saw her, I swear her eyes glowed!" Softpaw meowed. "She grew to like, twice her size! She is so a pit-beast."
He growled. "She was a cat when she fell in. She just has changed."
"Into a pit-beast!" Talonscar insisted. "Haven't you heard the stories about her? Some cats say if you listen closely, sometimes you can hear her wailing."
Wolfpaw snarled. "I am right here, you insensitive jerks!" She came from the shadows, and even Grassheart seemed terrified. She whirled her head in his direction. "They made you a warrior? Congratulations."
"Th-thanks." He stammered.
"Shockstar refuses to make me one because I can't escape this StarClan cursed area, but, no biggie right?" She let out a hollow laugh.
Whitebird seemed terrified of her though, he shrunk before her eyes. The full grown male warrior was terrified, of her! It made her grin viciously, time for him to feel her pain.
Grassheart shook his head. "I don't believe that, and we should get out fantastic leader to deal with this cat." He flicked his tail and they walked off.
Minutes later a happy Shockstar appeared with Jayspot.
"Wolfpaw, ready to serve your clan?"
Somewhat caught off-guard she automatically answered. "Yes!"
"How precious. See that enemy right there?" She asked. Wolfpaw nodded. "Kill him. You constantly practice those moves, why not put them to good use?"
She froze, kill a cat? She glanced at him, and he got in a battle ready position.
"I see you need some time to let this sink in." She meowed. "Come deputy, lets leave the pit-beast to kill." She flicked her tail and walked off, Jayspot following.
Whitebird snarled. "Pit-beast eh? I can see why! Ungroomed fur and glowing yellow eyes. Muttering death warnings in my ear. I am not scared!"
He was though, she could clearly see it, but what he said hurt. "I'm not a beast…" She murmured.
"Yes you are." Whitebird insisted. "Your clanmates say so, and you certainly look the part! Come at me beast!" He dared.
Some snapped in her, as his hateful words pierced her. Fine, he wanted a beast, he could face one! She shrieked her fury and lunged at him with lightning speed. A few whacks with her strong paws and he was sent fox-lengths away. When she went to continue her attack though, he was ready.
He ducked and dodged her moves, but after days, weeks, and moons, of just practicing battle moves, she was able to keep up even if she wasn't used to battle with others. Every mistake he made was her advantage too, every time he fumbled she landed a quick, yet deep claw mark.
When she finally had him pinned she showed him no mercy for his horrific words. "You asked for the beast!" She yelled as her long claws tore through his stomach fur, and her front paws dug deeply into his shoulders.
He cried out in pain. "Mercy!" The words gurgled from a lightly cut throat.
Her eyes were suddenly drawn to the life giving limb. She sunk her sharp fangs into his neck and his life was ended quickly. That was her mercy, to kill him just like that. She got off the bloody body and found it wasn't that hard to kill him, she didn't have any moral dilemmas. Heck, she even liked it a little.
She was in power when she had killed him, and she was the one who called the shoots on when he lived and when he died. Then there was the fantastic feeling of his life seeping away from him, she felt his pulse stop as she killed him. It sent an unreal rush through her, and she loved it!
She checked her own wounds and found she had only a few scratches. She lazily entered her den and applied the first marigold leaves she had ever gotten. They were old and wrinkled, probably beyond much use, but she was certain that if she added water she could spread the paste enough to cover all her scratches.
After applying the paste she put on cobwebs, cleaned her pelt of blood, and fell into a deep slumber. Her dreams were filled with blood and fighting cats.
"Wake up Wolfpaw!" A voice yelled at her.
She jolted awake and walked outside her den, what did this cat want? She wondered grumpily.
"Oh dear StarClan." Came Stormpaw's horrified voice. "Why, why did you kill him? Why are you turning into a beast?" He demanded.
"Not my fault." She shrugged. "Everyone kept saying I was a beast, even him. I gave them what they wanted. They want a pit-beast, they can have one." She blinked at the morning sky, her eyes void of regret or any other emotion. "Sides, there is barely enough food down here for me. No way would there have been enough for him too. I mean, have you seen my ribs?" She demanded.
"I can't see anything under you matted pelt, please wash it." He meowed.
Something seemed to change slightly in her as he used a kind voice to make a reasonable command. "I washed it last night though, look, no blood." She said, slightly confused.
