Warriors - Burnt Skies

Chapter 21

Nightstorm sighed as she felt the hard, narrow frame of the wooden fence in Twolegplace beneath her paws. Back here again. This time, though, she wasn't here to try to get to the other side, or recruit cats that she already knew. Today, she was going to go around and ask if any kittypets or loners wanted to join the Clan.

"Where should we start?" Emberheart asked from beside her.

Nightstorm shrugged. "I don't know."

Emberheart started going right, towards a large patch of grass with sweet smelling herbs bordering it.

"Let's go this way," the calico tom decided, hopping down from the fence and onto the grass.

Nightstorm followed, trying to detect any cat scents underneath the scent of the herbs. She couldn't find any.

They continued on, jumping up and back down many fences in their search. It was only when the sun was at its peak in the sky that they met their first mildly interested cat.

Nightstorm landed in a patch of grass next to Emberheart, who was watching a cat sitting alone a few tail lengths in front of them. The cat was a tabby cream tom with blue eyes, and was currently lounging around in the sunshine, unaware of their presence.

Nightstorm cleared her throat, the noise painfully loud against the otherwise peaceful atmosphere.

The tom jumped a tail length into the air before turning around to greet them.

"Oh, hi, I didn't see you both there," the tom chuckled nervously, shuffling his paws.

Nightstorm looked over the tabby, noting his round belly and soft pelt. This was clearly a well-fed kittypet, about six moons old.

"We're from the birch forest not too far from here," Emberheart told him.

"You're from the forest!?" The tom squeaked excitedly. "You actually live there?"

Emberheart nodded, whiskers twitching in amusement. "We're trying to build a Clan there."

"A group of cats who live together and help each other out," Nightstorm added after the tom looked slightly confused.

"We were wondering if you wanted to join," Emberheart meowed.

"Well," the young tom shuffled his paws again. "What is it like out there?"

At least the tom didn't jump into things without knowing what they involved.

"It is much harder than the life you have here. You will be expected to hunt for your Clan and defend it against outside threats. In leafbare, food is scarce, and nights are cold. You are more likely to die out there then you are if you stay with your Twolegs," Nightstorm warned bluntly.

"But it also has it's benefits," Emberheart meowed brightly. "Fresh kill tastes a lot better than the food you have to eat here, and you have freedom. You can feel the wind through your fur as you weave between the birch trees, and feel the exhilaration of a good hunt."

The tom's gaze flitted nervously between the two cats. "I have always wanted to be free..." He paused. "My Twolegs keep me inside most of the time, so I hardly ever get to see Hazel, my friend. She keeps telling me that we should run away to somewhere, but we've never known where to go."

"If you were planning on going anyway, a Clan would probably be a lot better - you would receive protection," Nightstorm told him.

The tom nodded. "I guess... But I don't really know if I even want to go."

"No one's forcing you. You can always try it out for a few days if you want," Nightstorm offered.

The tom tilted his head to the side, considering it. "I don't know yet. I'd have to talk to Hazel."

Emberheart nodded in understanding. "Well, if you ever decide to come and find us, we're in the birch forest over that way." He pointed his tail in the rough direction of their territory.

"Okay," the tom meowed. "The name's Dune, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Dune. I'm Emberheart and this is Nightstorm," Emberheart meowed in response. Then, he added, "cool name."

Dune pricked his ears. "Thanks! A traveler once told me that dunes are found in a place full of sand as far as the eye can see."

Emberheart tilted his head in confusion. "I thought sand was only found in rivers."

Dune shook his head. "I guess not."

Nightstorm glanced up at the sun. "Anyway, we better get going. I hope we see you again, Dune."

"Bye." Dune waved his tail in farewell as they hopped onto the fence.

Emberheart turned to Nightstorm, amber gaze meeting her yellow one.

"Where to now?" Emberheart asked.

Nightstorm scanned the visible patches of grass in front of them and, beyond that, the Thunderpath. Next to the Thunderpath, a long haired grey tabby tom could just be seen walking with a tortoiseshell she cat.

"Meet up with Blizzardfrost?" Nightstorm suggested.

Emberheart nodded. "Let's hope he's had more luck than we have."

Nightstorm narrowed her eyes at the grey smudge in the distance. "It looks like he has."

They trotted through the patches of grass once more, leaping over the wooden fences dividing them. She paused as they prepared to leap down from the final fence. The tortoiseshell cat with him looked oddly familiar.

"Hi, Nightstorm, Emberheart," Blizzardfrost nodded to each of them in turn.

Nightstorm locked gazes with the tortoiseshell she cat.

"Oh, it's you," the tortoiseshell she cat meowed.

Nightstorm racked her brains for her name. That was it. Tiger.

"It's you," Nightstorm snarled back.

Blizzardfrost and Emberheart looked between the two she cat, trying to figure out what was going on.

"You two have met?" Emberheart meowed, clearly confused.

"When Dawnbreeze and I went to get Spirit and Shadow, we found this cat attacking them," Nightstorm spat.

"I had to! You don't understand how I have to live!" A flash of anguish in Tiger's gaze was quickly replaced with anger. "You have no idea what it's like, having to capture cats and watching them die for 'entertainment'."

Emberheart looked at Tiger in horror. "You have to do that?"

"Yes," Tiger growled. "And I want to escape from it. That's why I want to join your little Clan."

Blizzardfrost was gazing at Tiger with rare sympathy in his icy blue eyes.

Nightstorm looked at Blizzardfrost through narrowed eyes. He didn't trust Snow, who had done nothing wrong, yet he trusted this she cat who had tried to attack Shadow. That tom would never make any sense.

"I don't trust you," Nightstorm meowed sharply.

Emberheart turned to Nightstorm. "We can give her a chance, though, right? It sounds terrible where she lives."

Blizzardfrost responded instead. "If we do take her in, someone's going to have to keep an eye on her," he growled. At least he was still approaching this situation warily.

Nightstorm opened her mouth to say 'no, she is most definitely not joining the Clan' when she saw the scars criss-crossing Tiger's pelt, the fresh wounds hidden beneath thick fur, the haunted look in her eyes. This cat needed saving, whether Nightstorm trusted her or not.

"Fine," she growled. "You can join."

While Tiger's amber gaze lit up with hope, Nightstorm was still wondering if she had made the right decision. If she hadn't, the whole Clan could collapse.