Warriors: Black Rain

Chapter 16

      Scarpaw felt the fresh dew wet her underbelly as she crouched low to the lake's edge, watching Snowstar closely; it was still dark out. To reach the Stone-hollow, they had to travel along the Great Lake towards Sky-rocks, then pass through MistClan territory near the plains. The Great Lake separated RainClan and MistClan territory, and the easiest route towards the Stone-hollow was to pass along ThornClan's borders; the entire group kept eerily silent as they pushed closer and closer towards the enemy clan's territory.

       After a few heartbeats, Snowstar flicked his tail, and continued onward to the left. The ground dropped down beside Scarpaw, leading to the lake's sandy edge, and she had to be careful not to lose her footing and fall into the dark water below. Leopardpaw came bounding up next to her, twitching her ears.

      "The forest here is so dry and lifeless; no wonder ThornClan likes it here." Scarpaw let out a small mrrow of laughter.

      "I thought the same thing when we passed through here on our way to the gathering. Only then, the clans were bound by the full moon's truce; If we came across a patrol now, who knows what could happen."

      Sparkpaw padded up behind the two she-cats, his eyes shining in the darkness of dawn. "Are you kidding? A ThornClan patrol would lose their whiskers if they saw our group of cats along their borders, especially with Snowstar leading the front. They'd think they were under attack!"

      Maskpaw grunted, his tail tip twitching. "Yeah, and they'd come back with a patrol of their own. If you ask me, we should've gone around the other way, near the ravine."

       Leopardpaw scoffed, "We would never reach the Stone-hollow by nightfall that way! And besides, going around the ravine takes us directly into MapleClan territory. At least here, we can stalk along ThornClan's edge." 

     Maskpaw shot Scarpaw a look, his ears flat. "Yeah, well, at least one of us would feel at home." Scarpaw was about to shoot back a reply when Toadface batted the tortoiseshell apprentice with a heavy paw, his eyes narrowed. Maskpaw yowled in surprise, then stalked away, growling, towards the edge of the group. Scarpaw shot the older warrior a grateful glance. He simply nodded, then dropped back towards the end of the group.

      "I've been meaning to ask you, Sparkpaw," Leopardpaw whispered, "how's training going with Toadface?" The blond tom blinked at her.

      "Fine. Great, actually- he's an experienced warrior. None of the rumors you've probably heard about him are true."

      Scarpaw lowered her voice, "What about his temper?"

     "Only when I make stupid mistakes. But really, he's a kind-hearted cat under all the scars." Scarpaw looked back at where Toadface was now walking, his dull eyes barely visible in the darkness. For the first time Scarpaw saw something underneath his appearance; an experienced cat who's loyal to his clan. Feeling a wave of guilt, Scarpaw realized that this was not the cat who she should feel wary of; if any cat deserved to be questioned, it was Venomsight.

       Scarpaw recognized the ground under-foot as they reached Sky-Rocks. They stood on the same slope as before, which dropped sharply into the wide hollow below. The moon pool shined silver in the growing light, and she could see a few remaining stars reflecting on its still surface. The hollow seemed so different without all the clans packed tightly together on the smooth rocks.

     They bounded down the slope, across the sandy floor and began to climb back up the opposite side. Scarpaw could feel Leopardpaw's pelt prickling beside her, and she guessed her friend was amazed by the look of the great gathering place she had yet to see, however she made sure to keep silent until they reached the top of the slope and began running through even more unfamiliar territory.

     The grass here was thinner than the dense forest behind them, and the further they went, the more the trees began to thin out as well. Scarpaw recognized them as pines, stretching high and spread out, connected by bramble that acted as their passage. The mingled scents of Sky-Rocks started to fade, and another strange scent wafted into Scarpaw's senses; MistClan. While unfamiliar, she had recognized it from the two apprentices she had met at the gathering, Dovepaw and Bushpaw. Sparkpaw came padding up, glancing warily at the tall pines around them.

     "I don't think I've ever been in MistClan territory before," he mumbled, "or anywhere close to it. Everything's so different out here." 

     Leopardpaw snorted, "I'd say. How could any cat feel comfortable so out in the open like this? I'd claw my ears off." Owltail chuckled, glancing at his apprentice. 

     "Well, get your claws ready, because It's about to get much worse." Scarpaw blinked, turning towards where the warrior was now looking, letting out a small gasp. Out of the bramble, Scarpaw could see a vast, wide open expanse of grass and hills, dotted with large fluffy creatures and the occasional bush-tree. Mist covered the plains like a thick pelt, reaching the thin woods where they were hiding and causing Scarpaw's thick fur to stick to her body. 

     Maskpaw shook his pelt violently next to her, complaining, "What is this? The mist here is so thick!" Snowstar gave him a look, silencing him, and Scarpaw twitched her whiskers.

     "This mist has surrounded MistClan's territory for many, many moons. The Stone-hollow is farther down this path of trees; MistClan camp rests out in those plains. We're treading on their territory now," Snowstar mumbled. The entire patrol went silent, watching the leader with intent. All was silent until Toadface hissed from behind them, his matted pelt standing straight up.

      "I can smell a MistClan patrol; they're coming this way!"