"Now clean out the burs, and make it straight." He suggested. "Listen, if you are as skinny as you claim, I will be back here as soon as possible. If you are making a true effort to clean your pelt, then I think it would be nice to share a rabbit with you." He grew slightly embarrassed and was off.
Almost in a trance like state she washed her pelt. It took a while but she cleaned it of burs and smoothed it down. Soon it shone like a ravens feather in the sun. It seemed to affect her emotions too, as it made her feel lighter, and happier.
He came back true to his word, and she almost cried. No one had done that in how long? Since she had first fallen into the pit! She eagerly ran up to meet him.
He dropped to fat rabbit legs into the pit and she eagerly began to eat them.
"Thanks." She meowed as she chowed down.
"You're welcome. I like your pelt a lot better clean." He added the last part quickly.
She purred. "It does feel nicer." She admitted.
It felt glorious, some cat being nice to her for once. It made her feel younger too, even though she was still a young cat. She swore she had not purred so much in three moons combined. Sadly, after a while he had been forced to leave due to the cold.
Leaf-bare went on for two more moons and it was quite eventful with the war going on and BoneClan cats "falling" into her pit. She suspected that FeatherClan cats had been pushing them in though, because the few times that they had visited, save for Stormpaw, they always goaded her to be more vicious. Stormpaw oddly asked her to be nicer, and she was, but to him alone.
He made an effort to sneak out to visit her, and tried to explain to her that he had to sneak around because the clan had changed. He didn't want them to know about him visiting her because they could ruin their friendship. Everytime he said friendship she felt an odd ping of sadness, but it was easy to push aside.
The war ended in new-leaf, and at the end of it she had killed six cats that had dropped into her pit, and sadly, only two of them had put up a true fight.
She found herself sinking faster into rage that would sprout up from nowhere, and only Stormpaw could calm it. Stormpaw was not always there though, and other cats were at times. Even her sister and brother urged her to kill all that fell into her pit. Oh yes, cats were now saying that she owned the pit, it was her territory.
And soon her world had been consumed, the pit was her world now, she knew not of politics outside it, and though she did her best to keep her mental knowledge up to date she began to slip. The thing that would break it for good would also be the thing that would end the bloody war between the clans. It was close to ending, but not quite there yet.
With all of that, on top of it she continued to dream of the strange misty woods, whispering voices, the yellow glowing rock, and demons. The demons spoke to her through those voices.
"Wolfpaw, come on out. We have one last kill for you." Shockstar meowed.
She walked out, muscle rippled under a smooth pelt and yellow eyes glared at all nearby. She heard the whisperings, and not just those of the clan cats, but the demons who were now claiming here. The demons whispered that today, she was theirs, they told her in last nights dream.
The mist had turned red, and the stone glowed with malice that she now pulsed with. She fed off the fear of others, and their violent tendencies. She still ate mice, but nothing motivated her like the blood of the fallen, and the fear they felt before she killed them. Ah, the wonderful feeling of flesh slicing and tearing beneath her jagged claws!
"Yes?" She growled in her deep voice. She no longer obeyed them, though they did not know that. She killed for her own twisted pleasure.
"Today, you end a war and unite the two clans of FeatherClan and BoneClan!" She announced.
Apparently war made Shockstar feel alive too, her and the cats of FeatherClan. They all looked young and healthy while the sickly BoneClan cats around them were skinny and pathetic seeming.
"How so, why should I end your war?" Wolfpaw snorted. You still won't give me my warrior name! She added the last part silently.
"Because it involves the only thing you take pleasure in. Killing." She pushed a black and white tom with yellow eyes into her pit, and he landed with a painful thud. He was tiny, and young, but seemed healthier than the other BoneClan cats. "Kill the newest leader of BoneClan, he hasn't even named a deputy yet." She hissed. "Kill Flightstar."
She looked up with furious yellow eyes. Of course she would kill, she lived for the kill now! She loved death, it was her only clanmate down in the pit! Death and… Her eyes flinted, found Stormpaw, and melted. He, the only cat who cared for her. She would get this over with, and they could continue to hang out like old times. It would be nice.
Stormpaw didn't seem to think so though, because when their eyes meet he shook his head no. Confused she looked at the whimpering cat before her, and her rage returned. The only ones she served now were the demons, and they commanded her to kill this weakling!
She snarled. "Yes, my only pleasure."
