#pumapaw

Hyacinthclan had a good realtionship with the seabirds. They always alerted them when something had washed up on the shore and it might be worth checking out, if it wasn't too rotten.

That was what the patrol was doing today, following the whirling specks of birds toward what could potentially be a good a find, their pelts stiff and sticky with Plumsong's experimental mixture to protect them against the rain. It made Yellowlily's skin itched, but if they could avoid what had happened to Flintfur, the deer, and the queen and kits Plumsong had found, she would happily smear herself with whatever the medicine cats shoved her way.

As they hiked over the slick and mossy dark rocks, past the Beach of Stars, past those sacred black sands, and yes, there were black sands beyond there, toward where they were going, but they were different.

"Do you smell that?" Quietback asked, tasting the air, and Yellowlily did.

The scent of meat and salt, a bit of rot to it, but if they were lucky, there would be something the whole clan could feast on tonight. Whatever washed up on the shore could sustain the clan for days, if they were lucky.

Excitedly, Pumapaw bounded ahead, her eager strides eating up the space quickly, and Yellowlily half-expected the apprentice to slip and twist her paw, but she did not. She reached the top of the rise and gasp.

"HUH! Great Starclan, what is it? Quietback, what is it?" she cried, which made the patrol pick up their pace.

Once there, Yellowlily let out a soft mrrow of laughter, remembering when she has brought Ashtalon to see a similar sight and the cat's shock and suspicion at the sight. She hadn't gotten to do the same with Aphidrise while he was still a 'paw, but she got to do it now.

"It's a whale, Pumapaw. It's a large creature that lives in the ocean, far far out. Occasionally, they wash up on the shore when they die. If we're lucky, we can harvest some of the meat." Yellowlily said, not adding she had once seen a whale, a small one, that had been alive.

It had died in the end, but it had been shocking to see it alive, and painful because it was helpless and there had been nothing she could do for it.

"Pumapaw, wait for the rest of the patrol." Yellowlily added when it looked like the apprentice was about to launch herself down the rocks.

"Yes, Yellowlily." Pumapaw said, looking down.

She would be a warrior sooner rather than later, and yet Pumapaw was still very much a kit in ways. There was nothing wrong with it, but sometimes, Yellowlily was afraid that Pumapaw was not ready to be a warrior. Of course, that was for her mentor to decide, so Yellowlily kept those opinions to herself.

They made their way down the beach to the enormous carcass, which had several pieces missing already. The skin was beginning to peel off, having been attacked by sea-dwelling creatures that wouldn't pass up a good meal any more than Hyacinthclan would, but it looked fresh.

"The clan will eat well tonight." Quietback said and Yellowlily nodded her agreement.

There was a feel of majesty around the whale, even dead, as they approached it, the cats so much smaller than it was, and as they approached, Yellowlily caught sight of more cats walking down the beach, a familiar scent catching her attention.

"Hail, Foggyclan." she called out.

Technically, this was Hyacinthclan territory, but when there was a whale to be had, a truce was forged between all the clans so they could partake in the meat, as there was more than enough to share.

"Well met, Yellowlily." the leader of the patrol, the Foggyclan deputy, Icywind, greeted in return.

Her patrol was somewhat larger, consisting of seven cats, but Foggyclan was a large clan and had a longer distance to cover.

Pumapaw watched the other clan suspiciously, but she kept her comments to herself, and as they approached the whale, Quietback's fur rose.

"Pumapaw, wait." he said as the apprentice went forward.

"Why?"

"Something is wrong." Quietback said, and then Yellowlily caught the scent, too.

Bitter, acrid, not something she usually associated with dead whales or anything else, and she didn't like it. They all approached cautiously and surveyed the whale carefully, and it was Aphidrise who found what found the odd thing.

There was a sticky, black substance on the whale in a few places, like it had swum through something, and none of them had ever seen anything like it before, even from Twolegs and their things.

"Is it safe?" Buzzardglide asked, tilting her head.

"The birds are eating it, and I don't see any dead ones." a Foggyclan warrior pointed out.

And that was a point. If it had been deadly, the birds would have either been avoiding it or there would have certainly been dead ones, as it was clear the whale had been being picked at for a few hours now.

So they approached the belly, where there were no black stains and something had already ripped into it, and as the two different clans began to work side-by-side, Icywind had a question.

"What is on your pelts?" he asked, looking them over quickly.

"A mixture our medicine cats made. It seems to work as a sort of protection against the rain." Quietback replied, and they explained as they worked on freeing the meat.

They hadn't been there long, however, when Yellowlily caught another scent on the wind and the birds all began to fly away, and she saw the clouds coming in.

"Another rainfall!" she called out, but there was no time to run for shelter, mainly because there was no place nearby to shelter.

No cave, no crevice, no overhang- Just an open stretch of beach and the waves.

They knew water could protect them, but no one could hold their breath for that long, and there was always the chance of getting dragged out to sea.

