Warrior Cats: The Thistle and the Feather

Chapter 12

   Thistlestorm padded next to his sister, and Dawn padded next to Shadow, her brother. The daylight cycle seemed back in the works as the sun was at its peak. They walked in silence, all still pondering the strange couple of days they just survived. Finally they reach the large "rock", it looked close to the texture of obsidian but it was way too large to be so. It reached out in jagged spikes some areas, other areas were as smooth as a pebble. 
   "Let's see if we can find the entryway that the cats came from," Featherwing padded up to it. Thistlestorm flinched protectively, despite his sister being a couple seconds older than him. The others nodded at started towards the rock, curiosity pricking their ears straight up. 
   "I found something!" Dawn called to the others. They all ran over to her to find a dark hole that would allow a badger to pass through. Dawn looked at the others, "You only live once," and she walked in.
    "Wait!" Shadow ran after her. Featherwing ran in after him, and Thistlestorm hesitated but followed as well.
   Inside was well lit, regardless of the dark hole that led them in there. Thistlestorm looked around in awe. Sparks of fire were floating around, creating the light, nests made of an unknown soft material were scattered around the place. He stared alarmed as one of the nests was occupied. Out of instinct, he screamed.
   The others looked at him, panicked, and followed his gaze. They looked at the cat, shocked. The cat stared at them as well, looking as alarmed as them. Her blue eyes were quite contradicting to her black pelt, she shrank up against the wall of the rock. 
   "D-don't hurt me p-please," She murmured.
   Shadow hissed and came close to lashing out at her, "Why shouldn't we! You killed my sister and almost us!"
   "I... I know! But I had n-nothing to do w-with it! I was the only one to argue against killing, despite the nature I have b-been raised in."
   Shadow looked at Dawn cautiously, then back at the she-cat, "Prove to us that you are no harm."
   "Well," She murmured and shuffled her paws, "For one, I'm only ten moons old, another," She showed us her nicked ear, "I was given this for my 'insanity'."
   Thistlestorm looked away of pure sympathy. Featherwing stared at him but shrugged and looked back at the she-cat, "Why are you still here and not out with your friends?"
   She shrugged, "They aren't really my friends."
   "Family?" Featherwing inquired.
   "Not really. You see, the creator of our group, Haunting, took cats from all over the world when they were kits and raised them to feel hatred for anyone except their companions and to hate any afterlife that's mentioned. Except for... what they believe in. The Dark Forest," She looks at her paws again.
   Thistlestorm hid behind his sister, while she spoke, "The.. The Dark Forest?"
   "They believe Lurking Shadow is the leader of this place, his acquaintances are Whisper and Moon. They are seen as the strongest force of their belief. I remember a tale that Lurking Shadow was able to pass between... StarClan? and The Dark Forest, but lately he hasn't been allowed to."
    Shadow stares at the ground, contemplating the words she had just said. Thistlestorm stepped up, "I'm... Thistlestorm," he choked.
   "Hi, Thistlestorm," she purred.
   He hid a blush.
    "I'm," She stops, "The Queen of Death.."
    Thistlestorm stares at her, "That can't be your real name?"
   "My kittypet name was Soot."
    "Ok, Soot."
    She purred.
     "Why are your acquaintances trying to kill us?" Shadow asked forcefully.
   "He wants to take over the Clans, to infect their beliefs and turn them like us. Only black or gray cats are allowed. Others will be slaved, and white cats will be killed because they show a sign of purity."
   Featherwing pushed her way in front of Shadow, "Even white cats with markings?"
   "Yes," She sighed, "If you have a white underbelly, you will only be slaved."
   Thistlestorm took the hint that Featherwing was trying to prove. These cats were going to kill Nettlestar.
   "Where are they!" Shadow yowled, "They killed my sister! A mother! And now our Clans? I can't let this happen!"
   "They're incredibly strong," She murmured, "I'm still in training and I honestly could beat you."
   "Try me!" Shadow snarled.
   Soot flinched, Thistlestorm growled, "She wasn't trying to start a fight, she was trying to prove a point!"
   Featherwing stared at her brother, he defended Soot. She shook her head, "Thistlestorm's right."

   "Where are they?" Dawn pushed.
   "I'm not too sure, I could try to detect their scent," She started walking to the exit of the big rock, "But, it's something I'm not too good at. I'm still learning to be able to detect scents as well as the others."
   "Try, we'll follow," Dawn stated calmly, although she was incredibly impatient to sink her teeth into the cat who killed Hawk.
   Soot didn't reply, she was focused as she parted her jaws and stuck her muzzle to the ground. Inching her way around for a bit she perked up, "This way!"

