A few days had passed since Hazelstar had sent the rogues out to find her brother and that awful she-cat. She had heard no word since, and she'd been becoming nervous. What if they weren't found? Would Moonstar punish her?
The day was clouded over as she padded outside. A cold breeze swept across the camp, making Hazelstar shiver in her thin pelt. Leaf-fall had nearly arrived, and already they'd fallen behind in their plans.
"We must step up apprentices and training," she murmured, heading over to the fresh-kill pile. She watched as Crow, about three moons now, wrestled with his mother, Raven. She eyed the tom, watching his skills. He was quick, clever- a good MoonClan warrior.
"Raven! Crow!" Hazelstar snapped.
Immediately, the two froze, as if they thought they were in trouble. She didn't blame them for believing that though. Most of the time she only called cats who were in trouble over.
Raven cautiously made her way towards Hazelstar with Crow trailing behind his mother. The she-cat stood in front of Hazelstar, letting out a sigh.
"Sorry, I know we should be working," she whimpered.
Hazelstar towered over the small black she-cat, and she eyed her. "That is not why I called you over. I called you over because I wish to make Crow an apprentice of MoonClan."
Raven's eyes widened. "An apprentice?! But, Hazelstar, he's barely three months old!"
"I want to be an apprentice!" Crow argued.
Hazelstar swore those were the first words she had ever heard the tom speak.
"Are you sure about this, Hazelstar?" Raven asked.
"Positive," Hazelstar grinned. "The tom must learn to fight if he wishes to survive battle, right?"
"I suppose so," Raven sighed, looking down at her paws.
"Come here," Hazelstar told Crow. "It's time to make you an honorary apprentice of MoonClan."
"I can't wait!" Crow exclaimed, bouncing up and down.
Hazelstar made her way to the front of the camp, leaping up onto the large rock that stood in the center. Crow followed behind, smiling at the confused MoonClan cats.
"CATS OF MOONCLAN!" Hazelstar shouted. "I SEEK ALL OF YOUR ATTENTION!"
The cats in camp turned, their eyes focused on their leader.
"Crow has been with us since the beginning, and now that he has reached three moons, I believe it is time to make him an apprentice!" she shouted.
Cats cheered wildly while Raven and Cliff stood together, a nervous expression on their faces.
"Crow, do you wish to keep your old name or choose a clan name?"
Crow looked up at Hazelstar, his green eyes focused on hers. "I would like to keep my name, Hazelstar."
"Then from this day forward, until you are crowned a warrior, you shall be known as Crow!" she shouted.
"CROW! CROW!" the clan cried.
Hazelstar watched as the captives peeked their heads out of the den to see what was going on.
"And now for your mentor," she said, scanning the room.
"Peach!" she yowled.
The light ginger she-cat padded forward, gulping as she looked up at Hazelstar.
"Y-Yes?"
"You will mentor Crow. I expect great things from him," she said.
Peach nodded. "I will teach him everything I know, Hazelstar."
"And?"
Peach gulped and said quietly, "I'll show no mercy."
"Very well. Go, Crow. Meet your mentor," Hazelstar growled, pushing the young tom forward.
He padded down the rock, touching his nose to Peach. They then went off into the forest to begin their training.
"BACK TO WORK!" Hazelstar hissed, watching as the crowd broke away.
As Hazelstar padded down the abrasive rock, Cliff made his way towards Hazelstar, a look of disapproval on his face.
"Why so glum, Cliff?" she joked.
He only glared at her.
"Are you trying to get my only son killed?"
"Killed?! Never!" Hazelstar exclaimed. "He is learning to be a MoonClan warrior, Cliff."
"He'll die!" Cliff shouted.
Hazelstar knocked him aside and pinned him down. "Have faith in your son and he won't!" she spat.
"I only want what's best for him."
"Then perhaps joining this clan was a mistake!" she growled.
Cliff slowly stood up and padded off, leaving Hazelstar to growl at him as he padded back to his mate.
"THIS CLAN IS FALLING APART!" she shouted, enough to make cats turn their attention towards her.
Fire made his way past the cats and padded to his leader's side.
