“Death itself can love as well.”
A story by Almond c:
Foreword
I’m a murderer. I torture, I kill, and I ruin, mercilessly.
I’m supposed to kill without a second thought. It’s what I’ve always done. It’s why the clans are terrified of me. It’s the reason I’m so well-known as “Death”.
I’m not supposed to love.
But he was different.
The Beginning—Part One (Larkstream)
Oh hi! I’m Larksteam, as you probably may know. And I have one question:
Would you hate me if I told you I was a tom...and I liked toms?
Almost everyone in HorizonClan seems to hate me because of this, so....I was just wondering...
Anyways, I walk out of the warriors’ den—trying to ignore everyone’s glares—on a chilly morning. This is a very special morning, dear reader—not just that it’s been exactly 2 weeks since I told the clan about me liking toms, but today—today is Detective Day.
Detective Day is where our leader, Blazestar, receives a vision from StarClan on who the next detective is going to be.
The detective is much harder to explain.
The detective is the special cat who gets selected to hunt down Death. Death is...well, you can tell he’s a murderer. I’ve never seen him myself, but who ever crosses paths with him—dies. And sadly, it’s frequent.
That’s why he’s such a concern to the four clans. Most of all, our clan; we’re the ones that suffered the most.
So far, no detective has succeeded. Only two detectives have come back from their hunt alive. They both, though, died of their wounds.
It’s very omnious, and extremely scary. That’s why the cat has to be the right choice. I honestly don’t see that much of a point anymore in selecting a detective if they all die. But the two that “survived” have revealed clues about Death:
Death has blood red eyes, and he murders exactly at Dawn, Sun-high, and Moon-high.
I still can’t believe Death is able to kill of so much of the four clans.
“Watch it!!” Someone shouts, stomping on my tail. I shrink back in pain and quickly dash somewhere else. I see my mom, Moonspirit, with upset eyes as she watches the cats gathering.
My mom’s the deputy, and so far, my only friend in this clan. She’s really protective, but I can’t blame her. I’m so lucky to have her around, because she is one out of two cats that accept me. The other, Mosspaw, I’ll get into later.
I nod a hello to her, and her eyes light up in warmth.
“There you are,” Moonspirit mutters. She grooms me a tiny bit. “I hope the others haven’t hurt you that much.” Her eyes are full of concern.
“No, not really,” I answer cheerfully. Many glares and remarks that hurt my feelings, yes, but it wasn’t as bad as last week. I tried to be as cheerful and as positive as I could myself and to my mother. But even she knew I was mostly suffering. Why can’t they just accept for who I am? Like my mother does?
My mother let out a tiny sigh, but she smiled and licked my forehead. “I promise, if I become leader,” she whispers, “there won’t be anyone that will make fun.”
I purred. I really want that to happen. And something else—I want to find the love of my life. Someone like me.
Blazestar’s yowl interrupts me from my thoughts. “Everyone!! Gather round, gather round! I have the announcment of the new detective!!”
“Got to go,” Moonspirit says, glancing towards the high cliff. The medicine cat and her apprentice were already standing there. My mother jumps on the high cliff, standing beside Blazestar.
I didn’t want my mother to go up there, because as soon as she left, cats moved away from me and I could feel the hateful glares of cats around me.
“Cats of HorizonClan,” The leader announced, gazing down at everyone with his gaze, “I have found the new detective of HorizonClan!!”
The entire clan was silent, eerily listening to Blazestar’s announcement. I wonder who the new detective is going to be. It could be Specklewish or Houndclaw, two very efficient warriors. Houndclaw may or may not have been my ex-best friend, my crush, and now...my enemy.
But what can I do? His beautiful blue eyes make me root for him.
You probably think I’m weird, not wanting revenge. Although I guess I’m already “weird”.
Blazestar’s next sentence stirred me out of my thoughts.
“Please believe what I will say, HorizonClan, for StarClan has made it clear. The new detective will be...Larkstream.”
Wait...what?
My mother is the only one gleaming with pride. She doesn’t care what the others are thinking. She flicks her tail for me to come up, smiling.
I stumble up the steps to the High Cliff. The medicine cat, Kestrelfoot, and her apprentice, Juniperpaw, stared at me in shock. I honestly felt the same.
Why....me?
Blazestar’s expression was unreadable, while Moonspirit, at I told you, shone with pride
No one said anything. I was still extremely shocked. I haven’t processed what just happened.
Startling me, a voice yowled from below. “Blazestar, there must be a mistake!! Why would that bat-blind exuse for a cat be elected as detective?”
I almost answered back, but Moonspirit cut me off. “Silence!!! What Blazestar announces is what he announces!! What did Larkstream ever do to you?!”
Yowls and protests roared from down below. I couldn’t take it. I needed some air. So, I dashed quickly down the High Cliff and ran outside the camp through an opening beside the rocky cliff.
That’s when I first met him.
The Middle—Part One (Axel)
No, my real name isn’t Death. The four clans gave me that nickname.
My real name is Axel. But since I don’t know anyone that well, and all my enemies call me Death, it’s sometimes hard to remember my original title.
tbc