Author's Note: Hey guys! Back again with Chapter Two of Slaves. :D
First of all, I'd just to apologise for the delay in posting the chapter. I've been loaded with homework recently, and didn't have much time to write in the course of the week, but to make up for it I came up with an extra long chapter. 5,000 words plus! :) Here are the replies to your reviews:
pokmon197: Thanks very much!
Flamewing: I didn't actually specify how long in the future the story is set when I started writing it, but I guess ten leader's after Bramblestar is as good as anything! Really appreciate your review!
Foxtail of StormClan: Thanks for following! And yeah, I know a lot of people use " instead of ', but in England we get taught to use ' as a speech mark. Hope that clears that up. :)
PopCat: Haha! Yeah, something did happen on the patrol, as you find out in this chapter!
WildChild13: Here's the next chapter, and I'm hoping that this story will last about 45 chapters, although that's just a vague estimate. I've planned out all the major plot points already though, so it's 100,000 words or bust!
So in this chapter, you get introduced to the WindClan slaves. It's from the POV of Eaglefang, and the other slave is Palewhisper, both of which I actually wrote about in the prologue. This chapter will be slightly more downbeat, I guess, than the last one, and a bit darker. But I'm really proud of it, and I really hope you enjoy it!
Please RR!
Slaves:
Chapter Two:
The moor was barren and chilly, even within the comforts of the camp. The wind slashed across Eaglefang's face, and he blinked rapidly, his tail whisking from side to side. How does WindClan bare this? he thought irritably. At least in the forest, you had some sort've of shelter.
Eaglefang was standing just outside the slave's den. The faint sun was only just breaking over the horizon, and the WindClan camp was eerily quiet. No one apart from him was awake; the tom knew he should probably get some more rest before the long day ahead of him, but strangely, he didn't feel tired. In fact, he hadn't really felt tired since…
Eaglefang shook his ruffled brown fur, his keen yellow eyes glimmering in the dimness of the morning. He looked down, and noticed just how untidy his pelt was. 'I should probably clean myself up,' he murmured.
Slowly, he began to groom himself, with long, calming strokes of his tongue. The tom worked his way down his pelt, untangling the knots in his chest fur and smoothing out the wild tufts underneath his legs. After he'd finished, he reached out onto his front paws, stretching the firm muscles displayed across his thickset body. All the while, the silence remained like a spell on the WindClan camp. It seemed to Eaglefang like he was the only cat alive.
If only, the tom thought wistfully.
As the sun rose up, Eaglefang's mind began to wonder away from the confines of the camp. He thought about the cats who he'd lost, as he always did. They were so clear to him, and so close. He remembered them like they were standing right beside him- and yet, they were so far away. The tom glanced up at the sky. He could still see the moon and the stars shining brightly above him. Are you still watching me? he thought. Are you still up there?
A sudden burst of furious wind awoke Eaglefang from his day dream. 'Why so melancholy, huh?' he growled under his breath. 'You're not helping anyone by sitting around and staring at the sky, are you?'
For a moment, he half wished someone would reassure him that his loved ones were resting in StarClan, but even if they had, Eaglefang wouldn't have believed them. To be honest, Eaglefang wasn't sure he believed anything about StarClan anymore.
Steadily, the tom got to his paws and turned around, his expression grave. He wished he could forget what he'd been thinking about, but now that the thought had passed through his head, he probably wouldn't forget it for the rest of the day. Another day of misery then, he thought, his pelt itching with frustration.
Eaglefang's eyes rested on the den that he'd emerged from before. He hadn't got much sleep that night, although that was partly due to the other cat, who hadn't yet woken up.
'I should probably go and check up on her,' he muttered, before padding back into the slave's den.
It was dusty and pitch black in the den. The cramped space barely provided for enough room for an apprentice, let alone two fully grown warriors. But two fully grown warriors was exactly what the den had accommodated for the past two moons. Eaglefang had to duck down before he could fit the full extent of his frame inside. Two, small nests lay next to each other at the back of the den. The intense scent of cat filled the air, making Eaglefang sniff. He padded forward until his paws rested on the feathers he'd collected a few sunrises, and then he sat down in his nest, his eyes fixated on the sleeping form of the cat beside him. She was twitching and jerking at random intervals in her sleep. The tom sighed, his heart swelling with pity for the she-cat. She was having another nightmare. He could hear whispering in her sleep, echoing the names of cats they once knew.
