"We will get our revenge…" Whitekit repeated to himself as he looked around the clan to see their reactions to the announcement. Dogface and Burrclaw were clearly pleased with the decision to attack back, their eyes glinting with glee. How far would they go to get their revenge…? The kit thought with a knot in his stomach, imagining the two senior warriors jumping out of the shadows to attack some unsuspecting cats. There were other cats happy with the announcement, like Fiercespirit and Rainstorm, but it seemed other cats shared Whitekit's reluctance on the ambush. Pantherpelt and Dawnsight had frowns on their faces and their gaze looking away from their leader, even Duckthroat, the deputy, didn't know how to react to the news, though his look told him that he knew of the announcement before Redstar told the clan. "Dogface, come up to the leader's den and tell us who will join you at dawn." Duckthroat told the scarred warrior, who took long, proud strides on his way to climb the earth that led to where Redstar was standing, the deputy on a stone lower next to the den. "Thank you Redstar, I won't disappoint you." Dogface first thanked his leader, bowing his head before holding it up high. "Burrclaw, Fiercespirit, Firefrog, Sunsight and Blackpaw will be with me as we teach those rabbit munchers not to mess with us!" The warrior said loudly to the clan below him, his crackly voice ringing throughout the camp. "And Redstar if I may…" Dogface then stated, waiting until the leader nodded his head to let him continue. "…Just in case Swiftclan has reinforcements come, I think having a second patrol would be good so we aren't outnumbered." Dogface then stated his idea, in which to Whitekit's surprise, Redstar only nodded his head in agreement and looked over to his deputy. "That is indeed a good plan, Duckthroat will lead that patrol. He may bring Fernheart, Pantherpelt and Ocelotpaw with him for the second patrol." The leader gave the order with assertion, Duckthroat simply gave a flick of his ear in acknowledgement, stepping down off of his stone and calling his three ordered companions aside to what Whitekit assumed to discuss tactics.
"Clan dismissed." Redstar then stated, before flicking his tail towards Dogface to follow him into his den. "Wowie… that's a lot of cats for a simple dawn patrol." Whitekit could hear Blazepaw, the youngest of the apprentices say to her mentor, Sunsight. "Be careful please." She pressed herself against her mentor's side, who only nodded his head and give his apprentice a lick on the ear. Everyone then started to disband from the crowd, Brownfur taking her kits back into the nursery. "You are pretty cool Whitekit. You should hang out with us more." Oakkit told the stunned denmate before jogging back towards his mother. "Uh... I will!" Whitekit yelled after him, before finding himself alone in the edge of the clearing. Hopefully there are no deaths… He couldn't help but think, looking up towards the sky starting to turn dark. "There you are!" Whitekit jumped at the sudden noise in the mostly quiet camp and turned his head to see his mother padding towards him. "Seems like forever since I've seen you." She said, her tone happy, seeming to be unaffected by the news just given to the clan. "Well I was with-" Whitekit began to defend himself before a tongue to his head interrupted him. "Brownfur and her kits, I know. I meant more you staying away from the nursery and such." Lilyfur stated, using her tongue to flatten the bristled furs on her kit's back. "Since Redstar will be talking with the cats of the patrol, how about you sleep with me in the nursery?" She then asked, in which he nodded and walked with her in the direction towards the nursery. Lilyfur made sure the nest was nice and comfy before laying down, leaving room for Whitekit to nuzzle against her belly. "Don't worry little one, no one will get hurt… that bad." His mother whispered to him with a small purr, continuing to groom his uneasy fur, in which he just nodded and shut his eyes, his mother's relaxing purrs slowly drifted him to sleep.
