Red Skies at Night

  Red Skies at Night

Written by: Blazey

Episode 2 c: took a while. Here is episode one, if you want to read that first. Enjoy!

Red Skies at Night
Today is one of those days, the she-cat decides, staring at the sky from the mouth of her den. A crisp, cool day where she feels so at peace with herself. Where deliciously green trees and their white flowers fall and rise, a perfect candence against the soft blue sky. A day where everything is in harmony, blending together in a gentle swirl of beauty that courses through her, a stillness she has not felt in a while.

She really wouldn't mind staying here-

No, she scolds herself, ''you like to think that, don't you? You're going to leave this place, and don't bother yourself with stupid fantasies. ''

Besides, she reminds herself. Staying here will only bring them closer to me.

With great reluctance, the she-cat rises to her paws, shaking out her thick grey pelt. Tufts of moss and debris fall from it, and the she-cat curls her lip, unsheathing her claws and scouring an angry mark onto the soft dirt floor. Curse them for this, all this. Curse them- 

In a spectacularly bad mood, the she-cat stomps towards the den's exit. Just as she is about to exit, the faintest whisper of several foreign scents hits her nostrils. The she-cat leaps backwards as though she has been stung.

No, no, no, not again, she screams inwardly, curling her lip and baring her fangs. How did they find me, those idiots?

It doesn't matter, she reminds herself, taking several shuddering breaths to calm her anger. You can loose them again, you always have.

Maybe, she conceeds grudgingly, creeping forwards. But I forget if they're chasing me or hunting me.

There is nothing to say to that, so the she-cat continuous to creep forwards. The scents are stronger now- they are moving in from all directions, she senses. Frustration and panic burn in her stomach. How could she have been so careless?

" Bounty hunter!" someone yowls- Rye, she remembers- voice laced with uneccessary aggression. " You are surrounded!"

The she-cat snorts. As if she didn't know that already- and what on earth does Rye think she's going to do anyway?

" Show yourself, bounty-hunter!" someone else yowls- ''Fox. ''

I have a name, you know, she snorts. ''I've just forgotten what it was. ''

The end is inevitable. She steps forwards, into the light, and can practically feel the shock radiating around her.

" I'm here!" she snarls loudly, knowing exactly who she is speaking to.

" Bounty hunter," someone says from in front of her, and she snaps her head around. A brown tom with eyes like the setting sun steps forwards and bows his head. " Good to see you again."

She growls, acutely aware of the cats he has surrounding her. " Who sent you this time?"

" Gloria."

The she-cat snorts. " Just like the last fifty times, you'll go back telling her I've escaped you. Because I will, and this quaint little task force is not going to capture me."

Quiet growls fill the space around her, but at a raise of the tom's tail they fall silent. " That's not why she sent me-"

" Isn't it? Can't she just replace me?" the bounty hunter snarls.

" You know very well that's not why she wants you."

She snorts again. " Because of that information I know about your not-so-secret operating center? I'm not going to tell anyone, I have no reason to get involved in the stupid war."

A look of disgust flashes across the tom's face. " Because you scavange off the remains."

She feels anger flare in her stomach. " Because I don't agree with her or those infernal Clans."

His face twists with dislike. " It doesn't matter. That's not what I'm here about."

She pricks her ears. " Oh? Then what are you here for?"

" I- Gloria- has a job for you," he says, practically choking out the words.

At once, the burning anger in her stomach cools. She leans forwards slightly, tilting her head curiously. " What is it?"

The dislike and disgust on the tom's face startles her momentarily. She knows he's never agreed with the path she chose to follow, but this intense hatred is something she's never seen before. " You know who Minnowstar is, right?"

" The RiverClan leader, yes, of course I know her."

" Gloria wants you to kill her children."

Heavy silence falls on the group. The bounty hunter feels her stomach shift uneasily. " She wants me to kill innocent children?"

" She believes it will destroy Minnowstar's soul."

The bounty hunter lets out a heavy breath. The atmosphere turns thick with tension, and she senses the cats on either side of them begin to shift uneasily. She closes her eyes, breathing in deeply, and opens them again. " I'm going to need heavy reward for this one."

The tom's eyes flash. " You're going to do it?"

The bounty hunter growls. " I'm not doing it for Gloria, I'm doing it for my reward. Now, sergeant, do your job."

The sergeant looks as though he is tasting bile. " What do you want?"

" Freedom," she says. " You leave me alone for the season."

