Chapter 12

Minnowstream was having difficulty sleeping the night before the journey resumed. She was trapped within a horrible nightmare.

In the dream, Ratpaw's gray fur was coated with blood. Deep clawmarks were gouged in his back. A brown dog chased after him, foaming at the mouth and its high-pitched yelps filling the air . "Minnowstream, help me!"

His screams for help echoed through her mind, yet though she wanted to attack the dog she couldn't move. Her feet seemed to have their own plans, and stayed firmly rooted to the ground. She closed her eyes for a mere heartbeat, but Ratpaw's body was ripped apart by the time she opened them again. His leg had been completely ripped off of his body, his head was twisted at an unnatural angle, and she could see the teethmarks on his throat. The dog gave a bark of triumph, and dashed off. She blinked in disbelief and shock as it vanished into the horizon.

Minnowstream could finally move, and she went and crouched beside her son. "No....oh, Ratpaw, I'm so sorry..."

Why? WHY!

She woke with a start. Sunlight was filtering through the roots of the oak tree. Streamwhisker was no longer curled around her, and she guessed that he was already awake. Littlepaw was still there. Her son twitched in his sleep and his soft breaths reached her ears.

The dream was still fresh in her mind. Although it had been over a half-moon since Ratpaw's death, her heart was still troubled and grief lingered. Sorrow filled her anew. It felt like she had seen her son die again.

She managed to put aside her sadness somehow as she padded out into the clearing. Clover had given birth to three healthy kits eight sunrises ago. Mintkit was pretty quiet for a kit, and had jet black fur. Minnowstream was amused by how she looked like the exact opposite of her mother.

Mintkit's brothers, Tigerkit and Frogkit, were troublemakers from the moment they opened their eyes. The two had decided it was a great idea to wake every cat in the camp in the middle of the night by yelling, "We're under attack!"

Minnowstream would admit it; she panicked along with the rest of the Clan when she heard that. She guessed it was Beetle and that perhaps the black-and-white tom had come to take his revenge out on her precious Clan. When she found out it was joke, she was barely able to stop herself from clawing those two furballs to death.

Despite the fact that they had frightened the whole Clan, their cuteness kept them from punishment. They got away with nothing more than a scolding from Minnowstream and a lecture from Clover.

The traveling cats were supposed to leave at sunhigh. Spark paced back and forth in anticipation of the journey.

The ginger rogue had been a great help to the traveling cats. If he hadn't patiently hunted for them every day, they may have starved to death.

Spark walked over to her. "There's fresh-kill in the center of the clearing. I caught a thrush and a squirrel."

Minnowstream shook her head. "Thank you, Spark, but I will let my Clan eat first."

"No." Spark glanced over his shoulder at the prey. "I may not be able to find food in Twolegplace. Eat."

"What are you, the Clan leader?" she grumbled, but obediently selected the squirrel and carried it back to her den to share with Littlepaw.

They left right on time at sunhigh. Clover had chosen to go with then and right before they left the forest, Minnowstream gave her a new name, Cloverleaf. All of the warriors had agreed to help carry the white-furred she-cat's kits.

"Hey!" Tigerkit protested as Dawnheart grabbed him by the scruff. "Put me down! All of the warriors are walking by themselves!"

Dawnheart purred. "You're not a warrior yet, dear."

Tigerkit pouted. "But Crowkit and Emberkit don't have to be carried and they aren't warriors!"

"They're six moons old. You aren't, Tigerkit!"

"Yes, I am! Dawnheart!"

"Why don't you just stop protesting? You know that I'm not going to put you down!"

"MOOOOOOOOMMMMMMYYYYY!" Tigerkit wailed. "Tell Dawnheart to put me down!"

Cloverleaf sighed. "Tigerkit, that's enough."

The traveling cats trekked out of the forest in a much better mood than they entered it.

Spark led them along the winding Thunderpath. The occasional monster breezed by, and due to Ratpaw's death, every cat made sure to stay far away from the path.

***

It was at sundown, as the sun was shedding its final rays and the moon ascended into the night sky. A tangled clump of Twoleg structures came into sight. These nest were made of stone, and some of the stone was in colors that Minnowstream had never seen rocks in before. Harsh yellow light shone through a clear part in each of the dens, and inside a few, the silhouettes of Twolegs stumbled around. Minnowstream winced at the noise coming from the Twolegplace, wondering how kittypets could tolerate it.

Spark seemed at ease, and he was clearly the only one who felt that way. The traveling cats flinched at every sound and continually scanned the area.

Minnowstream whirled around as barking came from her right. A small black-and-white mutt yapped with excitement from behind a fence.

"Ignore it," Spark meowed. "It can't escape."

Spark turned into a narrow passageway between two tall Twoleg dens made of dark red stones. When they emerged, they found a monster sleeping at the back of the den.

Wooden fences surrounded most of the dens. Minnowstream didn't know which way they'd come from and they'd only just started into Twolegplace.

I sure hope Spark really knows where he's going....

A/N: Crazyheart returns next chapter! Please comment, as always I hope you guys enjoyed!