Cragpaw yawned, his nest back at the Thunderclan camp calling his name longingly. It was shortly past moonhigh, and he was part of one of the extra patrols Stormstar had assigned. Icetalon, the Thunderclan deputy, was leading the patrol steadily towards the Windclan border, never breaking stride. Wildpath and Shardfoot were padding closely behind the black she-cat, mumbling drowsily. Spottedfire stalked at the rear, silent as a fox.
"These patrols are mousebrained," Wildpath complained. Her fur was so dark that sometimes Cragpaw lost sight of her in the shadows of the trees. "I don't know why Stormstar wants us to keep doing this. We haven't seen hide nor hair of Windclan since the Gathering."
"Do you really think Marshstar was making empty threats?" Icetalon replied. "He's too proud to drop the issue, even though he's dead wrong."
"I say let him come," Spottedfire meowed. "Our warriors outnumber his, and we fight better among the trees anyway. No need to patrol the borders, I say."
"Marshstar's out for blood," Icetalon reminded them. "He'll match blood for blood, kill for kill. Do you want his target to be one of the kits? Or even Dawnsayer?"
"He wouldn't dare!" Wildpath snarled.
"Better safe than sorry."
Shardfoot spoke up for the first time. "We keep up the patrols at least until the next Gathering."
"He's right," meowed Cragpaw. He didn't like contradicting his mentor, but all he had to do was think about Rosekit and Bristlekit to remember that this was what they should do."
Clouds drifted lazily accross the dark sky, occasionally draping the forest in shadow. A light wind from the moor up ahead drafted across Cragpaw's fur and he shivered.
Shardfoot paused and stiffened. "Wait," he hissed, the white tom's voice echoing ominously in the silent woods.
The patrol stiffened, but Cragpaw could hear nothing except the groaning of trees in the wind.
"Do you smell that?" Shardfoot opened his jaws to taste the air. Cragpaw and the others followed suit. He almost gagged on the revolting scent that grazed his tongue. It smelled dark and musky, as if something died during a rainstorm in a soggy nest. The silence was suddenly shattered by a panicked cry rising from up ahead.
Icetalon burst forward. "This way, and— " she turned to meet the eyes of her Clan mates. "For the love of Starclan, be careful!" she didn't need to remind anyone of how many cats they'd lost in the following moons. They couldn't afford another death.
The patrol ran swiftly, darting in between trees and over bushes. Cragpaw's muscles began to warm up with the excursion and adrenaline. As the distance to the Windclan border lessened, more cries could be heard, along with an ongoing roar. Fear gripped Cragpaw's limbs and every instinct inside begged him to run in the opposite direction. With a frustrated growl, he stamped those feelings down and dug his claws into the ground, pushing forward. In front of him, Wildpath slid to a sudden halt, and he had to dive sideways to avoid crashing into her. After he regained his balance, Cragpaw gazed out on the moor from the edge of the trees.
It was a scene he couldn't even dream up in his worst nightmares.
At the foot of the hill was a massive creature, the likes of which he had never seen. Its dark fur was short and bristly. It had a round, lumbering gait. Its paws were the size of a single cat alone, and they swatted furiously at anything in their way. Patches of blood soaked the ground. Grass and dirt had turned over wherever the monster stepped.
Two Windclan warriors were taking turns attacking and avoiding the creature. Two more cats were dragging an injured Clan mate over the ridge of the hill across the clearing. They set down their burden and began to argue about something.
"What do we do, Icetalon?" Wildpath growled, asking the question on everyone's mind. The Thunderclan warrior didn't seem to be too fazed about what was going on below them, but Cragpaw could see the rigid tension in her black-furred shoulders.
"We can't leave them to die," Icetalon declared. "We have to help them."
"We were talking about them killing one of our own back there, and now your telling us to save them?" Spottedfire demanded. Cragpaw knew this was the right thing to do in his heart, but his head was scolding him frantically to turn back the way he'd come. His mentor was confronted with the same moral conflict.
