Whitefrost stared at the great white cat that was slowly padding towards her. He had broad shoulders and was very lean. A rogue if she ever saw one. Stonestar bared her teeth and planted herself in front of him.
"Who are you?!" Stonestar snarled. Whitefrost blinked, and stared openly at the cat that claimed to be her father.
"I am Tree. Let me speak to my daughter!" Tree practically yowled. His eyes were wide with anxiety, and Stonestar finally let him pass. Whitefrost held her ground, but unsheathed her claws just in case. Her leader and Rainsight came to sit at her side. Obviously, Tree didn't like Whitefrost's extra company.
"Snow!" he whispered.
"Whitefrost," she corrected, a snarl plain on her voice. Whitefrost folder her ears back and glared at Tree. He sat down, pain open on his face.
"I-...." he began, then stopped. Twigclaw padded over, standing a few rabbit hops away from Whitefrost.
"Can we talk? The great white cat asked, green eyes wide and anxious. Whitefrost looked at Stonestar, her gray pelt bristling. Her leader seemed to be reluctant to even have this cat in her camp. Whitefrost's gaze moved to Twigclaw. He was calm, but Whitefrost could see a hint of doubt in his pose.
Her eyes wandered to one more cat. Her mother. Stripedthoughts was sitting in the entrance to the medicine cat den, alarm showing in everything she did. Her mother didn't know what to make of Whitefrost's father coming back.
"Fine," Whitefrost snarled, standing, claws still unsheathed. Tree grinned, and motioned with his tail towards the forest. Whitefrost took the lead, anger coursing through her veins. She felt anger towards her father, for showing up at this point, when her life was in turmoil. She felt anger towards her mother, for not explaining about Tree before now. She felt anger towards Leafpaw, for betraying her, now, when she needed him the most. Mostly, though, she felt anger towards herself, for needing another to help her.
Whitefrost wanted to be strong, wanted to not need anyone else. She didn't want to fall apart before everyone she knew and held dear. SkyClan! You brought this upon me, help me now!
When they were far enough into the forest, Whitefrost stopped. Tree made himself comfortable and wrapped his tail around his paws. Now that they were away from the other cats, he seemed to have grown in stature, holding himself proud. No longer were his eyes desperate and wide, now they were vain and narrowed.
"Well," Whitefrost spat, "you wanted to talk. Do so, before I decide to flay your pelt!"
"Hmph. As if you could," Tree scoffed. Whitefrost unsheathed her claws as far as they could go, just so she could be ready.
"Well, Snow. I guess I'll begin from the beginning. I met your mother when she was on one of those... patrols. I convinced her to come with me, and she fell in love with me. She never left her precious clan for long, only sneaking off to see me when she could. I did not love her, but made her believe that I did. Having someone blind to anything bad about me was.. useful. See, I'm the leader of a group of cats that roam the alleyways of the cities. We've been tired of roaming for a while, and when your mother came along, she seemed to be the key to taking over the forest. After a while, she seemed to realize what she had done, and began seeing me less and less. Unfortunately, she was already pregnant with you. I realized that my plan of taking over this land would never work, as there were too many cats living there." Tree paused, and Whitefrost tensed.
"Well, Snow. I never met you before now. I name you Snow because your fur is the color of snow, as mine is. You should be glad that you are kin to one of such power! Join me, and together, we will become the most powerful cats in the whole city! Those here will tremble in fear when they hear our names. I don't want to take over... I just want to cause a bloodbath. I want discord. I want chaos. I want war."
Whitefrost lunged for Tree, his visions spreading before her eyes. She couldn't let him throw the Clans into war. The great cat dodged her attack and swiped his claws at her. Whitefrost let out a growl. She realized that stopping her father would be difficult. She was still barely a warrior, and had just been in a battle. And she was alone.
