Waves crashed gently along the shore, fueled by a mild breeze. The scent of salt was strong, and the only things that could be heard were the swaying of palm fronds and the waves' peaceful lapping at the shore. The sky was dark except for the glow of the waxing moon. It was the perfect environment and conditions for stalking, and their procession.
Rintel allowed her dark blue gaze to leave Mutiny's gray tail in front of her to gaze around at her surroundings, and she recalled what Mutiny had told her before leaving their camp: don't stop to sniff the lilies, but memorize them. She had no interest in smelling the flowers anyway; she was here on business.
The golden bracelet rubbed uncomfortably against her paw as they made their way into drier sand. This sand was whiter and crept under their claws more easily than the wet sand they had just left behind, making their pawprints fatter and less uniform. Not that that mattered—Sketti was at the back of the party masking their trail with an extraordinarily long, thick tail. Behind them it looked just as it did when they first came ashore, and it was impossible to tell that any cat had been there.
Mutiny in front of her came to an abrupt halt, causing Rintel to almost crash into him. She fortunately caught herself and mimicked Mutiny's crouch, keeping her tail just above the sand stiffly as she had been taught. Somewhere behind her Maruka cried out and was immediately hissed at by Sketti.
"Quiet!" Mutiny hissed. Silence instantly fell over the party. Mutiny stuck his nose out, sniffing the air carefully before stopping at one point, staring intently. A pair of green-yellow eyes, quickly joined by gray-green and yellow, stared out at them. Mutiny sighed inaudibly.
"Gents," he said, referring to the entire party. "Dinner is served."
At his signal the cats all lunged forward. One cat in the opposing force tried to yowl a warning but was quickly cut off by Sketti's claws in his throat. Another cat howled at the loss of his clanmate, and lunged himself at a surprised Rintel. The force of his much heavier bulk caught her off guard as she was pinned to the ground. The yellow-green eyes sneered at her, and the sneer stayed with her as inky blackness flowed over her vision.
The cat, having taken care of his opponent then launched himself at Mutiny, who was battering a gray she-cat. His excessive weight knocked Mutiny off of the she-cat while cleanly putting him on top. Mutiny attempted to slither out, but the tom allowed his weight to fall onto Mutiny, so the air was knocked out of him. Mutiny recovered quickly and sank his claws and teeth into the tom's shoulder, his abnormally long claws searching the intricate fibers below the skin. He found his mark and pierced it. The tom on him let out a huge yowl, and Mutiny used his moment of weakness to throw him off.
He sprang back to his feet, his claws crimson with the blood of his foe. A new, fresh patrol of the enemy had joined the fight, and seeing his patrol outnumbered and losing, he let out a yowl, an order to retreat.
The attacking party was now the fleeing party. Sketti threw off a ginger she-cat and rejoined Mutiny on the beach, followed by Maruka and Nonami. Clyde arrived shortly thereafter, and the cats launched themselves into the ocean. Guilt almost nagged in Mutiny's mind, but he remembered the captain's orders to stick to the code. Rintel and Juinching were just going to have to make it on their own.
Cheers erupted on the defenders' side, mixed with taunts and insults. They had successfully driven off the pirate force. At the same time a heavy solemness lay in the air, and the cats gathered themselves, their dead, and their prisoners and made their way back to camp.
Reedfur announced his arrival with a tired yowl. Behind him emerged a small, brown tom, a tortoiseshell she-cat, a skinny gray she-cat, two ginger toms, and a black tom, each supporting another cat: two smaller of the enemy, a yellow-furred she-cat, and the gray-and-white heavy tom by the three others. A white she-cat emerged from her den hidden by variously scattered rocks. Reedfur acknowledged her and began dragging his load towards her. The others followed suit.
Several minutes later, a tiny, dark bracken-colored she-cat entered the den. Her abnormally large green eyes studied the gray and white tom, before slowly drawing them to the white she-cat. "Will he live?"
The white she-cat allowed her leafy green eyes to leave her patient for a moment to look the other she-cat in the eyes. "His wounds are deep, and I'm nearly out of cobweb, Faithstar. What am I to do?" Her face was grave, solemn.
