Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, sadly enough. I guess I can get over it knowing that the characters that were created for this story are mine. Please don't intentionally steal them. I've worked hard to create these characters!
Chapter 9
Rowanwind, Thunderstripe, and Gingerheart stood at the front of the group. All three had their ears perked for the sound of a cat yowling an alarm. Behind them stood the few cats of ThunderClan, RiverClan, and WindClan who had been chosen to battle today. Rowanwind could smell the fear scent wafting from the cats around him. Nobody knew if this would be a successful rescue; there were so many things that could go wrong.
Please, StarClan, Rowanwind pleaded silently. If you can spare any time to watch over us, now would be a great time.
The cats all heard sudden yowling in the distance to their left.
Rowanwind waited a few moments before saying, "It's time."
The three Clans, along with the few toms from RogueClan, began to walk toward the eastern edge of DarkClan's camp. They met no DarkClan cats on the way in. All of them could now hear battle screeches coming from their left.
"Ready?" Rowanwind called out, loud enough for all of the cats to hear him. Many of them nodded in response. "Fogpelt, Graytail, you can lead your warriors toward the sounds of fighting."
Fogpelt and Graytail, who were both in the forms of badgers, courteous of Rowanwind, led the RiverClan and WindClan warriors away. Brownclaw followed after them in the form of a large, brown dog.
The ThunderClan cats, as well as Lionstorm, Cloudpool, and the four RogueClan toms, watched the others head off to battle.
"We better hurry," Gingerheart meowed. "We don't know how long we have to get the imprisoned cats out of here."
Rowanwind nodded to Gingerheart and Lionstorm. "Lead the way."
The two cats headed toward the middle of the camp. Rowanwind felt utter awe as he thought about how far Gingerheart and Lionstorm had come from being Twolegs. Here they were, both with mates, leading a group of cats into enemy territory. He wondered what other Twolegs would think if they knew what Gingerheart and Lionstorm were doing.
"Hey!"
The cats skidded to a stop and spun to see a bunch of dark-pelted cats coming toward them. Rowanwind heard Gingerheart and Lionstorm gasp as the group of cats came at them, teeth bared and claws unsheathed.
Rowanwind quickly counted eight cats in the DarkClan group. It was a small number, combared to the sixteen cats they had with them now.
"Rowanwind, we don't have time to fight!" Gingerheart whispered.
The scruffy black tom at the head of the DarkClan group snarled. "Hey! I remember you two! We kidnapped you in the Twolegplace! Somebody told us you'd gotten away, but I didn't believe them until now!"
Rowanwind suddenly realized who these cats were. They were the kittypets that had allied themselves with DarkClan; the very same kittypets who had kidnapped Gingerheart and Lionstorm and brought them to DarkClan's camp.
With his mind thinking quickly, Rowanwind turned to Oakpelt. "You and the others need to battle them. Keep them distracted!"
"No problem, Rowanwind!" Oakpelt replied.
"Thunderstripe, Gingerheart, Lionstorm...come with me!" Rowanwind said.
The four of them broke away from the others and ran in the direction they'd been going before. Lionstorm suddenly looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Cloudpool!"
The white she-cat shoved her way through the other warriors and came rushing after them. In a few moments, she was running beside Lionstorm, her tail streaming out behind her.
"When we get there...we need to release as many...as we can!" Gingerheart shouted as she ran.
"Okay!" Rowanwind called back, dodging around a clump of tall grass.
Before the five of them knew what was happening, a small group of black-pelted cats were in front of them. For a second time, they skidded to a stop to face the new menace. Rowanwind quickly counted four cats; three toms and one she-cat.
"Where do you think you're going?" the black tom at the head of the DarkClan group sneered.
"That's none of your business, Crusade!" Gingerheart spat.
Crusade chuckled. "Ah. The two escapees. Of course. I should have guessed! You're here to release our slaves!"
Thunderstripe hissed.
"Well, we can't have that!" Crusade said. He lashed his tail. "Attack!"
