Chapter 12: Fury

TIGERSTAR ~

Tigerstar groaned. It had taken his every ounce of concentration-and energy-to flash to the place where Kougar was. Blinking dizzily, the dark furred tom grimaced and got unsteadily to his paws. Trees, tall and branchy, surrounded him on all sides. "What in Starclan-" Tigerstar was about to curse when his ears pricked.

Snap.

A twig snapped from behind him, and he whirled around, alert. Silence ensued. Nothing sounded; no birdcalls, no sign of squirrels darting away. Uneasy, the male cat turned back and padded quickly away. He didn't like this place. Kougar could be in danger. Worse, she could be injured. Tigerstar snarled at that thought. His female- injured?

Over his dead body.

Motivated by that thought, Tigerstar bounded through the seemingly endless forest, searching for Kougar. Her scent was nowhere to be found. Not even a trace. Frustrated, Tigerstar raced even faster. "Kougar!" He yowled, ignoring the fact that he was giving away his location. "Kougar! Where are you?" He called out once more.

His pelt was prickling with an ominous sense of danger, and his heart was pounding wildly. Kougar, where was she? Anxious now, he paced the forest impatiently, sniffing so hard he was afraid his nose would fall off. "Kougar!" He shouted. He repeated her name over and over again until his throat became dry, his voice turning raspy. Can't give up. Must find Kougar. Tigerstar's vision was blurring.

Black dots danced across his eyes.

"Kougar!" He growled. Answer me, female!

"Tigerstar?" A feminine whisper sounded to his right. Her voice was so soft, it was barely audible. Something whooshed at his ear. A cry of pain. Kougar's cry of pain.

Tigerstar snarled. Kougar. My Kougar. "Don't touch her!" His roar shook the earth, and he felt his muscles bunching, growing. He saw red. Literally. He stomped his way over to Kougar, the ground shaking with each step he took. The trees seemed shorter now; and his paws seemed large than normal.

The thought was fleeting. I've grown.

Then Kougar's groan jolted his back to reality. He swung his head toward the direction of the voice. "Kougar!" He roared. "Tigerstar," the call was a plea. "I'm coming, sweetheart." He pounded his way to her, and when he finally saw her, he almost collapsed with relief. "Kougar," He whispered her name as if it was a prayer. He felt himself shortening. His red vision ebbed away as he neared the she-cat.

"Kougar," he repeated, sighing. His eyes glowed with relief. The female's eyes shone with hope, but then it winked out, leaving her eyes cold and empty. Why? Wasn't she happy to see him? Tigerstar had barely gathered his thoughts when familiar voice, dark and menacing, boomed from behind him.

"Not so fast, Tiger."

EAGLEWING ~

"Thunderpaw!" Frustrated, the she-cat growled lowly in her throat. Where'd she disappear off to? She had seen her just a moment ago, on the rock! Then she'd disappeared, and the two cats watching were laughing. What did they do to her? Furious, Eaglewing stalked over to the pair; one bright orange, the other pure white.

"Hey, you! What did you do to Thunderpaw?"

They stopped laughing and turned around, mouths agape. "Who are you?" They chorused. Eaglewing snarled. She didn't have time for their antics. "Tell me where she is. Now." The white-furred female chuckled. "Well, she disappeared, so that means she's with-" The tom nudged her suddenly, stopping her mid-sentence.

Eaglewing's eyes narrowed.

"She's with?" She probed.

"Someone you don't need to know," The male replied rudely. Eaglewing scowled. Jerk. "Who are you?" She tried again. "I'm Frost, he's Boomer. Hi. Nice to meet you," Frost jabbered excitedly. "How did you get in here, though? You aren't one of us. You shouldn't have been able to see us, or this place."

Eaglewing's jaw dropped. What in Starclan was she blabbering about?

"Look, I don't have a clue. All I want to know is where Thunderpaw is, and if she's fine." Boomer shrugged, and glared at her. "She's with our King, and she's fine. But who are you? You're not welcome here." Eaglewing but back her snarl. Stupid furball. She glared back at the male. His striped pelt glistened in the sunlight.

Lionstar.

