Cindercall, Nettlepelt, and Mumblebee moved back towards camp, their ears low.
The grey warrior was mulling heavily over what little information Feather had granted her.
Scorch and her had been mates, but after he became Beta for Alpha, he stopped speaking to her and did awful things within their pack.
Her ears lowered.
What happened, there...? She wondered. Feather said there had been no warning signs... Just sudden change... She glanced at Nettlepelt. I know Nettlepelt, and... He'd never do that... And I'd never do that to him. We've always spoken, and he's always been so open in his own way...
Her gaze fell again.
What changed...? If I figure that out, maybe I'll figure out his weakness. Maybe I can hit him where it hurts most...
She sighed, before pausing as a scent crossed her path.
Her ears perked with confusion as she could smell the faint scent of Redear cross her nose.
Why was the tom out this far in the territory? It was awfully close to Feather and the training meadow...
She hummed curiously, glancing at Nettlepelt curiously. The tom had noticed the scent as well, from the way his eyes sharpened and his ears perked, but he didn't speak, meeting her gaze and offering a small shrug.
As the three cats continued onward, more cat scents filled Cindercall's nose.
First Hollypetal's, which was even fainter than Redear's, going off in a slightly different direction than the tom, and then, much fresher, was Junipersky and Fleetpaw.
Those scents made Cindercall stop, her ears twitching with confusion. She glanced at Nettlepelt and Mumblebee.
"You two go on ahead," she mewed quietly, ears twitching. Fleetpaw and Junipersky had passed through here not too long ago—and despite their slight misdirection, it appeared they were heading back towards the training meadow where the trio had just been. Where Feather was held.
Mumblebee and Nettlepelt glanced at each other curiously, before Nettlepelt turned his gaze to her.
"What's wrong, Cindercall?" He mewed softly.
"Nothing," she replied. "Just... Curious as to why Junipersky and Fleetpaw are out here right now."
He nods, carefully turning back towards Mumblebee.
"Be careful, Cindercall," he mewed gently, as they began to make their way towards camp.
"I will be," she replied softly, watching them go.
And then, turning—with a slight wince thanks to her sore leg—she trotted after Junipersky and Fleetpaw's scent, heading back towards the meadow once again.
The sunlight glimmered down on the tall grass when she entered the meadow again, and she almost immediately spotted Junipersky sitting on the rock in the center of the meadow, the she-cat's whiskers twitching as she slowly glanced around, surveying her surroundings.
Silent, Cindercall watched from the edge of the trees, ears pricked curiously as she searched the meadow for her apprentice.
Strange... Where's Fleetpaw?
It wasn't long before she received her answer, as the smaller apprentice lunged for the larger warrior, his lithe but muscled paws outstretched, his jaws parted in a yowl.
Junipersky barely had enough time to dodge his attack, but was quick to return it by slamming her shoulder into his, sending him into the ground. He scrambled to his paws swiftly, turning on her with little hesitation, crouching down.
For a brief moment, they circled each other, ears low, eyes narrowed, and Cindercall watched on.
Fleetpaw leapt once more, lunging for Junipersky again and this time landing on her shoulders. They scuffled in the dirt, rolling over and over as Junipersky finally pinned him down.
And then Fleetpaw went limp, and Junipersky's eyes widened slightly, her paws releasing him as she went to sniff him curiously.
With another wail—this time directly in the she-cat's ears—Fleetpaw roared up, knocking the heavier she-cat off of her paws and pinning her to the ground.
Cindercall's gaze brightened at the sight of her apprentice's battle skills, and she slowly began to approach, as Fleetpaw let up the other warrior.
"Wow, kitten!" Junipersky crowed. "That was some nifty fighting skills! Cindercall's really teaching you the good stuff, isn't she?"
"She is," he agreed, beaming beneath her praise. "But I know I've got a lot to learn before I become a warrior."
"You're right," Junipersky agreed. "But you'll make a fine warrior indeed."
Cindercall stepped into view, her tail curling with delight.
