Warrior Cats: The Four Clans

Eaglepaw sat at the fresh-kill pile with the end of his tail twitching irritably. Goldheart and Ebonycloud had returned from their hunt not moments ago and the feelings that came off them in waves were sweet enough to make anyone want to hurl.

"Love is in the air," the tom growled as the new happy couple trotted by and threw their catches on the pile. Almost unwillingly, Rainpelt's smell and voice crept in to his head. He shivered at the thought of a feeling like the one he felt on Goldheart and Ebonycloud coming off of Rainpelt. He would dearly want that... He stopped himself at that though. What is that about! He questioned himself. Rainpelt is your mentor much less a medicine cat!

Eaglepaw frowned deeply and quickly snatched up a piece of prey for Rainpelt. He prohibited himself from dwelling on any thought other than respect for his mentor. Yet the sensation of being around her constantly refused to let him slip away that easily.

Eaglepaw stepped in to the den and scented out Rainpelt. His sensitive ears easily detected the whispers of the she cat at the back of the den. A frown touched his lips when the mingled sound of Shadowstars voice accompanied hers. "Sorry to interrupt," The young apprentice said boldly and dropped the prey in front of Rainpelt.

Rainpelt jumped in surprise at Eaglepaw. Her heart thudded harshly in her chest bringing her earlier argument back in to her mind. Why should my heart beat like this? She scolded her judgment. Well that's simple. Its because its Him. Isn't that reason enough to feel this way? Rainpelt bit her lips as her own conscious began to fight back against her desire. Of course it isnt a good reason! You are a medicine cat and you love it! What would everyone think and say if you tried to have a relationship! Yet her desire was relentless, who says anyone will find out? It's happened to plenty of medicine cats before. Her better judgment refused to lose the battle though, Yeah and how many of them ended up happy? None!

The whole exchange in her mind had only taken a second or two. Rainpelt blinked away the argument and chuckled softly, "Thank you Eaglepaw. That is very kind of you."

Ebonycloud sat in the middle of camp staring about. It had been a while since he had gone hunting with Goldheart. The sun had shifted to the other side of the sky now. No one had offered to go on patrol so he figured a little time to himself would do him some good. Without checking in with anyone, he trotted out of camp at a leisurely pace. Taking deep breath of the summer evening made him feel peaceful inside.

The Streamclan headed toward Treeclan's border just to make sure they weren't over stepping their boundaries. After reaching the border he marked the usual spots and was about to be on his way when a sound of chuckling came from behind him.

"Well, what have we got here?" a rather husky voice chuckled. Ebonycloud could hear the evil smirk in his voice. The black furred deputy turned a slow glare over his shoulder. Standing there were two cats that looked seasoned and battle ready. The one that had spoken was a stone gray tabby with a scarred face. He rotated his shoulders so that they flexed very threateningly.

Ebonycloud's face was dead pan except for the unimpressed glare that peered out of his ice blue eyes. Another cat stood beside the stone gray cat, a brown tabby, licking his chops with death intent on his mind. He almost looked like a yipping dog, waiting to be let off his leash.

For a moment Ebonycloud debated whether to stay and fight or run. Running away sounded like the smarter idea, but he would probably be hunted down. Plus he was Streamclan's deputy, what would running away say about him? In a quick moment he evaluated his opponents. They were bigger, more than likely stronger but he was faster. He had been one of the fastest cats Streamclan had ever seen so he would be able to out maneuver them.

Ebonycloud turned around slowly and deliberately to face them. The stone gray cat turned to the brown one and the tip of his ear flicked to begin the carnage. An ecstatic grin spread on the tom's face and he lashed out at Ebonycloud. Yet Ebonycloud easily saw the attack and dodged to the side, never changing his face from the dead pan glare.

Seeing his opportunity, Ebonycloud snapped forward and bit deeply in to the cat's ear and scored along his flexed shoulder. A growl sounded beside him and the gray tabby lashed out at Ebonycloud, but the deputy dodged away again.

"That's it!" the gray tom snarled, "You're dead now!" Ebonycloud ignored the comment and focused on the fight. The black tom dodged attack after attack easily but had forgotten to keep a tab on the brown tabby. A surprise attack acme from behind and pinned Ebonycloud to the ground. No gasp escaped his throat though. The black tom thrashed side to side trying to escape his captor's grasp.

Using his last resort, Ebonycloud bucked up, using his back legs to try and kick the one pinning him down. This only ended in Ebonycloud shoulders been ripped apart mercilessly.

The gray tom gave a deep and thrilled laugh, "Good! Good! Darktalon will be pleased!" Ebonycloud's hateful eyes pierced the gray tom. He had spoken a warrior name. Who was Darktalon and what did he want with the Streamclan deputy? Coming closer the gray tom lowered himself to Ebonycloud's eye level, "No one can escape Darktalon's wrath. You would be wise to warn your friends now."

