Chapter 8: The Prisoners

Darkshard padded back to camp, along with Silver, Ripple, Bracken, and Eclipse. They had just come back from Riverclan, and Darkshard thought it went both bad and well: bad because they were allies of Thunderclan, but well because they hurt a few of those traitors.

Speaking of warriors, the kits need to start training. She would still make them fight for warrior-ship. If not, they could do another task or produce more warriors. Either way, it worked in the favor of the clan as a whole. She would need more warriors to train them all though. Maybe she could round up a few more Thunderclanners, or some loners?

Right now, they were hungry, so she sent out a large hunting and border patrol. Thunderclan wasn't foolish to attack again, now that they know Bloodclan has allies and won't fall for the same trick twice.

The kits tumbled around in the clearing, playing tag and 'dodge the pebble'. All but one or two kits would get in a line. The other kit or kits would stand in another line, facing toward the larger line, who would throw pebbles at them. They could get hit three times, and then they were 'dead'. It was a great game, Darkshard thought, watching the kits dodging skills improve with each hit. They learned to dodge the hardest throws, like when two kits threw pebbles at the same time. Some hits left long cuts on the kits, but it was all in good fun, Darkshard thought.

Stonepad and Lynxpad were about to be the dodgers, when a yowl sounded outside the camp, followed by snarls and hisses. The kits squealed, running to the Unchoosen den as the other remaining cats in camp, Lunaclaw and Cinder, ran to the den as well. Lunaclaw leapt inside while Cinder blocked the doorway, claws unsheathed. Darkshard felt her claws tap the ground as well.

A ginger she-cat was thrown into the clearing. A soft white tom followed her, landing with a hard thud. Crimson claw marks laced their bodies. The tom had a torn ear from which a small stream of blood trickled onto his head. He had a deep bite mark on his shoulder, and when he stood, he kept his weight off of it, holding his paw off the ground.

The ginger she-cat looked terrified, spinning madly. Her back was torn to shreds, and her muzzle bled. Drops of blood splashed on the ground. She shrieked "My kit! Where is my kit?!"

Chill padded into the camp with bloodied claws. "Quiet, you!" he snapped. She kept on shrieking as the rest of the patrol padded into camp, with prey in their jaws. Darkshard frowned at the bundle in Bracken's mouth. Wait that's not prey. It's the kit!

A small reddish-brown kit mewled in Bracken's jaws. The mother's eyes widened. As she opened her mouth to cry out, Chill smacked her head. She fell to the ground, trembling silently as he said. "Say another word, and we kill the kit."

Darkshard eyed the two cats. "What happened here?"

Chill looked up. "We came back from the patrol, to tell you we scented Thunderclan and Riverclan in our territory. We were close to camp, when we found these two spies outside the camp, no doubt where the scent came from. We attacked, and the she-cat had a kit. It got scratched when we attacked the mother as she tried to get away. Nothing major though."

Darkshard nodded. She turned her attention to the two spies. "And who might you be?"

The white tom glared at her, silent. Chill scored his face with his claw, and the tom let out a small growl before he spoke. "I'm Coldbreeze, newest warrior of Thunderclan, and I suggest you let me go, before I rip all of you fox-hearted traitors to shreds." Darkshard saw the glint of unsheathed claws, and calmly flicked her tail. Chill lunged at him, lowering his shoulder. As he knocked into the white tom, he drove his shoulder upwards, flipping the tom onto his stomach. Leaping onto him, Chill dug his claws into his abdomen. The tom screeched and howled in pain as Chill raked his claws over his angry red stomach.

Darkshard meowed. "That's enough, Chill. I think he's learned now." Chill climbed off the moaning, bloodied tom. The tom' body twitched every now and again, and she could see his clenched jaw.

The ginger she-cat stood in absolute shock, and her fear scent could be smelt for miles around. Her legs shook when Chill bared his fangs at her. "And you?" he growled.

The she-cat swallowed before stuttering. "I'm B-B-Brightflame, of R-R-Riverclan. I-I'm Silentstar's s-sister. My kit is-is named Sc-Scarletkit. Please do-don't hurt u-us." Her words became choked by sobs.

Darkshard eyed them with interest. "Well, we can't let you free, not just yet." Another sob escaped Brightflame's muzzle. Darkshard chuckled.

"Bracken, place the kit with the others. Ripple, Chill, and Silver, put them in an unused den for now. Cinder, run to the Carrionplace and see if you can find any…restraints. The rest of you, retrieve the prey and eat. We need our strength for the upcoming battle." She meowed. Each cat nodded before going to do their assigned task. Cinder raced out of the clearing while Bracken took the tiny kit in the Unchoosen den. Brightflame looked desperately at her kit, but her fear scent said she was too afraid to call out to her. She was herded into the den, and Silver sat outside while Ripple and Chill drug Coldbreeze in as well. Lunaclaw, the Unchoosens, and Eclipse helped bring the rest of the prey in, placing it on the fresh-kill pile.

