Soul Cats Book One: "Blood Moon"

🐾Chapter Four🐾

A black tom and a sand colored tabby she-cat crept through the heather towards the SkyClan Camp.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Sliteyes called a tail length from behind him.

"Yes." Blacktail mewed simply.

"Err, okay." She mewed, continuing to follow him through the moorland; SkyClan's territory.

It was near midnight by the time they reached the tunnel that led into SkyClan's camp.

"Wait here." Blacktail meowed. "It'll be faster if only one of us goes in. We won't be caught that way." He explained to his companion before creeping silently through the tunnel.

Outside the tunnel a silver colored tom was posted on watch. He didn't seem to have noticed the intruder that came creeping through the tunnel entrance and into his camp.

Blacktail moved slower, but crept all the same towards the faint scents of milk the wafted from a cave on the far side of the huge hollow.

Just a little farther. He told himself, Then I can get out of here.

What he wanted most was to be curled in his soft nest next to his mate, Brindleleaf. But that was not to be. He had to help his mate's sister find her kit. How preposterous was that! In any case he would like to have a paw of his own. He new he had no chance with Dunekit becoming his paw. There was a more experienced claw for Dunekit. He would be stuck with, whatever this other kit's name was.

However he still wanted a paw and would take any that was given to him.

He crept into the SkyClan Infancy and looked around.

It was far bigger than the Infancy back in his Clan but had a bigger roof.

There were two sand colored bundles: one on the far side of the room and one slightly in the middle of the room. A white queen lay somewhat close to the one in the far corner and a black one lay very close to him, her belly bulging. Another was curled up next to a two or three small fur balls that were curled asleep around her belly. Three other kits were curled up together in a nest next to the white queen in the far corner.

I'm gonna take the closest one to me. He thought, That way I won't wake up the other so easily.

He grabbed the them by the scruff of their neck and they let a small mew as he dragged them across the floor and out into the open.

There was no cat around so he quickly raced across the clearing and up into the tunnel.

The kit let out a mew again and opened an eye to peer at him.

"Hu-huh?" It let out a mew of fear. "Wh-what are-"

Sliteyes came out of nowhere and stuffed a clump of leaves into her mouth.

"Chew. It'll make you feel better."

The kit obediently started chewing the herb Sliteyes had gathered.

It's head lulled to one side and the kit's eyes closed.

"What did you do to it!" Blacktail hissed. "Is it dead?"

"No, she's not dead. I gave her some mandrake so that we can bring her to camp without her waking." She mewed. "Now, can we go, or not?"

"The sooner we leave the better." He meowed. "Lets go."

* * *

"We're almost there!" A black tom was meowing to a cat that held her in his jaws.

She did not know where 'there' meant but hopefully it wasn't somewhere bad.

Flyingkit had just woken up from... something. She couldn't remember what had happened to her at all. Only a faint vision of a cat shoving something nasty inside her mouth and telling her to chew.

But what had happened! They were in a weird place. It had weird plants and weird ground. Only her tail brushed against it, making her know that it was kind of soft to the touch. But very hot. Did these cats want something from her? What were they going to do to her?

She had no idea.

* * *

Sandkit woke. Her stomach hurt, and she felt that something was... wrong. But what could it be? She had been with SkyClan for half a moon, so why did she feel like something was wrong?

She shook her head. Her stomach hurt, that must be what was wrong. She stood, shook the scraps of moss from her fur, and headed out of the Infancy.

In the clearing, around the center-rock, she now new, almost the entire Clan was listening to Skylight speaking from on top of it.

"What's going on?" She asked Crowfeather from where she sat at the entrance to the Infancy.

"Flyingkits missing." She mewed. "And there's a scent, of BrokenClan." She sounded frightened by the prospect and Sandkit remembered when she had first met Midnightwillow. He had said not to tell her Clan leader that he was stealing prey from them. But she had been an outlander then.

Were they still taking prey from the desert? Did BrokenClan find out? Was that why they took away Flyingkit?

She wanted to rip those lizard-eating mouse-brained idiots apart with her own claws.

"Sandkit!" Flowerfur yowled, "This is all your fault! Flyingkit would've been taken if you hadn't come here at all! They were after you weren't they!" Sandkit was startled, she didn't understand what Flowerfur was meowing about.

Flowerfur's tail flicked from side to side and her yellow eyes blazed with anger.

Duskpelt walked up to his mate and licked her ear.

"Flowerfur, Midnightwillow said she was an outlander. So why would BrokenClan of all Clans want something to do with her?" He shifted his paws his eyes distressed. "They probably found out that we were taking prey from them..."

Flowerfur's tail began to still, her eyes went from anger to sadness.

"I... guess you are right..." She mewed, "Why would she have anything to do with them..."

They walked past her and into the Infancy. She watched them go then felt a tail brush her pelt. She scented the air.

Skylight.

"Y-yes, Skylight?" She mewed as she turned around.

Skylight flicked her tail, gesturing for her to follow her.

They went inside her den then, Skylight spoke: "Sandkit, it is now time, for thee to become an apprentice. Then I shall send thee on a mission. It will be thy duty, to save Flyingkit."