It was common to see ducks stray from their native pond, but it was only usually to the edge of the bulrushes. This one time, will be a lesson to all. One of the younger ducks, a female, with greyish brown feathers, made up her mind to wander, despite her parents warnings.
Day was breaking, and the sun was just beginning to rise. As the young duckling reached the bulrushes, she looked out, pleased by her efforts. What she didn't know was that her next step would be her last. Just left of the poor duckling, was a pair of shimmering green eyes. The young duckling barely caught a glimpse of them, before she was struck down; claws of a wild animal ripping at her, painfully.
Blood was spilled that morning. But more was to be spilled. Not by the ducks, or any other form of cats prey, but by others. From the Clans.
Cats are usually afternoon creatures. They can't help it. They love to sleep. But you will always find an oddity. This oddity was one of not many apprentices of RainClan. This young kit was now known as DaintyPaw. Named so for her love of dancing and prancing, and her apparent lack of being able to stop moving. The small orange spotted silver she-cat was one of RainClan's youngest. At barely six moons old, she was already proving herself to be one of SkySpell's finest apprentices. SkySpell was probably the only cat able to tolerate DaintyPaw's hyperactive personality. He was a tom cat of 32 moons and a well respected mentor. It was the morning of DaintyPaw's second week or apprenticing. She had woken up at the crack of dawn and bounded over to SkySpell's den.
"SkySpell! SkySpell!" She spoke quickly and urgently. "At the pond! You have to come see!!" DaintyPaw bounded about, urging her mentor to hurry.
"This isn't an un wanted wake up call is it?" SkySpell asked opening one eye, much used to DaintyPaw's pranks
"No no! You have to come now!" She was serious. SkySpell could see it in her energetic blue eyes.
"Alright, alright, I'm up" SkySpell let out a huge yawn and he stood up, following the now running DaintyPaw. As much as he loved that kit, she could be quite annoying.
He was quickly lead by the frantic she-cat to the border if the RainClan territory, by the area of the pond overgrown with bulrushes.
"DiantyPaw why…..? By all of StarClan…..!!!" SkySpell shouted, seeing what was in front of him. He looked at DaintyPaw "What…?"
"I don't know! I was just playing round here like I usually do, and when I looked around, there was all this!" She pointed her paw to the mess.
Just at the ponds banks was what looked like a pile of mangled meat. The whole area was drowning in blood, and there were feathers everywhere.
"It looks like…..the ducks…" SkySpell muttered to himself, moving closer to the mess.
"But why would anyone do that? What did the ducks ever do to the cats?" DaintyPaw said innocently.
"Well, I'm pretty sure no clan cats would have done this. So, we can't even be sure it was a cat. Perhaps, since the next gathering is near, we should inform IvyClan and SnowClan…" SkySpell mused.
"What about NightClan?"
"I don't know. They always seem to be plotting. It could have been them." SkySpell looked a little worried.
"But but but, how come they were even in RainClan territory? I thought the other clans weren't allowed!"
"Yes, that is true; they aren't. Not without our permission at least…" SkySpell said, musing at the idea. DaintyPaw didn't like this. She stepped forward.
"I don't believe anyone is this clan is a traitor" She said sternly.
"Neither do I, but we can't be sure of that. We have to inform the clans." Skyspell turned and swiftly bounded back to the RainClan camp, with Daintypaw at behind him.
"But the next Gathering isn't for another week!!" Daintypaw called after Skyspell as they hurried back.
"I know! But in an emergency, I'm sure Bramblestar will be able to arrange something!"
"But we don't even know what the emergency is!"
"I think a massacre is enough of an emergency, don't you?!" Skyspell called back over his shoulder. This was enough to shut Daintypaw up. She was frantic, and when she got frantic, she tended to miss things. That's why she always followed Skyspell around, even outside of her tutoring.