"Get under the flipper!" Yellowlily ordered and they all obeyed, dashing under the enormous limb and packing in together.

It worked, luckily, the rain not coming down at an angle when it hit, and they waited it out, seeing an unlucky bird or two hit the ground, looking like that deer, and Yellowlily shuddered to herself. These rains never lasted long, however, and it was over as soon as it started, and as soon as the sky lightened, they crept out.

The whale was fine, having been already dead, but the verdant green of the hills and cliffs had been ruined, though they had noted that plants tended to rebound quickly from the fall.

"What's in that mixture you have on?" Icywind asked, her voice trembling a little.

Quietback shared the information and while the rainfalls had tended to be far apart so far, no one was eager to stick around. Still, they had meat to retrieve, but just as they began to claw into the body, the ground began to shake, and cold washed over them, along with a scent that was foul and cold.

They all froze and then Yellowlily saw the huge prints being pressed into the sand. Big enough to belong to a bear, four of them appeared in the sand, like something was walking across it, but there was nothing there. Nothing to be seen, and yet the low growling and pawprints continued to appear, and a trail of smaller ones began to appear in the wake of the large ones.

Pumapaw gasped beside Yellowlily, fur fluffed up, and the prints suddenly scuffed in their direction, Yellowlily wrapping herself around Pumapaw and pressing her face into her fur. She held still, held her breath, and Pumapaw did the same.

The pawprints came closer and closer, stopping in front of them, and the chill that came with whatever was making them was shocking, but Yellowlily held still and prayed to Starclan that Pumapaw did the same.

To her surprise, they weren't sniffed or anything of the sort, and just when she thought her lungs would burst, the invisible thing moved on, heading away from all the cats, down the length of the huge corpse on the sand.

"No sound." Yellowlily signaled the others, putting her tail to her mouth.

It was a Hyacinthclan signal, but Foggyclan knew it too, and as it got further away, Icywind glanced at her patrol.

"Go for the hills. We're not staying here." she whispered and Yellowlily stiffened.

Breathy whispers were given to the Foggyclan patrol, but it was useless. The patrol began to sneak away, potentially leaving Hyacinthclan to their fate, but they didn't get too far. The ground shook beneath their paws and the prints suddenly began appearing faster, moving by Hyacinthclan, heading for Foggyclan. Yellowlily wanted to help. She did, but she would not risk her own clanmates for the foolishness of the others.

So they could only watch as the cats ran, streaking across the beach, and didn't make it. One of them- Yellowlily wasn't sure who- was snatched and lifted high into the air, screaming, writhing, wailing, fighting, and then-

Then it was over. In a spray of blood with the sound of crunching bones, the warrior was gone, body dropped to the sand, the smaller prints circling it.

Yellowlily could only watch in horror as the rest of the patrol was killed in a similar manner, a few shrieks letting them know that the... Thing... was hurt by those flailing claws, and she did glimpse Icywind and one other warrior pelting away, disappearing the way they had come, so the entire patrol wasn't lost.

They waited, the smell of blood reaching even where they were, and Pumapaw hid her face in Yellowlily's fur as the bodies began to be ripped apart.

Whatever was there was eating the fallen warriors.

They had no choice but to stay and as the bodies were ripped and consumed, Yellowlily felt sick.

It didn't last long.

The scent of blood was thick in the air and then-

There was an explosion, and it was like the world had been washed away, nothing to hear, nothing to see other than the cats right beside her, the body of the whale, and her own fur. Just gray beyond that, as if the world had been filled with a fluffy gray pelt, or fog that was thicker than even the massive banks that sometimes rolled in off the sea.

Yellowlily prayed that her warriors stayed still, stayed where they were, because those things could still be out there, they could still be lurking and waiting, and she could not let what had happened to Foggyclan happen to her clanmates.

And then, suddenly, it was all over. The gray lifted and the sky was clear when it was gone, a rainbow forming, and they all looked toward where the bodies had been.

Nothing, now. Nothing but pawprints and blood. Yellowlily ordered the patrol to stay where they were, but the feeling was gone, the cold was gone, and no new prints pressed into the sand.

She went and checked, but there was nothing. She examined the prints and they were odd. Like cat pawprints, but much bigger, if said cat had extra toes. But they were so big, all four sets, like a bear and her cubs.

"Get the meat, and then we go home." she called to her cats, because despite this tragedy, the clan was still relying on them for food.

And after this, there was no telling when the next patrol would be sent out.

Everyone but Quietback seemed dazed and began to obey her words, Yellowlily glancing around for Icywind and the other cat, but they were both long gone.

Quietback was staring at the waves, his fur on end, and Yellowlily looked, but there was nothing, and she glanced at him.

"What is it, Quietback?" she asked, her muscles coiling beneath her pelt.

"I- Nothing. Nothing, I promise." he said, but he seemed shaken.

Yellowlily looked, but there really was nothing. Still, she stood guard until the patrol was done, and then lead her cats home.

8/2/2025-8/6/2025