Chapter 76: We Burn to Give Others Light
As much as Darkstripe wanted to savor these three days, he had a duty to fulfil. In order to spare as many lives as possible, he'd need to call on some Bloodclan rituals. The first of which was the duel. As Darkstripe and every cat from the Twoleg Place knew, Bloodclan had a rite to allow duels. The first of which was proof of strength. The most traditional would be a claw or tooth from a creature you or who sponsored you felled. The second rite was bravery. To initiate a duel, the challenger must cast the tooth or claw at their opponent or superior. To a cat as powerful and proud as Scourge, the duel would be ensured. A declaration of stakes would follow.
That is what Darkstripe planned for the other three clans to do. What he planned for Thunderclan was somewhat different, older and possibly even taboo. For it he required a collar, a specific collar. Darkstripe planned to set off alone looking for his old stash, but Firestar refused him. Instead, he found himself escorted by Swifteyes, formerly Swiftpaw. The once apprentice had matured rapidly from his near-death encounter. Gone was that naivete that led him to challenge those dogs in the first place. What replaced it was careful calculation and vigilance. He was never as fast as he used to be, but nothing escaped his notice anymore.
As the two left camp, Darkstripe decided to strike up a conversation. "It's been quite a while Swifteyes. The last time I saw you, you were not in a great place. Looking at you now, I think you've changed, possibly for the better."
Swiftpaw nodded before replying. "I was not well in body and mind. That bravery that told me I could face anything had been destroyed, and I saw the consequences of my actions. I made a mistake that cost more than just myself, and it ate at me. I could scarcely look at Brightheart without remembering that it was my fault. I refused my warrior name at first. I did not deserve it for what I did.
Thankfully, Longtail was understanding. He retrained me from scratch, not that I lost my capability to do what I did before, but I needed to relearn them from my new perspective. I learned that everything has its own balance. Life in the forest isn't just our prey and plants. There is more, so much more that we don't take the time to see, but with all that happened I wanted to learn.
Our tragedy is one of many, some even seen in creatures as small as ants, but what I witnessed in every case was perseverance. The ants whose nest was trampled underfoot built anew. The bird who lost her nest and hatchlings built a new nest, stronger than before and resought a mate.
I learned from them. I'll become stronger and wiser. My largest failure that dawn was my lack of vigilance. If I'd paid attention in my eavesdropping or listened more closely and carefully when we approached Snakerocks, the fight could have been avoided. I'm not as strong as I once was. The fight damaged some of my leg muscles and I experience numbness in my toes, but I see it as a reminder to what I cannot feel. If my paw can't feel a thorn, I'll have to sense it first by another means. Since then, I accepted my failure and received my name. Unfortunately, I still feel some level of shame seeing Brightheart's face, but I know she's gotten better to thanks to Cloudtail. He has worked with me a bit, but I needed to learn things on my own. The two are mates now, but I don't see myself finding one for a while yet. I've still got so much learning to do and lessons to teach. Maybe the next generation won't be as mousebrained as I was."
Darkstripe nodded to the scarred warrior. "It takes an impressive amount of power to admit one's failures. I know from experience. It's even harder to try and recover and make up for them. I still can't forgive myself for once being Tigerstar's loyal pawn. I'll at least never forget what I once was. It's when we overcome these challenges and face who we are that we learn to grow and change. Heroes of legend do not begin as the perfect cat. They must learn through failure and tragedy the same as you and I. Do not think because you have done wrong, you are beyond salvation and bringing light to others. Some may see me as a hero, but they do not see how I've burned myself along the way."
Swifteyes took in Darkstripe's words silently. A certain lost light seemed to glimmer in his eyes. He'd never be the Swiftpaw of old, but maybe an old dream of his could reemerge.
After letting the silence sit for a moment, Darkstripe found what he was looking for. It was buried beneath a small bush and he had to break a few roots to free it, but Darkstripe emerged from his newly dug hole with a collar, stained ash grey with blackened plastic slag hardened into something that appeared to be stripes. The tooth wedged in the collar had cracked with the heat, but overall the collar was in good condition despite what it weathered.
"So, what is the purpose of the collar?"
Darkstripe let out a slightly sinister chuckle.
"I'm going to call on something old, older than Bloodclan, honored and feared in equal measure. It is the supposed origin of Bloodclan's precursor. In Twoleg Place, among the rogues who were once kittypets, there is an old rite. It is one even the bravest shy away from. With a cat's first collar and a mark of their strength they may call upon the rite, the rite of enslavement. In a duel, the winner gains not only victory and the collar. They gain total possession of the loser. I plan to enslave Scourge himself."