Solid Loyalties

Solid Loyalties

by Firey and Eevee

One ~ Eevee

Nightmare stealthily padded through the trees, his ears pricked for any sign of prey. Since his black pelt blended perfectly with the dark night, he perferred to hunt late. He glanced up, interested in a scurrying noise, but found that it was a small fox digging for food.

Leafbare was always a bad time for hunting. All of the prey went into their burrows when it was coldest, so he never found anything to eat, save frozen berries and fish (and fish were not on his mind; let's just say that water that was frozen over was not Nightmare's friend.). Hunting by day wouldn't find him any food, either. His black pelt stood out too much against the bright snow.

The tom's belly rumbled, and he winced. He was so thin, his ribs almost showed. He flattened his ears and growled, "Shut up."

Something was scuffling around in the snow, and Nightmare's ears pricked. Prey! He instantly dropped into the hunting crouch, and soon had a somehow-fat mouse in his claws. It smelled of Twolegs, so it must've been a Twoleg's pet once. He shrugged and bit into the mouse, savoring the flavor that he hadn't tasted in almost a week.

"Halt!"

Nightmare looked up in surprise, swallowing his mouthful. "What? Who's there?"

Three cats stepped out of the undergrowth. One was a big brown tabby tom with a stumpy tail. Another was a grey tom with white patches. The third was a slightly smaller she-cat with delicate paws and a long tail. She was hanging back behind the other two.

The tabby growled, "What are you doing on DuskClan territory?"

Erm... dusk lan? Nightmare's tail twitched. "What are you talking about...?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"Y'know, DuskClan!" the tabby repeated.

The grey and white tom rolled his eyes and meowed, "Let's not waste our time with this rogue, Halftail." He unsheathed his claws. "And that mouse is one of the most decent meals we could ever have. Let's drive him off and take it." He lashed his tail and grinned evilly at his own idea.

"Patchpaw, really?" the tabby called Halftail sighed. "But, I guess you're right." He unsheathed his claws as well. "Since he won't listen to words, then maybe he'll listen to claws."

Nightmare's fur bristled as the two toms advanced toward him. He growled, flattening his ears to his head.

"Wait, stop!" the she-cat cried, leaping to stand in front of the two cats. "He's only like us; a cat trying to find a decent meal in the middle of leafbare! Why should we punish him?" Her soft blue eyes bore into Halftail's and Patchpaw's.

Halftail rolled his eyes, muttered, "Soft-heart," then turned to Patchpaw again. "Back to camp, apprentice." Looking at the she-cat, he mumbled, "You, too."

The she-cat's soft blue eyes met Nightmare's pale amber ones, then her gaze broke away and she followed the other two, her feathery tail disappearing into the forest.

Nightmare blinked, stunned by the she-cat's beauty. How could she live with those two ruffians with her? After a moment's pause, the black tom finished his mouse and started back to his den. All he could think about was the soft blue eyes of that she-cat.

Two ~ Firey

Palestorm wanted to talk to the rogue again. He was so intriguing, his mesmerizing eyes were full of compassion and will. She wanted to see that all again.

She stretched as she padded towards the DuskClan border, the one that bordered to nothing but freeland. She assumed this was where the rogue would stay.

Finally, after wandering through her side of the forest for what seemed like moons, she spotted him. "Hello." She greeted him politely.

The tom whirled around. "You're... Soft-heart?"

Palestorm struggled not to spit out her words at him. "No," she muttered. "I am not Soft-heart. Halftail just called me soft-hearted because I told them to let you go. I'm Palestorm." She laughed nervously, trying not to stare at the thin, bony rogue.

The jet black tom licked his fur self-consiously. "I'm Nightmare." He mewed, extending his paw in a Tribe like way. Palestorm just dipped her head.

"Nice to meet you, Nightmare."

They stared at each other silently and awkwardly, pale amber meeting pale blue. Finally Nightmare mewed. "I have to keep hunting, or I'll never get any food to eat." He turned and padded away before Palestorm got a chance to say goodbye.

