***Winter Nights***

Just a quick post to let you guys know that page 3 of the WN comic is up now.
Here's the first page, and each page has a link to the next. As long as the next page is up. xD

http://wytewulf.deviantart.com/art/Winter-Nights-Prologue-pg1-118382324

Chapter Eleven----Planning

Winterpaw crouched in what was serving as the MistClan apprentice's den. She was the only one inside and she wasn't even asleep. She laid there with her paws tucked under her body, staring quietly at the mossy floor of the den. Her tail tip twitched as she thought.
It was almost a week since the battle with RatClan that had caused the death of three MistClan warriors, four now, since one cat had been too badly injured. The battle kept replaying in Winterpaw's mind, could she have stopped Junglestorm's death? Could she have saved him? She had no way of knowing.
Lost in her dismal thoughts, she didn't hear Thrushpaw calling her from outside the den.
"Winterpaw?" The brown tom mewed, peeking into the den. Winterpaw angled her ears in his direction and glanced up. Her friend caught the thoughtful look in her icey eyes and sighed.
"You're thinking about the battle again aren't you?" He asked, padding into the den to sit beside her.
Winterpaw nodded and returned her gaze to the den floor.
"It doesn't seem fair. He did so much to help me...and I never even got to say goodbye." She whispered hoarsely.
Thrushpaw nodded.
"I'm sure he knew how grateful you were." He assured her.
"It's all Ratscar's fault! Everything that's wrong here is his fault!" Winterpaw spat, her fur bristling. Thrushpaw nodded.
"Not everything. I choked on a piece of fresh-kill this morning and it's still caught in my throat. It's wrong, that's something that isn't Ratscar's fault." Thushpaw pointed out.
Winterpaw smiled. Thrushpaw was one of those cats who could make anyone smile. Especially Winterpaw.
"I mean it Thrushpaw, we have to do something." She meowed, her smile fading. Thrushpaw twitched his tail.
"Such as?" He asked.
"Attack them."
"You're crazy."
"Most likely."
Thrushpaw shook his head.
"Remember all the cats that ran in here when they attacked before? I'm sure that wasn't all of them. And if our sentries are to be believed, Ratscar's recruited some loners, rogues, and even some kittypets too." He meowed.
Winterpaw curled her lip to show her sharp white fangs.
"We don't need to attack them all. We just need to distract the other cats so we can get a clear shot at Ratscar." She hissed.
"Without their leader, the rest of the cats will be lost..." Thrushpaw mewed thoughtfully.
"Exactly." Winterpaw mewed.
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"You're crazy." Lionclaw meowed when the apprentices told him their ideas.
Winterpaw twitched her tail.
"We just need a distraction, just for a couple of the clan's strongest warriors to get to Ratscar." She meowed again to her father, hoping he would consider it.
"And what would they do then? Kill him? There's no way they could do that quickly, he's too good a fighter for that. And if we run him off, he'd just come back again another time." Lionclaw sighed.
Angrily, Winterpaw narrowed her eyes.
"Well what else are we going to do? Keep living here?" She hissed, sweeping her tail to indicate the makeshift camp. "This is our only chance. We have to do something, or Ratscar will just keep coming at us until none of us are left to fight."
Lionclaw considered this for a moment.
"I suppose you're right..." He sighed. "But who would we send after him? You and Thrushpaw could go unnoticed in the fighting, but you would be no match for him."
Then, Lightningtail, the she-cat who had taken over Junglestorm's duties at his death, lifted her head suddenly. Lionclaw looked over at her.
"Did you have something to add?" He meowed with a slight smile.
"Perhaps this can be finished without killing him at all." The dark gray she-cat meowed, twitching her orange tabby tail side to side. She often did this when she had thought of something clever.
"How's that?" Lionclaw meowed.
"Here, let me show you..." She purred.
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Oooh! Cleverness!
Yes, a devious plan shall be the downfall of Ratscar, not a bloody battle. Please, MistClan is far more civilised than that. ;)
Hope you enjoyed it! xD The new page of the comic should be up soon, probably sometime this weekend.

