Grayshadow Warrior- Haha, I actually based the she-cats off of the sirens in Greek Mythology. I love how we think the same =^.^=
A white tom was gazing into a pool of clear water. The night sky reflected in it and the stars and moon gathered together in the pool. He stiffened. The moon… it was red?
Red as blood, he thought.
What could this mean? A red moon. Suddenly, he thought of the dangers his Tribe was facing. The Graces were a main competitor for food, and right now, they were overpowering the Tribe.
Yes, that must be it, he thought.
Bounding quickly out of his den, he stood face to face with another white cat. This cat was very familiar to him, and to top that, she was expecting his kits. Another law he had broken. She glared at him.
"Haven't seen you in a while," she snarled mockingly.
"Look, Star, I'm sorry," he tossed over his shoulder as he ran to a ledge in the cave. What he had done to her would never be forgiven.
"Cats of the Tribe Where Snow Falls," he summoned, "The Tribe of Endless Hunting has sent a sign!"
"A sign?" A kit-mother gasped.
"Yes, Frost, a sign. A red cat will save us!" Stoneteller declared.
The cats buzzed with hope. He saw two to-bes whispering together, eyes alight. With shining eyes, the Tribe looked at him as a healer, not a troublemaking cat like they'd looked at him before.
"The Tribe will survive," he declared.
Daypaw licked a gray paw and rubbed it on her face. This was the most rest they had since they had started the journey, or since she had followed them there. She had to admit, they would have never found the Tribe's home on their own.
Daypaw and Gingerpaw had been escorted to the "to-be" part of the cave.
"What are to-bes?" Gingerpaw had whispered to her.
Daypaw had shrugged. Now she knew. There were four "to-bes", she still thought that word was strange, and all of them were nice, but distant. The two she-cats hadn't been stuck-up, unlike one cat Daypaw knew, and the toms were…toms.
"Daypaw, tell us about your Tribe," a white to-be asked. Daypaw remembered her name was Snow.
"Well," she started, "We don't have Tribes, we have Clans. There are four Clans, IceClan, StormClan, GustClan, and DarkClan."
The to-bes, who had pricked their ears to listen, were glancing at one another in confusion.
"Which Tri- Clan are you in?" A black she-cat asked politely.
"Gingerpaw and I are in IceClan," Daypaw explained.
"And who is your Healer?" A tom inquired.
Daypaw stared at him blankly. "Healer?"
"You know, who's in charge of your Clan?" The tom looked at her like she was a kit.
"Oh, Shadestar is. We have a leader, him, a deputy, her name is Mistbriar, and a medicine cat, his name is Goosesight," Daypaw understood.
"That's strange," he said flatly.
"Shadow!" Snow scolded him.
"It is," the black she-cat defended Shadow.
"Moon!" Snow looked overwhelmed at her denmates.
"It's fine," Gingerpaw put in. "I'm sure we would think your ways are strange."
The Tribe cats looked at each other, not sure if they should be offered or not.
"Well, in the Tribe, we have one Healer, named Stoneteller," a new To-be spoke up, "Stoneteller, who is supposed to be wise, has managed to break all of the rules required to be a Healer."
"Oh my gosh, Storm," Snow rebuked him, "You know we're not supposed to talk about that."
The gray-and-white tom ignored her. "He goes out into the main cave for no reason, he's had kits with multiple queens, he's probably had kits with one of the Graces, and he just ignores all of the rules!"
Daypaw was taken aback at Storm's fury.
Snow leaned over to the two Clan cats, whispering, "The reason he's so upset is because Stoneteller is our father. Our mother died while she was giving birth to us and he left the other queens, with no support, to raise us, and Storm has never forgiven him."
"I'm sorry," Daypaw sympathized. She knew what it was like to grow up in a separated family.
Snow shook her pelt. "It's fine. We're used to it."
"Stoneteller already has a new queen expecting his kits," Storm snarled, "And I've heard she's mad at him, for who knows what."
"Moon and Shadow's mother suckled us," Snow added to the Clan cats, "And ever since then, Pool, their mother, has been our mother."
"At least you had her," Daypaw mewed.
"This is strange," Duskblossom murmured to Rippleshade, glancing around.
This cave, this camp they lived in was unnatural, even though it was made out of rock. At the sound of movement, she turned, and was surprised to see what seemed like a patrol limping into the camp.
"Lily! Smoke! What happened?" A black-and-white tom asked, rushing to the two lead cats.
"The Graces," a gray-black she-cat growled, Duskblossom assumed she was Smoke.
