CHAPTER 7: Introduction

Cats began to exit Fourtrees and head back to their own Clans. Songwing; however, stood alone, watching the actions of a certain mottled brown tom in front of her. Mudclaw was in the middle of conversation with a black cat. Songwing had no idea who they were, but she felt a tad bit jealous. She wanted to have his attention.

She glanced around the clearing and saw that many cats still remained and were talking amongst each other. She returned her gaze to Mudclaw and noticed that the black cat had finally left and a pair of dark amber eyes were looking directly at her, his expression betraying nothing as she studied his face.

Slowly she stepped forward as Mudclaw did the same. He tilted his head for her to follow him out of the clearing so that they would have some privacy. Before he had stopped walking he began to speak; his tone was sarcastic, but Songwing detected what she thought sounded like the feeling of betrayal under his words. "So RiverClan suits you better? What, the moors a little too windy for you?"

"Mudclaw, it's not like that, I-" Songwing began in an attempt to explain.

"Then what? What would make you want to leave the one you supposedly loved? Song I don't know why I even bother. You have no idea what it did to me when I heard your name announced tonight." He growled, shaking his head. Songwing had never, even when she was leaving, heard such hurt hidden in his voice. It broke her heart.

"I had no choice! They caught me! They would've killed me if I hadn't been pregnant with your kit!" Songwing cried. Talk about word vomit, she had intended to take it slow... Songwing stared expectantly at Mudclaw, waiting for his response. The anger in his eyes seemed to fade a bit, and the tense position he had held before loosened.

"If you knew you were pregnant then why didn't you come back?" Mudclaw growled.

"As if I'd know the way." Songwing scoffed.

Mudclaw kept his eyes downcast as he controlled the emotions storming inside of him. Songwing edged closer to him and as soon as he glanced up she smiled. "We have a daughter. Would you like to see her?"

"Of course I want to see her." Mudclaw replied softly. Songwing padded up to the powerful tom and rubbed her head against his.

"I have to go for now, Leopardstar dislikes me enough as it is."

Songwing offered a weak smile as a goodbye, then pale gray she-cat padded away from him, but the tom ran quickly after her and informed her to meet him in the clearing of the Fourtrees the next morning, at dawn.

"Okay, I'll have to carry her some of the way I imagine." Songwing replied smiling, "Well, I have to go. Goodbye Mudclaw."

"Goodbye. Oh, and Song," Mudclaw called to her, Songwing paused and twisted her neck to look back at Mudclaw. "I missed you."

Songwing's smile came back, "I missed you too." The last words the two cats shared that night had a much deeper meaning, and they both knew it, but neither one was completely ready to say it.

Songwing and Mudclaw both walked away from their spot, returning to their individual Clans. Songwing's heart was lighter than a feather and sky high. Joy filled her body from her paws to her tail tip.

When she finally returned to RiverClan she was tired, but excited. She wrapped up Darkeyes with her tail and pulled her close. The small kit wiggled restlessly in her sleep. 'Sleep well my beautiful Darkeyes.'

"Run faster, do you think you are going to take down an enemy by walking to them, claws sheathed?" Tigerstar growled venomously.

"I'm trying!" I snapped back. I had done nothing, but battle drills since I started having the dreams again. Tigerstar's eyes flashed something deadly when I snapped. Fear began to penetrate the wall I had built up to prevent any fear from showing.

"Move your paws closer together, bundle your muscles and release when you jump and attack! Try again! This is a basic move and we have spent the past two nights running through it. Last time, or you will fight me as a practice battle and I am sure you don't want another scratch or two." The growl never ceased from his voice. I had grown a lot stronger from these lessons with Tigerstar, but I disliked the tom more and more each visit.

I did as he instructed, and my paws carried me as fast as they could take me I bunched my muscled together and leapt onto Tigerstar's back with claws outstretched. All four feet locked into his thick fur and I lowered my body to bite the back of his neck. Tigerstar hissed slightly and flung me away easily.

"Better, much better. Once your bigger maybe you could take down a warrior." It was one of the rare times Tigerstar ever praised me.

"What's ne-." I stopped dead, my dream began to fade and I wasn't sure why. The fog seemed to thicken and the Dark Forest started to blur.

'What's going on?'

"Tigerstar! Tigerstar!" I received no answer despite my calls.

Before long the dream ended and my eyes, still heavy from sleep, slowly opened. My mother stood there, one paw on my flank gently shaking me.

'Hmm… so that's why I lost my dream.'. I glanced up, eyes still heavy with sleep, and saw that her face was aglow.

"Come on, my sweet kit, we need to go." she purred licking my head quickly.

'Sweet kit? I wonder what that is all about.' I thought suspiciously.

She never called me anything like that, but what was there to question? Maybe she had changed her mind about me.

"Where are we going?" I mewed, and got up from my nest. It was still dark, the world around me was still sleeping; Dawnflower had her back to us and was sleeping soundly. Songwing took a few steps toward the back of the nursery where the emergency exit was located.

"We are going to see your father, Darkeyes." Her voice was light and giddy; it matched her face perfectly.

'My father? I have a dad? But… she had never mentioned him much before…. Why now?'

"But… why haven't I met him before now?" I inquired innocently.

"I didn't know he lived in this part of the forest, but I met him and now everything is going to be okay." she whispered in a hushed tone.

I didn't bother asking anymore questions, mostly because I had none to ask. I was excited in a way to be seeing my father, but I was also a tad bit worried; not scared, but worried that he would look at me as everyone else did and either laugh or hate me right off the bat.

Songwing slid through the tunnel and I followed at her paws. Once out, she stopped and picked me up by the scruff and began trotting at a fast pace as the first rays of the sunlight began to rise above the hills in the moorland.

We had been walking a long time, well I was being carried, but still. It wasn't until later that I saw four massive trees not far from us.

'Is that where we're going?'

"We're nearly there, Darkeyes." Songwing mumbled.

Songwing began to run as we neared the large trees. Her breathing immdediately picked up and I was being bounced around like mad. The trees I saw were actually a group of four. The sun still hadn't quite made it over the hills, so the clearing was dark, filled with some fog and a few more trees that completely encircled the area. I might have mistaken it for the clearing I trained in the Dark Forest if I hadn't known better.

Songwing put me down, and I stood there, unsure of what to should do next. Songwing trotted into the clearing, and as soon as she was in the center, a large tom padded from the darkness of the shadows and went up to my mother and rubbed his head affectionately against hers. He was dark brown, with shiny amber eyes. He looked strong and, honestly...not very fatherly.

'So this is my dad…' I thought while looking him over.

Once he finished speaking to my mother, he finally turned to face me.

I didn't know what I was expecting; a look of love, for him to accept me warmly as his daughter, what I didn't expect him to do is exactly what he did.

He came up close to me, and stared.

I knew what he was staring at; there was only one thing that was unusual about me, and that was…

My eyes.

I am looking forward to the next chapters because of what it leads up to, it'll be nice to type. Not boring in the slightest. Well, you all don't have any questions, so there isn't anything I can answer.

ᴐ Moon