Hesitantly, the tom reached forward with his front paw and rested it on the she-cat's shoulder. She didn't stir immediately, so instead, he began to shake her a little, his heart beating nervously.
The effect was immediate. The she-cat jumped up in her nest, her sky blue eyes wide with panic. 'Skystar!' she yowled.
The sudden motion took Eaglefang by surprise. He leapt backwards, staring at her in shock. The she-cat's pelt was standing on end, terror evident on her face. For a moment, neither cat said a word. He was too surprised to react.
Finally, the tom managed to get a grip of himself. He swallowed nervously. 'Are you- are you alright?' he stammered.
The she-cat said nothing. Her eyes were fixed on something far away in the distance.
Eaglefang shifted himself, before risking a cautious step closer. He called out as softly as he could. 'Are you alright?'
Finally, the she-cat turned her head, and her eyes met his own. Her jaw was trembling as she spoke. 'Eaglefang?' she stuttered.
Relief washed over the tom, and he let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. 'Yes, Palewhisper,' he said, taking the final steps closer to her. 'It's me.'
Recognition flooded back into the she-cat's eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, before apparently deciding against it. She looked down at the ground, her eyes watering up in a mixture of shame and fear. It wasn't long before the tears were streaming down her face like a waterfall. Eaglefang tried to comfort her as she sobbed, but the awkwardness he felt was obvious in the way he held himself. She leaned against him, crying onto his shoulder. He held her as soothingly as he could, before lowering his head down to her level.
'Palewhisper,' he whispered quietly, before hesitating a moment. 'Palewhisper, do you need anything? Do you want to talk about it?'
She sniffed, and raised her head off his shoulder, her eyes swimming with tears. 'Don't bother,' she replied sadly. 'It was just another stupid nightmare.'
Palewhisper was the only other ThunderClan cat with him in the camp. After the attack, they'd been taken captive and imprisoned as slaves in WindClan. There had been other survivors, and Eaglefang remembered them vividly. Sageclaw and Foxflame, who had been sent to RiverClan, and Smoketalon and Aspenpaw, who had been sent to ShadowClan. Aspenpaw had been his apprentice before the attack; Eaglefang hoped Smoketalon was looking after him well.
Ever since they'd arrived in the camp, Palewhisper had been having vivid nightmares, almost every night. Sometimes she told him about them, others she didn't. Eaglefang could understand why she was struggling to recover from their Clan's destruction, even two moons after it had happened. Skystar, the once leader of ThunderClan, had been her mother, and Willowflight, the once medicine cat, had been her best friend.
Eaglefang muzzled her cheek softly. The tom had a somewhat protective streak with Palewhisper. He would never allow a cat to suffer in such a way without his help. 'Was it the same one you told me about yesterday?' he asked.
She shook her head. 'No,' she sniffled. 'It was different this time, and it was so vivid! I could see all of them right in front of me. They were…' She trailed off, not meeting Eaglefang's amber gaze.
'You can tell me,' Eaglefang reassured her. 'I swear I won't tell anyone.'
She looked up, her eyes wet with horror. 'They were all covered in blood.'
Then the she-cat buried herself into Eaglefang's chest, whimpering softly. The tom stroked the she-cat's pale white fur as softly as he could, although his body was rigid. Her heart was beating furiously, so fast he thought it might punch a hole through him. They stayed like that for awhile, with Palewhisper's quiet sobbing the only sound Eaglefang could hear.
Finally, he pulled away. Sunlight was beginning to seep into the shadowy interior of the slave's den; the sun had risen quickly since he'd woken Palewhisper up. The she-cat still looked upset, but nevertheless in a considerably better state than she'd been in before.
'I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now,' Eaglefang began, feeling guilty himself for bringing the subject up, 'but it's almost light out there. The WindClan cats will be waking up.'