He looks unhappy, but he nods. " As you wish...''Ibis." ''

" That is not my name," the bounty hunter lies, taking the brief spell of silence as an oppurtunity to race away towards the trees. The sergeant watches her sprint away until she is swallowed by the blindness that comes when one's vision extends too far.

Ibis, he thinks, pondering the name he has given her. ''Such a pretty name for one so ugly. ''

~

And so Ibis now crouches by the border, watching the pattern in patrol change, looking to make a quick entrance. All she wants to do is get her job done quickly, and earn her freedom. She is so engrossed in thought she misses the faint crackle of paw-on-grass behind her.

" I didn't think you'd actually do it," she hears a delighted voice cackle before her world is engulfed in darkness.

~

Once more, Nolan wakes to the sound of screaming.

No matter where he goes, there are screams. Not even deep within ThunderClan's borders where it should be safe. But safety would be too much to expect, really, they are stretched thin, spending so much time on their borders they miss the threats trickling in.

As Nolan rises to his feet, a particularly loud scream pierces his ear and he recoils. They really ruin the whole day, these screams, he thinks in annoyance, creeping cautiously through the exit to his makeshift den. Once he determines the sparring cats are nowhere near him, Nolan relaxes and steps outside. He rather enjoys the forest, and loves peaceful cocoon created by the overarching leaves. Nolan loves the thick grass and the sweet, earthy smell found nowhere else.

He can't stay here, because despite their neglect, ThunderClan will eventually notice him. And besides, something about creating a home unsettles him deeply. Even the thought of it creates an uncomfortable itch under his skin.

Moving as quickly as he can, Nolan heads away from the rapidly rising sun, who has managed to turn the sky into a pale blue. He has grown tired of drifting between the Clans and hiding from them. Their constant warfare between Gloria and the group she thinks she controls is an annoyance- he hates the sound those cats make when they die. Why has no one inented war without dying? The Clans really should listen to him, sometimes...

Just as he ponders it, an agonized shriek rips through the air. It comes from the direction his temporary shelter was in. Nolan has a vague knowledge of some elusive, Clans-don't-kill rule. Whatever it was, it is gone now.

So under the newborn blue sky Nolan walks under, war cries tear through the trees, disrupting the perfect canopy they form overhead. Nolan might not be able to see these particular cats, but he knows how their little skirmish will go. How they always go. How cats roll through the long grass, lashing and howling, slamming into tree trunks and breaking the perfect peace Nolan admired not so long ago. Suddenly, he hates these cats. It's no wonder they're dying, he thinks viciously to himself. The forest wants them to.

He walks even faster, feeling the grass turn hard as he reaches what the Clans call the Thunderpath. It's called a road and there's nothing to be frightened of. But Clan cats were always a silly, superstitious bunch.

After he crosses the road, Nolan moves on. He bids farewell to the forest, racing across the grass and weaving between tree trunks. The trees give way to marshland, and that gives way to the unbridled Free territory. The Clans do not venture into Free territory, and it is the land of the rogues. It might not be the kindest, but there is no constant war-tension.

The day is going quite well until he runs into the family.

They're up ahead, near the stream he wanted to drink at. A black male, a ginger female, and their tails spread protectively over a little brown kit harmony, a beautiful scene of oneness.

Nolan feels a primal hatred rise with him- his vision turns black and his heart thunders are the pure hate coursing through his veins. He almost hates them just for coming near him, because they have sealed their own fates. Sometimes, when he's hating families like this, Nolan really thinks he's gone insane.

So he stomps his feet and causes the bushes to tremble, and lets out a throaty snarl. The parents, as predicted, sprint away- leaving their child, Nolan thinks in disgust. He races out from the bushes in the opposite direction, racing towards the kitten and scooping it up in his jaws. It weighs hardly a thing, so all the easier for him to sprint as fast as he can. The cries of help uttered by the youngling spur him on in a sick, twisted way....

Finally, he sets the child down in a secluded spot near a section of fallen logs. We'll see if they can come get you now, Nolan thinks in triumph. The kit is sobbing and it makes Nolan's heart flutter in joy. He turns away, waiting for the cries of help and pain that always come from them when they realize no one is coming back, just as he did all those moons ago....

What he hears instead is a deep, throaty chuckle that is definitely not a kit's.

~

" Wounded! Wounded! Make way for the wounded!" someone yells.

At once, there is chaos. Frostwing stumbles as someone bumps into her and frowns at their fleeting apology. Cats part so there is a clear path for the warriors bringing in the wounded.

