Here is chapter 22.

ScarletLight

The wind buffed ScarletLight's orange fur as the five cats walked through the open field. Every now and then they would see animals that both tribes didn't know the name of. Some rodent-like creatures with long ears and back feet would scatter as the cats approached. There were even huge animals with brown fur that grazed on the long grass but like the small rodent-things, they scattered as the cats made noise near them.

"This is such an odd place," grumbled MintFang. "This grass is too tall. I can't see in front of me. And it's too open. I feel like my fur is going to burn off."

ScarletLight had to agree. The sunlight was harsh but she felt like the OceanTide cats were more accustomed to it due to the lack of shade on the beach while the ForestRose cats lived in the shade of trees.

"I don't see anything that could be an unlikely source," commented LongClaw. "The only creatures we saw besides ourselves were those hoofed things that keep running away. Maybe we need to go to that huge rock in the distance." She gestured with her tail to the huge rock structure that lifted into the air in the distance.

"Mountain," offered StepStorm. "It's called a mountain. I remember that word from the time I spent with my mother." She fell silent and ScarletLight placed her tail on her friend's shoulder to comfort her.

ScarletLight didn't know what to say to comfort her though. She had not lost any family members so far. Well, that might change if the illness in the tribes weren't stopped.

"Hang on," growled SharpRock. He turned to look behind the cats. "Don't you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked ScarletLight. She focused on her ears but the only thing she could hear was the sound of the wind rustling the tall grass.

"Shhh," said MintFang. "I hear it too."

LongClaw unsheathed her claws and carefully looked around the small area of visibility. "What are you two hearing?" she asked cautiously.

"Something is circling us," said SharpRock. His huge ears were flicking back and forth, taking in all the sound around them. MintFang looked to be doing the exact same thing.

ScarletLight finally understood why the ForestRose cats could hear the sounds better than they could. ForestRose cats relied on sound more to find prey in the forest while OceanTide cats used sight more to find prey in the water.

"Tell me where it is," growled LongClaw. Her eyes were glinting in the thrill of the hunt. "I'll grab it and rip it apart."

"Are you monkey-brained!" snapped MintFang. "We don't know what it is. It could be bigger than those hoofed things!"

"So? I can take it on."

"Somehow I don't know if it's from stupidity or courage," commented MintFang.

"It's coming towards us," growled SharpRock. He jumped back just as a creature pounced into the clearing.

ScarletLight didn't know what to think of it at first. It had a cat-like red body but the legs were extremely long and covered in thick black fur. The head had a snout that was long and narrow and also black with two huge ears that reminded ScarletLight of the ForestRose cats' ears. The neck was covered in black fur and seemed furrier than the rest of it. The tail was short and only made it to the back knees of it. Its black eyes watched the cats.

LongClaw, being LongClaw stepped forward and dropped into her battle position. "Great," she said happily. "I was waiting for a fight!"

The creature opened its jaw and revealed a sharp set of teeth. ScarletLight felt her heart drop. This thing looked like it could snap one of the cat's bones with ease. How could they fight something like this?

"What do we do?" whispered StepStorm. She backed up a step.

SharpRock and MintFang joined LongClaw on the front lines and began hissing.

The creature then did something none of them expected. It laughed. "Wow," it said, in a clearly feminine voice. "I didn't expect this. When I scented new creatures out here, I didn't think it would be those tribe cats."

"What the?" SharpRock got out of the threatening position. "How can you be speaking cat? You don't look like one."

"That's because I'm not," replied the creature. "I'm a maned wolf." She seemed to notice the blank looks on the cats' faces. "No idea what that is huh? Not surprising since I do live out here in the fields and you cats are from the forest."

"We aren't," spoke up LongClaw. She gestured to the toms. "They are. We from the place beyond that. The ocean."

The maned wolf looked impressed now. "Wow. From all the way out there?" She sat down on her haunches which didn't seem to do anything to make her seem less menacing. ScarletLight was surprised that this maned wolf wasn't attacking them or anything like that. She voiced the question.

"Well," began the maned wolf. "I am different than most of the maned wolves that live out here. Unlike them, I am from an old line that try to learn all they can about the world around them."

"So, you're like a spiriter in a way?" spoke up StepStorm.

She tilted her head to the side. "Spiriter? I don't know what that means. Well, I've never seen a cat from the forest and ocean before so that's probably why. Oh, my name's Asa by the way."

The cats introduced themselves by name. ScarletLight suddenly had a thought. An unlikely source. This maned wolf wasn't even a cat. "Do you know anything about an illness that makes cats throw up blood?"

Asa blinked in surprise. "Why yes I do. But it's a rare illness. How do you know about it?"

"Our tribemates are sick with it," explained SharpRock.

Asa looked back and forth between the five cats. "I think you should come back to my den. We can talk there." She turned and disappeared into the tall grass. When she noticed that none of the cats were following her, she returned. "Don't worry. I won't eat any of you. I'm curious about the life of the tribe cats. There are rumors but they are rumors. That's nothing than getting the information directly from the source."

The five cats looked at each other. They were all thinking the same thing. Could they trust this maned wolf?

"I say we go for it," spoke up StepStorm, surprising everycat. "I mean, what else can we do?"

"I agree," said LongClaw. "Let's go save everyone from this illness."

"Then it's decided," SharpRock turned to Asa. "Lead the way."

Note: Maned wolves are real creatures in case anyone was wondering. They are found in South America.