Warriors REBORN: Era Of Darkness

Chapter Six

"Autumnpaw wake up!"

A dark blur of fluff murmurs to her ear as a she takes in a deep breath. The scents begin to feel familiar now, the straw, the cats, even the feint scent of the animals who lodged here before.

Adderpaw cuffs at her ear, impatiently swaying his white- tipped tail. Autumnpaw shuffles, gazing groggily at him.

"Cloudrise wants us, follow me!" He mews, his voice a soft whisper. The apprentice slowly and cautiously hobbles over the others, turning back about halfway to wait for her.

Autumnpaw is confused, she bounces to her paws and leaps over the sleeping cats. In a bliss of cream and white, she stops beside Adderpaw as they continue their trek to the very back of the camp.

A cat with familiar black and white patches, decorated along their sleek curly coat, awaits for them. Cloudrise.

"Come kits, the night is growing older by the second." The patchy tom breathes. His voice only a low whisper of air.

He beckons them to a small hidden tunnel, hidden well beneath the straw. A musty scent fills Autumnpaw's nose, old hay and damp mold flood the passage.

Cloudrise nudges them from the behind, into the tunnel.

"Quickly, Nightfall is waiting at the other side!"

Both apprentices scurry in a crawl, down the dank tunnel. Their underbellies begin to dampen, Adderpaw whimpers in discomfort.

The scent of the straw is strong, it lingers in Autumnpaw's nose as they exit. Finally being exposed into the crisp night air, a thick layer of cloud shelters the bright moon as they pad slowly towards Nightfall.

Nightfall however, is accompanied by someone foreign to them. A lean brown figure stops their chattering to watch them. As they peer closer Autumnpaw realizes the cat's tail is no larger than a stump.

"Ah! There they are, here are the candidates." Nightfall exclaims, shaking his dark thick pelt abruptly.

The lean tom, oh so familiar to Autumn, peers down at them both. His forest green eyes meet each of theirs before glancing calmly back to Nightfall.

"They'll do, thank you for your help friend."

The stocky tom nods his blocky head as the lean tom circles around them, intrigued by his new counterparts.
He sits in front of them, his thin brown pelt slightly brushing over his dusty stripes. He waves a flashy white paw to Adderpaw before commencing in his speech.

"I am Cedar. A friend of Nightfall. We met the night Autumn was introduced to FeralClan. He is willing to help me in my quest from StarClan, he says you will be too."

Cedar clears his throat before continuing any further.
The two apprentices stare ahead into the deep eyes of this strange cat. Autumnpaw can see the knowledge hidden deep within the density.

"I am recruiting cats, just as Russetwind is. But I am doing this not only to search for the one they call Sunspark, but to restore the rightful ways of the clans. Are you willing to join me?"

Both Adderpaw and Autumnpaw tilt their heads and gaze at each other.

"Are you insane?"

Adderpaw meows, his voice ringing with disbelief.

"We can't betray Russetwind! He saved us from becoming monsters!"

The muddy coated apprentice cries out. His body shudders as he turns around.

"Autumnpaw, let's go. I've had enough of this."

He starts towards the tunnel once again, Autumnpaw hesitantly follows him, unknowing what to say.

Cedar looks pitifully towards Nightfall, then begins to shout.

"We will be awaiting you both at the great stone falls, they're located at the stretch of grass, just beyond the first of the sky-stumps!"

Autumnpaw watches as both Cedar and Nightfall fade into the foggy distance, into the night.

She leaps, bounding after Adderpaw back through the tunnel.

"Something about that cat didn't seem right, his eyes seemed so wise for his age." Autumnpaw whispers to Adderpaw.

"Yeah, I wonder what that was all about." He hisses under his breath.

Cloudrise hushes them as he meets them near the tunnels exit. His eyes full of worry.

"Kits, hurry back before-"

He stops, almost as if he began choking on his own words. A dense shadow appears behind the patchy tom.

"What's this Cloudrise? Poisoning the pure minds of  apprentices?"
A grim voice chuckles, sending a chill up Autumpaw's spine.

"Betrayal it seems..."
Cloudrise attempts to reason but his words are stuck.

A flash of giant claws and Cloudrise's corpse is thrown into the straw. The claws belong to no other than Russetwind, who stares down briefly at the dead warrior, smirking. He admires his claws, cloaked in the irony blood of Cloudrise.

Adderpaw can't believe his eyes, as though his heart has shattered into a million pieces. Staring down at fallen Cloudrise, he bucks his hind paws into Autumnpaw's face.

"Go! Hurry!" He shrieks, Russetwind's giant paw sweeps Adderpaw out of the tunnel opening.

Find Nightfall! I will meet you there!

He mouths as Russetwind tears him away. Russetwind's paw returns in the mouth of the tunnel, swiping for her. Autumnpaw breaks out of her shock and streams down the tunnel, tumbling out into the grassy plains on the other side, panting. She flops down in the cool air as feint echoes of Russetwind's voice can be heard within the camp.

She limps to a crack in the plank wall that surrounds the place. She can see Russetwind at the top of the plank tower, the dark light streaming through the planks from the earth to his body, Cloudrise's limp body in his sharp jaws. The shaggy tom spits it out ruthlessly.

"May every cat join me around the plank pile!"

In no more than an an instant, every cat circles around the rotting pile of wood. Their confused chatter fills the area.

"You see this?"

He makes a flicking motion with his long matted tail towards Cloudrise. Holding his paw in the feint ray of moonlight.

"This is the blood of a traitor."

The leader spits, his voice echoing of rage.

"There are more traitors! My most trusted comrade Nightfall, he's a traitor too!"

The crowd gasps in shock the news and in terror of Cloudrise's mangled corpse.

"From now on, if anyone betrays FeralClan, your punishment will be no other than death."

Russetwind's golden eyes meet Autumnpaw's as she peeks through the crack.

"We must find Sunspark before the traitors ruin us! I'm sending seven scout groups out right now! Nightfall has successfully persuaded sweet Autumnpaw, we must find her and bring her to me!"

Russetwind screeches in rage, barking out orders all around. Autumnpaw hears a rustling from the tunnel as a short stocky cat merges from the mouth.

"Great StarClan save me now."