Chapter 2

First off, I want to thank Ivystorm of Twinkle Legacys and Flamestar00for reviewing! Also, Flamestar00 has started a new story called Unmasked, which contains Stormwind, from the last chapter. Everyone should check it out! If you don't want to search for it, I have started a section at the bottom of my profile that links to stories others have written using my characters, since does not allow users to link inside stories, and you can find Unmasked there. :)

Secondly, Ivystorm of Twinkle Legacys brought up a concern that I might try to take credit anytime I see a story with a cat with the same name as one of these OCs, so I just wanted to assure everyone that that will not be the case. I know perfectly well how easy it is for many different people to come up with the same names completely independently of each other, especially with the naming convention Warriors has. Don't worry, I'm not going to try to police anyone's names. ;)


It's really relaxing to write this, I don't have to worry about plot or continuity, haha. We're in WindClan this time, picking up where Intruders left off. Here's a refresher on the RULES:

1. Drop me a review or pm if you decide to use one or more of my cats! This is just so I can keep track of where they're going, and so I can quickly stalk you and review the story when you publish it.

2. Give me some credit. I don't need you to do any skywriting, just put a line in your Allegiances notes that say "Scorchwillow and Dusktail by Spiderweave!" or something like that. Or I guess if you take a lot you could just say "Some/Many cats by Spiderweave."

That's it. Simple. Now on to the story.


Scarcity: Intruders Arc

Gorsebloom streaked away over the moor, cursing under her breath, the claw marks in her muzzle stinging sharply in the cool wind. Rushbreeze slowed to let Gorsebloom catch up once they were far enough from the border to realize the ThunderClan cats wouldn't give chase into WindClan territory.

"Are you okay?" Rushbreeze mewed.

"I'm fine," Gorsebloom dismissed irritably. "Peatstar will be disappointed."

"It's not like we could have hunted very often in ThunderClan territory, anyways," Rushbreeze shrugged. "Hopefully Skypelt and Littlestorm have had more success."

"And hopefully Silverflame and Muddyclaw haven't been squashed by the horses," Gorsebloom said darkly.

Rushbreeze sighed. "Come on, let's just get back to camp."

Peatstar was pacing back and forth in the middle of camp as Gorsebloom and Rushbreeze jogged in. He looked up hopefully, his face falling at their empty jaws.

"Nothing?" Peatstar sighed.

Rushbreeze shook his head. "We caught a couple of things, but a ThunderClan patrol attacked us right as we were about to leave and we lost the fresh-kill."

"I should have known better than to send anyone into another Clan's territory," Peatstar said quietly.

"You're right," Gorsebloom grumbled to herself. Rushbreeze cast her a sharp look before looking back to Peatstar.

"Have any of the other patrols returned yet?"

"No," Peatstar shook her head. "Take some fresh-kill, you have earned it. And Gorsebloom, make sure Embertail takes a look at your scratches."

Gorsebloom nodded and turned towards the pitiful fresh-kill pile. She grabbed a large field mouse. "Wanna share?" she mumbled through her mouthful to Rushbreeze. He nodded, and they sat down to pick at the mouse together, trying to make it last longer.


Skypelt picked his way carefully through the unfamiliar territory beyond the WindClan border.

"Hurry up," Littlestorm hissed, twitching her tail irritably.

"Excuse me for not wanting to go charging blindly through unknown turf," Skypelt snapped, his tail swishing in annoyance. Littlestorm was getting on his last nerve.

Littlestorm made a rude noise. "I don't know why Peatstar left me stuck with you, I would have much rather had Muddyclaw."

"And you both would have gotten yourselves killed out here running headlong into whatever danger you might have found!"

"You're just jealous because Muddyclaw isn't a mouse-heart." Littlestorm left the "like you" unsaid, but she implied it loud and clear.

Skypelt growled, barely able to keep himself from leaping on Littlestorm, claws out. "Let's go back to not talking to eachother. That was working out much better."

"If you insist, charmer," Littlestorm sneered, flicking her tail sarcastically.

Skypelt bit down on his anger and focused on their mission. The Clan wouldn't feed itself while they were out here bickering.

Littlestorm kept on grumbling to herself as they jogged on, looking for someplace that smelled welcoming and prey-rich. The day wore on until they came to the sparse beginnings of a forest. "Let's try stopping here," Littlestorm suggested.

"I agree," Skypelt nodded. "We won't be successful if we go into this forest. Try not to get too separated, we don't know if there are rogues here."

