Hello, everyone! We're back, only 10 days later (pretty good, eh?) with another installment of ELEMENTAL: WAR OF SHADOWS. I'm Elsi, and I'm very glad to be seeing you! Or for you to be reading me, or however that is supposed to work. Anyways, this was pretty easy on the writing side, but it's kinda jumbled up towards the end there, and all of Ivypool's inner monologuing can get...monotonous. Bear with me, folks! We've got to get poor Ivypool from angry ball of fur to the calm and mature thing she is by the time the Great Five come around. And for that to happen - monologuing.

As always, I don't own Warriors, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. ~Elsi

Chapter 14

Ivypool

Ivypool woke in the Dark Forest with a burning question on her mind. She stormed through the normal alcoves, having already memorized their weaving patterns. It was instinctive now, and Ivypool knew that despite her initial fear, it was impossible for her to get lost. Even if she was to lose her way, she could simply wake up from the dream. She, like all of the others, could leave.

No. Leaving was out of the situation now. It was too late for anything except…forward progress. Ivypool took a deep breath as that thought came over her, and she pushed away her lingering fear in favor of one thought. Doveheart.

"Oh, Ivypool." When she stepped out into their normal meeting place, Hawkfrost was waiting. "You're earlier than I expected you."

"I came to ask you about Tigerheart," said Ivypool. She was met with silence and the leer from Hawkfrost's icy blue eyes.

"Tigerheart is a traitor," said Hawkfrost coolly. "He will be no longer discussed. Now Blossomfall, on the other hand…"

"Yes?" Ivypool's heart was in her throat, but he couldn't know that. Hawkfrost's eyes were piercing.

"Blossomfall's betrayal brings you into question as well," said Hawkfrost. Blinking, Ivypool just stared. "You are ThunderClan's representative. That one of your charges should so easily sway out of our grasp…"

"That sounds like Blossomfall's problem, or your problem." said Ivypool hotly. "Why is it my responsibility?"

"You are ThunderClan's representative."

"Were you planning on telling me this?"

Hawkfrost stared at her, and then he sat back and began to laugh, high and clear. Ivypool, failing to see what was funny, sat down crossly and waited for him to get over his little fit.

"Sweetheart, what did you think this whole thing was for?" he asked. "What, did you think that you were so special that you and you alone deserved my attention? Was that it? No, Ivypool, you're being trained for command. You're still so innocent after all this time." His expression warped dramatically. "It's slightly pathetic."

"I'll work on getting Blossomfall back to our side," said Ivypool quietly.

"Oh, it's far too late for that," sniffed Hawkfrost. "She's gone off and gotten herself a sweet little mate. Thinks she can escape our judgment just because some little tomcat will protect her. It's alright, though. She has too much kittypet blood to be of any use to us anyways."

"Then how was she part of our forces?" asked Ivypool quietly. A part of her already knew the answer, but she prayed to StarClan that it wasn't true. Hawkfrost chuckled a little bit.

"Once the new order had been established, she would have been eliminated." He flicked his tail matter-of-factly. "There is no room for abominations, not even those that tried to help."

Even those that tried to help. Hawkfrost watched her face, expecting some sort of reaction, but Ivypool just stared back.

"Makes sense," she said at last. Hawkfrost dipped his head, a little bit of a smile on his face.

"We thought you would see that way. Come with me, Ivypool. It is time your status as ThunderClan's representative is recognized." Hawkfrost set off without waiting for her; as such, Ivypool sprung after him until they were walking almost side-by-side. Ivypool knew what she was doing – she would never suggest that she was an equal to Hawkfrost, but being a half-step behind him suggested that she wasn't too submissive.

It was a little terrifying to realize that she was so used to doing the "right" things to keep herself alive and involved with this whole Dark Forest plot. But now that she knew what it was all about…it was just to keep herself there, involved, and most of all, alive. If she tried to back out now, there would be hell to pay, and Ivypool knew that she wouldn't even be the one to pay the price.

Imagining Doveheart in the sort of pain that these cats knew how to inflict…it was enough to harden Ivypool. There was no way that she could afford to miss out on this training, if it meant that she could save others from being hurt by it.

Hawkfrost and Ivypool wove through the trees at a pace that was fast, even for the athletic young she-cat, and by the time they came to a stop in a large, stone-embellished clearing, Ivypool could feel herself running out of breath. Reluctant to let it show, she entered the clearing and took a look around.

Breezepelt, Redwillow of ShadowClan, and Mossytail of RiverClan regarded her warily, their shadowy mentors behind them. Ivypool stared at her other-Clan counterparts with an empty heart, but forced her face to follow expectations. She was excited to be here. She was dedicated to the cause. She was ready for whatever they could throw at her. She was an equal to every single one of these cats.

