Bleh. Sorry this took so long. I've been sick all week, so most of my free time was spent sleeping. I've spent maybe ten minutes each night writing, and now I finally have it done. And sorry that's there's no older Stormkit narraration in this one. I haven't had much time to think up something he would say; I've just been trying to finish the chapter. :P
Even so, I hope you enjoy.
CHAPTER 6
~Sneak~
Stormkit tried to forget the hurt look on Skykit's face as he ran out of the den after his brother. The crowd had moved to surround the Redrock, with the injured patrol being led by a few warriors and Willowsong towards the medicine den. Stormkit once again fought through the mass of cats behind his brother, barely catching the words of Sunstar as he sat atop the Redrock, his amber eyes blazing with rage.
"-has done this for the last time!" the golden tom bellowed. The cats around them howled their agreement. "We are not weak, no matter what they say!"
Tigerkit scoffed beside Stormkit. Luckily, it was not heard over the shouts of the cats around them. Why had he chosen to follow his brother instead of stay in the nursery with Skykit? He felt a pang of regret, wishing he could run back to the nursery and apologize for ignoring her twice. He didn't want to be here…He wanted to be with her…
"Well, we will show them!" Sunstar roared, and Stormkit felt his heart drop. He didn't like where this was going. "We will show them we are not weak!"
Don't say it, Stormkit thought, his heart filling with dread. Please, don't say it…
"We attack tomorrow night!"
Stormkit gasped and looked at Tigerkit, his eyes wide with fear. Even his brother couldn't hide his dismay as the cats around them all cheered. They were happy. They all sounded like bloodthirsty animals to him; vile, disgusting killers. They wanted his family dead. They all hated his father with a passion…
"Come on!" Tigerkit nudged Stormkit's shoulder, pushing him in the opposite direction of Sunstar. "Go!"
Stormkit scrambled in the direction Tigerkit was pushing him; away from Sunstar. Away from the SeaClan cats that relished in the spilling of his Clanmates' blood. He felt sick. He wanted to go home. He hated it here. He wanted to go home!
Stormkit tripped as Tigerkit pushed him into a bush at the edge of the camp, stumbling over onto the ground with a pained grunt. Tigerkit peered outside the bush, at the cats that were still gathered around the Redrock. Stormkit huddled on the ground, his eyes wide.
"I want to leave!" he mewed, and Tigerkit snapped his head around to look at him. "I don't like it here! If they knew what we were, they'd kill us!"
"We are leaving," Tigerkit meowed, and Stormkit's mouth dropped open in shock. "But not because you're feeling homesick; we need to warn Coldstar about the battle!"
"But we'll never make it back in time!" Stormkit exclaimed.
Tigerkit's blue eyes flashed. "It's not that far, Stormkit! And you remember the way back, don't you? It's practically a straight line! If we leave as soon as everyone is asleep tonight, we could make it there and back before sunrise tomorrow!"
Stormkit quickly weighed the possibilities. The patrol had found them near the FogClan border, and it had taken them maybe half an hour to run all the way back to camp. It was about another half an hour from the border to FogClan camp. That was an hour. It wasn't that long. But they were just kits! They couldn't run as fast as warriors, or defend themselves against predators. It would take them a lot of time. Maybe not enough time…
But maybe…just maybe…it was enough.
Stormkit remembered his real home back in the forest. His father, his mother, his friends…They were the cats he cared about. The ones he was here for. He couldn't let them be attacked by Sunstar and his Clan of killers! If he stayed here, he'd never forgive himself…
"All right," Stormkit sighed. "We'll leave tonight."
Thank StarClan for the moon, Stormkit thought as he padded beside Tigerkit through the grass, which grew tall enough to tickle their noses. He tried not to look back at the SeaClan camp behind them, but he couldn't help it. As he stood staring back at the shrub-lined hollow, he wished that he had been nicer to Skykit. She'd been ignoring him ever since he chose Tigerkit over her, casting him angry looks whenever she saw him. She had every right to be mad. He hadn't been a very good friend…
"Hey! Why are you stopping? We have to hurry, Stormkit! Come on!" Tigerkit hissed from farther ahead. Stormkit tore his gaze away from the camp and hurried after him, banishing thoughts of Skykit from his mind. They had a long way to go.
Stormkit's heart pounded in his chest as he padded down the hill and into the sparse forest. The moon hung low in the sky, and a soft breeze stirred the grass. The only sounds were the ever-present chirp of crickets and the occasional croak of a frog as they walked. Far off in the distance, a coyote howled, sending shivers up Stormkit's spine. He moved closer to his brother, who didn't seem to have noticed the noise.
