Chapter 15- Troutleap
He was sitting there, frozen in place with shock, staring at nothing, at a complete loss of words for the disappearance of his kits.
"Love, it'll be okay. We'll get them back." Dawnstream was sitting beside him, grieving as well but at least keeping some dignity. Her voice shook a little, and she might have been trying to persuade herself rather than him.
"What's the point? They are all gone." His voice was hollow and his words were empty.
He sensed someone coming up from behind him. He turned his head a little, just to see who it was. Dustypaw. "Is there any way I can help?" The apprentice asked. He seemed slightly proud of himself, triumph echoing lightly in his voice.
"No, Dustypaw, there isn't." Troutleap tried to mask his anger. What was wrong with Dustypaw? Why was he so happy?
"Are you sure?" He smiled. Behind him came the missing kits. Each had weary eyes and looked exhausted yet somehow satisfied. Troutleap took in a sharp breath, happiness lighting his gaze.
"Daddy, Mommy, just wait until we tell you what happened to us!" Rushkit said as Dawnstream picked him up. The others followed.
Troutleap glanced at Dustypaw, bewildered. "What happened?"
Dustypaw shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it. Not where anyone can hear us anyway. We should get the others."
Troutleap contemplated the idea and nodded eager to learn where his kits had gone. "I'll get Snakepaw, you get Fernpaw and Mosspaw. Meet by the barn at moon high."
The young tom nodded and ran off, his dark brown pelt disappearing quickly in the twilight.
Troutleap looked around; making sure no one was watching and slipped out of camp before anybody could notice. Most of the warriors were asleep anyway. Stormcloud and Ripplesong, who were on guard duty that night, were preparing to keep watch by eating a fish each.
The deputy knew the trail to ShadowClan well. He waded in the stream until it started to curve away from the direction he was going. He treaded lightly upon the springiest ground until he got to the greenleaf Twoleg place. He found a pine tree and rolled in the bitter pine needles that were shed for the end of leafbare, ignoring the little pricks that prodded and poked his pelt. Once he was confident he had masked his scent he ran across the territory in the most heavily scented places so his own scent would be covered. Once he was in sight of the camp he crouched down, careful that nobody could see him.
Quietly he threw three rocks into the camp. That was his signal for Snakepaw. Soon the apprentice came out. "What's up?" His voice was a whisper.
"We're having a meeting."
"Now?" His voice was suspicious.
"It's urgent," Troutleap bit back sharply. "Come on."
Snakepaw sighed and ran the trail Troutleap took, following close behind to mask the scent. They soon switched positions, Snakepaw leading and Troutleap covering the scent as they ran through RiverClan until they reached the barn. The other three apprentices sat waiting for them.
"So what is so 'urgent' that we can't have advanced warning?" Snakepaw asked, skepticism obvious in his voice.
Dustypaw stepped forward. "I visited the Dark Forest."
The cats looked at each other each with a startled look in their eyes, shock lacing their expressions, except for Snakepaw, who already knew this.
"They took Troutleap's kits and the barn kits. They wanted me to kill them, to throw us off I think, so we would have less to fight for. The forces in the Dark Forest are growing." Troutleap gave a little gasp, but he was quiet, wanting desperately to know more.
Dustypaw turned to Fernpaw. "From WindClan I know Cinderleaf and Silvertail have joined. Cinderleaf is being as gentle as she can, which makes her an easy target and can get her killed. Silvertail is there to fight. Try to get him back on our side." He told her. "I also heard Mapleshade and another Dark Forest Warrior talking about recruiting Thornwhisker, Whisperfeather and Rainfall so watch out for that."
"Why would they join? They are all loyal WindClan cats. Silvertail is very kind to me and helps me train. Why would he be part of the DarkForest?" Fernpaw asked. Despair laced her voice.
Dustypaw shook his head. "The Dark Forest is tricky. They can get the kindest, most loyal cats to join them by telling them they are helping their Clan." Fernpaw nodded and looked back at her territory.
