In the Talons of a Hawk

'''A/N: This is the second in the series, so it might be confusing. For the first book, read With the Spirit of a Fox. Thank you! Also when words are in bold, they're speaking fox <3 '''-- Hawktalon Her collection of kit whiskers is incomplete. 00:08, September 5, 2012 (UTC)

Prologue
Foxspirit was silent as all eyes turned to her. She looked up at Hawktalon, who still had her fake pain face stuck on. A boiling, burning rage smoked inside her. She would get revenge. If she was orange, she would get revenge.

"You don't know what you're getting into," she growled. The cats tipped their ears in confusion. "Goodbye, Hawktalon. For now." She hissed and leapt out of the camp, pelting out of WindClan territory. When she got her revenge, Hawktalon would be sorry. Not if she got her revenge- ''when. ''

(Lol, craptastic prologue, I know xD It gets better. Dun worry.)

Chapter 1
Hawktalon slowly exhaled, standing outside the Moonstone. She looked at the medicine cat, Berrystep, a small tortoishell tom. "This is it?" Hawktalon meowed. Berrystep nodded, and stepped inside, signaling for Hawktalon to follow. She followed the tom deep into the heart of the mountain, her whiskers brushing against the walls of the cave. ''Will we ever be there? ''Just as she thought this, she stopped, her breath gone.

In front of her was a huge stone shining in the moonlight filtering through a small gap in the roof of the cave. The dazzling sparkle blinded the future leader for half a second, and she blinked rapidly.

Berrystep turned to Hawktalon. "Are you ready?" Hawktalon nodded. "Lay down and touch your nose to the Moonstone," Berrystep commended. Hawktalon did so, and closed her eyes.

Hawktalon felt the air become muggy around her, and she opened her blue eyes and blinked.Where was she? She definitely wasn't in StarClan.

"You aren't in StarClan." Hawktalon jumped as a tom marred with batlle scars stepped smoothly from the shadows. His amber pelt shone dully in the faint light, his equally dark amber eyes glinting. "You will recieve your nine lives from the Dark Forest."

Hawktalon swallowed her fear. "Of course," she replied cordially. "I wouldn't want a bunch of StaClan ninnies to give me my nine lives," she meowed, flicking her tail. The amber tom nodded, his eyes pinpricks of light in the surrounding gloom.

"I am Redfall, the first cat to ever enter the Dark Forest," he meowed, his voice echoing off the foul-smelling trees. "It is a great priveledge to have on of your nine lives come from me." Hawktalon nodded.

"I am ready," she meowed. Redfall padded closer to her, amber eyes meeting blue.

"With this life I give you strength," he growled. "Use it to conquer all enemies who dare to challenge you."

Hawktalon staggered as a wave of pain hit her. Enemies raced by, each giving her a massive blow to the side, head, and stomach before leering at her and dashing away. Hawktalon cried out, not sure if anyone could hear her. Then, suddenly, she was staring into Redfall's cold amber eyes again.

"That is only a tiny smidge of the pain to come," he hissed, his eyes flashing, and stalked away. Next padded up a lithe brown tabby she-cat with dark blue, almost gray, eyes. Almost unnoticeable burn scars were scattered up and down her flanks.

"With this life I give you willpower," she meowed, her eyes locked with Hawktalon's. "Use it to guide your way."

Hawktalon was in a forest. The trees were huge and dark, and they swam around her. She felt lightheaded, and watched in horror as the trees started to close in on her. Hawktalon tried to run, but her paws were glued to the ground.

The terrible vision ended, and the she-cat started to pad away. "Who are you?" Hawktalon called to her.

The she-cat stiffened slightly and turned to Hawktalon. "No-one of importance," she meowed smoothly. Then she padded away and Hawktalon never saw her again.

Next up padded a dark gray tom. "I am Stormfang," he boomed. "With this live I give you importance." This life wasn't very painful, but a strong sense of importance filled her the whole time.

"With this life I give you power." A lithe orange tom dipped his head.

"With this life I give you ambition." A scrawny black she-cat stared into her eyes.

"With this life I give you fight." A muscled white tom flicked his tail.

"With this life I give you the spirit of battle." A young spotted tom blinked at her as he padded away.

"With this life I give you faith in yourself." The quiet cream she-cat licked a paw.

Hawktalon turned to see two Dark Forest warriors struggling with a cat. They dragged her uncerimoniously towards the soon-to-be leader.

"Let me go, you brutes!" the cat hissed. Hawktalon determined that it was a she-cat. The two toms dropped her, and she staggered to her paws, her light blue eyes shining in the gloom. She quickly groomed her gray-blue pelt crisscrossed with stormy gray tabby stripes. The she-cat got to her paws, staring at Hawktalon.

"Eveningsky?" Hawktalon murmured. Eveningsky smiled and nodded, nuzzling Hawktalon.

"I've missed you, daughter. And now I am here to grant you your ninth life," she replied. Eveningsky stared into her daughter's eyes. "With this life I give you love," she whispered, so quietly the other cats couldn't hear. "Use it when nothing else can work."

Hawktalon was sitting in the middle of camp, the sun warming her pelt. She smiled, and realized that she was in the ThunderClan camp. A growl rose in her throat, and she tried to fight her way out of the vision. She snapped out of it, finding her mother gone.

