Oh my gosh, much thanks Featherpool16 XD! That just made me laugh, thanks for the 8 review. Also, thank you Sunken Insanity, Faded Into Dawn, and FiresofHope for your support. It really does mean tons! And good news my awesome readers, next chapter we get to the present, which is the big battle. Also, what is up that warning, twice? Read and review my lovelies 3.
And Faded, I will keep that in mind.
We stayed there for two more days and no longer without trouble, we couldn't risk being found again. When we moved we moved slowly for the sake of Dark River, who insisted on coming with us and Griz. After four days of travel the forest gave way to hills, which soon gave way to a mountain, and we began the debate on whether to cross it or not.
"I say we cross it, if we run into wolves surely I can reason with them." Griz barked.
"That is fine and dandy," I meowed. "But what about Dark? Her wounds could reopen, and I am no medicine cat."
"I am fine Redheart!" She protested. "We moved slowly, it will take a little more than jumping to reopen my skin!"
"Well, then Johnny or Dusty need the cure, I was taught prey is scarce in the mountains." I meowed, going back to an already well argued over topic.
"I only have one cure, and making another will be hard, but it is possible. We should just give it to Johnny and be over it." The dog growled.
"I sacrifice the cure to Johnny!" Dusty meowed, trying to be dramatic about it. "Now can we get going?"
I sighed. Dusty could be so rude about things! "Johnny, you want the cure?"
"What if you bite some poor cat!" He fretted. "I am willing to live with this, but that poor cat!"
I frowned. "I have more control than that! Just take the stupid cure already!"
Johnny nodded. "Ok, I trust you, plus you can hunt better than me. I will take the cure." He said.
"Wonderful!" Griz said in his deep voice. "Take this mixture of herbs." He threw a packet down. "I was to put that in a blood bag for you." He informed us. "But we don't need blood."
Johnny opened the packet, and I stopped him from eating them right away. "Wait, it would be better to have two animals know the cure." I meowed. I sniffed the herbs and memorized them, then nodded.
Johnny gulped up the herbs and sat back. "I don't feel differen-" He paused and put his paws to his mouth. "OH GOSH MY TEETH!" He howled.
"Johnny!" I screeched, but Griz held me back with a large paw.
"You cats have fangs, this is making sure they never pop out again. Yes it is going to make him hurt for a little." Griz rumbled.
Johnny fell silent, and after a little got back up. "I'm cool." He sighed in relief. "In fact, I think I am cured!" He brightened up at that fact.
"Great, so do we cross?" Griz barked.
I nodded. "I vote we cross."
"Same." Barked Griz.
Dusty and Dark also voted we crossed, only Johnny was alone. "I vote you are all crazy." He complained. "Don't you know cannibals live in the mountains! That is what my grandma always told me, because she lived there!"
"Why did she move to the city?" I asked.
"Cannibals are scarier than twolegs, twolegs won't eat you."
I shuddered. "Yeah but they still hurt you." I meowed.
"Only those in the lab, or some mean twolegs kicked cats. A few were nice in the city though!" Johnny meowed.
We talked as we walked and reached the foot of the mountain. Griz went first, declaring that he would know wolf signs when he saw them, or heard them, or smelled them. Being half wolf sure made him confident. It wasn't wolves that scared me though, it really was the prospect of cannibals. Was I as bad as them, with my 'condition'?
When night came we agreed it would be safer to hunt in groups. Griz went with Dark and Johnny, while Dusty and I hunted together. In case of fog of course. Not even Griz the dog wolf would be completely safe if we went insane.
I sniffed the air eagerly and found that scents were easier to pick apart up in the clean air. That would give me an advantage in the life poor place, but we weren't high up yet so the prey here was plentiful enough. I held still as I looked around, remembering what my mentor said incase I ever got to visit the tribe in the mountain. Yes, my lovely clan trained me for everything thankfully.
