False Alarm[OPEN]

Bonekit wished his fur was darker. Of all the colours his pelt could have been, off-white was probably the most visible on an overcast night like this. It sure didn't help that there was a night guard out, well-able to catch him in the act and bringing him back to his mother. And then he, a perfectly independent five-moon-old, thank-you-very-much, would have to sit through lecture after lecture about safety and bedtimes. Ick. He shuddered, half at that thought and half at the baltic weather. His pelt was practically freezing off.
He tiptoed out of the safety of the nursery, ears alertly swiveling this way and that to make up for his developing senses. Today he'd finally leave camp and prove himself. What could he possibly be capable of at six moons that he wasn't at five? He'd be gone for an hour, tops, and he'd come back with the biggest prey anyone had ever seen. Then Bloodstar would be so impressed he'd have to apprentice him. It was a flawless plan!
He grinned to himself as he crept along, tiny paws impressively quiet. He really, really hoped he'd be written off as a mouse or something. So far, so good, anyway, and he soon found himself face-to-face with today's biggest obstacle. He could barely see the border of sticks and leaves in the dark, but he knew it was there because an experimental poke made a quiet rustling noise. He froze for a few seconds, breath hitched, until he was sure the cats on guard duty weren't coming for him. Yeah, he was way too sneaky for them to catch him anyway. He narrowed his eyes, falling to a hunting crouch. He couldn't quite make out the end of the border, but he could jump pretty far. As long as he timed it right, he'd make it clean over to the other side for sure. He gave his body a preliminary wiggle, counted to three to steel his nerves, and then-
SNAP
"Aah!" Bonekit yelped involuntarily, adrenaline rushing through his body. That was loud. Very loud. Was there any way the cats on guard could've missed that? Either way, he was doomed- the branch he'd broken caused a cascade of others to fall on his little body, leaving him effectively trapped. Curse his tiny kit body and his weak kit legs. He'd only just missed the jump, too, he could see where the border ended now.
The damage being done, he began to struggle to get out from under the branches. Each movement made a leaf rustle or a twig snap, spooking Bonekit more and only making him louder.

Oliverain's posture sagged, quietly urging her to fall asleep. She shook her head, arguing she signed up for this. She had volunteered to be a night gaurd. There was no way she'd back out. After a yawn she looked out into the darkness, focusing on any gleaming eyes. None yet, just a gentle rustle of bushes from the leaf-bare breeze. The cold nipped at her nose, keeping the edge of her mind sharp and uncomfortable. Luckily her fur was long and kept her warm, otherwise this might be unbearable. Her eyes drooped, getting weary from lack of sleep.

SNAP

Blue eyes shot open, fur spooked and senses suddenly keen. Her ears easily caught the loud rustles and cracks of the alert system. Dung dung dung- The ragdoll panicked, unsure what she was supposed to do in this event. Ignoring the other guard she bolted inside camp.

Bloodstar had stretched out in the leader's den in an attempt to sleep. When that didn't work... he curled up tight. That didn't work either. For quite awhile he tossed and he turned, annoyed that sleep still eluded him. With time he would adjust to sleeping alone, but he hated the adjustment period of anything. With a huge sigh, he was considering going out to the creek for a drink to try to maybe calm himself down.


Bloodstar's head whipped in the direction of the noise. More crackling... no something was definitely there. He bolted out of the leader's den and looked immediately in the direction of the guards. Oliverain was already running inside camp. The other guard looked bewildered. Noted... train cats for guard duty. "Oliverain, you're faster than me. If they try to run, give chase." His mind flashed back to the last time he tried this. Tigersong had died... He blinked, but it was too late to take his words back. It was time for action.

Bloodstar leaped immediately to a nearby tree and climbed up to give himself a vantage point. More rustling... his eyes went to...

White. Fur.

He practically flew to the next tree, along a branch overhanging where Dawnhawk was. Then he dropped, claws outstretched and jaws wide, seeking to do damage.

Then he realized... the bundle was far too small to be Dawnhawk... like half the size.

It was a kit.

FOXDUNG! His paws spread out on either side of him and his jaws closed. He spread his hind paws for balance on the way down trying to slow his fall. Still... being as big and as heavy as Bloodstar was... the sound was like a bowling ball crashing into twigs and hitting solidly packed earth. His teeth closed around the branches that were holding the kit in place and he ripped them off like an enraged feral animal.

His eyes then landed on Bonekit.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY ARE YOU OUTSIDE THE CAMP?" He bellowed, his adrenaline still flying through him. He was still ready for a fight. He didn't give the kit any time to talk. Bloodstar grabbed him by his scruff and lifted him. He was a large kit, nearly apprentice sized, so his hind feet could drag the ground if he wanted to. If the kit knew what was good for him he wouldn't touch another single twig.

