Captain Scar: Um, okay then..
Springflower: XD Well, here you go!
Ratberry's POV:
Growling under her breath, her claws unsheathed automatically, ears flattening. The she-cat looked up for a moment, her dark-brown eyes glittering.
Great, now what do I do? She thought angrily, her claws scoring deep marks into the moist earth. He's expecting me by sunhigh and that's not far away.
With thoughts whirling in her head, Ratberry sheathed her jagged claws reluctantly, straightening up until she rose to her full height. Surveying her surroundings with narrowed eyes, she stepped back a step and stood there for a few moments.
You might have gotten away this time, but next time, I swear by the stars I will get you, Ratberry swore silently, wiping her features of any emotion. With that, she whirled around, sending some loose earth flying over to the tracks where the tom had escaped, soon covering it until it looked as if no one had been there at all.
The she-cat inspected the area once more before she started to run in the direction of the border that lay between DuskClan and RavenClan, all the while thinking of what was going to happen once she met up with the cats.
No doubt he'll be displeased, that's for sure, Ratberry thought, quickening her pace a little. A few times, Ratberry caught the faint scent of cats approaching, but they moved on quickly afterwards.
Upon reaching the border, the rogue she-cat scented the air for any signs of Clan cats approaching, but found none. Satisfied, she started to skirt the edges of the border-line until she came to a bare clearing.
Smirking slightly, she ran across it, the cold wind ruffling her sleek fur. Now, she could see the Twolegplace in the distance. Running towards it, she became uneasier with each step she took, even though it didn't show on her scarred features.
Slowing down, she trotted toward the edge of the city, stopping once she had reached it. Frowning, she glanced up at the sky, noting that it was already sunhigh. Just in time.
Turning her attention back to the city, she waited impatiently, kneading the ground with her paws subtly. A clatter of something dropping caught the white she-cat's attention.
"Why, hello there," a silky voice reached her pricked ears. Emotionlessly, she turned toward the noise, her eyes examining the cat who had spoken.
He was a black tom with a splotch of white on his tail. His intense amber eyes stared at Ratberry, tracing her outline. "Ratberry, right?" he spoke, his voice as smooth as the next boulder.
Ratberry rolled her eyes before replying, "Of course I'm Ratberry."
The tom nodded once before beckoning over to her. "He's been expecting you."
She sized up the tom once more before she padded over to him, dodging some Twoleg things that were lying on the hard ground. Without another word, the black tom set off, heading for one of the alleys. Ratberry followed, unease settling inside of her once more.
Ducking into the dark alley, her sharp gaze fixated on the tom in front of her. Rounding another bend, they came upon a big clearing, where they were met with stares and the sounds of unsheathed claws scaping across the hard earth.
"Scorch, I see you've brought Ratberry," a deep voice meowed. Like a stream, the gathered cats parted to make way for the black tom now known as Scorch and Ratberry.
Standing before the tom who had spoken, Scorch dipped his head slightly before answering, "She was there, but she seems to be alone."
With a deep hum, the tom turned his gaze on the white she-cat who had stayed silent throughout the whole exchange. Ratberry dared not to flinch in front of the tom, so she met the gaze silently yet defiantly.
The tom was of a ginger color with black eartips and a black tail-tip. His scorching yellow gaze, which were trained on Ratberry, was of a smoldering fire yellow color.
"So, Scorch tells me that you're alone," the tom spoke at last, breaking the silence that had enveloped all of the cats.
Slightly, Ratberry nodded, her tail tip twitching nervously, but he didn't take notice. "I did manage to knock him unconscious for a short while, but he escaped when we ran into a slight trouble."
He hummed again, his voice a deep rumble. "That is most unfortunate."
Ratberry stayed silent, her tail now lashing slowly from side to side.
Still keeping his smoldering yellow glare on Ratberry, the ginger tom ordered in a clipped voice to the cats who stood watching, "Leave us. Except for you, Scorch and Aiko."
Muttering, the cats who hadn't been called slinked away into the shadows, leaving the four cats alone in the clearing. Scorch stood on the left side of the white she-cat while Aiko stood on her right, gazing up at their leader wordlessly.
"Do you know what I do to cats who have failed to do what they were told?" the leader spoke, curling his long tail slightly.
Unease roiled in her stomach, Ratberry shook her head slowly. This isn't going to end well..
"No? Well, first and foremost, you must know that I do not, in any shape or form, accept failure. And in my eyes, Ratberry," her name curled off of the tom's tongue like it was a vile piece of prey, "you have failed in your task to bring me the StormClan warrior."
