The Warrior Games

Chapter 2

Ivypool couldn't sleep. She was uncomfortably laying next to Hawkfrost. After they got to camp, he had ordered everyone to go to their nests. Ivypool had begun to pad towards the warriors den when he had stopped her. Hawkfrost purred and said, "Oh Ivy, you will be sleeping with me." As Ivypool lay in the nest that she shared with Hawkfrost, she unsheathed her claws, angry at the thought of it.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

~*~

She had somehow dreamed herself into a forest. Ivypool suddenly began to panic, thinking she was in the Dark Forest once again, but her breathing slowed when she noticed the moon and the stars above the trees. Her gray ears perked up when she heard a rustle behind her, and she took a step back as a black she-cat with blue eyes stepped into the lush, chilled clearing. The sweet smell of lilies nearby covered her scent, but as the strange cat stalked forward on soundless paws, her scent became clearer. Shadowclan, but older. Almost ancient! But how? All Starclan cats were put to death.

The unknown cat looked deeply into Ivypool's eyes. "Ivypool," the starry-pelted cat meowed. "I'm one of the few Starclan cats that survived the mass murder. My name is Shadow and I was the very first leader of Shadowclan." She stopped here, letting this sink into Ivypool's awareness. "Your kin will save us all. The cat will end the reign of the Esoteric's and the Warrior Games. You will recognize this cat if you-"

Ivypool interrupted. She just had to many questions! "What are the Warrior Games? How in Starclan's name will my kin save us all? This is just to crazy to apprehend! I don't even have a mate!" She finished speaking, her breath billowing out into the cool night air.

Shadow ignored all the previous questions, and decided to focus on the last one. "Yes you do have a mate," She spoke steadily. "His name is Hawkfrost." She continued quickly, not allowing Ivypool to interrupt again. "It must happen Ivypool," she shouted. "It's our only hope!"

"Yes, just like the Three. They were very hopeful, now weren't they," she sneered.

"You don't understand. They had the power of the stars in their paws, but your kin will have courage, strength, and compassion." Said Shadow quietly. "And that's all the cat is going to need. All the survivors realize that now." She looked up pleadingly, hoping against hope that Ivypool would change mind.

"...fine..." was all Ivypool said. There was no promise of life, but there was a faint spark of hope on her eyes. "I just hope that this actually works."

Shadow said, "There is one last thing you know." Her voice become united with many other disembodied voices and she began to speak with hard seriousness.
"A jay will fly
And try to help,
Another bird
In distress,
Not realizing
That the choosing
Could take it all away.
Now the bird will fly again,
And the jay will believe once more
That there is always hope
And that destiny
May not be
What you thought it was before."

Suddenly, all the trees began to bend in a strong wind that seemed to have come out of nowhere whipped Ivypool off her paws. The same did not happen to Shadow. Instead, Shadow just disappeared onto-no, into!-the wind, and all that was left was the sweet smell of the lily's and the swaying of willow trees. "We're counting on you..." was the last whisper of sound that she heard before she was lost in the blackness of the night.

~*~

The next morning, Ivypool woke with a start. As she washed herself, alone in the den (Hawkfrost must have left earlier in the morning), she thought about what had happened in her dream. "A jay will fly, hmmm." Was all she said as she straightened one last piece of fur. She stood up and checked herself for any remaining bits of moss, then padded out of the den and into the bright sunlight.

The light from the sun dappled the floor of the camp, and as she stretched her claws, the muscles under her pelt rippling with strength, she wondered just how the sun could shine so brightly when the so called Esoteric's had taken over.

"Hello, love," said someone behind her. Ivypool stiffened in fright at the thought of someone sneaking up on her, but then she relaxed. It was just Hawkfrost.

"Hello, Hawkfrost," she replied after straightening herself. She dipped her head towards him.

Suddenly, his eyes darkened and his brow furrowed in anger. "It's not 'Hawkfrost' anymore. I'm the leader of this clan, so you must call me Hawkstar now."

"Of course," said Ivypool, dipping her head again. "I am sorry for the mistake." She kept her head lowered along with her eyes.

"Oh, it's fine dear. Just don't mess that up again." He padded closer to her and flicked his tail across her ear. "Now, I must go to speak to the clan." He walked away and his tail left her shoulder and followed the body that it was connected to.

Hawkfrost leapt up onto Highrock and yowled, "All cats old enough to kill come beneath Highrock for a clan meeting."

As the clan gathered, Ivypool shivered when she heard the call. It's was so much like the Dark Forest's call! Was this area going to change into a living Dark Forest as well? It would just be a little different because of how much prey there was in the territory. Well, except for right now. The leaf bare that is coming will wipe out just everything!

As these thoughts ran through Ivypool's mind, Hawkfrost - no - Hawkstar, continued to speak. "From now on, you must call me Hawkstar. We will receive some recruits for this kittypet clan later today at sunhigh. Also, understand that your warrior names mean nothing now. For example, Lionblaze here," he padded towards Lionblaze with his head held high. "His name now would just be 'Lion'. Everyone in our clan will be addressed in this way except for me and the Darkforest recruits."

"Now, many of you had heard Tigerstar speak of some type of fighting to the death between a few cats. Well, I will explain a bit more." He swiftly left Lionblaze and jumped up to the rock. His fur gleamed in the sun, but the clan stayed silent about the fact that they had heard this very thing.

"Well," Hawkstar mewed. "He wasn't joking." He bared his bloodstained teeth to the clan in a smile. Hawkstar's eyes glinted in amusement as the clan sat before him speechless once again.

Wow guys, 1,118 words. I don't know about you, but that's a lot to me. Sorry I took so long on this chapter, but I've had a whole bunch of drama at school, so yeah. Hope you people will forgive me. Well, please vote and comment. And if you have any suggestions for the plot, just comment. Shipping anyone? Just comment. Hope you like this so far and see ya at the next chapter.
~Shadow