Rowanwind darted around the DarkClan cats and kept going. If his friends could distract the DarkClan cats long enough, he would be able to release the enslaved cats and perhaps get them out of the camp.
He stumbled over something and fell onto his face. His fur bristling, Rowanwind leapt to his paws and looked down at what he had tripped over. It was a long, thick plant substance that reminded Rowanwind of a plant root. He remembered Gingerheart saying she and Lionstorm had been tied up by vines. Could this be a vine?
Rowanwind began to follow the vine. Within a few moments, he came to a clump of thick bushes. His mouth fell open as he stared at the devastation in front of him. The area smelled terrible because of all the rotting food lying around. Cats, some so skinny their ribs showed, were tied with vines to the thickest branches of the bushes. A quick count resulted in Rowanwind finding nine cats tied to the bushes.
"Hey!" Rowanwind whispered, cautiously walking forward.
A few of the cats, mainly the ones who still had some meat on their bones, looked up. Their eyes were as dull as their coats. None of them seemed too interested that a ginger cat was walking up to them.
"Is anyone badly hurt?" Rowanwind asked.
The cats all stared blankly at him.
"Does anyone even understand what I'm saying?" Rowanwind wondered.
A black she-cat with a tattered red collar stood up and looked at Rowanwind with tired, yellow eyes. "We understand you. What are you doing here, alone? Why are they allowing a light demon to walk among them freely?"
"Are you a DarkClan cat?" Rowanwind demanded.
"Do I look like one?" the she-cat spat.
Rowanwind looked at her dull coat and skinny build. "No, you don't."
"I was a kittypet not too long ago," she said. "My name was Josephine. They call me Pretty Lady."
"I'm here to get you all out of here," Rowanwind told Josephine. He looked at the other cats. "Do you think they can make it?"
"Maybe, if we force them," Josephine replied. She turned to the cat she had been lying next to. He was a ginger-brown tom with a white chest and stomach. He had a similar red collar around his neck. "Doodle, come on. Get up. We're leaving."
"Leaving?" the tom laughed hoarsely. "We've tried everything to untie ourselves from these wretched bushes."
Josephine's shoulders slumped. "I forgot." She turned back to Rowanwind. He could see in her eyes that she'd completely given up. "The vines are strange. None of us have been able to break free."
Rowanwind looked at all of the cats. He needed to get them out of here. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Concentrating as hard as he dared, Rowanwind whispered, "Holoeso thom!"
The vines wriggled for a few seconds before untying themselves from the bushes and the cats.
Josephine and Doodle gasped. The other cats began to lift their heads up with interest.
"You..." Josephine looked at Rowanwind. "Did you do that?"
"Yes," Rowanwind replied.
"A light demon who can do what they can?" Josephine shook her head. "Amazing!" She turned to the other cats. "Everyone, get up! This ginger tom has come to rescue us! He's here to save us all! You must get up!"
The cats began to haul themselves to their paws. Rowanwind realized just how bad the situation was. These cats were so thin, it was a wonder that they could even stand at all. How could DarkClan allow these cats to get like this?
"We have to help some of them," Josephine meowed worriedly. "Franklin, Whisker, Casey, come over here please."
Three toms walked over. One was a ginger tom a with white chest, paws, and muzzle and amber eyes. The second tom reminded Rowanwind of Maggotpaw; he was a silver and gray tom with black stripes and amber-brown eyes. The third tom was a white and dark gray patched tom with dark yellow eyes and an orange collar.
"Can you help the others?" Josephine asked. "Whisker, you can help Slick. Franklin, help Neeko. Casey, you can get Jenny. I'll get Rudy."
The three toms nodded and padded off to help the cats that Josephine had named. As they walked away, Josephine turned to Rowanwind.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Rowanwind," he replied.
Josephine paused. "Wow. You are real. We've heard them talk about you before. They're all very surprised that you can do what they do."
