Standing Strong

[ƒrФ§тƒire]

Thanks, you guys! XD And I think we can all relate to gullible-ness, BlackLights!

O.O I would now like to announce that I have been here for roughly...2 years now. I first "joined" conversations as a guest around January first in 2006 thanks to Skyfrost. XDD Cheers! Okay, I don't know when I'll get on again, so here's what I hope is an awesome chapter to entertain you until I can update again. Now read. READ! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA-AHAHAHAHA-AAHA--*coughs*

~

Rosepaw woke early that morning, too early for training, but not early enough to beat Redstar's daily sunrise surveillance of camp. She walked outside of the apprentice's den and stretched. After a few heartbeats, Icepaw joined her.

There were a few moments of intense silence, and Redstar re-entered his den with a satisfactory nod. Finally, Icepaw spoke.

"I won't pretend that I'm not jealous that you got Moonpelt instead of me," he said, almost resignedly.

"I-I'm sorry," Rosepaw stumbled, and added quickly, "But Amberpelt is a great warrior--"

"No. Hear me out, okay?" His eyes burned out at her, almost angrily, but his gaze lacked the intensity of hatred. Rosepaw nodded warily. He continued, "You've always been pretending to be Whitetail's daughter. And I can see it in your eyes that you hate it. You want to be with your mother and sister again, don't you?"

Rosepaw hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, I do. It's not like I don't like you or Whitetail, it's just..."

Icepaw stopped her again. "I know. It's okay. I want to be your friend, Rosepaw, but not your brother. And I wanted to apologize for some of the things I've said--"

Rosepaw nodded again, confused. Why was he telling her this?

"Look, I'll get to the point. You don't have to stay here, Rosepaw. I-I have a confession...I saw what happened before Redstar exiled Frostfire."

"What?" she breathed, her heart lurching dangerously in her chest.

"Redstar was hurt, badly, and Frostfire wasn't really all that scratched--it's because she's such a great fighter, probably. He was breathing hard, but he managed to rasp, 'I had a dream. StarClan was so unhappy with you...they told me you'd bring our Clan into battle, so soon after the last. This is your fault.' Frostfire was horrified by this, and tried to argue, but Redstar told her he'd lost a life, and if she didn't leave his territory by sundown that day, he'd send all of his able warriors and apprentices after her.

"She gave him a desperate look, and just...left. I don't know where she is now, but she left for the eastern part of our territory, by the Gold Lake. And I know you've been looking for her for a while now, at night, when you think everyone's asleep. But I woke up a couple nights ago, and you weren't in camp, so I put two and two together. But why don't you leave and prove Frostfire's innocence? Then Frostfire and your mom can come back, and you don't have to lie to yourself every day."

Rosepaw closed her eyes, breathing hard. He seemed sincere...but...could she really trust him? She wanted to, though. She wanted to so badly.

The camp had started to come alive around them, and Rosepaw made up her mind quickly. "Okay, I'll do it. Thank you, Icepaw."

An unreadable expression flitted across his eyes, and he dipped his head. "May all of StarClan go with you, Rosepaw. I know you'll find a way. You...you always do."

Rosepaw hesitated briefly, and pressed her nose into Icepaw's fur. He stiffened at the contact, surprised, and she pulled back. "Bye." And then she whisked around and bolted through the camp's entrance, before any cat could really notice she'd left.

~

Frostfire wasn't one to sleep late. Usually, she liked to wake with the dawn and take a quick patrol around camp. But she wasn't in WingClan, and she had been out late. So she slept in, and woke when Darkwind prodded her awake.

She'd dreamt, though, of a blue-eyed tom, with brown fur almost as dark as the shadowy forest behind him. He'd told her of power and destiny, and then spoke of her little sister, the she-cat that meant everything to her since her mother had left. Rosepaw. She'd run away from WingClan, and was looking for her...

Frostfire was both happy and worried. She didn't want Rosepaw to throw away her life to join these dark, exiled cats. They could be dangerous to her. And how would she survive, when she hadn't even had a day of warrior training?