Palewhisper didn't say anything.
The ThunderClan tom shifted uncomfortably. 'Look,' he continued. 'I don't like thisanymore than you do, but we have work to do-'
'I know,' Palewhisper murmured. She licked her flank, almost self-consciously. 'You're right,' she said with a sigh. 'We should get going.'
The she-cat stood up, and began to pad towards the entrance, her eyes down. Eaglefang's heart twisted when he saw the expression on her face.
'Wait!' thetom said suddenly, surprising himself. He rushed forward, standing in between the she-cat and the exit. 'You can stay here,' he offered. 'I'll go and do the first job, whatever it is. Just remember not to provoke them if they come looking for you.'
Palewhisper blinked, looking away from the tom's brilliant amber gaze. Eaglefang thought he saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks. 'Really?' she said.
Eaglefang nodded. 'Really.'
He then turned around and ducked out of the den, leaving Palewhisper still standing inside. He knew it was the correct thing to do. The she-cat was in no fit position to work.
Eaglefang was right when he said that the WindClan cats would be waking up, as well. The moor cats were early risers, even more so than his birth Clan. Not every one was awake yet, but a few of the warriors were loitering around the fresh-kill pile, enjoying their first meal of the day. The tom's eyes narrowed at the sight. It would be much later until he and Palewhisper got their first sniff of prey.
He settled down his on haunches, watching over the camp. The slave's den was slightly elevated over the rest of the dens, giving him a good view of the entrance. If anyone unfamiliar entered the camp, he would be the first one to know about it, except for the guards of course.
Some of the cats glanced his way as he watched. As soon as the tom returned the look though, they looked away, their head's held high. Their expression reminded Eaglefang of a cat who'd found carrion in their fresh kill. He had to stifle a long, low growl.
A few minutes later, and the whole of the camp seemed to have woken up. All of the warriors were out of their nests, and even some of the queens and apprentices were beginning to nose their way out into the clearing. The first patrols will be leaving soon, the tom thought warily. They'll probably want me to come with them hunting.
As soon as this crossed his mind, the lichen that covered the entrance to the leader's den parted, and outstepped Gorsestar, leader of WindClan. He padded forward until he was standing beside the fresh-kill pile, greeting his warriors. Unlike many other leaders, Gorsestar was always present whenever the deputy organised the patrols. In fact, the tom often lead one himself.
His eyes were warm and bright as he talked to his warriors, although his mood became brusque when Sandpelt, his deputy, emerged from the crowd to discuss the patrols. They shared a few quiet words, before Gorsestar stepped back, allowing the deputy to address the warriors.
'WindClan!' the she-cat announced. There was a hint of pride in her voice as she spoke. 'I know you have gathered to hear the patrols, but first of all, Gorsestar has a special announcement.' She turned her head towards the leader. 'Gorsestar?'
The leader nodded. 'Thank you, Sandpelt,' he said politely, before stepping forward to stand beside the deputy. His voice was deep and commanding. 'Now, I sure you're all very aware of the fact that a few sunrises ago, I finally came to an agreement with Ravenstar about the distribution of what was once ThunderClan's territory.'
As soon as the words passed through Gorsestar's lips, Eaglefang felt his claws beginning to unsheathe. White hot fury passed over him like a wave. They have no right to share out that land! he yowled in his head.
'Ravenstar was demanding an excessively large amount of the territory,' Gorsestar continued. 'Half of it, in fact, which of course, neither we or RiverClan agreed with. Just because they formulated the plan to attack ThunderClan does not mean they should take full credit.'
His words were followed by a number of supportive growls.
'How dare they?'
'Selfish fox-hearts!'
'We lost warriors fighting that battle!'
Their voices were like poison in Eaglefang's ears. You lost warriors fighting that battle? he thought, enraged. You stripped us of everything that made us ThunderClan! Our dignity, our pride. You even slaughtered out kits!
