FanFiction

WARRIORS | A TWISTED WAY OF LIFE

             ~ Preview + Prologue ~

Fangs glinting, and leaf-green eyes sparkling with horror, the tortoiseshell she-cat struggled out of the raging water. Flanks heaving with effort, she dragged herself up onto the beach, panting. She sat there in shock for many seconds, until the tide came in, and her water-logged pelt was gone. The sun sank below the horizon and clouds gently blew in to cover the claw-scratch of a moon. The waves were calmer now, and lapped gently against the smooth, gray stones. A small, almost imperceptible trace of blood was streaming from the bank where the she-cat had been standing. Thin black, white, and brown tufts of fur were lying everywhere. 

A sudden rustle filled the shore, and out of no-where, a crow, black as night, swooped down. Feathers glossy and groomed, it veered toward the spot where the tortoiseshell she-cat had disappeared.

It landed with a small thud and waddled over to the stream of hot, red, ooze. 

With a small, tick - tick - tick - tick, it stepped over to the clumps of matted, soggy fur and leaned it’s head down to grasp them in his beak. A few moments later, it could hold no more. It leaned it’s head up to the moonlight and attempted to call out. 

Instead of the usual, cackling, caw-caw noise, it let out a sort of moan. 

Burr-grah, Burr-grah. 

With one last shuffle of it’s tail feathers, it took off into the night sky, and not a trace of the she-cat remained.   

                                                                                         •   •   •   •   •   •

“Nice day for hunting.” Sneered the mottled brown she-cat.

The ginger she-cat whirled around and snarled. 

“What do you want Briarstem?” she demanded.

Birds chirped in the distance and the blood-red sky casted dark shadows behind every pine tree as the night drew closer.

“Be careful where you place your paws!” Warned Briarstem, a dangerous edge to her tone. 

The red she-cat paused and looked down warily. She hadn’t noticed the strong aroma of HailClan that weaved in and out of the forest floor. 

“You wouldn’t want to get caught in a border skirmish, now would you Cardinalpaw?” Briarstem teased. 

“It’s Cardinalwing now.” Began the she-cat. “And I am perfectly capable of shredding your warriors to bits.” 

Cardinalwing unsheathed her claws and purposely slammed her paw down over the border.

“Watch it fog-brain!” Hissed Briarstem, leaning closer to the young she-cat’s muzzle. “I wouldn’t move another pawstep if I were you.” 

Anger surged inside of Cardinalwing and her hackles rose. 

I can’t believe this! She’s practically asking for a battle! 

She bared her fangs and hissed menacingly. 

Briarstem lost it completely and reared up on her hind paws, scratching at Cardinalwing’s muzzle furiously. 

Yowling with fury, Cardinalwing aimed a hard blow at Briarstem’s front paw and hooked her claw deep into her pad. She leapt up and sunk her fangs deep into the mottled brown she-cat’s shoulder.

Briarstem spat with exhilarating pain as she felt blood pouring out of her leg. Her limb went numb and her eyes rolled back into her head as she felt fire touch her bone. 

Then everything went black.

I did it! Thought Cardinalwing proudly. I defeated Briarstem! 

~ Chapter One + Two ~ 

“Nice day for hunting.” Sneered the mottled brown she-cat.

The ginger she-cat whirled around and snarled. 

“What do you want Briarstem?” she demanded.

Birds chirped in the distance and the blood-red sky casted dark shadows behind every pine tree as the night drew closer.

“Be careful where you place your paws!” Warned Briarstem, a dangerous edge to her tone. 

The dusty brown she-cat paused and looked down warily. She hadn’t noticed the strong aroma of HailClan that weaved in and out of the forest floor. 

“You wouldn’t want to get caught in a border skirmish, now would you Cardinalpaw?” Briarstem teased. 

“It’s Cardinalwing now.” Began the she-cat. “And I am perfectly capable of shredding your warriors to bits.” 

Cardinalwing unsheathed her claws and purposely slammed her paw down over the border.

“Watch it fog-brain!” Hissed Briarstem, leaning closer to the young she-cat’s muzzle. “I wouldn’t move another pawstep if I were you.” 

Anger surged inside of Cardinalwing and her hackles rose. 

I can’t believe this! She’s practically asking for a battle! 

She bared her fangs and hissed menacingly. 

Briarstem lost it completely and reared up on her hind paws, scratching at Cardinalwing’s muzzle furiously. 

Yowling with fury, Cardinalwing aimed a hard blow at Briarstem’s front paw and hooked her claw deep into her pad. She leapt up and sunk her fangs deep into the mottled brown she-cat’s shoulder.

Briarstem spat with exhilarating pain as she felt blood pouring out of her leg. Her limb went numb and her eyes rolled back into her head as she felt fire touch her bone. 

Then everything went black.

I did it! Thought Cardinalwing proudly. I defeated Briarstem! 

“Cardinalwing! What happened?” Screeched a high-pitched voice from in the bracken. 

“Hazelpaw? What are you doing here?” Demanded Cardinalwing, taking a step back from Briarstem’s unmoving body.

“Y-you killed that cat!” Hazelpaw meowed in horror, taking a step back into the shadows and shaking.

“No! I just injured her! I never meant to...” Cardinalwing’s hackles rose and a deafening realization stirred inside of her. 

