"Hey, that's not true. Are you sure you're not talking about yourself?" Tigershine's voice became a half-tone higher as they walked. Blackmoon rolled his eyes in response. He wondered how it was like to be a medicine cat that bantered back and forth with their apprentice. It was commonplace among two cats of similar age, especially between two cats that were previously mentor and apprentice themselves. But between him and Hawkpaw? It just felt weird. He felt like he should show her that a medicine cat's work was serious and shouldn't be fooled around with.
They finally made it to MistClan territory, and he perked up when he saw a bunch of other cats there. He was able to recognize Frostpaw and Dew-whisker instantly, but the other two cats were somewhat unfamiliar. Luckily, Dawnwing was quick to call them by name. That was the advantage of sharing borders, he guessed. "Hello," he greeted, albeit a little shyly. Their numbers were growing larger, and he kind of felt uncomfortable among so many cats he didn't recognize.
"Hi," Dew-whisker smiled warmly at them, as did the sandy she-cat who was named Lightningnose. Dew-whisker's eyes settled upon Hawkpaw, then Frostpaw. "Frostpaw, c'mon. Go introduce yourself to Hawkpaw. She's around the same age as you, and it's nice to make friends in other Clans!"
Blackmoon blinked. He'd only met Frostpaw once or twice before, and the little tom was often a shy one. He felt for the poor thing. Leaning close to Hawkpaw, he whispered into her ear. "Maybe it's best if you make the first move."
"Yeah. Of course," Skua huffed as he settled down next to Eclipse. Dreamseeker looked just as unimpressed as they were, but nevertheless she opted to go for a round yellow fruit that was similar to the one that she gave Jaguar the night prior. Flicking her tail, her talon cut into the thick flesh and split it open. Skua watched in morbid curiosity as she sniffed at the bright flesh of the fruit before nibbling on its edge.
"It isn't so bad. I think the ones with the hard shells are more watery than the others," she told them.
Hummingbird grinned. "That's a papaya. It's one of my favorites," she stated in a proud tone. "We also have honeydews, bananas, and passion fruit."
Skua scoffed under his breath, pulling a pink-skinned fruit from the closest pile. "What a variety," he grumbled as he tossed the fruit into his mouth. It had a very... soft taste, something like cotton candy, though much more mild. Definitely different from cow or boar. "Delicious."
"I'll show you around~!" Hummingbird sang aloud. She flared open her wings and took off into the air, motioning for them to follow. Skua sighed, taking off after her as he stretched out his aching body. It felt like the rain had soaked into his bones and made them spoiled and creaky, which was strange, because he was still young. He wasn't some ancient dragon waking up from a hundred year's rest. They were only in the air for a little amount of time, for the smaller RainWing landed upon one of the platforms. "Here's where we store our food. Bananas, papayas, honeydew-- we've got it all. Are you hungry?"
His stomach grumbled, but the sight of the fruit didn't stir his appetite. Skua wished for a wild boar to snack on, or maybe one of those tree cats that Aardwolf had heard rumors about. "Do you have any meat?" he asked.
Hummingbird's smile faded. "Meat? We don't eat meat around here. Our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are all made up of fruits." she told them. At Skua's expression of disinterest, she quickly added, "But if you want, you can hunt something. Just don't touch the sloths."
"Uhhhh," he frowned. Being picky over what they could or couldn't hunt only made him more uncomfortable. "I guess we can just settle for fruit for now... we'll only be be here for a day."
Blackmoon heard Braveleap's voice behind him. "We have lots of trees. Our leafbares are harsh, but probably not as harsh as your Clan's. We had two kits born recently, Firekit and Rowankit. Have you ever been to a kitting before?" the tom's voice was gentle as he spoke to his apprentice. He appreciated the fact that Braveleap was kind, but he hoped that Hawkpaw didn't give too much information away. Warriors from all Clans always fished for some sort of information, whether it be with good intentions or not. He flicked his tail at Dawnwing's reply.
"I've tried my hardest to keep Emberstar interested in StarClan. I hope Jaystar doesn't stray from their light," he told the other medicine cat. As they walked, he caught the scent of marshlands, and he realized that they were nearly upon MistClan territory. That was probably why his feet started to ache.
Tigershine sighed. "I hate crossing through MistClan territory. My paws get so wet and sticky from the mud."
