"Who are you?" Hawkmask hissed.
Two cats stepped out of the cave, their hackles raised.
"This isn't your territory," a large black tom threatened.
"Well it's not yours either," Tanglestar replied, puffing up her chest and standing tall.
The tom curled his lips back, and the cat standing beside him spoke up. "You're Tanglestar, aren't you? You smell like Leafclan."
"I am. Why are you here?" The leader asked, unfazed by the other warrior's rudeness.
"I could ask you the same thing," the black cat said before leaping into the air at Tanglestar.
The she-cat easily dodged the attack, and Hawkmask leapt onto of him, pinning him to the ground. Hawkmask leapt onto the tom's back and unsheathed his claws, letting them sink into the black pelt. The enemy yowled, and tried to roll onto his attacker. Hawkmask managed to jump out of the way before being squashed.
Tanglestar managed to avoid the fight, and glanced towards the entrance to the cave. The other cat had fled, leaving a trace of fear scent in the air. She took the opportunity to sneak into the cave while Hawkmask kept the tom busy.
Inside, it was pitch black, but Tanglestar's eyes adjusted quickly. The cave was large and spacious, and had a cool, moist feel to it. It reeked of the large brown creature, but Tanglestar knew it was safe. Stepping cautiously but quickly, she explored the cave, and discovered a pile of moss in one of the back corners. Her paws tingled, and she knew that what she was searching for was buried in the moss. She dug through the pile of moss with her front paws, and sitting cradled in its soft bed was a stone.
It wasn't just any stone. It glowed green, and pulsed slowly. It was smaller than Tanglestar's paw, and she could easily pick it up in her mouth if she had to.
Her paws prickled in excitement and thrill, and she reached out a paw to touch the sacred gem. However, before her paw was quite there…
"Tanglestar! Watch out!" Hawkmask's voice echoed through the cave, and the leader was just about to turn her head when…
Thud!
The cave wall smashed against Tanglestar's face, and a ringing erupted in her ears. She tried to pull herself to her feet, but a prickling on her neck made her stop in mid-motion.
"Don't move or I'll kill you."
Tanglestar could make out the shape of the tom's face from out of the corner of her eye. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, revealing yellowing teeth. A scar ran from his jaw to above his left eye. He had narrowed his eyes, and the tom's menacing amber eyes almost seemed to glow in the blackness.
Tanglestar went limp, and allowed the warrior to slip the gem out from under her. Then the warrior said, "I'm going to let you go. If you make a single move, my mate will kill your friend out there, and I'm sure you don't want that to happen."
The tom allowed Tanglestar to turn her head slightly in order to see Hawkmask. The black tom's friend had returned, and was pinning a badly wounded Hawkmask to the ground. He lay limp, staring into the cave, waiting for his leader's decision.
"Ok," Tanglestar decided. "I won't move."
"Good choice," the tom growled, quickly releasing his grip on Tanglestar's neck and picking up the gem then rushing from the cave. The cat's mate released Hawkmask and both disappeared into the night.
"Hawkmask, are you alright?" Tanglestar asked, jumping up and running over to the fallen warrior.
"I-I think so," he stuttered as he tried to sit up, flinching in pain.
"No, you're not," the leader decided. "Lay down and I'll see if I can find some comfrey to ease the pain. I'll be right back." With a flick of the tail, Tanglestar took off into the bushes, in search of an herb that would help her friend.
As she rooted around, using the faint moonlight to help her find small purple flowers, the leader reflected on what happened. There were other cats who knew what was going on, and they wanted the stone. However, Tanglestar felt a need for the stone even though she didn't know why. But she needed the stone above nothing else.
Tanglestar pushed through a crack in the bushes, and froze in mid-step. Lying on the ground before her was three of a brown creature's massive claws. The tips were pointed towards the cave. She knew right away why they were there- it was an omen from Starclan. They were trying to tell her something, but Tanglestar failed to understand. Would her lack of knowledge lead her to danger? She didn't want to wait and find out. The clan leader needed to know what Starclan was trying to tell her.
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