Strength Of A Leopard (BOOK THREE) [ON HOLD]

Chapter Eight

The sun was just rising, lighting the cave with the dim light of dawn. The clan was waking; Leopardpaw last of all. He hadn't wanted to wake up, because that night, he'd finally had peaceful dreams rather than the dream of falling rocks.

"Owlflight!" Robinwing called as the brown and white tom entered the cave. "Owlflight, have you heard the news?"

"It's Owlstar now." Rainstorm corrected him.

Robinwing nodded, "Owlstar, have you heard?"

Leopardpaw ignored him, as he had already heard the news. Firestorm, Robinwing's mate, was expecting his kits. They had never planned to have kits, but now that they were, Robinwing would not shut up about it.

"Leopardpaw? Where are you!" Stormpaw was pushing her way through the crowd on the ledge.

"Right here," Leopardpaw touched his nose to her shoulder. She purred, turning to him.

"I think you might be made a warrior soon." She told him, "I heard talk of it from Cloudpool."

"Cloudpool isn't my mentor. She's Frostpaw's!" Leopardpaw pointed out. "When was the last time you saw Coldwind take me out training? He doesn't care much about me becoming a warrior. All of the apprentices will get their names before me!"

"Not me." Stormpaw murmured, "I don't become full moon cat until Rainstorm has died."

Pity made Leopardpaw's heart sink, but he didn't respond. Instead, he turned towards the clearing in the center of the ledge, where the clan had parted to make a circle around Owlstar.

The brown and white leader held his head high. "The time has come to appoint a new deputy." He began. All eyes turned to Owlstar's brother, Flamefur. "I say these words before StarClan so that the spirits of our ancestors may hear and approve my choice. Flamefur will be the new deputy."

As the clan began to turn to Flamefur, congratulating him, Frostpaw jumped up. "Did you feel that?" She squeaked, her voice high with terror.

"What is it?" Owlstar stood, too, turning to the apprentice. "What happened?"

Frostpaw was silent for a moment, raking her claws over the ground. "The ground is shaky. I think the ledge is going to collapse."

Silverwing sprang up, grabbing Brackenkit in her teeth. "Stoneclaw!" She called to her mate, who stood on the other side of the ledge.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The ground beneath Leopardpaw's feet began to crack, while the clan rushed quickly out of the cave. "Come with me!" Stormpaw brushed her tail against Leopardpaw's flank. "Come on, hurry!"

She led him through the crowd of cats, pushing out of the cave. Owlstar was the last to leave, a mousetail away from being crushed by the collapsing cave. Thanks to Frostpaw's warning, though, no cat was hurt.

Owlstar breathed a sigh of relief. "This is a sign from StarClan that we are not meant to live in this cave. We should look elsewhere, down by the beach."

Thorn, the rogue who lived on the beach, had been staying in their camp. He hadn't come out much, so Leopardpaw had actually forgotten that he was there. "You can shelter in my old home. It's an abandoned twoleg nest, built to stay extra warm in leaf-bare."

Owlstar glanced at him hesitantly. "Are you sure it's abandoned?"

"I was born and raised there, Owlstar, and not a single twoleg has ever been any trouble." Thorn dipped his head respectfully. "My mother was killed by the dog pack."

Leopardpaw's ears pricked. Uh oh, he glanced nervously at Stormpaw, who was beside him. She didn't look away from her brother, Foxpaw.

Sandtail spun to face him, her tail fluffed up. "You knew about the dog pack, and you didn't think to warn anyone?" She spat. Her apprentice, Foxpaw, nodded his agreement.

"No, Sandtail, I haven't seen the dog pack for many, many seasons." Thorn waved his tail for emphasis, "My mother was killed when I was only a kit, while she was out hunting with my father. He drowned in the waves, leaving me and my two littermates to fend for ourselves. They both died, not strong enough without their mother, but I survived." 

Owlstar dipped his head towards the tom. "Thank you, Thorn. We will go to your old nest, where we may shelter for the time being."

Thorn led the clan down towards the beach. Leopardpaw's fur bristled as he trotted along the sand; he couldn't stand to be in this territory anymore. Not since the murder of Dustpath and Squirrelpaw, or how the dogs had so viciously ravaged their home.

"How do you feel about this?" Stormpaw asked. Her voice was uncertain.

"Dunno. I guess we'll just have to find out.." Leopardpaw shrugged. "Maybe it will provide good shelter."

"Maybe.." Stormpaw whispered as the twoleg den came into view. It was old, with a partially caved in roof and odd, clear shards of rock scattered the ground at one place.

"Careful," Thorn warned as Frostpaw bent her head to sniff at some of the pieces. "That's glass. It's sharp."

"It'll get stuck in your pads like thorns." Rainstorm added. How does he know? Leopardpaw wondered, then remembered that Rainstorm knew many things that the clan did not.

"Ouch," Frostpaw hissed, backing away. She padded up beside Foxpaw, who muzzled her fur. The two apprentices had been getting along well; Leopardpaw could imagine them becoming mates in the future. But Leopardpaw saw nothing but sadness in Foxpaw's eyes as he gazed at Frostpaw.

"There is no way I'm going in there!" Sandtail protested as the clan began to carefully enter the den. "Why would we trust a rogue to shelter us?!"

Leopardpaw shuddered as she stomped toward Foxpaw, hissing something in her apprentice's ear. Foxpaw flinched away from her, dashing off after Frostpaw.