In Hiding

Prolouge

 * "No. We aren't leaving our land. We've lived here for just a few moons, and they find us again. But this time, we aren't moving. We are staying and fighting for our Clan's new land," The Clan leader's voice was strong and rough. He was not happy to move any more than they already have.


 * "But ForestClan cannot survive another attack. We have too many Elders and Queens to fight. We have more Elders than Warriors. There are now two litters of kits, and we have to keep them safe-"


 * "We can't keep them safe if we are being moved all over the Forest!" This time, he lost his temper. "The more we move, the more danger they are in! They need to stay with their mothers until they can go on by themselves."


 * His deputy's orange eyes were half glaring- half sympathetic. "So you wish to stay here and fight, and have all of ForestClan protect the Queens and their kits?"


 * "No. We can't afford to just protect them. We have to let them die if they do." He looked away as he said the last sentence, knowing how Sunthorn will reply to it.


 * "Must we start every sentence with 'No'? They are coming fast, and you know we can't let the kits die. We need more warriors. We don't even have an apprentice in the Clan. And you want to allow the kits die? What kind of leader would you be, allowing us to die out. If we are attacked again, all of us will die. We must move quickly, Palestar. BlizzardClan will not allow us to slip away at the last moment again."


 * "What you say is true, Sunthorn. I trusted you to this Clan as the deputy, and you have proven yourself a great warrior."


 * Sunthorn thought about his sentence, and was quite confused. What did Palestar mean by this? It was an odd thing to say in their predicament. "What do you mean? We are trying to think of different ways to go, and you tell me I am a worthy deputy. I have been serving you for over six moons. And you just decide to tell me this now?"


 * "I am deciding a way to go for this Clan. I have decided to let all of you leave. I will stay." Palestar still hasn't looked back to Sunthorn. He is affraid the he will see the tears and fear in this eyes.


 * "What about when you said you wanted to be the leader of this Clan for as long as you can live naturally. You still have 3 lives left," He paused, remembering the hurry he was in to get every-cat out of this thin clearing. "Do what you wish, Palestar. Thank you for serving this Clan." He dipped his sleek brown head to his Leader and ran swiftly to the warriors' den. "Everyone get ready to run as fast as you can while carrying a kit or two. BlizzardClan has found us again. We must get the Queens and kits to safety first."


 * "What about Palestar?" A black tom in the back of the dirt-mound called softly, almost as if he was reading Sunthorn's mind at the moment he stepped into the den.


 * "He has decided to stay behind."


 * "The Elders?"


 * "I have yet to talk to them, and the Queens are going to come with all of the Warriors to help with the kits. The same for Poppytail."


 * "You can't just let the Elder's die with Palestar like that." The black tom was relentless, it almost seemed as if he was trying to slow down the process of moving out of the area.


 * "Enough, Nightblaze! We are trying to leave as fast as possible. The Elders have a choice of staying with Palestar, or coming with the Queens, kits and warriors." Sunthorn stormed out, not in the mood for Nightblaze and his attitude. He reached the fallen tree where the Nursery is, and he squirmed inside of the trunk. It was dark, so he had to blink multiple times to adjust. It smelt like milk and kits. He hasn't had any kits of his own yet. There was never a time, because they were always on the run, or in hiding.


 * "Is everyone ready to move?"


 * "We don't have a choice, do we?" Her voice was soft, like a lullaby.


 * "No." He said as softly as she asked her question. Goldenmist was like a sister to him, and he knew that she was smart. She had a litter of five kits, but two of them died, being so small. "We just need to leave now, they are sure to be very close now. I want both of the litters safe, and-" He looked at the one Queen that was soon to have her kits. "I want you to be as careful as possible. We need these kits."


 * The silvery queen looked at Goldenmist, Heatherpool, and then back at Sunthorn. "I will."




 * Palestar was in the middle of the clearing, watching the small group of cats consisting of two Elders, three Queens, eight Warriors, Poppytail and Sunthorn. They were moving fast, almost able to leave. There were nine Elders around him, and they all decided to stay willingly. You could hear battle yowls in the distance, and feel the vibration of many paw-pads on the soft dirt ground. Sunthorn hurried up to Palestar, his orange eyes once again showing sympathy. His whiskers twitched, and he dipped his head to all ten cats that decided to stay. Then he ran to the group, and they all headed off, the pregnant queen beside him. All fifteen cats in the group were in the far distance when you could finally see the many cats of BlizzardClan in the forest. Palestar's light brown eyes and sandy pelt shone in the dim moon-light. Maybe it wasn't so bad to lose three lives in one attack...


 * He felt pain. Three times he saw StarClan. The last time, he stayed...