Morningpaw

I awoke just as the suns first light filtered down through the brambles of our walls. Surprisingly I didn't want to doze but instead had energy and I felt well rested. I arose from my nest that I customized with dove feathers and ferns to make it a bit firmer, I was starting to feel more confortable in the warriors den even though I was still picking out kitten fur from my paws, I still had trouble believing I was the same rank as Cloudtail who was one of the oldest warriors in the den.

The white tom slept in more and more these days and I suspected he and Brightheart would be retiring soon. They had served the clan well, I shook out my fur and made my way outside where the clan was already moving about with morning patrols.

Squirrelflight was speaking with Bramblestar, I felt the tinge in my stomach at not being able to explain to them what me and Nightfang were planning to do but I reminded myself that this was for the good of all the clans.

"I want you to join me on the first watch." Scorchflame said, startling me, I mean he was right next to me looking at me intently with his honey golden eyes, "Good morning to you too Scorchflame." I joked butting him lightly with my head,

His eyes warmed a bit, "Sorry, I am glad to see you awake so early, I organized the first watch with me and Spiderleg and Berrynose, he is eager to get back at Shadowclan. Will you join me? I mean us for the first border watch?" I didn't really want to spend my morning just staring at a border for hours and hours but I knew this was important to Scorchflame and if I was considering him as my mate then I need to show more support.

"Sure Scorchflame, when do we leave?" I said with a smile,

"Right now, I want to try to catch their morning patrol." He said looking to the entrance where Berrynose and Spiderleg waited. We made our way to the Shadowclan border, marking more than necessary as we walked past the battle sight. Berrynose was talking about how he wanted to hide in the bushes so he could surprise them if they attacked and Spiderleg wanted to be visible to insight questioning from the cats. Scrochflame also wanted to be visible and I decided to watch from the trees for an aerial view.

I found a comfortable branch in a oak tree that was close enough to the ground to burst into action if needed but high enough up that I could see deep into Shadowclan territory. For now all was quiet and I enjoyed the morning birds chirping and the smells of the cooling air. This would be my first winter out of camp and I couldn't wait to practice some new moves for dealing with ice on the battle field.

Movement in the distance caught my eye and I spotted a tortoiseshell she cat come through the mist with a small patrol of three other cats, Tawnypelt I think her name was and I recognized Tigerheart and Stoatfur from the battle, the also had the apprentice Leafpaw with them. I tensed and whispered a warning down to Scorchflame who signaled to Spiderleg and Berrynose to stay quiet.

Tawnypelt spotted us and froze, her eyes narrowed and her patrol tensed. "What are you doing so close to the border?" she said and Spiderleg answered, "Making sure you don't invade us again." Scorchflame stood beside him with his claws unsheathed, Tawnypelt hissed back, "Rowanstar told you we were attacked by a badger, didn't you listen at the gathering?"

I couldn't believe she was sticking to such an obvious lie! I looked at the other patrol members who exchanged odd looks, that's right, Tawnypelt wasn't involved in the fight so she must believe their story. "If you think 10 of your warriors were hurt by a badger than you have bees in your brain." Scorchflame spat and Tigerheart stepped forward, "Don't talk to my mother like that!"

For second I thought a fight was going to break out but Tigerheart backed down. They set their markers and left without another word but their eyes never left us. For the rest of the morning the border was quiet and finally Squirrleflight came with Whitewing, Dovewing, and Ivypool to take over the afternoon watch.

I climbed down from my branch and stretched my stiff limbs. "I don't want to sit in any trees for the rest of the day." I pouted to Ivypool who took my place on the oak branch. "Spiderleg told us what happened this morning, I think Scorchflame may be right that there is more to this than we think." She said looking at the tortoiseshell tom as he spoke with Squirrelflight, he was almost her size and he stood with a dignity of a much older cat.

"I think he may be our next deputy." Ivypool whispered and I looked at her startled, "Deputy? What about Squirrelflight? And Bramblestar hasn't even lost a life yet. It seems a bit soon to be assuming that." I said and she shrugged, "Squirrelflight is wanting a new litter of kits and those will take time to raise. Scorchflame is showing an ambition for leadership and if this patrol thing works out than he will have gained a large amount of respect. He is young and level headed, every clan needs that don't they?" she said with admiration and I wondered if I even needed to bother keeping Scorchflames attentions,

I decided to do a bit of hunting on my way back and was able to find a black bird pecking at the ground for bugs. My muscles ached for action and I didn't even bother to stalk it, with a burst of speed I flew from my cover and took it by surprise. With a quick bite I broke its neck and went to my favorite magnolia tree to eat my lunch. The sloping branches and smooth bark were perfect for exploring and I climbed almost to the top.

