A half-moon glowed on smooth granite boulders, turning them silver. The silence was broken only by the ripple of water from the swift black river and the whisper of trees in the forest beyond.
There was a stirring in the shadows, and from all around lithe dark shapes crept stealthily over the rocks. Unsheathed swords glinted in the moonlight. Wary eyes flashed like amber. And then, as if on a silent signal, the creatures leaped at each other, and suddenly the rocks were alive with fighting children.
At the center of the frenzy of knives and swords, a massive dark haired boy pinned a bracken-colored hair boy to the ground and lifted his head triumphantly. "Oakheart!" the dark haired boy growled. "How dare you hunt in our territory? The Sunningrocks belong to ThunderClan!"
"After tonight, Tigerclaw, this will be just another RiverClan hunting ground!" The bracken-colored hair boy spat back.
A warning scream came from the shore, shrill and anxious. "Look out! More RiverClan warriors are coming!"
Tigerclaw turned to see sleek, wet bodies walk out of the water below the rocks. The drenched RiverClan warriors bounded silently up the shore and hurled themselves into battle without stopping to shake the water out of their hair.
The dark haired boy glared down at Oakheart. "You may swim like otters, but you and your warriors do not belong in this forest!" He drew both his swords and bared his teeth as the boy struggled beneath him.
The desperate scream of a ThunderClan girl rose above the clamor. A wiry RiverClan boy had pinned the brown haired girl flat on her belly. Now he lunged at her neck, hair still dripping from his swim across the river.
Tigerclaw heard the cry and let go of Oakheart. With a mighty leap, he knocked the enemy warrior away from the girl. "Quick, Mousefur, run!" he ordered, before turning on the RiverClan boy who had threatened her. Mousefur scrambled to her feet, wincing from a deep gash on her shoulder, and raced away.
Behind her, Tigerclaw spat with rage as the RiverClan tom punched his nose. Blood poured down his face. Tigerclaw lunged forward with both swords in hand, and hit the thigh of his enemy. The RiverClan boy squealed and struggled away.
"Tigerclaw!" The yell came from a warrior with hair as red as fox fur. "This is useless! There are too many RiverClan warriors!"
"No Redtail. ThunderClan will never be beaten!" Tigerclaw yelled back, leaping to Redtail's side. "This is our territory!" Blood was welling around his black eye, and he shook his head impatiently, scattering scarlet drops onto the rocks. "ThunderClan will honor your courage, Tigerclaw, but we cannot afford to lose any more of our warriors," Redtail urged. "Bluestar would never expect her warriors to fight against these impossible odds. We will have another chance to avenge this defeat." He met Tigerclaw's amber-eyed gaze steadily, then reared away and sprang onto a boulder at the edge of the trees.
"Retreat, ThunderClan! Retreat!" he yelled. At once his warriors squirmed and struggled away from their opponents. Spitting and snarling, they ran back to Redtail. For a heartbeat, the RiverClan warriors looked confused. Was this battle so easily won? Then Oakheart let out a jubilant cry. As soon as they heard him, the RiverClan warriors raised their voices and joined their deputy in caterwauling their victory.
Redtail looked down at his warriors. With a wave of his hand, he gave the signal and the ThunderClan children dived down far side of the Sunningrocks, then disappeared into the trees.
Tigerclaw followed last. He hesitated at the edge of the forest and glanced back at the bloodstained battlefield. His face was grim, pupils tiny furious dots in his eyes. Then he leaped after his Clan into the silent forest.
In a deserted clearing, and older, blue haired girl sat alone, staring up at the clear night sky. All around her in the shadows she could hear the breathing and stirring of sleeping kids.
A small black and brown haired girl emerged from a dark corner, her footsteps quick and soundless.
The blue haired girl waved in greeting. "How is Mousefur?" she asked.
"Her wounds are deep, Bluestar," answered the smaller girl, settling herself on the night-cool grass. "But she is young and strong; she will heal quickly."
"And the others?"
"They will all recover, too."
Bluestar sighed. "We are lucky not to have lost any of our warriors this time. You are a gifted medic, Spottedleaf." She tilted her head again and studied the stars. "I am deeply troubled by tonight's defeat. ThunderClan has not been beaten in its own territory since I became leader," she murmured. "These are difficult times for our Clan. The season of newleaf is late, and there have been fewer new arrivals. ThunderClan needs more warriors if it is to survive."
"But the year is only just beginning," Spottedleaf pointed out calmly. "There will be more arrivals when greenleaf comes."
The older kid slouched down. "Perhaps. But training children to become warriors takes time. If ThunderClan is to defend its territory, we must have new warriors as soon as possible."
"Are you asking StarClan for answers?" asked Spottedleaf gently, following Bluestar's gaze and staring up at the swath of stars glittering in the dark sky.
"It is at times like these we need the words of ancient warriors to help us. Has StarClan spoken to you?" Bluestar asked.
"Not for some moons, Bluestar."
Suddenly, a shooting star blazed over the treetops. Spottedleaf stiffened. Bluestar raised an eyebrow but she remained silent as Spottedleaf continued to gaze upward.
After a few moments, Spottedleaf lowered her head and turned to Bluestar. "It was a message from StarClan," she murmured. A distant look came into her eyes. "Fire alone can save our Clan."
"Fire?" Bluestar echoed. "But fire is feared by all the Clans! How can it save us?"
Spottedleaf shook her head. "I do not know," she admitted. "But this is the message StarCLan chose to share with me."
The ThunderClan leader fixed her clear blue eyes on the medic. "You have never been wrong before, Spottedleaf," she said. "If StarClan has spoken, then it must be so. Fire will save our Clan."