~~Chapter 1~~
I knew she was there even before I could see. She was a presence that echoed my mother’s, but she smelled of the outside that I knew nothing about. My mother smelled of milk and the nursery, which was so familiar. I would crawl to the unknown cat when my mother wasn’t there. The cat would nuzzle me, lick me with loving care, and my meowing for my mother would quiet. The other cats in the nursery would soon come to get me and enfold their warmth around me instead, but it was never the same. I remember a few of the queens would wonder why I had been quiet in a corner when I could be with my siblings, Molekit and Cherrykit. I couldn’t talk yet, so I didn’t explain.
When I could talk, but my eyes were still not open, I asked one queen who the other she-cat was. I could sense her confusion, but didn’t understand it. “You know Ferncloud,” she said, “and I’m Daisy.”
I knew the two queens’ names but the cat that I knew wasn’t a queen. She wasn’t there at the time or I would have pointed her out.
My eyes opened early the moon after I talked to Daisy and the first thing I saw in the dawn light was Whitefire. The light flowed around her like water, shining off her white fur and flashed through the green leaves around the entrance as she walked into the nursery. The name, Whitefire, she gave me in a feathery soft voice like the breath from a moth’s wings. She was a white she-cat with tousled fur. Her right ear and left paw were raven black and her watery green eyes, which, as she would tell me later, were the color of seaweed (though I never learned what, exactly, that was). She towered above me, but still brought on the same calm as when my eyes were closed. I would have liked to talk to her. I had never heard her voice before, but my mother, Poppyfrost, woke up, yawning and looked at me with sleepy eyes. I was standing near the entrance, the light coming from around me, so it took a little time for her to see my eyes. When she did, her sleepiness melted away and she leaped into the air, pushing my brother and sister out of the nest. They meowed with displeasure before curling up there on the ground where they laid. Cherrykit’s and Molekit’s eyes were still closed and I realized with a flutter of joy that I had been the first to open them. My mother smiled with elation, “Hollykit! Your eyes have opened!”
I nodded absentmindedly, my thoughts drifting back to my friend, who had disappeared out the exit when Poppyfrost had woken. “Mom, why didn’t you ever tell me about Whitefire?” Poppyfrost, who was still thinking about her daughter’s open eyes, said, in a slightly cheerful voice, “Who?” “Whitefire?” I asked again.
Poppyfrost shook her head, a puzzled look coming into her eyes, “I’ve never heard of her. Is she a cat from another clan? Did Ferncloud tell you about her? I don’t remember the name, though…” She trailed off, her eyes drifting away into a corner and she seemed to forget what she was talking about. “What were you saying, dear?”
I opened my mouth, going to deny that Whitefire was from another clan, but I stopped. I didn’t know, did I? My mother seemed too distracted to answer any questions anyway. Whitefire could be from another clan; she didn’t smell of Thunderclan. Why, if she was from another Clan, was she here? Was she a spy? Or a rouge with a warrior name?
I was bundled back into the nest and I had to wait three more days for my siblings to open their eyes. I didn’t ask any of my questions and Whitefire didn’t reappear. When I had been a kit, I had never talked to Whitefire. Why? I promised myself I would ask her all my questions as soon as I saw her…
~~Chapter 2~~
Fire burns in my paws and in my ears, lighting up the world behind my eyes. My life plays in front of me, from when I lost my life.
I regained consciousness and the pain behind my eyes lifted. I opened them to see a den of woven brambles. The moonlight drifted in through the cracks among the branches and the grass brushed my right paw. And then I looked down at my paws… Only I was missing one. I gasped in horror. Where one of my paws used to be was only a black stump, a few leaves were wrapped around it. I felt my eyes widen with remembering. It had been dark, and then something had fallen on me. I had felt the sharp pain in my ear and paw as I tried to pull away from the darkness. Then I had been hit with something from above and everything, even the pain, had faded. Now I was in a strange den with only three working legs. If something was going to attack me then there was no way I could put up much of a fight. At least I wasn’t in any pain. I laid my head back down and felt one of my ears touch the ground, but not the other. I closed my eyes, knowing that I had also lost one of my ears. I must have drifted into sleep because when I was shaken awake it was just becoming dawn. The cat that greeted me was a gray tabby she-cat with light amber eyes and a cheerful smile. I flinched back, surprised, and bared my teeth, “Who are you?”
The tabby smiled at me, “Name’s Heron, I saw you outside the moor all banged up, but I don’t know how you’re alive. You should be dead y’know.”
I didn’t let my guard down, but I didn’t growl either and I lowered my lips so they covered my teeth. “I don’t know how I’m alive.” I looked down at my leg with the missing paw, “Did you wrap it up?”
Heron nodded her head, “Yah, I did. You’d almost stopped bleedin’ anyway but I thought that it might get infected otherwise. The spirits are lookin’ out for you kid.”
Kid? I thought, but didn’t question it. “I highly doubt the spirits care anything for me,” I said instead. “Anyway, where are we? I didn’t think there are any brambles near Windclan.”
“Windclan? I don’t know no Windclan, but we are near the road by the stables if that’s what you mean,” said Heron.
“What is a stables?” I asked, my head aching from this cats accented speech. “And what is a road?”
Heron looked at me as if I was the one speaking oddly and not her, “You’re not from around here are you? What's your name?”
I didn’t answer for a second, not knowing if I should give her my name or not. I decided to not do so, it was for her own good anyway, it was better not to know me by it. “You can call me Black-fire if you like.”
Heron smiled, “I didn’t think you were from here. That’s one of this bone eatin’ cat names right?”
I wondered why she was still smiling. If she really thought I ate bones then why look cheerful.
She must have seen my confusion, “I don’t think that rumor is true. If you ate bones then I don’t think I would be here. My mother was what you would call a kittypet and she was with one of those cats. Never told me much about him, didn’t like talkin’ about it, his havin’ left her and all. But she never saw him eat no bones. So I know I’m safe with you.”
You don’t know how wrong you are, I thought. You’re not safe with any warrior.
~~Chapter 3~~
I was curled up in the nursery when Whitefire came again. Her paw steps could be heard on the freshly fallen snow that was still coming from the sky. I dug further into my next, not wanting to talk with my friend right now. Secrets and more secrets. Why did those things have to stand in our way? Whitefire entered the den and I closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to see her. I heard her, though. She sighed and took another pace toward me.
“I know you’re awake.”
I didn’t move but I wondered if I should get up and face her.
As if reading my thoughts Whitefire said, “No, don’t get up. I want to pretend you’re really asleep so I can say something. Who know, maybe you really are off in the dream world and don’t have to worry about your future.”
Whitefire paused, as if thinking about what she was going to say next.
“I can’t answer everything, some of it is too important to be trusted to the winds. But I’m going to warn you now; many answers will only lead to more questions.”
I gave an almost silent sigh, of course, there was always a catch.
“My name, in full,” continued Whitefire. “Is Whitefire that Burns inside my Mind. A have always found it to be a pretty name and a pity that it is so long I cannot use it in full. I am neither rouge nor loner, as I have no real body, not anymore. But I am not a Starclan cat either, nor in fact, their counterparts, the Dark Forest. You can call me a wandering spirit for now. When you were a younger kit I did not talk to you because I feared you would ask too many questions in front of your mother and kin. If you had they may have thought you were either meant for the medicine cat den or that you were insane. Neither of these is your destiny.”
Whitefire stood her and I could feel her warmth, her presence, just like when I was younger. I wished for those old days now, when things were simple; when I could go to sleep without worrying I was talking to a ghost.
Whitefire was almost done talking, “I can’t tell you your destiny, I can’t tell you more of who you are or who I was. I can only tell you that you must speak with three who hold the destiny of all inside their hearts. They will light your way.”
Three? What three? Three cats, three trees, three anything! I was almost panicking. There were countless answers and countless ways to get it wrong.
Whitefire turned and walked away, I didn’t turn and look outside until I knew she had left. When I look out at the freshly fallen snow untouched by pawsteps. That’s when I really and truly knew what I was in. I knew a ghost who nobody could see and who didn’t leave paw prints.
When I looked at it like that it was almost funny.
~~Chapter 4~~
The stone cold warrior without a heart. Maybe that really is me. Without any feelings, a coward with no soul. I don’t deserve one. That’s me and you can curse them all. Another cat has come into my life, another cat that I could destroy. I want to run away from her before my poison overcomes her life.
But the place where my paw used to be now aches, and I cannot run. Phantom pains, Heron says. But each time I would wake and think that it was still there. My ear doesn’t hurt, I’ve had scratches and knicks before, the only difference now is that the scratch is much bigger, taking my whole ear, leaving tatters and scraps in its wake. Every bit of pain, every ache, I deserve it all. The pain that inflicts a curse on cats like me. The murderer and heartless soul like me.
*
Heron shook me awake and I was glad to leave the blood and death my dreams had become.
“You were sayin’ his name in your sleep again,” said Heron, looking concerned.
“Whose name was I saying?” I asked. My dream was fading and I couldn’t remember who had been under my claws this time. Who had I killed in my head? What horror could I no longer remember?
“Ashfur,” said Heron, her head cocked in curiosity. “Who’s he? An old beau that you didn’t like?”
I almost laughed, driving my nose deeper into my nest. Ashfur? My crush? It was the most ludicrous thing I had ever heard.
I had almost gotten used to Heron’s odd speech. In my one and a half moon with her I had learned more words than all my years with my Clan. It was almost refreshing to have her beside me. A new face and a new place that wasn’t the darkness of the tunnels or the lightness of the cave that the underground river ran through. More sound than the spirit of…
No, I couldn’t think of him, the memory of him hurt worse than Ashfur’s.
Heron tapped my shoulder, “Blacky, come on, snap out of it.”
She had taken up calling me Blacky versus Black-fire. I like her name for me more than the name my mother had given me. More than the name she had given me.
I sighed and rolled over, ignoring the stab of pain that went through the place where my missing paw had been.
“No,” I said in a quiet voice. “Ashfur wasn’t a very important cat. Not to me."
“Wasn’t?” asked Heron, pressing me for more information. “You’re makin' it sound like he’s dead."
“He is.”
That was as much as I said, not saying anything else, even when she asked. I wanted to wallow in my sorrow and she wasn’t welcome to join me.
*
I hadn’t seen any cats other than Heron since I had been there. She had said there were more, but only once had she ever given a name to one.
“Owl,” she said. “He’s my brother. Nice guy if you don’t mind his pushiness.”
I didn’t say anything, I didn’t need to. Heron just talked for me. “He doesn’t take no for an answer. Like, you could want to go take a walk and he would want to stay in the den, you could bet against anyone you want that you’d both be indoors all day ‘cause of him.”
I filled the space where I would have spoken with a flick of my tail.
I was curled in my nest, listening, but not caring what she said. It was background noise, nothing that really mattered. Nothing mattered anymore.
Heron, who was sitting by me, seemed annoyed that I wasn’t taking an interest.
“Come on Blacky, you can do better than this. You’re worse than a sick kit. You need to get up.”
“No,” I said, the first words I had said that hour.
“And why not? Come with me to the meeting of what you ‘bone-eaters’ would call rogues and loners. You have to come as a new rogue anyway. Maxy will come and yell at you, so get up.”
Two names in one day. She must be worried if she was talking about other cats.
“What meeting?” I asked, twitching as part of me yelled at the other to move.
“Come and find out,” said Heron, with a note in her voice that made me think that her brother wasn’t the only cat thst could make you do something.
I groaned, knowing that I was going whether I wanted to or not.
~~Chapter 5~~
They say your apprentice ceremony is supposed to be an exciting affair. They said I would be given a good mentor and that my brother, my sister, and I would grow into fine warriors. Turns out that was a lie…
*
“Hollykit, from this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Hollypaw. Your mentor will be Blossomfall, she is young, but I hope that her energy and knowledge will strengthen you as you become a warrior.”
In those moments I was excited, standing beside by brother, Molepaw, and sister, Cherrypaw, I felt on top of the world. Cherrypaw’s mentor, Cloudtail, and Molepaw’s mentor, Spiderleg, were smiling behind us as the clan cheered our names.
Then a scream ripped the camp. I turned, looking around in fear, my fur on edge. Cherrypaw looked at me like I’d grown antlers.
“What’s your problem Hollypaw?”
I stared at her. Hadn't she heard the scream?
Then another scream ripped the air. This time, I could make out the words.
“Hollypaw! Hollypaw! Shadowclan, they’re coming!”
Whitefire wasn’t any place I could see. I hadn’t seen her in moons, not since she’d spoken the prophecy to me. But here she was, yelling at me because of… Shadowclan?
Then the words hit home. With a shout, I leaped to my paws.
“Shadowclan is attacking!” My scream was heard, unlike Whitefire’s. Only it had no effect, cats stared at me like I was mad. No one believed me or they were just too dumbfounded to understand.
I looked to my sibling for support. In a weaker voice I said, “Cherrypaw, Molepaw, you have to understand, Shadowclan is coming!”
