Warriors: The Cycle of the Night Flower
Book 1: Budding Moon
Chapter 9
Lilyshadow felt the sunlight glittering on the other side of her eyelids. Her muscles were coiled up tightly as she crouched down, the feel of wiry, dirty fur tickling her whiskers. Her breath moved in and out slowly, the movement almost invisible. Unfortunately, she wasn't asleep - but merely in a state of resting. A paw jousted her awake. She grunted, blinking her eyes open, and struggled to stand after crouching all night. The first streaks of sunlight were appearing over the gorge of the ThunderClan camp, turning the tops of the dens gold. She looked up and recognized Earthear as the cat to have awaken her. He was barely standing, his joints shaking. The other elders were crowding around as well, waking the other cats that had spent the entire night beside Lizardclaw's body. Patterenedflower, Spiritpetal, Snowpaw, and Hollowstar had left sometime during the night. A dead-with-lack-of-sleep Berrypelt rose beside her and his dull, blue eyes were the first things she zeroed in on after the elders had taken Lizardclaw's body away to be buried.
"Berrypelt..." she meowed softly, her voice hardly working.
"I'm sorry, Lilyshadow," he said gruffly, turning his small cream back towards her. "I can't right now..." With that he bounded in the direction of the fresh-kill pile. She watched him helplessly, not finding the energy to go after him. Instead, she hung her arrow-shaped head weakly. She turned, but before she had even taken a step she glanced up to see a fluff of black fur.
"Go get that ear looked at," muttered Stripedshadow softly, his eyes narrowed fiercely as he flicked his feather-tipped tail over her ear that Dirtface had nicked yesterday. She didn't have the energy to argue.
"In a minute," she whispered, from weakness rather than fear of someone overhearing, and glanced awkwardly at him.
"What do you want to do about the tunnels?" he asked her as if reading her mind. Her response was immediate, but her tone was less confident.
"We need to bring a large patrol down there to scout it out. Find some other entrances, to check and see if those crevices can be usable dens, see what kind of prey is down there, if there is any water, and to see how dangerous it is."
"You should get some rest. You haven't slept in days it seems," he growled. "Although you're right. I can lead a patrol down there for you." Lilyshadow shook her head.
"No, if I'm going to lead this Clan then I'm the one who needs to the work the hardest," she argued, lashing her tail back and forth. He gave her an incredulous look but said nothing. "But you can come with me. I'll..." She paused. "...I'll need you down there." He flicked his ear at her but otherwise his expression reflected nothing. "I want to take cats down there that I know are behind me... It seems not everyone believes in me to start this Clan. If we I can get some of our cats to be believers -"
"-then you think the others will follow?" he finished for her. She nodded briskly. "I'll collect a patrol while you visit Patterenedflower, then. Who do you want to bring?" She thought for a moment, the effort like bees in her brain.
"Just take cats who you know support us... You might know better than me" she replied, her voice on the borderline between sure and unsure. "And...steer clear of others," she added, thoughts of Dirtface and, regretfully, Berrypelt flooding her mind. "Tell Twistedtail. He'll be using some of our cats for ThunderClan patrols." With that, the two black cats nodded to each other and broke off in separate directions across camp.
Lilyshadow dragged her paws through the entrance to the medicine den, her eyes hardly open.
"Ah, Lilyshadow," Patterenedflower purred, making her way across to the black she-cat. "I was wondering when you'd come see me for that ear. Spiritpetal, can you help her with that?" The brown-and-white she-cat looked up from where she was sorting a few piles of herbs, nodding happily before coming over. Lilyshadow gazed at her, almost able to be happy for a moment, as she sat down in front of her. Spiritpetal rose a nose to Lilyshadow who tilted her head down for the medicine cat to sniff her ear.
"I'd say goldenrod for the scratch... Although dock could work... And some oak leaves to prevent infection - StarClan knows what Dirtface has had his claws into!" Lilyshadow's head had almost started spinning after the mention of the first herb, but she blinked approvingly at Spiritpetal. She sounded like a real medicine cat. Patterenedflower meanwhile was purring in amusement at the brown-and-white she-cat's comment.
"Very good," she meowed, turning her long, calico-spotted tail towards the back of the den. "Go ahead and use dock. It doesn't look deep enough to use goldenrod." Spiritpetal nodded and turned to the back to fetch the herbs. Lilyshadow's eyes followed her and she noticed Stoneflight and Snowpaw curled up into dips in the ground. The cream-colored apprentice was fast asleep, but the speckled tom cat seemed perfectly healthy as he rasped his tongue over his chest fur.
