Darkness Rises: Dark clouds

Chapter 10

"Who are the Frostclaws? What are we meant to do?" Smoky muttered, she had stayed in her den with Glacier and Ginger.

"The strange cat never told us his name." Ginger glanced outside of the den warily.

Glacier leaned against Ginger's shoulder, Smoky stretched in the middle of the den.

"That cat is coming back here. And we cannot leave the Frostclaws. This is our mission." Glacier announced at last.

"I suppose we do not have a choice, then?" Smoky hissed quietly as a response.

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"Why is the Moonrise cat looking at me funny?" Leaf muttered, half to himself. Luna and Honeybee were looking at him weirdly from outside the den.

"Hey, Leaf! You have met Katy before, haven't you?" He could hear a voice calling him from far away. Ginger stood outside Smoky's den.

"Uh, sure, Rockfall cat." Leaf was not paying any attention to the older cat.

"Don't bother talking to him." Honeybee whispered to Ginger.

"Honeybee, he might hear you!" Luna whispered back.

Smoky had stepped out of her den, Leaf flinched.

Smoky had started to whisper something to Glacier and Ginger.

"Are you sure we're going back?" Ginger quickly glanced at Glacier.

Smoky nodded. Leaf stood up and walked closer, he tried to hear better. The quest cats were whispering to each other, Leaf did not like the sound of this.

"What are we going to tell the others? That we're bringing them some clan cats?" Glacier joked.

Leaf listened closely, the three cats were planning something. Another adventure for the quest cats? Wasn't he worthy enough to go on adventures like this?

"We can tell the older cats that we were chosen for a mission, to bring back a clan. They will understand that." Smoky responded.

Leaf was shocked for a moment. Bringing back a clan? He needed to know what was going on.

The three quest cats started to walk away, and Leaf watched from the corner of the den. Maybe if he had followed them and helped with their mission, he would finally earn his tribes' respect? This was the opportunity he needed to prove himself. The other cats his age were always acting strange around him, maybe if he were a hero, then he would no longer be seen as rude or ignorant. Leaf had decided to follow Glacier, Ginger and Smoky into the forest.

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"Shouldn't we get someone to send a message to the tribe that we're leaving? I mean, this is a sort of big mission, isn't it?" Ginger asked.

"We need to make sure that cat is still here, and we can tell everyone ourselves." Smoky had sounded unsure of the plan, "But we shouldn't tell them about our strange encounter with the cat. All they must know is that we're going on a new quest."

The three cats stood in front of the bushes, Leaf watched from farther away.

If they were going on a mission like this, the first cats they would have to speak to would be the Sunflare and Moonrise clans. Leaf kept watching until he saw the dark shape of a cat emerge from out of the bushes.

"So, you've decided to come back after all?" The voice spoke. 

Leaf watched, hidden under the overgrown grass and bushes near the entrance to their camp. He flinched at the sight of the strange cat, he could barely see it's face, hidden in the shadows. And three tails! How was that possible? Leaf forced himself to stay hidden and not make any sudden noise.

To the others surprise, Ginger had been the first to speak up, "Yes, if you could stay here for a bit, we will come back for our mission. We decided to bring back the 'Frostclaws' as you said."

Smoky glanced at Ginger with an unrecognizable expression, possibly of surprise or even fear. Usually Ginger would have been the last to speak up. Glacier smiled slightly, and looked back at the cat in front of them.

"I will stay near the camp until you're ready, then?" He asked. 

Glacier nodded. The three-tailed cat said nothing and disappeared into the shadows. Leaf realized that he needed to sneak back into camp quietly before the others noticed him there.