Chapter 32: Spotted Owl
"Oh no, not again," Spotted Owl groaned as she stared at the empty nest beside her. She flopped back down on the moss with a moan, wishing she could melt into it. I'm so tired. Exhaustion clung to like sticky mud. Sharp's almost nightly excursions for nearly the past half-moon were taking their toll on her. Her eyes were constantly bleary, and her pelt was almost always mussed. She stumbled around with fog obscuring her brain and often dozed off while on patrol or in training. No one had said anything, but she could tell that they had noticed. Fern Dapple and Blossom Dust were staying true to their word, trusting her to know what she was doing, but she couldn't miss their worried looks. Nor Yellow Sky's. Sharp didn't say anything as his eyes were just as tired. And Tall Pine, well, he knew better now.
What if I stayed here and went back to sleep? Spotted Owl wondered, staring up at the intricate pattern of crevices in the roof above her head. Her eyelids felt as heavy as boulders. Would it be so bad, missing one time? Mossy Moon would understand that I need to sleep. I think. It's not like I've discovered anything useful yet. Sharp just keeps wandering around…
Nope. Spotted Owl jolted herself awake before she could nod off. She launched herself to her paws, pausing only heartbeats later to groan as her legs felt as limp as reeds. But she took a deep breath and turned to face the entrance. I cannot go back to sleep. I have to find Sharp. Mossy Moon and my Clan is depending on me. I promised Mossy Moon that I could do it. And who knows- She snorted. -maybe tonight will be the night that I finally figure out what he's doing.
The shadows folded around the fighter trainee like the wings of a bird as she slipped around the peripheral of the camp, through the tunnel, and out into territory. She slunk into the stone-gray trees on practiced, silent paws, not even a twig stirring under her pads. The only thing she left behind was a trail of paw prints in the dusty layer of snow on the earth, but the night, dappled with clouds, was dark enough to obscure them until morning when they would vanish among the paw prints left behind by the patrols or with the melting snow.
These night expeditions have done wonders for my stealth. At least there's that, Spotted Owl thought as she began to search for Sharp's scent. Yellow Sky would be overjoyed. She located it on the bow of a sapling hemlock tree, a whisper of the rapidly fading smell of embers and birch bark pointing her in the right direction. If only I could tell her. Spotted Owl looked back over her shoulder at the immense black outline of the gorge against the night sky, guilt tainting her mood as if a raincloud was hovering over her head. I wish I didn't have to sneak around. I hate lying to my friends and family.
With a deep breath, she steadied herself and turned back to the scent trail. I'd better get going. Sharp is far ahead of me, and his scent is fading fast.
The ginger tabby tom's scent trail led Spotted Owl in a straight trajectory for a long way down the Dawn Mountain, toward the Valley floor, so startling that for a heartbeat, she dared to hope that he might finally know where he was going so she could discover what he was doing. But, about halfway down the mountain, the trail suddenly veered sharply to the left, making a beeline for the Clan of the High Peak's territory. Spotted Owl rolled her eyes as she followed. Great ancestors. Here we go again.
The night wore on as the young she-cat wandered around the Clan of the High Peaks's territory. As every heartbeat crept by, frustration bubbled higher and higher inside her. This is precisely the same as the past several nights. I am no closer to discovering what he's up to than I was the first night, which leaves us nowhere with the plan to defeat the Bands. I'm letting not only my chieftain, but my entire Clan down.
"This is pointless," Spotted Owl hissed. She kicked a stone in front of her paw with a huff, sending it careening into a thicket of saplings. Her ears pricked as she heard a hollow clattering sound. What in the stars was that? Alarmed, she shouldered through the thicket, the branches clawing at her pelt. Not even a tail-length away, a round opening barely big enough for a cat yawned like a sleepy predator. She poked her nose inside, frowning as she saw nothing but blackness, but felt no earthy floor. It's a tunnel. A scent wafted into her nose, like darkness and soil and fur. The Clan of the Dark Caves. I must have crossed the border without realizing it. She stilled. Sharp has never come this far before.
