Chapter Four
The screech of a gull would jerk Shadowstep awake, finding the horizon had brightened to a soft violet hue. Beside him, Cinnamondawn was snoring gently, a paw covering her muzzle. He rose to his paws and stretched, his muscles aching from sleeping in the cold. He wasn't looking forward to today. The journey to the town required trekking WolfClan territory and the thick forest around it, teeming with wolverines, wolves, and now the occasional bear, according to Stonestar. He felt a bit comforted at the fact that they had Houndtooth and Goldenfawn, who were accustomed to that terrain, but it didn't mean they were safe.
As he walked onto the beach, he noticed Goldenfawn's eyes blink open as she rolled onto her back stretching. A shiver of nervousness crept through his body as he looked away, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. The tide was very low, exposing a vast variety of brightly-colored shells partially buried in the sand. Shadowstep bent down to inspect one, noticing the shades of pink and cream that blended smoothly together. Where had it come from, he wondered. How old was it? He flicked it over with one extended claw, his pupils dilating as he noticed something moving in the wet sand beneath it.
Instinct kicking in, he sank his claws into the mud and scooped out a pawful, unearthing a tiny squirming crab that quickly worked to rebury itself. Chuckling, he flicked it over so it was sprawled on its back, its little legs kicking desperately. His ear twitched as he heard pawsteps approaching, noticing Goldenfawn had gotten up and was walking to his side. "Good morning!" she trilled warmly, causing a wave of heat to rush through his face. "Good morning, Goldenfawn." he replied, giving her a small smile. Her green eyes moved to the little crab, still stuck on its back. "So that's a sand crab?" Shadowstep chuckled as he watched her nose wrinkle in disgust. "On second thought, I think I'll wait to eat until we get on WolfClan territory." Goldenfawn meowed, taking a step back. "Suit yourself." Shadowstep replied, leaning down and devouring the crunchy crustacean in one bite.
"Is it dawn already?" Bitternwhisker meowed through a yawn, lifting his sandy head from his nest. "Unfortunately." Cranberryfish grunted back sleepily. "Come on guys, let's get going! We don't want to waste daylight." Goldenfawn meowed as she padded towards Cinnamondawn, poking the calico awake. Ears flicking backwards in shame, Shadowstep wondered why he hadn't thought to say that. Was he really capable of leading these cats?
He was distracted as Houndtooth let out a loud sneeze, shaking his large head and sending sand flying around. "I'll be damned if I spend another night on a beach! I've got sand in my ears!" the older cat complained as he joined Shadowstep and the others. "How does one cat move so much in his sleep? I hardly have any sand on me!" Goldenfawn snorted. Grumbling, Houndtooth shook out his pelt and thoroughly dusted the pretty molly with sand. "You'll pay for that...eventually." she replied before spinning around and padding away with her nose in the air.
Whiskers twitching in amusement, Cranberryfish padded toward Shadowstep, sitting down before him. "Why don't we make a plan for our travels?" she suggested. "Y-Yeah, of course." he stammered, trying to hide the fact that he hadn't considered that. Truthfully, he figured they'd just walk until they saw the town. But on second thought, that could be dangerous. "Guys, come over here a minute. I, uh, wanna go over our route." he called out, sounding a bit uncertain. Bitternwhisker pranced over to him and sat down, the others following closely behind. As Shadowstep looked at each cat, he noticed Cinnamondawn lingering behind the others, her ears pressed to her head and an uncertain look in her eyes. Was she regretting joining them? 'Or does she not trust me?' The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, shifting his blue eyes back toward the sand before him.
"So. Here's us," he began, drawing an 'x' in the sand. "Houndtooth, can you mark a spot for the town?" He asked, glancing up at the black and white tom. "Sure, kiddo. There, 'round a days walk from here. Day and a half." he estimated, drawing a circle shape near where he sat. "Thank you. Now, Stonestar gave us permission to cross through WolfClan territory, right? I think we can stop to hunt near the Flower Coast, enter the forest, and get out of clan land by sunset. Then we can find a spot to stay for the night and continue tomorrow." He said calmly, tracing their route with a claw. Though he was sure Stonestar wouldn't be upset if they hunted in WolfClan territory, he felt immensely uncomfortable at the thought. "Sound good?" he queried, blinking up at the group. They all exchanged glances, nodding in agreement.
