Hollyleaf's Second Chance

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own warrior cats

Alliances

Thunderclan

Leader: bramblestar

Deputy: squirrelflight

Medicine cat: jayfeather

Warriors:

Brackenfur

Cloudtail

Brightheart

Millie

Thornclaw

Leafpool

Spiderleg

Birchfall

Whitewing

Berrynose

Hazeltail

Mousewhisker

Lionblaze

Foxleap

Icecloud

Toadstep

Rosepetal

Bumblestripe

Ivypool

Sorreltail

Poppyfrost

Molefur

cherrytail

Apprentices:

Seedpaw (mentor: toadstep)

Lilypaw (mentor: foxleap)

Dewpaw (mentor: mousewhisker)

Amberpaw (mentor: sorreltail)

Snowpaw (mentor: icecloud)

Queens:

Cinderheart (mother to honeykit and featherkit)

Dovewing (mother to briarkit, deepkit and pebblekit)

Daisy

Elders:

Purdy

Sandstorm

Greystripe

Dustpelt

Prologue

Hollyleaf looked nervously at the cat before her. Despite seeing him many times before, she couldn't quite get over how he looked. With milky, blind, egg shaped eyes that bulged out of his head and a twisted, furless body, he looked far from intimidating, yet hollyleaf still feared him.

"rock." She greeted, dipping her head respectfully.

"You summoned me." The grotesque cat dipped his head in return.

"hollyleaf." He rasped, the words sounding like both smooth running water and claws scraping over stone.

"Come..." rock continued, turning away from the black starclan she-cat that stood by him, and padding back into the tunnels he emerged from. Hollyleaf gulped and followed. Despite spending many seasons in tunnels like this in her previous life, she still felt apprehensive. She continued into the darkness, her sensitive whiskers brushing against the uneven walls. After what seemed like moons, hollyleaf and rock emerged into a stone-walled clearing, in which was a glittering blue lake, encrusted with starlight.

"hollyleaf" rock began, sitting down and curling his skinny, hairless tail around his body.

"I have summoned you for something very important. I know you have been in starclan for some moons now, but you were never meant to be here in the first place."

"What!" exclaimed hollyleaf

"I-I don't understand!"

"Hollyleaf,"Continued rock, fixing her in his blind gaze.

"you were never meant to die. It was ivypool that should be here in starclan, not you. That is why you are here. I want to give you a second chance." The ancient cat stood up and crossed over to the shimmering lake.

"Look" he rasped. Hollyleaf looked at the surface, but could only see starlight.

"look closer..." encouraged rock. Hollyleaf stiffened. He read her mind! Shuddering, the black she-cat turned her attention back to the lake. She squinted at the surface, and gasped. A black cat, looking only about five moons old lay on the lake bed, blood streaming out of a ragged gash on her back.

"if you accept my offer, this is the cat you will become, you will be named only holly, a rouge injured by a hawk on the outskirts of thunderclan territory. If you do not accept, this cat will die, and you will return to starclan. Do you accept?" in the spur of the moment, hollyleaf blurted out

"yes! Yes!", and before she could think she began to feel herself being dragged towards the glittering lake. She tried in vain to cry out, but her head was plunged under the icy water, and, as her vision began to darken, she heard a disembodied voice ringing in her ears

'The holly's leaves are evergreen, but even they can be destroyed in the harshest frosts...'