"Patterenedflower," Lilyshadow mewed. "Is Stoneflight okay to go on patrols again?" she asked. The ThunderClan medicine cat blinked up from her work.
"Oh yes," she replied. "He's fine. If you ask me, he's just been hanging around here to get out of working!" Lilyshadow let her ears droop with bitter amusement. Did all medicine cats share that dry sense of humor? With that, she gestured him into the front part of the den with her. He blinked up, following Spiritpetal back as she returned with large green leaves, and then another breed of a paler, mistier shade and outrageous shape. She dropped some and started chewing them up. Lilyshadow let her work, and instead turned to Stoneflight.
"I think I've found a place to work as a camp for the new Clan," she began.
"Okaaaaayyy..." he muttered, shifting awkwardly as if he was wondering what this had to do with him.
"It's in some underground tunnels around the other Clan territories," she went on. "I'm taking cats down there today to scout out the area. I'd like you to come if you can." The tom kneaded the ground nervously, glancing anxiously at Patterenedflower as if she would save him from duties. Lilyshadow could understand his weariness about being a warrior again. Before the fight with rogues a while back, he was a good warrior. Of course, he was no Lionfang, but still he worked. Now it was as if he was scared to step on a thorn if he left the medicine den.
"Okay," he said quietly.
"Good," Lilyshadow meowed dully but gratefully. "We can go after - Ooowwwww!" she yowled out as the sticky goop from Spiritpetal's paw came in contact with her ripped-open ear. It stung like ice, so cold it burned, and it made her want to claw at it mercilessly until she didn't have an ear left to burn anymore. "That stings!"
"I'm sorry, Lilyshadow," Spiritpetal purred, obviously trying to hold back chuckles. With a growl, the black she-cat sank her claws into the ground and let Spiritpetal finish her work.
"Actually, Spiritpetal, you should come with us too. You need to see if there are any herbs down there," the black she-cat mumbled through the stinging in her ear. The brown-and-white she-cat blinked then got to her paws when she was finished, licking the remaining gunk from her front paw.
"If I must, I must," she agreed, shaking her pelt.
"Don't worry," Patterenedflower purred good-naturedly. "Thornpaw should be back soon. I'll have plenty of help." The brown-and-white cat nodded and followed Lilyshadow and Stoneflight out of the medicine den. The three made their way to the front of camp where they met Stripedshadow with the rest of their patrol. Lilyshadow swept her eyes over Lionfang, Bearclaw, Stormpaw, Icestripe, Berrypelt, and Dirtface. Her ears dropped at the last two and she sighed, approaching the black tabby at the front of the group.
"What are Berrypelt and Dirtface doing here?" she hissed under her breath, almost glaring at her friend.
"I'm sorry," he growled in a relatively emotionless tone. "Twistedtail's got everyone else busy. Be grateful for what you've got..." She looked taken back for a moment, but then noticed that neither of the toms in the back were paying her much attention. She would just have to deal with it.
They were about to push their way through the bramble tunnel entrance when a regal meow rang out over the camp.
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather hear beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" It was Hollowstar. Lilyshadow almost rolled her eyes. Why now?
"We'll wait," she whispered to Stripedshadow and let her patrol sink back in to the throng of cats gathering around the center of camp as Hollowstar stood on the ledge over them, ready to speak.
"There are a few things that need to be done, and the night patrols are just returning so I think things should be said before the morning patrols leave," she meowed, taking her time. Lilyshadow would've admired her timing, had she not been anxious to get somewhere with less cats around her. For some reason the crowd was no longer welcoming.
"Last night we grieved the passing of Lizardclaw - may he find peace in StarClan - as I am sure that is where he is." There was a murmur of gentle agreement throughout the mess of cats, leaving Lilyshadow slightly surprised. The mention of the old, brown tom made her glance through the throng to see Berrypelt's face, but the cream-colored tom's face was unreadable, looking down and lifeless (much how Lilyshadow felt). Her whiskers furrowed sadly and she turned back to listen to Hollowstar.
"But with the passing of one life, another is just beginning. Today is a great occasion, because we all have the privilege of watching a cat becoming an apprentice!" At this, Lilyshadow couldn't help but to perk up.
"Hollykit," she told herself, looking across the camp to the nursery where she sat in front of Pearlnose. Her mother had obviously spent a great deal of time flattening her fur and making it flawless for the ceremony.
"Hollykit," Hollowstar meowed, flicking her tail as she leapt down from Highledge. "Step forward." The small white she-cat stepped forward, obviously holding back her excitement with every pawstep. Lilyshadow could practically feel the pride beaming from Pearlnose's and Foxface's muzzles. What would that be like...? To watch your kits grow up and become apprentices? Or even - warriors? She shook the thought free and watched the ceremony.
