Song eleven of Night Visions.
Who knows how long
I've been awake now?
Cloverstorm couldn’t sleep.
Ever since he’d been told by his father to avenge his death, he’d been: haunted by strange dreams, heard unfamiliar voices, and had the feeling of being stalked.
Pinetail accidentally raked Cloverstorm’s back with his spiky tail.
Cloverstorm hissed in annoyance. “Get your tail away from me!” But Pinetail took no notice.
From his left, Fernfall dug her claws into him. Cloverstorm screeched in annoyance and slammed his paw on another warrior’s head.
Crack.
Cloverstorm leaned back, quickly glancing around him with widened eyes. Then he laughed, not believing what he had just done. He imagined the surprised looks on his clanmates’ faces when he saw the dead warrior. He laughed harder.
Perhaps there were some perks of being a warrior after all.
The shadows on my wall don't sleep
They keep calling me
Beckoning
The flame-coloured she-cat smiled a twisted grin. “Come close, Cloverstorm.”
Cloverstorm flattened himself against the wall of here he was. But where was he?
“No,” he growled, more confidently than he felt. “I don’t trust you.”
“Perhaps you would trust me if I told you who I was,” the she-cat purred.
Cloverpaw tilted his head in curiosity. “Who are you then? And why are you here with me? And where are we?”
The she-cat’s eyes flashed with something Cloverstorm didn’t recognise.
“I am Flame, the cat who killed your father.”
Who knows what's right?
The lines keep getting thinner
So this was the cat who killed Mossleap!
“Why did you kill him?” Cloverstorm asked.
“Betrayal,” spat Flame. “He loved me, but faked his death and fled my rogue group to live with another cat.” Her tone then turned soft. “Your mother.”
Cloverstorm’s anger bubbled. “So you killed her too?”
Flame purred. “As well as my sister and Mossleap’s dear friend Berryheart. Her kits and mate, too,” she added.
So this cat was a rogue and a killer. Not the nicest cat to cross.
My age has never made me wise
But I keep pushing on and on and on and on
Cloverstorm scuffed the floor. “My father told me to avenge his death, and that means killing you.”
“It does,” meowed Flame.
“So to do that I have to find you, and to find you I have to know where you are.” He adopted a forceful, threatening tone, “Where are you? Tell me or I’ll get a pack of dogs to gruesomely kill you!”
Flame laughed a tinkly little laugh. “Catch me if you can!” Then she faded into the darkness.
~
There's nothing left to say now
There’s nothing left to say now
Mothstar looked like a skeleton beneath her tawny pelt. “You can go, Cloverstorm,” she croaked. “It’s for the best. Mossleap was an amazing, loyal cat.”
Then why did he betray Flame then? Without another word, Cloverstorm turned away from Mothstar and ran out of the camp.
He was going to make Flame pay.
I'm giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
I’m giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
“You need water?” asked a sweet but harsh voice.
Cloverstorm panted heavily at the she-cat facing him. She was white with watery blue eyes.
The she-cat snorted and chucked a piece of sopping wet moss at him. It slapped him in the face.
They both laughed.
“Thanks,” Cloverstorm said through a mouthful of water.
The she-cat shrugged. “Least I could do. The name’s Song, by the way.”
“Cloverstorm.”
Her eyes bulged. “You’re a clan cat? We attacked a clan moons ago.”
Cloverstorm nodded. “Yeah. My father and mother died during it.”
There was a silence. “You’re Moss’s son.”
“You mean Mossleap?”
“Whatever,” dismissed Song. “Anyway, Moss trained me but he faked his death.”
Cloverstorm nodded. “He told me.”
Song vanished through a gap between two trees. “Stay here! I’ll visit you tomorrow, ‘kay?”
“Okay!” Cloverstorm hollered back.
He smiled to himself. If Song knew Mossleap, she would probably know Flame too, and bring him one more step to vengeance.
There's nothing left to say now
There’s nothing left to say now
“So are you a rogue?” Cloverstorm asked the next day.
Song purred. “Thank you for noticing. I belong to the group White Ashes. Flame is the leader.”
“Flame killed my parents.”
Song tutted. “They probably deserved it.”