Gorsestar raised a paw, demanding the attention of his warriors. 'ShadowClan's ridiculous demands were not tolerated,' he hissed icily. 'It took the combined efforts of me and Streamstar to convince them, but finally, we succeeded. WindClan now owns all of the land from our camp to the beginning of what was once ThunderClan's. ShadowClan owns the strip of land from the Sky Oak to their border. RiverClan's new territory, however, is a different matter. Because they live on completely the other side of the lake, we have agreed to not only hunt for ourselves, but also to catch prey for RiverClan.'
A few of the WindClan warriors glanced at each other. Eaglefang heard one of them whisper, 'It will be an awful lot of work to catch prey for ourselves and RiverClan, especially now that it's nearly Leafbare.'
But Gorsestar paid no attention to their grumbles. 'We will send out two patrols into our new territory each day. One will bring back prey for ourselves, and the other will take whatever they catch and deliver it to RiverClan. A patrol will be waiting on the RiverClan border at sunhigh to collect the fresh-kill that our patrol catches.' He waited to see if any cat protested this, but none of them did. He nodded approvingly. 'Good. Sandpelt will now organise the patrols.'
Eaglefang watched, outraged, as the deputy called the two patrols together. He had known for awhile that ThunderClan's territory would be shared between the three Clans, but it still made him angry. What will happen if I have to patrol it? he thought. What will happen if Palewhisper has to patrol it?
Eaglefang didn't want to think about it.
The tom wondered whether one of the patrol leaders would order him to come on their patrol, but none of them did. Instead, he watched them leave the camp and head back in the direction of the ThunderClan border, or what used to be the ThunderClan border, anyway. He glanced over his shoulder, towards the slave's den. Palewhisper hadn't yet come out after him. Eaglefang would prefer it to stay that way.
None of the WindClan cats approached him for awhile. The tawny brown tom sat there tensely, waiting for his first job of the morning. His new "masters" (as they often called themselves when they were talking to him) didn't usually take him out hunting. They didn't trust him enough, although he'd heard that over in RiverClan Sageclaw and Foxflame had to catch a certain amount of prey each day, or else.
The last cat to wake up in the camp, in fact, was the medicine cat, Ryesong. She padded out into the clearing late, and although she still looked tired, her eyes were bright and lively. The she-cat's pelt was very dark brown, almost black, and she had a small frame and two shrewd green eyes. She stopped to talk to a warrior Eaglefang recognised from a patrol he'd been on a moon ago. Her name was Morningflight. The medicine cat's eyes glanced in Eaglefang's direction a number of times, and even from the other side of camp, the tom could see the uneasiness in Morningflight's expression. After a few moments conversation, Ryesong said goodbye to the she-cat, and started to pad towards Eaglefang.
Instantly, he sat up, alert and vigilant. He hadn't really talked to the medicine cat before, although on the few occasions where he had, he'd felt reserved about her. She was very talkative, and relatively friendly compared to some of her WindClan counterparts. She didn't have an apprentice, so she often called on her Clanmates to come and search for herbs with her.
Although Ryesong approached him confidently, Eaglefang instantly latched onto the nervousness in her eyes. She wasn't intimidated by him, after all, he was only a slave, but she struck him as the kind of cat who would be nervous whenever she met someone new. However, Eaglefang could see something else in her eyes as well. A kind of curiosity, perhaps?
The she-cat stopped just before she reached him, looking uncomfortable. 'Hey,' she said slowly. 'Um, Eaglefang, wasn't it?'
The tom nodded. His expression was steely and unfriendly.
She coughed. 'Well, Eaglefang,' she said, looking away, 'I have to go out and collect some catmint. That's a herb, in case you didn't know.'
Eaglefang's tail twitched irritably. Does she think I'm a complete mousebrain?
'And, uh, it grows near the RiverClan border.' She hesitated. 'Most of the warriors are out on patrol already, so could you come with me in case of, well, you know…' She trailed off, awkwardness clear in her gaze.
Eaglefang felt like snorting. As if it's a request. But he didn't voice his thought. Instead, he simply nodded and got to his paws. 'Alright.'
The medicine cat nodded, and before turning and heading over towards the entrance of the camp. Eaglefang followed her from behind. He bowed his head as respectfully as he could muster towards the WindClan cats still in the camp, but they simply sneered at him, or just didn't look.
