Ashes to Ashes

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,350,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/REDbg.png] "Still to quiet" mumbled the ginger tom to himself as he carefully stepped over a blackened branch. Moons had passed since the fires burned these evergreen trees, but still nothing would grow here. Redstep could just see the waves of golden fields that mark the Eastclan border. Every cat knew what had happened there now. Wind whistled through the trees, making Redstep's hackles raise. He eyed the rickety branches waiting for them to snap and come crashing down. Redstep signed when he heard a branch snap loudly behind him. "Do you want to give us away to every Northclan cat in the forest?" He scolded mildly turned to look back at the young dark gray cat behind him. With all the chaos in the clans, apprentice age cats were going without mentors. With Redsteps own apprentice was almost ready to be a warrior, he figured he could take the young tom out for a patrol. As Deputy, Redstep hadn't had time to rest his paws. The clans were falling apart, and every cat knew it. "Crookedpaw." He called with a flick of his tail, "Please keep up, this place is probably crawling with those mouse-hearted cats." The young tom was eager, but still had a lot to learn. He needed a proper mentor.

[maplebreeze]

Crookedpaw watched as the mouse that he had scared away by accidently stepping on the burnt twig ran away from his grip. He looked up at Redstep and meowed, "I will, Redstep." and padded up to his side. Like the Southclan deputy, Crookedpaw knew that he needed a former mentor. He had been training with temporary mentors for almost three moons now, since he was almost nine moons old.
As they were padding in the burnt world around them, Crookedpaw suddenly spotted a squirrel stuck under a burnt branch. He quickly killed it, thinking of how much the Clan had needed prey. He bought it to Redstep and suddenly saw that this piece of fresh kill looked exactly like his mother, Dewflower. Dewflower had ash colored fur that sparkled in the sun. So did the squirrel. Dewflower had a very bushy tail. So did the squirrel. Dewflower also had small ears. So did the squirrel. Crookedpaw cocked his head at the squirrel and stared at it. 'Could it be a sign?' he thought.

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,350,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/REDbg.png] Redstep watched approvingly as the young cat took down the squirrel. It would be greatly welcomed among the elders. As Redstep was about to praise the young tom, he caught the look in the cat's eyes. "Whats wrong, Crookedpaw?" He asked peering over the cats shoulder. The prey looked normal enough. Like any other squirrel that lived in the hollowed trees of the burnt pines. "Crookedpaw?" He meowed again, lifting his head to look around. He had to keep a look out for either Northclan or Eastclan. Neither group was bound to be friendly to cats so close to the border. "What is it?" He asked, deciding it was safe enough to look back to the apprentice.

[maplebreeze]

Crookedpaw blinked. He turned around to Redstep, who was now right next to him. He looked back down at the squirrel and rasped, "I think this is a sign," he continued, "Th-This squirrel looks exactly like my mother, Dewflower." Crookedpaw blinked again. He had a flashback of Dewflower, nursing him in the Southclan nursery. He had a flashback of playing with her and his father, Cinderclaw. He had one more flashback of them sneaking out to the leader's den in the middle of the night, because he needed to talk to them. He remembered sneaking into the leader's den and seeing them talking about a law in the warrior code that they had broken, and in the morning, he was mewling like a newborn kit because they had left on the day of his apprentice ceremony.
Crookedpaw opened his eyes again. He knew that danger might be coming to him, or the whole Clan. He looked at the squirrel once more and meowed, "Yes, Redstep. This would be great prey for the elders. Let's hunt some more."

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,350,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/REDbg.png] Redstep eyed him questioningly. His mother? Normally he would put of this apprentice's ideas and call him mouse-brained. But with Starclan missing for moons, and with all the fights and catastrophes, one couldn't be to careful. Redstep opened his jaws to say something to comfort that young cat when an uncertain scent touched his tongue. Redstep instinctively crouched to the ground and raised his tail for Crookedpaw to do the same. There was something nearby, but in this ash covered territory, he couldn't place the scent. Was it his own or not? Creeping forward on silent paws, Redstep raised his head over a charred log. A quick blur of a pelt confirmed his suspicions. But who was it? South Clan? East? North? West? He flicked his tail to becken Crookedpaw over. "Now listen carefully. You go around on the left, I'll take the right. Wait for my signal" Without waiting for a confirmation he flicked his ear and darted off weaving between charred trees. The burnt pines left everything open. His territory was covered in thick jungle. Sneaking up on this cat would take quick feet and skill. He just hoped Crookedpaw could keep up.

[maplebreeze]

Crookedpaw waited for Redstep's signal. When he saw it, he darted through the trees, trying to keep up with whatever was ahead. He looked for the scent for whatever that 'blur' was.
'Oh, will we EVER find it again?!' Crookedpaw thought. He was just about to say something, but he suddenly scented the thing for one second, but then the scent was gone.
"Redstep," he meowed, "I just scented it, but now the scent is gone. This 'thing' smelt very unfamiliar. It scented of prey, dead cats, twolegs, and smoke." Just then, the quick blur of something's pelt sped by. There it was again! He flicked his tail to where it went to Redstep. The chase was on.