Chapter 29: The Tribe of Rushing Water
A cold wind swept along the cliff face we were scaling, cutting deep into our fur. Crowpaw was the unlucky one of the lot of us, having short sleek fur that was good for keeping cool and didn't snag on much, but it also didn't keep him very warm. Fortunately for him, Feathertail and begrudgingly Stormfur were willing to walk at his sides to keep him warm. The path was narrow at some points, forcing to cross one at a time. Several times, we had to make small but certainly potentially deadly jumps. It didn't help that despite it being New Leaf, this place was as snowy as the depths of Leafbare.
Through the climb, I tried to take point whenever possible. My lighter weight meant the ground was less likely to cave in under me. I did discover some rather frightening snow traps, where there appeared to be land but instead there was only loose snow that covered immense drops. After discovering the first one of those, where I was just lucky enough to only shove one paw through it before backpedaling, we became far more cautious of narrow points and where the path wasn't directly visibly connected to the mountain.
We were about halfway up when something made a dive at us. We were lucky that Crowpaw spotted it so quickly, or it might have gotten one of us. We dove into a small cave that was luckily present to get into cover. From within the small crevasse, we could see what had just tried to attack us. It was some kind of bird.
"Dear Starclan, what is that thing?" Tawnypelt asked, her fur spiked with fear.
"Definitely not a hawk. That thing was bigger." Crowpaw answered, giving us no sense of relief.
"Do you still see it?" Squirrelpaw queried, peeking outside to see if the giant bird was still around.
"It took ff to the other side of the mountain." Brambleclaw answered, having kept the entrance guard position in case the thing landed and tried for a standing fight.
I took a deep breath, knowing everyone present didn't want to move, but staying still was just as dangerous as moving forward. "Ok. I think we can move up. Keep an eye out for cover as we go. If you see another, we'll dart for the nearest cover we know of. Does that work for everyone?" I stated, briefly taking charge so that we had a general gameplan for if the problem reoccurred and knowing this would help sooth our nerves going forward.
"I can keep an eye on the skies if it comes back as long as someone guides me forward." Crowpaw mewed.
Feathertail immediately volunteered to guide him with Stormfur taking up a position behind Crowpaw in case Feathertail missed something. I took point again since my white pelt gave me the best camouflage of the group. My tail was also very visible when I raised it in this white environment, so I could easily signal to any of the openings I saw. Our pace slowed significantly, but we were still making progress. The bird returned only twice. Both of which times we were able to cram into an opening to keep from being preyed upon by it.
The ground began to level off, giving way to a small snowy plains. It was relieving to know we wouldn't have to watch our step as much up here, but the plains also meant less cover from the bird. We'd just gotten into the plains when we noticed something strange. There was a cat's tail poking up, and it wasn't one of us. There were cats up here. It was then that the bird made an appearance again. We ducked in the grasses hoping to not get spotted. Fortunately, the bird seemed interested in something else. It began to dive at something ahead of us, a bit further ahead than the mystery cat we spotted. As the bird reeled back to catch its prey, the mystery cat surged forward, grabbing onto the bird's wings and tearing into them. Another cat came flying out of the grass, biting into the bird's neck and killing it. They just hunted that thing. It seemed impossible, but they just did it. 'Should we reveal ourselves to them', I briefly thought. Those cats decided for us, having noticed us approach before we even entered the plains.
"What brings a colony of cats like you up here?" One mewed, using one paw to flick a brown feather that stuck in his fur off.
There was no point in hiding further. We stood so they could see all of us. Even though they could take down the bird, I highly doubted they could take on all seven of us at once. Brambleclaw moved forward to act as the leader of the group.
"We don't mean to invade your territory. We're just trying to get across the mountain to the forest past it. It's where our clans reside." He mewed in a nonaggressive but firm tone.
"That's quite the journey you have ahead of you. It'll take you roughly three days to cross this. More if you don't know the right way down. You also don't look like you've had a meal since you've started climbing the mountain. How would you like to come back to our cave to meet our tribe? We can care for you all for a night and show you the correct way down in the morning." The first cat mewed.
