A/N: Sorry for the long break. I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack, my pretties, baaaaaaack!
SylviaHunterOfArtemis: Yes, well, if you're expecting a pairing there, keep in mind that Wolfpaw is six moons older than Fox is.
Shadowman: Yes, indeed.
PizaSmokesWeed: ...That's kinda the point...
"We're not going to hurt you." Smokefrost forced himself to stay calm. "Now, could you please get off of me?"
Grumbling, the gray tom complied. Smokefrost got up and turned around to see Talon's satisfied face. "These are the last ones." he meowed quietly.
"Them?" Smokefrost forced himself to stay calm. "This one jumped on my face!"
"And you wouldn't have if the situation had been reversed?" challenged Talon.
Smokefrost sighed as a ginger she-cat walked out of one of the caves. "Gray, what's going on?" she asked, eyes wide.
"We're being attacked!" snapped Gray. "That's what!"
"We're not going to hurt you." Smokefrost repeated. "We just need somewhere to stay before we move on to the drowned Twolegplace."
"You'd have to be insane to go there!" spat Gray, turning to the she-cat. "Tell them, Russet!"
"We're going to get the kits he's training out of there." Triffid explained, stepping forwards. "Mine among them."
Something flashed in Gray's eyes as he turned to Russet. "It's not just that- haven't you heard the stories?"
"We've been away for the past half-moon." Mick stepped forwards. "What is it?"
"Well, first off, Blood's dead." Russet told him.
"Blood?" Mick's eyes opened. "How'd he die? He might've been tiny, but he was fast and vicious! How'd that happen?"
"Well, he was defeated in the arena, but his opponent refused to kill him, so Alpha did himself." Gray let his guard drop a little. "And second, there's a beast living in the floods."
"What?" Charlie immediately became nervous again, shrinking into the ground. "Th-that's impossible!"
"Believe it." Gray turned to the tabby rogue. "The stories are running wild, but the general consensus is that it's a giant, golden, cat-like animal with ray of sunlight shooting from its head."
"Hmm..." Smokefrost remembered the story Runningnose had once told him. "That sounds like the ancient lions of long ago, but they should've died out a long time ago and had their bloodlines integrated into the Clans long ago, unless... unless some of them survived." If they had, then this was new. The elders in ShadowClan would've loved to know this story to tell the kits.
But I can't go back, Smokefrost thought as the now-familiar pang struck him. Rainfur made that clear.
"Lion?" Fiery nodded. "I think my mother told me of stories of the lions. Twolegs put them in clear shells so they could stare at them."
"Why would Twolegs do that?" wondered Kiara.
"Who knows?" Cloud shrugged. "Twolegs are mouse-brained."
"At any rate, with the threat from the beast," Russet continued, "it'd be one of the stupidest things I can think of to go into the Twolegplace."
"But by then my kits could be dead!" protested Triffid.
"We'll let you stay overnight, but that's it." growled Gray with a tone in his voice making it clear that there would be no compromises. "Then you're leaving."
Smokefrost sighed. "Is this what you saw?" he asked Talon.
Talon was silent, then replied, "Yes. Their part will come later."
"Is there anything we can do to persuade them?" Smokefrost asked, but Talon didn't respond.
"Come on." Cloud brushed Smokefrost's cheek lightly with her tail. "We should get as much sleep as we can."
Smokefrost followed her to the largest den. Sleep didn't come easily, though, and when it came he dreamed of terror and death.
A/N: That'll be all for now! I guess...
This was a little late, I know, but I sort of lost my motivation, considering the sad scene I have planned for OMITTED BECAUSE SPOILER ALERT.