Hello again! I was disappointed by the small number of reviews I received for the first chapter, but hopefully here, there'll be more. It's up to you!


Chapter Two: Under the Pine

Her father flickered in front of her eyes. She purred at the sight of him. It almost felt as if it had been forever since she'd seen him. Then, he suddenly yowled at her, rage directed straight at her. She tried to flinch but she was frozen. The angry yowl abruptly turned to a pained scream, almost not cat-like. And the grey tom vanished, sinking into shadow...

Stonetail woke up, panting. Her head shot up from where in rested in her moss-lined dip in the ground. Her breathing slowly calmed.

It was nearly a half moon later, and Stonetail still had nightmares every night.

MistClan hadn't found her - yet, but she figured it was only a matter of time before they did. Icestar was well-known for her persistence. Along with her blood thirst and desire for territory that could never be quenched.

Stonetail shook thoughts of her father's murderer out of her mind, still struggling to cast the dream from her mind.

The young warrior had fled to the other end of the MistClan lake, a journey that had taken a full day and longer because she'd stopped to rest after her vigil. Patrols rarely ventured here, but Icestar was so desperate for territory these days...

But even if MistClan didn't find her, the lake marked the BlackClan border. Stonetail figured they'd find her soon. Duskstar had been making veiled threats at the last Gathering. BlackClan was the only Clan untouched by MistClan's need for battle, but no cat thought that would last.

Stonetail picked herself up and shook the bits of moss from her fur. She hated sleeping this close to the lake. Everything was damp and soaked. She'd have to find some fresh dry moss, and try to dry this batch. She padded farther from the lake and squinted through the thick mist. It was thicker than ever this morning. Just her luck.

Perhaps she'd try fishing instead. All the moss everywhere would be already drenched.

She turned around to go back, but heard a voice from her right.

"Stop! Stay right there!"

Stonetail froze. It was Icestar's patrol! They were coming for her!

She sprinted away, dashing through the fog, searching for a place to hide.

"Stop!" the voice yowled again. She heard feet pounding the ground. They were giving chase!

Suddenly, a tree appeared out of nowhere in front of her and she smashed into it! She sat back, hard, and vaguely saw her pursuer stop beside her. One cat. Before her vision cleared, she scented something. BlackClan! This cat was BlackClan!

Finally, she stopped seeing stars, and took in the sight of the cat. He was powerfully built, muscles lining his shoulders. His brown pelt was plain, with no speckles, patches, or stripes. His equally boring brown eyes were looking her over.

"What are you doing in BlackClan territory?" he asked.

Stonetail gulped. "BlackClan territory? I didn't cross the border line." Had she?

"It's way back there." The young tom pointed his tail in the direction she'd come. "And you're MistClan. Is this a distraction?"

Stonetail blinked. "A-?"

"A distraction! Don't play dumb with me!" The tom paced around her. "You're MistClan! And you're on my territory! You're coming with me! To camp!"

Stonetail winced. "Please. I really mean no harm. It was an accident!"

"Follow me!" The tom marched around her and Stonetail could see there was no way out of this. She let him lead her to his camp.

As they drew farther from the lake, the mist gradually lessened. Stonetail had to sharply swerve around trees often. BlackClan was thick with forest and shadows, unlike MistClan, where everything was more spacious. Finally, the fog cleared completely and Stonetail realized they were following a well-worn trail.

More BlackClan scent flooded over the pair and three cats stalked out of the forest to meet them.

"Brownclaw, who's that?" asked a black-furred she-cat.

"I caught a MistClan warrior!" The tom held his head high and his chest stuck out. "She was trespassing."

"Trespassing!" A tabby tom's fur bristled, his gray eyes flashing. "So you brought her to our camp?"

Stonetail's escort suddenly looked nervous. "Did I do the right thing? I thought she should answer to Duskstar, but..."

The third cat, a small speckled gray she-cat darted forward, her tail held high. "I think you did great!" Her tail waved excitedly. "You've already caught a warrior, on your second day as a warrior!"

"Quiet, Blossompaw." The black she-cat put her tail over the apprentice's mouth.

The brown tom was looking even more doubtful. "So... do I just take her back to the border?"

The black she-cat shook her head. "Stop worrying, Brownclaw. You did great. Stripefoot's just being cranky."

Stripefoot narrowed his eyes. "Nightfur, just because you have an apprentice doesn't mean-"

"Doesn't mean what? You're just jealous because your sister and brother got apprentices before you." Nightfur turned her nose up. Blossompaw seemed to be hiding laughter.

Stripefoot's eyes flashed. "Shut up!" He glanced at Stonetail. "We have a prisoner!"

Nightfur nodded, but didn't say anything, her eyes glimmering triumphantly.

Brownclaw started down the path. "Let's go!"

Stonetail wondered if she should have tried to escape earlier. She reluctantly followed Brownclaw, and Stripefoot, Nightfur and Blossompaw fell in around her, escorting her to their camp.

Stonetail tried to look around Brownclaw, but Stripefoot bumped her.

"Keep moving," he growled.

Stonetail swallowed and picked up the pace. Suddenly, the scent of many more cats washed over her, and Brownclaw ducked under the low branches of a pine tree. Stonetail wondered at it for a second, the sole of its kind among a forest of squashed deciduous trees. Then she followed Brownclaw. Into the BlackClan camp.

She looked around, startled at how similar it was to the MistClan camp. It was an ordinary clearing with boring bramble den, leaves filling the cracks. There was even a thick tree branch jutting out from the pine that marked the entrance. It was cleared of needles, and was evidently BlackClan's highbranch. Stonetail was suddenly reminded of her warrior ceremony, when Icestar alighted on a similar branch...

As she padded through the camp, faces peeked out from the dens, and cats stared from various places around the camp, sharing tongues or eating freshkill.

A cat with gray fur and black speckles walked up to the patrol. His yellow eyes pierced into each returning cat, shooting daggers that instantly told you the kind of power he possessed. Duskstar.

His gaze landed on Stonetail last. Trying to hide her slight trembling, she met his stare boldly. The eyes seemed to see right through her, to read her thoughts, to know her name.

She glanced away, looking at her paws.

"I caught her trespassing," Brownclaw told his leader, respect evident in his voice. "She crossed the border without a concern. So I brought her here, you know, in case MistClan were finally... finally here."

Duskstar didn't reply. Stonetail could still feel his eyes scorching into her.

Then he spoke. His voice was deep and husky, almost gravelly, as if he'd swallowed some needles from the pine tree.

"What," he said, "are you doing here?"

Stonetail dared to look up. His gaze was not friendly. But something seemed to be urging her on, telling her to do it.

"I'm Stonetail," she said, hating that her voice was a bit high-pitched. "I-I'm not part of MistClan any more, and..." She hesitated, then blurted out, "I want to join BlackClan!"


Cliffhanger!

I'm sorry this took me so long to get out. I really have a lot of stuff to write, and trying to get it all done at once was really stressful for me. I also had writers' block for a bit, so I had to partially rewrite it.

The third chapter will be here soon! Thanks for reading - and reviewing!