"Are you okay?" Emberheart asked, looking up from a vole that he was sharing with Darkwind.

"I'm fine," she replied distractedly, and was glad he couldn't know the truth.

[Waterfall]

Great chapter!! Please right again soon!! Anyway love the story!!

[BlackLights]

Yay, I'm not alone!
Wow, 2 years? I've been here for like.. less than two weeks..
I feel kinda immature. D: Oh well.
Hope you update soon, I'll be waiting!

[lazy frosteh]

I'm on at school during my lunchtime, so no time to update. And I'm also not logged in...

I can't get online at home right now, kinda being punished for my still-poor grades. Sorry.

Thanks, Waterfall!!!

And you're not immature, BlackLights, at least you don't sound like it.

[Tear]

Great Chapter

[ƒrФ§тƒire]

I is back. My hiatus will be no longer. I heart everyone who is reading this story (and giving me such kind comments) and I will now reward your patience with a chapter. Yay.

I bet you're wondering how I manage to keep my friends. ;D ;D ;D
~
Frostfire felt the supressed emotions in camp that day, far more than she usually would. They prickled at her pelt, making her both uncomfortable and on edge, just waiting for a battle to break out. It wouldn't happen, surely, but with Rosepaw possibly wandering through the forest...

"Should we do a patrol?" she mewed abruptly.

Fogfur glared at her. "No," he said pointedly. "We leave Clan traditions behind here. There's no need to look for an imaginary enemy."

Frostfire sighed and lowered her head onto her paws. "Sorry," she muttered. He was so irritating!

Emberheart gave an amused chuckle, his eyes warm. "Darkwind, you and Frostfire should probably go hunting," he said gently. "Show her around, would you?"

The dark tabby she-cat stood and glared at Emberheart. "Why don't you?" she snarled. Before Emberheart could react, however, she agreed. "Come on," she snapped at Frostfire.

The white she-cat stood to join Darkwind, keeping a careful eye on the moody feline. They pushed through the eastern ferns carelessly, and walked in silence for a while. Darkwind only offered a few detached words like, "Hunting's good here," "Look out for the poison ivy," and "Do you have to walk so loudly? You'll scare all the prey!"

Frostfire rolled her eyes and tried to walk more silently.

Suddenly, Darkwind stopped. "How did you do that yesterday? Really?"

"You mean, with the-"

"Yeah, how you could see right through to the truth. It was incredible."

Frostfire shrugged slightly. "I always could tell. It just took some refining, and there you go. It's a weird talent. Most of the cats in my family had something or other they could do."

Darkwind actually smiled at her, like a friend. "It's a great talent," she said, her voice warm.

Frostfire relaxed. Maybe they could actually be friends. "Do you think we should hunt before we go back?"

The darker she-cat dipped her head in agreement. "Probably a good idea."

They split up, crouching deep into the undergrowth. Frostfire moved her ears as far forward as possible, listening intently.

There.

A heartbeat. She couldn't scent the mouse, but she knew it was there, barely a foot or more in front of her. It was an awfully large, clumsy creature, too. The amount of noise it made was outrageous, like it was begging to be caught.

She flew forward, extending her claws as she lunged for her prey. There was a horrible shriek of pain, far louder than any mouse's cry. Darkwind came running, and let out a slight purr as she saw the true prey of Frostfire's. "That kit must be one of Night's! We've shown him how strong we are again!"

"No!" wailed Frostfire, staggering backward. There, lying limply in the dead leaves, was her younger sister, Rosepaw. She looked so limp and frail, far too young and innocent of war to be in the presence of feral rogues. Her eyes were closed, and a wide gash ran down her shut eyelid and cheekbone, pooling blood. "Rosepaw, NO!"

Darkwind froze. "You know her? Who is she!" Her voice was harsh and accusing.

"That's my sister," breathed Frostfire in horror. "My little sister. She must have come looking for me after I was exiled..."

