Warriors: Full Moon Ch. 10

    “By the power of StarClan, I grant you the name... Stealthpaw, for being supportive and helpful from the background. With that, Dovewing will be your mentor. I hope you grow to be a great warrior of StoneClan.”

    Echopaw thanked Lionblaze for the help with the speech. Now Echopaw could say it perfectly. After the announcement, each of the cats started shouting her name. The only cats who weren’t shouting was Harlem, who was solemnly and constantly looking toward the medicine den where Soulsong and Sapphire were sleeping. Echopaw stood atop highstone until the shouting calmed down. After that was settled, it was time for him to explain who their new guests were.

    “I know you are all wondering who the two cats are in the medicine den. There is no reason to hide their identity from all of you. Their names are Soulsong and Sapphire, two cats from the eastern forest. When we found them, Sapphire’s brother Soulsong was being attacked by an Assassin.”

    Stealthpaw and Splashpaw gulped. They probably knew a lot about the Assassins already. The reactions by the others were not much different, simply the name being scary enough.

    “We were able to chase the Assassin away and save these two cats. They will be staying with us for a while to heal. But we now have a problem. The Assassin vowed to come back, so we must prepare for the worst. We will continue to keep up the constant patrols throughout day and night on watch for an assault.” Echopaw swallowed to regain his voice. “Other than that, we will return to our daily routine. The hunting patrol will leave in a few minutes.”

    Everyone left the clearing and went back to what they were doing before it was called. Echopaw bounded down the rock with Lionblaze at his side.

    Lionblaze said, “That was good. Next time, take it a bit slower. You sped up after mentioning the Assassin.”

    “I know. The Assassins scare me as well. It’s tough to talk about a group of cats that can kill you in an instant.” Echopaw landed on the ground neatly.

    Lionblaze kept walking when he got to the ground. He looked back at Echopaw and said, “And I still wonder if we should really keep their clan a secret.”

    “I want to find out more about it. Then I’ll tell the clan when we have enough information. It’s a little less unnerving when you know who or what you’re dealing with, right?”

    “Not when it comes to something like the Assassins. You wish you knew less about them, don’t you, even though we barely know anything about them in the first place.” Lionblaze laughed dryly.

    Echopaw wouldn’t fall into that state of stress once again. “No. I may be afraid, but I will be courageous. We need to know more about the Assassins as well. If we can find out who runs them, maybe we can talk with them.”

    “They took Mudpaw...” Lionblaze put it sternly. “Talking is out of the question, and I don’t think they are ones for peace either. They kill cats. They are nothing like the Twoleg cats or the Poisons.”

    “Then if they are like the Broken Hearts, then we fight.” Echopaw thought back to Koul’s message. “Glaive wanted our help. The Assassins were attacking cats and taking the Broken Heart’s leftover territory. Koul came by a few days ago and told me.” He said. “The Poisons also wanted our help. They were being forced out of the sewers out to the sun-drown place.”

    “There you go. Maybe we can take a trip to the Twolegplace soon to talk with Claude or Glaive and see what they know.” Lionblaze glanced at Gingerpaw by the elders’ den. “I think if we visit Glaive, we could check up on Dawnpaw.”

    Dawnpaw... “I don’t want to hear about it. I’m still worried that she won’t make it. If we can avoid interrupting Glaive, I’d take it.”

    “Let’s meet with Claude then. He looked wise enough to know something about the Assassins.”

    “No...”

    “What?”

    “I don’t want to go back into the Twolegplace just yet. I want to see if I can talk with the Twins before we do anything.”

    Lionblaze shook his head. “Do you remember what happened last time? Nox got you caught by the Broken Hearts.”

    Echopaw had heard about what had happened after killing Ashfur. When Echopaw was talking with StarClan, the Broken Hearts had snuck into the Tenkai Twins’ territory and stolen Echopaw in his sleep. Nox had confessed it was all his fault, and Midnight had come by and told them before disappearing once more. Echopaw was angry, but he already knew Nox would do something like that. He only hoped that Lux did something to him for punishment.