Cloverstorm cast her a dirty look. “Well maybe she killed yours too.”
Song shrugged. “Probably. That’s why I was bought here as a kit with my brother, Bane.”
“Can I meet him?” Cloverstorm asked her.
Song snorted rudely. “Busy. He’s a general.” She sighed. “When we were training, we used to do almost everything together. Now, he barely has any time for me.” Tears started to sink into the ground beneath their feet.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Cloverstorm said simply.
Song laughed. “He’s not dead, or anything.” She leant into Cloverstorm. “I think I’m starting to like you, Cloverstorm.”
I'm giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
I’m giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
Cloverstorm’s paws skittered across the rocks. The Summer sun beat down on him, unbearingly hot. How did Song and her group cope like this?
He tingled with excitement. He was going to meet Song’s brother! He was going to ask Bane to take him to Flame and kill her. But he knew that Flame was much stronger than he was. So killing her was not going to be easy.
“Hey!” yelled an angry voice. “You’re on our territory!”
Territory? This wasn’t clan territory!
A body slammed into him. Cloverstorm felt a crushing pressure on his throat.
“Take him to Flame,” growled an angry voice.
Although Cloverstorm felt like tearing these cats’ throats out, he also felt glad.
He was finally going to avenge his father’s death.
~
Below my soul
I feel an engine
Flame was not pleased to see him.
“So you’re Cloverkit,” she spat.
“Cloverstorm, actually,” Cloverstorm retorted.
Flame tutted. “Whatever your name is, you’re still a kit to me. Now what are you here for?”
“Avenging my father’s death.”
Flame squinted at him curiously. “You don’t look like a killer,” she huffed. Then she grinned wickedly. “Perhaps we have to roughen up your mind a bit.” She turned to two hefty guards standing by her den entrance. “Bring in a prisoner.”
The two guards dragged in a scrawny cat with wiry grey fur. “Kill him,” Flame ordered. “And make our… guest watch.”
Collapsing as it sees the pain
It was horrible. Indescribable.
“Does Song live here?” Cloverstorm asked weakly.
Flame purred. “Where else would she? She’s a vicious fighter, definitely on the path of a general.”
Cloverstorm felt sick. How could he love a savage?
If I could only shut it out
“Another prisoner,” Flame ordered with glee.
Cloverstorm pressed his paws against his ears to try to block out the cat’s screams. They echoed throughout the den.
Why did he even bother with coming here?
I've come too far
To see the end now
Even if my way is wrong
I keep pushing on and on and on and on
“Ready?” asked Flame as the tenth prisoner had been executed.
“I’m ready,” Cloverstorm replied weakly. To have nightmares, he added silently.
“Great!” chirped Flame. “I’ll see you at the full moon.”
Cloverstorm laughed to himself as he settled down in his nest outside the camp. Why did all miserable things happen on the full moon? The death of his parents, an unfair punishment as an apprentice, and now hid death sentence he’d partly set himself.
Life really did hate him.
~
There's nothing left to say now
There’s nothing left to say now
“Are you Cloverstorm?” asked a pretty white she-cat.
Why are all pretty she-cats white?
“I am,” nodded Cloverstorm. “How do you know my name?”
“I’m Elyssa, the cat who—”
“I know you! You faked my father’s death!” exclaimed Cloverstorm.
“I did. I can’t believe I fooled Flame for a while!” squealed Elyssa. “Anyway, are you ready for your death sentence?”
Cloverstorm laughed. “How did you know?”
“Simple logic,” declared Elyssa with triumph. “A battle with Flame always means a death sentence!” She dropped her tone to a low whisper, “I heard there’s one way to defeat her.”
“How?” whispered Cloverstorm.
“I heard she was possessed by demons!” whisper-squealed Elyssa. “Maybe if you remind her of her past before she was possessed, she will freeze and be psychologically defeated! She will be caught off-guard and you can kill her!”
“Wow, Elyssa,” marvelled Cloverstorm. “You know a lot about Flame.”
“I do,” purred Elyssa. “Now lets kick some tail!”
I’m giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
I'm giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” chanted some rowdy cats as Cloverstorm stepped into the camp that morning.
“Be quiet!” snapped Flame. Unlike Cloverstorm, she had spent no time preparing for the fight.
