When one is broken, what do you then?
WARNING![]
This book contain a lot of gore, death, blood, suffocation, and few other themes. It is only as bad as the warrior books, but if you feel uncomfortable with the themes please don't read this book!
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Welcome to Book 2 of the Whispering Blood Series! We are on the first arc so far, and it is called '(Mis)Fortune.'
Blurb[]
Reedtooth tries even harder to defeat the Rebels, but loses his soul in the process.
ALLEGIANCES[]
WispClan[]
Leader: Longstar - dusty-brown she-cat with dark spots, black paws, and stone-gray eyes. (The overlooker)
Deputy: Bramblethroat - rude infertile tortoiseshell she-cat with dark violet eyes (The misunderstood)
Medicine cat(s): Soulsong - grayish brown she-cat with warm red eyes (The falling)
Warriors: Thornheart - undersized peachy gold she-cat (with darker flecks) with small, heterochromia eyes (The brave)
Reedtooth - orange tom with bright, sunshine-like golden eyes (The hunter)
APPRENTICE, Cloudpaw - dark red fur (like the color of leaves in fall) and brown eyed she-cat
Blazesong - dark pink-gray she-cat with dark red eyes (The fighter)
Maplesong - skinny, shy, and blind, with pure white fur and blue eyes, tom (The sight)
Hollyfeather - fast pink-gray tom with blood red eyes (The swift)
Snowflower - Pure white she-cat with light gray eyes (The strong)
Berrylost - russet red she-cat with heterochromia eyes (The destined)
Queens
Brakenfern - small, dusty brown she-cat with blue eyes (The second-chancer) (nursing Maplesong's kits: Ripplekit, a blue-gray tom with blue eyes, and Featherkit, a light brown tom with blue eyes)
Elders
Mintpelt - blue gray tom with dark, threatening eyes (The soul-filled)
2.2 The Rebels[]
Leader: Leafy - orange fur (like the color of leaves in fall) and brown eyed she-cat
Sire: Tree - red tom with bright, sunshine-like golden eyes
Other cats: Thistle - rude, gray-red she-cat with green eyes
Tiny - yellow-green tom with light gray eyes
Berry - thin gray she-cat with brown eyes
Thunder - pure black tom with green eyes
Fallen - night-black she-cat with blue eyes
Pigeon - cream tabby tom
Drift - silver she-cat with white back paws
Sparrow - brown and cream tom
Sage - pure white tom with one missing ear
Dappled - mottled light brown she-cat with a white belly
Snow - golden tabby tom
Fading - mottled brown she-cat with darker orange stripes
Quick - black tabby she-cat
Sedge - speckled brown she-cat
Prologue[]
The she-cat WispClan warrior loomed around Cloudpaw. "I know who your are, I heard it all!" Cloudpaw's hackles were rising against her will. The she-cat hated Brightcloud with a passion deeper than anything. "I'm going to kill you. It shouldn't be too bad, you've done it before,"
Cloudpaw, having been alive twice, was clever. "You know, if you fail to kill me, I have solid evidence you tried." The she-cat shook her head. "No one would believe an apprentice!" She jumped at Cloudpaw, ripping her fur off, skinning her, until she fell to the ground and didn't get up again...
The she-cat, satisfied with her work, picked up Cloudpaw and dumped her in the river, leaving her body to float away. Satisfied, she licked her paws clean and carefully picked the russet fur out between her claws. "Easy!" Realizing she needed proof she died, she took her body, which was soaking wet.
"My daughter's dead?" The brown she-cat leader called out. The orange tom was sobbing louder and faster every comment. "Can't be dead..." Meowed the russet she-cat. "Or at least she didn't die the way you said! Her skin is torn, her fur unkempt, and she was always a strong swimmer. She didn't drown, she was murdered!" The she-cat murderer shook her head. "I don't know where the wounds came from, but it was a pretty strong current. Not even the strongest swimmer can beat the fastest current." The red cat nodded. "True, but when she left camp her fur was groomed to perfection like normal, and not a scratch disposed of her carefully taken care of fur,"
The murderer sighed. "Perhaps a fox got her... I donna..." The russet she-cat groaned. "Don't believe you,"
Chapter 1[]
Reedtooth watched as Longstar welcome two new apprentices, Ripplepaw and Featherpaw. Sagestar's vow was right: The Clan would grow bigger. However, Mintpelt had retired. They were one warrior down, but practically 5 warriors up. Shaking his head, Reedtooth tried to concentrate on Clan stuff. The murder of his sister and her daughter was too much for him to bear.