As Whitekit was sleeping, he suddenly opened his eyes to find himself alone in the nursery, the warm body of his mother's gone. Shaking his head to get rid some of his drowsiness, the kit stood up and walked outside the den, only to find no sun to greet him. There was only night sky, the stars shining throughout the dark sky. Where is everyone? He thought to himself, looking around, the camp entirely silent, even his pawsteps making no noise on the earth. "H..Hello?" Whitekit called out, hoping to hear any voice respond, but nothing. He began to walk around the empty camp, fur bristling and a knot beginning to tie in his stomach. Did Swiftclan do this? He couldn't help but think. Maybe their ambush went wrong and Swiftclan retaliated back by attacking the camp. How would I have slept through that? Suddenly, Whitekit saw a paw flying towards him in a swipe, claws outstretched, ready to kill. He could only yelp in reaction as the paw disappeared as it only gave him a slap, the claws seeming to not affect him. Staggering some from the smack, he then saw a cat's head above him, red eyes glowing with hatred and teeth rushing towards the kit. Whitekit felt himself stuck in place, only able to watch the jaws come at him, ready to snap and crush the tiny thing in front of it. Only when the teeth were about to bite, the kit could recognize the cat's burning amber eyes about to kill him. Redstar! Suddenly, just as the jaws were ready to clamp down onto him, Whitekit found himself stirring up against his mother's belly, back within the nursery. A dream… He thought to himself, still shaking scared of what he saw. Why..? Whitekit thought to himself, shaking his head to try and clear the memories of the horrible dream from his mind. Maybe the mouse I had was bad.. He tried to answer the reason for his nightmare, clinging to the idea of some bad freshkill being the reason as he couldn't find himself getting back to sleep.
Standing up, Whitekit quietly wandered outside the nursery, letting out a sigh of relief as he spotted Amberpaw and Blazepaw keeping watch of the camp as the sun began to turn the sky a pale blue. "Dawn.." Whitekit thought out loud, seeing Dogface and Burrclaw walk over to the fresh-kill pile and picking up a raven and a squirrel respectively. Getting ready for the ambush… Whitekit told himself, hunger being his last concern at the moment, so he started to pace around camp, trying to get his mind off of his dream. "You nervous too?" A sudden voice interrupted him and he turned his head to see Blackpaw, ears flattened and grass green eyes glinting with fear. "A bit." Whitekit simply replied, unsure of the apprentice's intentions. After all, he was usually very headstrong and made sure everyone around him knew just so great he was, but the cat in front of him seemed to be the complete opposite. He looked scared, always looking to the ground and his body shaking, like a frightened kit. "Yeah, you are lucky you aren't going to be in the fight… what if things go wrong and we end up losing someone or more? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Blackpaw said with a nervous chuckle, sitting himself down as he gazed up into the sky, taking a deep breath. Whitekit, without thinking, placed one of his tiny paws atop Blackpaw's larger, darker paw. The apprentice however flinched away and pulled his paw back, clearly flushed at letting out as much as he did. "Uh well, I'm going to see Burrclaw, I know she'll get me motivated." Blackpaw awkwardly excused himself from the kit, quickly pacing himself over to his mentor who was munching on her squirrel.
He's not so bad… Whitekit thought to himself with a small purr, before seeing Redstar emerge from his den. His thoughts immediately went back to his haunting dream, where his father had attacked him like a ghost. Why him though? Whitekit tried to think, but he soon realized the leader was walking towards him. "Hey there, Whitekit. Don't be too envious, the ambush will just be a quick tooth and claw to some unsuspecting warriors. Will be over before you could say 'mouse'." His father assured him confidently, patting his son's head with a heavy paw. The kit didn't have the heart to tell his dad that he wasn't excited for the ambush at all, letting out a half-hearted grunt. "I guess." He said with a shrug, before spotting Dogface walking over to the two. "I have spoken with everyone, they are ready. We should hurry, Swiftclan are early-birds." The scarred warrior told Redstar, who only nodded and called over those in the patrol for the attack. "Make sure they regret crossing us." The leader growled quietly to Dogface, who walked off without any response, the rest of the patrol following behind. Soon enough, Duckthroat with Fernheart, Pantherpelt and Ocelotpaw followed not long after, Whitekit swearing he saw the deputy give his father a cross look as he passed by. "Well then, want me to show you some more battle moves? You are getting close to 6 moons, so you'll be an apprentice soon. The more knowledge you have going into it, the sooner you become a warrior." Redstar then asked his son, who hesitated in answering. Usually Whitekit loved to learn battle moves, but now with his dream and his newfound reluctance to enjoy the prospect of battle, the kit simply shook his head. "I…" He tried to think up an excuse, before spotting Oakkit and Cactuskit exit the nursery. "…was actually to hang out with Oakkit and Cactuskit… if that's ok?" He then quickly stated to try and make up for his silence. His father stared down at him with a half-suspicious glare, before nodding. "Very well, it's good to know your fellow clanmates." He stated, then walking away to the fresh-kill pile.
