Chapter 35

"Full Moon, Blood Moon."

4/23/17 - 4/24/17

~ Fenris ~

Just as Jessie promised, her humans - Longpaws - returned to the den. Fenris immediately hid behind the house in the bushes, fearful of their reaction. The Longpaws play with Jessie through throwing a bright red ball across the field.

Jessie would chase after the ball, and return it to her Longpaws. Then the exercise is repeated over and over again.

How can she find this fun? I'm getting dizzy just watching it.

Then, Jessie walks past her Longpaws and went straight to the bushes he is hiding in, and drops the ball.

"Come out." She whispers.

"I can't!" Fenris sees her Longpaws walking behind Jessie and his anxiety grows. Jessie throws the ball into the bushes. Fenris pushes the ball out. Now the Longpaws were confused and curious, and the male walks in front of Jessie to inspect.

No, no!

Fenris pushes his way out and startles the Longpaws. The Longpaws made angry noises and the male picks up a stick. Jessie quickly picks up and tosses the ball to hit Fenris' snout.

"Toss it back to me." She said. Fenris looks at the Farm Dog and grabs the bright red ball, and tosses it to Jessie.

The female Longpaw stops her mate and watches the display.

Jessie twists her neck and throws the ball over Fenris' head and lands five feet away. The white half-wolf runs to the ball and grasps the ball between his razor sharp teeth.

Fenris gallops to Jessie feeling conscious of her Longpaws watching his every move. The white wolf-dog drops the ball near Jessie's white paws.

"Keep going. They're liking it." Jessie urged him.

"The male doesn't seem to."

Jessie snorts. "John is just being stubborn, but Alice is the one you need to win over."

Jessie picks up her ball and yips, walking to the female Longpaw - Alice - and stands on her hind legs to put the ball in Alice's paw. Jessie turns to Fenris.

The white half-dog cautiously walks toward Alice, lowering his ears and tucking his tail between his legs and looking up at her. Alice reaches down and gently pets Fenris' head.

This feels nice… Crystal never nuzzled me as a pup except for Zeus.

Alice shows Fenris and Jessie the ball.

"Yes!" Jessie barks, spinning around in a circle and wagging her tail vigorously. "Please, throw it! Throw it again!"

Alice throws the ball. Jessie tears up the ground with Fenris following her. Fenris feels something he hasn't felt since Zeus died: happiness.

~ Nightsong ~

The night for the Gathering will not be a happy one. With the flood and the loss of four cats, the walk to the island is silent. Ashcloud stayed behind to look after his kits with Spottedberry and Goldflame. Nightsong pads in place with the newly named Raccoontail and Driftcloud.

The RiverClan, ShadowClan and WindClan cats were already on the island when they arrived. Nightsong smells fish and sees Beechclaw.

"Hey, Nightsong. Is Snowpelt here?"

The black she-cat narrows her eyes. "Beechclaw… Whatever you're doing, you need to think clearly before you do something you'll regret."

"It's just a friendly chat." Beechclaw insists.

"Beechclaw, stop!" Nightsong hisses quietly. "I know why you came to ThunderClan during the flood! You say you couldn't watch us die, but yet you only saved Snowpelt and no one else! I've seen the way Thistlefang looks at you. This more than just being friendly."

Beechclaw looks at the ThunderClan cats before Nightsong grabs his attention with a whip of her tail.

"Beechclaw, I'm serious, don't start something that always ends with heartbreak."

~ Spiderdusk ~

With his Clanmates weaving around, Spiderdusk has a difficult time with finding Beechclaw, Snowpelt and Nightsong. He could easily find Owlpaw with the medicine cats so he decides not to waste time.

"Hey, Owlpaw."

Owlpaw looks at him, there is a smug air around him. "Actually it's Owlflight now."

"Congrats." Spiderdusk retorts. Then he adjusts his tone. "I'm sorry. I just want to tell you something important."

Owlflight looks at Kestrelwing.

"Go. Brackenstar should be starting soon."

Owlflight follows Spiderdusk near a bramble bush.

"One of our kits wandered off from our territory and came across the wolf pack's new camp."

Owlflight's green eyes widen. "Are you certain?"

"Yes! They must've followed our scent trail down from the mountains and come to the lake."

"How - when did this happen?" Owlflight asks rapidly.

