The barking of her ride rang her ears so often that she was deaf to the river just pawsteps from them. She focused on spotting everything she could from the sliver between the bag and the hide flap that covered it. But the noise vibrated the whole vest, and she quickly was unable to concentrate. The falling snow blocked much of what she could see on the other side of the river; mostly gray and brown twoleg nests of varying disarray and the mostly cleared thunderpath that lay between each row. The only thing that managed to surface above her barking was the deep crackling of the floating ice chunks as they moseyed along.
"Calm down. They will come."
"Well they aren't moving fast enough!"
The cat slipped back in the bag and covered her ears. The sky had barely began darkening, yet the twoleg lights that lined the other side of the river had flickered on. The wind gently blew across the dog's fur, but she stood firm. Once she finally stopped barking, the cat poked her head to the top of the bag. She watched a group on the opposite side gather across from where they were. She could feel the heartbeat of her carrier rise, her large claws tapping as close as they could to the water without falling in. She glanced behind her; the white fields were still empty. Ahead, she spotted all-white fur on one of the cats, a pair of pink dots staring right at her. The dog shook, dropping her back to the bottom.
"Those mismatched eyes of yours are easier to see against my fur," Heidi growled. "Don't get yourself caught, or you'll ruin it for me."
"Ruin what?" Rye said.
The dog turned her empty bag towards the river, letting the cat peer over her back easier. Several pairs of eyes were closely watching the pair and everything around them. But she was fixed on Blackleaf's. Heidi stepped past the bank and onto one of the tall ice blocks that had frozen to the side. It wobbled when she jumped back; the warriors on the other side hissed.
"Stay on your side!" one of them shouted.
"That's not important," Heidi growled. "There's someone in your territory that I want."
The warriors looked to Blackleaf, who they let take the lead. Rye watched them step away and glare at her. One kept his spot behind her, even moving closer.
"Answer me!" Heidi barked. "They know what I said."
"No, they don't," Blackleaf shouted. "They don't know wolf-speak."
"Well, I know cat-speak, so why'd you even bother bringing them? They're just getting in my way."
"That's the point. I've been ordered to talk to you, not let you into our territory."
Heidi stomped her paw. "Then I'm only talking to you. Wolf-speak it is. There's a dog in Shadow territory. And I want to find it."
Rye glanced at Heidi; her attention was sharply forward.
"You did not tell me about a dog," she whispered.
Heidi ignored her. "I don't know what breed it is, or what its health is like. But I know it's a war dog, and I need to bring it here to keep it safe."
Blackleaf stepped back and whispered to the rest of the group. One of them smacked her aside and hissed at Heidi, who barked back. She was pushed to the front again to speak. Rye hid away, her heart racing when she saw the energy drain from Blackleaf's expression.
"I'm not deaf. I heard a 'no', didn't I?" Heidi growled.
"The answer is no," Blackleaf shouted.
"And why not?"
"I have not been permitted to take requests from you. Only to listen."
"Listen… Blackleaf, I think? You're a medicine cat. You should understand that the dog could be scared or injured. How dangerous fear can make us. Fleetheart knows me. She knows I'm not here to make trouble."
"It will still be a no, but I need to inform Solestar about this," Blackleaf said.
"Solestar!?" Heidi roared. "That tier can hang by her ball tail! Her word is worth less than her dirt."
"You can't come in without her permission—"
"And I'll say it in cat-speak so they can all understand. I'll kill every last one of you if you stand in my way. There aren't enough of you to take me down!"
The warriors' ears perked up. Their tails dropped and they all hissed and growled at the war dog, who barked back. One of them turned Blackleaf around and yelled at her. Rye lingered on it, her heart beating faster when she saw the medicine cat become more submissive as it went on. Heidi stopped barking and watched the exchange, a scowl forming across her brow. One of the toms glanced across the river, motioning his tail in a circle. The warriors crowded around her and started whispering. Rye poked her head out further and swiveled her ears. They were too quiet to eavesdrop on. She did hear the scrapes of nearby paws; a pair of dogs were approaching from behind. Heidi paid no attention to it.
"I don't have time for your infighting," Heidi growled. "Let me cross and take that dog off your territory. It has nothing to do with your damn war."
"What makes you even think there is one?" One of the warriors stepped ahead of Blackleaf.
"I saw it!" Heidi yelled. "It was running along the river last night. I saw it on my walk."
"If there was a dog, we would've killed it by now," another shouted.
"No, you wouldn't have. If it's a stray war dog, it can evade your patrols for moons and feed on carrion you can't eat. Let me find it."
"You're imagining it. Now go away."
Heidi howled; Rye fell into the bag and folded her ears flat.
"I'll let it know it is not alone!" Heidi shouted. "It will come to me."
A few of the warriors turned back towards the twoleg nests. Blackleaf lingered at the river's edge, watching the war dog howl. She even stepped closer to the river before being dragged away by one of the toms. She growled at him, but he did not let go of her tail. Rye peered over Heidi's back once more. One of the warriors was looking right at her; she ducked back down and stayed in the bag. As the Shadow group moved further away, the dogs coming behind the pair moved closer.
"Heidi!" One of them approached slowly. "It's time to go. We have to—"
"Juta, go back to the den," Heidi growled.
"We can discuss it there. All of us." Karin stepped between Heidi and the river.
"We need to get to the crossing. We can still find it before they do."
Juta shook her head. "It won't work. The masters broke it up when that rail machine came through. There's nowhere safe to cross east of the bridge anymore."
Karin pushed Heidi from the bank. "You have to lower your voice. You're barking loud enough to alert the masters. They might come—"
"I don't need a safe crossing and I don't care if the masters hear me. We need to find it before Solestar gets to it."
Karin and Juta glanced at each other, then to the other side of the river. The group of Shadow cats was out of sight, but the dogs did not bother to check for scents. Their ears fell; Heidi's perked up.
"I am not seeing things," she barked.
"You have before," Karin said, "and we just want to confirm—"
"I know what I saw!"
"Okay, okay," Juta said. "Where did you see it?"
"I was further east than this, near the deepest parts of Shadow territory. I called out to it, but it kept running. There's nothing that big in Shadow territory. It had to be a dog."
Karin and Juta glanced at each other again.
"You think this is another false alarm." Heidi growled.
"Heidi, we'd never ignore your words, but you need to calm down," Juta said.
She lunged at Juta; Karin reared up and matched her. She brought the pack leader to the ground and pushed against her struggle towards the river. Juta pulled her by the vest, and together they slid her from the river bank. Rye was shoved to the corner of the bag. Heidi slammed her forehead against Karin's muzzle. Juta backed off from a seething growl and towards Karin, who pushed her away when she tried to help her up.
"Heidi, you know it isn't like this," Karin growled.
"I am your alpha!" Heidi barked. "Don't forget that the next time you think I'm chasing shadows. I will not let Solestar torture another."
The pack leader feinted a lunge at the pair, and both flinched. She glared at them until she was over a small hill, then tapped her vest with her muzzle. Rye scattered to the top and fell into the snow. Heidi walked off without looking back. Careful to stay out of sight of the river, she waited until Juta and Karin walked over the hill and past her. Rye backed off when she heard Karin growl, Juta keeping a few steps away. She watched both of them fade into the darkening fields, while Heidi approached the twoleg structures of UnderClan.