Smokestar's Clan

Chapter Three

The sunlight was blinding. Smokestar blinked as he adjusted to the brightness; being stuck underground for several days meant he was used to the gloomy darkness of the cave; the sharp change of light left sunspots in his eyes . The ground was coated in a thick layer of pure-white snow. There was no chance they could track Seashell by scent; but thankfully a tiny set of paw prints could lead them right towards him.

'Why couldn't he just go back inside when he took the wrong tunnel?' Smokestar sighed, although he knew the answer. If the Pre-Howlers were anything like BerryClan kits, were bored playing under the watchful eye of their cautious mothers. They'd seize every opportunity to venture outside of camp. They'd be reckless and naive, and wouldn't stop to think about the consequences of their actions. They'd spend all their time playing moss-ball and hunters and brave explorers and 'BrambleClan's attacking us but BerryClan will fight them off' so that they'd never stop to think and understand the incurable pain that inevitably comes with the cost of living.

In short, Seashell didn't understand that he's lined himself up for death.

Icicle bounded ahead of him, her short white fur almost invisible in the snow. She trailed the tiny pawprints so closely they could almost have come from the same cat. She didn't speak for once, and Smokestar didn't disturb her. Eventually she slowed to a gradual halt.

'Can you climb trees?'

Smokestar paused. BerryClan cats prided themselves on their ability to catch squirrels by luring them into trees. However Smokestar could never grasp the hang of it, preferring the thrill of a chase throughout the forest with the wind in his ears. 'Why?' He asked slowly.

'We need a better view.' She paused. Her tail flicked anxiously. 'I'd go, but Howlers don't climb trees. It's disrespectful to the wolves.'

All cats climb trees. Smokestar had the feeling that Icicle was hiding something. But he was of course concerned about Seashell, and he felt it was his responsibility to find him somehow. Besides, there was about two mouselengths of snow to cushion his fall. Leafbare was at least good for something.

He dug his paws into the tree, scrabbling around to find a decent grip. The ice made the tree harder to grip, and he slipped a few times as he scrambled to the branches. Icicle shouted words of encouragement that did nothing to assist in his climb. Finally he managed to perch on the lowest branches.

'What can you see?' Icicle called.

'White.'

White and trees. Endless trees. Trees that seemed to merge into one big canopy trapping the cats to the ground. Trees that leered, ominous, into the extensive forest. Trees that blurred his vision and hid from anything that could be of importance. Icicle's idea was stupid. He couldn't see anything, except...

He looked down, prepared to leap down onto the soft snow below. The snow was perfectly smooth, but directly below him it was scuffed up and rough. The tiny pawprints continued away from the tree.

Smokestar leapt down, landing on four paws but which gave way to the snow. Icicle darted towards him? 'Are you okay?'

Smokestar didn't waste a breath. 'Seashell climbed up this tree, but seeing as he couldn't climb-' he shook his head at the weird Wolf-cat tradition- 'he fell. He was startled probably, but continued into the forest.'

Smokestar took the lead for the first time as the sun began to fall, staining the sky with ruby fire. The pawprints were much less straight than before (although they never were) and looped back and forth around each other. Seashell was clearly lost and trying to find his way back to the cave, but couldn't find his way. The pawprints trailed into a bush.

Leaves rustled. Icicle and Smokestar glanced at each other hopefully, and darted towards it. But their hopes were dashed too soon.

'You lost my kit.' Fluorescent hissed, her fur spiked.

'Not now, Fluorescent.' Nightshadel intervened. 'Oh, Icicle. I was worried about you.' he wrapped his tail around Icicle, who flinched, but didn't pull away. 'Smokestar, it's alright, because even though you might have made a mistake, I'll find Seashell for you.'

Smokestar resented being spoken to like a kit first out of the nursery, but didn't speak. He didn't want to stir up arguments in an already tense atmosphere. Fluorescent lashed her tail, and Nightshade padded close to Icicle as they tailed the pawprints.

The unhappy party didn't speak for a long time. Smokestar sniffed the air. All scents were faint, but one stood out even stronger than that of the cats surrounding him. It was the smell of home, the smell of safety.

They'd reached the BerryClan border.

'Stop!' Smokestar gasped.

'I will never stop for my kit.' Fluorescent glared at Smokestar. 'What's more important than finding Seashell? Poor, terrified, shivering Seashell, who you frightened enough to run away from clan-'

'It's not Smokestar's fault he went out the wrong tunnel-' Icicle muttered.

'-and now you want to stop looking and let him die because you're cold?' Fluorescent kicked up snow at Smokestar. 'You cold now?'

The snow buried deep in his fur, making him shiver. Fluorescent was wrong. The warrior code to never neglect a kit, and although Smokestar was living with cats outside the warrior code, he would never give it up. But, the warrior code also said not to trespass on another Clan's territory.

'That's BerryClan territory. You can't go there.' Smokestar continued. He'd never had to teach another cat what a territory was. He'd shown plenty of rouges, and his former apprentice, Daisyhop, where the border was, but never the meaning of a territory.

'Of course we can go there!' Fluorescent laughed. 'Some silly scent won't stop me from finding my kit.'

Smokestar dug his claws into the ground, fighting to keep calm with Fluorescent. 'If I was still in BerryClan, you'd have to fight me.'

'Gladly.'

'Please stop fighting!' Icicle begged. 'Smokestar, I know that that's your tradition, but ours is different. We believe that any cat should be able to hunt anywhere there's prey, and Fluorescent finds it hard to understand things past her whiskers. But right now there's nothing more important than finding Seashell, he-' she broke off, but they all knew what she was thinking. He could freeze in this cold.

'Let's just hurry up and find the accursed kitten.' Nightshade grumbled. 'Before something much worse than a scent mark happens.'

As if on cue, it began to snow.