Chapter 13: Spotted Owl
"This is not good." Owl Eye shook his head as he paced back and forth in the center of the camp.
"I agree," Yellow Sky said from where she sat near Melting River and Sun Splash. The rest of the Clan cats were gathered around them, having stopped their work to upon hearing Creek's urgent report. Yellow Sky looked at Creek who sat across from her on the other side of the circle. "Are you sure you saw the patrol outside of the borders?"
"Yes," Creek insisted, nodding vigorously.
"My patrol was careful not to go anywhere near the scent markers," Quick Clouds added.
Melting River frowned. His eyes were thoughtful but serious. "So this means that for some reason, the Bands are not only patrolling their own borders but sending patrols into outside territory as well. Why would they do this?"
All of the Clan cats turned expectantly to Creek, but he shrugged. "I don't know. They could be looking for potential intruders, or maybe for extra prey."
"Then why not expand their borders?" Owl Eye asked.
"I don't know why," Yellow Sky said, "but this means we have to be extra vigilant. A Band patrol could find us anytime."
"But what should we do?" Sun Splash flicked her white-tipped tail back and forth. "We are in constant danger of being discovered."
"We all agreed to this mission, despite the dangers," Melting River reminded her. "But the survival of our Clans depends on our success, and our mission relies on our presence being a secret. We should move our camp to a location farther away."
Owl Eye turned to face Melting River. His eyes narrowed. "If we do that, we would make our job more difficult, because we would have to travel farther to reach the Bands. Besides, we just spent an entire day trying to find a suitable camp. We should stay here."
"But isn't it worth it to protect ourselves?" Melting River returned.
"We don't even know if they will find us!" Owl Eye said.
"But they could!"
More arguments broke out among the patrol as every cat seemed to have a different idea about what they should do. The discussion descended into chaos.
Spotted Owl turned to Blossom Dust and Tall Pine, who sat beside her. Their instructors had all gotten up and were somewhere in the argument. "I wish we could come to a consensus," she muttered. "The Bands are dangerous, but we don't know much about them. That's why we need start gathering information instead of fighting amongst ourselves."
"But as you said, we don't know a lot about the Bands," Tall Pine countered. "Isn't it better to be safe than sorry?"
"Enough!" Yellow Sky stood tall in the center of the squabbling cats. The others quieted and turned their attention on her. She turned her head, looking at everyone in turn as she began to speak. "Quarreling will not solve anything. We have a mission, and there are dangers, but we cannot do anything if we do not know anything. I will take a small patrol right now to begin our mission. We will find exactly where their border is, and we will begin to survey their territory and locate their closest camp. Only then we can make the right decision. Is that agreeable?"
Murmurs came from amongst the crowd, but one by one, the Clan cats nodded their assent.
Yellow Sky nodded curtly, pleased. "I will take two other fighters with me, along with my trainee, Spotted Owl."
Yellow Sky wants me to go? Spotted Owl looked up in surprise, but rose to her paws as Yellow Sky beckoned to her.
"Yellow Sky, are you sure that's wise?" Melting River asked. "She's a trainee."
Yellow Sky turned to him. "Are you questioning my judgment? I thought Spotted Owl was ready to come on this mission, so she can come on this patrol. Now, we must go!"
. . .
"This is disgusting! I'm never going to get this smell out of my fur!" Spotted Owl scrunched up her face, trying very hard to stop breathing in the overpowering scents of the plants they had rolled in to disguise their scent.
"Hush," Yellow Sky commanded. She glanced over her shoulder at Spotted Owl, her luminous yellow eyes stern. "We are about to enter enemy territory. Do not talk unless you want us to be found."
Oops! Spotted Owl clamped her jaws shut. Her ear tips burned like little flames with embarrassment. Yellow Sky trusts me enough to let me come on this important mission. I can't let her down!
"Come on." Yellow Sky hooked her tail over her back. She took a cautious step forward, over the scent line and into the Bands' territory, from safety to unknown danger. They had traced the path of the border for a long distance, and now they were ready to enter the Bands' territory. Vole Leap, one of the other cats selected for the mission, followed her, and Spotted Owl hurried after them. Shadow Step, who was a hunter, but had excellent tracking and stealth skills, brought up the rear.
"I think we smell pretty gross too," Shadow Step whispered as he fell into step with the black and white dappled she-cat.
Spotted Owl shot him an appreciative smile, but she turned her attention on the task at hand. The forest around her was dark under the blanket of night, with an overcast sky blocking any welcome light from the moon or stars. Spotted Owl know that the forest hadn't changed when they crossed the border, but she felt an increasing sense of foreboding like an approaching storm. Every creak of a branch, echoing owl call, or eerie sound in the night made her tense up, icy claws of fear gripping her spine. Every shadow seemed to hide an enemy warrior.