    Echopaw nodded. “I know. But I want to consult with them again, even if it means risking my life to do it.” He looked west. “And I know that Nox still need me to do something. He wouldn’t get rid of me so suddenly like last time.”

    “How do you know that?” Lionblaze asked.

    “My visions. Lux told me I decided the fate of the Twolegplace. Whatever I would do would decide the fate of all the cats living here. I think I know what she meant now.” Echopaw closed his eyes. “The first and second vision have come true. I have seen the red light of Glaive’s robotic eye. I have encountered the frightening coat of darkness and red eyes in the shadows, Necron. There is only one left.”

    “The tunnel of razor-sharp wind.” Lionblaze said. “I remember you telling me those three visions. The third one is where you envisioned your death.”

    “The third vision is the most important. It decides who will win.” Echopaw stared at Lionblaze. “My death or life will be the critical turning point of both the Twolegplace and the forest clans.”

    Lionblaze’s eyes shot open. He was surprised by the sudden comment. Who wouldn’t be? Saying the Twolegplace’s fate was decided by him alone. Echopaw could feel it though. Something about who he was and how the Twins treated him. Echopaw was destined for more than just being the leader of StoneClan and defeating Sol and Scourge. He was destined to become a savior of the Twolegplace, and that started as soon as he killed Zon and chased off Fen from the Poisons.

    Echopaw walked away from Lionblaze toward the Hunting patrol waiting at the entrance: Dovewing, Stealthpaw, and Cinderpelt. “But I’m fine with it. Nox can’t kill me yet. Lux continues to grace me with her ideals and powers. And I continue to be me.” He smiled at Lionblaze, “I’m done with being left in the dark to be a scared little kit. I’m a full grown cat who is leading a clan of cats to battle evil. I have to be brave and strong.”

    “Spoken like a true leader. Firestar is proud of you, I know it.” Lionblaze bowed and walked to join the others grabbing prey from the food pile.

    Echopaw greeted Stealthpaw and Dovewing. Cinderpelt was already going through the entrance to camp as they finished up talking. They headed out to catch the prey that had returned to the forest in a hurry. Echopaw smiled along the way as he watch Stealthpaw become more engaged with StoneClan’s activities. StoneClan’s goal was far from reached, but as more and more cats joined StoneClan, they would be able to match BloodClan and Sol’s power.





    “Leaf? What are you doing?”

    Blaze put a paw to her face as she watched Leaf chase a butterfly across the river. She was close to grabbing it with her paws, but it fluttered just above her reached. The butterfly drifted away, and leaf was left to sit by a small sprout of a tree.

    Leaf looked at the tree. It was malnourished to say the least. It had probably been frozen over and hadn’t been able to grow. In pity, Leaf touched it with her paw. Immediately, it shook off the ice, sprouted leaves, and grew twice it’s size. She jumped back a bit, then giggled at it. With her telepathic voice, she spoke, “Little guy just needed a little push is all.”

    “Again, what are you doing?” Blaze walked up to her and faced the suddenly healthy tree. She also talked telepathically. “Don’t you do this all the time back at the eastern forest?”

    “No. All the trees there never wither and freeze like these ones do, and I’m glad to help nature when it needs me!” Leaf spun around in place, making a nice patch of grass below her feet. “Seeing this forest in the shape it is, I think it needs me more than it thinks.”

    “Forests don’t think, Leaf. Geez.” Blaze stepped over her grass, burning it to a cinder with the mere touch of her paw. She continued walking and said, “We already checked up on the Twolegplace. It was horrible, but I think this next stop will be nice.”

    “Ooh! Yes! I know, I know!” Leaf swiped the burned ground and the grass returned. “StoneClan! Echopaw! I can’t wait!” She skipped alongside Blaze. “I’m so glad Stone let us get out of that stinky forest.”

