Terra walked over and sat next to Hinta. He looked around nervously, then back to Hinta. "Listen, Hinta...I'm going to leave the Clan for a little while. I don't know when I'll be back or where I'm going or what dangers I may face along the way, but I have realized something. Finding Luna has gotten me to start thinking about my other two littermates, Aqua and Sol. I need to find them and, if possible, bring them here. Don't try to talk me out of going, because I have already made up my mind. But I don't know when I'll be back...if at all." He stared into Hinta's eyes. "Goodbye, Hinta. I'll see you; if I never see you again in this life, I'll definitely see you in my dreams." He walked away before she could make this parting any more painful. He stepped into the nursery and smiled. "Hey, Luna."

Luna looked up and beamed at him. "Hi, Terra! Look at Featherkit, she has the same eyes as you!" She pushed Featherkit towards her uncle, and the tiny kit looked up at him inquisitively with the same brilliant green eyes as Terra.

Terra smiled. "How wonderful! But listen, Luna..." He repeated almost the same thing that he had told Hinta.

Luna nodded. "Good luck, my brother," she purred, standing up and pressing her head against his. "Tell Aqua and Sol 'hi' for me if you find them. And, most importantly, take care of yourself. I want these kits to grow up with an uncle."

Terra nodded. "Don't worry about me. Love you, sis," he murmured as he stepped out of the nursery. He gave a final goodbye nod to Hinta and walked out of camp, not sure if he would ever make it back.

~*~*~*~

Terra padded through the shadowy forest, swiftly placing his paws on the cold, fallen leaves. He sighed and looked up at the patchy light filtering through the leaves. I wonder if I will ever see Hinta again,

he wondered. He mentally added quickly with a flash of embarrassment, Or Luna and the kits.

He shook his head and kept on going.

He sniffed the cool forest air and detected the scent of rabbit. He followed it through a dense line of bushes and spotted a fat rabbit nibbling on a stalk of grass in a clearing. He silently purred at the thought of a good meal soon and slowly crept forward. He was almost right behind the rabbit, ready to pounce, when a fierce growl came from the trees. The rabbit sat up quickly and scurried into the bushes. Terra growled in annoyance and spun around, searching the shadows for whatever caused the noise. He started to walk slowly towards the source of the growl and crouch, when another male panther leapt from the bushes and pinned Terra to the ground.

The strange panther put his nose right next to Terra's and roared, "Why are you hunting on my

territory?!"

Terra cowered under the stronger male's challenging roar. "I-I didn't know this was your territory. If you l-let me go, I-I'll leave..." He struggled to free himself.

The other panther shook his head and glared down at Terra with fierce amber eyes, as golden as the sun. "No," he hissed. He raised a forepaw and unsheathed his claws, keeping his other paws on Terra to hold him down. "Intruders like you

need to be taught a lesson!" He spat the word you

and sliced his deadly claws across Terra's face. Crimson blood filled his vision and the pain seemed to race through his entire body.

Terra had noticed something...familiar about those bloodthirsty amber eyes. Could it be...?

He looked back up from being knocked to the ground by that powerful blow and gazed straight into the other panther's eyes. "Wait..." he mewed weakly. "Is...is it you, my brother? Sol?!"

The panther named Sol growled again, his tail sweeping the ground in annoyance and brushing up dirt onto Terra. He got off of Terra in shock, but still watched him warily. "How do you know my name?!" he hissed.

Terra dragged himself to his paws and shook his head, sending drops of blood across the clearing. He looked Sol in the eyes again and meowed weakly. "It-it's me, your brother Terra. I've been looking for you!" He stumbled forward and pressed his nose into his brother's midnight pelt.

Sol flinched and unsheathed his claws, considering giving his brother another wound. Instead, he merely jumped away from Terra's touch and met his hurt look with a look of disdain. "Why were you looking for me?"

"I wanted to come find you again. I found Luna, alive with kits of her own! I'm looking for Aqua, too. I want both of you to come join me in this Clan that Luna found called AshClan, and-"

Sol interrupted him. "First of all, I am not

joining any stupid Clan. Panthers are supposed to live alone. And second, I am not

going anywhere near that flea-bitten, deformed waste of fur you call 'sister' anymore!"

Rage filled Terra until he could no longer stand it. He glared at Sol through fierce, fiery green eyes. "Don't talk about Luna that way! She's not that way anymore! She's a fine warrior, and she can run as well as you now!" He looked challengingly into Sol's eyes. "Perhaps better."