I stuck my head out and let the afternoon sun warm my fur and I looked out at my surroundings. I could see the tops of some trees and out into the distance almost past Windclan territory. I saw a group of cats running in the open fields and though I was too far away to tell for sure who they were, I spotted Nightfang easily. His speed and agility were unique to only him as he dove between rocks and jumped over hills with grace. I saw others try to replicate his style but were sloppy.

I could watch him train for hours, and for a second I forgot my lunch was hanging from my jaws. I continued to watch in between bites and even after my meal was done I waited until the cats were gone and only Nightfang remained on top of a pointed stone, he sat up straight and the sun made his black fur shine. I wondered if he was as nervous about tonight as I was, I doubt it Nightfang was so confident I bet he never felt nervous.

When I returned to camp the sun was beginning to set and I saw Scorchflame surrounded by cats as he regaled this mornings watch. Brackenfur and Thornclaw hung on his every word while Spiderleg and Berrynose spoke about how brave he was. Ambermoon and Honeyfur and Moonwhisker all sighed and awed at his story and I rolled my eyes, she cats could be so funny when they had a crush on a tom.

I thought back to my fawning over Nightfang at the gathering and pushed the thought away, Ok Morningdew you have to try to forget him certainly there were other males here that would be a good match. I looked around at my options, there was Scorchfur of course while he was brave and ambitious he was very presumptuous and over bearing at times. I looked to the left and saw Snowpaw, Toadstep, and Molewhisker. Toadstep is a funny and a loyal warrior, Snowpaw is gental and caring, and Molewhisker is strong and smart, all great qualities in a mate.

Snowpaw did have a habit of being a bit soft and I didn't want a mate who couldn't stand up for himself, Toadstep had a lot of charisma but tended to flirt with every cat in the clan and I don't know if he was the commitment type, now Molewhisker was encouraging and had was willing to put in long hours during patrols and never complained. I decided to try and get to know Molewhisker better as well as Scorchflame, making my way over to him as he ate a mouse I cleared my throat to announce my presence.

"That looks tasty, did you catch it?" I asked casually and he looked up startled, "Oh Morningdew, no I didn't catch it. I did catch a vole though, it didn't even see me coming." He responded pushing the other half toward me, "Would you like some?" I smiled and took a bite, "I herd about the patrol this morning, Scorchflame is really brave huh?" he inquired and I shrugged, "I suppose, it wasn't that big of a deal." He shuffled his paws a bit,

"The whole thing with Shadowclan is crazy isn't it? I mean I hope this doesn't turn into another battle." He went on, "I agree, no one can afford fighting so close to leaf bare." I agreed, "I wonder what they plan to do if the border patrols don't work, hopefully this just blows over."

"Im sure Scorchflame will come up with something, he is great, almost as good as Bramblestar was at his age. I bet even Firestar would think he is special, did you know after border patrol he caught a pigeon mid flight? What skill right!?" he gushed and I began to feel annoyed, "Yeah, he is something, thanks for the mouse I remembered I have something to do" I looked to the medicine cats den, "Over there." I finished and bounded off without waiting for his reply,

"Geeze, I didn't know he was such a big Scorchflame fan." I whispered, well that was a bust, finding a different male to favor over Nightfang was going to be harder than I thought.

Nightfang

Windclan was busy preparing for leaf bare and despite his extra patrols and hunting missions, Breezepelt insisted he train with the other apprentices. He had perfected the moves they were stuck on within his first moon of training and he didn't understand what Breezepelt was trying to prove by making me practice so much.

Trying to argue with Breezepelt was like arguing with a angry badger, you will almost always get clawed. I don't know how my mother stayed on his good side. Love was funny like that I guess, he thought about what it would be like to have Morningdew as a mate. Her sweet voice and humor would bring the sun out on a rainy day, I doubt he could ever fight with her, if she wanted something I would do anything to give it to her.

I sighed heavily and looked over at a group of Windclan she cats who were sharing tongues. Graypaw and Windypaw where sitting with Speckleflight and Featherfur all chattering out of ear shot, one saw me looking and it sent the group into a fit of giggles. I tried to imagine myself as one of their mates and looked for the same quickness in my heartbeat but was met with only indifference. Windypaw was nice and Graypaw was smart, Specklewing was a good hunter and Featherfur was very pretty but those were all one quality while Morningdew had all of them.