Huh, thought Cloverstorm, She probably doesn’t need it.
As Flame stepped into the dodgily-made arena, the camp fell silent. Cloverstorm hesitated, and did the same.
“I am ready to die for my father,” he said quietly.
There's nothing left to say now
There’s nothing left to say now
Flame was the first to land a blow. Cloverstorm staggered backwards as blood leaked down his face.
“First blood!” a cat cheered.
“Kit’s move!” jeered another.
Cloverstorm gritted his teeth. If he was going to get vengeance, he was going to fight hard.
A tail tip as light as a feather landed on Cloverstorm’s spine.
“I’m fighting for my life too,” a familiar voice whispered.
Mossleap!
More cats surrounded Cloverstorm. He hurriedly looked around him. The other cats hadn’t noticed a thing.
Cloverstorm put on a determined expression. Lets do this.
I’m giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
I'm giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
Soon both cats were weak and bleeding. Flame was quite bewildered she’d been hurt at all.
Time to strike the fatal blow.
“Hey, Flame! Remember when you were possessed by demons?” yelled out Cloverstorm.
Then it looked like time had frozen.
~
I keep falling, I keep falling down...
I keep falling, I keep falling down...
Hey!
No. Not this time. I will not remember again.
But I’ve frozen. It’s coming back to me, flooding through my head like a demonic river.
How could Cloverstorm possibly know?
I keep falling, I keep falling down...
I keep falling, I keep falling down...
I’m weakening. The life is ebbing out of me.
“It is your time,” a menacing voice laughs.
“No!” I cry out, but nobody hears me.
But maybe it is my time. Perhaps this is my fate after all.
If you could only save me
I'm drowning in the waters of my soul
I’m sorry Mossleap. I should have chosen a different mission, and none of this would have ever happened.
I’m losing consciousness. I’m falling asleep.
And I know I’m never going to wake up again.
~
There's nothing left to say now
There’s nothing left to say now
Flame crumpled to the ground. Cloverstorm rushed forward.
“Leave her. She’s already dead,” a cold voice hissed. A cat shoved Cloverstorm out of the way. “Yep. Definitely dead.”
The cats around them gasped. “That means Bane’s leader!” half-exclaimed, half-sobbed a she-cat.
Song. How can I say goodbye to her?
I can’t. I’m leaving as soon as possible.
I’m giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
I'm giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
“So you’re leaving now?” meowed Song. “Why can’t you stay?”
“I have to return home,” growled Cloverstorm coldly. “I have no future here, or with you.”
Song lashed her tail. “Then fine. Be like that!”
“Then I will!” Cloverstorm replied hotly before running away.
There's nothing left to say now
There’s nothing left to say now
Cloverstorm looked around him. Where was he? He never remembered going this way before.
“Hey! I know you! You smell of Featherclan!”
Cloverstorm whipped around. Thank Starclan! A Grassclan cat!
“Meadowclan, actually,” meowed Cloverstorm embarrassedly.
“We’ll take you there!” chirruped a chubby grey tom.
Cloverstorm sighed in relief. “Thank you!”
I’m giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
I'm giving up, giving up, hey hey, giving up now
“How’s Grassclan?” asked Cloverstorm politely.
The chubby cat shrugged. “Prey’s running well.”
Explains why you’re so fat.
They turned sharply, and Cloverstorm was blinded by daylight.
“You know the new punishment for trespassing,” smiled the chubby grey tom menacingly. Cloverstorm had to admit, the tom sounded a lot more confident that he looked.
“Death.”
Several cats rolled away some rocks to reveal a deep pit with a light at the bottom of it. If there even was a bottom. Cloverstorm knew what that light was.
It was fire.
He was going to burn to death.
~
(Really long silence)
~
Where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here?
It turned out that the pit was shallower than it looked. It was the centre of a network of tunnels. Cloverstorm was expected to starve or break his neck.
He aimlessly wandered down one of the tunnels.
“Hey!” whispered a voice. “They caught you too?”
Cloverstorm looked wildly around him. “Who’s there?” he growled.
The voice laughed. “I am Guyde, the demon who roams these tunnels.”
