Green-leaf was a pleasant time; warm, cozy nights, plentiful food, and no remaining evidence of the cold, desperate months that had come before. Briarpaw had always favored the season, and was happy that her birthday was within this time. Her brothers didn't seem to have the same views, not loving green-leaf any more than the next neko, but Briarpaw figured that boys couldn't grasp the full beauty of the warm season as well as girls.

She was alone, strolling around WindClan's open territory. Permission wasn't really necessary, since she had already done her share of hunting and caring for Dawnfur, as the aging woman had achy joints. Lionclaw surely wouldn't mind, though she knew that she'd still get a scolding when she returned.

Grinning, she decided that that wouldn't be too bad and kept walking. She was nearing ThunderClan territory now. It was like a shadow falling over WindClan. That dense forest with a scent so different from the territory she knew so well. She could see into the land, which was only thanks to dapples of sunlight that breeched through the leaves of the trees. Briarpaw shuddered, wondering how anyone could live in the shadows of the forest. When she was still a kit, Briarpaw could remember Silvermoon saying that the forest-dwelling clans were cowardly, needing trees to escape from enemies and hiding from StarClan's watchful eyes.

Briarpaw froze upon spotting a duck in the stream that bordered WindClan and ThunderClan. It was oblivious to the fact that it was being watched, preening its brown feathers contentedly. Briarpaw brightened, realizing that this was a great chance to get an excuse for being out of camp. Sure, she'd done enough hunting for the day, but a little more wouldn't be questioned, right?

Quietly, she remembered everything that Lionclaw had taught her about hunting in the five years that he's been her mentor. She lowered her tail, careful to keep it from brushing against the grass too much. The wind was blowing towards her, which didn't really matter, since ducks didn't have a good sense of smell. Briarpaw lowered her body, grateful for the grass that had grown long and tall, allowing her to blend in perfectly. Going over a check list in her head, she began to move forward.

By the time that she was close enough, the duck shook itself and started to move towards the forest at a leisurely pace. Briarpaw held her breath. She'd have to make her move before the duck got onto ThunderClan land and became their prey. Waiting until the duck had turned away completely, Briarpaw leaped from the grass and into the stream, urging her body forward in order to land on the bird before it could fly off.

She landed on nothing but water.

Had it flown away faster than she'd anticipated? The sound of panicked quacking told her different and Briarpaw sat up in the stream just in time to see the duck's throat being slit. She stared up at the ThunderClan warrior that held what should have been her kill.

"Hey! That was mine!" Briarpaw growled.

Glancing down at her, the man didn't seem very concerned, "I got to it first. It was in the stream, so it was fair game."

"I was stalking it!" Briarpaw shouted, standing up in the stream. The man was obviously older than her, and much taller. She wasn't intimidated in spite of this, however, and held her ground as the man glared at her.

"I caught it," he countered. His tone was cool, but Briarpaw could see his grip on the duck's neck tighten as his patience was being tested. This made her courage waver a bit, much to her irritation. Her subtle fear was warranted, as he was a large male with more experience than her.

Briarpaw mentally slapped herself before moving closer to him, climbing the steep bank until she was eye-level with his chest, careful not to step out of the stream completely and end up on ThunderClan turf. She looked up at him bravely, "That was mine and you know it. I'll let it go for now, but it won't be the same if this happens again."

At this, the ThunderClan warrior's eyes shined with amusement, "You're letting me go? That's some big talk for an apprentice."

Briarpaw's temper flared, "I'm nearly a warrior!"

"You're awfully small," the man commented, "But I guess you WindClanners aren't known for size."

Now, Briarpaw wasn't known for being short on temper. In fact, she was normally very mellow and friendly. But StarClan's kits, this man was infuriating! Before she could realize what she was doing, Briarpaw moved quickly and leaped at him, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him down with her feet, planting them on his stomach. A satisfying gasp of surpriseexited the man's lips as he began to fall backwards. What Briarpaw wasn't counting on, however, was a strong arm being wrapped around her and she fell with him, slamming her cheek against his chest once they hit the ground.

