Forbidden Love
15 years, 10 months & 24 days ago
2nd Jan 2009 19:26 --In progress!!--
Prolouge:
A white she-kit jumped onto the grass of her twoleg's yard. Her green eyes were alit, she was clearly having fun by herself.
Her ears perked when she heard a russle. "Eh? Who's there?" she called.
A pair of amber eyes blinked back, and a tired ginger tom mewed. "Hi! I'm Flash. I'm bored."
Bramble, having good humor, mewed, "Yeah. I see that. I'm Bramble. Where do you live?"
"Over there." He bekoned with his golden tail across the Thunderpath. "With my siblings and parents. Cia, my ma, Taigo, my da, Ice and Breeze, my sisters, and Storm, my brother. You got siblings?"
"No. I live with my twoleg, Clair I think, and my parents, Daisy and Thunder."
"Oh." his gaze lowered to his small paws.
"Arg!" she yowled playfully, jumping on the tom.
"Gah!" he screeched, and rolled on his belly.
"The belly! The worst possible move!" she mewed, placing a white paw on his underside.
"No! The bestest!" he sprang up, tackling Bramble.
"Stop that!" screeched a new voice, feminine.
"Oh no.." Flash hissed under his breath. He was automaticly lifted up, and Bramble felt airborn herself.
"Bramble! No playing with that.. that.. foxdung!"
"No," she argued, "His name is Flash, not Foxdung!"
"Whatever. He's ginger, stay away from him."
"Flash!" the other queen scolded. "You can only play with ginger she-kits!"
The two kits were taken away immediatly.
--
Bramble watched out the window, the rain spattering on the pane.
She could see Flash, the longingness in his amber gaze.
She hed had the most fun time out of all toms out there, she was sure. She liked Flash, was his friend. Most of all, she missed him.
"Ma," she asked, turning to her mother. "Can I go outside?"
The queen's gaze sharpened. "No! Nice try though. Play with Jim here." She waved her tail at a white tom chasing a laser.
"Hey, Tommy, go home."
The kit immediatly padded out the door, as if expecting that.
"Bramble! He was nice."
"No! He wasn't. He's not Flash!"
The queen's eyes narrowed. "No cat is Flash, Bramble. You can't ever see him again!"
Bramble turned back to the window sadly, a tear streaming down her white face.
The kit across from her mouthed, "Don't cry."
Bramble closed her green eyes, trying hard not to let the tears flood. But it was hard.
--
By the next moon, her mother had found yet another white tom who wanted her daughter's heart.
"Hi," Bramble mewed, not meeting the tom-kit's gaze, or even looking at him, "I'm Bramble."
"I'm Flash."
"What?" Her ears immediatly perked, and her head shot up. But when she got a good look at the kit, her eyes turned icy. "Leave now! I don't like you."
"Whaa? You don't even kno-" his words were cut off as he was shoved out the kit-flap.
Bramble started to cry, and soon the sobs rocked her whole body.
"Mom, make them stop coming! If I have to be mates with one of those, I never want to have a family!"
"Baby," the queen murmured softly, holding her kit close to her.
--
Meanwhile, Flash was working on sneaking out. Cia was watching Carrie, another ginger she-kit, play with a ball of yarn.
"Come on.. open.." he muttered, pressing his paws to the large oakwood door. It budged, but it was loud.
Finally, it opened to a length where his bulky shape could fit out.
Finally! He was free! He looked around, taking in his surroundings.
But his triumph was lost when he saw Bramble crying, and a white tomkit scampering from their house.
His gaze lowered, and he turned back inside.
"Flash! Play with us!" the she-kit yowled, batting the yarn to him.
He let it bump his leg. "No, just leave. Please."
"Oh," Carrie whispered, exiting quietly. "Sorry."
"Flash," Cia mewed gently. "Why don't you go play with our siblings then?"
Flash gave a bleak nod, and padding into the hallway where this brother and sisters where.
They were pretending to hunt, so he just sat and watched.
'They play happily,' he thought, 'because they don't know a beautiful, charming she-kit..'
His paws slid down to a laying position, and he put them over his ears, to drown out the noise. He needed to hear his own thoughts.