Ryesong stopped just before the entrance. There was one guard positioned by the entrance, a greyish tabby tom called Slatefrost. He nodded politely towards the medicine cat, but his eyes narrowed when he saw Eaglefang behind her.
'Hey,' Ryesong said cheerily. 'Nice morning, huh?'
The warrior grunted. 'You going out to collect herbs?' he asked.
'Yes, as a matter of fact.'
'Surely that's a one cat job?' he said, referencing towards Eaglefang's presence beside her. The tom felt like hissing at him. If you've got something to say, why don't you just say it? he thought.
'I need someone with me in case I get herbs I need grow by the RiverClan border, you see,' Ryesong explained shortly. 'Could you let us pass?'
Slatefrost didn't budge. Clearly, he was unsatisfied with Ryesong's explanation. 'I'm sure a lot of us would feel more comfortable if a WindClan cat was the one who went with you,' he replied bluntly.
Eaglefang half expected Ryesong to turn around and send him back to the slave's den, but to his surprise, the she-cat didn't budge. 'Oh please! I'm not in any danger,' she retorted stubbornly. 'It's not as if this cat's going to kill me.'
Ryesong's eyes flashed with annoyance, but it passed quicker than it had come. 'I'm sorry, but can you see a warrior free in the camp at the moment?' she retorted. 'Most of the warriors are out on patrol, unless you'd willingly abandon your position to supervise me.'
Eaglefang felt like smirking. Ryesong was very persuasive, and he wasn't surprised when Slateforst sighed, before stepping aside to let Ryesong through. 'Alright,' he said eventually. 'Go on.'
The she-cat muttered her thanks as she ducked underneath the entrance, but as Eaglefang followed her, Slatefrost leaned in close and whispered into his ear. 'She'd better come back okay,' he hissed. 'Or else it's on your head.'
The hills of WindClan's territory were steep and bare. If it had been Greenleaf, they would've been covered in lush, green grass, but now the ground was a dead, brown colour. In a moon or so, it would be covered in a thick blanket of snow. Eaglefang imagined the forest in Leaf-bare. Soft, glistening snow flakes falling from the branches of the trees, falling asleep warm and cosy in the shelter of the warrior's den. He sighed, reminiscing the time he spent in ThunderClan. Those were the days, he thought.
As they walked, the tom started to become ever more aware of the an awkward silence enveloping between him and Ryesong. Eaglefang would've preferred it to stay that way, but the medicine cat seemed uncomfortable with it.
'So,' she said uncertainly. 'How are you fitting into WindClan?'
Eaglefang flattened his ears disbelievingly at her. Did she seriously just ask me that?
Ryesong seemed to realise the stupidity of her question as well, because she instantly back-tracked. 'I'm sorry,' she apologised, sounding embarrassed. 'It's just, well, you're new here and I guess I just thought-'
'It's alright,' Eaglefang muttered, although it definitely wasn't. 'Let's just keep moving.'
Ryesong opened her mouth to say something, before evidently deciding against it. The two cats remained silent as they walked for the rest of the journey. It was only before Eaglefang could practically taste the water of the lake in his mouth before he heard Ryesong's voice again.
'Here we are,' she said, before sitting down with her tail resting neatly on her paws.
Eaglefang followed the she-cat's gaze to see two shrubs of herbs growing beside the lakeshore. The RiverClan border lay to one side of them, and beyond that, a large clump of reeds. He breathed in the scents of the area, and closed his eyes when the catmint's sweet aroma wafted into his scent glads. Ryesong had picked up the smell as well, but didn't seem as delighted by the herb as he was. She's probably used to it by now, Eaglefang realised.
She padded forward, with the tom at her side, until they reached the herb shrubs. 'Right,' Ryesong said. 'You take the petals from that side, and I'll take them from here.'
Eaglefang nodded. 'How much do you want?' he asked.
'As much as you can get,' the medicine cat replied. 'We'll need the supplies for when Leafbare comes.'
