Chapter Sixteen

For a moment Otterpaw thought she was back in RiverClan. She could hear the soft murmurs of the lake calling her. It was a sound she had gotten used to and even used it to soothe her. But when she opened her eyes she found herself back in a cave with the other apprentices. Only as she started looking around she noticed two were missing.

Carefully she got to her paws and looked around warily. Nightpaw and Fadepaw must have slipped away during the night. She wasn't very surprised since ShadowClan preferred hunting and patrolling at night. But they could have at least warned the others that they were leaving.

She slipped away while everyone else was still asleep. It was dawn. Normally she would be awake at RiverClan, getting ready for training. She missed those days. Much as she hated to admit it she almost wished she was back in the Clan practicing fighting moves, or going hunting.

I've got to stop thinking about them, she told herself. Thinking about the Clans would only make things more difficult. Especially when she thought of how far she had gone. Besides, the Clans wanted nothing to do with the seven apprentices. Otterpaw didn't even bother including Hailpaw. Her former Clanmates had wandered off to StarClan only knew where.

She shook her head and tried to cast the worrying thoughts away. At this point she was eager to explore the area. She could easily fend for herself, and it wasn't like the apprentices were working together. Otterpaw knew they would understand her need to get away for a few heartbeats.

Her paws carried her to a river that led to a large lake. Otterpaw looked around curiously and realized this lake was similar to the one where the Clans lived. It wasn't nearly as big, but it was big enough for her to swim in.

"I bet I could find some fish in there too," she meowed out loud. With that thought in mind, Otterpaw jumped in without hesitation.

All at once water surrounded her as her eyes adjusted to the murky darkness. The lake here was surprisingly clear compared to the Clan's lake. Otterpaw swam downwards and noticed how deep it was. She twirled past a school of fish, easily passing them as she reached what looked like a rocky terrain underneath.

The closer she got however, the more she began to realize that this was more than just a rock formation. Otterpaw gaped at the sight in shock as she ducked underneath a small crevice. Her heartbeat quickened as she noticed this was a large cave.

She hovered in the water as she stared at the cave. To her surprise there were what looked like drawings in the cave. She looked around and swam towards the farther part of the cave. Her eyes scanned the drawings until she noticed something oddly familiar.

A large tree took the center of the cave wall. It's branches reached out with smaller markings that were remarkably similar to what Otterpaw had discovered. She knew Hazelpaw could teleport from place to place. On one branch was a strange drawing that looked as though silver clouds swirled through. Just below the drawing was another one with what looked like clouds moving with the water. And beyond that branch she noticed what looked like drops of rain.

"Our powers…." she breathed. "The tree is describing our powers!" She swam down and noticed the snowflakes that matched Hailpaw's powers. Hailpaw's fur was cold as ice, as was her heart. Otterpaw couldn't help but wonder if her power had something to do with her personality.

It wouldn't surprise me, she thought with a roll of her eyes. Otterpaw's eyes darted back and forth as she tried taking everything in. It wasn't long before she discovered that Blazepaw could create fire. And Poppypaw could heal wounds, along with seeing the aura of one's emotions. Nightpaw's was harder to define. It took Otterpaw a few heartbeats to understand that Nightpaw had visions of the future. And of course Fadepaw could disappear upon will.

"This is amazing," she murmured. "I can't wait to tell the others about this!" And of course tell them about their powers. That was the most exciting part. Maybe they could train together after all. She was eager to get along with her training, even if she was just an apprentice banished from her Clan.

In the end Otterpaw had almost forgotten the reason why she came here. She caught a few fish before returning to the cave where the others were waiting. The fish themselves were surprisingly easy to catch. Though she doubted that the others would enjoy fish as much.

"Where have you been?" Breezepaw demanded as soon as she joined them. To her surprise Nightpaw and Fadepaw were back. They both had worried expressions as they looked away uncomfortably. Otterpaw tilted her head in confusion before looking back at Breezepaw.

"You're not gonna believe what I found," she purred. She quickly explained what she found, and everyone's eyes widened in disbelief. "And it sounds like we all have powers…. But I still don't understand why we have them in the first place."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Blazepaw meowed. "I mean, Poppypaw can see auras, and Fadepaw can vanish without a trace. And Hazelpaw can teleport to where ever she wants." Hazelpaw didn't even look up when her name was pointed out.

Otterpaw wished there was some way to cheer Hailpaw up. She was always so down on herself. And just the other day she had tried jumping over a cliff. It was only thanks to Nightpaw and Blazepaw that she had been saved.

"If what you say is true, than we should learn how to control our abilities," Nightpaw murmured thoughtfully. Otterpaw nodded in agreement. She understood how dangerous it could be to lose control. Especially with powers like Blazepaw's. Fire was a cat's worst nightmare.

I wonder how Hailpaw's doing? she suddenly couldn't help but wonder. Maybe she's learning how to control her powers as well. But then another more fearful thought occurred to her. If Hailpaw learned how to control her powers, she might use them to attack the Clans. She had to hope and pray that Hailpaw wouldn't do such a thing.

...

Hailpaw narrowed her eyes as she padded through the forest. She had gotten used to living on her own by now. Her hunting skills were almost perfect as she had already proven the other day. By catching mice, squirrels and other types of prey, she was able to sustain herself.

