Foxgaze's Haunting

Chapter 31

(Cat above is Tigerpaw)
~~~Flashback~~~
Now is your chance Wolfpaw, picture her being just a piece of freshkill Brightmoon hissed in his ear.

Wolfpaw, in a sort of trance let his claws unsheathe and he blindly swiped through the air until his claw hit something.

Snowpaw screeched and jumped back. Wolfpaw didn't even notice until it was too late. Now Snowpaw's clean white ear fur was stained with dark red.

Oh no! What have I done? Wolfpaw made a desperate attempt to apologize "Snowpaw! I'm sor-"

Her planative whimper interrupted him "My ear hurts"

Brightmoon! Why would you tell me to do such a thing? Wolfpaw thought furiously.

There was a moment of silence before she whispered in his ear Any cat who wants to know how to suceed must be prepared to kill.

Specklefrost sniffed Snowpaw's ear and snorted "It's just a nick. You'll be fine but let's get you to Leafshade". With some mumbled approval the other apprentices followed her with their mentors following. Beechpaw trailed behind Orangetail.

"It wasn't your fault" Foxgaze said to him "Sometimes fear gets in the way of thought".

I wish that was caused by fear Foxgaze.
~~~~~~~~~

(This chapter is in Wolfpaw's POV)

"Brightmoon is a what?" Wolfpaw narrowed his eyes at his spooked mentor.

Foxgaze shook her head, as if trying to clear a deep thought "There is something you don't know about me Wolfpaw". She glanced down at her neck scar "Do you know how I got this?"

"Yeah, you got attacked by a fox when you were an apprentice" Wolfpaw sighed. Nearly every cat in camp knew that story "and then you lost your tail fighting them when they attacked camp".

"True. All that is true Wolfpaw but something else happened the day I was first attacked", pain flashed in Foxgaze's yellow eyes for a moment, "that fox murdered my brother. In my rage, I jumped on the fox and it sunk its fangs into my neck".

"Really?" Wolfpaw trying not to sound astonished "What else happened?"

"My name was Birdpaw back then. But Nightstar thought it was my fault Adderpaw was dead so he changed my name to Foxpaw" Foxgaze's mew was cracked with grief.

Foxgaze stared at Wolfpaw. Her honey yellow eyes burning with the same intensity as Beechpaws's, but with more wisedom and understanding rather than Beechpaws's cold sharp ambition. Her mew was stronger this time, but just as dark "That day, something inside me snapped in two. A new feeling became so powerful, I think it could think on its own. That thing is Brightmoon. There was a prophecy as well, saying something about the bark of the fox and how it would spill blood. It all says one thing, Brightmoon is a demon".

"Wait a minute, then how did Brightmoon get into my head?" Wolfpaw looked at the ground, brow furrowed.

Foxgaze froze for a moment. Her yellow eyes resembled a hawk looking up at the sky, distant and longing to fly very far away. His battlescarred mentor shook her head "I... I can't tell you right now. You aren't ready yet".

"Why not?" Wolfpaw narrowed his eyes. Is she keeping some big secret from me or something? Or is she more than my mentor?

"Like I said, it's not important right now Wolfpaw" Foxgaze said from behind gritted teeth. She looked away "I don't want to hear any more of this" she mewed coldly and began to pad back to camp.

Wolfpaw stayed where he was. There was a rumble of thunder from the dark clouds above. His gaze directed him towards the woods I'm going for a walk he decided.