"I'm not sure if this was such a good idea," Stormkit mewed, his voice hushed.
"So you'd rather we let our Clanmates get attacked by SeaClan without any warning?" Tigerkit retorted, casting him a glare. "If we tell Coldstar there's going to be an ambush, they could be ready for the attack and do a lot more damage."
"I know that. But what if we don't make it back in time? We might blow our cover…" Stormkit shrank a little when another howl sounded, closer this time. "There are so many things that could go wrong…''
"Why do you always have to worry so much?" Tigerkit meowed, exasperated. He looked straight ahead, his jaw setting in determination. "We'll make it back in time."
Don't be so sure, Stormkit thought, looking around for any sign of danger. Someone had to be concerned for their safety, and Tigerkit obviously wasn't going to do that. It was Stormkit's job to hold him back and make him think twice before he did something especially foolish, and to slap down some of that arrogance whenever it got too out-of-hand. Though Tigerkit was the strongest, Stormkit was the smartest. He was the one with the most common sense.
But still, to be that sure of myself…Stormkit glanced at his brother, walking confidently in front of him, taking the lead like he always does. Fearless like usual. It would be so much easier. Sometimes he resented being the one that always hesitated; the one that always thought twice…
Stormkit's thoughts slowly slipped back to Skykit. She was similar to Tigerkit, he supposed. Not as cocky, and not as brutish. But she had the same air of confidence about her, and that same mischievousness. And, thank StarClan, she was much nicer.
And she's mad at me, Stormkit thought sadly.
The spindly trees of the forest vanished from around them, and they were walking through another field. The grass was a little longer here, their eyes level with the tips of the blades. It was a small field, and he could see the next patch of forest ahead and around them.
The coyote howled again, even closer than before.
The sound jolted Stormkit, and he moved closer to his brother. He looked around nervously.
"…Tigerkit…" he mewed quietly, scanning the trees at the edges of the field. "…Do you hear that…?"
"What?" Tigerkit snapped, annoyed. "Hear what?"
"I hear a coyote…" Stormkit whispered, his voice shaking a little.
Tigerkit rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Come on. You're slowing us down."
But Stormkit stood where he was, his amber gaze sweeping over the not-so-distant treeline. The fur on the back of his neck prickled with the eerie feeling of being watched. The coyote sounded so close. What if it came after them? Tigerkit was getting farther ahead, so he took one last survey of the trees.
There.
Two bright yellow eyes flashed in the undergrowth.
"Get down!" Stormkit hissed, tackling his brother to the ground. Tigerkit let out a surprised yelp as they both sprawled out on their bellies in the grass. Luckily, it was tall enough to hide both of them from the eyes of the coyote.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Tigerkit mewed angrily, starting to get back up. But Stormkit slapped him down again, surprised by his own strength as Tigerkit flopped back down onto the ground. He looked back at him, his blue eyes glinting angrily at him.
"I saw a coyote!" Stormkit whispered. "We need to stay down until it passes."
"What?" Tigerkit finally seemed to register what Stormkit was saying. "Are you sure?"
Stormkit's amber eyes flashed. "I'm sure."
"Let me see." Tigerkit began to stand, and Stormkit felt alarm rise in his chest. If the coyote saw them, they'd be goners. He reached out to pull his brother back down to the ground, but Tigerkit turned and sent him a glare that caused Stormkit to lower his paw, his heart pounding in the fear of being caught.
Tigerkit slowly stood until he could see over the grass to the forest. Stormkit watched as his eyes widened almost immediately and he dropped back down onto his belly in the dirt, his eyes bright with fear. He'd seen the coyote.
"How close is it?" Stormkit questioned, his voice hushed.
"Close enough," Tigerkit mewed softly. "It's sniffing around about twenty fox-lengths from here."
"I hope it doesn't see us…"
"It will hear us if you don't shut up."
So the two kits crouched in the grass, neither saying a word. Stormkit could hear the coyote crunching through the grass dangerously close by, sniffing around for any scent that could lead it to prey. Every so often, he would see a flash of its dark pelt through the grass blades, or catch of glimpse of its yellow eyes glinting in the darkness. Stormkit remained huddled next to his brother, every muscle in his body taut with fear, until the sounds faded and they were left with the chirp of the crickets and croaks of the frogs once again. The coyote's scent was gone.
At first they were motionless, then Tigerkit slowly stood up. Stormkit watched him, heart pounding, as he scanned the field around them for any sign of the coyote. Finally, Tigerkit let out a sigh of relief and relaxed.
"It's gone," he said.