Yellow Sky halted and stuck her tail straight up into the air. The other cats stopped behind her and peered at her curiously. The senior fighter took a step forward, her whiskers twitching as she tasted the air.
What does she think is out there? Spotted Owl straightened her senses, trying to detect anything that could have made them stop. She didn't notice anything, but Yellow Sky apparently did. The senior fighter beckoned for her patrol to follow her into the shelter of a bramble thicket. Once they were huddling underneath the spiky bows, Spotted Owl followed her instructor's intent gaze, hoping to see whatever they were hiding from. Though she was afraid to admit it, she was almost sure of what, or rather who, it was.
Spotted Owl saw at first what she thought to be a shadow or a couple of shadows. Then an all-too-familiar stench hit her nose like an avalanche, and three cat shapes materialized from the shadows of the trees. A coldness swept through her body. She stiffened her legs to hide the tremors in her paws. It was as she had feared. They were hiding from Band cats.
"It's all right." Yellow Sky's breath warmed her ear. The large she-cat laid her tail on her trainee's shoulder. "Easy there. We have to remain hidden."
As the Band cats trotted closer, Spotted Owl could see that a gray and white she-cat led the patrol. The she-cat moved her head, and Spotted Owl was horrified to see that the top half of her right ear was gone, and it was crusted over with fresh blood. Two other cats followed the she-cat, a lanky solid gray tom, and a pretty brown tabby she-cat, neither of whom bore any wounds.
"Come on, you two, we haven't got all night." The gray and white she-cat halted and turned to glare crossly at the two cats who lagged behind her. The tom had stopped to whisper something into the she-cat's ear, making her giggle.
"Aww, be patient Icicle, we're just having fun," the gray tom complained.
"Well, unlike you, I have better things to do than traipse around our territory," Icicle retorted, "and I would like to get this stupid night patrol over with."
"Careful there, you wouldn't want Thunderclap to hear you talking like that," the gray tom warned.
Icicle glared at him, her gaze as cold as her namesake. "May I remind you that I hold a higher rank than you, so despite my disfavor with the Supreme Commander at the moment, he would listen to me rather than you when I tell him how careless you've been about the security of our borders. Now Cliff, Honey, let's go." She turned, swishing her tail at them to follow.
The two other cats exchanged glances, but they hurried after her. Spotted Owl released a tense breath as she saw them leave, but just when she thought they were gone, the grumpy she-cat called Icicle turned back toward them, sniffing the night air.
"Do either of you smelling anything odd?"
Beside her, Yellow Sky tensed, and Vole Leap and Shadow Step slid out their claws. Ancestors, please don't let them find us! Spotted Owl thought.
"No, I don't." Cliff shook his head dismissively. "Icicle, you're the one in a hurry, so let's go."
As the Band cats' pawsteps faded, Yellow Sky stepped out into the open. Turning to her patrol she mouthed, "let's follow them." Vole Leap and Shadow Step rose to their paws and headed after her. Spotted Owl couldn't shake off her cold fear, and apprehension, but she didn't want to be left behind.
The Clan cats darted from shadow to shadow as they followed the Band patrol. They vigilantly watched the other cats at all times, to make sure they didn't get anywhere near them to risk discovery. Yellow Sky led the way with Vole Leap and Shadow Step close behind her, while Spotted Owl brought up the rear. The young she-cat forced herself to move quickly, pawing extra attention to her pawsteps. She envied Yellow Sky and Shadow Step's dark gray pelts that made them look as if they were a part of the night itself, and the Clan of the Dark Caves cats seemingly natural ability to melt in the shadows.
Well, their Clan does live in caverns underground, Spotted Owl thought, of course they are proficient in the dark.
Yellow Sky signaled for them to halt as the Band patrol stopped beside a dense barrier of tangled brambles, and she directed them to hide behind a shrub. The Band cats talked in low voices for a moment, before Cliff and Honey vanished into a dark hole that Spotted Owl hadn't realized was there. Icicle lingered outside for a moment more as she swept the forest around her with her eyes. Spotted Owl held her breath as Icicle's gaze passed their hiding spot. But the gray and white she-cat appeared to suspect nothing, and a moment later, she too disappeared.
"Hey," Vole Leap whispered to get their attention. Spotted Owl and the others looked at her curiously as she pointed with her tail to a stately oak that grew near the bramble bushes, and beckoned for them to follow her.
What is she thinking? Spotted Owl wondered, but she, Yellow Sky, and Shadow Step followed Vole Leap over to the oak. Vole Leap placed her front paws on the trunk, and dug in her claws, beginning to climb the tree.