As I said that the lower edges of Thunderclan camp rustled for a second, then there was a hiss from the cat outside guarding the camp, and that was all the warning we had before the words for Shadowclan to attack sounded throughout the camp.
Our apprentice ceremony quickly turned into chaos as cats broke through the thorn barrier and started to fight with the cats of Thunderclan. All I could do was stand there as warriors streamed around me.
It all felt pointless. I had tried to warn them, yet ShadowClan still had the element of surprise. What could I do to help?
I, Cherrypaw, and Molepaw backed up against the high rock. None of us had any training, we hadn’t learned anything about fighting unless you counted wrestling in nursery games.
We were in a middle of a battle, helpless as kits.
Brackenfur was fighting with a white she-cat not far from us. She was covered in small scratches and was nursing one paw. Brackenfur had a nicked ear and the corner of his mouth was bleeding from a small scratch. Just when it looked like he would win against the she-cat, a Shadowclan cat came rushing to her rescue.
“Need a little help, sis?” he called as he tried to claw Brackenfur’s other ear.
“Why’d you have to jump in? I nearly had him,” complained the she-cat, even though she looked grateful for his interference.
Brackenfur was now outnumbered and injured. I felt a desperate need to help my clanmate so he had at least a chance, but before I could do anything Molepaw came running out from behind me and jumped onto Ratscar’s back.
Ratscar’s eyes widened with surprise at the extra weight that had just landed on him and Brackenfur could have taken advantage of this, but he was also surprised at Molepaw’s entry.
“Molepaw, get back!” he hissed as he dodged the white she-cat’s claws. “Get back to Cherrypaw and Hollypaw.”
But Molepaw was having some trouble with getting away from Ratscar. Molepaw had somehow gotten his mouth into one of Ratscar’s ears and was biting with all his might. Ratscar growled with pain and tried to shake Molepaw of his back. This failed even though when he stopped shaking Molepaw looked rattled.
Then Ratscar seemed to think of something. Curling himself into a ball to protect his belly he rolled over. Brackenfur was now fighting the white she-cat and a tortoiseshell one. This cat seemed to have come from a reserve force that had just arrived in the camp.
“Oh Starclan,” moaned Cherrypaw, who was huddled deeper under high rock. “I think they brought the whole of Shadowclan for this attack.”
~~Chapter 6~~
Well, you could say that the meeting was chaos, but that would be too generous.
I was walking next to Heron for most of the time, but at some point, I was separated from her and was pushed into the crowd.
The meeting was held in an old, abandoned twoleg den. It had holes in the walls that showed the timber and long thin vine things that Heron called wires. The whole den looked gutted.
I noticed two things as I was shuffled this way and that. The first thing was that if these rogues ever got together and attacked a Clan they would have a pretty good chance of defeating them. The second thing was that this was unlikely because all of them seem to be fighting against everyone else. It was pandemonium.
A white she-cat hissed at me as I stepped on her tail. “Back off Mister, this is my spot.” I rolled my eyes, but continued on my way.
Cats of all shapes and sizes walked, ran, or pushed each other around the den. Some ‘rooms’ (to use another of Heron’s words) were filled with cats, others were almost deserted. There really seemed to be no point to the whole thing. No leaders were giving speeches and no one seemed to be worrying about peace.
Suddenly Heron appeared alongside me, another cat, a white and black tom, following her. Heron seemed perfectly at ease at this meeting and the small fights that were taking place around us. One pair of hissing cats passed by us and I flinched, my claws unsheathing, but she seemed to hardly bat and eyelid.
“This is my brother Owl,” she said, introducing the black and white tom. He nodded at me, but it only seemed halfhearted and his mind was obviously somewhere else.
“You haven’t seen a ginger tom with amber-red eyes around here have you?” he asked, sounding a little on edge.
I shrugged. “I wasn’t paying much attention, but no, I don’t think so. But if you’re looking for a white she-cat that hisses at you and calls you 'mister,' then I’ve seen her.”
Heron chuckled. “You mean Thistle? She’s a little touchy about her space, I’m surprised that you got away with most of your fur.”
“She was a little angry, but besides that she seemed okay,” I said this with another shrug.
I stepped around a pair of wrestling cats, at least these two seemed to be doing it for fun versus territory disputes.
“Anyway,” said Heron. “I think you should meet Soot. He’s someone I think you’ll like.” She was smiling all the time as she said it, as if meeting another rogue was the greatest thing that could happen to me.
“Okay,” I said, not really caring if she wanted me to meet someone.
Heron led me through the mess of cats and Owl went off to find the ginger tom, who he said was called Moth. Heron smiled after him and said she would see him around. Owl nodded absentmindedly and walked off, leaving us to traverse the twoleg den alone.
Heron led me up a flight of stairs and into a long hallway. Fewer cats were up here and it was easier to walk around than it had been downstairs. A group of three cats rushed past us and down the stairs. As Heron turned into another room I noticed that light was shining in through a hole in the roof. Heron looked around the room, up at a soft thing in one corner and into another room that was a lot smaller than any I had seen before.
“He’s not here yet,” she said as she came out of the small room with a puzzled look. “He’s usually around about-”
“Are you looking for me?” asked a tom’s voice behind me.
I stiffened as I recognized the voice. But it couldn’t be. It was impossible.
I slowly turned to look at the gray tom. He smiled at me and I realized that it was just like the smile that I knew from my Clan.
“But…but…how?” I gasped at the tom. “You can’t be. You can’t be Ashfur. I killed you.”
~~Chapter 7~~
We were both watching Molepaw and Ratscar’s fight, waiting for another cat to come to his rescue, but no cat was free. Brackenfur and Whitewing, who had also noticed, were trying to reach him. However, she was fighting a skilled ginger tom and was unable to get very close to Ratscar.
Molepaw was now bleeding from both ears and a nasty scratch ran across one eye. He was breathing hard, beaten, but still trying his hardest to stay away from Ratscar’s claws. Every so often Molepaw’s swift dodging would pay off with a scratch or bite that would make Ratscar pause in pain for just a second. But Ratscar’s wounds caused far more harm and his blows landed far more often than Molepaw’s. The fight was almost over and everyone could see it.
Ratscar was smiling just a little as he landed another blow on Molepaw’s flank. “Retreat kit. Go back to your mommy.”
“Never,” gasped Molepaw as he ducked under Ratscar, trying to claw at his belly. Ratscar just laughed and jumped away before even a claw touched him.
“What in StarClan’s name is he doing?” gasped Cherrypaw, almost unable to watch. “Why doesn’t he run?”
My fur was standing on edge and I was about to rush out when Whitewing broke away from the ginger tom long enough to call to us, “Stay there kits! Don’t move!”
Cherrypaw shuffled to stand beside me. “We aren’t kits,” she whispered to me. “We can’t just stand here and watch Molepaw get hurt.”
“I know that,” I replied, studying Ratscar’s moves even as Molepaw stumbled. “Molepaw’s so stubborn that he won’t retreat unless he’s dragged out of there. But how can we get to them? We’ll get attacked as soon as we go out there.”
Molepaw was who my eyes strayed to the most, but I was also looking around at the fighting cats. Where was Whitefire? I had heard her before the battle started, but she wasn’t here now. Could there be any way she could help us?
“I can’t wait anymore,” growled Cherrypaw, shuffling back to get a running start. “I’ll just rush out there and hope that I make it to Molepaw.”
I looked at her, worry crossing my face. I knew we had to do something but running in like this didn’t feel right. It wasn’t going to be possible to reach Molepaw, and even if the impossible suddenly turned possible I knew we wouldn’t be a match against a seasoned warrior.
But it turned out that our rescue attempted wouldn’t be necessary.
“ShadowClan, retreat!” the call went out. Ratscar broke away from Molepaw, who almost collapsed as soon Ratscar turned his back to sprint out of the camp.
“What?” said the shocked Cherrypaw. I was also staring with amazement as ShadowClan just… left.
“But, but,” stuttered Cherrypaw. “They were winning! Why did they just leave like that?”
“I don’t know,” I said, but I was too distracted by Molepaw to wonder more.
Molepaw had collapsed now, blood pooling under him from a belly wound.
Whitewing, free of her attacker, turned to look at him. She had been watching the fleeing cats and had seemed to have forgotten the cat she had been trying to get to for most of the battle. When she saw him she called out to Jayfeather, who also had some scratches and bite marks from the battle but was otherwise unhurt.
Jayfeather came bounding over from the other side of camp, where he had been attending to a bad shoulder wound that Sandstorm had gotten.
His blind eyes scanned over everything as if he could really see what was happening. He brushed a paw over Molepaw’s pelt before he said, “Whitewing, Ivypool, carry him to my den. Try not to move him too much. I also need as much moss as you can find, I’m running low on cobwebs.”
Ivypool, who had been fighting out of Cherrypaw and I's view, came forward and picked Molepaw up gently by the scruff. He was still very small, so Whitewing and Ivypool could move him with ease. I carefully stepped out from under highledge, Cherrypaw close behind. Jayfeather turned his blind eyes on me as he started to walk back to his den. His gaze burn through me and I shivered. He seemed to expect one of us to say something but all we did was lower our gaze from his.
When I looked down at the blood-stained floor of ThunderClan’s camp I realized that my claws were drawn. Blood was spattered ever so lightly on them and I closed my eyes, shuddering as a half-remembered dream from long ago crossed my mind.
A dream of a battle that had ended in death.
~~Chapter 8~~
This cat was the spitting image of the cat I hated. He was the cat that wished to destroy my life … and had succeeded. I could blame him for every pain in my paw and ear that were the emblems of my shame.
I’d lost my family because of him, my Clan because of him, and yet here he stood. Whole and healthy to my weak and broken.
Was this an illusion? A product of a sick mind? Had I conjured him up out of guilt or fear?
Heron was looking at me in confusion and her ears were laded back in worry at the fear that radiated off me. Soot (or was it truly Ashfur?) seemed unmoved at my terror. He turned his head to me with those familiar blue eyes and dark gray nose and seemed to find my confession to being a murderer no surprise at all.
“Is that who you see when you look at me?” he asked.
I didn’t understand the question and was too tongue-tied to say anything anyway.
Heron sits down in the patch of light from the hole in the roof and seems content to let me wallow in my feelings. She still looked confused, but this confusion is directed at my reaction, not my words.
Soot sits down in a more shaded area of the room and seems to relax more, if that was possible.
“You may not understand this…?” He looked to Heron for help, the first time I’d ever seen him look at her with anything other than a calm and collected gaze.
“Black-fire,” supplied Heron, understanding that Soot was asking for my name.
“You may not understand this, Black-fire,” said Soot. “But I look like no cat. I have not the faintest idea who you see when you look at me. All I know is that you will see the cat you hate most or the cat that has hurt you the most. It is both my curse and my protection.”
Heron nodded her head, it was clear she already knew this.
“Sorry I didn’t realize it sooner, Blacky,” Heron said, using my nickname in the hope it may calm me down. “I’ve been around him so much I’ve started to think of it as normal and every day.”
Soot shrugged his shoulders and light flashed off the moving fur. “I do not know who this ‘Ashfur’ was to you. But it is clear that the sight of him pains you.”
This was stated, and the statement held no feeling, no curiosity, no blame, and no sympathy. He held no fault against me and wasn’t prepared to start. Yet he seemed unconcerned about whose face he wore.
If this cat ever came to my Clan, what cats would my Clanmates see?
The answers came to mind: Tigerstar, Brokenstar, Sol, an enemy ShadowClan cat, or maybe even one of their own Clanmates.
Soot was dangerous, if only because he could impersonate others.
And suddenly new ideas blossomed in my mind. Ideas that could hold keys to the safety of the future. It was the one time I had thought about my Clanmates, about a way I could help them.
I knew about the Dark Forest and the fight that was coming. Soot could take the form of a cat’s worst enemy, or a cat they hated. He was a distraction, diversion. He was an asset.
He can incapacitate me, Hollyleaf, Ashfur’s killer, by the pure shock of seeing who I killed alive again. If a Dark Forest cat, in the up-coming battle, saw him, who might they see?
Maybe I’d finally seen a way to bring help to my family. Maybe it was even a silent plea for forgiveness…
~~Chapter 9~~
I was shaken awake by Poppyfrost just as the sun crested the edge of camp. Last night both Cherrypaw and I had waited outside of the medicine cat den long after all other warriors had gone back to their dens to lick their wounds. We waited to hear about Molepaw, hoping he would be okay.
But the moon was high in the sky before a very tired Jayfeather had stumbled out of his den saying he had done all he could. How I had gotten to sleep after that only StarClan knew.
As I opened my eyes an already awake Cherrypaw could be viewed outside the apprentices' den. Her eyes looked droopy and you could tell she had been up most of the night, even when Jayfeather had sent us to our new dens. Her ears were down and her tail trailed listlessly on the sandy floor. The early morning light couldn’t hide the sparkle of tears on her fur.
Poppyfrost eyes were red as she led us to Jayfeather’s den. She too had been crying. A hard stone lodged in my throat as I entered the medicine den, already prepared for the worst. Knowing that my family must already know the news of what had happened to my brother.