As they pass by, Frostwing stares at their faces- stretched and contorted in pain. She shivers slightly, and thanks StarClan she wasn't fighting. Frostwing doesn't think she could ever handle that much pain.

When the cats are settled into the medicine den, the ThunderClan cats begin to swarm the returning warriors with questions. Frostwing watches in disgust as they are hailed with praise and gratitude, and her stomach turns at the simpering, sickly sweet compliments thrown their way.

Oh, well, done, she thinks sarcastically, shouldering her way out of the crowd. ''You've risked your life for your Clan! How selfless! You nearly died? We love you! You're dead! Wow, what a hero! ''

Frostwing reaches the fresh-kill pile, finding a plump shrew. As she moves to turn around, something bumps into her shoulder.

" Watch it, oaf- oh, it's you," Frostwing snaps, softening her tone at the last moment. A silver she-cat stares at her, looking more amused than upset.

" Tongue's sharp as ever, darling Frosty."

Frostwing shakes out her fur, using a claw to tug the shrew closer to her. " What else did you expect, Rainsnot?"

The silver cat sighs, looking down at the shrew in Frostwing's paws. " You gonna give that to the warriors?"

" Why?" Frostwing snorts. " Kindly remove your muzzle from my business, sister."

" Because they fought for us, and they nearly died-"

" Am I the only person that thinks this is so ''wrong?" ''Frostwing cries out in irritation, lashing her tail to the ground. Her sister frowns.

" What's wrong?"

" Dying!" Frostwing growls. " That's what we're raised to do, Rainstorm, die. Die like martyrs or some dung like that. Dying for some dumb Clan when really we should be saving ourselves."

Rainstorm's eyes narrow and she stares at her sister for several heartbeats. " At least give that to the elders."

Frostwing growls. " Those idiots don't deserve anything." Scouring a gash through the shrew's flank with her claw, she turns and storms off, marching through the exit and out into the forest. There is angry purpose to her step as she weaves through the trees, heading deeper into her territory until she emerges at the border.

" Where are you?" she hisses. " The sun is at the zenith, you said you'd be here."

Silence except for the wind through the trees.

" Come on- ugh!" Frostwing spits. " I've told you everything. You promised you'd take me away from here if I did."

A black figure drops from the trees and onto her shoulders, pinning her to the ground before she can scream.

~

The Free territory is free for a reason.

Yes, there are no boundaries, no Clans and their borders. Yes, all land and water is shared. It's ''free. ''You can roam wherever you please.

But there is no order here. No laws, no leaders, and all the bloodthirsty, insane rejects from the Clans are disposed of here. All the prisoners flee here, and all the cats wishing to leave something behind them come here. It's a cesspool of filth and scum and loss and hate.

Helios, honestly, is just here because he likes the tree.

It's quite a beautiful oak, quite a sight to wake up to. All the leaves dew-speckled and clean in the morning, branches spread up like a dead cat's claw. The dark silhouette of the branches against a sunset and a sunrise. It smells rather nice, too, and the birds that settle there are always plump and easy to catch.

The tanlged roots also form a nice home for his prisoners.

Helios lets out a deep breath, staring at the sunrise. His golden fur ruffles in the chilly morning wind, and his eyes flutter open- scarlet and flaring in constant cold fury. He doesn't want to do this- he's grown rather fond of some of them. But it's all for the greater good, isn't it?

She is the greater good. She has always been, and he won't stop until he's found her.

Slowly, he rises to his paws. Helios takes slow, deliberate steps towards the tangled roots. The sun winks overhead.

Two Clan cats, three rogues. They've been taken care of, and he tells them its because they won't sell if they're dead. But secretly it's because he cares, despite himself.

Their legs are rather stiff when they're let out, and he intends it to be that way. It will be a few hours before they can move easily again, and he'll have sold them by the time they can move freely.

" Where are you taking us?" a small voice says- one of the rogues. She has an obnoxious name- ''Drosophila. ''Helios stops and curls his lip at her.

" You'll find out, pretty bird," he says mildly, the scarlet flame in his eyes flaring. " It's just over that hill. You feel okay?"

Drosophila stares in disbelief, and his other capture- a Clan female, turns and growls. " Don't be surprised. ' We won't sell if we're dead'."

Helios snorts lightly. He likes Clan cats, especially this one. Her name is Robinheart. " Don't preach to me, darling, there's a reason I found you in Free territory."

