Warriors: War of the Clans - Darkness

Chapter 13

The next day, Foxpaw was out in the woods, hunting for the Clan. He watched the snowy bushes and trees, alert for any signs of prey. They would probably all be in their burrows, but Foxpaw had a plan. In his jaws, he held several nuts from different trees. He would place the nuts in front of prey's burrows, then wait for the prey to come out.

A hole caught his eye. There, a mouse was peeking out, looking out for any intruders. When it felt Foxpaw's pawsteps, it squeaked and retreated back into its burrow. Smiling to himself, he placed the nuts outside the mouse's burrow, then retreated to the bushes to wait.

Sure enough, the mouse came cautiously out. They'd do anything for food, Foxpaw thought with satisfaction. He carefully started to stalk the mouse, as it approached the pile of nuts and began to munch on one. Foxpaw leaped, the mouse noticing him. But it was too late. Foxpaw quickly slammed his paw down on the mouse, killing it with a single swipe. Foxpaw burrowed a hole in the snow, covering the mouse up to retreive later. He found a stick and poked it into the groud, marking where he buried the mouse.

At this rate, the red-furred ThunderClan apprentice thought, I'll catch enough food for the whole Clan!

Foxpaw picked up the nuts and continued his way through the forest, ready to catch some more prey for ThunderClan.

<|........|>

Tiger slinked through the tunnels, her spirits down. She had already eaten the first meal of the day, and she didn't know what to do now. She wondered, breifly, if she could go outside and spend a little time out there. But she banished the thought immediately. She still couldn't see, and it was as if her downward sinking spirits affected her eyesight. She hoped not, but she couldn't deny that her eyes were getting worse and worse every day. Finally, she stopped a the entrance to ThunderClan territory, half hoping some young cat would wander in, if by accident or on purpose.

Why had she thought Fox would visit? Where was he now? She sighed, padding back to the sleeping hollow.

What Tiger didn't notice, was a huge tom perched on a ledge right above Tiger's head. He smiled at his luck, staring at Tiger for a few seconds. She was just staring at the second nest that was there. The tom wondered for a moment why she would stare at another nest. Then he caught a whiff of the scent.

He leaped gracefully down, placing one brown paw out of the shadows. Tiger stiffened, hearing the tom's pawstep and whipped around. The huge tom stepped completely out of the shadows. He was white, with brown ears, paws, tail tip, and belly. His chest was black.

"F-father," Tiger whispered, fear entering her heart.

Fang grinned. "Hello, my treacherous daughter. Happen to have any visitors in the last two moons or so? A golden furred cat? Black and white? Or..." He scented the air once more. He stared at her with his intense brown eyes, the evil grin pasted to his face. He was enjoying this immensely. "Red-furred?"

Tiger caught her breath. She took a few pawsteps backwards, as Fang stalked forward. The tom darted forward, batting her into the wall. She flew back with a cry of pain, but Fang was immune to it. "Why don't we go home, and you can tell Dark everything you know about Fox," Fang snarled.

Tiger whimpered, staring defiantly at the spot next to Fang. "I'm not going."

Fang shrugged. "I don't need your permission."

Tiger snarled as Fang leaped at her. She was able to scratch his nose before he pinned her against the wall.

"Say goodnight, traitor," Fang purred. He slammed one paw against her head, and Tiger fell limp, unconcious. Fang grinned, picking up the orange she with black stripes, carrying her out of the tunnels.

<|.............|>

Lion yawned, padding into the barn, the half-moon shining above. It had been a long day, filled with exploring the forest with Brak and Frost. There wasn't any surprises, due to the fact that Brak and Frost always chase any harmful animals out of the forest. Thankfully, they leave all the prey. Lion had taken part in a patrol walking around the forest. They had set off in the morning, and they had just come back. Lion was glad that a fence covered the area, or else they would have to scent mark the territory every day.

Lion pulled her scarf off, then climbed drowsily into her nest, curling up with a yawn. Her eyelids heavy, she let sleep take her away.

She awoke to the sound and scent of strange cats. Lion stood up in her nest. It was still night, and there were two figures silhouetted in the doorway. She heard the patter of pawsteps, and looked down to see Okapi and Flame stalking up to the strangers. Lion quickly leaped down, stopping the two in their tracks. She put her tail over her muzzle, signaling ''quiet''. Lion led the two she cats over to the strangers.

Now that she could scent them more clearly, she realized they weren't alone. They each held a kit in their mouth. One tom was long and lanky, towering above Lion and his companion. The other tom wasn't short. He was about as big as Okapi, and she could see their eyes glowing in the night.

Lion held back her companions. "Who are you?" She inquired.

The toms exchanged glances. They gently let the kits down. "I'm Thicket," the smaller tom meowed.

"Tree," the tall tom grunted. Lion blinked. Tree? Now where have I heard that name...

"And this is Crystal and Creek," Thicket meowed, gesturing to the kits.

Lion observed the toms and the kits. One kit, Crystal, was a she while Creek was a tom. They need rest, Lion decided. "We'll talk more in the morning. Okapi, Flame," She ordered the two she-cats, "Go find them a place to rest."

The she-cats looked like they would argue for a moment, before looking at the kits. Their gaze softened, and they dipped their heads to Lion, picking up the kits and leading Tree and Thicket to one of the hay piles.

Lion padded back to her nest, mind still working on why the name Tree was so farmiliar.