The Tribe of Rotting Skulls (BOOK 1)

Chapter 3

Leopard's P.O.V.

I padded along with the Tribe's group as we entered ShadowClan territory, it was nice, I had to say. It would be good for our Tribe. I shook my head out of my thoughts, 'This is ShadowClan territory, unless we don't drive them it will stay theres forever. Besides, this would be The Tribe of Jagged Rock's territory, not ours!' I thought as I kept on padding with the Tribe. The two leaders halted and rose there tails to stop us. We all stopped and crouched down; we must be getting near their camp.
I stalked along with the rest of the cats and soon we were at the entrance to what looked to be the camp. I lashed my tail as I saw the guard and instantly put it down and watched at Mini, Tricki, Dark and Shadow went around the back and into the camp. Amazingly, no cat saw us but I noticed that the guard was turning around, alarmed by our small sneers and distant lashes. He turned around to look into the camp and I dashed into Venom's place. Venom dashed after me as I grabbed his throat into my jaws and I clamped shut. I heard the small snap of his bone in her neck snap and I let the cat fall. I looked around and stalked to the fresh-kill pile and collected some for Mini who was trying to get them all in her jaws. She dipped her head gratefully up at me as we stalked back to the entrance.
I dropped it at Tiger's paws and I looked back at the medicine den. Dark and Tricki backed out and then the medicine cat too. He let out a yowl and Dark slashed his mouth, causing his head to shot to one side and his yowl come short. I then ran up to Dark's side and ordered him to go back to the entrance with the medicine. He nodded and I stayed put with the cat. He slashed back and forth and I did the same, my hind feet retreating backwards. I quickly recovered and pushed the cats chest, making him fall to his back. This was to easy, medicine cats didn't train so I had an easy go. "Who are you guys?" He rasped, looking me in the eye. "Your worst nightmare," I snarled and bashed his side with my hind feet and turning to smash my front paws in his face. I grabbed his paw in my mouth and lifted, clamping down and waiting for a snap in the shoulder. A thought crossed my mind, 'Didn't they remember us?' We had been fighting these Clans since they first moved into our territory...
He slashed the air helplessly and I dropped his leg and slashed his stomach. His blood began to ooze rapidly out of the gash, but I knew that it wasn't to deep to kill him within a day. It would at least take a day and lots of heartbeats to kill him. Though, he would suffer there because he couldn't move. With an out of place shoulder and a huge gash in his stomach, I wouldn't move if I were him.
I ran off, leaving the cat and waited as the group ran away from the territory and I heard a huge yowl coming from the camp as we ran and noticed that Shadow had been left. I halted and turned my head and dashed down to the camp. There was cats everywhere now but I had to rescue my Tribe-mate. I stalked through the grass and hid behind a den. I peeked out from the side and waited for Shadow to be taken into a small den, then a huge, muscular cat stood in front of it. 'Shadow, I hope you get me tons of fresh-kill for the rest of my life because id I survive this, it'll be a miracle.' I vowed to myself. Once most of the cats had gone back to sleep, I stalked out past a few cats and in behind the den that Shadow was imprisoned in.  
I began to slash at the dirt and soon I was getting somewhere. I cautiously had to look around to check if any cat had heard me, but so far so good. I kicked the dirt away as I started to have to lean into the hole to dig and soon, my paw was through the wall. I silently prayed that no cat other then Shadow would be in there. I dug around the small hole my paw could slid threw and after lots of heartbeats passing, I could fit my body through it. When I got in, Shadow was looking at me, clearly spooked. His fur was fluffed up in defense, even though he wasn't doing anything other then staring. "Its okay, its only Leopard," I soothed. His fur went flat and relief flooded through out him.  
He sighed and I gestured with my head for him to go through the hole. He nodded and began to climb through it and soon I followed him. "Go, now!" I whisper hissed, and he did so. He darted and I made sure no one else was following and I ran up to him. We halted where the cats had waited. "Thank... You," he panted. I dipped my head and looked to Skull and then to Jagged. "Why did you wait?" I asked. "Well, we couldn't leave you two and if you didn't come back, we would attack them and order them to give you two back," Jagged meowed. "Yes, you two are important right now." Skull approved and I exchanged a glance with Shadow then I turned back to the two leaders. "We are important?" Shadow asked, a look of shock and pride in his eyes.  
Neither of them answered, they only began to pad to RiverClan territory. It didn't take long before they stopped and turned. "We want a few cats to go back to the camps to see if they need any help," Jagged began and it was Skull to finish, "We want, Snake, Kink, Beetle, Star, Deadly and Cow," the six cats nodded and ran off to the camps. 'Thank StarClan they didn't say me,' I thought with a sigh of relief.  
"Keep moving, come on," Jagged meowed and we kept moving, pushing our paws further and further until we hit the river. We all exchanged glances and then Lurker spoke, "Do we have to cross?" "Yeah, none of us know how to swim," Stomp stated. "Cowards," Venom snarled and Tricki followed him in. Soon, every cat was springing into the water and only a few were left. I looked around and there was stones that looked safe enough to cross. Some cats who couldn't swim well had begun to climb them and were waiting on the other side. Lurker, Stomp, Mini, Sunny, Claw and Falcon followed me and we crossed safely. "See? Wasn't that bad," I meowed, standing proud and dry. The two leaders were shivering from the water and the cold air while the others were shaking there pelts. Luckily, we were a little ways from the camp so they couldn't hear us.  
