Hazelleaf sighed as she entered the camp. The fresh kill was piling over in abundance and everyone was getting well fed. All was good in the clan. Soon, females will start looking for mates, if they haven’t done so already. Kits will be born and a whole new generation will come. She wondered if she would find a suitor herself this season, but it seemed like everyone was pretty much spoken for. She watched a gathering of cats begin to circle around the elder’s den. Breezebriar had made the den her home. She was blind, so she couldn’t be a full warrior, but she loved telling tales of the past. Stories she had heard when she lived in the Lightning clan. Hazelleaf made her way to the small crowd. She hoped the stories were about Deathclaw, a fierce warrior that lived a long time ago.
“… Darkclaw raised his claws on his opponent, and with a single swipe, took out his enemy’s eye,” Breezebriar said as she raised her paw and slammed it to the ground. “Raventooth, furious at Darkclaw, jumped on his back and tried biting his neck, but Darkclaw rolled and knocked Raventooth off of him. Raventooth laid on the ground panting. He couldn’t move, and he lost so much blood. He was dying.”
Hazelleaf knew this story. It was how Deathclaw got his name. He was in a fight with this one cat, Raventooth, and the battle lasted three days. Deathclaw was victorious and ensured the safety of his clan and their territory. He never backed down either. He was up to be the Deputy, but a fire spread across the forest and Deathclaw was burned alive getting his clan to safety. She also heard stories from cats that were near death of seeing him and asking them if they were ready to go to Starclan and even to Forestclan. She didn’t know how she would feel seeing Deathclaw. Stories said he was nothing but ash in the shape of a cat. That would surely give her quite the fright if she saw that. She listened to the rest of the stories. Each one was exciting and she loved every one of them. She listened until everyone started to head to their nests. “Thank you for the story, Breezebriar!” She thanked as she headed to the warrior’s den. It didn’t take her long before she was in her nest and fast asleep.
The whisper was faint, but he could hear it. Someone was calling to him. That was odd. No one should be calling to him, but curiosity got the better of him. He followed the soft voice beckoning him until he came across the entrance that allowed the living to speak with Starclan. The golden grass swayed as he approached the sleeping form of a she-cat he hadn’t seen. He tilted his head as he looked around. He didn’t know this she-cat. She was young and vibrant; most likely a kitty pet that had found herself in the clans. That didn’t seem right either since she looked like a clan cat as well. Who was she?
“Why did you summon me?” he asked. The she-cat stirred a little before opening golden eyes. She had a confused look on her face as she looked around. “I don’t like repeating myself…”
“Where… did I die?” she asked as she began to sit up.
Deathclaw made an audible sigh. She had summoned him, but she didn’t know where she was at. What an odd she-cat she was. “No, you’re not dead. You summoned me here. Who are you? What is it that you want?”
Her ears went flat against her head as she looked at him again. “I’m Hazelleaf of Fireclan. I don’t know why I’m here anymore then you do!”
Deathclaw’s ear flicked for a moment. Fireclan was newly formed not too long ago. He looked at the female again, noticing how much she looked like the clan’s medicine cat. “Are you related to Swiftfire?” Her ears perked a little and she nodded her head. “Well, that certainly explains how you can summon me. I am Dea-“
“Darkclaw…” she whispered as her eyes got bigger. “I-I mean Deathclaw! I’ve heard stories about you since I was a kit! Wait… I’m dreaming… This isn’t real.” Her ears got low as she thought about her realization.
“You are not dreaming…” Deathclaw said, calmly. Why must every cat he meets think they’re dead or dreaming? “Well, I shouldn’t say that. I am able to meet you while you sleep. So, for you this could be a dream. For me, it is not.” He watched for a moment more and then sighed. “I haven’t been called Darkclaw for a long time. It’s good to know that my old name is remembered.”
“Breezebriar from my clan learned your stories from the elders of the old clan she lived in,” Hazelleaf explained, licking the fur on her chest. “My favorite is the Battle of Darkclaw and Raventooth, the battle of how you earned the name Deathclaw.”
Deathclaw winced a little. He remembered that battle well. “What they don’t tell in those stories is that after that battle, I spent many days in the medicine cat den, recovering from my injuries. I was almost killed myself, but Raventooth didn’t get the satisfaction of watching me die. Do the stories say why he hated me? Why we spent das fighting?” Hazelleaf shook her head. “It was over a she-cat. She was very attractive and a loner. We both tried to convince her to join our clans. We fought over her, but in the end, she still chose not to join the clan and left just as easily as she came, but she was with kits. I didn’t find this out until after I had died. I was able to at least guide a kit to the clan, since he was motherless at that point. He bared a great resemblance to me, so they believed he was my blood. Whether he was or not, I do not know, but I was proud of him, none the less.”
Hazelleaf’s eyes widened as he told her more of his life. She watched as his body floated like ash in the wind. Was he like this in death because of the fire that killed him? How utterly tragic of him to be in this state! “May I… see you again?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“Why on… No one has ever asked me that,” he said to himself as he tilted his head. “Why? Most cats are afraid of me… or accuse me of intruding in their lives and hate me…”
“I want to know more,” Hazelleaf said, getting on her paws. “I’m a proud warrior of fireclan! Your stories were so inspiring to me growing up, I want to be brave and courageous, like you were! Is it wrong of me to want that?” She watched the Starclan cat sigh and look away.
“You are too young to be thinking me a hero…” he said quietly. She wanted to ask him what he meant, but she felt a fog overcome her. “It is morning, young one. If you wish, I will visit you again. Until then, good-bye.”
Hazelleaf awoke with a start. She felt her heart beating almost out of her chest and she was panting. Why was she panting so much? She remembered her dream vividly, except at the end. Did he say he wasn’t a Hero? Why would he say that? She stretched as she walked out of the Warrior’s den to start another normal day.