Ooooh, Round Two, here we go! Same accounts, but two new authors now...decide on your favorite and don't forget to vote!

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Hold Me Down by Halsey

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"My demons are begging me to open up my mouth."

•••

I can't remember anything. Rowan sluggishly woke up to find herself splayed haphazardly across a soaked bed of reeds. Her dark fur was dripping wet and cold. Suddenly aware of the storm raging around her, Rowan jumped to a standing position and looked at her unfamiliar surroundings.

•••

"I need them mechanically make the words come out."

•••

At that moment, a memory struck like lightning: three kittens nestled up to their mother's belly, happily suckling milk. Rowan whipped her head to and fro, scanning the howling trees for answers. "My kits!" she croaked, "Where are my kits?!"

"They were taken from you."

Rowan turned round and round till she stumbled dizzily across the wet mud. "What? Whe- who?"

•••

"They fight me, vigorous and angry, watch them pounce."

•••

"I am here to help you, Rowan."

"Where are you?!" Rowan called out to the disembodied voice. "Who are you?"

"I'm the one who's going to get your kits back."

"...How?"

"You just have to let me in. You trust me, right?"

•••

"Ignite me, licking at the flames they bring about."

•••

"I...I don't know. I–"

"–Trust me."

"...Okay. I trust you," Rowan finally said. What else could she do? As a outcast rogue, no clan or loner group would ever help find her kits. Now, a random stranger comes along to her aid? It was her only chance.

•••

"I sold my soul to a three-piece

And he told me I was holy."

•••

A figure suddenly appeared in front of her, dark and surrounded by mist. Its eyes glowed yellow with an all-knowing, omnipotent gaze that she couldn't quite comprehend. As it got closer, Rowan's pelt stood on end, and her eyes bulged. What...what's happening?

"It is time for our revenge."

She felt a calm presence overcome her being, shifting throughout her body and flowing through her veins. It was like a cold fire, burning with the desire to strike anyone who dared cross her path.

"Alright."

•••

"He's got me down on both knees."

•••

Peeking through the foliage, Rowan crept unseen towards the ShadowClan camp currently occupied with basking elders and families sharing tongues beneath the morning sunlight. The rain from the previous night had all but dried up, leaving a swamp in its wake. As the rogue trekked onwards, the mud expertly masked her scent.

•••

"But it's the devil that's tryna hold me down, hold me down..."

•••

Rowan could now make out the individual cats within the camp clearing. She sniffed, hoping to find her kits, but all she could smell was the marsh under her paws. A voice echoed in her head. Find the nursery by the large spruce.

•••

"Sneaking out the back door,

Make no sound."

•••

The rogue obeyed. Her legs seemed to walk on their own, swiftly downwind towards the west side of the camp. Soon, the warm aroma of queens' milk wafted through her mouth, and she could hear the noises of kits at play. Go inside.

•••

"Knock me out, knock me out

Saying that I want more,

This is what I live for."

•••

"I'm finally going to get my kits back!" Rowan thought determinedly. Sneaking through the back entrance, she crept up to the den and slid between the prickly branches of a thorn bush. The bristles passed through her fur like silk, and soon enough, she was in the nursery. In the dark, Rowan could see a single cat sleeping soundly in her nest. The queen was alone, and she assumed it was her kits playing outside. "Well, my kits, actually," she said to herself with a low growl.

•••

"Selfish, taking what I want and call it mine."

•••

This fox-heart stole your kits from you! the spirit inside her hissed. Rowan paused, unsure of herself.

"I should just grab my kits and leave before I cause any trouble," she whispered. But before she could move, a powerful force took over her body and she almost screeched in pain. Her blood boiled as her claws unsheathed, and everything turned red.

•••

"I'm helpless, clinging to a little bit of spine."

•••

"IT IS TIME FOR REVENGE!" a deep voice bellowed out of her own mouth that Rowan didn't recognize. All she felt was rage towards the oblivious she-cat before her. As the inferno grew hotter, Rowan yowled, and her limbs moved alone, without thought or intention. The noise grew louder, the furnace brighter, everything screaming and fuming with hatred and a need to hurt.

Then suddenly...silence.

Rowan looked down. Her fur was dripping, but not from the rain. She could still feel her heart pounding as she gagged at the sight before her. A body, never to wake again, because of...her. We did it.

"No!" Rowan cried. "No!" But there was no response. The spirit had left her alone drenched in blood and remorse.

She turned around to see three faces staring in utter shock and horrification. Three innocents, who had stumbled upon her mistake. "My kits!" Rowan exclaimed, running to them. "Thank StarClan!" But as soon as she moved, they squealed in fear.

•••

"They rush me, telling me I'm running out of time."

•••

"Help! Help! Mommy! Someone hurt Mommy!" they pitifully cried, and Rowan heard pawsteps thundering towards the nursery, getting closer...closer.

•••

"They shush me (shhh), walking me across a fragile line."

•••

She knew her time was done. As she felt the teeth of a ShadowClan warrior dig into her skin, she stared at the kits, desperate for some kind of recognition. They only continued shrieking at her, and she suddenly remembered...

Her own kits had died in the storm.

•••

"I sold my soul to a three-piece

And he told me I was holy..."

•••