Spotted Owl retracted her nose and kept moving with a renewed vigor. Her mind whirled like a tornado with this turn of events, jumping from guess to speculation. He's never come this far before. What does this mean? Does it necessarily mean anything? Sharp has searched my Clan's territory as well as the Clan of the Flowing Waters and the Clan of the High Peaks's territories without seeming to find anything. Is what he's searching for in the Clan of the Dark Caves's territory? What is he looking for?
No matter what, I am going to find out, she vowed. Determination sank into the dappled she-cat's core, displacing her frustration and boredom. She trained her attention intently on the scent trail as she tracked Sharp deeper into the Clan of the Dark Cave's territory, his scent getting fresher all the while.
As she continued, something about the land around her made Spotted Owl's fur start to prickle. The forest was thick with tangled shrubbery and low-hanging branches, many of them the spiky bows of evergreens, strange given the lower elevation. Moss-dappled rocks protruded from the ground here and there like the peculiar heads of twolegs. The shadows gathered in the corners and crevices of the night, twisting and dancing seemingly all on their own. The stars only knew what they were shrouding. I'm not afraid of the dark or being alone like Tall Pine is, Spotted Owl told herself. But there is definitely something creepy about this. She swallowed as she remembered how the Clan of the Dark Caves cats had materialized from the shadows the first-and the only-time she had been here all those moons ago. I hope that I don't get discovered.
A gust of wind picked up, rattling the branches and buffeting her pelt. Sparks of fear ignited inside the young she-cat as she jumped. Mouse-brain, she chided herself, forcing her fur to lay flat. It's just the wind. But I can't shake the feeling that something is off here. She paused to frown at a gnarled hemlock tree. Something about this feels familiar. Hauntingly familiar. But how can it? The only other time I've ever been here, I was going with Tall Pine, Blossom Dust, and our instructors to-
Spotted Owl stopped dead in her tracks. Fear washed over her, but of something much greater than the dark. An impending sense of doom as if she was falling into a deep cave. No. No, no, it can't be. It can't be. Thoughts and words tumbled over and over in her brain like the raging water after a dam breaks. Her breath quickened as both old and recent memories flickered across her mind, which unwillingly seized bits and pieces of them and put everything together. This can't be right. She wanted to deny it so badly, but she couldn't deny that it made sense. Everything was falling into place.
No, I won't believe it yet. I have to have proof. There could still be another plausible explanation. There has to be. In a split-heartbeat, her paws went from motionless to sprinting through the forest, carrying her with them. The trees flew by in gray-black blurs as she burst through the undergrowth and soared over fallen logs. Then she was skidding to a halt at the end of a narrow glade, her paws resting on the frigid blanket of snow, serene save for a line of shallow footprints down its center that vanished into a gaping black cave on the other side set into an incline. No. It is.
Spotted Owl barely had a heartbeat to process before all of her senses flared in high alert as Sharp emerged from the cave. She dove for cover into a thicket of dried ferns. She tried not to squawk as a dried stalk jabbed her in the belly. Pulling herself into a crouch, she popped her head up to catch sight of Sharp, holding her breath as she waited to see if he had noticed. Thankfully, the Band tom's forehead was scrunched, and his eyes were glazed over, too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice the noise nor the scuffed snow. He strode with deathly serious purpose into the shadows of the trees.
Spotted Owl waited until his scent began to fade before she clambered out of her hiding place, shaking scraps of dried fern from her pelt. Though she was now behind Sharp again, she didn't bother to follow him; if he had what he needed, there was no need to. She knew where he was headed anyway. Instead, she padded across the glade on still legs, her heart rising higher and higher in her tight chest.