Her gaze continued to pierce his skin as he padded away. Palestorm watched him disappear over the rim of the hill, and she turned too. Morningdusk was waiting for her back in camp. "You look flustered." She noted. "Did you finally find a tom?"

"No, no!" Palestorm growled hastily. "I just didn't get to catch any prey today. My hunting skills are a bit rusty I guess."

Morningdusk snorted. "You? Not being able to hunt? That must mean something is really bothering you. I know you too well."

Palestorm flinched. "Whatever, it's nothing really. Just Badgerstrike being annoying like usual. You know..."

Morningdusk shrugged. "I personally think Badgerstrike's kind of cute, what do you think?" In all honesty, Palestorm agreed, but she couldn't shake the tom's image out of her mind.

"I'm going to sleep." She decided, pushing past her best friend to settle in her nest.

Her dreams were nothing but restful.

Three ~ Eevee

Nightmare padded through the undergrowth, a large mouse in his jaws. He was following the path of that Clan patrol that had passed by eariler that morning. The dark-furred tom wanted to see Palestorm again, and maybe meet some of her friends.

A voice at the back of his mind whispered, This isn't right.

"Oh, come on." Nightmare mumbled to himself. "It's okay. Just a visit, nothing could go wrong." The mouse muffled his words.

When the black tom had made it close to the Clan camp, he heard a stern voice. "Halt!"

He obeyed, glancing around nervously. "Who's there?" he asked, but he already knew the answer. Probably Halftail, maybe that ignorant Patchpaw character.

Instead, a black and white tom stepped out of the bushes, flanked by a dark tabby. The black and white tom's fur was smooth, not one hair out of place. The white stripes on his face cut through his mostly-black pelt, making him look like a badger.

The dark-grey tabby looked fiercer. It was huge, easily doubling Nightmare's height. Its fur was short and bristling, and its bared teeth gleamed white. It had long, thorn-sharp claws. Its dark amber eyes shone fiercely. "Who's there?" the tabby mocked. "Only I, the fearless deputy of DuskClan-"

"His name is Greystripe and he is the second leader of the Clan." the black-and-white tom interrupted. He had a strange-sounding accent, as if he weren't from this place. It had a slight edge to it. And he'd used the term second leader, but Greystripe had used the word deputy.

How confusing can this get? Nightmare thought.

"And I am Badgerstrike." the smaller tom introduced.

Greystripe shoved Badgerstrike with his shoulder. The dark grey tabby wrinkled his nose as he growled, "First, it's deputy, not second lead."

There's one question answered.

"Second," Greystripe continued, "you do not interrupt my introduction. Got it?"

Badgerstrike rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I got it." His accent was heavy, Nightmare thought. Where did this cat come from, anyway?

Greystripe flicked his tail, then glared at Nightmare, making the loner feel as if claws were sinking into his face. "Get out, rogue. Or I'll make you." He lifted a paw, showing his claws to the black-furred loner.

Nightmare's tail tip twitched. "I only wanted to visit someone. That's it. A visit."

"A visit? I knew that you'd be that stupid." Greystripe spat. "Halftail calmly told me about you. He seemed so okay with a rogue in our territory." He swiped his claws through the air. "But I'm not! You better believe I'm not!"

Badgerstrike gazed at Greystripe. "Calm down, Greystripe. Can we not just escort him away?"

Greystripe glared back at him with eyes full of rage, but the younger warrior didn't flinch. "No, we can't. Because then he'll come back and ruin the Clan's life!" The grey tabby let out a yowl of irritation, then lowered his head, fur bristling. "Get out, rogue!"

"That isn't my name." Nightmare growled, digging his claws into the ground.

"What!?" the Clan cat gasped, as if he couldn't believe he'd been challenged.

"My name is Nightmare." the black-furred loner hissed. "And don't forget it, either. I will visit the Clan to see the one I want to see." Then he turned and stalked away, leaving the stunned Greystripe and the still-calm Badgerstrike staring after him.

