Chapter 35: Spotted Owl
Spotted Owl stretched, arching her back, and yawned sleepily. The last rays of the sun were fading from the sky above the rim of the gorge. High above her, the circular, almost full moon hung in the star-splashed sky, peeking out from behind the tail of a wispy cloud. Nighttime had come, bringing with it little relief from the day's intense heat which she had trained in the entire day long with Sage Fur. While the training had lasted all day, Sage Fur's training sessions weren't as physically demanding as Yellow Sky's had been, but Spotted Owl was still exhausted from the overwhelming heat.
The young she-cat stood and glanced up at the moon. The Gathering is tomorrow. The night that will decide all of our fates, whether the Clans will resolve their conflicts or whether we shall all go to war. With that thought came a dark sense of foreboding, one that had been massing like a thundercloud inside her for the last quarter moon, ever since the battle at the Clan of the Flowing Waters camp.
It was not only Spotted Owl who could feel the building tension; the whole of the Clan of the Morning Sun was afflicted. There had not been any further fighters as the other chieftains seemed to be keeping their word about the quarter moon long truce until the Gathering, but tension among the Clan had still grown as the days crept past. Every cat, even the kits, was subdued and spoke in grim, curt voices to one another. Mossy Moon was seen little, staying mostly in her den, caught up in endless meetings with Red Maple, Falling Star, and the Council Cats. Everyone knew what was going to happen at the Gathering, and what it would mean if the Clans couldn't work things out.
Spotted Owl shook herself, pushing her dark thoughts to the far corner of her mind, suppressing her feelings like she had done for a while now. It would do her no good to think about Tall Pine, the rogues, and the upcoming Gathering. There was nothing she could do about any of them anyway.
She was turning to head to her nest in the trainee's den for another restless night of sleep when a low voice calling her name stopped her. She turned back, looking curiously around her. The camp was almost entirely deserted at this hour, and she could not see anyone nearby.
"Spotted Owl!" The voice called again, closer this time, and Blossom Dust crept out of the shadows cast by the camp wall not far from the trainee's den. The small she-cat's gaze was urgent.
"What is it?" Spotted Owl asked loudly, confused by her sister's odd behavior.
Blossom Dust made a shushing sound, and without another word, she furiously gestured with her tail for her sister to come closer.
"Blossom Dust, what's going on?" Spotted Owl asked again, in a lower voice this time as she trotted over to her sister. "I was just about to go to sleep. It's been a very long day."
Blossom Dust gestured for the young she-cat to have a seat, then she looked around them, checking if anyone was nearby. "I saw the rogues!" She said excitedly in a loud whisper, looking back at Spotted Owl. "They've snuck out of the camp again. Let's follow them."
"What?" Spotted Owl said, voicing more of a statement of annoyance rather than a question. "No. There is no way in the Clan of the Bright Stars that we are going to follow them." She stood, turning away as if the matter was settled. "You know what I saw last time I snuck out after them. I witnessed Scattered Leaves be murdered!"
"Wait," Blossom Dust protested. In a flash, the small she-cat had sprung to her paws and dashed around her sister, blocking her path. "Something tells me we should follow them. We might find out something important."
Spotted Owl snorted and sidestepped around Blossom Dust. "Yes, but even if we do find out something important, what good will that do? No one will believe us. We can't do anything." She began to walk away.
"But we might find something out about Tall Pine!" Blossom Dust burst out.
"What?" Spotted Owl turned sharply, her eyes narrowed.
"You heard me. I have a feeling we might get some news about our brother."
"Tall Pine is dead. There's nothing we can do to change that, so why can't you accept it?"
"I refuse to accept it! I will not believe that Tall Pine is dead until I see his body with my own eyes." Blossom Dust's voice wavered a little at the end, and her small body trembled as if she would start crying at any moment.
Spotted Owl's heart softened. "Blossom Dust, I admire you for keeping up hope that our brother is alive," she said gently, "but we have to face the facts. The rogues have killed every other cat that has gone missing. There is no way that Tall Pine is alive. You need to accept that, even if we don't find his body. I feel his loss and grieve for him just as much as you do, perhaps even more. After all, it is my…"
"It is your what?"
"My fault he's dead," Spotted Owl whispered, turning away again as she blinked away the tear pricking the corners of her eyes. "If had just believed Tall Pine's suspicions about the rogues sooner, and had not told Sharp about him confronting me, he would be alive."
"No!" Blossom Dust exclaimed, her eyes fierce. "It is not your fault. It is the rogues' fault that our brother went missing and the rogues' alone. I will not accept that Tall Pine is dead, and I have a powerful feeling that we need to follow them, so I will, even if you won't. But please, please come with me."
