Book 2: City of Ice and Fire (a warriors cats and shadowhunters crossover)

Chapter 4: Training in the Sandy Hollow

The grass was springy under paw, it made crunching noises as she bounded on it. The Clan cats were weaving through the heather, mindful of the prickly thorn thickets as they went. A huge gray rock loomed up before them now.

Clary thought they'd go there, but right before they reached it Rookstar veered away, bounding into an area with patchy peat covering the floor. Some snatches of wool blew in the breeze from sheep living on the farm nearby.

They came to a halt a few tail lengths from the river. The roaring water was crashing against the sand, wild and untamed. As Sparkpaw was at the back of the crowd, she strained to see what all the cats were gathered around. It was a few seconds later she made the connection that she could slip past them all to the front, so she did so hastily.

It turned out there was a deep hole in the ground that Rookstar and the other cat's were gathered around. The leader was speaking loudly now, his voice carrying to reach all the cats gathered. The leader's clan mates listened on wearily, looking worse for wear.

"WolfClan, it is with great sorrow that we must leave our home. We can stay here no longer." He sounded sad, his shoulders drooping.

Murmured gasps echoed from the assembled cats. The tom beside Rookstar silenced them. He was Grayfur, the WolfClan deputy. Come to think of it, the gray tom looks awfully familiar to her....

"Rookstar wouldn't be suggesting this unless there was no other way. You need to trust our leader is only doing what's best for us." Grayfur told them. The other cats quieted at that, a somber mood reaching through them.

"Thank you Grayfur. Now let's get a move on. The tunnel will lead us to some place safe and away from the likes of FangClan and their rogues." Rookstar ordered.

The cats streamed into the tunnel single file line, disappearing into the black abyss. Sparkpaw tried to follow them, but found she couldn't. Instead everything started to fade into a brilliant white. Sparkpaw floated midair, unable to see anything but a stark emptiness.

A booming voice sounded now, making her wince at its amplitude. "THE FIVE CANNOT BE FOUR...DO NOT LET THE WOLVES RUN ASTRAY....RUN ASTRAY...TO THE TUNNELS BEYOND...." she pressed her paws tightly over her ears, trying to block out the eardrum blasting noise.

Dream Sequence end....

"To the tunnels beyond..." Sparkpaw repeats sleepily stretching her paws out in her nest. It had been a little over a week since she'd been made an apprentice. Surrounding her was Violetpaw, Stripepaw, Smokepaw, and Mousepaw. Dawnpaw had moved into the Medicine Den long ago, taking her soft feather nest with her. The younger cats' snuffles and snores were quiet as they slept.

The sun wasn't fully up yet, faint pink rays rising up into the sky. Faintly, Sparkpaw felt a flicker of annoyance. She hadn't wanted to wake up earlier then she already had to, which was dawn. Sighing, she hauled herself out of her nest and out into the cool air of the camp.

There wasn't much activity going on outside. The two cats sitting night vigil, Bearfur and Honeybee were still standing rigid in their spots along the camp perimeter. Vultureclaw was sitting underneath the High Rock, organizing the dawn patrol.

Featherflight was already up, the old tom dragging bundles of mouse bile over to the Elders Den for the apprentices to use. Sparkpaw hoped her mentor Arrowheart had something more interesting in mind then just taking care of the Elders. Not that it isn't an important job, I'd just rather not be doing it.

"Good morning Sparkpaw." A voice greeted. Sparkpaw swiveled her head to the left to see where it came from.

Arrowheart was padding towards her, pads crunching on the frost bitten ground. The drop in temperature was coming early compared to normal, the river already starting to freeze over. Patchfur had commented that MagicClan often starved during what he called the River Freeze. Not wishing starvation on any cat, Sparkpaw hopes that isn't the case.