The wind swirled through the mountains, creating an ominous whistling sound. Daypaw felt a shiver run through her as she gazed into the unfamiliar territory. In the Tribe, cave-guards had always been there to protect the hunting patrols, but here, she was on her own.
"Day!" A harsh meow interrupted her thoughts.
"Yes, Calista?" Daypaw politely responded, rolling her eyes inwardly. If Foxclaw caught her being polite to any cat, he would be so surprised, his whiskers would fall off.
"Come on, the queens are waiting for food," Calista reminded her, snatching up a snow white hare.
Daypaw knew that it was in the warrior code to feed the queens, but the queens here were so ungrateful. Dixie gobbled her prey down without a word, and Chloe and Marie simply stared at them with cold, beady eyes.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Daypaw grumbled as she scampered down the treacherous mountains.
She saw a cream pelt hiding behind a scraggly bush, and knew that Berryoak was trying his best to keep an eye on Daypaw, all while hiding from the Graces. Poor cat didn't blend in with his surroundings, and Daypaw resisted a mrrow of amusement. At least he was trying. It couldn't have been easy to sneak away from the Tribe, from those watchful eyes. Daypaw flicked her tail to let him know she saw him.
"Day!" Calista called again, her tone getting sharper.
Daypaw hurriedly picked up the closest piece of prey she could find, a small mouse the size of her paw. She distinctly remembered Calista telling her to leave that here, as it wouldn't touch any cat's hunger, but it is what it is.
"Coming," she mumbled.
They stepped into the sheltered cave, and the unfamiliar territory became less unfamiliar. Daypaw was starting to feel at home here, but she knew she could never stay. This was all for Foxclaw, but the mission seemed to be spiraling away from him. There was still no sign of the fox-red tom, but Daypaw knew he was here. She could feel it, with every fiber in her body. They just had to get to him before the Tribe did.
"Day, what in the mountains is that piece of pitiful prey?" Marie's shrill cry rang out.
"I'm sorry, Marie, it was the best I could find," Daypaw dipped her head in mock respect.
"Your best," Marie snarled, "is pitiful."
Daypaw allowed a furious glint to flash in her brilliant blue eyes. Here, Dixie's eyes were the only ones that rivaled her own. The father of Marie's kits clearly only liked her because of her looks, not because of her personality.
"Your kits are going to be as ugly as you are on the inside," Daypaw muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Marie snapped.
"Oh, I just said, I'll have to try harder next time," Daypaw tried desperately to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
StarClan, she missed Mothpaw.
Trotting back to Sunny and Calista, she rolled her eyes in the direction of the queens. Calista scoffed, while Sunny nodded in agreement.
"My St- gosh," Daypaw quickly remembered any Clan habits would give her away, "they're ruthless."
"You've only been here for three days," Sunny reminded her, "And we've been here our whole lives."
The yellow she-cat had a point. It must have been torture growing up with that menace.
"Day, may I talk to you?" Thalia called smoothly, rolling her silver paw over a piece of prey.
Daypaw shot a nervous look at the two Graces, who shrugged, and bounded over to the leader.
"So, Daypaw, how are you today?" Thalia smirked.
Shock flared through ever inch of Daypaw's body. She felt cornered and trapped by Thalia's burning gaze.
"W-what?" Daypaw managed to stammer.
"Yes, little Daypaw, I know your secret. And I know why you're here," Thalia purred, motioning for Violet to come to them.
The pretty gray she-cat bounded up with a glare to Daypaw.
"Fetch our prisoner," Thalia ordered, still keeping her watchful gaze on Daypaw.
"No," Daypaw gasped as Violet nodded and bounded towards a shadowy cliff.
Violet came back with a familiar red tom. His pelt was ragged and Daypaw could tell he was underfed, but his handsome blue eyes burned defiance. His white paws were turned a brown-gray color from the dust.
"Foxclaw," Daypaw choked.
At the sound of his name, the handsome tom lifted his head and a blaze of happiness roared in his eyes.
"Dayp—" he started but was cut off by a kick from Violet.
"Let him go," Daypaw turned bravely to Thalia, even though she was greatly outnumbered.
Oh why can't the patrol just magically show up?
"Sweet, Daypaw, we cannot do that. We need him," Thalia laughed.
"Why do you need him?" Daypaw shot back.
"Darling, the Tribe needs him," Violet gushed, "Therefore, it's in our best interest keeping him from them."
"What? That is the dumbest reason I've ever heard," Daypaw shouted and lunged towards the silver she-cat.