But that wasn't the only change she had noticed. By now she was able to almost control her power. She created ice at will with her claws, scraping them against tree branches to cover them in frost. It was amazing to watch, and Hailpaw had used it to mark her territory. That was until she had met the rogues living in the same forest.

The first rogue she encountered was a scrawny looking tabby tom. He'd put up some kind of fight until she unsheathed her claws. Then he coward underneath her and begged for mercy. Hailpaw smirked and released him heartbeats later.

"How-How did you do that?" he asked, shivering in disbelief. Hailpaw only sat down and licked her paw as if nothing had happened.

"I can do many things," she replied in a casual tone. "You should know better than to sneak up on someone, especially someone like me." The tom's eyes flashed warily as he stared at her for a few heartbeats.

"Do that again, with your claws…. But not on me," he ordered. Hailpaw rolled her eyes at the way he spoke. If he thought he was capable of ordering her around like some random slave, he had another thing coming for him.

Without warning she lunged forward and pinned him once again. The tom let out a yowl of surprise as she kept hold of him, pressing a paw against his shoulder. Of course she kept her claws sheathed, but she wanted to see what sort of fight he would put up. Suddenly he kicked back with his back legs and threw her off. Hailpaw rolled to the ground, spinning so that she landed on her paws rather than her vulnerable back. Once the tom had recovered he sprang after her, using all of his weight to hold her down.

Hailpaw held back a purr of amusement as she drove her front claws towards him. He didn't realize just how strong she was after dealing with Smokepaw for so many moons. The tom hissed in fury when she managed to inflict more damage with her front claws. She pulled them back and heard him hissing even more until finally he released his grip. The tom let out another hiss of pain and finally released his grip on her. She suddenly twisted back and landed on her paws, smirking in amusement as he tried getting up once more.

"No one orders me around," she snarled. "I rule this forest now, and no one will dare attack me."

Her words were final. The tom struggled to stand up, only to find himself stumbling forward onto his belly. As he did so more cats emerged from the undergrowth. They looked at Hailpaw fearfully as she glared down at them. The tom made one final desperate attempt to attack her.

"Foolish kit! I rule this forest!" he insisted.

She narrowed her eyes dangerously. The tom tried lunging forward when she slammed her front paws down on his lowered skull. He buckled underneath her and fell to the ground, a pool of blood spilling around him. She simply flicked her tail at the cat standing closest to her.

"Did this cat truly rule the forest?" she demanded.

For a moment no one dared to speak, until the air around them suddenly became colder than they thought possible. Finally a young she-cat stepped forward and spoke up, ignoring the hostile glares she received.

"Yes," she replied. "But he was a tyrant. He made sure that every she-cat in the forest was his, and that only he be hunted for. I wish to thank you for ending his reign of terror." She dipped her head respectfully, and Hailpaw resisted the urge to smirk triumphantly.

I could get used to this, she thought. She turned to the other cats who were murmuring to one another. She noticed that most of them bore a mark on their forehead. It was the mark of a claw, and some of them looked painfully fresh.

"Claw always seemed so invincible," meowed one cat. "But now we know he could be taken down… by some she-cat!"

Hailpaw unsheathed her claws when yowls of agreement followed his words. To her surprise though, they sounded more like yowls of encouragement the more she listened. Hailpaw raised her chin proudly as they died down.

"This cat will harm you no more," she told them. "Instead, I will rule this forest. But I will not inflict the pain that he has caused, if everyone cooperates."

She narrowed her eyes at anyone who dared speak otherwise. Luckily for them it didn't come to that. Some cats weren't too happy about being ruled again. But others seemed to wise up to the idea in a few heartbeats. The she-cat who first spoke up stepped forward again, locking eyes with Hailpaw.

"I will stand with you," she purred. "If it means ensuring no cat like Claw will rule the forest, than I believe that you should be our leader." As she said that more and more cats began to agree with Hailpaw's idea. Hailpaw flicked her tail once more for silence. "What is your name?" the she-cat suddenly asked curiously. Again Hailpaw narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

If I tell them my full name, they would know I am from the Clans, she told herself. So make a new one, another voice suddenly told her. Her ears perked forward at the thought. Yes, a new name for a new life. That seemed more than perfect.

"Call me Frost," she told them. "I am your new leader!"

Again more yowls of agreement filled the air. Hailpaw stood tall, enjoying the sound. For once she had established a proper life for herself. And there was no Smokepaw here to stop her. This she might actually enjoy for a change.

AN: I have so much fun writing about Hailpaw. And Otterpaw's fun too, but there's just something about Hailpaw that I like... maybe it's the fact that she's set her own path ahead of her, and doesn't let anyone stand in her way :) Also, I recommend listening to the song Aftermath by Hillsong United while reading this. For some reason they fit together ^^

Also, here's a fun fact: The cats Hailpaw rescued are descendants of the ones that had attacked the Tribe. Just thought I'd point that out :)

boscyboo - The decision is a hard one :P I just like writing them both. Takes my mind off of the real world for a few moments.

Silverbird22 - XD I don't think you'll have to worry about them too much. Good thing you have that protective suit, they'd all claw you until they're free :P

Blue1272000 - That might not be happening anytime soon with the outline I have planned out ;) I've just go so many ideas running through my head right now. I'm looking forward to seeing what I do with them :D