[TB] DAWN -- Chapter 8 (Patreon)

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Stoneheart’s mind began to race as he locked eyes with the foul-smelling IceClan cat glaring down at him. We’re in front of a Twoleg den, with a Thunderpath on one side and the fence to the den’s backyard on the other. We could chance crossing the Thunderpath, but - a monster rushing by, ignorant of the territorial cats, finished the thought for him.

Stoneheart unsheathed his claws, glancing at his Clanmates. Pinewhisker was already spitting at the ginger-and-white she-cat, slashing his claws through the air. Wolftooth was lashing his tail, his fur fluffed out to look twice his size while he growled ferociously.

We could run, Stoneheart considered, but we would only get ourselves lost... and these cats would just corner us.

He hated not knowing what to do, especially when his Clanmate’s lives hung in the balance. He felt his Clanmates backing up from the fence, and he let his paws follow while his eyes searched desperately for a way out.

“Aw look,” hissed one of the IceClan cats. “They’re running, Stink!”

Stink, the foul-smelling gray tom, chuckled, “Like we’re going to let them!”

StarClan help us, Stoneheart thought. He looked back at the IceClan rogues and saw that they had leaped off of the fence and were prowling forward, advancing as slowly as the ShadowClan cats were retreating. They were fanning out to cut off any avenues of escape, to force the ShadowClan cats to turn their backs – a very unwise decision.

The ginger and white she-cat seemed to decide that there was no need to wait any longer – she lunged forward, lashing out with her dog’s-teeth claws at Pinewhisker. The smaller tabby tom ducked, thankfully, rolling away from her.

“Don’t be afraid of Poppy,” Stink chided, his tail waving mockingly, “she only wants to say hello!”

Pinewhisker curled his lip in response. “She can eat my dung, for all I care!” he spat back.

Poppy bristled, hissing. “Not before you eat mine, you forest rat!” She lunged at Pinewhisker, tail bristling and eyes burning.

Blood roared in Stoneheart’s ears. He leaped across the grass, slamming his body into Poppy’s before she could reach Pinewhisker with those wicked claws. Wolftooth’s battle cry rose in the air while Stoneheart and Poppy rolled through the grass, kicking and clawing at one another.

The rogue was a clumsy fighter, Stoneheart decided, and the dogs-teeth, dangerous as they were, seemed to make it harder for her to make quick movements. Stoneheart ducked, rolling away from one of her blows easily, conscious of the Thunderpath behind him. The easiest way to pick off the ShadowClan cats would be to get them hit by one of the monsters.

He circled around, lashing his claws out at her side. He struck true, causing Poppy to screech in fury. She reared up on her hind legs, threatening to slam her dogs-teeth claws into his head – instead of slipping away, Stoneheart lunged forward, wrapping his forepaws around her hind legs.

Poppy let out a wail of shock as, unbalanced, she toppled, landing on her side in the grass. Quickly, Stoneheart slammed his side down onto her, using his weight to pin her to the earth as he dug his teeth into her hind legs.

He tucked his rear away when he sensed she was about to claw his backside. Poppy struggled and strained, but she was a thin Twolegplace cat and Stoneheart was not only forest-born, but had a stocky, strong ThunderClan body – he was bigger than his ShadowClan-born Clanmates, and heavier too.

“Let me go!” Poppy wailed. “Let me go!”

Don’t, whispered a voice in Stoneheart’s ear, calm and quiet like a leaf-bare snowfall. She hasn’t yet learned her lesson.

Stoneheart bit down harder onto Poppy’s hind leg, tasting blood. The she-cat wailed louder and louder, and only then did Stoneheart let her go. Poppy scrambled to her paws and limped away, tail tucked between her legs and the whites of her eyes showing.

Satisfied, Stoneheart turned to his Clanmates. Wolftooth and Stink were wrestling with one another a few tail-lengths away, while Pinewhisker was doing his best to fend off the other two IceClan cats – a cream-and-ginger she-cat and a pure white tom with long, matted fur and dogs-teeth claws stuck in paws colored pink with blood.

Stoneheart lunged at the white tom, thankful for the surprise advantage. He was able to easily dig his claws into the white rogue’s shoulders, pulling him away from Pinewhisker. With the odds evened, Pinewhisker leaped onto the cream-and-ginger she-cat, the two rolling in the grass in a tangle of claws and tails.

He’s all fur, no force, the cool voice murmured in Stoneheart’s ear again. An easy foe.

The voice was correct – when Stoneheart slammed his body into the white tom, he felt little in the way of muscle beneath the thick layer of white fur. He tackled the IceClan tom to the ground with ease and snapped his jaws around his ear.

His screech was satisfying, as was the feeling of his ear tearing in Stoneheart’s teeth – but before Stoneheart could dig his claws into his foe’s pelt, another sound rose above the clamor of cats fighting – the scream of a Twoleg.

Immediately, with no regard for their own safety, the IceClan cats tore themselves away from the ShadowClan warriors. Stoneheart sat back, letting the white rogue flee as another scream ripped through the air.

