Straying Hearts

This is the second book in the Mixed Emotions Series. It is a collab between Robo, Rainy, Nighty, Misty, Ninja and Feather.

''The questing cats may finally be united but they are confused and unsure of which direction to go in, and unsure of how to feel about the cats they have been chosen to journey with. They can't seem to agree on anything and each step of the journey seems like a greater struggle than the last. Can the cats put beside their differences to save the clans? Or will the clans be left to perish?''

Prologue- Robo
"Who are you?" the shy she-cat asked me, stammering and I smiled at her gently trying not to let my worry show through my clearly groomed pelt and shining eyes.

"I am here," I gently whispered, "To offer you a cure, Moonsky. You have been infested with darkcough, as we all know, and to journey with it will be dangerous. You will have to be kept further away from all of the cats in order not to spread the disease, each step will be a struggle and chances are you will die before you reach the cure."

"Are you..." Moonsky stuttered, her eyes wide, before a see them flashing stubborn, "I won't stay behind. I have to go on this quest. My clan and the whole forest needs me."

"That is true," I calmly whispered, "And I would never try to steer you away from the quest. But in order to survive and make this more conivnent I can make a deal with your darkcough."

"A deal with my..." she paused, "Darkcough? How is that possible? It's not even a living thing. It will kill me when it chooses to."

"Not if I give it a good reason not to," I gently responded, "But I need your permission before I seek your case of darkcough and make an agreement with it."

"I..." she paused, "What kind of deal?"

"Are you willing to give up anything to save the clans?" I asked her, wanting to evade the answer to the question, and she nodded at me.

"Then this won't be a big deal," I responded, "Do I have your permission?"

She nodded and sucked in a deep breath, "Go ahead."

Smiling, I felt myself gently turning from the spirit of a cat to dust traveling from the dark midnight air into her body. I was immediately greeted by a cloud of darkness.

"What do you want?" I could see no face but feel every wretched feeling I had felt in my several lives before finally joining Starclan. I tried to shake away my dark memories.

"A deal," I calmly responded.

There was silence for a moment, and I wondered if the presence had disappeared, but I could still feel the darkness floating in the open air.

"I'm listening."

I resisted the urge to shiver at the voice.

"The cat you have captured, Moonsky, must be freed from her disease, for a while, until she completes her quests to free the forest from darkcough."

"A quest they are all sure to fail."

I ignore him, "Could you spare her from the wrath of your disease, at least for now?"

"Why is in this offer for me?" he asked.

"If," I swallowed gently before continuing, "If she still had darkcough by the time you come back then her sister, Flamebird, will also get darkcough. There is no better way to break their clan than by taking down two littermates in a row."

"So it's a gamble..." the voice rolled, "And one that I shall win. If they do find the cure, which they won't, I will not return to either of them, but if they don't I will come back from my hiding and strike both siblings."

"Yes."

I pray I am not making a rash choice.

"Deal."

And I m whisked away from the dark spirit and back to the world of the warrior clans. Moonsky is standing there, looking at me expectantly.

"Is it gone?" she asks.

"Yes," I reply, "But if you can't get rid of it by finding the cure, then your sister will also be attacked and killed by the disease."

Her eyes widen, "But..."

"You said you would do anything," I remind her with a stab of sympathy before disappearing back into thin air and leaving her alone with the stars which she will have to look up and pray to, so that everything will turn out alright.

Chapter 1- Feather
Snakefang glaced assertively at the other cats, except for Maplestorm. They were heading toward MistClan territory and the damp cool air made his red, black, and white fur stick to his bones, making him look like a skinny menacing rogue. He shook his pelt and it puffed to twice his size, making him loke worse.

He sent a fiery glare around at the cats. Snakefang was sure they feared him. He had seen the look on one of the other cats' faces. Not one word had been spoken since they left the clearing. Snakefang was thankful for that. He was the only tom on the quest and being surrounded by five she-cats wasn't exactly on the top of his list of priorities. Nobody was trying to lead either. That was good, too. If there was anything he hated more than she-cats from other Clans, it was taking orders from cats from other Clans. Even if everything went like he wanted, he felt a twinge of disloyalty for allying with these cats and guilt for leaving Flowerserpent behind. He wanted to go back and look after Flowerserpent and make sure that she didn't die until the others came back from questing with the cure. That way, he could do what he wanted most and they could find the cure. Not that he was lazy; he was the best fighter in the whole of SandClan.

