Chapter 4 - An Unexpected Meeting
(Snakefang's POV)
Snakefang and Swiftblaze walked silently through the forest. They trekked all night without saying a single word to each other. Not that they had anything to say, anyway. They were both outcasts, and their Clans let them off easier than they thought; they should be considered lucky that they weren't dead.
Finally, it was dawn, and dewdrops sparkled the grass below them. Snakefang hadn't eaten since before the Gathering, and he was starving. His stomach growled loudly and, to his embarrassment, Swiftblaze looked up at him.
"You're hungry, aren't you? Why don't we stop and hunt for a while?" Snakefang was happy that he broke the silence, but he shook his head in response to Swiftblaze's question. "I can't hunt. My teeth poison everything I catch, and I don't want another dead cat because of me. I could feed myself, but what about you?" "Let's stop all the same, my paws are sore," the former WindClan cat said. Snakefang was grateful and he flopped on the floor with a loud thump.
Before he could say anything, Swiftblaze stalked back off through the trees. "Hey! Where are you going?" Snakefang called out, but no answer was returned. The former ShadowClan deputy sighed. Great, he abandoned me. What a surprise.
However, Swiftblaze quickly returned before Snakefang could stand up, and he was holding 2 mice in his jaws. Snakefang, surprised, thanked his new friend for the fresh-kill. They ate the mice in silence.
Then, out of curiosity, Snakefang asked, "What's your... Ability?" Swiftblaze half-smiled and said, "Watch." Swiftblaze did something that surprised Snakefang quite a bit; he ran through the trees faster than a speeding monster on the Thunderpath. Swiftblaze was even sending the dewdrops flying everywhere! Finally, he stopped next to Snakefang, clearly out of breath. "See? I would call that superspeed. 'Cause I'm super speedy." "Wow, cat, you are fast!"
They relaxed for a while, sharing tongues and talking about the Clans that they used to belong to. "- and I jumped on it and ripped a gash right through his thick pelt! I could even feel the bone under my claws. Anyway, I don't think that stupid badger will go in WindClan's territory ever again." Snakefang was only half-listening; he thought that he saw a pair of eyes flash through the bramble thickets.
"Snakefang, do you even-" "Shush! Something, or someone, is watching us!" The moor cat went silent at once as Snakefang pointed to the bramble bush with his tail. "I thought that I saw a pair of eyes…"
Suddenly, an invisible force knocked both of the cats over from where they were standing. The force of the push knocked all of the air out of Snakefang's lungs. It took a moment for him to recover. But when he stood up again, he saw Swiftblaze struggling on the ground as though he was being held down by an invisible cat. "Help…...me… S… Snake… fang..."
"No one hurts my new friend!" he yowled and lunged for a bite. He felt some fur brush across his face, but he missed his target and crashed into a tree. His teeth sank into the tree instead. "Ow!" He turned back around and saw that he had left a sizzling hole in the bark of the tree. The poison seems to be spreading…
Then, he heard a creak and the birch began to fall.
"Run!"
Swiftblaze, who had freed himself from his attacker, grabbed Snakefang by the scruff and ran quickly out of the way. Suddenly, as though in slow motion, the figure of a small cat came into view. She seemed to be appearing out of thin air. Was this the invisible attacker? Was it a mutant, to?
Snakefang realized that the tree was going to fall straight on this strange cat, and he grabbed it with his claws and flung it out of the way before the tree landed on the ground with a thump.
Swiftblaze, holding Snakefang and the other cat in his jaws, ran into a small clearing surrounded by berry bushes. The three cats collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
It was a while before either one of them spoke.
"Are… are you g-guys o-ok?" It was the little cat Snakefang had saved from the falling tree. For the first time, Snakefang got a good look at… her. He could tell that she was, well, a she-cat. Probably 10 moons old, I'd say, thought Snakefang. He paused and held his breath as he stared at this cat. Something was familiar about her…
He gasped. "Clearkit!" he exclaimed. He could barely believe it. This former ShadowClan kit is still alive, even though she was condemned to death in the wild like her father, Birchstep. Well, it definitely explains her ability to turn invisible, thought Snakefang. She is a surviving mutant. There was a pause, then-
"Clearpaw. My name is Clearpaw now," the little cat said. "And, I-I'm sorry for attacking you, before the tree fell down. It's just-" She stopped and stared at Snakefang. Her mouth dropped.
"You! I can't believe it! You were the one who wanted Crowstar to chuck Birchstar and I out of the Clan!" Snakefang's head swam with questions. Clearpaw? Birchstar? Another Clan must've took them in, somehow, he thought to himself. But he stayed calm as Clearpaw spoke with Swiftblaze.
"You're Swiftpaw, aren't you? I remember when some of my Clan caught you hunting on our territory. Like you crossed ThudnerClan's territory and everything! Huh. Wait- You can run fast, can't you? You're a … special one too? Then why do you hang with that blood-sucking traitor? He hates us! Also, why are you even here?" Clearpaw obviously had as much questions as Snakefang did. The former ShadowClan cat frowned when he was called a 'blood-sucker', but at the time he guessed that it was true. He was kind of mean back then. But before he could open his mouth to speak, Swiftblaze spoke.
"First off, I was made a warrior a few moons ago. My name is Swiftblaze," he added. Clearpaw murmured a small congratulations before he continued his explanation. "I do have a power, super fast running, as you probably saw. But I wasn't the one who saved you," he added. "Snakefang grabbed you with his claws before the tree could.. you know."
Clearpaw's eyes widened as she tilted her head in confusion. "You saved me? Why? I almost killed your friend!" Snakefang shrugged. "I didn't want to waste another life. And to answer your questions, we are both mutants." He closed his mouth.
Clearpaw gasped. "The great Snakefang has powers? Oooh, what is it?" She couldn't help but squeal like a little kit.
"My teeth are poisonous. I can't hunt or fight without killing someone." He bowed his hairy head. Clearpaw nodded. "I guess you bit the tree and a burning poison hole burned through the bark, causing it to fall, huh?" Snakefang nodded, ignoring the stares of the two cats beside him. Clearpaw jumped up.
"Dad'll be happy."
"That you almost died?"
Cleapaw laughed. "No, silly, to have two new recruits in the Clan!"
It was Swiftblaze's turn to ask questions. "I couldn't help but notice before that you said that your father's name is now Birchstar, even though when he left the Clans his name was Birchstep. Did another Clan recruit you?"
"No. We started one for all of the outcasts known as 'mutants'. When we gathered enough cats like us, we created our very own Clan, OddClan!" Her voice dropped. "That's why I attacked you. You guys were close to the entrance of camp. I guess that since you guys are like us too… You... You guys will join, right?"
Snakefang chuckled. "We have nowhere else to go, right? I'm in!" "Me too," echoed Swiftblaze.
"Let's go then! I'll explain everything along the way," she told them, and the trio walked off towards the camp where their whole lives will change.