I killed her...

“What is going on here?!” A pale gray HailClan tom snarled from across the border. Horror lit his gaze as he spotted Briarstem’s bloody pelt.

Mortified, Hazelpaw rushed back to camp, leaving Cardinalwing shaking with isolation. 

“You!” Without thinking, the grief-stricken tom raced across the border and sunk his teeth deep into Cardinalwing’s scruff, throwing her across the clearing. 

Shaking with each step, the pale tabby she-cat threw herself aimlessly onto his back, but with no avail. The tom easily swiped her away with a blow to the muzzle. 

Fighting for her life, Cardinalwing yowled in the direction of the BirchClan camp, but not even a rustle of life was heard. At this point, the she-cat would have been grateful for anything, a sound of accompaniment from a small sparrow, a breeze that travelled through her soft fur, or even a star, a sign that StarClan was watching. 

Instead, she got something even greater.

Just as the tom was about to spring yet again, three muscular BirchClan cats, Pondflower, Jayfang, and Otterpelt, leaped in between them. 

Hissing and spitting, they lashed out and tussled viciously with the tom for a few moments, leaving Cardinalwing panting and bleeding out her life on a smooth, gray stone. She raked her claws down the gravel with an earsplitting yowl as a lump of pain passed through her belly. It felt as if fire was spreading through it and pouring out onto the rock. She didn’t dare look down. 

The tom tore open my stomach! Help me StarClan!

But the horrors continued, ripping and clawing, the forest turned black as the tom was ripped from her shredded pelt by the force of her clanmates. 

But It was too late. 

Cardinalwing was dead.

The camp was eerily quiet.

Only the soft sounds of sparrows far off in the distance could be heard.

Wind weaved through the tall blades of grass, and rustled the willow tree that offered shelter to all queens. 

The long, soft, fronds of leaf-green vines hung from the tree and swayed in the wind.

It was a perfect night.

Dapplekit reached out a paw and attempted to tackle the intriguing frond that hung above her soft head, but instead, her pad grazed the very tip, sending warm, ticklish waves cascading through her pelt. 

She let out a satisfied mrrow of laughter.

I must be getting bigger! She thought proudly, puffing out her chest. I never would have been able to reach that last green-leaf! 

Wispy gray clouds drifted lazily across the sky, heading toward the full moon. Dapplekit strained her tiny head to get a better look at the big round circle that bathed her in light. 

She twisted her body until her head was leaned against the soft, brown earth in which she was lounging on. 

How wonderful it must be to be a warrior. 

Dapplekit soon grew tired of lazing around and chasing the fronds of willow, so she stood up and shook her pelt, sending showers of dust and muck everywhere. 

“Watch it! You got mud all over my pelt you furball!”

Dapplekit twisted her head around, and soon her whole body, to come face-to-face with her littermate, Willowkit. 

She couldn’t help a mrrow of laughter from escaping. 

Willowkit’s normally well-groomed, soft, silky white pelt was matted and damp with dust and dirt.

“It’s not funny! Fogstar could make us apprentices any moment now, and we have to look our best!” She mewed, clearly upset.

“Here, let me help you.” Soothed Dapplekit, feeling a little guilty.

She ran her tongue all throughout Willowkit’s pelt until it was neat and spotless, just like before.

“Thanks.” Willowkit purred.

“I’m bored.” Exclaimed Dapplekit, ignoring Willowkit’s praise.

 She went limp and allowed herself to flop onto her side and feel the cool earth against her tangled fur yet again. 

“Let’s go play with Tulipkit and Rosekit!” Began Willowkit excitedly. “They’re so cute! Brownfur even let me groom one! I hear they’re old enough to play now! We could teach them how to play moss-ball!” 

“But moss-ball’s boring!” Whined Dapplekit. “I wanna play something else.” 

“Okay, what about...” Willowkit paused, thinking hard. “I know! I’ll be leader, you be deputy, they can be warriors, and we could all play Clan together!” 

“Yeah! That’ll be so much fun! I’ll go get them!” Dapplekit meowed. 

“Just make sure you stay inside the camp.” Creekfur warned, padding over to the pair. 

“Yes, and no fake battles.” Said Amberdawn sternly. “Rosekit and Tulipkit are still too young for rough play.” 

“Okay!” Meowed Dapplekit and Willowkit at the same time. 

This is going to be so much fun! 

An earsplitting yowl filled the clearing, and Dapplekit dug her claws into the soil to stop herself. Willowkit was bigger, and scraped them gently to come to a halt. 

What’s going on? 

Cats rushed out of their dens, and Fogstar raced down from his Oak tree, panic in his eyes. 

The entire clan was gathered in the clearing, all facing the source of the yowl, Hazelpaw.

But the shaky, matted, bloody she-cat that stood before them didn’t look like Hazelpaw at all.

She was skinnier, not leaf-bare skinny, more like starving-crow skinny. 

“Hazelpaw, where have you been?” Demanded Fogstar. 

Hazelpaw just stood there with her tail between her legs, trembling. Her eyes were glazed over with horror, like she wasn’t even here. Like she was in a whole other place.

When she refused to answer, the outlines of three cats appeared in the brush. 

Otterpelt, Pondflower, Jayfang, and Nightraven. 

“Explain!” Screeched Fogstar.