I…I got reviews! –super happy– Thank you, Twistedstep, spyrofan34, and Shadow! I'm glad I have readers. X3
On another note, happy mother's day! Depending on your time zone. Don't forget to tell your mom you're thankful for them today. :)
Newleaf passes without notice, and greenleaf comes and goes even faster. The leaves turn shades of gold and brown, more and more of them appearing on the ground to crackle underpaw. The sun sets later and paints the sky with more brilliant colors with every passing day. The river has grown almost unbearably cold, but Rainstep tells me I haven't seen anything yet. To just wait for leafbare. But honestly, I really don't care. None of it interests me.
The Clans have been oddly quiet lately, but it won't last. The tension at the last Gathering between ThunderClan and RiverClan over Sunningrocks was palpable. The only thing left undecided is who will attack first.
"Owlfall, are you paying attention?" Rainstep sighs. Her tail flicks behind her in barely suppressed impatience, and it takes a moment for me to remember that that's my name. Right. I was made a warrior. The one thing I always looked forward to most, and now I can hardly even remember it. Everything from the past two seasons is just swamped in fog, and I can't dispel it. "Owlfall!"
"Yes," I say, blinking past bleary eyes to focus on the warrior. She shakes her dark head.
"Did you hear what I said?" Silence. Another sigh. "You, Splashpelt, Timberfur, and Mallowtail are going on a patrol by ThunderClan's border. To make sure everything's still in order and all that. Are you ready?"
"Sure," I say. My gaze slides over her shoulder to where the other three cats are waiting by the reed wall for me. Timberfur's eyes meet mine as he talks to the female warrior, the emotion in them low and burning embers.
A memory slowly surfaces from the muck of my mind. Asking Rapidstrike how it had happened. Him saying how he lost track of his apprentice when Timberfur called him. Something about a ThunderClan scent hanging around the air by the time he finally found her, too faint from a swim in the river to identify who it was. A confrontation at the next Gathering over who killed—
No. It hurts too much to think the name.
I quietly stand and pad over to where the patrol is waiting, trying not to drag my paws as I go. It's rather hard.
"Hey, are you sure you should even be leaving camp?" Splashpelt asks, eyeing me suspiciously. His hostility has softened somewhat towards me since her death, but that might only be because he thinks I'm a useless mess now. I know he can't fathom why Crookedstar made me a warrior when even I can recognize the haze that hangs around me, but I know why. It was out of pity, and a hope that becoming a warrior would give me a new purpose.
It didn't.
"Yes," I reply.
He narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to say something, but Timberfur cuts him off. "Owlfall has duties to the Clan just like the rest of us, and just because he's still mourning a death from two seasons ago, that doesn't mean he can be allowed to shirk them. Come, let's go. We're losing daylight."
Splashpelt is happy enough to leave my coming alone after that, but I do notice him glancing back over his shoulder at me every now and then. I can't really fathom why. Is he checking on me? Why bother?
The swim from camp sets my skin crawling, and no matter how much I shake myself to fling off the icy droplets, they still seem to cling to me and soak into my coat. The others have swum in this kind of freezing water before, but they've been so used to greenleaf temperatures that even they shiver a little.
We move through the open fields quietly, the river a constant guide on our left as it gurgles and churns over itself. Scraggly trees begin to appear at intervals, and then we're in the slice of forest along the river that separates us from ThunderClan.
Timberfur waves his tail and brings us to a halt right alongside the edge of the river. He opens his jaws and drinks in the scent, breathing deeply. His ears twitch and swivel back around to flatten against his head.
"It smells like ThunderClan has crossed our border," he hisses low in his throat. It's enough of a surprise that it brings me out of my reverie, my fur bristling along my back as I smell the air myself. Sure enough, fresh ThunderClan scent washes over me. I get the feeling I know who it is, but…I can't match a smell to a face. I've been too out of it lately to remember now.
"Let's split up and look for them," Timberfur says, nodding down each way of the river. "Splashpelt, follow the river back the way we came; Owlfall, follow it upriver. Mallowtail and I will head back into the forest to make sure they haven't gone any deeper. With any luck, they'll have already left."
"With any luck, they haven't, and we can teach them a lesson about trespassing on our territory," Splashpelt growls. His tail lashes back and forth with unbridled anger, and he doesn't even attempt to smooth down the fur spiked along his back.
Timberfur nods, though the motion seems absent, and his eyes are on me. They spark with something, but I don't know what, and before I can take the time to figure it out, he has already turned away and headed back into the trees with Mallowtail at his side. The she-cat glances back at us once, and then they disappear.
"Look, be careful, alright?" Splashpelt says as soon as they're gone. His voice is harsh and aggressive; instead of a warning, it sounds like he's issuing me a threat.
"Do you think I can't even walk along the river by myself?" I demand. "I know I've been…well, not all there, I guess, but I know when it's time to focus. I can handle myself."
"I'm just saying you should call if you meet a whole patrol of ThunderClan cats," Splashpelt says, rolling his eyes. "You can't handle three or four cats on your own."