"I guessed as much," Rowanwind replied. "We need to hurry. Get them to go as fast as they can. We haven't the time to chat much."
Josephine nodded. She gestured with her tail at a lump of grayish fur. "Can you help him? He's the weakest of us, and you're the strongest. He'll need the most help."
Rowanwind nodded. "Head that way," he said, pointing with his tail. "In a few minutes, we should find my friends battling some DarkClan cats."
Josephine nodded again. "I'll try my best."
Rowanwind padded over to the gray tom. He bent down. "Hey. You need to get up so I can help you get out of here. Can you move?"
The tom raised his dusty head. Rowanwind's eyes met a pair of familiar, yellow eyes. Instead of the usual, angry passion these eyes once held, they were now full of defeat and guilt.
"Icefur!" Rowanwind gasped, his fur bristling with surprise. He'd completely forgotten that he might find the ThunderClan traitor in the group of enslaved cats.
"Hello, Rowanwind," Icefur gasped. His sides heaved with the effort to talk. "How is...my family?"
"We don't have the time to talk, Icefur," Rowanwind whispered. He pressed his shoulder into Icefur and forced him to stand. "Lean on me, and I'll get you out of here. You can see for yourself how your family is."
Icefur didn't reply; he simply let Rowanwind practically carry him along.
Josephine led the way back the way Rowanwind had come. Within a few moments, they came across his friends. Thunderstripe had a tom pinned to the ground, and Gingerheart and Cloudpool were chasing off two other toms. The other DarkClan cats had disappeared. The tom Thunderstripe had pinned kicked Thunderstripe off and ran off.
"Rowanwind!" Thunderstripe said when he turned around. "Is that all of them?"
"Yeah," Rowanwind panted. It was tiring carrying Icefur. "Thunderstripe, come here. I need you to carry Icefur now."
"Icefur?" Thunderstripe padded over. His yellow eyes filled with sorrow when he saw Icefur leaning heavily on Rowanwind.
"He's practically unconscious," Rowanwind said as Thunderstripe took his place.
"I'll take care of him," Thunderstripe promised.
"Let's get going," Rowanwind said, taking the lead again.
He walked back the way they'd come. The group could hear the battle screams coming from the south. Rowanwind wanted badly to go and see how the battle was going, but they needed to get the enslaved cats out of the camp. Making a major decision, Rowanwind turned around to talk to the cats with him.
"We need to get these cats out of the camp," Rowanwind said. He turned to Josephine. "I think practically all of DarkClan is battling at the southern edge right now. We'll take you safely out of the camp, heading east. Once we get you far enough from the camp, we're going to leave you there and then head back here to help fight. If one of us doesn't come to get you by moonhigh, head north across the Thunderpath. You'll find some hills. If you encounter any cats there, ask if they are WindClan. If they say yes, tell them that Rowanwind sent you. Understand?"
Josephine nodded.
"Let's go," Rowanwind said.
Rowanwind, Thunderstripe, Gingerheart, Lionstorm, and Cloudpool helped the once enslaved cats of DarkClan out of the the camp they'd been imprisoned in for StarClan knew how long. Once the weakened cats were safe in a field of tall grass, Rowanwind and his friends headed back.
"Let's go to the southern side," Rowanwind said when they got back to DarkClan's camp.
As they reached the battlefield, Rowanwind heard a baying sound. He turned to see Brownclaw, still in the form of a dog, disappear under about five DarkClan cats. Thinking only of how sad Stormypelt would feel if her brother died, Rowanwind raced to his friend's aid.
"A em e fux!" Rowanwind snarled.
His muzzle grew longer, his teeth turned jagged. His tail became bushy and went white at the tip. His paws turned black.
Rowanwind gave a fox snarl and leapt onto the cats latched onto Brownclaw. He dug his claws into the pelt of a tom and tossed him away. His teeth ripped into the neck of another dark-pelted cat. The other three gave frightened yowls and disappeared.
"Thanks," Brownclaw whined, speaking cat.