"Great! Let's get going then, we should reach Flower Coast before sunhigh." With that, Shadowstep trotted off through the beach, the others following closely behind. He had to admit, it felt pretty good to be the one at the front of the patrol. So what if Cinnamondawn doubted his judgement? It wasn't like she could do better.
Shadowstep enjoyed the new sights and sounds of the mainland as they travelled. MireClan's strong scent intermingled with the sweet and musky ones of their forest marsh, the croaking of frogs echoing through the territory. Even as he peered into the forest, he caught no sight of the elusive cats. "What do you guys think about MireClan? Do they bother you at all?" Shadowstep asked Goldenfawn and Houndtooth as they fell into step with him.
Houndtooth frowned, casting a glance into the marsh. "Eh, not so much anymore. When I was a lad they'd occasionally try to get into the caves at the foot of the mountain, but I think the Màthair a' Caoineadh scared them off." he said with a dark certainty. As every cat glanced back at him with round, curious eyes, the old cat chuckled. "Don't tell me you haven't heard of it?" He asked between laughs.
"Heard of what? It sounded like you sneezed in the middle of your sentence." Bitternwhisker replied with a purr. Goldenfawn flicked the back of his head with her tail chidingly, though her whiskers were twitching at his joke. One of the most mysterious things about WolfClanners was their alternate language, which had been passed down for generations. The elders said that their first leader and his kin had been brought here from a faraway land, where cats had developed a different tongue.
"Màthair a' Caoineadh, the weeping mother, is the ghost of a mother cat, said to wander the caves in the mountain wailing for her lost kits." Shadowstep grimaced as his breath caught in his throat. What was it with all these old cats and only telling the creepiest stories? He had a feeling sleep wouldn't come easy tonight as he saw Houndtooth take a breath to continue. "Legend says that many moons ago, a WolfClan queen had three beautiful babes. Since her lover had died, she poured her soul into caring for them." Houndtooth paused and made eye contact with Cinnamondawn, who looked like a wide-eyed kit. "Some began to say she loved them too much..." He said eerily, leaning closer for effect. "What does that mean?" Cranberryfish chimed in, eliciting a purr of surprise from Shadowstep. She wasn't usually the type that enjoyed stories, especially scary ones.
"Well, as the kits got older, the queen got more protective over them. She often forbade them from playing with other kits, and constantly took them to the medicine den, raving that they were sick. Many cats in the clan were worried for the kits, and for her health. But thankfully, the next moon they became apprentices. The first day they were due to go explore the territory, the queen begged the clan leader to make them stay. She warned that she had a vision of them being swallowed up by darkness and that they'd never return. Convinced she was simply being overemotional, he dismissed her and allowed them to leave.
Now, it was a cold leaf-bare, and it always snows on the mountain. This time was no different. The queen waited, pacing anxiously through camp. But too much time passed, and night began to fall. Her worst fears were confirmed when only a single warrior limped back to camp, claiming something had attacked them in the caves. The queen fled down the mountain just as a fierce storm hit. As she entered the caves, a massive wave of snow tumbled from the mountaintop, trapping her inside. When the snow melted, a search party went in to find her, but there was no trace. Oddly, many reported hearing her wailing, but every time they moved forward to investigate, it seemed to be coming from another direction. They say that to this day, one should never enter the caves alone or else they'll be haunted by her echoing screams."
The group was silent for a moment, gazing toward the distant mountain in WolfClan territory. It seemed Houndtooth was successful in terrorizing them. Bitternwhisker flicked his tail, breaking the quiet with a snort. "Does anyone else ever wonder who "they" is in these stories. It's always 'they' this and 'they' that." Shadowstep laughed and nudged his friend with his shoulder, feeling comforted by his humor. "It's a good story, though, Houndtooth. Snapdragonpaw would be up for weeks if he heard it!" he meowed, thinking of the apprentice fondly. Houndtooth dipped his head, his gaze warm. "Plenty more where that came from." he replied with a flick of his tail.
As Shadowstep surveyed the area, he noticed the Flower Coast a short distance away, the tall grasses swaying in the sea breeze. "Look at that, almost there." he observed, excited to hunt for himself. He shot Bitternwhisker a mischievious look, ears twitching. "I'll race you." he proposed, bunching his muscles. "You'll lose." The brown tabby answered, stopping and wiggling his haunches. "Ready? Go!" Shadowstep feigned like he was leaping forward, watching as Bitternwhisker charged down the coastline without looking back. "You're mean!" Goldenfawn gasped, though she was unable to hold back a laugh of her own.
