Guild Wars

~ Guild Wars: Chapter 3 ~

Peril awoke with a dreadful feeling. She scanned the den, where was he? Was he okay? Or was the dream right? Had it even been a dream? Was it real? No, it couldn't be. At the end, she went to sleep. She wouldn't be able to sleep after something like that happened.

Orange fur flashed at the corner of her eye. She turned and found him sleeping beside her. She let out a breath of relief, he was alright.

"Fish," she mewed, nudging him.

Fish groaned. "Leave me alone, Peril," he snapped. "I've had a long day."

"I know," Peril mewed.

"Then why are you bothering me?" he asked.

"Why aren't you in the healers' den?" Peril grumbled.

"Because those cats had clearly just become Crystal Searchers, they didn't put up much of a fight. The only one who did was Redwing," Fish meowed

"You promise you let him and Leopaw go?" she asked.

"Yes, Peril," he mewed irritably.

Peril rested her head on her paws, thinking about the dream she'd had. There'd been a young molly, a muted calico, attacking Fish. She'd sliced his throat open, leaving him there to die. She turned to Fish again.

"Was there a muted calico there?" she asked.

"Yeah," Fish replied.

"What was her name?"

"Ioclaw, I think?" he meowed, finally turning to face her. "There was also this smoky gray molly that Carly won't stop talking about. I can't believe she let those three mollys go!"

"Three?" Peril asked.

"Yeah, there was one named Wonderfur, a brown tabby. All of them were very young, but she could have at least given them a warning."

"Who was the smoky gray molly?" Peril asked.

"Moonlight or Mooneyes or something like that, I don't remember."

Peril got to her paws and shook out her fur. "I'm gonna go ask Carly about her," she mewed.

"Suit yourself," Fish mumbled, tucking his nose beneath his paw.

Peril padded out of the den and went to Carly's. Inside, Carly, Aries, Flip, Bonnie, and Roxy were sleeping soundly.

"Carly," she whispered. The silver tabby shifted, clearly hearing her.

"Carly," she whispered again. "I want to talk."

Carly sighed and got up. "What?" she asked as she padded over to join her.

"It's about that smoky gray molly," Peril mewed. "At the battle."

Carly's eyes widened and she quickly led Peril away from the den.

"How do you know about her?" she demanded.

"Fish told me," she replied.

Carly narrowed her eyes. "Sky-brain!" she whispered angrily. "I told him to not say anything."

"What was her name?" Peril asked. "Why do you care about her so much? Why is she so important?"

"Slow down," Carly meowed, sitting down. "Her name is Moonsight. She just felt familiar, is all."

Peril tilted her head. "Familiar how?"

"Nothing important," Carly mewed with a dismissive wave of her tail. "I'd like to go back to sleep now, I've-"

"Had a long day," Peril muttered. "I know. Go back to your den."

Carly got up and padded away, calling one last thing over her shoulder. "Tell Fish to learn how to keep his mouth shut! It'd do more good than harm!" With that, she slipped away into her den.

Peril sighed and went back to her den. When she entered, she scanned the sleeping bodies. Lion, Bear, and Cheetah hadn't woken at all. Fish had drifted back to sleep, his tail curled over his nose and his paws outstretched.

Peril padded over and curled up in her bedding next to him, feeling his pelt brush hers. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, listening to the sound of her friend's breathing.

Peril woke again at dawn in a cold sweat. Her claws were unsheathed, tearing apart her bedding. She sheathed her claws and groaned.

"Perfect!" she complained. "Now I have to redo this later."

She got up and shook out her pelt. Fish, Lion, Bear, and Cheetah were all still asleep. She quietly padded out of the den and stood outside, gazing around the clearing. No cat was up yet, except Tawny who was sitting outside her den.

Should I tell Tawny about my dream? she wondered. No, it's no big deal. Just a little nightmare, I'll just brush it off.

She padded toward the camp entrance.

"Where ya going?" Tawny called. "Anywhere special?"

"No," Peril called back. "Just for a walk."

Tawny grinned. "Alright, be careful out there!"

"I will," Peril called, slipping out on the entrance.

She stopped outside and tried to focus. What had happened in her dream? What had scared her so much?

The muted calico was there again. Ioclaw, right? There was another cat, too, a dark red tomcat. I was with them, we were having a good time. Peril wrinkled her nose. How could I have a good time with a cat who killed Fish in a dream not even a day ago? Honestly!

Focus, Peril, focus! We were walking together, and then a tree fell. It killed Ioclaw and broke the tomcat's back legs. We tried running away, but then a boulder fell and killed the tomcat. I tried getting away, and . . . What happened next? Oh yeah! There was a boulder. It fell off a cliff or something. Did it . . . kill me? Probably, 'cause that's when I woke up.

Peril shook out her fur and began walking. No big deal, just a bizarre nightmare.

She continued her walk, gazing at the surroundings. It was beautiful. The dew on the leaves shimmered in the sun, the grass glimmered. There were birds singing in their nests, butterflies danced around the flowers. It was marvelous. A chipmunk scampered up the trunk of a tree not too far from Peril.

That could feed the kits, Peril thought. Buuuuut, I can't climb trees. May as well leave it.

She kept going, nearly stumbling over a couple roots that got in her way. She found herself heading toward Wire's border. As she walked, she thought about her dreams. An anchor settled in the bottom of her chest as she thought. Just then, an idea struck her.

No, they can't be! Can they? No, of course not! They're not . . . visions of the future, are they? No! Because Ioclaw killed Fish, then I was having fun with her! Then, we all died . . .

"Hey! What are you doing on our territory?"

Peril turned around and found a small patrol of three cats. One stepped forward and padded up to her, a stern expression on her face. Peril's heart quickened as she found herself face-to-face with Ioclaw.