Ebonycloud bristled and spat on the toms face. Rage filled the tom's eyes and he fell upon Ebonycloud with claws backed by hate. The brown tom gave a laugh full of evil intent. Ebonycloud gasped and hissed in pain as the two toms ripped and tore at his long pelt and soft flesh. When they had ripped all the flesh they could find, the gray tom swatted Ebonyclouds face and the brown tabby let him go. The easy movement from the tom sent Ebonycloud sprawled a few mouse lengths away.

With their mission fulfilled the two cats disappeared through the bushes with tails raised high. Ebonycloud lay on the ground with a pool of blood quickly gathering around him. He didnt want to move, he didn't want to think. This pain was too much and they had made sure to leave enough life in him to make sure he would suffer through it until he had been drained of all his precious life's blood. Yet what they had said rang through his head like a persistent echo. He had a duty to perform now. He must get up and warn them. He had to. Slowly the tom rose on to shaking legs.

Pain coursed through, yet it was beginning to subside as numbness grasped him in his comforting clutches. The cold embrace of the numbness promised him relief from this tiresome world. It tried to coax him to just lie down and close his eyes. It was so simple and would let him rest. Yet he resisted the enticing embrace.

The only thing Ebonycloud could accept from it right now was the cold numbness. Stubbornly he held on to his fleeting life and staggered forward toward the camp, not making much progress. Still the ever present voice of death whispered in to his ear. He wasn't afraid of it now. No, he was beginning to like the idea. It wasn't as scary as others thought it would be. This world he was in was the scary one. Softly, he collapsed to the floor, not more than a fox length from where he had been tossed aside by his attackers.

Ebonycloud began to close his eyes and a warm scent drifted to him. It made his heart flutter with joy. It was his beloved's scent. A chuckle escaped his hoarse throat, "Gold... heart..." He closed his eyes and let the voice wrap him softly in its warm arms. Yet before he could be taken away a vision came to him. Goldheart's scent refused to let death claim him.

"Ebonycloud," whispered the breeze. "Ebonycloud, come to me. Come here, I have something that I must show you." Ebonycloud opened his eyes but he did not recognize where he was. There was a field of golden flowers before him with his beloveds scent wreathing around, tempting him dangerously.

"Goldheart," he whispered to himself but spoke up louder, "Goldheart! Where are you?" Pain was not on his mind now, in fact his whole body seemed to be in perfect condition. There were no marks on him but he did not notice. He searched wildly for the beautiful she cat he called his mate.

"Here I am," came a chuckling purr, "Come and see what I have for you." Ebonycloud twisted and turned around, seeking her out. A small golden light in the distance beckoned him. The tom's chest filled with emotion, Goldheart's scent was coming from that glorious light. Using all his strength, Ebonycloud launched himself across the golden field toward Goldheart.

"I'm coming! Wait for me!" he yowled; tears could almost be heard in his voice. Another chuckle sounded making his gut twist with desire to see her. Yet another sound flittered on the breeze with the chuckle. Sound of mewling reached Ebonycloud's ears making eyes open in shock but he never stopped. Finally in the distance, past a small grassy hill Ebonycloud spotted Goldheart with a three small bundles of joy wiggling beside her belly. The she cat looked up and her face glowed with life and energy.

            Ebonycloud stopped only a fox length away from her. She tilted her head to the side and flicked her tail, beckoning him closer, "Come dear, see what I have here for you." Ebonycloud took a hesitant step forward, as if he would shatter this perfect dream if he moved to fast.

            "Who are they?" Ebonycloud asked, barely above a whisper.

            Goldheart gave him a chiding smile, as if he was expected to know who they were, "They are our kits." She leaned down and touched her pink nose to the biggest tom with golden fur, "This is Sunkit." She moved on to a small white she kit with ginger splotches, "This is Echokit." Then lastly she moved on to a dark gray tom with a similar build to the Streamclan deputy, "And this is Rockkit."

            Ebonycloud moved even closer so that he was beside Goldheart and staring down at the squirming bundles. "They're perfect," he chuckled with tears in his eyes.

Goldheart licked his chin and purred, "Of course they are. Did you expect them to be any other way?" Her warm blue eyes danced with amusement but Ebonycloud was still bewildered by this entire spectacle. The black furred tom leaned down and touched his nose to each of the kit's heads and purred warmly for them. Each in their turn replied with soft mewls. The tom pulled away and chuckled in his amazement.

 Yet before he could relish further in this warm dream a deep voice pulled his attention away. "No one can escape Darktalon's wrath." Ebonycloud's ice blue eyes stretched wide as he stared in to the distance. A blood chilling screech pierced the tom's ears and he whirled around. Goldheart was no longer beside him. Rather in the distance four lifeless mounds of fur, blooded and broken, lay in the darkness. Ebonycloud's heart shattered in his chest.

The tom screeched in pain, "Goldheart!" Without any hesitation he bolted from where he sat and chased after them, but no matter how fast he pumped his long legs, they never came any closer. In his desperation he pushed his body beyond its limits but the only reaction was Goldheart and the kits moving away in to the distance. With tears streaming down his face he called out again, "Goldheart!"