He was born to the most planned out couple in the whole world. They knew how many kits to have, what they looked like, and their genders. The two cats were mixed correctly so their wishes for four kits, brown, ginger, white, and dark gray, came true. They also had two she-kits, two toms.
But there was one very important thing they hadn't thought out: personalities.
Storm was the one with a cloud hanging over his head. He was great with the females, and already had a potential mate. Mittia.
Breeze was loyal to her family, and was a great runner who loved open spaces.
Flash showed great fighting skills, and was brave and headstrong.
Lastly, Ice was clever and strong, she could easily beat any of her littermates in a battle or with her knowledge.
Lastly, they didn't anticipate falling /out/ of love. The two cats grew apart by fighting, complaining, or bugging.
Finally, Taigo left. That had just been recently, and when he was gone Cia announced she was going to have more kits.
Flash couldn't stand it. He hated his life, his parents, everything.
With a shrill whine, he bounded to the door and clawed furiously at it. It opened, and Flash ran.
Chapter One
Four moons dragged by without the slightest glance or Flash.
Bramble had grown from seven moons to a fully realized she-cat. She was lean, but clearly built for the forest.
Many toms had come and gone, none being eventful. Other than the last, when her mother forced the poor tom to mate with her daughter.
Of course, it had been nothing. Bramble had not expected it, and almost bit the sorry lad.
And a moon later, everything was back to normal. Bramble wasn't expecting kits as her mother had hoped, but her mother send for the tom to come back. Of course, without Bramble knowing.
"Go in there and mate with her," the queen mewed to the white tom.
His amber eyes glimmered with fear. "What if she bites my head off?"
"She won't." The she-cat shoved the tom inside.
--
Flash looked into the window of Bramble's place.
He immediatly saw the white tom on top of Bramble. He slitted his eyes.
They stayed like that for a long while.
The ginger tom could see Daisy, the satisfactory glaze in her eyes. He couldn't take it.
He burst into the cat-flap.
"Bramble! What are you doing!" he yowled.
Bramble franticly fled behind a couch.
"Hey, thanks. I was having fun with her!" the tom mewed.
"What?" Flash mewed, taking a defensive stance. "Having /fun/ with her?"
"Fight me."
"Gladly!" Flash roared, looking like a massive golden rock as he clung to the other tom's white fur.
He felt so angery, he wanted to rip the cat's fur to shred, tear his throat out, slash through his belly..
Instead, claws unseathed, he batted at the tom's face.
"Go way! Never come back!" he yowled.
Daisy looked surprised, then hissing mad. She bared her teeth in a snarl. "Get out of here!" she roared.
"Bramble?" Flash asked.
"No." Bramble's green eyes narrowed.
--
Flash padded in the forest.
His ribs showed, he clearly hadn't eaten.
His family wouldn't let him inside, his twolegs revolted against him.
And he hadn't caught the tiniest glimpse of Bramble since Daisy had kicked him out.
--
Bramble watched out the window. She could see Flash.
Guiltily, she noted on how thin he was.
She herself was well-fed, not fat, but heavy with kits. That white tom's kits.
'Hamelton's kits,' she thought, causing her to bare her teeth slightly. 'Not Flash's.'
She let her thoughts wander to the ginger tom who warily walked alone in the cold forest.
She felt the tears coming on again.
--
A few moons later, Bramble's kits were born.
Only two, both pure white, one a deaf, blind, and mute runt tom, and a perfectly healthy she-kit.
The tom died shortly after the birth, but the she-kit stayed strong.
Bramble lovingly named her Sky.
The queen didn't see much of Flash, but she saw a lot of Hamelton. The tom came over every day to check on his daughter.
Sky was a healthy, growing she-kit. She was beautiful, and looked a lot like her father.
The father who wasn't a good father. He overshadowed and overpowered Sky, and Bramble admited that she hated him to her mother.
"What am I supposed to do about it? It's not like I told him to be your mate," Daisy reasoned.
"Yes, you did!" Bramble's green eyes narrowed. "That's it. I ca take you or dad's lying anymore. I'm going to find Flash, and tell him I'm sorry. Sky!"