"We'll be crushed by that…thing!"
"We have to try, if not for the safety of Thunderclan," Shardfoot growled.
Unable to speak, Cragpaw nodded his agreement.
"We will only stall it long enough to help those Windclan cats escape," Icetalon said. She turned to Cragpaw, blue eyes dark with concern. "You aren't entitled to do this, Cragpaw. You are still only an apprentice," she murmured. "We understand if you are too afraid."
Cragpaw blinked in surprise. Was his fear really that plain to see? Angry and embarrassed, he shook himself roughly. "I will fight," he growled. I would die to protect my clan! he promised, thinking of Bristlekit, Rosekit, and all his other Clan mates who were just as much a part of him as he was of them.
He caught a glimmer of approval in Icetalon's eyes before the deputy dipped her head. "Stay close to me and away from that beast." The she-cat reared up and yowled a battle cry.
Cragpaw and the others took up her call before racing down the hill, leaving the safety of the forest behind. At the first cry, the fight below turned to face the newcomers. Almost too soon, Cragpaw found himself mere fox-lengths away from the monster.
"Give us your worst, creature!" Icetalon snarled. In response to her challenge, the beast reared up, towering over the cats. It uttered a bone-shaking roar. A white pelt flashed in Cragpaw's vision as Shardfoot hooked his claws in the creature's hind leg. A bloodied Windclan cat Cragpaw recognized as Thistletooth barrelled into its other leg, which was thick as a small tree trunk. Unbalanced, the monster fell backwards into a clumsy heap. The Windclan apprentice, Hawkpaw, dug his teeth into the black pad of the creature's forepaw.
Confidence burned through Cragpaw. Maybe this would be easier than they thought.
"No, Hawkpaw! We need to scatter!" Flowerbelly screeched.
Before the tabby tom could move, Hawkpaw was swatted by the claws he had just bitten. The creature, swift as a fish, snatched Thistletooth in its gaping jaws. The warrior opened his mouth in a silent wail, desperately thrashing his legs. Blood seeped up from the Windclan warrior's haunches where the beast gripped him. He was then flung several rabbit-hops into the air. The tabby tom landed heavily on the ground, skidding a few tail lengths, and leaving a smear of blood before halting. He didn't get up.
Yowling, Ravenfeather threw herself at the creature, followed by Flowerbelly. Hawkpaw jumped to his paws, shaking his head before leaping after his clan mates. The beast stumbled back a few paces at the sudden onslaught.
"They've got the right idea!" Icetalon called over the snarling and snapping of teeth. "Just keep pushing at it! We'll overwhelm it with numbers!"
The Thunderclan deputy hurled her body at the beast. Wildpath hissed and leaped high on the monsters belly. It was shoved a couple more paces backwards.
"It's working!" Cragpaw cried before pelting at the monster, Shardfoot and Spottedfire close behind. Shardfoot bounded upwards and dug his claws into the creature's shoulders. Spottedfire buried her teeth into its throat. Then Cragpaw lost sight of his Clan mates as he collided into the monster's chest. He gagged as the rank, prickly fur smothered his mouth as he bit down, but the apprentice pushed on, using all the strength of his back legs. His teeth rattled with the force of the beast's booming growls. Cragpaw's fur brushed with Hawkpaw and Wildpath as, together, the cats grimly pushed forward.
With a furious roar, the creature finally backed off, shaking itself roughly. The group of warriors went flying. Its beady eyes darted around, surveying the eight cats standing side by side against it. It bared its teeth, fangs dripping with saliva.
"Leave our territory and never return!" Flowerbelly spat. The monster didn't seem to understand her words, but it let loose one last roar, spittle flying from its maw, before backing away. It turned and sprinted across the moor in the direction of the cliffs surrounding the distant mountains, leaving Clan territory. Its tail was only a short stump, and its gait was remarkably fast for its size.
