I'm back from my hiatus! I won't be updating regularly, but at least I'm back for you guys (and girls)!


~Jake~

"You all have made exceptional progress," Buddy congratulated us after we had finished our breakfast.

Immediately my mental alarms rang. Buddy had spent the past week training us both physical and mentally, but he only congratulated us after a day's hard work. He never complimented us before we had done anything besides hunt for our breakfast. Buddy's facial expression did nothing to quell my rising suspicions. He looked tense, nervous even. His body was not fidgeting, but his tail was stiff and unmoving. His eyes looked at us without any merriment or cheerfulness. While he had a smile on his face, it was a sad smile, rather than his usual cheerful one.

"What's up Bud?" Marco asked, voicing all of our worries.

"I'm afraid I have to leave you now."

I was surprised. Although Buddy had not said exactly how long he would need to stay, I always assumed he would stay for longer. We still had much to learn and review about the landscape and the clans, and we still hadn't mastered hunting and fighting.

"What do you mean by now?" Rachel asked. "As in tonight or—"

"Right now I'm afraid," he said regretfully.

"But why?" Cassie asked in confusion. "We still have a lot to learn."

"I know," he said. "But this morning I felt the situation in the city worsen. I need to go there."

"This is sudden," said Tobias suspiciously.

"I heard it on the wind," Buddy explained. "I am needed there, even more so than I am needed here."

Apparently, Buddy could talk to the wind, or the wind could talk to him. I still wasn't sure. All I knew was that he could hear things that were happening far away, and predict the weather with surprising accuracy. However, hearing a call to go to the city was a surprise. I didn't understand how he could know anything about what was happening so far away, but considering that the clan cats here could talk to the dead, I guess his ability wasn't beyond reason. After all I've seen and been through, calling anything impossible would be hypocritical.

"It has been a pleasure to learn from you," said Ax. We all meowed and nodded in agreements.

Buddy dipped his head in thanks. "I know you will do fine," he told us.

"Any last minute words of wisdom, oh wise one?" Marco asked.

"If you want to establish contact with the clans, start with the ThunderClan," Buddy replied. "They tend to be the most welcoming of foreigners. Trust in your gut and your feline instincts. And if you can, speak and listen on the wind. Goodbye, Animorphs."

(line break)

With Buddy gone, we didn't feel like doing much for the rest of the morning. I decided that the rest would be good for all of us. After all, with our guide gone, we were back to depending on each other for survival.

It wasn't until noon—or sunhigh, as Buddy said the clan cats called it—that I finally ordered everyone to their feet. Or paws, in this case. "Tobias and Cassie, scout the surrounding area. Look for herbs, prey, enemies, anything. The rest of us will be battle training here until you return."

"Should we also look for suitable battle morphs?" Cassie asked.

"Yes, but remember to stay safe," I reminded her. I knew that she was cautious enough to know that already, but my advice was also directed to Tobias as well.

They both nodded and ran off.

I turned back to my remaining crew. "Ax, you're going against Marco. But first, Rachel and I will spar."

Marco groaned. "But Ax is over twice my size!" he protested. "I hate battling against him!"

"I'm almost twice your size and I'm much more solidly built than Ax," I pointed out. "Do you think you would do better against me?"

"Let's just go already," said Rachel as she bounded a few yards away. "Don't you know it's rude to keep a lady waiting?"

"I'm coming," I said good-naturedly as Marco muttered something rude under his breath.

Rachel and I began the standard sizing up. Unsurprisingly, we were the two best fighters of our group, I due to my experience and Rachel due to her ferocity. Ax trailed right behind us, because his long legs and tail allowed him to use several of his natural Andalite battle tactics. Marco, surprisingly, came next in the hierarchy despite his unassuming size. His combination of size, agility, and strength allowed him to evade most attacks and retaliate with a vengeance. To add to the surprise, Tobias came right behind him. While Tobias had the least amount of experience in fighting on four legs, his predatory hawk instincts gave him an edge in speed, precision, and ruthlessness. Cassie was an intelligent and defensive fighter, but she lost most of her sparring matches. Since she had to spend a lot of her time memorizing herbs and didn't practice as much as the rest of us, I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised.

Rachel, as usual, leapt first. I planted myself to the ground, knowing that even Rachel would not have an easy time knocking me off my paws. She landed a foot to my right and sprung again. Once again, I didn't budge. She crashed into me, but I rolled with the momentum to pin her to the ground.