I was not disappointed. Jayfeather, even more tired-looking than Cherrypaw, was waiting for us at the entrance. His eyes were downcast and he delivered the bad news with a crack in an already hoarse voice.
“At about dawn this morning Molepaw died from his wounds. He died in his sleep, poppy seeds dulled any pain he may have felt, and he went to StarClan easily. There was nothing I could do. Your son was a brave warrior, Poppyfrost. I am so sorry.”
His head bent, but I didn’t hear if he said anything more. For the first time since the battle, maybe the first time in my life, a rage filled me from ears to tail tip, clouding both my eyes and my head in a red fog. My legs shook with the grief of losing my brother, but my head was only filled with the battle with Ratscar. How he had battered and injured my brother so much that he had died. I howled a silent howl of grief and pain. I didn’t even realize that my claws were out until the haze cleared from my eyes. Why the rage had suddenly taken a backseat was made clear as my ears registered the gasps and even the screams from my Clanmates. But the gasps were not directed at the death of my brother, but at the entrance to camp.
I turned my eyes to where they were all looking. Was ShadowClan back? Here to attack us again?
I kept my claws out, ready to fight this time, ready to avenge my brother. And my gaze did fall on a ShadowClan cat. Ratscar. However, the cat that stood next to him shocked me out of any act of violence I might have made next.
“Whatever you may see!” cried out Whitefire to my Clan, and I could tell they could hear her every word. “Whatever you may see in our faces is an illusion!”
~~Chapter 10~~
Life has a way of paying you back for all your past mistakes.
I had staid around the old twoleg den of Soot’s for seven sunrises now and no matter how many times I asked him he would not even consider coming into the territory of the four clans.
He was a neutral party, he said. He didn’t fight on any side, he said.
And no matter how much I pleaded he wouldn’t even entertain the thought.
Finally, he looked me in the eye-those blue eyes of the cat I hated-and said, “I will only come if you stop think of this like some way of making things up. That isn‘t how it should be done, Hollyleaf.”
He called me by my real name, as of now he was the only one in my life that did.
Soot continued, “I hold no malice in my thoughts for you, but you seem to have more pity for yourself then the cats you hurt.”
I started to feel my rage returning. The same rage that had made me kill one of my clanmates. I hadn’t felt that in moons. And I pushed it down again, because that wasn’t what I wanted.
Through tight lips I said, “He was evil. He himself planned to kill and murder. I still believe I was right when I killed him.”
Soot flicked his gray tail, and it stirred up a dust mote.
We were both in the upstairs room of the twoleg den, the sun was creeping across the floor and the shadows were retreating from the dawn.
Soot lay in the patches of sunlight while I, like the night creature I acted like, sat hunched in the shadows of the door.
Soot looked lazy, almost like he had talked with murderers and thieves hundreds of times. He hardly ever met my eyes and it unnerved me.
He turned his head now, away from me and into the sun. He said not a word. He left me to my thoughts and waited for me to say more, like he was a mentor of a shy apprentice.
I turned my green eyes away and barred my teeth. “Why won’t you look at me when I talk to you?” I growled. “And why, when you do, do you act so cool?”
Soot shrugged, not turning his head. “Because I have heard your story. I have heard it a million times. Once, even from myself.”
“Cryptic as ever,” I muttered, green eyes slits.
Soot finally turned but still didn’t meet my gaze for more then a second.
“I once killed. I now how it feels. But I know that that is also a very dark place to be once you can see it from the light. I will only help you if you can step fully back into that light.”
I snorted, “I would not hold my breath.”
I grew quiet, looking down at my one remaining paw. Whispering into the shadows, even though I knew in this small space Soot could still hear me, I said, “My soul is still as black as the color of my pelt.”
***
That day ended in silence. We didn’t speak very much after that, but all the while I was thinking that someday soon, when the Dark Forest attacked my clan I might be in their ranks. The thought made me shudder, but I couldn’t shake it. I wasn’t the thought of being evil that hurt me, but the thought of being lost. What I had heard about the Dark Forest from Lionblaze and Jayfeather was the sadness that hung in the air. Those cat in that mist filled forest were alone. They had lost themselves along their own path, and now it was probably to late to find it again.
Heron, cheerful as ever, tried to get me to go hunting, but my spirit seemed to have drained out of my body. All I could do was fall into my nest and wait for the next day.
***
When Heron awake me the following morning, my gloomy cloud had lifted a little, but not as much as I would have liked.
Heron, seeming to take on the role of Soot, sat me down and started talking about Good and Evil.
Honestly, it was funny how the rogues around Soot thought. As if ever cat was good, no matter what crimes they had committed. It wasn’t like the clans at all.
“We try to judge others by whole they are now, not who they used to be,” said Heron. “After all, if you take into account everything in a cats past then you have a hard time thinking that they should be condemned.”
And then she said something that made my ears flick forward.
“Soot says, “It’s an act that is evil, not a cat. Look past the act and we all have the opportunity to do good.’”
It was like someone had splashed clean water inside my head, washing away the clear stones of understanding. What Heron had just said made some sense to me, however small. My mouth made the ‘O’ shape.
Heron giggled at the look on my face. “He also says that once you can see past the faces of evil you can see that they also can change into the faces of good. Possibilities are always out there.”
So that’s what he meant, I thought, understanding.
And part of me did feel like I was see new possibilities. I turned to Heron. “I will be right back. I am going to go speak with Soot.”
As I ran off Heron smiled after me. “Hope everything turns out!” she called.
***
When I entered Soot’s room he was sitting, waiting for me. His was in shadow, but his teeth smiled out at me.
“I saw you coming,” he said, his blue eyes gazing for a moment out the window.
His voice was cool, and happy as well. But it was also lighter, younger. His eyes, in the shadows, looked a paler blue.
I realized he was actually looking at me now. I was out of breath and was trying to catch it in the doorway, but that didn’t stop be from noticing more details.
The darkness of the shadows was only pail gray, and Soot was crisscrossed with more shadows that I guessed were from the tree outside.
I caught my breath and looked at him full in the face. “I think I understand what you said yesterday. You were trying to tell me that I had to forgive myself, weren’t you? That I had to do that first before I even started trying to ask for forgiveness.”
The shadows shrugged but Soot’s blue eyes didn’t look away.
“I wanted pity. Well, not so much from others, but from myself,” I continued. “I was trying to make myself feel better by saying I was evil versus taking responsibility for my actions and moving past it. I thought I was to far gone to even save myself.”
Soot seemed to give a small nod, accepting my words. I didn’t know if he agreed, but he had accepted them.
“I see that Heron talked with you as well,” he said. “I sometimes also mean stuff literally as well.”
And then he finally stepped out of the shadows and I almost collapsed in shock. Because he didn’t look like Ashfur anymore. In fact, if anything, he looked like a mix of Lionblaze and Jayfeather.
He had the same build of Lionblaze and the eyes of Jayfeather. His pelt was a dusty color; mixed gray and golden-brown. Tabby stripes covered his face and tail.
“Once one starts looking for the good,” he said. “One tends to find it in unexpected places.”
~Chapter 11~
The scent of Shadowclan did not waft through the air as it had on the day of the attack. Instead, all Hollypaw could smell was rogue. Whitefire appeared the most uncomfortable of the two and the fact that she was there was the only thing stopping Hollypaw from attacking Ratscar immediately.
Other cats in ThunderClan did not seem to feel the same. Brambleclaw was looking at Ratscar with wild eyes, as if he was seeing a ghost and many other cats seemed to feel the same.
However, the reaction that surprised Hollypaw the most was Jayfeather running up to the pair, eyes wide and shouting, “Hollyleaf?”
Hollypaw frowned in puzzlement. She had only ever heard the name whispered. Hollyleaf. Jayfeather and Lionblaze’s dead sister. Why was he calling her name?
Whitefire’s fur stood on end and her eyes fell to look at her paws.
But Ratscar hardly moved and he seemed…different. Despite the fast pace of the fight yesterday, and the fact that Hollypaw didn’t even know him, she could still see that he wasn’t himself.
“Hollyleaf?” questioned Jayfeather, trying to get closer to her. “Is that you?”
Hollypaw was just close enough to catch the words that Whitefire said.
“I do not know who you’re talking about. I don’t know anyone by the name of Hollyleaf.”
Jayfeather look confused and fell back. He padded away from Whitefire, looking sadly at Lionblaze.
Lionblaze moved him away and started whispering about different pelt colors. But Hollypaw could see that even he was looking back at Whitefire. She could see that he saw his sister in Whitefire as well.
Hollypaw looked at Whitefire then. Could she really be Hollyleaf? Was it possible?
Firestar coughed and stood, walking forward. He was stiff legged and he didn’t move his head as he walked. He just stared at Ratscar and hardly spared a glance for Whitefire.
“What,” he asked. “Is the meaning of this? You look like someone I used…to know. But they died long ago. So, who are you?”
Ratscar cleared is throat. “My name is Soot. I may look like a cat you used to hate, or a cat you used to love. Many times I look like someone you know that has died or…” He darted a look at Whitefire.
“Or,” he continued. “I may look like some you have lost in some other way. I was born this way and I apologize for any pain I may cause you when you see my face.”
Cats murmured with shock at this, but the cats who seemed the most interested were Lionblaze and Jayfeather. From the mouth of the apprentice den, Hollypaw could not quite make out what they were saying over everyone else, but they seemed to whisper furiously.
I turned back to look at Whitefire and Soot. They didn’t seem fazed by the attention, but everyone else seemed rather…unnerved.
Firestar, surprisingly, seemed almost unsurprised. He simple turned to Whitefire and asked, “And who might you be?”
Whitefire was smaller then Firestar and she had to look up to meet his eyes, but she seemed unafraid and calm. “I am simply a lost soul, looking for her other half. If you want the truth of it, I’m looking for a cat that should have gone to StarClan, but has foolishly staid behind to watch over a kit of the same name.”
Firestar frowned, not understand the rambling message that had escaped from Whitefire’s mouth. Jayfeather was also frowning, puzzling out the almost prophecy-like words.
This time Hollypaw pressed herself to the den trying to hear what he said to Lionblaze. Cherrypaw, who had been standing beside her all this time, noticed, but shrugged it off. She was watching Firestar for his next move.
Jayfeather was whispering something to Lionblaze and this time Hollypaw could catch the words.
“…prophecy given to me six moons ago.
A lost soul will come for its other half, a faceless cat with lead the battle against the star’s foe, and three who are one will find the light inside the darkness. You don’t think that she has something to do with Hollyleaf do you? She smells just like her. And if she’s really looking of someone with the same name…that can only be-”
Poppyfrost cut of the last part by asking Hollypaw what she was doing. But Hollypaw already knew what Jayfeather was going to say. She was the only one in camp whose name started with Holly.
~Chapter 12~
“So,” I said. “I don’t really understand your powers. Why did you look like Ashfur for so long but now look like my brothers?”
Both me and Soot were sitting in our usual places, only this time I was sitting in the shade because my thick black coat would roast me in the heat from the shinning sun. Soot’s knew appearance was taking a long time to get used to. All I knew was that I kept jumping a little every time I saw him.
Soot had his blue, what looked to me almost blind, eyes closed against the sun. But he seemed, if possible, more open. His words were also less cryptic which I was thankful for.
“I believe my powers work like this:
Firstly, almost all cats will see the cat they most hate in life. This is because many times this hated cat has shaped them. Secondly, and this isn’t as common, there will be cats who see the cat (or cats) that has had a positive influence on there life. The exact reason this happens isn’t proven, but my theory is that the cats who see the second option…well.”
He opened his clear blue eyes and turned his head to stared at me. Those eyes made me feel like I was melting. Like he was ripping me apart with them.
“What?” I almost squeaked.
I guess Soot really was calm in these matters, or maybe he could just hide his feelings well.
“My theory is that those who see the ones they love are the ones who have finally accepted the fact that they are dead.”
The world seemed to melt and ripple around me.
“What are you talking about!” I yelped as my paws flew out from under me. “I’m not dead!”
Soot turned his head and spoke, as if to the tilting wall. “You ran into the tunnels to escape, but the rock fall was almost deadly. Your body was found, bloody and battered, outside the entrance of a tunnel by a rogue. Just barely alive you had somehow crawled out to see the sky again. But you died shortly after.”
“But that is crazy,” I said, claw gripping the swiftly tilting floor. “I was found by Heron and she took me in, I’d even stopped…”
I trailed off.
Soot turned back, and finally some feeling dripped into his eyes. He looked just a little bit sad.
“Bleeding?” he asked. “What really surprised me was that even in the afterlife you held onto your old injuries. Didn’t you ever wonder why it was so easy to walk, even with a foot missing? My words make sense to you, don‘t they?”
I couldn’t help admitting that they did. So, was I really dead? Never to see my clanmates again? This didn’t look like Starclan, and it also didn’t look like the Dark Forest. So my path would never cross my family’s again?