"I know, I know," Littlestorm muttered, mouth open to catch prey-scents. She kept to the outskirts of the forest, where the grass was just long enough to cover her, pacing along until the taste of vole hit the roof of her mouth strongly. Littlestorm crept forward until she spotted the creature, then took off. The vole fled, but Littlestorm was too fast, snaring the vole and giving it a killing bite after a short chase. Her stomach growled as she buried the vole. She gave it a longing glance before heaping earth over the fresh-kill. If she caught enough, she promised herself, she would eat the vole before they headed back to camp.

Skypelt retraced his steps a little while, until he was completely out of the shadow of the trees and the grass was tall enough to conceal his frame. Now that he stopped long enough to get a good noseful of the place, he could tell this meadow was full of mice. He could hear their faint squeaking and rustling through the sound of the wind in the grass. Skypelt located a mouse by scent, sliding carefully towards it. When the mouse looked up in alarm, Skypelt sprang forwards, catching up to the mouse in a few bounds. It wasn't very big, he noted as he buried it, but if he could catch enough of them, that wouldn't matter. He turned and zeroed in on his next target.


Muddyclaw and Silverflame crouched together at the fence of the horseplace, watching the huge animals with trepidation.

"They're so fast," Silverflame mewed softly. "We can't just make a break for it, they'd trample us for sure."

Muddyclaw shook his head. "No, we'll have to go slowly and hope they don't decide to attack."

"Are you sure we can't get in on the other side?"

"Yes, Silverflame, we've already checked twice. The holes are too high to reach."

Silverflame made an unhappy sound.

"I'll go first." Muddyclaw crossed under the fence. "Keep on my tail."

Silverflame followed, tail twitching anxiously. Muddyclaw lead the way slowly but steadily across the horseplace. The horses watched from atop their tall legs, but they made no move towards the two cats as they slipped through the open door into the barn. Silverflame gave a sigh of relief as they entered.

"There now," Muddyclaw flicked Silverflame's flank with his tail, "that wasn't so bad."

"Not for you," Silverflame said ruefully. "This is the part I'm good at." She perked her ears and parted her jaws to search for prey. "There doesn't seem to be a whole lot here."

Muddyclaw let out his breath in a rush. "I was thinking the same thing."

Both cats snapped to attention as somecat called out from above them. "Hello?" Moe's mousy ears perked up from a pile of hay on a ledge above the barn floor. Silverflame tried to make herself small while Muddyclaw stepped forward.

"Hello, Moe, how is the prey running?"

"Prey is scarce," Moe shook himself, sending dust and hay flying out in a cloud around him. "Is that why you're here? Your Clan is hungry, so you're looking to expand your territory?"

"Er…" Silverflame trailed off uncertainly.

Muddyclaw studied Moe for a moment before deciding to simply be honest. If prey was as scarce here as it smelled, it wouldn't help them to hunt here anyways. "Yes, that is why we came." Muddyclaw took another step forward, letting Silverflame huddle in his shadow.

Moe leaped down from his ledge, striding forwards until he was nose to nose with Muddyclaw and towering over him, Moe's fur bristling. "And now that you're here?" Moe challenged.

"We see that your prey is as scarce as ours," Muddyclaw mewed, his voice even. "It will do us no good to make you starve alongside of us."

"Good." Moe stepped back to a more companionable distance, his fur slowly flattening. "I would have fought you every time you came."

"We had hoped to offer you the run of our territory in new-leaf as repayment. We are not thieves," Muddyclaw said confidently, internally wincing as he thought of Gorsebloom and Rushbreeze hunting in ThunderClan territory.

"I might have accepted had I anything to share," Moe allowed, "but I think I will barely make it through this leaf-bare on my own. I do not envy your task of feeding an entire Clan."

"We will do what we must," Muddyclaw said vaguely.

"I wish you luck." Moe swished his tail dismissively.

Muddyclaw nodded before turning. "Come on, Silverflame. There's nothing for us here."

Silverflame stuck to Muddyclaw like a burr as they crept across the horseplace again.

"That was useless," Silverflame sighed once they were back on the WindClan side of the fence again.

"Tell me about it," Muddyclaw replied glumly.

"Barely any time has passed, do you think we could try somewhere else?"

"Well," Muddyclaw glanced over his shoulder. "We could try on the other side of the thunderpath."