"Mother should have just killed her while she had the chance!" Sol retaliated.

Terra had had enough. Even though his next move could be his last, he couldn't let Sol talk about his own sister like that! He unsheathed his claws and lunged for Sol, catching him off-guard and letting Terra pin him easily to the ground.

Sol growled in surprise and twisted from under Terra's paws. Before Terra could do anything else, Sol leapt on his back and flattened Terra to the ground. He leaned down to whisper in Terra's ear. "You are obviously too weak as well. A newborn kit could beat you. You know what? I think I'm going to finish the job that Mother never completed. I'm going to find your little AshClan. Then I'm going to kill Luna, and her precious kits, and then I'm going to finish off the rest of the Clan. And after you have watched all of that, you're next."

Terra narrowed his eyes as uncontrollable fury flooded through his veins. No! Not Luna...not the innocent kits...and definitely not Hinta!

He spun onto his back and took Sol with him, putting Terra on top of his brother. He sliced his claws across Sol's neck, creating a deep gash in his throat. He drew back quickly and stared at his bloodstained paws in horror, realizing what he had done. "Sol...Sol, no!

I didn't want this to happen!"

Sol's amber eyes were starting to become dull and lose focus as blood poured from his neck wound. He turned his dimming eyes towards his brother and hissed weakly, "This isn't over. Wait until my mate finds out. She and our unborn kits will find you." He collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood. "This isn't over..." he repeated. He then closed his eyes, never to open them again.

Terra backed away slowly, shaking his head. "No...no..." he murmured over and over. He closed his eyes, hoping against hope that when he opened them, his brother would be standing before him again, alive and with no blood but Terra's own staining his pelt. When he finally accepted that Sol was dead, he started pacing. I killed my own brother! Why did I do such a thing?!

Terra suddenly realized why. He threatened my new Clan, my sister, and...and Hinta.

He felt a little better, and the grief and overwhelming guilt started to subside when he realized that Sol was a murderer anyways.

Terra sat down and started to lick his paws. His brother's blood was bitter in his mouth and added to the guilt. I must never let Hinta or Luna know of this,

he vowed. Sol's last words echoed through Terra's mind again and again.

"This isn't over. Wait until my mate finds out. She and our unborn kits will find you."

Terra shuddered, despite the sun warming his dark fur. Who is his mate?

he wondered. Does she know already? Could she be on her way now to kill me?

He looked around anxiously and jumped when he heard a twig snap behind him. He dashed up a nearby tree and peered over the side of his branch. He sighed with relief when he realized it was just a squirrel. Exhausted, Terra laid down on the branch and was soon asleep.

~*~*~*~

Terra woke up with a start when he heard something on the ground below. He stared towards the noise and saw angry, bright blue eyes glinting in the moonlight. As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he noticed that it was a pregnant female panther leaning over Sol's body. Terra tried to back away against the trunk of the tree. One of his paws slipped, and he stopped himself from hissing in pain as the bark scraped against his skin.

Those unsettling blue eyes turned his way, sending a chill down Terra's spine. He ducked and hid behind some leaves. He prayed that she didn't see him, for an angry, grief-stricken she-panther was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

He watched as she sniffed Sol's body and cried softly. "Sol, Sol, I promise you this," she whispered through her tears. "Before our kits reach the age of six moons, whoever took your life from you will be dead." She buried her face in Sol's fur and continued crying.

Terra trembled in his perch, and his heart was pounding so loudly he was surprised that Sol's mate did not hear. If she finds out what I did, I'm dead!

He heard her murmur again and listened closer.

She had turned her face to the moon, yet her eyes were closed. "Sol? Sol, who was it? Who killed you?" There was a long pause that seemed to stretch for moons for Terra, until she finally spoke again. "Your brother? Terra? Don’t worry, my love, I will

find him."

Terra couldn't stand it anymore. He slid down his tree and ran through the forest, shaking the entire way and whimpering in fear. She knows!

he thought, panicking. She knows what I did! Sol told her!

He spotted an entrance to a small cave and dove inside, laying down and resting his tail in front of his face. His last thought before he fell asleep again was, I'm a dead panther.

~*~*~*~

Terra woke up and stretched, squinting as the late-morning sunlight filled his tiny cave. He stood up and walked outside. He immediately caught the scent of squirrel in the misty morning air. He followed the smell to a rather large squirrel. Terra purred with delight and crouched. He padded silently forward and pounced, killing it quickly. Glancing around warily, he ate his squirrel in a few hungry bites. He stood up and licked his lips. Sighing, he continued on his journey; but he couldn’t stop himself from glancing over his shoulder at every suspicious noise. The fur on his spine was sticking up, and his tail was fluffed out to nearly twice its normal size. He jumped at every sound, and twice he climbed a tree out of sheer terror.