The heartbeat it crossed the border, Ravenfeather rushed to Thistletooth's side. Flowerbelly turned to the Thunderclan cats and dipped her head. "Windclan thanks you for your help, but I must ask you to leave our territory and go back the way you came."
Cragpaw stared at the Windclan deputy in shock. Thunderclan just saved their lives! Wildpath snorted and Shardfoot growled angrily. Spottedfire looked more than happy to follow Flowerbelly's orders and return home, but Icetalon wasn't having it.
"Don't be mousebrained! Your warriors need our help at least to get you all back to camp. And that monster might come back to finish what it started."
As if on cue, the cat on the ridge of the hill groaned with pain. Hawkpaw winced at the sound and sped up the rise to comfort his injured Clan mate.
"We will handle the situation on our own." Flowerbelly's white chest and belly fur bristled slightly as she spoke. Cragpaw wondered if she would be more hospitable if Riverclan or even Shadowclan had come to their aid instead.
"She's right," Ravenfeather, who had trotted up after inspecting Thistletooth, cut in. "It's dangerous for you to be here."
"We'll take that chance," Icetalon retorted impatiently. She turned to Spottedfire, who was watching the exchange in tense silence. "Go alert Stormstar as to what happened," she ordered. "Tell her to await our swift return."
The spotted ginger she-cat dipped her head, glanced at Cragpaw, and turned, padding quickly back up into the trees. Icetalon watched her go and returned her attention to Flowerbelly.
"What needs to be done?" she demanded.
"I don't care what those mousebrains do. We need to get Fernleaf and Thistletooth back to camp, now!" Hawkpaw's sharp voice drifted down the hill. Clearly the Windclan apprentice had no reservations when addressing his deputy.
Resignation dimmed Flowerbelly's eyes. "We need help carrying Thistletooth and Fernleaf back to camp," she began. "Fernleaf has a foot, neck, and head injury." She flicked her tail at Ravenfeather, beckoning the small warrior to go on.
The dark she-cat stepped forward. "Thistletooth has deep gouges and can't walk, so both need to be carried slowly and gently."
"Ravenfeather here also has a bad shoulder injury and will need someone to lean on," Flowerbelly cut in. Her Clan mate began to protest, but the Windclan deputy broke her off with a sharp hiss.
Icetalon nodded thoughtfully. Cragpaw marveled at how the two rivals, who had a deep rift between their Clans, could work so efficiently in a time of crisis.
"Cragpaw, you support Ravenfeather," Icetalon ordered. The apprentice dipped his head in acknowledgement.
"Shardfoot and I will help with Thistletooth. Wildpath, help with Fernleaf."
Flowerbelly and Wildpath began to climb up the hill leading to Hawkpaw and Fernleaf. Icetalon and Shardfoot made their way over to Thistletooth, leaving Cragpaw alone with his charge. Ravenfeather stared him down with a level gaze, but the Windclan warrior trembled with exhaustion. A long, deep gash trailed from the base of her neck, along her shoulder, and halfway down her right foreleg. "I don't need help from an arrogant little Thunderclan apprentice," she growled halfheartedly.
"Well I need to follow my deputy's orders," Cragpaw retorted. "You can be graceful about it, or you can collapse out here and wait for the next patrol to stumble across you. Or the monster."
Ravenfeather pointedly ignored him and took a few steps up the rise towards her Clan mates before her injured leg folded under her. Instinctively, Cragpaw rushed to the black she-cat's side, stopping her fall. The warrior's body trembled against his.
"We'll help each other up," he meowed more sympathetically before she could protest. He admitted to himself that it would be a hit to his pride if a Windclan apprentice had to help walk him home. Ravenfeather grunted in response to his support, but she didn't step away from him. She was wise enough to accept his assistance.
Together, the two Clan rivals mingled and padded side by side, supporting each other as they journeyed home.