Hello guys! I am back with another long awaited chapter! I am hoping to get some more foot traffic and reviews from this story, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter! It will be following Silverstalk, as some of you wanted to see what would happen to her away from the Clans. Well, that's all the 'spoilers' I am going to tell you all! Enjoy!
Silverstalk padded away from everything she had known, the feeling of warm sand under her paws being replaced by cool grass on her pads. She pushed herself to keep on moving until she could no longer see PelicanClan territory.
She blinked as her gaze held no emotion. It felt odd, but blocking out any emotion helped her forget about what had happened in that Clan. First, her mate had ventured too close to the waters to impress her, and now her kit had been snatched by a pelican. She shuddered slightly as she still heard the pain-filled screeches and yowls in her dreams at night. She remembered the bloody fur that she had kept for a little while, the only thing she had left of her daughter.
She blocked everybody else out, including her son, Crabpaw, and her leader that she blamed for the death of her daughter, despite knowing that it was indeed not her fault. It felt easier blaming someone else instead of herself. She should have been watching them play more closely. Her ears flattened to her head self-consciously as she padded into the tree.
Her gaze darting nervously from shadow to shadow, she looked for anything mysterious in this place. She was so used to the open sun. Not the shadows and sinister feeling that came from being under trees. Her pelt prickled as she padded on, deciding to find a place to shelter soon. She wanted to make sure she found the best shelter. Her jaws parted and a tangled web of prey and predator entered her jaws.
Her eyes widened in surprise. PelicanClan had very little ground creatures. They mostly survived on fish and crabs. She smiled as she tried to decode the intricate scents. Finally, peeling one particular scent away from the web, she moved towards it. Almost certain that it had to be a small rodent. The scent so much like the water voles and rats they found on their territory. It smelled like the occasional mouse that sheltered from the harsh winds underneath the rocks, where an expert hunter would fish it out with a swift paw for the Clan.
She used to be an expert hunter before she became a queen. She supposed that forest hunting must not be so different from beach hunting. Boy was I wrong! She felt herself trip over roots and bramble tendrils as she tried to race after her quarry.
She hissed in frustration after having tripped several times. Her claws unsheathed as she slashed a tree. Her eyes furious.
"I'm going to starve if I can't hunt for myself in a pathetic forest!" She hissed to herself as she stalked off. Her gaze traveling among the shadows as she looked for the perfect den. Her tail swished behind her as she calmed down. Her only focus at this point was on finding the perfect den.
She heard a twig snap and she wheeled around to see a loner perched on some oak roots. Their gaze was calm as they watched her.
"Who are you?" She snarled. Her lips peeled back in disgust and anger. The loner twitched his tail in amusement.
"Obviously you didn't realize this patch of forest was my territory. I'll let it slide." He smirked as he swiped a paw across his face casually.
Her pelt bristled as she whipped around. "Fine then. I'll find somewhere else to rest." She hissed as she stalked off. Her tail lashing as she pushed through the undergrowth.
The loner tilted his head before following. When she glared back at him he stopped in his tracks. "Just making sure you leave. Nothing personal." He meowed nonchalantly.
She dashed off into the forest, ignoring the thorns raking her pelt like claws as she ran. Her eyes narrowing to avoid getting slashed in the eye. She faltered slightly as a thorn imbedded deep into her paw pad. She tripped over herself, landing on her side. She hissed in pain as she licked the small trail of blood leaking from her pad.
"Well, that was graceful." The voice came from behind her. She staggered to her paws. A hiss welling up in her throat. She felt small trails of blood trickling down her side as well, most likely from the thorns she had ran through.
"I'm not out of your territory yet?" She spat as she looked to the ebony black tom that watched her with yellow eyes.
"Nope. Me and my parents own much of this forest." He mewed. His tail swishing behind him as he watched her. "What is your name?" He questioned finally after a moment of staring.
She bit her tongue from a sharp remark before she answered. "Silverstalk." She meowed. "You are?" Her emerald gaze calming slightly.
"Thorn." He responded. "Well, Silverstalk, you might want to leave our territory. My parents aren't the most understanding cats." He said her name like it was a bad taste on his tongue. It was just odd to him.
She growled as she padded off again, not caring enough to answer the tom as she moved clumsily through the undergrowth. She wasn't used to everything trying to trip you. She was used to the sand and boulders that were the only things in PelicanClan. She continued on as she let her thoughts whirl in her mind. She gave a sigh of relief as she saw a place underneath some tree roots that already had some moss growing. She curled into it, relieved to be able to get off of her paws.
She licked her pad roughly before pulling out the thorn. Quickly grabbing a pawful of cobwebs, she wrapped it. Her nose twitched as she still smelled the plentiful scents of the forest. She lapped at some condensation that had gathered in a small pool outside of her makeshift nest.
She looked to the sky that was mostly clouded by the leaves off of the trees. She noticed that it was starting to grow dark. She fought back a yawn as she stumbled back to her nest. Laying down she sent out a small prayer to StarClan. If they're even watching. She curled up tightly allowing her eyelids to close and sleep to come.
Sorry! This might not be the best chapter. It's also kind of short, but I just felt the need to update this story. Anyways, you know the drill. Favorite, follow, and review! Thank you for reading this far!
~Fangirl2005