Hola! Como esta usted? (I'm trying to learn some Spanish before I start Spanish I in school, so I keep practicing)
Again, I wrote almost a whole chapter and then realized I left out a huge important part.
I decided not to write about the kit-stealing spree. I think I might make another spin-off fic from this one, one that focuses entirely on the Guard and is told from the Guard members' points of views; one that has short Guard-related stories, that sort of thing. I might call it "Tales of the Guard" or something…
*~!~*
Sandstorm's POV
I paced the length of the thorn den, Sasha watching me exasperatedly. The moonlight bathed her pelt in silver, making her look like a gray tabby instead of a brown one.
"What are you doing, Sandstorm?" she sighed. "You're going to wear down the only grass in here." She peered at the ground. "In fact, I think you already have."
"Very funny," I mewed. "I'm thinking—" I quickly lowered my voice so Violet and Scar, who were standing guard outside, wouldn't hear. "—I'm thinking of an escape plan."
Sasha's eyes widened. "Really? You honestly think that you can think of an actual—" she lowered her voice here too "—escape plan?"
I shrugged. "I've already thought it out. Now I'm just going over some certain things that might not work. But now I'm almost positive it will."
A gleam of excitement shone in Sasha's eyes for a minute; then it died. "How is it going to work?" She was whispering so quietly I had to strain to hear her. "We're surrounded by guards night and day, sunhigh and moonhigh. And even if we did manage to get past the Guard, we'd end back up in ShadowClan territory. They'd capture us again and probably kill us!"
"We won't be the ones who have to make it past the Guard," I meowed, and as I said it, my heart clenched and I thought of the danger. "We'd be too easily missed."
Sasha sighed. "Well, what is your plan?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but quickly closed it when I heard Violet hiss irritably, "Shut up, you dumb prisoners! It's my turn to sleep and if you don't stop rambling on, I'm going to rip off your ears, and I mean that!"
"Of course, Violet," I hissed back. "Anything to please you."
She snapped in reply and I heard her mutter something to Scar.
"Well?" Sasha asked again. "Your plan?"
I settled down on the ground. "All of Tigerstar's other prisoners—Graystripe, Stormpaw, Featherpaw, and the others—they're in an abandoned fox den."
"Your point?"
"Well, usually fox dens have one main entrance tunnel, and one extra tunnel for escape or if the main tunnel gets caved in or something." I paused, waiting for Sasha's response.
She shrugged. "I think I get what you're saying, but then I don't."
"Well," I whispered excitedly, "
"Tigerstar said we could go see them later today. We can look then."
"But they're guarded by nearly five guards. And anyway, the escape tunnel will probably be half-caved in or something. No cat will be small enough to fit through it." Sasha looked dubious of my plan so far.
"We have paws, and paws can dig," I retorted. "The escape tunnel—if there is one—can be made bigger."
Sasha's eyes widened. "It couldn't be made much bigger! And even is you make it a mouse-length bigger, do you really expect one of those big toms to escape out of it?"
Her comment distracted me for a minute. "Huh? Toms? What do you mean by that?"
My denmate snorted. "Well, aren't you going to send Graystripe or Stonefur off to get help? They're more likely to make it out alive, plus they're better able to take care of themselves."
"No, actually. They're the complete opposite of who I have in mind."
"Well, who do you have in mind?"
I hesitated before answering. "Featherpaw."
"Featherpaw!" Sasha's voice got so loud—above a whisper, but still loud—I was afraid the Guard would swoop in and kill us right away.
"Yes, Featherpaw."
"Why? She's just a kit!"
"Apprentice."
"For what? A moon? Why would you choose her for such a dangerous mission?"
"Well, she's small, so she'll be able to squeeze through any hole or crack we might find, and she'll be hard to notice. A big cat like Stonefur would find it hard to hide. Featherpaw also has a coat that will allow her to blend in with her surroundings. If she hides in some moonlight—she'll escape at night—no one will see her, if they don't look too close. She's also quick, agile…I'd send Stormpaw instead, but he's bigger and more noticeable."
Sasha glared at me. "Do you know how dangerous this whole thing is? Featherpaw could be killed!"
"I know. And Featherpaw doesn't have to do it if she doesn't want to. I won't make her. But just think. Featherpaw escapes through a hole or crack, she gets back into ThunderClan territory, she gets Firestar's help, and we all get rescued."
"Graystripe won't let her." Sasha seemed to think that settled the matter.
"Look. Do you want to escape or not?"
Sasha narrowed her eyes. "Well, yes…but I won't put a kit's—alright, apprentice's life at risk."
"You might have to if you want to keep eleven other cats' lives out of risk. Twelve, if you count Cinderpelt, although she seems to be just fine with Runningnose and Littlecloud." I shifted my paws as I mentioned her.