I wasn’t even trying to hold onto the world anymore. I just let it dissolve beneath me.
My eyes closed and I heard Soot’s now quiet voice. “I did make you a promise though, Hollyleaf. I will keep it. And somehow I feel that your paws will still lead you to where your heart truly lies.”
Surprisingly, my last thoughts were of Heron. So, just before I fully let go I asked, “What is going to happen to her?”
I could almost hear Soot’s shrug, and he seemed to know who I was talking about. “Everyone will find their own way. She will not be here forever.”
I didn’t have time to think on whether that was a good thing or a bad thing before the world jerked once more and I went tumbling into open space.
~~Chapter 13
~~
*We interrupt our regularly scheduled story and bring you…*
(Warning! Warning! Whitefire has hijacked this story! She will now be the one who will have a Point of View!)
Whitefire knew she was showy, borderline arrogant. She liked showing off how superior she was to other cats when what she really should do was let others find that out on their own. But she still could tell that no amount of her talking or powers could carry her and Soot through this. She couldn’t do it alone. And despite any amazing gifts she might have she still wasn’t a cat.
She was a memory. A fleeting part of someone else’s life. And if she ever was to become her awesome self, plus save the four clans from their own doom, she had to act passive and let others carry out the plan.
She and Soot had been planning for a little under six moons now; for the perfectly thought out plain they needed a lot of time. But the clans didn’t have much of it and they had come in at almost the last second possible.
She and Soot had to, as it were, infiltrate the clans and they needed to be accepted, if not trusted.
As Soot started talking with Firestar again, probably working out his side of the plan, Whitefire made her way to the two cats called Jayfeather and Lionblaze.
Ever since her existence had started Whitefire had been puzzling over the almost blurred memories of a cat that had died. Hollyleaf, in her desperation to see her clan again and at the same time leave them behind seemed to have almost…torn her in half?
That was the best way Whitefire could put it. She was the complete opposite of Hollyleaf in almost every way. But only of the Hollyleaf who had been spirit. Whitefire was mainly white, but where Hollyleaf had been missing an ear and a forepaw she had them. Only they were blacker then the deepest pit, not white as they would have been if Hollyleaf had kept them in the afterlife.
But Whitefire didn’t like that she had lost her body. She didn’t like to admit it but she almost felt weak without it. She was only just solid enough to be touched.
Jayfeather turned his head, smelling her as she walked towards him. Whitefire could see the haunted look in his eyes. Both he and Lionblaze wanted to believe Hollyleaf was alive and Whitefire was sad because she knew she would be the one to tell them she was not.
Lionblaze looked up and his eyes narrowed. “What do you want?” he asked.
Whitefire wanted to be out of earshot and she was thankful that Lionblaze and Jayfeather were in the shadow of the medicine cat den. Dovewing was stuck on the other side of camp but would probably listen in. Hollypaw had been listen, but had been interrupted by her mother. That was unfortunate, but would not cause any trouble.
Whitefire would just have to rely on her tact and her abilities.
“Your sister is dead and Soot is the fourth.”
From the blank look on Jayfeather’s and Lionblaze’s faces Whitefire wondered if that might not have been the best sentence to great them with.
“What I meant to say,” she started again. “Was that your sister died. I…um…saw the body. She looked just like me so I knew who you were talking about when you first met me.”
This was a downright lie. If it had been based only on sight then this would be easy. But that wasn’t the only thing the same about Whitefire and Hollyleaf. They had the same sent, the same memories, and the same eyes. And those were only the similarities that Whitefire could think of off the top of her head.
And the next look that was shared between the two brothers made Whitefire very glad one of her powers was she could have her mind read. It was almost like Lionblaze and Jayfeather were asking questions like only siblings could. Whitefire wondered if she counted as a sibling if she was only an echo of Hollyleaf. She followed that train of thought for a second, knowing that the trio of cats (Lion, Jay, and Holly) would have benefited greatly from her input. But when she stopped thinking about that she realized that she hadn’t been listening to Jayfeather’s next words.
“What was that?” she asked.
“I said,” Jayfeather repeated. “That I don’t believe you. You come out of nowhere, say you know my sister is dead, and that you know a cat that can fulfill an ancient prophesy. That is just really convenient. Why should I listen to you? You’re a rogue and one with a warrior name at that. I know nothing of your background. Someone once tricked us before by saying they were StarClan sent, I’m not falling for that again.”
Lionblaze nodded his head, eyes fiery.
Whitefire shifted, eyes glancing up as if in thought. She had always liked showing off, this was just a way she did it. She held information until to was asked for (or dropped big hints until someone got it) and then she would look all mysterious and secretive and then tell all.
“Who said anything about me being StarClan sent. I have nothing to do with StarClan.” Which was true. “I guess I should try to say something that wont make me look like another Sol. Hum…”
Nothing personal, she thought. Nothing that will lead them to believe I ‘know’ Hollyleaf.
“You, Lionblaze, and Dovewing are the four.” Easy enough. Soot had already filled in the gaps of clan history. Plus, Whitefire was rather good with telling what was going on in the life of Hollypaw, probably because Hollyleaf’s spirit was hanging around as well.
“When you tried to save Flametail, Jayfeather, Rock appeared to you.” Where Soot got his information Whitefire would never now. Did he follow clan cat invisibly or something?
“Um…” Whitefire was having a hard time thinking of anything else that wasn’t to far in the past or to far into the future. Predictions only worked so well and if she revealed to much they might start think she was the fourth instead of Soot.
But from the look on the two brothers faces she had said a little to much already.
“How do you know that?” said the outraged Lionblaze. It sounded like he thought she had spied on him.
Whitefire was confused. She’s only said one thing that Sol hadn’t know, so what had him all angry?
“How do you know Sol came here?” Lionblaze continued.
Jayfeather seemed to be off in his own word and Whitefire wondered if he was trying to read her mind. But she knew from the months she had visited Hollypaw that he couldn’t sense her. It was only because Hollypaw was so in tuned with the spirit of Hollyleaf that she could see Whitefire at all. Jayfeather’s attempts to see into her head would be like adding snow to a blizzard.
“I think what she’s saying is true,” Jayfeather finally whispered. This must have been his own judgment and nothing to do with mind reading. He seemed resigned and looked like he’d been hit in the stomach. Hollyleaf’s death must have finally registered.
“I don’t care if it’s true,” Lionblaze furiously whispered. “I don’t like her and I don’t trust her.”
Whitefire hoped they knew she could hear them.
“We don’t have to trust her,” said Dovewing. Whitefire jumped, then turned and realized that Firestar seemed to have aloud them to stay in camp because Soot was now talking with one of the kits who seemed to have accidentally bumped into him. Grumbling the other cats in the clans had either dispersed or gone into there own huddled groups.
Dovewing gave a small nod to Whitefire and turned back to Lionblaze and Jayfeather. “We don’t have to like or trust her. But it seems we’ll be working with her. And her…companion as well.”
Whitefire tried to guess what cat Dovewing saw when she looked at Soot. Even from across came she could here whispers of “Tigerstar”, “Scourge”, and “Brokenstar”.
Dovewing probably saw a more resent cat who had hurt her.
“What did Firestar decide?” asked Lionblaze.
“He said that these cats were our guests. That was just about it. You can bet that a lot of Thunderclan doesn’t like it though.”
Whitefire wondered if she’d accidentally rendered herself invisible again.
“What’s his name again?” asked Jayfeather. “He smells…well. When he first walked into camp I thought it was Breezepelt.”
Whitefire snorted, and they looked at her, surprised she was still there.
“What?” growled Lionblaze.
“Nothing!” Whitefire said hurriedly.
Whitefire found it amusing that from Jayfeather’s point of view Hollyleaf and Breezepelt had walked into ThunderClan camp together.
Lionblaze’s voice fell to a whisper again. Whitefire was still wondering if they really didn’t know she could hear them.
“How does he expect use to react though? According to that cat, he looks like the cat we fear the most.”
“Or has changed our lives the most,” added Jayfeather.
Whitefire shrugged. All she had ever seen in Soot was herself. Maybe that was because she had never really been alive in the first place.
Dovewing appeared to be the only one not giving her the silent treatment.
“What exactly are you here for?” she asked.
“A soul,” said Whitefire, making her eyes grow big and creepy.
Dovewing almost grinned then.
“No, seriously,” she said.
Jayfeather and Lionblaze looked somber, like they had taken Whitefire’s ‘joke’ as the truth it was.
Whitefire shrugged, search for what to tell them. “I have powers, and those powers led me to Soot. Soot led me here.” She tried to emphasize Soot’s important part in all of this.
Jayfeather seemed to understand the power part. After all, very few cat’s brains felt like running through something that looked solid.
“I’m here to save the clans,” said Whitefire at last.
~~Chapter 14
~~
(Soot’s Test POV)
How do you love and how do trust a world that is constantly changing?
If Soot had to decide what he was, spirit or god, he would be forced to say god. If he had ever really lived it had been long ago. He saw no appeal in life and had no desire to live. But he did care. He kept up with the times, if only for the appearance of “his” afterlife. But what he hated were secrets. He tried to find everything out and this meant, from his study of the clan’s history, he could get a good idea of future advents.
When he saw cats act like secrets didn’t exist he found it amusing. Now that he was in the living word he wondered if he could help ease some of those secrets into reality.
Looking down at the young kit that had run into him after Soot had finished talking to Firestar, he smiled, looking down at them.
“Hello there, Seedkit.”
The kit, who had been rubbing their head in pain, looked up at the god. “How do you know my name?” they asked. “Do I know you?”
“No,” said Soot. “But I have seen you before.”
Secrets, thought Soot. They could even be held by kits.
---
Three days later, Soot felt like he had started to get to know a few choice cats in ThunderClan. Seedkit seemed to enjoy his company, and Firestar at least seem interested. Even Whitefire seemed to be settling in. Soot was lying under the shade of a tree in the corner of camp, tail waving in the dust. To him, he looked like the mirror of a lake. He reflected back his surroundings.
Many cats still gave him a wide berth, the deputy Brambleclaw especially. Mousefur was now gazing over at him with hate in her eyes. He looked like Tigerstar to her, if Soot had to guess. His face he left blank. He preferred to think then to pay attention to his surroundings. He and Whitefire had a plan, but this point was all about watching and waiting.
Whitefire seemed to have gotten close to Dovewing even as Hollypaw skirted around her, wary to see what was really going on. A few other cats seemed more willing to approtect Whitefire then him. She made no secret of her powers, but at least she looked normal. Soot laughed in his head at that. She was, if possibly, less normal then he was.
Now, he thought. He needed to get back on track. Now that a few cats seemed to be willing to listen to listen to him he had to propose something to Firestar.
Getting up, Soot started around the rock pile and started to scale the tumble of rocks. He could feel cats’ gazes against his back. They were wondering what he was doing, but he had talked with Firestar before and no one called to stop him.
Ducking under the hanging vines that covered the leaders den, Soot coughed. His eyes needed no time to adjust to the lack of light and he had already scented that Firestar was in.
“Master Firestar?” he asked. “May I talk with you?”
Firestar, who appeared to have been adding new moss to his nest looked up, face creased. “I asked you not to call me that, Soot. I’m not one’s master.”
Soot came all the way into the den. “You are leader of ThunderClan, and I have known other Firestars in my time. I identify them all differently.”
“Fine then,” said Firestar, setting down the moss. “But not master.”
Soot laughed a little and let a small bit of the fun slip into his eyes. He was joking about the ‘master’ bit. It wasn’t necessary, Firestar was unique. He could tell all cats apart, regardless of pelt color or name.
“What did you come to ask about?” said Firestar.
“I came to ask if I and Whitefire could be allowed to join ThunderClan.”
Firestar’s eyes widened. He turned to look at Soot full in the face, giving him his full attention. “When you first came, you said you were here to help the clans, but all you wanted to be was a guest.”
Soot nodded and admitted without hesitation, “I lied. Cats would not accept us if they thought you had allowed strange cats into your clan. We have no past, we have powers, and to you I look like Tigerstar. That doesn’t shake you or some of the others, but we are still not…normal. Not by your definition. We have strange beliefs and odd appearances. We look like cats that used to be dead. If you had made us clanmates as soon as we entered camp, you would have lost the respect of your cats.”
Firestar nodded, “I know.”
“But now,” Soot continued. “We have some cats that see use as possible friends. Our job would be easier if we had the freedom to walk around as clanmates.”
“And you still won’t tell me that plan?” asked Firestar. “I’m putting an offal lot of trust in you, Soot. You have told me a lot, but I don’t know if I can judge you by that alone.”
“Then don’t,” said Soot. “Judge me by me. Not what I say. If I start walking down a path you don’t like then you may do whatever you feel is necessary.”
“That makes it sound like you could turn evil at any second,” said Firestar.
Soot smiled, “You never know. You know that I don’t believe in evil, so maybe I wouldn’t know.” Winking, he turned and walked out of the leaders’ den.
