Alright, I hope you don't hate me for this, but something is going to happen, and it will knock your socks off! Whoop! Yeah! Alright!
With that out of the way, thank you for reviewing. I have not gotten enough people to take my poll, so I'm taking matters into my own Hands. If you want to take my new poll, please go to my page, right after you read. Got that? Good.
Here it is! Enjoy, and I love ya'll.
Hollyleaf stood in the face of the den, her fur standing on end. She hissed, and Jayfeather hiss in return, standing up to face her,
"What do you want?" He hissed, getting up in her face, "Or did you just want to eavesdrop on us, and then go tell Thornclaw or Firestar?"
"Not when I first got here," She spat back, "But I'm highly considering it at the moment." She stepped back, and she held her head high, "Or do you just want to beg for me to not?"
"Why in the name of StarClan would I do that?" He hissed back, "When I owe you nothing? You are the one who dropped in on us, came in without permission, and are intruding on business that is not yours."
Hollyleaf was taken aback, but then Jayfeather felt her change her mind quickly, and she was strangely calm.
"Jayfeather," She said, the same calm feelings coming off of her, "I think you need to think this through, and then talk to Hazeltail," She nodded to the she-cat who was still sitting behind Jayfeather, looking worried, "You need to be very careful." Jayfeather's anger flared when she spoke to him like a kit,
"Hollyleaf, get out of here. Now." He hissed, turning his back to her, "Or else."
"Or else what?" She said, her temper gone too, "You'll attack me with herbs? You'll make me throw up? Jayfeather, you know what I can do." She said, snarling at him. Jayfeather spat, and he turned back to Hollyleaf,
"Look, Hollyleaf, I'm sorry I don't have what you have. I'm sorry my love is outside the warrior code, but if you try to get in between Hazeltail and me, it'll just be another Lionblaze. Exactly the same. Don't do it." He whispered, pleading now, "Just…don't do it. Please." Hollyleaf's anger melted into pity, but then back up to anger,
"Jayfeather, stop acting. You know what I have to do. There's no way around it." She didn't want to stop her brother from loving Hazeltail, but there was no way to avoid it. If someone found out, Jayfeather would have to be kicked out.
"Hollyleaf," Hazeltail broke in, "What are you talking about? What can you do to Jayfeather?" Jayfeather hung his head, and his voice was masked,
"More than you can imagine," he whispered, "More than you can imagine…" His voice trailed off, the little bit left was in anguish. He stood there for a moment, and then he put up his head, and turned to Hollyleaf,
"Fine. Do what you must. But not here. Let's go out into the forest." Hollyleaf nodded and walked out the den. Jayfeather turned to his love, his new life,
"Hazeltail, I don't know what's going to happen out there, but I promise that if what she does doesn't work, I will tell you everything. But if not, don't listen to what I say. I'll always love you." He licked her head between her ears, and then sighed. She looked up at him, and leaned over to his ear,
"Jayfeather, I'm having your kits. I can just tell. I hope you're happy, because I am. I want us to have a happy family, even if it means leaving the Clans. Just…don't leave me."
Jayfeather's sightless eyes burned with passion, "I will never leave you. I love you too much. But remember, don't tell anyone, and don't talk about it at all. Come and see me tonight if I…well, I'll tell you." He turned and left the den, and he could tell that Hollyleaf had already set out to the forest. Her scent was still hanging in the air, and his followed it.
There was a thick smell of rain in the air, and Jayfeather could hear the thunder in the distance. Jayfeather followed Hollyleaf's scent until he found her sitting near the abandoned two-leg nest. She sighed when he came into view,
"Jayfeather, I really don't want to do this, but…if you get thrown out of the Clans, the prophecy will never come true."
"Hollyleaf, I knew what it meant from the start. Leaf and Feather. It wasn't you and me. It was Leafpool and Crowfeather. As soon as they told us they were our parents, I knew it. Three will become one? That's us. One will be lost? That might have been Brambleclaw, but I don't know that. I don't think that StarClan has told us the complete prophecy." Hollyleaf nodded, but she didn't seem happy,
"Look, Jayfeather, that's great," Her voice didn't show that she though that, "But can I just get this over with?" When Jayfeather nodded, she turned her head to the side, "Jayfeather, why are you letting me do this? Why are you going to let me get inside your head, and make you not love her anymore?"
