A.N: Hmmm... Heather hasn't joined the Dark Forest though. Why? In a few chapters I'll touch on that again. For this chapter, we see a WindClan reaction
We were in the caves. Again. Moonlight streamed down through the hole in the roof, where I spotted stars twinkling in the cloudy night above us. The swirling thoughts of Hawk's Shadow and Rock were a bit faded. A lot had happened since I had been here last, and now I paced back and forth, the news that had arrived in my camp that same day was putting me on edge. The quiet sloshing of water in the underground river was ironic compared to the speed of my thoughts, and underneath my fear was an unruly bed of hatred and anger. But I didn't know who to point my emotions at.
There had been another battle that day; my Clanmates had stumbled back into camp, covered in wounds that were swiftly dealt with by the medicine cat. But such an utter phase of defeat that it was, swept the entire clan into a bleak sort of depression. The ThunderClan patrol that had so easily beaten our WindClan numbers was no other then my best golden friend, with his sister and a few of their Clanmates. For that moment, the wave of resentment and biter resolve was sound within me, and in an instant, I knew that I could go in battle against Lionpaw. If he would subdue my Clanmates like this, I could at least return the favor.
Silently smoldering, I had been trying to hold in my fit of rage, which was soon enveloping the mass of cats in the clearing, until Breezepaw padded up to me. There was a knowing and arrogant smile across his grey-black face, the same coloring of his mother, Nightcloud. My claws itched to slash his casual feelings off his smug face, but I bit my tongue, and tensed my muscles methodically instead.
But the black tomcat was testing my patience at that moment, as he crowed about his victory over no other cat than Lionpaw. Well really, it was a defeat that sent Breezepaw scrambling away into the bushes, but the headstrong apprentice made it sound like a victory for WindClan. But as his story wore on, I tried to return to myself, thinking of the friendship that Lionpaw and I had together. Reasonably, I knew that not all the ThunderClan scoundrels were like this. So for the remainder of Breezepaw's story, I swallowed my new resolution, trying to slip back into the black rage that was filling the atmosphere of the hollow now.
But before the smug young cat could continue, Onestar's summoning called us across the clearing.
Onestar was not his usual tawny-brown self, now his fur was ruffled and his pelt was bristling along his haunches and spine. His amber eyes gleamed with malice and his claws dug into the Leader Rock at the head of the clearing. Along his body were gruesome wounds that were freckled with herb pulp and snatches of leaves, an obvious attempt to tend to the leader's wounds, but vain.
"My Clanmates!" His yowl rang among the boulders, and I wondered vaguely if he could sense our anger from where he stood, atop his rock. "We will not be driven away like the time in the forest! ThunderClan is not ShadowClan, and we will not give in. We are stronger now than before" Cries of agreement rose from the crowd, quickly forming under Onestar's promising words.
"WindClan will not hide among the hills like the other Clans think, we are not cowards! And if we have to prove it, we will! We can take on any Clan, our numbers are great, and we are strong! Most of all, we can stand on our own. Alone!"
The Clan roared below, yowling and lashing their tails, most were on their feet by now. Even from the back of the crowd, I could see the gleam of desperation and hope in their faces. That was all we could have right now. But we were still the closest Clan to StarClan's meeting spot. We were special, and didn't the other Clans know that. Just try to drive us off again! I thought mutinously as I yelled along with the Clan, their voices bombarding my ears with noise.
It was a while before the cats calmed down enough for an individual voice to be heard again, and Breezepaw happily jumped back into his story, starting from the beginning again. A few of the cats that had been listening before got up with a groan and walked away. We all knew that Breezepaw was long-winded, but sometimes it was best that way.
"First he jumped on me, those stupid ThunderClan cats. Think they can attack cats like their slow forest prey! He got on my back, but he didn't have a good grip, and I soon took care of him. So I flipped over onto my side, and I could hear the breath go out of him. I squished him into the dirt with a heave, and got up again, spinning around to get a few blows in before the great lump could get up. He took his time too; but he was trying to kick out at me. He looked like a kit there, stuck in a bramble bush! Then he did some fancy move, one I haven't seen before. But that just means he's a little creep, which is where I got these." Proudly, the dark apprentice had been acting out his battle with an imaginary Lionpaw, but when he came to this part of the story, he licked a paw and drew it across the lines on his face, where blood was beading, red and shiny, again.
