- Redstar gains her nine lives, and the first thing she does is bait the Woods into attacking her. Her wish is granted, and Redstar loses a life. The echo of her first life is left tangible for the Woodcrawlers, and Redstar escapes, having successfully fed the woods.
Redstar stared at the great, towering woods before her. The sun had already set on the horizon, leaving darkness to blanket the world. It had been a few moons since she attained her nine lives from StarClan - long enough for the woods to feel the hunger. She decided tonight was the night. She was going to change ForestClan's history, and erase the weight that plagued their seasons of cruel leaderships, forever. This was what she and her Clan had sacrificed for. Redstar was going to do what Lakestar would not.
A long-haired, light brown cat padded up behind her and asked quietly, “Do you want to bring any cobwebs with you before you go?”
“No, Windfur. I don’t think I’ll need it. StarClan will heal my wounds.”
“They can’t heal all wounds,” Windfur meowed. “I’ve...seen what the woods can do.”
“As have I. But I’ll be alright. I promise.”
Windfur nodded solemnly, respecting her decision. Other cats noticed Redstar standing at the border of camp, and slowly padded up to them with uncertain gazes. Redstar turned to her clanmates, and raised her tail high as she addressed them.
“Cats of ForestClan. I know the woods have not been fed for several moons. Tonight, I uphold my promise I made to you all when I was made leader. I will do what Lakestar has refused to do for many seasons. For the good of our Clan, I will personally go, and feed the woods.”
The small number of cats that made ForestClan turned to look at each other for reassurance, and for a brief moment, a spark of hope was shared among them.
Iciclepool, Redstar’s deputy, approached their leader and touched noses with her. “Please. Come home soon.”
Redstar offered a purr of reassurance before giving one last look at the Clan she called home, and stepped out into darkened treeline.
The calico tabby she-cat stalked through the woods with purpose. She carefully listened for every sound, and watched for every shifting shadow. She brought her nose to the ground, and a vile stench invaded her nostrils. She wretched in disgust, anger building up within her. There it was - a disgusting imitation of a badger set. Her blue eyes narrowed as she traced the black and red roots that wrapped around the hole’s entrance and branched out to the nearest trees. A large, lumpy effigy of twisted vines and roots lingered at the entrance of the den, its form riddled with holes and long, pale hairs, like delicate vines seeking a perch.
It was a mockery of nature.
Redstar took a deep breath. As much as she hated to admit it – she had to swallow down the anxiety in her throat. She was never...truly attacked by a Woodcrawler before. Fake cats, fake Twolegs, yes. But not only did she need a Woodcrawler to attack her, she needed it to kill her. She then needed StarClan to resurrect her quickly enough for her to escape, and for the Woods to feed on the echo of her past life.
She hoped this would work. If it didn’t, then this would’ve all been for nothing.
She turned her back towards the nest...and waited.
And waited.
And waited until Redstar could feel her blood boil with anger. She would not tolerate the woods sniffing around her like a skeptical fox. Yes, she didn’t smell like she did before – the low, atmospheric tinge of StarClan’s lives still clung to her pelt. But she knew that the Woods were not that intelligent. She still smelled like cat and wet dirt. She was flesh and bone. She was not going to waste her entire night on picky parasites.
“Well? What are you waiting for, you cowards? Are you scared?” she lashed out.
Silence abruptly greeted her. The crickets grew mum, and the tree frogs stopped their croaking. The eerie silence made Redstar’s hair stand on end. She persisted, fueled on pure adrenaline.
“Can you hear me? Kill me. Do it before I lose my patience. Your dinner is ready, you mangy, maggot-infested - ”
A collection of snapping twigs and and a hollow groan interrupted her tirade. It breathed down her neck, and slowly, something echoed back:
“ARE...YOU...SCARED?”
Redstar froze.
After a moment that felt like a heartbeat, or a thousand years, she craned her neck to see what had emerged from the depths.
“CAN YOU...HEAR...ME?”
Her last thought was, that skull wasn't there before.
Wretched vines wrapped around her body and pierced the back of her head, killing her instantly.
Redstar awoke with a gasp of terror, only to find herself in the starry skies of StarClan. She was greeted by Icypaw, who looked at her with an unreadable expression.
“You’ve lost a life. Be quick on your feet. You’re at the mouth of its den. If you’re quick, you can confuse it and escape.”
“Icypaw, it pierced my head. Can I escape from a skull fracture?”
“It may feel that way – but it didn’t go through your skull. It doesn’t want your body to decay THAT fast.”
Redstar sighed. “Through my nose, then, did it? Disgusting.”
“Yes, but it’s slow.” Icypaw paused, then his eyes widened. “Time to go. Run fast, Redstar!”
Redstar felt her world blacken. Then, her vision and overwhelming pain returned to her all at once, and she yowled as she instinctively brought her paws to her face. She jammed her claws underneath the tendrils that were lodged into her nose. With one fell push, she yanked them out of her, and then started running, climbing her way out of the hilly clearing she had wandered in. She couldn’t help but look behind her one last time, and her heart went from beating with terror, to beating with excitement as a pale, greying image of herself was left behind in the Woodcrawler’s tunnel, being consumed by roots and slowly dragged into the depths.
She did it. It worked. She fed the woods.
She continued to run as quickly as she could, laughing into the night as the wind blew through her fur. She did it. She really did it! She fooled the Woodcrawlers!
She burst into camp, garnering the attention of all of her Clanmates. Every single one of them, safe for the kits, were still awake. Iciclepool was the first to bound up to her, her eyes wide.
“Redstar! You’re back!”
Her remaining Clanmates bounded up to her with immediate questions.
“Did it work? Did the Woods eat you?” Barleywave, a dark grey tom with pale points on his face and feet asked.
“What happened to your nose?” Cloudthunder, a pale gray and white molly asked.
“I’ll get cobwebs for your face,” Windfur piped as he dashed to the medicine den.
Redstar was too filled with the rush of excitement to answer them. Her eyes beamed with joy.
She succeeded. Despite everything Lakestar had told her about the Woods, about how it would tell the difference, of how nothing they ever did would change their situation – she had just ripped apart everything Lakestar had ever stood for, and it was rapturous.
The woods were fed, and all of her Clan members still lived. StarClan’s nine lives were serving their intended purpose all along. She couldn’t be happier.