After taking a long time deciding what to do, he decided to live up to his name and hunt. He caught mice, rabbits, sparrows, thrushes, and many more. He put them on the overflowing pile. Like before, they had a whole forest to themselves, though they were not selfish. They would split it in half if a Clan asked nicely. But the plentiful days were back... at the cost of eleven murders. Brightcloud, Sagestar nine times, and Deadberry. Perhaps it was twelve now, he thought. He remembered how Cloudpaw claimed she was Brightcloud, but Reedtooth knew that was impossible. The thoughts surrounded him until dayfall--sundown--came.
Curling up, Reedtooth fell asleep. He opened his not to nightfall--sunup--, but to night once more, though there were three cats in front of him, all cats he missed dearly--Brightcloud, Sagestar, and Deadberry. StarClan! He knew this place! He had been here before.
Brightcloud walked and nuzzled her brother lovingly. "I missed you. So much, brother," Reedtooth started shaking. "Oh--okay... I-I missed you too..." When Reedtooth was embarrassed, he got very modest. But Sagestar spoke next. "Hunter, the saviors are half of what they were, but legacy of the broken lives on. Don't forget: 'Where leaf-bare is squished, two cats love each other. Troublesome rivers and days fall into the true shadow of light.'" Sudden realization hit him: he forgot about the prophecy! Then, a booming question spilled out. "Where's Cloudpaw?" Deadberry answered. "Brightcloud and Cloudpaw are the same cats." Reedtooth rolled his eyes. "That's not possible, are you sure?" Deadberry nodded. Brightcloud came up Reedtooth. "You trust me..., right...?" Reedtooth murmured, "yes." Brightcloud nodded. "Yes... It is true. I was Cloudpaw,"
Leafy scorned Tree. "You WispClan warrior-brained, do you know you killed her? We were supposed to injure her and send her running!" Tree was shaking. "You never told me... love...?" Leafy roared loudly. "Idiot! Stupid, stupid dummy! Your father was an eagle! Your mother was a fox!" Tree breathed in and out. "S-Sorry, but...I spotted another one who looked like--" He was cut off when he noticed Fallen was listening. Leafy jumped in front of Fallen. "Dumb eavesdropper, go away or die!"
Shocked, Fallen backed away, but Leafy caught up. "Too slow!" She said. Pouncing, she sliced Fallen, but Fallen was a good fighter. Tree jumped in, and together they suffocated her while she gasped for breath, trying her best to survive. While she was dying, some of the hunters came back. Finally Fallen went limp, after quite a few minutes. Licking her paws, she grinned, just a little.
"Now, my beautiful idiot Sire, continue. 'Who looked like...'" She reminded him. Tree shook himself. "Yes, like one of them. Do you... do you think that that is who they are?" Leafy nodded. "Probably. Speaking of which, I hope all but that one... I hope all the WispClan warriors are dead and gone, my goodie!" Tree started looking nervous. "Why do you want them alive?" Leafy flicked her blood-soaked tail. "Just for a while. Also, we have so many cats this territory is not good enough. Let's find there new home and take that too, unless they're lost and homeless. Idiots!" She chuckled. "Kidding, kidding. We can't have too much land, or we'll get lost trying to find camp. This forest is small, but enough for now," Tree nodded.
Tree looked at Leafy, who was calming down. "Why did you kill her?" She asked, her voice in a whisper, though her face still excited from the fight with Fallen. Who, just now, she thought, has fallen! How ironic, it is... Startled out of her thoughts by a sudden voice, Leafy saw Pigeon approaching, just as Tree opened his mouth. Pigeon stopped in his tracks. "Am I... interrupting?" He meowed. Leafy laughed in a malice way. "Ha-ha-ha. How ironic, because you are! Get away in five seconds, or die as Fallen did! 5...4...3...2...1-" Pigeon was out of sight. Leafy giggled. "The idiot's not getting off so easy next time!"
At that moment, Leafy realized something extremely important. Preparing to whisper it in Tree's ear, she thought about what to say. Casting it away, she decided to tell him later. Yes, until then, it was a normal day with nothing strange going on. Suddenly hit with a wave of hunger, she took a particularly fat starling and sat down to eat it.
"Snowflower," meowed Blazesong. Startled, Snowflower turned around. "AH!" She meowed. Chuckling, Blazesong smiled. "Me, you, Maplesong, Reedtooth, and Hollyfeather are going on a patrol," She said. Snowflower, still surprised, stuttered as she said, "O-okay."
Snowflower was not the best hunter, but she was not terrible. She managed to catch a few thrushes and a moth--but she put the moth in the lake. For reasons she did not know, WispClan didn't have the best relationship with moths. She was told it was from the days of The Rebels, but how could she be sure?
After a while, Snowflower realized she had split up from the group. She was so deep in thoughts she wandered away. She heard her name, but decided to venture onward. Eventually she crossed the border and came into sight of twolegplace. Full of running monsters, stray kittypets, non-stray kittypets, alleycats, and many more things. Sniffing around, she smelled something. Was it prey? Maybe, but she could only know by...knowing! Following her nose, it lead her to a twolegnest.