Bloodstar turned, trying to step only where there were broken twigs, and leaped back onto the tree limb that he jumped down from. Another bound and he was back within the confines of camp. Straight to the nursery he went.... and he dropped Bonekit right in front of it.

"That system is in place to warn us when a threat is coming. Did your mother ever tell you who Dawnhawk is?" At five moons old, the kit should know, but some mothers guarded their kits far beyond what they should.

She met with Bloodstar, nodding at his order. Before she could move he had leapt into the trees, flying through them to find the intruder. Oliverain ran towards the noise as well, though not as fast as the tree flyer. When she arrived near the intruder Bloodstar was already pouncing onto it, followed by an outraged yowl and the startling crunches of leaves. She hesitated diving in as well, for her leader's words confused her. Outside camp? Oh someone went into the defense didn't they? A kit, because who else.

Oliverain was right, Bonekit was dragged by Bloodstar back to the nursery entrance. She followed, the fur on her neck smoothing down. The ragdoll was still calming, but both concerned with the little tom yet slightly furious. The leader's words weren't gentle, but should they be? Oliverain wasn't sure right then, but she began to quietly groom the youngin. She saw how scared the kit was. She would be too if a cat such as Bloodstar started dragging her scruff. She tried to sync her heartbeat with the kit's, while also trying to calm it.

Bonekit's ears pricked up and he felt a little bit of relief- only one cat had heard him, he could only hear one set of paws. He could try convince them to not tell a soul about this and move on with his life. He'd have plenty of time to prove himself to Bloodst-
The relief drained from him and his blood ran cold as he spotted a shape barreling towards him from above. His instincts immediately screamed 'predator', filling his tiny body with adrenaline, before he realised it was something far worse- his leader, claws outstretched and face taut with fury. Bonekit had little time to do more than yelp feebly as the huge tom came crashing down. For a moment he thought he was going to die, vision black as he was buried under even more branches, until suddenly the canopy of sticks was ripped from above him and replaced with the arguably more terrifying Bloodstar. Bonekit shrank back as he yelled, suddenly wishing he was being buried alive again.
Some spark of indignance was still inside him, though, and he opened his mouth to retort. "I was j-" The wind was knocked out of him by surprise. He dangled from Bloodstar's mouth, feet catching the ground in rhythm with the leader's footsteps. Immediately after being dropped unceremoniously in front of the nursery he'd been trying so desperately to escape, he shrank back, colliding with Oliverain. Bonekit's ears flattened to his head and his eyes were wide as he stared back at Bloodstar.

Oliverain's grooming admittedly calmed him a little, though his voice was shaky and terrified when he responded to the question. "No, sir. She says I would get night terrors, if I knew, sir." The honorifics slipped out of their own accord, some kind of prey instinct to prevent the leader from getting any angrier than he was already.

Bloodstar's ears pinned back in aggravation. Oliverain went to work on comforting the kit, which was fine. He knew his temper could be... out of control sometimes. "I'm sure she'd rather let you have night terrors than be dead, so I will tell you." He didn't look into the nursery for permission. This was necessary, as Bonekit had just proven. He took a breath to calm himself down first and reminded himself that he was speaking to a kit. He'd be as gentle as he could be.

"He was a Skyclan cat once. He was born in that nursery. Well one day he betrayed us and brought an army of foreign invaders to our camp. They were a group called the Asylum. I tried to fight back and all it got me was a body and face full of scars and imprisonment for an entire leaf-bare. During that time he ruled Skyclan by force. He was ruthless enough to kill his own underlings and even kits. Once the clans finally drove the Asylum out, Dawnhawk survived and escaped. Every attempt we have made to hunt him down has ended in the death of one of our warriors and he still gets away. To this day he still prowls around the edges of Skyclan territory, waiting to kill anyone that he can. That's why this defense system is here. He infiltrated camp once when we were out fighting against Windclan looking for him. Windclan had sheltered him and when we found out, we were furious. When we came back from that battle, we had lost an apprentice, a warrior and an elder. Two other elders were gravely injured. One died as a result of his wounds and the other eventually recovered. The only two survivors of that incident are Foxfire and Smokfeather, but Smokefeather had thankfully been out on a walk when that happened. He never found her.

So for you to go stepping all over our defense system and make me think he has come back to kill the rest of us puts me in a bit of a mood. Alright? Don't touch it. I don't ever want that to happen to any of us ever again." Was that too harsh? Maybe, but sometimes the truth was harsh. It was better to know than not to know.