"Alright," Spotted Owl agreed at last. "But only because I don't want you to go alone. I could not bear to lose another sibling."
Blossom Dust nodded gravely, and her eyes shone with gratitude. Silently, she beckoned to her sister and led the way across the camp and through the passageway.
The two sister nodded to the guards, Raven Swoop, Maple Sky, and Dewy Grass as they emerged from the tunnel, praying that they wouldn't be stopped and questioned.
"Early night hunt?" Raven Swoop asked.
Blossom Dust looked back at him. "You bet! We're going to a great place Fern Dapple showed me to catch squirrels," she said with fake cheerfulness.
Maple Sky twitched her whiskers worriedly. "Okay, but don't stray far from camp and don't stay out too late. Young trainees such as yourselves shouldn't be wandering around alone late at night, especially these days."
"We'll be back before long," Blossom Dust assured her. Turning to Spotted Owl, she added in a soft tone. "That means we'd better hurry."
Spotted Owl nodded in agreement. She sent one glance back at the guards before they vanished from view among the trees. Splitting up to cover more ground, the two sisters searched for the rogues' scent trail. Being fresh, they picked it up quickly and hurried to follow the scent trail.
The scent trail led them on a mostly straight shot in the direction of their Clan's border with the Clan of the High Peaks, cutting through thickets of trees and dense patches of undergrowth to avoid the main trails that the patrols usually took. Blossom Dust spotted the rogues not far ahead of them when they were just over halfway to the border. The five cats had stopped and stood with their heads bent together, talking in tones too quiet for the sisters to hear. After a moment or two, they raised their heads and started off again, except only four of them continued in the same direction while the other turned and headed straight up the mountainside.
Spotted Owl and Blossom Dust crouched low, willing themselves not to be seen as the cat passed nearby them. A small breeze picked up, carrying with it the rogue's scent to their noses. Spotted Owl gasped as she recognized Sharp's smell.
"What should we do? They split up, and it looks like Sharp is going back toward camp while the others are heading to the Clan of the Flowing Waters border." She asked, turning to Blossom Dust.
"We should follow Sharp," Blossom Dust decided. "That feeling I told you about earlier is now telling me that we need to be where he's going."
"Okay," Spotted Owl agreed, for lack of a better idea. If Blossom Dust felt they should follow Sharp, she was willing to humor her.
The night passed slowly as the sisters tracked Sharp up the mountainside, in the direction of the Dawn Mountain's two peaks. They were careful to stay a sizeable distance behind him, but the ginger and brown tabby tom was so intent on getting to his destination, he didn't even seem to notice them, even when Blossom Dust stepped on a twig. The forest began to thin out as they climbed steadily, giving way to the scraggly pines that dotted the upper slopes. Spotted Owl soon recognized the place at which patrols would turn to return to their camp, but she was confused when Sharp did not take it as it seemed he was headed there.
What in the stars is he doing? Spotted Owl wondered, puzzled by the rogues' course. They had reached the upper slopes now, and Sharp had turned, veering toward the Clan of the High Peaks' territory. This part of the mountain was unfamiliar to Spotted Owl as her Clan didn't often come here. They had passed the scent markers that were placed just short of the point where the Dawn Pass ended, at the foot of the Twin Peaks that still rose high above their heads. This border was regularly patrolled, but the Clan of the Morning Sun cats rarely ventured beyond it because there was no need for this extra land that was mostly bare of plants and prey due to the high elevation.
They halted suddenly as Sharp stopped, glancing around him before he disappeared into a short pass between two large lichen-covered boulders protruding from the side of the left peak.
"What is he doing?" Spotted Owl asked to no one in particular. "I can't think of any reason why he might be up here."
"It's certainly strange—and suspicious," Blossom Dust agreed. "We should investigate."
"Don't be so hasty," Spotted Owl said warily. "Investigating might be the exact wrong thing to do. We know the rogues are dangerous, and while we don't know what Sharp's doing here, we know it cannot be for anything good."
"Quick, hide! Someone's coming!" Blossom Dust hissed suddenly, a breeze carrying an unfamiliar scent to her nose. The two sisters scuttled behind a large rock just in time as the shape of a cat appeared over a rise.
