MistClan

Here is tomorrow, just past the sunrise, my fingers reaching out.  'Cause we are believers, the guards of the skyline.  The curse can't tie us down.  We've waited so long...  We've waited long enough...

(( ... ))

Spottedpaw's POV

        By the time they finally reached the distant location Bubblepool had spoken of, Spottedpaw was a little tuckered out.  Still, she resolved not to complain or request a moment to catch her breath; however, when the warrior asked if she needed a rest, she nodded gratefully.

        "Yeah, that would be great," she murmured, sitting down and lowering her head slightly.  She really needed to work on her endurance training.

        It wasn't long, however, before a strange noise from somewhere nearby intruded on her rest.  The tortoiseshell raised her head once more, ears pricking and eyes alert.  She raised her nose in the air, but the breeze was blowing more toward the mysterious sound than toward them, and she couldn't pick anything up.

        Frowning, she turned to Bubblepool.  "Did you hear that?" she asked in a soft voice, almost beginning to wonder if she'd heard correctly or if she was just imagining things.

Shellspots' POV

        "...I see..." Shellspots murmured, her pelt flushing further.  Some small part of her wondered if Dovestar knew of the... closeness... she felt for the blue tom, wondered if Watertail felt the same way toward her or if he just thought of her as his friend, but she shoved those thoughts away, clearing her throat awkwardly.  She opened her mouth, trying to think of something to say to change the subject.  "So... um... well...  ...How has your time as deputy been so far?" she asked lamely after a few more long moments of awkward silence, shifting uncomfortably in her nest.

Shadowstep's POV

        After cleaning himself up and rolling in another patch of mint to disguise his scent once more, Shadowstep made his way across the river and southwest towards Misty Hollow, traveling through the trees as much as he could.  He knew the silver tabby she-cat would be there again today - she'd come almost every day for the past half-moon.  He'd been observing her, unnoticed, wondering how long her persistence would last.  Initially, he'd intended to kill her, thinking it rather lucky that such a stupid cat had wandered right up to his favorite hideout without any effort on his behalf, but something had held him back, and he'd allowed her to see his reflection in the pool for but a brief moment, curious as to how she would react.  He was even more surprised and amused when, instead of running like most cats with even the brain of a gnat would do, she seemed fascinated, and had even come back the next day.  Well, if she was truly that thick, he decided, perhaps he could turn the situation even more to his advantage than he would by simply killing her straight away...

        Silently, using his power to dampen all sound he would've made otherwise, he approached the pool, and, sure enough, once he was close enough, he spotted her pale pelt through the branches.  With a grin, he slipped into the same tree he'd been in when she'd first seen him, then, after watching her for a short time, he allowed his ability to drop away.

       "Looking for me?" he called down to her, sprawling over the branch with his head hanging over one side, batting lazily at a nearby leaf as he stared down at her with half-lidded orange eyes, a languid smile playing across his muzzle.

This is our right, this is our song, this is our moment in history.  Ten million roads turn into one.  This is our fight, where we belong.  No one can take away destiny.  So let the night cover us all - stars will never fall...

Here is tomorrow, just past the sunrise, my fingers reaching out.  'Cause we are believers, the guards of the skyline.  The curse can't tie us down.  We've waited so long...  We've waited long enough...

(( Lol, poor Eagle; Shadowstep definitely lives up to his name.  xD  He's also quite mean and thinks he's smarter than everyone else.  ...Of course, that's true in most cases... but that's beside the point.  xD ))

Shadowstep's POV

                The tiniest smirk appeared on the dark tom's face at the silver tabby's words; yes, he certainly was important, but it also most definitely hadn't been StarClan who'd sent him.  This she-cat really was stupid, he thought.  This was going to be even easier than he'd imagined.

        "Oh, what are names, anyway?" he meowed easily, batting at the leaf a few more times before sitting upright, peering down over the edge of the branch at her, flicking his white-tipped tail around so it was lying over the branch next to his paws.  "Far more interesting is this 'StarClan' you speak of.  I've never heard of such a thing."  If he was going to trick this silly cat, he'd need to play the fool.  Obviously, she hadn't recognized him yet - he scoffed inwardly at the thought; did the Clan teach their kits nothing? - so she had no way of knowing he'd once been a member of her Clan, and Shadowstep would prefer to keep it that way.  As soon as she found out who he was, the game would be over.  The tom wasn't sure how far he would take it as of yet, but there was no harm in having a little fun with his prey before dispatching it once and for all.