Silverflame followed Muddyclaw's gaze to the stretch of grass sitting innocuously on the other side of the dangerous strip of flat, gray rock. Silverflame's tail twitched. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"If Skypelt and Littlestorm don't have any luck, then the whole Clan will go hungry tonight, and we'll probably have to search it out tomorrow anyways," Muddyclaw reasoned. "It's better to do it now and save time. Come on, there aren't that many monsters. We just have to be a little careful." Muddyclaw set off towards the thunderpath, determined, while Silverflame trailed reluctantly after him.

"Muddyclaw, I don't know about this. The thunderpath is really dangerous!"

"It's only dangerous when there are monsters on it," Muddyclaw dismissed. "I'll let you decide when we go, if you like."

Silverflame lashed her tail. "You can't blame me if you get attacked by a monster."

"Of course not."

"And I will blame you if I get attacked by one!"

"If you like," Muddyclaw agreed magnanimously. "Shall we get on with it?"

Silverflame groaned as they crouched next to the thunderpath, peering up and down it's length and listening intently. "Alright, go!" she yowled after a drawn out moment, sprinting across the thunderpath as fast as she could. She collapsed once she was safely on the other side, panting.

"See?" Muddyclaw mewed, standing next to her. "It wasn't that bad after all."

"For you," Silverflame gasped.

Muddyclaw tisked before walking farther out into the field. "Let's see what we can find."

Silverflame fanned out from Muddyclaw so they'd have a better chance of both of them catching something. It took a while, but they managed to catch one rabbit, three mice, and a vole between them.

"I don't think we'll be able to carry much more," Muddyclaw said as he dropped the last mouse into the pile.

"You're right. It's a pretty good haul."

"Better hunting than anywhere in our territory right now."

"I don't know if it'll stay that way if we start hunting here regularly, but it'll be worth a few return trips, at least. It might be better if it dries up, though, it would be easy for somecat to get careless while crossing the thunderpath." Silverflame cast an anxious look back towards WindClan territory, dreading crossing the thunderpath weighted down with all of their prey.

"You're right," Muddyclaw frowned. "None of the apprentices should be allowed to hunt here, it's too dangerous for them."

"Oh, imagine how terrible that could be!" Silverflame shook her head to rid it of images of young cats flattened by monsters.

"Let's get going." Muddyclaw cast a glance towards the sun, which had started sliding down the sky.

"I can take the rabbit," Silverflame said, mindful that her longer legs would allow her to carry the bigger prey more easily. "Do you think you can get everything else?"

"Sure." Muddyclaw arranged the mice and the vole so the he could pick them all up at once by their tails. He lead the way back towards the thunderpath while Silverflame grabbed the rabbit and hurried to follow him.

Muddyclaw set his fresh-kill down when they reached the thunderpath. "I'm afraid I might drop some if I run with all of them. I think I'll cross twice."

"Maybe I could carry some for you?" Silverflame set the rabbit down beside the others. "I don't think we should cross any more than we have to."

Muddyclaw shook his head. "I'll be fine. Why don't I carry the rabbit across, and you can take two of the mice? Then I'll come back by myself to get the last two."

"I can keep on carrying the rabbit, it's fine."

"No, I think I should take it. It'll slow down whoever has to carry it, and it was my idea to come over here in the first place."

"It'll slow you down more than me! I'm not going to let you get killed or injured on my watch!"

Muddyclaw huffed while Silverflame bristled. "Besides," Silverflame continued, "you're going to be crossing twice, you don't need to raise your risk any more than you already have."

"Alright, fine," Muddyclaw grumbled. "You can take the-"

"Get back!" Silverflame screeched, leaping away from her perch on the edge of the thunderpath as she heard the roar of an approaching monster. Muddyclaw launched himself after her, looking over his shoulder to watch the monster flash past in a cloud of poisonous odor and deafening noise.

Both cats stood still for a moment after the monster had passed, panting slightly.

"That was awful," Silverflame whispered. "Let's hurry, before any more follow it!"

Muddyclaw nodded as they jogged back to the thunderpath, grabbing their prey and looking around cautiously before throwing themselves across the flat stone. Silverflame waited anxiously while Muddyclaw crossed and came back again, breathing out a sigh of relief as he returned safely to WindClan territory.

"Thank StarClan that's over!" Silverflame ran her tail over Muddyclaw's back to convince herself he really was safe.

