Once Again [Closed]

Frustration mounted within Torrentstar, and he had to remind himself to stay calm. He had always hated feeling helpless. However, if he allowed his movements to grow erratic here, he would surely be unable to break free. Half-twisting around, he snapped at Oakstar. Unfortunately, his jaws closed on empty air. His reach was just short of the ThunderClan leader.

Torrentstar is no longer stunned.

As Torrentstar tried to break away from his hold, Oakstar felt his teeth loosen on Torrentstar’s scruff. The younger tom slipped free as he reared up and whacked his head firmly with both sheathed paws. The spar felt different this time… he was winning. Thoughts of Dacepaw, of Ridgelight and the bloodied bush all felt so far away now as his paws skidded on the smooth stones of sunningrocks.

He smirked with confidence as his assault paused. Concern flickered in his amber gaze as he waited for a moment, hoping he didn’t hurt Torrentstar too badly with that blow, but the other tom was made of tougher stuff. He knew that, despite his concern, and readied for the next attack.

Oakstar used Upright Lock

Oakstar:
82/120
225/300 (-25)

Torrentstar:
40/120 (-20)
275/300

At last, Torrentstar felt Oakstar's hold lighten, and he knew that he was succeeding in breaking free. The ThunderClan leader was strong―stronger than he looked. It had taken the younger tom considerable effort to weaken him. During that time, Torrentstar's patience had worn thinner than ever. As he finally pulled away from Oakstar, leaving tufts of his brown fur still clinging to the other tom's maw, he received another blow. This time, it caught him in the head. He sputtered, instinctively aiming a sharp kick backward. Just like the last time... His attack met with empty air, but he did not allow himself to falter. If he did, he knew Oakstar would immediately make use of that opening. The exertion of their brief but intense struggle was catching up to him; the same must have been for his opponent. The fight was still far from over. Whirling around, Torrentstar faced Oakstar again with a burning gaze. His dark-tipped tail drew a furious arc through the air. Then he was sprinting forward, a screech tearing from his jaws. His paws skimmed over the warm rocks, barely seeming to touch them. At that moment, he was barely aware of anything else but the cat in front of him. He wanted to win. Even if this was just a sparring match, he would not lose. Fueled by adrenaline, he tackled Oakstar. The force knocked the two of them right off Sunningrocks and into the river. The RiverClan tom barely flinched when he landed amidst the waters. They had created quite a splash when they landed, but the water was really shallow enough to stand. With the ease of one who had lived most of his life among the currents, he righted himself before Oakstar could. This was his battleground, one he knew almost as well as the back of his paw. Grabbing unto the other tom with his front paws, he pushed his opponent's head into the water with merciless speed. He would give Oakstar a taste of what it was like to fight a RiverClan cat on the latter's own territory.

Torrentstar used Underwater Clinch, dealing 16 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Oakstar
66/120 HP
225/300 SP

Torrentstar
40/120 HP
265/300 SP

Oakstar was ready for Torrentstar to rear up, maybe to use his claws a little in frustration. In hindsight, he was a fool for not seeing the tackle. He felt his claws scratch uselessly on the stone as he was pushed into the water of the river. His paws clearing the stones briefly with the force of the blow. Cold water stunned him as it sank beneath his pelt. Claws trying to gain a paw hold on rocks that were too slippery as his head was forced under.

A flash of light filled his vision as water surged up his muzzle. Amber eyes unfocused as his head throbbed with violent and sudden pain that filled him… but worse was the realisation that he couldn’t breathe. Thrashing did nothing, and he tried to force himself to calm down. Not in time. Water sank into his lungs as the blood from his head carried away downstream and darkness rose to greet him.

---

Light, it filtered in through half-lidded eyes as Oakstar blinked blearily at the darkness around him. His pelt felt dry, the rushing river no longer clinging to his pelt so strongly. The great paws that had him pinned down were gone… and a silver cat stood in the darkness. Amber eyes narrowed, then widened as the she-cat padded forward, sadness in her expression.