Hawkpaw's POV

        Hawkpaw gave a slight yelp of alarm and took an involuntary leap backwards at Sandpelt's unexpectedly surprised reaction, landing on his rump, his own fur puffing out and his yellow eyes wide.  "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized in an embarrassed tone.  He recovered quickly, however, leaning down to give his ruffled chest fur a few awkward licks before getting to his paws once again.  "What are we going to do next?" he asked, his eagerness clearly beginning to return.

Swiftpaw's POV

        "Alright," Swiftpaw meowed, his whiskers twitching with amusement.  He looked over at Birdleap expectantly, waiting for her order, but the red tabby shook her head.

         "Nothing for me; I already ate this morning," she told him curtly, but not impolitely.

        Swiftpaw nodded, about to turn towards the den entrance to fetch the requested fresh-kill, when Moss slipped out of her nest and started gathering together some of the moss. "Oh, thank you," the tom purred, giving her a friendly, bright-eyed look. "Your help is much appreciated."

This is our right, this is our song, this is our moment in history.  Ten million roads turn into one.  This is our fight, where we belong.  No one can take away destiny.  So let the night cover us all - stars will never fall...

Here is tomorrow, just past the sunrise, my fingers reaching out.  'Cause we are believers, the guards of the skyline.  The curse can't tie us down.  We've waited so long...  We've waited long enough...

(( LOL good luck with that plan, Sandpelt XD
Also, go ahead and have Moss reply to Fox if you want - I'm just trying to push things along as quickly as possible xD ))

Shadowstep's POV

                Shadowstep's eyes widened slightly in a false show of understanding, and he nodded.  "Ah, of course," he said, flicking his tail dismissively.  "We loners refer to them as 'spirits of the dead'."

        As she once again asked for his name, he grinned, slipping silently down the trunk as if he were an actual shadow, and, once he was only a couple of tail-lengths above the ground, he pushed off with his hind legs and landed directly in front of her, still not making a sound.

        "I am the Master of Darkness," he announced proudly, raising his head and striking a noble pose. "I can move across the land without making a single sound, rustling a single leaf or blade of grass.  I am... the Shadow."

Hawkpaw's POV

        The apprentice had the grace to look a little guilty at Sandpelt's apparent annoyance, even if it was mild, but at his mentor's request, all trace of emotion promptly dropped from his face.  "...Oh...  Uuuummm..." he mumbled, frantically trying to think of what they'd practiced over the past half-moon.  Hastily, he dropped to the ground and rolled onto his back, kicking upward with his hind legs in a classic defensive move.

        Little did he remember that Sandpelt had tought him that move during one of their first training sessions - certainly not within the last three times.

Swiftpaw and Foxpelt's POV

        "Oh, don't worry about that," Swiftpaw reassured her quickly, seeing she was very obviously becoming more stressed by the heartbeat.  "We don't mind.  That's what the Clan does - we take care of each other."  He paused, feeling slightly awkward himself.  "I'll, uh, just go get your meals," he added after a moment, taking the ball of moss he'd gathered and exiting the den.  After tossing the old bedding over the edge of the path leading up to the cave, he headed toward the fresh-kill pile to see what was available.

        Once the apprentice had left, Foxpelt turned to Moss with a reassuring rumble.  "Don't you worry yourself, dearie - Swiftpaw's a good young tom.  And perhaps, one day, you might learn a thing or two yourself, be able to help out a bit more, eh?"

        Swiftpaw returned shortly thereafter with a mouse and a sparrow, depositing the prey in front of Foxpelt and Moss, consecutively.  "There wasn't much on the pile - the hunting patrols haven't returned yet - but I brought what I could," he told them, nodding for them to go ahead and eat while he took care of the bedding.  A moment later, Birdleap stood, beginning to help gather together the moss as well; he gave her a soft purr of thanks.

        "Thanks, sonny.  Much abliged," Foxpelt told Swiftpaw with a purr of gratitude, getting to his old, rickety paws and shifting himself out of their way, crouching to eat his mouse at the edge of the den.

This is our right, this is our song, this is our moment in history.  Ten million roads turn into one.  This is our fight, where we belong.  No one can take away destiny.  So let the night cover us all - stars will never fall...