The dappled she-cat halted in the cave's entrance and cautiously poked her muzzle inside, asking a question she didn't need an answer to. In response, a faint pulse sent tingles through her body, confirming everything she had feared. But despite the shivers it sent through her, it was comforting and familiar from the last time she'd been there. She stood as still as a startled rabbit for a heartbeat, basking in the muted warmth. Then she was spinning around, racing across the glade, and plunging into the forest.
Spotted Owl's thoughts whirled like leaves tumbling to the forest floor during the early Time of Freezing Earth. I know what Sharp has been looking for. The Star Falls. Our meeting place to walk with the Clan of the Bright Stars. Our sacred connection to our ancestors. Fear rolled like icy fog through her. I do not doubt that he is going to tell the Bands right now. Oh, stars, what could they be planning? They obviously had no clue where to find the Starfalls, or Sharp wouldn't have been wandering around the Valley of Hidden Stars for nearly the past half-moon. But they must have had some knowledge of it because… She skidded to a halt as her body seized. She gasped for breath, panic gripping her with sharp talons as scenes from her nightmares, no, her memories flashed across her mind. Long, curled claws- Blood pouring- The glint of green eyes-
Because Thunderclap demanded to know about the Star Falls in my interrogation. She forced herself to form the thought. But how did he know? And how did they know enough to tell Sharp what to look for? As her thoughts shifted like sand, she relaxed, her breath easing. She made herself keep moving, urgency driving her forward. Oh, stars, she realized. I told Cedar all about the Clans, including the Star Falls. He was a prisoner in one of Thunderclap's camps, and just a kit, he wouldn't have known better. Did he tell someone who told Thunderclap? Or did the Bands realize that we were close and tortured him for information without me knowing? A pit formed in her stomach. Great stars, he's just a kit. I swear if they hurt my little brother-
So, this means we're most going to war against the Clan of the Flowing Waters and the Bands. Despair settling like a hibernating bear in the pit in her stomach. Since Sharp's found the location, there's no reason he wouldn't go to notify the Bands right away, which means they must be close, and they're planning to strike soon. Oh my stars, this means Sharp lied about coming to the Clans for asylum. He was working with the Bands all along. Anger pulsed louder and louder inside her to the tune of her heartbeat, making her curl her lip into a silent snarl. She halted abruptly, unsheathing her claws and sinking them into the frozen ground. Pain shot through her toes as if she were driving her claws into stone, but she didn't notice. Bramble Foot told me everything is not always as it seems. He was trying to warn me. Tall Pine also tried to, but I didn't listen. He was right all along. Sharp hasn't changed. He's not different. He didn't come to ask for asylum; he came to deceive us again. He is still the same lying, murderous, evil Band cat he always was. I can't believe I trusted him!
Spotted Owl bent her head, releasing a bloodcurdling scream that shook the branches. Ripping her claws from the ground, the black and white she-cat raked them across the earth, sending snow flying, until her breath caught. She had torn several long gashes in the soil, perfectly matching those in her heart. She doubled over, gasping with sobs as tears streamed down her cheeks. I trusted him.
As her tears dried, Spotted Owl stilled and straightened, a dangerous calm falling over her. I am going to make sure that Sharp can never hurt anyone else. I have to get back to camp and warn Mossy Moon. She dashed through the forest, a layer of ice starting to harden over her heart.
Another chapter is done. I can't believe there are only six more chapters to go! This one was pretty short but impactful. So, we now know what Sharp has been doing! And Spotted Owl is ready to take him down!
Reviews: Theoneandonlylonelypotato - Nice to see you again! Thank you very much! It's true, Dawn Sky can hold a grudge, but I mean, Tumbling Stone was a neglectful and bordering on abusive father, so can you really blame her?
Fun Fact: Though they are on opposite sides of the war, Tall Pine and Sharp actually have a lot in common. Both dislike the violence that comes with battle, and care about their loved ones fiercely, so they would go to any length to protect them.
- A Warrior At Heart