"You weren't at our last meeting. Nightsong and Snowpelt found Cloudwind and Whitefur dead ages ago, even her backpack was ripped to shreds."

Owlflight swallows. "Both Cloudwind and Whitefur were white furred cats, but Cloudwind looks exactly like Snowpelt, especially with the backpack on. One of the wolves must have mistaken him for her until it was too late."

"What about Whitefur?" Spiderdusk asks. "I saw him several times, he had black ear tips and tail tip."

"Probably too much in a fit of rage to care. If one wolf caused so much damage, a whole pack would do so much more…"

"Everyone gather around, and we will start the Gathering!"

Spiderdusk looks up at Darkstar and back to Owlflight.

"Brackenstar is going to tell what I saw. Let's hope for a solution."

~ Alpha/Crystal ~

She walks in powerful strides toward the scent left behind by the moorland cats.

"Keep silent. Not a single bark." She told her Zeta, Reap, Eta and Beta, Prideful. She caught sight of Loki, who demanded to come along despite being in Delta.

Alpha growls as Loki's form morphs into a grayish black, and white dog with wolfish features, and ice blue eyes.

Scout.

Alpha remembers him, and her hatred for Loki and Fenris' father intensified. She even sees his defiance in Fenris as well as Loki's.

You tricked me, Scout, and cost me my mate. I'll never forgive you for that.

Tearing her eyes away from Loki, she hears voices. Alpha looks at a small island and smells the scent of cats, strong and fresh.

~ Beechclaw ~

Beechclaw laments over his chance to speak with Snowpelt. Darkstar spoke first.

"We recently had a flood in the gorge a couple of days ago. We lost Volefang, Dawnleaf, Sneezeclaw and Sweetflower."

The majority of cats gasp in shock hearing Sweetflower's name. She was very popular, a kind she-cat who lived up to her name.

"We also have a new warrior with us tonight. Please welcome, Raccoontail!"

"Raccoontail! Raccoontail! Raccoontail!"

The grey ring tailed tom looks embarrassed as the other Clans cheer his name. Petalbreeze nudges Raccoontail's shoulder.

"Soak it up." She told him.

"That is all ThunderClan has to report."

Darkstar moves aside for Brackenstar to go next.

"One of my warriors, Spiderdusk, made a discovery of wolves being near our borders."

Beechclaw almost immediately screamed with shock as everyone around him was rattled.

"How is this possible?"

"I thought those five got rid of them!"

"Wait. So they were telling the truth?!"

"The wolf pack is near your territory?" Heatherstar asks Brackenstar.

"That is what I was told. We don't know what our next plan is, but we can't stay in WindClan while the wolves are…"

"While we're, what? I didn't think we were so disliked."

Beechclaw lost his breath.

No. Please, no, of all times?

Beechclaw saw her: Alpha. The white she-wolf strides over the tree bridge with power and command. Soon, Zeta, Eta and Alpha's Beta, Prideful, swimming onto the island and crowding the cats.

Alpha looks at the four leaders smugly and sees the Prophesied Five.

"Hello, little ones." She adresses them. "I told you that I would be back for you."

Darkstar, Heatherstar, Brackenstar and Olivestar jump from the tree and glare at the white wolf.

"Don't you even try." Darkstar growls.

Alpha sneers. "Ooh, I'm so afraid. What are a bunch of small pieces of prey going to do?"

"We don't care how big you are. You're greatly outnumbered." Heatherstar said.

Olivestar nods. "We'll tear you apart before you could get one of our own."

Alpha hums, uninterested and calm. "You operate as a pack as well. How admirable, such a shame indeed."

Alpha's face became a sick smile and crazed eyes as she barks out a command.

"Kill them all!"

The entire island erupts with howls and yowls of cats, and Beechclaw almost runs away from it all.

This is just like my dream!

Beechclaw instincts told him to find his parents and brother. The two Eta wolves Rose and Onyx charge toward him with snapping jaws. Beechclaw dodges and runs underneath Onyx's forelegs and feels Rose's jaws clamp down on his body and bite down.

A sudden gale of wind knocks Onyx into the water. Rose, shocked, drops Beechclaw as a huge chuck of earth hits her, and sent her flying into the water as well.

"Learn how to fight right!"