He did not fight like the weakling he acted to be though, and this drove her on, made her happy. A challenge! She ducked his claws, and sent her own paw out straight into his stomach, and a gush of warm sticky blood was her reward. It felt nice on her leaf-bare cold body. It almost matched the warmth of her hatred for him, even if she didn't know him!
After much mauling of the cat before her she got off and began to lick her pelt clean. The cats sat still though, and suddenly something rammed into her back. She had forgotten he was a newly made leader, and came back!
Roaring with anger she flipped from her side onto her back and delivered a blow to his head so fierce he was knocked off and flew a fox-length away. She would end it quickly and dance in his blood! Screeching murder she pinned him and raked his stomach to nothing.
Make sure he would stay dead she put a large paw on his throat and crushed it into the ground. Her paws were used to walking on rocks and hard ground, his throat was squashy and reminded her of grass after it was rained on. Or like the grass in the demons forest.
"I'm walking on grass!" She giggled to herself hysterically.
Looking up with frantic eyes she searched the crowd, expecting Stormpaw to be there, and like his clanmates, cheering. He wasn't there though, he seemed to have disappeared. Slightly disappointed she got off the dead body, kicked it, and dragged it to the disgusting rotting pile in the corner.
"Your war is won, I demand something in return now." She called up coldly to the clan leader. "You have dealt with a demon, now pay its price."
Shockstar seemed alarmed, but answered in a calm laughing voice. "Yes, oh so great demon, what might your price be?" She laughed nervously.
Cats stopped cheering and began to murmur something about yellow glowing eyes. Yes her eyes were yellow, but they didn't glow. "My warrior name!" She screeched and stomped a bloody paw.
Shockstar laughed coldly. "No. Not until you escape, and just because you played a big part in winning this does not mean I will change the rules I originally set. Besides pit-beast, you are just that. Not an honorable warrior, but a bloody killer." She turned her back on the pit. "BoneClan is no more! You are now apart of FeatherClan, and BoneClan, this is the beast. If you upset me, you upset her, and she deals in worse things than I. She is a demon, she has said so herself, and if you upset this earth bound demon, you know you will die." She suddenly turned cheerful. "Now lets go back to camp and celebrate!" She purred and the cats raced off.
Again she wailed everything to the darkening sky. Her anger, her grief, her confusion, and all inbetween. Where was Stormpaw at the end anyway, and why had he left her to the demons! They whispered in her mind and promised no escape, just power. What if she traded all that power for escape though? They did not respect that.
Suddenly he was there, and her sanity that was quickly slipping away, was anchored for a short while.
"Why, Wolfpaw, why?" His voice cracked with sadness.
"Stormpaw!" She yipped and ran up to the edge like an eager dog, or wolf that she was named after.
"Stormstone." He corrected her dully.
"Congratulations, you are the only one who deserves the name." She sniffed.
"I know." His voice grew hard and hollow, which confused her greatly. "But back to my original questions, why?"
"Why what?" Now she was really bewildered.
"Why did you kill him, and why in such a horrific way?" He asked.
"Because she is right." Wolfpaw growled. "Shockstar is right in that my only true pleasure in this world, the world of the pit, is killing. Well, killing, and you. The only cat who is actually nice to me." She purred.
"This can't continue. You can't continue killing. I am not asking this time." He meowed, blue eyes depressed.
"What, why? I have to though, if I don't, they stay in my territory. You, the demons, are the only ones who stay with me, but the demons are here more often than you. They won't stop pestering me until I kill them, I have to kill them!" She cried.
"Those aren't demons." He murmured. "It is all you. Wolfpaw, I will come back to you when you have changed. Everyday I shall watch you closer than StarClan-"
"Who has abandoned me to the demons." She muttered.
He continued. "Closer than StarClan, and when I see your change, I shall be there. But hey, maybe you will come to me? I can't- can't." He seemed to choke on his own words. "With a cat so, beastial. Just remember, you don't have to be the pit-beast, the demon, the killer. You can be honorable, a true warrior, kind like you once were." Tears streaked down his muzzle.
"Why, why hurt yourself, why hurt me?" She demanded.
"I don't want to, but I must." He sobbed and ran off.
"My Stormstone, my boulder in the whirlwind of confusion." She whispered as he disappeared from view, perhaps forever. She could never change, never escape, and never go back.