Spotted Owl and Blossom Dust crouched behind the rock, tense and alert as the cat—who they knew was one of the rogues by their scent—drew closer. Muffled footsteps reached her ears and then ceased as the cat paused where the two sisters had been standing a mere moment before. Spotted Owl peered out from behind the hiding place, her eyes widening in surprise as recognized the dull brown fur of Brisk shimmering in a shaft of moonlight. The rogue she-cat had her muzzle raised to sniff the air. As her gaze swung toward their hiding place, the two trainees flattened themselves against the rocks, sending up prayers to their ancestors that they wouldn't be discovered.
For a few agonizing moments, Spotted Owl and Blossom Dust stayed stock-still there, frozen where they stood, hardly daring to breathe. Then Brisk's footsteps started again but moved away instead of toward them. Spotted Owl cautiously peered around the side of the rock to see the dull brown she-cat strolling into the space between the boulders.
What is Brisk doing here? I thought she was with Crow, Glint, and Glaze. Did she follow us here? Or did she follow Sharp? Spotted Owl wondered, seized by a sudden overwhelming whim to find out what Sharp and Brisk were doing up here.
"Spotted Owl, what are you doing?" Blossom Dust hissed as the black and white she-cat darted out of hiding and toward the boulders, flattening herself against the nearest one.
Spotted Owl didn't reply as she was already listening intently to what she could hear from the cats inside the space between the boulders.
"...knew you were hiding something!" Brisk's triumphant voice reached her ears. "You dirty traitor! The others may trust you because you're Thunderclap's son, but I always thought there was something shifty about you. I just never thought you would betray us like this. I also didn't think you were this big of a coward, failing when you were given a huge chance to show your worth. By these actions, you have betrayed us and desecrated our mission! You can now be considered a coward and a traitor."
"I don't care," Sharp replied coolly, sounding shockingly calm. "Do what you want with me, kill me even."
"Oh, I won't be killing you—not yet," Brisk sneered. "You will return with me, and then Crow will decide what shall be done with you. But as for him—he has to die. He would already be dead if not for your cowardice."
Sharp let out a low growl, and then the talking ceased and there were the sounds signified that a scuffle had broken out. Both cats grunted as the other landed blows and yelped in pain several times. There was a whoosh of a powerful blow then the slam of a body against the ground; one them had pinned the other. Suddenly, a loud grunt range rang out, then a startled yelp before a crash and silence.
Loud pawsteps with labored breathing coming quickly toward Spotted Owl broke the silence. She glanced around her, looking for somewhere to hide, but there was nowhere close, so she fluffed up her fur and unsheathed her claws, preparing for a fight. But she wasn't prepared for what happened next.
Sharp came barreling out from between the boulders, his eyes wild and blood dripping from several wounds. Catching sight of Spotted Owl, he froze in place, staring at her open-mouthed. She stared back, just as frozen as he was. Breaking out of his daze, Sharp gave her a tiny nod and raced off again, vanishing into the night as if he was just a spirit.
"That was Sharp!" Blossom Dust said, shocked, as she hurried to her sister's side. "He's one of them, so why didn't he attack?"
"I don't know," Spotted Owl responded, still struggling to process everything that had just happened. She turned and padded between the boulders, wanting to investigate what had taken place inside.
To begin with, the space was broad and tall, but it grew smaller, the boulders' sides closing in as the sisters cautiously ventured further inside. The walls eventually condensed to a small round opening where the boulders met the mountainside. Carefully, Spotted Owl stuck her head through the opening, catching sight of a small ledge in front of her, with a deep but narrow cavern looming below it. Stepping out onto the ledge, she peered down into the cave. Brisk's body lay slumped at the foot of the opposite wall. Blood pooled around dull brown she-cat's form, and her neck was twisted at an odd angle. But that wasn't the only form in the cave below her. A black and white shape was curled, pressed against a side wall. A familiar black and white patched cat.
Spotted Owl could hardly believe her eyes. Could it be? Could it really be him? Opening her mouth, she called softly, "Tall Pine?"
Here is chapter 35! I cannot believe that there is only 5 chapters left! Phew, so much has happened this chapter! Please review and tell me your ideas/thoughts/predictions based on everything we've found out about Brisk, Sharp, and Tall Pine! Next chapter, we will finally be back with Tall Pine.
Reviews:
The Unnamed Guest - Yes, you were! Thank you! Yes, I'm glad too. I think it's not as obvious (see chapter with Mossy Moon's reply to when Spotted Owl and Fern Dapple talked to her), and all of the Clans have lost Clanmates and want revenge. That alone can blind even some sensible cats. At that point, with everything that has happened, I probably would give up, and I'd like to think I'm pretty perseverant. And, Spotted Owl and I are also not quite optimists. Yes, she does need some motivation...like finding out her brother is alive…
Bye for now!
- A Warrior At Heart