When Bitternwhisker made it to the grass, he looked to the side as if to boast, but noticed no one was there. He whipped around, his tail lashing. "Hey!" Shadowstep heard him cry out, chuckling as he lightly ran forward to meet his friend. "Gotcha!" he called out playfully, dodging a blow from Bitternwhisker as he padded up to him. "You gull-brain. I'll get you back." the tabby swore, purring.
The cats would split off to hunt, Shadowstep disappearing into the thick grasses on the search for a pair of mice. The area was alive with the fresh scents of rebirth, tiny flowers beginning to open. Soon enough, they would dominate the coast and color it vibrantly for all to admire. About once a moon he ventured down here for a refresh of scenery.
His ears perked forward as the sound of something moving through the grass caught his attention. Lowering himself into a crouch, Shadowstep stalked forward as quietly as possible. 'Mouse.' His senses alerted him to the little rodent as he moved closer. In an open section of the field was a tiny brown mouse, cracking open the seed of a flower. So engrossed in its task, he prepared himself for an easy catch. Bunching his muscles, he began to spring forward when suddenly, another cat burst through the grass on the other side.
His adrenaline turned to annoyance as he watched Cinnamondawn pin the mouse to the ground and bite its neck quickly, purring at her success. Her eyes would dart upward, noticing Shadowstep among the grass. "Oh, were you hunting this too?" she asked, her ears flitting backwards in nervousness. "Yeah," he answered, rather flatly. 'It's not like she did it on purpose, I should be nicer.' he scolded himself inwardly. "Um, but it's alright. Good catch. You were so quiet not even I heard you." Shadowstep praised her, even offering a small smile.
Cinnamondawn seemed to relax, dipping her head in thanks. "Wanna share? We can catch a couple more after." she invited, nudging the prey forward with a paw. "Sure, sounds good to me." he agreed, crouching down to take a bite of the mouse. A purr rumbled in his chest at the taste of the warm, juicy meat. Immediately, his stomach growled for more.
A shared silence extended between them as they finished off the mouse. When they both sat back to clean themselves, the nagging question of what was bothering her that morning came back to him. Would it be weird of him to ask? "So, uh, how are you? You seemed upset this morning." The words tumbled from his lips before he had a chance to think more thoroughly. Cinnamondawn's honey-colored eyes blinked up at him as she groomed her paw, surprised.
She didn't answer for a moment, causing his heart to pound as he wondered if he made a mistake in asking. But then the molly sighed and looked at the ground. "Well," she began. "To be honest, I felt nervous. Like maybe I shouldn't have come. It's hard being surrounded by cats you don't know." Pity and guilt pricked at the tom's heart as he saw a sad look pass over Cinnamondawn's face. "Before she left, my mother chewed me out pretty bad. She told me I couldn't trust you guys. That it was important for me to stay with my kin. But I don't know...for some reason I feel safe with you, Shadowstep. I feel like I can trust you." she looked deep into his eyes, making him feel strangely naked and exposed. She trusted him? And this whole time he'd assumed she thought the opposite.
"I understand what you mean," he meowed softly. "And I'm glad you trust me. I won't disappoint you." Cinnamondawn seemed to brighten at his words, blinking gratefully. "Now, how about we find a few more mice?" she suggested, getting to her paws. Without waiting for a response, the calico turned and stalked off through the grass, Shadowstep trotting behind her.
-
Shadowstep's spirits felt lifted when he and Cinnamondawn regrouped with the others. They'd managed to catch another mouse each and now were comfortably full. Houndtooth and Bitternwhisker had just finished a fat rabbit they had caught and now were dozing in a patch of sunlight. As Shadowstep looked around the coast, he spotted Goldenfawn and Cranberryfish lying with their heads close together, speaking softly.
Curiosity sparked within him as he gazed at the two mollies. They seemed so comfortable with one another, even at the Gatherings. One would think they were sisters. How exactly had they met? "Are we ready to get going?" Houndtooth asked, interrupting his thoughts. Shadowstep nodded quickly and called out for the she-cats to join them, Cranberryfish running ahead of her companion. She stretched her slender body, her ginger pelt glowing in the sunlight. "Time to leave? I reckon we can still make it through WolfClan land by sundown." she mewed, looking towards the towering treeline in the distance.
