Warriors- Rise of the Guardians

Chapter 6

~Tigerstar

Chapter 6

Thunderpaw chased after her brother with anger bubbling beneath her calm exterior. She could still remember the look in Wolfpaw's eyes- shocked and furious- and even... sadness? No, she must be wrong. Why would he be sad? Maybe he liked her too. Maybe he did... just a little. Thunderpaw growled, annoyed at herself. This was all her imagination. Nothing really happened. Thunderpaw huffed angrily. She didn't like the way her thoughts were straying. 

I will not think about him. 

He is not worth my time. 

Right now I have to find Firepaw-

"Great Starclan..." Thunderpaw's fur bristled in horror. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she had stopped chasing her brother. With eyes wide as saucers, she stared straight ahead, her tail stiff and straight. Where was she? She had set her foot on unfamiliar territory that was not Thunderclan. She took in a deep breath, and a strong, unfamiliar scent invaded her nose. 

It smelled of plains and fresh grass. 

Thunderpaw let out a horrified whimper as she backed away from the land. Twigs and leaves crumpled beneath her paws. Great Starclan, I am in Windclan territory.

--

Lionstar's eyes were wide with shock, his mouth agape as he stared at the mass of bodies flooding the clearing. What was this? Cats were slashing, clawing and screeching, yet no sound was heard. He could recognize most of them. Thunderclan cats were dying, ambushed by Windclan and Riverclan cats. He blinked, wishing that it could go away. He knew it was all a bad dream, since he couldn't recall coming to this place at all. 

He was in unknown territory. Lionstar growled with unease as he unsheathed his claws, feeling the branch beneath his feet sway ever so slightly. As he sat, muscles tensed, on the high tree branch, he could smell nothing but mist, since the fog was already moving away.

In a whirl of white smoke, a cat materialized before him, muscles rippling under his sleek, striped brown pelt. Lionstar flinched as the lean, muscular cat padded slowly, haughtily in the air, striding over to sit beside him. His whiskers twitched as his mouth lifted slightly into a taunting smirk. His head was held high and proud, his eyes glittering. Lionstar was afraid of this cat. Who wouldn't be? He was notorious; he was every kit's nightmare. 

He was Tigerstar.

"You see this, Lionstar?" He growled as he nodded at the bloodied cats. Lionstar did not reply. He was not so scared as much as he was worried. This was his clan, dying. Snarling with barely suppressed anger, Lionstar leapt, without warning, onto the other cat. He was furious. His mind was swirling with violent thoughts of killing his grandfather. 

"What are you doing to my clan?" He snarled, front lip curled up to reveal sharp, slightly yellowed teeth. His amber eyes burned.

Tigerstar pushed him off effortlessly. He let out a chuckle as if to say, 'what happened to you, Lionstar? I thought you were better than this.'  Lionstar's tail lashed aggressively. "Answer me, you fool!" He commanded, his eyes alight with fury. Tigerstar chuckled once again. He shook his head as he sighed mockingly, "Lionstar, my dear grandson-" Lionstar growled at that as his eyes narrowed. Tigerstar was not the least bit daunted.

"This," He swiped his tail to point at the cats, "Is what will happen to your clan." Before Lionstar could object, Tigerstar continued, "But I have a way," He paused for the full effect, "to solve it!" He smirked, his claws unsheathing as he asked, mockingly polite, "Do you want to hear it?" Lionstar ignored the fighting cats, knowing that they were just a distraction to get him angry and impulsive. Tigerstar had not managed to trick his parents- and he was going to continue that cycle.

"Do I want to hear it?" Lionstar pretended to think, his eyes narrowed till they were only thin slits. He faked a bright smile and replied, "Of course!" Tigerstar grinned back, his eyes glittering, as if he knew that Lionstar would agree. He started, "Lionstar, grandson. You can-" Lionstar let out an eerily cold, mocking laugh.

