Chapter 11-12

Chapter 11
"What do you mean she's gone?" Foxheart replied.
"One moment she was here, listening to my story, and the next, she was gone! It’s all my fault!" Dewheart cried. Redfur trotted over to their side.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Quick-kit's disappeared!" Foxheart exclaimed.
"What?" replied Redfur.
"She disappeared!" Foxheart cried. Foxheart calmed down, and thought for a moment.
"We need to find her scent trail, and then we can find her easily. Let's start searching. Dewheart, can you watch the kits please?" Foxheart decided. As Dewheart padded back to the kits, Foxheart and Redfur stalked in a wide circle around the kits, with their nose taking in every scent seeping from the forest. Foxheart got a sudden whiff of a familiar scent. She opened her mouth and let the faint scent bather her tongue. It was easily recognizable as Quick-kit's warm kit scent. Foxheart quickly called Redfur to her side, and she led the way after the trail. The trail zigzagged back and forth until it stopped. Redfur and Foxheart slunk along, getting farther and farther away from Dewheart and the kits.
"Where's the trail?" Redfur whispered from behind Foxheart. Foxheart inhaled deeply, and she realized that she and Redfur had wandered all the way to the Stoneclan border.
"We're at the Stoneclan border!" exclaimed Foxheart.
" What? We can't have come that far!" Redfur whispered incredulously.
"Well, we did, and so did Quick-kit." Foxheart replied bluntly. As she looked around her, Foxheart realized that the dense Lightningclan forest had given way to straggling pine trees, and the soil was much more soft and moist.
"Why did Quick-kit come all this way?" wondered Foxheart aloud.

“I don’t know. But it’s pretty weird that her scent trail just stopped here. Do you think she climbed a tree?” Redfur asked curiously, scenting the air. She wrinkled her nose at the strong stench of Shadowclan.

“I don’t think she could climb one of these trees. They’re very slippery, and don’t have a lot of limbs. It’s hard to scent her anyway, because of all the Stoneclan scent!” Foxheart replied. She crouched down and scented the ground, inhaling deeply where the scent trail ended. Foxheart scanned the ground carefully to see if she was missing anything. Her eyes flicked over the ground, picking up every detail. “Wait a moment,” she murmured. Foxheart crept forward. A few tail-lengths from the where the scent trail ended, was a small scuff mark, and as Foxheart scented the mark, she could pick out the faint scent of Quick-kit. There were larger scuff marks beside Quick-kit’s, as if something had tried to fight him, or steal him. The scuff marks smelled strongly of Shadowclan, and the scent was fresh.

“Redfur, I think I know what happened to Quick-kit!” Foxheart cried, as the thought of what had happened dawned on her. Redfur scurried over to her side.

“What?” Redfur asked.

“Look here, it’s a scuff mark, and it smells like Quick-kit, and over here, some larger scuff marks, that smell like Stoneclan. Both scents are fairly fresh, and there are some scattered leaves over here as well!” Foxheart explained quickly, pointing her paw at the different spots on the ground.

“So,” Redfur whispered, “you’re saying that Stoneclan took Quick-kit?”

"That’s what it looks like to me.” Foxheart replied, furious inside that Stoneclan would take a helpless kit hostage.

“Well what should we do? We can’t just stand here and wait for them to do something to Quick-kit!”

“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do.” Foxheart replied, still fuming at the thought of taking a helpless kit. “We’re going to take the kits back to the camp, round up a patrol of our strongest warriors, and go straight to the Stoneclan camp to get Quick-kit back!”

“Let’s take the kits back then!” Redfur meowed, thinking of marching into the Stoneclan camp with a giant patrol of Lightningclan warriors.

“Let’s go!” Foxheart replied. She spun around in a blur of shining bronze, and sped off back towards where Dewheart was waiting. Bounding along beside her, Redfur watched as Foxheart bounded over the logs and bushes in her way, landing gracefully and not missing a beat as she began running on again. Redfur felt proud to be a Lightningclan warrior as she and her clanmate flowed through the forest like a river, about to confront another clan for something that was theirs. Redfur felt pride spreading through her chest as she sped through the forest, green blurs flying past her. Foxheart burst through the trees ahead of her and Redfur leapt out of the trees as well. They both skidded to a halt. Dewheart was waiting patiently, while all the kits where stalking back and forth, looking like warriors with fleas in their pelts. As soon as Bark-kit saw the two warriors, he jumped up, bristling.

“Did you find Quick-kit?”

“No, but we know where she is. We’re going to go back to camp, round up a strong patrol, and go get her.” Foxheart replied.

“Why didn’t you just go get her now? Where is she?”

“We couldn’t go get her because she was taken by Stoneclan. We found scuff marks of her and a Stoneclan warrior where her scent trail ended. We’ll get her back in no time, though.” Foxheart replied.
“THEY TOOK HER?!!!” Bark-kit screeched, looking as if he might explode. “Well let’s go get the patrol!” He scampered off down the faint trail, tripping over his short legs. Foxheart mewed to Dewheart,

“You take these kits home. I’ll go take care of Bark-kit.” Foxheart ran along the path until she caught up to him, panting desperately as he plodded along.

“Bark-kit, you shouldn’t just run off like that! You could have gotten hurt, and no one could help you because we wouldn’t know where you were!” She told him sternly.

“But Foxheart, I need to find Quick-kit!” Bark-kit wailed. His eyes widened, and he lowered his voice, whispering to Foxheart, “I’ve heard, that in Stoneclan, they eat kits instead of prey! Snowstorm always tells us that story when we’re too loud.” Bark-kit’s voice rose to a wail as he exclaimed, “I can’t let them eat Quick-kit! Who would I play moss ball with then? It would be just me and the other kits! Quick-kit’s the most fun!” Foxheart stopped herself from letting out a mrrow of amusement. This poor kit thought his sister was going to be eaten! Foxheart knew better. She knew that in exchange for Quick-kit, Cliffstar would want something in return, like a piece of Lightningclan territory. She padded along with Bark-kit back to the camp, reassuring him the whole way there,

“Don’t worry; I’m sure they won’t eat her.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Foxheart paced into the camp hurriedly, racing straight for Vinestar as soon as she saw her. Vinestar looked up from where she was discussing burying the prey for leaf-bare with Sunheart.

“What is it, Foxheart?” she asked, her tail flicking impatiently at the tip.

“It’s Quick-kit, actually. Stoneclan took her.” Foxheart replied.

“They took her?!” Vinestar exclaimed. “How do you know?”

“Well, lets first take a patrol to get her back, and on the way can I show you why I think so?” Foxheart reasoned, desperate to confront Stoneclan. Vinestar looked unsure for a moment, anxious to know where Quick-kit was. After a while of hesitation, Vinestar replied,

“Fine. Let’s go. You round up the patrol.” Foxheart let out a sigh of relief as her leader agreed.