"We can make sure Peatstar doesn't assign you to any more patrols to cross thunderpaths," Muddyclaw purred.

"Oh, be quiet." Silverflame grabbed her rabbit and started towards camp. Muddyclaw scooped up the rest and followed her.

Peatstar was overjoyed when they got back to camp, and with good reason. The fresh-kill pile only had one meadowlark in it before Silverflame and Muddyclaw dropped their burdens, and Gorsebloom and Rushbreeze had already returned, the herbs slathered over Gorsebloom's muzzle telling the tale of how successful they hadn't been.

"Where did you find all this?" Peatstar asked eagerly. "You can't have caught a rabbit in a barn."

"No, there wasn't much in the barn," Silverflame mewed. "Moe is as worried as us about making it through leafbare."

"We decided to cross the thunderpath," Muddyclaw put in. "The prey isn't plentiful over there, but it's enough to fill a some bellies for a few days, at least."

"We wouldn't want cats crossing the thunderpath too often anyways," Peatstar mewed. "But this is great for now. Take some fresh-kill, both of you. I'll take this rabbit to the nursery." Peatstar dragged the rabbit across the camp. Silverflame and Muddyclaw traded a look before Silverflame went padding towards the elders.

"Tansywhisker, Heathercloud!" Silverflame called. "Do you want some fresh-kill?"

"No, you and Muddyclaw go ahead and take some!" Tansywhisker purred. "We had something earlier, and you two have been out hunting all day on nothing."

"Are you sure?" Silverflame asked.

"Yes, we're far from going hungry." Heathercloud assured. "Run along and eat. We can't have warriors getting weak just now."

"Alright," Silverflame dipped her head before turning back to Muddyclaw and the fresh-kill pile. "Do you want to share a mouse?" she asked Muddyclaw, who still hadn't picked anything for himself. "Then if Skypelt and Littlestorm come back with more we could share another?"

"Good plan," Muddyclaw nodded gruffly, snatching up one of the mice and leading the way towards where Gorsebloom and Rushbreeze sat.

"Hello," Silverflame mewed to the other two cats as she crouched next to Muddyclaw to eat.

"I see things went a lot better on your end," Gorsebloom remarked flatly, her pelt still prickling with irritation and disappointment in her failure to bring any prey back to her hungry Clan.

"Uh, yeah, things turned out okay. There wasn't much at the barn, and Moe got very angry that we'd come there, but then Muddyclaw suggested we go hunt past the thunderpath."

"You crossed the thunderpath?" Rushbreeze exclaimed, wide-eyed, at the same time Gorsebloom scoffed, "Silverflame crossed the thunderpath? What next, Rushbreeze standing his ground?"

Rushbreeze looked very cross, which Silverflame could certainly relate to. "What, should we all stick around to get clawed like you did? It's not like it helped anything, all you did was waste some of Embertail's herbs!"

Gorsebloom was puffing herself up for what was sure to be a scathing reply when Muddyclaw cut her off with an icy hiss, "Can we not? Our lives are difficult enough right now without manufacturing divisions between ourselves."

Rushbreeze looked down, ashamed, while Gorsebloom locked gazes with Muddyclaw for several tense moments. Gorsebloom finally looked away with an irritated huff, her tail tapping the ground beside her. Muddyclaw swished his tail once before turning back to the mouse, his hackles still slightly raised. Silverflame gently touched her tail to Muddyclaw's flank, hoping to help him relax a little more. He didn't seem to react, so she whisked away her tail in case it annoyed him. He cast her an amused glance, which she took to be a sign that all was well. Their mouse was gone far too quickly, after which there wasn't much to do but wait for Skypelt and Littlestorm to return.


Littlestorm dragged a rabbit behind herself as she went in search of Skypelt, the rabbit too big to bury with any sort of ease. She finally found him facing off against two ragged-looking cats.

"Skypelt, what's going on?" Littlestorm called, dropping her rabbit and running to Skypelt's side. "Are these mangepelts giving you trouble?"

Skypelt held out his tail to keep Littlestorm from attacking while one of the loners, a tortoiseshell she-cat, sneered, "What's this, need a kit to help you out, oh great warrior of WindClan?"

Littlestorm growled while Skypelt asked, "is this your territory?"

"It could be," said the other loner, a ginger tom, belligerent.

"But it's not," Skypelt clarified.

"You know what, I think we should settle down and make this our territory, Glitzy," the she-cat said, still staring down her nose at Littlestorm.