AWESOME. xDD

Well OBVIOUSLY Blanks! xD
Glad you guys liked it. :]

It's good! Where's that link to the comic again...? (found it! XD)

Chapter Twelve----Windsong's Part

"Do you understand what you have to do?" Lionclaw asked Windsong, a calico warrior.
They stood just outside the temporary MistClan camp. The dawn was barely beginning to light the sky, but that's what was needed for Windsong's part in the upcoming attack. She needed to sneak unseen to the edge of the real MistClan camp, where Ratscar and his rogues were.
She nodded. "Yes." She mewed simply. Her icy blue eyes scanned the open moorland around them.
"Then go." Lionclaw meowed.
Windsong took off, keeping low to the ground and moving like a white shadow over the land. In heartbeats, she was lost to the early morning fog.
Winterpaw, watching from Lionclaw's side, felt a chill run through her that had nothing to do with the morning breeze. If Windsong failed, not only would the plan be ruined, but she would most likely be killed...Winterpaw couldn't stand the thought that she could be sending her to her death.
Suddenly she felt Lionclaw's warm muzzle resting on her head just behind her ears.
"Don't worry Winterpaw. She's fast, brave, and smart. If anything goes wrong she'll get home safe." He meowed, trying to comfort her. Winterpaw sighed.
"This is so hard. I don't know how leaders like you do it." She mewed. Lionclaw purred.
"Neither do I."
~~~~~
Windsong could hear the blood rushing in her ears. Running through the fog, she knew all her senses had to be alert. One false move...one missed warning...she didn't like to think about it.
She leaped behind a boulder and peered around it. Most of the land was hidden by fog, but what she could see looked peaceful. A deer and her fawn were grazing not too far away from Windsong's hiding place. A few birds sang in the trees nearby, and Windsong relaxed a little. Just a little.
~~~~~
"Come on Thrushpaw, get up!" Winterpaw mewed to her sleeping friend.
He was curled in a tight ball amoung his nest in the apprentice's den. Or what was left of the apprentice's den after Ratscar attacked.
"Just a little while longer..." Thrushpaw mumbled, covering his face with one paw. Winterpaw shook her head. "No you need to get up now. Today's the day."
Thrushpaw lifted his head and blinked open his eyes. With a yawn he sat up and began to wash his fur. Satisfied with his progress, Winterpaw left the den.
"Is Thrushpaw up yet?" Lionclaw asked when Winterpaw appeared.
"Kind of." She responded. Winterpaw glanced around at the clan. There was a general air of tension. The fresh-kill pile hadn't been touched, except by the two kits; Brushkit and Fernkit. All the warriors were on edge, waiting for the battle. It wasn't supposed to happen until nightfall, so that meant a whole day of anxious waiting. Winterpaw wasn't sure she could stand it.
~~~~~
Windsong rushed back out from behind the boulder and began running across the moor again. Her heart was pounding...and not just because of the running. Every shadow, every windblown bush looked like a rogue coming to attack her. But then she found the real thing.
Surprised by how quickly she had found them, Windsong crouched low in the tall grass.
Two rogues padded by her, chatting about their hunting. They were so absorbed in their conversation they didn't see or scent Windsong crouching two mouselengths from them.
And Windsong was grateful.
When they had passed, she hurried on. She crouched in a shady hiding spot near the edge of the former MistClan camp.
Only a few rogues were about at this time, and that included Ratscar.
He was sitting outside what had once been Lionclaw's den, watching his 'clan' with satisfaction. Windsong took a deep breath. She had taken care to brush against every rogue's marking or leftover fresh-kill she passed. She felt sick from the stench, but at least nocat would smell MistClan on her. She hoped.
She stood and limped theatrically down the slope into the camp. Ratscar looked at her.
All she could do now was hope he wouldn't recognize her as the young apprentice she had been when he left.
~~~~~
"When do we attack again?" Thrushpaw asked for the hundredth time.
"When Windsong leads Ratscar to the stream." Winterpaw reminded him.
"Oh yeah." The brown tom sighed.
They were crouched at the edge of the camp, trying to stomach some fresh-kill.
"What if he doesn't go?" Thrushpaw asked.
"He'll go." Winterpaw meowed. She trusted their plan. They all knew it would work. But there was that persistant nagging doubt in the back of her mind, like a tick behind her ear. It wouldn't stop challenging her idea. What if it doesn't work? What happens then? It challenged. What would happen? Winterpaw hated that question.
~~~~~
Windsong's arrival earned several challenging hisses from the cats around her. Ratscar narrowed his eyes as she approached.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Icesludge challenged.
"Please...I'm hurt...I need to shelter somewhere. I've heard about Ratscar, how he's the most powerful cat around. I was hoping he was willing to take pity on a wounded cat..." Windsong meowed, keeping her head low.
Ratscar stalked over, his ears flat. "She smells of MistClan!" He growled.
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Okay, so this would be REALLY long if I posted the whole thing at once. So instead of one monster chapter, it will be posted as several. So here ya go.

((Look how I worked my catself *windsong* in! Oooh!))

MOREH! GOSSH THIS IS GOOD!

Glad you like it! The next comic page should be up soon...I finally found it! xD

*Update*
The next page is up now! Woo! xD