"Up an' attem, you lazy fur balls," Amberpelt prodded a light grey she-cat that was sleeping in a moss and bracken nest. "Dawn patrol! C'mon!"
The grey she-cat moaned wearily as she slowly stretched. "Morning already?" she meowed.
"Yes," Amberpelt replied. "Now hurry up, Mooncloud and Blackpaw 're waiting for us."
"Alright alright," the grey cat mewed. She licked her chest a few times then licked her left paw, which she brushed over her head. "K, I'm ready, let's go."
Amberpelt led the way out of the Warrior's den to where a white she-cat sat with gray stripes waiting beside a young black she-cat with white paws. "There you are."
"Morning, Mooncloud," the grey she-cat said, approaching the other cat. "Hi, Blackpaw."
"Hi," Blackpaw mewed.
"Good morning, Echobound," Mooncloud dipped her head in greeting. "Sleep well?"
"Not long enough," Echobound admitted.
"C'mon, you three," Amberpelt stood at the top of the dip, looking down at the three other cats that made up the patrol, "or we'll be the sunhigh patrol!"
Echobound and Blackpaw bounded up the wall of the dip to meet up with Amberpelt. Mooncloud followed at a more leisurely pace.
"Which way first?" Mooncloud asked.
"Hmm," Amberpelt looked around over the grassy hills of WindClan. "That way," she pointed North with her tail. "I smell rabbits. And the wind is blowing that way," she pointed in the opposite direction, "so we'll be down wind if we go that way. Easy prey and we can sneak up on any trespassers."
"Sounds good to me," said Blackpaw.
The three cats set off over the hills to patrol the borders of their territory. They began by heading straight to the stream that marked the border with ThunderClan and followed it north.
"Hold on," Amberpelt stopped suddenly.
"What?" Mooncloud asked.
"That scent," Amberpelt replied, "I've smelled it before, right around here. It's a cat for sure, but not ThunderClan, and definitely not WindClan."
Echobound opened her mouth to draw in air over her scent glands. "I smell it too, it's fresh. The cat can't be too far."
Amberpelt nodded. "Just what I had hoped."
"Why are you so interested in finding this cat?" Mooncloud asked. "It's probably just a rouge."
"Whoever it is it lives here," Amberpelt said. "I've scented it countless times around here, but it's always been stale."
"Why didn't you follow it?" Blackpaw tilted her head in question.
"Have you got bees in your brain?" Amberpelt asked. "It's just along the border, and if it's a rouge, it has no respect for the borders and probably goes in and out of our territory whenever it pleases. Besides, I'm the deputy, I can't just leave camp to search for a rouge cat."
"So, for all we know, it could be ThunderClan's problem," Mooncloud mused. "Why even bother?"
"It's both our problems," Amberpelt said. "And the scent is fresh and it's along the way, we might as well look into it." Without waiting for a reply, she led her patrol along the river, her jaws parted to scent the air.
"A rouge!" Blackpaw thought aloud, "I can't wait to tear the fur off that trespasser!"
"There's no reason to fight," said Echobound. "We'll just have to-"
"Shhhh," Amberpelt hissed. "There it is." She stopped abruptly and pointed with her tail to a small light gray tabby drinking at the stream on the WindClan side.
"That's it?" Blackpaw asked. "It's only the size of an apprentice! Lemme take it!"
"Hush!" Mooncloud hissed.
The tabby looked up, apparently having heard the cats whispering. "Hi," she said, "who're you?"
"I'm Amberpelt," Amberpelt stepped forward.
"That's a weird name!" the tabby laughed. "Why is it so long? Why not just call yourself 'Amber'?"
"It's a clan name!" Blackpaw spat. "Just plain 'Amber' 's not a clan name!"
"Clan?" the tabby tilted her head.
"Yes," Amberpelt said, "we are part of a clan of cats. We all look out for each other and hunt for each other and, if necessary, fight for each other."
"So you're like a big family!" the she-cat said.
"You could say that, yea," Echobound replied.
"Do you have a family?" Mooncloud asked. "You're a little young to be on your own."
"I got a mommy," the tabby replied.
"Where is she?" Amberpelt asked.
"Um…." the she-cat looked at her paws as they nervously shuffled together. "I don't know."
"Aww, you're lost," Echobound said, sympathetically.
"I'm not lost," the tabby perked up. "I live over there." She pointed downstream with her tail.
"This is pointless," Blackpaw groaned. "Let's get moving. We found your rouge, let's chase her off and be done with it."
"I'm not going anywhere!" the tabby spat, preparing to pounce, her tail twitching with aggravation.
"No one's fighting anyone," Mooncloud stepped between the two young cats. "Little one, what is your name?"
"Name?" the tabby echoed. "Um….my mommy calls me Angel."
"Angel, then," Mooncloud said, "you can't stay here, you're on WindClan territory."
"Oh," Angel stood upright with a bit of a hop with surprise. "Well…where does WindClan territory end?"
"On the other side of the stream," said Echobound, "but that's ThunderClan territory."
"What about the pool up there?" Angel pointed downstream again with her tail.
"That's the Moonpool," Amberpelt replied. "It is a sacred place that doesn't belong to any clan."
"Oh, good," Angel sounded relieved. "Then I don't have to go anywhere."
"Wait, you live at the Moonpool?" Amberpelt asked.
"I…is that bad?" Angel sunk low to the ground in embarrassment.
"You can't live there either," Mooncloud said. "It is sacred."
"Wh…what's sarakeded?" Angel asked.
"Say-cred," Echobound sounded it out for her. "It means special. The Moonpool is where our leaders and medicine cats go to consult our warrior ancestors."
Angel stood silently for a moment. "Huh?" She finally asked, tilting her head and screwing up her face to show she did not understand.
