(Book 1) Warriors: Separations - Six Stars

Chapter 11

Cherry kept on her way through the pine forest, slipping around the trees and hopping over rocks. The sun was up, its gleaming rays shining down on Cherry's sodden fur. It warmed her, and even though she was still soaked, she hoped it would eventually dry off. At least it covered up her scent.

She heard a rustle in the bushes, and then voices.

"Foxstar has been really strict lately..." she heard a tom's voice.

"Well, he's doing it for the sake of the clan. As long as he's the leader, Shadowclan will prosper." a she-cat replied.

"I heard that he was getting ready to invade Thunderclan." the tom hissed at the she-cat.

Cherry's eyes widened. Shadowclan was going to invade Thunderclan? She shivered. She was warming up, but the chilling notion that Shadowclan would go so far as to wage war for some unknown reason creeped up her muscles like ice-cold water.

The cats eventually passed by, thankfully not noticing Cherry's scent, and Cherry hurried out of the bush.

The reek of Shadowclan grew much stronger, and she guessed she was getting near the Shadowclan camp. She padded closer to the growing Shadowclan odor, then suddenly stopped when she heard a couple of hushed voices quietly muttering something to each other. She crouched down and gingerly set each paw down, making extra sure not to tread on any branches.

Then Cherry noticed something.

A scent. Actually, multiple scents. And they were all familiar.

Then, she saw them. Cinder, Misty, and Taurus, all crouching in a bush watching quietly as the Shadowclan cats walked around camp sharing gossip with one another. Cherry was annoyed, but kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to alert any Shadowclan cats that there was an entire group of four rogues in their camp that for all the Shadowclan cats know are trying to invade.

Cherry kept hidden in some brambles and continued watching the Shadowclan camp.

After taking a closer look, she realized just how chaotic their camp really was. Cats were fighting one another, and many others were avoiding each other. She didn't know much about the situation in Shadowclan, but she had a rough idea.

Apparently, their leader, Foxstar, had become corrupt and evil. He was ruthless, and feuds about his ability to lead quickly broke out, and cats in Shadowclan turned against one another. Loyalists and rebels opposed each other, and even families turned on themselves. Cherry had never guessed that it would get this bad. And Foxstar really didn't seem to be helping. Cherry stared at the corrupt leader, and noticed the twisted joy in his eyes. Was he enjoying watching his clan fall into chaos? Did it bring him satisfaction to witness the downfall of the clan he tried so hard to lead? What happened to him?

Cherry heard more and more murmurs about Shadowclan's supposed plans to invade Thunderclan and take over. Wow... Shadowclan is really serious about this, aren't they? Cherry thought. Well, there is nothing we can do about it. She reassured herself dismissively.

She began to pull herself out of the bush, when she heard a yowl coming from behind herself.

"Rogues! Invading Shadowclan!"

She swiveled around to see a dark tabby tom with piercing blue eyes and a white tail-tip, and she widened her eyes nervously. "N-no!" she mewed, panicked. "I swear, we weren't trying to invade, just... uh..." she stumbled over her words. She noticed Cinder, Misty, and Taurus all revealing themselves from the bush as well. They seemed surprised that Cherry had found them.

She dipped her head. "Please forgive me and my-" she glared at her companions, "-foolish friends. We promise not to tread on Shadowclan territory anymore. We swear."

The tom looked at the four rogues. "How can we know you're not planning anything?" he spat. Cherry drew her lips back in a snarl, but forced her fur to lay flat as she figured out what to say next. "We were simply passing by and heard a bunch of cats. We swear, we weren't plotting anything. If you want, escort us out, we'll leave and never come back." she replied with a glare at Cinder, Misty, and Taurus.

The Shadowclan tom scoffed. "As if! Rogues are nothing but trouble, and a whole group of four? I'd be stupid to let you just leave our territory with no consequences." he scoffed.

A brown she-cat with amber eyes and white and light brown splotches around her torso and legs bounded up to the tom. "Tigerleap! Who are these?" she queried with a glance at the group of rogues. Tigerleap growled. "A band of rogues coming to invade Shadowclan." he snarled. Cherry twitched her tail nervously. Ugh, once we get home, those mouse-brains are gonna pay! She thought irritably. Tigerleap looked at the she-cat. "What should we do with them, Mousestep?" he asked her. Mousestep looked at the rogues menacingly. "Lock them up. They were clearly plotting something. We can't let them roam around Shadowclan's territory without supervision. Cherry looked at Mousestep. "You could just escort us out, and we promise to never set paw in Shadowclan's territory ever again. If we do, you can rip us to shreds." She promised to Mousestep. Tigerleap twitched his tail menacingly, and his eyes gleamed with bloodlust. Cherry suppressed a shiver. These cats were clearly hungry for battle, and Cherry and her friends seemed like easy targets.

At this point, more and more cats had gathered around the rogues. Cherry glanced at her companions. Cinder and Misty were huddled together, their eyes wide and frightened. Taurus looked calm and collected, but every time he locked eyes with a Shadowclan cat, he returned their gaze with a menacing glare to let them know he wasn't scared. Cherry admired his adversity while the rest of the group was so scared, however Cherry was worried that the Shadowclan warriors would see it as only more reason to lock the entire group up.

"Foxstar! Come quickly!"

Mousestep had yowled for the clan leader to look at the group of rogues. Cherry inwardly groaned. It was going to be a long day.