Warriors - Times of Anarchy (Book 1, The Flame)

Chapter 10

"Tonight!" yowled a voice, tiny amongst the tenebrous forest. Eyes gleamed at him from all sides, pelts rustled, but only a suffocating silence replied him, curling around him like a hungry snake and writhing the air out of his lungs. His chest hurt painfully and he breathed laboriously, as it always did, a constant reminder of his failure, of his duty.

The mottled brown and ginger tom paced across the bare clearing, where many great cats had padded here. His pelt was distinct, showing he'd died not so long ago, yet, by the desperate gleam in his eyes, it proved he'd been waiting long enough and impatiently for such a crucial moment like tonight.

"Who's there?" spat a suspicious voice, as a dark shadow crawled toward him hesitantly. At the same time, another cat entered the clearing, and the tom's eyes flicked in amazement. He'd done it! He'd conjured up cats from their dreams!

The first cat revealed herself to be Ravenskies, as she padded closer. Her black-and-white pelt was bristling, but her blue eyes were intrigued, not fearful. She advanced with her claws sheathed, looking at the tom.

The second cat was none other than Fangstar herself, scrawny, but still powerful, as she padded towards the two cats with her claws unsheathed. A sense of desperation, hunger and dark determination hung against her pelt, almost as strong as her stench.

When the two she-cats recognized each other, their pelts both rose higher in alarm. Their eyes cast such a strong message of rivalry and hate that the tom had to step in between their line of sight to calm them down. Fangstar was the first to speak up.

"Who are you, and why is she here? What is this place?" she asked, flicking her tabby tail against her lean hips and glaring at him. A small, crooked smile parted his lips.

"I am Redwillow himself. Warrior of the Place of No Stars. This is the place known as the Dark Forest," he explained, his green eyes sharp and glinting. "-and I have conjured you here because I believe you have more in common than you think."

Ravenskies stepped forward and snarled. "I have nothing in common with that low-life fox-heart!"

"Say that again!" growled Fangstar, stepping forward too as Redwillow pushed himself in between them once more.

"Calm down you two yapping sparrows, I didn't conjure you two tonight so you'd kill each other!" he snapped, his patience wearing thin.

"I believe you two have more in common than you think," he mused on, acting as if nothing had happened,"You're two she-cats dedicated to their clans. You both have without a doubt amazing fighting skills. You're both ready to kill for your ambition." The last words took Ravenskies by surprise. Did Redwillow know about what she'd done to Snakefang in the battle Ruinsclan had against Proudclan, many moons ago?

Fangstar, on the other side, was flattered, and becoming interested. She flicked her ears to urge the mottled tom to continue speaking.

"I believe, if Ravenskies becomes leader, your clans could ally into the greatest clan that ever lived. At the top would be two great she-cats, Ravenstar and Fangstar." he said, his interests in the whole affair still unknown. Ravenskies voiced her doubts slowly.

"What do you expect to get out of this by helping us, Redwillow?" she questioned, as the said tom turned to face her.

"Me, myself and I...what we get out of this, Ravenskies, is irrelevant for now. Let's just say I'm putting my best interests for you two at heart," he replied smoothly, flashing her a smile, and she stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Why haven't we ever seen you before in the clans? Your neither a Flameclan or Proudclan cat." meowed slyly Fangstar, peering at Redwillow.

"I told you before," insisted Redwillow a bit darkly, as he flicked his tail against her chin and smiled, "I am a warrior of the Place of No Stars. You're the first living warriors here since a long time, and you're on a visit today." he snickered, as the two she-cats looked around, their pelts rising.

"You live here?" hissed Ravenskies, as the bare, gray trees weaved over their heads and a rotten-smelling wind blew in their pelts. The silence, the eerie eyes peering at them, the starless sky, everything was enough to turn a cat mad, if they hadn't arrived mad in the first place.

"I though you'd be smart enough to realize," hissed Redwillow, as he began to pace again. He flashed his pair of green eyes towards the two she-cats, who were starting to realize this wasn't no ordinary tom, and this was no ordinary place.

"Now, listen to me, and listen to me well. I'm going to explain you my plan..."

*****

Wyverncry stopped infront of the fallen tree leading to the island, as Tornear and Darkshadow peered at it curiously. Flamepaw shivered, as he looked at the slippery trunk and the thin layer of ice that had formed over the lake's surface.

"Darkshadow, Tornear, guard here and wait for my arrival tomorrow morning. Flamepaw will accompany me on the island." stated Wyverncry, but Tornear's tail flicked as he retorted quizzically.

"What if Fangstar ambushes us?" he asked. "Who's going to return to camp?" Wyverncry, unable to tell his warrior the truth, ordered him back.

"One of you will stay and fight, and the other will hurry off. Flamepaw's purpose on this voyage wasn't only to serve as our messenger in case of alert." Darkshadow and Tornear looked at each other, but didn't add anything to the dark gray tabby's words.

He then turned around and nudged the apprentice towards the trunk. Flamepaw unsheathed his claws and took a few hesitant steps, as Wyverncry towered over him. Slowly, they progressed on it until they reached firm land again.

"Follow me closely," meowed the to-be leader, as Flamepaw looked at the darkened trees looming on the isle, bathed in the moonlight of a sliver of the moon.

They weaved amongst the forest silently, with the silence oppressing against the small apprentice's fur. As they entered a clearing with silvery grass ruffling in the night, a large stone came into their vision.

Wyverncry flicked his tail for Flamepaw to stop before entering the clearing completely. This silent gesture kept Flamepaw's pelt from catching any moonlight, and told him to stay put. The rest of the voyage had to be done by Wyverncry alone, as he padded up on the rock, curled around himself and closed his eyes.

Flamepaw waited, alert. He waited some more. Time itself had seemed to stop, and Flamepaw thought he'd never see sunlight again, after waiting so much. His eyes became heavier and heavier. One little nap won't hurt anyone, he thought, as he curled around on the shadowy forest floor.

He promised to himself to be up in a blink, but, pulled in by a force that wasn't his own, he unconsciously fell deeper and deeper in his sleep...