"You don't seem to like Cinderpelt very much," Sasha observed.
"She spends too much time around Firestar. I can tell she likes him, more than a medicine cat should. My Firestar." I gritted my teeth. "She also reminds me too much of Spottedleaf."
"Who's Spottedleaf?" Sasha inquired.
"ThunderClan's old medicine cat that died when he was an apprentice," I meowed grudgingly. "She and Firestar loved each other. They still love each other. If she had lived, Firestar would never have chosen me as his mate." A growl rose in my throat. "There are too many other she-cats after Firestar, my Firestar!"
"Sandstorm!" Sasha hissed through gritted teeth. "Quiet! The guards will hear you!"
"So! I don't care! I want them to know that Firestar is no one's mate but mine!" A terrible thought struck me. "What if he's gotten with another she-cat since I've been captured? Like Brightheart or Mousefur? What if he's gotten with a tom?" I shrieked on the last word.
I heard Scar snicker.
"Sandstorm! Calm down!" Sasha shook her head and rolled her eyes. "What is wrong with you? If Firestar truly loves you, he'll wait for you. If he does get with another she-cat…or a tom…then he's not worth all this worry."
I could detect a gleam of amusement in her eyes, which annoyed me. "What's so funny?" I spat.
"Sandstorm," she laughed, "you should see yourself. Your eyes are big and your fur is sticking up all over."
Embarrassed when I saw she was right, I forced my fur to lie flat. "Well," I mewed awkwardly. "We better get some sleep so we won't be tired when we get to see everyone else tomorrow." I settled back on the grass and closed my eyes.
Dream…dream…dream…
The moon was shining, bright and full. I was stretched out on a smooth boulder, enjoying the breeze that ruffled my fur.
Suddenly the moon was blotted out by a huge dark tabby, who leered at me, amber eyes flashing with fury. "Naptime's over, Sandstorm."
Tigerstar leaped at me, claws unsheathed. I darted out of his way and crashed into Featherpaw.
"Featherpaw!" I gasped. "Come on! Escape! Save us!"
"I can't!" she wailed. "I'm scared!"
"Hurry!" I urged her.
Featherpaw screamed as Tigerstar leaped over my head and pounced on her. Her eyes glazed over as he slit her throat.
"Featherpaw!"I yowled.
Then Tigerstar turned back to me and everything went black.
*
I searched the earthen wall of the den I was imprisoned in. I smiled as I found what I was looking for—a rabbit-sized hole.
I willed myself to be smaller and squeezed into it.
I kept wriggling through the small space until I felt air on my face. "Thank StarClan I made it out—" I stopped as I saw amber eyes glinting with menace.
"Good-bye, Sandstorm," Tigerstar snarled. His paw flew through the air and made contact with the side of my face, and darkness overcame me.
*
I chased the butterfly around Fourtrees, the moon bathing me with its light.
"Sandstorm!"
I heard a familiar voice and spun around. "Spottedleaf?"
The former ThunderClan medicine cat gazed at me with sad eyes. "All of StarClan is sorry for what is happening. We truly are."
"Why can't you save us? Or tell Firestar and get us some help? Do you not care about us?"
"We can't tell him." Spottedleaf looked frustrated. "We can't tell anyone. We keep trying, but every time we appear to Firestar, or Tallstar, or any cat, we get cut off from them and we're whisked away from the dream. Bluestar and I don't know what to do. I'm amazed I've been able to talk to you this long. I keep waiting for something to cut me off from you."
"So, what, then?" I asked disbelievingly. " StarClan is powerless?"
"I'm afraid so."
I couldn't believe it. "So, if Featherpaw fails to get help…we're never…going to get rescued?"
"Don't say that! There is still hope." Spottedleaf sighed. "We can see bits of what will happen, but only bits."
"Can you see if Firestar will come to his senses and realize Tigerstar is behind all this, since you seem to see everything about him?"
"Sandstorm, Firestar loves you now. Even if I had lived, we would have realized that I am a medicine cat, and he a warrior. It would not have worked out."
"If I know Firestar, he would have made it work," I meowed resentfully. "I'm always going to be second-best in his life."
"Oh, Sandstorm, you will never be second-best in Firestar's life. He loves you, and always will."
That was a small comfort. "Thanks, Spottedleaf."
She smiled. "Now, that escape plan of yours. I noticed one small catch in it—"
"Wait," I interrupted. "How did you know about the plan?"
"StarClan gazing powers, Sandstorm," she answered. "Anyway, the part about—"
"What? The part about what?"
Spottedleaf meowed something again, but I didn't hear it.
"Spottedleaf? Speak louder, I can't hear you. Spottedleaf? Spottedleaf!"
