Mystery of the Mist

Chapter 1: Outcast

Cat's laughing and talking to one another.  Some actively padding in and out of camp, patrolling the lands they own.

The clearing was blooming with life, as new-leaf was going rather fast. The fresh-kill pile was at an all time high, stocked with plump prey that was well fed. Apprentice's trained together, jumping up and down only to be sent off to the elders by their mentor.
DarkClan was shining, the anger the cats held in the Clan was not present. Having gone to sleep, but sure to awaken next leaf-bare.

With a sigh a white furred She-Cat walked out her nest. She slept next to the warrior den, almost behind it so no cat saw her.
Immediately once she placed a paw in the clearing, heads shot towards her. A few older warriors gave her a disgusted glare, while some just looked and then ignored her.
It was always like this in DarkClan.
They saw her emerge every morning, only to show their sour moods and ignore her after.
It was always like that for Nettleleap, but the feline could care less.

"Nettleleap," A warrior's voice sounded, and a grey coloured tom trotted up to her, his fur stained with some spots.
Hollowspot, the deputy.
Nettleleap was about to meow a polite greeting, but the strong tom in-front of her was already muttering something else.
"Go search for the dawn patrol, and tell them to wait by the Mudpath. If they have questions just say Snarlstar will be joining them." Hollowspot instructed, and turned around with a tail flick— dismissing the She-Cat.
The white warrior sighed, and slipped out of camp, the warm scents filling her nose.

They smelled of new prey, Clanmates, and warmth. Nettleleap always loved new-leaf, as it was the season she was taken in by a queen named Lightningflash, one that had died two leaf-bare's ago.
It still stinged, as the light grey female had been the only one that didn't see her as different, and Nettleleap didn't want to admit it- But, Lightningflash made DarkClan feel like home.
Now without her, she didn't know if she liked living in a Clan if all she got were angry stares.
With a sigh and heavy heart, the white furred She-Cat padded through the muddy and dark land.
The forest was dark, but thankfully the sun's light still got through some gaps. With a steady pace she tracked down the dawn patrol, taking in the scent of the cat's. As soon as she did, she wished she hadn't.
The feline's on the patrol despised Nettleleap the most out of all the Clanmates.
Mallowheart, Stripemuzzle, and Steppingeye.
Thankfully there was another cat amongst the three, one that wasn't sure whether to like or hate Nettleleap.
Icepaw.
Though that confused the warrior. Why wasn't Mallowheart's apprentice, Herbpaw, also here? Sure it was no secret Mallowheart was stern and often refused to do many things- but surely he wouldn't leave his apprentice behind?

Shaking her head, the white feline cantered further. The scent's were light, meaning they had long passed this area, and the Mudpath laid ahead.
She was sure Hollowspot and Snarlstar would kill her with their own claws if she didn't bring the message in time.
Leaping through some bushes and throwing up dirt and mud, her paws slowly turning darker by the mud.
As an apprentice, Netteleap had once covered herself with mud in the hopes the Clan would accept her more.
Snorting at the foolish memory, the She-Cat continued running, and the patrol's scent got fresher and fresher, until cat's appeared in the distance.
"Wait!" She called, ears turning back. The dawn patrol was just a few fox lengths away from the Mudpath!

"Wait, Mallowheart-!" She hissed out this time, and finally reached the patrolling warriors- and apprentice.
Icepaw was the first to turn around, and gave her a nice greeting. The tom had injured his paw a long while ago, and while many Clanmates doubted his success, the apprentice kept hoping to GhostClan.
The dark tabby tom slowly went to face Nettleleap, his gaze steady and dark as he got closer to the She-Cat.
His presence had always been intimidating, and cats of all the Clans cowered in fear when facing Mallowheart. For his bloodline was full of leaders and deputies, some wondered if he, too, would one day lead DarkClan like his grandfather, Blazestar, had.
"What do you want." He sternly spoke, making eye contact, and standing tall. He always tried to make Nettleleap know she wasn't fully DarkClan- And always succeeded.
Holding back a snort, the female cat stood tall as well, not letting such an annoying tom belittle her.
"Hollowspot requested me to go find you all, he told me to make you wait here. Snarlstar wants to join you before you reach the Mudpath, that's all." While her meow carried friendliness, there was no doubt of the hostility in the glares between the four cat's, and their body language also gave it away.
A black tom with grey stripes stepped forward, annoyance sparking in his eyes.
"If you say so, we'll wait here." He firmly states, shooting the tabby next to him a cold glare. Mallowheart had muttered out a hiss, but was silenced by Stripemuzzle.

"Speaking of Snarlstar," Another tom's voice sounded, clearly about to bring something to every cat's attention. "You can already smell her, her scent's being carried over to us." Steppingeye murmurs thoughtfully, his whiskers twitching as his tail flicked to the side.
Mallowheart grumbled something, not pleased with the whole idea of their leader joining the patrol.
Icepaw kept quiet, giving his mentor an unsure glance. He was obviously slower, and even strong leaders from the other Clan's struggled to keep up with the hotheaded She-Cat.
"Alright Nettleleap, you can leave and tell Hollowspot we've waited for Snarlstar. Oh, and take Icepaw with you, I'm sure he won't trouble you too much." Stripemuzzle says in a rather demanding tone.
The black-and-grey apprentice seemed a little disappointed, but showed no sign of willingly wishing to protest.
"Not to sound rude or anything, Stripemuzzle, but why? Icepaw is perfectly able of finishing this patrol alongside you, I shouldn't have to take him back to camp." The white She-Cat spoke up, looking at Icepaw with a steady gaze, and holding it.
Nettleleap was trying to defend the young tom, as she didn't want DarkClan to have another "outcast" as they labeled it.
"Do what you're told, Nettleleap." The three warriors all hissed in sync, pissed off.
"Now, before Snarlstar arrives and wonders why our scents smell of hate." Mallowheart added, shoving Icepaw forward carelessly. The tabby knew damn well that that would make the black-and-grey tom stumble and roll over, a thing many Clanmates had used to humiliate him.
The white warrior flattened her ears, helping Icepaw up and trotting away with anger.
God how she hated those three!
She was so enraged that she forgot about the young tom that was sent back with her, not hearing his struggles.

"Uh, Nettleleap-" He piped up, almost tripping over a tree's root. Nettleleap turned around quickly, and her brown eyes softened.
"Yes, Icepaw?" She muttered, walking over to the injured cat.
"Thanks for trying to defend me back there, Stripemuzzle and Mallowheart can be pretty harsh, but Steppingeye is alright." He mews, stopping besides the young warrior.
The light furred warrior was silent, thinking. Her gaze soft but cold, and for a moment a tear threatened to slip out.
"No need to thank me, i was just glad I had the opportunity to at least try." She meows back, giving him a quick lick between the ears.
"Say, Nettleleap, why does everyone hate you so much? I mean, surely it can't just be because of your fur colour," Icepaw worriedly sighs, not looking the She-Cat in the eyes.
She didn't know how to respond,
Who would?
This was just a child, a child she was hopelessly trying to protect the same way she was protected.
DarkClan was cruel, but a cat could survive in it if they just held on to their sanity.
"I don't know, it's the only reason I've been told they hate me. But let's get going, otherwise we'll be left unfed for the whole morning!" The warrior chuckled, slowly walking away and matching the apprentice's pace.

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1408 Words in total!

Though that isn't a lot, it certainly is much for me, considering i have school work and a lot of other things like mental health still bugging me.

Hope you enjoy, and sorry about mistakes and all, I've written most of this at night as i have no time during the day-