Chapter Two is already here?

Here's the next chapter - from SkyClan!

Regards,

Author xx

cнapтer тwo - ѕĸyclan

Airstep could smell fox.

Foxes rarely came around SkyClan territory - very seldom did any cat see them on patrol during the day or night. But now, when the sun was just beginning to rise over the treetops, the scent hit Airstep's nose; and it hit her like a cat twice her size, bowling her over in a battle.

Except she wasn't in a battle - but she was about to be if she didn't warn the others and get out of here.

"Fox!" she yowled to the sky, hoping that her companions would hear her from all the way up a tall birch tree. If they did, she could get out of here; if they didn't... well, she could still get out of here, right?

Wrong.

The leaves above her head shook and a brown-striped head appeared in Airstep's vision. "Fox? Is that what you said, Airstep?"

The white warrior snorted lamently and willed that the cat would scurry down the tree. "Yes, Vinetwist! We have to get out of here - fetch Pollendust and let's go before we're torn to shreds!"

Vinetwist's eyes flashed with annoyance but he didn't bother commenting on her order. Instead he flung himself higher and higher into the tree, Airstep bouncing from paw to paw anxiously. As Vinetwist's head reappeared through the foilage alongside Pollendust's gray pelt, Airstep felt her heart pounding in fear; once the two cats had placed all four of their paws on the ground, Airstep led the way, weaving in and out of trees while looking over her shoulder to make sure neither of her Clanmates had gotten snatched in the process of running.

Airstep burst into camp, flanked by Vinetwist and Pollendust. Her fur was on end and her eyes were wide as they flickered around the clearing, taking in how barely any cats were in camp; only Birdstar, Grassclaw, and them remained in area. The rest of them were hunting or checking the border that still stumped Airstep to this day; even as a warrior, she still wondered why SkyClan had such a useless border on their grounds.

"Airstep? Vinetwist?" Birdstar meowed as he spotted her and the dark tabby at the edge of the clearing. He rose to his paws and padded over to them, Grassclaw on his heels with herbs at the ready. Airstep knew the brown tabby she-cat was trying to be sensible, but Grassclaw couldn't waste any herbs; there hadn't been any sickness in SkyClan yet, but from the cold beginning to settle down in the territory it wouldn't be long until her den was full of sick and weakened cats. "Why are you three back so early?"

"There's a fox," Airstep mewed quickly, her tail swishing behind her. "I don't think the other patrols know - but they'll be torn to bits if they don't get back to camp!"

"Where exactly is the fox?" Birdstar asked calmly; Airstep wanted to smack the disbelief out of his eyes.

"It was scented on the far end of the treeline," Vinetwist meowed, sensing Airstep's growing annoyance. "Near the old barn at the top of the hill."

Birdstar's forehead furrowed and his lips settled into a thin line as he processed everything. "It's past our borders," he meowed, closing his eyes. "It won't come near; our scent is too strong and overpowering - the fox will surely know that something is there and won't pass over into the territory."

"How are you so sure?" Airstep objected, her dark gray striped paw batting at a fly that flew in front of her face.

"Foxes have come here before," Birdstar stated meekly.

"They've crossed into our border before too," Airstep responded as calmly as she could.

"That doesn't matter - they won't get inside the territory, Airstep. You're not to go fetch the other patrols and that's it."

"A fox doesn't know its left from right, Birdstar! It's surely going to come down that hill, not care about our markers and bound into camp sought after a cat's pelt!"

"My word is law, Airstep," Birdstar's voice was cold now, and his eyes were chips of ice. "You are to not, under any circumstances, go and get the other patrols - they have better things to do than to sit around camp while we wait for some fox you proclaimed would rain down on us!"

Airstep growled and padded away, her pelt bristling as she padded into the warriors den and sunk down into her nest, burying her muzzle in between her paws.

The cave in which she slept in darkened at the entrance. Looking up, Airstep saw that Vinetwist had entered the den and was coming towards her; the white she-cat growled and turned her back to him, curling her tail over her nose.

"Airstep..." Vinetwist's voice was quiet. "Airstep, I know you're awake."

Hissing in annoyance, the white warrior turned and faced her Clanmate, her eyes seething with anger. Can't I do something in this camp worth while without being disturb by a stubborn tom?!