“Run!” Pinewhisker yowled. “Twolegs!”

Stoneheart saw them – a pair of males, and a female – coming out of the front door of the den. The female was shrieking, pointing at the cats with her finger, her eyes wide and her pale head-fur bouncing. The two males, one older and one younger, were advancing on the cats, the older dragging a thick green snake along with him by its silver head.

Wolftooth got to his paws, shaking out his fur. He only just realized what was happening when the older Twoleg male squeezed the snake’s head, sending out a jet of water. The stream struck Wolftooth right in the side, making him leap back and hiss.

“Run!” he snapped. “Run!”

“That’s what I was saying!” Pinewhisker screeched back.

Stoneheart got to his paws, scrambling to follow Pinewhisker and Wolftooth. He felt mist on his back as the Twoleg shot another stream of water just over his head. Putting on speed, Stoneheart raced ahead of the Wolftooth and Pinewhisker, his pelt prickling at the idea of getting sprayed.

The three cats ran back the way they’d come, their pelts brushing as their paws tore at the hard stone beneath them – a sidewalk, Purdy had called it. Only when they had passed four dens, sure that the sounds of the yelling Twolegs were far behind them, did they break away from the sidewalk, seeking shelter beneath the heavy leaves of a bush growing against another Twoleg fence.

Stoneheart gasped for air, his heart pounding in his ears. He flopped onto his side, just trying to catch his breath. “Are... we all... okay?” he asked between deep lungfuls of air.

“I’m fine,” Wolftooth growled, slamming down on his haunches, which were streaming with water. He bent to lick his side. “Those rogues were nothing.”

Pinewhisker groaned. “Speak for yourself,” he breathed, hunching beneath a branch. “You weren’t fighting two of them!”

Stoneheart felt his heart steady, and he pushed himself out of the dirt. He leaned over and sniffed Pinewhisker – his Clanmate was thankfully unharmed, but for a few scratches. Thank StarClan, Stoneheart thought. The last thing we need is to get hurt here.

“I hate Twolegs,” Wolftooth hissed.

“What’s IceClan?” Stoneheart wondered, looking to the older tom. “I thought BloodClan was the only Clan in the Twolegplace?”

Wolftooth scoffed, “So did I – when BloodClan broke up, we splintered off into different groups... but only Jaggedtooth called his group BloodClan. This IceClan might be one of those other groups, trying to fill the void BloodClan left behind.”

“More proof that Twolegplace just isn’t for us,” Pinewhisker muttered. He glanced at Stoneheart, and added, “Not that it was really in consideration.”

“Even if it was,” Stoneheart meowed, “I don’t think Russetstar would want to live here with this IceClan running around. Who knows how big their territory is?”

“I’m starving,” Pinewhisker sighed, “and I’m exhausted. What now?”

Stoneheart poked his head out of the bush, taking in their surroundings. It seemed like the IceClan cats hadn’t come after them, and neither had the Twolegs with their water-snake. But the sky was growing darker, and the monsters were starting to cross the Thunderpath more rapidly now. Stoneheart even spotted some Twolegs walking along the sidewalk near them – for now, they were unaware of the cats hunkered down in the bush.

“I don’t think we can stay here,” Stoneheart meowed quietly, pulling himself back inside. “It’s getting busier out there.”

“Agreed,” Wolftooth stated. “Whenever Twolegs caught BloodClan cats having a spat, that area would be swarming with Twolegs and their traps before long. We need to be gone before they get here.”

“But where can we go?” Pinewhisker wondered, eyes round. “Don’t tell me either of you knows the way back to the forest from here, because I sure don’t!”

“I don’t, either,” Wolftooth admitted.

Stoneheart shrugged. “Don’t look at me!”

Wolftooth grimaced. “Well, let’s try to take care of our food problem, first,” he decided, getting to his paws. He shook out his pelt, and then nudged Pinewhisker up. “C’mon.”

Stoneheart poked his head out of the bush again. Once things were quiet, he gave the others a signal with his tail – Wolftooth grunted as he pulled himself up the fence behind them. Pinewhisker went next, and then Stoneheart pulled back and clambered up, sinking his claws into the wood. It took him a moment to find his balance on the thin slats of fence, but he was trotting after Wolftooth and Pinewhisker within a moment, his tail swinging to keep him steady.

They crossed into the backyard of the den they had taken shelter at, and then, seeing as there was no suitable prey there, continued away from what they presumed was IceClan territory. Stoneheart could just barely see trees above the dens, and he guessed that they were heading towards the Thunderpath that cut through the forest – but it seemed like there were dozens of dens between the three cats and anything that might be familiar.

The sun was beginning to sink, the first stars of Silverpelt speckling the sky, when Wolftooth finally seemed to find a suitable place. He leaped down from the fence into a Twoleg garden, full of dying flowers and spikey bushes. Pinewhisker and Stoneheart followed, landing in the soil without a sound.