"They took half our prey!" A lithe she-cat added.
She must be Lily.
Duskblossom noticed that Rippleshade couldn't keep his eyes of of Lily.
"Close your mouth, before your prey falls out," she whispered to the silver tom, nudging him with a look of amusement in her eyes.
He glanced at her, reflecting the same amusement. She didn't know why, but being in the mountains gave her a feeling of happiness, happiness that could not be shaken.
Stoneteller emerged out of a small tunnel in the back of the cave.
"What happened?" The white tom asked, eyes filled with alarm.
"The Graces took our prey!" Another member of the hunting patrol snarled.
"Peak, I understand your frustration," Stoneteller told him, before turning to the cats, "The Graces have stolen from us too many times."
The Tribe turned to each other. Duskblossom had the feeling that he wasn't talking about just prey.
"We need to retaliate!" The Healer announced.
The cats tittered among themselves, before looking back to their Healer in agreement.
"We have enough cave-guards!" Eagle agreed.
"And you have us," Berryoak put in.
Stoneteller glanced at the cream tom. "Are you sure?"
Berryoak scoffed, "Of course we're sure. The Graces won't know what hit them."
"Very well," Stoneteller dipped his head, "The cave-guards and the Clan cats will leave tomorrow night. Eagle will lead the patrol."
The Healer nodded to the cats, casting a sorrowful glance at a pregnant white she-cat, and retired to his den. Eagle bounded forward to face the cats.
"All of the cave-guards will go, except for Root and Stream. The cave-guard to-bes will go, and a warrior and apprentice from the Clans will stay. Except for them, all of the Clan cats will go," Eagle announced, not looking happy that the Clan cats were to assist them in their fight against the Graces. "We will take this to the Graces' camp."
"I'll stay," Rippleshade muttered to the Clan cats.
Berryoak nodded, "And Daypaw, she's the youngest."
Daypaw looked outraged that she had to be kept from a battle, but had the sense to keep her mouth shut.
"Daypaw, I swear, if you sneak out again," Cinderbird threatened, "I'll find a… squirrel to eat your paws!"
Daypaw rolled her eyes at the "terrifying" threat. "I'll eat the squirrel first," she meowed, not impressed.
"Then the decomposed squirrel will eat you from the inside," Cinderbird gasped, then started laughing.
The laughter was contagious. Daypaw quickly began to giggle. The rest of the patrol stood in silence, watching in confusion at the conversation.
Berryoak opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head and closed his mouth.
"Some of your warriors can come with me to the cave-guard side of the cave. We have spare hollows in the floor they can use. The apprentices can go with the to-bes," Stream gently broke into the exchange.
Rippleshade pricked his ears and eagerly followed her, along with Cinderbird and Duskblossom.
"The rest of you can come with me," a white she-cat told Cloudfish and Berryoak.
Duskblossom trailed behind with her sister, talking with her.
"Do you think they have good intentions?" Duskblossom asked her.
"I don't know," she admitted, "I can't see Foxclaw anywhere."
"The battle could draw us away for them to do something to him," Duskblossom realized with alarm.
"Why would they leave Rippleshade and Daypaw behind?" Cinderbird countered.
"True."
With a burst of happiness, Duskblossom realized that Thunder was a cave-guard. He was her only friend from the Tribe.
"Close your mouth before your prey falls out," Rippleshade murmured, his eyes twinkling, obviously remembering what she had said to him.
Cinderbird glanced at the rising sun. A patrol had offered to take her and Berryoak out to hunt, and she had never felt so uncomfortable in this new territory. The prey-hunters had explained that a couple of cave-guards went on every patrol; to protect them. Cinderbird wasn't sure what hey needed protection from.
"Eagles and hawks," Drop had explained.
Cinderbird shared a disbelieving look with Berryoak.
Eagles and hawks? Those are birds, prey.
A shadow engulfed her. She looked up, frightened. A massive eagle was coming down quickly. She tried to move her paws, but her legs were frozen to the rock. A fierce yowl brought her back. Drop and Lily were jumping on the massive eagle, giving a killing bite just as the bird was swooping in to take Cinderbird.
"Never forget to look up," Tree meowed in amusement.
How could he be so nonchalant? She had almost been bird food!
Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Let's just get on with the patrol."
Returning back to the hidden cave with no prey in her jaws, she felt entirely helpless in this strange territory. They were only here to find Foxclaw, and that was what she wanted to do.
"Tough luck," Tree murmured to her.
She glared at him.