Here is tomorrow, just past the sunrise, my fingers reaching out.  'Cause we are believers, the guards of the skyline.  The curse can't tie us down.  We've waited so long...  We've waited long enough...

(( Poor Sandpelt xD ))

Swiftpaw's POV

        Swiftpaw, Moss, and Birdleap were nearly finished removing the last of the stale bedding when Adderpaw, Fleetpaw, and Saffronpaw returned bearing plenty of new moss.  They set it aside while they assisted the others in clearing out the last of the old moss, then began spreading it around, forming it into new nests for each of the elders.

        They were nearly finished when Moss posed her question.  Swiftpaw smiled.  "Of course - Dovestar welcomes any cat who wants to join the Clan," he meowed, kneading at the moss beneath his paws to break it up a bit and make it softer.  "I'm sure if you asked her she'd make you a full member of the Clan and assign you a mentor."  While it was true that Dovestar was generally very open to outsiders joining the Clan, not all the members of MistClan agreed with her.  Moss might have a difficult time ahead trying to prove herself to the more stingy warriors.

Shellspots' POV

        Shellspots immediately heard the hint of disappointment that entered Watertail's voice, and a flash of guilt passed through her.  Perhaps she shouldn't have broached the subject...

        "You've been a splendid warrior, though," she countered in a firm but reassuring tone, giving him a frown.  "You're always there if anycat needs help, you make good, quick decisions, you're stalwart, and that's what the Clan needs in such trying times."  Sure, he'd made some questionable choices in his earlier days, but then, hadn't they all?  What mattered was that he'd grown, and he was a solid, stable deputy for the Clan to rely on.

Sunwhisker and Stormfall's POV

        The journey back to camp was a slow one for the downtrodden trio of Sunwhisker, Stormfall, and Fennelpaw, but eventually, they made it back to the cliff, and began the climb back up to the cave entrance.  As soon as Stormfall and Sunwhisker took a pawstep into camp, there was a loud gasp, followed by a few shrieks of horror, and then, the whispering started.  The murmuring was too frantic and overlapping for the brothers to make out most of the words, but what they did notice were the looks that were cast their way.  In particular, they noticed Archeye, Oleanderblaze, Owlgaze, Cinderstep, and Iriswish seemed to be glaring with the most venom; Puddlespring, Lightningstrike, Lakemist, and Whitecoat, among several others, seemed more uneasy than judgmental, but it still caused the brothers' pelts to bristle uneasily and their hearts to ache.  To make matters worse, Emberflame appeared a few moments later at the nursery entrance, took one shocked look at the scene, and then scowled, her tail bristling as she leaned over to whisper in the ear of the closest cat, her searing amber eyes never leaving Sunwhisker and Stormfall.  Even after all these seasons, a good portion of the Clan still didn't trust them because of what Shadowstep had done.

        With a heavy sigh, Sunwhisker crouched down, shortly followed by Stormfall, and together the pair carefully rolled Seedpelt's body off their backs and onto the stone floor of the cave.  As they did so, a dark form padded swiftly out of the nursery, pausing only for a heartbeat before bounding as quickly as she could over to the brothers.
        "What happened?!" Nightsong cried in dismay, trying to help shift the medicine cat's body onto the ground.  "Great StarClan...  Seedpelt!"

        Standing once again, Sunwhisker opened his mouth to respond, but before he could utter a word, Dovestar pushed her way through the gathering circle of cats.  "What's going on?" she asked in her firm voice, her expression concerned and somewhat shocked, though her face didn't betray anything of what she might be thinking beyond that.

        "We don't know," Sunwhisker began, glancing to Stormfall and then behind them to Fennelpaw, who was still loitering near the camp entrance, looking too stunned to speak.

        Stormfall nodded, picking up where he left off.  "We were out hunting, and--"

        Look at the blood on Stormfall's chin!  And Sunwhisker's claws - there's brown fur between them!  They killed her!" cried a furious voice from amongst the crowd; it sounded like Archeye.  A chorus of murmurs followed as the surrounding cats stared at the two brothers, who shifted on their paws nervously.

        "Silence!" Dovestar commanded.  "Let them speak."  The voices trailed off reluctantly, ending in a few nearly imperceptible whispers before dissolving into silence.

