Caɾղaցe Ɱօօղ ~𝙰 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝙵𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌

51🌙

"Crescentsky! Crescentsky!"

"S-what?" It was difficult to drag herself out of sleep. Crescentsky felt the cold air touch her flanks as she was hoisted up and then shaken.

"Oof, she's so heavy! I'm sorry, sister. But we have to go now." Tinyflame said, meowing in her face as she blinked sleep from her eyes.

"Cheetah saw wolves heading this way, and there's a lot of them!"

Crescentsky's senses sharpened as she shook off the Starclan dream. She stood up on her own four paws.

"Are you guys ready? Let's go." Cheetah meowed urgently from beneath some entwined brambles. As she sat crouched there, shadow swamped her pelt, and her golden eyes could barely be seen.

"Yes. Come on, Crescentsky. You'll have to tell us what you saw later." Tinyflame lowered her head, striding into a quick stalk beside the most well-protected undergrowth.

"The Moonpool's vegetation ends down there." Crescentsky took the lead as they came to the foothill of a rocky descent that led them away from the stream.

"We'll have to skirt the valley and then cross Windclan's hills, since we don't have claws."

She took a reassuring breath, steadying herself. All three cats studied the soft earth where they would land when they jumped down.

"Tinyflame, stay close to me. Cheetah, I think it's best that you backtrack and climb that hawthorn tree." The tree was still within viewing-sight of them. It had a giant leafy crest, dark and full of long lanky branches. They had skirted it on their departure from the Moonpool. Though its main trunk was bent at an angle, the tree's topmost branches nearly scraped the dim-lit night sky.

"There's no possible way they can reach you up there." Crescentsky aimed her mew over her shoulder as she paced rapidly across the terrain.

She had expected the she-cat to nod and head off obediently, but instead Cheetah replied;

"I'm not climbing a tree without you. We'll end up separated. I'm staying," the spotted she-cat insisted.

Crescentsky didn't have time to argue. She tried to supress her worry. The canine odor was fresh on the wind now. It seemed to carry in billows from upwind.

They're close. Somehow she knew they were being followed.

"Where do we even go? They'll track us down!" Tinyflame yowled with distress.

The three she-cats crossed the last stretch of scant undergrowth. Beyond this, there wasn't much cover between them and the Horseplace.

"Head straight for the Thunderclan-Windclan stream," Crescentsky ordered. "That might be our only chance at breaking the scent trail and escaping."

"Won't they just follow us across the stream, if it's shallow enough?" Tinyflame looked dubious. Her chest expanded and fell as she took frantic breaths.

"Just trust me!" Crescentsky snapped impatiently. She kept her gaze forward.

I hope Cheetah had swimming lessons while I was gone. The tabby-and-white she-cat swallowed, tense as she studied the open path that they were about to take.