Now, the ginger tom leaned back and beckoned with his tail to the two toms, smiling pleasantly as if they were just discussing the weather. In unison, the two toms turned toward Ratberry, their claws unsheathing and their eyes gleaming with suppressed excitement.
"Kill her."
Ivykit's POV:
The sound of her mother rising from her nest woke the brown kit. Blinking open her eyes, even though one was blind, Ivykit lifted her head drowsily.
Yawning, the little kit gazed around at the semi-empty nursery. She and her mother were the only ones in the nursery since there weren't expecting queens at the moment.
"Morning, Ivykit," a voice reached her small ears, purring. Ivykit glanced up at her mother who was looking down at her warmly with love flashing in her eyes.
Breezeblossom smiled and then said, "You can go out and play with some of the apprentices, if you like."
Ivykit blinked and nodded quickly, rising from her nest. "Thanks, mother!" As she slipped out of the nursery entrance, her mother's voice called out to her, "Be careful, though!"
"I will," Ivykit promised, turning around before she directed her attention to the camp clearing. At the entrance that led into the forest, Stormstar and Jaycloud could be seen conversing quietly in low murmurs.
Some warriors were lying about, talking to each other, all the while flashing quick glances at the leader and deputy.
Mousestreak was just coming out of the warriors' den when he spotted Ivykit. Veering from his path to the fresh-kill pile, he headed toward her, smiling warmly. "Hello, Ivykit," he purred, bending his head down to lick her between the ears.
Ivykit shifted her small paws uncomfortably as her father licked her between her ears. "Hi, father," she meowed as he stopped grooming her.
"How are you today, Ivykit?" he asked, smiling warmly as he gazed down at his kit. The brown she-kit shrugged slightly, making a noncommittal noise in her throat.
Mousestreak smiled in amusement before saying, "Well, I have to go on patrol now. Tell Breezeblossom I dropped by and said "hello" to her."
Ivykit nodded before she watched him head to the other warriors beside the fresh-kill pile. Her blue gaze was wistful as if she couldn't imagine her being a warrior. I'll be the best warrior there is in StormClan, even with my limited sight.
Watching the camp clearing in front of the nursery entrance, Ivykit moved to lie down on her side, resting her head on her small paws. Stormstar and Jaycloud drifted closer to the warriors' den, still muttering under their breaths.
The nursery was close to the warriors' den with the apprentices' den beside it, so Ivykit could half hear what the leader and his deputy were talking about. Pricking her ears slightly, she listened curiously.
"The border patrol hasn't returned yet. I sent them out at dawn and now it's sunhigh. I fear something may have happened to them." Jaycloud was speaking, turning to face Stormstar with worried blue eyes.
"Our territory isn't that big, so they should have returned by now," the dark-grey she-cat pointed out.
Stormstar was nodding slowly in agreement, frowning in thought. "Perhaps they ran into some trouble that kept them from returning."
"Maybe, but if they did, then they would have sent a cat to tell us."
"That is true," Stormstar agreed. "Send a few cats out to look for the others. Whatever they ran into, they should have left a trail for us to follow."
Jaycloud dipped her head in assent before calling to the warriors. "Thistlepond and Blackstone, go and search for the others who hasn't returned. If they are in trouble, then help them, but send one of you to come and get us for back-up."
The two toms nodded to each other before racing out of the Clan camp. Ivykit frowned faintly, watching the two warriors bound out of the semi-full camp.
Yawning, her thoughts wandered over to the conversation that she had just heard. I hope they'll be alright. Dimly, she noticed that her mother was approaching her.
"Why aren't you playing, Ivykit?" her mother asked, settling down beside her kit.
For the second time that day, Ivykit shrugged before replying, "I didn't feel like it, I guess."
"Oh, well, you look a mite tired. How about you go get some rest?"
Ivykit opened her mouth to say that she wasn't tired at all before a yawn interrupted her. Amusement flickered in her mother's eyes before she ordered, "Just what I figured. Now go get some rest."
Ivykit rose to her paws before she headed inside the warm nursery. Padding over to her nest that was beside her mother's, she curled up in it, her tail resting over her nose.
As she drifted off to a light sleep, one thought followed her. I'm going to be an apprentice tomorrow and I can't wait!
Okay, so, that was Chapter 6. Nothing much to say here, except that I am working on the next chapter, and should have that posted soon.