Caɾղaցe Ɱօօղ ~𝙰 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝙵𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌

31 🌙

"Do you mean all of Skyclan?" Jadestar mewed cautiously. "Because I can't split up what's left of my clan like that." The calico's diluted cream-and-grey fur was ruffled. She closed her jaws to listen for Crescentpaw's answer, fronds waving behind her.

"I would prefer all of your clanmates come. As you're saying, it would be safer that way. If all of us temporarily join up on one Clan's territory, we can come up with a strategy to contact Starclan." Crescentpaw licked a paw and drew it over her whiskers as she talked. It was cool beside the undergrowth shielding them the from sunlight.

Jadestar nodded. The forestry rustled around them. The scent of hickory sap was sharp on the fitfull wind. Air hardly penetrated the thick trees, causing a damp heat to settle across their backs. Yet in here, Crescentpaw didn't have to squint her eyes. There was plenty of shade to shield them from the strong sunlight. And the ground beneath her paws was cool and smooth, rather than prickly and uneven like in Shadowclan land.

"It sounds like a plan. My top priority is to keep my remaining clanmates alive, but of course we seek Starclan's will." Crescentpaw twitched her ears, holding onto her patience wisely. "Great."

She was raring to get going. Deep green shadows pooled underneath the ferns that were gathered in growing heaps behind them. She whisked her thick tabby tail.

If they left now they might make it to Thunderclan territory before nightfall. But is that wise? She didn't know. In Riverclan the wolves were more likely to attack you at sundown or after.

"Why did your clanmates send an apprentice across the territories instead of a warrior?" Jadestar interrupted her thoughts.

"That's hardly important," she mewed, hoping to start stressing the essence of time.

Sootface looked offended, but Crescentpaw didn't mind. As huge as the Tom seemed to be, he didn't seem like much. He hardly ever held gaze with anyone when he spoke, and still wasn't looking directly at her now.

"I have a question while we walk back to camp for your other Clanmates." Crescentpaw ushered them forward, but she didn't even know what direction to go. Sootface's hackles sprang up in offense.

"Jadestar, are you Rainpaw's mentor?" Since Sootface was her father, the dark-black tabby-and-white she-cat assumed that Jadestar must be her mentor.

"Ah, no." Jadestar looked faintly embarrassed as she turned toward the direction of camp. She trotted along on powerful hind legs. Despite her thick muscle tones the she-cat's pawsteps hardly made a sound. "Rainpaw is actually mine and Sootface's kit. We lost her littermates a few moons ago." Jadestar looked over at her... mate? with distain; if that's what he still was.

Huh. "Oh..." she trailed off uncertainly.

They probably lost their other kits to the wolves. And maybe Jadestar blamed him for it? Crescentpaw couldn't tell. But the Skyclan leader was still glaring at her deputy right now.

After a moment, Sootface noticed and gave his own deprecatory grunt.

"Are we going?" He said, his voice full of contempt.

She bounded over to Jadestar's side, following the leader through flattened undergrowth. A lick of wind whooshed through Skyclan's trees and across her back, tugging Crescentpaw's ears back and teeming with the scent of forest prey. Her jaws began to water.