"Shouldn't be here..." She murmured aloud. But there was a clear-moss where she could just fit in. The moment her paws were in the nest, she was overcome by many scents, objects, and...scents of food, too. Good food. No! She thought. "I'm no kittypet!" She yowled. At once, a twoleg came rushing down the stairs. She tried to escape but the clear-moss was stuck, stuck since the twoleg pushed the thing on the denwall. Scared and surprised, the twoleg picked Snowflower up and stroked her, but it only made her fur tickle. The twoleg yowled something, and her mate came running down. Needing to go, she yowled her war cry. "Mrr-owow-erow!" Her fur bristling, the twoleg took her outside. She tried to escape, but she couldn't, not when the monster just ate her...
She woke up, only to be taken into another twoleg den...
The entire patrol raced back to camp, breathing rapidly. "S-Snowflo-Snowf-Snowflower is gone!" Reedtooth exclaimed. Thornheart flicked her ears, a coat of a grin covering her face. "Oh, Snowkit, Berrykit, playing hide and seek again?" Her face darkened. "Or is this serious?" Longstar looked her in the eye. "Of course it's real! We must find her at once," Murmurs of agreement broke out, but one voice stood out above the crowd. It was Hollyfeather's. "Says who that she's gone? She probably wandered away."
Longstar sighed. "If she's not here soon I'm sending a patrol, but you are correct. No one knows where she is, but no one knows if she's gone and gotten herself lost." Bramblethroat frowned. "As your deputy, Longstar, it is my duty to ask: How long are you giving her to come back?" Longstar swished her tail. "'Til nightfall. Tomorrow, we will see if she is lost." Bramblethroat dipped her tortoiseshell-colored head. "Okay, Longstar," She meowed. Longstar grinned. "'Tis fine."
Minutes became hours. Hours became a day. Snowflower never came. Reedtooth watched as Longstar jumped on the highrock. "LET ALL CATS OLD ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE NURSERY GATHER UNDER THE REEDROCK FOR A CLAN MEETING!" As if it were a volcano full of cats erupting, in an instant all the cats gathered. All worried, they looked up eagerly. "The cats on the rescue patrol will be... me, Bramblethroat, Blazesong, Brakenfern, Maplesong, Thornheart, and Berrylost. That's nearly all our cats. Wait--Ripplepaw and Featherpaw, too,"
Chapter 2[]
Featherpaw sniffed drastically, but could not smell much. Ripplepaw, however, was sniffing every leaf and tree with ease. He had one of the best noses in the Clan, so he was leading the group. "Mmm... Here she is!" They all followed Ripplepaw into twolegplace, and onto the thunderpath. Crossing it due to a long lull in monster activity, it lead the group to a twolegplace. "Gah! A kittypetnest. Her scent is here, but it's stale, not as stale as what we smelled in the forest but she isn't here," Everyone agreed. Ripplepaw went a little ahead. "It stops here. Isn't this where monsters sleep?" Longstar sniffed. "Oh--yes, it is... the monster must've woken up... and done something horrible,"
However, Bramblethroat disagreed. "No blood, no fur, but yes, lots of fear-scent..." Ripplepaw sniffed. "I faintly smell a trail here. The monster swallowed Snowflower!" Gasps of horror broke out from the rescue patrol. "It's so faint though, I'm not sure I can track it," Murmurs of agreement broke out. Annoyed, Featherpaw's mind began overcome with angry thoughts. I can't even smell anything! Why are you so better than me!? Why did you get the better mentor?! My tracking skills suck, but yours are the best ever! WHY!? "...Featherpaw...?" Snapped out of his thoughts, Featherpaw looked up. "Gah-oh-Ripplepaw?" Ripplepaw's face was masked with concern. "You look mad...and you were just sitting there when we went away. You ok--" Leafpaw's anger overflowed. "I'm fine!" He shouted, catching up. Ripplepaw dipped his head.
They went on very far until it lead them to a strange twolegplace. Ripplepaw looked amazed. "Snowflower's scent is fresh!" Gasps of amazement followed. Just a few minutes later, after some waiting, a strange female twoleg walked out with Snowflower in her paws. Longstar watched. "When I say, 'Go' spring out and get her!!" All the cats nodded. "3...2...1... GO!" All the cats leaped, causing the twoleg to drop Snowflower.