A growl vibrated through her, effectively striking fear into her mind as the rumble emitted from deep in the warrior's throat. In a flash, the man had flipped their positions and pinned her down; his hands, larger than her own, forcing his weight down on her shoulders painfully. He glared at her from above, his dark, orange-amber eyes sharp with anger.

"That hurt," he growled. His lips twitched, flashing his white fangs repeatedly, as if he was deciding whether or not to sink them into Briarpaw's throat. He pressed his hands down a bit harder, growling a bit louder, and Briarpaw clenched her eyes shut as she prepared to die. Why had she let her temper get the best of her? Now she'd be killed because of her stupid anger and she didn't even want to think about what her clanmates would say when they found out. She held her breath and waited.

Just as suddenly as she'd been pinned, Briarpaw felt the weight being lifted off of her. She waited a few heartbeats, wondering if it would come back. Was he toying with her? Did he want her to look at him while he killed her?

"Open your eyes," the warrior growled, sounding as if he were a tail-length or two away.

Briarpaw obeyed, surprised to see that he wasn't above her any longer. She sat up quickly, looking around and spotting him a good three feet away. His chest was heaving and his eyes were burning with remaining anger. However, he did seem to have calmed himself down a bit, much to her relief. Still, this situation was dangerous. She was on ThunderClan land now, something she had done on her own, and he had every right to drag her to his camp and do whatever it was ThunderClan warriors did with trespassers.

The warrior looked away from her, muttering in a stiff voice, "I don't hurt women. Just get up and get out."

That seemed like a great idea at the moment, and Briarpaw found herself doing just that, hurrying back into the stream and onto her own homeland. She was covered in dirt and could feel the sting of a scrape or two, but didn't slow down until she was a good tree-length away. She'd have to clean herself up, but she'd find a different stream or pool of water to do it in. She felt the chill of the breeze sweeping around her wet body, but honestly couldn't care less about catching a cold at the moment.

She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she glanced back. The warrior was only just now walking away, duck in hand. He seemed calmer now that she was gone, but Briarpaw didn't dare test the chance of angering him again. Her shoulders pulsed with pain in reminder of the warrior's strength, and she was certain that they'd have a nasty bruise.

'I don't hurt women', my ass, Briarpaw thought bitterly.


Ravenstrike didn't know what to think of the WindClan female. She had tested his temper far more than anyone else had dared to in the past few months. He hated his new anger, but it had become part of his character, crawling over his heart and mind like a parasite. It was his fault for lending his heart away so carelessly, he could admit that easily.

Even now, his tail twitched with his remaining anger, and he shook his head in an attempt to shake it off. He honestly hoped that he hadn't hurt her too badly, though he knew that she'd have bruises. He wasn't really concerned about the girl telling her clanmates about what happened, as doing so would reveal that she had crossed the border on her own accord. Not that he minded getting punished for hurting the apprentice, he deserved it after all.

Entering camp, he sighed when he saw Bumbleheart hurrying towards him. The woman was lovely, having a voluptuous figure, shining blonde hair, and almond-shaped hazel eyes. Ravenstrike wouldn't deny that he'd enjoyed her company more than once. However, he wasn't quite in the mood for her form of comfort.

"Ravenstrike," she purred, "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you all day, you know. You haven't lain with me for a whole week! How come Dovetail gets so much attention now? Are you bored with me?"

With his irritation rising up at the sound of her whining, Ravenstrike forced himself to remain calm, "Bumbleheart, I'm not in the mood right now."

"Hmph, fine," the woman pouted. But that pout quickly disappeared and she raised her hand up to pat his cheek, "I'll be ready when you are. Just say the words and I'll have you seeing StarClan again and again~."

With that, she walked off towards Darkwater, whom noticed her immediately and tried to escape unsuccessfully. Ravenstrike felt a tinge of pity for the younger man, but turned his attention to the nursery as he saw his brother exiting it. Surely talking to Copperwind would soothe him, or rather, using him as an outlet for his anger.

