Hunting

[» &Göldιê™; «]

_{((Continued from Rainstar's Den))
Goldpaw nodded. She still felt the same anxiety tugging at her mind like a hawk tearing its prey. "I... I've had a dream, a prophecy dream," She said, and before she knew it, she was murmuring to Lunar the whole prophecy. "She said, 'Beware the Clan that is not a Clan.' What does that mean?" She finished. Glancing over at Wildheart, she fervently hoped he didn't mind that she wasn't speaking directly to him. She wasn't exactly sure how the proud warrior would react. Turning her gaze back to Lunar, she wondered, what if she came from that clan that isn't a clan...? No, it couldn't be. They were the dark ones after all, and Lunar isn't dark.}

[Lunar]

"What you say reminds me of what my father used to tell me and my brother. He said during his travels right before he arrived in Penbrook he remembered seeing a group of cats. Most of these cats looked to have been rouges and loners. They were dark cats with evil intentions is what he told us, and as he would end his tales about them he'd warn us,'Beware of this clan kits, for they are unlike any other clan there has been. My kits, beware of DarkClan.'" she paused as she looked closely at Goldpaw gaze. "Goldpaw... I think I'm about to get involved with something I really don't want to be involved in. Goldpaw, my brother ran away from home when he was five moons old. He said..." she trailed off for a moment then held her tongue.

[» &Göldιê™; «]

A surge of panic as well as realization dawned on Goldpaw. The Clan that's not a Clan... The Dark ones... The prophecy, it was talking about this DarkClan, whoever they were. But she fought that rising panic as she said, "He said?" She was scared, but her intense curiosity burned like a raging flame in her chest. Her heart ahmmered as she awaited Lunar to continue, if she would.

[Lunar]

"He said that, no I don't even want to think that he did that!" she yowled more at herself than Goldpaw. She felt soft, wet tears start to roll down her face, then she began to run. She ran down the mountain and past Wildheart, she kept running til she reached a small crevice in the rock and slid into there. Her heart pounded and as it slowed she could hear her soft sniffs as shelay on the cool ground weeping.

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>Goldpaw was startled by Lunar's reaction. She flinched when the she-cat barrelled past her, and felt like breaking down herself. But she knew she had to be strong, for her friend. With a weary glance at Wildheart, she jumped down the mountain formations, quickly, following Lunar's scent. She felt a small glimmer of pride that she'd been able to track her all the way down here, but didn't dwell on it as she sought out the other she-cat. "Lunar?" She called tentatively. She began to understand what Lunar meant; had she meant that her brother joined this... DarkClan? He probably wouldn't be the first cat who did. "Lunar, I'm sorry... I didn't mean..." She broke off as an eerie wailing began in the night air. Eyes widening, she stared around her. She knew exactly what it was; the time she had spent as a loner, fervently searching for a shelter against this very thing, came back to her. Oh, StarClan, protect Wildheart, She thought fervently.

Skittering into the cave, she lay next to Lunar, staring fearfully at the small entrance to the cave. Maybe it was small enough that the monster wouldn't be able to enter. He was a huge cat, like a lion without a mane, and brought back memories of her father and a black cat... another memory slammed into her.

"Goldkit!" The gold-hued kit didn't want to look behind her, but she knew it was there. Silvermoon, her father, had told her about it. It wandered in the mountain ranges, and preyed on cats... She gulped, and she was somewhat comforted when she saw Silvermoon and Midnight edging forward, attempting to push it away from her. It wasn't helping. Stonecat yowled his eerie yowl and Goldkit gulped again. Surging forward with every ounce of energy in her small form, Silvermoon picked her up by the scruff and backed up swiftly. Midnight followed suit. Stonecat didn't want them to leave, and Goldkit knew this well as she shivered in terror. Silvermoon turned and started to run, but not before the massive shape of Stonecat had flung itself at the silver tom. He was bowled over by its paws, and released Goldkit. The kit tumbled, but she wasn't hurt. Silvermoon hissed at the beast. Turning to Midnight, he yowled, "Don't let him get her! She's everything to me, you know that!" Midnight nodded, trembling, and grasped the small kit by her scruff, Dashing away from the scene, the last thing Goldkit remembered before passing out was Midnight carrying her, ensuring her safety.

Goldpaw shuddred, opening her eyes. The memory had relinquished itself, but there was something more. Its nose, She thought with a surge of triumph. "That's it!" She howled, starting to stand up, but remembering that she was in a cave.</sub>

[Lunar]

Lunar had stopped crying and looked over at Goldpaw with concerned and surprised eyes. "Memories, they try to help us, but sometimes leave a part out til later." she muttered softly under her breath. She paced slowly out of the cave and in some ways hoped that Goldpaw wouldn't follow her this time. 'So many things to think about.' she thought sadly. 'I just need to know what he has done.' she thought as she looked up at the stars, praying StarClan would help her solve this problem. As she began to walk further way she began to increase the speed of her walk. By the time she had nearly reached the base of the mountain she had begun to run. Her pawsteps were light as if she were floating on air, but all she could see was the darkness around her and the glow of the moon in the sky.

