The Plot of OLM Version 1

[Darkiez =D]

AN EAGLE'S PLUMMET

The nine cats lurked in the bushes, waiting for a chance to spring. There she was. There was the dark brown tabby known as Eaglestar. No other cat could look so broad-shouldered yet inoffensive.

The leader of the group signaled with her tail, and the rogues filed into the clearing. Eaglestar had just killed a mouse. Trespassing on RiverClan territory had been a fatal mistake.

Eaglestar let out a strangled cry of surprise as the leader slammed into her. A second cat, much like what would have been the leader's deputy had she been a Clan leader, approached Eaglestar from the side.

The other seven moved in boldly, looking to their leader for directions. Angrily, Eaglestar slashed out and killed the would-be deputy. The large tom looked surprised, then collapsed. A black tom cried out from the row of rogues, as if he and the big ginger tabby had been particularly close.

Two more fearsome cats came forward. One of them, a gray-blue tabby, took one of her lives, thinking that she only had one. They made the mistake of watching her die; when she came back to life, she soared upward and bit into her killer's throat.

His companion wailed, fear dancing frantically in his gaze. Eaglestar took this as yet another opportunity, and took his life as well.

But her claws, in the end, did not save her. The leader pushed her aside, pinned her to the ground, dug thorn-sharp claws into her throat, and ripped from the throat to the bottom of the tail. Suffering terribly, Eaglestar died.

The leader turned to the others. "Numbers, you're my second-in-command now. Get Thistle's body. Heart and Diamond, you get Joker and Ace. Spade and Club, walk with me." She whipped around and began to stalk into the forest, but paused when she heard a voice.

"Should we leave Eagle's body here?" asked the soft-furred black cat cautiously. He refrained from adding the "star" ending to the name due to the leader's distaste for two-word names.

"Yes. Let the cats of the river wage war on the cats of the wind for trespassing on their territory, and let vice versa occur because the cats of the wind will think that their enemies killed their leader."

The black cat, called Numbers, nodded. "Right. And they're correct. But they don't know how they're correct."

The leader mrrowed in laughter, but it was a mirthless mrrow. "They think the cats of the river are their enemies? They haven't met us yet!"

QUOTH THE RAVEN, "NEVERMORE"

Ravenstar had been weakened by sickness over the past few moons, but he had pulled through. The black bi-color's lithe body waved through the pine and marsh of ShadowClan territory. Unknown to him, six pairs of glowing eyes watched him from deep in the swampy brush.

"Attack," whispered a lithe brown tabby with talon-sharp claws, springing after the ShadowClan leader. A black cat waved his tail, and the other four followed him. The brown tabby--the leader--launched herself straight at Ravenstar's throat.

Ravenstar might've been weak and unprepared, but he was not completely stupid. He rolled over and let the leader's fangs bite into his shoulder instead. He emitted a cry of pain, then leapt to his paws and charged at her.

A brown tabby van tom launched himself onto the ShadowClan leader, and Ravenstar roared in fury. He tussled with the rogue until the leader and the black cat joined the fight. A blue-gray tabby crouched down, preparing to leap, but over the yowls and hisses, the leader shouted, "No, Diamond, stay back with your daughter!"

The gray tabby curled her lip in a snarl and darted back to where a thin white she-cat sat, her ginger patches standing out against her pale fur. Worry danced in her brown eyes, but Diamond's cold green-blue eyes only offered reproach at her daughter's fear.

A cry of triumph emitted from the brown tabby she-cat's throat as she dug her claws into Ravenstar's throat. The lithe tom squalled in pain and tried to bat the rogue leader with his white paws, but a black bi-color she-cat crashed into him, and he became a scratching post for the four cats.

When they retreated, tails waving, Ravenstar's bloody body lay lifeless on the dusty ground, his amber-green eyes closed forever and his mouth open in a silent yowl to the heavens.

SWEET AS HONEY, DEAD AS A DOORNAIL

Honeylark ran, away from RiverClan, away from her treacherous daughter, away from the son that never cast so much as a second glance at her...what to do, what to do? She couldn't become a rogue, no self-respecting Clanner could do that. Joining the other Clans was out of the question.

The golden-brown tabby warrior paused to consider her options. She did so for a moment too long. The brush beside her exploded with cats, all screeching and displaying their unsheathed claws and baring their sharp teeth and leaping at her.

Honeylark let out a startled cry as the rogues descended upon her. A brown tabby--the leader--called out, "Numbers! See those scars--open them up!"

The RiverClan cat made a swipe at a black bi-color cat, but it was not Numbers. A black cat attacked her from behind, searching for the wounds she had been given by Tansyfoot. And the leader was aiming for her throat and chest, where she dreaded being injured...

"Flamesong?" she croaked, as a claw was applied to her neck. "Sparrowpaw? Rapidpaw? Help me, please! I can't do it on my own."

"What are you whispering?" demanded the leader. "And what is your name? You are not the leader of the cats of the river, I know that."

"I'm Honeylark, warrior of RiverClan." Honeylark struggled free of the rogue leader's grip, but the black bi-color and Numbers came at her again, along with a blue-grey tabby. They pinned her down and searched for Tansyfoot's work; when they found her scars, scattered over her body, they clawed at them furiously. Honeylark emitted a yowl of pain.

The tabby she-cat nodded. "Honey. Interesting. My name is Thorn, Queen of Destruction. Do you know whose? Spade, you know the drill."

"Mine?" guessed Honeylark, hoping that she might get accepted into the rogue band because of her intellect.

The black bi-color--Spade--nodded. "Clever Honey." And then she pricked the warrior's neck with her claw. "But your intelligence won't save you this time." She dug her teeth into the trickle of blood on Honeylark's body, and pressed.

Honeylark looked as if she were about to wail for a second, then slowly faded away.

The cats stepped off her. Thorn purred.

"Good job, cats. Now, let's go have some fun with ThunderClan..."

PLOT SUMMARY - RISE OF THE FORGOTTEN

You thought you were safe. You thought your leader would protect you from harm. You thought that rogues weren't a problem. You thought that life was great. You thought stupidly.

In a forest ruled by the psychotic Thorn, self-proclaimed Queen of Destruction, and her gang of Clan-hating rogues, no one is safe. No leader can protect anyone from harm. Rogues are too big a problem for words. Life is far from great. And it doesn't pay to be stupid.

The forest is terrorized by a nightmare in cat form. Every minute makes all the difference. Waste it, and die. Savor it, and live to see the sun rise tomorrow.