Hamelton gave Bramble an angry look. "She's not coming with you," he meowed, talking a protective stance over his daughter.
"Mommy!" Sky wailed.
"Hamelton!" Bramble retorted sharply, shouldering the tom aside. "It's okay, come with Mommy now."
Daisy lept in, baring her teeth. "Leave, Bramble, and leave Sky in /our/ care."
"Fine," Bramble murmured, tears forming in her eyes. "Drive me away. I won't, and don't care."
With that, she turned-tail and bounded to the door.
--
Bramble herself was thin. She didn't know how to hunt, and didn't fair well because she couldn't fight for already-caught food.
She was sniffing the air when a whiff of a familiar scent hit her nose.
Her ears perked and she shouldered aside the tall grass.
"Flash!" She yowled happily.
"B-bramble? G-go away."
"What? Why?" the questioning burned her green eyes.
"It's Flashstar. I own a Clan now."
"Clan?"
The ginger tom sat, explaining the details of the Clans, the exact way Firestar had told him.
"So, will you join me?"
"Well, Flashstar.. that's a big decision.."
Flashstar smiled. "Remember the fun we had together?" he mewed.
"Yeah, I do. And yes, I'll join you."
"Great! I'll show you camp." He laid his tail along her shoulders, leading her to his secret place.
"Wow, Flashstar, I would have never found this by myself!" Bramble sighed. She gazed around. "It's so beautiful!"
It was a clearing completely surrounded by trees. In some places they bunched together to form dens. And over one of the tree-den, stood a stone-den.
"Nursery. Medicine cat den is the one overhanging it, so the medicine cats can reach the queens easily."
"Oh." Bramble turned her head, taking it all in.
Perfectly in the middle was a large rock, with a gap in the bottom that looked like it led to a much larger place.
Flashstar lept up on the rock. "Are you ready for your warrior name?"
--
Newly-named Brambleberry followed Flashstar. She was going to learn how to hunt.
"Okay, doesn't this feel a bit ackward?" the tom meowed.
"Yeah, but I need to learn."
"Okay. Keep your rumb low, same with your tail. You must be a stealthy stalker to fair well here."
Brambleberry nodded.
--
(Note: I needed to make a bad cat, so sue me for it..)
A dark brown tom slunk through the twoleg-place.
He held his memories behind him, and didn't think of him. And his past was his past.
He held his tail high, as he seemingly strutted through his territory.
"Hey, Bane!" a cat called from a fencepost.
Bane lowered his brown head and padded on.
He was on a mission. BloodClan had fallen many, many seasons ago. But a cat from the deceased Clan had been found, and Bane was to find the cats who destroyed the mighty Clan and kill them off slowly.
He was the cat to do it. He was a well experienced fighter.
The cat from the ancient Clan had sent him on this mission.
He padded on strongy, muscles rippling under his pelt.
--
"Bane." A black she-cat dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Talon is ready to see you."
Bane nodded, crouching to squeeze through the small gap in the rock wall.
A light brown tabby sat at the entrance, and a gray tom laid behind him.
The gray cat lazily looked up. Bright blue orbs glowed in the dark.
"Talon," Bane meowed, bowing his head low, "You sent for me?"
"Yes," mewed the old cat, voice cracked. "Did you defeat the Clans?"
Bane's yellow eyes narrowed. "No! Give me more time!"
The tom's gray tail twitched. "Fine. I'll give you a season. Now get out of my sight!" he raised his white-flecked muzzle, turning away.
"Fine," Bane snarled.
He slipped outside.
--
"Bane! How dare you disrespect Talon!"
Bane's furry ears flattened to his head. "Raven, don't worry! He was disrespecting me and my power!"
Raven shuffled her white paws. "Fine, get away with it now. I can send my Fighters after you, if you disrespect my most senior elder."
"I'm leaving," Bane meowed, raising his tail defensively.
"You'd better be."
--
Bane padded in the forest. More like prowling; he gently set one paw in front of the other.
