As they walked further into the city, it became apparent that what they'd seen so far of the soaring grey buildings barely scratched the surface of the monstrous territory. As they continued on their journey, however, the cats were quickly distracted by the conversations they'd been holding since they left Bling's company.
"Damn straight?" Hero inquired, glancing over at Swiftpaw, who had been joking with Snowpaw about the look on the rogue cats' faces when they'd fled the warehouse. The small tortoiseshell simply flicked her tail carelessly, as if to dismiss the conversation entirely. "Where'd you hear that? Is there some sort of Clan slang I don't know about?"
"I heard you say it," Swiftpaw replied, yawning.
Hero snorted. "I've never said that."
"Yeah, you have," Swiftpaw challenged, rolling her eyes as Jayflight snickered from behind them. The apprentice trotted alongside him in an attempt to keep pace. "While you were talking to yourself."
"I don't talk to myself," Hero objected, and immediately received a few thinly veiled snorts of disagreement. "What?"
Smokewhisker exhaled, laughing under his breath. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but you do talk to yourself. Fairly often, actually."
"I don't-" Hero snapped, then cut himself off. "Alright, Swiftpaw, tell me exactly what I was saying when you heard that phrase."
"Oh, I dunno," Swiftpaw drawled, sharing an impish look with Snowpaw. "I think you were complimenting yourself."
Hero exhaled, aware of the burning sensation he felt in his ears. "Well, uh..."
"What? Would you like me to elaborate?" Swiftpaw continued, putting a bit of a skip in her step and appearing to imitate Hero as she spoke her next words. "'Oh, Hero, you're so smart and talented. We totally respect your decisions and opinions-"
"Yes, yes, alright!" Hero muttered, and Swiftpaw flashed him a jovial grin before falling back a few paces behind him.
The cats continued to inform Hero of the entire discussions he held with himself at regular intervals, and Hero remained embarrassed about his apparent choice of topic, which for the most part was himself. However, they promptly fell silent as they reached what was commonly referred to as an uptown residential area.
The stone here was bright and gleaming, and the intricately constructed buildings were embellished with various decorative objects. The place seemed to have more character than a majority of the dismal grey buildings, and the mood was lifted instantly as they came upon the first house.
"What is this place?" Snowpaw asked, eyes wide with curiosity. This part of the city was somewhat elevated, and though it couldn't be seen this low to the ground, the view from here was breathtaking. Hero would have to remember to try and show it to his new companions.
"Well," Hero began, starting forward and gesturing for the other cats to follow, "This is one of the nicer areas in the East District. A lot of the kittypets here are wealthier, so they're often able to keep peace with Faction cats, and it's generally a fairly safe area, long as you stay within certain boundaries. There are even some kittypet Factions."
Swiftpaw scrunched up her nose with distaste. "There are kittypets here? And they actually have power?"
"It's not uncommon," Hero responded, then stopped short and frowned. "Hey, I was a kittypet!"
Swiftpaw only blinked in return. "What's your point?"
Hero sighed, shaking his head to dismiss her remark, while Snowpaw kneaded the stone with his paws in impatience. "So who do we need to talk to to find Whiteshadow?"
Hero guffawed. "This place is huge, Snowpaw, it might take a bit more than some wishful thinking to find the right cat to ask. It's not as if the first cat we come across will know about him."
"I'm sorry, did you say Whiteshadow?" All six cats whirled around to face to source of the voice, and Hero quickly identified a slender white she-cat with sparse brown patches. She blinked her startling blue eyes, scanning each of the somewhat rugged looking cats, though their appearances didn't seem to bother her. "Do you know where he is?"
"No, we don't," Lilypool responded, as Hero was busy trying to handle a very smug Snowpaw. "We were hoping you would, we've been trying to find him. What's your name? How did you meet Whiteshadow?"
The she-cat looked thoughtful for a moment, then sat down, daintily curling her tail around her paws. "My name's Duchess," She began, seeming very proud of her title, "And I didn't exactly meet this tom you're looking for, but my little brother did. He was passing through and asking for directions, and my poor little Mason must have been caught up in his tales of adventure, now they've both just vanished! I'm worried they've gone off on some dangerous, harrowing mission together, and little Masey just isn't ready to handle that. He could be lost in the city for all I know!"
Hero cleared his throat, stepping towards the distraught-looking kittypet. "That doesn't really seem like something Whiteshadow would do, miss," Hero began, and Duchess's eyes widened. "But... we'll do all we can to find him."
