A dark-furred tom padded across the flat, grassy moor, his single white paw easily noticeable among the earthly colors of the ground. He padded forward, dropping into a low, unskillful crouch as he spotted a small hare a few tail-lengths away. He bunched his muscles, ready to leap onto the small creature, but his paw slipped a little, alerting his prey, causing it to bound away, large ears flat.

"Mouse-dung!" he cursed angrily, as a golden, unusually spotted, tabby she-cat padded towards him, a sympathetic look in her amber gaze as it met his blue one.

"It's no good, Whiteclaw," she mewed. "WindClan territory does not suit RiverClan cats."

"But we can't let the clan starve, Leopardfur!" the tom called Whiteclaw retorted, his long claws digging into the soft ground. "Leaf-bare is almost here, and the river will freeze over. The fish won't be enough for us, and now, Bluestar wants WindClan back, so we will starve!"

"You're quite right, Whiteclaw," a beautiful silver tabby she-cat mews. "But it can't be the will of StarClan for one clan to die out from starvation." A small, dark gray she-cat pads to Leopardfur's side, accompanied by a thick-furred, fluffy, pale gray tom with a torn ear.

"Stonefur, we won't let the clan starve, will we?" the small she-cat asked.

"Of course we won't," Stonefur replied, though the hesitation and uncertainty in his voice told his apprentice otherwise.

"RiverClan will make it through this leaf-bare," Leopardfur promised; she was the deputy, an outstandingly intelligent and courageous she-cat. Whiteclaw felt that Crookedstar, the leader, had chosen well when he named the golden, spotted tabby as his deputy. "But for now, let's go back to our territory. Shadepaw, take your rabbit with you."

The small she-cat seemed to glow with pride as she picked up the scrawny hare she had caught; it was the only thing any cat had caught on this patrol.

Whiteclaw shook out his dark fur as he padded across the faint scent marking that used to be the border between RiverClan and WindClan, or, what was left of it. Brokenstar had driven WindClan out of their home, but now, he himself had been driven out of the clans with his followers, and were living in exile. Thus, ThunderClan thought it right to send two cats, Fireheart and Graystripe, to bring WindClan home.

Which would weaken RiverClan, as they were trying to feed their clan with some of WindClan's prey.

Whiteclaw breathed out a sigh as he felt his paws touch the softer, damper ground of his own territory. WindClan was too open for his liking, and he would anyday prefer to be in his own reed nest in the warriors' den.

Leopardfur flicked her tail for them to follow. "We're near the ThunderClan border, so let's check that as well?"

Whiteclaw dipped his head to his former mentor. Silverstream fell in beside him as Stonefur and Shadepaw padded ahead with Leopardstar. Whiteclaw's voice was teasing as he turned to the beautiful silver tabby and padded alongside the gorge. "So, has any special tom caught your eye?"

Silverstream purred in amusement and flicked her tail under Whiteclaw's nose. "Of course not. You?" She froze for a heartbeat as Whiteclaw's blue eyes clouded over in loss and pain. "I mean, uh, never mind."

Whiteclaw was remembering Rainnose, a pretty silver-white she-cat with clear amber eyes. She had died a young warrior, the very day that she had confessed her love for Whiteclaw to him. And he had returned her love heartbeats before she died in a battle. "Doesn't matter," Whiteclaw mumbled, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could.

"No, I'm sorry." Silverstream laid her tail across his shoulders, then pulled away as they padded toward the ThunderClan border, that was just beyond a small stream and a clump of reeds.

Whiteclaw shrugged and picked up a new scent. "Loudbelly? Why are you here?"

"I was hunting," the dark brown tom mewed. "Then I found you... where are you going?"

"We're patrolling the ThunderClan border," Silverstream mewed.

But what was the ThunderClan scent so near the gorge? Whiteclaw broke away from Silverstream to sniff the area near the gorge, his ears pricked in alarm. "Leopardfur! ThunderClan is in our territory!"

Leopardfur nodded, sniffing the air. "But... is that WindClan with them?"

The RiverClan patrol's eyes widened as they spotted a group of cats heading alongside the gorge, toward ThunderClan territory. Whiteclaw recognized Fireheart and Graystripe, as well as the WindClan deputy Deadfoot. And there was a fourth he didn't quite recognize. But what were they doing here?

"Fireheart, Deadfoot, Graystripe, Onewhisker." Leopardfur's mew was cold. "Why are you in RiverClan territory?"

Fireheart, a flaming ginger tom, looked uncomfortable. "We brought WindClan back, and we wish to travel back to our clan. Deadfoot is escorting us."

"Still, you could have gone the other way," Leopardfur retorted, in a low growl. "You're tresspassing." With a yowl, she hurtled toward them, screeching a signal that was a threat in any language. She rammed into Deadfoot, bowling him over, and heartbeats later, Whiteclaw felt himself stumble as the light mottled tabby, Onewhisker, sprang onto him.

Whiteclaw let out a hiss and rolled over, and out of the corner of his eye, saw Loudbelly wrestling with Fireheart.

Onewhisker screeched as Whiteclaw clawed his ears, then his flanks, taking a shallow blow to his chest. Whiteclaw bit Onewhisker's tail and spat as the WindClan warrior sprang to his paws and turned away.

And then, there was a series of yowls. Looking up, he spotted the ThunderClan cats, Tigerclaw, Whitestorm, and Sandpaw, bounding toward them. Now, we're outnumbered, he realized, panicking a little, as Tigerclaw bounded toward him. Whiteclaw dodged as the massive dark brown tabby sprang, but the ThunderClan deputy didn't miss the top of his ear.

Whiteclaw yowled and scrabbled at Tigerclaw's belly with his hind claws, but the ThunderClan warrior was older and larger, as well as more experienced. Tigerclaw scored deep claw-marks on his flanks and belly, making Whiteclaw wince in pain. As the ThunderClan tom bit down on his tail, he jumped to his paws and raced away from Tigerclaw, though not away from the battle.

Whiteclaw gasped as he spotted Shadepaw rolling past him, locked in battle with Sandpaw. But for a few long heartbeats, he could do nothing as the two apprentices rolled toward the gorge.

Then he sprang toward them in long strides, but Fireheart, breaking away from Loudbelly, was faster. The ginger tom raced toward them, sending them rolling in the opposite direction with one long swipe. Whiteclaw watched as the pale ginger apprentice, Sandpaw, spat something at Fireheart before disappearing into the thick of battle.

And then, Graystripe slammed into him.

Whiteclaw swiped at him, but missed as Graystripe ducked. The thick-furred gray tom pinned him to the ground, but sprang off as Whiteclaw scored his claws across Graystripe's face. The two of them rolled, locked in battle, as Whiteclaw met Graystripe's swipes with his.

And then, the ground disappeared from under his paws.

The next thing he knew, Graystripe's blue eyes had widened, and the ThunderClan tom was bending toward him as he scrabbled for a stronger pawhold on the solid ground above him. Graystripe's jaws tried to fasten on his paw, but not in time.

Whiteclaw's paws broke off, and he heard Leopardfur's yowl. "Whiteclaw! No!"

And then, he felt himself falling down into blackness.