Warriors

Chapter 7

The warmth had long since disappeared as I slowly opened my eyes to the apprentice den. Everyone else was asleep and I sighed and sat up and stretched lazily as I tried to wake up. I groomed the moss from my fur and then slowly padded to the entrance of the den and then outside. I was just in time to see Puddlestar padding towards the warriors den most likely to wake up the assigned warriors. I sat down and curled my tail over my paws as I waited to see Puddlestar emerge with his chosen warriors and he did, but who he had chosen surprised me most of wall. Sunstreak, Willowtail, Oakfur, and Pebblefoot padded calmly after Puddlestar and they looked as if they had been wide awake for hours and it seemed a little frightening.

"Willowtail wake our guests," I heard Puddlestar ordered and my mentor nodded and bounded lightly towards Cinderwing's den. I blinked before I turned and walked into the apprentices den and glanced and saw that neither three of my friends were waking up. I went over to Nightpaw and roughly nudged him and he grunted, but his eyes opened and then it didn't take long to wake Mosspaw or Smokepaw and once all three had quickly gotten the moss from their pelts we all went back out to the camp.

"The rogues look a little sleepy," Nightpaw purred and I noticed that Kite, Eiffel, and Calluse looked confused and ruffled as their fur stuck out in clumps, but they didn't look angry or anything.

"Would you like to groom yourselves quickly?" Puddlestar asked and all three quickly smoothed down their fur and looked at Puddlestar their eyes bright.

"We would like to officially thank you for your hospitality, even after my foolishness," Kite said proudly and her gaze fell upon me. "I'm sorry Twigpaw, but you do remind me entirely of my daughter," Kite said and I nodded to show that I had forgiven her.

"Kite, Calluse, Eiffel it was good meeting you, but I am not escorting you to our border," Puddlestar said and the three looked shocked. "They are." His tail flicked our way and the rogues glanced at us curiosity and interest in their eyes.

"Shall we go?" Oakfur asked and Puddlestar nodded and led the way out of camp and we all followed close behind him and once outside of camp we split into our separate groups and Willowtail approached me as the other mentors were doing with their own apprentices.

"Please be safe, but I've taught you well and I trust you," Willowtail whispered and I purred and licked her shoulder.

"Don't worry we'll all return safely and you can count on that," I said sternly and Willowtail blinked warmly at me.

"I've no doubt about that, but keep a close eye on those rogues, they might try to snatch you away," Willowtail teased and I lightly nudged her and we entwined tails before Puddlestar called to the warriors to follow him and they disappeared into the trees leaving all of us alone with the three rogues.

"This way, right?" Kite asked pointing towards what led to the river.

"No it's that way," I said gently pointing slightly to the left and Kite shook herself and she and her sons started forward. Mosspaw soon took the lead from the rogues and while Smokepaw stayed alongside of them, Nightpaw and I held up the back.

"They look a little sad to leave so early," Nightpaw whispered and I noticed that Calluse and Eiffel were gazing around like they were a little hesitant to leave the territory, but Kite seemed intent on leaving as she tried to push the pace a little, but Mosspaw kept us at a steady pace.

"At this rate we'll never return back to our camp before nightfall," Kite screeched angrily and I was a little stunned. She had never really seemed like one to get very angry, but now her eyes were narrowed and her tail erect and her fur bristling angrily.

"Mother relax it'll be okay," Calluse said and Kite glared at him.

"You don't care, you're a lazy fleabag who just tags along to get free food," Kite snarled angrily and I thought Calluse who hang his head in shame, but he stood his ground and gazed at Kite fiercely.

"Mother stop this, now," Eiffel ordered from her other side.

"Both of you stop it," Kite whispered fury plain in her voice.

"Hey, all three of you hush up," I angrily shouted and the three rogues spun around to face me and then Kite just lunged at me, but I had saw her posed to jump anyway. I slid to the side as she skidded past where I had been and Nightpaw jumped on top of her and pinned her to the ground and she screeched angrily, but he didn't let up.

"Mother what has gotten into you?" Eiffel exclaimed as he signaled for Nightpaw to release Kite. He did and when he did Kite shot up right into Eiffel's face her fur bristling.

"He threatened to kill us…I left so that he couldn't find us and kill us. If we leave we will die and I will not let more of my kits die, it isn't fair," Kite screamed and her scream echoed across the area eerily and my ears pricked up instantly and I froze listening carefully as her echo finally died away. Dead silence followed and then I stared at Kite who was trembling uncontrollably.