Whitekit then quickly rushed over to the two other kits who were chatting up a storm, as to not appear to be lying to Redstar. "...Are you sure?" Oakkit asked his brother nervously, in which the spiky kit confidently nodded. "Yeah! We are going to be apprentices soon anyway, what better way to learn then to watch a real fight for yourself?" Cactuskit exclaimed, before looking at his denmate approaching and letting out a fake cough. "…Yeah, mossball sounds fun." He tried to play off his previous statement, in which his acting couldn't fool a shrew. Whitekit only sighed and looked at Oakkit, "Are you two seriously about to go out there and watch the fight?" He asked, and Oakkit hesitated in answering, before sighing and nodding. "This goofball needs someone to look after him, since he's going to go out there no matter what. At least with me he'll at least not wander off… for too long." The brown kit finally stated, hanging his head low. "No one will miss us! Russetfox will be too busy keeping watch and Redstar almost never comes into the nursery. Brownfur and Lilyfur will think we are just playing some game out of sight or with the elders." Cactuskit tried to assure his brother, who just shrugged in response. Admittedly, Cactuskit had a point. The only warrior in camp would be tasked with taking watch, Redstar would probably go out hunting, and the two queens were never too attached to their kits to try and keep an eye on them all day. And the chance to witness a battle firsthand would be both really cool and informative on tactics in fights. "I'll go with you two." Whitekit suddenly blurted out, in which both kits gave him a surprised look. "Uh… Redstar let me explore some of the territory with him, including the plain border. I'd know where exactly to go!" He then exclaimed to try and convince the two to let him come with them. "Well, it's up to you Oakkit, I couldn't really care who comes with us." Cactuskit told his brother, who was in thought for some moments before nodding. "A guide would be good." He simply stated, in which Whitekit purred and shoulder-bumped his denmate. "Cool. Now I was thinking we go out the dirtplace, there we go around the camp and towards where the patrol went. Whitekit will help lead us there quicker." The black kit explained, and his companions nodded to the idea.