"Hollykit, you have reached your sixth moon and are now ready to take on the responsibilities of becoming an apprentice of ThunderClan!" Hollowstar rang out, and Hollykit looked like she was ready to explode. "From this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Hollypaw." The ThunderClan leader paused to let the Clan call out the white cat's new name - to which Lilyshadow joined in. Hollowstar's gaze swept the clearing, until falling on the handsome, silver tom cat that used to be her apprentice. "Silverstorm, you are young, but you display loyalty, courage, and wisdom beyond your years and I believe you are ready to take on an apprentice. I know you will pass on all the knowledge to Hollykit that I passed on to you." Lilyshadow, along with a few other cats, looked on in surprise as Silverstorm stepped forward and touched noses ceremoniously with his new apprentice, and the Clan continued to call out Hollypaw's new name in tradition. Silverstorm? But he had just been made a warrior! Surely Hollowstar should've picked Ghosttail or Mouseear instead...? Lilyshadow wasn't given time to contemplate this, however, because Hollowstar began speaking again.
"Now, there is one more bit of business that needs attending to," the leader went on. At first Lilyshadow blinked with curiosity, then shook nervously as she felt the ThunderClan leader's amber gaze zero in on her among the crowd of cats. Hollowstar flicked her tail tip, summoning the black she-cat forward. "Lilyshadow has an announcement for her Clan." Lilyshadow felt like her paws had sunk into the ground, or were made of the heaviest of stone. She gulped, her throat dry, finding that she couldn't move. She looked up, her icy gaze meeting Hollowstar's, and the white-and-bark-colored she-cat flashed her a gentle "come hither" look as her ears swiveled down towards her. With shaky pawsteps, she weaved forward through the mass of cats and leapt up onto Highledge beside the leader, her legs almost buckling under her as she landed from the pounce.
"You need to tell your Clan your plans for the tunnels," Hollowstar whispered under her breath as she stepped past her.
"Right..." she told herself. "...What are my plans for the tunnels again...?"
"Cats of the new Clan," she began slowly. The words sounded weird coming out of her muzzle, and for the first time she was annoyed at the word choice that came with not having a name for her Clan. "I think I've found a place for us to live..."
"Great start, Lilyshadow..." she growled to herself at how unprofessional she sounded.
"There are underground tunnels that span beneath the other territories, and I think they'll make a good home for us..."
"Underground...?" Moontalon exclaimed, and Lilyshadow peered towards the nursery to see her poking her dark-silver head out of the den, the long hair on her ears bristling.
"What do we look like? Rats? Underground is no place for a cat!" shouted Blazetail from the center of camp, his tail wrapped around an intrigued-looking Ashpaw. Calm murmurs of agreement rose up throughout the crowd. At least they weren't hostile.
"I've been in them," Lilyshadow went on, forcing herself to keep calm and subduing the fur that wanted to rise up along her spine. She took a shallow breath, steadying her voice. "The tunnels are well-carved and sturdy for the most part. They're even kind of clean." The mutters winded down to whispers, and all eyes flickered back and forth between Lilyshadow and the cats around them, as if questioning. It was looking a little more promising.
"But aren't they dangerous?" spoke up a voice in the back. Lilyshadow looked. It was Stoneflight, looking skittish at the idea of the staying beneath ground. "I saw Snowpaw fall into them!" This stirred up more meows, and Lilyshadow had to hold back a grunt of annoyance from the wishy-washiness of the crowd of cats. This was quickly replaced by a scratchy feeling in her stomach and throat from her not knowing what to say next, not that she would be heard as she did. It appeared she didn't demand the sort of silence Hollowstar demanded when she stood on Highledge.
"Please, quiet," the ThunderClan leader said calmly, stepping forward to stand beside Lilyshadow on the overhang. The black she-cat felt a sudden surge of heat in her ears at standing above the other Clan cats with an actual leader next to her. "Snowpaw fell into the tunnels through the top layer of earth, with nothing beneath it to keep it stable. It is safer beneath the ground there then it is on top of it. I'm surprised one of ThunderClan's cats hasn't fallen in yet." She made a very good point.
"They can't fall if they're already underground..." Lilyshadow thought, perking her ears up. It seems the debate was turning in her favor again.
