AN. Well here we are! Chapter Eight! Enjoy! :D

Chapter Eight

"WHAT?!" Shadestar yowled with his claws unsheathed and bared teeth. The cats were all taken aback by the sudden viciousness in Shadestar's voice. Cloverwing ducked her head as she said, "Well w-we arrived at the camp and everyone was gone. There were some traces of blood and…"

Shadestar's eyes gazed down at his warrior, "And WHAT?"

"The camp was clouded in rouge scent,"

Murmurs rippled throughout the Clan. They were now very uneasy and worried. Not so much about HiddenClan themselves but the fact that the rouges could take away a whole clan with little struggle. Shadowsoul, however, didn't look worried at all, he just gazed down at his Clan with a blank expression, but there was still that glint in his eyes Shadowpaw couldn't read.

Dawnstar raised her voice, "Calm down now! We mustn't panic-"

"Panic? HiddenClan disappeared leaving behind blood with rouges scent all over them!" Called out one of the WhisperClan warriors.

"We could be next!" Called another cat from the crowd.

More murmurs could be herd spreading through the cats in a little more panicky. Dawnstar raised her head, "Silence! From now on we keep at least six cats on guard at camp! Tomorrow at dawn we head out to Cloudtrees!"

Uneasy glances were shared among the Clan. "We can't just walk up to Cloudtrees! They'll ambush us!" Called out Nettlesting.

Dawnstar sighed, "I assure you Nettlesting that just walking up to Cloudtrees wasn't my plan. Tomorrow we send spies to seek out where the captive cats are being held, when they report back, we target that area. Clear?"

Still unsure, the Clan nodded and Dawnstar continued, "Kits and elders stay in the safest part of our territory while we are away. We'll need every eligible fighting cat with us. That is all,"

Emberpath spoke out, "But Dawnstar! Tomorrow is so soon! We won't have much time to prepare! We should wait!"

Dawnstar shook her head, "We cannot wait. We don't know what these rouges are doing to them or how they are treating them. It could end disastrous if we do not act soon."

Emberpath nodded that she understood but still didn't look completely convinced.

As Dawnstar climbed down from Tallmound the Clan separated in their own groups murmuring about Dawnstar's announcement.

Nettlesting lead Phoenixwing and Moonclaw out to fetch prey. Shadowpaw felt stiff. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared into nothingness. Firepaw frowned and padded in front of Shadowpaw, "Are you okay?"

Shadowpaw shook herself. "Okay? My Clan is gone!"

Sunpaw placed his tail on Shadowpaw's shoulder gently, "Hey, it's okay. I'm sure our Clan will be fine. I'm just as upset about this as you are! My mother, aunt and grandmother are all gone! But they're strong." He then bared his teeth, "If those rouges do so much as touch them though I'll be sure to dig my claws into their fur!"

Sightpaw scowled, "Mouse brain! Don't think of it being so easy! If every cat had a brain like yours we'd all be in mayhem!"

Stormpaw sighed, "Well if every enemy was so easy to defeat we wouldn't even have to worry about this problem,"

Sightpaw's eyes narrowed, "Unfortunately that's not how the world works is it?"

Dovepaw clawed the soft grassy ground, "I wish it could work like that,"

Swanpaw kept quite, facing the ground with her ears flat and her eyes distant and in thought.

There was an awkward moment of silence between the apprentices. Sunpaw was about to speak with Nettlesting and his party came hurrying through the entrance, but not in an urgent way.

"Where are Dawnstar and Shadestar?" Nettlesting asked the Clan calmly.

"We're over here Nettlesting, now what is it?" Asked Dawnstar.

"We ran into two loners who were alone and claimed to know Shadestar." Nettlesting informed. Dawnstar cocked an eyebrow, "Really?"

Shadowpaw saw two figures stalk from behind Nettlesting. One was a light grey tom with coal black eyes while the other looked similar with a light grey pelt only with darker grey stripes and eyes so dark they look almost black.

Shadestar eyes widened, "Windstorm? Cliffshadow?" He murmured. Dawnstar perked her ears, "Excuse me Shadestar? Do you know these cats?"

Shadestar nodded, "These two are my brothers Windstorm and Cliffshadow." Dawnstar narrowed her eyes, "Brothers? Why are they not with your Clan then?"

The light grey brother responded, "My brother Cliffshadow and I left the Clan to seek more beyond the Clans, but we came back when we heard you were in trouble my brother. When we returned to the Clan camp we found everyone gone with blood splatter and the stench of rouges everywhere. So then, we headed towards WhisperClan." Cliffshadow nodded at his brother's response.

Dawnstar blinked, "I see,"

Shadowpaw could feel Swanpaw shift beside her, more anxiously than uneasily. That made Shadowpaw's ears twitch. What was she anxious about? As if reading Shadowpaw's thoughts Swanpaw whispered into Shadowpaw's ear, "They seeked out beyond the Clans! Beyond! Beyond here!"

Shadowpaw looked at her, of course, Swanpaw was envying them.

Cliffshadow then spoke up, "We would like to help our birth Clan. We'll help take care of these rouges."

Dawnstar nodded, "Very well, but how can we trust you?"

Cliffshadow snarled at her, "Trust us? We just want to help our brother and our Clan! You've got to let us help!"

Sighing, Dawnstar said, "Very well, very well. You two do look useful." She paused, "You Cliffshadow, look more swift than strong, I think you could help seek out HiddenClan and our own cats as a spy perhaps?" Then she turned to Windstorm. "You look fit enough too to be in our first party. Right Shadestar?"

Shadestar nodded, "Yes, my brothers will most definitely be suitable for that,"

Dawnstar climbed down Tallmound.

Shadestar scurried over to his brothers, saying, "My brothers! It's great to see you! Thank StarClan you're here!"

Windstom nodded, "Yes, thank StarClan were here." There was an unusual edge in his voice Shadowpaw couldn't identify but Shadestar hadn't noticed.

Shadestar purred, "Come! We've got much to catch up on!" He lead his brothers towards an empty area of the camp, Cliffshadow was glaring around the Clan, his eyes darting from cat to cat.

Shadowpaw figured he must be slightly uneasy with all these stranger WhisperClan cats. The sun was starting to sink low in the sky, Shadowpaw went over to grab a piece of freshkill before heading towards the apprenticed den where WhisperClan had prepared extra beds for HiddenClan. Shadowpaw gazed at the sun, no knowing what tomorrow lied ahead for the Clans.

AN. Tell me what you think and be sure to review! Once again I got two recommendations for a cat being Shadestar's brother, so I compromised. :D