"What do you mean she's gone?" Meadowshine shouted in disbelief.
"I can't find her anywhere! Her trail leads deeper into the forest, but there's other cat scents there as well," Elkleap explained.
"Which direction does her scent lead?" Brokensong asked.
"It heads that way for a bit before veering left," he explained.
"We will have to follow her trail!" Sootsplash growled, "if they touch a single hair on her pelt, I'll shred them!"
"We should leave at once," Elkleap meowed.
Instantly, the patrol stood and started to follow after him. Inwardly, Frostfeather wondered who would have the guts to take Lionpaw.
"Were you sure that Dewdrop was really dead?" she asked Pineheart worriedly.
"As dead as fresh-kill," he cofirmed, "it had to have been someone else."
The rest of the group was utterly silent as they trekked through the trees. A thin rain had started to fall, threatening to sweep Lionpaw's scent away.
"We need to pick up the pace! What if we lose her scent forever!" Meadowshine wailed. They started to run, Lionpaw's scent barely bathing their tongues.
Strange cat scent whirled around them, dark and menacing. Eventually, they broke through the trees to face a massive, rushing river. Frostfeather looked up at the horizon, glad to see the sun was setting in front of them.
Atleast we are still traveling in the right direction, she thought hopefully.
As they neared the river, Sootsplash began to rapidly pace at the bank. His tail flicked angrily as he looked up and down the watery terrain. "What do we do now?" Meadowshine whimpered.
"We will have to find somewhere to cross," Elkleap explained, "Lionpaw's scent leads this way, there might be a crossing place there." He pointed his tail upstream, where a tiny path was tread through the grass.
There was no time to waste, the group started to bound upstream after her trail. Eventually, they found a suitable place to cross. An enormous oak tree had fallen across the water, making a perfect bridge for the cats to cross.
"I can smell Lionpaw," Elkleap meowed as he scoured the earth near the trunk with his nose. Sootsplash and Meadowshine instantly leapt onto the tree and ran across, fast as lightning. Brokensong was quick to follow, Frostfeather and Pineheart on her tail. The bark was slippery with rain but thankfully no one tumbled into the river below.
They were still pelting full force after the missing apprentice, not taking any time to be cautious of their new surroundings. Scant trees and bushes dotted the landscape but there was more open space than anything else.
"I think we are getting close," Sootsplash yowled. Frostfeather took a deep breath, Lionpaw's fresh scent bathing her senses.
But suddenly, a shadowed shape flew towards Sootsplash from a nearby bush. The shape landed on top of him, pushing to the ground.
"Halt!" it growled, turning to face the other Clan cats. "You're on Cassius's land!"
"You better let my daughter go, you mange breathed fox heart!" Sootsplash shrieked, bucking beneath the rogue like a bull in a blind rage.
"Oh you mean that little russet she-cat? No, I don't think we will be letting her go," the rogue sneered.
As the rest of them came to a stop, a ring of strange rogues began to surround them. "Just let her go and no one needs to get hurt," Elkleap called, his tone calm but threatening.
They all began to laugh, closing in even tighter around the group. "It'll be you who gets hurt," the rogue sneered.
Brokensong started to object, her good eye sparkling with fear. Frostfeather hissed as one of the rogues came closer. They were trapped.
Elkleap his head to look at his Clanmates. "Don't do anything too risky. If they take us to Lionpaw, we can get her and run."
"Stop talking!" One of the rogues snarled as they started to push the Clan cats ahead. Sootsplash was shoved into the circle along with the others, his white head hanging low with defeat.
They traveled further over the sparse grassland, the sun shining above their heads. Eventually, the rogue at the front lifted his tail for everyone to stop.
"I will be taking you to Cassius now. You will be respectful, lest we rip your fur off!" His tone was tight, his eyes filled with malice as he turned to glare at the Clan cats.
Elkleap dipped his head, "we will show him the upmost respect," he agreed. With a curt nod, the rogue turned and led them into a small oasis.
The clearing was ringed with bushes, a few saplings growing near the far end. A thin, bubbling stream stretched across the left. The bank was pockmarked with paw prints, showing just how many cats had stopped to take a drink.
As the other rogues pushed them from behind, they were herded even further into the center of the clearing.
Frostfeather gazed in astonishment at how organized the rogues were. She could see curious eyes peeking at her from the depths of the shrubs. Some cats were laying in the open, their ears standing alert as they watched the strangers enter their home.
"Stay here," the rogue hissed as he turned and trotted towards a massive rotting log near the side of the stream.
"These rogues act like a Clan," Pineheart whispered into Frostfeather's ear. She flicked her tail, not wanting to speak incase one of the rogues heard her.
Brokensong turned to Pineheart, her ears flat to her head, "let's hope they have the same values as Clan cats," she whispered.