There was no Lightwhisker to protect her, no Twigclaw to defend her back. No Stonestar to step between her and her greatest enemy. No Rainsight to bind her wounds when she was near death. Whitefrost was alone, on her own territory, facing a great enemy.
The white cat began weaving back and forth, focusing her eyes on Tree's right shoulder. He tensed, and Whitefrost could see that he wasn't going to fall for her feint. She lunged, no feint. When Tree stepped right, she collided with his powerful shoulder, digging her claws into Tree's thick fur and feeling blood well up between her claws. She pulled downward, hoping to slice through his muscle. It didn't work.
"Give up, pathetic one, and I will spare you. You can become my slave. You will cower before me, like the pathetic mouse you are."
Tree's taunting was getting to Whitefrost, and she was panting heavily. Her wounds from earlier stung, and the newly-named warrior felt hopeless. SkyClan! Save me! I can't be killed by this... blood-thirsty creature! I have to become a great warrior! Please! Whitefrost begged her ancestors, only hoping they would answer.
She lunged again, and Tree raised a paw. He sent Whitefrost reeling with a blow to her head. She could feel blood trickling down her face onto the forest floor. She struggled to get up, but her already tired muscles failed her. Tree stepped over to her and raised his paw. Whitefrost saw his claws gleaming in the sunlight.
A shadow passed over Tree's paw and slammed the great cat onto the ground. Whitefrost looked up and saw Lightwhisker crouching in front of her, his teeth bared in a vicious snarl.
"L-Lightwhisker!" Whitefrost cried out. He nodded, his eyes never leaving Tree's. She struggled to her paws and moved to stand by her friend.
Tree sneered at Lightwhisker, "Oh, so this is where you ran off to, Light. Found yourself a girl. No wonder you never came back after I sent you out. As a traitor, you will die alongside my pathetic daughter!"
Lightwhisker let out a ferocious yowl. "Whitefrost is not pathetic!" He leaped into the air and landed on Tree's broad shoulders. Lightwhisker bit into Tree's ear, ripping upward and leaving the ear in shreds. Tree snarled in pain and rolled onto his back. Lightwhisker leapt off before Tree could reach the ground and landed squarely on his paws. He leaped for Tree and grabbed on of the great cat's paws in his mouth. Biting down hard, Lightwhisker tore through the pad on the bottom of Tree's paw.
Jumping backwards, Lightwhisker stood by Whitefrost, eyes gleaming with hatred and anger. Any cat would have been in unbearable pain, but Tree just seemed angrier. Whitefrost marveled, for all that she hated him, he was strong, at her father's strength.
Tree dashed forward and collided with Lightwhisker. The two rolled on the ground, exchanging blow for blow, bite for bite, scratch for scratch. Lightwhisker managed to rake his claws along Tree's belly before the white tom bit into Lightwhisker's right shoulder. The ginger tom cried out in pain and clawed at Tree with his hind paws.
Whitefrost leaped towards the two battling cats, and sunk her teeth into Tree's scruff. She dragged him off of Lightwhisker and bared her teeth.
Tree hissed, his teeth bared. "Lightwhisker, you idiot! You are too soft, getting caught up in this pathetic life, in this pathetic cat!"
Lightwhisker hissed at Tree, his tail fluffed out. "Whitefrost isn't pathetic! She's beautiful, and smart, and strong, and she's a better cat that you'll ever be! I can't believe I followed you for so long, you miserable piece of fox-dung!"
Tree snarled in fury and lunged for Lightwhisker. His teeth met the tom's throat and he ripped outward. Lightwhisker fell to the ground, the leaves flying into the air as his body hit the ground. Whitefrost watched with horror.
"No!" she yowled, disbelief striking her. She stared at Lightwhisker's body, barely aware that Tree was leaping for her. When his body hit her, she slammed into the ground, the wind knocked out of her. She let out a helpless cry and thrashed in Tree's grasp. Her claws flailed and she met flesh. Whitefrost dug her claws into Tree's skin, pulling herself out from under him. She turned and faced him. Tree was standing before her, few wounds on his body. She was exhausted, not sure her muscles would do as she asked. A thin tree was behind her father, and she crouched close to the ground.