I spotted a mouse and waited for it to come closer, while I scented for eagles. They were a threat here, but I warned my friends of them. I grinned and pounced, killing the mouse quickly. I devoured it right away, no chances ever! I looked around trying to spot Dusty, and I easily could. I told him not to move so much up here!
I sneaked up behind him and stopped myself from whacking him in the head with a paw. That would just activate the fog. "Boo." I meowed instead.
He whirled around, scared, then calmed down when he saw it was just me. "Why did you do that!" He spat.
I stood up. "I already ate and you blend up here better than I!" I exclaimed. His light brown pelt did blend in better than my dark red one. "Remember what I said and sit still, the prey will come to you. And no it isn't that stupid, but it just won't know you are there."
He sighed, I had gotten food so it must have worked. "Yes yes, now you should go find the others and find some place to camp. The air up here is so clean even I can track you."
I purred and whisked off. Yes, even the novice of the wild could track me up here. I ran off to find the other group, not afraid of leaving Dusty alone, I hadn't scented any cat, or wolf, yet. Finding them was easy enough, seeing as they couldn't stay still well either, except for Griz. The twolegs had taught him self control, and how to get his target in any condition, terrain, or place.
I flicked a tail and only Griz spotted me, which I intended. I grinned at him and cocked my head slowly towards the other two, as if to ask, aren't they cute bumbling around? Griz also grinned back and lightly wagged his tail, then held still. He flicked an ear and I assumed he heard something so I held still too. Sure enough the faint sound of chicks entered my ears. Only eagle chicks would dare be that loud, so that meant one thing. Eagles!
I ran off in the direction of the sound, but not before I rolled in mud to mask my fur which stood out like dried blood on rocks. Blood would only attract an eagle to possible easy food, which I wasn't! I soon was able to follow the scent too. From the sound there was one baby eagle, but the smell told me more would be hatching. Griz appeared near me.
"Smart idea with the mud." He whispered, surprisingly quite.
"Thanks, the tribe taught the clans this for mountain survival." I forgot, I hadn't told them about the tribe! Just that my clan taught me this. "I will tell you about them later, for now, we need to kill those babies. They grow up quickly and eagles Hunt cats, you can't watch us all the time Griz." I whispered.
Griz seemed uncomfortable with the thought of killing babies. "They are so young though, just hatchlings."
"They will kill us." I meowed. "Think of them as prey, prey to be eaten, because we will eat them." I assured him.
"Ok." Griz seemed to accept this, now that it had a bit more meaning to kill them.
I slowly crept forward and up the steep rocks to the carefully placed nest. It was hard, and I slipped every now and then, but no parents appeared. I had gathered a plan to transport the eggs, and I would just kill the hatched one. I finally made it into the nest.
Working quickly I snapped the hatchlings neck and threw it down to Griz. I then moved on to the eggs which I wrapped three times with the nest materials. I rolled them down the steep path and prayed they didn't break. We could eat those in case of emergency! Not checking on the egg I rolled down, I did the same to the other two and made to get down myself. To bad I couldn't wrap myself in the nest.
Which lead to a stupid idea. "Griz." I called down. "I don't think I can climb back down, tree is different than rock, but I have an idea!"
"What is it?" He called.
"Oh, just sit in one place and get ready for me." I called down and went to work.
I really didn't think I could climb down, getting up was hard enough. After making sure the nest was one that didn't fall apart easily, which it wasn't incase the nest fell in a storm. I got ready and pushed it toward the edge. "StarClan, if I could come out of this uninjured I will behave for the rest of my days!" I whispered the quick pray and jumped in. My momentum and weight pushed the nest over the edge and I went down.
The wind whisked past me and I let out a whoop. This was fun! Dangerous and I would never do it again, but fun! I looked behind me and saw the nest shredding, which worried me, but the ride was over as soon as it began. I hit Griz's side with a loud thump.
"That actually hurt you stupid cat." He growled.
I purred. "You only call me stupid because you were worried."
"That and if you were my pup I would throw you over the edge." He snorted.
I got up wobbly. "I am fine, how that happened I don't know, I think StarClan was looking out for me." I laughed.
