Don't get shredded (c)

Life had been changing quite rapidly for the kittypet. Beechfang had joined the family and then suddenly disappeared, much to his dismay. He hoped that she would return... as much as she seemed to dislike him, he truly did enjoy her company. On top of that, his humans had begun to put their belongings into the boxes that he loved to jump and hide in, which only meant one thing; they were going to a new home, again. It felt as though he had just begun to learn more about this place and the cats that inhabited it and he wished he could know more, but he knew that where ever his people went, they needed him there too. He'd been helping them pack their things back home when the earth had suddenly shook. He'd never felt something under his paws like that before and while he had his humans to keep him safe, he wondered how the world outside might have been affected, seeing as though not much had changed at home after his people had calmed down. Hopefully those clan cats he'd made friends with were alright.

So here he was, wandering through the marshlands, the trees that lined the forest looming a good distance ahead. The bell on his sparkling blue collar jingled as he trotted along, and the blue colored covers on his claws pressed against the soft ground. He had been told to be cautious when entering the territories, but it was odd... he hadn't seen any cats yet. Their scents were fairly strong and he'd been told that he would most likely run into at least a few of them if he ever crossed into the territories, much like he had when he'd gone to that gathering thing those few moons ago, but where was everyone now? His heart sank and he hoped that they hadn't been hurt by that earth shake, but he pushed the thoughts away. Those clan cats were tough, they wouldn't let the ground rumbling scare them, right? Maybe Beechfang was with them, and if he found her... he'd find everyone.

Slowing his pace, he arrived at the river. Unlike the last time he’d crossed it, the water had a more murky appearance to it, but luckily it seemed to be flowing normal. In and effort not to get his fluffy pelt that he'd worked so hard to groom wet, he looked around for the stones that he’d used to cross before. He almost wasn’t able to find them with how they’d been covered in muck and loose grass, but after prodding them with a paw, they still seemed stable enough to use. Carefully stepping onto the makeshift path, he made sure it was safe and then hastily jumped across, doing his best to move fast enough in hopes of not slipping.

Having made it to the other side, Cheddar gave his fluffy flame tinted pelt a shake and continued onwards. The scenery drastically changed, with trees and shrubbery now on either side of him and he purred, happy to be able to explore such an interesting area. The kittypet hadn’t made it very far past the river when a strange scent hit his nose. Was a clan cat around? Finally, a sign of life! Stopping in his tracks, he glanced around, his crossed gaze scanning the area for any cats.  "Hello?" he called out, hoping that whoever was there was a friend and not a foe.

"You smell of the marshlands."

A growl, low and menacing came from the bushes, though had not quite revealed itself. A tom, dark as night and as black as a shadow emerged, a molten amber gaze pinning the kittypet where it stood. Scars lined the tom's face and shoulders, a fresh wound obscured by the tom's thick neck ruff, and his long ears adorned with nicks from his numerous fights. The older tom's lips peeled back, revealing his teeth. "Care to tell me why you've trespassed in my land?" Nightstar wasn't really in any shape to fight, but he wasn't about to let this kittypet call any of his bluffs. Not that he really was bluffing, he'd throw claws at any trespassers no matter his body condition. His hackles raised. Nightstar looked over his possible adversary, and thought him not much of a threat, plump and fat.

He didn't have the best eyesight to begin with and the thick shrubbery wasn't helping, but he assumed who he was talking to was a cat, though he didn't know why they didn't show their face. Peering around, Cheddar tried to spot whoever spoke to him. It took him a few moments, but he was able to make out a dark figure that stank of something that he hadn't smelt in a long while... was it blood perhaps? He wasn't quite sure, but whoever this was really needed a bath. Trying his best to make out the figure, he definitely didn't recognize this cat and catching sight of his teeth bared, he took a step back, not in any mood to get into a fight. Not that he could anyway, with the caps that covered his claws...

"I'm just curious how things are out here after the big shake," the fluffy, blue cross-eyed tom mewed. Having only gone through the forest once before, he'd forgotten where certain territories started and ended and hoped he hadn't strayed too far into some-clan's space. He truly didn't want any trouble and hoped this cat would have some grace.

Nightstar held the tom's gaze for a few silent and tense heartbeats before he let his hackles lie flat. "Numerous cats are injured, missing, killed, and de-homed. Resources are tight, medicines are in high demand without the supply to meet those demands. Your curiosity about our hardships is disrespectful and unneeded." Nightstar hissed, though made no move to attack. This was neutral territory, and getting over a fight because this tom had passed through had more cons than pros at the moment for him. Spoiled rotten kittypet, getting its paws muddy because of a curiosity.

"Oh," Cheddar mewed softly. So it was worse than he'd thought, what a shame. Cats missing or injured? That sounded horrible! "Do... do you know a Beechfang?" he started, not sure who exactly she knew around these parts, but maybe this cat happened to be one of her friends. "Do... do you happen to know a Beechfang?" The kittypet assumed there were only so many cats in this forest, so he'd might as well ask. Hopefully she was doing alright and wasn't one of those injured or dead cats.

"And are you alright?" He asked with a tilt of his head as the scent of blood finally wafting to his nose, ignoring the hostility that the dark pelted tom currently held towards him. The scent must've been coming from this cat, had he gotten in a fight or maybe the big rumble had somehow hurt him?

"I've heard the name. Beechfang is the name of a warrior who slaughtered a Medicine cat in cold blood from another clan. A Medicine cat is an extremely important cat to their clan, and to be left without one is to be left without the guidance of our ancestors. A greatly evil deed. Beechfang, whoever they are, it's probably best that they are not found." Nightstar meowed, raising a brow at the kittypets distress.

"I'm fine. I just got crushed by a tree is all. I'm just healing the wound." Nightstar shrugged, careful to keep his anger obvious. It wouldn't be becoming to let the kittypet in on that he was teasing it. It was fun to torment the kittypet with mind-boggling material.

Beechfang killed a cat? She was a little prickly on the outside, but could she... would she do something like that? He wanted to ask for more details, but the tom's next statement immediately took him off guard.

"Just crushed by a tree?" Cheddar gasped. "You need to go to the cat healer, they're kinda like your medicine cats, but I'm not sure if a medicine cat could help you much..." the fluffy red tom inquired. If he ever got a thorn in his paw or stung by a bee, the healer that his people took him knew exactly what to do and always made him feel better, even if they did try to shove those little nuggets down his throat sometimes...

"It's not that big of a deal. I've healed a good majority of my wound, my bones aren't even shattered." Nightstar meowed flippantly, shrugging a shoulder. "The medicine cats are more than competent enough to heal it the rest of the way. Don't insult them like that." The tom hissed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend ya," Cheddar mewed sincerely, not having mean to insult the integrity of these said 'medicine cats.' "Well why are you all the way out here and not with your healers? No matter what you try to say, surely you could use one right about now..." he mewed curiously, ever so slightly leaning in to get a better look at the tom's wounds as well as scars from previous ones. Shattered bones or not, this tom looked as though he'd been through a can opener and back.