"You looked very natural hunting here in the mountains," he offered, trying to make amends.
"Whatever," she muttered, and trotted to Duskblossom, who was talking with a brown tabby tom.
"How was your hunting patrol?" Duskblossom asked sweetly.
"Terrible!" Cinderbird grunted, flopping on the ground. "I didn't catch a single thing!"
"Tough luck," the tom mewed sympathetically.
She gritted her teeth. If one more cat says that to me…
"Are you ready for the battle?" The brown tom asked.
Cinderbird opened her jaws to reply, but the handsome tom was talking to Duskblossom. This felt unnatural, Cinderbird realized. For once, it was Duskblossom getting the attention and not Cinderbird. Loneliness struck her. Was this how Duskblossom felt?
"It's meal time! We must eat before the battle!" A black prey-hunter announced.
The cats swarmed to their "caught prey," as they called it, and hungrily grabbed prey. Cinderbird noticed that two cats would pair up, and share prey.
"This must be their custom," she whispered to herself.
When it was Cinderbird's turn to grab prey, she looked for her sister to share with her. Spotting her laughing and eating with Thunder, she started to pad towards her fellow Clanmates, but was intercepted by Tree.
"Would you like to share prey?" he asked, giving her a charming grin.
She looked at the black-and-white tom. "Why not?"
He led her to a spot in the cave. "I could give you plenty of reasons why not."
He took a bite out of his prey and shoved it to her. Cinderbird smiled and did the same with her prey. It was nice to have a friend.
"So," he meowed, swallowing a piece of his snow hare, "Are you ready for the battle?"
"Of course," she straightened.
"Why are you Clan cats helping us?"
"We would help any cat in need," she simply responded.
Except for DarkClan.
"I'm ready," he announced, taking another bite.
"So, out of curiosity, what's your full name?" she inquired.
"Tree Shaken by Wind," he replied.
"The battle patrol is fixing to leave!" Eagle called.
Cinderbird stood up, Tree following her.
"Thank you for sharing prey with me," his deep meow murmured.
She gazed at him. "No problem."
Duskblossom peered at a dip in the valley, revealing a small cave. It looked sheltered, and a home.
"That's their camp?" she whispered to Thunder.
Thunder gravely nodded. He padded to Berryoak, Gingerpaw, and Cloudfish, who were murmuring together.
Duskblossom could hear him meow, "Be careful. It's more dangerous than you believe."
Berryoak nodded, thanking him for his information, while Gingerpaw and Cloudfish scoffed at the thought of danger.
Thunder trotted back to Duskblossom.
"Remember, we don't harm the queens or kits," Eagle reminded them.
The smoky gray she-cat felt relieved that the Tribe, too, had a code of their own. A code was the life of a Clan or a Tribe, and every group of cats needed one.
Eagle lifted his tail, a signal to the cats to follow him into the Grace's camp. Duskblossom felt cowardly, slinking into a camp. This felt like something DarkClan would do, but she couldn't turn back now.
"What are the Graces like?" she hissed to Thunder.
He stared at her gravely. "You'll find out."
She looked at him in panic. What does that mean? Are we walking into a camp of cats who have like three eyes or something?"
Their camp was more structured than Duskblossom believed it to be. She could hardly imagine it being a place for a bloody battle, but, nevertheless, the cats still there.
"Attack!" Eagle cried, bursting into a den.
Shrieks filled the air and Duskblossom spotted a dark gray she-cat running out of her den, into another one.
"We're being attacked!" she cried.
A silver she-cat shot out. "You know what to do!" The silver she-cat ordered before she was lost in the swarm of yowling cats.
Two other she-cats bounded towards a precipice in their cave. Duskblossom watched them put up position there. Curiosity burned her pelt. She had to know what they were guarding. With an ear flick, she motioned for Cinderbird to follow her. The light gray she-cat landed one more blow at a yellow she-cat before following her sister.
"What is it?" Cinderbird hissed, ducking to avoid a cat hurling themselves off another precipice.
"Come with me," Duskblossom yowled, struggling to be heard against brutal battle screeches.
"Duskblossom, we don't have time for this!" she muttered impatiently, itching to get back to battle.
"I just need to check something out," the smoky gray she-cat insisted.
"Fine, bu—" Cinderbird's meow was cut off.
Duskblossom raced towards the precipice, eager to see what her enemies were hiding. The guards intercepted her with a clout to the ear, but Duskblossom deflected the blow. She pushed past them with the support of her sister and stopped in shock. Cinderbird gasped behind her.
"Foxclaw?" she cried.