~~Chapter 15~~
Hollypaw had been training with her mentor, Blossomfall for several days now. Blossomfall was, as far as Hollypaw knew, not a very attentive mentor. Too many things had been going on. Hollypaw had been thinking and noticing things ever since Soot and Whitefire had come to ThunderClan. Curtain cats seemed to gravitate to them: warriors who were willing to trust cats in other clans and those cats who were uncertain about themselves. She had stayed away from him and Whitefire, wary of what to expect.
Rumors about why they were here, other then what they had said on their first day, had started to fly around. They were here to save the clans, but from what?
Some thought it was because it was of the ideas Soot and White expressed. They were odd and were all about acceptance and support of all cats. Even cats who were evil, like Tigerstar. It went against many cats views. But others, like Hollypaw’s mentor, seemed to be attracted to it. Soot saw something in ever cat and treated them equally. Whitefire laughed and played with cats that had friends in other clans. She seemed to know so many of the cat’s past and if they felt bad about any mistakes she showed them ways to let go.
It all seemed nice, Hollypaw guessed. But something wasn’t right. That didn’t seem the whole motive. If anything they seemed to be trying to get on the downhearted cats in the clan, while still getting the support of the more important cats, like Firestar. They seemed to be making a life here, they wanted something. And Hollypaw wondered how they planned to save ThunderClan by helping the downtrodden.
---
“Your hunter’s crouch needs work,” said Blossomfall. She was standing on the top of the sand hollow. I was learning to hunt by starting at the beginning. I knew I was doing the move correctly, but Blossomfall didn’t seem satisfied. Hollypaw gritted her teeth.
Blossomfall wasn’t doing her job. Even now, she was gazing off into the distance. Her eyes were unfocused and she didn’t seem to be paying any attention to Hollypaw. Fresh scratches were on her pelt and Hollypaw suspected that she wasn’t the one being trained.
Blossomfall always looked tired and her pelt was almost always covered in wounds. She said it was because of a) thorns in her nest,
she’d fallen into a bramble bush, or c) she had run into some animal that had given her these injuries. Hollypaw could only buy it so many times. Blossomfall was doing something like training every night. And it wasn’t the type of training that an apprentice would get.
After a few more times of trying to get Blossomfall to pay attention (which even included messing up the move on purpose) Hollypaw gave up. She sat down with a huff. She wondered what she could do that would let Blossomfall wake up!
Blossomfall jerked up, having been in a half doze. “What?” she squeaked.
Hollypaw rolled her eyes, but made sure Blossomfall wasn’t paying any attention.
“Can I go back to camp?” she said loudly. Blossomfall, who was still trying to sleep when she was sitting up, seemed to nod. Hollypaw decided to take that as permission. Grumbling, she scrambled up the edge of the hollow and padded back to camp.
Hollypaw was pretty familiar with the way back by now. And, she thought gloomily. Blossomfall was getting used to sleeping standing up.
This had to end sometime. Clan life was anything but normal. And it seemed to be Soot and Whitefire’s fault. But what could Hollypaw do? Confront them? They seemed only to want to help her clanmates, but they didn’t seem to be doing anything!
She was going to do something then! They had the powers, but they couldn’t use them. So she, a cat with no extra powers then an ordinary cat had, would do a better job than they would!
…Only, what exactly could she do?
~~Chapter 16~~
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the highledge for a clan meeting.”
Firestar’s voice rang out clearly, echoing in the quarry walls and into the dens. Soot looked up, having been waiting for this announcement for a four nights. The sun was just setting and a small prickling along the tips of his ears was starting to tell him-.
“Soot,” said Firestar, cutting off the god’s thoughts. “Whitefire. Please come sit at the base of the rock.”
Soot, who had been sitting near the highledge to begin with, only can to dodge around a few cats before he reached the front. Whitefire, however, had been in the warrior’s den and had had to squeeze out around the cats who had just exited to see what was going to happen.
Brambleclaw sat, frowning near the base of the rock pile that led up to Firestar’s den. Soot had never managed to get to talk with him for very long and he knew Brambleclaw wasn’t in any mood to get to know him.
Squirrelflight, who was now good friends with Whitefire, came to try and tell the two future ThunderClan warriors what we needed to say in the ceremony, but Soot waved her off.
“I already know the words,” he said.
Firestar looked down on them and said, “Before StarClan stand two cats who wish to join the ranks of ThunderClan.”
Cats in the crowded eagerly started talking, abuzz with the news that the two strange cats were joining ThunderClan. Soot could clearly hear that not everyone was surprised and not everyone was happy. But they all quieted when Firestar raised his tail.
“They have worked hard and learned our ways. I ask that they be accepted as full warriors. Soot, step forward.”
Mousefur, the elder, rose to her feet. “Firestar, I protest,” she said. “These cats haven’t even had mentors. They have not learned our ways!”
Soot knew perfectly well that mentors weren’t the issue and the ways Mousefur was talking about were taught by the whole clan, not just any mentors or senior warriors. They were tales spoken of in the nursery. Tales of dark shadows given names of cats long dead. ‘Don’t stay up to late. Tigerstar likes to hide in the darkness and eats wayward kits.’
Soot had been passing by the elder’s den when Mousefur had said those very words and had paused.
The kits, one of them Seedkit, had looked on with fear. Seedkit and their sister Lilykit showed less fear as they were just under six moons, but those nursery tales had been in the shadows since before they could see. Soot had hardly changed anything.
The kits hadn’t seen his face, but Mousefur had looked up and had. She could see the face of Tigerstar. It was, Soot knew, as if those nursery stories were coming out of the shadows and hanging in the air, almost tangible.
Soot was snapped back to the present by Firestar’s voice and Soot made sure to still any emotion that tried to slip through his mask. He was very good at it. He needed to be. Emotion meant you were choosing a side.
“Mousefur, even though I respect you words, I feel that these two have earned their place among us,” said Firestar, meeting Mousefur’s gaze, unblinking. “Whitefire, please step forward.”
Mousefur looked like she wanted to protest, but didn’t. Soot wondered if Purdy’s tail over her mouth had done something. Soot, though he wouldn’t admit it, like the old tom. He had just the right amount to tolerance and acceptance because of his years and former kittypet life.
“Whitefire, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?”
Whitefire’s answer came easily and truthfully. “I do.”
“Soot,” said Firestar. “Please step forward.”
Soot came to stand beside Whitefire. His pace was steady and is eyes were strong, but he was secretly biting his tongue a little. What he was about to say would be hard.
“Soot, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?”
Soot looked up, straight into Firestar’s eyes and said, “No.”
Firestar’s eyes widened and hisses of surprise could be heard from the gather cats. Mousefur finally got words out from around Purdy’s frozen in shock tail.
“What!” she cried. “What in Starclan’s name do you think your saying?”
Soot focus was only on Firestar, but his words seem directed to all.
“I can not say I will protect this clan with my life when I have no life to give. I can not say I will protect this clan above all others when I care for all. I can not stand before StarClan when do not know of me as I stand before you. And finally I can not stand here and say I will follow a code I do not whole heartedly believe in.”
Dead silence. Firestar seemed to be at a loss for what to do or say and many of the gathered cats were as well. Only one clear voice rang out over the head of the crowd.
“I don’t care!” said Seedkit. “I still want to be your apprentice!”
Soot nearly reeled back in surprise. When he had said what he had, he had expected any friends he had made and any work he had done to be shattered. However, Seedkit…Seedkit seemed to glow with courage unlike he had seen from the kit before!
The kit was standing in the place between Brightheart and Graystripe, both of who looked down at Seedkit with startled puzzlement.
“Well,” chuckled Soot quietly. “You have become a brave tom.”
Seedkit looked up at Soot and steely eyes met steely eyes.
A few cat looked puzzled. “Tom?” muttered one. Soot turned away from the gathered cats. It was Seedkit’s secret to tell and he should not have said anything. He resolved not to listen, leaving no temptation to break silence. Instead, he looked up at Firestar again.
“The heart of a warrior is not measured by where they come from or where their loyalties lie,” came a voice from the crowd. Soot was not so surprised this time, but he was glad to hear the faultering voice of Purdy. “If ‘e wants to stay I say let ‘im. ‘e could be good for this place.”
Soot wasn’t surprised when he then turned to Mousefur and started his next sentence with ‘that reminds me of a story.’ It simply amused Soot and he was almost looking forward to when he welco-.
And the third shock of the hour cut into Soot’s thoughts. Brambleclaw stood up, his eyes not meeting Soot’s , but then again neither seemed to really be trying. He spoke quietly, but everyone could hear.
“This cat seems to have gained the trust of cats in ThunderClan, old and young. He carries secrets and not all of them are of his own creating. I do not fully truest in. I may never fully truest him. But I think he is doing the right thing for my clan. I vouch for his aims, if not him, whether he takes the oath of a warrior or not. I propose that he be accepted as ThunderClan and take Seedkit as his apprentice.”
A few cats cheered, actually cheered. And Soot did feel a sort of kinship to these cats, almost more then any other cats before them. But he pushed the feeling to the back of his mind. He wasn’t here to get attached. He was here to prepare these cats with a war they would never expect.
And now, suddenly, he was in just the same position as Whitefire. Firestar’s only condition was that Soot was not to take a warrior name. Not until he could fulfill the oath.
Soot wondered if what he had said was like one of those riddles. They went on long enough that you forgot the start and couldn’t come up with an answer you would probably never reach. They had completely ignored his words about him not having a life to give.
***
After the cats had cleared away a little - and that took some time - Soot made his way over to Purdy. The itching at the tips of Soot’s ears had gotten worse and could no longer be ignored.
“I wanted to thank you for what you said,” Soot told Purdy.
Purdy grinned, “I was nothin’.”
“I do want to tell you one thing though,” said Soot. “I thought I would let you know to prepare you.”
He could almost feel the shift in the way Purdy saw his face as Soot spoke. He instantly believed what Soot said.
And what Soot said, out of earshot of the others, was, “Today is the day you will die.”
~~Chapter 17~~
Purdy was found dead the next morning and Jayfeather ruled that he had died of heart-failure in late last night. The usual he was old and he would be missed circle, but Hollypaw wasn’t paying attention to that. She was watching Soot. He seemed not to morn for his lost clanmate and was unfazed by the corpse in the center of camp, ready for the vigil.
To Hollypaw this all seemed very suspicious, but she tried to, she really did try to, put aside her unease about Soot before she judged him.
It didn’t work.
***
The next night, after she had been sent to her nest to sleep, Hollypaw dreamed of a mist covered dark forest. Her dreams had started out with something about a long, dark tunnel, but when she had exited the tunnel she was in a forest which was wreathed in mist.
She looked behind herself, wondering where the tunnel had gone to, but all she saw was the same forest. It stretched as far as the eye could see and with no moon or no stars it was hard to see very much. The mist and glowing fungi didn’t help…
“Hello?” called Hollypaw, her voice swallowed up in the gloom. She started walking, wondering if this was a nightmare or just a very odd dream-forest. Every so often she could feel eyes on her or a rustle in the bushes, but each time the presence would vanish each time Hollypaw tried to find it.
“Hello?” she called again. She wasn’t afraid, she was surprised to find. The fear that you usually almost chocked on wasn’t here. She was starting to think this was just a odd forest in her dream when she turned another tree and shapes started to appear through the mist.
Hollypaw looked out at the clearing and the silently battling cats. It was almost like watching a dance, if it wasn’t for the blood and the dark eyes of some of the cats. Hollypaw hurriedly backed up and eyed the cats from the other side of a tree that glowed with the fungi. She could almost recognize some of the cats. One or two…
Yes! That one on the far left of the battlefield was Birchfall! And over in the back was Blossomfall!
Hollypaw’s eyes narrowed. So this was were her mentor was training. But how? What was this place?
And suddenly, the presence that had been following her stepped through the mist.
“You shouldn’t be here!” hissed Ivypool. She looked almost fearfully out at the battling cats. “Look,” she said. “You have to wake up!”
Hollypaw’s fur was standing on end, but apart from that Ivypool’s appearance had only startled her.
“What are you doing here?” Hollypaw asked. Now that she thought about it, the young warrior would also sometimes turn up with scratch marks. It wasn’t as often as Blossomfall, but it did happen.
“What is this place?” asked Hollypaw. But Ivypool was grimacing, her eyes locked on someone in the clearing.
“It’s to late,” she said.
Hollypaw turned and saw a broad-shouldered tabby tom walking away from the clearing. He seemed to have spotted the two she-cats talking behind the tree.
“What have we here, Ivypool?” he asked. His icy blue eyes scanned apprentice and the scarred warrior. “Is it a knew recruit?”
He seemed to already now the answer, but Ivypool started to open her mouth to say yes or no anyway when Hollypaw spoke up.
“Your Hawkfrost,” she said. She had heard descriptions of the tom before, in nursery tales and from cats describing what Soot looked like. Hawkfrost seemed to be pleased that Hollypaw knew his name. “Why, yes, I am. But I don’t seem to know your name…” he trailed off, waiting for the answer.
“I’m called Hollypaw. I’m here to train.”
This is an army, thought Hollypaw. He, or someone else, is training an army.