Robinheart opens her mouth to reply, but he ignores her- they've reached the crest of the hill. The grass slopes away and down to reveal a bustle of activity-

" Oh," a new voice says- the male Clan cat, Redsky. " You're auctioning us off, you filthy mongrel-"

His fangs gnash together and he leaps forwards, claws out. Helios steps aside, and the tom crashes to the ground. Calmly, like night predator, he set his paw on Redsky's head and pushes the tom's muzzle to the ground. Helios leans down and scarlet fire fills Redsky's vision.

" I am not auctioning you," he snarls. " Filthy mongrel." He steps back and allows the tom to stand up. Both cats keep eye contact, Redsky's eyes burning with hatred, and Helios's lazy and mildly intruiged. The golden tom turns back to the hill, looking down and past the cats swarming below. There is an auction, but he doesn't want to sell ''there. ''Nothing material is of any use to him.

Instead, Helios looks to the forests growing on the eastern side of the auction. The trees are spread thin, but an aura of gloom comes from the forest nonetheless. A barely visible stream of cats can be seen slipping into the forest. Helios snorts quietly to himself. There, in those trees, that is where the real auction is.

Helios leaps graceful down the hill, watching his prisoners stumble down after him. He sees the defeat in their eyes, they have nowhere to run- and it pains him. He turns his head to the forest, a dark, heavy look in his eyes. His prisoners catch up, and with the exception new harsh shoves from him, they stand in the forest within no time.

The gloom and strained silence surrounds all six cats. Redsky and Robinheart look around nervously. Drosophila flattens her ears and flinches momentarily as shadows shift with the sunlight. The other two- Lexi and Bella- press together and lash their tails. Helios simply looks ahead without moving, knowing someone will appear there soon.

He's right- the grass in front of him trembles and a black cat steps out. Helios's prisoners jump and hiss, but their legs are still too weak for them to run. The cat- it's a male- has bright blue eyes, so bright they seem to be lighting up the air around him. He steps forwards until he's muzzle-to-muzzle with Helios. Neither flinches. " What do you have for me this time?"

Helios, without breaking eye contact, waves his tail at the five cats behind him. " Five."

" Healthy?" the other tom says, almost hungrily. " Strong?"

" See for yourself," Helios growls, stepping aside and allowing the black tom to prowl past him. He watches as the tom weaves through his prisoners. Lexi whimpers audibly, and Helios's ears flatten. His eyes narrow further as the black tom swipes a tongue across Drosophila's face. ''Scum. ''" Well?"

" Good, very good..." the tom hisses, slipping back in front of Helios. " What do you want for them? What can I give you?"

Helios's scarlet eyes snap wide open. " You know."

" Oh, yes, her. You have a rather unhealthy obsession, young one."

Helios senses his prisoners shift in surprise. They weren't expecting this, he knows. " I have no obsession," he growls. " I need to know-"

"- she's alive," the tom spits, but Helios slams his paw into the ground.

" That's not enough!" he growls, curling his lip. " Where is she? How can I find her? You have to tell me- I brought you what you asked for-"

" And they are still not good enough!" the tom shrieks. " Look at them, they won't last a week! Your last group barely made it past four days before they started eating-"

Drosophila lets out a shriek of horror, and Helios whirls around. She visibly qualis under the intensity of his stare. Anger, white-hot anger burns beneath the surface and it takes all his willpower to contain his fury. " Fine," he spits through clenched teeth. " Take them."

The tom's eyes glitter, and Helios watches as he weaves through the group, dealing blows to the back of their legs to temporarily cripple them. He watches them painfully stand and hobble after the tom. Their pained whimpers hurt him, but not enough to care, he hasn't cared since she-

" Where is your heart?" Drosophila cries as she is dragged away.

" With my sister," Helios informs her, watching all five of them be swallowed by darkness.

As he turns to walk away, he slams into something (that definitely wasn't there before) and feels the world go black.

~

Far away from Free territory, on the other side of the Clan territory, lies the rogue's nest.

They are the best army, because they have always been there- just disorganized. Now that they are banded together, the Clans have realized what they allowed to fester and grow.

Hatred. Pure hatred at the Clans for stealing what was rightfully theirs.

Rogue groups are spread here and there, with no real base for the Clans to attack. One such group, one of the scraggly ones, has settled near a small stream. Although there are several misconceptions about them, one is definitely right- it's all-for-themselves in the wild. They might be one group, but they will kill before they die. The moment the rogues alive there was a frantic scramble for best access to the river. Everyone had gone and hunted the river dry, scaring the rest of the fish away.