"Well what about cave-ins?" Lionfang spoke up from the back of the crowd where the other patrol cats were waiting. His voice was more inquisitive than challenging, despite his always-gruff tone. For a moment, Lilyshadow was almost nervous about having a cat who was coming on patrol with her be nervous about its goal. She gulped again, but the words came to her tongue quicker and she stood tall next to Hollowstar as she spoke.
"Yes, those would be a concern," she started. "But that would be what border patrols are for. We'd have to patrol the tunnels frequently to see if we can find any weak points. Once found we can reinforce them. We just patrol our territory like any other Clan." This time she received nods and muffled agreements from both her cats and ThunderClan cats.
"Won't it be dark?" started Cloverfur in a rather worried voice.
"What about prey?" added Adderstorm. Lilyshadow was ready for both questions this time.
"It isn't as dark as you think," she told the orange-and-white she-cat in a matter-of-fact tone. "When Snowpaw fell in, it created a hole in the ceiling of the underground clearing which now lets in light. As for prey... Most prey makes its home in burrows underground anyway. We should be able to hunt plenty." She was almost surprised at how easily the words came to her, and when she had finished talking she turned to look at Hollowstar - as if for approval. The leader gave her an small, almost unnoticeable, nod.
More grumbling spread through the camp, but no one else spoke up with a question, so Lilyshadow went on.
"We'll be taking patrols down there frequently to learn the area and see what is there for us to work with, and get as much ready for us as possible before we decide to move in." She waited, expecting someone to speak up again, but when no one did she softened her stance. "The first patrol for the tunnels leaves now." She turned, exchanging another look with Hollowstar before giving the ThunderClan leader a respectful nod and leaping down from Highledge, making her way through the cats back to the head of her patrol, passing Dirtface and Berrypelt on the way. Looking at the red-and-brown tom, she wondered why he hadn't spoke up to argue against the tunnels. Surely of all cats, he would've hated the idea. Then her gaze fell on Berrypelt, catching the glint of his dark, almost black, blue eyes.
"Berrypelt..." Her ears and whiskers drooped, wondering how so much space could be between her and her friend. She squeezed her eyes shut and padded ahead, reaching Stripedshadow and Spiritpetal at the head of the group of cats.
"How did I do?" she breathed in barely above a whisper.
"I thought you did fine," the brown-and-white she-cat cooed, touching Lilyshadow's shoulder with her tail in a friendly fashion. Stripedshadow's emerald stare slicked over her, his whiskers twitching slightly but otherwise with complete lack of emotion. She figured that was Stripedshadow-speak for 'fine' - at least, she hoped.
"Let's go then," she meowed, beckoning her patrol with her tail as she led the way through the bramble tunnel and into the forest.
Lilyshadow led them through ThunderClan territory quickly, but then trekked back and forth along the border for some time. The only entrance into the tunnels they knew of was in WindClan territory. Could they cross over if they were trying to scout out where the new Clan should stay?
"We are sort of a special case..." she attempted to persuade herself.
"What do you want to do?" Stripedshadow asked her in his nonchalant voice, coming up to stand beside her against the border. She just now realized the anxious rustling behind her, turning to watch her patrol. Bearclaw was having an apparently amusing conversation with Stormpaw that Lilyshadow was sure didn't even pertain to their patrol. Lionfang and Dirtface sat quietly, salute and calm but obviously outlined with a touch of exasperation, while Stoneflight sat extra still, his eyes peeled as he looked around. Meanwhile Spiritpetal and Icestripe were on either side of a down-turned-faced Berrypelt in an attempt to get at least a sign of life out of him. The cream-colored tom ignored the words, and Lilyshadow felt her heart yank itself into a knot in her chest. The pang made her force her eyes away, back to the WindClan border.
Stripedshadow was still waiting patiently for a response, but seemed more interested in where her mind was at the time.
"We find a WindClan patrol and ask them to escort us," she replied finally, ignoring his inquisitive look. He shrugged with his feathery tail and began walking down the borderline between the two territories.
They waited for a while, pacing up and down the border. The musty smell of the open moor was beginning to leave a bad taste in Lilyshadow's mouth, like recently bad crowfood. Just when she was about to cross into the territory herself, she caught the familiar scents of WindClan cats, turning and gazing over the moor. The rest of her patrol seemed to spot them immediately after her, and they flagged the WindClan cats down with their tails, not bothering to hide themselves. Technically, they hadn't crossed the border yet. The approaching patrol was comprised of four cats: a slightly-more bulky black-and-white tom, a small brown tom by his side with a white face, a tall, skinny white she-cat, and a familiar hare-brown she-cat. Lilyshadow immediately recognized the black-and-white tom cat as Coppereye, the WindClan deputy, and the brown she-cat as Rabbittail, but the other two were strangers to her, although they seemed to share their Clanmate's cheery disposition.