"Keep going!" The crowd around Breezepaw had grown bigger, and he knew that he had us in his paws. So he took a luxurious stretch and continued, basking in the attention.
"Well," he drawled, examining a paw full of unsheathed claws, an arrogant smile on his face, "Lionpaw seemed to space out, staring off into the battle. A good warrior never gets distracted, so I took it as an advantage instead. So I crept up to him like this," Breezepaw crouched low, creeping forward like a snake, his tail waving back and forth, "and shredded his face! The furball didn't even know what hit him! He was covered in blood afterward, giving me those wide eyes; you know the ones the rabbits get when they know we're gunna get 'em. He tried to jump on me again, but I was ready this time, and dodged. It was so easy; those ThunderClan brutes are so slow!" Breezepaw cackled like a raven before finishing up his story with a dignified air, his nose in the air as he called Lionpaw a cheater.
"It wasn't even a fair fight; he shoved me down the hill! What was I supposed to do after that? The fight was already ended by the time I got to my paws at the bottom." Anger sparked in his eyes, a flame was kindling in their amber depths, so unlike Lionpaw's. How could the same colored eyes possess such different emotions? My ears burned as they flattened, the result of my embracement in my traitorous thoughts. Lionpaw and I were just friends. Just friends.
But still, I couldn't wait for my Clan mates to retire to their dens. The favorite time of my day was when the moon rose, the silver eye of the StarClan cats, bathing the entire landscape in silver light. It was a caressing type of light, so different from the sunlight. That was also the time I could sneak out to go see Lionpaw. And Hawk's Shadow sometimes, too. He was an okay cat, I could tell him anything and he never blamed me. Or he would tell me how to solve my problems, which was really helpful.
I watched, anxiety pricking my paws into restlessness as each of my battered Clan mates retreated to their dens, the rustling leaves announcing where they had gone, and the whispers of the warriors that slept out in the clearing in the warm whether told me they were all still awake. But as the night progressed, I kept my position, right by my friend, Harepaw, until I heard nothing but a few snores and the rustling of sleeping cats. That's when I pulled myself to my feet and padded out the camp entrance, between the two boulders that helped hide my heather-colored pelt. The guard outside was Antpelt, a relatively young and jumpy warrior. I smiled mischeiviously as I tried the same trick when I got Lionpaw out of his camp, throwing a small stone, no issue in the base of the giant rocks that guarded the camp.
Antpelt twitched his ears first until I threw another rock, and he called out a question to a cat he thought was there. When there was no response, he padded over, spine bristling while I held in my laughter as I raced into the swaying grasses.
One of the best things about being WindClan was the feeling of wind running its fingers through my pelt as I glided over the landscape, my eyes penetrating the deepest shadows as my paws moved across the familiar ground.
Finally, I arrived at the tunnels, barely sweating, now warmed up because of my night run, and stepped into the cool darkness. The rock closed around me, and I felt the familiar twinge of primeval unease course through me. But soon it faded as I weaved through the twists and turns of the tunnel, my pelt brushing the sides of the tunnel.
"Heatherpaw, I didn't think you were coming back." A shadow appeared ahead of her, the familiar striped hindquarters of Hawk's Shadow.
"Of course I came back, Hawk's Shadow! I wouldn't leave you down here alone; you're my friend!" I argued quietly, knowing that other cats couldn't see Hawk's Shadow as she did. They would think she was crazy, and her voice bounced around a lot down here.
"Heatherpaw, I have to warn you. Tonight… you'll be faced with a challenge. One that will take all your heart, loyalty and courage to face."
I bristled. Was Hawk's Shadow hinting that there might be someone else in the cave where Lionpaw and I usually met? Could someone be waiting for me down there, in the dark? Am I in danger? But the shadowy cat seemed to be fading, and I bit back a scathing remark on the vague warning.
Instead, I rushed downward now, entering the cave at a skid.
A.N: Yummy. This warning has a double meaning, Hawkfrost is actually...looking out for Heatherpaw?...unseemly. Fratinizing with the enemy ^^