Chapter 92: Drowning in Hatred
Ravenfeather and I met up with the rest of the evacuated camp at Sunningrocks. It was nice to see that the other warriors were keeping things orderly and calm despite the circumstances. There still was the murmur of fear whispered among our cats, but an equal amount of reassurances were given to settle the panic. Unfortunately, Ravenfeather and I couldn't take off on our mission quite yet. My former apprentice was pacing furiously by the entrance of the impromptu camp looking like he was about to set off on a warpath. Ashfur spotted me pretty quickly, and his mood briefly brightened.
"Smudgefoot! You have to let me in on the dog killing mission. Please! I need my revenge." He begged in a somewhat desperate and aggressive tone.
I hardened my tone for my response. "Ashfur. We need you here. It is not that I don't trust you to take on the dog killing mission. It is that I trust you to protect the rest of the clan should something go wrong. Killing the dogs won't give you vengeance either." I stated in a commanding tone.
"It is because of those beasts that my mother is dead!" He lashed out with a hiss.
I shook my head dismissively. "The dogs were not the ones to have killed your mother. The scent was purely Tigerstar. Remember what I taught you about revenge. We will have it, but first let your emotions run their course and cool a bit so you may act with more rationality. Tigerstar will not go unpunished, but we need a plan first and we need to know how best to hurt him. Go ahead and fantasize about how you'd take your vengeance, but do not act upon the desire yet. Once the dogs are dealt with, we will figure something out and he will pay." I lectured, hoping to settle Ashfur a bit and let him see reason.
Ashfur still shook with rage, but his pacing had ended. It was clear he was forcing himself to calm down a bit as he answered. "Fine, but the instant those dogs are dealt with, I want to plan our revenge. He took my mother from me, and I will never forgive him! No pain is too cruel for what he's done." Ashfur spat before turning to begin patrolling around the camp, using his inability to remain still productively.
Ravenfeather, having witnessed the exchange, had to offer up a question. "Do you believe that was wise to give him? He's running on rage right now, and you've asked him to plan his revenge."
Turning to Ravenfeather I answered. "That was likely the only thing I could do. He was dead set on taking down those dogs and was too emotional to act rationally. Tigerstar killed his mother, one of the few cats that was precious to him. In the stages of grief, he is in the anger stage. Forcing him to begin planning a revenge will bring him to the bargaining phase since his emotions will cool as he fantasizes about his options. If I gave him no support on his revenge, he likely would have stormed off and sought it his own way. Ashfur is precious to me. I will not deny him his vengeance and will support him in his quest because I care for him. I'd rather be there when he does it to ensure he is safe rather than watch him go off and do it on his own and possibly be hurt or killed. I've got my own reasons to punish Tigerstar as well, let's not forget."
"Ok. I'll trust you on this. Please just keep yourself safe as well. You are precious to me and the rest of Thunderclan as well." Ravenfeather replied, pressing into me affectionately.
"I will, but right now we have something more important to do. We're going to Riverclan to inform them about our dog plan. I'd like to avoid a potential war because of a misunderstanding." I mewed, closing the conversation.
We set off into their territory, following the path Ravenfeather remembered to their camp. The soil of their territory was soft and a bit sandy. You could feel the moisture in the soil as it slid between our toes and clung ever so briefly to our fur. Reeds and cattails speckled the shoreline as we followed it up before branching off. The old Riverclan camp was situated in what was clearly a dried-out pond. The river had likely once flowed this direction, carving out their home, but it turned leaving this recess in the land. We briefly were confronted by some Riverclan warriors, but they calmed down a bit when we stated that we were just here to inform Leopardstar about an ongoing issue. As we approached the camp, A certain large tabby I hadn't seen in a long time and had no business being here bumped into us. It was Tigerstar. I had to suppress my rage at the sight of him.
"Ah. Ravenfeather and Smudgefoot. I never expected to see you here." He mewed in a condescending tone.
While I was still wrangling my emotions, Ravenfeather gave his response. "Likewise. We're here on business. What's your excuse?"
"Just like you, I'm here on business as well. As a leader, it is my duty to ensure my clan is as prosperous as possible." He mewed, feeding his own ego and proclaiming his own virtue.
"Well, we must be off on our own business, but expect a visit from me very soon Tigerstar. We've got to even the score a bit. You don't want me as your enemy." I mewed in a flat tone, letting the cold logic briefly seize me to give a haunting stare.
"Very well. I'll see you soon." Tigerstar dismissed, going on his merry way. It frankly disgusted me how little he cared for what he'd done. He'd learn soon enough.
Soon, the Riverclan warriors providing our escort led us to Leopardstar. She was currently in the middle of a discussion with Stonefur. She spotted us fairly quickly.
"Thunderclan!" She hissed. "What do you think you are doing here!"
"Peace Leopardstar." I answered with a bit of a bow. "We are not here with malicious intentions. Rather, we are here to inform you of an infraction of ours we are committing under duress. There are three large dogs within our territory, and we are currently underway to deal with them. Unfortunately, the only method we could find to deal with them is to lure them into falling into the ravine in your territory. Again, we had no other option. Should the plan go wrong and somehow the dogs end up on your territory, we will give whatever support we can to ensure those dogs pose no more problems to any of the clans. We will owe you for our transgressions."
Leopardstar seemed to mull over my words for a while before giving her response. "If your plan is successful, then you will repay us by allowing us to retake Sunningrocks uncontested for a season. Should it go wrong and you cause a threat to our clan, you will have to repay us more. Those are my terms." She commanded.
I nodded in acceptance. "Very well. Thunderclan will pull back from Sunningrocks once this crisis is over for a season. I do have one piece of advice to add for you Leopardstar. Be wary of Tigerstar. His ambitions may be noble, but he is also an impatient cat, willing to cut some corners that would be wiser to not cut. I trust in your judgement."
"I do not require your advice. Stonefur, Mistyfoot, Graystripe. Escort these two back." She commanded with absolute authority. While her decision making was fast, she clearly was underutilizing whoever was her deputy and was somewhat on a power trip. Hopefully she'd wise up soon. Standing alone may seem strong, but it also leaves one vulnerable.
As we started to near the border, a certain orange shape caught our attention. It was Fireheart, desperately floundering with Bluestar upon his back. Mistyfoot and Stonefur dove in to aid the pair back to shore. While Fireheart was only suffering from swallowing some water, Bluestar was less so. I could already see she had a broken leg and her chest was not smooth. I toughed it lightly, getting a feel for her injuries. Several ribs were out of place, going in further than they should. She was going to die. I was positive at least one had punctured her lung, if not more vital organs. I was stunned into an uneasy unfeeling state.
"How did this happen?" I must have asked in my shock.
"The dogs. Everything was going to plan. Longtail made his jump, and I was about to when Tigerstar came out of nowhere and pinned me down. By then I was to close to build up the speed to make the jump. I was dead, but Bluestar came flying in, slamming into the dog and pushing it over the edge. She saved me, and now…" Fireheart stammered out.
The one word that struck me most was that name. Tigerstar! The flames of rage burned brightly in the back of my mind, tempered by the cold logic I fostered in my last life. Oh Tigerstar would pay. He knew not what cruel machinations lay within my mind. My lust for vengeance now matched my apprentice. Tigerstar would pay!