“Oakstar… there were better ways to do this…” She murmured, the scent of old shadowclan in her pelt as he padded forward to hold her close his pelt burning with embarrassment.
"Mother… I just… I needed to let go. I needed to not see that anymore." He paused. Uncertain what to say as grief filled him to the core, almost as if to wrench away all other feelings as he felt her wrap herself around him as though he were a small kit once more.

“...I know, son.” Hazeflight pulled back. Her gentle gaze a balm on his battered heart as he felt it stutter in his chest. She smiled sadly at him while the darkness crept back into his vision. Consuming him, bringing him back into the land of the living. "I love you."

---

Get out, get out, G e t O u t. Water splashed violently as Oakstar’s head snapped up from the water of the river. His chest burned with the effort to breathe as he felt his claws slip and stumble on the slippery rocks as he padded his weary and battered body out from the cold river and onto the sun warmed stones. His chest felt full of the river itself as he hacked out water from lungs that were still recovering. His head pounded as he turned to Torrentstar with another coughing bout.
"Y-you’ve won." He declared, a smile flashing before he sat down to cough out yet more water. His lungs burned as the last droplets fell to the stones beneath him, breath rasping as he cherished the flow of air instead of water in his lungs.

Oakstar has lost a life.

Something was wrong. One moment, Oakstar was struggling with an almost violent desperation, kicking up water in every direction. The next, he was still. At first, Torrentstar merely thought that the other tom was trying to trick him into releasing his hold. Such a trick was the oldest in the book, one that even apprentices knew. If Oakstar thought that he would be this easy to fool, the ThunderClan leader had better think again. However, it was true that keeping his opponent's head in the water for much longer would probably prove hazardous. While Torrentstar could not deny the vicious satisfaction he felt with this turn of events, his intention was not to cause true harm to Oakstar. They were merely sparring after all. One day, when they met each other in a true battle with their clans on the line, then neither would hide their claws or refrain from spilling blood. That day was not today. At least, that was what he had thought.

A flash of red among the swirling currents caught his attention.

Torrentstar's green eyes widened. Blood―why was there was blood in the river? Had Oakstar been injured earlier? There was no one else the blood could have come from. With a start, he released the older tom. As he did, Oakstar's head broke free of the depths; the sudden motion caused yet another wave of water to sweep against Torrentstar's stocky form. Almost immediately, the RiverClan leader's gaze made out the wound on the other tom's head. Most of the blood had been washed off by the rushing water, but the pale wound stood out against dark fur. "What happened?" He demanded warily, tail tip twitching. His first guess upon seeing the blood was that he had exerted too much force, unknowingly pricking Oakstar with his claws. Obviously, however, that was not what had happened. He ignored the declaration of surrender, piercing gaze boring into the ThunderClan leader's shaking frame.

Oakstar coughed as Torrentstar demanded an explanation. He sat on the sun warmed rocks for a moment, relishing each breath of air. He felt a pang of hurt, that Torrentstar had gone to such lengths to win… but he understood as well. Each breath brought with it the familiar calm that washed away the stinging needles of doubt and concern. It was no cat’s fault. No matter how many times he replayed it in his mind, the resulting slip was not anything either of them could have stopped.

Finally, he turned his head to stop the RiverClan leader from losing his temper.
"...I saw my mother." The words were simple, but the meaning was clear. The life he had been gifted by her… was gone. He only had eight of them left, and he needed to be careful. First, he needed to dry.

He padded to the rocks close to the ThunderClan border. The sun shone brightly there, and he took advantage of it by pausing and laying down comfortably. Completely unafraid that Torrentstar might try to kill him again as he lapped at his fur to dry it from the scuffle.

It took Torrentstar a moment to understand what Oakstar's words meant. However, when he did, his green eyes widened. A chill washed over the younger tom, one not caused by the dripping wet state of his fur. Vague as the ThunderClan leader was being, there was only one thing he could be hinting at. He was saying that he had lost a life in the depths of the river; Torrentstar had killed him. Impossible! "That's impossible." The words that Torrentstar immediately spat out reflected the very first thought that surfaced in his mind. His expression twisted, revealing a surge of strong emotion―disbelief and... was that fear that flashed in his gaze? There was no reason for him to believe Oakstar. For all he knew, the ThunderClan leader could be lying. It would not be a completely unexpected move to pull, for a cat whose very clan was the definition of "despicable"... But as he took in the sight of Oakstar calmly drying his pelt off, Torrentstar knew the truth. No―Oakstar was not the type of cat to lie, especially about something of such importance. For a moment, he felt a surge of irritation and disgust at his faith in the older tom. Somehow, against his better instincts, he had come to think that this cat was worth some trust.

