Lightning slashed in the dark stormy sky, a loud caterwaul drowning out a quiet roll of thunder. A streak of tortoiseshell raced through the darkness, cutting across the field. The outline of a cat could be made out, her tortoiseshell pelt standing out from the grass. Her fur was dripping but sleek. She flinched as rain fell into her eyes but all she could do was shake her head and make her paws drive her on faster.
She crossed over into a forest, becoming a little more protected by the tall trees above her. The moon managed to shine through the clouds and dappled the ground with silver. The she-cat raced up a small slope and eventually came out to the edge of the forest. A beautiful waterfall fell from high rocks, cascading into a small pool surrounded by dirt. Trees guarded the outside. The cat nodded at a path that led up the rocks to the top of the waterfall.
On a rock next to the place where the water started to fall, sat a dark grey tabby tom with piercing dark blue eyes. The she-cat silently crept up the path and settled herself by his side. The two began to nuzzle each other, their tails intertwined as they purred loudly to one another. They weren't on their territory and they knew it. The scent of cats was strong on the air, and it only slightly bothered the two cats.
"Are they ready? Are they alert?" the she-cat whispered.
"They're in the bushes, and we've been training them for moons. They've disguised their scent, but I can smell both TideClan and LeafClan. They're on their way, Maplegaze," the tom responded lightly.
Maplegaze curled her tail around her paws and watched with satisfaction as two toms padded from the bushes before them, their tails held high. The tom turned away from them and bounded down the side of the waterfall, his muscles rippling under his dark pelt. The tom stood in front of the two other toms, his head held high with pride.
"You know the consequences for turning against your Clan, Darkhaze," one of the toms, a black one, murmured.
"Since when did you become TideClan's leader?" Darkhaze questioned. "You've never been my leader and you never will. The Dark Forest has power only StarClan can imagine."
"He may not have been your leader, but I always will. I, Brackenstar of TideClan, would exile you if I believed you would leave until the day you joined the Dark Forest, but I know better," the other tom, a red-brown tabby retorted.
Darkhaze growled and flicked his tail. A large mass of cats lept from the bushes around the waterfall, crashing into cats that charged from behind Brackenstar and the other tom, Jaggedstar. Maplegaze lept down from the waterfall and crashed straight into a ginger tabby she-cat, whom she recognised to be her sister. Maplegaze showed no mercy and rolled the ginger cat onto her back, pinning her with unsheathed claws.
"I trusted you!" the ginger she-cat yowled, her eyes full of determination. She reached up a paw and caught Maplegaze arcross the nose, making blood well up. Maplegaze stepped back, letting the cat get to her paws. "We were sisters! We did everything together, but now you've broken that trust." The ginger she-cat stared up at her, tilting her head. Maplegaze hissed and rose up onto her hind legs before bringing her front paws down hard on her sister's skull.
The smaller cat crumpled to the ground, her eyes becoming glazed over. Maplegaze stared at her dead litter-mate and turned-tail into the thicket of battle. Darkhaze was fighting with Jaggedstar, clawing the black tom over the top of the head. Jaggedstar fought back and dodged to the side before taking Darkhaze's tail in his mouth to yank him backwards and throw him off balance. The warrior fought for a hold in the dirt, but slipped over with a loud hiss. Thunder echoed with the sound of cats screeching.
Jaggedstar swiftly lept onto Darkhaze and dug his thorn-sharp fangs into his shoulder. Darkhaze yowled, unable to move away from his opponent's grasp. A rouge's ears twitched as he heard the agonising sound and rushed to his friend's aid. He bowled into Jaggedstar, clawing him across the chest with such force and surprise that knocked the black tom backwards. Darkhaze swiftly got to his paws and crept towards the two battling toms. From the corner of his eye, the rouge cat noticed him and stepped backwards.
With a loud yowl, Darkhaze lept forwards and pinned the black tom down before clawing and biting at one of Jaggedstar's ears. The black cat struggled beneath his jaws and his paws flailed as he clung to life with all his strength. When Darkhaze finally fell back, he gazed down at the almost motionless leader. Jaggedstar's right ear was half shredded and bleeding terribly. Pleased with his work, the dark grey warrior moved on. Jaggedstar laid on the ground, surrounded by his own blood, gasping for breath. His ear stung like a fire that was burning his blood.
Rain started to fall heavily, causing cats to be blinded by the droplets of water spraying into their eyes. Many cats were either escaping back to their Clan's camp, or running away into the night to never be seen again and never have to fight for their lives. An ear-splitting yowl disrupted the battle, one that was more than the normal howl of cats fighting. Eyes flashed in the light of the lightning and turned towards the centre of the battle. Brackenstar stood over a crumpled and bloody dark grey shape, his eyes fixed on the motionless shadow.
Brackenstar's chest heaved as he found his breath and stepped away from the shape, his paws trembling. His paws were coated in a thick dark liquid, a large gash on his shoulder spilling the same substance. A cold shriek made everyone turn towards a tortoiseshell she-cat who stood at the top of the waterfall, another cat laying near her paws.
"Darkhaze!" she cried, leaping from the waterfall to land in the pool below it with a loud splash. Maplegaze made her way over to Brackenstar, claws out with her teeth bared in a vengeful snarl. "You killed him!" Maplegaze crashed into the red-brown tabby and clawed him across the side, her claws tearing into his flesh.
Three cats bounded forwards and separated the two, beginning to drive the tortoiseshell towards the waterfall. But she wasn't about to stop, not even with her mate dead at her paws. A voice whispered into her ears, urging her to continue on. With every swipe she made, the strenth was beginning to fade from her body. Finally, Maplegaze couldn't take it and she crashed to the ground, her tail and back paws in the pool of water. Raindrops clung to her whiskers, her limbs growing still.
One of the three cats stared down at Maplegaze and shook her head, staring at the cat that had once been her apprentice. The older she-cat unsheathed her claws and sliced then across the tortoiseshell's neck. Maplegaze let out a terrible screech, although it was barley heard over the sound of thunder and the gurgling of blood spilling from her neck. Her paws twitched and she craned her neck over to look into Brackenstar's eyes, who had managed to limp forwards with the help of some warriors.
"What about my kits?" she whispered, before her eyes glazed over and her body fell still.
Water cascaded down into the pool of sparkling water as blood slowly crept into the silvery depths, turning it into a river of red.
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ωåтєɾfåℓℓ ➳ warriors fanfic
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