|
Second Episode of Flame
| Flame | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Rise from the Ashes |
The Spark | Succeded by: Escaping from the Dark |
Allegiances:
Nameless:
Leader: Kestrel M (54 moons)
Second in Command: Pine M (32 moons)
Healer: Little Deer F (54 moons)
Rookie: Bird
Warriors:
Whittle M (48 moons)
Rookie: Leopard
Starlight F (48 moons)
Rookie: Small Flame
Coal F (21 moons)
Rookie: Dying Cinders
Owl M (70 moons)
Patchfur M (41 moons)
Ferntail F (63 moons)
Rookie: Withering Mist
Queens:
Olive F (39 moons)
Kits:
Fox F (2 moons)
Cloud M (2 moons)
Rookies:
Bird F (10 moons)
Withering Mist F (6 moons)
Small Flame M (6 moons)
Dying Cinders M (6 moons)
Leopard M (8 moons)
Elders:
Rag Doll M (96 moons)
Loners:
Willow F (53 moons)
Rain's Shadow M (27 moons)
Kittypets:
William M (15 moons)
p r o l o g u e : w i l l o w
"Where are they?" I growled. It has been a half moon since they left. My kits. The only family I have was Rain. "They have a destiny to fulfill, Rain!" I stomped on the pile of moss. "Where had they gone! Why did you abandon me, kits! Don't you know how much pain I am in?" I growled. They are gone. Rain is gone too. I loved Starling. Truly. But I was too rash to let him go. Maybe if Small Flame was named Red Sparrow, it may had been different…
I ate alone. No one is here for me. No one is here to take care of me. I am alone. Rain left yesterday. He went to find my kits. I told him he didn't have to. I was afraid I will be alone. I am alone. No one is here. My eyes get wet. Tears drip from my eyes. Eating outside, I glanced at my scrawny mouse. I sob. Tears dripping faster and faster. I miss them. Too much. I turn around, expecting to see someone. But no, no one is here.
Impossible to tell you how empty I am. Eyes blank, I huddle in my small nest. The ditch is gone now. It caved in last week. So many things had changed. I want to tell them, a last good bye. A last kiss. A last everything. They might be dead right now. Many possibilities. The prophecy. Everything had been taken away from me. My sorrow had turn into fury. I hate them. "Why did you take everything away from me, whoever is controlling the earth? What had I ever done to you?! Curse you," I spat. Then I dug my head into the wet moss and wishing that everything was back to normal, cried myself to sleep.
"I miss you, kits. Remember that I love you."
c h a p t e r o n e : d y i n g c i n d e r s
It has been a half moon since we had been here. We are getting more strange looks by the cats every day now. They think we are kittypets; we are not. We are just loners. Leopard was a kittypet. He was Lego but then there was this rebellion type thing about his name. I mean, his name! Really silly, after all. But then they changed it to Leopard.
I woke up, that day. Groggily, I nodded hi to Coal, my mentor. They have this RookieχMentor thing going on. The mentors teach us, the rookies learn. The kits turn into rookies at the age of 6 moons. They say it isn't different from the old ways.
Many of the cats from Rain's stories appear here. A ThunderClan elder, Raggedrain was here. But he was a kittypet and his housefolk moved near here before they moved again to another place. They left Raggedrain, now known as Rag Doll. Owlstar is here too, but in a different name, Owl. A ThunderClan warrior is leading Nameless called Kestrel. All have something related to the clans. But stuff changed.
No more Warrior Code or whatever of that thing they call it. Rain told me all about it. They are technically rogues then but they made a new set of rules, The Nameless Code.
1. Kits, Queens, and Elders will be fed first before everyone else.
2. Harming a cat for no reason is forbidden.
3. Healers won't have mates or kits.
4. A leader can be challenged by a second in command for the leader's spot.
5. Everyone must believe in the Land of the Sky.
6. First rule broken in the code will lead to a warning, second offense leads to apprentice works, third offense is banishment or execution depending on the code.
Six rules. Only six. It seemed fair enough. The Land of the Sky is kinda like StarClan, I guess. I went towards the freshkill pile, the taste of prey still fresh on my tongue. The leaf fall breeze blew in my fur, making it look more ruffled. "Hello, Whittle," I say as I pass the dark brown tabby. Whittle, Coal, and Rag Doll are all kittypets. They recruited some kittypets with potential in them. Seventeen were collected, two passed. Whittle and Coal. Whittle is more of a shy dude. He doesn't speak. He doesn't talk. But his silenceness proved to have some worthiness. They worked well during hunting.
Coal is a black cat. Just black. She is more mysterious but kind. She doesn't reveal a ton abut her past. Her eyes are hollow and empty. She usually remains emotionless. She is my mentor, by the way.
Whittle just nodded towards me. It was one of the few days he actually nods. I picked up a shrew from the pile. Kestrel was next to me, picking up a fish. They don't have the nine lives thing here. I think that is kinda weird.
"How is your time here? How is everyone? You can always go back." The thing that I liked about Kestrel is that he is kind but doesn't pry. He treats me like an equal.
"Fine. Fine. I don't want to go back." My reply turned out more blunt and stubborn than intended.
"Bad mood today, huh."