Spottedleaf was rapidly fading; her pelt growing transparent; a frightened look on her face.
She was gone.
"Oh, come on!" I yowled. "StarClan, help us! You have more power than this! Save us! Come on!"
*
I jerked awake, sunlight telling me it was a new day. "Oh StarClan," I whispered, remembering my dream in which Spottedleaf had disappeared so strangely.
"Hmm?" Sasha mumbled beside me.
"Sasha, wake up." I prodded her with my paw.
"Mmm? Sandstorm?" Sasha sleepily opened her eyes. "What'sa matter?"
"Sasha, wake up!"
"Eek!" Sasha jumped and glared at me. "Sandstorm, don't do that! You nearly scared me out of my fur!"
"Sorry," I apologized. "But, last night, I had a dream. And Spot—" I shut my mouth as Violet, and Scar prowled into the den.
"Now, if you pieces of fox-dung are smart," Scar drawled, "you'll let us take you two to your miserable friends."
"Without the side effects of struggling, hissing, or trying to escape," Violet added with a smirk.
I bit back a sharp retort. I wanted to check out the other den, after all, and causing trouble would get me nothing but torturing.
"Oh, don't worry, Violet," Sasha meowed sarcastically. "The last thing I want to do is any of those things."
That earned her a scratch on the nose.
Featherpaw's POV
A cold breeze blew in the den, making me shiver. I snuggled closer to Princess.
"Cold, little one?" she asked.
"Yes," I mewed.
Stormpaw looked at me. "If your fur wasn't so short, and it was long and thick like mine, then you wouldn't have that problem."
"And if my fur was long and thick like yours, then it'd take me a moon just to get dry after fishing," I retorted.
"Well," Stormpaw thought, "at least I know the difference between a mouse and a rabbit!"
"Why would you need to know the difference if you can't even catch one?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Graystripe and Ravenpaw exchange amused glances.
"I can too catch one!"
"You couldn't catch greencough!" I purred.
"Yes, I could!" Stormpaw had a triumphant grin on his face until he seemed to realize what he said. "Wait—no, no, I couldn't!"
"Yes, you could!" I rolled around on the ground laughing. "Fish-brain!"
"I'll show you a fish-brain!" Stormpaw leaped on me and pinned me down. "Now who's the fish-brain?"
Princess gave a soft mew of protest, but Stonefur flicked her with his tail. "Let them play. They hardly get to do that anymore."
"But what if one of them gets hurt?" Princess fretted.
"Come on, Princess." Longtail got up from his nap and stretched. "They won't—" he yawned "—get hurt."
"I said," Stormpaw repeated, "who's the fish-brain now?"
"Still you! Now let me go!" I mewed.
"Never!" Stormpaw purred with amusement. "Who's a fish-brain?"
"You! Wait—okay, okay!"
Stormpaw grinned, clearly thinking he had won.
"Okay!" I meowed again. "Uh…Cloudtail's a fish-brain!"
Cloudtail, who was dozing on his back, jumped up and looked around wildly. "Wha? Huh?"
"Nothing, Cloudtail," Mistyfoot meowed. "Go back to sleep."
Stormpaw was confused for a moment. I took advantage of that moment and darted out from under him, hiding behind Graystripe. ""Ha ha!" I taunted my brother. "Can't get me!"
"Yes I can!" Stormpaw lunged at me and batted my ear.
"Stop, you two!" Onewhisker hissed. "Guards coming!" He pushed me and Stormpaw behind Stonefur and Longtail.
"Why did you push my kits?" Graystripe hissed.
"If Destiny or one of those other crowfood eaters sees them, they'll torture them again. Do you really want that?" Onewhisker made sure Stormpaw and I were concealed behind the two warriors.
I bristled as I remembered what Destiny and those other mean cats always did. They would come in and torture me and Stormpaw and hold back Graystripe and the others. They would make me pass out, then I would wake up and Mudfur would be taking care of me. Except for when Mudfur healed me, it was scary.
I crouched down as I heard Violet (at least, I think that was her name) yowled from outside, "Stand back! We're coming in!"
She didn't need to tell me twice! I crouched down even lower and closed my eyes.
I heard a thump! and a cat yowl, "Watch where you're throwing me!"
That voice sounded like…
"Sandstorm!" I opened my eyes and saw Sandstorm and another cat—Sasha, I think her name was—lying on the ground with Violet and Scar standing guard at the entrance to the den.
Sandstorm looked at me with an almost apologetic look. "Hi, Featherpaw."
"Sandstorm!" Graystripe gave the light ginger she-cat a lick on the ear. "Are you okay? What's Tigerstar done?"
Cloudtail hissed. "I hate Tigerstar! I want to feel his blood on my claws!"