Griz stood up. "Your ancestors? Yes, only explanation I can think of, though why they watch out for you when you knew you could get badly hurt I have no idea why!"
"Brambleberry always put up with me." I meowed and picked up the dead chick and an egg, that stayed in its nest wrapping. "Pick up the other eggs please, and lets find the others." Griz nodded and did that.
We walk back to the place we last saw our friends hunting and found them unsuccessful still. I set my bounty down and laughed. "No need to fear! Redheart and Griz are here!" I grinned.
Dusty snorted. "Even I could catch something!" He boasted.
"Not without me reminding you first." I reminded him happily.
"I still caught a mouse." He mumbled.
"Yes, and we caught enough for four."
Griz looked a little uncomfortable. "Actually, being bigger I require more food. I ask you kindly for two eggs instead of one." He barked.
I shrugged. "Why not? I still caught my own prey, and so did dusty. This leaves enough for Dark and Johnny.
My friends tucked into their meals, Dark took the chick while Johnny got the egg. All seemed fine. After that we found a hole in the ground protected by a bush and we all curled up together, easily drifting off to sleep. Yes, today had been a fine day.
The sound of a birds angry shriek woke me up, from the position of the moon it was midnight. I jumped up in time for a bird to swoop down on me and pick me up into the air. I shrieked so loud I am pretty sure my clan could hear me. "HELP!"
They were up right away, why weren't they up when the eagle shrieked? I could worry about that later though, I was in the talons of an eagle! It squeazed tighter, drawing blood and the fog set in. A low growl errupted from my throat and I black out.
I woke up at dawn and ached all over. "What?" I croaked.
"She's awake!" A male voice yowled. It wass't one I knew either. I tensed quickly and a tail was laid on my shoulder. "I was told you were Redheart of the Clans, welcome young one. I am Stoneteller."
I was confused, acorrding to Griz the journey to even to the mountains near the lake should of taken a week in and a half or so, due to animals traviling slower then cars. "Impossible." I spluttered.
"No Redheart, your dog friend overestimated the distance. Now rest." He meowed.
I wanted to ask more questions, but I was in so much pain, and even talking took it out of me. I obeyed and fell asleep again. Yes, let the black blanket take away my pain. It was a dreamless sleep.
"Asleep for three days, how long can we go by squeezing the blood into her mouth?" A voice asked.
"As long as we must." Another voice growled. I knew that voice, it should keep talking, I thought.
"I know none of you would have been free, save for Dark, if it weren't for her but she can't continue this sleep!" The first voice meowed.
"I can speak for myself." I coughed.
"Redheart!" The second voice cried, and I placed as Johnny.
"One and only." I meowed. "I need water."
Water soaked moss was brought to me and I stiffly sat up. Much better. I greedily gulped the water, ignoring the small flares of pain on my side and stiff muscle. I felt like something dropped me from a tall hight, than I remembered. That was exactly what happened! It came back to me slowly.
I had turned around in the eagles grip and clawed at its chest, not caring for my own safety even at that hight. I kept a clawing until it let go, but I wasn't done yet, no, it had to die. I clawed the torn up chest once more until my paw broke through the muscle to the heart. I was disgusted by my mid-air battle. More memories came though, if the eagle hadn't been under me, breaking my fall I would have been dead.
Great, a stroke of luck and the fog saved me, they had kept me here subdued with blood. The tribe cats had been very nice, living up to the legends of their known kindness, but I didn't want to push it. I stretched and took inventory of myself. Apperntly I had been knocked out for four days, but the eagle breaking my fall, and Griz catching me on his back spared me of broken bones, though he had a major bruise.
I finished stretching my cramped muscles and looked around. I was so close to home, I was eager to get going right then, but common sense told me to be slow. My compainions had been talking quitely, so I didn't hear them, but Johnny approached me.
"Hey sleepy." He purred. "Glad to see you are up. Luckily the tribe cats could eat the meat you took blood from." He meowed.