"You're welcome," Rowanwind said.
The two split apart to go and fight elsewhere. Rowanwind came up behind a tom fighting against Sapphirestream of WindClan. He clawed at the tom's flanks, making the tom turn away from Sapphirestream. When the tom saw Rowanwind, he gave a leap of terror and raced away. As Rowanwind turned away, he saw Sapphirestream wave her tail at him in thanks.
Rowanwind glanced around the battle. Nearby, two badgers were locked in a dangerous battle. Any cats who got in their way had to scurry to dodge long-clawed swipes and bared teeth. One of the badgers had to be Fogpelt or Graytail. Rowanwind looked around again and spotted Lilyfur of RiverClan being pinned to the ground. He raced to help her, barreling over the tom who was holding her down.
"You!" the tom hissed as he slashed a paw at Rowanwind's face.
"Gore," Rowanwind snarled back.
"Stupid light demon!" Gore shouted. He slashed out another paw with unsheathed claws flashing. Rowanwind dodged out of the way. "You deserve to die!"
"I haven't done anything wrong!" Rowanwind replied. "You're the one who kills without mercy! You're the one who ties up cats and lets them starve to death! You're the one who really deserves death!"
Rowanwind jumped and landed on Gore's shoulders. The tom fell to his side and Rowanwind pressed his body into the dirt. With a snarl, Rowanwind dug his teeth into Gore's shoulder. The tom screeched and writhed beneath him, attempting to get away but failing miserably.
When Rowanwind finally let Gore up, the tom spat and limped away as fast as his newly injured shoulder, which oozed drops of blood, would allow him.
"Good riddance," Rowanwind said, spitting to try and get the horrible taste of the DarkClan tom's blood from his mouth.
He took another look around at the battle. Many of the cats were holding their own against the DarkClan cats. More and more of the DarkClan cats were running away, yowling in terror and defeat. It would soon be time to call a retreat...
Rowanwind suddenly heard a familiar scream. He spun around to see Gingerheart being slammed to the ground by a black tom. Lionstorm suddenly appeared beside Rowanwind.
"Gingerheart!" Lionstorm gasped. A gash above one of his eyes was bleeding badly.
Rowanwind heard another yowl, which cut off suddenly, and turned around to see Cloudpool struggling beneath two DarkClan toms.
"Lionstorm! Cloudpool!" Rowanwind shouted.
Lionstorm turned to see Cloudpool. His eyes widened as he looked back at Gingerheart and then at Cloudpool again. Rowanwind could see his friend struggling to figure out who he should save...
Thunderstripe suddenly appeared beside them. He shouted at Lionstorm, "Save your mate, and I'll save mine!"
Lionstorm gave a fleeting look of thanks at Thunderstripe before rushing to help Cloudpool. Thunderstripe ran to Gingerheart's aid, tackling the tom off of her and rolling away through the dirt. Rowanwind ran over to Gingerheart. There was a deep gash on her shoulder and fur was missing from her flank.
"Rowanwind!" Gingerheart gasped, struggling to stand up.
Rowanwind slapped his tail across her mouth. "Shh. It's okay. Thunderstripe saved you. I think it's time we got out of here."
Gingerheart's eyes filled with worry and she looked around, trying to find Thunderstripe. Her new mate was still scuffling in the dirt nearby with the tom who had been pinning her down.
Rowanwind turned away from Gingerheart. He took a deep breath and shouted, as loud as possible, "This battle is won! Clans of the lake, it is time to go home!"
Waves of silence spread throughout the camp as warriors stopped fighting. A few more DarkClan cats ran away and disappeared. Rowanwind watched as ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and RogueClan cats began to head back in the direction of the lake.
Thunderstripe padded over. "Come on, Gingerheart."
Rowanwind looked around for Lionstorm. He found the tom helping Cloudpool, who was covered in bleeding scratches that soaked her white fur and turned it red. He needed somebody to come with him to fetch the imprisoned cats that they had saved. As he looked around, he spotted Granitetail and Oakpelt padding along, side by side.