Cloverstorm widened his eyes. “Flame was possessed by demons!”
“The bad ones,” Guyde said darkly.
“Have you ever possessed anyone?” Cloverstorm asked.
“Years ago. His name was Jazz. Was sent to these tunnels to punish a cat.”
“That’s terrible!” gasped Cloverstorm.
“Rumours say that those cats’ kin survived and reformed with monstrous blood in their veins. And that clan is Grassclan.”
“So tell me how to get out,” mewed Cloverstorm, bored. “I didn’t almost break my neck for a history lecture.”
I threw some rocks up at your window
I broke some rocks right through your window
“So what are you? asked Cloverstorm after a few minutes of silent walking.
“A demon,” replied Guyde, “Not a cat, a human, twoleg, or a dog. Something else entirely. I have no appearance, but very rarely a cat will catch a small glimpse of me, or another demon in the corner of their eye.”
Cloverstorm nodded. “Interesting.”
Guyde chuckled. “Indeed it is.”
~
Timber, timber
We're falling down
“Almost there!” chirped Guyde after what seemed like an hour later.
Cloverstorm squinted into the distance. He did see light, but it was awfully far away.
“Are you okay?” Guyde asked.
“I’m fine!” snapped Cloverstorm. “I’m just worried, that’s all… about rebuilding my father’s clan, Featherclan.”
Guyde sighed. “One cat - Shine - formed Featherclan after her sister Flake died, and after the downfall of Deerstar.”
“Who even are those cats?” growled Cloverstorm, baring his teeth.
“Cats of a long ago clan called Peaceclan. Maybe I shall visit you one day and tell you about the reign of the murderous Deerstar.”
“I’d like that,” smiled Cloverstorm.
Let the forest hear our sound
Boom ba boom ba boom
Woah woah
Boom ba boom ba boom
Woah woah
“Here you are,” announced Guyde as they exited the tunnels.
Cloverstorm laughed. “I’m free!” he yelled into the forest air. “Finally free!”
He sped through the forest, eventually crossing the border into Meadowclan territory.
“And I’m home,” he sighed with relief. “Finally home.”
Why can't I see
What's right in front of me?
Mothstar stood up as Cloverstorm walked into the camp. “Welcome back!” she purred.
“Thank you, Mothstar.” replied Cloverstorm.
Weirdly, several cats ran up to Mothstar and started to nudge her into her den.
“This is too much for you, Mothstar.”
“Mothstar, you are too weak!”
“Get back inside, Mothstar!”
Cloverstorm spotted Browngorse and padded over to him. “Is Mothstar dying?” he asked the deputy.
“Yes,” replied the deputy gravely, “She will die as the first flame falls from the tree of life. It’s a prophecy.”
“Huh,” meowed Cloverstorm, “I knew she was going to die soon.”
~
We fall
We fall apart
We fall
We fall apart
Greenleaf was at an end. The cats of Meadowclan gathered around the Feathertree.
“I was told this is where the sister of Featherclan’s founder died,” whispered Cloverstorm.
“It is,” whispered Pinetail back. “It’s where the first ‘flame’ will fall.”
Cloverstorm had to admit, the soft leaves of the Feathertree looked like flames in the Autumn forest.
The cats gasped as a leaf broke off of the tree. It swooped down, and as it delicately touched the ground, Mothstar, who was lying at the base of the tree, gave a shudder and fell still.
Browngorse bowed his head. “She’s dead,” he muttered.
We fall
We fall apart
We fall
We fall apart
“Brownstar! Brownstar!” chanted Meadowclan.
Brownstar, weary but strong, clambered onto the Meadowrock. “I am announcing the deputy.”
Several warriors licked their chests.
“I am ashamed of beeaking the Code, but a Clan leader’s word is law. Although this cat has not trained an apprentice, he is loyal and deserving of this. Cloverstorm is the new deputy.”
~
“Deputy!” breathed Birdnose in awe. “Now that he and Brownstar are the two most important cats in the clan, they can start to rebuild Featherclan.”
“Yes,” agreed Dapplestar. “They should start soon. Perhaps in a few days.”
“Cloverstorm is destined for something special,” purred Mossleap. “I knew it from the day he was born.”