The dark she-cat moved forward swiftly. "Come on, fetch some cobwebs. I know what to do."

"You do...?"

"I was the medicine cat's assistant in DuskClan before he had an apprentice, when many of my Clan mates were ill. I learned how to tend to battle wounds as well. Now hurry, before she looses her eye!"

Frostfire ran to obey Darkwind's order, surprised at that new knowledge. When she returned with cobwebs, a kind of leafy pulp had already been smoothed into the wound, and Rosepaw had recovered from her unconciousness. Her wailings of pain were horrible to listen to, but Frostfire squared her shoulders and gave Darkwind the required web.

"We need to get her back to our clearing," Darkwind instructed, "where I can care for her better."

They dragged her as gently as possible back to Frostfire's new home. Everything was in a haze, and deep in her mind, she could only think one thing:

My fault.

[Waterfall]

INCREDIBLE CHAPTER!!!!!!! HURRY WITH THE NEXT!!! That was great, and what a cliffhanger, I really like Frostfire's character! ;D Anyway update again soon.

[ƒrФ§тƒire]

Rosepaw had a dream.

The dark tabby tom crouched before her, with amber eyes and a broad chest. His fur was as dark as the many shadows surrounding them.

"That was stupid," he snarled at her, and she blinked, surprised and indignant.

"What was? That I wanted to find my sister, after you chased her away?"

The tom shook his head slowly, glaring. "You had no experience. No prior knowledge before you set out. What were you thinking? Of course a strong, skillful warrior like your sister would think a mite like you was a loud piece of prey!"

"I'm just as good a warrior as Frostfire," snapped Rosepaw angrily.

The cat stood up, towering over her. "Then prove it. Attack me."

She blinked again, and dropped into what she hoped to be a good stance. The older warrior's eyes were emotionless, and she lunged.

Immediately, he was gone, and she fell flat on her chin. When she scrambled up onto her paws, ready to launch another wild attack, he was sitting calmly behind her, unblinking. "That was sloppy," he informed her, but the slightest twinkle of amusement shone in his eyes. "Now, if you do it like this, you'll have a better stance to begin with." He demonstrated the pose. "Well? Aren't you going to try it out?" he asked, annoyed.

Rosepaw quickly copied his stance. He stood and came over, examining it. "No. Spread your front paws out, to make it equal to your hind paws. See?" he asked when she obeyed. "Your weight is more easily balanced, and you'll be better prepared. Now the movement for a jumping attack is simple." He resumed his earlier crouch and shot forward, swiping out his paw and turning quickly at the end, to land neatly on all for paws. "Now you try."

Rosepaw nodded, taking a deep breath. She tried to lunge forward as quickly and silently as the dark tom had done, but without as much success. She thrust out her right paw, and the movement sent her off-course. Stumbling, she brought herself to a shaky landing.

To her surprise, the warrior's eyes held no disapproval or contempt. "That's okay. When you bring yourself forward, stay light on your feet. Dart your paw out, like so," he demonstrated quickly, "and then flick your rear around swiftly enough to turn your whole body. Landing the movement is simple. Try again."

Rosepaw did the move again, using the cat's advice, and found it far easier than before. The cat drilled it into her many times, until it was as natural to her as breathing. Finally, he murmured, "That's enough for one night, and you need rest. You almost lost your eye, but I saved it. Every time you close your other eye and look just through the injured one, you will be able to see any cat from the Dark Forest that's nearby. You'll have a scar; I'm no medicine cat, so there was nothing I could do. I'll speak to you again."

Rosepaw opened her eyes to a dark forest, yet this one was lit by stars and moonlight. The sleeping forms of cats were nearby; one was Frostfire. Next to her was a she-cat and a tom, curled up together. Two others had chosen to put distance between her and Frostfire, sleeping by the edges of their camp.

She shivered and went back to sleep.

[Waterfall]

Cool chapter! I wonder who the cat who was teaching her was.