"Do you really think this is the right place?" Dovewing asked.
Lionblaze shrugged. "We followed the directions that Bramblestar and Stormfur told us. We just need to ask around and see if there are any kittypets who know about clan cats."
"I know but there have to be dozens of twoleg places and this one's so big…" Dovewing trailed off. She looked around worriedly. How does any cat stand to live here? The trees were tiny and sparse, there was the stretch of thunderpath, and fences and twoleg nests blocked the surrounding view, she couldn't see anything!
"Look, there's a cat," Lionblaze meowed pointing across a thunderpath and suddenly took off.
"Lionblaze, wait!" Dovewing yowled after him. She half expected a monster to come roaring across the thunderpath and hit him but Lionblaze crossed without difficulty.
"Come on!" he called. "It's clear!"
Dovewing growled something under her breath about his recklessness before charging after him. She too, crossed without so much as hearing a monster.
"That's weird," she commented once she was standing beside Lionblaze. "I don't think we've ever crossed a thunderpath without any monsters."
"This isn't a very busy street."
Lionblaze and Dovewing looked up to see the kittypet looking down on them from atop a fence.
"Hi there," he greeted. "You don't look similar. Did your housefolk just move here?"
Lionblaze shook his head. "We're not kittypets."
"You're wild cats?" the tom asked. His eyes lit up and he jumped down off the fence. "So you hunt for yourselves and eat birds and stuff?"
"Um, yeah."
"That sounds terrible!" the tom exclaimed. "You should find some nice housefolk. I know some good ones, do you want me to help you find some?"
"No thank you," Dovewing said quickly.
"We're clan cats," Lionblaze added.
"I've never heard of clan cats," the tom said. Lionblaze and Dovewing exchanged a disappointed glance.
"We're looking for some cats," Dovewing continued. "Do you know any cats named Smudge or Princess?"
"Smudge… Princess…" the tom mused. "No, I don't think so."
"How about Ravenpaw or Barley?" Lionblaze asked.
"Ravenpaw? What a weird name, I think I'd remember a cat with a name like that," the tom said. "Sorry for not being much of a help. Any other cats you're looking for?"
"Can you tell us where some older cats live?" Lionblaze asked. "If we're in the right place, maybe they'll remember the clans."
"Old cats… old cats… There's an old she-cat living two streets that way," the tom said pointing with his tail. "She might be able to help you."
"Thanks," Dovewing said, dipping her head. The tom looked confused a moment then did the same thing. Dovewing looked to Lionblaze. "Come on, let's go."
Dovewing followed Lionblaze as the two walked across the top of a fence. "Do you see anything?"
"No," Lionblaze sighed. "Maybe we should- wait, I see a cat. That kittypet told us to look for an old she-cat, right?"
"Where?" Dovewing asked looking around. Lionblaze jumped down off the fence and padded up to a twoleg porch. Dovewing did the same and spotted an old grey she-cat lying in the sun on a slab of stone connected to the twoleg nest.
"Hello," Lionblaze greeted. The she-cat opened her eyes.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"We're clan cats," Dovewing said.
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
Dovewing sighed. "We're looking for some cats. Do you know any cats named Ravenpaw or Barley?"
"Or Princess? How about Smudge?"
The she-cat stared at the two a moment. "You think because I'm old I know every cat around?"
"Do you?" Lionblaze asked.
"I met a cat named Smudge. A black and white tom, I think. His housefolk have a nice garden. Nice cat, that one. Always lets me sun there," the she-cat said.
Lionblaze and Dovewing exchanged an excited look. We're at the right place!
"Can you show us where he lives?" Lionblaze asked.
The she-cat flicked her tail. "I don't feel like getting up."
Lionblaze looked disappointed. He and Dovewing exchanged a glance.
"Can you at least give us directions?" Dovewing begged.
"Stupid she-cat…" Dovewing heard Lionblaze grumble under his breath. Normally she'd scold him for saying something so rude but at this point she didn't care. The duo had followed the old she-cats directions and they'd proven faulty.
But they did know Smudge was around here somewhere. They'd been walking for a long time and had spoken to a number of kittypets while doing so.
Dovewing stared at her tired paws as she trudged after Lionblaze. She couldn't really see any point in walking anymore but she didn't want to be the one to suggest heading back to Jayfeather and Crane's Wing.
Dovewing let out a long sigh. Her gaze flicked around lazily. She spotted a cat washing himself beside an oddly shaped rose bush. She padded up to him. "Hi, do you know a cat named Smudge? Or Princess?"
The cat stared at her a moment. "My name's Smudge."
Dovewing's eyes widened in surprise. After all this time she hadn't really expected to find him. "Lionblaze, I found him!"
Lionblaze looked up from where he was sniffing at a puddle. His expression significantly brightened as he bounded over. "Really?"
Lionblaze skidded to a halt beside the two. Smudge cowered back a bit at the sight of such a large tom.
"Um, can I help you?" Smudge asked.
"We're clan cats," Lionblaze explained. "I'm Lionblaze, this is Dovewing."
Smudge's face lit up. "Clan cats? Do you know a cat named Firestar?"
"Yes! He was our clan leader," Dovewing told him.
Smudge gave a purr then cut it short and frowned. "Was?"
Dovewing dropped his gaze.
"Firestar died a few moons ago," Lionblaze told him softly.
Smudge's eyes went round with horror. He let out a sad wail. Dovewing touched her tail tip to his shoulder comfortingly.
"What happened?" Smudge asked after a few moments. "Your clan leaders are supposed to have nine lives, right?"
Lionblaze nodded. "They do. Firestar sacrificed his last life to save all the clans."
Smudge nodded sadly and looked at his paws.
"I'm sorry for bringing bad news," Dovewing started, "but we're looking for ThunderClan's old territory. And the Moonstone."
Smudge looked up at her. "I don't know what the Moonstone is but I can show you where ThunderClan's territory used to be."
"Thank you," Dovewing murmured.
"Do you know a cat named Ravenpaw or Barley?" Lionblaze asked.
Smudge nodded. "Yeah. Barley's that farm cat, right?"
Lionblaze shrugged. "I think so."
"Would you like me to take you to him?" Smudge offered, still sounding down. "It's a bit farther than I'm used to going but this sounds important."
"It is," Dovewing told him.
"Can we go get the others first?" Lionblaze asked. "We shouldn't leave them."
"Others?" Smudge questioned. "Oh, you're those wild cats everyone's been talking about."
"The kittypets have been talking about us?"
Smudge nodded. "Yeah. One of the house cats around here found a group of wild cats and his housefolk caught one of them and took him to the vet. My friend Cody heard that he had these weird eyes and this real nasty scar."
"That's my brother, Jayfeather," Lionblaze told him.
"Cool!" Smudge said enthusiastically. "Wait until the others hear I met the wild cat!"
Smudge began walking away. Lionblaze and Dovewing sighed and went after him.
"Wrong way!"
Author's Note: Coincidentally, I'm in a weird mood and I was in a weird mood when I wrote this.
Reviews-
.05- Thanks a lot. Yes, I do have a schedule (you have asked before but don't worry, I don't mind). I usually update daily but I occasionally miss a few days. I know I did a few days this week. Thanks for your insight about how Jayfeather/ Jay's Wing is represented. I never really thought about it much, I'm glad you're liking it.