Scars and Ashes (On Hold)

Chapter 13

They were led through the den towards a strange looking mountain-like thing. The 'rocks' on it were perfectly rectangle and made of wood. At the top the den went on a little farther before it stopped. On the highest piece of wood sat a large silver tabby tom, who was licking his paw. "Clear! We found these cats wandering our territory!" hissed the cat who Mistpaw remembered as Rain. Owlfeather flattened her ears and hissed, "I think you mean our territory." Rain opened her mouth for a sharp retort, but stopped herself. Clear ignored Owlfeather, and instead said, "Why have you brought them here?" His voice was calm. Too calm even. It made Mistpaw's insides squirm with discomfort and nervousness. This time, Yarrow stepped forward, "They are clan cats, sir. And they insist our territory belongs to their clan. We thought that if we kept them here a while, perhaps that would persuade their clan to give us their land without a fight." Clear nodded, then said, "Good. They will give it to us if they want their cats back. Until then, what should we do with them? Not good for us if we waste prey on hostages who do nothing. And if they starve, then we will have nothing to use against their clan." Rain replied with, "I was thinking they do small things around the den. Clean nests, fetch prey, and maybe use them when we teach the younger cats battle moves. Of course, that is just a suggestion." Clear nodded in agreement to her then said, "I suppose it is settled, then. I think we should seperate them, as well. I want the older cats to be seperated from all the rest. The three younger cats may stick together. They are no threat, and it will be easier to keep an eye on them. I want all the fully grown cats in different rooms upstairs, but you may keep these three," he said, gesturing to Mistpaw and her littermates with his tail, "wherever you like." A few of the cats nodded in agreement, then split up into groups to lead the clan cats away. Twistedwillow was led by the large orange tom, Amberriver was led by two cats, one tortishell and one brown. Owlfeather was led by a silvery tabby she-cat and Rain, who smugly smiled at her, and clawed Owlfeather's side every time she didn't think she was going fast enough. Mistpaw, Frostpaw, and Shadepaw were herded off by the two younger cats and Yarrow. To Mistpaw's suprise, one of the cats her age, a small white tom, looked slightly remorseful and ashamed everytime he looked at her. They were led towards a small, empty den in the back, with a hard stone floor, and empty boxes in a corner. Spiderwebs hung at the top of the den, and the floor was covered with dust. This didn't bother Mistpaw much, as she knew that those spiderwebs would be good in case any of them got injured. Still, the dark room gave off a creepy, eerie feeling, that made Mistpaw shudder.

She turned around staring at the cats with wide, fearful eyes, and forgetting what she had thought about not letting them see her fear. She was scared. Terrified even. What's going to happen to us? she thought. The apprentice aged tom stared back, his eyes wide, too. But his were strangely filled with pity and guilt instead of with fear. Even stranger, Mistpaw thought she heard him whisper something. She heard the words echo in her head as the entrance shut and the room darkened. Over and over the words played in her head: I'm sorry.