Four ~ Firey

Palestorm sighed as she stretched and got up for the hunting patrol. Her best friend, Morningdusk peeked her head in. "Did you hear about yesterday?" She mewed eagerly, her eyes shining brightly as she slid into the warriors' den.

"No..." the white she-cat mewed, licking her flank, "What happened?"

Morningdusk laughed and mewed, "That strange rogue the patrols saw on the border lately tried to barge into the camp to see some Clan cat."

Palestorm's head jerked up. "Nightmare?"

The yellow orange she-cat stared at her. "Nightmare? Who's that? Is it the tom that you refused to tell me?" She teased, though her green eyes were sharp with interest.

Palestorm blushed and continued to groom her pelt. "Nothing, I saw him in my dreams. Some black rogue with yellow eyes." She tried to cover her mistake. "So who was the rogue that tried to barge in?"

Morningdusk eyed her carefully, but mewed. "He was the rogue in your dreams." She stated. "Black pelt with mesmerizing yellow eyes."

Palestorm struggled to push down this weird feeling, and she furrowed her brow. "That's strange, what was he thinking?" Though she knew exactly what Nightmare wanted. Perhaps he had come to see her. I better warn him to just meet me outside of camp.

Her best friend stared at her. "You're daydreaming again, it's that look you get when you think about toms. I know because you were like this everytime we mentioned Stormfire."

Palestorm blushed and looked away. "Well I'm thinking about that rogue, and why he's trying to barge into our camp. I guess I start daydreaming when I try to figure things out about toms."

Morningdusk gave her a hard look, but shrugged. "I guess, that's how Petalsun thinks, with glassy eyes and an open mouth. I'm glad she doesn't like using her brain often!"

Palestorm managed a laugh before mewing. "I'm going for a walk." She stood up, stretching slightly before leaning back to smooth a part of her fur.

Morningdusk stood up too, "Mind if I join you for a hunt?"

The pale she-cat shook her head. "I don't mind at all." She struggled to stifle a groan of dissapointment, for she had been hoping to meet Nightmare somewhere private and alone.

The two she-cats padded outside, their flanks brushing against one another. "You seem distant, Palestorm," the cream colored she-cat mewed, stopping to stare at her friend, "You haven't been yourself lately, not after..." She paused for a second. "Not after talking about toms."

Palestorm tried not to flinch as she looked away, successfully catching the eye of Nightmare, who was peeking out like a sad dog from the bush. She gulped, trying to tear her gaze from the rogue, but his amber/yellow eyes kept her there. Her breathing quickened, and Morningdusk nudged her like she was crazy.

"You still here?"

The pale she-cat shook her head in response, and Morningdusk nudged her harder. "I don't know what has gotten into you, but you're staring at a bush like it's prey, and you're telling me that you're not here anymore."

"What?" Palestorm flinched as the words hit her and she hastily turned away from the bush. "No, I was thinking what the berries would be used for."

"On the bush?" Morningdusk mewed, looking surprised and sarcastic, "Palestorm, there's not a single berry on the bush you were staring at."

Palestorm flushed and she hurriedly covered up her mistake, "No, a bush I saw yesterday that was around here."

"There's not a single bush around here with berries!" Morningdusk broke out, "What has gotten into you, Palestorm?"

She looked away and shook her head. "Nothing, let's go back to camp." Morningdusk just gave her a strange glare before stomping off through the undergrowth. Palestorm shot a regretful glance at NIghtmare's bush, but he was already gone.

I wish I could just be alone with him...

Five ~ Eevee

Nightmare padded through the thin layer of snow coating the ground, swishing his tail through the air. "She looked right at me..." he growled, "yet she didn't talk to me? Why? Doesn't she like me?" He flicked his ears and stopped walking, one of his paws still in midair. "Aaand I said that out loud." He sighed, continuing to walk through the snow.

"W-who's there?" a timid voice sounded from the bushes, and Nightmare froze. Another one of those Clan cats? he wondered, instantly unsheathing his claws.