We began to stalk up to the entrance when the leaders halted. I stalked up to the front and saw a guard, actually, three! "They are new warriors," Lurker whisper stated. I nodded once and looked at him, wow he was cute. "We should go behind the camp so we don't get caught and leave a few of us behind to kill the new warriors," I suggested to him and he passed it onto the leaders. They thought for a moment and then they nodded. The three warriors began to look around and they stood up. I heard one whisper to them both, "Did you hear whispering?" And they both nodded. "Now, now, now!" Skull hissed and most of the warriors and apprentices ran to the back, leaving Venom, Lurker, Egg, Hawk, Ivy, Berry, Fawn and Jagged. He yowled the battle attack and leapt to the warriors, the rest of us following.
I slashed the nose of a tom and he slashed back. I stood on my hind legs and so did the tom. I bashed his face with one paw and then the other I gripped his throat and pulled back. He fell onto his stomach and blood gurgled out of the gash and at the corner if his mouth was a trickle of blood. I felt somewhat bad for the newly made warrior but there was no time to rethink.
I heard yowls coming from unfamiliar cats and I realized those cats were RiverClan cats fighting back. I left the dying warrior and up to a cat that was much larger then Mini. I flung him off her and attacked his throat, but he knocked me aside and I tumbled onto my back and he slashed my stomach and I whimpered in pain. I slashed his eye over and over again until he finally let go. I stood up and hopped onto his back, digging my front claws into his shoulders and my hind claws into his flank. He fell to the side and I stood up. I started to bash his head while I stood on his neck. He was desperately trying to get out from my grasp and et to air but I wouldn't let him. I then let him run out of the camp with a life, luckily, and then turned to see if any of my Tribe-mates needed help.  
I saw that Tricki had gone to try and get the medicine supplies and she was now dashing out of the camp while Egg was having trouble with the kits. I ran over to him and grabbed a kit. "We only need these two," I meowed though my voice was muffled by the fur and screeching. He nodded and we ran out of the camp, running till we hit the edge of WindClan's moor. We set the kits down to calm them and then the light brown tabby hissed, his fur fluffing up making him twice his size while the other kit was behind her brother shivering. I gave them a soft look and mewed, "Its okay little kits, we only want to give you whats best." The brown tabby's fur laid flat and I licked his head in comforts. "Whats going to happen to mama?" The little she-kit mewed nervously. "She's going to be fine," I meowed. "And our other sister," the little brown tabby tom asked, sitting down. Egg was the one to reply, "She will be just fine, now lets go before we get killed by WindClan." He over exaggerated.  
I picked up the little she-kit while Egg picked up the tabby tom. We lightly ran up the hill and into my Tribe's territory. "New kits? Wow!" Whip squealed. And his brother, Slash, jumped up and down, waiting for the kits to be set down. "How many kits do we have here?" I asked after both the kits were set down. "Um... Well, you count. We only have one pregnant she-cat and we have all these kits to deal with," Snake growled. I looked from one face to the next and then meowed, "Egg, how many do you want to take for your Tribe?" He looked and pulled over four kits. "Just these," he mewed. I nodded and ordered Beetle to help him and they both trailed off to there Tribe territory. I grunted. We still had 6 kits to deal with.  
I gathered them up with a paw; this would be hard. I would choose at least 2 or 3 kits to be mine and ask Bella if they could have her milk. "Whats your names?" I asked softly. The brown tabby and his sister were the first to come up, "I am Birchkit and this is Frostkit," He meowed sternly. I nodded, "And you guys are...?" I asked the other 4 kits. They all exchanged glances then a pretty tortoiseshell-and-white kit stepped up, "I-I am Sorrelkit, and I don't know the re-rest of them, I was from WindClan." She stuttered then backed away. I nodded and waited for the other three to answer, "I am Snowkit and I don't know these guys either, I'm from ShadowClan." The little white tom mewled and then the other two spoke up. "I am Heatherkit and this is Sedgekit, we were from ThunderClan." I nodded and licked at Snowkit's ear that had dust all through it.  
"All right, well, welcome to your new home," I greeted the 6 new kits. I stood up and pushed them to the most beautiful cave of them all, the nursery. I was always jealous of the queens as an apprentice because they had to biggest, warmest and prettiest den out of all them. I nuzzled them all gently up the trail to the cave and when they hesitated I simply mewed, "Its alright, Bella and her kits are playing outside right now. Go ahead, check it out," they then cautiously went in and sat down, still looking around. "Wow, this is so pretty, we get to stay in here?" Birchkit asked, looking at the shining stones that dotted the ceiling. "Yes, this will be your home until you are 4 moons."  
That was enough for Frostkit and Birchkit to burst. "What? Really! We are 5 moons! Back in WindClan, we had to wait until we were 6 moons to be an apprentice!" He exclaimed, his voice echoing through out the cave. "Wow, thats amazing! But not today. You've had a long day. You guys can curl up in any nest. I'm going to get Bella to come in and look after you guys while I get some more nests," I meowed. Snowkit, Frostkit, Heatherkit, Sedgekit and Sorrelkit all yawned and curled up with either the ones who they cane with or by themselves.
"Sweet dreams," I whispered as I exited the den and lightly trotted down the trail and to where Bella was laying with her kits jumping around. "Bella, could you go up with the new kits and make sure they sleep well? I need to get some more nests." I asked her. She nodded and called to her kits as she trotted up the trail and disappeared into the nursery. A warm feeling pulsed through my pelt as I remembered how scared they were when I first met them and how they now feel more comfortable. "I hope they like it here," I murmured to myself. "And I hope Skull doesn't kill them..."