The next thing I knew two feet had pressed against my belly and heaved me off her. I landed with a roll, and clumsily jumped aside as Rachel pressed her advantage with a pounce. I was on the defensive, dodging the worst of her blows and shrugging off the lighter ones as I tried to find an opening.

"Come on, Jake! Xena's not that tough!" I heard Marco cry out.

Rachel kept her eyes on mine, but I could tell by the fire in her eyes that she had been distracted by the comment. That was my moment. I surged forward, plowing her to the ground. I leapt to the side as she kicked, and her hind paws only brushed my striped pelt. I leapt on her before she could recover, effectively subduing her. She flailed her paws and squirmed, by I was pressing my body on her to prevent her from moving.

"Yield," I ordered her as pushed down a litte harder, knowing that she would struggle for a good long while if I didn't speed up the process.

To my surprise, she spat in my eye. I yowled in surprise, and then suddenly I was the one on the bottom.

"Yield," she hissed in my ear.

I tried to push myself free, but I was held fast. She had copied my hold perfectly. "I yield," I stated.

Rachel jabbed my nose before jumping off me. She then settled down in the shade and began grooming her long brown fur. "Want to go for a round after you're done with Ax?" she asked Marco nonchalantly.

I could see Marco pale despite his short grey fur. "I think I'm good," he said with a nervous smile.

"Nice trick," I complimented Rachel as I settled down a few paces from her. "Planning to use that often?"

She snorted. "I'd prefer to save it as a last resort," she replied. "You'd be surprised how difficult it is to aim spit."

I didn't comment to that as I settled down to watch Ax and Marco spar.


~Lionblaze~

"Old enemies rising? Sacrifice of blood?" Lionblaze echoed. "Does StarClan have nothing better to do than to send us riddles and mysteries?"

"Why does it always have to be blood?" Dovewing asked mournfully.

"I wish I knew," Jayfeather muttered.

The three of them were meeting in the medicine cat den. Leafpool was out collecting herbs, so Jayfeather had decided to inform the other two about the prophecy. After all, they were part of the three, so he figured they deserved to know despite Bramblestar's orders.

"And you say they didn't show up at the Moonpool?" Lionblaze asked.

Jayfeather nodded. "Now I wish that I had pressed the other medicine cats for information," he said. "This is too confusing."

"Don't worry, we're the Three," said Dovewing. "There's nothing we can't handle!"

"We were the Three," Lionblaze reminded her. "Our powers are gone."

"Not completely," Dovewing insisted. "Besides, we don't need powers to save the clan! Firestar accomplished more than the three of us put together, and he didn't have any of our powers!"

"Saving the clan isn't easy when we don't know who or what our enemy is," Jayfeather grumbled. "StarClan is even more cryptic than usual, and Midnight and the Rock aren't helping me either."

"We could try to figure it out," said Dovewing.

"Do you fancy yourself a genius?" Jayfeather snapped.

"No need to get your tail in a bunch," said Lionblaze sharply. "Trying is better than doing nothing."

"Fine," said Jayfeather grumpily. "Go ahead. Try your best."

"Let's see," said Dovewing thoughtfully. "The first part is, when strangers take root, right?" Jayfeather nodded. "Well, those rogues we've been scenting are stranger, and they may be settling in the area."

Lionblaze nodded approvingly. "See, we're already making progress!"

"I considered that angle already," Jayfeather muttered. "While the rogues may be strangers, it's impossible to tell if their settling in the area without leaving our territory. The only kind of roots we have control over is the one in our own clan. However, unless some rogues walk up on the border and ask to join the clan, I don't think we'll have much control over that part of the prophecy."

Lionblaze noticed Dovewing's downcast expression. "Don't worry," he said to her encouragingly. "There's still the rest of it to solve. What's the next part again?"

"Old enemies arise," Dovewing recited. "Which enemies though?"

Jayfeather snorted. "The clan has made many enemies over the moons," he informed her. "Good luck guessing that one."

"We can at least keep an eye out for old troublemakers," said Lionblaze.

"Don't you realize that if any of the clan's old enemies show up, Sandstorm will point them out so we can rip them apart?" Jayfeather asked. "Once again, we have no say in this waiting game."