"Granitetail! Oakpelt!" he called to them.
The two toms turned and quickly trotted over to join him. Rowanwind was glad to see both only had minor scratches.
"Can you help me get the imprisoned cats we saved back to the island?" Rowanwind asked. "A few of them need help walking."
"Of course we'll help," Oakpelt meowed. "Let's get going, before the DarkClan cats think they can take us again."
Rowanwind, Granitetail, and Oakpelt headed to the east. It took them a few minutes to find the once imprisoned cats, who were all huddling together in the shadows. Darkness had fallen only a little while ago, so it wasn't too cold yet.
"Who's there?" Rowanwind heard Josephine meow.
"It's Rowanwind," he whispered softly. "I've come with some of my Clanmates to take you to our home."
"Your home?" Josephine spat. "What about taking us home?"
Rowanwind sighed. "None of you have the strength right now to make that long of a journey. Come with us. We can feed you until your strength returns. Then you can all go home."
Josephine hesitated before speaking again. "I know you're right. How far is it to where you live?"
"Not far," Rowanwind replied. "We'll have to cross a Thunderpath, but there are always less monsters at night."
The imprisoned cats began to stand once again. Rowanwind looked for Icefur. He was the last cat to stand up.
"How are you doing?" Rowanwind asked the old ThunderClan cat.
Icefur looked at him with lifeless eyes.
Rowanwind sighed. "Granitetail, can you come over here?"
The dark gray tom came over. His white face and paws were the most distinguishable parts of him. The rest of his body practically melted into the shadows.
"Can you help Icefur?" Rowanwind whispered.
Granitetail's yellow eyes widened. "This is Icefur? What happened to him?"
"They starved him, it looks like," Rowanwind answered. "I need to lead the cats in the right direction. Can you help Icefur?"
Granitetail nodded. He crept closer to Icefur. "Hello, Icefur. Do you remember me?"
Icefur looked at Granitetail without replying.
Rowanwind left the two old friends to go and stand at the head of the group. "Follow me, everyone. Keep everyone around you in sight, or someone might get lost."
The group slowly walked through the night. Rowanwind tried to find a path with the fewest trees and bushes to go around. By the time they reached the Thunderpath, the moon was high above the sky. Rowanwind was shocked to realize that the moon was nearly full again; a Gathering would be held in a few days.
Crossing the Thunderpath was stressful, but the cats managed to all get across without anyone getting run down by a monster. Once everyone was across, Rowanwind led them all to the area in front of the log bridge. They found the other Clans waiting for them. When they saw Rowanwind coming toward them with the once imprisoned cats, a chorus of triumphant meows went up. Rowanwind knew they had won this battle, but the war wouldn't be over until he had killed Sly.
End of Chapter Nine
Author's Notes: I had so much fun writing this chapter. My original plan was to have Rowanwind and a few friends sneak into DarkClan and resue Maggotpaw's brother, Whisker, and nobody else. But then, I got to thinking...why not have them actually attack the camp? It would be so much more interesting to have a battle than to have Rowanwind sneaking around.
I had some kittypet characters created who hadn't been introduced yet, and I was beginning to panic, wondering whether I'd get them into the story at all. Then, a stroke of utter genius came to me when I thought about how few slaves I had for DarkClan. (At the time I was thinking this, the only slaves were Icefur, Whisker, and Beauty's mate, Slick.)
So, I decided now was the time to introduce Josephine, Doodle, and the other kittypets...as slaves of DarkClan! I think it worked out pretty well, if I do say so myself. (And I do!) Josephine, whose character was originally planned out as a docile kittypet, actually turned out to be spunky. Doodle, who was supposed to be the spunky one, turned out to be much quieter than originally planned. He only had one line, for StarClan's sake!
And that's how one very simple idea expanded into this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the chaotic rescue battle. What are DarkClan going to do without their slaves to hunt for them, I wonder? Hmm...