Browneyes quickened his pace as he and Darkpelt made their usual nightly rounds over the borders. Darkpelt was moving faster than usual today, it made Browneyes wonder if there was something on the white tom's mind.
The pair stopped at the edge of the river, staring into the darkness of TreeClan's forest beyond the field. Browneyes hung back as Darkpelt tasted the air and examined the area as usual. Instead, the silver tabby let himself become involved with the world around him.
It was a still night, and the crickets could be heard chirping lightly from the forest. Not a single stroke of wind hung in the air, he cocked his head upward to look at the stars of Silverpelt, who's light only appeared to shine brighter than usual.
It was hard to ignore the large pile of stone and debris that now curved down the side of the cliffs, a reminder of the battle of TreeClan. Browneyes tried not to think of the bodies that now lay buried beneath the earth. All the cats knew of Cherrynose's sacrifice, although they couldn't find her body, as it was long lost in the collapsed twoleg tunnels, they made sure to make a special monument for her in the burial place beside Ivyfoot's grave.
He sighed lightly as he eyed the hill, no one deserved to die. Browneyes's motion did not go unnoticed by Darkpelt, and the flecked tom turned back towards his brother.
Browneyes blinked in response and returned his brother's gaze. "Are you done already?"
Darkpelt made a curt nod. "Yes, if we hurry we'll be able to reach OceanClan before the moon is at its highest."
Browneyes let out a tired breath and stretched his long legs out in front of him. "Okay."
Darkpelt watched his brother for a moment longer before turning and continuing to pad on through the soft grasses, following the river's side. It flowed silently in the night, and perfectly reflected the night sky. If Browneyes didn't know any better, he would have said he was looking at the sky itself.
His attention turned to the cat in front of him, and Browneyes's eyes filled with concern. Darkpelt always closed himself off from the others, Browneyes wished he would just be happy, but the flecked tom was always so serious.
The two toms had grown up without a father, Browneyes didn't remember him much, but he knew who he was. Shadestar was known by many, and every DarkClan cat was familiar with the tale. He was the previous leader before Sunstar and a powerful warrior, he had sacrificed himself to protect them from TreeClan. The tom was known as a hero.
When they became apprentices, Sunstar had taken Darkpelt under his wing. The golden tom felt it was only right for him to be the one to train Shadestar's eldest son. Throughout his entire life, everyone had always expected so much from Darkpelt. He was the son of Shadestar and apprentice of Sunstar, normal good was never good enough.
Browneyes's eyes fell slightly as he watched his brother in front of him, his powerful shoulders moving briskly with each step. 'You don't have to prove anything.'
Browneyes was quiet for a moment, but spoke up after the two passed the ravine.
"Darkpelt."
The white warrior twitched his tail in acknowledgement, "What?"
"You know...they're not so bad, the other cats."
Darkpelt didn't respond for a moment, but Browneyes could tell by from his form that he hadn't expected his words. Darkpelt finally snorted, continuing on with their patrol.
"I mean it. You should make more of an effort, everyone needs friends."
"I don't need any friends." Darkpelt sneered. "Whether or not cats like me isn't important, besides having personal connections only gets in the way. As long as orders are followed and boundaries are understood is all that matters.
"Besides, we're not even supposed to be interacting with Lostheart and you know it. Why Sunstar made her deputy, I'll never understand."
Very early in life, Blizzardpelt had warned them to stay away from the she-kit, it had been a decree by Sunstar to all the cats. Listening to their mother, the two had always stayed away from her. Although it was unknown exactly why, it was clear from the she-cat's appearance that something was wrong with her.
Browneyes sighed, it was no use trying to talk to his brother. Darkpelt always refused to listen to him, he was too caught up in his own thoughts.
Roseclaw had allowed Moonfur and Greysight to leave the medicine cat after staying the night, although the medicine cat still seemed pretty peeved.
Mintpaw, however, had been quite helpful and sweet. Greysight was happy to be able to enjoy more of her company, she never got to see her little sister enough.
Staying with Moonfur wasn't too bad, the she-cats seemed to have come to a silent understanding. She wasn't that bad really, in fact, Greysight enjoyed her company. Moonfur was an interesting she-cat, and Greysight found it fun to mess with her.
Greysight allowed herself a chuckle as she stepped into the elder's den, but the smile slowly lessened as she approached Longtail.