"Ah, Lilyshadow," Coppereye hummed in his deep, old voice as he led his group of cats up to the border. "What can I do for you?" he asked, letting his eyes scan the group of cats. His whiskers furrowed, and for a moment the black she-cat was a little nervous at the look in his eyes.
"I guess this is a rather large patrol..." she thought. "We almost look like a raiding party."
"Good morning, Coppereye," she meowed, bowing her head to the deputy. "We think we've found a place to make camp for the new Clan." Her blue eyes sparked to Rabbittail's and the two she-cats shared a brief glance. Had Rabbittail asked for her yet?
"That is good news..." Coppereye said slowly, as if he wasn't following where this was going.
"But we need to go into WindClan territory to get there," she explained quickly, having to hold back the nervous twitching in her tail. The old black-and-white tom tilted his head slightly to the side.
"Just what territory do you have in mind?" he pressed. Lilyshadow swallowed. She was about to lose his cooperation, for sure.
"The underground tunnels..." she muttered out, her ears lowering slightly. She watched as the WindClan deputy's whiskers drooped sadly, his old face looking rather dry and sad.
"You want to make the underground tunnels your territory...?" he asked again, his voice still slow. Lilyshadow couldn't tell if it was from age or concern. She nodded politely and the old tom just seemed to lose more life to his features. "Lilyshadow, I don't know if that's going to happen..." he said in the same tone that a father tom-cat speaks to his kits when something hasn't gone the way they planned. Her eyes washed over his face: the droops to his ears, the splinting of his whiskers, the dull depression in his eyes. She looked over to Rabbittail, who didn't look much different. The WindClan warrior's words echoed in Lilyshadow's mind.
"Some cats agree with the creation of the new Clan... Things have been changing around the Lake lately..."
She immediately wondered if Coppereye was also one of those cats who didn't want to fight tooth and claw over the creation of more Clans. If so, he'd work with them right...? She opened her muzzle to speak, but was cut off by the soft mew of Spiritpetal as she padded up beside her.
"This is where this Clan belongs!" she insisted, although her tone was more pleading.
"And just who are you?" the young, white-faced, brown tom snapped.
"Eaglepaw..!" Coppereye hissed to the apprentice in a scolding tone before looking back up at them.
"I'm the cat chosen to be the new Clan's medicine cat!" Spiritpetal said rather indignantly. Lilyshadow blinked. It wasn't like Spiritpetal to be anything but modest... Was she playing this up?
"Of course!" she thought. "Almost any cat will listen to a medicine cat."
"You're really the newest medicine cat?" the white WindClan she-cat asked. Her voice was smooth and curious, not hostile. Lilyshadow could tell by her eager voice that she had been made a warrior only recently. Spiritpetal nodded confidently to her.
"I'm Spiritpetal," she introduced.
"Nice to meet you, Spiritpetal," the WindClan deputy meowed with a respectful nod. "I am Coppereye, and this is my apprentice Eaglepaw. And these are two young WindClan warriors: Rabbittail and Tallfoot," he said, pointing to each cat in turn with his tail. The black she-cat blinked a few times in surprise. Spiritpetal got that polite introduction from Coppereye, a deputy?
"It's because she's a medicine cat..." she told herself. "I'll get that respect when I have my nine lives..." Somehow, she felt like she was trying to convince herself of that.
"I am confident that the underground tunnels is where this Clan belongs!" the brown-and-white she-cat went on. "StarClan has showed me!" Lilyshadow watched the WindClan cats exchange curious glances.
"At the last Gathering I was told that we had until the next one to decide on a territory and then present it at the Gathering," the black she-cat meowed. "Can't we all decide then?" She looked at the WindClan deputy for a while before he huffed, making his whiskers quiver.
"Very well," he mewed. "Rabbittail, lead Tallfoot and Eaglepaw for the rest of the patrol. I'll be escorting Lilyshadow and her friends."
"Yes, Coppereye," the hare-colored warrior said respectfully, giving a nod before turning with the other warriors. The WindClan deputy began walking forward and Lilyshadow let her patrol fall into step behind him with Stripedshadow in the lead. Her eyes watched the departing WindClan cats and she couldn't stop herself from calling out for Rabbittail before they were out of earshot. The brown she-cat turned on her paws, ears lurched forward towards the black cat.
"I thought you said you were going to ask for me...!" Lilyshadow almost hissed to her, quietly so the other cats couldn't hear.
