LightClan Rising

Chapter 8

Hi, or whatever. I'm Darkfang. You don't have to talk to me. I'm kinda dark. I'ts in my name, for crying out loud. I'm a LightClan warrior now. No, I don't want to tell you my backstory. What is with backstories these days, anyways? Seems like everyone on earth is a fangirl or something. Jeez. Okay fine, I'll tell you my backstory. Just stop whimpering like a sick dog, will you? Ick, I hate emotions. Anyway, here's my tragic backstory. . .

I padded under the twoleg porch I called home with a fat chaffinch in my jaws. I was pretty happy with myself for today's catch. You may be thinking, 'that's it!?', but around twoleg nests, prey is pretty darn scarce. No, the twolegs don't scare them off. The adders eat them.

I'm a loner, and I have a lot of experience with snakes. In fact, the underside of the porch I live under has a ton of 'em. Usually, though, if I leave them alone, they leave me alone too. Yup, life of a loner.

I scarfed down the chaffinch and stared out into the moonlit forest beyond. My mind swirled with memories. Oh, how I miss the Clans. I had gotten lost deep in the forest as a kit and was captured by twolegs. Honestly, even though I hated twolegs, I owed it to them. If it weren't for them, I would've died on my own. They nursed me back to health, and when I was strong enough, they let me go. It had been moons, but I needed to go back to my Clan.

I had made my way to ThunderClan, but by then, it was too late. In the moons I was missing, my Clan moved on without me. They forgot me, even my mother did. They drove me out of camp, never to go back into the forest.

I awoke from the dreamlike trance I was in, remembering reality. I choked back tears and dug my claws into my own leg to harness the pain. Pain. I needed it.

Pain was the only thing that kept me from losing it completely. I have so many scars from when the memories got so bad, I would be bleeding out before they stopped.

The horrible memories receded, so I stopped hurting myself. It's always the same, I thought, shaking my head. It'll never go away. 

Just then, the undergrowth of the forest rustled. I tensed and crouched lower, unsure of what made the rustling sound. A pair of glinting eyes emerged from a bush. I stifled a yowl as the eyes rushed for me.

I heard a terrifying howl, and then the teeth clamped down on my shoulder. I knew that bite from anywhere. A fox was attacking me!

I kicked and squirmed, but the little room under the porch limited my attacks. I wrenched the fox off of me, the fox bumping its head. The creature yelped and advanced on me. It pinned me to the damp earth, growling.

"Help!" I called to someone, anyone. "HEEELPP!"

I kicked and squirmed again, harder, but it was no use. I was going to die here. I went limp and waited for the bite that would send me to StarClan in Silverpelt.

All of a sudden, there was a pitiful yip, and then the weight of the fox was thrown heavily off of me. Not daring to question what the heck just happened, I bolted into the night.  Another yip, a growl, a chomp, a yowl, and a piercing hiss sounded from under the twoleg porch. I whipped around and couldn't believe my eyes.

Another loner, Yewpelt, was battling fiercely with the fox. Fur flew, and blood spattered the grass. I ran to help her, but something knocked the wind out of me. A bunch of other cats, all of whom I didn't know, joined the battle and pried the fox off of Yewpelt. The band of cats cornered it, and right when all hope seemed lost for the fox, the porch light flicked on and a twoleg threw something heavy at them. The fox escaped, and the cats jumped back, panting. The twoleg went back inside its nest.

I ran up to the cats and meowed, "Thank you!"

"Hey, Darkfang! I thought that was you. You okay?" Yewpelt asked.

I nodded blearily. "Who are these guys?"

"Oh, they're my new Clan. Jadestar here is leader, Lilytail is deputy, and Oakpool is medicine cat. Nightpaw finally got that Clan she dreamed of for so long. It's so awesome."

I nodded again, bewildered. How much has gone on since I was a kit?

"Well, I guess this is 'bye for now," Yewpelt meowed. The turned and padded away. I padded after her.

"Hey, is it okay if I talk to Jadestar?" I asked.

"Sure."

I ran to catch up with Jadestar. "Hey, Jadestar!" I called. She turned around and looked at me. "Is it alright if I join this new Clan? I know I may sound like a kit, but please, PLEASE let me join this Clan!"

The simply shrugged and said, "Okay. Welcome, uh.."

"Darkfang," I meowed, excited.

"Darkfang," Jadestar repeated. "Welcome to LightClan."