“Okay, I’ll go do that,” Foxheart replied, turning to leave the den with a sharp nod of her head. Outside she saw the clan cats milling around, tails lashing, as the news spread around the camp like wildfire. As Foxheart padded out, all the cats looked up expectantly. Vinestar followed her out. Foxheart bounded down the rock-path, and as the cats gathered around her, she called out,

“Whoever wants to come on the patrol with me, step forward. Whoever does not, please move back.” Most of the obvious cats stepped forward, Sunheart, Fernpaw, Wheatpaw, Redfur, Rosefire, Yellowclaw, Galeheart, Flowerheart, Lionfang, Windheart, and Mouseheart. The elders and queens stepped back, but their eyes remained wide and anxious, and their tails still whipped through the air. Snowstorm stepped forward, her swollen stomach still swollen from having kits moons ago, her green eyes brimming with anxiety.

“Foxheart,” she began, “I need to stay here with my kits and I don’t know if I can handle what we find there, but when you find Quick-kit-“ she stopped for a moment, staring down at her paws, “bring her back as soon as you can. Tell her- tell her I love her… and-and I’ll be waiting for her right here.”

“I promise, I will tell her. We’ll find her, and we’ll bring her right back to you.” Foxheart replied gently. She dipped her head, then stepped back, addressing the cats that had stepped forward.

“This should be enough,” she meowed, “is there anyone else at all that would like to come? We’ll need as many as we can get,” Leafclaw, Skywhisker, Quailfeather, Shadepaw Featherblossom and Patchleaf joined the assembled cats. Foxheart turned her head, looking at the giant patrol in front of her. Suddenly, a tiny brown blur shot out from between Windheart’s paws.

“Wait!” Bark-kit squealed, skidding to a halt before Foxheart. “I have to come! She’s my sister! Please can I go? I can go, can’t I?” he pleaded desperately. Tigerkit raced up beside him.

“I want to go too! I need to defend Quick-kit from the mean Stoneclan cats!” Tigerkit yowled. The two kits stood beside each other, their sides heaving, they’re eyes wide and pleading. Foxheart sighed inwardly. She looked down on the worried kits, not wanting to have to refuse them.

“I’m sorry, but-“she began quietly. She stopped as she saw Tigerkit and Bark-kit’s faces. Hurt, and shocked, that their deputy wouldn’t let them help their sister. Bark-kit turned his face up to Vinestar, who was watching silently from the highledge.

“Vinestar, will you let us go?” he mewed quietly, as if he already knew the answer.

“No, you are too young and you would just get hurt. What would Quick-kit do if one of you got hurt? I’m sorry, but you may not come.” She replied firmly. Bark-kit looked down his tail dragging on the ground, and made his way slowly back to the nursery, with Tigerkit, trailing behind him. As Bark-kit reached the nursery, he whirled around, and snarled, with all the malice of a Dark Forest cat,

“I won’t forget this Vinestar! I- I- I-“he broke off, and stumbled into the nursery, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Foxheart thought sadly back to when Amberheart, her brother, and Cloudbreeze, Redfur’s sister had died. Amberheart was a brave orange tabby tom with green eyes, and Cloudbreeze was a beautiful white she-cat with green eyes. They died bravely trying to fight off a badger that was trying to hurt the kits in the clan. Foxheart remembered the shock. She realized why Bark-kit was so upset. He thought he would never see his sister again.

~~~~~~~~~~

Foxheart turned to the Lightningclan patrol waiting to file out of the camp after her. She called out to them,

“Remember, we go in, we get Quick-kit, and we leave. Understood?” She saw all the cats nodding their heads. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt, and if tension between us and Stoneclan get any higher, I don’t know what will happen!” she heard murmurs of agreement, but caught Yellowclaw leaning over to Leafclaw with spite in his eyes. Foxheart cast him a sharp glance as he looked up, but decided to ignore him.

“Ready everyone?” Foxheart asked one last time, encouraged as she saw bristling pelts and fierce eyes. “Let’s go then.” She turned and stalked out of the den entrance. Foxheart raced along through Lightningclan territory, not caring that she was scaring away all the prey in the area. Foxheart finally reached the border with Stoneclan. Her patrol stopped behind her, panting after the run. Foxheart stepped cautiously over the border, wrinkling her nose at the strong scent. She stepped completely over the scent line. She turned to look at her patrols, who were hovering at the scent line uncertainly. She motioned them over with her tail, and sighed inwardly as they stepped carefully over the line one by one. The patrol stood behind Foxheart, standing with their paws barely touching the ground, and their tails fluffed up and brushing the ground. Foxheart turned and paused for a moment, angling her ears to the marshy territory in front of her. She crouched low to the ground, hesitated a moment, and began to slink forward. As Foxheart picked up the speed, the ground began to blur beneath her paws. Foxheart could hear the patrol racing along behind her, their paws tapping the ground as quietly as falling raindrops. Foxheart listened to the crackling pine leaves underneath her paws, and she closed her eyes for a moment to feel the wind blowing her fur back from her face. She opened her eyes and stopped abruptly, skidding to a halt as a wall of thorns towered in front of her. As Foxheart stopped, her paws dimpled the wet ground, her weight weighing down the soft, loosely packed wet soil. Foxheart opened her mouth to scent the air, and quickly snapped it shut as the smell of many Stoneclan cats overwhelmed her. She pricked her ears, and could clearly hear cats romping around inside the intricate thorn wall. Slightly to Foxheart’s side, was a small tunnel, looking extremely unwelcoming with sharp thorns picking from its entrance. Foxheart padded over to the entrance, staring warily into the dark tunnel. She took a deep breath, summoned her courage, and stepped into the darkness.

Chapter 12

Foxheart took a few steps forward, and she turned to her patrol.

"It's okay," she whispered, "come on." Her patrol started to follow her uncertainly into the tunnel. Foxheart padded confidently towards the inside of the Stoneclan camp, reassured by the footsteps of her clanmates behind her. As Foxheart neared the end of the tunnel, she slowed for a moment. She stopped and turned to her patrol. She murmured one more time,

"Remember, we go in, we get Quick-kit, and we leave." Her warriors nodded. Foxheart turned, took a deep breath, and stepped into the Stoneclan camp. The sudden sunlight blinded her for a moment, but her eyes soon adjusted, and she could see many of the Stoneclan warriors looking up in surprise, and starting to bristle. Foxheart felt an ache in her heart as she saw Quick-kit huddled in a corner. Quick-kit looked up as gasps shot up throughout the camp. Quick-kit saw Foxheart, and jumped up, racing towards her as she squealed,

"Foxheart! Foxheart you came!" Quick-kit ran up to her and ran between her legs, turning to peer out at the Stoneclan cats between Foxheart's legs. Foxheart meowed reassuringly, "Its okay, Quick-kit. You're safe now." Foxheart looked up with fire in her eyes, and stared down every cat in the Stoneclan camp. "Is there any cat here that wants to try to stop me from leaving with Quick-kit. Foxheart let her challenge hang in the air, and a few muscular toms stood up. Foxheart flicked her tail forward, and her patrol slid forward around her, so that Stoneclan could see her whole patrol that she had brought with her. The few that had stood stared at the patrol for a moment, then sat back down.

"Thank you." Foxheart meowed quietly. She turned, and her patrol filed out of the camp. Before Foxheart swept out of the camp, she turned and snarled, "If you ever think of doing anything like that again to Lightningclan.....well, you can just wait and see what happens." Foxheart turned, and leaped out of the thorn tunnel, leaving the Stoneclan warriors staring into the black hole, with their eyes wide, and their mouths hanging open.