Beechclaw sees Rosefoot flinging herself into the battle. Windstorm gives Beechclaw a stare before following behind his mate.

"Mom!"

Beechclaw blinks and sees Bearskip latching himself on Reap's shoulders, Silversnow's back leg is caught in Reap's mouth.

"Let go of her! Let go!" Bearskip snarls, tearing into the Zeta's fur and flesh. Reap drops Silversnow and knocks Bearskip down and stomps her paw on his chest.

Beechclaw races toward Reap and leaps, sinking his claws into Reap's flank. The grey, brown and white she-wolf immediately forgets Bearskip in favor of Beechclaw.

Real swings her front paw, Beechclaw ducks. Reap bites Beechclaw on his back, ripping his fur off. Bearskip bites on Reap's hind leg. The Zeta turns to Bearskip, and Beechclaw lunges and claws Reap's chest.

Bearskip jumps on Reap's back while Beechclaw attacks her front paws. Overwhelmed by the two toms, Reap shakes off Bearskip and runs away with her tail between her legs.

Bearskip nods in appreciation and goes to check on Silversnow with Darkwater checking her for wounds. Beechclaw hears a shriek and sees Spiderdusk struggling with two other wolves.

He runs to his aide.

~ Snowpelt ~

"Let rock!" Petalbreeze and Raccoontail charge at one of the wolves as Snowpelt tries to stay out of any wolf's jaws. A jet black wolf stand in her way with a malicious grin.

"Ah, I finally found you!"

Zephyr! Snowpelt bristles her fur as Zephyr bites at her paws. She scratches his nose, splitting it.

"Got no more magic tricks?" Zephyr sneers. "I got demoted because of you! Now I can finally eat you alive like those other white cats!"

Snowpelt almost falters when she hears Zephyr's claim. Two white cats…

He's the one who killed Cloudwind and Whitefur!

With newfound fury, Snowpelt lunges and claws Zephyr's eyes. She sinks her claw on his muzzle.

"This is for my grandfather!"

Zephyr shakes his head and knocks Snowpelt down. But the white-silver flecked she-cat gets back up and rams herself into the black wolf's chest.

She jumps down and rams harder, pushing Zephyr down on his side. Snowpelt claws Zephyr's flank.

"This is for Whitefur! He'll never see his kits be born because of you!"

Something spectacular happened.

Just as Snowpelt raises her claws to strike, her claws becomes coated in ice and slashes Zephyr's flank open. Zephyr howls with pain and gets up as the blood pours from his wound.

"You rat!"

Snowpelt prepares for a bite that never came. A black cat latches on to Zephyr and knocks him into the water. The lake turns red as Zephyr's body float to the top like a dead fish. Snowpelt sees Beechclaw's head pop up and gasp for air as he swims to shore.

"Beechclaw! Have you lost your mind?!" She demands.

The black and brown eared tom shakes his fur.

"I did it for you." He breaths.

Snowpelt hears the voices drown out when Beechclaw asks,

"Will you be my mate, Snowpelt?"

Snowpelt stares at the RiverClan warrior in shock. She sees a dark brown shape from her peripheral vision, Thistlefang stares at them both with anger and sadness and rushed into battle.

Snowpelt quickly races into battle, too, without answering Beechclaw's question.

~ Nightsong ~

With the number of wolves dwindling, Nightsong could barely let her guard down. She chases Prideful away and stops on the tree bridge, barely out of breath.

A shadow looms over her own as she looks over her shoulder, Alpha's teeth almost connected to her head if Nightsong hadn't duck and rolled.

The environment turns dark red, and Nightsong looks at the moon. The moon was dark orange, it was very sinister that makes Nightsong's heart drop.

I never heard of a red moon… What does that mean? Is StarClan suffering, too?

Alpha gazes at the moon with a smile.

"Isn't the blood moon lovely? It rarely come around. It's a perfect fit end for you."

Alpha snaps her jaws, and Nightsong dodges the blow and claws Alpha's already bad eye. The white she-wolf bites at Nightsong and swings her paw, Nightsong grabs hold on Alpha's front paw and bites it.

Alpha snarls and slams her front paw, knocking Nightsong down.

"I've had enough of your stubbornness, cat!" Before Alpha could bite down, Littlefalcon came out of nowhere and pushes Alpha into the water with him.