Spotted Owl was the last one up the tree, and she hauled herself up beside Yellow Sky on the first thick branch. Vole Leap and Shadow Step perched on one slightly higher. She positioned herself near the intersection of the branch and the tree and sunk in her claws into the bark. She took in a deep breath, and finally dared to down.
Now, high above the ground, the Clan cats were able to see that the bramble bushes formed a ring, concealing a shallow hollow in the forest floor. The hole in the barrier they'd seen connected to a short path down the sandy slope. A few more bushes dotted the hollow's floor, and their tendrils were woven together so they appeared to be dens. Cats filled the hollow, sitting half-inside dens, clustered around a heap of prey, and lounging in small groups to talk.
Movement caught her eye, and she moved her head slightly to see Icicle, Cliff, and Honey making their way through the sea of cats. They stopped in front of one of the smaller dens, where a large black she-cat sat, in the middle of eating a vole.
The black she-cat pricked her ears as they approached. She sat up and swiped her tongue around her jaws. "Icicle, do you have anything to report? Any disturbances?"
Icicle inclined her head to the other she-cat. "No, Midnight, we have nothing to report. All is quiet. It's a shame," she added as an afterthought. "I feel like sinking my claws into some flesh right now." She unsheathed her claws and sunk them into the sandy ground as if to prove her point.
The black she-cat called Midnight chuckled a little. "Well, the three of you can sink your claws into some prey. You've earned it." She gestured with her head for them to go.
Cliff and Honey turned swiftly, and they were gone in no time, but Icicle turned more slowly, almost hesitantly.
"Oh, and Icicle?" Midnight called. Icicle turned back to her. "You should get that ear looked at. It's a nasty wound. My brother has the same injury, and his is already infected."
Icicle narrowed her eyes. "Thank you, Camp Master, but my ear is fine. Now, I have a night watch to get to." She gave a brief nod, and turned away, her tail flicking.
Midnight watched her go, a frown settling on her face. But then she shrugged and returned to eating her vole.
So Midnight must be the leader of this Band, Spotted Owl thought. That's why they call her "Camp Master." I wonder how Icicle got that wound, and why she doesn't want it to be healed? It's definitely not okay.
Bubbling laughter caught Spotted Owl's attention, distracting her from her thoughts. As she searched the camp, her eyes landed on two cats who sat side by side a short way from others. One of them was a slender gray she-cat, who leaned in to butt her head against the side of a lithe ginger tabby tom who Spotted Owl would have recognized anywhere. It was Sharp.
That mangepelt! That crowfood-eating traitor! A surge of emotion flooded Spotted Owl, almost overwhelming her so she felt like she was drowning. Her heartbeat pounded so loudly she thought the cats below might hear her. She felt as if smoke were coming out of her ears. He-he tricked me! He used me! He helped kill Scattered Leaves! He kidnapped Tall Pine and he almost killed me! How dare he sit there laughing without a care! How dare he! Her entire body began to tremble, noticeably enough so Yellow Sky gave her a concerned look, but she didn't notice. Her vision, locked on the image of Sharp, began to blur.
The gray she-cat nudged Sharp playfully again. "You are such a doofus."
Sharp grinned widely. "I know. I'm a smart, skilled, and brave doofus, though."
"And modest, too," the she-cat teased. She gave another laugh, and then sobered, leaning up against him. "I'm glad you're home, Sharp."
Sharp's smile faded as well. He licked the top of her head. "So am I, Sage."
"Spotted Owl. Spotted Owl!" Yellow Sky hissed.
Spotted Owl blinked, snapping out of her seething trance. "Sorry," she whispered, looking at her instructor.
Yellow Sky smiled grimly. "It's okay. But we need to go right now. Their guards are about to take up positions." She beckoned to Vole Leap and Shadow Step and started climbing down the tree.
Spotted Owl allowed herself one last glance. Her previous fury and bitterness had subsided, leaving only raw hurt. I thought he was my friend. Then she shook herself, and blinked to clear her vision, and quickly followed her fellow Clan cats.
As the patrol started off through the dark forest toward their temporary camp, Spotted Owl thought, so this is it. This begins our real mission. We have to succeed for the survival of our Clans.
Thank you for reading chapter thirteen and please leave a review if you have time! So, this book is really under way! As Spotted Owl said, this is begins their mission.
Reviews:
The Unnamed Guest - I'm on winter break too! Finally! Thank you, and I hope her reaction was satisfactory. I saw your review, and I was like uh oh, now I have to make sure it's really good. Hmmm...maybe a tiny chance.
QOTD: Have you ever really hated someone?
- A Warrior At Heart