MoonClan's Return

Chapter 6

            Sharp eyed her. Just from the look of him, she knew he was clever, and she watched as the corners of his lip curled into a smile.

            "Very well. I'll join your clan. On one condition," he grinned.

            "And what would that be?"

            "You take me out of this den and let me stay with the other warriors," he growled.

            "Very well, Shard, but if you dare try to escape this camp, not just myself but the entire clan will come after you, and we will kill you."

            "I understand," he said. "You don't happen to have a medicine cat, do you? I find my wounds are a bit painful."

            "Only time will let them heal. Once we find a medicine cat, you may be tended to. Now go on," she said, shooing him out of the den. As she came out, Bone eyed her.

            "The tom seems trustworthy enough," she told him. "Go to Fire and do what he says," she told the toms. They padded off, leaving Hazelstar to find Snowflake.

            She headed to the dens under construction, finding the she-cat working with her mother.

            "Snowflake!" Hazelstar hissed.

            The she-cat jumped at her yowl, and she turned, nervously facing her leader. "Wh-what is it, Hazelstar?"

            "Might I have a word?"

            The she-cat gulped and looked at her mother before turning away to follow Hazelstar. Hazelstar led the young she-cat to her den.

            "Sit down," Hazelstar instructed.

            Without a word, Snowflake sat, her blue eyes gazing at Hazelstar.

            "I was told you found Shard in our territory," Hazelstar spoke, pacing around the den.

            "That is correct, Hazelstar."

            "Bone told me of some interesting sorts, Snowflake. I have been told you were chatting with the tom, being friendly, rather than defending our territory!" she spat in front of the she-cat.

            "But, Hazelstar," Snowflake began.

            "Enough!" Hazelstar spat, shoving the she-cat against the den. "You are lucky enough I let your father rejoin. I should've known his daughters would act the same as him. You even look like him," she spat, her claws placed firmly on Snowflake's shoulders. Blood had begun to ooze from them, and Snowflake let out a screech.

            "Please, Hazelstar, let me go!"

            "Why did you not attack?! Are you too much of a kittypet?!"

            "Kittypet?! Never!" Snowflake spat. "He didn't seem like a threat, Hazelstar! He...He was the most beautiful tom I've ever seen. I couldn't kill him. Haven't you ever been in love?"

            At the mention of the word "love", Hazelstar sunk her claws further into Snowflake's shoulder. "One does not need love to survive in the world!" she spat. "All they need is their rage to get what they want!"

            She remembered sitting near the camp during the cold nights in FoxClan, watching as Chesnuttail and Hollybreeze mingled. She remembered watching Chesnuttail and Cloverpelt sitting in the moonlight, whispering soft words to each other. Had they not known how much it had hurt to see them happy while her heart was being torn apart between her claws?

            "Hazelstar! Please!" Snowflake begged. Blood began to stain her white pelt now, and Hazelstar could sense she was growing weak.

            "Why not just kill you here?! You don't need love to survive in this clan! All love was sucked out of these cats many moons ago!" she spat.

            "Hazelstar, please," Snowflake cried, wailing.

            Hazelstar held up a claw, ready to kill the she-cat, when a body slammed into hers, throwing her across the den. Hazelstar hit the side with a boom, getting up slowly. She could not believe what had just happened. She, Hazelstar, had been attacked!

            She looked, seeing Shard standing over the injured Snowflake.

            "Shard! I should've known you were a traitor!" she spat.

            "I'm not a traitor!" he spat at her. "And neither is Snowflake," he told her. "I wish to serve MoonClan just as any other cat, but you can't go killing this she-cat just for chatting. If she had attacked me, I would've run off, tried to kill her. But her words made me stay, and then Bone brought me here. You should be thanking the she-cat for finding me."

            "It'd be better if I slit both your throats," she growled, taking a step forward. Shard continued to stand firmly in front of Snowflake.

            "You'll be losing two warriors," he growled.

            Hazelstar raised her claw, but she could not find herself to kill the two. Slowly, she lowered it, then spat. "Fine, you may both stay! But consider this a warning! You take Snowflake out of here, Shard!"

            "Very well," he said, slowly helping Snowflake up. She leaned against him as they exited, leaving Hazelstar alone in her den.

            Furious, she scraped the walls of the den with her claws in anger. Why had she been so merciful?! Why couldn't she be like her mother?! Most of all, why had her mother chosen her to lead?!