"Seems like a good enough place," the tom grinned, "the little kit caught a rabbit, must be easy hunting."

"I'd like a taste of that rabbit, myself," the she-cat smirked.

"You won't stay here," Skypelt said evenly. "We have already claimed this area for WindClan."

"Is that so? I'd like to see you try to stop us." The tom got a nasty (well, nastier) look on his face. "Emmylou here has a habit of fighting off dogs, I feel I should point out before we begin." He looked very smug at this, as though he expected them to run off with their tails between their legs.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Skypelt growled while Littlestorm snorted,

"Yeah, well we have a habit of fighting off crow-food-eaters like you, I feel I should point out before we slaughter you." Littlestorm could just feel Skypelt's disapproval after she spoke.

The ginger cat, Glitzy, apparently, growled and leaped at Littlestorm, while the tortoiseshell, Emmylou, went for Skypelt. Littlestorm slid underneath Giltzy while he was still in the air, raking at his belly with her claws. He yowled in surprise as he hit the ground, whirling to face her, but not before she caught his tail in her teeth. He screeched as she bit down hard, swiping his claws at her face. Littlestorm easily ducked, letting go of his tail to dart in and sink her fangs into his extended foreleg. Giltzy swiped at her side, but the blows were clumsy; Littlestorm could barely feel his claws through her fur.

Littlestorm was forced to break her grip on Glitzy when Emmylou threw Skypelt off his feet, sending him crashing into Littlestorm and Glitzy. Emmylou leaped into the pile of cats struggling to gain their feet again, lashing out with her claws in all directions, seemingly uncaring of who she hit.

"You take the ginger, Skypelt," Littlestorm yowled as she launched herself into Emmylou's chest, upsetting Emmylou's balance enough that Littlestorm was able to shove her away from Skypelt. Emmylou was a far better fighter than Glitzy, and Littlestorm was hard pressed to defend herself from the flurry of blows the bigger cat was reigning down on her for a moment. Then Littlestorm got her paws properly under herself, standing on her front paws to swing around and kick her back paws into Emmylou's unprotected stomach. Emmylou screeched as she fell back to four legs, trying to bite Littlestorm's flank, but Littlestorm was too fast, whipping around to face front and leaping atop Emmylou's shoulders, digging her front claws in for purchase as Emmylou tried to shake her off, flaying Emmylou's back with her hind claws until Emmylou rolled over, trying to squash Littlestorm under Emmylou's greater size. Littlestorm jumped clear in the nick of time, raking claws over one of Emmylou's ears as she scrambled to her feet again.

Glitzy broke away from Skypelt then, yowling in pain as he fled, limping with the leg Littlestorm had bitten. Emmylou hesitated for a moment as she found herself faced with both Littlestorm and Skypelt, blood steadily leaking from her back and her clawed ear, before following Glitzy's example.

"And you had better stay away!" Littlestorm yowled after them. She watched for a moment to make sure the rogues kept on running before turning her attention to Skypelt. "Are you alright?" she glanced over him for injuries, taking in a nicked ear and a long set of scratches over his side that fortunately didn't look deep.

"I think I'm fine," Skypelt panted, licking tentatively at his scratches. "You?"

"I'm great." Littlestorm had a short scratch on her foreleg from Emmylou, and her side stung faintly from Glitzy's inept attack, but nothing was really bleeding much.

"We had better head back."

"Yeah. I might have caught more than I can carry."

"We'll make do. Do you wanna get all the fresh-kill together in one pile?"

"Sure. Let's just move a little more centrally." Littlestorm trotted back towards her rabbit, dragging it closer to the rest of her fresh-kill. She waved her tail to make sure Skypelt saw where she put it before running back to dig up the rest of her prey.

Three more trips saw everything settled together: the rabbit, two squirrels, four voles, and three mice. Skypelt brought seemingly innumerable mice and three voles.

"How many mice did you catch?" Littlestorm let her voice show how impressed she was.

"Ten," Skypelt said proudly, ducking his head to lick his chest fur bashfully. "It's good hunting out here, as I see you found."

"Now we just have to figure out how to carry everything back to camp," Littlestorm said ruefully, eyeing the small mountain of fresh-kill between them. Her stomach gurgled, reminding her she hadn't eaten yet that day. "Why don't we each eat something before we head back?" Littlestorm suggested, pawing that promised vole towards herself. "There'll be plenty left for everyone else, and it'll be two less things we have to carry."