The tomcat grunted, before leaning down to pick up the petals. The catmint's smell was intoxicating. Eaglefang's mouth began to water, but he resisted the temptation to take a huge bite out of the herbs, and instead concentrated on collecting as much as possible.
The silence between them continued for awhile longer. Ryesong picked the herbs daintily, making sure not to damage the plant will doing so. The tom tried to imitate her, but faint touches had never exactly been his strong point.
It was only after Eaglefang had picked almost all the petals on the plant that Ryesong spoke again. 'Look, Eaglefang,' she said quietly. 'I've been meaning to say this for awhile, ever since the attack, actually.'
Instantly, the tom froze, the catmint still in his mouth. The medicine cat's eyes were fixed on him, filled with an emotion he couldn't read. Slowly, the tom returned to his work, refusing to meet her gaze.
'I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I…' she paused for a moment, before carrying on. 'I really didn't want Gorsestar to attack ThunderClan. I tried to convince him not to, but Ravenstar was so persuasive.'
With every word the medicine cat said, the anger within Eaglefang was beginning to rise. But still, he didn't say a word, although his lips were trembling.
'When they came back, after the attack, I didn't know what to think,' she said, with a hint of desperation in her voice. 'I had no idea what to say to Gorsestar. He looked so victorious, but I just felt ashamed.'
Eaglefang felt his claws start to unsheathe.
'I guess what I'm trying to say,' she continued, 'is that I've lost cats too. I'm not trying to say I understand what you've been through-'
'Shut up!' Eaglefang snapped, turning on the she-cat, his eyes ablaze. He couldn't hold back his anger. Everything he'd kept bottled up over the past two moons had suddenly exploded. 'You have no idea what me and Palwhisper have been through!'
Ryesong stepped back, shocked. Clearly she hadn't expected Eaglefang to react in the way he had. 'I'm sorry!' she cried. 'I just wanted to say sorry!'
'I don't want your apology,' he growled, bristling. 'It went beyond apology when you murdered my Clan! How would you have felt if someone walked into your camp and massacred your kits? How would you feel if three Clans ambushed you and killed your leader, right in front of your eyes?'
The medicine cat didn't say anything. Her eyes full with shame, but Eaglefang didn't take any notice.
'You know what the worse thing is?' he snarled bitterly. 'Apart from the fact that everyone I loved died, and that StarClan abandoned me. It's that I was the one who survived. I have to remember my Clan's destruction, everyday, and live with the fact that there's nothing I could've done to stop it.
The hair along Ryesong's back was standing on end. She stared at him, horrified, but Eaglefang didn't feel any pity. All he could see was red-mist. The tom might've have struck the medicine cat had it not been for the cry.
It cracked loudly through the air and echoed into Eaglefang's ear drums. He spun around, surprised, to see a group of cats emerging from the other side of the border. It was a RiverClan hunting patrol. Four, strongly muscled warriors padded forward, carrying an array of fresh-kill. Behind them trailed a dark ginger she-cat who looked vaguely familiar, but Eaglefang couldn't quite place where he'd seen her before.
Working on instinct, the tom spun around and hissed at Ryesong, 'Quick. Hind behind the catmint.'
The she-cat didn't have to be asked twice. She leapt forward with all the haste of a startled rabbit. Eaglefang ducked down low to the ground, and peered over the shrub, eyeing the patrol warily.
'I hate this,' one of the RiverClan warriors was muttering. 'We've been out here for hours. Why don't we all just hunt and get it done quicker?'
The dark ginger she-cat muttered something which Eaglefang couldn't hear back, which earned a hiss from one of the RiverClan warriors. 'Because,' the same tom replied, 'we've got someone to do it for us. Why waste the energy?'
Eaglefang's eyes narrowed. He'd definitely seen the she-cat before. It was something in the sarcastic expression on her face, and the venom in her musty amber eyes.
Suddenly, he recognised her. Of course! he thought excitedly. Foxflame!
Quickly, he glanced sideways at Ryesong. 'Don't say a word,' he whispered. 'Or they'll see us.'
Ryesong looked at him strangely. 'Why are you protecting me?' she said mystified.