“What’s here?” Pinewhisker wondered, his voice low.

“Quiet,” Wolftooth hissed.

There was a loud noise, and all three cats darted into the growing shadows. Stoneheart poked his head out just enough to see a Twoleg emerging from the back of their den, dragging a shiny black lump behind them. The Twoleg didn’t seem to notice the cats as they swung the lump into a nearby scrapcan – they shook out their paws before heading back inside.

“Trash?” Pinewhisker assumed, as Wolftooth pulled himself out of the bush. “You want us to eat trash?”

Wolftooth glanced back at the younger warrior and grunted, “Starve, then.”

Stoneheart swallowed, nervous, as Wolftooth approached the scrapcan. He circled it, tail-tip flicking, and then he stretched upward, pushing at the top with his paws. To Stoneheart’s shock, Wolftooth’s claws were able to dislodge the scrapcan’s cover.

“Help me,” Wolftooth hissed. “I can’t push it alone.”

Pinewhisker and Stoneheart scurried out of the bush, bodies low and eyes wary, crossing the plain, grassy yard to Wolftooth’s side. Pinewhisker pressed himself against the den walls, eyes wide and ears twitching as he listened for any movement – Stoneheart, meanwhile, assisted Wolftooth, getting up on his hind paws and pushing with his Clanmate.

The lid moved aside with a scraping sound that made Stoneheart’s heart leap into his mouth. Wolftooth touched his tail to Stoneheart’s flank, signaling for him to stop when the lid was just slightly off of the can. The smells that came out of the scrapcan were so confusing – a sweet mix of crow-food and fresher smells that were far more enticing.

“The stuff at the top is usually good,” Wolftooth meowed. He leaped onto the rim of the scrapcan, balancing easily. “But trust your gut – if it smells bad, don’t eat it.”

He slipped a paw into the can and, after a moment of rummaging, he let out a mrrow of satisfaction. As if he were a RiverClan cat fishing, Wolftooth dragged a lump of meat from the scrap can. Stoneheart was shocked at how good it smelled, his stomach growling.

“Chicken,” Wolftooth called it, leaping down. He immediately began tucking into his catch, tugging at the browned skin and white meat. “There ought to be more.”

“Oh, I want some of that!” Pinewhisker breathed, his eyes shining eagerly. “Our Twolegs would always get mad when we tried to eat their chickens.”

The smaller tabby tom leaped onto the scrapcan, but he lacked the grace and practice of Wolftooth. The can rocked beneath his weight, and it would have fallen onto Stoneheart if he hadn’t slipped away at the last second. The large container instead fell onto the ground with a loud clatter, sending Pinewhisker, and the trash within, sprawling all over the grass.

Wolftooth looked up from his chicken and sighed. “I just can’t take you anywhere, can I?” he complained, glowering at Pinewhisker as if he were still an apprentice.

Before Pinewhisker could retort, the back door of the Twoleg den began to open. The three ShadowClan cats wasted no time – Wolftooth collected his chicken and took off, Pinewhisker and Stoneheart following. As they were clambering up and over the fence, they heard the Twoleg cursing behind them.

Wolftooth led them into the next yard, sighing as he laid his chicken out between the three of them. Stoneheart swallowed – it looked tasty, but certainly wasn’t enough to fill the patrol completely. Still, Wolftooth pushed it towards them.

“It’ll do for now,” he meowed. “Go on.”

Pinewhisker hesitated, only taking a bite when Stoneheart did. The meat was soft and tender, stringy in a way not unlike a forest bird. It did indeed taste very good, but something about it made Stoneheart only want more – perhaps that was just his empty stomach complaining.

Stoneheart sighed. It was fully dark out now, the stars and moon shining in the blackness above. Somehow, in Twolegplace, it seemed harder to see his warrior ancestors. He recalled the lake, how it had cradled Silverpelt in its reflection so perfectly, and he longed to be there instead of here, struggling in this stone jungle full of Twolegs.

I can’t leave without Rowanclaw, he thought. Pleading, he asked, StarClan... help me find him, please! I feel so... Lost...

The yard they were in now seemed quiet, and longer than the one they had just fled. Stoneheart struggled in the dark to see anything about this nest that was otherwise different than the dozen they’d passed already – he had no idea how Twolegs figured their way around, and he longed for the gnarled trees and sure paths of the forest.

“We need to rest,” Wolftooth decided. “Come on, Stoneheart.”

Stoneheart sighed, and he got to his paws. There was another bush, this one big and filled with leaves – Wolftooth pushed his way through, and Pinewhisker and Stoneheart followed, leaving behind the meager bones of their meal.

The branches beneath this bush grew closer to the ground, making the cats crouch low to find any sort of room for themselves. Still, it was warm, especially when the three warriors huddled together. Stoneheart laid his chin on Pinewhisker’s flank, his tail winding around Wolftooth’s nose.

His body ached, and sleep came easily when he closed his eyes.