A Leaders Nine Lives ⚘ A Warriors Fanfiction

Respect

Duskfall breathed heavily, blinking and shaking her head as the pain from her first life ebbed away. She opened her eyes to see a slender black she-cat with bright green eyes. Duskfall dipped her head as the she-cat blinked and stepped forward to touch her head to Duskfall's.

"Hello, Duskfall. I'm Sagewisp, you're father's mother." she said, her voice gentle and sweet.

Duskfall hardly recognised her; the last time she'd seen this cat was when she was no more than a kit. "Yes, I remember visiting you in the elders den." she said.

Sagewisp's eyes sparkled. "When you used to visit me in the elders den, you used to tell me stories you made up. Then I'd share one of my stories." She touched her nose to Duskfall's, "With this life I give you respect to all in your Clan. You must not take advantage of anyone who is below you. From the youngest kit to the oldest elder, you must listen to what everyone has to say."

Duskfall expected more pain from this life, but instead she felt an intense calming sensation, knowledge pouring inside of her and making her legs tremble.

She closed her eyes hard and when she opened them Sagewisp was gone.

***

Duskstar blinked open her eyes, the blood roaring in her ears. She squinted and looked around, trying to remember what happened.

That cat. He took away one of my lives. How dare he!

She sat up, trying to ignore the nagging pain in her neck and hind leg. She spotted a dark brown tabby walking in the opposite direction, across the border to ShadowClan. Duskstar tried to call out, but her voice was hoarse and all she managed to make was a squeak.

She stood up and shook herself off, attempting to follow the tom.

Why would a cat want to kill me? How can they kill me, It's against the warrior code! ShadowClan wouldn't break the code, would they?

ShadowClan had won their recent battle over a patch of land, surely they didn't want anything more from her? If they didn't, then why would one go through the trouble to injure her?

Questions raced through her head as she limped her way back to camp. The sparrow she had found was gone, which meant the ShadowClan cat must have taken it.

When she first entered camp, no one noticed her. Then, Mistpelt spotted her and her eyes widened in shock.

"Duskstar! What on earth happened to you?" she asked, licking her sister's ear. 

Duskstar sat down. "ShadowClan. They were stealing prey." she replied.

"They did this to you? What, a whole patrol?" Mistpelt asked.

Duskstar shook her head, her mind going fuzzy. "No, a single cat. Brown tabby."

The edges of her vision began to turn black and she found herself once again out of consciousness.

***

When she awoke, Duskstar was aware of another cat's presence, their familiar scent floating through the air and on her fur, but she couldn't tell who.