AN: Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter. Erin Hunter owns Warriors. I try to make all my stories about my own O.C.s, but sometimes I might reference something from the books. Please read! Please review! It really helps.

The Mysterious Melody

Chapter Four: Strangers in the Night

Leafpaw ran.

She ran and ran. Snowfur had never made her run this much. She never knew any cat could run this much. Her lungs ached, her paws were on fire, her eyes burned. The air here was foul, full of horrible stenches that attacked her senses. The ground was hard and pokey. The mountains were tall, straight, and cold. Everything towered over her. It was all so close, like the mountains were threatening to fall onto one another, and she would be crushed. And it didn't end.

Every sound was wrong. Everything echoed, building and folding in on itself, swelling and fading and wrapping back in an endless cycle. All the scary stories she'd been told as a kit were coming to life here. She heard the sharp barks of dogs, the whines of Twolegs, the growls of Monsters. Oh my.

Leafpaw didn't know where she could run to. That horrible Aurora said she belonged to her clan now. She said there was no escape. She said that this, this … place, was her home now! But she couldn't accept that. She just couldn't.

Eyes pinched shut, she ran without purpose, plowing ahead. Then something hard and furry appeared in her path, and she smacked into it. Her paws went out from under her, she rolled, her face mashing into the rough ground. Her momentum carried her, tumbling and skittering, through several wet, sticky, pungent puddles before she found her paws and skidded to a halt.

"Hey, what the-?"

Leafpaw arched her back, preparing a hiss of truly epic proportions. Then she looked up, and her challenge died in her throat.

A massive wall of dark, shadow on shadow, stood there; tall, thick, and looking really, really hungry. Eyes, large, murky brown and full, were the only source of light. Leafpaw shrank back, a cold feeling trickling down her spine.

"Kit," said the shadow. "You're a long way from home, aren't you?"

********************TRANSITION******************************

The setting sun hung heavy over the camp, as Songpaw leaned up against the nursery entrance. There was a time, not that long ago, when she would sit, gaze at the sunset, and think it was beautiful. Now, she wasn't sure what she thought. She just knew that it moved very, very slowly.

Behind her, Brightfeather was snugly settled in, purring along with her kits. Songpaw tried not to scowl at the scene. She didn't mind cleaning out the nursery. That was part of her duties. It just seemed wrong to her, that Brightfeather's new kits were safe, warm, and loved, while Leafpaw was missing, or hurt, or maybe gone forever. And no one seemed to care. All the attention over the new kits, Snowfur's attack, and this bubbling tension with FlareClan, they were all that anyone talked about anymore.

"Hey, Songpaw!"

Songpaw cringed. The only cat that wouldn't leave her alone is the only cat she didn't want to see right now. She buried her face in a paw. "What do you want, Scarletpaw?"

The bright ginger she-cat came bounding up, padded in a little circle, and beamed. "I just got groomed, and I'm headed over to the fresh-kill pile. I heard some toms say they're going, and if we head over now, we can just show up fashionably late. It'll be –"

"SHUT UP!"

Scarletpaw stopped prancing. "Wha?"

Songpaw felt something break inside her. "Don't you ever think of anything besides yourself? I mean, come on! Wake up!"

Scarletpaw drew back. "What's stuck in your fur?"

"You little mousebrain! Your own sister is missing! Don't you get that? She's all alone, and who knows what's happening to her? And here you are, jumping around, talking about toms and acting like a new born kit! Don't you care about anything?"

Scarletpaw rolled her eyes. "Wow, drama. If you don't wanna go with me, just say so." With a flick of her tail, she walked away.

Songpaw grumbled at her retreating flank for a little while, then swatted at the ground, grumbling. "Some of us have jobs, you know."

"Hey, Songpaw!"

"What?" Songpaw snarled, turning. She felt her claws slip in and out of her paws a few times. Then she caught sight of the two cats approaching her.

Poisonpaw was one of the smaller she-cats in the Clan, though she and Songpaw were of the same age. The smaller cat reminded her of Leafpaw, even though their coloring was quite different. Both she-cats were lean, eager to please, and friendly. But where Leafpaw's gray pelt seemed to hide her, Poisonpaw's unblemished brown coat and golden eyes always seemed warm, and helped her to stand out. Songpaw didn't know Poisonpaw as well as she knew Leafpaw, but that was neither cat's fault. It was the unavoidable side effect of the other cat Poisonpaw was with now.

