Sol's Revenge & Whisper's Path

Chapter Three: SOL

I was awoken by Leafstar in the middle of the night after she jabbed my shoulder with her paw several times. I groggily opened my eyes and was about to demand why on Earth she'd woken me up, when I was stopped by a gleam in her eye.

"I think I know how to get out of here, but I need your help," she said excitedly, her amber eyes were bright with hope. I tried to hide my expression, which could only be described as crestfallen. I got along well with Leafstar, and we were becoming friends. But she still wanted to leave and run back to her clan, apparently I meant very little to her. Regardless I'd promised I would help her, so I kept my gaze neutral and listened to her plan.

"The next time to twolegs let you outside, you need to find Skyclan. It won't be hard, just follow the river into the gorge, soon enough you'll be stopped by a patrol. Guide one of my warriors back to this place. You come inside and help get me as close to the door as you can without alerting the twolegs. My warrior will sit at the backdoor and pretend to be injured, the twoleg will open the door, and we run outside."

"How are you so sure the twolegs will open the door for an injured stray?" I asked, already seeing many flaws in her plan. Leafstar let out a sigh.

"I'm not positive it will work, but it can't hurt to try. Besides, your twolegs clearly care about cats. I think they were trying to help me when they captured me, they just thought I was a helpless queen with three newborn kits," she said solemnly. I paused for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, I'll go find your clan."

I headed to the backdoor and prepared to meow until my twolegs let me outside. Before the twolegs could remove Leafstar and her kits from the room before they let me outside, she said one last sentence to me.

"Thank you, Sol. And I meant what I said when I promised you could join Skyclan if you help me escape. I think you'd be a fine warrior."

...

The gorge was creepier than I expected. High walls of brown sandstone enclosed me on a narrow path that gradually widened to encompass a forest. The creek I'd been following grew into a rushing torrent of water. The sound of the waves rushing over smooth stone made me practically deaf to the word. I glanced from side to side nervously, this was the furthest I'd been from my twolegs nest. I only had vague memories of the wild when I was with Cinder's and my siblings.

Echo's words reverberated through my head. We both know Sol couldn't be a rogue, he's too soft. Besides, he's much happier as a kittypet, don't you think? She was talking to Whisper, and I overheard. Those words weren't what hurt, I expected such pettiness from my sister. What hurt was Whisper agreeing.

I cleared my throat with determination and plowed through the undergrowth, forcing my way deeper into the gorge. I froze in my tracks when I spotted small divets in the muddy earth near the river. Paw prints. A cat had been here to drink recently. Could it have been a Skyclan warrior? I pressed my nose close to the ground with the intent to track the path this cat had taken, but the trail was vague and laced with other scents.

I sighed and sat down after a few minutes of fruitless searching. How did Leafstar expect me to find her clan? I stood up and began walking again, this time more meandering instead of searching. Might as well enjoy the cool air before night fall.

"You're trespassing," a cold voice said a few fox lengths in front of me. I nearly leapt out of my fur from fright. The cat revealed himself a moment later as he emerged from behind a bush. He was a ginger and white tom cat with leaf green eyes and a broad face. His eyes were troubled, clearly not interested in me. "Just leave so I don't have to waste energy driving you out."

I ignored the condescending words.

"My name is Sol-"

"I don't really care who you are, rogue, you're trespassing and you know it!" The cat hissed.

"And Leafstar sent me here to find Skyclan," I finished my sentence despite the interruption.

"Leafstar?" the cat spluttered. His eyes suddenly became very hopeful. "Where is she? Is she close?"

I held my tail for silence, loving the power I now held over the cat. He quieted instantly.

"She is at my twoleg nest, being held against her will. Come with me," I ordered. Without hesitation the cat nodded and began following me as we headed towards my home.

"My name is Billystorm, sorry about how I was back there, we've just had trouble with rogues recently," he apologized. I smiled.

"I understand, you're Leafstar's mate right? She told me about you."

"Yes. The whole clan has been going crazy wondering where the twolegs took her...wondering if she was even still alive."

It wasn't long before we reached the twoleg den. I quickly told him the plan.

"I'm going to go inside and hide in Leafstars carrying cage. Leafstar will hide behind the chair by the back door. You sit at the back door and pretend to be injured, when my twolegs open the door we all run outside."