That was all this could be. No way would Hawkfrost train ThunderClan warriors just to be better warriors. No, this was a plan. A plan to attack the clans.
And even Hollypaw’s mentor seemed to be in on it!
Hawkfrost seemed to accept this and turned to Ivypool. “Did you bring her here?” he asked.
Hollypaw stared up at Ivypool, trying to get her to say yes.
Ivypool looked at Hollypaw, then turned back to Hawkfrost. She seemed reluctant, but she said, “Yes, I did. I thought she would be a good for her to get proper training.”
Hollypaw wondered to do from here. She had wanted to find out about her mentor, but now that she had she seemed to have worked herself into the same problem. But Hawkfrost did seem more at ease now and Hollypaw felt she had to ask. “Um, Hawkfrost…?”
Hawkfrost flicked his ear, asking her to continue.
“Why are you here?” asked Hollypaw.
Hawkfrost was surprised, but hid it well. If it wasn’t for the fact Hollypaw now had a stone called Soot for a clanmate she might have never have caught the felting look he had on his face.
“I’m here because StarClan cast me out! I’m here because I tried to do what was best for my clan! This is my reward for trying to help my clan!”
Any surprise he might have felt was now anger. But Hollypaw didn’t seemed fazed.
“How?” she asked.
The odd question caught Hawkfrost off his guard and stopped his rant.
“What?” he asked.
“How did StarClan cast you out? They don’t seem to have that much power.”
Hawkfrost’s eyes narrowed and he ignored the question. “That’s none of your concern, kit. You should get out there and train.”
Hollypaw did what she was told, but no before she saw a odd look on Hawkfrost’s face. It was as if he had something stuck in his back teeth. It looked like he was reaching for something. A face or a name or maybe a thing he had lost. All those were possible, and more. But Hollypaw turned back to the battling cats and walked to the edge of the writhing mass.
She closed her eyes and imagined that she could see history itself. History seemed easier then figuring out the afterlife. In history, they only had back and white.
~~Chapter 18~~
“So, you’re like the embodiment of the saying, ‘evil wears many faces?’” joked Seedpaw.
Soot turned his face to him and Seedpaw flinched, still not used to his appearance. “No,” said Soot, a little tersely. “I’m not. Evil doesn’t have a face.”
Seedpaw hurriedly nodded in agreement, “Of course not, you can’t see evil, so it wouldn’t have a face.”
Soot turned to look at the apprentice again, halting so he could respond. “No that’s not what I meant.”
Seedpaw had to stop to listen to him.
“I meant evil doesn’t have a face because there is no such thing as evil.”
Seedpaw cocked his head in confusion, not understanding. Soot shook his head, sighing, “I’m probably not making any sense to you. It’s how you were raised.”
He started walking again. “Evil means something that causes harm to someone else. But can you really say that word fits one cat all the time? I believe that choices are evil, not cats. So a choice cannot wear a face. I knew a cat, long ago, who was murderer. Would you say she was evil?”
Seedpaw was listening intently now, maybe just out of curiosity, maybe more. When Soot asked the question he shook his head, “Depends on who she murdered.”
“One of your clanmates it seemed,” replied Soot. “I heard it was a personal matter, so I don’t really know if your clan liked his passing.”
“Then…yes?” It was plane Seedpaw was trying to decide things for himself. He wanted to please Soot, but knew what his clanmates would say.
Soot shrugged, “I would label her neither good nor evil. She made evil choices and she made good choices. She was a cat, and cats are creatures who make mistakes.”
“Murder is a pretty big mistake,” said Seedpaw, walking a little ahead of Soot.
“Yes,” said Soot. “But I think that who a cat is tells them whether a choices is evil or not. And you can tell who a cat is if you learn how they view those choices.”
Seedpaw’s face wrinkled in confusion, “I don’t understand. I heard stories about Tigerstar and how he didn’t feel bad about what he did. How can he not be evil?”
Soot sighed, the apprentice had hit the complicated bit. “I don’t know much about your ancestors, Wint. But from what I heard Tigerstar had….many things in his background that reflected what he did. All I can do is compare him to cat who I once knew. He was raised by unpleasant cats and was taught what they did to others was right and had to be done if he was going to survive. When he was taken away from these cats he still had that teaching. He was lucky. After many years he learned different. Maybe your Tigerstar had something like that happen to him. Only he never got the same chances. I wouldn’t know.”
Seedpaw looked back at him with a question in his eyes, “Who was that cat in your story? He does sound a little like some of the cats in our clan’s nursery tales.”
Soot chuckled as he came to walk besides Seedpaw. “You may not believe this, Wint. But that cat used to be me. I was…I a very dark place then. But I’ve met many cats who helped me and I owe then everything. Now I try to help others still in that dark place and cat who are making dark choices to go with it. I can no more call those cats evil then I can call myself evil.”
Seedpaw looked surprised at the twist in the story. “But if that’s true…”
Soot knew what the apprentice was thinking. If I believe that then what do I have left to stand by?
It was like braking down a wall. You could no longer say a cat was evil. That he deserved to die for what he had done. It was hard on this apprentices mind to think that cats could change even as they looked into the darkness. Or even when they had stepped in to it.
“Look at it this way,” said Soot. “Cats make good and bad choices. Those choices slowly change how the cat thinks. Too many evil choices and the cat will start to make more of those choices because their mind has changed so much they think that those choices are right. But that cat could just as easily make choices that are good. If enough of these choices are made that cat could change back for the better. That possibility is always there.”
Seedpaw seemed to understand Soot’s point of view now and was nodding. Soot knew that his explanation was missing some things, but he would let Seedpaw make up his own mind if he wanted to believe what Soot had said.
Turning the two cats started back to camp.
~~Chapter 19~~
“Higher!” chanted the gather group of Dark Forest trainees. Hollypaw growled as she dug her claws in deeper. The wood was moist and hard to hold. After all, the log had been in the dark water of the nearby river for at least a night.
Two other cats were above her. They gripped the wood, their muscles bunched. Ivypool was one of the two and she was the highest. Darkstripe was a few tail lengths ahead of Hollypaw.
The aim of this challenge was to get as high as possible by any means necessary. Needless to say the cats just below Hollypaw were fighting and clawing at anyone they could reach.
Hollypaw had been training here for a little over six days and her pelt already showed signs of scarring. She was sleeping even less then her mentor and any training sessions they had outside of dreams had both of them fighting to stay awake. But finally, finally, Hollypaw was starting to understand.
Throughout all of this she had been questioning Whitefire and Soot. They talked with the outcasts and half-clan cats. They listened. But it wasn’t because of some attempt to raise an army or to unite them against the ones who had set them aside. They talked and became friends with them because no one else would. Before they had been united in the groups of other almost-outsiders. They were susceptible to the Dark Forest. The afterlife for the outsiders. And that was just what the Place of No Stars was. It was just like the clans, only it isolated you even further. And the ones who trained were the outcasts of the present.
Hollypaw reached out with one paw and tried to get a good grip in the smooth bark.
And these cats, even Hollypaw herself, were outcast, even if it was in their heads or self-made. And that was the criteria from which the Dark Forest drew from.
They need us, thought Hollypaw.
A paw gripped her tail then and Hollypaw flinched. The claws dug in and Snowtuft pulled downward. Hollypaw yelped and the paw she had just moved came loose. It was a desperate fight to keep a hold of the log.
“Just fall already,” growled Snowtuft, pulling harder. Hollypaw got a grip on the log again and let go of the bark with one of her hind legs and kick out.
“Back up!” she yowled as her only warning. Then she dropped straight down a few tail lengths, landing on Snowtuft’s face. Then, using his face as a boost, Hollypaw sprang upwards and landed just above Darkstripe.
Only Hollypaw couldn’t get a good grip and Darkstripe pushed her just enough for her to go tumbling down to the gathered cats below.
“Oof!” exclaimed Hollypaw as she landed, her breathe knocked out of her.
“Good try,” said Hawkfrost, coming to stand beside her prone body. Hollypaw wiggled uncomfortably as she tried to breathe. She didn’t like Hawkfrost being so close to her when she was weak. Just because she understood why he was here and felt sorry for him didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous.
“Thanks,” muttered Hollypaw as she finally regained her ability to breathe. It was then that Darkstripe fell from above and she only just managed to move before he landed on her.
It was infuriating that he landed on his feet though. Looking up he grinned at her, mocking her. Hollypaw ignored him and looked up at Ivypool, who had gotten to the top. She was frowning a little and Hollypaw wondered what she was thinking.
Tigerstar’s voice rang out with a halt to the training session. Cats started to shuffle away, waiting to wake up.
Hollypaw was about to do the same when Hawkfrost called to Ivypool.
“Come here, Ivypool.”
Ivypool had reach the bottom of the log and walked over to Hawkfrost, her shoulders tense.
Tigerstar and Brokenstar waited at the bend in the river. It was just on the other side of the log and Hollypaw ducked into the trees to try and not be seen. She was suddenly really thankful for her dark pelt. It blended into the gloom perfectly. Ivypool and many of the other higher Dark Forest trainees - both dead and alive - gathered around Tigerstar.
Hollypaw made her way along the edge of the forest until she was close enough to hear. She hoped that she wouldn’t get woken up anytime soon by Blossomfall. She had a feeling she needed to listen to this.
“…attack the clans?” said Hawkfrost. Hollypaw strained her eyes to hear.
“We have to do it soon,” said Brokenstar. “We can’t….”
His voice lowered until Hollypaw couldn’t hear anymore.
“That’s ridiculous!” exclaimed Ivypool. “You think that Starclan has been informed of the day of the attack? Who could have done that?”
Tigerstar and Brokenstar exchanged a look. Then Brokenstar turned back and growled, “That’s on a need to know basses. And you don’t need to know. I don’t believe that it should be much of a problem though. We have to attack tomorrow. The longest night of the year only happens once every four moons. If we miss it…”
Hollypaw fought to stay in the shadow world as the edges of her vision started to get blurry. But it was no good.
“Hollypaw? Hollypaw!” said a voice. “Wake up! I need to talk to you!”
~~Chapter 20~~
“So they’ll be attacking tomorrow,” said Ivypool.
Soot nodded. “You’ll have to tell Firestar before then. Have you told your sister yet?”
“Yes,” said Ivypool with narrowed eyes. Soot knew she had a question, but waited for her to ask it.
Her secret about being a spy had been easy enough to find out. Soot had only to dig a little to find out every single Dark Forest trainee within the clans. He had already had a good idea when he came here.
“I have to ask,” said Ivypool, looking pensively down at her paws. Only when she finished speaking did she look up. “I have to ask. Tigerstar and Brokenstar seemed to think that StarClan had heard about the day of their attack even though I hadn’t even found out. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that?” Her eyes were fixed on him. They were trying to pin him down.
He didn’t meet her gaze. He needed to stay impartial. That was the whole point!
…But it was a struggle.
“I don’t,” he answered clearly. It was a lie though. He had everything to do with it. Sneaking into afterlives was simple if you knew how.
Ivypool didn’t look like she believed him, but she let it go.
“Do we have a plan? I mean, do we just wait until their on top of us?”
Soot smiled, a little wistfully. “I think that there is a plan. I have a few ideas I can put in if needed.”
Ivypool looked up at the sky with exasperation. “You mean you haven’t come up with anything and your leaving it all to Whitefire and her aren’t you.”
The two cats were in the apprentice training hollow, which wasn’t currently being used. It was sunhigh and many cats were out on patrols.
“Well,” said Soot. “I do have a plan. But it requires their input.”
Ivypool seemed mildly satisfied with that.
“Anyway,” continued Soot. “I remember someone telling me long ago that you could win this simply by letting any Dark Forest cats see my face.” He was joking, but Ivypool didn’t seem amused and just looked down at him with a ‘really?’ look.
Soot shrugged.
Ivypool seemed at a loss as to what to do with him. She sighed and got to her feet. She had been sitting for some time and stretched up onto her toes.
“I don’t think I’ll have much problem confining most of the other trainees to not fight. A few may not listen to me though.”
Soot stood as well. “I can take care of that. It will be no problem. Which cats do you think might betray the clans?”
Ivypool’s walls when up. She didn’t fully trust him. He was powerful, had resources she didn’t. But he wasn’t the first cat she would go to and she didn’t want to trust him with names unless she knew what he planned to do.
Soot just watched. He waited to see what she would do.
“This has all been a test, hasn’t it?” asked Ivypool, her fur spiking.
Ah, thought Soot. That was the question he had been waiting for.
“From the beginning you entered ThunderClan,” said Ivypool. “It’s just been a test. Do you even care about anyone in this clan!”
Soot cocked his head, waiting for her to finish her outburst.
“You just sit there with a calm look on your face, never showing any feelings. Purdy died and you never even shed a tear. You came here and I don’t know why, but you’re testing this whole clan!”
She seemed to calm down and for a second looked abashed at how load she had got. But that feeling was soon replaced with her steely eyes. She stood with spread legs, as if ready for him to attack her.