    Blaze purred. “You’re not the only one. The place was giving me the creeps after the Broken Hearts got into it so easily.”

    Leaf frowned. “Well, it was Nox’s fault. The only reason they got in was because he let them.”

    “That dirt-eater deserves to be beaten up by Lux after that. Too bad neither of them will win.”

    “Too bad Nox can’t lose. That’s all I’m sad about.”

    “Right?”

    Blaze chuckled. The two peculiar she-cats always talked and had fun like this. Leaf may be shy, but when she’s alone with Blaze, she feels completely safe.

    But they weren’t going to be alone soon. After walking along the path for 5 minutes, they heard something in the distance. A voice, no, two voices... three voices. They were all cats talking with each other about something.

    Leaf was instantly frightened by the presence of other cats, and she hid behind Blaze. Blaze patted her on the head, trying not to burn Leaf, crouched to the ground, and slowly tip-toed toward the voices. They were obviously not trying to hide. One of the voices could be heard clear across the forest.

    The closer they got, the more Leaf got closer to Blaze. She was almost close enough to get her own fur singed off by Blaze’s power of fire. They were careful to not touch anything but the ground so their powers wouldn’t accidentally cause a forest fire or attract the attention of the cats nearby. Mice scurried away when they caught sight of the two sneaking through the trees. The birds watched silently, the sky was clear, and the lights cutting through the trees repeatedly hit the two she-cats’ pelts.

    Blaze stopped, then hid behind the next tree she approached. Leaf found herself exposed. She looked both ways frozen, then sped behind another tree close to Blaze’s. She shivered and whispered telepathically to her friend. “Who do you think they are? They don’t smell like Echopaw, so they can’t be from StoneClan.”

    Blaze replied, “I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to figure out mouse-brain.” She lifted her ears to hone in on the cats conversation.

    “Where the heck are we now?” The first sounded like an annoyed she-cat.

    “I think we’re in the right place... I just don’t know where the right place is yet.” This one sounded enthusiastic, but dumb.

    “Doesn’t that mean we are not in the right place?”

    “No... It means... we’re close.”

    “Well, no helping it now. Let’s wait until night, then we can find the camp.” The third was a masculine tom’s voice. He mentioned a camp. Were they trying to find StoneClan too? At night? They sounded like...

    “I agree with him. I’d rather not lose track of where we are again.”

    “Aww, but I want to find them now! Wasn’t that our mission? To get to them as soon as possible? What if the camp is right behind those trees?”

    Uh-oh. Was the she-cat going to come over here? Blaze would be caught. But before she got the chance to run, she got hit with a stick right in the head. It bounced off her and broke, but the hit still stung.

    “You know, throwing sticks will not solve everything.”

    “Say that to the dog we encountered a few days back.”

    “Ugh... Stop throwing sticks. You could poke a cat’s eye out doing that.”

    “Never!”

    Blaze couldn’t help but laugh in her head. She had spunk, to say the least. Blaze recovered from the blow and returned to hiding, listening in more on what they had to say.

    “Why can’t you just listen!?”

    “Calm down now. Leave her be. If she won’t listen, she’ll have to learn from her mistakes.”

    “But it could get her killed! What if she was on the thunderpath and a monster came across toward her? I don’t think a stick will stop that.”

    Very true.

    “Well then, I’ll just get a bigger stick!”

    “You’re pushing it now, sister!”

    Ha. They were hilarious.

    “Come on. Let’s find some water. I think I saw some blue from the cliffs around here.”

    “Yeah, so she can cool off.”

    “Argh! Now you’re going to get it!”

    The fight had finally begun. Yes! Blaze poked her head over the wall of bushes to watch. The two she-cats were tussling with each other in the clearing. The darker pelted orange she-cat had the upper paw over her lighter orange opposing she-cat. The tom was on the sidelines, trying to stop them with words. Not going to work buddy. Blaze sat back and enjoyed the show, Leaf peeking over her shoulder to watch with her.

