Duskfall tore through the thick heather of the clifftop country. A yellow Healed moon beamed down on the land, as he came to the river which separated the two territories of SouthClan and NorthClan. This he crossed. He was in the rival country now. But tonight there was a truce, as it was the day of the Gathering, so he expected no trouble.
He had been chosen to go ahead of his clan, to check that there was no trouble or danger on the route to the Assembly place. There was none, so far. He coursed over the sand.
After a while, he veered left and started run down the beach towards the sea, which had ebbed right out, leaving a huge flat strip of sand and grit along the coast line.
Duskfall paused and listened. No sound met his ears, so he bounded on until he came to the water.
Glistening with seaweed and wet, a massive rock stood half in, half out of the tide; the Flat Moonrock. Only on Healed Moon nights was it fully submerged from the sea; any other time, it was hidden beneath the waves.
Duskfall leapt up onto the large flat boulder. It was a fairly calm night, with the water lapping gently against the rock's sides. Duskfall was alone. He shivered slightly, then set to washing himself. The long, hard run had left his fur soiled with sand and dirt.
After about three minutes of silence, there came the soft patter of cat feet. Duskfall waited, looking back at the glimmering beach, expecting a cat carrying SouthClan scent to emerge from the darkness. But strangely no cat came.
Then a sharp claw hooked his tail. Duskfall hissed and spun round. Behind him sat a long-haired golden SouthClan tom, who grinned at him. His fur was dripping wet.
'Didn't see me, Duskfall?' he meowed, cocking his head. 'I was chosen to go ahead of my Clan. I came round the long way, into the sea. Thought I'd surprise you.'
Duskfall smiled. 'Oh, you surprised me alright, Ruffneck,' he meowed, and launched himself at the younger cat. They grappled playfully, Duskfall cuffing Ruffneck's ears in good humour, until a loud voice hailed them.
'Duskfall! What in the name of gull wings are you doing?' Mountainboulder, the deputy of NorthClan, sounded amused. He jumped up next-to Duskfall, followed by Spatterstar, Autumnflood, the elder Fieldflower and a couple of apprentices.
'The other warriors are on their way,' meowed Spatteredstar. 'They found a polecat's scent trail on the way here. Nothing to worry about though,' he added quickly, when Duskfall and Ruffneck looked alarmed. 'The polecat was probably just passing through, judging by how stale the scent was.'
Autumnflood settling himself beside Ruffneck. 'Let's not discuss it,' he mewed. 'I smell SouthClan coming.'
*
Eelpaw padded alongside Cunningstar, on the way to the Healed Moon Assembly. Her mind was buzzing with different thoughts of the Clan, and of the two loners they had previously seen.
The whole troop of cats were silent, only the cold wind was heard whispering past.
Eelpaw swallowed hard; she didn't enjoy quiet walks. They always made her feel uneasy and strange. She looked up at her leader.
She knew Cunningstar was pondering, because his legs moved so tensely.
"Are you troubled Cunningstar?" Eelpaw asked briefly.
Cunningstar smiled fondly at the medicine cat apprentice. "I'm sorry. I just can't keep my mind off those two loners, especially after Foxflank's kit disappeared. Have you received any dreams that could help, Eelpaw?"
The young apprentice shook her head."Not for many moons, Cunningstar."
The leader sighed. "Oh well. I'm probably just paranoid about it all."
Eelpaw shook her head again, slowly. "Makaiou say it is good to be worried at times. It sometimes means you are aware."
Cunningstar half-smiled. They were near the large rock, where the meetings were held. The wind was now quietening. Eelpaw shuddered.
She could see the small silhouettes of cats in the distance, sitting upon a large, looming shadow. Cunningstar quickened his pace and the SouthCkan cats bounded over to the Flat Moonrock.
Northclan cats were already seated on it. Cunningstar bowed his head at a large torti-and-white tom, Spatteredstar, the leader of Northclan.
Eelpaw shook herself and looked up, her eyes glowing in the moonlit sky. She blinked and looked up at the stars. "Please. Please, StarClan. May there be some news of the missing kit...'
*
Duskfall sat beside Dustyash, his mate, pricking his ears as Cunningstar readied himself to speak.
The SouthClan leader looked troubled as he sat up straighter and breathed in before starting.
'One of our kits is missing...' he mewed. Duskfall inhaled sharply and felt Dustyash stiffen.
'We suspect two loners that were sighted about a day ago, not long before Waspkit disappeared,' went on Cunningstar. 'We sent out search patrols, scoured the territory, but nothing was found. No clues...'
Cunningstar had a baffled audience of the NorthClan cats. He turned to Spatteredstar, who was looking equally alarmed. 'We do not blame NorthClan, so don't worry about that. But if you could keep a sharp look-out for Waspkit, I and my Clan would be most grateful.'
Spatteredstar nodded slowly. 'Yes, of course,' he meowed, and then nodded to Forestfoot, the father of Waspkit. 'Give our concerns to Foxflank, who I see is absent this meeting.'
After more tongue-sharing, the Assembly came to a close. As the SouthClan cats began to depart, Cunningstar bowed again to Spatteredstar, in farewell. Eelpaw walked a metre away from the other cats of Southclan as they started their small walk back to the camp in the rocky hills, her mind was still not at ease.
All the way on the long trek back to NorthClan's camp, Duskfall growled darkly to himself. As they walked through the heather and gorse, Dustyash fell in beside him. 'You're thinking about poor Waspkit?' she asked.
Duskfall nodded. 'It's just... Well, we'll talk back at the camp. This path is getting steeper...'
When they had returned to their camp, Duskfall fetched two finches from the fresh-kill cavern, and carried them to Dustyash, who was waiting in the Warriors burrow. They sat and ate, then, once all the other warriors had settled down for the night, Duskfall explained his strategy:
'That polecat, Dustyash...how recent was the scent?'
Dustyash gave him a knowing glance.
'You suspect it for taking the kit?' she meowed, and her mate nodded. She licked a paw reflectively. 'Well, it was quite recent. About a day old, maybe less. The sea hadn't got to it, so it was clear.' She cringed. 'But I don't want to guess a polecat took the kit. Waspkit would be dead by now.'
Duskfall nodded. 'Ye-es. But it makes more sense. Why in the world would a loner want a kit?'
Dustyash sighed. 'Let's talk about it with Spatteredstar and your father. They'll sort it out.' And she lay down to sleep, pressing her body against Duskfall's and purring.
Continued...
This story and site is based on Erin Hunter's Warriors.
Plot, characters and site(C)Country Beehive
Site theme(Warriors)(C)Erin Hunter
No comments:
Post a Comment