Legacy (Book 1)

Chapter 31: Missing Parts

Chapter 31: Missing Parts

"Hurry up! You're going to get left behind!" Rainstone called testily. Her call was muffled by the rabbit she held in her mouth as she glanced at the trailing Soot who stumbled under the weight of her squirrel and pigeon.

"I'm coming!" Soot called back, making an effort of walking fast enough to keep up with the taller cats of the hunting patrol.

It was Rainstone's first time leading one, and she had already spent energy trying to teach Soot, Coal, and Niko how to hunt properly. None of them had really picked it up, but they'd improved enough to get a respectful catch.

She glanced down at her broken paw, wrapped and pulled tightly together. Almost half a moon had passed since the fight, and she was wondering how long it'd be until it would be safe to take the splint off. Better leave it on for a moon or two, especially since I'm still using it.

Even though she was grateful that she could use it without any pain, she wished she could feel it a little, just to judge how well it was healing. But no, she'd have to guess on how long it lasted before it made her entire leg hurt. It had hurt a lot while hunting.

She picked her way carefully into camp, nodding at the other cats as she dropped her catch. "Well done, you can rest for now, we have a visitor coming later, so make yourselves presentable," Nightwing snapped from his usual spot on top of the cleft rock that jutted over the clearing, or Cleft Rock, as it was named by the cats.

Rainstone pricked her ears, but didn't ask any questions as she grabbed a mouse and went to join Needlepine. "How was training?" she asked, they'd been fortunate to not face each other in training, but Rainstone knew it'd happen eventually.

"Fine, I guess," Needlepine mewed, glancing up at her quickly before lowering his eyes to a freshly red cut.

Rainstone sighed and looked away, "Hunting was fine as well, thanks for asking," she mewed with both annoyance and teasing.

Needlepine groaned, "Sorry, it looked like you made an impressive catch," Needlepine mewed, looking at the now bulging pile.

"Yeah, so, what do you think of the new cat?" Rainstone asked, angling her ears at Nightwing's newest recruit.

"He's okay, bright-hearted and generous. I have a feeling he won't pass Nightwing's expectations of killing," Needlepine sighed. Rainstone turned her eyes on the young black tom. He was tall, almost gangly looking, and was about her age, maybe younger. He had sleek fur that was neither long nor short and dim gray eyes that were ironic to his nature.

"Shame he had to get caught up in this," Rainstone mewed.

Needlepine shrugged, "His choice," he grumbled, tearing at his shrew.

Rainstone glanced at him sharply; his faded black fur was bristling defensively. She knew he couldn't care less for cats outside the Clans, and she had to try hard not to let it get to her. "I wonder who the visitor is," she mewed, looking around the ridges of the hollow.

"Dunno, hope it's something important that we can take back to the Clans. We're running out of time," Needlepine grumbled in a low tone.

"I know, I know. I've got it mostly worked out, I'm just missing one piece," Rainstone mewed, looking down at her own black fur. It hadn't started fading like Needlepine's yet, but it would before long. All the rain the days before had only hastened the process.

"What piece?" Needlepine asked. He hadn't been much help, as she had been the one that had eavesdropped on conversations while he tried to forget all his battle training from the Clans; as to not let Nightwing, his former Clanmate, figure out who he was.