Sandstorm padded alongside Firestar as he led the united Clan down into the clearing. Scourge was waiting for them near the base of the Great Rock. His black pelt was neatly groomed and he sat with his paws tucked under him. His eyes were chips of ice, and the rising sun glinted on the teeth that studded his kittypet collar.
"Greetings," he meowed. He swiped his tongue around his jaws as if he were tasting a succulent piece of prey. "Have you decided to leave? Or do you presume you can fight against BloodClan?"
"We don't have to fight," Firestar replied steadily. Sandstorm was surprised to see him so calm. "We will let you go back to Twolegplace in peace."
Scourge let out a cold mrrow of laughter. "Go back? Do you really think we're such cowards? No, this is our home now."
As Firestar scanned the ranks of BloodClan, Sandstorm managed to catch Scourge's gaze. praying they would both make it out of this alive. Would there ever be peace in the forest?
"The forest is ours," Firestar told him. "We rule here by the will of StarClan."
"StarClan!" Scourge sneered. "Tales for kits. Forest fool, StarClan won't help you now." He sprang to his paws, his fur suddenly bristling out so that he looked twice his size. "Attack!" he snarled.
The line of BloodClan warriors surged forward.
"LionClan, attack!" Firestar yowled.
The leader sprang toward Scourge, who dodged nimbly to one side. His place was taken by a huge tabby tom, hitting Firestar in the flank, knocking him off his paws.
Sandstorm leaped into battle, tackling a white-and-black tom and hurling him away with all her strength before whirling around and slashing at a brown she-cat. She clawed out clumps of fur and dodged the she-cat as she leaped forward, raking her claws down her side.
The she-cat scampered off, bounding away from the battle, yowling in pain. Sandstorm noticed Dustpelt pinned to the ground by a black tom. She bounded over and tackled the tom, bowling him over. The two cats rolling in a flurry of claws and teeth. Sandstorm bit down on the closest bit of flesh and scratched anything within reach. The tom was covered in blood from his scratches and bite marks. He hissed at her before fleeing the clearing.
Dustpelt returned to her side and they fought together like old denmates. They'd trained together as apprentices and knew how to cover the other's weaknesses and blind spots.
Sandstorm heard a yowl of grief and glanced across the clearing and saw Firestar standing over a white cat laying in a pool of blood. No! Whitestorm! A series of high pitched screeches drew her attention to a black-and-white tom who was attempting to fight off several apprentices, but was soon overtaken and lay on the ground motionless.
Cats were moving all around. Claws slashing and fur flying as blood sprinkled the grass. When will this end? She thought helplessly. Will we fight until everyone is dead? No. Firestar. Scourge. Where are they? She searched the clearing anxiously. So many cats , moving so fast, almost like a hurricane of fur and blood. She finally spotted the flame colored pelt of her leader. He was slashing and dodging a small black tom. She tried to push her way through the wave of fighting cats.
Claws caught her flank. Pain shot through her ear. She struggled as Firstar bit down on Scourge's foreleg, only to be struck by Scourge's large claws. Her screech seemed empty as Scourge reared up and came back down, raking his claws across Firestar's neck. The leader made an effort to get up, but fell back down, blood pooling from his wound.
Scourge leaped off of the Great Rock, landing on top of Cloudtail, who stretched his neck around and fastened his teeth in Scourge's leg and he was shaken by his scruff.
Movement on the Great Rock drew her attention. Firestar was getting up. He had lost a life, but he had 8 more.
"Scourge!" Firestar yowled, strength filling his muscles. "Turn and face me!"
The small black tom whipped around, letting go of Cloudtail in shock. "How... I killed you."
"You did," Firestar spat back at him. "But I am a leader with nine lives who fights alongside StarClan. Can you say as much?"
The two toms stared at each other in defiance. A flicker of uncertainty flashed across Scourge's eyes, only for a second before it was replaced by icy coldness once more. He aimed a final blow at Cloudtail, dislodging the weakening warrior and tossing him up against the Great Rock.
Firestar launched himself at Scourge. As he ran, Sandstorm could see the determination in every stride, as if StarClan itself were racing alongside him.
Sandstorm used every ounce of strength she had left to throw herself between the two toms, yowling in rage. "Stop!"
She faced Firestar as he came screeching to a halt, confusion flickering through the rage in his green eyes.
"What do you think you are doing?" Firestar growled. "Move!" He snarled.
Sandstorm forced herself to hold her composure. "This ends now!" She said slowly.
The leader's tail lashed in frustration. "Traitor!" He hissed.