"Yes, let's try to get as far as possible without stopping for breaks." Shadowstep directed, not wanting to be on another clan's land for longer than they needed. "Houndtooth and Goldenfawn, would you two mind taking the lead here? You'll know the way through the forest much better than I do." he asked, tipping his head. The pair obliged, leading the group at a steady trot toward the woods.
Despite himself, Shadowstep felt a pinch of nervousness. He'd never been on WolfClan land. Truth be told, he found it even creepier than the island was at night. With the looming trees casting shadows everywhere and the undeniable likelihood of predators lurking nearby, staying there simply didn't seem attractive at all. Nevertheless, he steadied himself and padded through the strong WolfClan scent and into the forest.
Bitternwhisker was awestruck as the group made their way through the woods, asking the WolfClan cats endless questions about how they navigated such a huge area and didn't get lost. Indeed, WolfClan had lucked out with their massive expanse of land. But that also came with its own set of problems. Shadowstep was perfectly content with staying on the island for the rest of his life. He suspected Cranberryfish felt the same. The molly kept snapping her head left and right at every sound, the hairs on the nape of her neck rising in paranoia. Though he didn't call her out, Shadowstep did edge closer to her so that their pelts were brushing.
Finally, as the forest began to grow darker with the fading light of the day, Houndtooth declared that they had made it to the furthest corner of WolfClan land. Stopping the group, he pointed with his tail in the direction of the setting sun. "Just over that hill is the town. You'll know how close we are when you hear the smokeserpent." Cinnamondawn raised a brow questioningly. "Whats a smokeserpent?" she asked him. "They're massive things. Made of stone or somethin'. They seem to stick to a single path, but they cough out black smoke and wail louder than any wolf." Houndtooth explained to her, his tail twitching.
Shadowstep had never seen one of the beasts but had heard plenty of tales from the WolfClan cats of their terrifying nature. Some even detailed nofurs climbing into their bellies. He shivered at the thought. Nofurs had plenty of odd things they used, sitting in wood piles pulled by horses or cows, or the weird pelts they wore, but the smokeserpent was a mystery in itself. "Will we have to confront it?" Cranberryfish asked in concern. Goldenfawn looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "Most likely no, but we will have to cross its path, unfortunately." she admitted, her ears flicking back.
Houndtooth nudged Cinnamondawn, whose whiskers were drooping. "Don't worry, lass. It's rare for a cat to meet one. Even so, they move quite slowly and their yowling will give us plenty of warning." he assured her, turning to the others to make sure they heard him. Shadowstep gave a curt nod, stepping forward. "Right. We'll deal with that when we arrive. For now, we should find a place to sleep."
Slowly, the cats would comb through the area, looking for a place suitable to rest for the night. Shadowstep and Bitternwhisker trotted ahead of the others, hoping to discover a cozy thicket or something of the sort. Suddenly, the scent of fire would fill Shadowstep's nostrils, causing him to stop dead. Horror filled his gaze as he turned to Bitternwhisker, whose tabby pelt stood on end. Had the woods caught on fire? Were they about to be trapped and burned alive? Cautiously, the black tom slunk forward, poking his head through a bush to see where the fire was. Maybe they would have enough time to run.
Before him was a small grassy clearing encircled by bushes and oak trees. And dead in the center was the fire - a small, crackling thing that seemed to neither be growing nor dying. In fact, as he watched, he didn't notice it move an inch either. "How is that possible?" He heard Bitternwhisker's mew and turned to see that his friend had followed him. "I-I don't know," Shadowstep answered, his gaze focusing back on the mystical fire. "Maybe it's cursed."
Ever so cautiously, Shadowstep took a step forward. Then another. Then another. All the while, he kept his eyes pinned to the flames. At one point, it popped loudly and he froze, waiting for it to consume him, but it still remained where it was. When he got close enough, he noticed a small pile of logs resting beneath it, and that they were placed in a small hole. What was this thing? How had the fire been placed here so precisely? Around it was a circle of medium sized stones placed closely together. "Bitternwhisker!" He called back to his friend. "I...I don't think it's moving. It seems trapped by the stones!"