~~~~~~~~~~

As Foxheart entered the camp, warriors came rushing towards her and the patrol behind her. Nighteyes rushed toward Shadepaw and Soilpaw, her first litter, and checked them all over, licking them furiously when she was done. Flowerheart came and did the same thing to Wheatpaw and Fernpaw. Fernpaw wriggled out from under her mother.
"Mom! Stop it! I'm fine! You were there!" she squealed, sitting up with ruffled fur. She looked around, embarrassed, and announced loudly, " You guys should have come, though. It was awesome, because we went in, and then we all went in, and the Stoneclan warriors were so scared, they just gave over Quick-kit! They all looked like they wanted to go run into their dens, they wrere terrified!" All of the kits scampered up to the group, and Snowstorm raced over as well, as fast as she could with her swollen belly
"Where is she? Where's Quick-kit?" she demanded, weaving through the crowd that had gathered. Quick-kit ran up to her from next to Foxheart. Snowstorm began licking her furiously all over, checking to see if she was hurt.
"Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Were you scared? Were the other kits mean to you?" she asked anxiously, still checking Quick-kit over for any wounds.
"Mom! I was fine! They didn't hurt me, and I wasn't scared!" Quick-kit exclaimed. She puffed out her chest, and added, "In fact, those kits were way to scared to come near me, let alone be mean to me! Even the apprentices and warriors were scared of me! I bet even Cliffstar was terrified inside. I could see it in his eyes." Foxheart let out a mrrow of amusement. Now that she wasn't at the Stoneclan camp, Quick-kit had her old playful personality back. Foxheart watched, satisfied, as all the kits ran around in circles, chasing each others tails.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Vinestar came and slipped among the cats waiting outside for the gathering. She touched each cat on the shoulder that she wanted to come. Foxheart, Redfur, Mouseheart, Rosefire, Quailfeather, Sunheart, Yellowclaw, Meadowfire, Swiftheart, Dewheart, and Wispcloud all gathered at the camp entrance when their shoulders had been brushed by Vinestar’s tail. They were joined by Autumnstripe, Petalbloom, Featherblossom, Skywhisker, Galeheart, Berryfoot, Moonstream, Wheatpaw, Fernpaw, Soilpaw, Shadepaw, Flowerheart, and Windheart. Vinestar joined the gathering patrol a moment later.

“Okay,” she mewed to her gathering patrol, “no one mention anything about Quick-kit, I will bring it up by myself, and hopefully, we’ll still be able to have a peaceful and respectful gathering.” Foxheart nodded along with the patrol. Vinestar stepped forward to the front of the patrol and she called to the patrol, “Let’s go.” The patrol surged out of the camp, through the thorn tunnel, and out into the open forest. Foxheart pressed forward until she was racing beside Redfur.

“I hope the apprentices understood what Vinestar said,” she panted.

“Me too,” Redfur replied, “we don’t know how the gathering would go if they told everyone about Quick-kit!” The two warriors thudded along in silence with their patrol. Vinestar slowed to a relaxed gait as she neared the island where the clans gathered every moon. The Thunderclan warriors broke out of the cover of the trees and were bathed in moonlight. Foxheart looked up at the silver disc hanging in the sky, shining silver light down onto the lake and island and cats, bathing them all in a silver glow. Vinestar padded towards the tree that led to the island. The strong, rich scent of Oceanclan wafted towards Foxheart, and she noticed the patrol slipping across the tree to the island. Finally, Vinestar reached the fallen tree, and leapt up smoothly onto its slippery surface. Foxheart followed quickly, padding carefully along the tree trunk, and gripping the sides with her claws. She slipped off the trunk and onto the cool sand of the island. Huge oak trees towered above Foxheart, and their golden leaves fluttered down around her. She padded a few paces forward, but stopped and turned to wait for the apprentices to catch up with her. As Wheatpaw, Fernpaw, Soilpaw, and Shadepaw padded towards her, joking with each other, she turned and motioned for them to follow her, and they followed her curiously. She turned to them and murmured, “ You four heard what Vinestar told us back at camp, right?” The four apprentices exchanged slightly confused glances, then turned back to Foxheart. “I guess not,” she sighed, “ well, she told us not to tell anyone about what happened with Quick-kit until she announces it. Got that?”

“But that will be the best thing to talk about with Whirlpaw and Riverpaw!” Fernpaw complained.

“Well, you can talk about it with them after Vinestar announces it, alright?” Foxheart told them firmly.

“Alright,” Fernpaw muttered. The rest of the apprentices nodded glumly, and walked slowly away to where the rest of the cats had gathered. Foxheart followed them, and hurried along to catch up to Redfur and Mouseheart, who were padding to where the other cats had gathered. Foxheart slowed down until she was padding along beside them.

“I wonder how Vinestar is actually going to bring up this?” Mouseheart was murmuring to Redfur.

“She’s probably just going to announce it.” Redfur replied. She turned to Foxheart and asked, “What do you think, Foxheart?” Foxheart thought for a moment, then agreed,

“Yes, I think she’ll just announce it. I mean, there’s no point in bringing it up politely. We had a kit stolen for Starclan’s sake!” Mouseheart and Redfur nodded.

“That makes sense,” Mouseheart reasoned. She stopped abruptly when the three warriors reached where the four clans were merging to make one large clan. Foxheart looked up in surprise as she heard someone call her name.

“Foxheart!” Foxheart saw Brackenpool making her way with some difficulty towards her. Foxheart took a step forward to meet her, a purr rising in her throat.

“Hi Brackenpool!” She purred to the black Stoneclan warrior.

“Hi Foxheart! How are you?” Brackenpool replied warmly, her pelt brushing Foxheart’s.

“Good! I-“ Foxheart paused, seeing Redfur and Mouseheart’s eyes shine in surprise. She stiffened, side-stepping away from Brackenpool. She mewed with hostilation, “I’m actually not that good, seeing as we had a kit stolen today.” Brackenpool’s large brown eyes widened in hurt.

“I promise, Foxheart, I had nothing at all to do with Quick-kit! I didn’t know what they were doing, I was out on a border patrol and I came back after the Thunderclan patrol had come and gone! I would have taken Quick-kit back if I had known! She’s only a kit! I would never have approved that!” Foxheart paused with confusion. Brackenpool scratched the ground in frustration. “For Starclan’s sake, Foxheart! Do you really think I would stand by and let my clan steal a kit?” Foxheart’s harsh gaze softened, and she murmured,

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I’m just pretty angry right now.” Brackenpool let out a sigh of relief.

