First off, I moved this over to the Warriors section, which I am so glad they finally have so we don't have to do searches anymore. Also, some of you wanted me to write a sequel. I may or may not do that. I might write one because then I could officially call that one and my other two stories a 'saga,' and I've always wanted to write a saga. One the other hand, I already have a plotline for another story, sortof like an alternate to One of WindClan. I'll need the opinions of you guys.
Sharpclaw, though her body was still and her breathing rhythmic, was wide awake, all her senses alert. She was nearly certain all the other cats were asleep, but there was no harm in being careful. She had to be absolutely sure that nobody would stop her when she snuck out.
Finally, she stood up. She was lucky that the Pride was so lenient about warfare, and didn't have watches. Her paws silent, she padded out of the camp, and through the trees toward Katalion's territory. She ran there, to save time, and didn't waste a moment in sneaking around the back edge of the camp, scenting through the briars for Nightshade's scent. She eventually found it, and, unbelievably, he was alone. So far luck had been on her side that night.
With a deep breath, Sharpclaw poked her head through the briars, all too aware of her racing heart. She prodded Nightshade with her nose until he awoke. He blinked himself awake and looked around before seeing Sharpclaw and glaring at her.
"You shouldn't be here. What do you want?" he whispered quietly.
"I want to talk to you." she whispered back.
"Why?"
Sharpclaw was silent for a moment before answering him. "Just...please. Come out here."
Nightshade still simply gave her a hard stare, and turned away from her. "I don't get why you, of all cats, would want to talk to me."
Sharpclaw stared at him, confused, before sighing. "Because I missed you, Nightshade."
His head turned back around. He didn't say anything for a moment, then, "Alright. I'm coming."
Sharpclaw backed her head out of the briars and watched while Nightshade emerged, his lithe tabby form slipping easily through the thorns. He trotted briskly over to her and sat, staring at her.
Sharpclaw realized her was waiting for her to speak. She coughed slightly, and decided to get to the point. "Why are you mad at me?"
He gave her an incredulous look before giving off a slight laugh. "Why? You think you can hand someone off as a prisoner of a Pride and they won't be mad?"
Sharpclaw stared back. "What? Prisoner? I never handed you off to anyone!"
"Of course you did! I just woke up one morning to find that those renegades you're living with now are surrounding me, and you're nowhere in sight!"
"That was because I was already long gone by then! I didn't even know who these Prides were until just the other day! I thought you'd be safe!"
"And why should I believe you?"
Sharpclaw stared back helplessly into his piercing blue eyes, and she suddenly though of Carmen, and how Nightshade's eyes looked so much like his...and her own. She suddenly thought back to her long lost brother from ThunderClan, the dark tabby. And if his eyes looked so much like Carmens and her own... But it just didn't seem possible. But she had to find out.
"Nightshade," she started, her heart pounding once again. "What is your mother's name?"
He glowered. "Why do you want to know?"
"Please. Who is your mother?"
He studied her for a moment before answering. "Her name is Bluetide."
Sharpclaw felt a jolt run through her, and she overbalanced, nearly falling forward. Nightshade stared at her.
"Sharpclaw? What's wrong with you?"
She simply breather for a moment, letting the shock sink in, before she hurriedly rushed through the tale of finding Carmen and discovering who she really was, and that Nightshade was her brother. But she had hardly finished when Nightshade stopped her, shaking his head.
"If you believe anything that old fool says, whoever he is, you're a fool, too. I'm not your brother, Sharpclaw."
And he ran back into his den. Sharpclaw stared helplessly after him before realizing that she had to get back to her own Pride. As she ran through the forest, she remembered something Kanila had said, something about a big attack on Katalion's Pride. She realized that she would be fighting against her brother, even if he refused to accept the fact.
Lightpelt couldn't sleep. He really tried, but the howling wind wouldn't allow him to do so. Both wind and rain had picked up dramatically, and the sick cats had been covered with every bit of spare moss they could find to keep them dry and warm.
Stretching himself out, Lightpelt looked up as Moonpelt ran over to him.
"Patchclaw wants to see you." She said solemnly.
Lightpelt sighed and walked out of the den to see that Barkface's body had been moved from Foxnose's den. Several cats were gathered around him, sharing tongues with their lost friend. His whiskers twitching in the rain, Lightpelt decided to go and do the same later, when the others had left.
The calico walked on toward Patchclaw. "Moonpelt said you wanted to see me." His voice, although slightly louder than normal, was threatened to be carried off in the wind.
The deputy nodded. "Kinkstar has ordered that if this storm gets any worse, everyone is to block themselves up inside the dens. This may be a hurricane, and it doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon. I want you and Talon to go survey the land to see how damaged it is. It may give us some clues as to how bad it really is."