"She's got bees in her brain," Blackpaw groaned. "It's no use talking to her! Let's go! We've got more borders to patrol!"
"You're the one with bees in your brain!" Angel retorted. "I can hear them buzzing from over here!"
"Say that again!" Blackpaw growled. She bunched up her hind legs, poised to strike, with her claws unsheathed.
"Blackpaw, stop!" Mooncloud snapped, commandingly, standing over the apprentice and glaring down at her with all the hostility of a mother scolding a misbehaving kit.
Blackpaw backed away, stood up straight and sheathed her claws. She looked down and to the side in shame at being reprimanded.
"Ha!" Angel laughed. "You back down like a comfy kit!"
"A what?" Echobound tilted her head at the name.
"Mommy told me about cats who live in these big pointy dens!" Angel said, her eyes wide with wonder. "It's full of soft comfy things that the cats sleep on. And they always have food in little dips in the floor. But the food's all dry and yucky."
"Kittypets," Amberpelt corrected her.
"Huh?" Angel turned to her.
"Kittypets," Amberpelt repeated. "The cats you're talking about, living with Twolegs, they're Kittypets."
"Twolegs?" Angel tilted her head. "Only thing on two legs I know are birds. Oh, and the Tallups."
"My guess, that's her name for Twolegs," Mooncloud murmured.
"Mouse-brain," Blackpaw spat under her breath. "This is such a waste of time!"
"If you're so eager to patrol," Mooncloud spat, "go back to camp and get another patrol to do it! Amberpelt is the leader of this patrol and we're not moving until she says we can!"
"Leader?" Angel asked. "Wow! You're the leader! That's great! It must be so fun to lead a clan!"
"Oh, no, I'm not the leader," Amberpelt said, "Stormstar is. I'm just the deputy."
"Huh?" Angel asked. "Who? You're what?"
Amberpelt tried not to betray her amusement at the young cat's confusion. "There's a lot to learn about Clan life, and honestly, as a rouge, you don't need to know it. We have things to do now, so we'll be on our way."
"Wait!" Angel hopped after them as they turned to leave. "What about the Moonpool? And your territory? And ThunderClan? Where can I live?"
"You don't," Blackpaw spat.
Angel shot her a defiant glare and unsheathed her claws. Echobound's voice turned her attention back to the older cats.
"The warrior code-those are the rules all Clans live by-doesn't specify where rouges live," Echobound explained. "They're outside the code."
"So I don't have to worry then," Angel said. "I can live wherever I want because I have no code!"
Mooncloud shook her head. "Rouges are outside the code, but they are not above the code. You can not be expected to obey what you don't know, but it's still there. If you're caught on other Clan's territories, they will chase you off."
"But you didn't," Angel pointed out. "What if I just stay here on the WindClan side. ThunderClan doesn't care about that, right? And it's not like you guys need all the land up here."
"You can stay, but you'll starve," Blackpaw mewed bitterly, drawing Angel's attention again. "All the prey in WindClan territory is WindClan's. If you eat it, you're stealing."
Angel narrowed her eyes in annoyance, but suddenly shot upright, still and listening. Her ears swiveled this way and that.
Amberpelt, along with the other cats in the patrol, attempted to hear what she had heard. Even Blackpaw was silently alert.
There came a very faint rustle that none of the cats would have heard had they not been trying so hard. Almost before Amberpelt heard it, Angel tore off like she had a dog's vicious teeth only inches from the scruff of her neck.
The four WindClan cats sprinted to keep her in sight. She was determined, and running towards the sound. Suddenly the scent hit Amberpelt, as if she had just run through an invisible wall of it, rabbit!
Moments later, a small brown form streaked across the open hillside. Angel was only a mouse-length behind it, matching its strides step for step. The two seemed and even match.
Amberpelt stopped and watched them run. The rest of the patrol stopped behind her.
"Wow, she's fast," Echobound mewed.
"Almost like a WindClan cat herself," Mooncloud agreed.
"Big deal," Blackpaw spat, "I can catch a rabbit! Any apprentice can!"
"Without being taught how first?" Echobound asked with a triumphant smirk.
Blackpaw remained silent.
The rabbit turned, and Angel turned tighter, closing the gap between them. It darted past the patrol and towards the stream. Before anyone could make a move to stop her, Angel had chased the rabbit into ThunderClan territory and had disappeared into the forest.
"Angel!" Amberpelt cried, taking a leap forward. She feared the worst if a ThunderClan patrol were nearby.
"Yea?" Angel poked her head out of the undergrowth of the ThunderClan forests.
"What happened to the rabbit?" Echobound asked.
"Ha! It escaped!" Blackpaw was ecstatic about the possibility.
"What're you talking about?" Angel asked, turning back into the undergrowth. "It's right here." She came out, tail first, dragging the limp body of the rabbit in her jaws.
"You got it?" Amberpelt was surprised, even after seeing the rouge's speed and agility. Few cats could catch a rabbit when it was in full run, most had to sneak up at least half way.
"Yea," Angel replied, dropping the rabbit at the WindClan deputy's paws. "I had to end it quick since you said I couldn't go in there."
"End it quick?" Mooncloud asked. "You sound as though you could've caught that rabbit any time you wanted."
"Yea," Angel said simply. "I coulda just snuck up on it in the first place and killed it quick, but what fun would that be?"
Echobound looked at Amberpelt with a knowing smile. Amberpelt returned it, as if an exchange of ideas had taken place without words.
"Why don't you bring that to the WindClan camp," Amberpelt said, "and then we can talk to Stormstar about your future….with the clan."
Angel's eyes got so big and bright, it seemed they would burst out of their sockets. Beside her, Blackpaw's jaw dropped, and she looked stiff enough to tip over.