Soot met her eyes. “No, I have not been testing ThunderClan.”
Ivypool seemed to untense. “Oh.” She looked embarrassed. But Soot hadn’t finished yet. “I haven’t been testing ThunderClan. I’ve been testing all four Clans.”
Ivypool seemed to be waiting for him to say more. She glared, but her fur stayed unruffled.
“And you have no idea how much I care,” meowed Soot. “I just care in a different way. My silence is self made and it isn’t by choice. If I start recognizing feelings…”
Soot released that he had said to much. He was never meant to interact with the living. It brought out the feelings and feelings meant he would start to feel the hurt. He saw lives end and begin. If he started to feel the good that meant he’d feel the bad.
“What?” said Ivypool. “You sound like your above everyone. You have to feel. If you don’t then it’s like using twigs to stop a river. If you have enough it can stop some of the flow, but it can’t last forever. If you don’t let it out, it will break you.”
Soot didn’t meet her eyes. But it wasn’t for his usual reason. It was because she was right and he was…ashamed.
And if he didn’t push away, he would lose. Life was short and you lost cats. And he had lost so many.
His vision was blurry and small drops of water fell onto his paws. He didn’t look up, and he tried to stop them from falling, but a tail on his shoulders distracted him.
He looked up into Ivypool’s eyes. “Don’t,” she said, looking serous. “Don’t stop feelings, even if they hurt.”
***
It was as if the evening reflected Soot mood, because when both he and Ivypool returned to camp the once clear sky had started to gather storm clouds.
“We’ll be fighting in the mud,” muttered Ivypool darkly as she walked to the leaders’ den.
Soot wondered how Whitefire and Hollypaw were doing. He knew that Whitefire had led Hollypaw away after waking her up this morning and Soot had had to make there excuses to Brambleclaw.
Soot wondered what he could do, now that the plan had finally started to be put in motion.
Mostly he wanted to find something to distract him from the looming pit in his gut. It was like he had been hollowed out. If he had been a hundred percent sure he had a soul he would have finally understood the expression ‘soul laid bare’.
Only he still had one big secret. Very few living cats knew it. If any.
~~Chapter 21~~
“What is it?” asked Hollypaw.
Whitefire had woken her up in the early hours of the morning and now both she-cats were huddled behind the medicine cat den.
Whitefire seemed to be checking around to make sure no one had followed them. “I needed to talk to you,” she stalled.
“I think I got that,” said Hollypaw dryly. “But I kind of wanted specifics.”
“It’s about Hollyleaf,” said Whitefire, then paused.
“Lionblaze and Jayfeather’s sister,” prompted Hollypaw, wishing the white and black warrior would get to the point.
“Um…” said Whitefire. “Well…”
“Get to the point!” snapped Hollypaw.
“You know she kind of follows you around, right?” said Whitefire. She then hurriedly said, “What I mean is her spirit seems to be knowingly or unknowingly guiding you.”
Hollypaw waited.
Whitefire didn’t say anything.
“Well?” asked Hollypaw.
“Wait, that doesn’t surprise you?” asked Whitefire, looking confused. Her back pressed against the rock, though she didn’t seem to have fully gotten the ability to be completely substantial.
Hollypaw rolled her eyes. “Look, I’m not dumb. I got what the prophecy meant when you said it and I overheard Jayfeather and Lionblaze talking. If I could ignore that for almost a moon then I’m in denial and wouldn’t believe you blurting it out. So, no, that doesn’t surprise me.”
“Um, okay,” said Whitefire, looking shocked.
“Only thing I don’t know is why. I mean, I have the same name, does that mean anything?”
“Well,” said Whitefire, getting back on track. “I think she wanted to be alive so much she just returned to the clans to watch over a cat with the same name. Maybe she thinks that it will prevent you from having the same fate as her.”
Hollypaw’s eyes widened. “This doesn’t mean my soul’s connects to her or anything like that does it? Why should I have the same fate as her?”
“You shouldn’t,” said Whitefire hurriedly. “She just isn’t in the same frame of mind as she should be. Your souls are not connected in any way. As far as I know she’s just following you because you have the same name and look similar.”
Hollypaw’s fur lay flat again.
“Anyway,” said Whitefire. “Now that that’s out of the way, might I ask if you have any plans for when the Dark Forest attack?”
“How’d you know about that?” asked Hollypaw.
“Soot,” replied Whitefire. “Also, you must have realized by now why we talked so much with cats like Blossomfall. And the fact that Ivypool is a spy? Did you know that one?”
Hollypaw nodded, “I knew about why you were talking with them. And I’d guessed about Ivypool because of how she looked like she swallowed crow-food every now and again. It wasn’t easy to see, but my suspicions got confirmed when I heard what she said in the meeting last night. She tried to promote the power of the Dark Forest even at the prospect of a fight with StarClan.”
Whitefire nodded her head at Hollypaw’s reasoning. “So, do you have any ideas about what should happen when they attack?”
Hollypaw didn’t really question why Whitefire needed a plan, she was just happy that the older she-cat want her feedback.
“I think that since both the Dark Forest and StarClan are going to be in this battle that Hollyleaf might be as well.”
“What makes you say that?” asked Whitefire, shifting positions.
“Something must make tomorrow special. Both the Dark Forest and StarClan can enter the real world. I think it has something to do with the fact that tomorrow is the longest night. And if the spirits have full power in the mortal realm them…” She grinned with an almost evil glint in her eyes.
“Oh,” said Whitefire, now impressed. “You figured that part out too?”
Hollypaw nodded. “Of course.”
Whitefire cocked her head. “Then we have the start of a plan.”
***
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highledge for a clan meeting!” Firestar’s voice rang out and cats started filling out of their dens or looking up from fresh-kill. Firestar looked pensive and his face showed his news.
“ThunderClan, a great darkness is coming tomorrow.” Cats muttered below him.
“Is ShadowClan going to attack again?” asked Mousefur. Ever since Purdy’s death she had gotten thinner.
Firestar shook his head. “Worse.”
Hollypaw and Whitefire came out from behind the medicine cat den, hoping no one would see them if Firestar was talking. The both went to sit near Soot, who was sitting near the back of the group. A few cat gave Whitefire an interested look, but didn’t ask what she had been doing.
“It has come to my attention that…” Firestar didn’t seem to know quite what to say or how to say it.
Soot stood up instead. “The spirits of the Place of No Stars are going to attack us.”
The clans stared at him in puzzlement, not knowing what he was talking about. Well, Hollypaw noticed, most of the clan.
Ivypool came out of Firestar’s den to stand beside him. She looked out at the cats, waiting for Soot to explain (since it was obvious that he was.)
“Many of you believe in your starry ancestors,” said Soot. “But those are the ones glorified in stories. Bluestar, Tallstar, Spottedleaf. Did you really think that those who had make the gravest mistake would have faded from reality? There must be a space between the stars so you know that they are there.”
A few cats snorted at his chose of words, but they all seemed to be listening.
“The Place of No Stars, or sometimes called the Dark Forest, is planning on attacking you tomorrow. It is the longest day in the last four seasons and one of only two days that spirits have full power in the mortal realm. They will break through the vale that borders the living and the dead and seek to kill as many of you as possible.”
Now that Hollypaw heard it said out loud it sounded like a nursery tale. If it wasn’t for the fact that Soot had backup then it was possible that no one would believe him.
Ivypool opened her mouth and said, “It’s true. What he’s saying is true. They still want revenge, even after all this time.”
Cloudtail looked skeptical and like he thought his whole clan had gone mad.
Poppyfrost’s gaze darted around with a nervousness that Hollypaw had never seen before.
“If we were to believe this,” growled Dustpelt. “What would we do? For StarClan’s sake, what you’re saying is impossible!”
Hollypaw gazed at her mentor, wondering if she would say anything. But all she did was look at her paws.
“It will happen,” said Firestar, quietly. “And we must be prepared. I was informed by Ivypool that there is a plan?” He gaze held a question.
Hollypaw stepped forward then. “Yes, sir. We do.” She gave a small smile and gave the clan a brief, simple version of the plan. Minus any guesses that had just been confirmed by Whitefire.
After a little discussion among the clan Firestar surprised Hollypaw by saying, “I believe that this intelligent apprentice and her sister should get their warrior names.”
Hollypaw felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She was only a little under a month into her warriors training. Did he really think she was ready?
“Cloudtail?” asked Firestar. “Do you believe Cherrypaw is ready for her warrior name?”
Cloudtail looked like he didn’t want to say yes because of the reasons behind the ceremony, but just gave a tight nod.
“Blossomfall?” asked Firestar.
Blossomfall still seemed downcast and shell-shocked, but said, “She’s already a better warrior then I am.”
“Then it’s settled,” said Firestar. “Hollypaw and Cherrypaw, step forward.”
Hollypaw walked around her clanmate to reach the base of the ledge. Cherrypaw, who had been closer, reach it first.
“Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this clan even at the cost of your life?” asked Firestar.
“I do,” said Cherrypaw.
“I do,” echoed Hollypaw.
“Then by the power of StarClan I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you will be known as Hollyheart and Cherrytail. My you fight well in this upcoming battle.”
As the clan chanted their new names Hollyheart knew the unspoken words on everyone’s mind. You only got those name because you might be killed. They you’ll go to StarClan with a warriors’ name.
And part of Hollyheart wondered if she would make it through this battle.
~~Chapter 22~~
Soot watched as night fell on the solstice. He would have like for there to have been more time to prepare, but it looked like the four clans would have to battle the Dark Forest with the skills they had.
Firestar had sent cats out to the other clans to inform them of the attack, but a few other cats had already leaked the information about the attack. It appeared the Ivypool had not been the only spy.
Whitefire’s friendship with the cats who had friends in other clans had also proven useful. If the wild plan went through trusted allies then maybe it would work.
Everything really hung on him, though. They needed him more then ever now and Hollyheart’s plan relied on whether or not full power was given to spirits in the mortal world. And if it was…What would that mean?
Soot’s fur fluffed up with nervous energy. He didn’t know what to do now. Tests had been past and failed, but the scores didn’t matter. In the end it came down to a personal choice. Was the clans worth saving? Was StarClan and the Place of No Stars?
Soot didn’t know whether he should or shouldn’t play his role.
He breathed in the first of the frosty air. It was even to cold for snow, but that chill didn’t bother him. All the clan cats were waiting in the training hollow. And when he said all the clan cats he meant all the clan cats. They had chosen a base and were going to protect it with their lives. And Soot was left here, waiting, for the attack to start. No cat was aloud to sleep last night, on Soot’s orders. It was his way of stopping any cats from telling the Dark Forest of the plan. They would have no idea the clans had moved and would try and attack the camps. Only they would find them all empty. That is, except one. ThunderClan camp held one being today, and that was Soot himself.
Soot ran through the plan again. It was very interesting and he wondered how Hollyheart had guessed so much about his abilities. But Hollyheart had been right, the ending was completely within his power and he could do most of it with the small amount of power he had now. But the part in the middle…It need all of the power he possessed and it needed surprise. It need the cats of the afterlife to be caught off guard, or they would never see through the mask.
For that, he needed help. Almost all of this plan relied on the clans ability to be a distraction. If the could properly keep even half of the Dark Forest out of his way he could get to the leaders.
***
They came as soon as the last of the night had faded. They knew that this was to be the longest night, so not only did they have the ability to walk among the living, but they could hide in the shadows with ease.
“No one’s here,” said one cat as he walked out of the shadows. His pelt was dark brown and one eye was half shut.
“You don’t think they’ve left the lake, do you?” asked a brown she-cat who followed behind. She limped, one leg crippled. “There wasn’t anyone in RiverClan either.”
So, thought Soot. You know they’ve at least checked RiverClan. Though if that was even an important piece of information was another matter.
“Wait,” said the first cat, sniffing the air. “I think someone is here.”
Soot stalked out along the top of the highledge. It always surprised him how many cats failed to ever look up. “I assume you mean me?” he asked, amused.
The tom turned his head so fast that Soot could hear the joints snap.
“I think this next sentence is very fitting,” said Soot. “Take me to your leader.”
The tom had unsheathed his claw, but looked confused. Soot knew he didn’t smell of any clan. And on top of that…
“Spottedleaf!” he growled.
Soot widened his eyes in false innocence. “Never heard of them.”
He then jumped, literally jumped, from the top of the highledge over the head of the tom. He landed, but not dirt flew up in a cold around him because of the impact and the breathe wasn’t knocked from his chest.
He turned, grinning. He had his full powers back, now all he need was to distract these two. If they no longer focused on any one thing, he could get past them.
“You know,” he said, ducking the tom’s first strike. “I know your name.” This statement was directed at the she-cat.
The she-cat had been trying to get around on his blind side, but Soot wasn’t going to be fooled.
“Your name is Lilywhisker. Awfully pretty name for a cat that others now call evil.”
He leaped away from her batting paws and the brown tom’s attempt to bit his ear.
“And your Clawface. Killer of Spottedleaf. It’s funny, really, the ‘crimes’ they let you into the Place of No Stars for, isn’t it?”
