ColdClan: Sky Of Blood [2]

5. Skyleap

"He had to agree to it, Skyleap! He had to!"

The heated words between sisters were flying through the air, anger pounding in each of their hearts. Standing on the edge of the creek, the rushing water babbled in the background churned away carelessly, not bothered about the argument happening on its banks. 

"No he didn't. That tom is a traitor, not just to our family but to the entire clan! Why should we be investigating the death of their leader? This has nothing to do with us!" Skyleap's sparkling eyes flashed with lightning bolts of torment, for it was not an easy thought to swallow to think that they were going to try and protect the very man who left his family to fend for themselves. And she was clearly angry at Sunstorm, though there was little that the medicine cat could have said in the moment. 

"But Skyleap," Sunstorm began, the golden cat gazing at her sister with pleading eyes. "Mudstar didn't agree to investigate it for Cloudstar, he did it for us! What if this cat strikes again, but closer to home? Whilst there is a killer on the loose, none of us is safe."

Flicking her tail moodily knowing she was losing this argument, Skyleap turned away from her sister, staring at her rippled reflection in the water. In truth, she knew Sunstorm was right. There wasn't just her to think about now and she needed to stop being so selfish. Feeling Sunstorm's warm breath on her neck, Skyleap relaxed a little and leaned into her fluffy chest. The sisters shared a moment of peaceful embrace. 

"We should leave," the sister of the golden eyes murmured, burying her nose in the fur on top of Skyleap's head. "No doubt the kits are wondering where you've gotten to." 

Walking side by side, the sisters noticed a small group of cats gathered around Mudstar as they approached. Other members of the clan were clearly trying not to show their fear of the killer, and so were going about their daily business. The fresh-kill pile looked well stocked, and in the corner of the camp they could see Rowanwhisker delegating roles to the three eager apprentices stood by him. Beckoned over by the chocolate brown leader, Skyleap approached hesitantly for she was not sure if she could keep her temper in control after her previous outburst against Sunstorm.

Mudstar was mid sentence, and so the pair settled at the edge of the group. "So the only thing we have to go off is that kittypet or rogue that delivered the message to Foxstar. Goldheart said it was a she-cat, pale coloured with darker points, and the deepest green eyes he'd ever seen. Plus she was missing half her ear, so she should be recognisable. Do we know of any cats around here like that?"

The group, consisting of Redflight, Berrystep, Stagfoot and Mosspelt, all shook their heads. Sunstorm was the one to speak on behalf of them all. "The nearest twolegplace is uncountable tree-lengths away from here, on the other side of HeatClan land. They call it the Brightplace, because it is said to be lit up by the strangest lights on top of sticks all across the twoleg's camp."

"I've heard of it," Stagfoot interjected. "When I was a kittypet, I heard tales of huge twoleg camps like this so called 'Brightplace'. My twoleg lived alone and in the middle of nowhere, so I never got to see them, but from what I've heard from passing cats, it is a dangerous place full of twolegs, dogs and foxes."

The atmosphere turned black as the tomcat spoke of the dangers. Nobody wanted to speak of such a place. ColdClan was situated far enough from most twolegs, and they liked to keep it that way. None of them wanted to become crowfood for the twolegs!

"We don't even know if she came from the Brightplace." Redflight remarked, breaking the silence.

It was true, they had no idea who this cat was or where she had come from. But Skyleap couldn't get it out her mind that this could be their only chance of finding her. If she had been seen on HeatClan land, then it was more than likely she'd come from the Brightplace. Though she was unsure about helping Cloudstar, she knew that she wanted to protect Batkit, Antkit, Mothkit and Icekit from any dangers that there could be out there.

"You have to go and try. If you find her, we've moved another step in the right direction of getting to the bottom of this."

Sunstorm's ears pricked towards her sister. "Don't you want to come, Skyleap? You're one of the best fighters I know, you'd be a great addition if we got into any trouble."

Shaking her head, the grey tabby let out a small mew of gratitude. "I can't, my kits need me here. But I hope, by StarClan, you have a safe journey."

There was a pause as the rest of the cats looked at each other. Mudstar let out a sigh, his brown fur heaving a little. "Then that's decided. We'll go to the Brightplace. But not all of you... I need some senior warriors to stay here and look after things. No, I'll take Stagfoot, Sunstorm, Mistheart and Spidertail. The five of us should be enough, we don't want to scare this cat away. We need to get all the information we can."

Skyleap frowned a little as she realised that Sunstorm and Spidertail would be travelling together. She knew how close the two were, and often worried that perhaps they had gotten too close. Though she could never imagine her sister breaking the medicine cat code on purpose, she knew that the forces of the heart played with a deeper fate. 

"Redflight, you're in charge." Mudstar continued, flashing out orders like bolts of lightning. Though a gentle leader, he could be sharp when he needed to be. "Stagfoot, go and let the other warriors know they're coming with us. Make up some traveling herbs, Sunstorm."

As the group dispersed, Skyleap was left sat alone in the dust. Trailing her paw around the ground, she gave a small sigh of despair. She would have loved to have made such a journey, as her love of danger and adrenaline made her want to go on more adventures. Perhaps in future there would be time for that. Getting to her feet, she wandered back towards the nursery, where her beautiful kits were there to greet her.

"Skyleap!" The four of them squeaked and ran into her, bumping against her chest. She let out a delighted purr, licking each of their heads individually. 

"What's going on, Skyleap? We saw you outside with Mudstar." Asked Mothkit, her face curiously cocked to one side.

Nudging them back inside, Skyleap settled down in the den on some fresh moss bedding. "Well my dears, there is a place that is said to shine brighter than the sun. It is where twolegs dwell, along with dogs and even foxes! It is full of dangers around every corner." Her kits settled at her feet, eagerly looking up at her with their wide eyes. She continued her story, her tail flicking in happiness. "There are many kittypets and loners living there, and they're nothing like us clan cats. They don't have leaders, deputies, or even medicine cats! Sunstorm and the others are going there to find a certain cat who we think can give us some information about something."

"About Foxstar's death?" Icekit asked bluntly, the other kits nodding as he spoke.

"Uh, well, yes. How did you know about that?" 

Slightly shameful, the pale kit hung his head. "We might have listened in when Ivypaw and Reedfang came. And also when Silvernose and Echopad were talking about it. We couldn't help it Skyleap, they were right outside the nursery!" 

"You shouldn't be listening in to other cat's conversations." The she-cat remarked, though she wasn't really cross. The natural curiosity of kits always fascinated her. They always seemed to be wise beyond their years.

Glancing at each other, the four kits all chimed in at once with lilted voices. "Sorry, Skyleap."

"It's alright. Thank you for your apology. Now run into the den and find Frogkit, Crowkit and Fawngaze so we can all sit together for a sun-down story."

As the fluffballs ran further into the den, Skyleap turned her head and glanced over her shoulders. There was the group getting ready to leave, talking cheerily among themselves and making jokes. A pang of jealousy fell through her heart and she quickly turned away to distract herself from them. They had decided who was going, there was no point holding a grudge. This was their battle to fight, just as she had her own to fight back home.