"You do have a point," Skypelt frowned, doubtless fighting an inner battle against his need to fulfill his duties to his Clan to the letter.

"We're not apprentices, Skypelt, we wouldn't be breaking the warrior code." Littlestorm rolled her eyes.

"All right, fine," Skypelt huffed, grabbing a mouse and tearing a huge bite out of it. "I am pretty hungry," he spoke through his mouthful.

"I knew you'd see reason," Littlestorm smiled as she finally bit into her vole.

"All right," Skypelt licked his chops as he finished a few moments later. "I think we might have to make multiple trips."

"I don't like leaving anything unattended," Littlestorm frowned. "I don't trust those rogues not to come back, or foxes could take it, or anything with a nose, while we treck all the way to camp and back."

"Well, how about if we carry one load for several fox-lengths, drop it, go back for another load, carry that one several more fox-lengths past the first, and repeat?"

"That will take forever," Littlestorm despared. "But I can't think of a better way to do it."

"One of us could stay here to guard the fresh-kill while the other gets help?" Skypelt tried.

"No, if there's only one of us we would be in trouble against a group of cats or a fox. There's nothing for it," Littlestorm sighed.

"I'll take the rabbit, since I'm bigger," Skypelt leaned down to grab it.

Littlestorm flicked her tail in slight annoyance. "Be my guest." She arranged her squirrels and several mice so she could grab them gently by the tails and jogged after Skypelt, her neck kinked sharply so she wouldn't trip on the bodies of the squirrels. They walked until they couldn't see their original pile anymore, then dropped their load and went back, managing to cram the rest of the mice and voles into their jaws, passing their first stopping point until it was out of sight, then dropping their second load and going back for the first. Littlestorm had to admit defeat after a few rounds of this, trading her squirrels to Skypelt for some more mice, which she could carry without contorting her neck. Skypelt just smirked like he had expected her to do that, which made Littlestorm grumpy for a while. It wasn't like they had much time for talking, what with their mouths stuffed full of fresh-kill, so she was long over it by the time they finally hit the WindClan border, paw-sore and with aching jaws, the sun shining directly into their eyes as it began to set.

"If you stay here I'll run and get some help," Littlestorm panted as they dropped their second mouthful inside the border.

"Please do," Skypelt sighed, stretching his neck out. Littlestorm streaked away over the moor, relishing finally being able to use her full speed. She burst back into camp, everycat looking up at her, startled.

"Where's Skypelt?" Silverflame immediately asked, rushing forward from where she had been sharing tongues with Rushbreeze. "Are you hurt?" She sniffed at Littlestorm's scratched leg.

"He's fine and I'm fine," Littlestorm panted, "he's at the border guarding our fresh-kill; we caught more than we could really carry, and we could use some help."

"Of course," Muddyclaw bounded forward, giving Littlestorm a friendly flick of his tail.

"So you found a spot?" Gorsebloom asked as she joined them.

"Yes," Littlestorm smiled.

"I'll tell Peatstar where we're going and catch up to you," Rushbreeze said, ducking into the nursery.

"Great, let's go." Littlestorm turned and dashed back towards Skypelt, Muddyclaw, Silverflame, and Gorsebloom streaming behind her. Rushbreeze streaked up behind them half-way there, settling in beside Littlestorm.

"Did you have to fight somecat out of their territory?" Rushbreeze asked, curious about the scratches Silverflame had pointed out.

"No," Littlestorm panted, envying Rushbreeze's ease of movement; she was getting really tired by this point. "Some rogues were passing through that wanted our fresh-kill."

"Oh, good," Rushbreeze seemed relieved, "I was afraid there might be cats with a grudge lying in wait for us when we returned."

"Don't be mouse-hearted, Rushbreeze," Littlestorm scolded between gasps, "we'll have full patrols next time we go."

"You're right." Rushbreeze ducked his head, embarrassed.

"Don't worry," Littlestorm grinned as she skidded to a halt before Skypelt. "I'll protect you, Rushbreeze."

"Great StarClan, that's a lot of prey!" Gorsebloom mewed, her eyes wide. Skypelt had moved all the prey to one pile while Littlestorm was gone.

"No wonder it took you so long to get back," Muddyclaw muttered.

Silverflame immediately grabbed the rabbit, thank StarClan, which made Muddyclaw chuckle for some reason. Everycat grabbed a few pieces of fresh-kill, and they made good time back to camp with their lighter burdens, arriving just as the last of the sun slipped beneath the horizon.