        Stormfall waited until he was sure the quiet was going to last before clearing his throat awkwardly and looking back to Dovestar.  "We had just chased a young rabbit down, almost directly north from the stepping stones, near to where the field is broken by that cluster of trees, when we smelled blood."

        Sunwhisker continued.  "We went to investigate, and found Seedpelt lying, dead, in the middle of a small clearing.  Before we could even approach her, Fennelpaw pushed through the bushes opposite, and... well."  He glanced remorsefully back at the apprentice once more.  "He quickly determined that she was, in fact, dead."

        Dovestar opened her mouth to respond, but Emberflame beat her to it.  "But the fur, and the blood!  I mean, just look at them - they even [i[look[/i] guilty!" she hissed, crouching low, her tail lashing.  "I always knew they were bad news, from the moment they came into the Clan!"

        Sunwhisker and Stormfall both glared at the imperious she-cat.  "It's from the rabbit," Sunwhisker growled, flexing his claws against the stone with the just slightest screeeeeek.  "Or would you care to come and smell it yourself?"

        "Enough," Dovestar interrupted before Emberflame could shoot back a hostile response, giving the red she-cat a warning look over her shoulder.  Then, she turned back to the brothers.  "Was there any sign of other creatures nearby?"  She took a step forward to peer down at the wound in Seedpelt's throat.  "It looks like the bite of another cat...  Was there any outsider scent about?"

        "No, nothing," Stormfall meowed, glancing to his brother for confirmation; Sunwhisker had the better nose of the two, and one of the best - perhaps the best - in the Clan.

        The golden-furred tom shook his head.  "No pawprints, no fur, no scents, nothing.  There wasn't even a trace of strange scent on Seedpelt herself, which is... a bit baffling."

        "I'm willing to bet your scent is all over her," Emberflame muttered coldly.

        "Of course it is - we carried her back," Stormfall spat in annoyance, his own feathery tail now bristling.

        "Sure, you'd say that - just to cover up your tracks," Emberflame snarled in reply.  "How convenient that the pair of you were the first ones at the scene, hmm?"

        Dovestar gave Emberflame another, even sharper look, before sitting down with a soft sigh, wrapping her slender tail around her paws.  "Well... it would seem we have yet another mystery on our paws..."

Shadowstep's POV

                Shadowstep smirked at her apparently impressed reaction, opening his mouth to reply to her initial request to simply call him 'Shadow', but she immediately continued on.  A flash of annoyance surged through him at her yammering, but he kept his expression relaxed, waiting for her to stop for breath before responding to the wave of questions.

        "First off... yes, feel free to call me Shadow.  I live in the thick swath of forest beyond the meadow on the other side of the river.  I lead a small band of other former loners.  As for what it's like?  Well, I can't really comment, seeing as I've never lived in a 'Clan', and have little idea what it entails--" two blatant lies-- "but I suppose my current situation may be similar, at least in some ways."  He winced inwardly at the forced comparison; despite living together as a group, his Rebellion shared little in common with the witless, superstitious cats of MistClan, save for their shared goals, and the requisite fact that they had the support of their fellows, as much as Shadowstep hated caring for others, as well as being cared for.

Hawkpaw's POV

        "Um...  Ah..."  Desperate not to disappoint his mentor, Hawkpaw flipped back over onto his paws and lashed out at the air with his claws.  It was a very basic move - one that even young kits knew - but he was frantic.  He couldn't let Sandpelt down!

Spottedpaw's POV

        Spottedpaw frowned slightly as Bubblepool simply brushed the mystery noise off as being a rabbit, but she nodded in agreement, if reluctantly. "Okay..."  With a last blink of concern at the warrior, she crouched down, stalking in the direction of the strange rumble, into the undergrowth.  Perhaps it was just a rabbit, after all...  Certainly it was nothing dangerous?  ...Surely Bubblepool would come and save her if it was?

        Carefully nosing her way through the thick patch of foliage, Spottedpaw was rather surprised when the brush abruptly peeled away to reveal a small clearing.  Even more surprising, within the clearing there sat a pure white cat - apparently just about apprentice age - with the oddest eyes she'd ever seen.  She just stared at him blankly with wide blue eyes for a few heartbeats in stunned silence, before finally finding her voice.

        "...Um...  ...Who are you...?"

This is our right, this is our song, this is our moment in history.  Ten million roads turn into one.  This is our fight, where we belong.  No one can take away destiny.  So let the night cover us all - stars will never fall...