I looked surprised. "Are they having trouble feeding themselves? I don't want to burden them!" I meowed.
Johnny frowned. "I should have waited until you ate." He murmured apologetically.
I cocked my head in confusion and he just shoke his. I followed him into the central area of the cave. "They said forgetting rid of an eagle we are welcomed, as long as we pull our own weight." He meowed. "So we haven't burdened them, especially since we gave them the eagle you killed. They aren't picky about how squashed food is."
I nodded. "Ok." My stomach growled.
Johnny grinned. "Go eat, pure blood diets are hard I hear."
I chuckled and chose a mouse. Remembering there tradition of sharing I shat near Johnny and took a bite then pushed it towards him.
"Thanks." He meowed and took his own bite then pushed it back.
We shared while he filled me in. He knew that I knew about the tribe, but not the Tribe of Rushing Waters problems.
"Yes, apprantly the other cat group here, the dishonorable one, has turned to cannibalism! Can you believe that mountain cats had never heard of such things?" He shook his head,
I snorted. "Before us clans they never fought, but we weren't the reason there fighting began. The tribe was here before that scraggly group, we taught the tribe in the past to defend itself and about boundaries." I added proudly.
"You also taught them about pride, they refuse to ask for the clans help anymore." Johnny meowed. "Shame the nice ones die off. Oh, and they have the herbs here to make enough cures for three more. Dusty was cured."
I purred, good a cure! "Good." I meowed,
"Apprantly only a certain herb that we were missing grows in mountains alone." He informed me.
I nodded. "So we should set out soon." I meowed.
Johnny laid a tail on my shoulder. "Stoneteller insists you stay three more days to heal completly, that and he wishes to talk with you."
I was surprised by the last part, but didn't show it. He probably just wanted to check up on the clans. We finished the mouse and Johnny left me to sit alone, he wanted to help defend the tribe while they hunted. I wasn't alone for long, Stoneteller took his place.
"Greetings clan cat." He meowed formally.
"Greetings healer." I meowed back politely. "I heard you wish to talk?"
He nodded. "Yes, about your condition."
I stiffened, but wasn't offended. "Please continue." I meowed.
"The Tribe of Endless Hunting spoke to me the night you arrived. They told me to tell you this. Dark waters rising, the dusty clouds of the desert are dangerous too. Beware." He meowed, but didn't stop there. "They also said, you are not a monster, but a tool. You can be used for good, or for destruction. A tool who decides her own fate. Your first choice, use your powers to help us, or leave us." He finished.
I thought about it. "If I helped you, would it be good? I understand your... Problem." I meowed. "But surely you know of mine?"
"That you can not be controlled in battle? I am well aware of it." He meowed calmly. "So make your first choice. You aren't in our debt, with Griz the cannibals stay away, but when he leaves they shall return. Make a choice, you have three days. On the fourth day, a great battle will occur, with or without you."
I nodded, and was very troubled. Brambleberry told me the same thing! This stuff with the tribe was new though, but they needed me nonetheless. "I must think." I told him weakly.
He nodded. "Come to me on the third day, Redheart." And walked away.
For three days I stayed there, and finally the time came. I just wish he didn't make a big thing out of it, but he called a meeting. "Cats of the Tribe of Rushing Water, I will not lie!" He yowled in a loud voice. "A big battle comes tomorrow, but I know you all have been sensing it draw closer. I will not lie, we will have to fight or die, and many of us will die, without our champion. Our future rests on one cat and her friends alone, the clan cat!"
The bastard! I thought viciously. He didn't need to do this, put this pressure on us! Make us say yes or be guilty forever! I held my temper though as he continued to speak.
"Redheart, will you save my tribe?" He asked, and then I understood why he did it.
I stood up. "Yes," I meowed clearly. "I will save your tribe." He has put me in that position because this was his tribe, because he loved every single cat here like a kitten. Stoneteller might of hated putting me in such a position, but what was a pawfull of cats and one dog worth next to his tribe? I might never forgive him for doing such a low move, but I wouldn't let others suffer.