Surely, he wouldn't lose this fight. 

BloodClan only had that mere cat as their leader. Not even the size of an apprentice but wore fancy items such as a disgraceful kittypet collar. Even if Scourge fitted the item with the teeth belonging to savage dogs, it didn't mean he had earned them himself. When he had first seen this tiny cat, Darkstripe had almost snorted at the feeble cat, questioning how a tiny cat like him could stand on his own feet without getting thrashed around by the raging winds. However, Tigerstar told him that he wasn't to be questioned. 

Standing in line with cats just like him, bloody and battle-hungry, Darkstripe couldn't have been happier. Granted, the cats that called themselves BloodClan stayed near Scourge, always ready to follow him. Tigerstar had placed his entire trust in the apprentice-sized cat where he hadn't placed a single ounce of it in him moons ago. He tried not to let that bother him, but knowing how easily the thick-furred tom had trusted the black cat made every nerve and cell in him boil. 

Why couldn't it have been him that the all-mighty Tigerstar trusted at first glance?

Why was it this tiny cat who thought he was strong just because fangs stuck out of that collar? Collars were supposed to be the mark of a lowly kittypet, those fat and lazy cats barely lifting a single paw to serve themselves. Was it because of that cold, leafbare's look always remaining in Scourge's eyes? Even when the tom watched cats battle and kill just for a sport, there would always be that bored expression, shedding no light of enjoyment or dissatisfaction. Darkstripe swallowed the rage down his throat, keeping his fur flat as Tigerstar proclaimed his visions and beliefs to those disgusting Clan cats. 

By the way Tigerstar seemed so intrigued by this tiny cat, he thought the powerful tom was going to find himself some kind of collar to attach objects that glorified him even more. Darkstripe was thankful that that never happened, glad that his leader didn't stoop as low as the black cat standing behind him. Being near that cat always gave him an uneasy sense, but he didn't speak up. 

Then again, Tigerstar had always treated him like a pawn. Every time he'd try and talk with him, there would always be something else going on, something that made his entire existence a mere annoyance. But the feeling he got when he fought beside him always gave him some kind of extra confidence, maybe even more power. Each blow that they took, Darkstripe would feel the corresponding part of his own body take the blow that the brown warrior had suffered.

Seeing him fall to due exhaustion or injuries seemed to be more than enough herbs for him to recover. Acting as a loyal bodyguard, hoping Tigerstar would notice some of his efforts, Darkstripe defended him with every ounce of strength left in his worn-out body. After the wounds were dried and scarred over, he'd always try to slip over and ask how he was. 

Multiple times, there was a certain she-cat in the way, the one who seemed to drag the sharp-eyed cat's attention away by the tail. Other times, he'd just shove him aside and do his own thing, contemplate the things in his mind to himself. Times when there were three of them, him, Tigerstar, and Longtail, he did value - after all, it was time with him after all. The arrogant, long-legged tom could disappear into the background for all he cared. 

There were days that he worried Tigerstar forgot all about him. 

Just another pawn to use for his goals. Another cat that could go into battle whenever he gave the orders, giving his life just to get another step closer to this grand dream. A cat that was fighting with every single thing left in him as if he had nothing else to fight for. A cat that wouldn't question motives and would sit quietly, bow their head, and unsheath their claws at foes. 

He wasn't one of those cats, no matter how much he told himself. 

Darkstripe was different than the other mindless cats that followed at those pretty words of power, greed, corruption, and dominance. He wasn't just fighting for new territory or a status that would carry him to the top, sitting upon a pile of corpses of all the cats he despised. There was something else in him that gave him a reason to wake up and work harder, promising that one day, his efforts would pay off. Comparing him to another subject of brainless cats was one of the worst ways to describe him.

No, he was fighting for something more. 

He was fighting for a chance.

He was fighting just to even be with Tigerstar.

Yes, that was the reason. Each night was filled with hopeless dreams that Tigerstar would suddenly realize that he was an important part of his master plan. But is that what he truly wanted? No - the Tigerstar he knew would acknowledge him and his efforts, but he'd never truly admit what he was feeling. Even for a pretty she-cat like Goldenflower, he knew that honest and genuine feelings were hard to come across with a cat like him.

And that was why he felt such admiration for the brave warrior. 

Every fight gave him mixed feelings of power surging through his veins, making his blood run faster, claws grow sharper, and paws move quicker than ever. Yes, knowing that a warrior as great as Tigerstar was with him, on his side of the fight, was more than enough to tell him that he was on the winning side. It was like fate had pulled him to his side anytime a battle raged on, determined to protect him at all costs. 

And the battle in front of him would give him more of that indescribable feeling. If it didn't, then it wasn't the fact Tigerstar didn't fight with all his strength backing him up like a raging storm, it was those pathetic Clan cats who thought they could stand against a force like them. With cats on their side, cats that they didn't know all of their tactics and skills, the battle was already won before they even touched a single paw onto the field. 

Scourge hadn't said a single word the entire time Tigerstar had declared war on the Clans, silently watching him with that gleam in his eyes. Darkstripe curled his lips into a snarl, wanting to lash out at the tom for not paying attention. Then again, the muscular tom next to the tiny cat was like a leech, sticking around, but seeming to suck out all the strength and power that his leader might have. It'd cause every part of him to snarl and snap if this kit fell before the first wave, neck snapped like a twig or claws scoring his underbelly, making a nice, clean, lethal cut. 

Darkstripe let the rage settle down bit by bit, figuring that wasting his energy on a kit that would only need a simple strike across the neck would drain away his strength. He needed that to fight alongside Tigerstar and having it all piled on Scourge before the single for attack even came would be the downfall of him. Besides, there were a few cats in the Clans he had wanted to settle some scores with. Fighting all of them at once would satisfy him, but staying near his leader was more important.

Then, then his efforts would be worthwhile. Then, everything he worked for would pay off in the end. Tigerstar would finally see his strength if he were the one to bring down the main source of his rage. That fake leader, the one that had the audacity to call himself a leader of a Clan that had fallen the moment an old she-cat had banished the only true warrior in the ranks. Darkstripe tightened himself, ready for the battle to begin.

With BloodClan with them, there wouldn't be any kind of failure, and Tigerstar was ready to fight.

Surely, he wouldn't lose this battle.  

Written by Solstice
Edited by Bright