After a couple heartbeats, the rogue reappeared with a massive gray and white tabby on his tail. The burly tom shook out his long fur as he came to confront the newcomers.
"My name is Cassius. What are you doing on my land?" he meowed simply. Frostfeather felt her mouth drop open as she stared at his sheer size. He was easily twice the size of Elkleap, his paws the size of the boulders.
"We were just looking for our apprentice, Lionpaw. I think your... friends may have taken her," Elkleap meowed tactfully.
"Ahh, the russet she-cat. Yes, she is here," Cassius grunted, "but you will not be having her back. I've claimed her as a part of my harem."
"What does that mean? Of course she will be coming with us!" Sootsplash hissed.
At the sound of his voice, Lionpaw's head poked from the safety of a nearby clump of grasses.
"Sootsplash!" she cried.
Meadowshine's breath caught in her throat as she stepped closer to her mate. "Please, can't we just take her with us? We've had enough hardship lately. I don't want to leave my daughter behind."
"Hmm..." Cassius narrowed his eyes, staring hard at Meadowshine's fluffy tortoiseshell coat.
"Fine. You may have Lionpaw back. But only if you take her place."
Frostfeather gasped, feeling outrage spark inside her. "No! You can not have either of them," Elkleap snarled, "they are not your property!"
"Well I guess you're just going to have to take her from me," Cassius growled. In response, the other rogues got to their paws and started slinking forward.
Frostfeather's pelt crawled with fear as she looked at their lean, well groomed pelts. These cats were definitely going to put up a fight.
Elkleap lashed his tail, glaring intensely at the massive tom. "IceClan, attack!"
At his yowl, Sootsplash instantly sprang towards the grasses where Lionpaw was hiding. Meadowshine followed, turning to claw at the faces of any rogues who came near.
Frostfeather was pushed over by a brown tabby, his teeth bared as he lunged forward to bite her chest.
Pineheart dove towards him, pushing him off his sister and into the dirt. As he tried to recover his footing, Pineheart yowled and scored his claws down the rogue's spine.
Elkleap had Cassius pinned, his brown and black pelt spiked with fury as he bit down hard on the lead rogue's shoulder. Brokensong was holding her own against a pair of silver pelted toms.
But they wouldn't be winning for long. More rogues were advancing from the edges of the clearing, their claws unsheathed as they raced into battle.
Shrieking erupted from the patch of grasses as Sootsplash reappeared with Lionpaw at his side. Two other small cats raced after them, their pelts spiked with terror as more rogues swarmed after them.
Meadowshine fled after her mate, her pelt dripping with blood. Elkleap turned his attention from Cassius to see his Clanmates racing towards the edge of the clearing.
"IceClan, retreat!" He yowled. Frostfeather started to run in the direction that Sootsplash had disappeared, Pineheart close behind her.
Elkleap leapt off of the thick furred gray and white tom, ripping out clumps of fur as he pushed off. Brokensong ducked and slid under the outstretched paws of the twin toms, pelting after her Clanmates.
The rogues weren't going to give up so easily. Frostfeather could hear their snarls as they chased after their prey. "How are we going to lose them?!" Frostfeather cried.
"We just need to reach the fish hatchery and we are in the clear!" an unfamiliar voice called from a few foxlengths ahead.
Frostfeather didn't have time to question the stranger. She could hear the rogues' frenzied pawsteps as they crashed through the field behind them.
"Stop! You can't escape!" Cassius's voice shouted across the open air.
Frostfeather could feel the sun beating down on her white fur as she ran. She didn't think they'd ever escape, running endlessly into nowhere.
But finally, they approached a towering wooden structure. It almost looked like a cluster of tall, leafless trees arranged into some sort of camp wall.
"We made it!" the strange voice howled.
Frostfeather dared to glance back, delighted to see the rogues had stopped several yards behind them.
The group slowed, coming to stop beside the wooden facade. Frostfeather could feel her sides heaving as she fought for breath.
Brokensong trotted over and leaned in close, sniffing Frostfeather's bites and scratches from the skirmish. "Just give your wounds a good lick. There shouldn't be any infection," she meowed after a moment.
"Thanks Brokensong," she murmured as she sat and began to clean her scratches. Brokensong started to walk around the others, making sure no one had any risky injuries.
After a couple more minutes, everyone had finally caught their breath. Sootsplash and Meadowshine were hovering over Lionpaw, nuzzling her all over.
"I never want to lose you again!" Meadowshine snapped, a purr throbbing in her chest.
Elkleap cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "I'm glad we were able to rescue Lionpaw," he began, "but it seems we have also rescued two other young cats."
Everyone turned to look at the strangers, a small gray pelted tom and a dusky silver and white she-cat.
They met the gazes of the Clan cats bravely, their tails waving behind them. "My name is Blue, and this is Drizzle," the gray tom meowed happily, "we are members of the Dockside Cats."