Hey again, guys! I've been receiving questions and awesome comments *points to Snowsong*. So, before the chapter starts, I'll answer some questions.
1: Hey, Dovecloud! Is Fireblossom a Dark Forest Cat? *snickers* I can't tell you now, but you will find out sooner than thought.
2: Are these story's from every cat's POV? Yes, they are. (:
3: Will Leopardstar be making appearances in ALL of Spottedpelt's POV's? No, not all of them. Leopardstar is her guide, but won't be featured in every Spottedpelt chapter.
4: When will a tom-cat get his own chapter? WHY DO YOU SINGLE OUT FEMALES?! Hah, I don't "single-out" females. As a matter of fact, this chapter is about Snakefang.
5: How often do you update? Lately, as I hope you've all noticed, I have updated 2 chapters per day.
!~UPDATE~! I will be answering questions in every two chapters, so feel free to ask me anything about this series.
~Dove
Winged: Chapter 8: Risky Challenges
***IN THIS FANFIC, KINKFUR NEVER HAS OR HAD ANY MATES OR KITS***
Snakefang crept through the woods, stalking his prey. Sniffing the air, he followed the animal's tracks. Frog... and a... He sniffed again. Rabbit? Those are scarce in ShadowClan territory! He thought, excitement ruffling his fur. Giving chase into the forest, he noticed both scents growing stronger. Drawing closer to his prey, he dropped into a hunting crouch behind a bush. Snakefang peered through the leaves and saw the rabbit.
The white, fluffy animal was hopping closer to his hiding place. The rabbit stopped to sniff the air. Frogdung! If only it'd get closer! The rabbit paced slowly toward the bush, and nibbled on its leaves. Perfect timing! Snakefang thought, impatiently. He wiggled his hindquarters, and pounced. The trapped rabbit didn't scent him as he landed on its fluffy back, sinking his claws in its thick pelt. Landing on the ground swiftly, Snakefang bit the rabbit's neck before it could escape his claws.
"Good kill," Mewed Kinkfur, a ShadowClan she-cat, whom pelted out of a bramble bush, unexpectedly. "Thanks." He mewed back. "Strange to see rabbits in our territory, hm?" "Very," She answered. She turned back to her bush, and picked out her kill. It was the frog that Snakefang had scented earlier. "This frog will be good for the elders," she purred. "Look how plump it is!" He purred back, brushing his pelt with hers. "The elders will enjoy the frog." Back when the two where called 'Snakepaw' and 'Kinkpaw', he had always been fascinated with the young she-cats beauty.
"When I was hiding in the bush, did you scent me? I've been practicing my scent-hiding skills!" Snakefang purred at her excitement. "I only smelt this fluffy rabbit's fear scent. I would have never known you were there if you hadn't came out." Kinkfur's eyes gleamed. "Ready to take this prey back to camp?" He asked her. "Sure," She purred. The two walked back to camp, brushing pelts and carrying prey.
Snakefang crept into his nest, his eyes growing heavy. "Goodnight, Snakefang." Purred his sister, Embershade. "Goodnight," He managed to say back, sleepily. His warm nest sent him into dreams, almost immediately. When he woke, he was in a starry field. Where am I? What is this place? He thought, anxiously. "Welcome, Snakefang." He turned to see a black-pelted tom-cat. "Who are you?" Snakefang asked, almost at a loss for words. "I was once leader of ShadowClan. I was leader before that mangy Dark Forest cat came to ShadowClan!" The tom hissed, lost in memories.
Snakefang's eyes sparkled. "You're Nightstar, aren't you?" The tom dipped his head. "That is my name," Nightstar drew a paw over his head. "Follow me, young warrior." Nightstar padded through the starry field, beckoning Snakefang on with his tail-tip. Nightstar led him to a pool. It looked like the Moonpool, but much larger. "Peer inside, young one." Snakefang ducked his head over, and peered inside. He stared at the starry-water as it started to form into images. "What do you see?" The images turned into four she-cats and a tom. "I see four she-cats..." He murmured, staring at the pool. "And a tom... He looks as if he is talking to them.." The five cats disappeared, and a new image appeared. It was a she-cat giving birth in a wooded area. "I see a she-cat.. Giving birth without a medicine cat, nor her own mate.."