After three days, Terra was starting to lose hope that he would ever find his other sister, Aqua. I was a fool to have even thought I would find her, he realized. She could have moved far away, or...or even died! And if I do find her, she might not want to even join AshClan!

Terra shook his head. I have got to stop thinking this way, it's going to drive me crazy! I can't lose hope...I can't give up...

The sun was starting to set, turning the sky a bright, fiery crimson. Terra looked up at the sunset and yawned. He blinked sleepily, and his tail dragged the ground. He looked for a place to spend the night and found a nest among the roots of a large tree. Due to his exhaustion he didn't realize that the nest was filled with strong panther scent. He soon fell asleep, dreaming of Hinta of course, as the sun disappeared behind the trees.

~*~*~*~

Not long after falling asleep, Terra's eyes flickered open to the sound of cat voices. Instantly alert, he looked around warily and sniffed the air. Panther!

He panicked. Sol's mate has finally found me!

Through his terror, Terra did not recognize the she-panther's scent that, under any other circumstances, he would have recognized in a heartbeat.

"Oh, Robin, you're such

a fantastic hunter," a she-cat purred. That voice...where do I know that voice?

Terra wondered. He peered out between the roots of the tree and watched.

The she-panther he heard speak was looking up admiringly at another panther, who had several mice and a big rabbit in his mouth. He purred in reply, unable to mew around the prey, and grinned at her.

Terra started to back away. I have got to get out of here!

He stepped on a twig and snapped it in half, wincing as the sharp crack echoed through the den.

The she-panther's ears twitched, and she turned to look at the den with protective blue eyes. Terra shuddered and had to stop himself from crying out in fear. It's her!

he thought. The one who wants to kill me!

He turned around and started to scramble out of the den.

But the panther called Robin was faster. He dropped his fresh-kill and leapt in front of Terra, snarling. "What do you want, trespasser

?!"

Terra flinched in fear. "I-I just needed a place to stay for the night..."

"Enough!" he roared. "If you dare to lay a claw on my dear Aqua, it'll be the last-"

Terra's eyes widened in shock. "A-Aqua?!" he studdered, looking over at the blue-eyes panther, then turning back again to face Robin's dark-amber eyes. "She is Aqua?"

"Yes!" Robin growled. "And if you come near her..."

Aqua seemed to have woken from the daze of watching the fight. "Robin, back off." She walked closer to them, and Robin backed away, still watching Terra suspiciously. "Terra? Is-is it you, dear brother?" She stared into Terra's eyes.

Terra nodded.

Aqua gasped. She was speechless, and happiness danced in her ocean-blue eyes.

"I have been looking for you for several days, sister," Terra said. "I found this Clan called AshClan, and I want you to come join, and you can come see Luna and meet her kits, and..."

"Luna?! Kits?!

" Aqua's eyes widened. "You know where Luna is? She's alive? And she has kits? Who's the father?"

Terra purred in amusement. This is definitely the Aqua I grew up with,

he thought. Maybe Mother should have named her 'Bird', or something like that, instead.

"Yes, Luna is in AshClan. Yes and yes, she's alive and she has kits. And Jaguarclaw is her mate."

"Oooh!" Aqua kept mewing nonstop. "I always knew they would end up together. And how are the kits? How many? What are their names? Are they cute? What do they look like?"

Terra rolled his eyes and looked over at Robin. "Poor you," he whispered. He could barely imagine putting up with this all day, every day. He then turned back to Aqua. "Why don't you come see for yourself?"

Aqua nodded. "Good idea. Let's head for AshClan tomorrow. Is that okay with you, Robin?" She turned to look at the other panther.

Robin nodded. "Let's check this 'Clan' out. So, are you going to introduce us?"

"Oh, yeah! Robin, this is Terra, my brother. Terra, this is my mate, Robin."

Robin dipped his head. "Nice to meet you, Terra. And sorry about earlier...I was just being protective of Aqua." He laid his tail across Aqua's back.

Terra nodded. "It's okay. I know exactly

how you feel," he said, with a flash of guilt as he remembered how he killed Sol several days ago.

"Oh, you do?" Aqua asked curiously. "Who's the lucky she-cat?"