Lunaclaw brought a mouse to Darkshard. Darkshard blinked in thanks. While she ate, Lunaclaw spoke. "Darkshard, may I tend to the wounds of the…newcomers?"

Darkshard looked up from her mouse. "Why? They're prisoners."

Lunaclaw shuffled her paws. "I just can't bear to see any cat in pain. Those claw marks Chill gave Coldbreeze looked pretty bad."

Darkshard sighed. "Ok, but not your moon cat way. I don't want you having any pain before the battle. Don't you want an apprentice?"

Lunaclaw tilted her head. "Yes, but there's no other cat that has my…capabilities. Who would I choose?"

"Well, you could still teach one about herbs and things. Right? Maybe that Scarletkit could become something useful."

Lunaclaw dipped her head. "Yes. I suppose so. May I take Bracken to help pick herbs for now?"

Darkshard nodded, and Lunaclaw padded over to the ragamuffin. Soon, the two were headed out of camp to find healing herbs.

Cinder came back, dragging a grey Twoleg cat holder. Inside, Darkshard heard the rattle of Twoleg cold body collars. There was also a Twoleg cat nest shoved inside. Darkshard told Cinder to put it in her den later.

Darkshard put her two front paws on the Twoleg cat holder. She bit the two prongs that opened the door. Holding the prongs in her clamped jaws, she walked backwards, swinging open the gate. She let go and went inside, dragging out the Twoleg cat nest and Twoleg cold body collars. She tossed one to Chill. "Put this on Coldbreeze, and Silver," she tossed the other to her, "put this on Brightflame."

Brightflame whimpered, her ears laying flat. Silver grabbed the Twoleg cold body collar and put it on Brightflame. She pulled a chain, causing it to tighten around her body, under her front legs, and around her neck. Each of the collars had a long Twoleg 'silver vine' that was attached to the collars. They were secured through the bars of the holder and under large boulders on the outside.

Once the two prisoners were secured in the collars, Chill and Ripple pulled on the chains on the rocks, dragging the two cats inside. Brightflame screeched and tried to dig in with her claws, tearing up the earth furiously. Coldbreeze, to weak from his injuries, bumped along with ease, his white fur now stained brown and red. Once they were both in the holder, Silver shut the gate, biting on the prongs and walking forward to close the gate. She let the prongs go, and the gate was locked. Ripple and Chill secured the vines to make sure if the gate was left open by mistake, the two prisoners couldn't even take a pawstep out of the opening. Brightflame yowled and screeched 'I'm not a spy!' until her voice was raw and Chill was thoroughly irritated. He gave her another blow to the head when she threw herself against the bars again. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed, unconscious.

Lunaclaw and Bracken returned, jaws full of various herbs. They went in Lunaclaw's den. After a few moments, Lunaclaw came back out, an herb-filled leaf in her jaws. Bracken followed with spider webs wrapped around his paw. Silver opened the gate, letting Lunaclaw in to treat both prisoners. Darkshard overheard her telling Bracken she was using a mixture of Dock, Goldenrod, and Marigold, then wrapping it in cobwebs to stop the bleeding. She gave Brightflame Thyme to calm her and treated her cuts the same way.

Darkshard sighed. Something was nagging at her mind. She retreated into her den, settling into her new nest. Her old one would be shredded and given to the Unchoosens. She placed her head on her paws and thought.

Suddenly, it hit her. Why did Brightflame have Scarletkit? If she were a spy, why bring a kit along?

Hmm…Questions, questions, for which you will have to wait for the answer! Mwahaha :3

In case you couldn't figure it out:

-Twoleg cat holder: cat carrier, a pretty big one, one that can hold two cats with enough space to lie down and move around a bit, but not so big that Cinder couldn't push it. Let's say it had wheels :)

-Twoleg cat nest: A plush cat bed

-Twoleg cold body collars: a harness with chain pieces. Like for small dogs. Sort of like a 'choke collar' (despicable things) concept, but in harness form

-Twoleg 'silver vine': an 'outside' dog chain

Coldbreeze was a kittypet, too. He joined Thunderclan after the gathering, which is why he wasn't mentioned until now. He just learned how to fight from Sharptooth, which is why he was so…snappy. He's pretty new to Thunderclan, so his skills aren't as good as a warriors, or Bloodclan Elite Warriors.

I've said enough. If I don't stop now, I'll blab the entire story! Ahh! *tapes mouth shut*