"Mother calm down," Calluse whispered calmly and Kite pressed against him and Eiffel gently stroked her flank with his tail.

"What is she talking about?" Smokepaw demanded fury obvious in his voice.

"Smokepaw hush," I ordered and Nightpaw nodded. "Calluse, Eiffel what exactly is Kite talking about, is someone really trying to kill you?" I asked calmly and Calluse looked at me his green eyes filled with fear.

"We can't talk here, we need somewhere more private, he has spies everywhere," Calluse said and Eiffel immediately started to look over our surroundings.

"Twigpaw," Nightpaw was looking at me or into the forest, I couldn't tell. "The rocks cave," Nightpaw whispered and I nodded solemnly.

"We know where we can talk," I said and Nightpaw and I led the way through the forest until we reached the rocks. I bounded nimbly up to the top then slipped inside and inspected the place and luckily the blood scent had died away and only a faint trace of Grasspaw still lingered. Mosspaw and then Smokepaw came next followed closely by Kite, Calluse, Eiffel, and finally Nightpaw. Nightpaw being the leader hurried and took the spot where Grasspaw had laid right before her death and I sat on his right side like Honeyclaw did for Puddlestar.

"This is a good place to talk," Calluse whispered while Eiffel whispered soothingly in Kite's ear.

"Can you tell us who is exactly trying to kill you?" Mosspaw asked quietly and Calluse was about to speak, but Kite shifted and Calluse nodded to her.

"Ever since I can remember I've been a rogue, from birth until now. As a kit my mother would take me and my sister through human places and occasionally a nice couple of some kids would give us food and water, but then we would be gone in an hour or so. When I was about your age however my mother got ill and she couldn't travel which left me and my sister to try to find any sort of food," Kite looked at her paws and then up at the entrance to the rock cave. "After about 1 moon most to all of the food ran out and our mother got weaker until out of nowhere another rogue came offering us shelter, protection, and food, but our mother couldn't move, but he kept insisting we come and to leave her, but we weren't that easily willing to part, but our mother said these exact words 'I'm basically joining all the other dead cats anyway, go you'll both be fine' and after grooming her pelt one last time we followed the other rogue." Kite laid her head on her paws, her gray eyes reflecting guilt and sadness.

"Was it the right choice?" Smokepaw asked quietly and kite sighed deeply.

"That I do not know, but there is still more. After night had fallen we had stopped to rest for a little while and he told us a lot about himself like his name which ended up being Talon and what he was even out there for. He wanted to assemble a place where rogues could live peacefully and be taken care of by each other basically a clan like you have. After a few more days of travel we arrived as this abandoned human town and as we approach many rogues of all sorts came to greet Talon and me and my sister and soon we settled with some of the other she-cats and were living it up. Talon usually would be gone seeking out as many rogues as he could and always when he returned he had at least 1 new rogues with him until finally we had a huge clan, bigger than yours and life was great. There was always plenty of food to go around and Talon led us through harsh winters and blistering summers, but as my sister, Tulip and I grew, so did Talon's greed. Before we knew it he had gotten three different she-cats pregnant with his kits and tulip was his next target. He hit upon her many times, trying to woo her, but she already had her sights set on this other tom he was so nice and caring. His name was Stripes and he and Tulip really connected, but Talon was furiously jealous. When I found out Tulip was pregnant with Stripes' kit most of us were thrilled for her, but Talon of course didn't want it that way and one day he called Stripes out on a hunting mission and when he returned he was half-dead and he reported to Tulip and I that Stripes was dead." Kite was shaking and Calluse and Eiffel were both glancing around worriedly as if the rocks might fall apart and there would stand Talon or the spirit of Stripes.

"That's terrible," I said and Kite nodded.