"I have to agree with you, Junipersky," she mewed.
The two cats jumped in surprise, turning to look at her with wide eyes.
"Cindercall!" Junipersky gasped, her ears lowering. "Oh! I didn't expect to see you so soon!"
"Training my apprentice for me, were we?" Cindercall purred teasingly.
"Well, I just figured, y'know since you were busy with Feather n'—"
"You... Know about Feather?" Cindercall's gaze widened.
"Eelstar announced it," Fleetpaw offered. "After you left. I... hope you're not mad at Eelstar. Or that we were training without you."
Cindercall paused, before shaking her head. "No. If anything, I'm taken aback that Eelstar announced it. I figured the Clan would be too riled up to hear about her for a while..." She sighed. "But, I'm not angry at all." She turned to Fleetpaw. "I got to see you fight well, and," she glanced at Junipersky. "I can tell you two finally made up with each other. It was a nice sight, indeed. I couldn't detect you at all within the tall grass either, which is amazing."
Fleetpaw beamed at her praise, and Junipersky nudged him playfully.
"See? I figured she wouldn't scold us or anything."
"Pfft, shut up!" He replied playfully. "You were super worried!"
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Now, now, you two," Cindercall purred. "Instead of horsing around, why don't you two go a few rounds again?"
They paused, looking at her in surprise.
The grey warrior lifted her sore paw.
"Banged myself up earlier this morning and I figured I'd let it rest a bit. So, instead, I'll observe for now, if that's okay with you Junipersky."
The warrior fluffed out her fur excitedly.
"Okay? That's great! C'mon, Fleetpaw, I want to show you some tricks you can do with that stalking technique!"
"Tricks?!" The apprentice leapt to his paws. "Yes! This is gonna be fun!"
Cindercall stepped back to watch the two begin, a purr lifting in her throat.
While she didn't understand Eelstar's motives, she wouldn't argue.
Instead, she would do her duty and train her apprentice as best she can.
Junipersky turned to Fleetpaw and began to teach him a dip-and-dive move and how to hone his stalking skills, and Cindercall watched as they began to perfect the technique. She watched him weave in and out of the grass, at first struggling to hide himself the second and third times, but eventually figuring out how to re-cloak himself within the grass after leaping out to attack Junipersky.
Soon, the smaller apprentice was quickly dishing out attacks from all directions, dipping back into the shelter of the grass before Junipersky could even see him.
She purred with pride, her tail twitching as she watched him practice, shouting out tips whenever she saw him stumble or pause in thinking.
As the day progressed, Junipersky and Fleetpaw shifted from the dip-and-dive tactics to simply improving his stalking technique, and Cindercall flexed her sore paw.
She wanted nothing more than to join in, but she had promised to rest her paw.
She sighed, glancing towards the treeline.
Only for her ears to prick as a sudden yowl of surprise seemed to echo into the air.
Junipersky and Fleetpaw fell silent, and all three cats lifted their heads, Cindercall's fur bristling.
She glanced at them, rising to her paws and flicking her tail for them to follow, before setting towards the trees cautiously, her ears low.
Is it MountainClan? She fretted inwardly. It was near their border, where the sound had come from.
Were they going to attack?
As the three cats entered the trees, Cindercall's ears perked upwards as she heard soft voices speaking ahead of them.
"—it's about time you showed up here," Redear's voice carried softly through the trees, and the grey warrior paused, confusion swarming her.
Why was Redear out here?
She had remembered his scent earlier, but she had figured he was out hunting or something.
Why was he by the MountainClan border...?
"I know, I'm sorry..." A familiar voice met Cindercall's ears, and she slid forward, motioning to Junipersky and Fleetpaw to remain quiet.
Slowly, she ducked behind a large bush, glancing around it to see Redear standing there at the border, speaking to none other than Petalpelt.
The pretty russet she-cat looked to Redear bashfully, her ears low.
"Well?" Redear prompted gently. "Why'd you ask me to meet you here, Petalpelt?" He watched her in silence, his tail flicking as he eyed her carefully.