   Exhilarated, the four followed her. They ran through the trees until they found a big group of black and gray cats. Haunting was talking to them.
   Soot looked around, "Come on, I have been taught to be stealthy enough to sneak past these guys! Follow my every move." Carefully, they set each paw softly on the ground and into the undergrowth where they were hidden.
   "This is RainClan's territory, swampy and surrounded by a river," Thistlestorm declared.
   "I know," Soot shuffled quietly, "I remember before we landed, they planned on taking out RainClan first. Haunting thought of them as the weakest Clan."
   "They might actually be, although Fallowkit and Whitekit had just been born." Featherwing mentioned.
   "Whitekit?" Soot stared at her with sorrow, "What do they look like?"
   "Whitekit is a beautiful white tom with stunning blue eyes."
   Soot gulped, "What will we do?"
   Thistlestorm's face lit up with dignity, "I've an idea! How about we tell them to stop."
   Featherwing glared at him, "You mouse-brain! That won't work."
   Shadow growled, "It might."
   "No. It won't. Shadow, they outnumber us thirteen to five," Dawn said.
   "We have the element of surprise," Shadow insisted.
   "Surprise," Thistlestorm smirked.
   "Have bees gone to your brains? Even with the element of surprise, we won't win!" Dawn pressed.
   "I've been stung by bees too many times," Shadow growled, "I don't care." He stalked in the undergrowth until he was ever so close to Haunting. The others would've stopped him, but any sound now would totally direct attention.
   Haunting's ear twitched, he looked to his right, shrugged, and continued expressing the battle plan, "...and we'll attack them with moves from our training! Up slash, down rake, neck lunge, everybody got it?" They all started mumbling amongst themselves and nodded.
   "I'm afraid I don't quite understand," Soot had now placed herself among them, to help Shadow get his claws on Haunting.
   Haunting opened his eyes wide as he looked at the young she-cat, "I didn't even know you came! My apologies. What don't you understand?"
   Shadow jumped.Haunting looked to his right swiftly and smirked, jumping up to meet Shadow mid-air and kicking him off into the tree. The tabby fell still on the ground. Dawn stifled a gasp.
   Haunting growled and stared back at Soot, "Do you know him?"
   Soot panicked and shook her head.
   "Liar!" He yowled and looked at a dark gray cat in the crowd, "Storm. Kill her."
   The tom obliged and walked as the crowd parted way for him. Soot sat there, staring at the ground, helpless. Thistlestorm was about to yowl, but Featherwing knocked him down, "We can't do anything!" She hissed.
   "Why isn't she fighting back!" He hissed back.
   "It's obviously a custom, and it's obvious that there is no way she can beat him," Featherwing answered.
   "Exactly," Thistlestorm smirked.
   Featherwing flicked her ear, "Excuse me?"
   "She can't beat him, but she can injure him," He alleged.
   Featherwing twitched her whiskers, "You've got a point."
   "But how will we tell her to try and fight back?" Dawn pondered. The tom now towered over Soot.
   "No time. We attack. She'll get the hint and fight with us," Thistlestorm presumed.
   "Got it," Dawn said, and Featherwing nodded.
   "Go!" He yowled.
   They charged from the undergrowth and jumped at the gray tom. The rest of the cats gasped, Haunting just narrowed his eyes. Thistlestorm sank his teeth into Storm's neck, Featherwing tore at his fur, Dawn was on his back tearing his flesh. Soot stared wide-eyed, but she got the hint. She got the hint alright, but she didn't fight with them. She knew they would lose. She knew that even if these cats were injured, they would win the fight with RainClan.
   Storm yowled and threw Dawn off his back and kicked Featherwing off of him. Thistlestorm lost his grip on the tom's neck as Storm walked over to Dawn. "Mouse-brain." He growled and picked her up by her neck, not her scruff. He snapped his head to the side and her body flew into another tree, the breath knocked out of her. Featherwing yowled and jumped at him again, he hissed and turned away in time, he stomped his paw on her leg, smiling as she yowled in pain. He walked over to Dawn and sank his teeth in her neck again, and banged her against the tree over and over and over. He let go of Dawn and stared at her bloody figure on the ground. Now running towards Soot. 
   Featherwing tried to get up, but her contorted foreleg sent a sharp pain through her body, she writhed in pain. Thistlestorm charged at him, but a black cat brought him down. But another figure appeared. A white tom specked with gray. The tom brought his paw against the gray tom, hard. The opponent fell and growled, he started to jump at the tom, but he stopped.
   "Nettlestar?"
   "What! Nettlestar? Storm! Kill him!" Haunting snapped.
   "I... I can't!" Storm stared at Nettlestar, "He's my father."