Without a glance, Snowflower started racing away, so fast the other cats hardly kept up. Eventually, they all got into the forest, where they took a rest. Snowflower still didn't really notice them. Instead, she was trying to get off a pelt around her neck..."A collar!" Exclaimed Featherpaw. "AH!" Yelled Snowflower. She looked behind her. "How long have you been here? Actually--I don't care. Can you take this off me?" All the cats worked together until... snap! The collar broke off. Snowflower grinned. "Thanks for saving me." Longstar flicked her ear. "Oh--it was mostly Ripplepaw," She smiled sharply. "In fact...maybe he'll have his assessment early. Perhaps a moon from now?" Ripplepaw looked embarrassed. "M-Maybe," he said, flushed.
When will they-- Reedtooth began to think, but at that moment Longstar came into view. Then Ripplepaw, Featherpaw, Bramblethroat, Blazesong, Brakenfern, Maplesong, Thornheart, Berrylost... Where was Snowflower? Then a white pelt came into view. "It was a success!" Yowled Soulsong. Longstar looked at Ripplepaw. "Couldn't've done it without Ripplepaw, my good cat!" Ripplepaw looked at his paws. "Y-You don't have to do that... we all helped, really," Maplesong looked frustrated. "Oh, come on. I did less than a tree in leaf-bare!"
Leaf-bare. Leaf-bare. Then a thought entered his mind. Where leaf-bare is squished, two cats love each other. Troublesome rivers and days fall into the true shadow of light. The prophecy! Better try and solve it, he thought. It had been moons. He couldn't just sit around forever, waiting for the prophecy to solve itself.
After a few hours, in his nest, he stayed up and got to work. Where leaf-bare is squished. Where leaf-bare is squished. What could that mean? Frowning, Reedtooth thought. Leaf-bare can't get squished... does it mean...? Overwhelmed, he got up. "Think I'll take take a walk," he declared. Running quickly, he got in the woods. "Leaf-bare doesn't get squished. What could it mean?" He thought for a while, but then a noise roused him. "Rer-ow-rer-row!" Thornheart's war cry!
He listened for a while. "I bet your real kits would miss you..." Meowed an unidentifiable voice. Thornheart was wheezing. "Let me go! I swear I wouldn't tell anyone," The second voice seemed to be pushing harder. "No...you will die when I say you will die!" Reedtooth knew this could have been Cloudpaw's murderer. I don't wanna know who it is! But I might have no choice. I'll find out-- "Is anyone there?" Reedtooth called. "I hear suffocation." He changed his tone so they wouldn't know who he is. "Oh--uh--I don't know. We're just fooling." Said the mystery voice. Thornheart called her war cry again and meowed, "This cat tried murdering me!" The other cat started sweating by the sounds of it. "Ah--in the game. Ju-Just normal loners, like you, playing!" Reedtooth came closer, but ceased to reveal his face. "It doesn't sound like that. Thornheart--"--he gave up his disguise as loner--"--who is the cat with you?" Thornheart's ears came down. "...Are you sure..., Reedtooth...?" Reedtooth nodded. Thornheart sighed. "It is..."
She started to cry, just a little. "...Soulsong."
Leafy flicked her ears dismissively as the cats grieved for Thunder. He was a traitor. He knew better than to interrupt me while me and Tree were discussing our plans...! Even in her twisted mind, she knew, just in a small part of her brain, she was harsh on everyone. However, this fact could not control her, so she decided to slaughter it.
"Listen up, Rebels! Thunder was invading a private conversation being held by me and Tree, and he said he had news far too important." She cleared her throat. "When I had my kits yesterday, me and Tree were discussing them. Thunder eavesdropped for a long time, so I said he would be punished if he didn't leave. But he said he had news. Our discussion was too private and he did not leave at the first warning. I am a kind cat," she said, "so I gave him another chance. But he said, 'No. Leafy, this news is fatal to our group and could effect in ways that could end our whole Rebels thing, and I like the Rebels game. The game of revenge of the Clans. It's fun.'"
Her voice rang everywhere. "He did not leave on my second warning and he called the Rebels a game. So I smiled and replied, 'Oh, I know a really fun game! It's called the game of punishment.' He looked at me like I was a maniac, so I played that humble game. For anyone interested, here are the rules: 'The game starts when you disobey Leafy. Leafy jumps on your back and slaughters you.'" Leafy licked her paws and washed herself. "Me and Tree need to discuss stuff."
"Tree...I know what I am doing," Tree looked up. "What are we doing with Fall and Fang?!" Leafy smirked, and took Fall and dropped her in her nest. "We'll keep Fang, I like him. For Fall, we'll do what we did with Strider and Wound. Not only were they soft, but I hated the names. Hope Fall can survive the snow!" Tree started mildly sweating. "We need recruits...because I wanted to ambush WispClan...,......?" Leafy threw Fall across the den by accident. "Whoops! But I agree... And we'll keep Fall, but she better fight! But I'd keep Fang here..., because he's a newborn...," Tree nodded and sweat more. "We should find them now," Leafy for once agreed with her mate. "Cats are going to die...especially Wound!"
