Hey everyone! I'm doing a double update today! Anyways, thanks to my ever loyal reviewer, Darkness of the Eclipse. You receive a special edition Elf plushie (before she was mauled). Okay, so this is chapter three already. That means...six more to go. Wow, pretty amazing right? Well, please read on, and review!
Journey
Morning had arrived for the three who would leave. Elf had a hard time sleeping, after hearing the words of Ice one more time in her dreams.
Of course, that was all she suffered from nowadays. Nightmares had become a daily part of her life, and there was nothing she could do about it. However, Elf was a smart cat, and knew that the rogues would need to rest sooner or later. She could catch some sleep then if she really had to.
Storm and Stream were getting ready to go.
Elf had noticed how close they were, and narrowed her eyes. If Storm did not warn Stream of her curse, then Stream's kits would be born still. But then Elf remembered that Stream did not vow to join the Band. Perhaps in this way, Stream was protecting her unborn kits.
"Are you ready?" Elf looked up defiantly at Storm.
He wasn't as aggressive as the other toms, but he could still be just as cruel. He had a way to make other cats shrink from his blue gaze.
When Elf didn't respond, he began to raise his claws. But Stream quickly jumped in, and Elf gave her a grateful look, though the look didn't last long when Stream spoke. "Come on, we'll get nowhere if we argue. She's not worth your time," she meowed.
Storm grunted and raised to his paws, following Stream a whisker length behind.
The three cats traveled in silence.
Elf liked it that way. It gave her time to think, and brood over her next move.
It would be impossible to escape. She was too weak to hunt for herself, and was forced to rely on the hunting abilities of the rogues. She couldn't defend herself, thanks to the scar that would constantly reopen. It was as though Elf had no choice but to endure this pain.
They reached the mountains by nightfall. It was too dark to see ahead of them, so they decided to make nests for the night.
Elf slept on her own, of course, while Storm and Stream slept nearby. She suspected they were doing something forbidden.
The following morning led to the same routine. Elf was jabbed in the side by Storm as he forced her awake. Stream waited for her with a mouse at her paws, and Elf gratefully took chunks from it.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to satisfy Elf's hungry belly.
When the three of them were finished, they began to travel up the mountain path.
The air was colder as they traveled further and further away from the forest. Elf began to shiver as frost started to cling to her pelt. It felt much worse when she was so thin.
"How big are the Clans?" Storm asked Stream as they jumped from rock to rock.
Down below, it was a precarious drop. Elf felt dizzy just looking at it.
"Pretty big," Stream panted.
She reached out with one paw and landed easily on the ledge. Storm followed, and Elf was left behind to struggle.
"ThunderClan is the biggest by far," Stream added with a nod. "Firestar, the leader, always seems to allow new cats to join. He doesn't follow the code like the other leaders."
The ways of Clans was complex. Elf had never heard of a cat having a code, but it sounded promising,
Stream went on to describe the other three Clans. There was RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan. ShadowClan cats were fierce and wily, while RiverClan cats were proud fishers. WindClan cats were fierce and protective of their territory.
"It sounds like we should begin with RiverClan," Storm meowed as they settled down near a shrub.
That was Stream's original home. Elf wondered why Stream left in the first place. She seemed like a good cat.
The sun had already disappeared. Elf began to grow more and more tired with each passing moment, but she was determined to listen to the rest of Stream's story.
But as the night began to deepen, Elf's eyes started to close. Reluctantly, she was forced to sleep.
****
Snow had fallen during the night. Elf was awakened to the sound of a hawk screeching in the distance.
She knew that a hawk could easily carry off a small cat like her. But it was too far to notice her tiny figure, and she wouldn't have made an easy target anyway.
The small group traveled at a brisk pace this time. There was a sense of urgency in the way Stream moved. Elf's paws felt like they were going to fall off by the time they reached a breaking point.
From the top of a ledge, they could see a vast, gleaming lake. The sun's rays seemed to reflect off of it, turning Elf's once shaggy fur into a glistening gold.
"That's where ThunderClan's camp is located." Stream's tail pointed towards a grove of trees that appeared to grow further apart from the rest. "It's pretty well protected, but I wouldn't want to be in there if it flooded," she murmured.
So the three cats continued moving towards their destination.
The scenery around Elf began to slowly change.
Grass and flowers began to take the place of jagged rocks and boulders. Trees soon towered above Elf's head, and she quickly began to feel at home once more.
However, the feeling of freedom did not last long.
Elf didn't take in account that they would have to travel through yet another Twolegplace.
Stream made it no secret that she loved it here. She seemed to know the best places to go, and told them that it was best to keep low.
They would have to reach the Clans within the third day. Or else the Band would arrive and there would be no kits waiting for them. Elf flinched at the thought of Ice's menacing presence.
"We're here!" Stream suddenly yowled.
Elf looked up.
A large Twoleg structure stood in front of them. In the distance, she could hear a small dog yapping away. She heard yowls of rage follow.
Stream exchanged a surprised glance with Storm. "It's probably WindClan," she explained. "A dog likes to go into their territory and terrorize them."
"Sounds like fun," Storm growled. He sheathed and unsheathed his claws several times, before relaxing.
The barking and yowling died down. Stream called it safe, and continued leading the way through the forest.
Soon they reached a clearing.
Dappled sunlight reached down. The leaves on the trees that surrounded the three of them made shadows on the ground dance. Elf could almost hear their faint whispers; the memories of these cats, and those before the Clans.
"I think that Elf should go on her own," Stream meowed when they had settled down.
"What?" Storm snarled. "She could escape!"
"Not likely," Stream replied, glancing almost guiltily at Elf. "ThunderClan cats have a reputation for always finding stragglers in their territory. They have the best trackers in the forest, mind you. Elf could go in alone, and you could wait for her near the edge. She could carry one of the kits out."
Storm stopped complaining when he realized that what Stream suggested was good. He sighed and shook his head. He knew that Ice would not like the idea of letting Elf go on her own. He didn't understand Ice's fixation on the dappled she-cat, but Ice was his leader, and Storm was forced to do what he said.
"Very well," he meowed at last. "Elf, you now know their scent. Follow it, or I will kill you myself."
Elf looked at him hopefully. She would rather die than steal kits. But Storm remained stone still.
She shook her head bitterly and padded away, aware of the cold stare Storm gave her.
Tracking ThunderClan wasn't hard at all.
Their scents filled the forest. It was as though they had marked all the trees around them. The scent was musky and strange, but it felt more like home than anywhere else.
Elf settled into a quick pace as she followed the stronger trails.
The trees were whispering to her, telling her to go on. They told her that freedom was only a few steps away.
Suddenly a shape exploded from nowhere. Elf squealed in shock when a body slammed into her, knocking the breath from her lungs. She gasped as her attacker let go, realizing that she was no threat.
She saw that it was a dark ginger she-cat, with piercing green eyes. This cat was powerful looking, and worse than the rogues Elf had faced. This was one of the Clan cats Stream had spoken about. And now, Elf had the chance to escape.