"In your dreams, you fool. Your so called 'ideas' are full of shit. Ha! Like I would agree to you, Tigerstar," Lionstar spat acidly, his tail swishing in agitation. Tigerstar could barely believe his ears. Lionstar was rejecting his offer to help? His eyes glowed with fury. Fur bristling, Tigerstar let out a chilling yowl, a deafening battle cry, and wisps of smoke rose from the dark, damp ground. 

Lionstar realised that he was not on the thin, creaky branch that miraculously held his weight before. No, now he was standing on damp, muddy ground. The area had darkened considerably around him, swathing him in a blanket of darkness. Lionstar could not prevent his pelt from bristling; he was truly scared- who knew what Tigerstar would do?

"Well, Lionstar."

Lionstar remained silent; what could he say? Hello?

"Someone's scared," Tigerstar sneered, his eyes narrowing with disgust as he stared at his grandson. Lionstar bit back his angry retort. No, he will not get into a fight with this vicious, pathetic excuse for a cat. They glared at each other, each cat's eyes glowing brighter as anger built up in them.

"Do not test my patience, Lionstar. Speak!" 

Lionstar sneered, yet he remained, stubbornly, silent. This dream was getting more terrifying by the second. He had heard, from the elders, that some dreams took place in the Place of No Stars. Was he here? 

"You will regret this, Lionstar. I swear, I will make you suffer. I will make your clan pay! Just wait, and see darkness spread. Oh yes, soon Starclan will vanish. And all of you will perish together!" Tigerstar spat, his eyes gleaming with madness as he let out a terrifying screech. His words caused Lionstar's fur to bristle, with fear or horror, or even both, he didn't know. 

"Rise, my warriors. Rise, Daemons!" 

Lionstar's feet seemed to have frozen, not a single muscle allowed to twitch. He wanted to run; he fought the urge, though, wanting to see what these strange beings, or 'Daemons', were. With his eyes drawn, affixed, to the spot in front of Tigerstar, he continued to stare. Where were the so-called 'Daemons'? Tigerstar seemed to have read his mind. 

"Just wait, Lionstar. You will regret not accepting my offer!" Tigerstar let out a raspy, cruel laugh, and Lionstar snarled. "Do not threaten me, you fool. I will not let you win this!" Tigerstar sneered, his eyes narrowing with amusement. "Thunderclan will perish. So will you. And I will rule the world!" Tigerstar's eyes gleamed with unhidden madness, his head swung back to let out his eerie, booming chuckle.

"Look, grandson. My warriors have awoken."

Lionstar opened his mouth to reply, but his tongue was suddenly as heavy as lead, maybe even heavier. His eyes widened in astonishment, his fur crawled. His eyes were transfixed on the dark, fog-covered ground. His eyes had accustomed to the dark, yet he could not see what was causing the ground to rumble. The slow, slight rumble slowly showed its true colors. Soon, it turned into a full blast earthquake, the soil breaking beneath his feet. 

Yet Lionstar was frozen. He couldn't move. Fear had taken over him.

He could now see, clear as day, why the ground was shaking so violently. 

His face twisted into a horrified expression, his eyes narrowing, his mouth half agape. Oh, great Starclan. What were these? But he knew. He was sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. And he was also quite sure that Tigerstar wasn't tricking him. This was real... 

The dark, shadowy figures rising slowly from the ground were paws. Great, giant paws, filling the land. Everywhere he looked, a paw was growing, bigger and larger by the second. Soon, whole heads broke out from the soil. Bright, red eyes stared back at him, emotionless and cruel. How many were there? Great Starclan, Lionstar knew that these weren't ordinary vole-eating cats. No, these were huge, looming cats, and Lionstar found himself thinking that he didn't want to know what their diet was. 

"Still not giving in, Lionstar?" Tigerstar growled, tail lashing aggressively. Lionstar was too horrified to reply. And that was when the great cat pounced.