Faithstar looked at the tom sadly. The invaders had managed to effectively injure their strongest warrior. If he were to die, then the Clan would be all but defenseless. "Well, you heard her! Go gather cobwebs, and lots of it!" The yellow tabby, Sunflower, nodded and shot out. Indigopaw was right at her heels. Faithstar turned back to the medicine cat. "Lilypad, how are the others?"
Lilypad gazed at the three other cats nearby, one breathing, the other two utterly still. "Duskheart is dead, the grey one is dead, and the other one is hanging on," she said plainly.
The one coughed for a moment before settling back to shallow rapid breathing. Faithstar drew her eyes along the unconscious she-cat's flank and noticed something odd...on her left shoulder. Through the crusted blood on her shoulder was unmistakably the mark of her line...a skull and crossbones.
"We will hold a ritual for Duskheart momentarily," Faithstar said, turning back to Lilypad. "Meanwhile, I want to speak with the other living cat, whoever she may be."
Lilypad applied more dock to the wound and fastened it with her last cobweb. It was fortunate that at that moment Indigopaw returned with a large wad of cobweb on his front paw. She took it gingerly and set it nearby for later use after dismissing him.
When she was done she turned back to Faithstar. "You really need to do this now? I don't know how long Pawstep will live without treatment," she said worriedly.
"Pawstep will be fine," Faithstar stated matter-of-factly. "I wish to speak to the cat."
Lilypad sighed. "Whatever you wish, my leader," she said. Her voice seemed heavy, and she moved slowly as if she were tired. She obtained a small amount of yarrow, thyme, and sorrel and chewed them into a pulp, which she forced down the unconscious she-cat's throat. She then quickly cleaned her wounds with dock and bandaged them with cobweb. She turned back to Faithstar and said, "She will be awake in a matter of heartbeats."
Faithstar nodded, and Lilypad returned to Pawstep, whose cobweb was utterly soaked and leaking again.
Great StarClan, Lilypad thought. They must've sliced a vein. The thought horrified her, and the fact that this was what she had to deal with made it impossible to pretend otherwise. She summoned the nearest apprentice, Indigopaw, and he carefully followed her instructions.
Meanwhile, Faithstar seemed to be keeping vigil over the she-cat, who had not awoken yet. She watched as the herb solution caused her breathing to slow and deepen. It was heavier than normal, though, and Faithstar continued to watch over her.
Finally the she-cat coughed, jerking her head up and trying to see in the darkness as she coughed up a tiny bit of blood. She stopped after about ten heartbeats and sat still long enough to take in her surroundings, including Lilypad, whose paws were deep in Pawstep's shoulder, and the dead grey cat sprawled out a tail-length from her.
"Where am I?" Her voice came out thin and weak, and she appeared terrified at having such large eyes staring at her.
"You're in the JungleClan camp," said Faithstar matter-of-factly.
Faithstar's mew surprised her. How could such a small body produce that broad and loud of a mew? Since she was asking questions, she also wanted to know how many cats that size had enormous eyes like this one's.
The she-cat was about to open her mouth, but Faithstar interrupted, saying, "What's your name?"
"Rintel," the she-cat said after a moment's hesitation. "May I have the freedom to inquire of yours?"
Faithstar, despite being impressed by this cat's vocabulary, ignored the question, but instead asked another. "Can you walk?"
Rintel, slightly annoyed by Faithstar's lack of an answer, forced herself up on shaky paws and nodded.
"Good," meowed Faithstar. She motioned Rintel to follow her and left the den. Rintel followed obediently.
Once they were a short distance from the camp, Faithstar stopped abruptly and began to sniff a patch of what looked like more sand. This intrigued Rintel slightly; hadn't they just walked on a long trail of sand? What made her stop here? Faithstar withdrew her nose and sat down, obviously satisfied with the place they had chosen. With a motion of her tail, she motioned Rintel to sit as well. It was then the interrogation began.
"Who are you? Of what line are you?" Faithstar asked.
"I am Rintel," she began, then stopped, wondering if she should tell her entire family and line. She continued, "My father is a pirate cat by the name of Teague. Of what importance is this to you?"
Faithstar sat with her head dipped for a moment, her eyes closed. Slowly, she raised it and her eyes opened, but now they were filled with rage. "What importance is it of? Don't you know your father is one of the most evil cats in the entire Caribbean?"