Tree, Leafy, and the rest of the Rebels spent a day finding WispClan. They hid in the shadows until they were all asleep...and...pounce! First they searched all the dens for Longstar and eventually found her, sleeping soundly. They tore at her, ripping away at her, and they kept doing that until she fell fully limp, but the torn skin went away and she blinked open two eyes wide away and called out, "Mera-era-er-mer-ow!" All the WispClan cats were up, ready to defend. Leafy jumped at the orange tom--the one she knew as Wound--and Tree followed. They were working together to rip at his flesh, but he simply would not die. She tore and bit at his ear, leaving a nick in it. Leafy felt a claw rake down her spine.
Turning around, she saw a starry figure of Strider, the one they killed last battle... "Strider!" Yowled Tree. "Brightcloud!" Yowled Reedtooth at the same time as Tree. The starry figure jumped on Leafy, clawing at her back and biting. Yowling in pain, both Leafy and Tree jumped on Strider. Reedtooth flicked his tail and pounced on Leafy, but she did not retaliate. Leafy yelled, "Die! I killed you before, and I'll do it again!" At this point more cats were gathering on either side here, but most cats tried killing Strider until...
She went limp again, and faded from the battlefield. Reedtooth suddenly went up in a vengeful strike of fury, clawing rapidly at Leafy and Tree until nearly every other WispClan cat was up against Leafy. There was barely a battle. Leafy died under everyone's help, but Reedtooth did the finishing hit. Tree yowled, "If you are smart, retreat with me!!" The cats quickly collected the bodies of the fallen, Fall..., Leafy, and Quick. They threw Leafy's body into the stream, Fall following, and finally Quick, who was loyal to the end.
Chapter 3[]
Thornheart grudgingly accepted that her daughter tried to murder her, but now she must stand against Soulsong. Jumping on the Reedrock, she told herself she shouldn't be jumping on the Reedrock, and she wasn't Longstar, but it somehow felt right and correct, so she called out, "WISPCLAN! I have something to tell everyone far too important for me to just say it!" Cats spilled out, but some stayed far away as Thornheart stood tall. Longstar came out, but jumped on the Reedrock and challenged her. "Thornheart, what are you doing?" Thornheart started sweating. "There is a cat in this Clan who is a traitor. She tried to kill me but got caught by Reedtooth--" Reedtooth looked proud. "--and we decided to let her go. For a good reason, and I am ashamed. But this cat must not care, because they probably killed Cloudpaw, too." She cleared her throat and yowled, "SOULSONG! She tried to murder me!" Gasps of shock broke out, and even Longstar was silent and wide-eyed. "Oh--Thornheart, are you sure...? Tell us what happened."
Thornheart cleared her throat. "It was night. Soulsong came to me and was shaking. 'It's... it's coming...' She said. 'I'll tell you more... please come with me to the forest...' So I came. I trust my daughter." At this point, Thornheart was sobbing. "She lead me to under a tree. She said, 'What good timing! Time for murder.' She attempted to fight me, and she was good! She gave me this scar," She said, showing the silent Clan the scar on her paw. "But then Reedtooth caught us, and Soulsong, me and Reedtooth ran home, and Soulsong went into her nest. What makes it more peculiar is when I went to confront her she said, 'Hi, mother, how are you? Oh, I smell blood. Do you need cobwebs? I could check for infection.' I asked why she tried to murder me, and she said she didn't know what I was talking about."
Soulsong, who was in the back, was sobbing, looking down, and hot. She was sniffling, and looking up with an innocent look. "Mother... please... I did no--no such thing...!" Thornheart went up to her and gave her this twisted, horrifying look. "Oh, no, let's see you in a fight. Fight me. Show them how you gave me this terrible scar." Soulsong suddenly looked weak. She tried attacking Thornheart, but missed terribly. She tried sneaking up on her, but Thornheart knew. Overall, she was horribly terrible. Nearly as bad as a newborn kit.
Longstar called out, "Due to what we're seeing, we can confirm it was not Soulsong." Overly annoyed at this conclusion, Thornheart called out, "Soulsong could've been faking it." Longstar rolled her eyes. "Fake-fight on me." Thornheart purposely missed, and pounced, and purposely breathed hard and fast so Longstar knew. Longstar flicked her tail dismissively. "Okay, she could've, but look at her sobbing, and trying to hide. She's innocent!" Murmurs of agreement broke out.
