Heart Of A Fighter (Book 3): Home Is Calling

Chapter 17: Attempted Murder

Goslingpaw wasn't sure why, but after that special talk with Splash Sprint her mind drifted off to Depthpaw's face.

The thought of the handsome russet tom with his pretty copper eyes drifted into her head, before she hurriedly batted the thought away.

The older tom gingerly brushed his nose against her head and meowed, "I'll be off hunting now. You be safe, okay? Don't stay on the steps for too long, little wren."

"Yes, Splash Sprint," she meowed obediently. He smiled and patted her head with a paw. "That's a good hatchling," he purred softly.

Swiftly the blue-grey tom launched into the air and shot off into the skies, flying ahead into the distance until he became a small speck in the bright blue sky.

Once he was gone, Goslingpaw sighed and turned her gaze back to the ocean, enjoying the soft lapping of the ocean waves. Her thoughts once again drifted to Depthpaw.

Could we really be mates? She thought. I mean, he's kind and sweet and really pretty..

Unfortunately, Goslingpaw was so engrossed in her thoughts that she failed to hear the pawsteps behind her, so the sudden shove of paws against her back to her by massive surprise.

She let out a yelp as her claws scrabbled on the slippery, wet surface of the water monster, before ultimately losing her balance and toppling halfway into the water.

She gasped and spluttered before staring up in disbelief at the cat who shoved her.

Dovetail and Swanpaw.

The cream and white Shine's eyes were glittering with a hint of a peculiar red light; slow-burning embers of a slumbering envy.

"The only way my baby will rise to the stars is if we got rid of you, the hideous disgrace," she snarled. "Swanpaw deserved your powers, deserved your royalty privileges! And you stole that from her."

"What are you talking about?! What did I ever do to you to make you hate me this much?" Snapped Goslingpaw in a mixture of horror and rage.

At this statement, Swanpaw hurriedly looked away, an unknown expression pooling deep into her eyes.

"You should've never been born," snarled Dovetail, contempt brewing in her eyes. "Our family would've been happy if you were prettier. But instead I gave birth to a freak of nature."

"Why was my pure daughter not chosen to have her powers but you were?! Why did the Spirits above choose such a disgraceful, lying rat to be the one with royal privileges?! If I got rid of you, the powers would be given to Swanpaw instead."

There was a crazed look in this she-cat's eyes. One of lusting for power and the hatred that had kept her venomous spirit alive.

"That's it. If you vanished, our lives would be happier. We'd be worshipped as the royals of the Northern Kingdom instead of you. You just have to disappear where no one can find you."

And at that, Dovetail slashed at Goslingpaw's face before stomping on her paws, and with that she lost whatever grip she had on the water monster and fell into the water.

Goslingpaw yowled in fear as the salty water flooded around her and the waves crashed into her smaller form, rendering it harder to stay afloat.

Above she could hear screeches of horror and anger coming from many cats, one of whom was clearly Dovetail and the only other distinguishable voice being Azurestar's.

Suddenly, another cat plunged into the water and began swimming hard towards her, and through the dark depths of the seawater she could only identify familiar russet fur and a small yet muscular build.

She barely had time to comprehend the identity of her saviour before she felt sleek fur brush up against her belly and another form supporting her from below, pushing her slightly out of the water.

She gasped as she looked down only to see Depthpaw struggling massively to try and swim her back to the water monster, which by now had stopped upon hearing the chaos.

There was another splash and she was taken aback to see Xiera paddling across the water, swimming smoothly towards the two apprentices.

Her strong jaws grasped Depthpaw's scruff and hauled him onto his back as Goslingpaw carefully slid down from the russet tom's back slightly and clung to the black-and-white dog's shaggy pelt.

Xiera managed to haul the two apprentices onto up to the water monster without much difficulty and let them slide off her back as she shook herself dry.

The large RoadWalker stomped over, murmuring gibberish words of concern, but jolted back when Aldertrail lashed out sharply at his mostly hairless paw with a sharp yowl.

Small drops of blood dripped from the scar she left on his hand, and he responded by quickly stepping back to let Aldertrail hurry over and pull her daughter close.

"Goslingpaw! My baby, oh great stars you're alright," she gasped in relief. Normally Goslingpaw would've squirmed in the embrace but this time she was to shocked to care.

Nearby Thornslash was hurriedly tending to Depthpaw while her foster father roared profanities at Dovetail and the cowering Swanpaw.

"I HAVE HAD IT WITH BOTH YOUR RUBBISH!" Bellowed the silver leader angrily. "WHY CAN'T YOU BOTH JUST LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE?!"

This prompted many gasps from the shocked BlazeClan cats that Azurestar had referred to Goslingpaw as his daughter. "Azurestar, you don't understand- I was trying to get rid of the impurity in BlazeClan!" Spluttered Dovetail.

"ENOUGH OF YOUR EXCUSES!" Screeched the silver tabby tom furiously. His fur had bristled up to the point he looked thrice his normal size, and his claws were fully extended and scraping the ground.

"IMPURITY?! WHAT KIND OF NONSENSE IS THAT?! IS IT IMPURE BECAUSE SHE IS A HEALER? OR SHE'S NOT PRETTY ENOUGH FOR YOUR STANDARDS?" Shouted the angered tom further.

"EITHER WAY, IF YOU BOTH DARE TO LAY A CLAW ON MY DAUGHTER, I WILL SKIN THE BOTH OF YOU ALIVE!" He roared with so much ferocity he seemed to resemble a lion.

"You- you wouldn't!" Gasped Dovetail. "You'd protect that disgrace over the prophecy cat?" Without answering, Azurestar's response was to slash his ridged claws over both she-cats' faces, earning screams of pain.

Huffing, he snarled, "Beechwhisker, Gustfang, keep these two disgraces away from my mate and my daughter. I don't care what you do, make sure they STAY AWAY."

His blue eyes glittered malevolently. "Or there will be more unnecessary bloodshed than this clan will be able to handle."