These times of peace between Clans was what Blackmoon appreciated the most out of his life. He didn't remember a time when the Clans had to worry about wars or battles, despite being rather young. The most they had to worry about was border scuffles, lack of food, and disease. If only the peace could last forever. He glanced back at the warriors that traveled with them, seeing that Braveleap had fallen into step beside Hawkpaw and Stonefoot was rolling her eyes at Addertongue. In a way, he wished that all the cats of the Clans could stay together as one large Clan, but he knew that would never work. The cats of the valley were far too different to live together, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
He perked up at Dawnwing's question. Her words only made the dread in his heart grow. "I haven't," he answered plainly. "I really hope that they reach out to us soon. Many of my Clan's cats are losing faith in StarClan, if they still believe at all."
Tigershine frowned. "It's the same thing in BirchClan," he murmured. "I'm not sure Jaystar even believes anymore. I wonder if cats are going to start going against the warrior code..."
The thought of scouring the rainforest in search of fruit frustrated Skua. They weren't here for some stupid scavenger hunt. They had to speak to the queen now! At this moment! He found himself scratching the floor before Aardwolf spoke up, stating that he had things from the desert that might intrigue Queen Ardent. Moments passed as the dragon pulled things out from his pouch; they ranged from jewelry to shiny knickknacks to even a strange sphere that was filled with water. He glanced up at Hummingbird, who looked at them with wide eyes.
"Oooo, so pretttyyyy," she cooed as she reached out to touch the glass orb. As her claw tapped it, it rolled around and only amplified the patterns cast by the sun that shone through the glass. Her eyes flicked over the rest of the treasure, her smile only growing. "I think Queen Ardent'll love all this stuff. But..." her eyes wavered to the highest platform, one that nearly reached the treetops. Skya followed her gaze, seeing that there was a line of dragons waiting to enter a hut made of vines and leaves. "She looks really busy today, so maybe you can try speaking to her tomorrow."
He couldn't believe his ears. Tomorrow!? Skua felt like roaring in the dragon's face, or taking her by the shoulders and shaking her until her head was set right. But he felt a wing brush against his back, and he turned to see Dreamseeker had stepped up to comfort him. "That's fine. We'll wake up extra early so we'll be the first ones to see her tomorrow," she glanced at the rest of them.
"Yay!" Hummingbird turned a very bright shade of yellow. "You can all stay here until then. There's enough food to go around. Oh, and enough hammocks, too!"
Skua still couldn't believe what was happening. Dreamseeker was treating this like a vacation, not an important mission. He turned to her, his mouth open to protest, but the look she gave him made him snap his jaw shut. "If no one else minds..." he drawled out, unsure.
Hummingbird's eyes seemed to become as big as the moons themselves as Eclipse introduced them. Her maw twisted into a very large smile. "Those are weird names... but I like them!" she chimed as she paced around them and looked them over. Skua watched in shock as she reached forward with a curious paw and gently pulled Eclipse's wing partially open. "Why are you so... dark? Isn't it boring being black and red?"
Dreamseeker snorted, though Skua could have sworn it was because she was amused and not offended. He stood tall in front of the purple RainWing, scowling angrily. "It's not like he can help it. Besides, red and black make a nice combination-- unlike your scales, which are just burning my eyes at this point."
"Thank you!" Hummingbird quipped as she walked around the group to sit in front of them again. Her eyes skimmed him over as she grinned. "I like being very bright, you know. All of us RainWings do. It's kind of our thing. But, if you wanna see Queen Ardent, you better bring her a nice gift."
Skua's heart skipped a beat. "A gift?" he grumbled.
Hummingbird nodded. "She likes the ripest fruit in the forest. Or shiny gems from the ocean!" she added. "But if you don't bring her anything, she won't listen to you. She needs to make sure you're worth her time, you know?"
The large IceWing turned to the rest of them. His expression was a mixture of desperation and annoyance. Where in the burning sun were they going to get something like that? "Got any ideas?" he asked them.
The group of cats slowly made their way towards the forests as they hugged the cliffs' walls. Blackmoon could still feel the warmth of the sun radiate off of them, even after so long of being covered in shadow. Slowly but surely, the sun continued to retreat beyong the mountains, where it would hide away for hours until dawn came along again. He was mildly aware that the two warriors chatted behind them. He didn't really care what they talked about, but he sure hoped that they did their job at protecting them well. They should-- there had to be a reason why Emberstar chose them, right?
He blinked down at his apprentice as she came bounding over. "I've shared tongues with them long ago. I must have been a little older than you are now. I was the first one in a long while that was approached by a StarClan cat, so that's how I got my name, Blackmoon." He flicked his tail. It must have been twenty or so moons since then. StarClan, where did the time go? "They're mystical. Eerie, kind of. They're kind of hard to explain, but they're up there, despite what many cats might think."