"You're ThunderClan's representative?" said Mossytail, turning her nose in the air. "I suppose ThunderClan doesn't have much to offer, so you'll do."

"So defensive," said Ivypool shrewdly. "Hiding behind a façade of arrogance to mask that you're as new a warrior as I am?"

"Alright, kits, wrap it up," tittered Mapleshade, winding her way from behind Redwillow to make sure the green fungus-light washed upon her properly. "We're all allies here."

"There's no problem," said Ivypool coolly, earning a glare from Mossytail.

"Good," said Hawkfrost. "The purpose of tonight's meeting is not only to introduce Ivypool, but to discuss the tactics of the medicine cats to hinder our progress."

"StarClan is meddling again," reported Brokenstar, annoyed. "They're linking together Jayfeather and Willowshine. Now Jayfeather knows of the water cure, and it isn't long before Flametail and Kestrelflight receive the news.

"We could act," asked Mossytail, sharpening her claws. "We could be rid of Willowshine in a few moments."

"And what, have StarClan connect Jayfeather to Kestrelflight?" scoffed Breezepelt.

"No, that wouldn't happen," Mapleshade purred from her spot in the green light. "Willowshine has a role to play, too. But we condemn killing medicine cats, Mossytail. Has Thistleclaw neglected to teach you such a simple concept?"

"Medicine cats are just cats," said Thistleclaw quietly, as if this justified it. Ivypool tried to keep her breathing steady while following the conversation. The shadows came from this place, of course she knew that, but she had never heard of a cure. Water, huh? Now that Jayfeather knew that, their job would be a lot more difficult. No. Ivypool shook her head furiously to rid herself of the bad thoughts. Jayfeather knowing a cure was a good thing.

"Something wrong, Ivypool?" asked Mapleshade sweetly. As attention turned to her, Ivypool straightened in order to give her contribution. Her heart pounding, she formulated a response in her head, making sure that it would fit all of their guidelines.

"Is it really a bad thing for the medicine cats to know a cure?" asked Ivypool. "After all, we don't want to let anyone work against us. I know Jayfeather and some of the senior warriors already suspect our involvement with the shadows. Perhaps if we allow them to defeat the shadows, they will believe that they have won and stop pursuing the issue."

"Or they'll come after us more directly," Redwillow commented, speaking up for the first time. "Hence ruining the distraction."

"Well, killing them will only attract more attention," Ivypool countered. "No Clan will stand to see its medicine cat killed."

"We'll let them be – for now," said Hawkfrost thoughtfully. "Ivypool brings up an interesting possibility, and we will have to hope that her suspicions are correct. For now…let's report on our Clan-mates, shall we?"

Ivypool took a slow, measured breath as the attention of the cats in the clearing diverted, relieved to know that they didn't suspect a thing. What was there to suspect, anyways? She would stay, just as she had always stayed. She was too far in for her own good, and she couldn't back out now. ThunderClan's representative…it was a huge job. And Hawkfrost trusted that she was loyal enough to their cause to go through with everything he asked. Would she? Of course, but she had no other option anyways. If it protected Doveheart…she could at least fight all the battles that were ahead. After all, it was Ivypool that had started this whole business, and she had gotten herself to where she was now. It was too late, no matter what Jayfeather wanted to believe. He was wrong. Ivypool knew that she had only one direction in which to go: forward.

XXXX

Ivypool couldn't admit to herself that she was afraid. If she admitted to herself that she was afraid, then sooner or later everyone would know. Once everyone in the world of the living knew, Tigerstar would find out – somehow. Then he would know that she was done with this whole game involving abominations and purifying ThunderClan. Once that secret was out, she was done, and everyone she had ever cared about would be in serious danger.

The terror came slowly, only when she was awake. She managed to keep it away in her dreams, which were now filled with huge meetings with the other representatives and intensive training. Ivypool lorded over the training of her fellows from beside Hawkfrost now, and that fact was terrifying. He would train her on her own once they had all retreated to the waking world. She was starting to grow numb to it all – at least at night, where she needed to keep all of her fears hidden. In the broad sunlight, with nothing but a few bushes to hide her, Ivypool was completely exposed: to her Clan-mates, to those who suspected her, and worst of all, to her own horror.

How could she even be doing all of this? How could anyone ever get involved in this? Tigerstar and Hawkfrost and the rest of them – they wanted to purge the Clans of all those deemed "unsatisfactory." Murder. Killing someone in cold blood, just because of how they were born, or what had happened to them. It wasn't fair, and Ivypool saw now that it could have happened to her just as easily. Had she been caught in that accident instead of Briarlight, or had she been born in Jayfeather's situation…everything would be so different. Had any of her Clan-mates, the ones that were ready to give into the cause, given that any thought? Or did they not know of the true cause? Were they just going night after night, for the extra training, for the idea of feeling great?

