Rise of FireClan

Chapter 6: Legacy of Blood

Leafbare was defiantly in full swing if not close to it's end. The smell and sounds of a monster in the far distance harvesting hay reached the group's ears while sheep lazily grazed in the field. Leading the way was Siren, the queen clearly had been struggling a little from being heavy with kits. Even Fireheart could tell by the sounds of panting. It concerned the tom since if he was right then his sister-in-law was due and soon. They just might have to stop soon unless they found a suitable camp to call home.

"Hey, we probably should stop soon guys, even if just for a break to hunt and catch our bearings."Fireheart mewed quickly.

Longtail gave a nod of agreement, "The kit has a point, you don't look so good Siren."

"N-Nonsense darling...*pant* I-I'm ok to keep going..."she mewed.

"No you're not, you need to rest."urged Sandstorm in worry.

"Is there somewhere we can go? I don't think standing out here in a field of um, what didja call these things again, sheep? Would be a good idea."mewed Princess with an anxious flick of her tail tip.

Fireheart glanced around his world of darkness as he opened his maw and started to scent the air. There had to be a place somewhere! He tried hard to remember what the scents of barley's barn would have smelled like. Mice, old wood, and bails of hay both fresh and old. He continued until he caught this mingled scent, though faint it was there and seemed to be mixed with sheep scent. Sandstorm was the first to notice what her mate was up to.

"You got a scent Fireheart?"she mewed.

"There's a barn near by, though it's faint."he said, pointing in the direction of the scent. "There'll be prey there too."

Little did they know the group was being watched by a pair of golden amber eyes that glowed in the shadows. A soft twinkle of a tiny bell being lost to the more harsh chimes of the bells on some of the sheep below. A fanged mischievous grin graced the figure's face. "Well, well if it isn't my brother and sister, I think I'll show them a little hospitality."he muttered under his breath with a snicker as he watched.

Run.

They had to run!

This place was crazy as the small group lead by Swiftpaw was running for their lives away and out of MetalClan's territory. Unfortunately that was leading straight into BloodClan's. Two new cats had joined them; a pair of brothers that had been badly hurt by MetalClan. They were no more then little kits with one being a golden ginger tabby and the other a runt with golden calico fur and amber eyes. Their names were Copper and Dragon. Dragon was most certainly a little firecracker and smart too and more then able to get around despite missing a leg from literally having it chopped off by a psycho cat with a scythe. Dragon's brother, Copper was a bit bigger then his littermate but was more calm and polite. Swiftpaw frowned as he knew NOTHING about healing as both the kits were badly hurt. Goldenflower and Brightpaw had refused to leave them behind, wanting to respect the wishes of the brothers' mother that had died of hunger and sickness.

Swiftpaw cursed under his breath as they now found themselves surrounded utterly and completely by this new patrol of cats. They had underestimated them just cause they had collars. Now cause of that Brightpaw was in a bad way, Goldenflower had injured her shoulder, Bramblekit and Tawnykit were scared out of their tiny skulls, Cloudpaw was limping from a twisted ankle, and Swiftpaw himself was almost just as badly hurt as he was running on nothing but adrenaline rushing through his body.

But what happened next was what shocked them as a petite black tom with a menacing air of authority sleeked through the cats that parted a way for him. Swiftpaw gulped; this small cat no bigger then himself was clearly these rogues' leader. Eyes of ice that froze him in place, just daring him and his comrades to be stupid as reinforced claws scraped against the unnatural ground under their paws.

"Well what do we have here? A bunch of forest cats again?"sneered the tom.

Swiftpaw knew one thing: They were screwed.

Fireheart let out a yelp of surprise as he just barely jumped out of the way from the sudden surprise attack-if you wanted to call it that-happened. He and the others stood on guard as they surrounded Siren whom was in no shape to fight. Amber eyes gleamed in mirth as the light moved to reveal a dark ginger tom with long fur, white paws and blaze was revealed. He wore a green studded leather collar with red rhinestones and a tiny bell. He had a impish grin on his face as his eyes twinkled with a prankster's mischief.

"W-wait a second...Orion!?"squeaked Princess in surprise.

"Hey what's shaking Lil' sis?"chirped the strange farm cat.

It took a moment but the scent and the voice soon made Fireheart laugh as he tackled and pinned his brother, "You little troublemaker! i thought you were a rogue!"

Orion grunted from being tackled but laughed as he let a playful growl out at being pinned by his brother. The others looked right down confused at the scene they were seeing.

"Wait a minute, the brat has a brother?"squeaked Longtail, his tail twitching.

"Seems so. I heard from Fireheart about Princess, but I never knew they had a brother."sighed Sandstorm with a sweat drop at the siblings now wrestling each other.

Siren though found it amusing, "Scourge acts like that with Bone and me."

Siren though ended up flinching as a shock wave of pain went through her This swiftly got everyone's attention in particularly Princess as the cinnamon tabby rushed over to the crouched, pained queen. A look of stern seriousness graced the former kittypet's face.

"Siren's going into labor, quick help me get her into spot where she can kit safely."mewed Princess in urgency.

"There's a old broken barrel in the corner full of wool and hay. Would that work?"quickly asked Orion.

"Yes!"mewed Princess as she hurried with help from Sandstorm to usher Siren over into the barrel. "Longtail go find something for her to bite on!"

"I'm on it!"Longtail swiftly dashed outside to go find something like a branch or something.

Fireheart unfortunately knew he could do jack squat to be of help for Siren as he sat there with his brother. Orion's fear scent was weak but it voiced the concerns the ginger tom was feeling. He had no idea Siren was this close to kitting. Had Scourge sent her with them knowing this? Had he really been wrong of just how far along she really was back when they first met Siren? But then again he wasn't a medicine cat. But the doubts and worries were now causing the tom to pace about as Longtail raced back in with some reed stems from a pond he had found. Unfortunately said tom was now forced to wait with the others while Princess helped Siren through the night.

It was no shocker; Princess had kitted before so of course she'd know how to help the queen. Everything would be ok wouldn't they? As if StarClan were answering his prayers tiny high pitched wails pierced the the darkness of the night. First it was one and then one more before the wails quieted down as one tired and very much messy Princess left the barrel just as dawn's light was just starting to peak through the holes in the barn.

"Well how'd it go?"asked Fireheart in unrest.

"Did everything go ok?"chirped Longtail, mirroring the brothers' concern.

"Everything went fine. Two kits, a tom and a she-kit."purred Princess before going off to groom herself and get some rest.

"Well looks like we'll be stuck here in your barn Orion for awhile."mewed Sandstorm.

"Any friends of my bro, is a friend of mine sweet whiskers."mewed Orion only to earn a smack over the head from Fireheart. "Ow, what was that for!?"

"I see you haven't changed. Always chasing after every she-cat you see. So let me clue you in...do NOT flirt with MY mate!"hissed Fireheart.

Orion just pouted while the others still awake laughed as they all went to get some much needed rest. After all it looked like they weren't going anywhere for the next couple days. At least not until Siren had recovered and the kits were old enough.

To Be Continued...