“Me too,” she replied, adding, “but I’m glad that you forgive me, even if I’m from Stoneclan.” Foxheart turned to Redfur and Foxheart who had calmed down, and were patiently waiting for Foxheart. She turned and padded with them and Brackenpool to find a spot. Foxheart saw Bluebird, Lilybloom, Sunflower, Tinyheart, and Glowheart clustered together, and began heading towards them. As she settled among the cats she usually sat with for gatherings, a beautiful small black she-cat with amber eyes padded up with a solid gray tom. Bluebird looked up and gestured them forward with her tail.

“Foxheart, this is Ivypool,” she mewed, touching the black she-cat on the shoulder. Lilybloom touched the gray tom and added,

“And this is Oakfur.” Foxheart dipped her head, and mewed warmly,

“Pleased to meet you,” Redfur and Mouseheart stepped in and began mewing to the small group. Mouseheart padded over to Lilybloom and began discussing the differences between prey, and Redfur sat down beside Oakfur and began asking him what his favorite part about gatherings was. Foxheart felt a purr rise in her throat, and the problems throughout the day were pressed down below the happiness she always felt at gatherings. Foxheart made her way over to Ivypool, who was crouched beside Oakfur, mewing back and forth with Bluebird. As she did, Sunflower, a light orange tabby she-cat, Tinyheart, a small grey tabby she-cat, and Glowheart, and light orange tabby she-cat, padded over and sat down beside her. Sunflower, who was the closest to being an elder out of all three, leaned towards Ivypool, and mewed,

“Now what is your name?” Ivypool looked over at her and mewed,

“Ivypool. What’s yours?”

“Sunflower.” The she-cat replied. Foxheart turned to Ivypool, and mewed,

“So, how are things in Oceanclan lately?”

“Well, I guess they’re okay. Prey is running really well, even though it’s almost leaf-fall. It’s getting cold in the dens, though, and some of our streams that we drink from are starting to freeze over. Oceanclan could definitely use more warriors, though. I mean, we have barely any new kits!”

The four cats that were gathered around each other stared at her in surprise. Warriors never usually shared much about their own clans, in case others saw it as a weakness. Foxheart felt a sudden warmth for Ivypool, a beautiful, smart, honest warrior. She continued chatting with Ivypool about her kin, her clan, and gatherings, careful not to bring up Icestar or why Vinestar was taking his place tonight, until she saw the leaders leap up onto branches of the tree that the clans were surrounding.

“I’ve got to go,” she mewed to the cats she had been sharing news with. She stood up, quickly stretched, and padded over to where the rest of the deputies were seated below the tree that the leaders were about to share news from. She took a seat on a comfortable looking patch of grass next to Honeynose, the golden she-cat deputy of Oceanclan, and Freezepelt, the long-haired white tom medicine cat of Oceanclan. They dipped their heads to her in surprise, and Foxheart returned the gesture, satisfaction warming her as she saw new respect for her as deputy in their eyes. She turned and saw Possumpelt, the black she-cat deputy of Galeclan, and Airwhisker, the white she-cat medicine cat of Galeclan seated next to her. She dipped her head to them, and they returned the gesture. Autumnstripe padded over and took his place below the tree next to Foxheart. Airwhisker leaned over and murmured in Foxheart’s ear,

“Where’s Icestar today? Why is Vinebreeze taking his place here tonight?” Foxheart swallowed the lump in her throat at the thought of Icestar, and replied solemnly,

“Icestar lost his last life in a battle with Stoneclan. Vinestar’s the new leader, and I’m Lightningclan’s deputy.” Airwhisker sat back in shock, taking a few moments for the news to sink in. She then leaned to Foxheart again, and mewed,

“I’m so, so sorry. Icestar was a great leader.” Foxheart stared at her paws sadly for a moment, then looked up and nodded her thanks.

“He really was,” she agreed. Both she-cats looked up at the branches of the tree towering above them. Cliffstar took a step forward, and began to share his news,

“Prey has been running very well in Stoneclan. Some Twoleg kits were running into our territory, but I’m proud to say that one of my patrols drove them off, and they haven’t come back again since then. Stoneclan also has three new warriors; Goldstream, Forestclaw, and Almondfire.” Most of the Stoneclan warriors, and a few Galeclan and Oceanclan warriors chanted their new warrior names, then quieted down for the next leader to share their news. Breezestar, the Galeclan leader, stepped forward, and shared her news for awhile, then stepped back for Fiercestar to step forward and share his news. Finally, when all the leaders were done except for Vinestar, she stepped forward on her branch, and began to share her news.

