Author's Notes: That last chapter was fun to write. Anyway, on with chapter six! By the way, when I said last chapter I'd have a lighter story? Yeah, I kinda lied just a little. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Warriors or Zelda, and I highly doubt that I ever will.

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Chapter 6: Dreams and Stories

Jayfeather tipped his head back to where he knew the moon was just beginning to show. Why was slumber eluding him so much? It seemed that no matter how hard he tried to get comfortable, he simply couldn't sleep. He envied the other cats all peacefully dreaming in their dens...wait. Dreaming. Maybe he had found something to pass the time after all. Jayfeather closed his eyes, and imagined himself walking in a straight line towards the sleeping place of a certain loner. He felt a little guilty, but tried to validate his actions by the fact that he needed to know more about the strange tortoiseshell. That was true, to a degree. There were more mysteries about this tom than there were mice in a forest.

Jayfeather, in his mind, sat next to the golden tom and matched his breathing patterns. Before long, he opened his eyes to sight. He looked around, not seeing Link anywhere. In fact, he couldn't even see himself.

This must be a memory, he thought.

He was in a small spring, and he felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He blinked his eyes quickly, trying to recall what had just happened. Then it hit him, or Link, rather. He dashed madly down a forest path, and for some reason, he seemed very high up. He disregarded that fact as he saw a Twoleg thing in the distance. It was a bridge, stretching across a gigantic canyon. It was so deep that Jayfeather couldn't even see the bottom, and as he looked down, he wanted to be sick. Link, however, began to cross the bridge without the slightest hesitation.

He reached the other side, but stopped dead in his tracks. The sight in front of him made him gasp in fear, and he backed up. A huge black wall covered in strange orange markings completely blocked the path. It seemed to stretch up to the treetops, then fading into an orange sky. Wait, orange sky? Against all this blue? Was that even possible?

Suddenly, a huge, black forepaw shot out through the wall, causing ripples on its surface. He tried to avoid it, but gripped his neck and yanked him, screaming with fear, back through to the other side of the wall. The hand brought him closer to its owner, and Jayfeather gasped in horror at the view he received. A hard, flat, gray thing covered its face, for which he was grateful. He didn't want to know what was behind it. The creature was much bigger than a Twoleg, and had red markings traveling up its forearms. He struggled with all his might, but he couldn't release the monster's hold on his neck.

W-wait a min-ute! I-It's like the sh-shad-ow cats!

The monster tightened its deadly grip, and Jayfeather felt his lungs failing. He breathed desperately for air while trying uselessly to pry the awful paw from his neck. He shut his eyes tightly, remembering that this was only a dream, a memory. So why did he feel so completely petrified? He couldn't get hurt here, right? Right? Suddenly, he heard a flashing noise, and he felt himself flung to the ground. Air rushed back into his lungs at lightning speed, burning his throat as his chest greedily filled with the precious breath. It was over...

...No it wasn't. He shouted in pain as forces from all sides pounded into him. He felt pressure constricting him, and he sank to the ground. It felt like the very air wanted to rip his soul right out of his body. He tried shakily to get up, finally feeling the crushing pain subside for a moment.

I-I-Is it o-over n-ow?

Before he could sigh with relief, a new pain quickly filled the space. It shot down like vicious claws through his spine, making him jerk and lurch with the unbearable feeling. Something within his limbs and torso tried to push out through his skin, and he heard his deafening screams penetrate the air. But they weren't his. They were Link's. He felt as if all his bones were breaking at once and rearranging themselves, and just when he thought he could bear it no longer, that it would tear him right apart, everything stopped.

Silence. Blackness. Link had woken up.

Jayfeather felt himself flop into his nest, still shivering with utter terror. He could still almost feel the excruciating pain that had tried its hardest to kill him. He knew the sight of the monster that had tried to strangle him would be burned into his memory for moons to come, like a scar that wouldn't heal. And as he thought these things...he realized Link must be the same way.

The blind tom shifted in his nest, thinking about the events that took place in dreams that night. What an incredible burden the tom must carry! And a burden he had to carry completely and truly alone. Nobody would understand, Jayfeather knew. That was why the tom was so secretive...he just had no one to relate to. No one to open up to and talk to, no one who had experienced the same things he did. They could try to understand, to empathize, but they never would be able to.

But I need to know more, Jayfeather thought. What happened after that?

As he stared unblinkingly into the clearing, he wondered if he would ever find out.

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Link blinked open his eyes slowly onto a gray sky. He hadn't been sleeping; he wasn't able to fall back asleep again after the dream he had had last night. Memory...sometimes he just wished he could forget everything. To live a normal life. To not be the Hero chosen by the gods, but Link, a rancher of Ordon. His thoughts wandered back to his hometown, the tiny farming community on the edge of the woods. Everything had been so simple then, so carefree and easy. Now, the fate of his whole country and perhaps the world rested solely on his shoulders. Sometimes, he felt the burden would break his back.

He looked up as Jayfeather padded slowly out of the medicine den. The young cat's sightless eyes stared straight at him, as if he really were looking at him. A shudder ran its way down Link's spine as those penetrating eyes seemed to see right to his soul. He saw Jayfeather's ear twitch; he must have heard him.