The she-cat disappeared, and now Snakefang was staring at himself and Embershade. He turned his head around. "Embershade, what are you doing here?" "I might as well ask you the same! This is my dream!" Nightstar flicked his tail. "I brought Embershade here because I must tell you both something important." Snakefang stared at the tom. "There will be eight, who come with flight, and protect the four." Snakefang stared at him as if he were crazy. "What's that supposed to mean?" Embershade snapped, as if reading Snakefang's thoughts.
"Meet on the Gathering Island tomorrow at Midnight." Nightstar hissed. "Farewell, young warriors." The black tom faded, and so did the starry forest. As Snakefang began to regain consciousness, he heard warriors talking. "Kinkfur, you go on patrol with Crowfrost, Olivepaw, and..." Russetfur faltered. "Snakefang, if you can wake him up." Snakefang sprang to his paws. "I'm awake and ready, Russetfur." Snakefang dipped his head. Kinkfur purred, and pressed her body against his. "We'll join Crowfrost and Olivepaw momentarily. Thank you, Russetfur."
The russet colored she-cat dipped her head and left the den. Kinkfur turned to him. "Snakefang," She said, worriedly. "You were grunting and kicking in your sleep last night. Are you okay?" He licked her head. "I'm fine. Thank you, Kinkfur." She purred. "If you ever need anything, or want to get something off your chest, you can always talk to me." He blinked, thankfully. "Ready to go on the dawn patrol?" "Sure."
As soon as Snakefang came back to the camp, he started looking around. Where is she? He thought to himself. "Looking for me, Snakefang?" He turned around. It was Embershade, whom he was looking for. "Yes, I actually was. Follow me," He said, hurriedly. He looked behind himself, making sure no one was watching them.
As soon as they were out of camp, he faced his sister. "What are we supposed to do, Embershade? Should we go to the Island, like Nightstar said?" She purred at his hurriedness. "Calm down, Snakefang. It was just a prophecy from StarClan. So, of course, we're still going to the Island!" His eyes blazed. "Just a prophecy? This is huge, Embershade! We are in a prophecy!" "I know we're in this together, and I know its a StarClan prophecy. I'm excited about it, really, I am. Are you saying we shouldn't go to the Island, though?" "No! We need to go to the Island, of course, but what happens if we get caught? What do we even do about this prophecy, ourselves? Think, Embershade, think!"
The she-cat stared at him. "Your becoming too worried about this prophecy, and you don't even know much about it! Just cool down, and we'll find out what happens soon." His mind fluttered with questions, but even he knew that Embershade was right.
Snakefang padded to the fresh-kill pile, getting ready for his before-sleep meal. He felt a fluffy pelt brush beside him. "Care to eat with me?" It was Kinkfur, in her purring, happy voice. "I would love too," He purred back at her. He picked his rabbit off the pile for them both to share. They both sat at the entrance of the camp, watching the stars sprinkle into the sky. "It's a beautiful summer night, huh?" She whispered, pressing her pelt closer to his. He nodded, staring at the stars. She ducked her head and bit into the rabbit. "You caught a delicious rabbit," Kinkfur purred. "Thanks," He mewed. He bit into the rabbit, brushing muzzle's with Kinkfur, who was also chewing at the rabbit.
It had felt like everything had happened too quickly. The wonderful meal with Kinkfur was over, and they were padding back to the warrior's den. As they entered the den, several warriors chuckled at them. Snakefang didn't question their laughter, but simply laid in the nest next to Kinkfur. She licked his ear, and he brushed his muzzle against hers. "Goodnight, Kinkfur. Sleep well." "Goodnight, Snakefang." She yawned, curling her tail over her nose. Heartbeats later, he heard her breathing quicken, meaning she was in deep sleep.