Peatstar was overjoyed when they returned, piling the fresh-kill pile high. Everycat ate their fill that night for the first time in weeks. Littlestorm and Skypelt curled up to sleep almost immediately after Embertail rubbed some herbs into their wounds while Peatstar congratulated them, pausing only to share one last mouse. Gorsebloom laid down by herself, disappointed in herself and her day, but committed to getting on a patrol to the territory Littlestorm and Skypelt found and making tomorrow better. Rushbreeze curled up tightly between Littlestorm and Muddyclaw, who was sitting up and yawning as he waited for Silverflame to finish checking on the kits and the queens, the other warriors, Embertail, and finally the elders. Silverflame stood in the middle of the camp, looking this way and that, until Muddyclaw tapped his tail significantly next to himself. "Stop fussing, Silverflame, you've done everything you can do. Everycat is perfectly contented. Sleep."

Silverflame settled down between Muddyclaw and Skypelt with a fond glance up at Silverpelt. WindClan would make it through this leaf-bare with their warrior ancestors looking out for them, as they had made it through countless leaf-bares past.


WARRIORS

Name: Gorsebloom
Gender: Female
Rank: Warrior
Appearance: Light gray tabby she-cat with bright yellow eyes
Body Type: Short, but more thickly built
Likely Clan: WindClan
Skills: A talented hunter, and an average fighter. A strong sprinter.

Personality: Sarcastic, quick-tempered, dedicated. Often pessimistic (she prefers "realistic"), very results-oriented, emotionally driven. Is deeply affected by any self-perceived failure, which will usually result in her lashing out at others. Often gruff and rough in her handling of others and relationships, but in general she means well.

Name: Rushbreeze
Gender: Male
Rank: Warrior
Appearance: Light brown tabby tom with hazel eyes
Body Type: Short and slender, with a long tail
Likely Clan: WindClan
Skills: Very fast, and can keep up a rapid speeds for long stretches of time. A very talented hunter, but a below average fighter; he still hasn't quite figured out how to leverage his small size and blazing speed to his advantage in combat yet.

Personality: Responsible, loyal, respectful, optimistic. Skittish, not one to stick around when he isn't wanted. His temper, when dredged up, burns hot but quickly, disappearing as soon as it flares up. Can be a little too diplomatic, not letting his true feelings show if he thinks they will be contrary to the feelings of another cat.

Name: Skypelt
Gender: Male
Rank: Warrior
Appearance: Light gray-and-white tom with blue eyes
Body Type: Short, with sturdy shoulders, small paws, and a short tail.
Likely Clan: WindClan or ThunderClan
Skills: Skilled hunter, average fighter.

Personality: Cautious, respectful, polite, steady. Both hard to rile and hard to calm down once riled. Protective, but he knows his own limits and acknowledges other's strengths that exceed his own. Amiable and easy-going in most situations, but can become very up-tight and overly cautious in stressful or new situations. A cat would have to work hard to get him truly angry, but once there, Skypelt will hold a grudge like no other, and his anger takes a long time to simmer down once roused.

Name: Littlestorm
Gender: Female
Rank: Warrior
Appearance: Brown tabby she-cat with white paws and yellow eyes
Body Type: Very small and delicate
Likely Clan: WindClan
Skills: An above average hunter, and a vicious fighter. Extremely agile and athletic, has total control of her body at all times.

Personality: Reckless, impatient, moody, changeable. If she decides she doesn't like some cat, she will commit herself to making their life as uncomfortable as she can, and StarClan help anycat who crosses her. Her temper flares up easily, and depending on her mood it can burn out quickly or drag on for days. She is by turns friendly and surly, which can make her a hard cat to be friends with, as you never know which mood she will be in at a given moment. Likes to get into riotous arguments, though she wouldn't hurt a Clanmate by turning things physical (well, not usually, in any case). Littlestorm doesn't believe in keeping secrets, so you will always know just where you stand with her.

Name: Muddyclaw
Gender: Male
Rank: Warrior or Deputy, as you like
Appearance: Brown blotched tabby tom with dark amber eyes
Body Type: Short, average build
Likely Clan: WindClan or ShadowClan
Skills: A good hunter and a good fighter. Very quick.