"That's a risky plan..." Billystorm murmured.

"I know, we'll have to be fast and grab the kits. I'm hoping the twolegs won't look too closely at the cage and will assume Leafstar is inside simply by seeing the shape of a cat. But I don't know how good their eye sight is."

I walked with Billystorm back to my home. I got inside quick enough, Leafstar was already hiding with her kits behind the chair. My twoleg was in another room already, presumably getting food. It seemed all they did was eat and lounge. I hurried inside Leafstar's cage and gave her the signal. She nodded to her mate who was watching us from outside the glass door. I couldn't see him, but the sound he was making made me wonder if he was actually injured.

The twoleg came rushing to the back door and let out a little exclamation of shock. I froze in the cage, feeling the twolegs eyes on me. Then I heard the sound of the door sliding open.

"Now!" I shouted. Billystorm rushed inside and the twoleg stumbled backwards in surprise. I sprinted out of the cage and grabbed one of Leafstar's kits in my jaws. Billystorm and her were already outside with the other two. The twoleg was making to close the door but I jumped outside just in time. We darted out of the yard as fast as we could without shaking the kits too much. Once we were a safe distance away we paused to catch our breath and set the kits down.

"I've been so worried," Billystorm said softly as he pressed his face against Leafstar's flank.

"I can't believe that worked," she said breathlessly. She looked at me with her golden green eyes. "Thank you Sol, we couldn't have done it without you."

"We better hurry back to your clan," was all I said. We all picked up a kit and began walking towards the gorge. The kit in my mouth was squirming and I had to resist the urge to drop it. At about the same place I'd encountered Billystorm we spotted a patrol of warriors.

"Leafstar!" another cat exclaimed. "And Billystorm is with her!"

I felt out of place as the warriors joyously received their leader. Billystorm was already describing the miraculous escape, Leafstar was assuring everyone she was alright. I blended into the shadows. I was tempted to set the kit down and head home, but then Leafstar pointed me out.

"I owe my life and my kit's to Sol. He helped Billystorm find me and was the reason we were able to escape."

The warriors began cheering my name and showering me with praise. I puffed out my chest slightly with pride. I came with them back to their camp, everyone seemed so grateful for me bringing their leader back to them. I felt loved.

Leafstar went to rest in the nursery with her three kits as I was left to my own devices to explore camp. Several of the bolder cats inquired me about being a kittypet. I assured them I was no longer a kittypet, since Leafstar was going to let me join Skyclan. They seemed doubtful but said nothing. Leafstar called me over to the nursery. Billystorm was with her.

"We are going to name the kits now," Leafstar explained.

"This one should be Firekit, look at his red fur!" Billystorm said and nuzzled an auburn colored kit. Leafstar nodded with approval.

"This one should be Stormkit, he'll carry the last part of your name."

Only one kit was left to be named.

"Sol, I want you to name the last kit," Leafstar said.

"What? Me...I don't know what to say," I spluttered. She smiled gently at me, prompting me to chose a name. What if I chose wrong? I thought wildly, trying to decide what to call the young kit. He seemed familiar in a way, his fur was a soft brown and ruffled from being groomed.

"Harrykit," I whispered the name. "Harrykit after my brother."

"Harrykit is beautiful," Leafstar amended.

"Firekit, Stormkit, and Harrykit," Billystorm said approvingly.

...

I entered the camp with the rest of the patrol. Today's hunt had been mediocre at best, but at least I managed to catch something. I still found it difficult to have the patience to stalk prey, even after all the time I'd been with Skyclan. But today I stumbled upon a squirrel with a lame leg. Sharpclaw had praised the catch, although even a kit could've caught that squirrel.

"Why doesn't Sol have to do apprentice duties like the rest of us?" I overheard the apprentice Birdpaw complain to Honeypaw. Honeypaw let out a murmur of agreement.

"Sol is still a full grown cat with plenty of experience," Leafstar chided the young cats. I stifled a chuckle and deposited my catch on the prey pile.

"Then why doesn't he have a warrior name yet?" Honeypaw asked. My ears pricked at her words. My warrior name seemed to be all I could think about these days. Not everyone in the clan had welcomed me with open arms. They thought I was strange because I was a calico. They were thankful I had saved their leader and her kits, but then it also seemed like they wished I'd just go back home to my twolegs.