[Sable]

Wildheart jumped in surprise as first Lunar and then Goldpaw pelted past him. He bounded down the mountain after them, coming to a small cave. He immediately sensed that Goldpaw was there, but Lunar was not. He couldn't help wondering what they had been muttering about. He heard a somewhat triumph yowl and began to duck into the cave, but did not risk squeezing in more than his head and shoulders; dispite his slender form the apprentices still had an easier time than he did.

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>The eerie wail resounded off the rocks from somewhere nearby. It could be only a few fox-lengths away, for all Goldpaw knew. She stared terrifiedly out of the cave where Lunar had gone. "Wildheart, a huge mountain cat is loose and might be coming for us!" She panted hoarsely (sp?). She pelted out of the cave and after Lunar. "Lunar!!" She cried, and saw the pelt of her friend disappear behind a rock just before the stench hit her nose like a wave.

A low growling that seemed to shake the earth under the golden-furred apprentice resounded around the stone clearing. Another image flashed into her mind, one of Midnight, the sleek black loner, leading a similar monster off the mountain to plummet to its death in the fissure below. The tawny-pelted monster emerged from behind a stone, thrashing its tail from side to side. "No... No..." She whispered to herself, staring up at it terrifiedly. When she saw it get close, only a fox-length away, it rocked back and forth on its haunches; she wasn't sure how she knew, but she did know that Stonecat wasn't going after her. With a hiss of fury, she launched herself at its face, slashing wildly, fear driving her onward. It yowled as her claw caught on something, and she gulped and retreated as she felt blood running down her claws. Panting, she stared up at the brute.

Its eyes... Goldpaw felt sick as she realized what she had done. She had scratched out its eyes... It was blind! It bellowed and charged, but seemed unsure of exactly where to go. Then Goldpaw's paw accidentally hit a rock, and it found her. She dashed towards the edge of the cliff and yowled loudly. The foolish beast charged after her, snarling and roaring, and she ducked out of the way just before it charged over the edge.

Its roaring turned to a screech as it lost its footing. Scrabbling on the brink of nothingness, it disappeared down the mountain, and Goldpaw shuddered as she heard a muffled thud from somewhere far below. She wrenched herself away from the scene and collapsed on the sideline of the battlefield, panting, and closed her eyes.</sub>

[Sable]

Hearing Goldpaw's warning, Wildheart darted after her in time to see a tawny pelt disappear over the edge of a cliff. Gently he took Goldpaw by the scruff and dragged her over to firmer ground. He gave her head a few licks and then stood, padding in the direction Lunar had gone.

[» &Göldιê™; «]

_{Goldpaw's breathing slowed down again. Her heart slowed to its regular, rhythmic beating, instead of the wild fury it had been moments before. "Th-thanks," She stuttered, standing and following Wildheart to find Lunar.}

[Lunar]

Lunar could hear the loud thud of the of the Stonecat falling down, yet she ran towards it concerned about what had fallen. As she walked slowly towards it she could hear its shallow breathing, and although it went against all her instincts she walked up beside it. It's eyes were open blindly as if searching for the unknown. She could hear the soft pounding of paws as they ran into the ground towards her. She looked down on the Stonecat again and stared at all the wounds it had gotten from it's fall. "StarClan forgive me." she said softly as she began to grab cobwebs and press them slowly onto the Stonecat's wounds.

[Sable]

It did not take long for Wildheart to reach to mountain's base. Looking around, he quickly spotted the blue-gray pelt of Lunar. A thrill of alarm flashed through him as he saw her nearing the giant creature with a pawful of cobwebs. "What are you doing?!" he snarled, neck fur bristling, ready to lash out at the Stonecat should it show any sign of attack.

[Lunar]

"Apparently I'm applying cobwebs! Even though it goes against all my instincts and everything I've been taught, I just can't...just forget it!" she said furiously as she kept apply cobwebs onto it's wounds. 'I never usually lash out like that.' she thought still continuing her work.

[Sable]

Forcing his fur to lie flat, Wildheart sat down and raised an eyebrow, observing Lunar's work. "I suppose I can't stop you," he mewed. "But what good will it do? That thing is as good as dead already. Are you sure you're not prolonging it's suffering?"

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>Goldpaw thudded into the clearing, racing after Wildheart, panting. "Stop!" She cried, hoping she caught Lunar's attention before she was attacked. Even then the Stonecat was shifting, trying to get to its paws. "It murdered my father!" She yowled, eyes watering with tears. She dashed over to it and began shoving it towards the edge of the cliff it had landed on. Blinded by her misery, her only goal was to make sure the dark beast was dead. But before she could get it to the edge, it shuddered, moaned, and stopped breathing.

"S-Stonecat... he's dead!" Goldpaw's triumphant yowl echoed around the cliff. The massive beast didn't move a muscle. She wanted some way to prove she had killed it, but how? She paced, all signs of her misery gone as she puzzled about how she could prove she had honestly killed Stonecat. She knew for a fact that its favored meal was cats, and that MountainClan was lucky it hadn't lost more cats to the beast.</sub>