Darktail shook his fur. Snow sprayed in every direction, until his ebony pelt was clean. A new snow had come the night before, leaving the world in a coat of white. There wouldn't be much prey, Darktail knew it. But maybe there would be enough to keep the clan going strong for another day. The sky was still blackened, and the air was cold. In places where dirt was still left visible, it was cold and hard to any cat's paw, and not a pleasure to walk on.
Sniffing the air, while holding one paw up, Darktail thought he caught a wiff of prey, and not a stale scent either. He traced it, smelling the earth. It was hard to track prey in the snow, for it muffled the scents, and confused them. He seemed to be getting closer, but he didn't like how his black pelt stood out against the snow. Prey could easily be warned if they caught a glimpse of him.
He thought about the attack that would come tommorow. On those cats who dared to camp on MoonClan grounds. He flicked his tail, the scent was stronger then ever. Then he spotted it. A snowshoe hare, nibbling on some sort of winter plant. Darktail crouched down into hunting position. He shook his haunches, preparing to pounce.
In a swift movement he caught the rabbit by the neck, twisted to the side, and finished it off. He looked to the sky, and even though he could see no light, he guessed it to be Sun High. He picked up his prey, and carried it towards the camp, taking in the forest scents as he went along.
His skin twitched beneath his pelt as he came to the Tarpath, formerly known as the Thunderpath. No monsters roared by, and it was icy and slick. Beyond he could see the long abandoned ShadowClan camp. He looked farther, trying to spot the Carrion Place, now known as Rat-place. He saw it as a small speck in the distance, and something was moving at the front.
Darktail tried to make the figure out, and found he couldn't. All he knew is that it wasn't cat, it was much bigger. He smelled the air, and twitched his whiskers, but still he didn't figure it out.
He turned back to camp, trotting along. This he would have to tell Vinestar. Oh, but poor Vinestar. First the StoneClan cats defile the grounds of the MoonClan, and now mysterious figures were walking outside the dump. A low growl rose in his chest. He turned back for one last gaze at the Rat-place...then he saw it. The figure was running towards him, at amazing speeds.
Darktail gasped, then began to make a run for the camp, but too late. The large animal had caught up with him, and a stench filled the deputy's nostrils. Dog. As the massive creature dodged trees running for him, Darktail felt the snapping jaws clamp his hindquarters. He yowled in pain and fear. The smell of dog overwelmed him. He felt himself being shook, then flung towards a tree like a mouse being played with by a cat.
He heard only the crack of his bones against the trunk, muffled hisses and yowls, then nothing. Brackenfang and Sandfur had come to the rescue, fighting off the dog, until the enormous canine was forced to retreat, badly scratched and bitten.
Sandfur turned her attention to the fallen deputy. Blood tricked out of his nostrils, and he was bitting in many placing, and his paws hung limp. Brackenfang's eyes widened, and he ran back to the camp to retrieve the Medicine Cat, Grayface.
The snow beneath Darktail began to turn red with blood. Sandfur's eyes were wide with horror, she licked him, trying to stop bleeding in some areas. Minutes later, though it seemed like hours to Sandfur, Brackenfang returned with the old medicine cat.
Brackfang murmured something about dogs beneath his breath. Grayface imediatly pushed some cobwebs she had brought onto Darktail's wounds. The bleeding stopped a few moments later, but Darktail was still knocked out.
Grayface turned to Sandfur and Brackenfang, "Come now, we must move him out of here, before that terrible dog returns."
Sandfur nodded quietly. She wasn't much for talking, as her brother, Brackenfang, had always said. Her tail twitched nervously. Gently she helped Brackenfang and Grayface move the deputy back to the safety of the camp, and into the Medicine Cat'sden.
Darktail soon began to stirr, yowling with pain as he became fully aware of everything. His nose was still bleeding, and he felt as though every bone in his body was broken. Murmuring things under his breath, he looked up to see Grayface busily sorting out herbs in another part of the den.
"What happened?" he muttered in a low and pain filled way.
Grayface came over to him, her paws making soft padding sounds on the moss that lined the den. She sat down on her haunches and curled her tail around her paws.
"Darktail. I see you are awake," she purred, "You were attacked by a dog."
At the word 'dog', Darktail seemed to start. But upon feeling a sharp pain, he was forced to return to his laying position. He growled to himself, memories of the attack rushing over him. The den seemed silent.
"Grayface...where are the clan?"
"They've left this morning to attack the StoneClan," she meowed, "Darktail, you are the only one left that I can tell a prophecy to, besides the elders and kits."
Darktail's eyes widened, a prophecy. He hoped it would be good news for the clan.
"Actually, two prophecies," she said, "One is for the clan, and one for you alone. I shall start with the one for the clan:
O Clan of Ice
And Clan of Snow
Beware the outcasts
Of the Stone."
Darktail blinked, lashing his tail. "What does it mean?" he hissed.
Grayface shook her head, "I'll tell you later. Here is your prophecy:
One of dark
Beware the fangs
And watch behind your back
The one of tooth
The one of bark
Is shortly coming back."
Darktail shuttered, he knew exactly what that prophecy meant. He would have to watch for the dog. Every part of him ached, and the den was silent until...
"Darktail! Grayface! Everyone!" came a yowl.
Darktail looked to the entrance, to see the apprintice Shadowpaw, rushing towards them. He halted inside the den, clearly out of breath.
"Darktail, it's Vinestar!" he meowed urgently, "He's hurt, oh, bad hurt!"
The black deputy's heart skiped a beat. He looked to Grayface. If the IceClan leader was wounded, it meant the clan would be more vaulnerable to outside attacks from revil clans, as StoneClan and FireClan. They were lucky that EarthClan remained to themselves, and usually didn't participate in wars or raids.
Grayface was already rushing out of the den to the battle zone, leaving the deputy alone inside the warmpth and safety of the den.
Vinestar was on his side, eyes wide, and hissing with pain, cursing the StoneClanners. All around, battle was still going strong, IceClanners battled the StoneClanners, driving them back from their camp. It was plain to see that IceClan was winning, for StoneClan didn't have many cats.
Grayface arrived, and imediatly began looking for Vinestar. She found him in his place, bleeding from a major wound in the side. She carried in her mouth, a bundle of cobwebs and assorted herbs, and poppyseeds.
She sat by him, applying the cobwebs, and telling him to eat certain herbs from her pile. He growled as he chewed the bitter herbs, and felt strength again flow into him. The bleeding had begun to stop, and Grayface worked busily, trying to move the fallen leader away from the battle.
Once they were hidden in a clump of bushes, Grayface was questioning what to do. Then she saw him, Halfstar, the evil leader of StoneClan. She snarled, flicking her tail. The strange tom smelled of rotten prey, and...Grayface thought she detected a hint of dog.
Halfstar was headed towards them. He yowled a battle cry, and pounced on a nearby IceClan cat. Grayface thanked MoonClan that he hadn't scented her.
But then Halfstar seemed to become aware of something, and prowled towards Grayface. She held her breath, and tried to stick downwind. But it was too late. Hovering over her was the dark-tabby body of Halfstar, his teeth bared.
If you have been wondering...here are the new clans and their terras:
IceClan: ThunderClan Terra
FireClan: WindClan Terra
EarthClan: RiverClan Terra
StoneClan: StarClan's Sacred Grounds