Jayfeather thought about that for a moment. Why was he letting Hollyleaf do this? Why didn't he try to stop her?
"Well,…" He said, trying to explain what he thought, "I love Hazeltail, and I know that she is going to have my kits," He heard Hollyleaf's sigh. He knew that she had listened to their conversation, and that she probably guessed that she was having kits, "But I love her too much to be driven out of the Clan. If she had to leave with me…that would be worse than not loving her. I'm not a warrior, I'm hardly a medicine cat, from the way I act. But I can't hurt her by making her leave her family and the Clan…I won't do that to her. So do what you will to me, I'm ready." He sighed, and hung his head, his shoulder's drooped.
He felt the waves coming off of Hollyleaf, and they were full of grief. Now she really didn't want to do anything to Jayfeather, but she had to.
She closed her eyes, and concentrated.
Jayfeather fell to the ground, withering in pain.
The pain was too much to bear. And yet, Jayfeather remained quiet. He was just on the ground, his voice not working. He wondered if he was dead, but then he realized what it was.
A voice was in the back of his head, and he stained to hear it. It was a voice he recognized,
"You don't love her, she doesn't love you." It was Hollyleaf's voice, trying to force his mind in her ways. He cried out, his voice finally working,
"HOLLYLEAF!" He screamed, "Stop! Stop!" His shoulders were hunched, his voice cracked. If she didn't stop soon, he would die from the pain.
"Jayfeather?" The voice was distant, going away, "Jayfeather, what happened?" The voice died away, and the pain stopped. Jayfeather's mind slowly went away from the place of pain and torture.
When Jayfeather opened his eyes, he sensed Hollyleaf above him.
"Jayfeather," She whispered, "I'm so sorry." And with that, she ran off into the forest, the opposite way from the camp. Jayfeather sighed, and heaved him self up. His whole body hurt, and he made his way to camp. It was time to tell Hazeltail the truth.
It started to rain.
Lionblaze looked at his apprentice. Toadpaw's progress was going well, but he couldn't get his hunting right.
The apprentice had his haunches in the right place, and he was as quiet as he could be. But he dragged his tail, and he had heavy paws.
"That's not right," Lionblaze said, once again. They had been out in the forest, working on this all day. Toadpaw should have learned it by now.
"I'm trying!" The black and white tom snapped, but then he recovered, "Er- sorry Lionblaze, it's just frustrating."
"I understand that, but you need to learn it." Lionblaze said patiently, for the hundredth time that day.
"Can't we work on fighting?" The apprentice begged, his eyes pleading. Lionblaze had been tempted to give in, but he stayed firm, again.
"No, just, watch me again," Lionblaze went down into the stalking position again, and walked a few steps, then stood back up. Toadpaw had sunk down into the position, but he still wasn't walking right. "Can't you explain it better?" He complained.
Lionblaze tried to think of a way to explain it to his apprentice, "Well,…If you were sneaking up on the enemy, would you be stomping around?"
"No," Toadpaw said, getting what he meant, "So if I step like this," He took a few steps, doing to crouch perfectly, "They can't hear me. All I have to do is pretend that the prey is the enemy!" He let out a kit-ish squeal, and then looked embarrassed, "Sorry, 'bout that." He went back into the crouch, and then started looking for prey. A mouse was nibbling on a seed about three fox-lengths away from him, and he silently walked over to it. He pounced, and its life was gone in seconds. He proudly took it to Lionblaze, who nodded,
"Very good," He said, "Now, go towards the WindClan border and catch me….five pieces of prey, then we will work on fighting."
The black and white apprentice nodded excitedly, and he ran off silently into the trees.
Lionblaze thought that he should follow Toadpaw, but then he rethought that. He would just wait there, but it started to rain. He went over to a hollow tree, and lay underneath it. Lionblaze didn't notice that he had fallen asleep until Toadpaw prodded him with his paw, "Wake up, sleepy paws!" He said, and went to go sit under another hollow tree, across from the one that Lionblaze had slept in.