"I'm sorry!" the WindClan warrior retorted. "It's hard to get Briarstar alone, okay? And he's in a bad mood at the best of times." They stood in frustrated silence for a moment. "I'll keep talking with Coppereye about it, alright? With his deputy up for the idea, I'm sure Briarstar will allow it. Then you'll just have to convince ShadowClan." She guessed RiverClan wouldn't care if they used the tunnels; it would make sense that the underground pathways didn't reach that marshy area of the Clan territories.
"Thanks, Rabbittail," Lilyshadow purred and nodded gratefully to the brown warrior before hurrying off after the rest of her patrol.
Coppereye led them (although Lilyshadow knew the way) to the tunnel entrance that they used last time to retrieve Snowpaw.
"This is the only entrance that WindClan knows of," he meowed. "But there are many others. You'll have to find those for yourself."
"Thank you, Coppereye," Lilyshadow said with a half-bow. He nodded good-naturedly.
"Good luck," he meowed and disappeared off across the moor. Turning to the open earth, she nosed it with her whiskers.
"Let's go," she sighed and pushed herself into the dark tunnel.
It wasn't particularly cramped (she had plenty of room on either side of her flanks) but she did have to crouch slightly to make her way through the darkness in something similar to a stalking position. Luckily it fanned out as they went deeper into the tunnel and she could stand to her full height, still having enough room over her head for a rabbit to stand upright between her ears.
"We'll have to expand the first part of that tunnel," she thought outloud.
"How?" Icestripe squeaked somewhere in the line of cats behind her.
"We dig, duh!" she heard Bearclaw scoff. Her ears folded back nervously in the darkness, unappreciative of the tabby tom's crude, albeit accurate response.
"I guess Lilyshadow thinks we're badgers now!" she heard from somewhere behind her as one of the cats hissed. Her ears darted towards Lionfang's green eyes in the line of cats behind her, then heard the unmistakable snicker of Dirtface. She felt her whiskers furrow and her jaws lock tight with heat, claws scrapping the soft, sandy ground beneath her.
"Ignore them..." she told herself, forcing her fur to lay flat before continuing to pad forward blindly. As ridiculous and unlikely as it seemed, this was where they were meant to be. She knew it! "Ivystrike told me so."
The patrol marched on in silence. This particular tunnel, as Lilyshadow knew from her run down here to fetch Snowpaw, had only one other path branching off from it. It was Stripedshadow who squeezed himself next to her flank in the shadows to stop her walking as they approached it. This broke her dull gaze which had been starring at her rhythmically walking pawsteps. She stopped, flicking her ears questioningly at him. The black tabby gave her a hopeless glance before pointing to the branching tunnel with his nose, barely a whisker-length from Lilyshadow's own muzzle so she could feel him in the tunnel. She sniffed the refreshing, earthy air that wafted through the stone-dirt pathways then beckoned to her patrol with her tail which was surprisingly waiting patiently behind her.
"A couple of you should go down there and scout out that area," she mewed over her shoulder. She thought for a moment, remembering her pawsteps through this ground before, and realized that this was barely half-way to the underground clearing. "There shouldn't be much danger down this way... right?" she thought in her head. "Stoneflight, you and Icestripe go check it out, okay?" She forced herself to put on a polite and request-oriented tone to seem as "likable" as possible. These cats were supposed to be her best supporters right?
The speckled tom curiously brushed the opening of the tunnel with his nose, ears flattened nervously. For a moment, Lilyshadow almost felt a pang of sympathy for his fear of the world now, but she didn't get the time to say anything because an eager Icestripe was forcing the other tom down the tunnel like it was the best opportunity he had ever been given. She found herself rolling her eyes. "We all meet back at ThunderClan camp at sunset!" she called after them as they disappeared past the rest of the patrol. Thinking about her words, she picked up the pace as they made their way through the underground territory.
When she pushed herself out of the tunnel into the gently lit underground clearing, the scent of smooth, cool stone and warm earth hit her, the slightest hint of warmth from the outside sun making her ebony pelt tingle. Her paw landed down into the sand that was the floor of the cave and sunk in like a kit nestled up to a queen, comforting between her toes.
"Does this feel right?" The words shot through her ears like a bolt of lightening cuts through the sky. Her eyes widened as she whipped around, looking quickly around the clearing.
"Ivystrike?" she called out with her mind, sure that it was the starry warrior's voice she had heard. She pivoted again, almost positive she had felt a whisk of smooth dark fur dash past her.
"Does this feel right?" came the words again. She blinked, turning to come muzzle-to-muzzle with Stripedshadow. The black she-cat starred at him for a moment, a dumb expression on her face, before shaking her head as he wrinkled his whiskers questioningly at her.