Chapters 9-10

Chapter 9
"Lightningclan, I have very grave news for you," Vinestar called solemnly from the highledge. Redfur looked up at her leader from where Redfur was crouching in the warriors den. The clan huddled tightly in front of Vinestar. Most of the cats already knew, and the cats who didn't had puzzled looks on their faces.
"Stormfoot was killed. Foxheart and Redfur found him in the lake." Vinestar meowed. Redfur squeezed her eyes shut, still not quite believing that her mate was gone forever. She remembered his dark brown eyes, so unusual, yet so warm. Redfur would never see those eyes again. Redfur blinked her eyes open again. Vinestar went on,
"Redfur and Fernpaw will be excused from their duties for three days. Mouseheart will now mentor Fernpaw. That is all." Vinestar dismissed the clan. Redfur glanced over at Fernpaw, and saw her sitting with her head hunched beneath her shoulders. Her brother, Wheatpaw, had his tail laid comfortingly over her back. Redfur crept back into the shadows of the warriors den. She melted into the darkness and kept shuffling backwards. Suddenly, Redfur stumbled into another cat. Startled, she leapt up with a hiss, feeling clumsy for not being aware of another warrior. She scented Ripplepelt, and she could smell fear radiating off of him.
"Ripplepelt, what are you doing in here? What's wrong?" hissed Redufr.
"This is terrible.....who would have c=killed a cat. What if the cat was from Lightningclan? None of us are safe! What if it was you!" screeched Ripplepelt, blabbing nonsense.
"No, no, Ripplepelt, it's okay! I won't hurtyou. It's okay!" Redfur tried to reassure him but was cut off when he screeched,
"I bet it was you! I can smell the blood...on your claws! Get away from me! GET AWAY!" Ripplepelt writhed backwards, away from Redfur, She scooted back to where her soft nest of moss lay. Redfur curled up and tried to sleep, but was kept awake by the terrified panting of Ripplepelt and the ominous thoughts swirling through her head.
Was it me? Did I do something? Who killed Stormfoot? Why did they kill him? Could I have somehow stopped it?

~~~~~~~~~~

Birds chirped in the air, and a soft breeze whispered through through the trees. The sounds were dulled to Redfur. She couldn't think about much. Redfur could tell that leaf-fall was coming. She could scent it in the breeze, hear it in the rustle of golden leaves touching the forest floor. Behind leaf-fall crouched leaf-bare, ready to pounce and bring swirling white snow and frozen ice, and also ready to take out the few warriors it could before retreating to its cold, icy lair, to wait for many moons. Redfur thought confusing thoughts of leaf-bare as she lay in her nest, aware of warm cats around her, and a warmth on her fur. She slowly blinked her eyes open, Ever since Stormfoot had died, she had felt like her life was in slow motion. Redfur realized that today was the gathering, and tomorrow she would have to go on the quest with Foxheart. Vinestar had assigned another young warrior, Mouseheart, to on the quest with them for safety. Redfur never had really been friends with Mouseheart, but she was a good warrior, and seemed nice enough. Redfur slowly looked around the warriors den. Featherblossom, Rosefire, and Quailfeather were all curled up together exhausted after their busy warrior vigil. Foxheart, Sunheart, Mouseheart, and Skywhisker were nowhere to be seen, along with most of the other warriors. The only cats still sleeping were the new warriors, as well as Leafclaw, Ripplepelt, Lionfang, and Yellowclaw. Lionfang had a nasty gash along her flank from the battle, and had been told to rest by Autumnstripe. Ripplepelt always slept late because he was close to becoming an elder. Redfur had woken up when Leafclaw had gone on dawn patrol. All the cats had a reason to be sleeping, except for Yellowclaw. Why was he tired? All the cats had been woken up in the night when Vinestar announced Stormfoot's fate, but that was not long at all! Maybe he was still tired from the battle? Redfur brushed the thought away and padded out of the den without even grooming her fur. She emerged into the bright morning sunlight. Redfur looked around, just in time to see the tip of Foxheart's bronze tail disappearing through the den entrance. Redfur spotted Mouseheart munching on a vole in the clearing, and decided to go and talk to he. Redfur grabbed a plump mouse and padded to where Mouseheart was eating. Mouseheart looked up. Her expression became more excited and more sympathetic at the same time.
"Hi Redfur!" she meowed as Redfur plonked down and mewed,
"Hi."
"So...I'm going on the quest with you!" Mouseheart began awkwardly.
"So I heard," muttered Redfur, swallowing a mouthful of mouse.
"Well, uh, " Mouseheart mumbled, desperately trying to find something to talk about, "I-I'm so, so sorry that Stormfoot died. I don't know what I would do if my mate, or my parents, died!"
"Everyone's saying that. I guess I'll just have to get over it." mewed Redfur sadly. The two warriors sat in silence for a while, until Mouseheart spoke up again.
"Well, I really don't know much about the quest, so could you tell me about your dream and everything?"
"Sure," Redfur replied. She began with a deep breath, telling Mouseheart everything, from the sandy bank, to the tug-and-pull river, to the fight with Barkstar. When Redfur finally finished, Mouseheart was staring at her wide-eyed.
"Wow!" Mouseheart gasped. "So Bark-kit is evil?"
"Well, not yet. He'll destroy all of the clans if we don't do something fast, though.
"So what's our job? Where are we going to go? What are we going to do?" Mouseheart asked, her fur beginning to fluff up with excitement.
"Well, we're going to try and go to the place in our dream, using Starclan's guidance. When we get there, hopefully Starclan will show us a sign." Redfur explained.
"Well," Mouseheart began, looking slightly put out, "why don't we stay here and wait for a sign? I mean, why go all the way there, to see a sigh? Why can't we just stay here, and ask Autumnstripe to ask Starclan for directions, or whatever weird stuff it is that he does?"
"Because Starclan showed us this place, which means it's important, so we should probably go there."
"Fine," Mouseheart meowed grumpily, "but I was really hoping we could go on a really heroic quest, like Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight did when they came here." The warriors stared at the ground awkwardly until Mouseheart seemed to bubble up again, and mewed,
"Oh well, a quest is a quest, right? I've got to go tell Moonstream and Berryfoot!" Mouseheatrt shot off towards where her parents were sharing a crow. Redfur made her way to the warriors den.Once inside, she crumpled in her nest, and began to sleep.

Chapter 10
Redfur woke up as a paw prodded her in the side. She wasn't in the mood to get up, and she didn't have warrior duties until she left on the quest with Foxheart and Mouseheart. It was dark in the warriors den, but trickles of sunlight were sweeping through the entrance. Redfur blinked as she looked around. Foxheart was in front of her, aqua eyes impatient.
"What?" Redfur asked groggily, annoyed that she had be woken.
"Come on, Redfur! Are you honestly going to lie around here all day? The last morning patrol is already gone!" Foxheart meowed in annoyance.
'Why should I get up? I've got no duties!" Redfur exclaimed.
"Well, we promised Autumnstripe we'd learn about more herbs. Does that count as a dutie? Foxheart questioned. Redfur looked away, knowing she would have to get up.
"I guess," she muttered dejectedly.
"What was that?" Foxheart asked innocently.
"I SAID I GUESS!" roared Redfur. She saw a glimmer of amusement in Foxheart's eyes. Redfur allowed herself to feel a small shine of happiness, seeing the funny side of it. Slowly, Redfur pulled herself up out of her nest, shaking scraps of moss off of her fur.
"Come on then," she sighed, "lets go." Foxheart turned and padded out of the den, tail waving high in the air. Redfur padded out after Foxheart, trying not to let her tail droop or her paws drag. She saw some of the kits skittering around after each other. Suddenly, Redfur remembered that she promised the kits that she would go help them with their hunting moves. The last thing she needed today was a little squeaking kit pouncing on her tail. Redfur sulked along with hunched shoulders. As she entered the medicine cat den, she could hear Foxheart, who had skipped ahead of her, meowing to Autumnstripe in a hushed mew.
