Warriors: Empire's End ~Book 5 Series 3~

Chapter 16

Silvershy's POV:

She awoke to the sound of hushed whispers.

It was dark, the sun was far from rising. The camp was quiet, everyone was asleep. The air was cold, and the she cat bushed out her silver tabby fur to warm herself. Her kits were snoring in the curve of her belly, snuggled together in a tight bundle. Silvershy smiled down at them, a gentle purr rumbling in her throat.

Another noise broke through the silence, and the silver she cat pricked her ears in surprise. It sounded like pawsteps this time, but it was so quiet... She had to he imagining it. Or maybe someone's leaving camp for an early walk... A very early walk... Should she wake Java?

Silvershy was wide awake now, and her senses were on high alert. Something didn't feel right. The air was thick with tension. From her spot near the dead monster, it was hard to see much outside the twoleg pelts piled around her and her kits. It provided warmth and shelter from the leaf-fall wind, but little visibility. The rest of the rogues slept either inside the dead monsters, or in and around some of the many dens that lay across the rocky camp. They were all spread out.

There was a low whisper nearby, barely a few tail-lengths away from where Silvershy and her kits lay. The whisper- although incoherent- shattered the silence, and the silver she cat snapped to her paws, ignoring the soft mewls from her kits as they were woken up by her sudden movement. There was someone in the camp. Someone who didn't want to be spotted. An intruder.

They must have heard her sudden movement because the air grew deathly silent again. Not even the crickets had stopped making noise. It was so quiet that Silvershy could only hear her own rapid heartbeat.

Suddenly, there was a series of yowls all at once, from all areas of the camp and Silvershy realised they were under attack. She stood over her kits, protecting them just as the towering form of an enemy rogue appeared from behind the piles of twoleg pelts. Their piercing yellow eyes glinted with recognition. "You're the Clan warrior Tofu warned us about!"

"Tofu?" Silvershy muttered, unsheathing her claws. "Who's that?"

"The one you and your friends attacked!" The rogue snarled, drawing nearer to the silver she cat.

So Java was right to worry. They've come back for revenge. Silvershy breathed a sigh of frustration, her fur bristling as she faced the rogue. Beneath her, sheltered by her belly, her kits stayed completely still, watching their attacker approach. The silver warrior could sense their fear, and she growled in response, wanting to reassure them that it would be alright. But how could she do that when she had no idea herself.

From what she could tell, this had been a full ambush on the entire camp. Java's rogues would have been caught by surprise, there was no way they could have fought of their attackers. No one has been killed yet.. Silvershy sighed. Or at least, I haven't heard any dying screeches.

"You and your kits are coming with me." The rogue growled with a smug grin, as if he were challenging her to try and attack him. They both knew she wouldn't do that, why would she risk her life to attempt a hopeless escape?

The silver tabby allowed the tom to herd her and her kits towards the centre of the camp. Through the dim lighting, she saw all of Java's rogues huddled together, surrounded by the enemy rogues. Silvershy searched the crowd for Java, Ebony and Stump. Where were they? Were they okay? Had they been hurt? What was going to happen to them all?

Finally, she spotted her three rogue kits. They were crouched at the front of the crowd, cowering at the paws of the leader of the ambush, the huge white tom. Tofu.

Silvershy was shoved near the middle of the clustered rogues, and she crouched down with them. Her kits hid underneath her belly, warmed by her soft fur. She knew had to protect her kits no matter what, even if she had to sacrifice her own life.

Around her, the gathered rogues filled the still night air with their soft cries of anguish and fright. No one knew what was going on; the attack had been a total surprise to them all. This is why the Clans have guards at night, so that this doesn't happen... Silvershy let out a soft whimper of her own, but it was swiftly drowned out by the countless mews from the felines around her.

Finally, Tofu spoke. His rough voice commanded immediate silence throughout the rocky clearing. "Recently," the large white tom began, his razor sharp claws flexing against the hard ground, "we were attacked by members of your group." His bright grey eyes slanted downwards, fixing firmly upon Java. "Did you order that attack?"

"You know full well that you attacked first! Silvershy was just a defenceless mother, who was only hunting to provide for her kits!" Java snarled viciously at Tofu, despite his submissive position on the ground.

Tofu let out a deep laugh, his broad head shaking in denial. "Silvershy is a Clan warrior. She is hardly defenceless. She nearly killed me!"

"And what's a warrior doing here anyway?" One of Tofu's rogues hissed, his piercing gaze finding Silvershy among the crowd. "Did you run away from your Clan? Were you kicked out?"

Silvershy glared at her forepaws, refusing to answer the enemy rogue. She felt many pairs of eyes on her, bith from Tofu and Java's groups. It seemed that no one liked the Clans in this area. A feeling of homesickness overcame the silver she cat, she wanted to go back to her clan mates where it would be safe, but they were unreachable...

"I believe," Tofu rumbled suddenly, once again demanding swift silence, "that the only way for justice to be done, is for Silvershy to come with us."

Silvershy gasped in outrage, her tail lashing in the air. "Never!" She snapped, standing up to stare Tofu right in the eye. "I won't leave my family!"

"Your family?" Tofu muttered, his ears flicking back against his head. "You mean your three little kits? They can join you."

"You're forgetting about my other kits." Silvershy growled.

Beside Tofu, Java glared desperately at Silvershy, his green eyes begging for her to keep quiet. Silvershy ignored her son. "Oh really?" The white tom demanded. "Who are your other kits?"

"Java, Ebony and Stump." Silvershy announced, her deep green eyes settling firmly upon her three kits, who each wore horrified looks on their faces.

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