Nightsong scrambles to the edge and tries to find her father in the water. Blood rises on the surface, and Nightsong already fears the worst.

He can't die. He's Littlefalcon, he can't leave me and Mom!

A shadow swim up, and Littlefalcon gasps for air as he struggles to stay up. The ThunderClan deputy reaches the shore as Nightsong purrs with relief.

"I thought you died…"

Littlefalcon coughs. "Everyone may accept the death of a runt, but I'm not accepting it."

The island falls quiet as the wolves swim away with defeat, and Nightsong sighs with relief. "Let's go-."

The water suddenly bursts up. Alpha drags herself out of the water and glares at Nightsong. The white she-wolf drags herself toward Nightsong with speed that surprises her and Littlefalcon.

Alpha gets up only for another white wolf to stab her neck with a sharp stick, blood spattering out. Alpha gave out a noiseless scream as she falls down, she glares at the white wolf male before she falls still.

Nightsong and Littlefalcon look at the white wolf.

"She's not bothering you anymore." He said. Snowpelt runs out on the tree bridge and pauses when she sees the white wolf, and squints her eyes.

"You're not Fenris." She says.

The white wolf looks surprised, as did Nightsong.

"No. I'm his brother, Loki. And like I said, with Crystal dead, the pack won't bother you anymore."

"How can we trust you?" Littlefalcon demands softly. "You could come back to avenge Crystal at any moment."

Loki's face became hard and cold. "No they won't. I'll fix it myself." Loki turns his back.

"Oh, and little white cat."

Snowpelt blinks. "What?"

"If you see Fenris, tell him he is welcome in the pack any time… And tell him I'm sorry for not being there for him."

Loki walks away with a swish of his tail.

~ Owlflight ~

The moon's color becomes white and bright once more. But it meant little to the cats.

Owlflight sees a few bodies lying around that broke his heart.

Hailstone was killed under Zephyr's paws while defending Duskshade with his remaining warrior training.

"He just stood there and fought, but his leg…" Duskshade sobs as Sootdust comforts him.

Grassclaw bravely, but stupidly, fought a whole pack until they ripped him apart by his fur. The last one was ThunderClan's leader, Darkstar. The jet black tom remains motionless and bloody.

Darkstar lost his last life fighting for his Clan.

"Poor Goldflame." Gingershine whispers to Timberclaw. "She just lost her mate, and now her father…"

Owlflight sees Littlefalcon bend down and gently grooms his uncle's fur, Lightstripe shakes his head and cries while Graystream comforts her father.

Owlflight knew Darkstar was his brother. With him gone, Lightstripe is the last remaining cat from Stealthfire and Stoatfrost's litter.

"Littlefalcon." Heatherstar adresses the deputy, and soon-to-be leader.

"I'm very sorry for your loss. Darkstar was a brave cat."

"Brazen, snarky and sarcastic." Olivestar grunts. "But a noble cat."

Brackenstar nods. "Yes. He proved that his name was never meant for evil."

Lightstripe nods. "That's why Mom called him Darkkit. She wanted him to be known as a good cat, not a bad one."

Littlefalcon sniffs and looks at the three leaders with tears in his pale amber eyes. "I don't know if I'm ready…"

"Yes, you are." Finchblaze said padding to him. "Darkstar knew what he was doing when he chose you."

"Have faith in StarClan, Littlefalcon." Brackenstar told him.

The small black and white tom bows his head.

"We should take Hailstone and Darkstar back for a vigil."

"Same for Grassclaw." Brackenstar agrees. Owlflight didn't like his father, but he felt a little sympathy for Grassclaw's untimely death.

Hopefully Brackenstar will pick a cat who won't jump into fights. And at least my brothers and sister have a future in ShadowClan now.

~ Loki ~

The white half-dog took his time returning to the forest and sees Prideful standing on the rock. Prideful notices him

"Where have you-?"

"Alpha is dead. She fell, hit her head on the rocks and drowned." Loki lies.

The wolf pack talk amongst each other until Prideful grabs their attention.

"We will all mourn the loss of Crystal, our Alpha. But now is time for me to step in as Alpha…"

Loki's growl intensifies and stalks toward Prideful.

"I, Loki, challenge the beta, Prideful, for place as Alpha!"

The wolf pack glares at Loki and gasps with shock. Prideful curls his lip.

