Chapter Six

Sundapple stretched, trying to clear her sleep-fogged mind. Alderheart had excitedly woken her to tell her that they had their first official assignment as warriors: to pay a visit to MossClan. There had been a vicious battle with coyotes a few sunsets before, and their leader wanted to make sure the other Clan was alright. They had been allied for many moons, since before Sundapple was kitted, and often helped one another.

Alderheart brushed against her, excitement glittering in his green eyes. "Are you ready?"

"Of course," she purred.

Sparrowstar came padding up to them, looking unhappy. "Come on. Let's go."

They made their way through RainClan territory, Sparrowstar not saying anything else to the young warriors. Sundapple fluffed out her coat against the cold air. It was late in leaf-fall, and the first snows of leaf-bare would arrive soon. The ground felt cold and hard under her paws, and she knew that hunting was about to become significantly harder.

They walked for a long time, crossing the border into MossClan and making their way towards their camp, Sparrowstar confidently leading the way.

As they approached the camp entrance, a light brown tabby tom who was standing guard flicked his surprisingly short tail in a signal to halt. "Sparrowstar. Why are you here?"

"Acorntail," meowed Sparrowstar in greeting. "I wished to ensure that your Clan had recovered from the battle."

Acorntail relaxed his shoulders. "Of course. Follow me. I expect that Foxstar and Quailfeather will want to see you."

Cats looked curiously at them as they made their way across the clearing, passing under a fallen tree into the leader's den.

Foxstar sat in the center of the den as they entered, eyes narrowed. "Sparrowstar. I expected to see you." The elderly tom tilted his head slightly. "Checking out our weaknesses, I'm sure."

Sundapple looked him up and down. For a Clan leader, he does look weak, she thought. Foxstar had a dull ginger tabby coat, his ribs visible. His paws seemed to shake just from the effort of holding himself up.

The dark brown leader dipped her head. "We mean you no harm, Foxstar. We wanted to offer our help for any recovery you still need from the battle, and to see how you were doing."

A brown tabby tom came into the den behind them. Sundapple assumed he must be Quailfeather, the MossClan deputy. "I came as soon as I heard. I hope you're being hospitable, Foxstar. You know that without RainClan I might not have survived the battle." He moved to sit next to his leader. "Thank you, Sparrowstar. The loss of Greenpaw was difficult, but the rest of us are recovering well from our wounds. I don't believe that we need any more assistance at this time."

Foxstar hissed. "Quailfeather, stop telling our enemies our secrets!" He stumbled to his feet, looking panicked. "SmokeClan is going to attack us!"

SmokeClan? What's that? Sundapple fidgeted uncomfortably.Was there another Clan that she had never heard about?

"Foxstar, SmokeClan is gone." Quailfeather laid his tail on Foxstar's shoulder. "You need to relax. If you don't, I'm going to have to go get Whiterose again." He shot an apologetic glance at Sparrowstar. "I'm sorry, he gets like this sometimes. You should probably go. We'll be alright."

Sparrowstar turned. "We're going back to camp," she meowed quietly to Alderheart and Sundapple, and led the way home.

Sundapple sat next to her mother, yawning. "Foxstar is certainly something." After they had returned home, Alderheart had left to hunt with his friend Robinwing, leaving her to relax and eat.

Daisypetal purred a laugh. "That he is. I suppose that you haven't heard too much about him before today." She looked thoughtfully into the distance. "He used to be a good leader. When I was young, he was the strongest cat in the forest. But age and paranoia have gotten the best of him, and at this point Quailfeather practically runs the Clan. He must be on his last few lives, if not his final one."

"Mother…" Sundapple hoped that this wouldn't be a stupid question. "Who are SmokeClan?"

The ginger and white she-cat's eyes widened. "Who told you about SmokeClan?"

"It's just something that Foxstar said. He got upset and yowled something about SmokeClan attacking them, and then Quailfeather told him that SmokeClan was gone and he didn't have to worry about them."

"The time when SmokeClan existed is a time that most of us would like to forget." Daisypetal sighed. "Long ago, Sundapple, there were four Clans. RainClan, MossClan, FlameClan, and SmokeClan. RainClan and MossClan have long been allied, for many generations, but FlameClan and SmokeClan were once allied as well.

"The cats of FlameClan were brave and strong, formidable opponents in battle. However, one new-leaf there was a violent flash flood that decimated their Clan. Many of their strongest warriors were drowned trying to save the old and weak, and they were left helpless. Instead of trying to help their allies rebuild their Clan, SmokeClan took advantage of the opportunity and invaded.

"FlameClan was slaughtered. My own mother saw the remains of the camp after the attack, when RainClan sent a raiding party to try to help, but it was too late. Cats lay dead all over the hollow, from the youngest kits with their eyes still closed to the frailest elders." Daisypetal shuddered.

Sundapple was shocked. How could one Clan do this to another? It was against the warrior code to murder cats of another Clan in cold blood! "What happened?"

"SmokeClan took FlameClan's territory as their own. They hunted on it for moons, terrorizing the other Clans with their vicious ways. Their leader, Reedstar, wrought havoc on the forest. Eventually, MossClan and RainClan were able to work together and drive SmokeClan out. Reedstar was killed in the process, and the other cats became rogues. Most older cats here knew cats murdered by SmokeClan. There's a reason it's not talked about."

Sundapple sat in silence for a few moments, at a loss for words. "I can't believe I didn't know about this."

Daisypetal shrugged. "What's done is done, my daughter. Things this painful are better forgotten." She flicked her tail towards the nursery, obviously impatient to change the subject. "Did you hear about Willowleaf?"

"No," meowed Sundapple. "What happened?"

"She had a hard kitting," her mother meowed. "Vinepelt wasn't sure that she was going to make it, but she pulled through. One of her kits didn't, though." She shook her head sadly.

"How many are alive?" Sundapple asked.

"Three. Still plenty to bring her joy." She looked at her daughter. "We're going to have to work very hard to make it through leaf-bare. After the last greencough epidemic, we don't have as many warriors as we should, and our nursery will be overflowing with kits."

"I know. I've been trying to hunt as often as possible. When the first freeze comes we'll really need to focus, because prey we catch can be stored longer."

Daisypetal shifted uncomfortably and gestured to the jagged scar on her chest. "My scar aches when the weather is about to change. Call me old if you want, but I know that leaf-bare will be here soon."