The Missing Clan

Chapter 12

❅

Lightpoppy woke when she heard Morningwhisker organizing patrols. Bright morning sunshine filtered in the warrior's den. It had been nearly ten sunrises. She yawned, stretching. Only four more days then we can go home.

They had already persuaded Troutstar to leave and go home. Our mission is nearly complete. Only Pinetail, Bluetail, Aspencloud, and Mouseclaw remained in the den. She padded quietly out of the den, not wanting to wake them. 

As soon as she raised her head to look at the sky, the sun was so bright, her eyes hurt. Quickly she looked away. "It seems to be a really sunny day," sniffed Lizardtooth. Lightpoppy jumped. "Lizardtooth! You nearly frightened me out of my fur!" she exclaimed with mrrow of laughter. 

"Yes, good morning to you too, Lightpoppy. Morningwhisker wants you to go hunting with me," Lizardtooth purred. Her pelt tingled with excitement. Great! I haven't been hunting for ages! "Well," Lightpoppy mewed. "Get ready for the best hunting you've ever had! I bet we'll bring back loads of prey! The fresh-kill pile will be so high, everyone will trip over it!"

Lizardtooth let out a mrrow of laughter, adding to her enthusiasm. "Of course it will! We're the best hunters in the world!" "Let's go!" Lightpoppy raced off without waiting for him. Lizardtooth set off after her, and skidded to a stop next to her, huffing and puffing. "Quiet! You'll scare off all the prey in the forest with all your huffing!" Lightpoppy meowed teasingly. 

Lizardtooth suddenly pricked his ears, moving stealthily to a thick patch of grass. "Smell that?" he whiskered. Lightpoppy opened her jaws to taste the air. Mouse! 

She saw Lizardtooth drop into a crouch. Good thing this forest has lots of hiding spots, Lightpoppy thought. Perfect for hunting, especially those who are used to it. She flicked her tail.

A few moments later Lizardtooth reappeared by a bracken, carrying the dead mouse in his jaws. "Great catch!" Lightpoppy meowed. "Bet I can catch one more piece of prey faster!"  

They raced off, agreeing to meet by the big oak once they caught a piece of prey. The sun was almost halfway in the sky, so Lightpoppy would have to hurry; she didn't want to keep the others waiting! She tasted the air and caught a whiff of shrew. Then she heard the rustling of branches. Quickly she spotted the long-nosed creature, scavenging the leaves for food. 

Quickly she dropped into a crouch. Lightpoppy stealthily stalked toward the shrew, who was unaware what was going to happen to it. Suddenly, a shadow of a cat appeared above the shrew, and the shrew squeaked in alarm.

Biting the shrew's spine, Lightpoppy finished it off quickly. Feeling proud, she raced off, standing near the oak's roots. Rustling echoed by the bushes, and Lightpoppy tensed, expecting an enemy. If they want my shrew, they can't have it!!

"Relax," Lizardtooth laughed. "I's just me." 

Lightpoppy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank StarClan," she murmured, letting the shrew drop to the ground. "Anyways, I won, Lizardtooth."

Lizardtooth grunted in amusement. "I guess so," he decided to admit. "What do I have to do, since I lost?" The calico she-cat thought for a moment. "I dare you to... annoy Rabbitflight and Whitestripe!" 

"I don't think Whitestripe can be annoyed, said Lizardtooth, a sparkle in his eyes. "But I will try." "I'm watching you! I want to see what's their reaction. Anyways, we should probably take that piece of prey to the others," she beckoned to the sparrow. "We don't want to keep them waiting."

"Right," Lizardtooth meowed, as if something distracted him. "What's the matter?" Lightpoppy glanced at the tom, her eyes filling with concern. "It's just," he hesitated, then meowed. "I thought I heard something, like there's someone watching us."

He paused in his tracks, turning to look Lightpoppy in her eyes. "It's nothing, probably..." But he could think of nothing to presume. Lightpoppy twitched her ears, she could hear nothing. Probably the wind rustled some bushes. But Lightpoppy couldn't feel the wind, or even the slightest breeze.

They were interrupted by a hunting patrol, with Doefeather, Pebbleshine, and Aspencloud. "Oh, hello," Lightpoppy meowed. "We caught some prey." She gestured to the shrew and sparrow. Doefeather glanced at the prey, meowing, "We're just on our way to the river." 

Lightpoppy picked up her shrew. "Let's get going," she mumbled around a mouthful of fur. "We don't want to leave the others wondering where we are." Nodding, Lizardtooth picked up his sparrow and followed Lightpoppy into the 'camp' entrance. Perhaps the 'nothing'  was the hunting patrol, probably. Wow, I never thought about what would be living with us. Hopefully everything's going well back at home, Lightpoppy added, deciding that they would probably leave soon, as soon as Troutstar got better. "We should have hunted more," Lightpoppy meowed, remembering the conversation they had before they went hunting. "I said we would bring back loads of prey." 

"Well, the fresh-kill pile is pretty full, anyway, so it doesn't matter." 

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter. We're still the best hunters in the world," Lightpoppy concluded, changing the subject. "So, how's living here?" 

"Okay, but, could be better." Lizardtooth glanced at some white bloodroots swaying furiously against the wind. "Why?" Lightpoppy asked, concern filling her eyes. "Isn't it perfect, given the beautiful flowers" she swept her tail on some orange tulips, "good water source" she pricked her ears, listening to the rushing of a nearby river, "and lots of prey?" she meowed, looking at the pile of fresh-kill as they entered the camp. 

"Mostly fish," Lizardtooth remarked. "And, no, it's not about the environment. It's about lack of friends." 

"What do you mean?" Lightpoppy asked. The WaterClan cats she had met had been kind to the journeying cats. "There's not enough cats of our own Clan," Lizardtooth meowed, a glint in his eyes. "There's only the two of us, aaaaaaaand. . . that's it."

"Lizardtooth!" Lightpoppy gasped, surprised he would say such a rude thing in public. Her sudden exclamation made other cats glance in their direction, and she ducked her head. "They have been kind enough to us," she mewed in a softer voice. "That's all we ask for, got it, mouse-brain?"

"Yeah, sure, but I'm glad that we'll be going back soon," Lizardtooth meowed. "Hey, where are you going?" Lightpoppy had just been climbing out of the entrance. "To make dirt," she called over her shoulder.

She had just been well away from the camp when she repeated, "I'm glad we'll be going back soon." Suddenly she felt hot breath on her ear as someone whispered, "That's what you think."

Then she felt surging pain in her head. Paws grabbed her from all sides and pulled her into the undergrowth as she faded into darkness.