"Tulip was devastated, but I quickly made her perk up as she was expecting kits, she couldn't be all sad like that. Each day Talon would hit on her, but when she would ignore him or just tell him to go away he started to get angry. That's when the abuse started, one day I found Tulip lying outside of the camp covered in blood and bruised. Some of our friends and I decided she couldn't be left alone and so there was always at least two of us with her and we made sure Talon couldn't get very close to her until one day two of our friends disappeared and our other two friends soon disappeared as well and finally it was just me and Tulip. I stayed with Tulip every second I could, I hardly slept or ate and finally I decided something. I had heard some queens were going to leave and that they already had a hide-out place so I begged them to take Tulip with them and they instantly agreed. The next night when the full moon was glowing high in the sky I watched Tulip and at least 4 queens, one of which had two kits were her, make there way out of the town and then disappear into the night. Talon of course was less then excited about this and instantly sent search party after search party for them, but they never were found and I was so relieved and luckily I acted so depressed that Talon assumed I knew nothing. After a while I began to relax and I met a mate of my own, Tiger was so strong and wonderful and before I knew it I was pregnant with kits. When Calluse, Eiffel, and Pansy, my daughter, were born both Tiger and I were so proud and then fear seemed to be calling to me everywhere and I knew I was just paranoid, but when Tiger and some more rogues mysteriously disappeared one night I knew my fear was confirmed." Kite pressed her nose into Eiffel's fur and Calluse began to groom her shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm so sorry," Nightpaw whispered and Kite nodded.

"One night I left them all under the watch of another queen and decided to walk around the town, but before I got far someone approached me and soon Talon's fierce eyes were boring into me. He said these words 'I know you helped Tulip and those others escape and now I'm going to kill you and your bloody kits' He seemed so furious and certain that I raced back to my kits and told the other queen exactly what he had said and she told me to leave and to try to find Tulip and the other queens. I tried believe me, but Talon had ordered his closest companions to watch me and I was never left alone, but one night my guard fell asleep and the other queen helped me escape and soon I was free, but just as I was out of the camp I heard a low snarl and soon I was fighting Talon by myself. Eiffel and Calluse luckily knew to keep out of the way, but Pansy was always curious and defensive, that she at one point bit Talon's tail. Talon thinking it as another queen swatted her away, but it was strong enough to make her tumble towards the large ravine. My motherly instincts came out and Talon was on the ground instants later and I raced towards Pansy who was stumbling towards the edge and then…" Kite trailed off and gave a small wail and Eiffel sighed and Calluse closed his eyes. Inside I felt terrible and I could see a small image of Kite tumbling over the edge of a ravine, helpless terrified and calling out for anyone and then nothing.

"You can tell what happens after that," Eiffel whispered and I nodded and glanced at Kite.

"Talon warned me that if I wanted Eiffel and Calluse to live then I would have to be his servant. I agreed not knowing what else to do and soon I was hunting for Talon, grooming his fur, making sure his friends always kept all the other cats in line. Eiffel and Calluse grew with the other kits and my fellow friends and queens finally told me that we all needed to leave, or else we would die and I listened to them and this was only about a moon ago and we ran, we've been looking for Tulip and the other queens for a while now, but no luck and finally we couldn't find any food and we were all tired and weary and I decided that our only chance of survival was to return so we were on our way back when Calluse spotted a rabbit and we chased it into your territory, but lost it, because I saw…you Twigpaw," Kite's voice was shaky, but her eyes were steady and pride glowed in them as she stared at me.

"I'm sorry about all that you've been through," I whispered. "Why didn't you tell Puddlestar, I'm sure he would've let you stay longer," I said, but Kite shook her head.

"You can't go back to Talon you all could get killed," Mosspaw exclaimed. Her fur was bristling and her ears were pricked defensively.

"We can't just impose on all of you, that's wrong and we can't survive by ourselves," Kite replied and her tail lashed back and forth.

"Talon is our only hope of survival," Eiffel added.

"Explain your story to Puddlestar he would understand, he's a great leader," Smokepaw said standing up.

"We-" Kite trailed off at the sounds of yowls and we all froze and then I bounded up to the top part of the cave and peered out. I surveyed the forest as I hi myself amongst the rocks and at first I thought it was nothing, but then I spotted 3 shapes slinking through the forest.

"Intruders," Smokepaw and Nightpaw appeared at my side. Nightpaw ducked back into the cave and I heard him talking to Mosspaw quietly.

"Mosspaw you stay here with Calluse, Eiffel, and Kite protect them, I'll yowl if I need you," Nightpaw ordered and then he jumped out of the safety of the cave and Smokepaw and I followed his lead. The three figures froze as Nightpaw led the way down the rocks and then we stopped on the grass as it swayed slightly around us.