A pale cream paw poked out of the bushes, and for a heartbeat Nightmare hoped it was Palestorm. But no. A tiny cream she-cat pushed through the leaves, a small bell on her neck ringing. A collar? So this was a kittypet.

Her fluffy fur fluffed out even more as she saw the black loner. "A-ah-ah! D-d-don't hurt m-me!" she stammered, pressing herself to the cold snow at her paws.

Nightmare blinked his amber eyes. "I, uh, won't hurt you." he meowed awkwardly. "But those Clan cats will."

"...Clan cats?" the kittypet mewed softly.

"Yeah-"

"My name's Creampaw!" the kittypet blurted. "Or, at least, it was. Now it's Lace."

"Wait, you were... one of those Clan cats...!?" Nightmare gasped.

Lace nodded violently. "Patchpaw's former best friend. The former warriors Nightheart and Paledapple's kit. Silverblaze's former apprentice. Palestorm's sister." Her words were fast and almost not understandable. But Nightmare caught the last part crystal clear.

"Wait, Palestorm's sister?" Nightmare breathed.

"Yeah. You know her?" Lace tipped her head to one side.

"Yes, I do know her!" Nightmare nodded. "I met her a couple of days ago, a ways from the stream. And you're her sister?"

"Is it... really that surprising?" Lace wondered. "I mean, we look really alike!" Then her ears flicked up as a voice calls something in some foreign language Nightmare didn't understand. "Oops! Gotta go, see you later!" She turned tail and disappeared.

Nightmare sighed and turned away, padding back to his den with his mind elsewhere.

A light cream pelt was moving through the trees, and for a heartbeat Nightmare thought it was Lace again. But no, this was slightly taller. "Palestorm!" he called out softly, waving his tail.

The she-cat looked up, ears pricked. Then she bounded over to Nightmare and nodded to him. "Hi, Nightmare." she greeted.

The black loner blinked his amber eyes, and he mewed, "So, are you taking a walk or something?"

"Yeah, but-" Palestorm cut herself of with a gasp, then suddenly leapt at Nightmare, pinning him to the cold snow. "Not today, rogue!" she said loudly. "You'll never take prey from DuskClan!"

Nightmare hissed, "What are you-"

Another cat stepped out of the bushes, fur bristling. "Palestorm! Is this that Nightmare cat that was in your dreams?"

Nightmare looked back to Palestorm in confusion. "What is-"

Palestorm called back, "I don't know! But he was trying to steal prey."

The other she-cat looked around in wonder and mewed, "I don't see any prey."

"I say he was trying!" Palestorm yowled. "Morningdusk, go look around to see if there's any friends of his wandering around, stealing prey." she ordered the other Clan cat.

'Morningdusk' stared at her Clanmate for a second, then disappeared into the undergrowth.

Palestorm stepped away from Nightmare and sighed. "You'll have to go, sorry. Morningdusk is already suspicious of me, and if she finds out we're meeting, then..."

"Oh, I see. Okay, I...I'll just go then." Nightmare stood and turned away. Without a glance back at Palestorm, he headed back into the forest, away from her.

Six ~ Firey

As soon as Nightmare disappeared, Morningdusk rounded on her. "Who was he? Did you know him from somewhere else? What was he doing here?"

Palestorm found it hard to reply, "I told you, he was trying to steal prey! Why do you think I was having a battle with him? I chased him off though, good riddance." She shook out her fur.

Her friend stared at her, "Yeah but what about the rogue from your dreams? What's he got to do with all this? Don't tell me that was Nightmare and that you do know him!"

"No," Palestorm shook her head quickly, "I didn't know him until we met today. Plus, I wouldn't call fighting him 'meeting him'. Lighten up, Morningdusk, I drove him off, didn't I? Why do you always have to be so suspicious?"

"I'm just worried about your safety, that's all!" her friend protested, "I don't want you mingling with rogues and maybe even falling for them!"

Palestorm stumbled backwards like she had been hit. Morningdusk was coming dangerously close to the truth. But she couldn't let her friend see that. "Well if you think I'm falling in love with that tom, then you're wrong. Today was the first time I saw him, okay?"

