Meanwhile, Skypelt and Dawnheart had found their way out of the forest.
"It's marshy here," Skypelt commented. "I'll try to catch some fish."
"Me too," Dawnheart said as she leaned over the small pool of water.
Trueclaw padded out of the forest he called home, following Skypelt and Dawnheart's scent trail. He stopped, pelt bristling, when he came to the edge of the swamplands.
"Oh no," he whispered. "Not in there...!" He pelted into the marsh.
After a while of fishing, the two mates were more full than they had been in moons. Dawnheart was asleep, and Skypelt was lapping some water from the pool.
Suddenly, a face appeared behind him. Skypelt jumped and fell face- first into the water.
"Hey!" he yowled, coughing up mouthfuls of water. "What was that?!"
Two cats stood on the banks where Skypelt had been standing a few moments before. One had brown fur and blue eyes, and the other had gray fur, white paws, and green eyes. They were laughing.
"Good one, Frogcall!" the brown one said, tail twitching.
"It was all you, Mudface!" the gray one laughed.
Skypelt, meanwhile, was sopping wet. He climbed out of the pool and faced the newcomers.
"What was that for?!" he hissed.
"Hey, just a joke!" Mudface said, still laughing.
"You are on our land," Frogcall pointed out.
"Look, we didn't mean-" Skypelt began, turning to where Dawnheart was still sleeping. His eyes grew wide.
"Where's Dawnheart?" he whispered.
Dawnheart had awoken at the sound of a splash from the water. When she saw what had happened to her mate, she was ready to claw the two pranksters' ears off.
But something pulled her back. Suddenly she was facing a pair of blue- gray eyes.
"Quiet!" the cat who had pulled her back hissed. "They'll find you!"
"Who are you?!" the she- cat hissed. "And let go of me!"
The ginger tom let go. "My name is Trueclaw," he explained, deciding not to tell her that he was good friends with their previous attacker. "Those two cats are Mudface and Frogcall. They pretend to be kind, but then they'll lead you into quicksand!"
"How do you know?" Dawnheart asked, worry clouding her voice.
"It almost happened to me once," Trueclaw said, lowering his head. "Luckily, my traveling companion pulled me out before I went under."
"What about Skypelt?" Dawnheart whispered.
"He'll realize you're gone. Then we'll walk out."
"I'm trusting you here..."
"Dawnheart!" Skypelt called, worried.
"She's probably deeper into the marsh looking for food," Mudface said.
"We'll help you look," Frogcall said, leading Skypelt into the dense swamp.
"Oh man," Trueclaw hissed. "This was not supposed to happen."
"What?" Dawnheart whispered.
"They're going to the sand pit," the tom hissed again. "We need to go!"
Little did they know, that, as they followed the trio, Trueclaw and Dawnheart were being followed by a deadly presence...
A/N: Thank you for all the fabulous reviews! My favorite...
#Deadfur'sleftpaw!
See you all in chapter 3!