#fireshade

It had taken a bit of trickery, but Trez had been ok with that, and the bastard had it coming. As he stood in the cave waiting, he fidgeted with the dagger. He could sense its power even now and could only imagine how it would feel to slide the blade into Marcus’s heart. He listened carefully for the sound of footsteps approaching, wondering if John had managed to get the pendant to her and if he would even help with the situation. The way Atheona talked about John made him bristle, though he wasn’t sure why. Still, he could put aside the way he felt about the other wolf in order to save Atheona.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched a large red wolf enter the cave, shaking off its fur from the rain that had started falling outside. Treznor’s sense of smell told him it was John and he fought back the growl that formed in his throat. With a nod of acknowledgement, he turned his back so the man could shift and change into clothes. While his back was turned, he sensed Atheona’s arrival.

“Glad you found it ok,” she said as Trez turned around. John had donned a pair of jeans and in his hand held the Frozen Star. Trez smiled softly at Atheona, tearing his eyes from the pendant in John’s hand. “Wasn’t hard. Just followed your scent.” She smiled and gave him a hug. Trez made sure his eyes never left John’s as he squeezed Atheona to him. He didn’t know why he felt the need to challenge him over her affections, but it wasn’t something he could stop. Atheona pulled away with a pointed jab of her elbow to his ribs. He smiled and shrugged as he let her go. 

“So, how do we do this?” John asked. “Well, I have to put the necklace on and we say a few words. Supposedly the pendant with turn red when my soul has been transferred. From there, you two are on your own. Someone needs to watch my body and someone needs to go kill the bastard. The pendant will also need to be kept safe while all of this goes down.” Trez put a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “It’s ok, little one. We’ve got your back.” 

With a sigh, Atheona walked to the makeshift bed Addan had made long ago. Laying down on the pillow, she could still catch the faint smell of him and her heart ached. John came and sat down beside her on the bed, his brow furrowed with worry. “Oh, before I forget,” Atheona said, sitting up and pulling out a folded piece of paper. “Here are the instructions for putting my soul back where it should be.” She handed the paper to John. He took it and began to unfold it. “No,” Atheona said putting a hand over his. “Read it later.” John had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach but he respected her wishes and put the folded paper in his pocket.

Atheona nodded to John and he slipped the pendant around her neck, the stone settling against her chest. She shivered at its cool touch. “Now what,” Trez asked. Atheona smiled up at the two men. “Now I say the words.” She hesitated for just a moment, emotions she hadn’t wanted to deal with welling up. John smiled softly, placing a hand on hers. “I can’t thank you enough, both of you, for standing by my side.” A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed past it, forcing her voice to strengthen so she could do what needed to be done. Looking at John, she said, “You’ll need to let go of me for this, love.” John lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles before moving away.

With a deep breath, Atheona stared at the ceiling. If she watched the two wolves here with her, she would never get through this. She closed her eyes, visualizing the words she’d seen written. 

“Tabharfaidh mé dhuit mo anam. I gael, i ddal. Coinnigh slán, tabhair neart dom. Seo ag guí.” 

 The pain shot through her, blinding pain, like when Taya had hit her with a fireball, but stronger. She felt every inch of her body turn to hot embers. Faintly she heard Trez and John’s voices but if she focused on them, she knew her soul would never go into the pendant. With a cry, her body arching off the bed, she pushed her soul away, felt herself split. 

And then....

Darkness.

First gathering part 2 - we've arrived

The Starry Mountain is a big part of the clans territory (not to be confused with the Flashstar Mountain, which is the neighbor mountain and where Flash Clan's former camp is located). It was named by the cats who found these abandoned lands, long when the four clans - Flash, Warbler, Scrub and Hush - were formed, named after its gigantic star-like shape.

First gathering, Pumpkinpaw's side, part 1

Hi I had to split this into two parts for the sake of time and not overloading the post with pages. Yay!

Main Moon 1: Start