How was he supposed to choose between the perfect she-cat from a different clan and then settling with one from his own? Maybe he just needed to spend more time with them and see if his feelings change. He had trained with Specklewing and while she taught him well, she wasn't very ambitious so she couldn't understand him. Windypaw was a hard worker and eager to learn but she was practically hopeless when it came to strategy, she couldn't understand me either. Featherfur was quiet and shy, it was kind of cute how jumpy she was and she was pretty skilled so maybe he should get to know her better, and Graypaw was a good listener and had good attention to detail so she was a good option as well.

As the sun set he knew he would have to sneak out soon to meet Morningdew, as the group of she-cats separated he walked over to Graypaw, "Graypaw, you did great at training today." I said trying to sound impressed, even though she was slower than a slug in tree sap during agility training.

"Oh thanks Nightfang! I cant believe you even noticed me, my mentor Emberfoot told me I needed more practice, I doubt ill ever be as good as you." she cooed and I smiled back encouragingly, "I can show you some tricks if you like, maybe tomorrow I can ask Emberfoot if I can borrow you?" I flirted and she shook with glee, "I would love that! I mean if your not too busy, I know how important warrior duties are." I shrugged, "I don't have patrol till dusk and aside from some hunting duties I am open. Id be happy to show you." her eyes shown and with a good night wave of my tail I left to find Featherfur.

Luckily she was alone in her nest, washing her fluffy gray paws. My nest was across from hers so I sat down and began to wash mine as well, she acknowledged my presence with a tail swish and I took notice at her delicate features, she had brown eyes in contrast to Morningdews blue and her fur was soft and gray with some lighter silver fur around her face and belly, she was a bit plumper and had shorter legs while Morningdews were long and delicate she was lean and sleek and- Come on Nightfang focus here.

"So Featherfur, how was patrol today?" I asked and she perked up and looked around, like she didn't think I was talking to her. "Oh, it was fine I suppose. Pretty quiet really, Thunderclan has been distracted by Shadowclan I think because we haven't seen a patrol from them in a while but their marks are fresh so maybe we just missed them. Shadowclans border was saturated though, it seems a bit odd to me but Onestar didn't seem bothered by it." I noted her pink nose twitched when she spoke,

"What about yours? You did dawn patrol right?" I nodded, "It was cold this morning so I know leaf bare will be on time this year, I was still a kit last winter so I am looking forward to my first one as a warrior." She looked at me with a shy smile, "I didn't know anyone else would be excited about winter. It my favorite season even though the prey is harder to find. I just love the endless white, it makes everything so smooth and clean." Her dark eyes glowed as she spoke of it,

"I know of a great spot where you can see the whole territory, I bet it will look great in when the snow comes, I like to watch the clouds some days too, if you want I can show it to you." I offered and she looked away shyly, "Really? You would share that with me?" her voice was light and I noted it was like a soft breeze, "Of course, of course if you were busy I understand." I added looking down at my paws, "No, no I would love to." she spoke quickly and I smiled back, "Perfect, how about tomorrow morning?" she thought a moment, "Well I have dawn patrol but I can ask Leaftail to switch with me." She got up then to go find him and I sat back feeling proud of myself, good now I can focus on something other than Morningdew.

I suddenly jumped up looking at the sky, it was almost completely dark, I was about to be late meeting her! Without waiting for Featherfur to return I ran out of camp, calling to the night guards Weaselfur and Furzepelt that I had to go find a piece of kill I buried and scolded myself for almost being late.

Morningdew was waiting patiently as I skidded on the loose gravel, "You didn't have to run, I only just got here myself." She said lifting a paw to dodge a flying pebble. Gasping for air I huffed, "Sorry, im not usually late." She chuckled and let me catch my breath. "So I was on border watch this morning and met with a Shadowclan patrol." She began and I slowed my breathing to listen, "Tawnypelt was there and she wasn't in the battle so she believes the warriors story about the badger. I did see Tigerheart who was in the battle give a weird look to the other patrol so I know somethings fishy here." I nodded, "Definitely, this wont be easy, are you ready?"

With a nod we both stood and followed the border, both on our respective sides as not to mix scents and we made our way to Shadowclan to infiltrate their territory and spy on them for information…what could go wrong?