"Snakefang!" A whispering voice called to him. He turned over, seeing Embershade at the den entrance. "It's time already?" He called, already comfortable with Kinkfur at his side. "Yes," She purred at the sight of Kinkfur next to him. He rolled his eyes, and got up carefully, making sure not to wake the beautiful she-cat. He padded silently out of the den, and crossed the clearing, Embershade at his side. "Ratscar is guarding the entrance. He doesn't usually half pay attention, so lets slip out through the dirtplace, just in case." Snakefang nodded, liking his sister's plan.
They escaped the camp through the dirtplace, and just as Embershade said, without Ratscar noticing. As soon as they left the dirtplace, Snakefang rolled in the grass, Embershade doing the same. They got up from the ground, and paced to the ShadowClan border edge. "Ready?" She mewed. He nodded, holding his breath. They ran beside the lake on RiverClan territory. Snakefang could see the Island in vision-point, and grew excited. Who will I meet there? StarClan warriors? StarClan sent cats? The thoughts whirled in his head, half making him dizzy. Just before he knew it, he found his paws at the tree-bridge.
Embershade stared at him nervously. "There's nothing to worry about," He reassured her, half believing his own words. Holding their breaths, they paced across the bridge, hearts pounding. As they reached the end of the tree-bridge, he peered in the clearing. There were four other cats there- each smelling of other Clans. The two padded into the clearing, unnoticed. Snakefang glanced at Embershade, who urged him on to speak first. "Hello,"
The cats glares shot toward them. Hostility grew in their eyes. These are the cats that were made warriors at the last Gathering! "W-We bring no harm." Snakefang stuttered, hoping his fear didn't show. One cat, a pretty ice-colored she-cat, stepped forward. "What brought you two here?" Embershade glanced at Snakefang, noting that she would speak. She stepped forward. "StarClan told us to come here. They told us of a prophecy: 'There will be eight, who come with flight, and protect the four.'" The ice-pelted she-cat's hostility disappeared. "Welcome to our meeting place. I'm Iceflurry, thats Wolfmoon, my brother, and those two are Spottedpelt and Dapplesong." Iceflurry mewed, cheerfully.
Snakefang and Embershade said hello to everyone. They settled in the clearing, sitting beside Iceflurry and Dapplesong. Iceflurry started staring at everyone, counting the cats. "Only six of us. I see the other two are late." The bushes rustled, and the hostility in everyone's eyes grew once again. A heather-pelted she-cat and a black-red and white tom stepped out. Iceflurry's hostility disappeared. "Hazefeather!" The two she-cats pelted toward each other, hugging and such. Why isn't Iceflurry hostile to these ThunderClan cats? Iceflurry jerked around. "Everyone, this is Hazefeather of ThunderClan. This is her brother, Flightwing. Wolfmoon and I met Hazefeather at the last Gathering."
Wolfmoon dipped his head to Hazefeather. "Nice to see you again, Hazefeather." Hazefeather nodded to the tom. They all crowded into the circle. "I, Iceflurry, call this Meeting to a beginning. As leader of this Meeting, I would like to set out our Meeting rules." Everyone nodded, purring at her funny ambition. "First off, I would like to say that the leader position switches at each Meeting. Next meeting, Flightwing may be our leader." "Next time, call me Flightstar." He joked. Iceflurry purred, and flicked his ear. "Next rule, we must never, ever speak of this meeting to anyone else. Not even mates, if you have one, or your leader." Snakefang nodded, thinking this was a reasonable rule. "Third rule, leader will always pick the next leader. Fourth and final rule, we will meet here every two nights."
As they discussed the Meeting, Snakefang couldn't help but wonder why StarClan chose them to come.
I worked on this chapter ALL day, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. So what do you guys think, *wink wink* about Snakey and Kinkey? Kinkfur and Snakefang would be cute together, but lets not go on ahead and assume things, right?! Anyways, feel free to answer questions. I will sadly not post another chapter today, due to the lateness. I hope this will keep you all satisfied for now.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN, FREAKS! (Just kidding, I luf you guys)
PS: I DO NOT OWN WARRIORS. THE ERINS OWN WARRIORS. I OWN THIS STORY AND MY CHARACTERS. I, SADLY, DO NOT OWN SPOTTEDPELT. SNOWSONG OF SNOWCLAN OWNS HER.
~Dove