"I wasn't aware that a wolf could jump from delta to alpha."

"They can't!" Called one of the Gammas, Bristle. "It's never been done before!"

"Guess there's a first time for everything." Loki sneers.

Prideful scoffs. "I refuse to sink to your level, dog!"

"That's right, I'm a dog, and I bet that's why you don't want to fight me. You're scared!"

Mocking whispers ripple through the pack. Prideful growls and turns to face the illegitimate son of his fallen Alpha.

"Alright then. I accept your challenge."

Loki runs toward Prideful, who is waiting for the first attack. Loki suddenly stops, spins around on his front paws, and kicks up dirt in his eyes.

"Gah!" Prideful shakes his head to get rid of the dirt. Loki slams his whole body against Prideful's and knocks him over. Loki quickly pins down the grey and white male wolf.

Prideful thrashes about until Loki clamps his jaws on Prideful's neck, and the Beta immediately freezes up. Every wolf holds their breath and watches intently.

"You give?" Loki growls, his mouth full of fur.

Prideful whimpers, but Loki refuses to accept it as an answer.

"I said do you give?!"

"Yes! I yield!"

Loki releases his grip and allows Prideful to get up and stand on his paws. The white half-wolf looks at the pack. They're clearly not pleased with having a wolf-dog hybrid as Alpha, but he sure isn't going to let them sour his mood.

"As first orders as Alpha, I pick Swan as my beta, and Prideful will be an Eta."

A small white she-wolf looks at her paws shyly. Loki's aunt, Crystal's sister, have rarely been around him and Fenris due to Crystal's wrath. Loki can trust her as his beta.

"Second orders, we will leave the lake and move further into the wilderness tonight when the humans sleep."

The wolf pack almost protest, but they knew with Loki as Alpha, his word is law. Loki nods approvingly. "Good. Now rest up. We have a long road ahead of us."

~ Snowpelt ~

No matter how hard she tries, Snowpelt couldn't block out Goldflame's shrieks of sorrow. First she loses her mother, Ravenwing, then her mate and now her father. Graystream and Rosefoot were comforting Goldflame after telling her what happened, but it was Windstorm who she cried on.

Windstorm is still with Goldflame in the nursery, looking over his foster sister. Littlefalcon has the hardest time getting out of the den when every cat is waiting for him to leave for Moonpool.

Snowpelt sees Thistlefang padding past her without a glance, and feels a cold chill running up her spine. He couldn't look at her after Beechclaw asked her to be his mate. Maybe if she had paid closer attention to the signs, she could have prevented this…

Loud paw steps catch the attention of the ThunderClan cats. Loki pushes through the thorn barrier, looking over the cats who were fearful and furious with his presence.

"Loki!" Nightsong pads to the white half-dog. "Why are you here?"

"To apologize for my mother's actions."

The ThunderClan cats slowly relaxes under Loki's civil greeting.

"I've already apologized to the other three packs, and even though it means little to what happened, I hope to start off with a clean slate before we depart."

Littlefalcon frowns as he pads to Loki. "You're leaving the lake?"

"Yes, quickly as possible." Loki replies. "I suspect not everyone is willing to forgive the pack and my wolves will be tempted to take action behind my back. Half-wolves aren't as well respected, so I intend on asserting my orders as Alpha once we go."

"I see… Well, I hope you have a chance to redeem yourself, Loki. I wish you well."

Loki flicks his ear as he turns. "I should be wishing you well. Farewell, cat pack."

Snowpelt watches Loki leave the camp as quickly as he came. It brings her back to thinking about Fenris. Where did he go? Was he happy?

I hope he is. He deserves a happy life.

He sure is, Snowpelt. He's definitely happy. :)

The prophecy is complete. Loki succeeded his mother - in a violent way, in my perspective - and became the first wolf-dog hybrid Alpha in his pack's history.

Fenris seems to be fitting in with Jessie's owners. And I caught one of you shipping FenrisXJessie in the reviews!

Beechclaw popped the question!... In front of Thistlefang. Now Snowpelt needs to make a decision.

Darkstar dies. T^T I'll miss writing you, you snarky old fool. Now Littlefalcon is set to become leader. So many changes in ThunderClan, and all that waits is Goldflame's kits. I mean, nothing ever goes wrong with warrior cat births, right? ~ Kyubi