"-and there was a long gash, from his shoulder to his hind leg." A heavy silence followed.
"He could have gotten in a fight with a warrior from a different clan..." Autumnstripe murmured doubtfully. Redfur crept forward until she could see past the rocky ledge that was blocking the cats from her view. Autumnstripe was parting some big, soft leaves into two piles, and Foxheart was sitting across from him and watching what he was doing.
"Autumnstripe," she murmured, "I think you know as well as I do that Stormfoot was probably murdered." Autumnstripe was messily separating the leaves, shredding and clumping them in his rush.
"We don't know that," he mumbled.
"Well I don't want to argue with you. All I'm asking, is that since we don't know what actually happened, I want something that I can tell to Redfur so that we can get her head out of the clouds! We're about to go on a quest for Starclan's sake!" Foxheart replied. Redfur chose that moment to step in.
"What were you talking about?" she meowed. Both cats froze and their heads snapped up to look at her.
"R-redfur! What are you doing here?"
"Well, you actually told me to follow you here. Oh, and also I was listening to how my head is in thhe clouds..." she trailed off.
"Redfur, I'm really sorry. I just didn't want you worrying," Foxheart apologized.
"Foxheart, I'm not a kit. I can handle things myself. I don't need you trying to take care of me." Redfur meowed as calmly as she could.
"Redfur, if you're going to handle this by yourself, please start. You've been sitting in the warriors den in a daze for the past day now. You seriously need to pull yourself together if you're going to handle this." Redfur flinched, shocked at hearing the words she had been thinking spoken by someone else.
"But-" she struggled to defend herself.
"But what, Redfur? We're going on a quest tomorrow. How are you going to manage that when you can't even get out of your nest in the morning?" Foxheart interrupted. Redfur could hear the calm reason in Foxheart's voice. Redfur bowed her head uncomfortably to look at her paws, which suddenly seemed extremely interesting. She snuck a glance at Autumnstripe, who was awkwardly shuffling leaves between his paws. Redfur meowed softly,
"You're right, Foxheart. I'm sorry."
"Thanks, Redfur. Sorry to put it that way, but someone had to knock some sense into you!: Foxheart exclaimed.
"Yeah, I guess," Redfur replied, "I just have to remember that he's up there watching over me." Redfur shook herself, ridding her mind of all bad thoughts. The cats stood in silence for awhile.
"Well," Autumnstripe mumbled finally, "I think we were going to finish looking at the herbs...right?"
"Yes! We were!" exclaimed Foxheart, seizing the chance to escape the awkward silence.
"This way then," Autumnstripe mewed, brightening as the tension lifted. Foxheart and Redfur padded around the den with Autumnstripe until they had passed and learned about all of the herbs. Redfur felt her head spinning as she tried to take in all of the different plants. By the time Foxheart and Redfur were leaving the den, the sun was already high in the sky, its bright light bearing down on the Lightningclan camp. A few elders and queens were out basking. Kits scuttled back and forth between shadows. As they did, Whisperkit looked up at Redfur and Foxheart.
"Redfur! Foxheart!" he squealed, abandoning his game and galloping towards them. Soon, Bark-kit, Quick-kit, and Dusk-kit looked up and came crashing after Whisperkit. The rest of the kits heard their squeals and clambered out of the nursery to join the crowd. Soon, six kits stood with wide eyes in front of Foxheart and Redfur.
"You're here! Finally!" Tigerkit squealed.
"Yay! Now we can go play hunting games!" Sleetkit chimed in.

"I'm going to catch a humongous mouse!" Quick-kit boasted.
"Well I'm going to catch a squirrel, and a rabbit and a mouse and a badger!" Bark-kit exclaimed.
"Well...I"m gonna catch a dog!" Quick-kit tried desperately to out-do her brother.
"What?" Bark-kit exclaimed. "You can't catch a dog! Anyway, that's not as good as..." Bark-kit was cut off as Tigerkit stepped forward, thrusting out his chest as he announced proudly, "Well I'm going to catch a twoleg!" There was an awkward silence after his statement, until Quick-kit muttered, "Yeah right." Quick-kit suddenly spun and leaped on top of him. All the kits bundled on top of each other until they were just a ball of flying fur.
"Alright, come on kits! Don't you want to get going?" Redfur scolded.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!" The kits all squealed, sitting up straight with bright eyes.
"Well, lets go then," Foxheart meowed, "but remember, walk behind me and in front of Redfur, and don't go wandering off. We're going straight to the sandy hollow, and if anyone wanders off, they will not get to come next time!" The kits sat quietly, staring wide-eyed at Foxheart.
"Now who's ready to go?" exclaimed Foxheart enthusiastically, abandoning her serious attitude.
"Me!" yowled all the kits in unison.
"Lets go then!" Foxheart exclaimed. The group began heading toward the camp entrance, but stopped when they heard a call. Redfur and Foxheart turned around to see Dewheart, a gray tabby she-cat, who was Galeheart's mother, and also an elder, padding towards them.
"Hi Dewheart!" called Foxheart.
"Hi Foxheart." Dewheart replied warmly as she padded closer. Dewheart finally stopped in front of the kits, and asked,
"Where are you all going?" She leaned her head to the side and looked down on the kits with warm blue eyes.
"We're taking these kits down to the training hollow, and we're going to teach them some hunting moves," Redfur replied for the huddle of impatient kits.
"And don't worry," Foxheart added as Dewheart glanced at the nursery, "we have permission from their mothers, and I'm sure they'll be glad to have a day of rest." Dewheart's eyes sparkled.
"Well doesn't that sound fun!" She leaned down to the kits and whispered,
"Are you kits excited?"
"Yes!: they replied.
"Okay. Well, you be safe, and don't go wandering off, okay? Make sure you stay with the big, strong warriors, okay?"
"Okay!" The kits nodded their heads up and down, their eyes sparkling at the friendly elder. Dewheart stood up and mewed to Foxheart and Redfur,
"Are you sure guys will be able to handle this bunch all by yourself?"
"Well," began Foxheart, "I think the two of us together can manage. They're just kits, after all."
"Alright. But I'd be happy to come and help you keep up with them, if you don't mind," Dewheart offered.
"Actually," Foxheart admitted, "that would be great! If you could just tell them a story on the way there or something, I'm sure it would help a lot!"
"Well I'll be glad to come!" Dewheart exclaimed. Foxheart turned and started padding towards the camp entrance, with the kits marching along behind her. Dewheart padded into the middle of their group, and began speaking in an excited, hushed mew,
"did I ever tell you the time that Wispcloud almost got killed by a fox?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Foxheart padded wearily along towards the camp entrance. She could heart the kits meowing excitedly with Dewheart behind her. Redfur trotted up next to Foxheart.
"Hey Redfur." Foxheart meowed. "I can't believe how tired I am! Dewheart did most of the training, and I'm still exhausted!"
"I know! Who would have thought that teaching some kits hunting moves would be so hard?" Redfur joked.
"I know!" Foxheart replied, adding cheerfully, "I guess this is what it takes to make a warrior!"
"Foxheart!" Dewheart called. The urgency in her voice made Foxheart whip around and race to her side.
"What's wrong?!" exclaimed Foxheart. Dewheart glanced around desperately.
"Its Bark-kit! He's gone!"

Redfur's profileClan: Lightningclan

Rank: Warrior
Pelt: Orange and white
Gender: She-cat
Mentor: Vinebreeze
Eye: Ice blue
Size: Small
Father: Swiftheart
Mother: Meadowfire
Sibling(s): Cloudbreeze(Starclan)
Other kin: Foxheart, Skywhsiker, Galeheart, Mouseheart, Quailpaw, Rosepaw, Firestar(Starclan)
Favorite prey: Squirrel
