Let Off



 L e t O f f

Episode Three, Season Three, of Beauty.

Enjoy <3

Let Off
“Do you think this is smart?” A sly voice purred from the dark, “After all, they’re doing exactly what we want them to do.”

“This is better,” the elegant she-cat tossed her head back to glance at her companion. “I want them to do something alone. Perhaps that will drive them to slip.”

“Slipping is something I want to see,” the other she-cat laughed, “Who do you want them to find?”

“Remember the cripple?”

A nod.

“He’s stirring trouble. My daughter might be associating with him. Perhaps if they catch him, my daughter will return to her regular duties.”

“Hm,” the other she-cat seemed to be thinking. “What will you do with him once you have a hold of him?”

“I suspect they will fail in snatching him. Perhaps I’ll just send them on a mission to destroy a few areas. That’ll cause enough damage.”

“I suppose.”

“How is your toy coming along? Is she ready?”

“The pitiful apprentice we caught from the Academy?” The she-cat chuckled, “Weak as ever. I can only hope she’ll be prepared for what we have in mind.”

“Indeed. It’s coming soon, isn’t it?”

“Well, you suggested a few raids before dropping the surprise. It’s time those rebels understand that they’ll never win.”

“Have patience, all in good time.”

~

“Guess what?” I burst into the den, grinning. My friends stare at me in confusion.

“What’s got you so excited?” Scarlet raises an eyebrow. “It’s been a week and all you’ve been is glum.” Has it only been a week since we set off with Stonefall? We’ve destroyed so many camps that I can’t even keep count.

“Well, we’ve been let off!” I purr, “Redstar decided Stonefall doesn’t need the extra help so we have to go back.”

“‘Have to’ sounds like you don’t want to,” Appleleaf twitches her whiskers, “but what are we going to do?”

“Redstar wasn’t informed me yet but I’m sure it’ll be better than this.” Anything can be better than this. I glance at the others but they don’t look so convinced.

But as we head out of our den, I can feel my friends’ excitement at leaving Stonefall’s murderous ways. I dip my head to the general and then we leave.

“Thank StarClan,” Brownhare mutters, “are they going to keep going?”

“Sadly,” I sigh, “but it was their mission to start with. We were unlucky to get paired up but lucky to be let off.”

“Hopefully,” Appleleaf reminds, “our next mission could be worse.”

“StarClan I hope not.” Brownhare groans.

When we get back to main, I immediately regret my cheery mood. Redstar and not surprisingly Whiteflicker are waiting for us in front of our den.

“So lovely of you four to return,” Redstar gives us a fake smile, “Where are your other friends?”

Scarlet stiffens at the sight of Whiteflicker, who is staring right back at her. I swallow nervously. “I told them they had a day off and they must have encountered something.”

Redstar frowns and speaks to Whiteflicker privately. I try to gather my thoughts and think of an appropriate story. When the two turn back around, Redstar purses her lips. “This mission is for your entire squad. But it seems you’re missing a few of your squad members. For now, your mission is just to find your squad members. Once you’ve recovered them, please report to my den.”

Before I can say anything, Redstar and Whiteflicker walk away. I sag in relief and turn to my friends. My relief reflects on their faces.

“Well guys, looks like we just have to find our friends and save their tails.”

~

Snowflare peered through her bramble cage. “Lionclaw,” she hissed.

“Yes?” Came a sleepy reply.

“Wake up!” She snapped, “Have you figured out where the others are?” She tried to see through the spaces  between the brambles but only inky black stared back. “Lionclaw!”

“No, I haven’t.” Lionclaw sounded like he was yawning.

“Why haven’t you been looking?” Snowflare tried to pace but go tangled in the brambles instead. She hissed in frustration.

“It’s the middle of the night, Snowflare, I’m tired.”

“Now is not the time to be tired!” She lowered her voice, “Finchwing has been up there for the past week. If we don’t find the others soon, they’ll cut her ropes and let her drop.”

Lionclaw was silent. They were both thinking about Finchwing’s contraption. Tied down by strong twine, Finchwing is just at the edge of a cliff. But no one would notice because their captors constructed a wall of brambles in front of Finchwing so nobody on the outside could see her. But inside the prison camp, you can see the line of prisoners waiting to be dropped.

“You realize if I start hollering names, the captors will just kill us and be done with it? Not to mention they’ll just push Finchwing off.”

Snowflare sighed. She hated it when the golden tom was right. But he was definitely right; there was nothing the five of them could do until Amberfrost showed up to save them.

“They better come fast,” she muttered.

~

“Stonefall mentioned taking them to a prison camp near the main camp. That means more than the camp members we didn’t manage to save. Which also means a plethora of warriors.”