After dropping off the duck with those on meal-duty, he walked over to his brother at a brisk pace. Copperwind glanced towards him and seemed to get that Ravenstrike wasn't in the best of spirits, saying a few more words to Fennelfur before meeting him halfway. The two made their way to a deserted part of camp, a few fox-lengths from the warriors hut.

"What is it this time? Did one of the apprentices tread on your tail?" Copperwind asked, clearly trying to throw in some humor. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

"No," Ravenstrike growled before lowering his voice, "I had a run-in with a WindClanner."

Copperwind's eyebrows rose, "Oh? Did he taunt you or something?"

"Not a he, it was a she," the younger brother replied, "And she knocked me down after a little hunting dispute."

"Oh, please don't tell me you crossed the border."

"No! Just listen to me, okay?" Ravenstrike snapped. His brother went quiet, waiting for the younger to continue.

"There was a duck in the stream and I caught it. Apparently, she was stalking it and got pissed when I got to it before her," Ravenstrike explained.

"The anger's warranted, but fair's fair," Copperwind commented, his face revealing no bias. He was always good at remaining neutral.

"Anyways, after she knocked me down, I got pissed and flipped us, which meant pinning her," Ravenstrike continued, ignoring the look that he received as he said this, "I let her go, but I'm sure that she'll have bruises."

Seeing as he was finished, Copperwind ran a hand through his golden-brown hair and sighed, shaking his head. He looked up at his brother with the look that a mother might have when she's about to give a scolding, "You'd better hope she doesn't go blabbing to her clanmates, or we might have some trouble on our hands. And by we, I mean you."

"I'm sure she won't, since she's the one that crossed the border in the first place," Ravenstrike assured him, "She may be an apprentice, but I think she's smart enough to know that she'll get some trouble, too."

"An apprentice?!"

Shit. He let that loose on accident. Ravenstrike knew all too well how Copperwind felt about harming those less experienced that him, and knew that his brother wouldn't tolerate such actions from him, either. StarClan, when did the man become such a motherly person?

"Ravenstrike, you need to get a hold on your temper, you know how cocky apprentices can be. You can't let them get the better of you," Copperwind chastised, "But you've also been getting worse and worse with each passing day! What happened to the nice, wouldn't-hurt-a-fly kind of brother I knew?"

Ravenstrike's eyes darkened and he looked away, "You know what happened."

Instantly, Copperwind deflated, moving to rest a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Listen, I know you're hurting, but you can't do this. You can't let her get the satisfaction of seeing you change completely because of just a few words."

"'Just a few words'?", Ravenstrike echoed, "Those few words hurt more than anything else, Copperwind. But you wouldn't get that. After all, you've been mooning over Fennelfur non-stop ever since she became part of the clan."

If Copperwind was angered, he didn't show it, "Ravenstrike, I know you better than StarClan themselves. I know how resilient you can be. You need to get over this. It's been six months!"

"I know."

"Do you?"

Ravenstrike looked back at his brother. There was nothing but concern in those golden eyes. He felt his anger melt away, but the stress still remained. He sighed, lifting his hand to wipe at the back of his neck before responding, "Yes, I know. I'll work on it, okay?"

Copperwind didn't seem happy with the answer, but he took it, "Alright. Now I've promised to get some damson berries for Fennelfur; she's been craving them all afternoon. We'll talk more about this later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

With one last pat on his brother's shoulder, Copperwind walked passed him, heading outside. Ravenstrike watched him, catching sight of Bumbleheart as the woman gossiped with a couple other women. He felt a sudden rush of need flow into his body.

Maybe he could make use of her offer, after all.

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A/N: Badda-bing, badda-boom, there it is. The prologue is now up, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. The first chapter will hopefully be up soon. In the meantime, remember to read and review.

Guys, I am not in need of anymore OCs at the moment, but I will tell you when/if I do need them. So just keep 'em to yourselves for the time being.

Fun-Fact: Out of all the pairings in the Blurred series so far, Ravenstrike and Briarsong are the only ones who haven't known each other their whole lives. They're also the only forbidden couple so far.

Later, my lovelies~!

- Tina