The Warrior Games

Chapter 3

Hey everyone. Remember, all cats are addressed by their prefix now. I just want to avoid any confusion and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

<<Story Time>>

Birchfall was the first to break the silence. "Who will be chosen this upcoming season?" He asked warily.

Hawkfrost smiled again. He was really beginning to enjoy this. "Well, we will just have to see, now won't we?"

"But what about the queens, kits, and elders? They can't be allowed to fight!" Cinderheart spoke. She was sitting beside Lionblaze and a slight bulge of her belly signaled to all that she was expecting Lionblaze's kits.

Hawkfrost dipped his head respectfully to the young she-cat. "Tigerstar, Darkstar, Brokenstar, and I, Hawkstar," as he meowed Darkstar's and his own name, a few grumbles of astonishment arose from the crowd of cats. They didn't deserve the suffix 'star'! "We have made a few rules for the Warrior Games. I will list them to you right now. 1. Only one cat can win every Game. 2. You must not rebel, or else we will have a very serious punishment in store for you. 3. You must be an a apprentice to compete in the games. The oldest you may be is a senior warrior. Queens, kits, and elders have do not need to fight, but they will hunt. That should answer your question Cinderheart. 4. There a certain things that we call 'F.T.'s'. That stands for fox trap. If you step off your circle of moss in the beginning of a Game too early, then..." Hawkstar stopped speaking and shrugged. "Well, let's just say that there will be a whole bunch of blood."

"Those are pretty much the only rules." He shrugged his shoulders, but then his eyes lit up again when he remembered one other thing. he stopped the clan from dispersing just in time. "Wait!" He called. "There's one more thing. Every clan from now on has a job to fulfill every Season. For example, Thunderclan must from now on hunt extra prey. The way you will do this is by hunting that prey. and then carrying that prey to the island."

The clan just stared blankly up at Hawkstar, too tired to protest, but also too frightened. They all began separating themselves once more, but not Brambleclaw. He stayed where he was, and with a flick of his black and brown tail, he asked,"Hawkstar, who will be your deputy?"

The clan stopped in shock, scared of what would happen to them now that Brambleclaw had dared speak out against their new, ferocious leader. "I'm glad you asked," meowed Hawkstar, still standing on Highrock with amusement glittering in his eyes. "And I choose..." the clan hung onto his every word. Certain cats wanted to be deputy, but with a leader like Hawkstar, they suddenly weren't so sure. Hawkstar's cold gaze swept around the camp. His eyes gleamed with greed. "I choose..." He repeated, putting more and more drama into the air. "Bramble." Brambleclaw hung his head in shame. His own brother had just taken away his leadership, warrior name, and to top it all, he humiliated him by choosing his brother to be deputy... Again!

"I will serve the clan to the best of my abilities," meowed Brambleclaw heavily. His ears dropped down and his tail sagged. Squirrelflight took a step towards him, ready to comfort the sad cat, but hesitated. By the time she had decided to comfort him anyways, Hawkstar had dismissed everyone and Brambleclaw had begun organizing patrols.

"Lionbl-," Brambleclaw quickly corrected himself as he glanced around frantically, making sure that their new leader hadn't heard his mistake. "Lion, Birch, Dove, and Cherry. Take yourselves to the Windclan border. Check it, mark it, then hunt." Hawkstar had padded up to the crowd that the newly appointed deputy was organizing, and he nodded his approval at the selection of cats that were chosen for this type of patrol.

The patrol nodded and left swiftly. They wanted to get as far away from the clan leader as they could.

The deputy continued forming the individual patrols, and when he was finished he sighed. How was he supposed to keep the whole clan safe when the leader was exactly who he was keeping them safe from? He just didn't have a single idea. Brambleclaw began to pad towards the warriors den ready for a bit more sleep. Who knows, thought Brambleclaw. Maybe Firestar would visit him! Then his heart sank once more. Firestar was dead, all because of those mousebrained, fox-hearted, Dark Forest cats. Brambleclaw sank his claws into the dirt beneath his paws. He quickly forced them back between his toes. He didn't want to be caught here with his fur bristling and growling at seemingly nothing! Nothing but memories. He sighed again. Just as he was about to step further into the warriors den, Brambleclaw felt the fur on his neck rise. Someone was watching him.

Yeah, I know. Very short chapter. Well, I'm suffering from a major writers block right now. :/ Yeah, I'm really sorry to disappoint you people. I'll try to update soon, and I hope you understand. Thanks again humans and kitties.
~Shadow