Slypaw stood one shoulder height taller than his sister. His eyes – golden just like Poisonpaw's – were augmented by his rich blonde pelt. You'd think that having such flawless fur like his, that Slypaw must spend a lot of time grooming, or that he was fussy. But his fur just seemed to naturally know where it was supposed to grow. It seemed to repel knots and gnarls. Sure, Slypaw got dirty, but it never seemed to darken his coat. Or his mood. Slypaw was like a tree, weathered by a storm, taking whatever life threw at him, letting every experience shape him just a little bit more. He had wide shoulders and a thickly powerful chest, honed by relentless training. Even though his eyes were gold, Songpaw always thought they looked like they'd been refined, tested and strengthened by fire. Slypaw was a tom without fear.

"Wait, what?" Songpaw realized that the cat siblings were talking to her.

"Spacey," Poisonpaw smiled. "She must be working too hard."

"Hush," Slypaw cuffed his sister playfully, then turned toward Songpaw. "Thistlesnout and the other elders are getting cranky. I'm going on a moss run. Wanna help me out?"

"Moss run?" Songpaw echoed.

"Yup."

"With you?"

"Also yup."

Poisonpaw smiled. "Maybe she's not up for it."

Songpaw flashed back to her training with Leafpaw, at Nettlegrass Plains. It wasn't somewhere she wanted to go back to anytime soon. Something must have shown on her face, because Poisonpaw flipped her bangs back and took a step forward. "Hey, have you heard anything about Leafpaw?"

Songpaw frowned. "No, and no one will tell me anything. Serpentgem said a patrol went back to the training pitch at the Plains, but they didn't find anything. I even talked to her parents. Everyone's all, 'You need to be patient. Get back to work.' No one seems to be taking her disappearance seriously. Even Scarletpaw has forgot about her. Her own sister!"

"Not cool," Poisonpaw said sourly.

"Why not?" Slypaw glanced sideways at his sister. "StarClan knows that if you went missing, I'd have a party at the fresh-kill pile!"

"Shut up," Poisonpaw pouted, but they were both smiling. Slypaw leaned down and nuzzled his sister's shoulder. Then she made a face like he'd dropped some crow food at her feet. "Ew, get off."

Slypaw smiled, turning back to Songpaw. "So, how about it? Come with me down to the lake?"

Songpaw felt her eyes get wide. "The lake? You're not headed to the Plains?"

"Nope. Wavepaw and Lilypaw headed that way earlier, on bracken roundup. I caught a break with resource gathering today. But I can see you're busy here with Brightfeather. If you're not up for it …"

"No! I mean, I, uh … y'know. I'm all caught up here. So, yeah, if you want, I can give you a paw. If you want." Songpaw pretended not to see Poisonpaw beaming at her as she stumbled over that sentence. "Yeah, we'd love another set of paws," the younger she-cat smirked.

They passed by the guard post where Eaglewing prowled in a slow, deliberate circuit. The mottled brown tom nodded at each cat in turn, and Songpaw knew he was mentally keeping track of who came and went in the camp. It was also possible that Eaglewing might report on her movements to his mate, Souldawn, who just happened to be Songpaw's mentor. Mates did that. Her own parents talked about everything. Sometimes Songpaw wished word didn't spread quite so fast in the camp. There were no secrets anymore. That was a big reason Songpaw missed Leafpaw so much. She was the only cat in all the Clan who would keep her confidence. She was Songpaw's best friend. You just didn't give up on best friends. Ever.

It was nearly dark by the time they arrived at the edge of the lake. On the way there, none of them had said much, but Poisonpaw kept nudging her in the ribs and nodding in Slypaw's direction. Songpaw pointedly ignored her, but at the same time she made sure to smile if Slypaw happened to look in her direction.

"I'll just go over here," Poisonpaw said as they started to search. She looked pointedly in Songpaw's direction. "You know, way over here. Away. Over here." Poisonpaw then stuck her tongue out at Songpaw and slunk away. Songpaw made a mental note to stick some burrs in Poisonpaw's nest as soon as possible.

Songpaw had no problem hunting, making a kill when it meant food for the Clan. She had no problem going up against a snake, or a fox, or even taking on a badger. She would keep watch all night in the cold, in the wind and rain. She would go without food if it helped the Clan. If a cat got up in her whiskers, she would take care of it. But one thing she could not do, no matter how much she wanted to, was talk to Slypaw. She just couldn't do it.

"Nice night."

Songpaw started. "Yes. Yes it is."

"I like to come down here at night. Get away from the kits' snoring, you know."

"Mm-hmm." Songpaw distracted herself by looking away from Slypaw, and out across the shore. She squinted. What was that?

"So, Songpaw. I was wondering if you'd –"

"Shh!" she hissed, slapping her tail over his mouth. "Look!" She flicked her ear toward something she'd just noticed. Just visible in the dark, a shadow had detached itself from the surrounding darkness and was making its way closer. Songpaw shot Slypaw a warning look, then motioned for him to follow. Slypaw nodded. It looked like their night was just beginning.