Petalpelt glanced around, her gaze searching the trees as though to see if the tom had come alone.
Thankfully, they were downwind to her, and the she-cat's gaze passed over them without a single pause or sign that she'd seen them.
She sighed, before turning to Redear, slumping her shoulders.
"I hate to ask you MoonClan cats for help," she mumbled. "MountainClan should be able to deal with their own problems, but this..." Her gaze darkens. "This is too much for just one Clan to handle. I need your help, Redear. MoonClan's help. Because... Because Runningstar has gone mad due to that stupid Prophecy that's shown up."
Cindercall's ears perked.
Were they talking about the Prophecy of Ash?
She scowled slightly.
No, this wasn't right... Why would Runningstar lose his mind over that?
Maybe he forced Shadowcry to kill Oddbird because of it? She thought.
"What do you mean?" Redear asked. "What Prophecy?"
"That one about the, uh," Petalpelt scowled. "About the black cat attacking before the final battle, and how the mountain'll crumble to the moon or whatever."
Cindercall's gaze widened.
There's another Prophecy?!
Her ears pinned to her head.
No, of course... Her lips draw back in a snarl. I don't need protecting, Eelstar! This Prophecy is my damned burden too!
He must've hidden it from her, if he even knew about it. Which, granted, that was a possibility, but considering how secretive and worried both he and Mumblebee had been acting when she'd insisted on going to the last Gathering started to make more sense to her.
She fell silent, refocusing her attention to the conversation in front of her.
"Strange..." Redear was mumbling. "Eelstar never mentioned that Prophecy."
"Well duh. He's a black cat, Redear," Petalpelt snorted. "Now, listen, I don't think Eelstar's a bad cat, but the Prophecy's about a black cat. It'd look bad to tell his Clan that a black cat was gonna attack."
"Well, considering Runningstar and MountainClan declared war on us, I think the Clan would be very willing to let the mountain crumble," Redear retorted back. Cindercall stiffened, surprised at the annoyance in Redear's voice. Rarely did the tom ever show much emotion, always keeping a reserved tone and attitude, even if a bit sullen. "Oddbird was killed by Shadowcry, and I know several cats that'd want revenge on her."
Petalpelt fell silent, and Cindercall could see her gaze widen through the bush.
"What?" She breathed.
"Don't pretend like you don't know," Redear snapped, his white fur ruffled slightly.
Cindercall recalled how Redear used to hunt often with Oddbird. The two, along with Vinedust, very much enjoyed expeditions and hunting together.
No wonder he was so upset.
"I don't know, as a matter of fact," Petalpelt sneered in return. "Because it's impossible that Shadowcry's killed Oddbird! More than impossible... It's... It's unthinkable..."
"But—" Redear began, only for Petalpelt to hiss and cut him off.
"Don't start with your 'but', you MoonClan rat!" She snarled, before clearing her throat. "Sorry. Sorry. I need your help, you flea-head. I need help saving Shadowcry. And not just her... All of the cats with black fur within MountainClan."
Silence fell over the forest, and Cindercall froze.
"What do you mean...?" Redear whispered. "What's happened with the cats with black fur?"
"The moment that damned Prophecy showed up nearly a moon before the last Gathering, Runningstar..." Petalpelt's ears drooped against her head, and she dropped her gaze to the ground. "Runningstar trapped all cats with black fur taking up most of their body. He shoved them in a cave and now has it heavily guarded. He won't feed any of them, and they have to go off of what little's in the cave! Frogheart's tried to bring medicine to some of the sick cats, but she's at risk too because of her pattern... And..."
Petalpelt's gaze fell shut.
"Shadowcry's incredibly ill... Has been for a while now. She and Shelldust both got greencough before the Prophecy, so they've both been confined to their nests... And Talonhollow..."
Cindercall's mind reeled in horror.
Greencough... She remembered Aspenfang's illness. Despite being young and resilient, the illness had rendered him incredibly weak.