"Disaster will only be averted through a sacrifice of blood," Dovewing said, completeing the prophecy. "Well, we could keep an eye on everyone in the clan with relatives that are evil."

"That narrows it down to only about half of the clan," said Jayfeather sarcastically.

"Stop it, Jayfeather," Lionblaze said sternly. "You have no right to take out your frustrations on Dovewing. She's only trying to help."

"Well she can't!" Jayfeather snapped. "There's nothing we can do about the prophecy except wait for it to come true, just like we've done in the past!"

Lionblaze growled, but knew that his brother was right. "We'll just have to make sure we're ready for whatever comes our way," he said.

"At least it's greenleaf," said Dovewing. "We won't have to worry about empty bellies."

"Unless the lake runs dry or get poisoned," Jayfeather grumbled.

Lionblaze sighed in exasperation. "Come on, Dovewing," said the golden warrior. "Let's leave Jayfeather to mope in peace.' Dovewing was silent as she followed Lionblaze out Jayfeather's den.

"He's even grumpier than usual," the she-cat murmured worriedly.

"The vision that accompanied the prophecy must have scared him," Lionblaze said with a nod. "He'll be fine though. You know, after he spends the next few sunrises thinking we're all going to drop dead."

She frowned at me. "That wasn't funny."

The golden tom sighed. "I know."

"You're scared too, aren't you?"

"Yes," he admitted. "I'm no longer unbeatable, and if the clan needs to be ready for battle—"

"You're still one of the strongest warriors in the clan," Dovewing assured him. "I know that you could still fight two rogues of your size and win. We're more than just our powers, you know?"

Lionblaze purred. "I'm glad one of us keeps a clear head," he said with a smile. Suddenly, something caught his eye and he turned his head away.

Dovewing followed his gaze. "Don't worry, I'm not going to keep you," she said with a purr as she bounded away to give me some space.

Lionblaze nodded to her gratefully before padding across the camp. "Good catch, Cinderheart," the tom complemented his mate as she placed three mice in the fresh-kill pile.

"There's more to bring back," she replied with a purr. "Care to join me?"

Lionblaze nodded in affirmation, and followed her out of camp. Some of the flowers of newleaf were still in bloom, giving the air a fragrant aroma. The rays of light from the sun warmed the pair, but the leaves of the trees shaded them from the worst of the heat.

The pair of warriors were just out of earshot of camp when Cinderheart asked lionblaze, "So, what's the omen this time?"

Lionblaze immediately lost his balance and tumbled over a protruding tree root. "What prophecy?" he asked as he clambered to his paws.

Cinderheart responded with a mrrow of laughter. "Don't play dumb with me, Lionblaze," she said. "Jayfeather's grumpier than usual, and I just saw you talking to Dovewing."

"But we—"

"Not to mention, I asked you about an omen, while you replied about a prophecy," she added. "Give it up, Lionblaze, your face says it all."

Lionblaze gave her a sheepish smile. "I really am out of practice in keeping secrets, aren't I?"

"No, I've just gotten better at seeing through them," Cinderheart replied. "Now tell me, what's this prophecy that's got Jayfeather all riled up?"

Lionblaze grumbled something under his breath, but he knew the game had been over even before it had begun. "When strangers take root and old enemies arise, destruction will only be averted through a sacrifice of blood," he recited.

"It's always blood," Cinderheart muttered.

"Unfortunately."

"So, what does it mean? Do you know?"

"We just met with Jayfeather to talk about it, but we can't get anything conclusive," said Lionblaze with a sigh. He repeated the things they had talked about at the meeting.

Cinderheart listened patiently, and then said, "StarClan has never let us down so far. We may have to be patient, but I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

"I hope so," Lionblaze muttered.

Cinderheart ducked under Lionblaze's chin and began purring. "As long as we have each other, that's enough for me," she said.

Lionblaze nuzzled the top of his mate's head affectionately. "And it will be enough for me," he replied.


Ugh, ending a chapter on a sappy note. So cliche!

Anyway, Buddy's gone, the Animorphs are still getting adjust, and we get a glimpse into how tension in the ThunderClan is building. If this seems to be getting boring, don't worry, I have a "confrontation" planned. It'll be in another two chapters I think, unless I deviate from my mental script.

'Till next time! And remember, reviews are food for a writer's soul!