Alderpaw:
Alderpaw stood silently on the ThunderClan side of the river, his thin ginger pelt not giving him much protection from the cold breeze rolling off the water. He watched from a slight distance as Sungold gave some last advice to her patrol and, with a nod in his direction, took off upriver. Their reactions to his plan had been as expected: skeptical, confused, reluctant. And none of them actually knew how to swim, which they had been quick to point out. No matter. Only one of them needed to make it to the RiverClan camp in time. So now Alderpaw was crossing the river alone while his clanmates attempted to catch Spireclaw. Sungold's instructions to him rang in his mind: Warn Eaglestar and then wait with them. When Spireclaw attacks, stay out of it. We'll be right behind them. Alderpaw figured Spireclaw's patrol was at the stepping stones by now, so he had to hurry. He waited until Sungold's patrol was out of sight, then quickly, as light and soft-footed as a shadow, he bounded down the pebbly bank with only a faint crunching sound. He didn't hesitate at the water's edge and plunged into the icy river. It was bitterly cold and the moment it enveloped him, his muscles froze from the shock of the water. He felt the cold all the way down to his bones, so deep and penetrating was the icy bite of the river. Gritting his teeth, Alderpaw forced his legs to move and he set out across the river with short, choppy strokes. The current tugged at him as he swam, threatening to sweep him away to the falls waiting just downstream, but he managed to angle himself like Floodpaw had taught him so that he cut through the flow of the water. Gradually the activity warmed his muscles to the point where they began loosening, but by now the freezing water had soaked all the way into his pelt, which didn't shed water like a RiverClan cat's. It dragged him down and only made him more tired. A wave slapped against his muzzle, dousing his head and getting in his mouth. He gave a spluttering cough and the water closed over his head for a brief moment, but he managed to work his way back to the surface. He was now completely soaked and frozen through, and he could feel his strength waning, the cold leaching it out of his body. Alderpaw continued to force his legs to move, but his breath was coming in ragged pants and his limbs burned with exhaustion and cold. Suddenly the swimming got easier and he realized he'd made it through the strongest part of the current. He was now closer to RiverClan than ThunderClan. There was no going back now; he didn't have the strength to make the crossing again. Instead of discouraging him, the thought invigorated him and gave him energy to carry on. He somehow churned his paws faster and the cold didn't ache quite so badly. He was doing something important here, something that would save lives if he succeeded. Within moments he was standing at the edge of the river, shivering violently and dripping freezing water, but there was a triumphant light in his eyes. He felt completely drained and more than anything he wanted to curl up then and there and go to sleep, but there was no time to lose. Alderpaw shook his fur out the best he could and bounded out of the water, his movements stiff from his muscles freezing up. He paused to check the direction he needed to go and turned to run upriver towards the island camp of RiverClan. As he ran he recognized some spots where he and Floodpaw had met, like the patch of reeds where she'd taught him to fish and the grove of willows where they'd talked about their futures. Where Alderpaw had realized he'd wanted her in his. They'd joked that when they were warriors, which 'should be any day now', they'd run away and start their own clan. What Floodpaw hadn't known was that Alderpaw had been serious, or at least partially. The terrain suddenly changed from firm dirt to softer sand riddled with rocks ranging from pebbles to boulder the size of badgers. Alderpaw nearly stumbled over one and sent himself back into the river, but he managed to catch himself and shook his head to clear it. This was no time for wishing and wanting. This was life or death and he had to pay attention. He glanced up from the uncertain ground for a heartbeat and caught a glimpse of the island sliding around a bend in the river, a silent mass of shadow against the moonlit-blue sky. He breathed a quick sigh of relief; Spireclaw hadn't reached it yet. Alderpaw ran faster, warmer after running for a little while. Out of nowhere something crashing into him from the side, bowling him over and pinning him before he could even let out a yowl of surprise. Caught off guard, there was nothing Alderpaw could do.
"ThunderClan," a mysterious cat snarled, leaning down to take a deep whiff. Alderpaw realized that swimming through the river must have washed away most of his ThunderClan scent.
"I knew I smelled intruders." Alderpaw flinched as the warrior's claws pricked at his skin, but he didn't struggle.
"Please, I need to speak to Eaglestar," he panted, winded from running. "It's important."
A contemptuous snort sounded behind the warrior who held him down.
"Yeah, right. ThunderClan wouldn't trust an apprentice with anything 'important.' Admit it, you were trespassing."
Alderpaw wanted to scream at them for being so stupid, that with every passing heartbeat Spireclaw was drawing nearer and nearer to their camp, but Sungold had stressed that he could only reveal that information to Eaglestar.
"Do you smell any prey scent on me?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"I don't smell anything because you've been in the river. Probably chasing a fish."
"Tallreed," came a third voice, this one steady and calm. "Why don't we take him to Eaglestar?"
"What?!"