Mosspaw's eyes were glowing with anxiety. "What about my Clan?" She asked fearfully.
"Ravenheart and Treadpaw." Troutleap saw Mosspaw nod at the names of the two cats. She had suspected this.
Dustypaw continued. "Ravenheart is there to improve her skills, I think. She wouldn't hurt anyone. But Treadpaw is there because she deserves to be there." He said darkly. "She almost killed Willowkit and Rushkit. Snakepaw and I barely escaped a fight with her. Snakepaw helped me get the kits out of there." Dustypaw added quickly before questions arose. "They also want to add Whitewhisker and your mentor, Eagleclaw." Mosspaw nodded and looked down, upset at this news.
Dustypaw looked at Snakepaw. "I know that you know Dawnfire was there but Billowfur is there as well. Spottedpelt was there but she's been taking a break because of the kits she is expecting. They are considering Skyblaze and Crowflight." Snakepaw nodded as if none of this was news to him. There was one more thing he had to tell Snakepaw.
"Snakepaw, Ferretpaw has been starting to go."
"What?" There was hurt in his voice. "No, no, not Ferretpaw. He's good and loyal! He promised Cedarkit and Olivekit that he would show them techniques that we learned. He is a good cat!" He backed away from Dustypaw as this information had physically hurt him.
Troutleap approached Snakepaw carefully. "Just because he visits the Dark Forest it doesn't mean he is a bad cat." He said gently. "What if he went there because he wanted to improve his skills? I'm sure there is not a bad thought in his head." He tried to reassure the blue-eyed tom.
In response, Snakepaw rested his head against his paws. He was silent as the rest discussed how to save the Dark Forest cats. Troutleap glanced at him worriedly before looking up at the sky and sighed. "What can we do?" He asked. They couldn't stop all these cats from visiting the Dark Forest.
Suddenly, a few shimmering forms faded in next to them. The StarClan cats stood before them.
"You can save those who were tempted by the Dark Forest and tell them to stop going." Feathertail said; she seemed to have read his mind. "You can also say how awful you heard it was to discourage others from going."
Everyone nodded resignedly, except for Snakepaw.
"Come on Snakepaw. We can go talk in your dreams." Flametail said, leading the troubled apprentice away. He nodded respectfully as he passed the others.
"Goodbye Feathertail." Crowfeather said with a hint of something in his voice that Troutleap couldn't figure out. The WindClan cats disappeared into the night. Feathertail started leading Troutleap away from the others.
He was nearly at camp when he noticed Dustypaw wasn't following. He looked around in confusion, perplexed at the disappearance of the tom.
"I'm going to see what is keeping Dustypaw." He told Feathertail before speeding away. The silver she-cat nodded and sat down, her fluffy tail covering her paws.
Troutleap ran swiftly back to the barn and saw something he thought he would never see. He drew in a sharp breath in shock, staring with eyes as wide as kits.
"Mosspaw, I know we're supposed to be meeting soon but will you meet me back here tomorrow night?"
The calico's power allowed a beautiful lily to grow in the soil. It was pure white like snow.
Troutleap could feel the heat between the two from where he stood. "I'll be here, don't worry." She said softly with a little smile. Dustypaw plucked the snow lily in his teeth and placed it by her head."Goodbye, Dustypaw. See you tomorrow night."
"May StarClan light your path!" He called after her. He turned around looking pleased with himself when he saw Troutleap. His eyes widened and he looked startled. "Troutleap!"
Thanks a ton to my awesome reviewers and my awesome beta, Sightless Silver Eyes, who I dedicate this chapter to! I am putting a new poll up, be sure to vote, your opinion matters and it has to do with the sequel to this story. I don't mind being told my writing is bad, by the way, as long as you can tell me how to make it better. Frankly, I know I suck. Anyway, let's try to get to 60 reviews this chapter! We're coming to the end of our story pretty soon. Either this next chapter or the one after that we will be having a treat, the climax of the story!
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