Amaranthine/twelve

I had walked this path time and time again. Memories I had tried and failed to erase came flooding back with the scent of the blooms that covered the territory, weaving among paths, bordering training areas, climbing up trees and popping up between blades of grass. Every single bloom brought back a piece of the past that I had tried so hard to forget. A joint lesson with an older Cadet section, where I had admired a cat named Jasmine's skill. A place where Blizzard, Lark, and I had snuck out during a mealtime. We had laughed and smiled and talked together.

Now both of them were close to being lost. Lark had died already. Blizzard could have died while I was off with Belladonna. All of my Cadet group could have fallen to... what were they called? The Mist Runners. Belladonna had mentioned an ongoing war, which could only mean that the rogue group made progress. Which meant destruction. I had let it all happen, living alone with her.

Belladonna.

She and her "group" had ruined my life. They had killed Lark. They had started this war, torn apart my peaceful routine. They broke the Twilight Hunters. They broke my life.

I trotted among the flowers and trees, trying to keep my mind from wandering. I hadn't followed these trails in a while, and I didn't want to get lost. My knowledge of the territory had faded

Unfortunately, my mind wandered and so did I.

I found myself in an unfamiliar patch of land. The trainers had never taken us to every patch of territory, and the knowledge of all that was only taught in specialized patroller training. Our land was too big to be worth touring, and I was lost. I couldn't find a familiar landmark, either; Blizzard and I had never snuck out anywhere near here.

I had been here once, and that was when I fled from the Mist Runners. My senses had been too blurred to know where I was.

I was lost.

I continued on toward the direction I thought the camp would be, but I couldn't use the sun for guidance; the flowers were too dense. There were few scent trails. Only one or two patrollers could be assigned to this area, and they definitely weren't around.

Suddenly, I caught a whiff of strong, fresh scent. It must've been at least a hundred cats crashing through the bushes somewhere nearby. I instinctively jumped up a tree, clawing my way up to the flower-filled branches. Their sweet scent would disguise my own from the group of cats coming toward me. I wished desperately that they were just a patrol of clumsy trainees, but I knew this wasn't a training area. It was directly in the path from the Mist Runners' territory to our camp.

There was no way this wasn't another invasion.

I saw the first of them only heartbeats after I nestled myself above a thick branch of foliage. It was Golden, leading the group, with Creek and Midnight were just behind her.

Their stride was full of pride. They looked like they had won a few battles before.

I did spot expressions of fear on some cats' faces, even the generals'. They couldn't be too confident they'd win.

Could they?

The cats passed, after a while. There were more than my estimate. It had to be at least a hundred cats. Enough to win against the Twilight Hunters if they took us by surprise.

I leaped down from the tree and dashed around them. If anybody saw me, they didn't mention it. I wove through flowers and branches, careful not to trip over the vines that crisscrossed the ground.

"What are you doing?"

Golden's voice nearly made me leap a tree-length into the air. I forced myself to duck behind a tree.

"Yarrow, Autumn, get over here!"

I breathed a silent sigh of relief and continued running. I followed the huge group of cats until I reached a familiar landmark. The grove where we had trained before Cherry went missing. I ran as fast as I could toward the camp. Running, running, running.

As soon as I was far enough ahead of them, I started yowling. I wasn't sure what exactly. I tried to get the message through; we were being invaded.

Nascha recognized my voice first and came running out to meet me. A slice cut through her ear, a small scar marked her muzzle, but at least she was alive.

"Torrent!" she yowled, and a smile that wasn't brought about by falsehood lit up my face for the first time in moons.

Cherry ran out of a nearby den, and Raven after her. Blizzard did not.

"Where's..."

Cherry knew exactly what I meant.

"He's still healing, but he'll probably survive. Would you like to go see him?" A sign of relief escaped my mouth. I didn't leave my brother to die after all

"There's no time," I replied with a sharp exhale. "We're being invaded." I pricked my ears, listening for the sound of hundreds of pawsteps in the distance. "They're close."

Nascha immediately raced toward the steps leading to the Council's den. Her yowl rose above the murmurings; she sounded confident and commanding. Like a leader.

"We're being invaded!"

A simple message, but it got the point across. In a seemingly well-practiced formation, guards raced to the front of the camp, and cats lined up behind them, clumping into little groups of warriors, hunters, scouts, and Cadets. Nascha nudged me over to where Cherry, Raven, and Elzora stood, and she and I ran over to them.

We stood in a huddle, everybody shaking with nervousness. Around us were the four other Cadet groups, most of them bigger than ours. We stood near the line of Cadet dens, nowhere near where the battle would probably start, but the battle would almost certainly sweep through the camp, disrupting the well-practiced order.

We were all at risk.

I glanced toward the healers' dens, where Blizzard and many other injured cats must've laid. The warriors' groups stood near that area, probably to protect the injured. They looked like they were expecting something.

A rustle. A yowl. And then, the battle exploded around us, cats flooding our camp and sending screeches through the air.