Sandclan's Destiny Book 4: Shatters of the Moon

Chapter 10: Darkness

The eerie, crimson-coated tom led- or rather coralled- the warriors he found into a cave; in fact, there was a massive system of caverns winding throughout the same looming mountain that the cats first set their eyes on. Whitedust interpreted this as an omen. There had to be no mere coincidence that the moon itself was showing in the daytime, perched right at the tip of the mountain's tapered peak.

Once they slipped into the mountain's entrance, the search party was met by many cats. These felines began circling around the newcomers, but observing their pelts they were neither defensive nor malignant. They were incurably curious and they sniffed the intruders gingerly.

Whitedust also noticed that their pelts were all strangely marked; even the way they mewed to each other sounded different. Their fur was thick and glossy; their eyes were large, round, and deep. Their leader seemed the most amicable; the very same dark ginger, nearly red tabby, with wide amber eyes.

His long tail lashed and his announcement boomed and rattled the walls, "More warriors!"

"More warriors?" Whitedust stammered quietly. She peered past him and to the strange felines who were shuffling among scattered bones. She nearly jumped when she saw one of the cats appear to drag the mess away and hide it.

The tom whirled around on his paws, bringing back his scintillating eyes to make contact with the group, "Welcome to the Tribe of Scattered Bones!" He let his voice leap off the walls and come to a halt before continuing quieter, "Pay no mind to the Tribe of Heart's Blood if you met them, or the Tribe of Bleak Shadows. The latter tribe- they tend to eat their own kind."

The group began raising their hairs except for Woodknot, who sneered mockingly, "'Scattered Bones?' Are you going to kill us, then?"

"Of course not," the large tom snapped, his tone so sharp that Whitedust felt it against her pelt. "If there is no trust yet between us, why not make comfortable and eat with the other warrior? You are from the Clans, no? We will show him to you and maybe he will recognize you. Do not frighten at our name; we are the Tribe of Scattered Bones because we keep the dead in our halls." He explained this last tidbit matter-of-factly.

A few hackles raised again, and once more Woodknot boldly reproached, "Is there a river that runs through here? And in that river,-"

"Silence." The leader hushed him with one terse syllable. "The mothers sleep with kittens. We like it quiet here, in the Chamber of the Dead and Dying. Only I am allowed to make clamor here," with this last sly remark, the leader chuckled deep in his throat. He became serious again and mewed, "It appears warriors are loud by nature. This is fine. There are other caverns for this loudness."
The end of his tail flicked and the cats surrounding the party of warriors suddenly parted.

The leader padded away and gazed behind him expectantly. The warriors followed, Whitedust at the lead with Woodknot nearly butting with her shoulder. Her eyes focused on the leader's tail, which was adorned with thin reeds with small bones of birds' wings pushed through them. It was a wonder that it was wrapped tight enough to not unravel. 

After a while the leader's tail disappeared entirely. The cavers had gotten darker the further they traveled, and Whitedust glanced around her and saw the glowing eyes of the tribal cats following them, like gently swinging lanterns in the dead of night. At least Whitedust's nose still worked, so she traveled fine. Occasionally a pocket of light illuminated the passage; it was clear that these were other caverns with a skylight of some kind.

The leader mewed, "If you warriors are like the other, I hope you are not! He was at first rude. He kicked or chewed our bones and insulted our ranks, but he is kind to kittens and to-be's. He even helps the hunters at times."
He stopped in his tracks. His form was silhouetted against the harsh light of the sun that greeted him from ahead. He stood still, mewing, "What purpose would your kind have here? It bids an ill omen," he turned around and scanned the group again, his face dark save for his glowing eyes. "One warrior was enough, but a lot is too much. What is it you need? Does a plague ail you? Are the rivers dried up? Did all of the prey leave you? Or..." and his eyes blinked slowly, leaving his face in pure darkness before opening again, "does the moon guide you with Her eye?"