Quest of Strength

Quest of Strength is the second book in The Mating Quest.

Prolouge
“Starclan,” a black tom breathed, looking at the bright shinning stars illuminating the night, “I am prepared to leave.” He declared, with as much assurance as he could muster.

“No you are not,” a pale tom claimed, stepping out from the vast light of the stars, “Your journey isn’t over yet; you must continue onward.”

“I think I’d rather try my chances here,” the black tom retorted, “Better dead, than almost dead; being tortured by the pain that is about to kill you.”

“Well said,” he smiled twitching his whiskers with amusement, “But you will not be almost dead. Not if you can learn to work among yourselves. There is never hope for a team who is not truly a team,” he paused for a moment, “You have the power to bring them together, you know.”

“Me?” he was dumbfounded, “But I am not the leader, or the peace-maker, or even the strong cat,” he sighed, “I am the dead, emotionless cat, how could I ever bring together several patches of moss that couldn’t possibly be more different.” “Influence doesn’t always come from power.”

“But power always comes from influence,” he slowly responded, not taking his eyes of the dead cat. Wanting to change the subject, he asked, “How’s your leg been doing.”

The tom smiled and he stuck out his front paw, which was just as pale as the rest of his body, “Like it was never there,” he purred before straightening his face, “I must get going now,” he claimed, and looked at his old partner one last time, “You have not been lost to the world yet,” he insisted, “Don’t be surprised of you are dragged back.”

“How is that even possible?”

“Sometimes all you have to do is wish hard enough,” his eyes seemed to be far away for a moment before they returned, “Remember that you are the cat who must stitch you group together,” he reminded him, “We can’t guide you every paw step of the way, once you set foot in the Ocean you have lost our reach.”

“Wait,” the tom hissed as the pale cat began to fade away, “What is my destiny?” he asked urgently.

“Your destiny,” he thought for a moment, “It’s too many things I can express at once but I do not believe it is not a bad one,” he smiled, “But to reach this destiny you will need to make a very special quest; one deep inside your heart.”

“What’s that?” he asked slowly, fearing the answer.

“A quest of strength.”

Chapter 1
“I’m so sorry, Firehowl!” Roboflight choked on tears as she touched her pelt to his cold body. His black fur glistened in the moonlight, as Roboflight stood over his body, with mourn.

Featherbreeze stood slightly behind her old friend, and together the two cats sat in a sad silence, as dark thoughts loomed around Roboflight.

They had already lost three cats in the first step of their long journey. She was beginning to doubt that there would even be any cats left at the end of their journey; leaving them with no hopes of victory.

Featherbreeze had dark hollow eyes too, as several cats emerged from their small den, to come sit vigil alongside her former friend.

“I’ll never forget his sacrifice,” She choked out, “He died to save my life.”

There were sad murmurs among the pack, and they stood over their old teammate for a while, before several of them walked back inside, to get some sleep before the long journey that lied ahead.

Roboflight remained by the side of the cat she had once hated, even as it passed midnight, and Bravescar eventually approached her, “You need some rest,” he urged, “I know you feel horrible about what happened to Firehowl,” he claimed softly, “But if you are going to lead us, then you must have your energy. There is a whole pack out there counting on you.” “But no Firehowl; the only cat who would risk their life for me.”

“Firehowl died so that the pack could move on. You need to honor him by pulling yourself together and counting on this harsh quest. I know it sounds hard, but we need you Roboflight. You have been trusted with this responsibility."

“But no Firehowl; the only cat who would risk their life for me.”

“Firehowl died so that the pack could move on. You need to honor him by pulling yourself together and counting on this harsh quest. I know it sounds hard, but we need you Roboflight. You have been trusted with this responsibility.”

“I just want to respect a brave cat for a single night,” she sighed, “Am I not allowed to do that anymore either?”

“No, Roboflight,” he sighed, “I guess you can sit vigil for a night,” he quietly paddled back into the den.