"Uh..." she muttered off guard despite the confidence she had in the tunnels. "Yes, it does actually." Was she hearing things now? She felt the green gaze of her friend on her pelt as she turned to the rest of the patrol, wondering if he knew she had heard the StarClan cat who haunted her dreams.
"Okay, where do we start?" Bearclaw spoke up first, his goofy grin on his muzzle as usual. Lilyshadow found herself prickly at the fluffy tabby but pushed it, and her thoughts about Ivystrike, down her throat.
"Here," she replied, addressing the whole patrol. "This will be the camp. We need to make sure everything is here." She flicked her tail to the ledges that scaled the farthest side of the cave and the indentions within each of them. "Those will probably make good dens. If they can, they need to be cleared out. Bearclaw, you and Stormpaw can stay behind and check out camp."
"Also check the tunnels around it that don't go too far from the clearing," added Stripedshadow as he stepped up beside her from where he had been roaming on the far side of the cave. "There's a tunnel back there that is smaller and doesn't seem to go too far. We need to find a place for training." Lilyshadow blinked, grateful for his addition, but slightly ruffled that she hadn't thought about the fact that they would need a training hollow.
"The whole ground is sandy!" Stormpaw chortled.
"Yeah," Bearclaw agreed. "It's not like training anywhere is going to hurt us down here!" Lilyshadow opened her muzzle to respond but was cut off by Lionfang who pushed past the fluffy tabby.
"We need an open space without any other rocks or ledges. You don't want apprentices and their mentors slamming into them!"
"Right," she nodded to the dark ginger tom quickly. "Bearclaw, keep an eye out for that. Lionfang, you can take that tunnel over there and see where it leads," she said, pointing to a dark pathway past the would-be dens with her tail. "And..." she paused, looking around. Spiritpetal was already working her way around the clearing, sniffing feverishly. She flicked an ear curiously at the brown-and-white she-cat. The others followed her gaze, finally making the to-be medicine cat look their way.
"I believe I can smell water this way," she cooed. "And where there's water, there's herbs!" This prospect lifted Lilyshadow's spirits slightly, and she was about to send someone to go with her when the other she-cat cut her off. "I can take care of myself, okay?" Spiritpetal scoffed, her eyes blatant as she looked at the black she-cat for a moment. The two shared a glance before she disappeared into the tunnel. Lilyshadow sighed, shaking her head. "Fine..." she muttered under her breath and glanced over the other cats quickly, then at the few tunnels left. There were four, including herself, Stripedshadow, Berrypelt, and Dirtface. She felt her shadowy friend press against her for a moment, looking ahead apathetically. "Go down that tunnel over there," she said, ushering to one in the far corner of the cave. "And take Dirtface with you." She pushed herself to her paws slowly, brushing her muzzle near Stripedshadow's ear to whisper quietly, "And see if you can talk some sense into him." With that she walked past him and came to stand in front of Berrypelt who hadn't spoken or moved from the front of the tunnel they had entered the clearing from. With the only source of light being the sun beam filtering in over ahead and the slight glow to the stone it struck, his blue eyes were a dark navy, barely tinted in the darkness. "You and I can take the other one," she meowed softly, nodding almost sheepishly to the tunnel not far from the one she had directed Stripedshadow and Dirtface to take. "And maybe I'll finally get the chance to speak to you..." she thought bitterly.The cream-colored tom blinked once, not meeting her gaze, and stood up silently. Jaw taunt with frustration and sadness, she turned over her shoulder.
"Remember, be back in ThunderClan camp by sunset," she told them all as the cats parted and began working their way through the tunnels. She entered theirs first, then felt Berrypelt weasel in behind her. The tunnel was large as it was, not difficult to maneuver through, but their lean forms (especially Berrypelt's) made it all that much easier.
They walked in silence for some time. Luckily, the tunnel didn't fork. "Please, StarClan, don't let it branch off... Keep us together," she found herself praying in her head. She had kept her voice quiet so far, but her mouth open as she paid attention to the smells of the tunnel, paying even closer attention to Berrypelt's more-than-noticeable sniffing behind her. Was he purposefully exaggerating that sound...? "He doesn't want to start a conversation," she realized sadly, feeling her ears start to wilt.
Multiple times Lilyshadow parted her jaws to say something, but words never would come out. Should she ask him to forgive her for something she couldn't control? Or should she just tell him how dead she felt without him?
In the midst of her thoughts, her paws had brought her to a stop and now Berrypelt had pressed on ahead of her, but finally stopped to look back and wait.
