Fernfeather heard Squirrelflight calling out hunting patrol.
"Toadstep! Fernfeather! Go on hunting patrol please!" she called out.
"Okay mom!" Fernfeather mewed back.
Toadstep padded up to the dappled she-cat. Together, they strided from camp, heading for the lake.
"I like you Fernfeather" Toadstep meowed. Fernfeather blinked, surprised. She had feelings for him too, but she didn't want to admit it "I understand if you don't like me either. I mean...well.." he stuttered.
"Are you kidding me?" she hissed. "I feel the same about you! I was to nervous to tell you though."
Toadstep shoved her to the ground and wheeled around. His hackles were raised and his lips drawn into a snarl. A fox burst out of the ferns in front of the cats. Fernfeather was surprised. Toadstep leapt up, and clawed the fox's muzzle. The fox grabbed him in it's jaws. Fernfeather bolted up from her spot, and swerved around the fox. She ran into the ferns behind the fox.
Toadstep heard a rustle above him, and a blur of fur dropped down on the fox's back. Claws flashed into the fox's eyes, making the red animal go blind. It dropped Toadstep to the ground. Toadstep leapt up to attack it, but the fox had wheeled on Fernfeather. She was snarling, her tail lashing from side to side. Her long fur was fluffed up twice it's size. The fox lunged, grabbing the she-cat's tail in it's mouth. The she-cat turned around, her eyes wide, and lashed out at the fox's nose. The fox let go of the she-cat and raced away.
"Are you okay Fernfeather?" Toadstep asked, worried.
"Yes, just some torn fur and a few scratches." The she-cat hissed back, obviously in pain.
Toadstep licked the wounds on his shoulder. The two cats padded to camp.
"Where is the prey? I know leaf-bare is starting, but I didn't expect prey to be hiding already!" Squirrelflight shreiked.
"Mom! There was a fox in the territory. Toadstep and I were attacked!" she growled back. Toadstep padded from Jayfeather's den.
"Let me report this" he whispered in her ear. "Go get patched up"
Fernfeather padded to the medicine cat den.
"Jayfeather!" she called.
The blind tom padded from his herb storage. He raced to the she-cat when he smelled blood.
"Put these on the wounds" he mewed.
Fernfeather listened to him. But when Jayfeather padded out, he smelled fresh blood. The she-cat crumpled to the den floor, blood leaking from a wound on her stomach.
"Fernfeather! Fernfeather!" he yowled.
Bramblestar, Toadstep and Oaksplash burst into the den.
"No! Fernfeather!" Toadstep wailed.
"Dewpaw!" Bramblestar called out. The gray tom poked his head from the herb storage. " Go with Sandstorm and Brownleaf to find Squirrelflight and Antfoot. They went on patrol to ShadowClan's border." The gray tom pelted from the den.
"My kit!" Squirrelflight wailed when she saw Fernfeather.
The blood had continued to seep out, forming a pool around the she-cat.