Hailstorm's Fear

Chapter Five

      "Who's on duty?"Hailstorm whispered to Robinpaw as he narrowed his eyes against the dark.

"Firegaze,"He made out the nervous twitch of Robinpaw's ear. "He might be getting old enough to join the elders,but his sight is one of the sharpest in the Clan."

"We'll have to find a way around him,then,"Hailstorm straightened and looked around,finally spotting an opening which was covered by Cloudstar's den. "Over there. We just have to be quiet,and our pawsteps have to be light."

Robinpaw nodded,her eyes wide. Hailstorm brushed his pelt against hers reassuringly,before bounding to the leader's den. He silently cursed when his paw brushed against a few reeds,making it rustle.

"Who's there?"Firegaze's voice echoed throughout the camp. Panic quickly rose in Hailstorm as he heard the senior warrior's pawsteps getting close.

"Go!"He pushed Robinpaw through the thick wad of reeds,before heading towards the river.

We should be safe there. Hailstorm took a deep breath and plunged into the water. Robinpaw followed after him,and she stayed still. He poked his head out of the water just to see Firegaze's tail disappearing into the depths of the camp.

"We're good to go."He meowed,before paddling towards the other side of the shore.

"I'm so tired."

"Already?You know we have to go to Twolegplace,right?"Hailstorm gave a skeptical look before sighing. "You know,maybe we should go back-"

"No!"Robinpaw jumped to her paws,her eyes blazing with determination. "I want to meet my mother!"

"Fine. We'll have to be quick,though. Let's go then."

______

The moon was gradually sinking in the sky when they reached Twolegplace. Hailstorm's pelt pricked as he looked over his shoulder to glance at ThunderClan's territory.

What if they see us?I mean,ThunderClan and RiverClan are on pretty good terms,but Sunningrocks still exist.

"Come on!"Robinpaw hissed as she bounded forward.

"Wait,"Hailstorm halted her with his tail. "Do you remember the stories about Twolegplace that every RiverClan warrior keeps talking about?"

He shuddered as he recalled them. "Twolegs that tortured cats. Killed them for pleasure. The previous RiverClan deputy even got taken away by them!"

"They never really specified how Shadeheart's death was,"Robinpaw flicked her tail and turned back to Twolegplace. "And they said that those Twolegs never came back after he died. So we might be okay."

As they proceeded,Hailstorm realised she was right. No one would tell him how Shadeheart had actually prevented the Clans' extinction. He shook his pelt and stared right ahead,pushing those thoughts back before focusing on the current mission.

"It's Clan cats again,"They both jumped when a she-cat leaped onto the fence and stared at them. "Haven't I met enough already?"

"You met more of us?"Robinpaw's tail lifted.

"Yes. At those four oak trees there just beyond the forest,"The she-cat licked and swiped a paw over her ear,where there was a tuft of fur missing. "Not exactly the friendliest,by the way. Even after I saved one of them-"

"It must be ThunderClan cats,"Hailstorm twitched his whiskers in surprise. "What did they look like?"

"One looked intimidating,"She paused and shrugged. "Not intimidating enough for me,anyway. The one that I saved was a silver tom. He tried to climb one of those trees and fell."

"Thrushpaw!"Robinpaw's eyes lit up in excitement. "You know,that's my brother!Was he alright after that?What was he doing climbing the tre-"

"I don't really know,"The she-cat leaped down from the fence and fixed her brilliant green gaze on them. "What are you both doing here,anyway?"

Hailstorm opened his mouth to answer when Robinpaw cut him off. "We are here to find my mother."She declared.

The she-cat looked amused. "I think I've seen a kittypet looking like you. She lives nearby the abandoned Twoleg nest."

"Thanks,"Although Hailstorm was suspicious of the she-cat,he could not help but let out a sigh of relief at the time saved looking for Robinpaw's mother. "What's your name,by the way?"

"Clover,"Her eyes gleamed,lighting up the dark. "I'll be around the Clan territories for a while,so you'll see me around."

The pair turned in the direction of the abandoned Twoleg nest when Clover halted them.

"I don't know whether you'll see her,though,"Clover's gaze turned dark as she glanced at all of the Twoleg nests. "You have to be careful. Something about this place has scared the kittypets from coming out in the night. Not only them,but the dogs too."

Hailstorm exchanged glances with Robinpaw before dipping his head to Clover. "We'll be careful."He promised.

As they started to race along the edge to the abandoned Twoleg nest,a chill ran up Hailstorm's spine while he glanced back at Clover's disappearing figure.