Tree, overwhelmed, jumped in a small hollow and called, "Rebels!! We are three members down. We are a rapidly decaying group. Leafy is dead, so I, as her Sire, lead it now. Do any of you only follow Leafy?" No cat replied. Tree grinned. "We will be more fair. The game of punishment does not exist. In fact, I have a proposal... what if we all worked together?" No cat said anything until Dappled called, "Perhaps..." More murmurs of agreement came. Tree sighed. "I am joking, it is not so easy. When I was younger, I grew up on the belief that Clans were all correct, housecats were fat and lazy, and rogues were cruel and awful. The fact is, I was born in a Clan." Shocked outbursts were thrown around. "A Clan called Shading death Clan. Every cat knew it was too long, and Clans shouldn't be have more than two words in them, but Shading death Clan continued to exist." He looked at the sky and shed a few tears in the name of memories.
"Some of you are looking bored...mostly Thistle, Sage, and Sedge. That is because you know this story, right?" Thistle called out, "Yes." Tree grinned and sweat. "Yes, I was Treekit, Thistle was Thornkit, Sage was Sagekit, and Sedge was Beaverkit. Leafypaw was Leafpaw, and she had a proposition: That me, Thornkit, Sagekit, and Beaverkit left. We all accepted."
Tree nearly choked on the next words. "There was also Sun branch kit. Like the name Shading death Clan, it was three words and against all the rules. He agreed too, and we set off until we found a new territory. We became the Rebels, rebelling against Shading death Clan." Dappled, who looked bored, called, "And that is the tragic story of the Rebels. Tune in next time to find out what made Leaf add a 'Y' to her name." Tree glared at her. "There is a reason, and I'm getting there," He cleared his throat. "We all changed our names, but Sun branch kit didn't. He said he was a Rebel, but needed to keep his old name. So Leafpaw--Leafy--committed her first murder."
Thistle threw her head back. "BOOOOOOOOOOOO This is boring and stupid, can you shut up and let me go away? You're being so stupid, even the ghost of Leafy is bored," Tree swished his tail and twitched his ears. "Leafpaw changed her name to Leafy to seem sweet and innocent, when she truly hated the Clans. She took me as mate 10 moons later, after the Rebels had grown and they had established rules. One day, though, they ambushed Shading death Clan and destroyed them, making them non-existant."
Reedtooth banged his head on a tree. Where leaf-bare is squished, where leaf-bare is squished. What could it mean? "Of course!" The answer snapped in his head. Leafbare is in between leaf-fall and newleaf. Two cats love each other. "Could it be the names of the cats? The seasons?" He muttered under his breath. Maybe one was Leaf, and the other was... what happened in newleaf? New life. New animals, good prey, new plants, new kits... But he focused on the plants part, because he knew Leafy and Tree were mates. I already knew that! He thought, annoyed. Troublesome rivers and days fall into the true shadows of light. "Gah, I know the true shadows of light means the Dark Forest, were kits sent to the dark forest?" Overwhelmed, he noticed it was nightrise. Crawling up in his nest, he whispered, "Visit me, StarClan..."
Reedtooth opened his eyes to being in StarClan. Deadberry was there, but not Sagestar or Brightcloud. "Where are they?" He asked. Deadberry. Deadberry shuffled nervously. "It's just me. Sagestar isn't visiting you today--and Brightcloud would come, but... remember when she fought along side you but went limp again?" Reedtooth nodded. "Er--StarClan cats can die, I'm afraid to admit. Where do go? They stop existing. Their spirits fade away, never to be seen again." Reedtooth halted. "So she'll never be with me ever?" Deadberry nodded. "Don't grieve. She was saving your life. She distracted Leafy from killing you. But that's not why I'm here." She cleared her throat. "Listen to me, or fall in darkness's paws. Your word is shallow, you think, but as soon as jump in for a swim, you drown."
Reedtooth flicked his ear, crying. "No..., but..., are you saying.... are you saying I'm reading the prophecy wrong?" Deadberry did not speak, but simply walked away. Reedtooth, dumbfounded, decided to explore StarClan. Then he saw a forest, but a dirty one. Curious, he entered it, but realized this could be the Dark Forest. But I'm alive, he thought. I can explore! Yee! He walked around, until he spotted a cat climbing a tree. She looked happy, not miserable. "Excuse me!" He called. "Is... this the Place of No Stars?" The she-cat nodded. "...Hmm. No, I don't believe so, this is just... just StarClan...," Reedtooth nodded. "Okay, so do you have like, some sort of like, wisdomy-like power to help me solve the prophecy?" The she-cat shook her head. "Nah." She meowed.
