Warriors AU: Sandstar's Quest

Chapter 15

Abandoning his prey, Sandstar rushed to her side and looked down. The sides of the gorge sloped down steeply to a narrow, bone-dry valley strewn with reddish rocks. There wasn't even a trickle of water.

His heart began to pound. "We must have passed the place where Skyclan camped," he mewed to Fireheart. "The light brown tabby cat told me to follow the river."

Fireheart's tail lashed. "Mouse dung! We'd better climb down and head back along the gorge."

Sandstar took the lead as they climbed carefully down the steep cliff. Loose pebbles skidded beneath their paws; Sandstar tried not to think about slipping all the way down in a flailing tangle of legs and tail, ending up broken at the bottom. He tried to step lightly, picking his way from one jutting rock to the next and using his tail for balance.

By now the sun was high in the sky, and the rocky sides of the gorge reflected the heat. The hot ground scorched Sandstar's paws. Panting, he felt as if his fur were about to burst into flame. He disturbed a lizard basking on a rock; it whisked down a crack when his shadow fell on it.

"At least we won't starve," he commented, pointing at the creature with his tail.

Fireheart wrinkled her nose. "Only Shadowclan eat scaly things," she meowed. "I'd have to be really hungry before I tried it."

At last they reached the bottom of the gorge and began padding back the way they had come, weaving among the boulders. Sandstar's pelt prickled; nothing grew in this part of the gorge except for a few clumps of wiry grass and stunted bushes; there was no shelter, no undergrowth to conceal the cats from hostile eyes.

"It's a good thing we're not black or white," Fireheart murmured. "At least our pelts will help to hide us."

Sandstar nodded tensely. "Stay alert. We don't know what might be lurking down here."

As the sun slid down the sky, the shadow of the cliff fell across them. Sandstar breathed more easily as the air grew cooler. He began to make out the sound of water up ahead. He took a deep breath, detecting the first traces of moisture in the dry air.

Fireheart's tail went up. "I can hear the river!"

Wishing for the soft ground of the forest instead of these sharp pebbles, Sandstar picked up the pace until he and Fireheart were bounding among the rocks. Rounding a bend, he stopped dead when he saw a pile of reddish boulders blocking the gorge. The lapping of water was louder, but he couldn't see it.

He scrambled up the pile of rocks, claws scraping on the crumbling stone, and peered cautiously over the top. Directly below him, water flowed smoothly out of a gaping black hole into a round pool before winding away down the gorge and out of sight.

Fireheart clambered up beside Sandstar. "So this is where the river begins."

Sandstar glanced around, half expecting to see the pale shapes of Skyclan warriors watching him from the cliffs. There were no cats in sight, but halfway up the side of the gorge he spotted several caves, dark, narrow openings tucked underneath the cliff. Narrow trails zigzagged across the cliff face, leading from one cave to the next.

Sandstar remembered his dream of waking among Skyclan warriors in a sandy cave. The deputy's words echoed once more in his mind. This is our home now. You know where to go.

"We are here," he told Fireheart quietly.

"You think Skyclan lived in those caves?" Fireheart sounded dubious. "Climbing up and down the cliffs every day?"

"I think so."

Fireheart rose to her paws. "Okay, but I'm not going to look until we've had a drink. My mouth feels as dry as the gorge."