Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Twenty-Three

Several days had passed while the Clan cats relaxed in the Dockside camp. Elkleap continued to volunteer for patrols while his friends rested. Even now, he was out with Sun'ka and Sparrow hunting.

Frostfeather was preparing to leave with her own patrol. Stone and Lily had promised to let her join them on an aggression patrol. They had explained to her that they would walk to their shared borders and ward off any trespassers.

"If they're a part of a Cassius's group, they mean trouble," Stone muttered as she started to lead the patrol out through the narrow tunnel heading out of camp.

Frostfeather took a short gulp of breath before passing into the shadow of the alleyway. Her fur felt unusually cold in its shade.

They continued out of the passage and turned inland, towards the trees. Frostfeather shook out her pelt, happy to be in the open once more.

Their border with Cassius seemed deserted. Not even a wisp of stray scent dared to cross. "Maybe he learned his lesson!" Lily growled.

Frostfeather glanced behind them, to the fish hatchery they had passed. As Stone and Lily started to sniff through the undergrowth near the border, she almost thought she could smell Cassius's powerful scent.

"It's time we were going. We still need to check the border with the Dockworkers," Lily called. Frostfeather's attention snapped back to her surroundings. Turning, she noticed the two she-cats had already started to leave her behind.

She hurried to catch up, her ears flat as she bolted through the grass back towards the towering buildings of the Docks. Stone had halted a few paces ahead, waiting for her to catch up.

Her solid gray fur rippled from the passing breeze. "It's a little weird near the docks, but don't worry. None of the workers will hurt you," she purred as she padded close to Frostfeather's side.

"If you say so.." she mumbled uncertainly. I don't know what workers are, she thought, I wonder what they look like.

The pair followed Lily's scent as they travelled closer and closer to the docks. White birds with loud, harsh cries soared overhead. "This is usually where we come to find food, too," Stone mewed as they walked out onto the hard wooden surface of the dock.

The ocean stretched away on the horizon, heaving with the force of its waves. Along the expanse of the docks, tall creatures were walking from building-to-building.

Frostfeather instantly bristled at the sight of them. They tottered on their back legs, their forelegs dangling at their sides. They were devoid of fur, except for small patches directly on top of their heads.

"They sure do look funny, don't they?" Lily purred as they padded closer to the orange tabby she-cat. Hovering beneath a small wooden, den like structure, she peeked around the corner as a Dockworker started to step towards them.

"Why are we sneaking if these workers won't hurt us?" Frostfeather asked seriously. Her heart thudded as the Dockworker's feet thudded on the wooden planks only a few rabbit hops away.

"Well, usually when they see us they want to pet us," Stone confessed, "we typically let them. But lately they've been trying to chase us away. We think it's because Olive has been stealing their fish."

"She said that she stopped, though," Lily mewed, "hopefully that means they'll stop chasing us."

Surprisingly, a hairless pink face loomed over them from the opposite side of wooden bench. It shouted something, but it certainly didn't sound friendly.

"Uh, oh... time to go!" Stone squealed, turning and bolting down the nearest pitch black alleyway. Lily was right behind, her tail waving wildly as she ran.

Frostfeather was frozen, staring up into the glassy eyes of the Dockworker. It was looking over her, making small clicking noises with its flat mouth.

Her nostrils flared as it reached out an oil slicked forepaw, letting it rest on her pristine ivory fur. The worker cooed, sounding like a queen comforting her kit.

"Don't hurt me," Frostfeather whimpered, feeling its paw move slowly down her spine. When it reached her tail, it pulled its paw back and stood to its full height. She could see its eyes shining as it looked down at her.

The worker turned, shouting out something to some other workers that had started to walk over. She could hear them call back and fourth to each other for a moment before they started to walk away in the other direction.

She waited until their thumping footsteps faded into the distance before racing after Stone and Lily's trail. She followed their scents the whole way back to the Dockside camp, running blind through the dark passageways.

When she entered, the two she-cats were nowhere in sight. Cairn was sitting a few paces away with Pineheart, Elkleap, and Sun'ka sitting in a ragged circle around him.

Noticing her entrance, the brown tabby leader waved her over with his tail. "You are more than welcome to fetch some prey and come join us," he meowed warmly as she approached.

"I'm ok, thank," she puffed, still out of breath.

"What's that smudge? On your back," Pineheart asked curiously, leaning forward to lick the oily streak.

"One of the Dockworkers put its paw on me," she mewed, "it was so odd, I had never seen anything like that before."

"The Dockworker put its paw on you?" Cairn echoed, "it didn't try and chase you?"

"No, it seemed like it was going to at first. But then it just reached out and brushed its paw against me and then walked away," she explained.

"Hmm.. this is interesting," Cairn meowed seriously, "we have been having issues with the workers for some time now. Maybe I should go and share with my ancestors, and ask them if the trouble has passed."

"Oh you're actually going to go and ask their advice for once?" Sun'ka snorted, "I thought you knew everything."

Frostfeather noticed her exchange a humorous glance with Elkleap as he nudged her with his shoulder. "I've never been above seeking guidance from the Heart of the Sky," Cairn grunted.

"When would you want to go?" Pineheart mewed.

"Not until tomorrow evening. Don't worry, I'll be sure to ask Brokensong if she would like to join me," he chuckled.

Frostfeather narrowed her eyes, wondering when her brother had gotten so cozy with Cairn. It seems like everyone has been getting cozy with the Dockside cats, she thought as she said a swift goodbye and turned to her den.

Secretly, she was truly wondering if becoming so close with them was a good thing. If StarClan planned on them leaving, it would be so much harder after they've made ties with these strange cats. But who am I to ruin their happiness, she thought, they all deserve it.. for now.