Chapter 4[]
Longstar sat down on the Reedrock, uncomfortable. "LET ALL CATS OLD ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE NURSERY GATHER HERE FOR A CLAN MEETING!" It was as if StarClan dumped all these cats out of their dens. "Ripplepaw, Featherpaw, step forward," The two cats bounded forward quickly, but Featherpaw looked a tad scared. "Maplesong, you are Ripplepaw's mentor. Can he hunt? Can he fight? Does he honor our rules, and respect are traditions?" Maplesong said fast, "Yes." Longstar grinned, just a little. "Then in Wisp's name, I call you Ripplenose the tracker. Wisp honors you with his comrades in StarClan." Longstar set her eyes on Featherpaw. "I am your mentor. You can hunt, fight, and you honor our rules and traditions. Therefore, I name you Featherpelt the beautiful." There was a brief silence. "RIPPLENOSE THE TRACKER! FEATHERPELT THE BEAUTIFUL!" Longstar watched the two newer warriors... So she decided to make a new announcement. "Okay, WispClan! I have a question. Shall we attack the Rebels?" There was silence, and Longstar started sweating. But Maplesong shook her head and said quietly, "No." Longstar stared at her, a question booming in her mind. "Why?" Maplesong stared at the sky as if she could see.
"We would be as bad as them. Their leader is dead. Tree--the Sire--probably takes over now? I don't know the rules. So maybe if they attack us..."
Tree stood in the small hollow. "REBELS!" He called. They all gathered. "Our rules must change. Leafy is dead. We are different. We do not want all Clans to fall, because they are living beings just like us. Who is with me in removing this rule?" All the cats cheered, except Thistle. "WispClan's stupid. Maybe we could just drive them out...?" Tree looked at Thistle. "Thornkit, I am leader here so I make the rules. Such as the removing of this rule." Thistle rolled her eyes, and sighed. "I hate this, though! Leafy should still be alive. She had punishment. You're soft! Everyone is." Tree stared at her. "Thistle... If you don't want to be in the Rebels, you don't have to. Just stop. I could also kick you out, you know." Thistle stared at him with a big smirk on his face. "Dummy, kick me out, I dare you! We are a small group." Fang, who was old enough to hunt and fight and attend meetings, swished his tail. "Er, Thistle, maybe you shouldn't test Tree." Thistle stared at Fang. "Er, Fang... As Leafy's son, I feel an obligation to listen to you..." She shook herself. Tree stared at her. "Thornkit, are you sure this is what you want?" No one answered. After a few weird moments, Thistle spoke up. "If you mean me, yes. But my name ain't Thornkit, it's Thistle, and call me that one more time, and Fang goes bye-bye." Tree stared at her. "Go. You may return after three days, and by then, you should have learned your lesson. While you are gone, we will work on adjusting the code so we can be true Rebels."
"First of all, there is one rule you have been ignoring anyway which will be removed. I don't have a mate, so the Sire will be Sedge." Sedge grinned, and jumped in the hollow with him. "Sedge, I expect you to be loyal and serve us." Tree cleared his throat. "To change the rules, we must look at them and decided which ones should be changed." He looked through them in his head. "The following rules will be removed: Rule 3, Rule 7, and Rule 9." He looked around. "Any objections?" No cat spoke, but them Sedge stood up. "Maybe we should let Clan cats and kittypets join. If not Clan cats, at least kittypets," Tree looked at her. "Hmm... yeah, I think we should remove rule 10."[1] Sedge smiled and sweat a little. Then she said, "What about rule 2?" Tree tipped his head. "I'm getting there." He held his head high and proud. "The following rules will be reworded: Rule 2 and Rule 8." Sedge smiled. Tree, however, did not notice. "Rule 2 now will say that breaking the rules and disobeying has three warnings, and if done a fourth time, you can be exiled for up to... forever." After cheers from the Rebels, Tree grinned a bit. "Kay... um... rule 8... the Sire or Protecter--I'll get to that in a moment--must give four warnings instead, and can exile for up to three moons." Sedge stared at Tree. "Protecter? What is that?" Tree started to sweat in embarrassment. "Well, you see... When Leafy was leader, since she was a she-cat, her Sire-mate would be a tom. Even before I was her mate, her Sire was a tom. But now I'm leader, and, well, Sedge is a she-cat. So I'm thinking, if the Sire is a she-cat, they would be called the Protecter." Yowls broke out, all good and approving.
Longstar, who was approaching Reedtooth, had a serious look on her face. What could the news be? Thought Reedtooth. Longstar finally sat down. "Reedtooth... Soulsong told me something serious and you must know, for the good of the Clan," Reedtooth, suddenly concerned, stuttered. "W-What?" Longstar lowered her ears. "This news is really serious... are you sure you want--" but she was cut off by Reedtooth saying, "Yes, tell me!" Longstar sighed, but suddenly pricked up her ears and smiled. "I'm expecting kits!" Reedtooth purred. "That's amazing, but please don't become one of those cats who take ten minutes to say what could have been said in two seconds," Longstar fake-frowned. "What, me? How dare you make that assumption!" Reedtooth giggled. "'Kay, when they due?" Longstar giggled back. "Mmm, probably about two moons? Can't be too far away? Maybe only one moon, actually, 'cause she said I've been expecting for a while," She started giggling more. "Mmm, maybe even a couple days! Soulsong said they were due real soon, come to think of it," Reedtooth's mind suddenly exploded with a thought. "Soulsong. She tried to murder Thornheart. I saw it myself." Longstar's face turned sad. "Are you sure...?" Reedtooth, knowing he was surer than StarClan, nodded. "I love you, Longstar. I never lie to you. And, I suppose I technically didn't see her, but I smelled her and heard Thornheart saying how she was surprised it was Soulsong."