Lightpelt nodded and went to fetch the dog in question, who was helping to pile branches near the den entrances in case they needed to board themselves up. Lightpelt motioned him over with his tail and related the news to him. As they left the camp, Lightpelt smiled at his friend.
"I still don't see why you don't want them to know you can understand us."
Talon growled softly, laughing. "Let's just say I didn't want to attract attention."
Lightpelt laughed back. "Too late."
The two of them took a wide sweep of the WindClan territory, surprised to see that the damage wasn't nearly as bad as they had suspected. A few smaller trees were down, and the river had grown a few tail-lengths wider from the non-stop rain for two days, but other than that, nothing seemed too wrong.
The pair of them ran quickly through the rain back to the camp to find that the Clan was panicked, rushing around the camp, trying to make sure they were in the right place, wherever that was. Foxnose bounded toward them.
"Kinkstar's given the order." The medicine cat told them hastily. "Lightpelt, he wants you to help close off the elders before you go to your own den. Talon, you come with me."
Lightpelt momentarily hesitated, wondering why Foxnose had outright spoken to Talon instead of motioning to him, but his brother was gone, so he rushed off to help his fellow warriors with the elder's den, hardly noticing the rain had lightened up somewhat.
Though the warriors were stoic and silent, Lightpelt could feel the tension and fear between them all. The apprentices were kept being kept with the warriors simply as a safety measure. Mayheart was watching over them in the den. Moonfur would be staying with the elders, and Snowstorm with Sleekheart in the nursery. The sick cats in Foxnose's den were being moved to Kinkstar's roomy den, along with the leader, deputy, and medicine cat himself.
But just then Foxnose came running over to Lightpelt, shouting against the wind.
"Redpaw's missing! He wanted to help you, but I told him to stay put, and he must have run off!"
Lightpelt was torn for a moment. The warriors would need all the help they could get, but at the same time, a sick apprentice wouldn't stand a chance in the weather.
"I'll find him!" he finally shouted, running off toward the entrance to the camp. Talon came running up beside him. When the two of them came to the other side of the wall, Lightpelt ran quickly toward the river while Talon shot off toward the ShadowClan border.
Lightpelt didn't see how he would find Redpaw in the gale. The wind had already picked up yet again, and he felt as if he was going to be lifted up off of the ground. He wondered how an apprentice could stand it. There would be no scent trails, not in the current weather, and he couldn't hear much through the wind, so all he had was his eyes.
And they weren't much help either. He had to squint through the wind and the rain. Redpaw was lucky he had such a bright red pelt, or else Lightpelt would never find him.
But, finally, he did. The calico was turning back from the river toward the ShadowClan border to meet up with Talon when he saw a flash of red, and a wail came faintly to his ears. He sighed in relief and ran toward the form.
"Redpaw!" He shouted. The apprentice turned toward him with frightened eyes, but his expression relaxed slightly as he saw Lightpelt trotting toward him.
"Lightpelt! I'm sorry! I just got mad, and I wanted to go get more branches!"
"There's no time to explain now! This way!"
Lightpelt ran toward the oak tree just in front of them. The weather had eroded it slightly, and there was a hole in front of its roots. Lightpelt pushed Redpaw in and climbed in after him. The weather hadn't yet been able to find its way into the hollow, and the air was old and stale. Still, it provided more than adequate shelter. Hearing Redpaw cough, Lightpelt wrapped his body around the smaller cat, and did his best to keep him warm.
The calico wasn't quite sure how long he stayed like that, but it must have been a long time; when he woke up, the storm had stopped. Carefully, so not to disturb Redpaw, he poked his head out of the hole. The sun was shining, without any rain, and the wind was now just a passing breeze. With a sigh and a shake of his fur, he woke Redpaw.
The apprentice blinked himself awake before remembering what had happened and jumped up. Lightpelt silenced him as his mouth opened and motioned skyward. The red cat suddenly noticed the sun and bounded past Lightpelt. The calico ran after him and the two of them ran back to the camp, just in time to see Patchclaw come out of the entrance. The deputy sighed and smiled as they walked up to him.
"We were worried about you two. When you didn't come back, Lightpelt, we feared the worst. Anyway, Kinkstar's overseeing the cleanup, but you'll see the damage isn't as bad as it seems."
Lightpelt followed him back in, Redpaw in tow, to see the deputy was right. The wall had been mostly demolished, but that could be easily repaired, and aside from clearing the debris out of the camp, not much had to be done. Kinkstar was dividing the cats into two groups: one to clear the camp, and one to repair the wall. Lightpelt could see Talon already barreling a large pile of branches away with his long snout. The calico felt a wave of relief that his friend had made it back safely. With a sigh, he trotted over to help the dog.
The end is coming! Well, not for another few chapters or so, but still it is growing ever closer! I already have the last few chapters typed up, so they should be posted up here pretty quickly. And remember: Sequel or Alternate? Or I could do both, I guess. It might take a while, though.