"You're up early," the medicine cat apprentice mewed casually.

"I just felt restless," Link replied honestly. "Couldn't sleep." Something flashed across Jayfeather's face, but before Link could decipher it, it was gone.

"The winds are carrying the scent of rain," Jayfeather observed as he tasted the air. "There'll probably be a storm soon." Link drew air over his scent glands as well, finding that Jayfeather was right. The smell of rain was there, however faint.

The entrance to the warrior's den rustled, and Dustpelt emerged with a yawn. He glanced warily at Link, who didn't miss the small gesture, and padded across towards the center of the camp. Cloudtail stepped drowsily out of the den next, followed closely by his mate Brightheart. Cloudtail nodded briskly to Link, and Brightheart smiled in greeting. The she-cat was quite friendly, and she gave a nice break from the hostile remarks and mistrusting glares from the other Clan cats. Link nodded back to her in acknowledgment, flicking his tail in greeting.

As more and more cats began to fill the clearing, the low buzzing sounds of mews and purrs filled the air. Barren ground changed to a mass of multicolored fur, and as Link silently watched the busy clearing, he almost forgot the loneliness of the night prior. Some of it still lingered though. After all, he was a spectator, just watching the commotion rather than being a part of it. He stifled a sigh as the dawn patrol left through the thorn tunnel and a hunting patrol was being organized.

Which begged the question: what was he going to do today? With a broken paw it wasn't like he was going anywhere any time soon. Absently, he licked his good paw and dragged it back over his ear, stopping suddenly when he realized what he was doing. It surprised him how natural washing had felt and how instinctively he had done it.

At this rate, he thought dryly, I'll be more cat than Hylian! I wonder where the wolf part fits in with that...

He cast his eyes up to the early morning sky, where the sun was trying its hardest to peek out from behind a heavy curtain of clouds. The clouds stubbornly held their place, and no wind thought to drive them off. Dewdrops resting on the bushes sparkled in the dim light, and a lone bird began to sing its sweet song. The peacefulness and serenity of the morning, however, was broken by the scolding voice of a queen from the nursery.

"Out, out!" shooed Daisy to her two kits. "How many times must I tell you, no rough-housing in the nursery! I can't wait until you're made apprentices..." The queen shook her head and went back inside the den. Toadkit instantly spotted a piece of moss laying on the ground, and he batted it with a forepaw to his sister.

"See if you can catch this!" Rosekit gave a powerful swat, sending the moss ball flying through the air...where it hit unsuspecting Link on the shoulder. He turned around quickly, relaxing when he saw the kits running towards him.

"Sorry!" Toadkit apologized rapidly. "We didn't mean it, really!"

"It's fine," mewed Link with a smile. "Just moss, no harm done."

"Can you tell us a story?" Rosekit asked suddenly.

"Er, I don't know any," Link spoke, caught off-guard by the question.

"Then tell us about, uh, where do you come from? Hyrule? What does it look like?" She looked at him eagerly with her big, round eyes.

"It's huge," Link began, "far bigger than all the territories around the lake put together." He saw Rosekit's and Toadkit's eyes widen. He doubted that they had been outside the camp, but it sounded big. "There are vast, open fields, high, snowy mountains, a massive lake, and even a fiery volcano."

"Vahl-cane-oh?" asked Toadkit, sounding out the word.

"It's like a mountain," explained Link, "but it's filled with rocks that are so hot they've melted."

"Rocks can melt?" asked Rosekit, shocked.

"Uh-huh," replied Link with a nod. "And lots of stuff that touches them instantly catches on fire." The two kits were completely silent, their eyes as wide as the moon.

"Are there Twolegs there?" asked Toadkit.

"That's a silly question," mewed a new voice. It was Berrynose, who Link just noticed had been sitting close by. Had he been listening the whole time? "Twolegs are everywhere," he said with a disgusted snort.

"Yeah, there are Twolegs," answered Link. "Four kinds, actually."

"There are different kinds of Twolegs?" asked Berrynose, curious in spite of himself.

"The Twolegs that live to the south of the forest are the kind you're used to seeing. They're just regular Twolegs. Then there are the ones that live to the west in a gigantic, er, Twolegplace. They have pointed ears, but aside from that they aren't much different." Link didn't include the legend that Hylians could hear the words of the gods; that might rouse suspicion on how he knew such things.

"Then there are Twolegs that live near and in the volcano," he continued. "They have all-brown pelts and skin as hard as rock on their backs. They can curl up into balls and roll around to travel, and they're mostly immune to fire."

"That sounds mousebrained!" broke in another new voice. It was Birchfall, who now looked at Link skeptically.

"Don't believe me if you want," Link spoke with a shrug. "I found it hard to believe when I was younger, too. But I've seen them up close, and everything I tell you is the truth."

"So what's the fourth kind of Twoleg from Hyrule?" piped up Rosekit.

"They live to the east on a huge river," mewed Link. "They have scales and fins like fish, and they can swim faster and more gracefully than any fish in the world. They turn swimming into an art! Also, they can breathe underwater and dive extremely deep."