"You know," Vinetwist meowed, meeting her gaze, "Birdstar didn't mean -"

Airstep cut the brown tabby off with a loud groan. "Yes he did! He meant every word!"

Vinetwist shook his head, his eyes hardening. "You know how frail and distant Birdstar's mind is becoming, Airstep - he's on his last two lives. Soon he'll be in StarClan and Larkbeak will be leader; Larkbeak is more open to discussion and coming to a reasonable conclusion... Birdstar's, well, not."

Didn't take a squirrel to figure that out.

"Just give Birdstar a break, Airstep," Vinetwist meowed. The brown tabby tom then padded out of the cave, leaving Airstep's white form the only bright figure in the darkened space.

XxXxXxXx

Airstep padded into the clearing, her paws caked with mud. Rain had been pouring all night on SkyClan, and the coming dawn was no better; there were puddles outside every den and whenever an unsuspecting cat walked out of the cave, sleep still clear in their walk, they stumbled and collapsed into the mud, their fur getting all wet and murky. Her usually sleek white fur was now a dulling gray, her striped paws seeming to blend in with her pelt; she would have to go into the warriors den and sleep in order to get dry, but once she was half-asleep, she would just have to come out again into the cold.

"I hate rain," muttered Yellowfrost from beside Airstep; the two warriors were sitting outside the nursery, Yellowfrost keeping his mate Nightbird company while Airstep just sat there, due to the fact that she had no cat to sit by - or nowhere else to sit, really. So she was the lucky cat who got to sit next to hyperactive Yellowfrost and his grouchy-tail mate Nightbird until the storm was over and she - along with the rest of the Clan - was allowed to go on patrol again.

"I think we all do," Airstep commented blankly. "Any cat who enjoys rain is crazy."

Nightbird nodded in agreement, sticking her nose in the air. "My pelt is getting all wet! Yellowfrost, dearest, help me clean my fur once we're inside, would you?"

"Most definitely, love!" Yellowfrost purred as he followed his mate hurriedly inside the warm den. Airstrip wanted to gag on her own saliva at how sickening they were; googling and cooing at one another every second of the day, Nightbird purring constantly and fussing over her pelt... Yellowfrost stealing nearly all the prey to ensure that his mate was healthy and eating well, all the while causing his Clanmates to starve before him.

It made Airstep sick to her stomach.

I hope I never have a mate - I couldn't handle that.

Rising to her paws, Airstep made her way into the warriors' den. With a nod to Duskstreak and Froststorm the white she-cat curled up in her nest, draped her tail over her eyes and fell into an awaited sleep.

xXxXxXxX

"Let all cats join beneath Leapingstone for a Clan meeting!" Birdstar's call snapped Airstep out of her slumber. The white warrior pushed herself to her paws and padded after a few of her Clanmates outside into the clearing; the rain had stopped, thank StarClan, but the ground was still muck and grass all mixed into one. Slipping in between Coaldust and Frecklespot, the white she-cat dug her claws into the mud and looked up at her leader expectantly.

"SkyClan," Birdstar began profoundly, his dark eyes scanning all his cats. "You all know how difficult it is to live in this gorge, in this hollowed space where the rain seems to hit the hardest and drought seems to swallow up everything instantly; we have survived here for many seasons, since Leafstar and Sharpstar once led this great Clan..." he trailed off, seeming to thank his dead mother for what she had bestowed upon him. "But now the rain, the snow, the droughts... it's all becoming too much for this hollow. We are just another force of nature tearing the hollow apart, and in that sense we are killing it as slowly as drought would."

His eyes met Airstep's; the white warrior flinched at the cold ferocity in his eyes.

Birdstar's eyes did not leave hers as he yowled, "SkyClan, we must leave our home!"

A wide crackle of outrage sparked in several cats; Airstep's ears rang with the bellows, whimpers of fear, and unsheathing of claws.

"Preposterous!" Duskstreak growled loudly.

"We can't leave the hollow, Birdstar!" cried Nightbird and Sharpwind from the edge of the clearing.

"I don't want to leave - I like my home!" Applepaw whined to her father, Vinetwist; the brown tabby murmured something in her ear to calm her, but Airstep couldn't figure out what it was.