Ahead of him, through the overgrowth, he could see two cats. They seemed affectionate towards eachother, they meowed in soft purrs. One was ginger, a tom, the other a white she-cat.
'Perfect targets...'
The she-cat's ear swiveled in Bane's direction. "Flashstar? Do you hear something?"
The tom, Flashstar, strained his ears. "No, Brambleberry, I don't."
Bane crouched, his tail wagging like a puppy.
"Ah, so you're Clan cats. Just what I was looking for," the borwn tom mewed, padding stealthily out of the bushes. He smiled, absorbing the look of shock on the cats' faces.
"What are you doing here? It's my terri-"
"My territory," Bane cut in, rasing his muzzle. "I'll cut to the chase- Your ancestors destroyed BloodClan many seasons ago." His eyes narrowed icily. "I have come to avenge their deaths. /By killing you/."
Chapter Two
Bane looked down on his opponent, watching the crimson blood seep onto the white pelt.
He watched the body convulse, then lay still.
He picked his prey into his jaws, and headed in the direction of Raven's camp.
--
"I brought this for you," Bane meowed softly, pushing his prey forward.
Raven dipped her head, taking a tender bite. "Thanks. I love rabbit."
"Your welcome," Bane repiled, pushing himself back into the den where Talon was.
--
"I found the decendents of ThunderClan- they call themselves FlashClan. There are only three, I'll have no problem with them," Bane meowed calmly.
Talon nodded. "Good, good." The tom dipped his gray head, dismissing Bane.
--
The brown tom squeezed back out.
"That went pretty good, Ra-" Bane's eyes widened at the scene in front of him.
"Well now, surprised are we?" meowed a deep voice. A dark gray tom had Raven pinned down under him.
Bane shivered, flattening his ears. "No."
The ginger tom padded forward from the small group of cats. Tears formed in his amber gaze. "You almost killed my mate," he meowed softly, "I will avenge her pain. I will avenge her pain, and mine." Flashstar turned to the dark gray tom. He flicked his tail. "Kill her."
Bane instantly remembered when Raven had told him that she had trained her Fighters to a certain call. They were always ready for battle.
"F-fi-gh-ghte-ers!!" Bane howled loudly.
Immediatly, cats poured through the entrance to the small set.
Bane meowed cooly, "You're outnumbered. Give Raven up, and I won't hurt you."
The sleek black she-cat batted the tom away with her claws. She spat, backing up to where she was in front of her Fighters. "I can send them to kill you with a flick of my tail. You wouldn't want that, now would you?" she snarled. The scrape of claw against rock filled the air.
The four cats began to back up. "N-no," a brown she-cat stammered. They were soon gone.
"Boulder, Rock, Pine, follow them," Raven commanded. The three bulky cats dipped their heads and raced off.
Raven sighed, leaning on Bane's shoulder. "Bane, they almost killed me there. I've never felt so.. so helpless."
"How could you feel helpless?" Bane snarled. "You have so many Fighters to back you up."
"Bane, if you hadn't come, they would have killed me."
Bane's eyes widened.
--
Flashstar laid beside Brambleberry. "Wake up, please," he meowed softly, putting his head over hers. She was cold.
/"Brambleberry? Brambleberry!" The ginger tom rushed up to his mate. "Brambleberry! I thought you were dead!"
Brambleberry sadly shook her head. Her green eyes glimmered. "I am. You can't save me."
She began to fade, her fur shining.
"No! Don't leave me!" Flashstar yowled desperatly, tears streaming from his face. His face twisted in hurt and agony. "We worked so hard to be together. I love you!" He instincively wrapped his tail around one of her legs.
A light tabby appeared in front of him. "You can't stop her. /I/ can, though," the cat meowed, voice femine. "I am Leafpool. You must give something up of yours to get your mate back."
"Like what?" Flashstar looked confused.
"You tell me."
Brambleberry had stopped, unable to move. Her eyes were flooded with worry.
"His nine lives," the warrior murmured softly.
Leafpool briskly nodded. "Good idea. Come closer, I'll take them from you."
Flashstar's face showed worry, but he padded forward.
The medicine cat pressed her forehead to his.
Brambleberry swore she could see static flowing between them.