"You sure?" Stormkit slowly rose to his feet, glancing around for the coyote. He didn't see it anywhere, and he couldn't smell it. It hadn't noticed them.
"That was close," he mewed, sighing in relief.
"Tell me about it!" Tigerkit said, his eyes bright with excitement now that they weren't in any danger. Stormkit rolled his eyes; he couldn't see what was so great about nearly becoming a coyote's late-night snack.
The clearing suddenly darkened, and both kits looked up in time to see a cloud skitter across the moon, which was slowly approaching the center of the sky. Stormkit felt his heart drop. They'd been trapped by the coyote longer than they'd thought. And they weren't even halfway there.
"We need to go," he whispered, his eyes wide.
"Yeah," Tigerkit mewed, the excited light leaving his eyes. "Let's go."
When they left the fields and entered the forest-real forest-Stormkit felt a wave of relief at being so close to home. When they finally crossed over the border into FogClan territory, his heart began to pound in anticipation and they both picked up their pace, eager to get back home. They couldn't see the moon through the dense leaves above, but Stormkit knew that it was past midnight. They had to tell Coldstar about the battle and get out as quick as possible. Maybe if some warriors carried them to the border, they'd have enough time to get back.
"Do you know where the camp is?" Stormkit asked, looking around at the forest. It seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't be sure.
"You have a better sense of direction than I do," Tigerkit mewed. "You tell me."
Just then they passed a fallen tree that Stormkit remembered seeing on their way to the SeaClan border. He knew where they were now. "Yeah. I remember this. We're almost there." He felt some of the worry in his chest lighten. They'd almost made it. They were almost home.
"Good," Tigerkit meowed, and they picked up their pace.
No more than ten minutes later, the first sign of camp appeared. They padded into the clearing where they'd trained just five days ago, which Stormkit knew was just a few fox-lengths away from camp. They began running, and when the bramble and rock walls of the FogClan camp came into view, Tigerkit let out a joyful cry. They bounded right into the entrance tunnel and into camp. Finally home.
"We're here!" Tigerkit shouted. The camp was silent; all the cats were still asleep. "Coldstar! We're back!"
Stormkit and his brother stopped in the middle of the camp, panting from the run as they stared at the rock cave that was the leader's den. For a moment it was still, but then a gray shape appeared at the mouth of the cave, and two amber eyes flashed from the darkness as their father appeared.
"Coldstar!" Stormkit exclaimed, his ears and tail perking up. He was so happy to see him!
But Coldstar didn't look very happy to see them. His eyes smoldered as he marched out of the darkness of the den and into the moonlight, his jaw set and his tail flicking. He didn't look very happy to see them at all.
"What are you two doing here?" he demanded, and Stormkit shrank a little. "It hasn't been three moons yet!"
"We came to warn you…" he mewed.
"About what?" Coldstar snapped.
"Sunstar is going to attack tomorrow night!" Tigerkit exclaimed, and Coldstar jerked his head to look at him. "He's mad that you attacked their patrol!"
"Of course they're going to attack!" Coldstar spat, and the two kits' eyes widened in surprise. "We know that they're coming, and we're fully prepared to fight. We have everything planned out for whenever it is they attack. But now you two have completely messed up the plan!"
Stormkit blinked in shock. "You…You knew?"
"Mouse-brains!" Coldstar hissed. "Of course we knew!"
Stormkit bowed his head in shame. They had come all the way here for nothing, and now their father was mad at them. How could he have been so stupid? More cats were beginning to come out of their dens, wondering what all the commotion was about. Stormkit's ears burned with embarrassment; now they all knew how mouse-brained they were.
"We're sorry…" Tigerkit mewed quietly, looking down at the ground.
"Be quiet," Coldstar growled. "You need to get back to SeaClan before they realized that you're gone. Sharpfang! Thistletooth! Get over here."
The two toms immediately obeyed, running to stand in front of Coldstar. They were both big toms, and fast too.
"Get these two the border," Coldstar meowed. "Run as fast as you can. I want them on their way through SeaClan territory in five minutes."
"Ummm…Coldstar?" Thistletooth mewed, looking upwards. "I think it's a little too late for that..."
Stormkit lifted his head to look up a the sky, and his heart dropped as he realized that the indigo was transitioning into a pale pink color, the first rays of sunlight cutting through the clouds and turning them purple and orange. Night had turned to dawn. They had taken too long to get here. There was no way they'd get back before someone realized that they were gone now.
They were too late.
I won't be able to get on the computer much until Sunday next week, so it's going to be a while before I update. I hope you can be patient. If I can, I'll try to get in at least one more chapter in that time. No promises, though.
Review please. Because that's what Jesus would do.
