AN: Sorry it took so long to update, I know it said on my profile that this would be roughly once a week but I was really hitting some major writer's block for this chapter. The next chapter shouldn't take as long.
In the moons that followed Oakheart's death, Bluefur renewed her focus on her warrior duties. The four territories were peaceful for the most part, aside from a few border skirmishes. Thistlestar still insisted on continuing the thrice daily patrols along RiverClan's border, and aside from the time a single young warrior had crossed into ThunderClan territory in a defiant challenge to ThunderClan's recent territory acquisition, activity by the river was quiet.
Bluefur didn't remember much about that Gathering aside from the announcement of Oakheart's death, but from her Clanmates' conversations she found out that Thistlestar had been an intimidating force in response to Crookedstar's rage, and had threatened him with attacks on the RiverClan camp if they put so much as a single paw on Sunningrocks. Most of the Clan seemed to think Thistlestar was bluffing, but Bluefur didn't think so. If the RiverClan warrior had been at Sunningrocks instead of the stepping stones, she was certain they would have been thrown into an all-out war.
Thankfully though, Crookedstar had backed down, but Bluefur knew it wouldn't be long before some cat or another provoked Thistlestar into ordering another attack.
Battle wasn't the only thing on her Clanmates minds however. With the additional territory prey was running well, and Mosstail was gaining quite the reputation as a skilled hunter. "Look at this!" the pale gray she-cat mewed one day, her tail high as she trotted into camp. Bluefur glanced down and saw that her daughter was carrying a rather large squirrel.
Mistyfur padded up behind her, rolling her eyes. "She's been talking about that squirrel all morning."
"You would too if you had to jump between trees to catch it." Depositing the squirrel on the fresh-kill pile, Mosstail gave her sister a mischievous glance. "I think you're just jealous of my incredible hunting skills."
"Right. When you fell from one of the higher branches and only avoided breaking a leg by landing directly on top of a squirrel I was overcome with envy-"
"You know, Mistyfur," Mosstail went on, "I can teach you if you want. With enough practice you could probably get almost as good as me. You just have to ask. I'm sure Runningwind would be impressed if you gained new tree hunting abilities."
"What- I don't- why would I need to impress-" Purring, Bluefur closed her eyes, letting the sound of her daughters' good natured dispute wash over her ears. Mosstail's friendly jibes sounded familiar, like how Oakheart would have been if he'd grown up hunting in trees instead of the river. It seemed like every day now that one of her kits did something that reminded her of Oakheart.
Bluefur couldn't help but see Oakheart in Stoneclaw, Mistyfur, and Mosstail. In some ways they were just like him: the way they walked, the way their whiskers twitched in response to a joke... She allowed herself to freely recognize Oakheart in her kits, and sometimes almost thought she could feel his presence. The ache in her chest grew less painful with time.
The seasons came and went. Robinwing announced that she was expecting a litter of kits, and soon after that gave birth to a single tom, Longkit. Bluefur noticed many of the younger cats were especially excited over his birth, including Mosstail, Mistyfur, and Stoneclaw. She figured they were hoping to receive Longkit as their apprentice; with the lack of new kits in recent seasons there were many skilled warriors who had yet to gain that honor. Personally, Bluefur thought it was unlikely; she had overheard Thistlestar and Tigerclaw discussing Darkstripe's readiness to train an apprentice even though he was the Clan's newest warrior.
Time was passing with little to differentiate the days, and Bluefur was glad. Perhaps ThunderClan would survive with Thistlestar as its leader. Goosefeather had been wrong, he had to be. His mind had been deteriorating in the seasons before he died, and Bluefur figured that the prophecy predicting the downfall of ThunderClan probably wasn't true...
That was what she told herself anyway. It was easy to put her worries in the back of her mind now that the conflict with RiverClan had died down. But Crookedstar still gave Thistlestar furious looks at every Gathering, and Bluefur noticed some of the RiverClan cats were starting to look less plump than usual. She knew if prey ran much worse for RiverClan, they might try to regain the land they'd lost, but for now they weren't desperate enough.
Compared to the length of RiverClan border patrols, the ShadowClan ones always seemed to be an afterthought. It was one of those times that Bluefur was patrolling the ShadowClan border with Whitestorm and Fuzzypelt when the breeze shifted.
"Is that ShadowClan?" Fuzzypelt meowed.
Bluefur narrowed her eyes. The scent of ShadowClan certainly was there. "Yes, but perhaps it's just being carried across the Thunderpath by the wind. Let's check it out." The group trotted along the side of the Thunderpath.
Sniffing at the undergrowth, a sharp tang hit Bluefur's nose. It was much too strong to have been carried in the wind. ShadowClan. And they're on our territory.
Instinctively, all three cats crouched at the sound of rustling branches. Bluefur peered through the woods, making out the shapes of dark shadows flashing through the trees.
"Quick, this way," she hissed, flattening herself against the ground to squeeze under a bramble thicket. They had to get a closer look.
Soon they reached a tree with thick winding roots that sheltered them from view. The sound of mewing rumbled from less than a tree-length away. Bluefur had expected RiverClan to invade, not ShadowClan. ThunderClan had been friendly with ShadowClan lately. Why would they risk a battle right now?
"I can go fetch some more warriors to fight them off," Fuzzypelt meowed softly.
Bluefur shook her head. "Wait. They're leaving." Sure enough, the sleek cats darted back across the border into ShadowClan territory, disappearing into the thick undergrowth.
Whitestorm fluffed out his fur against the wind. "We need to tell Thistlestar about this."
Nodding, Bluefur tried to project an appearance of calm confidence, but on the inside she felt a pang of anxiety. This was the first obvious instance of ShadowClan trespassing during Thistlestar's leadership, and she could only hope that it didn't result in war.