Favorite other clan: OceanclanFavorite cat: Foxheart and Mouseheart
Least favorite cat: Tigerstar
Symbol: Ice
Words: Loyal, forgiving, amusing(to look at)
Likes: Friends, quests, hunting
Dislikes: Betrayal, meanies
Apprentice(s): Quailpaw

The tale of Dungkit, Dirtplace, and Grosskit

Before I begin, the term 'dirtplace', is where the cats go to the bathroom.

The tale of Dungkit, Dirtplace, and Grosskit

"Now, now kits," Snowstorm calmed her kits down in the warm nursery. It was a breezy summer night outside, and the kits were restless after a day of jumping around. "or Dungkit, Dirtplace, or Grosskit will come eat you!"
"Tell us their story!" pleaded Quick-kit.
"Yeah!" squeaked Tigerkit.
"Okay, okay, calm down." Snowstorm murmured. "Once in the Lightningclan camp, many moons ago....." she began.

Once in the Lightningclan camp, many moons ago, there were three kits, the kits of Megan Fox the 2nd, Matthewdung, and Alexdung. Their names were Dungkit, Dirtkit, and Grosskit. Dungkit was a sewer green tom, Dirtkit was a green-brown and mustard yellow she-cat. The third, Grosskit, a hairless tom like his father Matthewdung, was eaten by his vicious mother when he was born. Both Dungkit and Dirtkit had weird squished in faces like their father, like they had been attacked by monsters. When Dungkit was a few moons old, he wandered out of camp, tripped over a tree root, and fell into a puddle. Unlike his father, Alexdung, who had always been careful not to look at his reflection, Dungkit looked at his disgusting face in the puddle. He died of fright at the monster staring him in the face. No one but Alexdung could muster enough courage to go and bury him and have to bear his odor the whole time.

Dirtkit grew to be warrior named Dirtplace. She loved her parents, Megan Fox the 2nd and Alexstar, but soon she realised that they were old, mangy, cold, heartless, hairless hairballs, so she went and asked Starclan to give her her destiny. Starclan decided to show mercy on the disgusting feline, so they turned her into what she was meant to be... some poop. Dirtplace, Dungkit, and Grosskit were given another chance, so they came back as the beautiful kits- Quick-kit, Bark-kit, and Tigerkit.

The end! Hope you liked it! :D

Chapter 7-8

Chapter 7
"Let's go!" hissed Foxheart, flicking her tail to tell her patrol to follow. There had been only silent order as soon s the patrol had left the camp. Redfur could feel the exhilarating rush of excitement that she always felt before a battle. She and Foxheart had raced back to camp when they saw the huge stream of Stoneclan slipping through the forest towards the camp. Vinestar and Foxheart had organized three patrols to go to the battle. Vinestar's patrol would attack from one side, then the Stonaclan cats would be hit by Yellowclaw's patrol, and after a while, the exhausted Stoneclan cats would be surged with a strong, efficient blow from Foxheart's patrol that would leave them fleeing with their tails between their legs. Brilliant really. In Foxheart's patrol, creeping silently through the thick, tangled undergrowth, were Foxheart, Rosepaw, Redfur, Quailpaw, Soilpaw, Lionfang, and Galeheart. After a while of padding along, Foxheart stopped and angled her ears towards the trees in front of them. Looking through a thin bramble bush that sheltered the patrol, they could see Vinestar's patrol sneaking stealthily a distance behind the Stoneclan patrol. Vinestar silently rose her tail straight into the air, and thrust it as far forward as she could. This signal meant only one thing-attack. The Lightningclan patrol surged forward as one, letting out ear-splitting yowls and warrior cries. The whole of Stoneclan turned and scattered into a ragged line in the cramped space they had. Cliffstar was in the middle.
"Halt!" he commanded, Vinestar held up her tail, and her patrol stopped, spreading out into a strong line. They stood snarling and scraping impatiently at the ground. The Stoneclan patrol exchanged smug looks. They thought that they had outnumbered the Lightningclan patrol, which was half their size. Cliffstar began to speak. but Vinestar cut him off.
"Why, Cliffstar? Why launch battle so soon after you lost one?" she asked honestly.
"Because, I never lose a battle twice!" he sneered. "But, I will be fair. Since you are so obviously outnumbered, surrender now, and we will leave with a small strip of you territory, and you will have peace." His offer hung in the air ominously.
"Never!" Vinestar snapped. "Have you ever thought that Lightningclan might beat you?"
"Of course not! You-" Cliffstar sneered, but was cut off by Vinestar.
"Have you ever thought that we might be angry, after you killed Icestar?" she snarled. A few shocked gasps rippled through the Stoneclan patrol. Vinestar went on,
"I've received my nine lives from Starclan,. And I, Vinestar, will never back down!" She yowled. "Lightningclan, ATTACK!" The two clans clashed, and yowls and shrieks split through the air. Vinestar leapt on top of Cliffstar, and started scrabbling his face and sides with her claws. He let out a yowl of pain and threw her off. He dived at the nearest apprentice, Featherpaw, who was fighting with Forestpaw, a light gray tabby tom. Sunheart saw Cliffstar hurtling towards Featherpaw, and leapt at Cliffstar, shoving him out of the way. The Lightningclan cats were greatly outnumbered, but they were putting up a great fight. Already, Smallstep, a black tom with white paws, and Antpaw, a black tom with brown paws, had both gone yowling away into the forest. Cherryblossom, a creamy white she-cat, had sped blindly away after Wheatpaw had swiped her across the face. Redfur heard Yellowclaw's yowl, and the clearing swelled with Yellowclaw, Berryfoot, Ripplepelt, Stormfoot, and Fernpaw. The patrol leapt into the battle, and were soon lost in it. Yellowclaw had driven Almondpaw and Goldpaw back into the forest, with cuffs to the sides of their faces. They ran away from him, back into the battle. Before long, Foxheart had lifted her tail, and Redfur was speeding towards the exhausted Stoneclan cats. Cliffstar turned and looked straight at Redfur, and she could see the hollow defeat in his eyes.
That will teach him to mess with Lightningclan! Redfur thought. Redfur saw Foxheart pounce on a big tortoiseshell tom, Eaglefeather. Redfur leapt on a black she-cat with brown eyes. Her name was Brackenpool, and redfur skidded to a halt when she remembered chatting to the beautiful she-cat at a gathering. A flash of recognition flashed across Brackenpool's face, and she turned and plunged away into the battle. Redfur saw Quailpaw struggling under a dark brown tom with light blue eyes, Lightsky. With a huge leap, Redfur landed on his back and raked her claws across his flanks until he ran, shrieking, away. Redfur spotted Foxheart a tail length away, thrusting Sheerheart, the black Stoneclan deputy, away with her hind legs.
"Foxheart!" called Redfur.
"Redfur! Lets try tail to tail!" Foxheart asked immediately. Redfur stood facing the opposite way of Foxheart, and, back to back, the slashed at the Stoneclan warriors, spinning round and round, until the battle was over. The last Stoneclan warrior ran from the clearing, and Vinestar yowled,
"Lightningclan has one this battle!" All the Lightningclan cats yowled into the air. They had shown Stoneclan what Lightningclan could really do!

Chapter 8
"-and then I slashed at that rotten Stoneclan warriors face, and you know what he did? He turned and ran away, squealing like a little kit!" Rosepaw finished her story in front of Tigerkit, Sleetkit, and Dusk-kit.
"Hey, what's wrong with kits?" Tigerkit asked indignantly.
"Yeah! We don't squeal!" Sleetkit agreed.
"And we're plenty big!" put in Dusk-kit, then added, "And strong!"
"And we could take a Stoneclan warrior any day!" finished Tigerkit, stomping his paw to prove his point.
"I know. But," Rosepaw butted in, not wanting to ruin her story, "he was squealing like a newborn kit!:
"Oh!" Sleetkit mewed.
"Newborn kits are like annoying mice. I'm way bigger then a newborn kit!" scoffed Tigerkit.
"Yeah! Guess how old I am? Guess! Three and a half moons!" Dusk-kit agreed. All four cats were interrupted when Vinestar called from the highledge,
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the highledge!"
This is it! Rosepaw thought excitedly.