Kestrel picked up his fish (and it stank) and walked towards Pine, his SiC. Whispering. Something. I tried to hear them talk. I only heard the words, "Get rid of the three."
c h a p t e r t w o : w i t h e r i n g m i s t
"Hunting patrol!" I jerked up, hearing the sound of a hunting patrol. They do something different than the regular clans here. They split the clan into two, one guards the river, other guards the forest. I am part of the River with Small Flame. The River and the Forest aren't separate clans and such; they share the food, the deputies and leaders walk to each camp, and they sometimes sleep together. But we hunt here. We patrol here. We go our stuff here. We do it for about a moon or so. I don't like it here though. I don't like the river splashing at my paws.
The temporary leader here is Owl and the second in command is Ferntail. She is my mentor. "Hunting patrol! Me, Mist, Starlight!" I padded towards Ferntail. "Come on. Let's go." She literally tugged me outside. I didn't like mornings. They aren't my thing. I am grumpy on almost every single morning possible. Unless there is this thing like my birthday. But that is a billion years from here. So that is impossible to imagine that.
The minute we got out of camp, something was wrong. I felt it. It was in my bones. Something bad was going to happen. Someone is going to die. Ferntail or Starlight. I was fond of both of them. Just a whisper in my ear. Just a whisper in my ear. A prophecy, containing three words.
"Today brings death."
I shuddered at the sound of it. It was a whisper in the wind. Just a whisper. A small whisper. Nothing else. I bet a moon of cleaning ticks out of Rag Doll's behind that they didn't hear it. That is because of a prophecy, another one. I didn't like it. The prophecy states that one of my siblings or I will die. As much annoying they are, they are my family. I am one of the three that only knows it. Rain, Willow and me. Unless someone tells them in person. But one thing is true. I am special.
I am special. We continued to walk. Something didn't feel right. Walking some more. I glanced back at the two she cats, chattering away like birds. It wouldn't hurt if I ran upstream. I would just be there early. Racing through the bushes. Jumping on rocks. Then a scream.
c h a p t e r t h r e e : d y i n g c i n d e r s
"Get rid of them." That word stuck on to my throat.
"Get rid of them." The word echoed in my ears.
Kestrel didn't reply for a long time before he started talking again, in a lower voice that I could only catch the words why and plan. Nothing very useful. Obviously Pine wanted it get rid of us but how? Pine was the SiC (second in command). Kestrel would knock him out of his position. But a sense of a stronger bond was between them. I could sense that strong bond.
"Time for training."
I glanced up, seeing Coal above me. "Mossy hollow," she muttered, loud enough for me to hear. I rolled my eyes. She never speaks but when she does, she acts all mysteriousy and very seriousy but really she is just a regular cat. Leopard is more mysterious. Although I never had seen Coal speak more than 10 words at a time. "Yes, I will go to the Mossy Hollow, Master O Coal the great. I will generously follow your directions, leader of the world who acts all mysterious and serious when she isn't," I said, sarcastically. I blurted it out.
I wanted to say that on her face ever since I gotten here. When I gotten her, more bad luck for me. Coal blushed slightly but regained her normal position. "Go pick ticks out of Rag Doll. Rest of day," she commanded. I groaned. "That is what you get." My feet slowed down a bit as I sulked towards the elder's den, Rag Doll waiting for me.
"Time for a story. Once upon a time there was a…" I didn't listen to him. "Great journey. Not this one. A better one. Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, Feathertail, Crowfeather and a bunch of others went. They found a lake for them to live in." I hated Rag Doll's stories. But he is a nice cat to confine in. My fur stank of mouse bile. "My ancestor Firestar, y'know? My father was Smokewind who was the son of Willowtail who was the daughter of Grass-somethin' who was the son of Hollysomthin' who was the daughter of Lionblaze who was the son of Leafpool and Crowfeather and Leafpool was the daughter of Firestar. I am related to Crowfeather too. Smokewind was the son of Willowtail who was the daughter of…" I grumbled, "Why can't you just shut up!" But that was right before Rag Doll screamed in agony.
Rag Doll's eyes were on fire. His voice became hollow.
"Three will come towards the earth,
One will be lost of tunnel's rebirth,
Never fear, the one will come back,
Just in time to see one wracked."
Then Rag Doll's fire died down before it happened again. His eyes were on fire. But this time, as it seems, that he was complete control of his body. "My time is near, little one. You are important. But beware of the P-" He stopped mid sentance as his body went limp. The color disappeared out of him. His body provided no warmth. I glanced at the cold Rag Doll. I heard his voice, rising above the others. He was the first to accept me.
"So this was the new one?" Rag Doll asked Kestrel. "You brought him here?"
"Yes, I did. What is the matter, uncle?"
"We need them here. They are important," Rag Doll muttered. He kept on muttering very unintelligent stuff. I caught the words bob and sacrifice.
"I will show you guys the place," Rag Doll finally said. "Beware though, the ones with the Pines are dangerous."
"Kittypet! Kittypet!" I glanced around, seeing Pine, Whittle, and Fox, the little kit jeering at us.
"Sorry but we don't need a guide who speaks things of nonsense," Lego snarled.
"Leopard, you will kill the one of the Flames,
The Flames that may save the world,
Only you can be destroyed by the thinning Mist."
What? This Rag Doll cat maybe weird but why dies he recite prophecies?
"I am happy to accept your offer, Rag Doll." Mist was on the other side of me with Lego.
"Finally! A youngster who accepts! You, Mist, are the three what will-" Kestrel cut Rag Doll off. "Time to get going. Anyone else?"
Was it just me, or was Mist looking a little scared?
"I will." My voice was surprisingly calm.
Rag Doll grinned a grin that I will never forget in the rest of my life. "Time to go pal."