It made more and more sense, each night she saw her Clan-mates training there. It wasn't as if these cats were pure evil – they were all being manipulated. Ivypool had been prey to it, too, in those moments of weakness where all she had ever wanted was to beat Doveheart at something. Hawkfrost told her about each one of them: Rosepetal was sick of being forgotten by Firestar and the rest of the Clan; Spiderleg had always resented how ThunderClan was run; Mousewhisker had been full of rage and sorrow since before Ivypool was born; on and on the list continued. Each one of her Clan-mates, ruined by some weakness in their hearts. Just a weakness. Everyone had them. But those cats in particular…their weaknesses were able to manipulated by those Dark Forest cats – the puppet masters. That was exactly what happened.

It was like a disease. Incurable. Training in the Dark Forest just made you angrier, and your anger made you weak. Your anger, your inability to love…it ruined you, and Tigerstar and his league of villains knew that very well. That was how they had all gotten to where they were. It was disgusting, but Ivypool knew that she never would have gotten to be representative of ThunderClan without it. She, too, had fallen into the trap. Now she could never get out, and now, like any other good epidemic, it was spreading slowly through her. Strangling her. Choking her. Poisoning her.

"Ivypool?" Hearing her name, Ivypool jumped to her paws, still fighting the urge to hyperventilate. She wanted to run, to hide, to cry and keep running until she was out of danger – but that could never happen.

"Ivypool!" Before she knew what was going on, Ivypool had taken off anyways. It was one of her Clan-mates, and she hadn't even bothered to figure out who it was. What did it matter? She didn't want to face any of them, because most of them would be "eliminated" once Tigerstar got his way. And oh, what a way it was…

"Ivypool, wait up!"

This time, Ivypool made herself turn around. She couldn't keep doing this: running away would reveal her fear. If she revealed her fear…it would all be over. So she turned around, and saw, to her surprise, that her pursuer was only Bumblestripe.

"Hello," said Ivypool quietly. "I-I'm sorry. I just…panicked."

"Are you alright?" asked Bumblestripe in a deep, sincere voice. "You seem a little…"

"I'm fine," Ivypool said, remembering how to smile and act innocent. It probably seemed a little forced, but the last wave of terror hadn't quite receded yet. Oh, how could she keep going on like this?

"You don't seem fine," said Bumblestripe, concerned. "How about we take a walk? Fresh air and somebody to talk to always helps me when I'm stressed."

"What do you have to be stressed about?" snapped Ivypool, and then she realized her cruelty and bowed her head. Bumblestripe didn't seem fazed, but a little bit of the light had died from his pretty amber eyes.

"Why don't you tell me what you have to be stressed about?" asked Bumblestripe in a cautious, unsure voice. Ivypool stared at him, a part of herself bitterly amused. What did he know about her problems? Was he really so naïve to think that he could be of any assistance to her? She was Ivypool – she functioned alone, because functioning with other cats was dangerous. Mostly, dangerous to the other cat in question, but that was beside the point.

"You would have no idea," said Ivypool, and she turned away. Her terror had subsided, leaving her with a hollow little feeling of…greyness was the best way to describe it. Now, it all just seemed a little funny, but maybe that was just Ivypool's cynical side. How had it all come down to this? Down to the point where she couldn't even trust her own Clan-mate, where she was constantly lying and spying and trying to sort out her own feelings when she couldn't even figure out how to leave the organization that had roped her into a darkness so deep that it felt like poison in her chest. All of it was so…futile.

A part of Ivypool glanced back at Bumblestripe, with his big eyes and his naivety and the way that he, unlike any other member of ThunderClan, had tried to help. No one wanted to help Ivypool, except this clumsy, innocent tom. As if powered by the look on her face, Bumblestripe closed the distance between them and took to her side.

"Maybe I could just walk with you, then," said Bumblestripe, beginning to brush past her. The touch of his coat urged her to start walking, and inexplicably, she did. "It's a lovely day, even for this time of year."

Such a light-hearted thought. Ivypool looked around her, not really having given the weather any sort of thought. Now that she was examining her surroundings, she supposed it was kind of nice. A few more steps, and Ivypool was dazzled by everything in the forest that she had forgotten about. The crisp crunch of frosty leaves under her paws. The cool bite of leaf-bare evening air as it wafted over her fur. The hard impact of her own paws hitting the cold ground. The way that tiny things scuttled through the undergrowth, aware of the two cats that ruled the woods, but for the moment engaged in their lives, too. It was her home, every last inch of it. How had she forgotten all of this?

"I haven't seen a look like that on anyone's face recently," said Bumblestripe from beside her. Ivypool wanted to ignore him, but his voice was too eager, so she turned and met his eyes. "You look so enchanted."