    The darker she-cat continued to pummel the other she-cat with a flurry of swipes and headbutts while the smaller one struggled to get free of her grip. The tom was yelling at them to stop. “You need to stop this! You are going to attract unwanted attention if you keep fighting.”

    “Be quiet! It’s about time I taught her a lesson. You should always listen to your siblings and stay safe!”

    “Get off me! You’re hurting me!”

    “She’s hurt enough, now stop fighting.”

    “One more minute!”

    Blaze put down her imaginary popcorn and stood up. This was getting out of paw. The smaller she-cat was obviously holding back, while the other one went full force at her. If the tom wasn’t going to actually try to break them up, then Blaze had to step in. For sisterly love’s sake! Leaf stayed behind as Blaze stomped past the bushes that seemingly hid the two.

    The two weren’t giving up, more specifically the darker she-cat. As the smaller one looked almost tired and hurt enough to collapse, Blaze stepped out of the bushes, leaving nothing but ashes of them. Her eyes were searing at the two she-cats while her pelt was almost literally bursting into flames. The tom noticed her, and he backed away. “What are you?!”

    She ignored his question. Within nothing but a second’s time, she pushed herself between the two, kicked the small she-cat away, and held the other between her paws.

    The she-cat felt it as soon as Blaze laid her paws on her. Blaze’s pads felt like fire, and was burning into the she-cat’s chest and flank. “Aiiigh! That burns! That burns! Get away from me, you freak!”

    Blaze was knocked away with a geniously placed leg swipe. She was off balanced and had to retreat back to the wall of bushes.

    The she-cat inspected her injuries. “They... they left burn marks? How is that possible?”

    “That’s what you get for picking on her. You shouldn’t be so strict with an inspiring she-cat like her!” Blaze yelled telepathically to the she-cat.

    “I... Did I just hear you in my head?” The she-cat was shocked.

    The tom wasn’t able to hear what she said because Blaze made sure it was only the she-cat who heard her. He said, “Um, we don’t want to fight. We were just passing through. Please let us go in peace.”

    Blaze talked directly to the she-cat again. “Is she your sister? And he’s your brother?”

    The she-cat replied after a few seconds. She was completely white now. “Yes.”

    The tom was only able to hear his sister talking. “Yes? Yes to what?”

    “Then listen up! You need to learn to let cats make their own lives. Your sister there deserves the right to think, act, and do what she wants, and you have no authority to tell her different.” Blaze came closer to the she-cat again, this time she didn’t attack, yet she narrowed her eyes and flattened her ears as she spoke in the she-cat’s mind. “Maybe you should listen to yourself sometime and see how naggy you really are. And if you say you’re supposed to listen to your siblings, than maybe you should follow your own advice! Twice, your sister said she gave up and she was hurt, and your brother said to stop fighting, but what did you do?! You didn’t listen!”

    The she-cat leaned back in fear as Blaze loomed over her.

    “Understand me!?”

    She nodded.

    All the while, the brother sat on his haunches ready to protect his sister from the newcomer if she tried to attack once more. “Please leave us be. We were only play-acting. We’ll leave now.”

    Play-acting? Blaze calmed down enough to finally listen to what the tom was saying. She spoke to where everyone of the siblings could hear her telepathic voice. “What do you mean by ‘play-acting?’”

    The tom shook his head abruptly and blinked. “Did I just hear-”

    “Yes, yes, I’m talking to you telepathically. Now, tell me what you meant.”

    “Cool! I can hear her in my head!” The orange tabby she-cat had regained her strength suddenly and jumped next to Blaze. “What else can you do?”

    Blaze could understand how the she-cat felt now. It was like being surrounded by mouse-brains. Still, that didn’t call for her attacking her own sister.

    The tom coughed and sat astutely. “I’m sorry. We don’t sound very mature, do we? Come on you two, let’s get serious now. Fireblossom, behave yourself.”