Redfall slipped back out of the shadows as if he had been waiting there the whole time. "Hawktalon, do you accept the challenges of becoming leader of WindClan?" Hawktalon nodded, and Redfall smiled. "Then by the power of the Dark Forest, I name you Hawkstar."

"Hawkstar! Hawkstar! Hawkstar!" Satisfaction rose in her throat as the cats called her new name. Hawkstar. It had a nice ring to it.

Chapter 2
Berrystep shifted from paw to paw. "So you recieved your nine lives and name?"

Hawkstar nodded, and Berrystep dipped his head. "Okay, then let's go back to WindClan." Hawkstar followed him out of the cave, suprised to find that it was daytime outside. They made the trip back to WindClan quickly, and then padded into camp, being greeted by excited yowls.

"Congratulations, Hawkstar!"

"Hello, Hawkstar!"

"How's the prey running, Hawkstar?"

Hawkstar smiled at them, and replied cheerily, slipping into the Leader's den. She was suprisingly tired all of a sudden, and lay down to a dreamless sleep.

~*~

"Hawkstar!"

Hawkstar awoke swiftly to the voice. She blinked, and shouldered her way into the camp. "Yes? Who is it?"

A scrawny black tom padded up to her, his flanks rising and falling jerkily. He had been running hard. "Hawkstar, may I speak to you in your den?"

Hawkstar blinked, and narrowed her eyes as she recognized the tom. "Of course." She led him to her den, making sure they were unheard and unseen.

"Ravenfang, you mangy piece of dirty crowfood. Why are you here?" she spat. Ravenfang winced slightly, and blinked at her scaredly.

"I-I have a message from SahdowClan," he murmured. Hawkstar pricked her ears.

"What?" she replied coldly. Ravenfang swallowed.

"Hawkstar.... Clawstar is dead."

Chapter 3
Hawkstar's stomach clenched. "W-what?" Ravenfang sucked in a breath.

"Clawstar is-"

"I know that, foxbrain," she hissed. "Now leave." Ravenfang nodded quickly and dashed away. Hawkstar stared at the ground. Clawstar-her father-was dead. And then Hawkstar did something she hadn't done in a long time.

She cried.

~*~

"RiverClan is doing well this Greenleaf. Our prey is plentiful, and times are good. Although ShadowClan seems to want a bit of our prosperity." Ripplestar, a lithe blue-gray tom, glared at Hollystar.

"What?! Why would ShadowClan want disgusting fish to eat?" Hollystar spat, her long, ash-gray fur starting to puff up and her green eyes flashing. Ripplestar huffed.

"Well, you already eat frogs, so I wouldn't put fish past you," Ripplestar hissed. A sneer rose from the RiverClan cats.

Hollystar's tail lashed. "Why you little-"

"Silence!" Elmstar, ThunderClan's leader, yowled. Silence filled the clearing, and Ripplestar and Hollystar glared at each other broodily. Elmstar dipped his head to Hawkstar. "Hawkstar, do you have anything to add?"

Hawkstar wrapped her tail around her paws. "Of course, Elmstar," she replied cordially. "WindClan is doing very well this fine Greenleaf. I am sad to announce though, our former leader, Redstar, has died." Sympathetic mews chorused through the cats- Redstar was very popular among the Clans. "I, Hawkstar, have stepped up to take his place. I have chosen Hareleap as my deputy."

"Hareleap! Hareleap! Hareleap!" Hareleap licked his chest fur in embarrasment.

"That is all WindClan has to report." Elmstar nodded.

"Let the Gathering be dismissed," he meowed, before leaping into the throng of cats. Hawkstar fought her way through cats of all colors and sizes.

"WindClan, to me!" she yowled, before racing off into the woods. She heard the pattering of many paws behind her as Hawkstar led her Clan back to their territory. When they reached their camp, the cats seperated to go see mates, get some rest, or tell their friends about the Gathering. Hawkstar yawned, and slipped into her den. Her head touched her paws, and she was asleep.

Chapter 4
"Hawkstar."

''Hawkstar spun around towards the voice, recognizing it instantly. "Clawstar!" she cried. Clawstar slipped out in front of her, his gray pelt glowing faintly.''

''"Beautiful night, isn't it?" He gestured to the dark pines with his tail, looking up at the deep blue sky that weaved through the trees. Faint patches of moonlight dotted the pine-needle-layered ground. Hawkstar gently breathed in the cool breeze. ''

"I thought StarClan wouldn't let come to a beauti-- nice place like this," Hawkstar replied coldly, although she was secretly enjoying the cool night.

''Clawstar shrugged. "StarClan doesn't make the rules, do they?" They both laughed.''

''"I guess not," Hawkstar replied quietly, looking up at the stars. "So what do you have to tell me?" ''

''Clawstar absent-mindedly licked a paw. "A prophecy," he replied.''

"I hate prophecies. Can't you just tell me normally?"

''"No," Clawstar replied, unusually quiet and thoughtful-sounding. His amber eyes bored into Hawkstar's blue ones. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Hawks may Swoop with the Wind, but a cat with the Spirit of a Fox will always conquer Evil." Clawstar's gaze dropped, but his voice stayed a whisper. ''

''Hawkstar cocked her head. "What does that mean?"''

''Clawstar looked back at her. "I cannot say," he whispered. "But remember that, sometimes, a fox is stronger than a hawk." He padded off into the pines.''