Roboflight knew that she had lost some of his respect, but she couldn't leave Firepelt’s side after he had died to protect her, “I’ll never leave you Firehowl,” she promised, “I will always remember you in my heart, no matter how I once felt towards you.”

“Wake up from your sorry dreams,” a small voice echoed inside her head, “You are living inside a sad fantasy you soon won’t be able to crawl out of.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, “And who are you?”

“Who I am doesn't matter and what I mean is that you must see what your eyes enable you from seeing. There is hope to return him.”

“You mean…” she paused for a moment, “You can bring Firehowl back to life?” she could hardly believe it,”I hope this isn’t a joke!”

“It is not,” she replied slowly, “But it will not be easy.”

“I’ll do anything!” Roboflight claimed, “Just name it and it shall be done.”

“The greatest sacrifice must be made for the one who made the greatest sacrifice. That is the only way to restore what should have been for the quest to be complete.”

“What does that mean?” she asked totally confused, “I don’t understand what you mean by that!”

“Just think for a moment,” she replied, “Stop and think. Use just logic and facts and you will soon realize what I am talking about.”

“Wait!” Roboflight called but the voice inside her had vanished, leaving her alone to think about what had just been said.

The one who made the greatest sacrifice, that was obviously Firehowl, she realized, as he had given his life so that she could be saved.

But the ultimate sacrifice? Roboflight struggled to guess what it was. She knew it was something she would need to make, but she couldn't think of what it might be. It would have to be something that she was very scared of; something she clung onto throughout the quest; something that could ruin relationships.

And suddenly she knew what it was. She no longer cared about losing it, if it might bring Firehowl back. Turning away from his cold body, she ran towards the den where her clan was resting.

“Bravescar!” she yowled.

Chapter 2
This chapter is dedicated to Rainy!

“Are you sure?” Bravescar seemed like he was hardly able to believe what he was hearing, “Don’t let your grief cloud you judgment, Roboflight.”

“Don’t get too excited,” she sighed, “And it is not my grief clouding my judgment. We both know why I have chosen to give this away.”

“I thought you were fine,” he shrugged, “You shouldn't let the other cats ruin your self-esteem. They are all in a cranky mood after being on this quest for so long.”

“That doesn't justify the mistakes I made,” She pointed out.

“Everybody makes mistakes,” he claimed, “But if you insist I will gather the pack so that we can vote on the subject.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” she responded, “If I chose to quit, then they can’t make me stay. They will pick you anyways; you did more than me.”

He sighs, “I just don’t want you to make a decision that you will regret.”

Roboflight sent a glance towards Firehowl’s body, before swallowing a lump in her throat, “I’m sure,” she reassured him, “I am sure.”

Bravescar nodded, “But don’t start complaining about this later, Roboflight. You will remember that it was you who asked for this.”

“Of course I will,” she reassured him before entering the den.

The morning would reveal Firehowl’s fate.

Roboflight couldn't go to sleep that night as much as she tried. After hours of twisting and turning, she finally gave up and decided to gaze at the sky.

She had given her leadership up so that Firehowl could return, but would he really. She began to doubt that he would come back and suspected that she might just have been hearing voices in her head.

When the sun rose, Roboflight scrambled out of bed, to find that there was no one left in the den. Peeking her head outside the den she noticed that the pack was whispering furiously, while Bravescar stood in the middle of them, confused.

Roboflight pushed her way through the cat, and found herself bumping into a black pelt. “Sorry,” she murmured thinking it was Inkpelt, until she noticed the ginger muzzle.

“Firehowl!”

“Yeah, who did you think?” he snapped at her, and she felt taken aback by his suddenly cruel tone. His eyes were sharp and they glared at her with hatred.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, trying to ignore the way he was looking at her, “You were dead when I checked on you last night.”

He seemed confused, “Me? Dead? I don’t know where you come up with these ridiculous ideas!”