"It smells like there's only one, though," I say, scenting the air again. "Do you think Sunstar sent him, or is it a personal mission?"
"Not likely we'll ever know," Splashpelt says, looking across the river in disgust. "They'd both just deny that Sunstar had any part in it and that it was just an accident. But we'll never get the chance to ask if we don't find the intruder. Let's go."
I nod, and we part ways, him heading downriver, and I up. I try to move quickly while still keeping my pawsteps silent, but I'm out of practice with stealth movement, and it feels like every time I take a step, I'm announcing my presence to the enemy. I blend into the shadows and use the trees as cover, thankful for my dark fur to blend in where I lack the skill to disguise myself.
The scent keeps fading in and out, and I wonder if he weaved through the water to try and disguise his scent. Suddenly the smell becomes overwhelming and I know he's nearby—whoever he is. Should I call Splashpelt like he told me to? No, there's definitely only one cat, and if I call out now, then I risk the chance of losing the intruder.
I continue walking. A branch cracks underpaw and I freeze, holding my breath. My heart hammers so loudly that I'm afraid he'll hear it and have run off long before I can move again. For a long moment, nothing happens.
The bushes explode to my right and I barely have time to swivel around before a huge tabby pounces on me. I yowl with surprise more than anything, but I hope it's loud enough that Splashpelt and the others can hear.
I roll over with his momentum, just like I was taught by Rainstep, but the tom is twice my size and easily overturns me. I kick my legs at his belly, trying to dislodge his hold on me, but he's unaffected. His paws are on my shoulders, holding me to the ground, and he doesn't seem willing to let go.
"Hello, there," he greets. His voice is low and filled with a morbid kind of pleasantness that sends chills down my spine. "And how are you today? I should rather hope you're actually Owlfall this time."
I stop struggling. "This time?"
"Of course," he says. His claws flex and grip the fur on my shoulders, drawing blood as I gasp with pain. He draws close to me so that he can whisper in my ear. "The last time I was asked to kill an apprentice, it was supposed to be you. The unfortunate thing was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I mistook her for you. But this time, there can be no mistake."
My blood runs cold in my veins as he draws back and stares at me triumphantly. Only then does it occur to me, belatedly, that I do know this cat—from the Gathering where I overheard Timberfur plotting to kill Crookedstar. This is Tigerclaw. This is the cat who killed my sister. Under Timberfur's orders.
A strangled yell explodes out of my throat and I redouble my previous efforts to dislodge the large warrior. He stands firm, though, looking down at me with something close to disdain. His lips draw back as he lunges forward to sink his teeth into my throat.
A flash of gray-and-white shoots through the corner of my eye and barrels with a yowl into Tigerclaw, sending him sprawling. I scramble to my paws to see Splashpelt crouched in front of me, hissing with hackles raised as he stares down the intruder.
Tigerclaw slowly stands, shaking his paws as though they've been through the mud. His eyes slowly find Splashpelt. "Well, I didn't expect another cat to be anywhere near this place. Aren't you supposed to be downriver?"
"How long have you been watching?" Splashpelt asks, straightening out of his crouch to reach his full height. He's a full head shorter than Tigerclaw. "Did you wait for us to split up so you could pick us off one by one?"
"No," Tigerclaw says slowly. His tail sways lazily behind him, and he glances across the shore to his own territory. "Well, I'm not responsible to for fighting two of you. The deal was only one, so I'll take my leave for now."
"You think we'll let you leave just like that?" Splashpelt demands. "You invaded our territory, and now you're just going to waltz on out like you own the place?"
"I am," Tigerclaw says. "Unless, of course, you think you can stop me?"
Splashpelt crouches back down, prepared to attack, but I rest the tip of my tail on his shoulder. "Splashpelt, we can't," I whisper. "We have no way to keep him here, and even if we fight, we'd only get hurt. He's more experienced than us, and much bigger."
"Are you backing down, you coward?" Splashpelt asks, turning on me viciously.
"I'm only saying that we should go back to camp and report this," I say. I lower my voice so that only he can hear me. "If we get hurt now, Crookedstar wouldn't let us fight when he gives the order to attack ThunderClan. And he will attack ThunderClan after this."
Splashpaw hesitates before letting his fur lie with some difficulty. "Get out," he snarls to Tigerclaw. He stares coolly at the much younger warrior before sliding into the water and disappearing towards his own territory.
"Thank you," I sigh once he's gone. "You really saved me."
Splashpelt rolls his eyes. "You're my Clanmate, aren't you? Besides, I did tell you that I'd come help if you called."
"Yeah," I say. "But thank you all the same."
He leads the way to find the others. I hope he couldn't catch Tigerclaw's hints that he was sent by someone in our own Clan. He doesn't seem to have. As long as he stays in the dark, it will make it all the easier for me to kill Timberfur.
One more chapter guys~ I might add another if I feel the next one doesn't tie up all the loose ends, but I'm pretty sure it will.
And. I beat Kingdom Hearts 2 for the first time last night. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. I squeed without shame, and now I am dying for Dream Drop Distance. I waaaaant it. D:
Please review~!