Personality: Bold, aggressive, dauntless, charismatic, determined, protective. Can come across cold and uncaring, but underneath all of his posturing he has a protective streak a mile wide. Has a knack for presenting even the most feather-brained scheme in a way that seems very logical. Has a tendency to lead cats into dangerous situations, and has a reputation as a bit of a reckless cat, but he will always take on the most risky or demanding part himself, and nine times out of ten he gets everyone out without a scratch. Likes to be at the top of every social sphere he inhabits.

Name: Silverflame
Gender: Female
Rank: Warrior
Appearance: Silver spotted tabby she-cat with yellow eyes
Body Type: Average height, slim build. Big ears and a long tail.
Likely Clan: WindClan or RiverClan
Skills: Talented hunter, below average fighter.

Personality: Extremely skittish, warm and caring, patient, fearful, but can be very brave when her friends and Clanmates are threatened. Tries her best to keep peace wherever she can, very loyal. Makes sure everycat around her is taken care of before worrying about herself. Very hard to actually rile up, though her one major insecurity is her self-perceived cowardice. As she grows older, she learns better and better how to swallow her fear and move forward despite it.

Additional Ramble: I debated a lot over Silverflame's name. Is it too flashy, does she even embody any sort of "-flame" characteristics, should she just be Silverheart? But Silverheart sounds so drab, like, there must be 400 cats out there named Silverheart. I decided to keep the -flame with the rationale that she keeps her Clan "warm" in that she keeps them taken care of, as a flame would keep us Twolegs warm. So it's reaching a little bit, but I feel it works well enough. Especially as she grows to be more readily identifiable as "flame-like" as she gets older and learns how to handle her fear better. In this story, I imagine that she is still a fairly young warrior, inexperienced and timid. As she gains experience, she beats back her timidity. So while she will always have that timid cat in the back of her mind where fears live, she is able to move past it. By the time she's seasoned as a senior warrior, I actually imagine her to be really unshakable and courageous, and really definitely flame-like in a more traditional sense. She'd probably be an incredible mentor because nothing besides hunting ever came naturally for her. So I kept her as Silverflame. If you don't see yourself using her to move beyond where she is now, or if you don't think (like I do) that leaders might sometimes give names as an encouragement to work towards something greater, you are free to call her Silverheart, if you like. As another note, um, I have ridiculous rambly thoughts about most of my cats, so if you ever want additional info, just ask, haha!

LONERS

Name: Moe
Gender: Male
Rank: Loner
Appearance: Mousy-brown tom with grayish-hazel eyes
Body Type: Average, but compact and thickly muscled enough to be intimidating
Likely Clan: None
Skills: Average hunter, strong fighter

Personality: Generally easy-going and friendly, he can get very hostile if he feels threatened. Welcoming and friendly to a point, but he is a true loner at heart, protecting his territory fiercely and eventually running off anycat who refuses to take a hint to move on.

ROGUES

Name: Emmylou
Gender: Female
Rank: Rogue
Appearance: Battlescarred, dilute tortoiseshell she-cat with dark gold eyes
Body Type: Big-framed, but rangy, with matted, clumpy fur criss-crossed with scars.
Likely Clan: None
Skills: Above-average fighter, below-average hunter

Personality: Hostile, easily angered, cruel, bitter. Used to be a kittypet, but her Twolegs abandoned her when she started to get mangy, leaving Emmylou embittered and seething. Wants others to be hurt as much as she has been. Reckless, hurling herself into fights for the pure adrenaline of it.

Name: Giltzy
Gender: Male
Rank: Rogue
Appearance: Ginger tom with white splashes and yellow eyes
Body Type: Average, but compact and thickly muscled enough to be intimidating
Likely Clan: None
Skills: Average hunter, strong fighter

Personality: Petty, quick-tempered, rude, always seems to know exactly how to push a cat's buttons. Born as an only-kit to a loner who abandoned him as soon as he was weaned. He grew up in the Twolegplace, surviving on trash. For a short time, a Twoleg kit would leave food out for him, and it was she who gave him his name, but soon enough her parents caught her at it, and she never did it again.


A litte warrior-heavy this time, but so are most Clans, I figure. ;) Turns out I'm bad at one-shots. I just really liked the name Gorsebloom (which I thought of in about 0 seconds flat, what even), so this story happened. I think I might try a RiverClan and a ShadowClan in this same 'verse, as it were, then have a Gathering so I can have a leader and deputy chapter. And then maybe a half-moon after that so I can get in some medicine cats. After that, who knows. Tell me what you think!