His claws were sheathed now. His gaze flicked down to his paws, then back up to the wound on Oakstar's head. For the first time, he had killed someone. That fact was kind of hard to digest, considering the victim was currently sitting in front of him, looking very much alive as he lapped at his soaking brown fur. If what the other leader was claiming was true, then said leader now had only eight lives, perhaps even less. How could he still sit so calmly? How could he focus on sunbathing, as if he had no other care in the world? Was this tom even aware of the significance of what had just transpired? He surely was. The thing was, this was just the kind of cat Oakstar was.

It occurred to Torrentstar that he really did hate this cat.

The RiverClan leader half-sighed, half-growled. He felt mildly like dunking his own head in the water. If he stayed down there long enough, surely he would not have to deal with this trouble? Stalking over, he plopped himself down in front of Oakstar. To be so close to the ThunderClan border got on his nerves. The scent was overwhelming, prickling the back of his throat with its foulness. He resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose. "Did it not occur to you that I could have killed you on purpose?" His green eyes were narrowed coldly as he asked the question.

Oakstar smiled welcomingly as Torrentstar padded over and sat down next to him. A soft purr rumbled from his throat despite their opposing leaderships. His white tipped tail flicking slowly in the sun when Torrentstar’s words met his ears. The answer came easily.

"Because Jaystar, was an honourable tom." He replied, voice soft now that it no longer needed to echo over the sound of the river for Torrentstar to hear him. He blinked slowly, completely trusting the tom before him not to make a violent move. "He would never have chosen a cat who was unworthy to lead RiverClan to be his deputy. His faith in you was whole and sound."

"I saw what you were capable of as well, that you were the steady and strong rock that would stay no matter how fierce the river raged, when the flood sent us to the lake shores." He chuckled to himself as he remembered the spar back then. "I lost that time too… but Torrentstar. You pulled through, and lead the remnants of your clan like a leader until we found the others." He lapped at a final bit of soaked fur. His pelt would be damp for awhile, but the exterior water had been cleared as he stood. "You wouldn’t have killed me intentionally, in a spar that held no stakes like this. There would be no point… however, besides that..."

He paused, then lifted his paw.

It pressed gently to Torrentstar’s chest. Warmth in Oakstar’s eyes. "I believe in you." He smiled, then turned and padded away across his border. Leaving his words to reside in the stones of sunningrocks, and hopefully, the tom he could one day have as a true ally.

Torrentstar stiffened at Oakstar's unexpected touch.

"I believe in you." With those words, the ThunderClan leader turned and padded back into his territory. Moments after the riverbank had disappeared from sight, a screech tore through the air, hot on the tail of the retreating tom.

Torrentstar found himself sitting alone by the river, blazing green gaze fixed on the rippling water surface he had just struck. No other cat was so skilled at angering him, not even Wasppaw. Once again, Oakstar had driven him to lose control of his emotions. It was always that tom. They were so different in nature―so different that it caused him to feel nothing but repulsion. What was there about himself to believe in? Nothing. He was a failure when it came to leadership; if cats only looked close enough, they would surely notice. What kind of admirable leader would have allowed a cat to die because of his naivety? If he had been wiser, just a little wiser, Duckpuddle would not have been murdered by Shade. If he had been a better leader, he would have known how to handle Flurryshine's depression. Instead, he had let a friend wither away from grief; he had abandoned her at the lake. Oakstar was not ignorant, for the older tom had seen him at his lowest point. Even so, Oakstar still claimed to believe in him.

It was incomprehensible. It was insulting.

Everything that the ThunderClan leader had said could have been sarcasm to Torrentstar. He was as strong and steady as the crumbling bark of the willow tree. Him, worthy to lead RiverClan? Ha! He was only carrying out the duty that had been handed to him...The noble cat that Oakstar described was nonexistent.