The brown tabby ventured forward, stopping at Shadowstep's side. "How weird! I've always heard fires were deadly." Bitternwhisker commented as he circled the flames. "Now that I'm here..." he meowed, arching his back. "It feels kind of nice." Shadowstep raised a brow, taking a step closer to it. The heat of the flames wafted towards him, warming his dark pelt and sending shivers down his spine. It was nice! "Maybe we could watch it for a few hours, see if it moves at all. If not...I wouldn't mind sleeping here. It's warm and we could easily spot any wolves that could creep up on us." He suggested cautiously. It was almost like a gift from StarClan. Why not use it?
When Bitternwhisker returned with the others, they all investigated the fire as well. Houndtooth would explain that this was no gift from StarClan, but something left behind by the nofurs. "They can control fire?" Shadowstep asked, bewildered. Houndtooth shrugged, casting a sideways glance to the flames. "We often come across small piles of ash or see smoke in the woods when nofurs are around. Surprisingly, they never seem to move. Maybe this one was abandoned by some of them. Their scent is stale." By that point, Shadowstep's mind was made up on making use of the fire.
Wary, Cranberryfish and Cinnamondawn would make nests at the edge of the clearing while the others curled up closer to enjoy the warmth. Though he made no mention of it, he noticed Goldenfawn staring at the two mollies with an unreadable expression before she laid her head down to rest. Perhaps she was disappointed that Cranberryfish didn't join her, he guessed. Watching the dancing flames, Shadowstep felt sleep pressing at the corners of his vision as he listened to Houndtooth recounting a story of his youth to Bitternwhisker. They had decided that the brown tabby would be the first to keep watch over the cats, followed by Cranberryfish. Feeling safe, warm, and relaxed, it wasn't long before Shadowstep gave way to the comforting blackness.
"Shadowstep!" The tom groaned as he felt a large paw pressing into his shoulder, rolling onto his back and stretching before blinking his eyes open. Bitternwhisker stood above him, framed by the pale blue morning sky. "What is it?" Shadowstep rasped, still waking up. "Look, the fire died! Also, duh, it's morning. Time to go." Ignoring his friend's sarcasm, Shadowstep looked toward where the fire had been, finding only a large pile of pale gray ash and the remnants of the logs. It seemed that without more fuel, the fire had quickly starved as they slept. Even though he doubted he'd ever come across one again, Shadowstep felt it was useful information to have.
Moving to a sitting position, he noticed Cranberryfish and Cinnamondawn padding from the woods, both carrying prey. "Ooh, is that for us?" Bitternwhisker meowed, nose twitching at the aroma. Cinnamondawn nodded, dragging her rabbit towards him and Shadowstep. "Thank you, you're a great hunter." Shadowstep mewed to her, sniffing the kill. Cinnamondawn ducked her head in embarrassment, bending down to take a bite from the rabbit.
As he let her eat first, Shadowstep watched as Cranberryfish padded over to Goldenfawn, who was grooming her lovely pelt. The WolfClan warrior glanced at Cranberryfish before quickly looking away again and continuing her wash. 'What's that about?' Shadowstep thought curiously. Cranberryfish set her two thrushes down and whispered something he couldn't hear, however much he strained. After speaking softly for a few moments, Goldenfawn seemed more receptive and took one of the thrushes, eating in silence beside the ginger she-cat.
"Hm." Shadowstep murmured to himself as he turned back to the rabbit. He took a large bite of it, the flavor dancing on his taste buds. He had to make sure to return the favor to Cinnamondawn when he had a chance. "Where's Houndtooth?" Shadowstep asked as he chewed, noticing the old tom was nowhere to be found. "Oh," Bitternwhisker swallowed loudly, licking his lips. "He went out to do a perimeter check or something. Real dutiful-like. Woke up at dawn." Though Bitternwhisker was poking fun at the senior warrior, Shadowstep felt a flash of gratitude for him. Despite his age, Houndtooth was a skilled cat that they were lucky to have with them.
As the finished off the rabbit, the bushes rustled loudly, revealing Houndtooth's ruffled black and white pelt. The warrior was strangely calm as he approached Shadowstep, his ears twitching at every sound. Brow furrowed, he looked up at Houndtooth in concern. "Everything alright?" he asked quietly. "I don't want to alarm anyone," Houndtooth began, an edge to his mew that made every cat look his way. "But we're being followed."
Author's note: oooh cliffhanger! what do you think will happen next? I hope you guys liked a little more wolfclan lore this chapter as well, i thought the twist on the la llorona legend was fun to include :D Also, thank you very much for all the positive feedback :3