"Hazelstar, is everything all right?" Fire asked.
"Come with me," Hazelstar told him, leading him into her den. Once again, he stood awkwardly by the entrance, not daring to sit.
"Sit," Hazelstar murmured, rolling her eyes.
Fire sat, his emerald eyes fixed on Hazelstar.
"I worry for this clan. I don't think Moonstar would've run it this way. She's putting her faith in me, and now, cats think they can argue with me whenever we like. No, I must prove to them that I'm the supreme ruler!"
"Hazelstar, aren't you overreacting? Cats are doing fine. They listen to you."
"But not like Moonstar," she sighed.
Fire sighed. "Listen, Hazelstar. You're not Moonstar, even though you try to be. You can't be exactly like her, but maybe that's a good thing. Where did she end up?"
"Shush!" Hazelstar spat. "She can hear you!"
"No, she can't."
"Yes! Who do you think visits me in my dreams? Do you know what I told Moonstar if I failed? I said she could take my life!"
Fire shrunk down. "I wasn't aware of that, Hazelstar. If you want, we could step up guards..."
"No! That does nothing! I must prove to them how powerful I am! Perhaps I should kill more cats!"
"You're only killing off warriors in battle. Please, continue what you are doing, but don't kill. We're too close to battle."
"No, we aren't. We are still nearly two moons away, Fire."
"Then I leave you to take care of the clan, Hazelstar," Fire said, padding away.
"DON'T WALK OUT ON ME YOU DISRESPECTFUL DEPUTY!" she spat. But he did not turn around, and for some reason, she let him go.
"What have I turned into?" she breathed.
By the time night fell, Hazelstar sat in her nest, watching as stars lit up the sky. Each time she tried to close her eyes though, she was afraid Moonstar would come after her and criticize her for something new.
"No, I must sleep. It's best for my clan," she told herself.
She let her eyelids fall, only to be awoken by a noise so faint, she wondered if she was only imagining it.
But she couldn't have. No, this sounded like footsteps and scraping.
Curious, she padded outside her den, seeing the guards standing near the captive den. Something was not right though. The guards didn't seem to be paying much attention, and then, the noise came once more.
"GUARDS!" she hissed.
One jolted awake.
"HOW DARE YOU SLEEP!" she growled, swiping one in the head.
"What is it, Hazelstar?" one asked.
"I heard a noise. Check the prisoners!" she growled.
As they padded into the den, Hazelstar swept around the back. Suddenly, she gasped as she saw the figure of a cat disappear into some bushes. It was a figure she could not mistaken for anyone else...Chesnuttail.
Her brother had tried to escape, but oh, she would catch him. Slowly, she made her way near the bush, knowing her brother stood in it. She was clever though, and she slipped away into the shadows, climbing up a nearby tree.
She waited a few minutes, listening to the yells of cats as they searched the grounds for the prisoner.
Hazelstar had her eyes fixed on the bush, and after a few minutes, Chesnuttail slid out. Hazelstar creeped onto a branch, then slowly, leapt down, landing on top of her brother.
He made a terrible sound as she fell onto him, and he let out a deep groan.
"THINK YOU COULD ESCAPE, HUH?!" she spat, shoving her claws into his side.
He wailed, letting out a cry.
"Don't you ever try this again, you piece of fox dung!" she spat, streaking her claws down his face.
He let out a wail she had never heard before. "I PROMISE! I WON'T!" he cried.
"Good!" she growled, getting off of him.
He could barely move, and he groaned, slowly rising to his feet before collapsing altogether.
"GUARDS!" Hazelstar spat.
It only took a few seconds for two rogues to come towards her.
"I've done your job!" she growled, leaving a clawstreak down each of their faces. "Don't fall asleep next time! Grab the prisoner, and cover up that hole he dug!"
It had to be the only way Chesnuttail could escape. Otherwise, he would have had to get past the guards surrounding the camp. No, going out the back was easier. He thought he could escape just like he did years ago.
Hazelstar let out a sigh in relief as they carried Chesnuttail away. She made her way to her den, freezing as she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned, thinking she saw nothing.
But no, she had seen something. Coming up the hill were two dark, cat-like figures...