And, if Shadowcry was sick before this... Prophecy, or whatever, then she would've been too sick to kill Oddbird...
Did Hollypetal...
Lie?
"Please, Redear," Petalpelt begged, pulling Cindercall out of her thoughts. "It kills me to ask you for help when my leader's told us that you're our enemies, but... You're our only hope... RainClan's cut their borders off from us after a recent dispute, and... They won't even try to speak to us... And... And if this keeps going, my sister's going to get herself killed..."
"Your sister...?" Redear echoed gently, his gaze flashing with pain.
"Talonhollow," Petalpelt mewed. "She's been head-over-tail in love with Shadowcry since our apprenticeship. And now that Shadowcry's both ill and imprisoned, she's been trying to rally cats against Runningstar to save them. I've heard Foxtalon and Eaglesun talk... They're thinking about getting rid of her, and..." She swallowed. "I can't lose her... I can't lose—"
"Your sister..." Redear repeated softly, with gentle understanding. A pang of pain struck Cindercall's heart as she recalled young Squirrelkit, Redear's sister that never made it to her apprenticeship. And then Foxpaw, his brother who died before becoming a warrior.
Of course Redear would want to help.
Cindercall couldn't help but to agree.
"Will you help me?" Petalpelt begged, her green eyes glowing with desperation. "Please...?"
"Of course," Redear dipped his head. "I'll try to speak to Eelstar, and... I'll see what I can do..."
Petalpelt nearly collapsed from relief, dropping down into a bow as she began to cry with gratitude.
"Thank you," she wheezed. "Thank you, Redear."
Redear's ears twitched, and he leaned down, gently nosing her to her paws.
"Don't grovel," he mumbled. "It's un-warrior-like. But... Seriously, it's... Not a huge deal." His gaze darkened. "Just... go. Protect your sister for now. I'll do everything I can, I swear."
"Right," she nodded, rising to her paws. "Right... Thank you... Thank you..." With those words, she turned and fled back towards her camp, her gaze flickering over her shoulder back at the white tom several times before she crested the small ridge and disappeared.
Redear sighed, picking himself up, before turning towards the bush.
"You three can come out now," he mewed.
Cindercall stood up, while Fleetpaw and Junipersky stiffened in surprise.
"I figured you knew we were here," Cindercall mewed. "Nothing gets by your ears, Redear." She murmured.
"No, not much does," his gaze glowed softly. "I assume you heard everything."
"We did," Fleetpaw mewed, rising with Junipersky by his side. "You want to help MountainClan."
"I do," he replied. "I'm going to speak to Eelstar about it," he sighed. "I pray to StarClan that he does something for them..."
"You realize that there's a chance he'll say no," Junipersky pointed out.
"Speaking to Eelstar doesn't mean nothing will be done," Redear replied. "I will not let anything stand in my way of protecting siblings."
"Even if the whole Clan is against you?" The fluffy she-cat asked, her eyebrow raising curiously.
"Even if that's the case," he replied.
"But the whole Clan isn't against you," Cindercall replied, slowly stepping forward. To her surprise, Junipersky and Fleetpaw followed. "I'll aid in this fight, even if Eelstar says no."
"Me too," Fleetpaw replied.
"And so will I," Junipersky agreed. "I can't bear to imagine another cat going through what so many of our Clan has gone through. Even if they're dusty old MountainClan cats."
Redear seemed to relax ever so slightly, and his gaze warmed.
"Thank you." He rumbled.
Cindercall returned his warm gaze, her tail curling.
"It's no issue," she replied. "Let's return to camp. We must speak to Eelstar at once."
The four cats then turned and headed for the camp, though Cindercall lagged behind, glancing to the MountainClan forest.
She knew she wasn't the most observant, but she also knew that emotions had truly clouded Redear back there, and she wasn't sure if Junipersky or Fleetpaw had understood the truth.
Hollypetal had lied.
Shadowcry didn't kill Oddbird.
But if that was true...
Who did?