    “Oh, was I acting kittish there. Sorry.” Fireblossom, the orange tabby, transformed into a polite but still rambunctious cat. “We were just fooling around because we’re lost. We are trying to find our allies. They are called StoneClan.”

    StoneClan. So they aren’t Assassins. Blaze stepped back. She had finally realized what she had done and regretted it. What if they could have handled themselves? They all seemed mature now. Maybe it was just a fake fight. After looking at Fireblossom once more, she didn’t look too scratched up. A few bruises, but ones that a cat deserves when it makes dumb decisions.

    Blaze said, “No, I’m sorry. Were you actually trying to hurt your sister?”

    The she-cat shook her head. “I would never hurt my sister severely, no. I just wanted to mess with her and teach her a lesson, but I guess I need to rethink it a bit more.”

    The sudden change in atmosphere overwhelmed Blaze a bit.

    The tom said, “Did you think... Ah, now I see. You thought we were being serious.” The tom smiled. “Don’t be ashamed. Plenty of cats back home thought we were taking it a bit too rough as well. You aren’t the first to butt in and give a scare to Stormbite like that.”

    Strombite, huh? Fits her.

    Blaze released the tension in her chest. Hearing she wasn’t the only one who fell for such a ruse calmed her more. “Your acting is really good.”

    “Well, it how we were when we were apprentices, and we always like to dwell on the past and enjoy it.” The tom laughed. “Sometimes, we all got tossed into separate dens because we fought too ‘roughly’ with each other. More specifically my sisters actually.” He twitched his whiskers, closed his eyes, and bowed his head. “I’m Harrythorn. Mind if I ask what your name is?”

    “Uh...” She was still confused. “Blaze.”

    Stormbite lowered her head. “Blaze? As in, ‘fire’ blaze?” She rubbed the marks on her chest. “That kinda explains this... Kinda...”

    “Again, I didn’t mean to be so harsh with you. I thought you were harming your sister.” Blaze said. “I can explain everything later, but for now, you say you're trying to find StoneClan?”

    Harrythorn answered, “Yes. We have traveled long and far to find them. Do you know where the camp is?”

    “It shouldn’t be too far from here. I’ll take you there if your telling the truth. Are you really friends of Echopaw?”

    Fireblossom jumped and said, “Totally. Well, he doesn’t know who we are, but he knows about us.”

    Stormbite spoke next. “We are from SkyClan, and we are allied with StoneClan. We’ve traveled for weeks now to find the place, and we’ve fought loners, dogs, and even the weather!”

    Harrythorn finished, “If you could take us to the StoneClan camp, I’m sure Echopaw will be happy to see us.”

    SkyClan... Well, better than SunClan, she thought. “Hmm... I guess you all seem nice enough. And I have to make it up to you from burning your pelt.” Blaze sighed. “I’ll help you.”

    “Yes! Let’s get going!” Fireblossom began walking away. She disappeared through the trees, but popped back up again after a few seconds. “Um, so, where is it again?”

    Blaze replied, “There should be a river to the west of here. Across that river, there are a jumble of paths that snake through the trees. Somewhere in there, you’ll find the camp.”

    “So this is your first time meeting StoneClan? You sound pretty unsure of it’s exact location.” Harrythorn added.

    “Well, I haven’t really explored this forest much. I got my directions from one of my friends. But I can assure you, Echopaw is a friend of mine. I met him a few weeks ago.”

    “Ah well, let’s get going then.” Stormbite pushed her brother to start walking down the path Blaze pointed them down. Fireblossom soon followed along with a skip in her step. Blaze stared at the three that had just looked entirely different a minute ago.

    Leaf came out of the bushes when the three were a good distance away. She said, “I don’t like to see you like that.”

    “Yeah, me neither. But sometimes, you need to put your paw down.” Blaze flicked her ears. “Luckily, they were just pretending.” She walked forward with Leaf right behind her.

    “They are strange.” Leaf said.

    “You think?”