Longstar, sad, looked at her loving mate. "I love you goodly, dearest," She curled up. "But Soulsong is my friend. Only you and Thornheart suspect her." Reedtooth shook his head.
Pearl sat down on a tree branch, knowing how it would be hard to get down. "I don't care," She murmured aloud. Suddenly realizing she wanted to get down, she jumped down. "What to do, what to do," She said. "Maybe I should go by those weird Clans." Then she shook her head. "No, actually, maybe I should go to those weird Rebels. That tiny gold she-cat and the ginger tom might realize what's going on... Also it's too far away." Decided on what she should be doing, the she-cat went to the Rebels, knowing the way by heart because she liked spying on them. "I think I'll join them..." She jumped through a bramble bush into their camp. "Hey!" Pearl called. "Maybe we--" was what a red tom with orange eyes was saying, but he was cut off. "Yes?" Pearl, excited, gave her proposition.
"I have known about you for a long time. I have observed the way you act, not by spying, but by passing through here and noticing what you do. I would like to join you. You do seem small, just a humble few." The leader cat thought for a moment. "Okay, but what's your name?" Pearl smiled. "Pearl."
Chapter 5[]
Featherpelt sat down, annoyed at his brother's popularity in the Clan. Everyone wanted to be his friend. Ripplenose the tracker is a stupid name. She swished her tail, and sat down in her nest to sleep. "Good night," Meowed Ripplenose. Featherpelt did not respond; he hated Ripplenose very much. Silently cursing him still, Featherpelt sat down to sleep.
His dreams were filled with mischief and fury. Dreams of leading the Clan as Featherstar with Ripplenose as a prisoner renamed Ripplestench the idiot. With Reedtooth as deputy, and Soulsong exiled for supposedly trying to murder Thornheart and supposedly killing Cloudpaw. With the new medicine cat his kit... his kit with Blazesong...
He woke with a start, realizing he dreamed of Blazesong being his mate. Who could blame me, anyway? She was a good cat. Realizing he really wanted to mate her, he decided if he was to ask. Yes. He thought. Uncomfortable, Featherpelt walked to Blazesong who was a few nests away. "Hey," he said. Blazesong got up and yawned. "Yeah, Featherpelt? Want somethin'?" Featherpelt stared at her. "Y-Yeah. I have something to tell you, but it's not for open ears. Will you walk with me in the forest so I can tell you?" Blazesong's eyes widened. "Yes..."
It was surprisingly cold out. Leafbare was coming again. Blazesong sat on a log, and Featherpelt joined. Blazesong grinned. "Yes." She said. Confused, Featherpelt swished his freezing tail. "Yes what?" Blazesong looked at him. "Yes to the question I know you're gonna ask," Featherpelt looked at her. "R-Really?" Blazesong nodded. "H-Hopefully I got it right..." Featherpelt's eyes went wide. "Yes... to being my mate?" Blazesong nodded.
Reedtooth watched with wide eyes as Longstar delivered her kits, only a half-moon after she said she was gonna have them. It looks... painful, especially to have Soulsong deliver them. After a few seconds, it was over, though it started at dawn and now the sun was high in the sky. "One tom and one she-kit!" She stepped out and ran back to her den. Longstar looked exhausted. "I wanna name them now," Reedtooth stepped in. "What should we name 'em?" Longstar looked at the tom. "I don't know... he's light brown. Maybe Oakkit?" Reedtooth nodded. "And... and for the she-kit... what about.... hmm... perhaps... Well, she's ginger. An orange ginger she-cat. What about... what about... hmm... what about Sunkit?" Longstar nodded. "Beautiful names... I must rest now, but visit me..."
Reedtooth decided to take a walk. After a while, he remembered the prophecy.
The prophecy! That nifty little thing. He never found out if kits really were going to the Dark Forest, but his mind was still set on that unfortunate conclusion. But how could he help? Suddenly knowing what to do, Reedtooth crawled up in his nest, willing sleep, wanting to go to the Dark Forest. Sleep decided to run away, not wanting to get to him, but Reedtooth was determined. He chased after sleep, willing it...
Until it came.
He wouldn't stay forever... Just for a quick visit.
The End[]
This book took forever