Warriors AU: Sandstar's Quest

Chapter 11

Raucous quacking sounded in Sandstar's ear. He jumped up, staring around wildly until he spotted a duck in the water beside the reed bed. As he watched, it took off, speeding low over the river with whirring wings. At the same moment, Sandstar felt the ground begin to shake with the heavy tramp of Twoleg feet.

Fireheart looked up. "What—"

Sandstar slapped the end of his tail over her mouth. "Ssshh! Twolegs."

Peering out of the reeds, he saw three male Twolegs walking up the riverbank toward him. All of them carried the long, thin sticks that Twolegs held over the water to catch fish. To his relief there was no sign of a dog.

Sandstar stayed very still while the Twolegs passed his hiding place and disappeared downstream. Then he beckoned Fireheart with his tail. "Let's get out of here."

With his mate just behind him he ran lightly along the bank in the shadow of the reeds until the Twoleg scent faded. Then he paused to catch his breath, anxiously scanning the sky. Thick clouds still covered it, yellowish gray and seeming low enough to touch the tops of the trees. The air was hotter than the night before, and utterly still.

"There's a storm coming," Fireheart meowed. "It'll break before nightfall."

Sandstar nodded. "Then we'd better get moving, as fast as we can."

They set off again, side by side, at a steady, loping pace. In spite of what he said about needing to hurry, when he thought about what might be happening back in the forest Sandstar's courage seemed to be draining out through his paws, and it was hard not to turn around and go racing home to his Clan. What if the badger had come back? How would the other Clans react when they discovered he had gone? Only a few moons ago, they had all been united against Bloodclan. But how long would that alliance survive? Leopardstar would steal back Sunningrocks if he thought he could get away with it, while Blackstar would take any opportunity to extend Shadowclan's territory. Sandstar suddenly felt scared and exposed; he had left the forest and the warrior code far behind him, and he wasn't sure any longer that he knew why.

He wanted to share his fears with Fireheart, but every time he glanced at her, padding alongside, her green gaze fixed intently on the path ahead, the words died in his throat. He didn't dare ask her if she thought he had made the wrong decision, in case she said yes.

As they continued along the riverbank, the air seemed to grow hotter and more oppressive. Sandstar panted with thirst, which the river water quenched for only a few heartbeats. Fireheart surprised a vole slipping from a hole in the bank into the water, tossed it into the air, and killed it as it hit the ground again.

"Great catch!" Sandstar exclaimed.

Fireheart's eyes shone with pride as she dragged the fresh-kill over to him so that they could share it. For a few moments Sandstar was warmed by a sense of their old companionship, but he still didn't feel he could share his worries with his mate. What if she insisted on going back to the forest?

They had hardly moved off again after eating when Sandstar picked up a strong scent of dog from ahead, and heard the sound of Twoleg voices. Fireheart had heard them too. Flicking her tail to beckon him, she raced away from the river to a clump of elder bushes growing a few fox-lengths farther up the bank. Sandstar followed, clawing his way up the trunk and crouching beside Fireheart on the lowest branch.

Through the leaves he could see a couple of Twolegs walking past, with two dogs bouncing around them. One of them suddenly took off for the trees, barking loudly.

"It's scented us," Sandstar mewed.

He felt Fireheart tense; her lips drew back in the beginning of a snarl and her claws scraped on the branch.