Path Of A Warrior: Book Two

Prolouge

The tiptoes of pattering down the ground sounded in the cool night air.
The group of cats were quiet, their tension high, and ears pricked, as they smelled of heather.

"It's too cold..." muttered a white tom.
"It's night," spat a she-cat with clouded emerald gaze. "Of course it's gonna be cold."

A gray tabby silenced them with a flick of their tail. "Be quiet, you two. We're not in our territory anymore, we're not as safe as we usually are."

The noise of the monsters battered their ear fur, and the acrid stench stung their nostrils.
"Echostar? Why have we gone here?" A queen murmured quietly, her face laced with concern as she glanced briefly at her expecting belly.

Echostar sighed and stood up, facing her Clan. "Claw has chased us from our territory, he wouldn't want to follow us to this area."
"But this?" protested a dark ginger cat. "What if we can't find any prey?"
Echostar flattened her ears. "Anywhere has prey if you look for it. We'll be safe here."

The white tom let out a huff. "We're only in this situation because you declined Claw's offer. Maybe if we allowed his group to hunt in our lands, maybe none of our cats would of died!"
A light brown tabby blocked the white tom from their leader. "Careful how you speak to your leader. I certainly remember you declining his offer as well."
The white tom narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything.

Echostar flicked her tail and looked at the light brown tabby. "Heatherfrost, take Squirrelheart and see if you can find any prey nearby. If there are Twolegs nearby, there must be rats nearby."
"Rats?" spat the clouded emerald gazed cat.
"That or nothing," Echostar reasoned.

The queen looked frantic.
Gorseberry, another queen, layed her tail over the spine of her Clanmate in comfort. "It's alright, Flowerfoot. Echostar is right. It is better than nothing, and you'll need to eat for your kit."
Gorseberry's ears flattened, sighing.

The lean shapes of Heatherfrost and Squirrelheart emerged from the shadows.

Echostar padded forward to greet them. "Well?"
Heatherfrost dipped her head. "You're right, Echostar," she mewed respectfully. "There is rat scent, and we've found an area where we can shelter from Twoleg monsters."
Echostar's eyes narrowed as she gathered her Clan with a lash of her tail. "Show me."

The EchoClan depury had led them to a black hole, three cats high with a black tunnel skipping through the ground.
Echostar let out a sigh as she breathed in the musty air. "This will be EchoClan's home now."