"He can deliver his 'important' message and if he's lying, we could always keep him prisoner."
Alderpaw shivered; he didn't like the idea of staying in a camp full of hostile enemy warriors, but he kept quiet. At long last, Tallreed grudgingly agreed and stepped back, releasing Alderpaw. He quickly scrambled to his paws and was instantly surrounded by the three RiverClan cats.
"Let's go," the third cat ordered, and they set off towards the camp. It took all of Alderpaw's restraint not to break away and sprint.
When they reached the island the RiverClan cats bounded into the water without pausing. He caught a smirk on Tallreed's face and realized they were waiting for him to flounder around in the slow-moving river. Ha, I'll show them. Alderpaw padded calmly down to the river's edge and slid into the water, striking out across the narrow channel in between the mainland and the camp. He wasn't nearly as graceful or efficient as the others were, but he swam unassisted to the island on the other side. Tallreed didn't look quite so smug. Alderpaw shook himself briefly and strode into the camp, surrounded by the three cats. The clearing was mostly vacant, so Alderpaw had a clear view of the entire camp. It was stunning. It was as if all of RiverClan's beauty and grace had been funneled into this one place and embodied. Sparkling stones and shells lined the edges of the clearing and long, beautiful feathers were woven into the dens and reeds. The river lapped soothingly on the banks of the island, nearly lulling Alderpaw to sleep where he stood. He could only imagine what this place must look like in daylight. Tallreed gave him a rough shove from behind to keep him moving and led the way across the clearing, halting outside a den of reeds woven into the roots of a great willow tree, almost completely hidden by the long tendrils brushing the ground. It was still mostly bare, but when he looked closely Alderpaw could see tiny buds beginning to form on its trailing branches. Tallreed slipped through the branches and into the den, leaving Alderpaw standing outside with the other two cats. He could hear lowered voices inside, but he couldn't make out the words so he quit trying. Instead he contented himself with gazing around the camp, admiring the clever way they had built their dens out of the reeds. He shuffled his paws impatiently, half-expecting Spireclaw to attack at any second. One of the cats guarding him gave him a strange look, recognition mixed with anger. Alderpaw frowned in confusion and the cat blinked quickly, wiping her face clean of emotion. Alderpaw opened his mouth to ask her how she knew him, but he was interrupted when Tallreed emerged from Eaglestar's den.
"Go in," he ordered, flicking his tail at the moss curtain.
Alderpaw nodded and hurried inside, pausing only to let his eyes adjust to the abrupt darkness. Once he could see, he spotted a mottled brown tom, lithe and lean despite the fish RiverClan fed on, curled up in a nest of moss and feathers. Eaglestar sat up and nodded for him to speak. Unable to find a gentle way to put it, Alderpaw plowed right in.
"ThunderClan is coming to attack you," he blurted out, his words running together in his haste to spit them out. He saw a flash of alarm and anger in the tom's eyes and kept going. "Lotusstar told us to attack you, but Sungold said not to because you weren' strong enough since the river's been frozen."
Alderpaw realized his blunder too late and flinched, but he forged ahead. Note to self: don't call enemy clan weak to their face.
"Some cats from our patrol decided to attack anyway so I came to warn you because no one else knew how to swim. Sungold went to follow Sp- the others."
Sungold has specifically told Alderpaw not to mention any name besides hers and Lotusstar's, so RiverClan wouldn't seek revenge. Alderpaw took a gulping breath and watched the older tom nervously, hoping Eaglestar wouldn't think he was in on Spireclaw's plan too.
"You would betray you leader for an enemy clan?" Eaglestar said, eyeing him curiously.
"It's not right to attack someone when they're not strong enough to fight back- um, not that you're, you know, um, weak."
Eaglestar snorted and waved away his apology, rising to his paws.
"No, you're right. With no warning we wouldn't be able to survive an attack from ThunderClan right now."
Alderpaw caught the emphasis on those last two words: right now they were vulnerable. But that wouldn't last long now that the river had unfrozen.
"But with a warning," Eaglestar continued, "we could easily manage it."
"Of course," Alderpaw agreed readily, not wanting to offend the tom in his own camp. Eaglestar gave him another curious look.
"You're awfully friendly, considering you're speaking to your enemy," he pointed out dryly. Alderpaw felt his fur growing hot despite his recent dip in the river.
"Oh, um, just… who I am," he said lamely, earning a sarcastic snort from Eaglestar.
"Of course. Now, there's no time to lose. I must alert my clan." Eaglestar slipped past him and headed for the entrance. "Oh, and Alderpaw?"
"Yeah?"
"Stay away from my daughter." With that, the RiverClan leader slipped through the gap in the moss, leaving Alderpaw feeling like a gutted fish. How did he know?! He didn't have a lot of time to wonder.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a clan meeting."
Alderpaw shook himself and darted out of the den, not wanting to miss a thing.