Focusing on his right shoulder, Whitefrost tensed her muscles. She lunged forward, raking her claws across Tree's right side before landing on the tree. Immediately, she leaped back towards her father and landed on his back. Whitefrost clawed him mercilessly, jumping off just before Tree rolled to the ground. Standing up, Whitefrost panted heavily. She could feel her own blood dripping from her many wounds. Lightwhisker's body was off to one side and she snarled at the thought of his killing.
Tree smirked. "You can never defeat me. I am great. I am powerful. You are weak. You are nothing."
Whitefrost hissed, "You're wrong. I'm not nothing. I am MoonClan. I am a warrior!" She lunged for her father, claws unsheathed to their fullest extent. They ripped Tree's throat, and the great cat gasped. He began choking, his throat sliced to pieces. Whitefrost stared at him, her heart heavy. She didn't like killing, but she felt that if Tree had lived another day, he would have caused more chaos than this small battle.
As his last breath left him, Whitefrost turned away from Tree. She padded slowly towards Lightwhisker, limping slightly, panting heavily, exhausted. She let out a mournful yowl as she saw what was left of her friend. He was dead.
Too tired to move, Whitefrost flopped down, breathing ragged, and lay her head on Lightwhisker's flank. I would clean the blood from your fur.. but I don't think I'm able to move... Whitefrost thought sadly. She blinked a few times, and then all became black.
OoOoOoOoOoO
Stonestar paced around the medicine cat den angrily. "Rainsight, what was I thinking?! Letting her go off on her own with a cat I wasn't even sure I trusted! And why didn't I realize what was going on when Lightwhisker ran after her?! Now, he's dead, and Whitefrost is barely holding on to life! She's only been a warrior for a day, and she was in a battle earlier, too! I'm surprised she's actually still alive after taking such a beating! Head injuries, muscles torn, paws rubbed raw, claws almost ripped out, I could go on!"
Rainsight watched with a sorrowful look on her face. "Stonestar, stop berating yourself. You couldn't have known what Tree was up to. Be glad that Whitefrost is still alive. And I'm sorry about Lightwhisker. He died the death of a great warrior."
Stonestar turned to her friend, eyes wide and scared, "I can't lose another apprentice! Rainsight, Rushpaw was too young, and now, if Whitefrost dies, I don't know what I'd do with myself!"
The gray medicine cat pressed herself up against Stonestar's side, "Stonestar, SkyClan wouldn't let anything bad happen if they did not mean for it to happen. You have to trust in your warrior ancestors."
Whitefrost gave a groan from where she was stretched out on the floor of the den. Her wounds were smothered with cobwebs, making her white fur seem to have gray spots. Rainsight rushed over and pressed some wet moss against Whitefrost's head injuries. The she-cat snapped her eyes open and looked around frantically.
"L-Lightwhisker!" she mewed, her voice rough.
Stonestar hung her head, "He's dead, Whitefrost."
"I didn't get to thank him for saving me.... I didn't get to say goodbye!" Whitefrost coughed. Rainsight gave her some wet moss and Whitefrost licked it gratefully.
"I'm sorry, Whitefrost," Stonestar murmured. "Lightwhisker was a great warrior, and he will be remembered by all in MoonClan. SkyClan will hold a place of honor for him. Of that, I am sure."
Whitefrost nodded, "I know." Goodbye, Lightwhisker... Goodbye my dear friend...
Hey, sorry for the long update! I was busy with school and all the other excuses that I'm too lazy to type out. This is a longer chapter, cause I re-read A Star of Stone, and I realized how short those chapters were. So, I'm making up for it! And.. don't hate me for killing Lightwhisker... he interfered with my plot line....