Lionblaze stood up, and went to see what Toadpaw had caught. He looked at the pile, and was taken aback. There were two black birds, a squirrel, and two voles. The mouse Toadpaw had caught first was in the pile too,
"Toadpaw, I haven't taught you how to catch birds yet, how did you get those?" Toadpaw's face brightened up when he saw the birds,
"Well, I just used your example. If your opponent is in the tree, you just use the same technique as you would to catch a bird." He smiled, and beamed at Lionblaze. You had to admit it, this apprentice was good,
"Alright, well then, burry these and we'll head over to this place I know. You sure you want to though?" Lionblaze looked at the sky, "It's coming down pretty hard."
"Oh, we'll be fine. What's some rain to warriors?" Toadpaw quickly got to work, and the two headed off.
They traveled across the stream, since its banks were rising in the rain. They were far past where they should have been. It wasn't long until the water reached the trees.
"Do you smell that?" Toadpaw said, his nose pointing over to the river, "It's something I've never smelt before."
Lionblaze was going to say that it was just some WindClan cat when he saw what it was. On the ground, in the mud, was a dog's foot print,
"That's just a dog's print," Lionblaze said, continuing to walk, "It's two-leg must have let it off it's leash and it ran through here, no big deal." He dismissed it easily, but Toadpaw stayed where he was,
"It smells fresh," He murmured to himself, then he put his head in the air, and sniffed it, "And…something's mingled with it…Lionblaze!" he called out to his mentor, who sighed and walked back over to where he was,
"What is it Toadpaw?" He asked, tired and wet in the rain. He didn't want to deal with an apprentice, who thought they smelt something,
"It has another scent with it. WindClan." Lionblaze sniffed the print. Toadpaw was right. The rain had covered the scent, and almost washed it away, but it was there. A WindClan cat had been there.
"Follow it," Lionblaze said. He didn't know what was going on, but he may as well make it a way for him to test what his apprentice had learned.
Toadpaw sniffed the print again, and then started to follow a trail. It led deeper into the trees, away from the river. Toadpaw never once lifted his head to see where he was going. He just kept his nose on the ground.
"What are you two doing?" A voice behind Lionblaze, who was following Toadpaw carefully, said, "You look kinda funny." It was Rosepaw. Toadpaw's head flew up when he heard his sister.
"You would too if you were following a dog trail with WindClan's scent on it." He remarked, and Rosepaw shut her mouth, which had been gaping open.
Mousewhisker came out of the trees behind his apprentice, "Rosepaw, watch what you say to elder cats," She nodded her head and murmured a 'sorry' to Lionblaze. Mousewhisker looked at Lionblaze, "So, you're following a dog trail? What if you run into the dog? Two of you can't take it if it's big enough to have a WindClan scent on it. I can bet you that they weren't chasing through our territory."
Lionblaze hadn't thought of it that way. The dog wasn't being chased, it was chasing something,
"You're right," He said, "Do you want to come with us?" Rosepaw nodded her head, and looked at Mousewhisker,
"That is what I was implying. Let's go." The two apprentices' noses were going to work immediately, and they ran off. Mousewhisker flicked his tail to tell Lionblaze to follow them, and they walked together,
"I ran into your sister," Mousewhisker began. Lionblaze wasn't surprised. They had been spending sooo much time together, even Firestar had to separate them. Turns out she's having his kits in about three moons. (I did look this up. It takes 60 days, or three moons-er-months.)
"Well, something's wrong with her. She comes into camp, breathing real hard, going about hurting Jayfeather, in his mind, and some other weird things. She said something about Hazeltail and Jayfeather, but I think she was in shock or something. I said she may need to go see Jayfeather, but her eyes got all glossy and she said, "He must hate me now. I hurt him too much." Then Leafpool came over, and she took her to the medicine cat den. Weird huh?"
Lionblaze was taken aback. Hollyleaf had hurt Jayfeather? And what was going on with Hazeltail?
"I'm sure she just fell or hit her head on something. She's normally way more…strict than that." Lionblaze couldn't think of a way to describe his sister.