Violet quickly intercepted her, and Daypaw was thrown off and landed with a thump. She saw Foxclaw rise shakily to his paws.
"Stop!" he rasped, voice quavering with exhaustion, but loud and clear.
"And how will you make me?" Violet scoffed.
Daypaw saw her chance and jumped on the unaware she-cat's back. Violet let out a yowl as sharp claws dug into her.
"Foxclaw! Get out of here!" Daypaw shrieked, knowing it was an almost impossible task, but it was worth a shot.
The tom quickly dashed towards the entrance, as much as his condition would let him, but was stopped by a confused Sunny.
Oh please StarClan, just let him get out, somehow, someway.
Sunny let out a snarl and faced Foxclaw, but the young she-cat was no match for his size. His strength was low, but his skill bested the yellow she-cat.
"What?" Thalia screamed as her molly made a wrong move and was thrown to the floor. "Violet, get him!"
The gray she-cat squirmed to throw Daypaw off her back, but Daypaw held on, scratching at the she-cat's face. Blood quickly trickled down the formidable second-command's eyes and she was temporally blinded.
"Hello? Calista? Lyla?" Thalia ordered, "Get him!"
How in StarClan is he actually defeating them? Daypaw wondered in amazement.
She assumed that most of the Graces were out hunting or their favorite pastime— sunning themselves. Daypaw knew the patrols were required to come back by twilight, and it was only halfway to sundown.
"I'll be right behind you!" Daypaw yelled to Foxclaw.
"Oh no you won't," Thalia snarled and the world went black.
Cinderbird paused suddenly when a red speck caught her eye. It stood out against the gray colors of the mountain, but how could she be sure? She, Duskblossom, and Gingerpaw were forced to go on a hunting patrol with the Tribe, so suspicions would definitely arise if she bounded down the mountain just to try to confirm a glimmer of hope.
"Duskblossom," she murmured nudging her sister and glancing at the red spot shifting.
The smoky gray she-cat followed her gaze and Cinderbird knew she would think the same thought.
"You think?" she whispered.
From their bird's eye view, it looked as though Foxclaw was heading out of the mountains.
"Daypaw's not with him," Cinderbird noticed with a flash of alarm.
"Should we ask Berryoak to go check on her?" Duskblossom worried.
The cream tom had decreed that no cat but him was to go to the Grace's camp.
A twinge of panic spiraled itself through Cinderbird's body. She just had this feeling, something was wrong. Her ears pricked, she and Duskblossom quietly fell back from the patrol.
"Should we try?" Cinderbird breathed.
"We'll never catch up," Her sister pointed out.
"We can try," Cinderbird whispered.
Her blue eyes pleaded with her sister. With Duskblossom, common sense always won. She hoped somehow, common sense would lose this time.
"Please," Cinderbird begged, "You know how much this means to me."
"You don't even love him," Duskblossom cried out, "And you expect us to lose our lives for a cat you don't even love."
"He's our Clanmate," Cinderbird pleaded.
"So is Gingerpaw, but we left him with the Tribe cats alone," Duskblossom shot back.
"He'll understand. We're on this mission to save Foxclaw, that's why we're here."
Duskblossom sighed. Yes, she's weakening!
"Why not?" she finally gave in.
Cinderbird could tell that in her sister's eyes, Duskblossom could give a lot of reasons why not.
"Let's go."
Hey! I have decided to continue this book for a while, and then maybe start a new one focusing on new main characters. Here's some random reviews (AaHh thank you so much for them) mostly because I was bored and decided to bedazzle it. (In case you couldn't tell, I'm a total dork)
Grayshadow Warrior- Thank you so much for your support and advice, it really means a lot to me. Should I name her Daybae? hmm haha. Still deciding who to ship Foxclaw with, I hadn't even thought about FoxXday before, so you really changed the story with that idea, thanks! In my opinion, that added detail made it better.
Guest and Guest from a few chapters back- Your OCs will definitely be used in the future, and I have a few ideas of where they should be put! Thank you for your support!
Stormwillow17- thank you for your compliments and advice. Trust me, Duskblossom is so much more than that ;)
Ilovecats1- Thank you, and I will. Also thank you so much for your inspiring review on Flowerwish's heart. It made my heart swell with that encouragement! I've also been reading your stories, and they're really good!
Peaklog3727- thank you so much for your support and encouragement!
Right now, I'm deciding between Daystorm, Daycloud, Daymist, and Daylight. Pls let me know in the reviews what you think and I am open to ideas! (Cause I really need some XD) Happy reading!
-Poppyfrost123