Longtail looked up smiled kindly at her approach, "Greysight." she meowed. Her voice was raspy and quiet, the coughing seemed to be taking its toll on her throat. Longtail let out a soft sigh.
"You don't need to come and visit your mother every day, I don't want to get you sick."
Greysight scoffed and sat down by her mother's side, "I'm fine."
Longtail smiled at her daughter's ever-present headstrong attitude. However, the Siamese was quickly overtaken by a bout of heavy coughs. Greysight could do nothing and only wait in concern until Longtail's breathing finally slowed.
Once she had regained her breath, Longtail met Greysight's concerned expression. "It's alright." she meowed. "Don't worry yourself over me, the clan has enough to worry about."
Longtail winced slightly as she readjusted herself and accidently bumped her injured leg. Greysight said nothing as she helped Longtail stand up and walk out of the elder's den, then together, the two shared a small vole.
Despite most of the clans beliefs, Sunstar was, in fact, planning on how to defeat his brother. It was all he ever thought about, the thoughts plagued him constantly. His anger was all he had left.
Willowstar had to be stopped if he was ever going to be able to live in peace, but it seemed impossible. TreeClan itself was almost twice their size, and that was the least of their problems.
Now that Leafbare was here, the amount of prey would fall dramatically, and there wasn't much to begin with. Not only that, but the frost would kill any herbs to treat illnesses that thrived during the winter. Longtail had already developed a bad cough, and it couldn't be long until more cats became ill as well.
Mosspelt's prophecy still sounded clearly in his head, a constant reminder of the troubles for Darkclan. It's true meaning was still unknown to Sunstar, but the darkness and sense of foreboding had been evident in Mosspelt's words.
"A great darkness hangs over the forest. The very essence of evil and despair plagues the earth and fills the air with its foul stench. StarClan has spoken to me, and they have given me a prophecy: Brought upon by the lust for power, a deeply embedded grudge will lay waste to the clan. Until the blood of the cursed has been repaid, DarkClan will be forever left to waste away into nothingness. Until the harbinger of darkness is put to rest, DarkClan will forever suffer in a never-ending cycle of misfortune."
Sunstar paced around his den in frustration, he was sure Mosspelt had been onto something, but now that the she-cat was gone he was back to where he started. He had already made the decision to fortify the walls of the camp with a thick barrier of thorns, it would be a difficult task, but he was sure his warriors could pull it off. They had to be ready.
Willowstar's power was undeniable, the massive tom was a skilled fighter. As a young cat, he had never showed much promise, yet somehow he had become strong. Sunstar himself was shocked by his brother's true strength the day they fought for the first time. Had he been hiding it all along? He couldn't believe Willowstar had beaten him that day, the thought still left a bitter taste in his mouth. Maybe if he had been able to stop him, this wouldn't be happening. Then Willowstar had beaten him to the title of a leader.
At first, Sunstar had been astonished that StarClan had accepted a cat like Willowstar to become leader. The tom had betrayed his own clan, and he wasn't even of TreeClan blood. Even if Willowstar had been selected the deputy, Sunstar still found it odd how quickly his brother had risen to power. What's more, the TreeClan cats' loyalty to him was highly disturbing.
He had often spoke to Mosspelt of his suspicions, and the medicine cat herself found it hard to believe Willowstar had been accepted by StarClan. His brother had to be lying about his name, it was impossible that he would be able to receive his nine lives.
The thought had eased Sunstar at first, if Willowstar only had a single life, then he would be easy to defeat if the time came. Sunstar shook his pelt in an effort to rid himself on the chilled sensation creeping through his fur.
He had thought that, until that one day. When he watched Shadestar fight Willowstar, it became clear to him. At first, he denied it, refusing to believe such a thought, but the truth was undeniable. The day Willowstar fought Shadestar he, had taken his life. Or in a more literal sense, he had stolen it.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
DUNDUNDUN .Don't forget to review and leave any questions/thoughts you might have. And psshhh of course I changed it to "okay" I always try and fix up things you guys mention in your reviews, and I really love reading your thoughts. I don't remember if any of you remember this, but sometime at the very beginning of the series, I mentioned that this was originally just going to be like an animated series. I ende up writing it becasue I lack any animation talent. I've always dreamed of making it an animation, but unfortunately I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Even if I couldn't make an actual series, It would be cool to do certain scenes, or even just AMVs. BUTISUCK I try really hard just to draw things, and even then I'm never happy with them.
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