Sorry for such a late update.
Foxbracken:
Don't worry! All will be explained…soon.
Look for Shakespeare! I'll give you a hint: Julius Caesar, Brutus's speech, and The Merchant of Venice, Portia's monologue.
Poodle palace:
Yeah, it is kind of heartbreaking. And it's because they're hypocrites.
Let me explain. They believe clan life is sophisticated, or at least brainwashed to do so. They don't view Bloodclan as a clan. They see them like their ancestors: a bunch of wild, crazy, bloodthirsty alley cats. Not a clan. They think of them as feral: crazy, wild cats. Hope that helped a bit.
Guest:
Maybe I didn't explain that well enough. My mistake.
In order for a male to become a warrior if he loses, he must perform an extremely dangerous task, one that will most likely get him killed. Hope that cleared things up a bit.
Chapter 25: The Night of Surprises
"So is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father." The voice chanted over and over in her head as she dreamed. The same image was also endlessly repeated: A pair of blue eyes floated near a pair of green ones, and then they merged together.
A poke caused Shatterbreeze to stir. She rolled over, thinking it was a stick that seemed to jab her in her sleep. Then, it came again, sharper. Ouch! She thought, wide away now. She turned to see soft blue eyes.
"Honeyheart?" She said with drowsiness thick in her voice. "What are you-"
"Shh!" The she hissed quietly. Shatterbreeze blinked the sleep from her eyes. More conscious, she saw that everyone was awake.
"But what about Kestrelbreeze?" Lynxbreeze meowed.
"What's going on?" Shatterbreeze asked again.
Ripple flicked his tail, ignoring Shatterbreeze. "Cloverleap is trying to get her. Just relax."
"I'd really like to know what's going on here." Shatterbreeze persisted. Her ears flattened in distress.
"How do we know you aren't just trying to set us up, then call your guards and claim the reward? You're a pretty loyal cat, and-" Silver snarled at Honeyheart.
The golden she stiffened, and looked at Silver with as much coldness as leaf-bare. "Do. Not. Question. Me. I am a cat of my word."
"Am I talking to myself here?" growled Shatterbreeze, growing impatient. "Someone answer! I-"
"Shut up, mousebrain! We heard you the first time!" Chill growled, enough to be threatening without waking Thunderclan, while taking a swipe at Shatterbreeze. "We're busting out."
Just shortly, a crack of thunder boomed, and the skies opened up. A soggy Cloverleap appeared, with a silver lump, equally wet and sprawled across his back. "Let's go, before Lilysong wakes."
Lynxbreeze leapt to her feet, scampering out of the den, gave Kestrelbreeze a sniff. Shatterbreeze barely heard her whisper to Cloverleap. "Take good care of her." He blinked in acceptance.
Smiling in satisfaction she was going to be ok, the brown apprentice looked side-to-side, flicking her tail once it was clear. She darted across the muddy clearing and to the entrance of camp.
"Where is she going?" Shatterbreeze asked Chill.
"She's going to lure the guards away from camp so we can take the fastest way to camp."
"You used her as bait!" Shatterbreeze hissed.
"Do not worry, young one. She is the fastest of you all." Honeyheart spoke softly. "She will be fine."
Shatterbreeze sighed, getting to her paws. Silver removed their piled up bedding from a corner, revealing a place where they had dug. Silver squirmed through and under the stump. Cloverleap waddled over, placing Kestrelbreeze's limp body carefully in the hole. Silver grabbed her scuff as both cats tried to maneuver her little body to the other side. Shatterbreeze looked back over her shoulder. She heard voices from Duskstar's den. Checking to make sure no one watched, and no one was because they were preoccupied with Kestrelbreeze, she dashed over, slipping and sliding quietly in the mud. She slinked to the shadows, pressing her ear to the stone wall.
"Duskstar, you promised if I turned them in, you would give me prey, and you haven't fulfilled your promise." Greytail whined.
"And neither did you, fox-heart. You do not have the Darkshard on your claws." Duskstar said calmly.
"That wasn't part of the deal! And what do you think will happen if I don't come back with prey soon? Old Bloodclan isn't going to be too happy."
"With you."
"No. You killed Brokenstar, one of their main forest allies."
A growl and the unsheathing of claws was followed be a hiss.
"Fine, but when they come here and join the New Bloodies, do not blame me." Greytail padded out of the den, a small scratch across his face. He sighed, padding toward the dirt place. Shatterbreeze darted back to the stump. Chill and a muddy Cloverleap turned to look at her.
Chill growled. "Where have you been?!"
"I found out some things. I'll tell you later."
Chill bared his teeth and swiped at her again. His claws nicked her ear. "Don't run off again. Come on, the hole's too watery."
"What's wrong with a little water?" asked Shatterbreeze.
