A/N: Thank you, everyone who volunteered their ocs. Be mindful, however, that if you write down characters' personalities as words and not sentences, it will be likely that they won't have a lot of screentime. And please use the form I posted on my profile.

And I would like to apologize beforehand for the shortness of the chapter.

Chapter 2: Slight Drizzle

"Spider?" Sharp calls inside the stone cave. "Hey, we have a patient."

"A patient?" a gray tabby tom grumbles, slipping out of the shadows. "What is it this time? Did Warble drop from that cliff again?"

"Close enough." Sharp noses the reluctant Cloud forward. "Here, Fog demanded that you give this to-be a check."

"Fog, eh?" Spider twitches an ear, inspecting the white tom. "Why not Skywatcher, though? I'm fairly sure Fog trusts her more than she does me."

"Skywatcher's looking over Pebble at the moment. She had a really nasty fall."

Spider grunts. "Alright, I'll be giving a check for this 'injured' to-be right here. Sharp, you better go check with Talon or someone to see if there's anything for you to do. You know how the Council hates dilly-dallying."

"Heading over to Talon to do just that." Sharp flicks her tail as she trots out of Spider's den. "Hang in there, Cloud. Maybe you'll be lucky, find that something is wrong with you, and skip training," she calls over her shoulder.

"I hope not, for my sake!" Spider calls after the blue-gray Stone-guard.

Sharp snorts in response and leaps towards the higher caves, careful to not slip on a ledge. Sharp lands in front of a lichen-covered stone cave. It looms the way a mountain lion can tower over a cat. This doesn't help settle her nerves. Sharp inhales; there's nothing to fear, as far as she knows. It's just Talon. Her grandmother.

Sharp bows her head and goes in, blinking to get used to the darkness that greets her.

"Ah." The sudden intrusion doesn't appear to ruffle Talon's fur. The elderly tortoiseshell narrows her eyes at her granddaughter. "Sharp. Tell me, what brings you here? Surely Fog or Moss must have assigned you to hunting patrol this morning."

"There were… some complications. Mostly involving the to-bes. I need another task. Have you got any in mind?" Sharp flicks her tail in anticipation.

"A couple." Talon stretches; a yawn accompanies this action of luxury. "From what I know, we need a few cats who need to check out the rockslide that occurred several days before to find out how dangerous the area is. And also… I need someone to fetch some new bedding." Talon fixes her amber gaze on Sharp. "Be a good youngster and go get some while you're out, will you? This bed has been getting too stiff for my tastes. A few feathers as well would be nice."

Sharp groans inwardly. Of course, Talon would send her on a to-be's errand. She opens her mouth to protest, but before Sharp can utter even a single word, Talon cuts her off.

"Sharp, if you don't have a particular like for either one, you can always go entertain the kittens."

"Obviously not," Sharp interrupts before Talon can speak any further. "I'll just go with the patrol. I'll take…uh, Soft, Shallows, and… maybe Bird."

"Take Cloud, too." Talon lifts a lazy paw and licks it. "It'll be good practice for that to-be. Who's his mentor again… Warble? Right, it was Warble. Told Skywatcher many times that he'd be such a bad mentor, but obviously she decides to ignore me. I'll have Skywatcher change his mentor to someone else the first chance I get."

"That would be nice," Sharp mumbles as she pads out of the den. She leaps off the piles of boulders and makes a straight beeline for her mother, who is lying with her belly exposed on a large stone. "Shallows!" Sharp calls. "Are you up for a patrol?"

Her mother blinks, her pose stiffening in alarm. Sharp feels her heart tighten a bit at the sight. She's beginning to see that Shallows' sight is not as good as it was before. The blue-gray she-cat pads over to the other, touching her nose to Shallows' as a sign of greeting.

"Ah, Sharp," Shallows purrs, relaxing at the scent of her daughter. "Of course. I'd be delighted to go on a walk with you."

Sharp breathes a sigh of relief. "Okay. Could you possibly get Bird for me? I'll go find Soft."

"Alright, Sweetie." Shallows turns over and with elegance, leaps off the rock. "Where are we headed, by the way? The cliffs? The Sky Plate?"

"Talon wants us to check out the rockslide," Sharp replies, marching in front of her mother. "She… uh, also wanted us to… collect her moss for her."

Shallows inhales deeply, her nose wrinkling. "Typical," she meows. "Have us do to-be work. Well, let's get on to it, shall we? I'll get Bird." The blue-gray tabby leaps to the next stone, calling loudly for her tribemate.

Sharp watches her mother go for a moment, before launching herself in the other direction.

"Soft!" she yowls. "Get your lazy butt down here and get on patrol!"

"Coming!" a voice replies over a large pile of stones. Moments later, a white she-cat gracefully emerges on top of the mound. "I'm not lazy, for your information," Soft snipes at her fellow Stone-guard. "I'm just relaxing. I had a big day yesterday, mind you."

"If you call climbing a few cougar-lengths up the cliff a 'big day', sure," Sharp jokes. "I'll explain what we need to do on our way. We have to go collect Cloud right now."

"He's lazier than I am; why are you going to take him on the patrol?" Soft hisses, leaping down to join Sharp. "Warble says that he doesn't listen to him. It's not exactly worth taking him anywhere, if you ask me."

"He's pretty good at climbing, from what I've seen today," Sharp retorts. "As leader of this patrol assigned by Talon, we're taking him and that's final."

Soft shrugs her shoulders, falling behind. "If you say so. But don't blame me if he gets stuck anywhere."

"Right. We'll blame Warble." Sharp heads back into the musty cave of Spider's. "Hey, Spider! Is Cloud done with his check-up yet? Talon assigned him on a scouting patrol to check out the rockslide!"

"Talon did what, now?" Spider pokes his head out of a corner. "Cloud's gone. He's gone hunting in that direction from what he told me."

Sharp flattens her ears. "Great," she mutters. "Without supervision?"

"Without supervision," Spider confirms. "You better go quickly."

Sharp lets out a large groan. Stalking out of the den, she sees Soft tipping her head at the sight of the angry Stone-guard.

"What's wrong?"

"We're going to have to leave immediately. Forget Shallows and Bird, they're going to have to follow our scent."

Sharp quickens her pace, springing from rock to rock as she heads out towards the two large stones that mark the camp's entrance. "We're heading out towards the rockslide site!" she calls towards the two cats beside the entrance. "Tell that to Bird and Shallows if you see them!"

Sharp streaks towards the cliffside, Soft hard on her heels. If Cloud is hurt in any way or form, Fog will have my ears off and so will Warble! the blue-gray she-cat thinks furiously, charging up the rocky slope. She skids to a halt at the edge of the Gray Valley, pricking her ears for any sounds of distress.

A large wail echoes across the large gorge, and Sharp looks down to see a vague white form of a feline clinging desperately on a thin ridge.

"Cloud!"