It didn't take him long until he reached the two-leg place.
Their dens were all the same, and the shrubs were lined up. White wood spread around their territories, making it difficult to see over. He could scent a few cats, but the scent of thunderpath was everywhere.
He could hear a few cats chatting, but they sounded too much like kittypets who only cared about not getting wet in the rain. They couldn't possibly live without their two-leg, much less live in the wild.
Nightfeather had ventured deeper. With no luck, he only bumped into kittypets, who stayed in their own territory. Other than that, he was greeted by some not-so-friendly toms who claimed that he wanted to challenge them for territory, which Nightfeather found absurd.
After looking for a place to find prey, he bumped into two she-cats.
"Are you part of a Cage? You seem alone, it would be easy to kill you." the cat with a split face snarled.
The other she-cat seemed more calm, but she seemed like she would attack any second. "Who are you?"
"I am Nightfeather." he answered her. "I do not know what you mean by 'cage'. I've traveled long and far in search for a place to call home. And now that I have found it, I wish to continue living with my original code."
"Nightfeather? That's a weird name." the hostile she-cat muttered. Much like Moon. "What is this code you speak of? I hope nothing like the Cages. Or else, killing you may be better."
"No," he answered them. "I speak of a Clan Code. Where rules are made to protect all cats in the group."
The calm she-cat processed what the tom was saying. "You mentioned an original code? I'm guessing you were part of a group. What happened?"
"Ebony," the she with the split face hissed. "What's the point of asking? I say we just leave."
"Gold," she hissed. "He said this code was to 'protect all cats'. I'm curious. What do we need in order to join?"
"Nothing." he purred. "As long as you vow to follow the code and be loyal to you Clanmates, that's enough to join."
In the end, they had offered him to create a meeting.
He would still search for cats, but a meeting in three night-falls at moon-high will be held in order for them all to see whom their Clanmates may be. They had also stated that it would be much easier instead of explaining about a Clan to all cats he saw individually.
His stomach growled with hunger, only then he realized that he never got to catch any prey. Sighing, he went towards a 'barn', as his mentor had called an open two-leg den where other cats could catch some mice.
Once inside, patches of dry grass were stacked all over, and the scent of mice was strong.
The scent of iron filled the air. Once he saw the blood trail , he wasted no time in following it. In the back of the barn, next to a small patch of grass, a ginger tom lay there. His breath was shallow, it took no medicine cat to figure that out.
"If you're going to kill me, do it fast." he hissed.
"I'm not going to kill you." Nightfeather assured. "Who did this to you?"
"It was the Fire Cage. They attacked me. They're searching for her. They know we had kits. Please don't let them take our kits." the tom gasped. "She's near the Sand Rock. Please, I beg of you. Save them."
"Why tell me?"
"Because, I can see it in your eyes, you don't want to kill me. You want to save me, but I am beyond saving. You have a goal, I don't know what it is, but I know it is not bad." The ginger tom purred. "My mother told me that a cat would find me in my weakest moments. That he will help me rest in peace. Maybe you're that cat?" he chuckled. "No, no one believes me. They don't believe that there are cats in the stars. But they're watching over us."
Nightfeather was shocked. "You believe in StarClan?"
"Yes, and so does Petal. My mate. Please help them. She is weak. Our kits were born in moon-high. She won't be able to defend them on her own. Please." The tom pleaded.
"I'll do what I can." Nightfeather assured.
"Kill me now. End my suffering."
"I can't-"
"Yes you can. You're ending my pain." Nightfeather hesitated before unsheathing his claws, and placing them on the toms neck.
"Dew." He rasped. "Petal said my pelt seemed like the sun reflecting on a dewdrop. Tell her that, I'll be watching over her. Over our kits."
The tom closed his green eyes and relaxed. He was ready.
Nightfeather cleaned his black paws, and headed towards the 'Sand Rock'. Where he had told him that she was at. It was next to the river shore. He knew because that's where the two previous she-cats had told him the meeting would be held at.
And so, he went to find the toms mate and kits.
But what would he say? "Your mate, Dew, is dead."? No that seemed too straight forward. Maybe start with "He was a good cat"?
He would arrive around moon-high, seeing as the sun had begun to set. But he couldn't rest until he found them.
Deciding to take some prey, he went into the forest that lead to the river. It was beginning to get dark, but Nightfeather loved to hunt in the moon light.
The stars shone bright, StarClan was definitely following him. But is he the one who will stop Ripplestar?
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