"Oh, thank you!" Duchess exclaimed, ignoring Hero's hesitance. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to the watch that hung around Hero's neck, and a wistful smile tugged at the corner of her muzzle. She brought a paw up to the collar that was fastened around her own neck, a band set with colorful blue stones. "You're a kittypet too, then?"
"I was one," Hero corrected gently.
"Ah," Duchess murmured, "I apologize for not being much help. But if you can find my little brother and bring him back to me, I'm sure he can tell you more about this mysterious cat."
Hero smiled back at her, inclining his head politely. "Thank you, Duchess."
Duchess simply nodded, but before she turned to pad back to her kittypet residence, added, "I think I recall that they may have been heading in the direction of an area in the North District."
The group remained quiet until the graceful she-cat had leapt over a white picket fence, at which point Swiftpaw found it an opportune moment to make a negative comment. "Wow, that's helpful. I'm glad we're going to 'some area' where they 'may have been going'."
"Hush, Swiftpaw," Smokewhisker murmured, "He's doing it again."
"Doing what?" Swiftpaw grumbled, and Smokewhisker gestured towards Hero, who appeared to be staring off into the distance. "Alright, who broke him?"
"North District," Hero meowed monotonously, flexing his claws against the cold stone. Swiftpaw had gone silent along with the other cats. "North District."
"We heard you the first time," Jayflight yawned.
Hero ignored her, turning to look at Snowpaw. "Okay, Snowpaw, you're going to be my confidant from now on," Hero informed the bob-tailed apprentice, who grinned proudly. "If a rogue cat wandered onto AshClan territory looking for someone, but that someone wasn't in AshClan, where would you direct them next?"
"BreezeClan, of course," Snowpaw replied curtly, as the other cats cast Hero a questioning glance.
"Exactly," Hero chirped, "And why would you do that?"
"Well, because their territory is close to ours," Snowpaw stated, but Hero gestured for him to continue. "And... because they're our allies?"
"So if you wandered into a section of the city populated by kittypets, they'd all direct you towards someone they trusted to help you - given their intentions were genuine," Hero reasoned, and the other cats seemed to catch on to his train of thought. "It just so happens that the kittypets in this area are allied with a Faction called Serendipity in the North District. If these cats were to send Whiteshadow anywhere, it would be there."
Hero's tail swished in excitement as they started off again. His mind was alive with thoughts, ideas, and deductions; he'd never felt better than he did at this very moment. He was on the hunt for information, and the constant problems he was now having to solve spurred him forward on his quest.
It soon came to Hero's attention that they had traversed a large portion of the East District in under a day, a feat which proved impressive given how unaccustomed these Clan cats were to the territory. The sky was still bright when Snowpaw cheerfully announced their arrival at the North District; easily recognizable by the considerable wealth of the area. The East District's upper residence paled in comparison to the grandeur of this place, and even the most ordinary-looking North District buildings were more ornate than the most exclusive East District homes. The cats here were accustomed to a relaxed, laid-back lifestyle with little confrontation, which somewhat explained why the North Faction was one of the smallest of the four main Faction groups.
"I can totally understand your father's detachment," Swiftpaw admitted, after having held a much less than friendly conversation with Jayflight for a duration of their walk, "If I had you as a kit, I wouldn't want you either."
Jayflight blinked at her incredulously. "Who hurt you?"
Snowpaw, who had been attempting to scout out the area ahead, came to a halt a few paces in front of Hero and looked at the other cats over his shoulder. Swiftpaw and Jayflight were trailing behind, probably still arguing with each other, and Smokewhisker and Lilypool had been quietly admiring the view. "Hey, d'you think that's him?"
Hero stopped beside Snowpaw as they waited for the other cats to catch up, and Hero followed the apprentice's gaze towards a distant feline form sitting atop a tall white pillar. "We've barely been in the North District for ten minutes, it's extremely unlikely that the cat we're looking for is the first one we come across," Hero paused, recalling the earlier incident, before adding, "But if it was, that'd be about right."
"Let's go talk to him!" Snowpaw decided, trotting forward towards the distant figure, and now that they were getting closer, Hero saw that the cat certainly did resemble duchess to an extent.
"Snowpaw, he might feel a bit threatened by random cats running towards him," Lilypool commented, though Snowpaw obviously hadn't heard.
"I'll go get him," Swiftpaw offered placidly, and dashed off after the eager apprentice.
"And I'll go get her," Smokewhisker sighed, breaking into a run, though given his size it came across more as a loping gait. Hero looked as if he was going to start after them, then suddenly swiveled his ears in the direction of the shadowed alleyways behind them. His eyes flicked back and forth warily, as if something had set him off, but he couldn't identify what it was.