"She's something isn't she?" Mousewhisker said, sighing, "I'm so lucky to have her…" He trailed off, lost in the moment. His eyes were glazed with what only could be love.
Lionblaze felt awkward for a few moments, until Mousewhisker recovered himself from his Cloud Nine,
"So how are things with Cinderheart? Hollyleaf said you two were getting pretty serious." Lionblaze wasn't ready for a question like that. He stayed quiet for a few moments.
How do I feel about Cinderheart? I just…I've got to love her…there's no other option. Hollyleaf would crack if I didn't. But what do I care if Hollyleaf goes nuts? Tigerstar seems to think that I'm going to hate her someday anyways.
"I really do love her," Lionblaze said, though his voice almost questioned his statement, "And I just want to be with her," Or at least, I need to be with her.
Mousewhisker nodded, and he turned to the way they were following the apprentices. It was quiet for awhile until a shriek filled the air. Lionblaze and Mousewhisker bounded up ahead, where they saw what made the apprentices cry out.
There were five dogs standing in front of them, Nightcloud's body at the leader's feet.
I was going to end it there, but I just can't when I have all this time on my hands.
Lionblaze's mind flashed to one thing. They were as good as dead. Nightcloud's dead body was a haunting sight. Her body was covered with gashes, and her ears were in shreds. Half her tail was gone. She was a mutilated, maimed cat. It was almost impossible to take your eyes off the gruesome sight.
The first of the dogs, the biggest one, snarled something in the dog language. The other four spread out, surrounding the cats. There was no way they could live.
Mousewhisker slowly made his way to where the two apprentices were, the dog's watching his every move. Surprisingly, they didn't attack him,
"I want Toadpaw to go running towards the ShadowClan border. Lose them if you can, but far away. Climb a tree or something. Rosepaw, head to the camp, get help. Lionblaze and I will handle these until you return." The two apprentices nodded, and Mousewhisker went slowly back to where Lionblaze was, and he told him the plan,
"When I say go, we'll start. Got it?" Lionblaze nodded, and prepared to spring. Might as well go down in honor.
Mousewhisker prepared to spring also, and he yowled out, "Now!" He shot himself at the nearest dog, making it scream in pain. Lionblaze threw himself at the leader, and the two apprentices went running. Two followed Toadpaw, and thankfully, none followed Rosepaw.
The rain made it harder to fight the dogs, since they were so muddy and slick. Lionblaze didn't concentrate on what he hit, as long as he did hit something. His slashed one of the dog's eyes, and another in the muzzle.
Mousewhisker was on his dog's back, and the dog tried to get him off by rolling. Mousewhisker used a planned move, and he jumped, landing on the dog's soft belly. It howled in pain, and went running into the forest, away from ThunderClan's camp.
Two of the dogs had Lionblaze cornered against a tree. Mousewhisker jumped at one, but it turned in time to catch him in the side, sending him ramming into a tree, where he fell, unconscious, but breathing. The dog didn't finish him off though. It turned back to Lionblaze, and took a snap at him. It missed, but barely just.
Lionblaze just had thought that his life was over when he heard a familiar battle cry. He saw Firestar coming with Thornclaw, Cloudtail, Brackenfur, Squirrelflight, Leafpool and Crowfeather. Rosepaw came too, but Firestar told her to run back, to find Toadpaw.
The two dogs turned to the new cats who had come in, and they backed off slowly. Behind them, the other three dogs came into view. Somehow they had gone around, and were behind the leader.
"Dog will catch cat," It said, in a ruff voice. Lionblaze couldn't believe it. The dog could speak cat, or at least a little bit, "Soon die you will." With that, they all ran away, heading towards the Moon Pool.
Firestar went up to Lionblaze while Leafpool went to check on Mousewhisker. He had raised his head, but his shoulder was bleeding.
"Are you okay?" Firestar asked Lionblaze, "What happened?"
"Toadpaw found a dog print, but only one. It was over by the stream. It's flooded its banks. We ran into Mousewhisker and Rosepaw, and they found the dogs. Toadpaw led two of them away while Rosepaw came and got you." Lionblaze explained what happened to them, while Firestar nodded,
"So you put the lives of two apprentices on the line, including your own? Lionblaze, please think before you act."
