Warriors || Hopestar's Choice: Book 1 (1 of 3)

Chapter 22

Darkness surround Hopepaw as she wandered through a forest with no stars. Her hair stood on her spine while she crept from shadow to shadow. What was this place? It smelled boggy and the air was heavy. She became aware of something following her.

Hopepaw started running, but she found that it didn't matter how fast she ran, she wasn't moving. Whatever it was, it crept closer and closer... Glowing eyes peered at her from the shadows. They surrounded her and she had no where to run.

"Hopepaw...Hopepaw..." The voices spoke together in one chorus, chanting her name.

She tried to run, but her legs were frozen in place. Her heart pounded against her chest as the glowing eyes came closer. Where was there to run? The shadows stepped into the light and Hopepaw realized that they were regular cats. Except these cats had a dangerous aura about them.

"Welcome, Hopepaw," spoke a dark voice. Stepping from the crowd was a pure black tom.

"A-am I in StarClan?" Hopepaw wondered as her voice shook. Did this mean that StarClan was real? Another thing that Tigerstar lied about?

The black tom chuckled as if she were a kit who asked something ridiculous. "No, this isn't StarClan. This is the Dark Forest and only the strongest cats come here when they die."

"What's your name?" Hopepaw asked bravely. She stood taller and faced the tom. "You know mine, so it's only fair."

"You're not here to negotiate." The black tom growled, his eyes gleaming. "I am here to remind you where your loyalties lie: in TigerClan."

Hopepaw eyed the other cats surrounding her. They seemed to follow the black tom's lead. Unless he ordered them to, Hopepaw felt that they wouldn't harm her. She turned her head back to the black tom.

"I'm loyal to TigerClan." Hopepaw murmured carefully. Her neck fur stood on edge and her heart still raced with fear.

"Good, we wouldn't want you to forget why you're in RiverClan." The black tom purred, but it sounded diabolical.

Her fur stood up along her spine. "I haven't forgotten."

"If you stay on the right path, you'll be leader one day of the biggest, most powerful, clan in history. It can all be yours." The black tom circled her. "You can protect everyone you hold dear."

Hopepaw's heart leaped. If she became leader of TigerClan, she could protect everyone. Sandstorm, Owlpaw, Maplepaw, Graystripe, Stormpaw, and Featherpaw... She could protect the whole of RiverClan which she's grown surprisingly fond of.

"So, let's not forget our loyalties. Shall we?" The tom wondered, sitting down in front of her.

Hopepaw nodded and lifted her green eyes to him. "I promise I won't."

~*~

"Hopepaw? Hopepaw wake up!" Someone was shaking her and her eyes snapped open.

"Huh, what?" Hopepaw yawned and looked through narrow eyes. It was Graystripe.

"We're on the dawn patrol, so hurry up." Graystripe mewed before leaving the den.

Hopepaw groaned and stood up to stretch. Her other denmates were still asleep and she envied them. She stepped out of the den into the morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but the forest was starting to wake up. She spotted Graystripe waiting with Loudbelly, Shadepelt, and Mistyfoot.

"Are we leaving now?" Hopepaw yawned to Graystripe.

Mistyfoot shook her head, answering before Graystripe. "No, were waiting for Crookedstar. He's coming with us."

Hopepaw sat straighter when she saw Crookedstar emerge from his den and pad over to them. She had to impress him. The large tabby tom surveyed the patrol and nodded.

"Let's head out," Crookedstar meowed and he led the patrol out of camp. "We are going to start with the TigerClan border and move our way towards WindClan."

Yawning, Hopepaw fell at the back of the group. She felt exhausted, almost as if she hadn't slept at all last night. But she had, hadn't she? The only strange thing about last night was her dream. That had only been her imagination, right? What else could it be? Or had she really sworn her loyalty to a dark power?

The patrol made its way along the river, renewing the scent marks as they went. Hopepaw kept her gaze trained away from the dark smudge of trees that was her former home. She marked her scent along with the others and she realized that she didn't smell like a TigerClan cat anymore. They passed Sunningrocks and the twoleg bridge before coming to the gorge.

Hopepaw had only seen the gorge a few times and each time had been brief. As the patrol marked along the gorge, Hopepaw had plenty of time to look down at the surging waterfall. The water crashed below, creating white water that looked terribly angry.

She crept closer to get a better look when the ground beneath her paws started to slip. Hopepaw's fur stood on end as she started to fall. A yowl escaped her jaws just before she felt strong teeth bury into her scruff. Hopepaw hung there, suspended in the air, with the hungry river roaring below.

Crookedstar came to her side and took more of her scruff to help Graystripe haul her up. They didn't stop pulling until the tip of her tail touched solid ground. She was shaking and her heart raced inside her chest. The others were gathered around her in worry.

"Hopepaw, are you alright?!" It was Graystripe who asked the question.

Slowly, she nodded. She had to, even if it was a lie. She didn't want him to worry. "Just a little shaken."

"You should've known better than to get too close to the edge!" Graystripe growled, a hint of anger in his voice. "What would I have done if you fell, never to be seen again?!"

Everyone else looking on would've assumed that he was worried because he was her mentor. They didn't realize how direct he was being. Hopepaw sat up and faced Graystripe. In his eyes, she saw worry that could rival that of any parent.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." She murmured, lowering her head. "It won't happen again."

Graystripe let out a long sigh. "I'm glad you're okay."

"That goes for all of us, Hopepaw," Crookedstar spoke up. "Whether you've realized this or not, but you've become apart of the clan. RiverClan is your home now."

Her heart warmed at his words only to be chilled again. She had a mission to do and his words shouldn't mean more to her than a means to complete her mission. Crookedstar wasn't her leader, Tigerstar was. Still, it felt good to hear him say that.

"Thank you, Crookedstar. I feel that I've finally found my place." Hopepaw lied, but it didn't all feel like a lie. She felt more comfortable here in RiverClan than in TigerClan.

"Maybe you should head back to camp," Crookedstar suggested. "That was quite a scare you had."

Hopepaw looked to Graystripe for permission. When he nodded, she turned to Crookedstar with a nod. She turned and followed the river back to camp. Her heart felt light with the knowledge that Crookedstar accepted her as a clanmate, whether or not she deserved it was a different story.