"Bloodshed is not the solution, Firestar," Sandstorm pleaded. "There has to be another way." She turned to Scourge. "There has to be a better way." His gaze softened when it met her's. He knew she was risking her life to plead for his.
"Tigerstar is dead," Scourge snarled. "And so is his deal." He spoke calmly, looking at Firestar coldly. "We will return to the Twolegplace, for now." He turned and yowled. "BloodClan, retreat!"
The cats in the clearing flooded through the bushes, followed by hissing and spitting as they fled. Scourge looked back at Sandstorm and she could feel the longing and sorrow in his gaze. He turned and followed his cats away from the forest.
"Leave," Sandstorm whipped around to see Firestar glaring at her, pure hatred in his piercing eyes. "You're no longer a ThunderClan cat. You are no longer welcome in the Clans." He snarled.
Sandstorm felt her heart ache as she looked around at the Clan cats, their glares felt like claws to her heart. She turned and bounded in the direction that BloodClan had retreated.
She raced through the forest, hoping none of the Clan cats were following her. Bushes rustled ahead of her and a small black pelt came into view.
"Scourge!" She called. The tom slowed enough for her to catch up. "I'm coming with you." She told him as they ran alongside each other.
"You're welcome in BloodClan," he meowed as they came to the fence that divided the Twolegplace from the forest. She nodded and followed him over the fence. They landed on cold, hard ground. A few cats were waiting for Scourge.
"Where's Bone?" Asked a ginger tabby tom. He had a patch of fur missing from his back and was covered in scratches.
"Bone is dead." Scourge announced. "Brick, fetch Snake and Ice, tell them that no Clan cat is to come into Twolegplace. Not a single paw crosses that fence."
Sandstorm followed Scourge between the twoleg dens, at the end, a dirt Thunderpath stretched as far as she could see in either direction. She scented the air, but didn't smell any monsters. He led her along the Thunderpath and turned to walk between two twoleg dens, a fence stood between the two dens. Scourge climbed the fence and waited as Sandstorm followed.
"Since you're staying with us, you'll need to prove yourself." He padded along the fence and leaped onto the small flat stones that covered the twoleg dens. They stood on the crest and he scanned the twolegplace thoughtfully. "Find your own food and then come to me. I'll be waiting in that monster den." He pointed with his paw to the monster den across the Thunderpath.
By the time the sun was falling below the horizon, Sandstorm was padding into the monster den, a sparrow in her jaws. She saw Scourge sitting on a box, two cats sitting on either side of him. On the left was a brown tabby tom with a lighter muzzle and soft green eyes. On the right was a white, brown, and black tom with fierce yellow eyes and scars on his chest and head and shredded ears.
The tabby tom looked at the sparrow in her mouth with hunger in his gaze. She set the bird down in front of Scourge.
"You managed to catch freshkill?" Scourge asked, sounding impressed. "How?" He leaped down and sniffed at the prey.
"The twolegs with spread bird food in the grass, then you just wait for the birds to get comfortable and snatch one up." Sandstorm explained confidently. "I can show you sometime if you'd like." She added softly.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I'd like that." Then he turned to the two toms. "You may leave."
They nodded and padded out of the monster den, leaving Sandstorm and Scourge alone. "How would you feel about changing your name?" She was surprised at the sudden question, but thought about it for a few heartbeats.
"Do I have to?" She asked nervously.
He shook his head. "Most cats do when they join BloodClan. A way of leaving behind their old life and making something new of themselves." He pressed his muzzle against her's. "But, no. You don't have to if you don't want to."
She thought about what she would change her name to. Would she keep the name the Clan had given her? She looked more like a Sand than a Storm. "I like the name Sand. I'd like to keep it in honor of my parents."
He nodded and picked up the sparrow, flicking his tail for her to follow.
A pile of boxes sat in the corner of the monster den, the one at the top was open on the side. It wasn't visible from the entrance of the den, but there was a hole clawed out of the bottom. He slid through the hole and Sand followed cautiously. She landed on the box-floor. Light filtered through small holes in the thin wall of the boxes. Scourge laid against one of the walls.
"It's not much," He meowed. "But it's better than sleeping on the streets." He began plucking the feathers out of the bird and putting them in a pile next to him.
Sand curled up next to him and helped him pull the feathers out, making her own pile. "It's cozy." She purred. "We can use the feathers to make a nest. If you want."
"We've never had enough fresh-kill to make nests." Scourge said, wistfully. Sand licked his cheek.
"We can change that." She said solemnly. "Together."