Ashwings legacy

Chapter 10

   Owlnose walked slowly through the forest, being careful of making too much noise. He had been the first one awake and decided to find prey for himself and the others. He had already caught a large squirrel and buried it to retrieve later. He only had to find something for himself, as he assumed Firesoul and Ashwing would like to share the squirrel. He had noticed that they slept very close to eachother last night and suspected a growing relationship between the two, much to his dismay. Last thing I need is to be stuck between two lovebirds.
   He sighed, he didn't know if he could handle those two if they suddenly became romantic. All he wanted was to get back home as soon as possible. I didn't want to come on this stupid journey anyway... he had been so shocked when he was asked to come at the gathering and would have declined, but he caught squirrelflights gaze and saw her nod at him. He talked with her after and she had persuaded him to go along, to keep an eye on Ashwing and his intentions if nothing else.
   He suddenly caught the scent of a mouse up ahead and dropped himself low to the ground. He stalked forward until he saw the mouse eating something in the grass. He carefully moved closer until he was within pouncing range and bunched his muscles, readying himself for the jump. With a deep breath he leaped, claws extended and landed square on the mouse, killing it with a swift bite to the neck.  He picked up his catch and went to retrieve the squirrel from earlier.
   After collecting his catches he made his way back to their makeshift camp and dropped the squirrel at Ashwings paws. "This is a pretty plump squirrel, good catch Owlnose!" He said with a smile.
   Owlnose couldn't be bothered to return the gesture. "I figured you and Firesoul could share it, I caught a mouse for myself."
   Firesoul crawled out from under the brush with a yawn. "Did someone say my name?"
   Owlnose saw Ashwings ears perked up as he heard Firesouls tired voice. Ashwing picked up the squirrel and brought it over to her. "Owlnose caught this, we can share it if you'd like."
   Owlnose saw Firesouls ears flush red as she nodded. "Sure, I'd like that." She said.
   Owlnose cringed at the sight in front of him. She is so hopeless... and he's too oblivious. Owlnose could tell that Ashwing had no romantic intent in his request, yet he knew by Firesouls blushing that she thought otherwise. He rolled his eyes and settled down to eat his mouse. This is going to be a long journey...