The pack looked around sending silent glances at each other. Bravescar broke the silence by responding, “You were dead Firehowl. Killed by one of the rouges that were threatening us.”

“If I was dead then why am I speaking to you right now?” he demanded, “And don’t you think I would remember dying?”

“You died,” It was Inkpelt this time, “We were chased by the rouges, and we had to cross the stream. There one of them attacked Roboflight and you tried to push them aside, killing both of you in the process. We all knew you were dead, Firehowl. You weren’t moving a limb.”

“Stop feeding me fairy tales,” he snapped, “Why would I give my life for…,” he glanced at Roboflight with disgust for a moment, “For that little pest that calls herself a leader!”

Roboflight swallowed the tears that were building in her throat.

“Roboflight’s not the leader anymore,” Bravescar responded and all the cats looked at him in surprise. Roboflight found herself glad that Driftingcloud wouldn't be here to sneer at her.

“Do you want to vote her out?” Featherbreeze asked, surprised, sparking some anger in Roboflight that her friend wanted to suggest such a thing.

“No, he responded, “Roboflight quit; thinking she isn't fit for the job.”

The cats seemed surprised, “So are you going to be our new leader?” Boulderclaw asked him, “Because I would vote for you.”

The cats murmured in agreement, as Roboflight had known they would. Firehowl didn't react, just sent a glare towards Roboflight before yawning, “I need some sleep though. I can hardly remember anything, and my muscles ache for a random reason.”

“Because you were dead,” Roboflight claimed, but he didn't listen, just walked into the den with his head held up high, leaving Roboflight with her heart drooping.

Was this the cat she had given up so much to save?

Chapter 3
“We have to leave tonight!” Bravescar announced, “Who knows where the other packs have gone while we have been resting here for a few days.”

“If you hadn't noticed Firehowl rose from the dead,” Petalfall commented, “I think it’s only fair that you give him some time to regain his previous health. We might as well make advantage of the miracle Starclan even bothered to give us!”

Roboflight couldn’t help smiling. Ever since Driftingcloud had left, Petalfall had slowly been returning to her old, kind and caring state. The Petalfall that had kept the whole pack in place had returned when they needed her the most; and it was one more thing Roboflight thanked Starclan for.

Bravescar sighed, “We have been resting for enough time now, Petalfall. I appreciate your concern, but we have to move on if we don’t want to fall terribly behind.”

“We don’t want those rouges catching up to us either!” Firehowl added dragging himself to his feet, “They cause too many problems.”

“They are leaving us alone,” Boulderclaw claimed, entering the den with several mice in his jaws, earning him a grateful look from Bravescar, as Roboflight felt her mouth watering, “You killed their leader, and now they are leaving us alone.”

“I didn't kill anyone!” he protested, gladly accepting a mouse, “All I remember doing is sleeping! And I honestly don’t find it funny!”

“Come on Firehowl, do you think that we have nothing better to do than play a prank on you?” Boulderclaw asked, slightly annoyed.

“Apparently not.”

Bravescar sighed, “I should sure hope not,” he sighs, “Either you have lost it, or the rest of us have still lost it. I think it is safe to assume your memory is the one which needs to be fixed. Must have happened when you hit your head.”

“I did not hit my head!” he growled, and glaring at Roboflight he added, “And there is no way I would risk my life to protect her!”

“Like it or not you did!” Roboflight suddenly screeched, tired of his rude and thoughtless attitude, “Stop acting like you are the only cat who ever knows anything.”

“It’s hard with you standing right by me.” He claimed, and Roboflight almost sliced her claws down his throat at that rude comment.

Instead she just stormed out of the den, eager to get away from the rude and inconsiderate tom.

She ran into Featherbreeze outside, and she let her old friend walk beside her, “I know Firehowl can be a pain,” she sighed, “But try to sympathies with him. HE just rose from the dead.”

Because of me, Roboflight thought but didn't say anything.