Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dawn and already come and gone, but it was impossible to tell when the Sky was shrouded with storm clouds. Pineheart could tell that Cairn was spooked. His brown pelt was spiked, his tail twitching low to the ground behind him.

"I can speak with Elkleap about our departure," Brokensong offered as she trotted close to his side, "I would hate for us to bring trouble to your group."

"No!" Cairn snapped, his voice harsh with anger, "IceClan will be welcomed on the docks. Fable is as clueless as a sparrow!"

Pineheart continued to follow obediently, trailing down the alley toward camp. "Our ancestors know more than we do," Brokensong warned, a soft threat in her voice.

"Fable can make decisions for the dead. Only I can govern the living," he growled, swinging his head over to glare at Brokensong.

She quickly nodded, her tail curling protectively around her side. Pineheart had not yet seen Cairn's angry side. He wasn't sure how to feel about any of this.

The three of them padded into camp, where the Dockcats were already becoming active for the day.

Sun'ka was sitting at the head of a large group of cats, most likely organizing the hunting and border aggression patrols. Elkleap hovered at her side, his face beaming with happiness as her ginger tail caressed his cheek.

Beside him was Jewel, a weathered white and silver she-cat. Adjacent to her, was Falcon and Stone. To Sun'ka's other side was Olive, Smog, and Raven, who were huddled close to chatter while Sun'ka doled out the daily duties. Their black pelts melded together like a shadow hovering in the grass.

Cairn had already vanished, presumably to his den. Brokensong was also padding away towards her side of the clearing where Blue was waiting for her. Pineheart sighed deeply, wondering what he should do.

Turning his attention to the back of the clearing, he noticed Frostfeather relaxing with Meadowshine, Lionpaw, and Drizzle. Maybe I can talk to Frostfeather about what happened, he thought hopefully as he started walking towards them.

"Hi, Pineheart," Frostfeather mewed as he approached.

Drizzle bounced towards him, tumbling under his paws. Lionpaw, the larger of the two younger cats, came bounding after her. "Drizzle, I don't think Pineheart wants you under his feet," Lionpaw purred.

Dramatically, Pineheart flopped down onto his side and let out a wail. "Oh, Drizzle! You've defeated me.." his voice grew quiet and trailed off.

Happily content, Drizzle turned away with her tail waving high in the air. Frostfeather got to her paws and padded closer to Pineheart's side. He let his head rest on the ground, feeling all his tiredness wash back over him.

Frostfeather leaned down and brought her muzzle close to his ear. "How was your trip?" she whispered.

He thought back to what had happened, how bizarre it had all seemed. He wasn't sure what Fable's warning would mean for the Clan cats. "It was... weird," he mumbled.

He closed his eyes, inwardly wishing that he could go to sleep and forget all about what happened. "You can go lay in your nest if you'd like to rest. I'm sure no one would mind if you slept in for a bit," Meadowshine offered kindly.

Pineheart flicked open his eyes, "yeah, I guess I should," he puffed. After a short moment, he stood and plodded slowly into the comfort of their den.

~~~~~

Frostfeather watched him slink away, his black fur swallowed by the darkness of the cardboard box. Questions whirled like a hurricane in her head. What happened at that tree, she thought in frustration.

"When is Sootsplash coming back?" Lionpaw asked. Frostfeather turned her attention back to her companions. Lionpaw had turned to look at her mother, her tail kinked over her spine.

"He left with Sparrow and Lily only a little while ago. Aren't you having fun with just us?" Meadowshine purred.

Drizzle crouched low, wiggling her haunches. With a loud mrrrow she leapt on top of Lionpaw and bowled her over. Meadowshine watched them play, purring with pleasure.

But Frostfeather wasn't paying them much attention. She had turned to look at Brokensong's makeshift den, staring into the darkness that had consumed her.

"I'll be back," Frostfeather grunted hastily as she jumped up to her paws and started trotting across the camp. She could hear two sets of paw steps rustling inside the boxes as she came near.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Blue's distressed voice wafted out of the entrance.

Frostfeather stepped inside, squinting to see Brokensong's brown and black pelt in the shadows.

"You don't have to leave," Blue whimpered, "Cairn said you could all stay!"

"Are we leaving?" Frostfeather asked, making Brokensong completely stop what she was doing. She turned, exposing her tidy line of leaf wrapped herbs she had been making.

"We need to carry on with our journey, now that we are all strong and well fed," Brokensong reasoned, "we aren't meant to stay here."

"I wasn't saying that we are mean to stay here," Frostfeather mewed, "but it would be foolish to leave when we have finally found somewhere safe. If Cairn isn't pushing us out, I don't see why we shouldn't stay."

Blue was staring desperately up at Brokensong. "Please don't leave," he begged softly.

The medicine cat closed her one good eye and took a deep breath. Leaning down, she touched her nose to Blue's forehead. "We will stay, for now," she sighed, "but it'd be better for everyone if we left sooner rather than later."

Blue brushed his muzzle against her chin, a purr rumbling in his chest. "Do you think you could go and fetch me some more watermint?" Brokensong asked him gently. "You remember what it looks like, right?"

"Of course!" Blue chirped before he whirled around and raced from the den.

"I wasn't thinking we would all grow so attached," Brokensong admitted.

"I don't think any of us were," Frostfeather agreed, "they're all so kind and welcoming. It's almost like it's too good to be true."

"Like there's something lurking in the darkness..." Brokensong murmured, her whiskers quivering.

"Did something happen at the tree?" Frostfeather blurted.

Brokensong shuffled her paws, her tail twitching nervously. "Nothing Cairn is too worried about," she mewed simply.

She wanted to ask more questions, but it seemed like Brokensong wasn't intending to give her the answers.

"I'll be going now," Frostfeather mewed. She turned and started to pad out of the folded den entrance.

Glancing around the empty clearing, she figured the patrols had all left while she was talking with Brokensong. Meadowshine had fallen asleep, stretched out beside Drizzle and Lionpaw. The two young cats were practicing the claw-hold, a simple but effective IceClan battle move.

It's almost like we're a Clan again, she thought wistfully. But she couldn't suppress her strange feeling, that something wasn't right. Brokensong has described it perfectly, like something was lurking in the darkness.

But what would pose a threat to the Dock cats? she wondered. Maybe they should leave sooner rather than later. Maybe StarClan will visit us, and tell us what to do, she thought hopefully.