The Secret Clan - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The silver and white she-cat sat crouched by the river. Water tumbled and sloshed beneath her; stray drops settling on the end of her glowing fur. Intense focus emanated from her like light from the sun. A small pale figure started to move in the water, and the she-cat’s eyes followed its every move. The fish floundered gracefully, floating downstream before wiggling back up. Ever so slowly, the warrior raised her paw in anticipation, eyes locked with the fish, claws out, ready to strike – when a tortoiseshell flash sent the fish scurrying downstream.

“Keapaw!” The hunting she-cat spat in frustration. The apprentice seemed to take no notice of his mentor’s scolding, and simply began to lick his chest fur. Her tail flicked.

“We may not be in leafbare, but the Clan must be fed! Especially with two weak queens and six kits relying on their mother’s milk for sustenance.”

“Keep your tail on, Lightfoot. Duskflower sent me to get you, to go on a patrol.” Keapaw muffled a purr.

“Cheeky kit,” she cuffed Keapaw’s ears playfully. “Let’s get back before we’re missed.”

“We won’t be missed,” Keapaw insisted, trying to remove some burrs from the tip of his tail. “The only warriors in camp are the ones Duskflower wanted – everyone else is out hunting. So I’m sure some other cat will catch that fish for you.” He added ruefully.

Lightfoot flicked her ear in a thank you, before leading the way slowly back to camp, going down the well worn path to camp. Keapaw followed dutifully, taking some initiative and showing respect to his mentor. Lightfoot called over her shoulder. “Why did Duskflower summon me? What’s this all about?” Keapaw bounded forward until he trotted neck and neck with Lightfoot.

“She says there’s a blockage in the river,” he mewed. “Further south of the Meadow, so there’s really no need for any panic; it’s just unusual.” Lightfoot was now paying full attention to her apprentice.

“How’d they find out?”

“Vinepaw smelled smoke – she has one of the best noses in the whole Clan, so if she smelled it, it was there. Tuifeather got this look in her eyes…it made my neck fur stand on end! She told Fallenstar that he should send a patrol, and so he got Duskflower to organise one right away.” He continued.

Lightfoot’s tail twitched in curious irritation; an urge to know more.

“Who are on the patrol, exactly?” She meowed, avoiding being directly anxious.

“I don’t know! I’m not StarClan, I don’t know everything!” he growled. It didn’t take more than one glare to make Keapaw mew. “Sorry. Everyone seemed high strung at camp, like they knew something that I didn’t. That a little piece of our world was actually much bigger and not knowing makes me afraid.” His voice had softened greatly. Lightfoot moved in so she could brush pelts with her apprentice. “Don’t worry,” she soothed. “I’m sure it’s just Twoleg mischief, nothing more.”

But though her voice was strong, she didn’t know she believed the words she said.

“Ah, Lightfoot. Made it before the next full moon, I see.” Sunlight purred. As Keapaw had said, the camp was practically deserted, apart from a small group of cats, mirroring Lightfoot’s expression perfectly. From the group, trotted two she-cats, that not only mirrored expression, but nearly everything else. One had a pelt the colour of a cloudy dawn, and the other had long silky fur. “It’s good to see you,” the first mewed, rubbing muzzles with Lightfoot. “When Duskflower asked Hailcloud and me on a special mission, I nearly jumped out of my fur. I’ll have to make it up to Beepaw though; not only did I have to cut training short, my head was in the clouds until I left!”

“Do the clouds have bushes, Dewfrost?” the other asked with mischief glinting in her eyes. “Because that head of yours is covered in burrs!” Dewfrost hissed playfully and cuffed Hailcloud’s ear. Lightfoot was about to join in when an authoritative voice yowled above them. Duskflower stood proudly on one of the stepping stones in the river running through the camp. Her thick, grey fur was slightly ruffled.

“This is not an outing for kits,” she hissed, her gaze settling on the trio of kin. “This is a serious mission. Some of you are very experienced warriors, and though this will be challenging, I’m sure you’ll have more sense of ground than some of us. I have also invited some of our apprentices – Tulipaw and Keapaw will work to the best of their abilities under the capable eye of their mentors. We will be venturing outside of our territory,” Tulipaw’s ears flattened slightly and Keapaw dug his claws into the earth as if it were trying to shake him off. “So I expect all of you to keep a watchful eye. Furthermore…” Lightfoot zoned out of the deputy’s self-important speech and began to survey the journeying warriors. Duskflower, the two apprentices, Tulipaw and Keapaw, herself, Dewfrost and Hailcloud, Sunlight, Swiftstream – Lightfoot’s gaze stopped at the next two cats. It was Tuifeather! The Clan had spared their highly trained medicine cat for a mission. Her blood turned cold as she also saw Vinepaw crouched beside her. Both medicine cats.

This mission is not only dangerous, but StarClan might be involved! Lightfoot thought with both horror and nervous excitement. I must be on my best behaviour today.

