Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Warriors series.


Chapter 4

"How did they do?" Bramblestar padded over to where Squirrelflight, Icecloud, Rosepetal, Foxleap, Molepaw and Cherrypaw were trudging back into the camp. Each apprentice had several pieces of prey dangling from their jaws, and though they looked exhausted, they looked simultaneously proud.

"They did very well," Squirrelflight reported, her fluffy tail flicking. "But there is something I want to talk to you about." Bramblestar blinked at his deputy, clearly surprised, but she just shook her head and trotted off to his den.

The ThunderClan leader turned to the rest of the patrol, looking at them as if to ask what was going on. No one answered him. The apprentices placed their prey on the fresh-kill pile and scampered off, Rosepetal and Foxleap, the two mentors, walked off with their heads together, murmuring in hushed voices, and Icecloud ran off to Ferncloud, her mother.

Left without an option, Bramblestar turned and bounded up to his den, sliding into the darkness of the cave. Squirrelflight sat in the far corner, her tail curled over her paws and her green eyes anxious.

"What is it?" Bramblestar asked, settling himself into his mossy nest. Squirrelflight's eyes darted briefly to the entrance, as if she expected someone to come in and interrupt them. When no other feline face appeared in the entrance, she turned back to her leader.

"Around the middle of the assessment, or so we think, Hollyleaf and Dovewing disappeared from where they were watching Cherrypaw. We think they headed to the border – at least, that's where their scent trail led – but after that it just sort of…vanished." Bramblestar's head shot up and he eyed her confusedly.

"What do you mean, vanished?" he asked, his tail-tip flicking back and forth. Squirrelflight shifted her paws across the rough floor of the den.

"Well… once we reached the WindClan border, we couldn't find it. It disappears right near a rabbit warren." A flash of something – Squirrelflight couldn't really tell what – sparkled in Bramblestar's eyes briefly, but was gone a second later.

"Did you try the area around it?" he asked, feigning worry. He knew where they were. Well, most likely. Squirrelflight dipped her head to him.

"Briefly, yes. You must understand, we had to finish the assessment as well." Bramblestar nodded.

"Yes, I understand, thank you Squirrelflight."

"Where did she go?" Blackness pressed in on either side of Dovewing, shielding her view of Hollyleaf crouching in front of her. Earth and dirt showered her fur, making her shiver on contact.

"I don't know," Hollyleaf answered truthfully. The she-cat's green eyes glowed in the dark, and her black pelt made her seem like a ghost.

"I had her scent…" Dovewing trailed off, tasting the air again, her brow furrowing. Even with her far-reaching senses, she could pick up no trace of the mysterious she-cat in the tunnels.

"Are your senses blocked?" Hollyleaf asked her, shuffling around to face the younger cat. Dovewing shook her head.

"Not blocked, just…everything is muffled down here, and I can pick up a trace of the she-cat's scent, but I can't tell where it's coming from."

Hollyleaf gave a loud sigh. "Well, why don't we just try our luck? I know the way down here, and maybe I can get us to the dark river, and we can see if she's been there." Dovewing nodded.

"That seems like our best option right now…"

Cold, fresh air poured into the tunnel from the opening not but a few rabbit-hops away from the she-cat's front paws. Her whiskered twitched as a bird call sounded from the entrance to the outside world. Ears pinned to her skull, she wrapped her long tail over her small silver paws, sitting back on her haunches.

"I think I can smell…" Faint whisps of voices floated to her ears from the main cave, which housed the underground river that had drawn her here in the first place. She twitched the fur n her shoulders but didn't look back, she knew that their chance of finding her was slim to none.

Her exotic eyes never wavered from their fixated pinpoint; the yawning opening in the tunnel in front of her. They watched as a set of brown tabby paws walked on by, and as an overly-curious rabbit poked its nose into the tunnel.

She knew she shouldn't be there. She knew this was enemy territory. But she frankly didn't care. The stark truth was that the only reason she was there was because she shouldn't be there.

Without even twitching her tail-tip, she opened her mouth and gave an unseemly, unearthly wail. The two she-cats that had been tailing her gave yelps of alarm and she heard their claws skitter across the ground as they shot back up the tunnel they had come from.

Cilia rose to her paws and walked out of the tunnels, her head high and her gaze passive, like nothing had happened.

My work here is far from over…


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~xoxo WinglessAngel