Chapter 2

Leaffall walked through the tunnel, not looking back at Snowstorm. Who was siting in a dark spot thinking. Leaffall looked up to find a tunnel going up, then there was a turn so they were going horizontal again. Leaffall jumped up to the hole and dug her claws into the dirt. She jumped up, scrambling to the horizontal turn of the tunnel. She detected a scent. It was unfamiliar.

A figure with a blue-grey pelt with white flecks appeared out of the shadows. He was a tom, strongly built and had his claws unsheathed. He stalked towards Leaffall, hunching his back.

"Why are you walking on my territory?" The tom snarled, his blue-grey fur rising and his eyes sparked with anger.

"I wasn't aware of your territory. May I ask who you are?" Leaffall asked, her own neck fur rising in alarm. She could smell her own fear scent, it was so strong.

"Why should I tell you?" The tom snarled, this time triumph was alight in his eyes. When Leaffall made no move of attack the tom visually relaxed his stance and sat down, licking his paw and swiping it over his face in rhythmic strokes. "You really want to know?" He asked, his voice still hostile. Leaffall nodded. "Ok then. The name's, Rainripple. What's your's?"

"Leaffall." There was an awkward silence between them, then Rainclaw spoke.

"So, what are you doing on my territory?" He asked, his blue eyes were not as hostile as before, but they were still untrusting.

"I was wondering what was up here. I was in one of the tunnels below this one. Is that your territory too?" She asked. Rainripple shook his head.

"No. Me and Whispernight keep that part of the tunnels neutral, for visitors." He clarified. Leaffall tilted her head. What did he mean?

"Who's Whispernight and what 'visitors'?" Leaffall asked.

"Well visitors like yourself. Visitors that are on some kind of journey or quest and have to find some place to rest for the night or a few nights. You are only staying for a few nights right?" The blue-grey tom asked, his fur slightly raised in warning.

"We're only planning to. Who's Whispernight?" Leaffall asked. Rainripple's blue eyes were uneasy. Leaffall looked down into the vertical tunnel that led to the 'visitor's tunnel.' Leaffall heard Snowstorm calling her name.

"Leaffall! Leaffall, where are you! I can't find you! I don't want to tell the others that I lost you in a tunnel! Call back to me!" Leaffall heard her yowl. Her voice echoed across the tunnel.

"Snowstorm," Leaffall yowled back, "give me a minute! I found a new cat in the tunnels! Come up here! His name's Rainripple!" Leaffall pricked her ears when she heard showering dirt and heaving breaths. Rainripple and Leaffall exchanged looks. Rainripple's glance was holding something she could only recognize as a look that Thrushfur and Snowstorm would exchange to each other. Leaffall was sure that her gaze mirrored his. They had moved closer to each other while they were talking. She felt lightning crackle between them. She wasn't sure what that meant. Snowstorm's reply did not surface for a while, in that amount of time Leaffall could smell her own scent, which was smothered in fear. What happened to Snowstorm?

"AHHHHHH!" Leaffall wrenched her gaze away from Rainripple's rain-like eyes and perked her ears toward the vertical tunnel. "AHHHHH! WHO ARE YOU?!" Leaffall looked back at Rainripple. His eyes were uncertain, then they heard another yowl. One Leaffall did not know the owner of.

"GET OVER HERE YOU LITTLE SQUIRREL! YOU'RE JUST SMALL ENOUGH TO EAT! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK WITHOUT ANY PREY! AGAIN!" Then they saw a white cat with light grey paws and ear tips running like the wind, through the vertical tunnel, followed by a black shape with a white tail, white ear-tips and white socks.

"WHISPERNIGHT!" Rainripple yowled down the vertical tunnel.

"RAINRIPPLE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Whispernight asked, stopping at the entrance to the 'visitor's tunnel.' She looked back and forth and then looked up, her gaze turned almost immediately hostile, but then when she saw Rainripple with Leaffall her gaze relaxed visibly. She jumped up and easily scrambled into the tunnel that Leaffall and Rainripple were in. "Who are you?" Whispernight asked, sniffing Leaffall.

"I'm Leaffall."