Hawkfrost walked down the tunnel that led to his den, into the main body of the cave. His warriors were sleeping, curled up together at the back of the cave; Ashfur and Birchpaw next to each other, Webfoot dozing under an overhanging bit of rock, and Blackclaw was lying on a rock, his dark tail hanging down.
Hawkfrost yowled out loudly - "Up! HawkClan, wake up!"
Blackclaw stirred first, his flanks heaving as he leaped off the stone. "HawkClan?" he asked irritably, as the other cats stretched.
"We've got to have a name," said Hawkfrost coldly.
He leaped up onto the tallest pinnacle of rock in the cave, and addressed his Clan. "You three cats are the bravest in the forest. You know we are truly the Clan you must follow if you want power. And when I rule the forest, you will be honored above all my cats for joining with me when our fate was uncertain."
The cats below him glanced at each other, their eyes glinting. Only Birchpaw looked unsure - he glanced at his paws, neck fur bristling.
"But before we can take over even one of the Clans, we need more followers. And I have plans..."
He stopped, his ice-blue eyes glinting with ambition. "Firstly, I want some of you to go back to your Clans." The cats below him let out yowls of outrage. "What?" "We've given everything up for you!" "How can we go back?"
"Silence!" snarled Hawkfrost angrily. "I don't mean forever! Just for long enough to persuade your Clanmates - some of them, maybe your closest friends - that joining with me is the best thing to do."
Birchpaw leaped to his paws. "Can I go back? I'll persuade them, I promise!"
Hawkfrost regarded the apprentice with narrowed ice-blue eyes. "Oh?"
Ashfur was looking down at his apprentice with narrowed eyes. He is suspicious too, thought Hawkfrost. A future deputy, perhaps?
Ashfur had proved himself worthy to be Hawkfrost's follower when he'd lured Firestar into the fox trap. The dark tabby warrior knew all about Ashfur's relationship with Brambleclaw, and he knew this would make him a merciless fighter against ThunderClan.
But Birchpaw... The apprentice was too loyal to his Clan. He didn't wholeheartedly follow Hawkfrost, and that could make him dangerous. I might have to kill him, Hawkfrost thought coldly.
"No." His voice rang out through the cave. "Ashfur will go back to ThunderClan. Birchpaw can stay here... with Blackclaw."