Waiting until they were out of sight, the three then headed towards the dirtplace and, covering their mouths and noses, they found a weak patch of leaves to break through to get outside of camp. "Alright, Mister Guide, lead the way." Cactuskit sarcastically told Whitekit, who let out a small chuckle before curving around the camp and beginning on the path to the plain border. It wasn't very difficult, the two patrols' scents were fresh, and so they could just follow that. "Shouldn't be far, the forest isn't that big on this side." Whitekit explained to his two friends as they walked to the side of the path the patrols used to get to the border, not wanting to be spotted if they caught up to them. The smell of newleaf leaves and some small scents of mice filled the kits' nostrils, with all the trees and their newly grown leaves, along with the bright blue sky peeking through the trees, it was hard not to get lost in the scenery of the forest, along with following the scent of a random squirrel. "…So who do you two think will be your mentors?" Cactuskit suddenly asked, giving Whitekit a small scare as the three were in silence for some time. "Uh. Probably Russetfox. Brownfur also says I'm the fastest out of all of us, so someone like her who is an expert hunter would be a good fit, I think." Oakkit answered, looking around the many bulky brown trunks. Whitekit took longer to answer, never really thinking of a mentor until Cactuskit brought it up. "Umm… maybe Firefrog. He's pretty good at everything, plus he's nice, so he would be cool." He finally answered, recalling the image of the young ginger warrior. He, along with Russetfox, were the youngest of the warriors, but at their young age, they already had the skillsets of warriors far older than them. So it wouldn't be long until they had a few apprentices under their wing. "I'd love Dogface! I want to be the best warrior in Darkclan!" Cactuskit then stated, hopping at "Darkclan". "Maybe he'd teach you how to use your spiky fur as a weapon!" Oakkit teased his brother, giving him a playful smack with his tail. The burr furred kit then bumped his spiky side up against his brother in response, causing the two to slow down. "Who says I can't do it now?" He said playfully, getting into a crotch, ready to pounce. "Shush! I think we are here." Whitekit pointed out to the two behind him, pointing with his tail towards the open plain ahead of them. Just like he was told, there was the tallest tree in the forest as the last oak before seemingly endless moorland.
"Where do we hide?" Cactuskit asked, "I want to get a good view of the fight!" Whitekit grunted, trying to see if he could find out where the patrols had hid. Where they were, there were few trees, but many berry bushes, anyone of which being great hiding spots. The question was, where did the patrol hide themselves? "How about the big tree?" Oakkit suddenly suggested, pointing with his paw at the thick redwood tree that marked the border between Swiftclan and Darkclan. "The patrols will be too busy fighting to look over there, and we would get the best possible view so close by." Getting impatient, Cactuskit nodded and began jogging over there, Oakkit right behind him. "Ah, wait…" Whitekit hissed quietly, not wanting to signal to Dogface the kits had followed them, but finding little choice but to hurry after them. The long dark grass soon started turning shorter and lighter, and the cover of the forest no longer hid the three as they found themselves at the base of the huge oak. "Now what?" Oakkit asked, in which Whitekit hissed once again, crotched down and peeking out the side of the tree, the other two kits joining him. It wasn't long before a patrol of Swiftclan cats came into sight, right along the border. Having never seen a Swiftclan cat before, Whitekit was surprised to see just how slim and long-legged they were, like the legendry Cheetah cats of long ago. "They look weird." Cactuskit remarked, and Oakkit gave him a quiet grunt to get him to remain quiet. At the head of the patrol was a pale warrior, taller than the rest of her patrol, with eyes that matched the sky. "That must be Elkheart, Fiercespirit told me about her yesterday." Oakkit whispered, Whitekit nodding. Alongside her were three other cats, a bulky gray she-cat the complete opposite of the elegant, skinny cat that the warriors told the kits, a dark brown tom, and a spotted she-cat with a weird looking tail. "Uh… Steelfur, Groundpaw…. And Eelpaw…" Oakkit listed the three other cats, once again stating Fiercespirit as his source of the knowledge. The two warriors and their apprentices went along their business in marking their side of the territory, starting to get closer to the redwood tree that the kits were hiding behind. A growing nervousness began to build inside Whitekit as he could better and better see the features of the four Swiftclan cats as they now weren't far from where he was. "Where's the ambush…" Cactuskit whispered, shrinking down his body as if to try and hide himself better, but his spiky black fur stood out like a rose in a thorn bush. "Hey Elkheart, I think I see something!" Groundpaw, the brown tom called out to his mentor, eyes locked onto the large tree and the little burrball that was sticking out beside it.
The four cats of the Swiftclan patrol then had their attention set on the redwood, curious as to what the apprentice had found. "What do we do?" Oakkit whispered, voice desperate as his small body shook. Suddenly, a mighty roar rang throughout the clearing, and now Whitekit could see the muscled bodies of his clanmates jump out of the bushes so close to the kits. "Darkclan, attack!"