Terra shook his head. "You wouldn't know her, probably. And she's not my mate...yet. Besides," he yawned, "I'm tired. I might tell you tomorrow about her."

"Okay...let's all eat and get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow!" Aqua picked up the rabbit and took it over to Robin. she sat down close next to him, and they shared the rabbit.

Terra took two mice and ate them. He laid down and looked up at the stars, sighing happily. I'm done. I have found her. I can go home again.

~*~*~*~

Late the next morning, Terra was woken up by a nose poking his stomach and the chattering of a she-cat. "C'mon, Terra, time to get up, sleepyhead!"

Terra looked up sleepily into Aqua's lively blue eyes. He moaned. "Not time yet," he hissed grumpily. "Five more minutes."

"No no no! Up, now! We gotta get going so we can make it to AshClan faster! I wanna see Luna, and the kits, and meet the others!" Aqua playfully swiped at Terra's ears with a forepaw. "You haven't changed a bit from when we were kits. You were never a morning-cat back then, either."

Blinking, Terra flicked his tail in annoyance. "I just journeyed for more than a quarter-moon. I'm tired!"

Aqua rolled her eyes. "Get up! The sooner we get moving, the sooner I get to see Luna!"

And the sooner I get to see Hinta again,

Terra realized. He got up reluctantly and stretched. "You happy now?" he yawned.

"I won't be happy until we arrive at AshClan, but yeah, that's a little better. Now eat, and let's go! Robin and I already ate." As Terra started eating the bird that Aqua had dropped in front of him, his sister kept talking. "I wonder what the kits look like. I can't wait to be an aunt! Someday I want kits of my own, and so does Robin. Are they cute and healthy?" Terra nodded sleepily. "That's good. I haven't seen Luna in so long! How's she doing? Is she happy with Jaguarclaw?"

Terra swallowed the rest of that bite of bird and blew a feather away. "Very," he mumbled, nodding and taking another bite.

"That's good. You can't imagine how happy I am to have Robin as a mate. He's very strong, and smart, and such a good hunter, and..."

Terra rolled his eyes. He finished the rest of his bird and stood up. "That's very good. Now, let's get going. Where's Robin?"

Aqua flicked her tail to where her mate was sitting. "Over there. You never told me about your

mate! What's her name? Do I know her? What's she like? Is she nice? Does she live in AshClan, too?"

If panthers could blush, Terra's face would have been the color of a robin's chest. "I told you, she's not my mate. And she can't ever be." He looked down sadly. Stupid Clan rules...

Aqua was instantly hushed. "Oh." There was a long pause before she spoke again. "But...why? Does she not love you back?"

Terra shrugged. "I don't know. I think she does...but it doesn't matter anyways. She's the Clan's medicine cat, and medicine cats aren't allowed to have mates."

"Oh," Aqua said again. "That's...that's awful. Isn't there anything you can do?"

Terra shook his head. "No." He said it in a tone that said he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He walked over to Robin. "Are you ready to go?"

Robin nodded and stood up. "Let's go to your Clan. Lead the way, Terra."

Terra nodded gratefully and sniffed the air. He looked up at the sun and knew he had to go the opposite way of it, to the west. He started walking through the woods, and Robin and Aqua walked close together not far behind him. Terra looked back at them and sighed. I wish my own heart would stop falling in love with the wrong cat, and I would be as happy as them, or as Luna and Jaguarclaw. Maybe that way, my heart wouldn't feel so empty... He shook his head. But I still have Hinta. No matter what happens, or how much they try to keep us apart, I'll still love her.

~*~*~*~

Terra lead Aqua and Robin towards AshClan territory until late evening, when the sun was starting to touch the tops of the trees. He sat down tiredly and panted. "I'm tired. I think it's time for a break."

Aqua and Robin nodded in agreement. "Good idea." The talkative she-panther was so tired, Terra guessed, that she could only say two words. That's got to be a record for her, he thought, purring. They both sat down next to Terra.

Aqua looked at her brother. "So...you never did tell me what this she-cat is like," she said.

Terra rolled his eyes. So much for exhaustion keeping her quiet, he sighed. "Well...she's really smart, especially with herbs. And she's...she's the nicest and most beautiful she-cat I have ever met."

Aqua pretended to look hurt, but her eyes were amused. "But...what about me?" she asked with mock sadness.

Terra rolled his eyes. "You don't count, you're my sister. And anyways, you have 'most chatty'!" he purred.