"Are you coming?" he asked dully. She blinked and almost felt her paws jump out from under her at the sound of his voice. It was quiet and weak, but it was still his voice.
"Y-yes..." she stuttered, looking towards him in the dark, surprisingly able to see him slightly in the absent of light, and hurried after him.
They pressed onward, and so far Lilyshadow didn't notice anything ultimately dangerous in the tunnel. There were no cracks in the stoned-dirt walls and she hadn't scented any dangerous animals yet, nor had the pathway forked yet. Unfortunately, Berrypelt had neglected to speak again.
Up ahead, the pathway turned slowly. Following it, Lilyshadow surprisingly found herself confronting a branching pathway. Ahead of her were two different paths that diverged off of the one they had been taking, although the one to her right seemed to veer off in a turn quickly like theirs. Just when the depressing possibility of splitting up dampened her already broken spirit, a pitter-pattering made her ears perk up and she instinctively dropped down into a crouch without taking the time to inhale a scent. Berrypelt's ears seemed to match her own and his stance steadied somewhat, but at the same time he hardly seemed to move.
"Who goes there?" she called, voice just a bit edgier than she probably should've meant. Just as she was about to have the common sense to smell, Dirtface's rusty head poked out of the right-side tunnel, followed quickly by Stripedshadow. At once, her muscles uncoiled but Lilyshadow found herself keeping her snarl. "Why do you have to go around scaring me like that?" she hissed at both toms. Neither seemed truly taken back, although Dirtface didn't seem pleased.
"Don't be so easily scared!" he huffed back, lashing his red tail. Had Stripedshadow said this, she almost would've had her mood lifted, but rather she sharpened her already narrowed eyes on the splotched red-and-brown tom.
"The tunnel we took forked one way, but by the scent of it, it led straight into the heart of ThunderClan territory so I thought we could look at that later," the black tabby reported, disregarding Lilyshadow's and Dirtface's previous conversation. She sighed, almost growled, and straightened slightly.
"Fine..." she uttered, not looking at him. "So you kept following the tunnel the other way and it led you here?"
"Obviously," Dirtface retorted, sliding forward past her so his tail could've easily thumped her silver muzzle. Grateful that he didn't, she glared beelines at his back.
"So where does this go?" she thought outloud, following Dirtface's pawsteps in the direction of the left forking tunnel. She felt Berrypelt sulking past her, following her blindly like a kit as he said nothing and merely went through the motions of the patrol. She didn't stop her ears from drooping this time, swallowing a knot in her throat as the cream-colored tom padded just farther ahead as if to avoid the conversation.
"We'll just have to go and se-" Dirtface had his voice cut short in his throat by a sudden rumbling sound that rolled by like thunder if it could happen inside their ears. She let out a screech of surprise, claws uselessly gripping the sand beneath her paws as it fell out from under her. Yowls of ferocity around her rang in her ears from the toms who flailed wildly, blurry to her vision. Her line of sight was so dusty and the pressure around her wanted to just make her collapse right there. Wait... The ground wasn't collapsing under her... She forced her eyes wide and thrashed about, fumbling as clumps of hardened dirt and stone pelted down around her.
"The tunnels collapsing!" she shouted. "Foxdung! How will I ever get them to believe this place is safe now?" She barely had time to contemplate that statement before the meows of anguish sliced through the dirty air. The first bit of color her eyes could see in the musty dark was a patch of whirling red. Without thinking, she lurched forward through the falling debris and latched her teeth onto the scruff of Dirtface. With a huge heave she tossed the surprised tom cat aside, flinging him back towards the tunnels they had came from and she was sure she heard him as he was knocked into an already-safe Stripedshadow. Then, her heart dropped into her paws. Berrypelt! She spun around to look for him, darting around tumbling rocks as they fell.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this!" she hissed to herself in her head. "Ivystrike, you liar!" Lilyshadow cursed as she thrust herself through a pile of fallen dirt just in time to get out the way of a rolling stone that was more than heavy enough to crush her paw. Still shaking her arrow-like head wildly, her eyes finally made out the floundering, cream pelt of Berrypelt as he skittishly dodged rocks.
"Berrypelt!" she gasped, the sight of him strangely brought her to a sudden halt. Among the falling dust and dirt, both cats stopped and looked at each other, blinking for a moment before their glances darted around them. Lilyshadow's eyes widened in fear as the earth-stone ceiling of the tunnel began rippling more. Locking her muscles uptight, she sprang forward and barreled into her friend, sending them both tumbling forward as she felt the wreckage rain down around them.