~~~

Foxheart leaped down from the highledge where she had been talking to Vinestar, and padded over to Redfur. She listened proudly as Vinestar announced,
"We have four new warrior names to give today. These cats fought, and healed, well during the battle, and I hope that Starclan will light their warrior paths. The first is...Rosepaw!" Rosepaw skidded up to Vinestar in excitement, but before reaching her, slowed to a dignified walk.
"Rosepaw, you have shown loyalty and courage in battle, and I know that you will make a great warrior. From now on, you show be known as Rosefire!" Vinestar announced. The clan called Rosefire's new name and waited for the next apprentice.
"Quailpaw, you showed great fierceness and bravery in many battles, and I hope that Starclan with watch over you as a warrior. From now on, you shall be know as Quailfeather!" The clan chanted her name, and watched as Featherpaw became Featherblossom, and Petalpaw became Petalbloom. The whole clan went to bed with full bellies, and new warriors sitting vigil to protect them.

~~~

"Foxheart! Foxheart, wake up!"
"What?" Foxheart sat up, blinking sleepily. Silver moonlight filtered through the roof of the den. Foxheart looked around the warriors den, to see that every cat was curled up, their sides rising and falling rhythmically.
"Redfur, its the middle of the night. Why did you have to wake me up?" Foxheart asked impatiently.
"Something's wrong. Really wrong. I think someone close to me had...died. I woke up, and you were right here, so it wasn't you. And when I looked around, I realized something. Stormfoot is gone." Redfur meowed urgently. Foxheart sat up by the urgency and panic in Redfur's voice, but still decided to ask,
"So? How do you know he didn't go for a...midnight stroll?"
"He's weird like that," she muttered under her breath.
"Foxheart." Redfur murmured. "I need to go see what's wrong. Will you come with me? Please?" Redfur's eyes were wide and pleading. Foxheart cast one longing look at her soft nest, the meowed with determination,
"Let's go. We'll find Stormfoot, Redfur." Redfur nodded in thanks, turned, and crept out of the den. The camp glowed with a silver-blue shine in the moon's light. Foxheart steered towards Rosefire, Quailfeather, and Featherblossom, the new warriors sitting their silent vigil. They turned as Foxheart and Redfur padded up. Foxheart first mewed,
"Just nod yes or no. Got it?" The warriors nodded quickly. Foxheart then asked,
"Did anyone leave camp?" The three cats looked at eachother, then nodded. Foxheart glanced at Redfur, who was craning her neck to look anxiously out of the camp entrance. Foxheart went on.
"Was it Stormfoot?" The new warriors nodded vigorously.
"Have any other cats left?" Redfur asked. The warriors shook their heads.
"Thanks. That's all we needed. We'll need to go out there and check something." Foxheart mewed. She and Redfur padded out into the forest warily. They could smell Stormfoot, and could easily make out the strong trail he had used in the dim light under the trees. Foxheart flicked her tail, and began creeping swiftly along the trail. Stormfoot's trail headed in a straight line towards the lake. When Foxheart and Redfur got to the beach, they padded down, following Stormfoot's scent. Pebbles rolled under their paws, clacking loudly in the eerily silent night. They padded all the way down to the water's edge, and the water lapped at their paws, trying to tug them further into the lake.
"That's weird. Stormfoot's trail ends here! Did he go for a swim?" Foxheart wondered, squinting out at the black lake, looking for something.
"What-What's that?" Redfur asked, her voice quavering. Foxheart squinted out in the lake, and saw, a few fox lengths away, a cat, floating on the water's surface.
"Let's go find out." replied Foxheart, wading into the black water. She padded along the sandy lake floor, her movements slurred by the water pushing against her. Ripples were sent out from Foxheart and Redfur's movement. They neared the cat and realized that it was Stormfoot. A long cut, gushing blood that looked black in the night, ran from his front legs to his tail. Foxheart glanced worriedly back at Redfur. She was standing stock still, the water lapping above her belly. Her eyes were wide, and she was staring at Stormfoot's body, blinking again and again as if she couldn't believe what was happening, couldn't believe what was right before her eyes. Foxheart mewed gently,
"Come on, Redfur, lets go back." She grabbed Stormfoot's scruff, lay her tail along Redfur's back, and guided Redfur and Stormfoot back to the shore. When the three cats got to the shore, Foxheart slid her tail off of Redfur, and struggled onto the shore with Stormfoot. Redfur stumble up to Stormfoot's body and thrust her face in his fur, pulling it out, doing the same thing in another spot. She did it all over, again and again, and finally, seeming to realize that he was dead, she thrust back her head and yowled,
"NO!" Foxheart rushed over to her and ran her tail down Redfur's back comfortingly.
"No," Redfur whimpered."
"Lets go back to camp," Foxheart murmured gently. She guided Redfur back to camp, dragging Stormfoot by the scruff, his tail leaving a trail in the dust. They reached the camp entrance and Foxheart ordered Redfur gently,
"Go get some rest in the warriors den. I'll be their in awhile." Foxheart nudged Redfur gently. Redfur stumbled into camp, and Foxheart heard her mumble to the warriors on vigil,
"I have to go get some rest," Foxheart waited awhile, and then entered the camp. The warriors looked up, and stared in shock at the body that Foxheart was pulling along. Foxheart shook her head at them slowly. She dragged Stormfoot into the middle of the camp, and dropped his limp lifeless body there. Foxheart padded silently up to the highledge, and entered the leaders den.
"Vinestar," she called softly, standing at the entrance to the den, the moonlight silhouetting her form. Foxheart heard a light rustle, and then Vinestar called out in a hushed hiss,
"Who's there?"
"Foxheart." she replied. There was another rustle, and then,
"Come in." Foxheart stepped in. She knew what Vinestar's question would be, so she answered it.
"Stormfoot...he was murdered."