Something in his tone was off-putting. I couldn't quite put my paw on it. For one, he didn't sound like he was genuinely lying, but it also didn't feel like he said everything. It was clear he wanted something, but I couldn't tell what. I caught the stranger's eyes glancing at Stormfur, but that didn't make much sense. If he was after any of our cats, he'd be after the females since they could actually bear kits. It was strange. What could he possibly want with Stormfur? Stormfur wasn't much different from the rest of us besides having a swimmer's build, but his sister had the same, so why were they focused on him?
A cold wind struck us, reminding us of the precariousness of our situation. We couldn't afford to turn away the offer right now. There was still too far to go, and we had no idea how to hunt here besides a loose one based on what we just saw. We were wary, but we took the stranger's offer.
The stranger and their partner guided us to a large cave opening near the summit of the mountain. Within were a good few cats, just a bit smaller than one of our clans. They were all skinny but physically fit. There appeared to be some kind of role system here with cats of a brawnier build standing at the entrance of the cave while more wiry cats with paler coats moved prey, likely the hunters. The few scattered brown feathers lining their nests made it clear that catching the bird was not just a one off thing. It was part of their way of life.
The leader of the tribe emerged. He was rather scrawny compared to the rest, clearly not having participated in the physical activity the rest of the tribe had. He also stank of strange herbs like a medicine cat would. He was also the only one with that scent, so he was some kind of hybrid of our stars and medicine cats. It was strange to see one cat having to take on all that responsibility. At the same time, it seemed wrong that they'd do it this way. How could their leader fight for them if he was too concerned with the spirits? I guess I couldn't complain. If it worked for them, then it was probably alright.
Their version of eating was a bit strange to get used to, just taking a mouthful of meat and passing on the prey. It made sense given how few things they could catch and how big the prey was, but they treated it like some kind of ritual. It faintly worries me how specific they were in how to do things. Regardless, they led us to some spare nests to rest for the night. I still noticed how they seemed strangely interested in Stormfur, hoping that it was just some kind of culture thing where they didn't get silver cats like him.
In the middle of the night, I was suddenly yanked by the scruff free from my borrowed nest. It was one of those tribe cats that did it. I thrashed, trying to free myself from their grip, but two more of the guard type cats appeared to discourage me from attacking further. I wasn't the only cat caught in this sudden abduction. Stormfur also seemed to have been grabbed by these cats. The commotion had awoken the rest of us, but we were heavily outnumbered. I saw them trying to fight their way through as Stormfur and I were dragged off. The group that grabbed Stormfur slip off, taking him off somewhere unknown. Meanwhile, I was dragged deeper into the caves. I lost my sense of direction with how far I was taken in. I wasn't even dure I could find my way out. The leader, Stoneteller, was waiting for us.
"I have to apologize for this, but we couldn't have you getting involved. I can see how you somehow disrupt my visions, and we can't risk you interfering with this one. I promise you that we'll let you go as soon as it's all over. We'll even take you right back to your group after we take them off the mountain, but we just can't risk you getting involved, so we're keeping you prisoner here. We don't want to hurt you, but we will if you give us no choice." He mewed, his tone apologetic but equally frustrating to hear.
I let out a growl at him, but I kept my claws sheathed. I was still outnumbered severely. I couldn't win this fight, but I could at least let my displeasure be known. "You can make all the promises you want, but you still abducted me, and I'll never forgive that. My father believed in a thing called karma, so you best watch out when it comes for you." I mewed in a dark tone.
"This karma may come for me when it wishes, but you will remain here until it is too late for you to interfere. I do what the Tribe of Endless Hunting designs." He mewed before trotting off with the guards, leaving me in the dark cave system with no good way out.
I couldn't wander out of here, and I was only guaranteed food and water if I remained. I'd have to put up with being imprisoned for now, but I knew the rest of the Journey cats would find me. We'd break out of here and return home. I had to believe that. It was all I had left.