Warriors: Storm of Sand

Chapter 2

"We have been seeing the wanderers a lot lately Dune. They haven't done anything yet. You know how shifty they can be." Brick told the hairless tom.

"Yes. Do a round scout of the boundaries. Chase them. Make sure they never,"
"Are you sure chase attempts will work?" Lizard drew near, his rat like tail twitching as it was curled beside his furless flank. "These cats are dangerous." He added.

"They haven't done anything dangerous yet." Dune meowed to his younger brother. Lizard curled his lip. "Not yet, but they could!" He meowed. Dune lashed his rat-like-tail. "Lizard, you are not the pharaoh here.."

Lizard hissed. "Says who??!" He challenged. Dune twitched his hairless tail. "Me.. your pharaoh and kin." The tom growled. Lizard stomped a paw down onto the sand. "We must be prepared for when they do decide to attack!" He meowed.

"Very well... if you say so.." Dune lifted his head. "Have the guards do a round scout around the boundaries!"

Brick bowed to him and dashed away to fetch the others. He ordered one group of guards to scout the left side and the other group of guards to scout the right side. Scorch lead the group scouting the right while Brick lead the group scouting the left. "Keep close. The safety of OasisClan is on our shoulders." He whispered.

"Yeah, on us, but not on my brother.." Lizard rumbled. A disapproving hiss came from one of his Clanmates. "Lizard! Don't talk about your brother like that. He's a great pharaoh of OasisClan." Claw hissed crossly, her pale yellow tabby tail twitching. The sphinx tom held a slight growl of rage in his throat.

"I hear something." Brick muttered, interrupting their conversation. His ear twitched and he looked to see cats all feasting on prey. "Invaders."

Lizard flexed his claws. He watched the cats, one was a scruffy looking she-cat, the other, a smoke spotted tabby, and one more, a sleek and tall black tom. Claw lashed her tail. "Just look them. Gorging on our prey like it's theirs." She snarled.

"Let's show them it's ours then." Lizard growled. Brick's green eyes gleamed as he and the patrol stalked forward, instinctively getting in the battle formation. Scorch could be seen doing the same.

"On my signal, we unleash our wrath on these prey-stealing fools." Brick sank his claws into the sand and looked to his Clanmates. They stared back at him, huge-eyed, bristle-furred, ready to strike. Beyond them stood the wandering cats, tails flicking as they were blissfully unaware that they would be mercilessly attacked.

"OasisClan attack!" Scorch and Brick yowled at the same time as they raced forward with their patrols. Beside Lizard, his apprentice Blaze curled his lip. "Get out of here you beetle-pelts!" The bronze tabby apprentice yowled as he and his sister Quartz went for a sleek black tom.

Scorch was tackled by a long-haired white she-cat. "Well well, it's the little Clan fools. You'd never last one day in the sands!" She taunted.

"That's what you think!" Scorch snarled as she swiped at her face and narrowly avoided being scarred. Gold raced over and sank her claws into her back and her teeth into her scruff. Scorch scrambled to her feet on short limbs fought with the pale golden she-cat side by side.

"Stop!" Commanded a voice. Dune padded over in the sand with Jewel by his side, their tokens from the Twolegs gleaming in the sun's light. The long-haired white she-cat had Gold muzzle-deep in the sand. "Give us what we want, or your friends die." She snapped.

"What is it that you want?" Dune meowed. Lizard and Scorch stared at their brother in astonished rage. But before either sibling could ask what he was doing, the white she-cat nodded to a thick-furred bronze she-cat. "Topaz tell him our demands." She angled her ears for to go over to Dune.

The she-cat obeyed, her thick tail lashing like a snake's body. "We desire territory, rich with water filled with fish and ruins with fresh rats." She meowed.

Dune blinked slowly, but before he could speak, Jewel took a regal step forward. "If you wish to stay here, you must live by our rules." She growled. Topaz blinked slowly, listening intently.

"You are to stay in your part of the territory, the sands that lie where the sun rises and sets. Do not trespass, steal, or threaten and above all stay away from OasisClan." She growled.

"Hm, Zia?" Topaz looked to the white she-cat, who seemed to be assessing the situation before her, a look of satisfaction on her face. "Hm, sounds fair to me. Come on, it's time we left." She meowed as the cats let them go and wandered off to their new home, tails high.