"What about Nightmare?"

"What about him?" Palestorm muttered.

Morningdusk frowned, "That rogue from your dreams, why do you keep muttering 'Nightmare' in your sleep?"

"Maybe..." Palestorm tried to find a good reply, "Maybe it's because I had a nightmare!"

Morningdusk blinked. She obviously wasn't prepared for an answer like that. "I'm just worried," her friend mewed, resting her tail on Palestorm's flank, "I don't want you to put yourself in danger, okay? Promise me you won't."

"I promise."

"Let's go back to camp," Morningdusk turned away. Palestorm obediently followed the other warrior back to camp, wishing that Morningdusk hadn't come by that day because she just wanted to be with Nightmare and no one else.

~

One tom, Galewind, bounded up to greet them when they entered camp. "Morningdusk! You've been out there forever, didn't you want to go hunting?" He smiled at Palestorm, "Hey, Palestorm."

Palestorm blinked at the tom. "Hey," she replied.

"I have to eat first," Morningdusk rolled her eyes, "After I get something, we'll head out," she turned and bounded away, "Palestorm, you want anything?"

The cream colored she-cat wordlessly shook her head. She knew Galewind, but he was mostly Morningdusk's friend. Despite this, she knew he had a crush on her and constantly tried to steal some time with her.

"Do you want to come hunting with us too?" Galewind asked, tipping his head.

Palestorm felt slightly drawn to the young tom. His bright green eyes were kind and warm, just like Nightmare's yellow ones.

"Sure," she replied. She had to play along so Morningdusk would forget all her worries and realize that Palestorm was loyal.

Galewind purred, obviously delighted. "You sure you don't want some prey? Morningdusk took too long and now I'm a bit hungry."

"I'm fine," Palestorm smiled back at him, forcing it, "I'll wait here for you two."

The tom nodded and turned to snatch a mouse off the fresh-kill pile. By the time the two had come back, the sun was already starting to set. "Okay, let's go!" Morningdusk stalked out of camp towards the entrance once more.

"Palestorm's coming along too," Galewind mewed as he ran alongside Morningdusk, "you don't mind, right?"

Morningdusk shook her head, "Of course not!" Her eyes glimmered with mischief and Palestorm suppressed a sigh. Morningdusk had always hoped that she and Galewind would get along.

As they hunted, the three of them chatted about aimless things. More than once, Palestorm found herself standing close to Galewind and having a delightful conversation.

It unnerved her how much she was beginning to enjoy Galewind's company. She hadn't really thought of the tom as handsome, but he was certainly cute.

But...Nightmare.

Palestorm sighed inwardly and sped up to catch after her friends. She would have to pretend, use Galewind to deflect any suspicion.

But if it came to rejecting a life with Nightmare to stay with her Clan...Palestorm could settled with the young warrior instead.

She just hoped she wouldn't have to.

Seven ~ Eevee

"Stealing prey? I do that nearly every week, and then she sends me off for wanting to talk to her." Nightmare growled to himself as he hurriedly padded through the forest. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder, his eyes wide."What's with those cats? It's like they try to get rid of anything that isn't related to them." He sighed, then started walking again.

He continued his walk in silence. Though faint, he could hear the barking of a dog - likely a dog belonging to a Twoleg, which would be of little concern. Another strange noise concerned him more - it sounded familiar, but he couldn't think of a name for it.

As Nightmare approached his den, the strange noise became louder, with a scratching accompanying it. Is someone... in my den? the black-furred loner thought, almost freezing to the spot.

He slowly crept closer and peered inside the den, his fur bristling. "Who's there!?" he yowled. He instantly regretted his outburst.

A badger...? Nightmare was in disbelief - he hadn't seen a badger here since he was a kit. Why would there be one now? The tom stepped back, his eyes wide.

The badger's large black-and-white head swung toward him, with blood visible on its tapered muzzle. The badger suddenly roared in fury and stamped its large paws. It started to charge at Nightmare, baring its bloody teeth at the loner.