The two tried to pounce on him at once, but Soot ducked and then leaped up, pushed the two out of the air.
“Lilywhisker, as far as I recall, never did anything worse then complain. Imagine a cat so evil that she ended up an elder? You’d think someone would have noticed.”
Lilywhisker growled at him. “And you’re telling me? Tell StarClan if it matters to you so much!”
“And Clawface kills a cat from another clan. Many other cats have done the same. Yet he is singled out to walk a dark forest.”
Soot finally attacked, but all he did was push Clawface down into the dirt by jumping on top of him.
“Lilywhisker complained a lot, as I recall. Yet, she never killed. She rarely showed her feelings.”
Sounds familiar, though Soot.
“You mourned differently then others and you were sent to the Place of No Stars.”
Lilywhisker was now glaring, not attacking. Her attention had shifted a little. Now it was on the past, verse the present.
Soot grinned, taking his chance. Lilywhisker dissolved into the shadows, like a beam of light had hit her.
Clawface gapped from his position on the ground. “What! What happened?”
“Perfect,” muttered Soot. That was all the distraction he needed. Clawface also dissolved and Soot landed on the ground.
He eyed the surrounding area. More Dark Forest cats watched from the sidelines, though Soot wasn’t sure when they had turned up.
He smiled up at them. “Hello my old friends,” he said. “Miss me?”
***
The process worked like this. Soot waited until a cat was off-guard, then he simply reversed the make-up of their enthrall self. To Soot, that made sense, to a by-stand it sounded like gibberish. The closest, simple version, he could think of was that he opened the hole the Dark Forest had first come through and then sent them back through. To do that he had to catch them off-guard otherwise they’d simple walk right back through. But where he sent them was another matter. That was a secret. It was what the cats of StarClan and the Dark Forest refereed to as fading. He simple sped up the process a hundredfold by sending them
there.
As Soot looked around at the Dark Forest cats he started counting off in his head. It was a number only he knew. When he was done he turned to one she-cat and said, “Nice to see you again, Mapleshade.”
Mapleshade growled in reply. She probably saw her old mate Appledusk. She would not be the first to let go of the mask. No, but a few cats in the crowd had. Soot turned until his eyes fell on a mere shadow of a cat. Only one eye brightened that shadow enough to see it was a cat. He saw a daughter. A daughter who had betrayed him. He saw a daughter who had faded long ago.
Soot winked at him, then continued to scan the crowd. Less then half of the dark forest was here. They had probably met up with the group that had left RiverClan. Pretty soon the word would go out that a lone cat was in ThunderClan camp and the rest would come from the other territories.
“Tell us where the clans are,” hissed a tom.
Soot shock his head. “I can’t do that Darkstripe.”
By the power of deduction, Soot had a feeling that Tigerstar and Brokenstar had both gone to Shadowclan and the Hawkfrost was…
“Kill him.”
“Oh,” said Soot, turning. “There you are.”
Hawkfrost notably flinched. So he had seen too. That was a surprise. Yes, it was easier for spirits to see behind the mask, but Soot hadn’t expect Hawkfrost to be one of the ones who did. Usually it was the ones with the most enemies that had the hardest time.
Soot didn’t know if that made his job easier or harder.
“What are you doing here,” growled Hawkfrost, fire blazing in his gaze.
By the looks the cats around him they were wondering if their glorious leader was seeing the same thing they were. He wasn’t. In fact, very few cats were.
“I thought you were supposed to be impartial,” said Hawkfrost.
“I am,” replied Soot. “I thought you were supposed to keep to your borders.”
Hawkfrost snorted. “Unlikely. How can we stay when StarClan and the clans still exist.”
“Let go?” suggested Soot, raising an eyebrow.
Hawkfrost just pealed back his lips in a snarl.
“So…” asked Darkstripe. “Do we still kill him?”
“I wouldn’t be of any used,” hissed Hawkfrost in frustration. “Focus on finding the clans. They’re here. If he’s here, they’re hear. He knows that he’ll be needed.”
“All true, all true,” said Soot in a singsong voice.
Hawkfrost really looked like he wanted to murder Soot, but couldn’t.
“So,” said Soot, turning to another she-cat. “How’s the family?”
He was getting another ‘I really want to kill you, but it would waste time’ look.
Soot really was having a little fun now. He wondered if Whitefire’s need to tell all was catching.
“Deerfoot, Blizzardwing, Brightflower, and Marshcloud. Never did anything more then choose the wrong side. Sparrowfeather, Silverhawk, Snowtuft. Never got a say in their own future.” It was almost like a chant. And it was sufficiently taking up some of the cats time that they weren’t looking for anyone. Some, no most, were wondering who this tom was and how he knew so much about them. And slowly they were starting to see.
That was until one cat came out of the shadows and whispered in Hawkfrost’s ear. Hawkfrost grinned and shouted, “Stop you bantering. We found the clans you were trying so hard to hide.”
He turned to go and the his cats feel in waves behind him. But a few, like Deerfoot and Sparrowfeather, looked back. Their eyes were clouded with confusion and Soot just shrugged at there questioning eyes. He slowly began padding after the Dark Forest cats and no one attempted to stop him.
The plan was going perfectly.
~~Chapter 23~~
“They’re coming!” shouted Hollyheart. She, Cherrytail, and other young warriors were perched high in the trees around the hollow. The hollow was filled with cats and most of the surrounding woods were as well. The elders and the kits were at the center and a wall of warriors and queens stood between them and the oncoming Dark Forest warriors.
“Stand ready!” called Ivypool.
Cats were in the trees and in the bushes. Traps were set and head-to-head combat stood in the way of the shadows.
As the shadows slipped between the trees the stars started to blaze brighter then even. Suddenly cats of starry pelt were also everywhere.
The night must be half over, thought Hollyheart. That mean the Hollyleaf will probably show herself soon.
For the first time Hollyheart could remember she closed her eyes and prayed.
Please, she thought. Please, Hollyleaf. Show yourself. Please let my plan work. Please work with us, Soot.
The StarClan warriors were the first to charge. Unlike the Dark Forest warriors, who remained solid, they darted though bushes and cats alike to get to their target, only becoming substantial when they reach the first like of their attackers. The two armies were hauntingly silent and it was as if the sound had been turned off. No night birds sung, the wind didn’t blow. All that was there was the light of stars fighting the darkness in-between.
Then the first Dark Forest warrior broke through…a collected breathe that no one knew they were holding was released…and then chaos.
A few clan warriors turned on their clanmates, clawing and biting at their once clan-mates. Surprise held the upper paw for a second only to find itself overrun by a the power of all the warriors together. Hollyheart turned back to the fighting mass of stars and shadows only to realize that the other warriors in the trees had already fallen on an opponent. The element of surprise was gone, but Hollyheart jumped down anyway. Just before she hit the grown and transparent form landed. It was black as night, but held no shadows in it. This was not a Dark Forest warrior.
“Hollyleaf,” breathed Hollyheart. She landed steadily this time and rushed into the battle to find Whitefire.
“Stay there!” she shouted back at the black she-cat. The she-cat looked confused, but nodded.
Hollyheart dodged left and right through her battling clanmate to a white form fighting with another white tom, only skinny, that she recognized as Snowtuft.
A brown she-cat tried to engage Hollyheart, but a ShadowClan warrior called Crowfrost intercepted.
Hollyheart ran around the battling pair and jumped over a bush to get to the two fighting white cats. Only now she saw that the living she-cat was really Icewing of RiverClan. She seemed to be holding her own, so Hollyheart turned to try again, only to nearly run into Hawkfrost.
He turned to look down at her and Hollyheart quickly backed up. She wasn’t anywhere close a match for one of the leaders of the Dark Forest and Hawkfrost was looking very murderous right now.
“Somehow,” he growled. “I think you’re to blame for this. You don’t seem practically eager to help our cause, so that makes you a traitor.”
He advanced, claws wickedly sharp. Hollyheart backed up again. At the last possible second, just as Hawkfrost’s was bring down his paw for a killing strike and Hollyheart had backed up into the bush she had just jumped, two cats came barreling from different directions to intercept. One was black and one was almost all white.
The collided in mid air. But instead of bouncing of each other, groaning from the impact, the molded together. It was as if one picture was being put over the other until it was one.
The cat raised her paw to block Hawkfrost blow, which had lost some of its power from surprise. However, Hawkfrost recovered quickly and lashed out with his other paw.
The cat ducked under it at the last second at aimed a kick at his chest. Hawkfrost rolled out of the way and then came up again, leaping at his attacker.
Hollyheart was pinned against the bush, unable to help or get out of the way, all she could do was watch as Hollyleaf/Whitefire fought this deadly warrior.
A long scar of blood welled up across Hawkfrost cheek and another along his back. The new form of the two cats now had a bit taken from the ear and one paw was badly twisted.
Hawkfrost face was still a half grin, but White/Leaf’s face held only stern concentration. She wasn’t about to let this cat win.
A wail distracted Hollyheart from the fight and she looked over her shoulder through the bushes. Thistleclaw was weeping, actually weeping, over the body of a StarClan cat. Darkstripe, which blood on his paws, was staring at the gray warrior in amazement. The body of the StarClan cat was almost obscured by the leaves of the bush, but she appeared to be white with black markings. Her body didn’t fade, it just lay there, half transparent and still misty with star.
Hollyheart seemed to remember once hearing that Thistleclaw had been mates with the sister of Bluestar, but she had had no idea that he had continued his love for her even in the Dark Forest.
However, Thistleclaw was distracted and didn’t notice (or maybe he didn’t care) when clan cat snuck up behind him. Hollyheart was tempted to shout a warning, but it was to late.
A hiss of pain drew her back to the fight in front of her.
Hollyheart knew she was going to die even before she saw the wound. It was the look in White/Leaf’s eyes. It was like a glazed over pain. Like a misty pool of water. Blood dripped from a neck wound and onto the grass below. Spatters of blood fell from White/Leaf’s lips onto her chin.
And there was Hawkfrost, wounded badly, but smiling. He carried many scratches, and he didn’t look like he could make it through another battle with a skilled warrior, but he had killed Whitefire and Hollyleaf.
A last rattle of breath left the she-cat’s mouth before she fell to the ground. A paw flailed once, then fell still.
Hollyheart was frozen in shock and small, wet drops were below her eyes. But she knew they weren’t tears. She was to frozen to cry. Those wet drops were probably blood. Blood from the she-cat who had watched over her since she was born. And Hollyheart wanted to cry.
Hawkfrost gave a dry laugh. “I honestly think that was better then killing you. Much more fun to see you suffer.”
Hollyheart shrugged off the tears. There would be time to cry later. But anger didn’t lay in her heart. All she said before Cherrytail fell onto him from the tree above was, “I hope that you follow in Soot’s pawprints.”
Before Hawkfrost died for the second time he seemed to take that as an insult.
Then a surge of power almost knocked the surrounding cats off their feet. The hollow grew quite as one word resounded through the clearing.
“Stop!”
~~Chapter 24~~
The cats of the four clans stood together around the bodies of the fallen. They looked at Soot in amazement. The stood as if frozen, unable to comprehend the power that had just come off the tom.
The cats of the Dark Forest and of StarClan looked at him as if they had only just seen him. He had been wondering throughout the battle but they had never truly
seen him. The StarClan leader, Bluestar, looked at him, mouth agape. Mapleshade, who had been looking at the bodies of Tigerstar and Brokenstar (both killed during the battle), looked like she was now seeing a ghost.
Soot saw the looks of confusion on the cats of ThunderClan’s faces. To them he looked as usual. But to these cats, these cats of spirit, he no longer did.
He looked from one ‘leader’ of the two afterlives to the other.
“From the moment every cat dies, you know me. I have no shape and I do not speak, yet you know me. I watch over you, see your every step; both in life and death. And yet you still believe you are somehow different from one another. Because one chooses to walk in the space between the stars and one chooses to walk as the stars themselves.”
He paused. ThunderClan cat and lake cats looked on with the same confusion as before. But there was a pawful, mostly cats who he had talked with, who now knew.
Soot and Hollyheart had staged this. But Soot had been planning something like this since Hollyleaf’s first death. All to bring these cats together.
To both StarClan and the Place of No Stars he looked the same as he had to the cats who were living, only now they could see the underlying power.
“I am given a face through both fear and love. And yet the cats who welcome into the heavens see one or the other. Even when they are just different sides of the same leaf. When I came to the clans I tried to show you that I didn’t care who is given the ‘better’ afterlife, because both are as good as the other. There is no such thing as good and evil, only death. Only me.”
And Soot left; much like he had made the two Dark Forest warriors disappear. He made no ultimatum; he never said that peace must come. But peace would come. He had planted the seeds, he would just have to wait for them to grow.
Everyone came to Death eventually, but what they did after that was up to them…wasn’t it?
He would continue to watch. He was connected to them now, in more ways then one. And maybe, someday, they could all meet under the same sky. A sky of dark shadows that showed you the light and light that cast shadows.
The End