"Come out you cold-hearted pieces of crowfood," Smokepaw snarled and the three figures melted out, two were basically identical toms except one had brown eyes the other blue eyes. The third one was a tall, muscular tom with golden-brown fur and steady black eyes and his claws, white and threatening glinted in the morning sun.

"We don't mean to intrude, but we are just looking for some friends of ours who I guess got lost," The golden-brown tom said and he flicked his tail. "My name is Talon and these are some more of my friends, that's Jay and his brother is Sparrow," Talon introduced and I glanced t both Smokepaw and Nightpaw.

"We haven't seen any rogues here in a couple moons now," I hissed and Talon looked a little shocked and angry.

"You have such a large territory, maybe you missed them," Sparrow, the brown-eyed one said calmly and Smokepaw snarled angrily.

"We patrol our territory regularly and we are trained to detect intruders like you," Smokepaw snarled and Sparrow snorted.

"We could have sworn our friends' scent was coming from your territory," Jay replied as he unsheathed his claws, but they instantly slid back when Talon growled at him.

"No rogues have wandered into our territory now leave," Nightpaw said as he stepped forward slightly baring his teeth.

"Can't we just search this area?" Talon asked and all three of us screeched angrily and we were loud and it echoed through the trees slightly.

"We've asked you politely, now get off our we will make you get off," I hissed and Talon laughed.

"You three are no match for the three of us, we are trained and larger than you," sparrow hissed.

"Size does not matter," I replied and bore my teeth and unsheathed my claws. "It is skill that proves everything in the end," I said and Sparrow narrowed his gaze and before I knew it he was leaping towards me. Smokepaw instantly leaped and met him halfway and shoved him to the ground where they both started to wrestle. Talon leaped for Smokepaw, but Nightpaw was already barreling into him and then I raced for Jay and saw fear flash in his blue eyes. I barreled into him and sent him sprawling, I scraped my claws down his flanks and he screeched in pain, but he twisted and nipped my leg, but I didn't howl like he did, instead I swiped my claws across his muzzle.

"Foxdung," Jay spat as he shook his head. I jumped onto his back and bit down on his ear and he quickly started to roll, but I was quicker and scrambled down and darted between his paws and then unbalanced him completely. He fell onto his side, but I felt claws race down my shoulder and I turned to face Sparrow. Smokepaw and Nightpaw were busy trying to fight off Talon who seemed to be overpowering both of them.

"Nightpaw," I called and Nightpaw quickly glanced at me before yowling as loudly as he could and Mosspaw darted out of the rock cave and came and took over my fight with Jay. Sparrow was better at fighting of course and I felt equally matched as we both scraped her and there, blood coming from ones shoulder, more coming from the others flank. It was gruesome, but somehow I managed to drive him up against some thorns and after he tried to run he got tangled in the thick branches. Mosspaw had left Jay laying in the grass crawling towards some ferns and we both nodded as each other before leaping towards Talon who was now only battling Nightpaw, since Smokepaw lay nearly motionless in the grass near them.

"Help Nightpaw," I ordered and Mosspaw nodded and jumped onto Talon's back making him roar with anger. I darted to Smokepaw's side and he moaned, but opened his eyes and looked up at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I inspected him.

"Help Nightpaw…I'll…fine," Smokepaw's eyes closed and he fell unconscious, but he was still breathing and it was strong. I felt fur brush my flank and I looked up to face Eiffel and I saw Calluse in the bushes behind him.

"We'll take care of Smokepaw you go help," Eiffel said and I licked his shoulder and swerved around just barely missing Mosspaw as she stumbled backwards. Nightpaw was bleeding from his flank, shoulder, and muzzle, but he was still fighting strong as ever and I jumped in just as Talon shoved him backwards. Talon swiped his claws towards my muzzle, but I ducked and scrambled beneath him unbalancing him. I rolled out from beneath him knocking some of his legs down onto the ground and I leaped onto his back clawing madly at his fur. He didn't howl, but regained his balance before quickly rolling over and squashing me to the ground. He got to his paws and raised his paw his claws glinting, red with blood yet still sharp, but Mosspaw and Nightpaw came out of nowhere and barreled into him quickly. I scrambled to my paws and turned to see Kite standing in front of me her gray eyes glinting fiercely.

"This is not your battle, it is mine and it is long overdue," Kite whispered before she darted away quickly. I looked back to see Eiffel and Calluse crouching over Smokepaw, neither noticing their mother was heading towards her early death.