The animal didn't run very quickly, but nearly slashed Nightmare to pieces. He had been frozen in fear, but staggered backward just in time to avoid the strike, and he lashed out with his claws at the badger's face. He missed by a few mouse-lengths, and he instantly whirled around and retreated, hoping the badger would leave him alone and go back to whatever it was doing.

Instead, the loud pounding of paws against the ground followed him.

Nightmare sprang toward a tree and started to scramble up, his claws slipping as bark fell to the ground. He screeched in pain as teeth sunk into his tail, and cried out as the badger ripped him away from the tree. One of his paws stung -  a claw must have been torn out. That wasn't his problem right now though.

He lashed out at the badger's muzzle, trying to force it to drop him. The badger only snarled and ran its claws down his flank. Nightmare hissed as he writhed desperately, trying to free himself from the badger's grip. Suddenly his tail was released, and Nightmare scrambled back, gasping for breath. He threw himself against the tree again, climbing up to the second branch and glaring down at the badger.

The larger animal was lumbering away, to Nightmare's relief - but what concerned him was the small cream-colored catt it was heading for. The cat stood with his back arched, and its eyes were narrowed.

"Palestorm!" Nightmare screeched. Looking closer, he noticed a pale blue band around the cat's neck. No, that's not Palestorm... that's her sister. "Lace! Get away!" He started to go back down the tree, trying not to slip. He leaped to the ground when he was a fox-length up - his paw stung, but he didn't notice it. "Lace!" he called again.

The young kittypet's eyes revealed her fright, but she stood her ground. Her tail lashed, and she screeched as she lunged forward, clawing at the badger's eyes. Nightmare ran forward to help her.

As soon as the badger advanced on her, Lace looked as if she regretted fighting it. She started to back away, and before Nightmare could reach her, the badger's paw collided with her head.

Lace was thrown to the side. Nightmare feared that she wouldn't stand again, but somehow she started struggling back to her paws.

Nightmare tried to distract the badger by leaping onto its shoulders, but his efforts were in vain. The badger grabbed his tail in its jaws again and flung him to the side, and he crashed into a tree. Pain flared in his flank and back, but he tried to stand again. He yowled in pain and fell back to the ground.

His vision was blurred, but Nightmare could still see the badger clawing at her mercilessly. Then he blacked out.

~*~*~

Nightmare didn't know how long it was until he regained conciousness. The pain in his side had dulled, but his head now throbbed. Did the spirits really want him to suffer?

He lay there for a moment. Then he shakily stood and limped over to Lace. Blood was splattered over the ground, and he almost cursed himself for walking in it. Lace's body was covered with blood - he could barely recognize her. Her collar was torn, and her flanks and shoulders were covered in bloody gashes.

I-I didn't even know her, but... this is my fault.

Nightmare dug his claws into the ground. "Wh-why did...?" he could hardly speak, and those were the only two words he could say. 

Suddenly a shrill screech erupted from behind him. Nightmare whipped around, his eyes wide with horror. "P-Palestorm!" he gasped.

"Wh-what did you do...?" Palestorm whispered. Then she raised her voice to a scream. "What did you do!? You murdered her!"

Nightmare stepped toward the warrior. He started to protest. "No, th-that's...!" 

"You killed her!" Palestorm wailed. "Why!?" Her tone went from despairing to furious. Her eyes, which were normally soft and displayed kindness, were blazing with anger. "I-I hate you!" she hissed, lashing her tail. "I hate you!"

A hurt look crossed Nightmare's face. "Palestorm, I-I... it's not--"

"Shut up!" Palestorm snapped. "Shut up! Get away from me!" She shoved Nightmare aside.

Pain flared in the loner's side, and he hissed in pain. "Palestorm, please listen!" Nightmare begged the she-cat, but instead of replying Palestorm passed him, dragging her dead sister with her. Without speaking, she left him alone and hurt.

In that moment, Nightmare felt an array of emotions. Hurt, sorrow, confusion... despair. He stepped back a pace, then turned and limped away without a word.