Return- Hawkfrost x Ivypool

Chapter Four

Once the moon rose, the eight cats- Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, Redwillow, Mapleshade, Brokenstar, Thistleclaw, Snowtuft and Silverhawk- sat in their clearing. They waited as the flickering forms of cats slowly began to appear. First came Breezepelt, whose amber eyes lit up with delight. "Finally!" He mewed. "I was wondering when you were going to come back!"

"Don't think we love you that much," hissed Tigerstar. "You and your STUPID excuses in WindClan. Next time, if we burn, you burn with us." Breezepelt's eyes widened at the slight threat, but then another cat shimmered into view.

Frostfire looked up in confusion. "Is this..."

"Welcome, Frostfire." Mapleshade said, stepping forward. "This is the Dark Forest, and I am Mapleshade. We aim to make the Clans stronger."

ThunderClan's deputy growled. "That's what you said the first time." Hawkfrost felt a thrill of pride for the white tom. Until... "You never really did. You were all beaten by weak cats that could barely bring themselves to kill you."

"Obviously, they didn't kill us," Mapleshade purred, smooth as a snake. Frostfire's green eyes gleamed with interest. Pushing his disgust down, Hawkfrost forced himself to keep watching the scene. Slowly, the ThunderClan deputy gave a nod.

Ugh. Hawkfrost sneered at him. Tigerstar caught the dirty gaze and frowned, so Hawkfrost quickly redirected it to Breezepelt. With a huff, his father turned away.

A lithe brown tabby's form slowly appeared on the ground, her nose tucked under her tail. Next to her arrived a grey she-cat. They laid on the dirt for a second, unaware, until Hawkfrost shifted his paw.

The tabby's head shot up to look at them. "Who-what-where?" 

Mapleshade spoke. "Welcome, Tigersky, Brokendawn. I am Mapleshade, and this is Tigerstar and Brokenstar. I assume you've heard of them?"

Her eyes widened. "You're the Dark Forest cats!" She stood up, her tail between her legs, glancing around the dark trees. Was she looking for an escape? If she was, Tigerstar didn't seem to care.

"Yes, we are, Tigersky. And you will be one of us too." Tigerstar said, the malice in his tone barely distinguishable. "It is written in the stars. Look at your pelt. Look at your name. You were born under my shadow."

"And you, Brokendawn. You were named after me," Brokenstar hissed. "The resemblance does not exist like it does for Tigerstar and Tigersky, but you still have my name. Why would you have it otherwise?"

The two she-cats backed up together, bumping into Redwillow. Hawkfrost noted that Tigersky's flanks were swollen-was she expecting kits?

His suspicions were confirmed when Redwillow meowed, "Oh, look. Kits. Who's the father?"

Tigersky flinched. "Mm..."

Mapleshade's eyes took on a sudden happy gleam. "Don't tell me," she meowed, "that Maplestem fathered these kits."

From Brokendawn and Tigersky's exchanged glances, the answer was clear. Hawkfrost sighed internally. This didn't take so long last time.

"How much do you value your life and your kits?" Mapleshade mewed. "Hypothetically, of course."

Tigersky's eyes widened with fear. The eight cats of the Dark Forest gave her smirks that told her what exactly would happen to her kits if she didn't comply.

Hawkfrost felt that in a way, they were threatening him too.

~~~~~~~~~

Frostfire padded slowly into Ivystar's den. She wanted to discuss the wounds that had started appearing, no doubt. He had been careful- the Dark Forest cats could not claw him, or Ivystar would notice his wounds. He had to be deputy.

No, he wasn't power-hungry like Brokenstar, or bent on revenge like Mapleshade. He didn't even think the Clans were weak. But his Clanmates were so easy to harm, to scare. He was the deputy of ThunderClan. He must protect his cats in the Dark Forest.

He could feel his mind fracturing under the stress of trying to play a convincing part while still keeping his Clanmates safe. They were all that mattered.

In a way, he could be already broken. The stupid Dark Forest had ruined everything for him. Now he was a mindless slave to those cursed cats who stood under no stars. 

Enough! Frostfire lashed his tail, accidentally hitting Leafpool. "Sorry," he mumbled as he squeezed in next to Jayfeather.

Lionblaze, Dovewing, Leafpool, Jayfeather, and Ivystar were all looking very uncomfortable in the small den, but there was really no other way for them to discuss. Ivy star glanced at the entrance once, and then began to speak in a hushed mew.

"Those scratches on Thistlefur and her friends can't be coincidence. They appear at night, and no cat knows where they come from. Just like the ones from the last rising of the Dark Forest." 

Leafpool nodded. "We examined their claws. They tried to hide it, but there are certain scents in their fur that I would never forget. Hawkfrost. Tigerstar."

Jayfeather and Lionblaze growled sharply at the name of their sister's killer. "Hawkfrost," they meowed in unison, hatred dripping from their voices.

Ivystar meowed gravely, "Yes. He must have survived." She kept her tone measured. "But Tigerstar has definitely returned from the truly dead, yet we watched him fade. How can this be?"

The blind Tom next to Frostfire dug his claws into Ivystar's nest. "I don't know!" Agitated, he ripped a piece of moss away from it and began stabbing it with one claw.

Lionblaze laid his tail on his brother's shoulder. "None of us do, but we know that Tigerstar must be back and that Thistlefur and her friends are traveling to the Dark Forest."

"How did they rise so quickly, though?" Dovewing blurted.

Ivystar shook her head. "I have no idea. Have your powers returned as well?" Frostfire knew that if they had, then ThunderClan stood a fighting chance.

"Well, I've been hearing things lately," admitted her sister. "And Lionblaze ran into a thornbush-"

"And stepped on several thorns but still escaped without a scratch," Jayfeather remembered. "So perhaps our powers are returning." His mew seemed happier.

Ivystar's expression became the slightest bit relieved. "Good," she mewed. "We're going to need your abilities to win this war."

There's one intentional reference in this chapter! Can you figure it out?