Warriors: Shadows Incoming ~Series 2 Book 5~

Chapter 12

Flamefur's POV:

Creeping silently past the border, Flamefur left Lightclan's territory and entered the unknown land. Moonlight shone down onto the forest, but the canopy was so dense in this area that there was little light. Flamefur trod carefully through the undergrowth, her dark ginger fur blending well enough with the shadows of night.

She vaguely remembered taking this route with Hazefang and Trueheart when they had been exiled by her brother Tigerstripe. But they had returned- just as she hoped she would return from this mission to find Autumnpool and Stormstar. That thought gave her a little more confidence and her strides lengthened into a slow trot through the darkness.

After some time, she found nothing. No scents, no signs of life. It was as if Autumnpool had disappeared completely. Just as Flamefur was about to turn around and try searching somewhere else, she spotted an abandoned barn up ahead. Perhaps Autumnpool had gone in there for a rest once dusk fell?

Without so much as a second thought, Flamefur padded towards the barn. She was so focused on getting inside that she barely had any time to react as a cat came crashing down ontop of her, slamming her face-first into the ground. Her head jarred painfully from the impact and she let out a muffled groan of pain before falling unconscious.

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Stormstar's POV:

Stormstar awoke from losing a life, his whole body screaming as he forced himself to stand. He stopped when he realised that he couldn't stand. Looking down, he discovered that his paws had been bound together with vines. He let out a hiss of annoyance and immediately ignited his paws in flames to try and burn off the ties around his ankles.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You don't want another torn-out throat, do you? You don't have many lives left." A pair of brilliant yellow eyes shone down at him from the roof of the barn that he was laying in. Stormstar growled and kicked at the barn wall, flinching when it groaned and shook violently. "I wouldn't do that either. It won't take much for this place to fall.."

Stormstar spat up at the cat. "Who are you?"

She let out a faint mew of surprise. "You've already forgotten the cat who threatened you with torture barely three moons ago?"

"Flare?" He growled, his thoughts confirmed when the she cat shifted slightly to allow him to see her orange feathered wings.

"Do you like the new scars I gave you?" She grinned in the darkness above him.

Stormstar's paw self-consciously moved up to feel the twin claw marks across the front of his neck. "I don't think Rabbitstar would be happy about you taking one of my lives. I think he's made it fairly clear that he wants to kill me himself."

"He's already forgiven me." Flare chuckled and leaned to one side slightly, a beam of moonlight slicing along the side of her face to show a triumphant sneer on her face. "It's surprising how easy it is to charm toms with my good looks."

Stormstar held back a scoff. Where does she get that nonsense from?

"Oh look." Flare moved back into the darkness, her eyes once again the only visible part of her body. "Your deputy is waking up."

"My deputy...?" Stormstar slowly turned back down and behind him to see Autumnpool curled in the corner of the barn, a few tail-lengths from him. Moonlight shone down on her like a beacon, showing clearly that her fur was stained with blood and dirt. She must've put up a fight when they caught her.

"Stormstar.." Autumnpool murmured, raising her head sluggishly. "It's Magiclan.." She coughed, the crusted blood from a nasty scratch across her cheek glowing eerily in the moonlight.

"I know." Stormstar shuffled awkwardly closer to face his deputy without having straining his neck too much. "Is there a patrol coming to rescue us?"

Autumnpool hung her head. "No, I went alone. I wouldn't expect any patrols to arrive until at least tomorrow." She looked at the ground as she mumbled to herself. "I hope Flamefur doesn't go after me, Starclan save her if she does."

Flare had disappeared completely, leaving Autumnpool and Stormstar to speak in privacy in the dark corner of the twoleg barn. The rest of the building was empty, most of the Magiclan and rogue cats were probably outside.

Stormstar opened his jaws to say something, but Rabbitstar's booming voice sounded from outside. "Bring the prisoners out for the execution!"

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