Aqua swiped a forepaw at Terra's muzzle playfully. "Once I get done with you, mister, you won't be able to talk at all!" she growled and laughed.

Terra ducked and hissed. "I don't know if that would work for you, you'd probably find a way to talk, anyways!" he purred.

They were both giggling so hard they didn't hear a faint rustle in the bushes. But Robin heard. He flicked his tail in the littermates' faces to silence them. "Shhh. I hear something!"

Terra and Aqua were instantly quiet, and they were looking to the shadows of the forest. Suddenly, a large panther leapt out of the bushes. Terra looked into her eyes and couldn't stop himself from shrieking in terror. It was her! She was considerably smaller, though, since she had evidently had her kits already.

She looked around and stared at Aqua. She leapt on her and growled. "Where is the panther named Terra?" she hissed.

Terra stood up, his legs weak and nearly shaking from fear, and glared at her challengingly. "Right here. Your quarrel is with me, not her. She is innocent of Sol's blood."

She twisted around to look at Terra. "It was you! You killed the father of your own newborn nieces and nephews. You took my mate away." She jumped off of Aqua and stepped menicingly towards Terra, hatred and fury blazing in her blue eyes. "You killed him. You killed your brother!"

Aqua gasped. "No! Terra would never

do that!"

The other she-panther turned around to glare at Aqua. "Shut up; you keep out of this."

Aqua instantly fell silent, and Robin stepped forward. "You leave her alone!" He sniffed her again. "Hey, I know you! Thistlerose! You get away from my mate and her brother!"

"Robin, you stay out of this too," Thistlerose hissed, unsheathing her claws.

Terra growled. "I don't know if you know this, Thistlerose, but your mate died when he threatened my other sister and her Clan!"

"So you admit it! You killed Sol!" Thistlerose started pacing in a circle around Terra, her eyes locked on his accusingly.

"No! I-I mean, yes, I mean...I didn't mean to! It was an accident!" Terra started backing away and crouching in fear. "He...he was threatening my Clan! I didn't want to..."

"But you did!" she hissed. "And now my kits have no father, and my nest is empty at night except for those little balls of fur." She stuck her muzzle close to Terra's face. "You have no idea how lonely it is. How would you feel if someone killed your mate?"

Terra glared back at her. "If Sol didn't threaten to, we wouldn't be having this conversation," he hissed.

Thistlerose growled. She backed up a few steps, then lunged forward at Terra, pinning him to the ground with such power, he would never be able to throw her off.

"Get off of him!" Robin leapt forward, knocking Thistlerose to the ground. He unsheathed his claws and raised his paw, preparing to scratch her on the face. "Leave us alone!" He was about to hit her, but hesitated.

Thistlerose laughed and struggled out from under his weight. "You were always too kind, hon," she said with fake adoration in her voice. She lunged for him and bit into his neck, leaving deep teeth-marks. She looked around challengingly at Terra and Aqua, who were in shock. "You two are next. But not today. I don't know when I'll kill you." She looked at Aqua, "But Terra, I'm going to make you watch them all die. So maybe you will feel my pain. She

already does." With that, she disappeared into the forest again.

Aqua shook her head and leapt over to Robin's side. "Robin...Robin!" she cried. "Robin, you're gonna be okay, right?"

Robin shook his head weakly as more blood spilled out of his neck wound. "Aqua, my dear...don't hold this against her. I would have done the same thing if anyone did something to you..."

Aqua shook her head. "No! Why did you hesitate to slice her face? Why didn't you just kill her?"

Robin's dark-amber eyes were starting to become dull. He looked at Aqua one last time and said weakly, "She..she was my ex-mate." The light faded altogether from his eyes, and he became limp.

"No!

" Aqua let out a wail so hearbreaking, Terra's heart felt almost as torn-up as Aqua's must be. Not to mention the guilt that came with the realization that, had he not killed Sol, Thistlerose would not have done this, and Robin had attacked her to save Terra.

Terra sat down next to Aqua sadly and stared at Robin's body. "It's all my fault...it's all my fault..." he murmured over and over. They both sat by Robin's body all night, mourning, until both eventually fell into a nightmarish, restless sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED...!

Impressum

Texte: For now, the only characters this part is about will be mine...but soon, I'll be adding Silver's and Darkpaw's characters and their actions, thoughts, dialogue, ect., so those are not mine! Cover picture: Panther by ~Brayla (deviantART)
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 09.06.2010

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Widmung:
To my friends on AshClan... ~darkclaw~ and silver eclipse!