"Go ahead without me," Hero instructed, though the cats had already left and were out of earshot. "I'll be there in just a moment."
Lilypool realized Hero had stopped walking and approached him, exhaling loudly. "What are you thinking about now?" She asked, stepping into his one of view, though the tom stared right through her. "Hero? Something wrong?"
There was a moment of silence before Hero slowly shook his head. "Nothing. No, there's... there's nothing wrong at all," He murmured quietly, then appeared to return to the present, looking back at Lilypool. "Sorry, we should get back to the others."
"Yeah," Lilypool agreed, her head tilted in concern, "We should."
Hero swallowed dryly and began to trudge towards the others, who we now conversing with a slightly overwhelmed brown and white tom who admittedly did bear striking resemblance to the cat they'd talked to in the East District.
"Hero! Hero!" Snowpaw yowled, beckoning the aloof tabby tom towards where the cats had been talking. "This is Mason!"
The worried-looking brown and white tom silently dipped his head in greeting, seating himself on the evenly-cut stone, and Hero had to take a moment to find the right words to address the tom. "You're Mason?"
The tom sighed. "My sister sent you, didn't she?" He asked, staring down at his paws in exasperation when Hero nodded. "You'll have to forgive her, she's tends to exaggerate things a bit."
"A bit?" Swiftpaw snorted, looking him up and down.
"Excuse us, sir," Snowpaw cut in, pushing past Swiftpaw and returning his greeting. "We've come here looking for a cat named Whiteshadow, and your sister said you might know something that could help us find him."
Mason smiled sadly down at him, glancing at Hero briefly as if asking permission to speak. Hero granted it with a somewhat awkward nod, still confused at Duchess's description, and Mason proceeded to tell his story. "I'm sorry, I want to do all I can to help your friend," He replied, receiving multiple looks of confusion, then exhaled before beginning his story. "Whiteshadow arrived here early this morning looking for someone, though even he didn't seem exactly clear on who he was trying to find. He'd already been told by some of the East District kittpets to head towards Serendipity, and I ran into him as he was on his way there. I informed him of the recent tensions among Factions, and how dangerous it could be for someone who didn't know the territory to travel alone, but he seemed intent on getting to Serendipity as soon as possible.
I knew Duchess would begin to worry, bless her, so I offered to take him only as far as the Faction border. When we arrived, he seemed impatient, but he agreed to wait until I returned with some cats who could help him get the rest of the way."
The tom trailed off after that, looking dismal, and Hero's ear twitched in sympathy for the cat. "What happened next?" He asked gently, signaling for the other cats to move off a couple of feet.
"You have to understand, I didn't think..." Mason tried, then took a deep breath as he regained his train of thought. "I thought he needed help. I thought he was sick, chasing after some nonexistent cat who even he didn't know the identity of. So I went to find someone who could help him, and when I... when I got back, he was gone. I looked for him for hours, and I even headed off towards Serendipity to see if he'd gone ahead without me, but he hadn't."
The tom had begun to tremble, though Hero wasn't sure if it was from guilt, sympathy, or both. "Whiteshadow wasn't sick," Snowpaw whispered, his eyes wide and his tail drooping despondently. "He was looking for someone who could save us. He's not sick."
Lilypool quietly nudged Snowpaw away from the two toms, and Mason exhaled shakily. "I had never seen a cat so determined and distraught at the same time. He'd just vanished."
"You should get back home," Hero suggested uneasily, though it was apparent his mind was elsewhere. "We can escort-"
"I've done enough," Mason cut in, rising to his paws. "I'm capable of making it back home on my own. I wish you all the best of luck finding your friend, and if ever you need it, I will be there to assist you."
The cats parted to let Mason through, and the tom trudged off the dark stone path, now swathed in the dim grey light of dusk. Hero had wanted to show them the sunset. Silence buzzed in his ears, interrupted only by the ticking of the watch that laid cool against his neck. "What do we do now?" Came Snowpaw's meek voice from within the small gathering, and Hero stared down at his defeated form.
"I..." Hero played back the scene over and over again in his mind, focusing on every detail as if he were searching for something. Some clue. There had to be a clue, there was always a clue somewhere. Hero's gaze swept over the cats; even Swiftpaw had gone silent in anticipation. There was supposed to be a clue, but there wasn't; there was only emptiness. The tom found himself left with a single, inescapable conclusion, and he shuddered even as the thought crossed his mind.
"I don't know."
Frost here with another chapter! This is getting a bit more serious, and you're welcome for that semi-cliffhanger there. Please tell me how you liked this chapter in the comments below, I look forward to seeing everyone's opinions and reviews!
~Frost