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 --HawktalonHer 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.
Chapter 5
"Hawkstar! Come quickly!"
Hawkstar's ears pricked at the voice of Hareleap. She stretched, and padded into the camp. "What?"
Hareleap motioned to the lump of orange fur that he had under his claws. :I found this cat on our territory," he snarled. Hawkstar padded over to see who it was, and chuckled.
"Well, well, well. Nice of you to stop by," she hissed, her voice tinted with malice, "Foxspirit."
~*~
Foxspirit tensely paced the old badger's den she was forced into. When she got her claws on Hawkstar.... She glared at the ground, her claws scoring the hard dirt.
Hareleap dropped nimbly into the badger's den. "You're wanted," he meowed cordially, his eyes flashing with distrust. Foxspirit quickly groomed her pelt, straightened her whiskers, and followed him into the clearing.
The cats all watched her, their hostile gazes burning into her pelt. Foxspirit blinked at them, and, with sudden confidence, held her head high. Hawkstar stood in the middle of the clearing.
"Hello, Foxspirit," she meowed, nonchalantly drawing a wet paw over her ear. "Having a nice stay?"
Foxspirit didn't flinch, just stared right into the cold blue gaze of her former friend. "I must say, Hawkstar, I thought the food would be a bit better," she meowed. Hawkstar's eyes narrowed at the snarky comment.
Hawkstar looked up to the cats. "Cats of WindClan," she yowled, "we have a very special ceremony. I would like your utmost attention." Foxspirit felt cold dread forming in the pit of her stomach.
"StarClan, I call on you to see that this cat, Foxspirit of Loners and WindClan, has a name unfit." The crowd was silent, and Foxspirit watched with growing horror.
"With the powers of StarClan within me, I change this cat's name to...." She paused for a moment. "Foxheart."
Chapter 6
(Bum bum bum! Cliffhanger! Sorry, I just had to do it. :>)
Foxheart couldn't really remember anything from the past day. They must have given her some sleeping herb after she had stumbled back to the den, her pride forgotten. She blinked sleepily and quietly licked a paw, drawing it over her ear thoughtfully.
Then it all rushed back to her. She staggered at the impact of the past day, feeling her hurt and anger once more. She sat numbly, staring at the earthen wall. Why me?
That was the big question. Why her? She slumped to the ground, her green eyes drooping slightly. She heard paws pattering over her head, and straightened up quickly, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Hareleap dropped down to face her, a scrawny rabbit in his jaws. He tossed it towards her.
"Eat up," he meowed, avoiding her gaze. She slowly got to her paws and stared at him.
"Why?" she meowed, her tail-tip twitching.
Hareleap blinked back at her nervously, looking down. "Hawkstar's orders. So eat fast."
Foxheart slowly dragged the rabbit to the very back of the den, turning her back to the deputy. She ate quickly, and then cleaned the rabbit blood off of her paws and mouth, turning to face Hareleap. "What now?"
"Come on," he meowed, hopping back out of the badger's den. Foxheart followed him out to an area surrounded by heather and tall, waving grass. The brown tom sat down a couple of tail-lengths away from her, nervously licking his chest as he glanced at Hawkstar, who's eyes were narrowed and her tail was flicking.
"Foxheart," she meowed. Foxheart gave a small nod, staring at her defiantly.
And Hawkstar leapt at her, claws extended.
Chapter 7
Hawkstar snarled at the orange she-cat, aiming a blow at her face. Foxheart ducked and nimbly leapt away from Hawkstar. The brown-and-cream leader leapt after her.
Foxheart swept Hawkstar's legs out from under her, watching with satisfaction as she crumpled to the ground. Popping back up, the stronger leader slashed her paw across Focheart's face. She smirked as she came nearer to the she-cat. Foxheart readied herself for the killing blow.
Suddenly, Hawkstar stopped. She blinked quickly and hissed, kicking her former friend. Foxheart jumped up, in full battle stance. But Hawkstar didn't strike.
"Take her back to camp," Hawkstar hissed. Two toms flanked Foxheart, eyeing her quietly. They started to push her back to WindClan camp.
"You're just afraid!" Hawkstar stiffened at the remark, glaring at Foxheart. The she-cat's mouth was spread in a snarl. "You're afraid to kill me! You can't kill me!" she hissed. The toms pushed her harder towards camp. Hawkstar stood there silently.
"Afraid!" Foxheart's last remark was tossed over her shoulder towards Hawkstar. She disappeared into the camp.
Chapter 8
(Agh, short chapters. Sorry, guys. :|) WARNING! Slightly creepy chapter! *evil laugh*
The forest swirled around Foxheart, trees seeming to move as she looked at them. She blinked rapidly, fighting the dizzyness. A scent swirled around her, and she opened her mouth to drink it in. Foxes! she thought, whirling around, trying to pinpoint a certain area the scent came from. But it was all around her, coming from every angle.
