Chapter 73: Meeting Cloudsky

When Ash opened his eyes, he was in a forest. The sunlight shined through the trees, making the forest sparkle. Prey was everywhere; Ash could smell it. His stomach rumbled at the thought of prey. He began walking through the area, exploring.
Suddenly, with a sickening jolt, Ash realized that he had just been in the snowy mountains with Waterstreak. Then how am I here? 
"Hello," said a voice.
Ash turned around. A very small bobcat was walking towards him. The bobcat smiled; he looked very friendly.
"Um, hi," nodded Ash, "where am I?"
"You're in the forest," the bobcat replied, trotting up to Ash. "Where're you from?"
"Er, The Bending Tower?" Ash answered cautiously.
"Oh, yes, I could smell the scent on you!" The bobcat squeaked. "My name is Rock. You?"
"Ash," Ash replied.
Then, the bushes rustled. Ash turned around, and saw a white hawk coming out from the bushes. He had black bands on his wings.
"Ash?" said the hawk.
"Hi. Um, do you know where I am?" Ash asked the hawk.
"This is the Peacebenders' territory! Y'know, where dead Benders are," answered the hawk.
Ash gasped. "Am I-?"
"No, Ash, you're not dead, don't worry. There's no reason for you to die yet," the hawk said. He flew in front of the bobcat, looming over the small animal. "Ironfang, what are you doing here?" he asked calmly.
Ash felt dizzy, his head started spinning. "I-Ironfang?"
"No! I'm not Ironfang!" squeaked the bobcat in fear, "I'm Rock!"
"Ironfang, you may fool Ash, but your disguises do not fool me. Ash is not yours to control!" Cloudsky squawked.
The bobcat spat, "Fine, Cloudsky! I'll leave!" growling, the bobcat darted off.
"Th-That was Ironfang?" Ash asked, still feeling dizzy.
"Yes," replied the hawk, apparently named Cloudsky.
"How could it be? I figured Ironfang'd be, y'know, more scary," Ash shrugged.
"Ironfang took you into this vision to try and convince you to join the Firebenders. Luckily, if I hadn't been watching over you at the moment, you would've been tricked into attacking Waterstreak already," chuckled Cloudsky. "Ironfang took form of what he looked like when he was an apprentice, so you didn't know it was him."
"What's happening to me right now?" Ash asked.
"Oh,Waterstreak's quickly flying you down to the Water Tribe Healer. He's my brother," Cloudsky nodded.
"He is?" Ash said.
"Yes, except I lived at The Bending Tower - I'm Cloudsky, Feather's mate. I know Feather misses me, but I'm watching over her," Cloudsky smiled weakly. "Firetalon, the Firebender hawk is my son - Eclipse and Fang are siblings, Feather and I adopted  them both."
Ash grew wide-eyed. "Two Firebenders are your sons?"
"Yes," sighed Waterstreak. "Firetalon got angry that I accepted a blind wolf as my daughter-"
"Eclipse is blind?" Ash gasped. She was so good at getting around, Ash didn't even know Eclipse was blind.
"Yes, she is. Doesn't act like it, huh?" Cloudsky chuckled. "Anyways, Fang didn't really like Eclipse either. Firetalon and Fang both became good friends - always hunting together and wandering off into the forest, side by side. I was happy that  they got along so well, but I didn't see how much they hated Eclipse. One day, the two ran off to join the Firebenders. I was sad to see them betray us; The Bending Tower suffered their losses, both would make great Benders."
"Wh-When did you... Die?" Ash asked.
"I'm getting to that," Cloudsky nodded, "So later on, Firetalon and Fang brought some other Firebenders to attack Eclipse. They also were mad at both Feather and I, for keeping a blind wolf, as I said already. I defended Eclipse with my life - I told Firetalon and Fang that they were doing evil deeds and told them to stop. But Firetalon killed me - luckily, Feather managed to keep Eclipse safe. When I went to the Peacebenders to watch the rest of the battle, I saw someone had helped Feather."
"But wait... Someone had also helped Stone escape the Firebenders - who was it?"
"Guardians," Cloudsky answered, "They live here in Peacebender territory. The Guardians look exactly like you, but more transparent, like a ghost. Every Guardian wants Ironfang defeated; so they help their body forms through times they are needed. Stone had to escape the Firebenders, or else Ironfang wouldn't be defeated, Stone will help you defeat Ironfang, but she is not one of the Three."
"The Three?" Ash echoed.
"The Three - that includes you, Ash. You lead the others - two others will help you defeat Ironfang. One of them is Eclipse. Her Guardian is the one who helped her survive when Fang and Firetalon tried killing her. Eclipse's Guardian fought alongside Feather," Cloudsky whispered.
"What do Guardians do when you die?" Ash asked, interested in everything Cloudsky knew.
"When you die, your Guardian joins your body, which accepts you into the Peacebenders. It helps you become wise, which will help the animals on earth," Cloudsky explained.
"But... Wait," Ash said, "then what about Firebenders? How did they become evil, and do Guardians help them?"
"Firebenders' Guardians get confused when an animal joins the dark side. All the Guardians know is that they need to help the body they're with. Now, I must get going, the Peacebenders are gathering for a meeting soon-"
"Wait, Cloudsky!" Ash said. The white hawk turned around. "Um... Wh-Who will die during the battle with the Firebenders?"
"I cannot tell you that now," Cloudsky whispered. "All I can say is... Choose the other two of the Three carefully."

Author's Note:
Long, good chapter, eh? Cloudsky's one wise bird! He's a good story teller too - agree? :P Did it scare you when Cloudsky called the bobcat "Ironfang"? XD