Warriors: Quest for the Enchanted Ball of Yarn: book 1 - the scratchening

Chapter 8

DoveWing and BlueStar had everyone in the clan searching for the four kits.

"I knew you shouldn't have been so strict about them burning that bag full of clothes that they erroneously thought was a makeshift smoke-bomb in the middle of our Treaty Treat celebration a few chapters ago!" DoveWing angrily told her husband.

BlueStar was a little bit confused as to why she said something so blatantly expository but then decided to proceed in the conversation as if she had scolded him properly.

"Don't worry dear, I'm sure we'll find the children before any unspeakable harm comes to them."

DoveWing looked at BlueStar wondering why he would say something so awful but decided to proceed in the conversation as though he had actually been supportive.

"I'm just so worried for them."

Just when things couldn't get any more pretentious RainbowHeart and HappySnout burst into the room bickering like a pair of shorts.

"You tell them," RainbowHeart demanded of his unfriend.

"No you tell them," HappySnout said in his typically depressed tone.

"No you."

"No you."

"Never."

"One of you tell me what in the sweet and sour heck is going on?"

"Go ahead HappySnout. Tell him what you saw," RainbowHeart said while nudging HappySnout.

"Nah."

"Dang it, what did you see?" BlueStar roared.

"Geez, you don't need to raise your voice," complained HappySnout.

"Apparently I do."

"Touché."

"So what did you see?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"That's right. Nothing."

"And how exactly is that supposed to help us?" BlueStar asked crossly.

"It's WHERE he saw nothing that will interest you sir," RainbowHeart interjected.

"Where did you see nothing?" DoveWing asked the depressed cat.

"I don't wanna say."

"Why not?"

"Because you won't be happy about it; and if there's one thing I can't stand it's unhappy cats," HappySnout said grumpily.

"Just spit it out!" commanded BlueStar.

"The nothingness I saw was in the map chamber. Someone stole the map to the long lost enchanted ball of yarn," HappySnout told them.

"Do you think they went after it?" DoveWing asked BlueStar desperately.

"I'll send my best scouts to go find out."

"But how sir?" asked RainbowHeart. "Without the map we have no way of knowing where it is."

"We know the general direction though don't we?"

"It's not that easy, you see the 'map' is a series of riddles and clues that you must solve correctly to find it. No one in the can has figured out enough of the clues to determine where it could be." HappySnout informed them.

"And that means that the kits could be virtually anywhere depending on how they interpreted the clues," RainbowHeart panted.

DoveWing fell into BlueStar's forelegs. "My babies are lost out there."

"Isn't it great?" HappySnout said gleefully.