"Breathe underwater?" asked Berrynose incredulously. Link nodded.

"What're the cats like?" inquired yet another voice. It was Thornclaw, who padded over with his ears pricked in curiosity. Link realized that he was slowly attracting a crowd.

"Just rouges, loners, and kittypets," Link answered with a shrug. "Nothing so sophisticated or organized as a Clan. They're mostly very friendly though, and they can usually give you advice on things."

"What about the dogs?" Thornclaw asked. "Do they chase you or attack you?"

"No," Link shook his head. "They're typically rather pleasant." Link knew he would have to choose his words carefully, because it seemed that animals didn't understand each other here as they did in Hyrule.

"Dogs? Pleasant?" Birchfall asked with scorn.

"Yeah," Link said. "The animals in Hyrule usually get along really well, from dogs to cats and even chipmunks to horses. It's the monsters that give you the trouble, not the other animals."

"Ah," Thornclaw gave a knowing nod. "It seems that Thunderpaths can be found anywhere!"

"...Thunderpath?" asked Link, confused.

"You know, the black, hard stuff that Twolegs put down so their monsters can travel on them."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Link mewed.

"But you said monsters," Thornclaw spoke, his voice trailing off. "Oh! Your definition of 'monster' and my definition must be different! Why don't you describe what you're talking about?"

"There are tons of different kinds of monsters," Link began. "Some of them are vicious plant creatures that try to eat you while rooted to one spot. There are birds and bats that claw you from the air, and massive spiders even bigger than a Twoleg. Other kinds of monsters are like miniature, oddly-colored Twolegs that attack you with either hard and heavy or thorn-sharp things. Some of them can shoot a pointy stick over a long range, and it gets imbedded in you when it hits you." He saw the two kits shudder. "Some of them ride tusked creatures with hooves that are as big, if not bigger, than a horse."

"Wow," meowed Thornclaw quietly. "That's a lot worse than the monsters we have here."

"The biggest threat of all though," Link stated solemnly, "is the shadow beings. They're massive black creatures that walk on two legs, but they're much bigger than any Twoleg you'll ever see. Their bodies are black as a night with no stars, and they have glowing red markings on their arms. Their faces are covered by flat, gray pieces of wood, and they're so strong they can send you flying with a single swipe of their paws. They surround you when they attack," Link wasn't going to mention the magical red barriers that sprang up, "so you have nowhere to run away. You only have two options: kill or be killed."

There was a stunned silence from his audience, and his words seemed to hang in the air even after they had been spoken.

"Whoa," Berrynose mewed. "Hyrule has it rough."

"And right now," Link spoke, "an evil Twoleg is trying to take it all over. He's the one that brought monsters to the lands and plagued them with shadow beasts." Link curled his lip in contempt, lashing his tail. "It wasn't always like this."

"Is that why you left?" Toadkit asked.

"I didn't leave!" Link meowed defiantly. "I was brought here by your lake...I don't know how it happened, but I just...woke up here one day." He dug a few deep trenches in the ground with his claws. "I'd give anything to be back there right now. My friends need me...the only problem is, I can't leave without my traveling companion. We were separated, and now I don't know where she is."

Plus, he thought in frustration, there's the added complication that I'm a freaking cat! He clenched his claws in the soil, staring hard at the earth.

He felt something brush his shoulder briefly, and looked up to see that Thornclaw had touched his tail-tip to his side. It was a comforting gesture among cats, but Link was surprised to find it coming from a Clan cat, most of whom had been rather unkind until this point. His gaze softened, and his muscles relaxed.

"You'll find her, I'm sure," Thornclaw mewed encouragingly.

"Thanks," said Link with a grateful smile.

Just then, the dawn patrol returned. Their guarded eyes cast wary glances to the sides as if waiting for something to spring up from the undergrowth, and their pelts were fluffed out in a few places. Brambleclaw padded quickly over to Firestar.

"We've scented wolf in the woods near the lake," the dark tabby mewed. "The scents are fresh, but we couldn't locate a den."

"All the same," responded Firestar, "we need to exercise caution near those areas."

"Absolutely," spoke Brambleclaw with a nod. "I'll warn the patrols." The two cats walked off in different directions after the brief exchange.

"Wolves," mewed Birchfall thoughtfully. "I don't think we've ever had them here before."

"Are wolves gonna attack us?" Toadkit asked fearfully.

"Yes," Birchfall replied with a joking smile. "They'll burst through the thorn tunnel and tear apart the nursery with their gigantic teeth and claws."

"That's right," put in Berrynose, playing along. "Because every cat knows that wolves are vicious creatures that do nothing but kill for fun."

Link gave his chest fur a few quick licks. He found that statement quite offensive, though he knew it shouldn't have been and it wasn't even aimed at him. That did rouse a few questions though. What were wolves doing by the lake, and what did they want? Or were they just passing by?

Would he ever find out?

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Post-Notes: Oooh, suspenseful! I hope you liked it, and I'll see you in chapter seven!

--Your good buddy,

Player4