They eventually reached the treeline. Several cats waited for them there, and he recognized Dawnwing and Tigershine, the medicine cats of BirchClan.
"Hello there~!" the tabby tom waved his tail from his spot next to a tabby tom. "Hi, Blackmoon, Shadeclaw, Stonefoot." he glanced down at Hawkpaw. "Is this your new apprentice, Blacky?"
"Tigershine, I told you that my name is Blackmoon. Anyways, yeah, this is my new apprentice, Hawkpaw." He flicked his tail against Hawkpaw's shoulder. "Hawkpaw, this is Tigershine, he's Dawnwing's apprentice. The tabby next to him is Braveleap, and the sandy tom is named Addertongue."
Skua listened closely to their conversation, growing more anxious by the second. They were so close to seeing who was the culprit of this whole assassination! Then, when things were over and down with, they would be able to ask the Queen of whatever tribe to hand over the assassin, and that would be the end of that. Skua was itching to get home; they had to deal with some uncomfortable climates during their travels. So when Aardwolf suggested they get moving, he was more than eager to follow the brightly colored RainWing deeper into the forest. Surprisingly, it became even darker as the canopy above thickened, and he could hear more strange noises coming from the trees and foliage.
"I heard that there's several undiscovered animals that live in the rainforest," he heard Dreamseeker whisper behind them. "I wonder what makes all of those sounds..."
Well, that was unsettling. It kind of disturbed him to think that something bigger and scarier than a dragon lived at the very core of the forest. Skua shook himself out, scattering dewdrops all over as he fought to stay dry-- to no avail, of course. "This is amazing. Yep. Super great," he growled under his breath.
Suddenly, the Jaguar stopped in her tracks. Her long, delicate neck swiveled as she turned to face them. "The camp's just up ahead. I'll hide in the trees while you talk to the other RainWings," she muttered. "Remember, who you're looking for is a big RainWing called Lemur. And if you need to speak to the Queen, try to flatter her. That'll always get you what you want." The RainWing spat the last part out as if it tasted bitter on her tongue.
"Thank you, Jaguar," Dreamseeker murmured.
Jaguar shrugged, nonchalant. "I'm not doing this for you lot, so don't go 'round showing me gratitude."
And with that, she flew up into the canopy. Skua saw her form become smaller and smaller until she looked like a bright fruit atop the bough of the tree. And then, she disappeared. It was hard to imagine she was still there. No wonder why Drought said she made such a good thief. Skua let out a sigh, shifting his weight around and trying to find equal footing on the uneven soil.
"The sooner we're in there, the sooner we get out. Let's go," Skua told them as he moved to the front of the group. Hopefully the RainWings would respect a dragon that looked like a soldier as their leader rather than a prince, mercenary, or random NightWing. They walked a few more feet before Skua caught sight of platforms hanging near the tops of the trees, along with several brightly colored dragons lounging about on the forest floor. Several RainWings flew from platform to platform, and he saw that there were some of them that carried containers brimming with fruit. So Jaguar was right about RainWings not eating any meat...
One of the dragons from atop of the platforms noticed them and came gliding down on the most purple wings that Skua had ever seen. They appeared almost iridescent, and as the dragon landed in front of them, they became tinged with yellows and pinks. What did that mean? He hadn't seen Jaguar turn those colors before.
"Hello!" the RainWing's maw curled into a broad smile as she greeted them. She was small, smaller than even Dreamseeker, so Skua figured that she was younger than them. "We don't usually get many visitors around these parts. Welcome to the RainWing tribe! My name's Hummingbird. And you are?" The RainWing's lively yellow eyes skimmed them over as the yellow that tinged her scales only became more vibrant.
Skua cleared his throat, glancing at Eclipse. His friend was better at speaking to strange, quirky dragons than he was.
Blackmoon was pleased to see that the two warriors swallowed the herbs with little more than a mumble of complaint. He remembered when he was an apprentice-- the herbs were probably the worst thing that he had ever eaten. Now, it just tasted like grass. Very fragrant grass. It was easy to get used to after a while. As their group began to move towards the entrance to the camp, he glanced down at his apprentice. "We'll meet up with everyone before we get there. First we'll meet up with BirchClan's medicine cats, then MistClan's," he answered simply before he turned away and flicked his tail for them to follow. Then, without another word, he trotted across the sandy clearing and disappeared through the brush.
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