I peer down at Appleleaf’s hasty drawing of the camp. “Here’s the poor,” the red and white she-cat continues to draw, “and here are the hunting areas. That means the prisons are around here, and that makes sense because that’s where we went last time.”

“There weren’t prison camps,” Brownhare points out.

“I’m getting there,” Appleleaf rolls her eyes. “Despite looking like there’s no logical place to put prison camps, it’s quite logical to place the prison camps as far from the poor side of camp as possible. And that spot is evidently Redstar’s den. But you wouldn’t want to put a prison camp full of dangerous prisoners who could easily escape and raid Redstar’s palace too close to it.”

“You’re a genius!” I crow, leaning forward to examine the map.

“We should get that checked with Redstar,” Brownhare twitches his whiskers. Appleleaf shoots the brown tom a glare but he just purrs.

“So we’ll just head in that direction and if we spread out, we should find some indication that the prison camp is there.” Appleleaf uses her tail to wipe out any trace of the map. Despite it being in our den, it’s not safe to let such things be out in the open, especially when anyone could come into our den and see the map lying there.

“Sounds good,” I rub my paw against the ground and make sure the map is gone.”

It doesn’t take us long to reach the area that Appleleaf has drawn out for us. It’s unfamiliar territory, especially once Redstar’s den disappears from sight. The terrain is rather rocky and my eyes are glued to the ground in an attempt to keep my balance.

“This is definitely perfect for a prison camp,” Scarlet mumbles, “any escaping prisoners can easily be caught due to the difficulty of running on this surface.”

“Which means this is probably the only route to and from,” I conclude.

“Nonsense,” Appleleaf scoffs, stopping. “We can take a challenge.” She pivots and heads off the beaten (so to speak) path. Hedges and heavy undergrowth faces her but the red and white she-cat plunges through it.

“Alright,” I mutter glumly, “if the genius says so…”

Brownhare gives a little snort and one by one, we push through the undergrowth, following the mess of a trial that Appleleaf left.

When we do catch up to her, she is crouched in front of a huge bramble wall. She beckons to us and motions for us to be quiet.

“Look,” she whispers, “no, listen.”

I strain my ears and notice faint breaths. Then there’s a hiss of frustration. When the cat starts cursing, I hiss, “Snowflare!”

The scuffling stops and I hold my breath. Then, a grunt comes from the other side. “Who’s there?”

“It’s Amberfrost!”

There’s another pause before Snowflare replies. “They captured you too?” She seems slightly confused.

“No,” I exchange looks with Brownhare. “Where’s here to save you.”

There’s a heavier thud as someone else sits up. “Amberfrost?” Lionclaw’s voice sounds from the other side, “Is it really you?”

Appleleaf rolls her eyes at their disbelief. She raises a paw and begins to tear through the brambles. It takes awhile, but we finally step into Snowflare’s den. She blinks in surprise before giving a purr of delight.

Together, we free Lionclaw as well.

“Wait,” Appleleaf stops me, “we should free as many as we can. This way we can form enough cats to distract the guards and defeat them. It’s the easiest way to save everyone we want to.”

I don’t hesitate. “Alright. Spread out and free as many prisoners as you can.”

When we gather together again, the sun is starting to set. I’m pretty surprised we haven’t gotten caught yet. “This is about half of the camp,” Brownhare informs me, “If we launch an attack now, we can free the rest.”

I nod. “That’s what I want.” I address all the prisoners, “We’re going to charge the camp! Follow Snowflare and Lionclaw!” I point at the two and with a fierce cry, they tear through the brambles and race into the camp.

The rest of my friends fan out and begin to search through dens once more. With each prisoner I free, I tell them to join the fight.

It’s magnificent. The guards are practically beaten until Snowflare pulls me aside frantically. “Amberfrost!” she pants, “One of the guards is going to where Finchwing’s held. He’s going to push her off!”

“Push her…” Snowflare points up and I gape.

Finchwing is on the edge of a cliff. If what Snowflare said is true, the guard would just push her off the side and –

I sprint out of camp without another word. I catch the Beauty warrior’s scent easily and follow it up a steep path.

My breath comes in gasps and when I reach the top, the warrior is untying Finchwing’s brambles. I let out a fearsome shriek and tackle the brute. He grunts and we tumble into the brambles. Thorns dig into my pelt but I ignore them.

“Don’t touch her,” I hiss angrily.

He doesn’t reply as I dig my claws into his chest. “I won’t let you harm anyone,” I tell him. I surprise myself by finding tears coming out of my eyes, “I’m sorry but you’ve done enough.”

His eyes meet mine, so full of pain, one last time before the light goes out.

I step away from him, trying to push the disgust away as I reach Finchwing.

“Come on,” I murmur, “I’ve got you.”

I can’t help think of all the blood that must be shed before we could ever succeed.

The End.