Snakefang scowled and meowed, "Let's take a rest here. We should at least get a good rest before we officially start the quest." Snakefang was dizzy from his lack of sleep.

Maplestorm nodded, "That sounds great, and we can get to know each other, too."

Snakefang didn't really appreciate the last part. He didn't want anybody to know about him and why he was on this quest.

The small silver she-cat nodded in agreement with them. They all did. Nobody was up for an argument.

Snakefang learned that the othe questing cats were named Brookfall, Ambershine, Moonsky, and Leafsong and they were each from a different Clan. They were all there because they had been ordered of course, but they each had a motivation. Brookfall's was that her best friend, Softsplash, was sick. Ambershine's was that her sister, Echosong was sick. Moonsky herself had had Darkcough and was condemned to die within the week, but it went away because StarClan had reasoned with the Darkcough inside of her. She claimed if they suceeded, she would stay alive, but if they didn't both she and her sister, Flamebird, would die. She was kind of hesitant and secretive about it and Snakefang thought it was a bunch of bogus. Leafsong was there, not because anyone close to her was sick, but because her rival was deputy, but Snakefang didn't see the connection between her rival and the Darkcough.

After Snakefang promptly told them his name was Snakefang and that he was from SandClan, he fell asleep, though he heard Maplestorm tell everyone as she introduced herself that his motivation was Flowerserpent, and all the she-cats giggled and awwwed. Snakefang was too tired to give a warning hiss.

''But that's it! I'm going back first thing in the morning! ''Snakefang decided, and he drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he was back in SandClan, padding into camp with a thrush in his jaws. He went straight to the medicine den with it. He wanted to give it to Flowerserpent.

He was stopped by Rainshimmer, whose mossy eyes were glistening with pain. Snakefang growled, "Let me through!"

Rainshimmer nodded then meowed softly, "Ok, you may see her one last time."

"One last time?" Snakefang demanded, "I have to keep visting her!"

Irritated, Rainshimmer hissed, "Snakefang, Flowerswerpent is going to die!"

Snakefang let out a screech of rage which turned into a shrill choke of anguish as his throat constricted. His eyes blurred with hot tears of fury, sadness, and lonliness. He let out a wail and blindly hurtled past the medicine cat and into the den.

"Flowerserpent!" Snakefang screamed. Flowerserpent opened one of her beautiful green eyes. Snakefang could see, with horror, that she was in terrible condition. Her usually glossy tortoiseshell fur was dull and messy. Her eyes were dull and her breath was coming out in ragged gasps.

"Don't leave!" he wailed.

"It is my time," she wheezed, "I love you."

Snakefang reached out to give her a tender lick on the cheek when Rainshimmer cleared her throat as a warning. Snakefang withdrew and whispered, "I love you, too." He hoped those words would bring her back and she would hop up and meow, "Don't worry, Snakefang. I'm not going anywhere."

But she didn't and she died. Snakefang let out a wail and he felt Rainshimmer's tail on his back. The world went black and the darkness was misted over like scarlet. He stared into a puddle and saw himself: red head with black and white tabby stripes. His eyes looked red from the scarlet hue that he could see and the thrush's blood dripped of his fangs. He woke up with a shudder, panting heavily as the scarlet mist faded. Perhaps StarClan was warning him that if he didn't complete this quest, without him, the rest would fail, and the cure would never be found. Flowerserpent would die and he would become an angry monster, seeking vengeance on something that he couldn't see, hear, or smell, deviod of love and happiness.

Snakefang shuddered again. He could never kill a cat unless the cat was threatening his life. He might have a hard, secretive shell on the inside, but he was soft on the inside. He cared. He loved. And when it was all over, perhaps he wouldn't feel so angry.

''I have to do this! Snakefang decided, For Flowerserpent! For the Clans!''