The mother was busy treating her kitten's scratches, so she missed this. She slips from her den, moonlight bathing her fur as she perches by the stream. Her kitten's hungry cries fill her ears and cause her heart to twist. I'm trying, she thinks desperately.

The Star Father must have taken pity on her, for a silver flash of a minnow is soon in her jaws. It will barely feed her three children, maybe a mouthful each. But it's better than starving, so the mother makes her quick thanks to the Father before turning to pad back home. Her paws sink into the long grass when a wheezy cough sounds from behind her.

The mother rogue whirls around, minnow falling from her jaws to the ground. A hulking form lies stretched out behind her. Her heart hammers, but her first thought is her children- she must be strong for them.

There is another wheezing, throaty cough- and she realizes that the figure is stretched on its side. It shifts, drawing itself into the moonlight. The mother gasps. It's a tortoiseshell female- but so thin she can count the bones showing through her pelt. The tortoiseshell coughs again, and blood glistens on her jaw. And there's something else, a scent the mother can't quite place...

"...please," the tortoiseshell croaks, and the sound grates on the mother's ears. It's then that the scent registers. Milk. Oh dear Father, this is a mother. The mother rogue's insides twist.

She hears her kittens mewl from the den behind her. They're hungry and sore, she knows, but their mother is healthier than ''this. ''

Without fully registering what she's doing, the mother rogue flicks her minnow to the sick cat's side. She doesn't know which to fix on- her aching heart or stomach, so she decides to do neither. The mother rogue cannot bear to look any longer. She turns and runs back to her children.

She misses the tortoiseshell slowly straighten. With easy, quick movements, the tortoiseshell snatches up the minnow. Her thin sides seem to inflate, and her breath slowly becomes smooth and inaudible.

The tortoiseshell rises to feet gracefully, and turns, racing through the grass. All signs of sickness and motherhood are gone- tricks of the light and the mind, tricks which the tortoiseshell (Amanda) has mastered.

She's not starving, no, far from it. In fact-

Amanda tosses the minnow aside. She doesn't need it- but there is still twinkling, light laughter in her eyes. That was fun, Amanda thinks, turning to lick her fur clean of strategically placed markings.

She hears a rustling behind her. Without turning, Amanda calls out: " Followed me?"

" Yes," says a feminine, shocked voice. Amanda resists the urge to laugh.

" Clever rabbit, you," Amanda chuckles, flicking her tail tip. " Not all I'm chalked up to be, am I?"

" No," the voice says. Sorrowful, at the breaking point. " Why do you do this? My children will starve."

''I owe her an honest answer, at the least. I stole her dinner and I didn't even eat it. ''Amanda thinks, pausing briefly, feeling the night wind between her ears. " Because I'm bored," she replies, turning around, " And this helps..."

Standing there is no female rogue. It's a towering, angry shadow racing towards her and throwing her down...

~

When Amanda wakes, her legs are throbbing and her head is pounding with a vengeance.

She groans, turning over and opening her eyes. The first sight to greet her is the sky- morning sky, so she's been asleep (unconcious?) for a while...

Amanda tries to stand but ends up stumbling and falling over. She tries again and manages to stand on her feet, swaying uneasily. First rule of (her) survival- surroundings. What surroundings, where is she- oh-

In a hole?

Amanda blinks. There's grass underneath her feet, and it stretches on for a while, thirty fox-lengths, maybe? But when it stops, it stops, and a massive wall of dirt rises up from it. Amanda follows it with her head. The dirt wall keeps going high up, much too high to climb. And it's steep, standing straight like a tree-

She realizes. She's trapped, a prisoner, in a hole.

Danger. Danger.

Amanda turns her head around to look behind her, and lets out a muffled squeak. There are four bodies behind her- not dead, but asleep. Amanda leans forwards, taking a cautious step towards them. The closest to her is a large male- golden brown- and closest to him is a grey female. Then there's a white female, and a brown tom... all asleep, all perfectly still.

Panic. Heart beating fast.

Tiny pattering comes from her left, and she whirls her head around. Of all things, a squirrel is perched in front of her, head jerking side to side at an alarming rate.

Amanda's throat is dry with fear. She would pounce, but the squirrel appears to be actually staring at her. Then (and this is when she knows she has to be dreaming) the squirrel opens its mouth.

" Rise and shine, lovely. Are you read to be a hero?"

~