He bore an uncanny resemblance to the cold-hearted cat. Just thinking about him made her heart ache. Sadness leaked into her voice as she asked, "By any chance, are you related to Lionstar?" The male's eyes widened, and then narrowed. Something flashed in his dark green eyes. He remained silent, ignoring her question.

Huh. What did that mean?

Irritated that she wasn't getting any answers, she growled. "Someone tell me what's going on!" Frost settled down and curled her tail over her paws. Boomer muttered something that sounded like 'I'm cold, I'll go back first' and stalked away, tail held high. His words sank in and Eaglewing suddenly realized how cold she was. She was literally freezing her fur off, and her teeth started to chatter.

Frost seemed unaffected. She never noticed her shivering, and began with a sigh. "So, about Thunderpaw. She's a newly appointed Guardian, one of the three-or-four cats who are also going to arrive soon." Eaglewing took advantage to her pause and asked, "What's a Guardian?" Frost explained patiently, "A Guardian is a very special and powerful cat appointed by out leader, the Guardian King. We are basically Immortal beings who can control elements. Thunderpaw was chosen because our leader senses immense danger, and he has to call forth the strongest cats from all over the world. Each cat has a realm, and this is mine."

Hence the name Frost. Oh, it all made sense now.

Eaglewing nodded slowly, trying to absorb the new chunk of information tossed at her. Frost noticed her expression and chuckled softly. "I know, it's a lot to take in. I've been there too, you know. Boomer, or Fire, was with me at that time. Feline, you should have seen our faces." Frost smiled at the memory.

"So how did I get in?"

Frost's smile vanished. "The only time outsiders manage to slip in is when they are super close to a Guardian, or when our leader calls them here." Eaglewing nodded again, realizing that she fell into the first category. "Why did she disappear?" She asked again. "Our leader has chosen to speak to her," Frost smiled, licking her chest fur. Eaglewing continued to bombard the female with questions until a moan from the stone silenced her.

A beautiful grey-white furred she-cat rose from the altar and stretched, her sleek pelt shining under the sun. Eaglewing's jaw dropped.

"Thunderpaw!?"

LIONSTAR ~

"Spots! I'm so glad you came," the tom sighed. "I've been searching everywhere for her, but her scent's so stale it's disappearing. Cloudstorm is doing great as acting leader, but I need to return soon. I'm really far outside clan territory now. I'm not sure I even know the way home." Spottedleaf remained silent. She looked nervous. Lionstar stared back at her, his green eyes flickering. Waiting.

"Lionstar, I don't know how to tell you this, but I'm going to try, alright?"

Spottedleaf settled down and Lionstar did the same.

"I've been tracking Eaglewing for the past few days, but she disappeared suddenly, as if she stepped into another world, another dimension."

Lionstar's eyes were blank. His fur was bristling. There was a slim chance that he was never going to see the female again. Spottedleaf rose and pressed her nose to his cheek. "Don't give up yet, Lionstar. Thunderpaw's trail also ended where Eaglewing's did. If you find her, you can find your female too."

Lionstar managed to muster a weak smile. Anxiety was rolling off him in waves. Spottedleaf sighed. "You're quite far from reaching her spot, but you can make it soon. Follow your heart, Lionstar." Spottedleaf felt foolish giving him that piece of advice, considering it didn't turn out well for her. Firestar had fallen for Sandstorm instead, and she was left brokenhearted. She was never one to hold a grudge, and she had maintained a close friendship with either of them.

She continued, still. Lionstar stood too, but before he could go, she told him what she hadn't believed.

"Your heart never leads you the wrong way."

WOLFPAW ~~

Wolfpaw had tried his best to fling Thunderpaw from his mind. He was doing an assessment, and he couldn't afford any distraction. Crouching, his tail careful not to brush the ground, the tom waited for his chance to pounce. The bird pecked at something on the ground. Wolfpaw didn't hesitate. Leaping, he landed squarely on the bird, and he snapped its neck quickly.

That was his last catch, and he dragged his prey back to the camp; a plump bird, an equally plump vole, and a squirrel. Silverfall was waiting for him at the entrance.

"You did great, Wolfpaw. I'm proud of you."