“Lightfoot!” Duskflower’s menacing spit broke through her daydream.

“I don’t know why you’re even here; if all you’re going to do is ignore instruction!” Duskflower began shoving her way through the small crowd, making it over to where Lightfoot crouched. “One more slip-up and I can put you on apprentice duties for a moon. I don’t think you would like that now, would you?” The grey deputy leaned over Lightfoot, lips pulled back in a snarl.

“Don’t be such a fox-heart, Duskflower.”

Her mouth immediately slackened, and she ducked her head as Ashpelt strode out of the elders den, stretching lazily.

“You act like you’re already clan leader,” he purred. Ashpelt was nearly the only cat in the Clan who could talk to Duskflower like that, since she was one of his kits. But to everyone else, facing Duskflower’s sharp tongue was a worse fate than a snake bite. “Relax and sheathe your claws. This young’un is just excited, aren’t you?” Ashpelt looked expectantly at Lightfoot. “Oh…yes.” She managed to stutter. Ashpelt just blinked and flicked Duskflower’s ear, which was red-hot with embarrassment. Her father padded back into his den, and Duskflower didn’t look Lightfoot in the eyes. She flicked her tail once in annoyance, and then muttered “Let’s go.”

Keapaw was in the mood for hunting. For the briefest of seconds, he wished he was with the other warriors, stalking some prey. A really plump, fresh vole. That’s what he felt like. Once Keapaw came back from this mission, he would ask Lightfoot to go hunting with him, and his vole – and her fish that got away – would finally be caught. But right now, he was in the thick of it, venturing into the unknown.

Keapaw had only been outside the camp once – when he was on a patrol to chase away a rogue. But this was a proper warrior’s mission. He and Tulipaw had been chosen specially. He remembered with relish how Beepaw had looked on with poison in his eyes. The grey apprentice had always been a bit of a dark cloud, to Keapaw especially. Once, in battle training, Beepaw had unsheathed his claws and scratched Keapaw’s nose. He had said it was an accident, but StarClan knew that it wasn’t.

Tulipaw dropped back through the crowd to walk with him. “Isn’t this exciting? This is my first warrior mission,” she purred with pride. “Sunlight said that if this mission went well, he’d put in a good word to Fallenstar when I get my warrior ceremony. Do you want to know what I want my name to be?” Keapaw could see that his fellow apprentice was chirpier than a swallow, and he didn’t want to dampen her mood by telling her you can’t pick your warrior name. So instead, he mewed “Only if I can tell you what I want my name to be after.” Tulipaw didn’t seem to hear his response.

“Tulipnose. Do you like it?” Keapaw barely had enough time to nod before she went on “What about you?”

“Keawing,” the tortoiseshell apprentice purred.

“That’s a good name,” Tulipaw commented absentmindedly. “I mean, it’ll suit you really well, Keawing.” The way Tulipaw looked at him suggested something Keapaw had been guessing for a long time. But, he dipped his head respectfully and returned the gesture “You too, Tulipnose.” The white she-cat brushed her cheek against Keapaw, and his ears burned with embarrassment.

The two apprentices followed the group, pelts occasionally brushing, identical thoughts clouding their eyes.

The sun bared its teeth at the journeying cats, its hot snarl filling the air. Keapaw padded slowly, the sunlight that passed through the overhanging stems of long grass casting shadows over his already dappled pelt. Tulipaw was fluffing out her fur and stepping oddly, making sure she got enough shade. “I’d much rather it be leafbare right now, honestly! For a few mouse-tail’s I’d throw myself into the stream.” She purred. Keapaw himself could imagine wading out into the cool water and soaking himself in its cool waters. The very thought of it made his mouth dry. He swerved off his shaded path and went down to lap up a few refreshing gulps of the stream. But a sharp tang polluted his mouth, and it choked him. Keapaw leaped back, startled, coughing and spluttering all over the dusty ground, which started to dissolve behind his tears. Tulipaw raced forward, splashing the water around as she sped through it. “Keapaw! Keapaw, are you okay? Duskflower? Come quickly!” Keapaw’s heartbeat slowed, and his vision cleared. He spat out the foul-tasting water. No-one had come to his rescue. Did nobody care that the water was obviously contaminated? He felt a tail-tip on his shoulder.

Tulipaw shook in her paws. “Look,” she whispered, gesturing slightly upstream. The patrol of warriors was all in the water, standing grouped together, staunch. And, Keapaw noted, scenting the air, Scared? Then the two apprentices saw it. Looming in front of them stood a heap of rubbish, twisted and mal-odorous. A black, slick liquid oozed from a hole in a container, and swept down the river like a poisonous snake.

With a sickening hiss and pop, the container burst into flame.

From the deafening silence, a quivering voice was raised.

“Follow the river, and you will meet ffire, but beware of darkness!”