A Misty Moonhigh

Chapter Three

Meadowcreek sighed, glancing into a small puddle at her feet. The leaf-bare hadn't been one for snow. It was filled with rain, rain, and even more cold rain. Although her pelt shed water like duck-feathers, she still hated it.

From the way it dripped annoyingly onto her nose, slipped her up in training, and put a damper on everyone's attitude, it made up the worst part of her life so far. The rain just sucked. Sighing again, she stepped over the puddle and scowled at the next. This horrid rain probably made up the worst part of her life so far, but then, she HAD had a pretty good life.

Meadowcreek crouched, staring at the skinny mouse sitting on a frozen root a tail-length in front of her. She pounced, slicing the back of its neck. She smiled, stepping across the sodden ground to retrieve a bony thrush. Lightnose stepped behind her, grinning. He held a decently plump squirrel in his jaws. Meadowcreek rolled her eyes, padding back to camp. Little did they know, the Shadow-cat was a-hunting.
-=+=-
Defiance stared through a frost-bitten bush, tail pressed against the soggy soil. A small gray apprentice crouched in front of her, intent on catching a frog that had somehow survived the first frost. She smirked, watching as the apprentice, Rockpaw, stepped on a twig and alerted the frog, which quickly hopped away.

She leapt out of the bush silently, placing her paws around his neck and choking the life out of him. Sadly, she couldn't bring her prey home. Defiance sliced an x across his throat, lapping up some of his scarlet blood. Hearing Rockpaw's mentor coming through the forest, she leapt up into a tree, watching the scene. His mentor nearly fell across the apprentice's body, and let out a cry of grief. His mentor nosed the apprentice, seeing if he might still possibly be alive. As if, Defiance thought, No one is attacked by me and survives.
His mentor realized that Rockpaw was gone, and glanced him over, looking for a kill wound. Gasping when he saw it, Rockpaw's mentor saw the 'x' across his throat. He glanced around before quickly but carefully grabbing his apprentice, and high-tailing it out of there. Defiance smirked. Let them be afraid. Let them  fear me. Soon, I'll take this to the next level. Then, then they'll really know the meaning of fear.
                                       -=+=-
Meadowcreek sat next to the freshkill pile, searching for something decent to eat. She grabbed Lightnose's plump squirrel and called Scarredheart over to share with her. Scarredheart smiled and padded over, stepping over the puddles that littered the camp.

The two shecats walked over to a dry rock and sat down, enjoying their prey. Meadowcreek was about to take a bite when Moonstar stepped out of his den onto the High-Ledge.
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the High-Ledge for a clan meeting!" he yowled, voice carrying across the clearing. Meadowcreek and Scarredheart padded over, finishing off their squirrel.
"The Shadow-cat has struck again!" This news was met with gasps and murmurs, cats turning to each other.
"It has taken the life of Rockpaw, a ShadowClan apprentice. He has the mark across his throat. We will not be afraid, but we must be cautious. If you are caught leaving camp without another cat, tick-duty for the next moon, no matter what rank you are. This has gotten serious. Clan dismissed." With that, Moonstar turned around and padded back into his den, Frostfall following.

The clan dissolved into whispers and speculative talk. Another one dead? Is this a coincidence? Lightnose quickly pulled Meadowcreek off to a shadowed corner, "Look. Meadowcreek. We've been friends for a while and I need to tell you this. I'm going to catch the Shadow-cat."
Meadowcreek widened her eyes in both fear and worry, "Are you crazy?! It has killed three warriors and one apprentice. You think you'll survive when they didn't?" she snarled, afraid for her friend's life. Lightnose sighed, "Look. If I die, but take out the Shadow-cat, it'll be for the clan, I'll be a hero." Meadowcreek let out a shuddering sigh.
"I'll go with you."
"W-what? No don't come with me, you'll die!"
Meadowcreek laughed a humorless laugh, "Says the cat who is going to kill himself. I'm coming with you, that way, the odds will be in our favor."
"Fine. We leave at moon-high."
                                      -=+=-
It was dark out. That was to be expected though, it was night. But the moon was covered by a film of thick clouds, the stars blotted out too. It was a bad omen.
When Meadowcreek and Lightnose snuck out of camp, a thick mist was falling over the forest. The ground was still soggy, mud squelching through the leafmold onto their paws. Meadowcreek grimaced.
The seemed to have padded for hours and yet, no Shadow-cat. Meadowcreek stumbled over a hidden root, falling to the ground. Lightnose whirled around at the thump, anxiously searching for her.
"Here... I'm right here Lightnose," she whispered. He nodded and kept walking. As Meadowcreek was about to get up, she saw something. Eyes, to be more specific. Glowing dark eyes, fixed on Lightnose. She shook her head, I'm hallucinating. There's not- Uh oh. She saw Lightnose poke his head into a dead bush across from the eyes.
That was when it struck.
                                         -=+=-
Pathetic forest cats. They think they can catch me, Defiance? Defiance thought hatefully. Silently passing through the bushes, she set up a root, to trip the shecat. Then she'd pick off the tom, who foolishly thought he could kill her.
The plan had worked so far, the shecat fell and the tom, Lightnose, had turned around, allowing her to get it position. He would be a delicious one...
Then she saw the shecat, staring into her eyes. Fox-dung. No matter. I'll just take him away, leave her to spread the rumor... Defiance nodded to herself, to the cold and calculating voice that talked to her. She blinked at the shecat defiantly. She was born in a murderous family of rogues, the only tough shecat. Her father immediately saw her potential and began training her. One measly shecat wouldn't tarnish her reputation.
With an inside snarl of fury, she leapt at the tom, closing her paw over his mouth and shoving him into the bush. It was over quickly. Defiance knocked him at the back of his head, knocking him out. Quickly, the wiry shecat dragged him into the underbrush, pulling him through a small tunnel in the thicket. Defiance ran out the other side, towards her warren. She rolled herself and Lightnose in some wild garlic before dashing into the hidden entrance of her tunnel.
She almost felt bad for the other shecat.
                                       -=+=-
Meadowcreek looked at the cat sized hole in the brush, grief frozen onto her face. Not Lightnose! Snarling, Meadowcreek peeked into the tunnel, but she found that it was too small. She hissed at the tunnel before turning to go back to camp.
The ground was still soggy, but the newborn sun was burning away at the mist. The forest was quiet and ethereal, unspoiled as of yet. The camp was also hushed, a few cats up earlier, no doubt for the dawn-patrol. Meadowcreek dipped her head to the night-watch before striding up to the leader's den.
Meadowcreek pushed aside the lichen covering in front of the den and found Moonstar staring into the wall.
"Moonstar. I-I was out with Lightnose at Moon-high. We were h-hunting the Shadow-cat, and, well uh, he was taken." Meadowcreek meowed, her words having a sense of finality to them. Moonstar turned around, eyes swimming with worry, but a small spark of hope glimmered somewhere.
"Moonstar, what should we do? He's with it, he was pulled into a bush and-and he was dragged away. We need to find him!"
Moonstar glanced at her before shifting his gaze to the floor, "We can't do anything, Meadowcreek. Do you want to die with an x across your throat, just like him and those before? It has a plan, a terror tactic. We're not safe and I don't want to lose anyone else."
Meadowcreek growled at him before turning and padding out the entrance to the cave, leaving him to his melancholy thoughts.
                                    -=+=-
Oh my goodness guys, I'm so sorry this took so long. I've been really busy, but now I have a sort of schedule. I'll probably update it on Tues or Sat. Again, sorry this took so long.
-Sage 😘