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   After they ate, they began walking through the forest towards the twolegplace. Owlnose walked a few paces ahead to avoid the awkward tension between Firesoul and Ashwing. Any little compliment he gave her, she get red in the ears and get all flustered. Owlnose was getting sick of it. He wanted to just tell Firesoul that Ashwing didn't mean it in a romantic way and to just give up, but he knew better than to voice such assumptions. After all, there was a chance he was wrong and Ashwing did have feelings for the amber she-cat.
   He was shook his head in disappointment, but suddenly heard something up ahead. He perked his ears to listen closer and could make out the voices of cat, but the chatter behind him kept him from hearing what was being said. "Hey, quiet you two!" He hissed quietly.
   Ashwing and Firesoul went silent. Owlbnose motioned with a flick of his tail for them to move quietly. As they got closer, Owlnose could make out the conversation, and it didn't sound good. "Are you sure you aren't lost kittypet?"
   A scratchy male voice spoke as if he were teasing. "Yea, this is our territory, and you don't belong here kittypet!" A female voice sneered.
   Owlnose glanced to his side and saw that Ashwing and Firesoul had noticed what was going on and were listening as well. "Come on, we should get closer so we can see." Ashwing whispered. Owlnose saw Firesoul nod and they both followed Ashwing, creeping closer until they could see the cats through the bushes. On one side was a skinny, red tabby tom, and a taller, sleek, tan she-cat. They were speaking to a fluffy white tom with a purple collar around his neck. The kittypet was shrunken back with ears folded back. It was clear that these rogues were bullying him. Owlnose suddenly heard Firesoul whisper beside him. "We have to do something! Those rogues aren't going to just let him go."
   Owlnose agreed with her but also didn't think it was smart to just run out there without a plan. Before he could think of anything he heard the she-cat speak again. "Jett, teach this kittypet what happens to those who trespass on Alphas territory..." she said with a sadistic smirk.
   Owlnose saw the tom raise his paw to slash the cowering kittypet, but before he could decide on what to do he felt a rush of wind beside him. He realized that Firesoul had bolted out from their hiding place and tackled the tom, knocking him over. Owlnose was frozen in shock as the she-cat moved to attack Firesoul from behind, but Ashwing sprang out to defend her. He leapt into the air and landed square on the she-cats shoulders, pinning her to the ground. Owlnose watched anxiously as Firesoul and Ashwing let the rogues get up step back. "Shay! Let's get out of here, it's not worth it!" The tom said, already walking backwards.
   The she-cat seemed reluctant to run. "This isn't over!" She yowled angrily before turning and bolting away with her partner.
   Owlnose was in complete awe of the sheer bravery of his companions, how they hadn't hesitated to defend the kittypet even in the face of rogues. And I sat here and did nothing!
   He came out from the bushes filled with shame and anger at himself for not helping. Ashwing walked up to him and looked at him with concern. "Are you alright Owlnose?"
   He couldn't bear to look Ashwing in the eye. "Yea I'm alright, sorry..." he said.
   He walked over to Firesoul who was sitting beside the kittypet. "Thank you! Thank you all so much! I was certain I'd be turned into crowfood for sure..."
   His voice was shaky, proof of how scared he was. "It was nothing really, we just saw a cat that needed help and knew we had to do something." She said, comforting the kittypet with a smile.
Ashwing Chimed in with a comforting smile. "I'm Ashwing, this is Firesoul, and that's Owlnose. What's your name?"
The kittypet shook his fur to smooth it out. "My name's Jace, it's good to meet you all. Thanks again for saving me."
Ashwing and Firesoul nodded and Jace left, supposedly going back to his twoleg.
   The trio continued on through the forest. Owlnose was filled with shame and embarrassment. He had thought himself better than the other two, at least on certain things. He knew that everyone had a weakness, and his was a big one. He'd never realized before what his weakness was, but now he knew. I can't let that happen again... ever! He scolded himself as he followed behind Ashwing and Firesoul.
He was pulled from his thoughts as they reached the first twoleg structure, it was a tall wooden wall. He'd heard stories with similar structures, and guessed this is what was called a fence. Owlnose was sure they could climb it but they decided to walk along it and see where it lead.
Eventually there was an opening in the fence and they walked through it. Owlnose could scent many other cats, and soon they saw some, lazing around and sharing tongues. They gave the trio curious but non threatening looks as they passed through. This kind of looks like a camp... He thought as they reached a dead end with a thick gorse bush against another tall wooden fence and a thick, dark gray furred cat came out from it. He greeted them with a friendly nod. "Hello, my name is Kade. This is my camp, welcome."
   Ashwing spoke first, stepping forward. "Hello, my name is Ashwing, and this is Owlnose and Firesoul." He said, nodding to the others respectively. "We are warriors from the clans."
   Kade tilted his head in confusion. "Clans? I've never heard of such a thing."
   Another cat stepped out from the thick bush, a smaller she-cat with amber fur. "I've heard of cats that live in a forest a little ways away from here. Would that be where you're from?" She asked.
   "Yea, that sounds right." Firesoul said. "It took us about two days to get here."
   Kade nuzzled the she-cat. "This is my mate, Fern." He said.
   Is he the leader here? Owlnose thought. He sure seemed like a clan leader, and this group of cats seemed like a clan. Ashwing must have had the same thought, because moments later he asked the same question out loud. "Are you this groups leader?"
   Kade shrugged. "I wouldn't say I'm a leader, our group is many nearly as big as the others, I'm just the cat that everyone goes to for advice." He says sheepishly.
   Others? Was the first thought that crossed Owlnoses mind, but before he could ask about it, he heard pawsteps behind him. He turned and saw five cats come running through the entrance. They each had what looked like prey in their mouths, though it was nothing like Owlnose had ever seen before. They placed their items in a pile like a freshkill pile, but it was... different. A She-cat with red orange fur walked up to them and gave them a hard look. "We've collected what we can Kade, but I don't think it'll be enough." She said, her voice deep but smooth.
Owlnose noticed Kades face turn anxious. "That's alright Scarlett, we'll manage." He said, though it felt as if he was trying to convince himself more than anything. "That aside, I'd like you to meet some travelers, this is Ashwing Owlnose and Firesoul."
The she-cat eyed each one of them, and Owlnose could swear her eyes lingered on him a little longer than the others. His pelt grew hot as she stared at him. "It's nice to meet you all, my name is Scarlet." She said, her gaze softening slightly.
Kade smiled wide. "Scarlet here leads the scavengers."
Scavengers? Owlnose had to get some answers before any more questions arose. "Excuse me, but earlier you said there were other groups, what are they?" He asked, turning to Kade.
The burly Tom looked a bit surprised. "Oh, yes of course." He started. "There are two main groups we call factions. There's the kittypets and the Redclaws. The redclaws territory is farther north, and the kittypets territory is mostly west of here. One day I wish to be the leader of a faction, but Alphas pack keeps us from doing so..."
Ashwing looked at his paws, as if contemplating something. "You said Alphas pack, isn't that the name those rogues used?" He asked, turning towards Owlnose and Firesoul.
Firesoul replied first. "Yea, they said something about the forest being Alphas territory." She turned back to Kade. "Who is this cat?"
Kades face turned somber. "Alpha isn't a cat, but a dog who's learned cat speech. He's recruited a bunch of cats to do his bidding, and he's threatened to kill is if we don't provide food for him and his 'pack' so he calls it."
That explains why they have so much prey on the pile but not a lot of cats...
Owlnose tilted his head. "Why don't you fight back? Surely all of you could defeat one dog right?"
"Maybe, my friend, but none of us are any good at fighting, the only ones capable of fending off Alphas rogues being the scavengers, and there aren't enough of them to put up a real fight against the whole of Alphas pack." Kade said, his voice low with hopelessness.
Owlnose suddenly had an idea. "Why don't you ask the redclaws for help?" He asked confidently.
Kade shook his head. "The redclaws don't help cats like us... trust me we've tried asking. they usually keep to themselves anyway." He said.
Owlnose hung his head in defeat. He was trying to be useful, but nothing he came up with was good enough. "Anyway," Kade broke the silence. "I'm sure you are all tired from your travels, let me show you where you can make some nests to rest a while." He said, starting towards a small twoleg structure that protruded out from the wooden wall to provide shelter.
Owlnose was glad to rest, but he also wanted more of his questions answered. He really didn't like the sound of this 'Alpha' and his pack. And we've already had a run in with some of them... he reflected, thinking of what would happen if they crossed paths with more of rogues from Alphas pack. They defeated those two pretty easily, but to go against Alphas pack sounded like it would be the same as the three of them fighting an entire clan.
After the trio made quick, thrown together nests, Owlnose slumped down into his, sighing with fatigue. He closed his eyes and quickly found himself dreaming of home, of his friends and kin back in Thunderclan. Please let Ashwing find what he needs quickly so I can go home...