"I guess I'd forgotten what all of this was like," said Ivypool. "I feel like…I've been living my life sort of detached from the little things, if that makes any sense."

"It does," said Bumblestripe earnestly. That's what he was – earnest. About everything. "After Briarlight's accident, I started looking around at everything differently. Being able to hunt was a gift from StarClan. Walking up a hill made me lucky. The way the wind feels on my whiskers became such a glorious feeling." He sighed, shaking out his coat and in the process brushing into Ivypool a little more. His presence somehow calmed her, although it was perhaps that he was just another cat to be around.

"The forest is beautiful in leaf-bare," said Ivypool. "You would never think it, because everything is terrible in leaf-bare."

"Once you get past the cold, everything is wonderful," agreed Bumblestripe. A thought stuck in the back of Ivypool's throat, but it was the same one Bumblestripe had, so she didn't have to voice it. "But then again, it's easy to beat the cold when you have someone beside you to keep your pelt warm."

A little surprised, Ivypool looked at him with wide eyes. She could feel the confusion and shock on her face, but she couldn't make it go away. How was this innocent, honest tom so pleased to be with her? She was…she was dark, and horrible, and involved in so many terrible things. He was light and fluffy and charming, and he didn't deserve to spend his time with her. So what was he doing here, anyways, talking to her like an equal?

"You sure you don't want to talk about what's got you so worked up?" asked Bumblestripe in his annoyingly earnest voice. Ivypool shook her head vehemently. He couldn't know. He wouldn't accept it, and he shouldn't know, and why would she even consider telling him? Plus, she couldn't admit any of her feelings out loud. For all that her Clan-mates knew, she was another loyal warrior to ThunderClan.

Which she was. But she also had to juggle this whole Dark Forest thing on the side.

"I'm getting a little worried about you," said Bumblestripe, and the frankness of the comment took Ivypool by surprise. For a moment, she was angry – worried about her? She was fine, and she could take care of herself! And then she realized what the implication of Bumblestripe's statement was: that somebody out there still cared, at least a little bit. "Actually, I've been worried about you for a while."

"You shouldn't be," said Ivypool stoically. "I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt that," said Bumblestripe, a touch bashfully. "You're a very strong cat. But…something's wrong. I know that something is wrong."

She didn't deny it. She knew that she should have, but she just…couldn't. Too many things were wrong. There weren't the right words to describe everything that was wrong. Except that it crashed over her in waves whenever she got too imbedded in her thoughts, and that happened a lot thanks to her lack of real friends. She had subordinates, those Clan-mates that recognized her as their leader. And then she had Clan-mates, all of whom thought she was a great warrior, but were a little bit tentative about approaching. Then there was Doveheart, but Ivypool was forbidden to get anywhere near Doveheart lest she be proclaimed disloyal or Doveheart put into immediate danger. The same would happen to anyone who dared get close to her. They would just become another walking target, and Ivypool couldn't afford to rescue someone she cared about on top of juggling all of her responsibilities.

"I appreciate your concern," said Ivypool, aware of how cool and diplomatic her tone was and how much she hated it. "But please, stop worrying. I can take care of myself."

Hearing the dismissal and rejection in her voice, Bumblestripe shifted away from her slightly, so that their pelts were still touching, but not as closely as they had been. A little more cold air darkened her spirits.

"I hope you tell me if something happens," said Bumblestripe quietly. "You should know that there's at least someone that wants to hear you're alright."

She felt like reiterating that she didn't need anyone to help her, but Bumblestripe took a few steps back, tentative and innocent as usual.

"I'd better head back - I told Blossomfall I'd go hunting with her. See you later, Ivypool." His eyes a little hurt, Bumblestripe ended their conversation on those words and left Ivypool alone in the snow. She couldn't determine why, exactly, but the solitude made her feel even sadder than she had been before.

And that's that. A little sad there, but we're progressing. Ivypool is now fully aware of the horrors that are the Dark Forest. I'm not sure if it was actually confirmed in previous chapters, but now you actually know that Tigerstar and company are (of course) behind these shadow-cat-things. Plus, Bumblestripe is here, and I think he's the sweetest.

If you liked this chapter, please don't forget to review, favorite, follow, or check out my other work! If you haven't read the Elemental series, I highly recommend going and checking that out, although you obviously see what happens to certain characters. Also, if you're into Hetalia, go and read A Question of Arrangement or the Issue with Arrangement! Which I'm really proud of.

Next chapter will be a Doveheart chapter, and will involve Lionblaze and Rosepetal. Some Tigerheart, too, because why not? Before that, however, I'll be updating the regular Elemental series (so get pumped, because it's been like two months since that puppy's been touched). My schedule said I get to write Mountainpaw again! But, never fear, Elemental: War of Shadows will return - after these short messages.

~Elsi