Lionstar was seated atop the high rock, his gaze brighter than before, but still dull. Silverfall nodded to the striped tom, and he turned to face his clan. "Let every cat old enough to catch their own prey stand beneath the high rock for a clan meeting!"

Anticipation bubbled beneath Wolfpaw's nonchalant demeanor. Thunderpaw was momentarily forgotten.

"Wolfpaw, come here."

Wolfpaw obeyed, fur prickling with excitement.

"Wolfpaw, you have worked hard as an apprentice, and we appreciate what you have done for the clan. You have learnt what you must, and now I will give you your warrior name and tattoo." Lionstar bounded off the rock and stood face to face with the young tom. Wolfpaw met his leader's warm gaze, and in his eyes reflected his weariness despair. He must be missing Eaglewing too.

"From now on, you will be called Wolfstrike."

Choruses of his name were called out by the Thunderclan cats. He was proud, but the empty feeling in his chest was almost too much for him to bear. Thunderpaw should be with me, receiving her warrior name. Sadness leaked unknowingly into his voice as he thanked his clan leader. His tattoo now burned bright gold on his paw, his apprentice one gone. On his other paw, the Guardian's tattoo glowed a beautiful shade of blue.

As he continued to stare at that unwanted mark on his paw, the water spirit's words rang in his mind once again, reminding him of his other responsibilities.

"Hear my cry as the guardians fall; see the darkness as it overwhelms all. Feel the Earth as it cracks and roars, taste the bitter-sweet poison of revenge."

The happiness of turning into a warrior died out as quickly as it came. I don't want to do this. I hate it. Wolfpaw ran out the camp, ignoring the cried for him to go back. He bounded to his sanctuary, and curled into a ball beside the waterfall, shutting his eyes angrily.

I hate this. I hate my life. I hate myself.

FIREPAW XD

Firepaw paced the length of his cage, starving and thirsty. Trees grew on all sides of him, but there was no sign of any other living thing. He snarled lowly, remembering the huge, white cat that had taken him to Blue, just to find out that he was already dead. That memory brought back a fresh wave of sadness. Blue, his brother, dead…

The truth was too much to bear.

If Thunderpaw was dead too, he would kill the tom, whoever he was. His stomach grumbled, and Firepaw flinched. He'd never been this hungry. "Let me out!" He roared, and almost collapsed. He was weak, so weak. And it was all Lionstar's fault. He was anything but loyal.

He was a liar, a stupid furball, a mange-pelt, cunning… Firepaw continued to curse his former leader in his head. Something rustled beside him. Fear struck his heart; he was too weak to protect himself, and even the cage wasn't much of a protection. "Who's there?" He growled, hackles raised, pelt bristling.

"Firepaw? Hey, it's me. Kougar."

Firepaw blinked. Kougar? The female who was captured with him? He'd had only a glimpse of her, but he could tell she was beautiful, her spotted and striped- how cool was that? -brown pelt sleek and shiny.

"Did you get out?" His voice was hoarse and scratchy from his thirst.

"Yeah. My friend came," She replied, just as a deep male voice growled, "Who is that?"

Two faces came into view. Kougar, her emerald eyes glittering, and another, larger and bigger. "Come on, let's go," the male turned to leave. Firepaw's hope died out. Kougar held him back, and protested until he finally caved in. "You'd better follow quickly. I'm not waiting for anyone," his words were no more than a hiss, and Firepaw nodded.

He wasn't even scared of anything, anymore. Yes, surprises after surprises can do that to you.

He trailed behind the two cats as they tried to find a way out of the forest. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, shining patches of light at the ground. Firepaw barely paid attention to the beauty of nature, to busy trying to keep up with the tom's ridiculously fast pace. A patch of light, bigger than normal, caught his eye.

"Hey, Kougar!" He called.

The cats turned back to face him. The tom was scowling.

"Look," He waved his tail at the patch of light. Leaves swirled up, floating, higher and higher, until they disappeared in the clouds. Firepaw's eyes were bright and eager.

"That's our way out."

ME :LOL

TA-DA! surprise! I managed to finish another chappie, with a FIREPAW AND EAGLEWING BONUS :)) yeah, you're welcome haha XD