My mouth formed a hard line, the other warriors attitude's toward me only reinforced my determination to be a warrior. I was just about to visit the medicine cat Echosong and get some moss to put on Harrykit's nose, he'd somehow managed to prick it on a thistle bush, when I heard Leafstar's reply to Honeypaw.

"Sol will get his warrior name soon."

...

The three kits were sleeping curled into their mothers belly as I entered the nursery. I tried to be quiet so as not to wake them but their heads popped up instantly.

"Sol!" Firekit squeaked excitedly. "Can we play a game?"

I cuffed him over the head gently. "Sorry, not now. I am about to head out on the sun down patrol. I just brought some moss for Harrykit's nose."

"Oh thank you Sol, it's been looking red again," Leafstar said and took the damp moss to palce on the small kit's nose. He let out a mew of protest before the cool water released the irritation.

"I don't know how you manage both the clan and your kits. Sometimes you must have trouble telling the difference between the two," I joked playfully. Leafstar purred with humor. Billystorm appeared at the nursery entrance and all three kits crowded around his paws. He let them chase his tale for a few minutes before he focused his attention on Leafstar. They started talking and I sat silent next to them. Billystorm suddenly seemed to realize I hadn't left yet.

"Don't you have a patrol you should be with?" he asked, hinting for me to leave. I nodded and scurried away. Embarresment flooded my face, I was certain if I didn't have thick fur everyone would see my blush. I knew I didn't fit in easily with the clan, why did everyone seem so bent on pointing it out? I found my patrol, a group of eight cats with Patchfoot at the lead.

We set out and I was sulking at the back of the patrol when I got an idea. Maybe the clan would learn to appreciate me if I was able to prove my worth.

"Patchfoot!" I called out. He glanced over his shoulder at me and waited for me to speak. "With a patrol of this size we'll scare away all the prey from here to the river. Maybe we should split up," I suggested. He seemed reluctant but nodded his head.

"Good call, I'll head dowstream, you go toward the meadows," Patchfoot decided and split the patrol. I was the head of the patrol going toward the meadows. I only had two cats with me, Plumwillow and Nettlesplash. They seemed sour about getting stuck with me.

"Do you two want to bring back more prey than the clan has seen in moons?" I asked firmly. Plumwillow rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, easier said than done," she remarked snidely.

"On the contrary, I have a plan."

I guided the two warriors deep in the heart of the territory, nowhere near the meadows. A giant sycamore tree stood before us with a tangled mass of roots revealing a foxes den. I held up my tail as a signal for them to be quiet. After several minutes of waiting the vixen appeared. The fox mother had a mouthful of prey, she set the pile down on the ground and disappeared into her den to wake her cubs. Plumwillow and Nettlesplash were frozen in shock at being so close to the predator.

"Go!" I hissed softly and darted forward to grab the prey. The two warriors shook themselves from their stupor and helped me grab the rest of the prey. Then we ran out of there as fast as our paws would carry us. Once we were a safe distance away we stopped running and began laughing.

"My heart is pounding!" Nettlesplash exclaimed.

"How did you think of doing that? It's genius!" Plumwillow said as she caught her breath.

"I just remembered seeing the den before, and I realized it was a source of easy hunting."

We headed back to camp with the haul and found Leafstar lecturing Patchfoot.

"Why did you listen to Sol and split up the patrol?" she criticized. Patchfoot opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off again. "We better send a search party out for the other patrol now."

"My two kits are out there!" Fallowfern exclaimed. "Send out a search party before Sol gets them lost."

"No need," I called out. All eyes turned to me and the other two warriors. Leafstar's eyes widened as she took in all the prey. I caught Plumwillow and Nettlesplash's eyes. It was an unspoken agreement not to explain how we got the prey. I doubted Leafstar would be impressed we had stolen from a fox. The clan began shouting praises towards me and the other two. I puffed out my chest with pride.

I would prove to my mother, wherever she may be, that I could survive like the Sky warriros from her story. I would prove to Skyclan I could be the best warrior they'd ever seen. And I'd prove to Whisper and Echo I was worth something.