"Sunwhisker?" I asked. He glared at the two spiritclan cats with a look of pure hatred. I looked at him confused and then looked at shiningpaw and smallpaw. Shiningpaw was blocking smallpaw. His fur was lying flat as he calmly glared at sunwhisker. Smallpaw eye's were huge as she looked between sunwhisker and shiningpaw. "Sunwhisker what are you doing?" I asked pushing past him and approaching the two spiritclan cats. "Starrypaw stop those are spiritclan cats!" He exclaimed. By this time mossnose and thundertail had entered the clearing. "Spiritclan and waterclan have been enemies for ages starrypaw you have to understand sunwhiskers attitude." Thundertail explained. "But they won't hurt us." I meowed stiffly. "You don't know that." Sunwhisker growled. "You don't either!" I screeched. He flinched as if I clawed his tail. "Sorry guys we have to go." I meowed bitterly. "We understand starrypaw we'll see you at the next gathering." I nodded and watched them walk out of the clearing. I turned briskly and padded past sunwhisker without a word. "Starrypaw…" He meowed. I ignored him and kept walking towards the opening of the rock wall. I trotted after mossnose and thundertail who have already left to continue the patrol. We walked in an awkward silence for the rest of the patrol. On our way back to the camp I told them to go ahead and that I would hunt. They nodded and continued to camp. I sat in the quiet forest for a minute. A scuffle by a tree alerted my attention. I parted my jaws to catch the scent of prey. Instead of prey I scented something that froze me in my seat. Fox. I quivered with fear as the orange creature stepped out from behind the tree. My amber eyes widened as it approached me. I wanted to run and yowl and scream but fear had me rock steady in its grasp. I watched helplessly as it kept advancing and no one was nearby to save me this time. The fox was two tail lengths away now. I could feel its hot breath on my neck at it circled me and sniffed my fur. "Cat…" It said in a raspy voice. I squeaked in surprise. The fox stopped moving and I froze waiting for it to rip my head off and eat me or take me to it's yapping kits and then eat me. I whimpered as it stood in front of and stared at me. It's yellow eyes stared at me curiously. "Can you understand me?" It asked. I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded. It bent its head closer until its muzzle was inches from my face. "Please don't eat me." I whimpered quietly. The fox sat back on its haunches. "You cats and your stories." The fox chuckled good naturedly. I opened one of my eyes and peeked up at the fox. It was still looking at me curiously. "So… your not going to eat me?" I asked still quivering. "Its not everyday I meet a cat who can understand my language." The fox answered casually. "I won't kill you." It added when it noticed I was still shaking. I straightened up and looked at the fox trying not to shake. "Why?" I asked. "The last time I spoke to another fox was when I was a kit." It replied. "I've been living on this island ever since I left my mothers den." "Oh…" I meowed tentatively. "But a long time ago probably close to when you were born there was this one cat who looked a lot like you that could also understand me and we became good friends." It shook its head. "Your probably talking about waterstar." I murmured. It looked at me. "You smell like her too." "Because I'm an apprentice in her clan that she made when she first became leader." I explained. The fox cocked its head and stared at me with a confused expression. "Yes she did mention a clan but I'm afraid I don't remember much." "Well unlike foxes we cats live toghether in four separate groups or "clans" as we call them." I explained. "Oh yes I remember that." The fox said. "I can't imagine living all alone like you do." I meowed. The fox looked at me. "Do you even have a name?" I asked. "Yes my name is cleo." She said. "I'm starrypaw." I meowed feeling more confident talking to cleo. "Well its nice to meet you starrypaw." She said. I nodded and smiled. My ears pricked up as I heard a rustle in the bush to my left. I opened my jaws and scented a water vole. I dropped into a hunting crouch and stalked towards the bush. I slowly put my paw forward. I dashed into the bush and clamped my jaws on a furry pelt. I trotted back out of the bush towards cleo with the vole clamped in my jaws. Cleo watched the whole thing sitting neatly and upright with her fluffy tail wrapped around her paws. I dropped the vole and buried it in the ground to come and get it later. "Why are you burying that vole?" Cleo asked. "So I can hunt without having to drag it around." I responded. "Im supposed to be hunting for my clan right now." I trotted towards the direction of the third island of the lake. "Where are you going?" Cleo asked. "Fruit island." I meowed sniffing a leaf. "Most of the prey live on that island because of the food the twolegs plant there." I passed the owl tree heading north the opposite direction of camp. "Would you like me to help?" Cleo asked. "If you want…" I meowed as I tasted the air for prey. I scented a rabbit in the undergrowth in front of me. I shot forward into the brush and before the rabbit squeak I killed it with a swipe of my claws. "You seem to be a good hunter starrypaw." Cleo mumbled while carrying a squirrel. I looked up from burying the rabbit. "I'm still in training so I'm not as good as some of the warriors." I meowed blushing by her compliment. I watched her bury the squirrel and we both set off for fruit island. As we walked to the island cleo asked me about the clans and about the stuff we do and our positions. We reached the river that split the two islands apart. This one was bigger than the one that split home island from the island we used for training. I plunged into the river and paddled with my muscular forepaws. I pulled myself up on the other side of the smooth flowing river and shook the water off my pelt. I looked up to see cleo using the fallen tree bridge. She jumped gracefully to the ground once she reached the other end. We walked through a rolling field of golden stems. "This is wheat." Cleo explained to me. "The humans use them to cook bread." "What are humans?" I asked as the plains of golden wheat fell behind us and we were walking through vegetable patches. "I think you cats call them twolegs." She said as she sniffed a cabbage. "But they are really called humans." She looked at me and smiled. My ears twitched as I looked at her confused for a moment before smiling. I turned and started to walk again. "Do you have a certain place you want to visit?" Cleo asked. "Kind of…" I trailed off as I started walking up a hill. I heard cleo's soft paw steps as she followed me up the hill. I bounded towards the top feeling the breeze against my damp fur as I ran. The dirt ground turned into soft green grass as I reached the top of the hill. I was over looking a field of strawberry vines that curved and wrapped around white wooden tree-like things that protruded from the ground. The field was next to a cliff that faced the lake and on the edge of the lake far away was the great rock. The great rock was taller than anything I know. It's huge canyon like walls reached up and a roaring waterfall fell into the lake. "Wow I didn't know about this place." Cleo hummed as the soft breeze brushed through her dry pelt. "It's my secret place…" I said as I watched the lake glitter in the late afternoon sun. "I usually come here when I'm sad or confused no other cat knows about it because they are afraid of twolegs beating them with the sticks they always carry around." Cleo watched the waterfall crash down into the lake for a moment before she spoke. "Why did you show me this if it's your secret place?" She asked. "Because you're my friend and if you ever feel lonely or sad or confused you can come here and talk to me about it right?" I meowed as the cool breeze hit my long silver fur. "I'd like that starrypaw." Cleo murmured.