"But Firestar," Lionblaze argued, "There was a WindClan scent on the track. We had to follow it." Firestar's eyes widened when he turned to Nightcloud's dead body on the ground. A shudder went through his body,
"Lionblaze, have you ever heard the story about Tigerstar and the dog pack?" When Lionblaze nodded, Firestar continued, "So you heard about Swiftpaw and Brightheart then. Don't go looking for trouble when it should be left alone." Lionblaze nodded his head again, and Firestar turned to Mousewhisker,
"You need to go see Jayfeather." He said. Mousewhisker had managed to get to his paws, but he winced in pain. Leafpool and Crowfeather got on either side of him, and they helped him get back to camp. Lionblaze followed in the back, letting the rain pour down onto his back.
When they got into the camp, Cinderheart ran up to Lionblaze, and covered him in licks. He made an attempt to purr, but it came out as a croak. He was tired and hungry, and he didn't care for much more at the moment,
"Hey," He said, licking her on the cheek, "How's it going?" She ignored him, and started to look him over,
"Did those dogs hurt you? Are you okay?" Lionblaze stepped back so she would stop poking her,
"I just have a bad scratch on my leg," It was true. The dog's tooth had cut him on the leg, and it was still bleeding, "I need to go see Jayfeather." She nodded, and put her tail on his shoulder,
"I love you," She said, and he just tried to purr again. No luck.
He padded over to Jayfeather's den, and he saw Mousewhisker walking out. When he passed him he heard him say something about not being able to train, and having to lay around for a week or so.
When Lionblaze walked into the den, he saw Jayfeather and Hollyleaf. Hollyleaf was speaking to him, her voice pleading,
"…just forgive me. I didn't mean to do that to you."
"I get that Hollyleaf, and I'm not mad at you. I didn't know what was going on either. But it just happened. Get over it."
"What happened?" Lionblaze asked, walking over to where they were. At the same time they both said, "Nothing."
"Okay then. Jayfeather, could you look at this for me?" He held out his leg, and Jayfeather padded up to him, and he looked at his wound,
"One moment," He said, and he walked back to his storage. Hollyleaf came up to him, and she looked distraught,
"Lionblaze, have you ever hurt someone trying to do the right thing, but you regret it more that ever?"
Lionblaze's mind flashed to Heathertail, and when they used to play in the caves. He pushed that out of him mind, and he simply nodded,
"Well,…I did that to Jayfeather today. He was doing something that had to be stopped, but I couldn't do it. I hurt him trying. I can't even look at him without feeling guilt." She couldn't finish, anguish falling over her. Lionblaze put a comforting tail on her shoulder, and she looked up at him, her eyes burning,
"I need to go now." She said abruptly, and she almost flew out of the den. Lionblaze just sat down, not putting any weight on his injured leg.
Jayfeather came out from his storage area, and came up to Lionblaze with some herbs in his mouth. As he chewed them up, Lionblaze asked him, "Isn't the half-moon tomorrow?"
Jayfeather spat out what he was chewing and answered him, "Yeah, it is. I'll be heading up. I hope StarClan tells us what to do about these dogs."
"Me too." Lionblaze said, wincing when Jayfeather put the medicine on his leg. It stung, really badly. Lionblaze had to clench his teeth to keep him from crying out,
"What did you put on it?" He hissed through closed teeth, "Acid?"
"No, just a special mixture I use. Now, go and sleep, come back here in the morning, and I'll put more on." Lionblaze nodded, and walked stiffly out of the den. The rain fell on his leg, and it made his leg sting even more.
I really hate dogs, he thought as he walked into the Warriors' den, and settled down next to Cinderheart, who was asleep, and if it kills me, they will go away.
Did you guys like? I know that it sucked, but it's filler.
So, I need you guys to do me somethings. One: Check out the poll, don't care when, but do it.
Two: Come up with a cat that doesn't have a clan name, but could become one. Give me a description, and I will pick a winner.
Three: Review Review Review. Do it now, it's that little green button below. You can do it!
Love ya'll!