Ivypool's Lament

|Chapter XIV|

Ivypool woke up in the Dark Forest. She saw other cats through the trees, recognizing them as the other messengers. She walked through the trees, meeting them. The others were talking about why they were here.

"Maybe we're here to bring some of the Dark Forest Warriors back to the Clans?" Ivypool suggested, pushing her way into the conversation.

Tigerheart turned to look at her, "You think so?"

She shifted her paws a bit, then continued, "Yeah, when I talked to MS about me not going to the Dark Forest, he said that Darkstripe and Snowtuft were coming back to the Clans."

Beetlewhisker's whiskers quivered, and he looked at the ground.

"I failed..." The RiverClan tom mewed quietly.

Ivypool walked over and placed her tail on his shoulders, "You didn't fail, some Dark Forest Warriors just can't be helped."

Beetlewhisker didn't look up, but his ear twitched at her comment. Ivypool could tell that he wasn't satisfied, but didn't try to do anything further. She was about to say somthing to Tigerheart when MS appeared. The bold tom had appeared on a branch, looking down at them.

"You four cats have been training four different Dark Forest Warriors in hopes of them getting their lives back," MS meowed, sweeping his empty gaze over them. "Now it is time to take those who made it home."

Snowtuft and Darkstripe were teleported to the clearing they were standing in, any battle scars they had gone. Snowtuft's eyes were bright, as if he weren't even in the Dark Forest anymore. Darkstripe just looked grumpy, as if he didn't care what happened to him.

"Now, these two cats get to go back to the Clans. Snowtuft will be going with Ivypool back to ThunderClan, as Darkstripe will go with Breezepelt to WindClan." their leader announced, jumping out of the branch he was in.

"What? He can't go with me, Darkstripe is a ThunderClan cat!" Breezepelt argued.

"He was a ThunderClan cat, but, oh look! This isn't ThunderClan," MS retorted, his white pupils staring claw marks into Breezepelt.

The WindClan tom shrunk, regretting what he said. He mumbled something to himself, then studdied his paws as he waited for the next direction. MS flicked his tail in satisfaction, then looked at Snowtuft and Darkstripe.

"Now, let's go back to the territories, shall we?"

The six cats were teleported to the Gathering Island, where they stood and waited for MS. Ivypool looked at the moon, which was going to go down soon. It was almost dawn, but she didn't feel tired. When Brokenstar was in charge, she would wake up with new wounds and a sleepy feeling everyday. Now it was peaceful, and she got rest even while in the Dark Forest. She looked over at Snowtuft, who was looking at the Island in awe. He was shifting his paws, as if he wanted to run around freely with no fog or trees blocking his way. The white tom looked at Ivypool, his blue eyes excited.

"You seem excited," Ivypool mewed with amusment.

"I am, I'm very excited!" Snowtuft meowed, fluffing his pelt up. He looked at her necklace, "Is that a collar?"

Ivypool looked at the gem hanging around her neck. The moon's light was reflecting off of it, causing it to shine and sparkle somewhat.

"No, MS says it's called a necklace," she answered, still looking at the green gem.

"Is MS that strange white cat?" Snowtuft asked, his eyes curious.

Ivypool nodded, then looked towards the entrance of the Gathering Island. MS padded through with Rainkit, who was still wearing his Twoleg pelt. The other cats were murmuring to each other, and Ivypool's fur slowly started to bristle. MS noticed and meowed,

"Dovewing has let me borrow Rainkit for a little bit," he announced.

Rainkit ran up to Ivypool, pressing himself against her legs. He seemed scared, which he was usually outgoing when there were other cats. The darkness of night was making the poor kit uneasy. A small ray of beam his Ivypool's face, signifying the coming dawn. She narrowed her eyes against the light, and looked back down at Rainkit. She nuzzled him, which helped to calm him down a little bit. MS cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Rainkit is here so we can see how well the Dark Forest Warriors get along with kits," he meowed, looking at Snowtuft and Darkstripe.

Snowtuft looked nervous, while Darkstripe was still grumpy. Ivypool sighed, and picked Rainkit up by his scruff. He mewled with fear and pulled his paws closer to him. She felt bad for her sister's kits; he sounded afraid. She walked over to MS and put him back down. MS waved Snowtuft over with his tail.

The white tom quietly padded over, trying not to scare Rainkit. The gray kit was huddled up against Ivypool's leg again.

"It's okay, he's fine," she whispered into Rainkit's ear, trying to coax him.

Rainkit looked at Ivypool, then stepped away from her legs. Snowtuft reached his head over to him, letting Rainkit make the first move. Rainkit sniffed Snowtuft, and bounced around him, sure that he was safe. Snowtuft's eyes lit up, and he playfully batted at the kit. This proccess went on for a little while before stopping. Darkstripe's proccess was the same, except he didn't play with Rainkit like Snowtuft did.

"Okay, you both passed," MS announced, "Now, let's bring these Warriors home."

MS led the way towards the exit to the Island. She let Rainkit scramble onto her back, and followed. Snowtuft ran up beside her. He looked genuinely excited, and nervous. She purred quietly, thinking about her accomplishment and his. If this is what being under MS' rule is like, then I most definitely don't mind.

|Aye readers! Sorry I haven't been updated, I didn't have much inspiration and drifted away from my stories when I decided to delete Into The Internet and The Reborn Clan. Thank you all for reading, and read on!|