"Foxheart."
Foxheart whipped around to face a shadowy figure. "Who are you?" she snarled. "Come out and quit acting like a coward!"
The cat stepped forward, its blue eyes flashing coldly. "Oh, I am no coward," it said, its voice sickly sweet, and strangely... feminine. Stepping forward even farther, Foxheart recognized it. It was... her mother?
"Hello, daughter. Didn't expect to see me here, did you?" The fox smiled, her orange tail flicking.
"Mother?" The vixen nodded, smiling. Foxheart stood in awe. "I...I didn't know you could walk in my dreams."
"It's okay, darling. But I, I am afraid, am not your mother." The gentle, smiling vixen suddenly morphed, her slender back becoming shorter and smaller, her long muzzle becoming blocky and short, her fluffy tail flattening into a skinny one, her eyes becoming slitted and blue, her whiskers elongating. Standing before Foxheart was... a cat?
"Hello, Foxheart," the cat said in catspeak, but with her mother's voice. The new, strange cat had the same colors as her mother, the same voice as her mother, the same eyes- wait. Her eyes had changed color, and were now blue. Those blue eyes looked strangely familiar...
"Wh-who are you?" Foxheart meowed, fear rising in her throat. The cat just batted her eyes and smiled.
"I am not who you think I am," the cat purred, morphing again. The skinny tail thickening, its tip becoming white, the paws becoming bigger, the head more blocky. But the blue eyes stayed the same. "I am not who you think I am," the cat said again. "I am you."
Foxheart's fear rose farther up her throat, threatening to choke her. The cat just smiled angelically, but instead of her mother's voice, it had her voice now.
She padded up to Foxheart, twining their tails. "I walk like you, I talk like you. I am you," she purred. Foxheart felt terror close her throat, feeling like she couldn't breath. She had to get out of here.
Running madly through the trees, she heard the cat at her side, laughing and smiling. "You can't escape me," she purred. "You can't escape yourself." Foxheart ran even harder, the cat keeping up with her.
Suddenly, she crashed into a tree, pain filling her vision. The cat purred and stood over her, her tail-tip resting on Foxheart's face. "Thought you could escape, did you?" she meowed, nonchalantly licking a paw. "There's no escaping me. There's no escaping yourself."
Struggling to her paws, Foxspirit growled deep in her throat. "You aren't me," she hissed.
The cat smiled. "Oh, but I am! Look at me. I'm just like you." Suddenly, her blue eyes- the only thing setting her apart from Foxheart- turned green, matching the she-cat's exact eye color. She smiled, and Foxheart fell to the ground, and unknown pain seeping through her body. The she-cat padded over to Foxheart and cradled her head in her paws.
"There's no escaping yourself," she crooned, and Foxheart gasped as blinding pain racked her body, feeling herself spasm. The she-cat didn't seem to notice. Foxheart spasmed again, the pain blinding her vision. The she-cat picked up her head, and put it next to hers.
"Y-you aren't me," Foxheart breathed weakly, feeling the pain rack her again. The she-cat only shushed her gently.
"I am you," the she-cat whispered. Feeling a blinding pain, Foxheart shrieked. And then the world turned red and black.
Chapter 9
Foxheart woke up in a cold sweat, breathing hard. That dream...
Hareleap stood in the very back of her prison-like den anxiously. "A-are you alright?"
Foxheart swallowed. "Yeah. I'm fine." The tom tossed her a piece of fresh-kill and the hungry she-cat devoured it, not bothering to turn away. She sat back up, licking the blood from her lips, and nudged the bones away from herself. "So what now?"
"Hawkstar wants you," he meowed. Foxheart rolled her eyes.
"Oh, not again," she mumbled, slumping towards the exit and neatly leaping up into the camp.Hareleap followed her, and the two started off out of the camp. In the same spot that they were in yesterday, Hawkstar stood, her eyes glinting coldly.
"Foxheart," she meowed. Foxheart rolled her eyes.
"Quit with all that mysterious-evildoer mousedung. It's getting old," she said boredly. Hawkstar just looked at her, shooting little daggers from her blue eyes.
Suddenly, with a snarl, Hawkstar leapt at Foxheart. The orange she-cat sprung away from her, her fox-colored fur fluffed up and her green eyes ablaze.
Hawkstar hissed. "Just leave," she mumbled. Foxheart, with a sneer, turned her back and padded back towards camp.
Hareleap, living up to his name, sprung towards Foxheart and padded alongside her. "What? What happened?"
Foxheart glanced up at him, and sneered. "She's scared," the orange she-cat mumbled. "She's scared to kill me."
Harespring kept padding beside her as she entered the camp. Foxheart slipped down into her little cell, Harespring watching her from above.
Well, I guess I'm officially starting this back.. You're welcome, Roo. -_- Jingle bells.. jingle bells.. It's Christmas time on the Wiki! 03:54, December 23, 2012 (UTC)