"We're dying alongside the gorge," muttered Pollendust, who sat in front of Airstep. She was leaning in to discuss something with Froststorm, to which Airstep heard or saw nothing but the nodding or shaking of their heads.

"This is blasphomy!" Coaldust hissed from beside her; Airstep looked to her sister, noting how the black she-cat's distinctive white muzzle was curved in a snarl. She turned to Airstep and Frecklespot, her yellow eyes seething. "Does Birdstar really think the Clan is going to do such a thing?"

Airstep shrugged while Frecklespot shook her head in agreement with Coaldust. On one paw, leaving the hollow would be the best option, as one too many leafbares were beginning to wear on the hollow's rocks and caves; but on the other paw, it wouldn't be the ideal option as many cats had grown up here, and leaving the hollow was like taking away all the prey in the forest to them. Even Airstep and Coaldust had grown up on this ground...

"Quiet!" Larkbeak's snarl of order snapped every cat's jaw shut; even Coaldust stopped complaining, noticing how angered the SkyClan deputy was. "Allow your leader and elders to speak!"

Airstep's gaze was dragged up to Leapingstone, where Birdstar sat in a calm position beside Redspark and Windstep, the two elders in the Clan. Redspark's dulling reddish-tabby fur was patching with flecks of gray, though her eyes were still clear with concern for her Clan; Windstep sat with his tail curled over his paws, his eyes giving nothing away.

Redspark took the opportunity to speak first, stepping up to the edge of Leapingstone. "You all have excellent points regarding our home," the old she-cat rasped. "However, this hollow cannot hold us much longer. It is decreasing in size, from all the damage the past leafbares and droughts have brought to it... I agree with Birdstar - SkyClan should leave the hollow."

The she-cat stepped back, allowing Windstep to take over.

The ragged tom coughed for a moment before rising to his unsteady paws; unable to walk fairly well on his own, he remained standing in place. "SkyClan has lived in this gorge for many seasons," he began, his legs wobbling as he fought to keep himself from sitting back down. "Damage as been brought to it tremendously. What good are we doing by staying here? Sure, this place is where most of us have grown up as kits; but think about how relentless this place will become in a season or so, when it can no longer hold itself in place. We will die here if we stay - we will live longer if we leave."

"Thank you, Windstep," Birdstar murmured, and the graying elder flopped down onto his haunches, his eyes burning with relief. The cream and brown tom padded to the edge of the Leapingstone and stared at all his cats, as if he expected one to object to what the elders' said. "It is settled, then - SkyClan will, in fact, leave this hollow for the benefit of us all."

"When?" called Applepaw; the mottled brown she-cat was sitting up near Larkbeak, and her eyes were wide. "When are we leaving?"

Airstep's belly crawled with fear as Birdstar answered the apprentice. "We leave in one moon."

"One?" Nightbird howled; though Airstep couldn't see her, she imagined the expecting queen's fur was bristling. "Just one moon? My kits won't be born then!"

"Neither will mine!" Sharpwind added hastily.

You aren't even looking like you're expecting, Sharpwind... Airstep wanted to challenge but held her tongue.

"I understand that," Birdstar tried to soothe. "But the Clan needs to leave as soon as possible - you birthing kits won't hold us back."

"They should!" defended Yellowfrost; Airstep could just see his golden-tufted ear-tips from where she sat.

"Silence!" snarled Birdstar, his neck fur ruffling. Airstep willed the golden tom and his mate to shut their mouths; Birdstar wasn't one to take challenge lightly - she should know, having challenged him more times than either of them could count. "SkyClan is leaving in one moon - one! Your pregnancy, Nightbird, will not hold us back from saving ourselves!" the cream and brown leader glared at the queen and Yellowfrost once more before turning tail and beginning to held Redspark and Windstep down from Leapingstone. "Meeting dismissed!" he yowled just as he was grabbing Redspark's scruff and hauling her gently down to the ground.

Airstep watched the Clan disperse around her, Coaldust leaving her side to go inside the warriors' den. Most cats stayed out in the clearing, muttering to themselves and throwing seething looks at Birdstar.

Oh, StarClan... I hope you know what we're about to do...

Chapter Three should be up fairly fast!

Regards,

Author xx