☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 20

𝒯𝒾𝓃𝓎

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

It had been a few days, and still there was no sign of Lynx anywhere. But finally, today, the members of the Clowder had agreed they should check the twoleg village for him.

Tiny and Fox had been chosen to look for him along with Wolf and Mumble. They were at the edge of BreezeClan territory now, and although technically Clanless Clowder members were allowed to cross clan borders as they please, Mumble insisted they wait for a patrol to escort them, just in case.

It wasn't long until they spotted one. She didn't know the names of any of the clan cats just yet, but she saw a short-furred light gray she-cat at the lead. Her bright blue eyes were almost mesmerizing to Tiny as the sunlight and leaves reflected off them. Following her was a larger, pale gray she-cat with longer fur. But she had the same brilliant blue eyes and she was carrying a bundle of leaves and plants in her jaws, so Tiny guessed she must be the clan's healer.

There was another BreezeClan cat too, a skinny orange tabby tom, with white underbelly and around his neck, a red band that reminded her of her missing mentor.

"Mumble, Wolf." The she-cat greeted the two toms with a polite nod. "What brings you to BreezeClan?"

"Wolfcall. We're just passing through." He returned her greeting, dipping his head. "Have you seen Lynx around by any chance?" Mumble asked.

But the she-cat shook her head. "Sorry. I haven't seen him. Is he not with the Clowder?"

"That mouse-brain has been missing for days. I doubt he'll come back." Wolf sneered, receiving a glare from Mumble.

"We're out looking for him. If you happen to spot him, please tell us when you find a chance." Mumble told her.

"Of course. Good luck with your search." She replied, flicking her tail to signal that they could pass.

It wasn't a long trek to FlameClan from there, and it was easy to get to the village from there. The area was buzzing with twolegs. Standing around, walking, conversing with one another.

Luckily, Tiny even spotted a few cats darting around, so perhaps they didn't really pay attention to random cat sightings around their camp. One cat in particular caught her eye though. He was a long-legged black tom with a missing ear. But unlike the kittypets she had seen, such as Lynx and the BreezeClan tom, this cat didn't have a band around his neck.

He was skinny and lithe, and seemed to know his way around the village well, darting carefully around pillars, and timing walking twolegs from a distance before going specific directions. If they were to get answers about the village, this would be the cat to talk to.

The patrol had hidden themselves beneath a cluster of bushes, watching the oversized, stomping paws of twolegs as they passed by. Tiny, who took the groups rear slowly back away, trying not to make a sound as the rest of the group watched in silence.

With her small body, slipping out of the bushes soundlessly wasn't a very difficult task, and once she was free, she scanned her surroundings to search for the strange tom once again.

It wasn't hard to spot his dark coat among the bright village colors and she quickly darted toward where he sat on a tall fence, overlooking what lay below his perch. Tiny prayed to SpiritClan that it would take a while until the Clowder noticed her absence as she scrambled toward the wooden fence. She stared up the steep surface, wondering how she would make it up.

She flexed her claws, letting them sink into the grass beneath her and pull dirt and soil to the surface. Perhaps she could use her claws to climb up. Although she had yet to learn how to even climb trees. She let her claws grasp the thick wood, pulling herself up and up until her muscles screamed at her in protest.

With a grimace, she still hauled her way up, hoping she could make it all the way to the top. But then, she felt her claws slip, and panic gripped her like claws. She caught herself, but she knew her muscles couldn't hold her for much longer. She had to let herself drop.

She let go of the wood, feeling soft grass beneath her as she hit the ground below. She was lucky she wasn't high enough to get badly hurt. She was sure her side where she landed would at least be bruised though.

"Tiny, you mouse-brain!" Wolf growled. The apprentice turned to see the rest of her patrol racing toward her. She glanced toward the spot where the black tom sat, but he was gone now. "What were you thinking?"

"I- "But she was cut off before she could even explain herself.

"We came for Lynx, not for some silly game." Fox agreed. "Pull yourself together, Tiny."

With a defeated sigh, she followed them as they weaved through more bushes and twoleg dens. But Tiny couldn't help looking out for the black tom again at every moment. They continued through the village, searching for what seemed like moons in an effort to find Lynx. But they found no sign of them.

It was only when they stopped to rest when she spotted the mysterious tom once again. He had a scrawny-looking rabbit in his jaws and he seemed to be looking for a safe place to eat his catch.

Tiny wasn't going to risk losing this cat once again. So, she took a deep breath and called out to him. "Hey! Shadow cat!" She yowled. Shadow cat was what she had secretly been referring the tom as, though she didn't mean to blurt it out in front of him. She immediately felt hot with embarrassment and she knew the eyes of mumble, Fox, and Wolf were all on her now.

The tom stiffened as he heard her though, glancing her way and immediately spotting her and the rest of her patrol.

"What do you want?" He asked around his prey, but it didn't sound threatening.

"Do you know a cat named Lynx?" She asked. "He's light brown with gray patches, long fur, a band around his neck?"

Recognition flashed in his yellow eyes just for a moment before he answered her. "Yes, I knew Lynx. He was mauled by a stray dog not too long ago though. His twolegs took him, but something tells me he's dead now."

"Dead?" Mumble's eyes were wide with horror. "Are you sure?"

"Seemed about right. I saw him lying in an alleyway just as the dog left him. Pretty sure he bled to death. There's no way he could have survived those wounds." The tom shuddered as if remembering the sight.

"But Clowder members have immortality. He can't have died." Fox retorted.

Tiny caught Wolf and Mumble exchange a glance she couldn't read. "We'll talk about this later." Wolf sneered.

Mumble nodded before dipping his head to the tom. "Thank you for your help. What's your name if I may ask?"

"Ebony. What about you four?"

"I'm Mumble, this is Wolf," he pointed his tail toward the annoyed-looking gray and white tom. "And these are Fox and Tiny." His tail drifted to where the two apprentices stood, side-by-side.

"It's nice to meet you. Are you new to the village? Or perhaps you're those wild cats that have been rumored to be running around." Ebony said.

"We're wild cats, or warriors as most of us are called." Mumble answered.

"Ah, interesting." They stood like that in silence for a few moments before the black tom spoke again. "Well, I'd best be going on my way then." And before any of them could say their farewells, the stranger darted away.