The five Warrior Clans are going extinct. Gatherings and Moonpool visits are inacessable, with leaders falling left and right. The lake territories are being wiped out to the brink of extinction by new, large predators that have migrated into their...
Caracal had seemed like a capable adult cat for the entirety of their travels. Though she'd ran out of breath a few times along the way, the she-cat had never dropped too far behind or relented in helping where she was needed. Her spotted pelt rolled over her stretched shoulders as she crossed her forepaws.
"No, but I won't be going back to my housefolk either. In fact I think I'll be staying at that cluster of trees between here and your Lake." She nodded past the sloping ridge, down to the thick tree-tops that shone emerald green beneath a blazing sun.
It was reassuring to be able to see so far from right here. Crescentpaw knew that when they climbed down their vision of the lake would be cut off. They'd have to remember their direction; and so she took record of the position of the light, then responded.
"That seems nice. It seemed like you had missed the daylight."
"You've no idea, young 'un." Caracal's grunted as she looked down at the much younger she-cat.
"You three have such potential. Support Cheetah while I'm not there. If she gets rejected or ever goes hungry, send her back to me. And one more thing..." she leaned closer, until Crescentpaw could smell her kittypet-food breath.
"What's this thing being kept from us about your clans? Some sort of danger that cuts your words off each time you're about to mention it." She lifted an eyebrow suspiciously, her gaze suddenly questioning and sharp as flint.
"Will they throw you out because you've lost your hunting claws?"
Crescentpaw avoided her intimidating gaze for a moment, then turned her fluffy face back towards the grand-cat. "Well- yes, they might." She looked at the grass stems between their paws, almost scared to admit her clan's weaknesses aloud.
"But the real problem is that-.... There are... wolves, in our camp. Every few nights or so. They're like dogs, but larger. They come to hunt us in little groups or pairs, unless it's the daytime and it's a lone wolf. A nursing queen was killed that way one morning, while stretching her legs close to the camp walls." Crescentpaw had to correct herself at the end.
Really, the wolves showed up at random half the time. It could be a quarter-moon without seeing them, if they were lucky. Or the wolves could show up every other night. It variated, and no cat knew why.
"No one has been able to communicate with Starclan in... no cat knows how long. Because the Moonpool- our connection to Starclan, that is," she took a breath. "Is remote and a good way's travel from the Clans. None of the other warrior clans seem to know where the wolves live or primarily hunt because we've become so isolated from one another. So when some cat does travel to the Moonpool, they don't know where or when an attack will come from." She shivered as she felt adrenaline set her fur on end. Adjacent to them, Tinypaw and Cheetah were arguing so fluidly that they weren't listening to a word of their conversation.
"Well- oh, my." Caracal reacted just as Crescentpaw would've expected. Her brows rose, and she stepped back with her ears flattened. "That... nearly changes things." Her eyes stared over Crescentpaw's head and at Cheetah's expressive figure as she rambled.
"If you don't want to let Cheetah go with us now, I understand." Caracal refocused her gaze onto the apprentice before her, but it was still just as dire.
"No, Cheetah can do what she wants regardless. I can't control her. But this just makes it harder for me to be happy for her doing it. I don't want her to be killed for some far-fetched adventure experience."
Crescentpaw frowned. "The clans aren't an experience. They're permenant."
"Well, no offense gal', but it sounds like they might not be for much longer. Ya'll just make sure to come see me within a few moon's time. I'll stay at the edge of the tree-line until then."
The black-tabby-and-white apprentice nodded. "Okay, we will. And we'll be back far before then if Smallstar doesn't accept her." A beetle crawled across a grass stem, then onto her paw. Crescentpaw twitched it off. "But mind you, I hope he does," she added as Caracal nodded.
"Does that mean you're coming with us to those trees?"
"Actually, no." The older she-cat sounded thoughtful. She perked her rounded ears back towards the Thunderpath that they had just crossed.
"I'm going to find some housefolk food to eat first. I think I smelled a kittypet's scent on that last third yard we skirted. After all, I'll have to learn to hunt in that swathe of trees once I reach it. Cheetah!" The elderly she-cat raised her voice. "Come say goodbye!"
"No!" Cheetah shouted, pouting- but dragging her paws towards Caracal anyways.
"We're not saying bye to anyone, we're going with them!" She opened her mouth wide to exclaim, spiky teeth flashing. Crescentpaw grinned and joined her friend at the shoulder.
"Oh you're not saying goodbye, honey. I am." Her grand-kit snapped her mouth closed at once, listening intently.
"I'll be waiting at the base of that forested hill, on the north-facing edge of the treeline. You go and see what Clan life's like, dear. Maybe if they accept you, who knows." She winked. "They might one day accept me, too." Cheetah looked unhappy about her grandcat staying behind, but perked up at that last bit.
"Right! I'll show them what a housecat can do, Caracal! Then they'll have to accept you as well!" Her eyes shone as she looked up, and her kin in turn looked proudly down at her. Crescentpaw waited, her tail stiffening as she tried not to feel jealous of their close parental bond.
"Exactly. Now, I won't slow you younger cats down. That's why ya'll can go along ahead of me. I'll see you three in... say, two moon's time?"
"Alright," Crescentpaw agreed, and was faintly surprised when Caracal leaned forward to touch noses with each of them, including Tinypaw. Tinypaw awkwardly leaned forward, booped the adult cat's large muzzle, then backed away quickly. Crescentpaw couldn't gague whether she was unappreciative of the older cat, or just too eager to get back to the clan.
"Thank you, Caracal. You're very generous and you were so kind to us. It won't be long before we see you again and I promise I'll keep Cheetah-"
"Don't make a promise you aren't sure of, honey. Cheetah and I know the risks of being out here. We ain't mindless soft-paws." She lifted one side of her lip, smirking. "So go ahead, show my grand-kit a different way of life. I hope she loves all that it has to offer. And I hope you can save those Clans of yours too."
Crescentpaw nodded, and the three cats stalked out from beneath the trampoline. They timidly checked for Twolegs and dogs before they went. Then they bolted into a run down the angled grassy hill, splashed through a thin hackle-deep creek, and disappeared into the gnarled undergrowth beneath the trees.
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Questionnaire: What would you want Crescentpaw's warrior name to be?
_______________ Cheetah
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