Eaglefang held her gaze evenly. 'That's why you wanted me to come with you, isn't it?' he replied. 'To protect you?'
The she-cat didn't say anything in return.
'Right,' one of the RiverClan toms said. He shoved Foxflame forward, earning a few shorts laughs from his fellow warriors. 'Get hunting, little she-cat.'
Eaglefang clenched his paws together, expecting Foxflame to react (he'd learnt from experience not to get under her fur), but all she did was eye the tom dangerously, before dropping her nose to the ground and getting to work.
The ThunderClan tom watched from behind the catmint, not saying a word, as Foxflame hunted. Eaglefang had to say, he was mildly impressed. She's adapted well to RiverClan hunting, he thought. Much better than I have to WindClan.
But despite her stealthy crouches and efficient nose, the she-cat was unable to catch any prey, mostly because the RiverClan toms were chanting jibes at her the whole time. After a few minutes, Foxflame gave up, and so to did the rest of the patrol. Eaglefang was relieved when they started to pad away, deeper into RiverClan territory.
But just before they left, Eaglefang caught part of two of the tom's conversation. 'She's pretty feisty, isn't she?' one of them was saying. 'And sexy. I wouldn't mind spending a day with her.'
Eaglefang recoiled, disgusted. That foxheart! he thought, but either Foxflame didn't hear them, or she did a fantastic job of pretending she didn't. The two toms disappeared into the undergrowth, with the she-cat following behind them.
But just before she did, she stopped and turned around. Her amber eyes skirted the land around them, before finally coming to rest upon the catmint shrub where Eaglefang was hiding. For a moment, he thought he saw her eyes flash, and he stiffened. Did she see me?
There was a moment of tense silence, where Eaglefang wasn't sure if he should call out to her or not, but eventually, the she-cat shook her head and padded away after the patrol.
The tom let out a sigh of relief, before signalling to Ryesong that everything was clear. The two cats stood up. Eaglefang brushed some of the dirt from his pelt, before glancing at the medicine cat. She seemed reluctant to speak, but the tom still didn't regret what he'd said earlier. Sniffing, he bent down and picked up the catmint that was lying on the ground.
'Have we got enough for you?' he rasped, facing away from her.
Eaglefang heard a noncommittal grunt from the she-cat, but nothing else. He nodded curtly, before turning and padding back in the direction of the WindClan camp. Not a word was said between the two on the way back.
The sun's light was struggling to break a thick layer of cloud when they returned, and many of the WindClan cats were still out on patrol. Slateforst gave Eaglefang a suspicious stare as he padded past him, but Ryesong had returned safely. There was nothing for the guard to complain about.
The tom muttered a goodbye to the medicine cat, and was about to head back in the direction of the slave's den, when suddenly, he heard Ryesong's voice from behind him. 'Eaglefang?'
He looked over his shoulder at the she-cat. She was staring at the ground. 'Thank you for protecting me back there.'
Eaglefang's eyes diluted a little. He hadn't expected her to thank him, but the memory of what she'd said beforehand was still fresh in his mind. He passed off her gratitude with a flick of his tail, before heading back over to his den.
When he reached it, he sniffed the air currents to see if Palewhisper had left since he'd been gone. To his relief, he could still smell her scent lingering amongst the dusty smells of the den. He ducked inside to see the she-cat curled up in a ball in her nest. As soon as he entered, she looked up, her eyes bright.
'Hi Eaglefang,' she greeted him warmly.
Eaglefang smiled for what felt like the first time in moons. 'Hey,' he replied, before settling down in his nest beside her. 'Did you go back to sleep?'
The she-cat nodded. 'I was still kinda tired after you woke up me,' she said, sounding a little shy. 'No one came to get me for a patrol, so I thought I'd have a rest.'
Eaglefang nodded, vaguely surprised. He hadn't expected the she-cat to be in such a good mood after he left her early that morning. In fact, he hadn't seen her that lively in moons.
The thought of that cheered him up considerably, as well.
So that was Chapter Two, and I've already broken 10,000 words! IKR? Please review, and I'll post the next chapter asap.