"Shut it, you!" Scar snarled from outside.
Cloudtail rolled his eyes.
Sandstorm glanced at the guards barely three fox-lengths away. "Fox dung!" she muttered. "They're too close."
Sasha whispered something in Sandstorm's ear. "Brilliant!" she meowed. "Thanks, Sasha." To me, she added, "Featherpaw, would you like to hear a story about the ancient Clans—TigerClan, LionClan, and LeopardClan?"
"Ooh! Yes!" I mewed excitedly.
"Okay." Sandstorm settled on the ground and tucked her paws beneath her. "Everyone else can listen to. In fact, you should listen."
"Once, a long time ago," she began, "there was a leader of TigerClan, um…Clawstar…He wanted to draw all three of the Clans together, and when some cats spoke against him, they were captured. One of them was named Featherpaw, of LeopardClan."
"Like me!" I mewed.
"Yes. Anyway, Clawstar imprisoned Featherpaw, her mentor, her brother, and some other cats in an abandoned fox den…and tortured them daily." Sandstorm gave me a meaningful look.
This story sure had a lot of similarities to what was going on now…wait! Maybe Sandstorm was trying to tell me something in code, so the guards wouldn't understand. Maybe TigerClan was like the TigerClan now, and Clawstar was for Tigerstar, who used to be Tigerclaw. I listened closer.
"Featherpaw soon grew weak, as she was the smallest of the prisoners. But, one day, um…Clawstar's…other prisoner came to her." While she was saying that, Sandstorm pointed at herself with her tail. "Clawstar's prisoner, who was named…Ginger—er—tail, told Featherpaw that all fox dens have an extra tunnel in case the foxes ever needed to escape. Featherpaw found the escape tunnel, which was partially caved in, and she made it bigger by digging. But she couldn't make it much bigger, and it was only big enough for Featherpaw to fit through. So, on the full moon, Featherpaw crawled through the tunnel and escaped to LionClan, where its leader, Flamestar—"
I wondered if that was code for Firestar.
"—came back and rescued all the other prisoners. So now, every full moon, uh, StarClan honors Featherpaw for her bravery and intelligence. The end." Sandstorm gave me a Look. "That story has good morals, you know. It teaches us courage, and that stuff. So, Featherpaw," she meowed. "Do you understand the story's morals?"
I though it over in my head and nodded. "Yes, Sandstorm. I understand all of it." I gave her one of those meaningful looks. "All of it."
"Good." Sandstorm sighed. "I feel sorry—so sorry—for Featherpaw in the story. I wish she hadn't had to go and get help all by herself, but she was the only one small enough to fit through the tunnel and not be seen."
"Yeah," I meowed, "but she had to do what she had to do, didn't she? I would do that for my friends in a heartbeat."
Sandstorm smiled at me. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Graystripe gaped at her. I winced as I wondered if my father had interpreted Sandstorm's plan.
"What?" he yowled. "Why her?"
Yeah, he understood it.
Ravenpaw shook his head. "Sandstorm, I don't…why her?"
Stormpaw leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. "What are they talking about? It was just a story."
Sometimes Stormpaw can be so dense! "Oh, never mind, Stormpaw." I rolled my eyes. "Just a story."
Sandstorm padded over to me. "You do understand what I'm asking you to do, don't you, Featherpaw?" she whispered.
I nodded. "Yes, Sandstorm."
"Now," Sandstorm continued, "Sasha found the tunnel, and it's partially caved in. It's over there." Sandstorm pointed with her tail to Sasha over by a small avalanche of dirt. I could see a jagged hole in the earthen wall. "So now you dig. Dig until it's big enough for you to—"
She broke off as Scar came in and scored his claws down her face. "Time to go, fox dung."
"'Bye, Sandstorm," I mewed quietly.
They were gone.
"You're not going," Graystripe meowed. "No, no, StarClan no!"
"He's right," Princess added. "You can't go! It's too dangerous."
"Absolutely not," Mistyfoot agreed.
"Can I?" Stormpaw asked. "I wanna go!"
"No!" Stonefur barged in. "I'm not letting my apprentice be entrusted with such a dangerous mission!"
"Why? Don't you trust me!" Stormpaw mewed indignantly.
"Quiet!" I threw myself in the middle of the squabbling cats. "The guards will hear you!" I hissed through clenched teeth.
They quieted.
"You're still not going," Graystripe put in. "And that's that."
*~!~*
So, should Graystripe let Featherpaw carry out the plan? (Even if he says no, Featherpaw still wants to go)
There's going to be another chapter up in two days, probably.
Please review! And tell me what you think of the "Tales of the Guard" mid story thing.
Hasta luego!
~LenzieKat~