They returned to camp to tell Thistlestar about the intrusion. He insisted that they show him. That had caught the Clan's attention; Thistlestar generally left border patrols up to Tigerclaw.
"Where was it exactly?" the gray tabby leader growled, leaping over a fallen log.
"Past the dead tree, a few tree-lengths from the Thunderpath," Whitestorm replied.
As they made their way through the forest Thistlestar continued to talk to his son, ignoring Bluefur and Fuzzypelt. "How many?"
"At least three."
Bluefur listened and led the way, her hopes of avoiding a battle sinking lower and lower. Thistlestar would never wait to warn them off at a Gathering now, not when cats had been seen so far within ThunderClan's hunting grounds.
They approached the spot where the ShadowClan warriors had trespassed, and the patrol immediately tensed.
Blood. And fur. Bluefur sniffed the air, recognizing the squirrel scent mingling along with ShadowClan's. She hadn't noticed it before. "They've hunted here," she growled. But her anger was nothing compared to Thistlestar's.
"They will regret this." Thistlestar's growl was barely audible. "If they believe we are too distracted by RiverClan to fight them off, they are mistaken."
The ThunderClan patrol hid, crouching within the undergrowth beside the Thunderpath. Bluefur was settled next to Whitestorm. His whiskers twitched, and Bluefur wondered if her sister's son agreed with Thistlestar's reasoning for the takeover. Bluefur swiveled her ears. The sound of pawsteps was approaching.
Tigerclaw was at the head of the patrol, his muscles rippling beneath his pelt. His tail gave the tiniest hint of a twitch. The ShadowClan warriors were getting closer. It would be any moment before he gave the signal.
Suddenly Tigerclaw leaped up and let out a war cry, and at his signal the patrol surged forward. Bluefur added her voice to the yowls of her Clanmates as they surrounded the confused ShadowClan cats.
"Run now, ShadowClan crowfood, or you'll never run again!" Darkstripe bounded forward, reaching out to slash at an older black tom.
"What is this?" screeched one of the ShadowClan cats.
"You can't try to take ThunderClan land and expect nothing in return!" Darkstripe yowled back.
"We don't want your land!"
"Trespassers!" The yowls and screeches blended together as the ThunderClan warriors dashed across the scent line and into ShadowClan territory.
They didn't stop once the enemy warriors had been driven away from ThunderClan territory, but continued to charge forward, driving the ShadowClan cats further and further back.
As Bluefur fought side by side with Whitestorm, her paws sinking into the marshy ground whenever she took a step, she recognized the one-sidedness of the fight. With the additional territory ThunderClan had taken from RiverClan, every one of her Clanmates was strong and well fed, and had been for moons. ShadowClan didn't stand a chance even with their knowledge of the lay of the land.
Bluefur ended up fighting a pair of young ShadowClan cats, and although they were nearly as big as her, she parried their attacks with ease. The two were clearly inexperienced and also suffered from overconfidence; in a matter of heartbeats Bluefur had gained the upper paw and sent them scrambling with a harsh jab to their exposed bellies with an unsheathed claw. They only retreated a short distance however; Bluefur watched them with narrowed eyes, daring them to challenge her again.
Stoneclaw and Redtail fought together, and Bluefur gave the two a swift nod when they managed to overwhelm a group of three ShadowClan cats.
She took a moment to search for her other kits and saw that they were both doing well; Mosstail was grappling with a smaller tom while Mistyfur was running circles around a large gray tabby.
Soon the ShadowClan warriors were backed up against the Thunderpath. Bluefur let her gaze follow the path to get an idea of her surroundings; they were at the part of the Thunderpath that sloped and curved upward to head even deeper into ShadowClan territory.
"Give up yet?" Darkstripe hissed.
A large ShadowClan tom bared his teeth in a snarl. "Never."
The fighting erupted with new energy, and Bluefur hissed when a claw dug into her shoulder. It wasn't deep, but it stung. She threw herself into the battle again, this time finding herself face to face with a flat faced tom. He hurtled toward her, and Bluefur narrowly avoided his snapping jaws. The ShadowClan cats were outnumbered and not as strong as a whole, but they were attacking with all they had.
But it wasn't enough. The ThunderClan cats bit and slashed, and the cornered ShadowClan warriors finally stumbled away, unable to keep up with the speed and number of their enemies.
The cats turned to Tigerclaw to find out what to do next. The dark tabby tom raised his chin. "Well done, all of you." He paused, surveying the blood stained land with gleaming amber eyes. "Darkstripe, Redtail, mark the new border." Murmurs rippled through the group; there hadn't been any announcement that this was a territory acquisition raid.
Then a realization hit Bluefur that made her blood turn to ice. "Wait a moment." Bluefur stood up, her claws digging into the marshy ground. "If we take this territory we cut ShadowClan off from Fourtrees."
"Yes, how will they attend Gatherings?" Redtail spoke up. Bluefur gave him a small nod. He was one of the few cats who seemed to recognize the value in avoiding battles, and at the same time he was brave enough to join the fight without hesitation. Hopefully their Clanmates would listen to him.
"They'll attend if we let them," Darkstripe meowed, and to Bluefur's concern a few cats mumbled their agreement.
Redtail shook his head. "The full moon is a time of truce. They need to at least be able to get to Fourtrees."
Glaring, Tigerclaw snorted. "That isn't our concern. It will be an improvement if ShadowClan decide not to go to Gatherings. Perhaps that will make them think twice about trespassing and hunting within our borders."
As though he was unable to believe what was happening, Redtail blinked a few times. Dipping his head in defeat, Redtail padded away to mark the new border while Darkstripe headed in the opposite direction. The rest of the cats were silent, but Bluefur could feel the tension in the air. This went far beyond what they'd done to RiverClan.