"Shut up. Come on, Cloverleap." Chill stalked out of the den. Cloverleap sighed and he and Shatterbreeze followed the deputy.
"Where's Honeyheart?" Shatterbreeze asked Cloverleap.
"She went though the entrance, going around camp to help Silver with Kestrelbreeze."
Fat rain drops pelted them, piercing and drenching their thick coats in a matter of seconds. Cloverleap led the way out of the camp. He was almost to the ravine when a brown blur dropped in front of him.
"What are you doing, brother? Going for a little midnight stroll?" it hissed.
"Step aside, Adderclaw." The light-and-dark-brown tom snarled and lunged at Cloverleap. The toms became even browner as mud stuck to their pelts. Cloverleap slipped out from under Adderclaw's grip, bringing his front clawed paw down hard on Adderclaw's head. Adderclaw growled as blood dripped into his eyes, and he sprung onto Cloverleap's back and held on with unsheathed claws. Cloverleap's legs became limp, and he rolled onto his brother. He got up quickly, placing his paws on Adderclaw's chest.
"Enough!" growled Cloverleap.
"Why, brother? Why do you turn you back on me? Why do you decide to hate Thunderclan so much you betray them?" Shatterbreeze felt moved; this cat actually sounded confused and heartbroken. The pain was so obvious in his voice, there was no way he could have faked it.
"Here is my answer: It is not that I love Thunderclan less, it is that I love doing what is right more." The tom stepped off of Adderclaw, who didn't move, curled up in the mud. Cloverleap sighed, flicking his tail for us to follow. Shatterbreeze looked at Adderclaw as she passed, shocked to see a tear falling from his eyes. She scampered away, toward Chill and Cloverleap, who broke into a run. Soon, she felt the scent slowly fading. The stench of Thunderpath made her wrinkle her nose slightly. Silver and Honeyheart padded toward the group while Ripple dragged Kestrelbreeze out of a pipe under Thunderpath. Silver winced, sitting down.
"Are you alright, Silver?" Lynxbreeze asked.
"Yeah, must be something they fed me. Stomach ache. I'll be fine."
Shatterbreeze looked at Honeyheart, who sat by Cloverleap. "Are you coming with us?"
"I'm afraid not, sweetie." The golden she sighed. "We need to lay low for a bit. Duskstar will not be happy with us, and Bloodclan will be the first place he'll look."
Shatterbreeze looked at Cloverleap. "What about Adderclaw?"
Hurt swam in the tom's green eyes. "He will be fine. He understands now." was all the tom said.
Shatterbreeze nodded, then turned to Chill. He flicked his tail, and the Bloodclan cats crossed the Thunderpath, leaving the two Thunderclan mates to disappear into the undergrowth.
Finally, on tired paws, they climbed up the entrance of camp and jumped into the clearing. There was a meeting going on, and every cat's head turned. Suddenly, cheers of delight erupted.
"Ripple!" Darkshard bounded down Bloodrock with the speed of lightning, crashing into Ripple. They laid in the mud, tails twined.
"Silver!" Ember broke away from the clearing, up to his mate. She rubbed heads as he licked her ear. She let out a soft moan, wrapping her tail around her stomach. Ember frowned.
Shatterbreeze sighed, watching everyone reuinte, when she heard her own name ring out.
"Shatterbreeze!" She looked over toward the sound, just when Stoneclaw collided with her. The two apprentices tumbled backward, so Shatterbreeze was pinned under the tom. His eyes were filled with pure delight as they sparkled. "I missed you! Are you ok? Did they hurt you?"
"No, no, I'm fine. I missed you too." She purred. Suddenly, he licked her cheek, and she felt her paws grow warm. She smiled, and he let her up. He licked her ear as she snuggled into his chest fur. She then caught the eye of a fuming Star. He lashed his tail harshly before stalking into Lunaclaw's den. She felt bad, but didn't say anything. Instead, she looked up into the gorgeous eyes of Stoneclaw. He whispered in her ear. "Only 1 moon left."
She knew what he ment. One moon until the battle, until they could become warriors, until they became mates. What she didn't tell him was that it slightly terrified her. "About that…I-"
A loud yowl silenced the cheers. Silver was on the ground, Ember looking distressed as he nuzzled her.
"What? What's wrong?" cried Lynxbreeze, who had just come out after bringing Kestrelbreeze into Lunaclaw's den. Shatterbreeze hadn't even noticed she left.
"It's…it's time…kits..they're-" Silver broke off as she yowled in pain. A puddle pooled under her as she fell to the ground, thrashing.
Lunaclaw poked her head out, and her eyes widened. "Get her to my den, now!"
Ember helped lift Silver off the ground, along with Ripple, and they carried the screaming, writhing she-cat to the den as rain continued to pitter-patter into the camp. Another round of thunder boomed.
