**OLD** Valley Cats: Of Sky and Stone 2- Poison Clouds

Chapter Twelve

 "What is this?" Onyx-eye didn't even sound furious, she looked almost disappointed. "You call this a catch? I wouldn't feed this to a coyote!" she spat.

 "Oh." Palespeckle shrugged, snagging her mangled mockingbird with a claw. "Well, if you don't want it, I guess I'll give it to Cyclonespirit... Or maybe Silverpaw..." she glanced over her shoulder to see her cousins chattering at the base of the rock pile.

 "You're trying to give our healers food poisoning?" her mother sneered. "If you want to give prey to someone you respect, how about you give them something without dirt for a liver?"

 "Um..." the gray warrior trailed off uncertainly as she stood up. "If you want me to catch something better, then why don't you teach me?"

 Onyx-eye smiled slightly, although she could have easily been wielding her long fangs at the idea. "Really? Me? Teaching you to hunt?"

 "Unless you're all strike and no stalk." Palespeckle prodded boldly.

 "Wha- You've seen me fight, but just wait until you see me hunt!" the black she-cat sprang to her paws immediately, eager to show off her skills.

 "What in the southbound hounds is that!" Palespeckle hissed, crouching down in a cluster of yellowed grass. She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the strange animal further downhill. It was pale, fluffy, and... grazing on the MeadowClan border?

 "That's a goat." Onyx-eye informed her. "We don't hunt the full-grown ones, except if it's the kill of something else.  Or..." her dark green eye seemed to sharpen. "If it's a kid."

 "A kid?" her daughter focused even harder, if it was even possible. But then, she made out a smaller goat clinging to its side. It looked young, with huge dark eyes and a pinkish muzzle.

 "Here's the plan." Onyx-eye grunted suddenly. "We act like panthers and yowl as loud as we can. That'll send it running. We'll get the kid, if we can catch it."

 "Alright. Sounds good." Palespeckle nodded simply, not wanting to discourage her mother from bonding over the blood of their young, helpless prey. Before her mind could wander, the black she-cat let out a thunderous roar, as if she were in the middle of a battle. The goat lifted its head, ears standing on end, then turned swiftly and loped away. The tiny kid hesitated for a moment, then stumbled after its parent.

 But Onyx-eye was already flying over the stone as it faded into dead grass that crunched under her freakishly long claws. Just as Palespeckle was clearing the cluster of dry foliage, her mother had her teeth firmly lodged between its two horns, no doubt going straight for the skull. It was something only the fiercest StoneClan warriors were taught to do, something that mirrored the behavior of the legendary panthers. Of course, it was a move that seemed almost natural to the turbulent she-cat.

 "Wow, that was so quick!" Palespeckle purred as she trotted into the grass. Onyx-eye was heftily lifting her kill, which was easily as big as her daughter. It may have been the angle, but it seemed as if the black cat was glaring up at her.

 "Yes, yes." she mumbled briskly. "Now, let's get this back to our territory before that goat comes looking for this."

 "You mean we're not on our territory?" Palespeckle had been within a few tail-lengths, but now she backed up, narrowing her eyes at the ground. She hadn't patrolled this border in a while. The line between the two Clans, which was always fuzzy, could be anywhere. The two could be standing well into MeadowClan territory, even.

 As if to confirm their suspicion, an audible voice called. out from downhill. "Hey! Y'all!"

 The she-cats whirled around, Onyx-eye dropping her prey and instinctively assuming a low crouch, ready to spring at any moment. But instead, the cat behind them wasn't a fierce MeadowClan warrior. They were young, with an almost-adorable fuzziness to their white, gray, and black pelt.