Owlfeather mumbled in his sleep, only for a paw to poke him in the face. As his yellow eye flew open, it darted around until it rested on a siamese cat with brown ears, paws, and tail-tip. Her blue eyes were as deep as an ocean trench as the tabby held her gaze for a heartbeat longer, then yawned.
"Kinktail," he said drowsily. "What is it?"
The expression on the ShadowClan cat's face didn't change; her eyes were still narrowed.
"You were mewing in your sleep, you stupid furball," the warrior replied. "Besides, the sun has risen."
Owlfeather had not yet noticed the golden light pooling on the ground, making it look like honey. The rays of sunlight shone through the entrance of the burrow, causing the tomcat to squint his eyes as he walked out of the hole. Outside, Voleflight was already awake, sitting by a small mixed pile of mice, lizards, and squirrels.
"Good morning Voleflight," the SolarClan warrior greeted. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Hunting," the pale ginger cat purred. "Thank StarClan I was able to find some lizards. Also, I thought SolarClan cats liked to be up as soon as the sun rises?"
Owlfeather purred, "well... I guess I'm not full SolarClan."
The wind ruffled the cats' pelts and Kinktail fluffed out her fur. "Burr! Is it late Leaf-fall or Leaf-bare?"
"I'm freezing my tail off!" Clawdawn hissed, raising her head from her paws.
Owlfeather watched Shadespring slink out of the burrow and start licking her paw.
"Good morning Shadespring, Clawdawn. How did you sleep?"
The black she-cat blinked her eyes a few times before shaking her head. "Good."
She reached out her black paw to snag a mouse from the pile, then brought it to herself and started eating.
Noticing that the she-cats had begun to eat, Owlfeather padded over to take a squirrel for himself.
After they all had finished their meal, Voleflight let out, "where do you think we should go now?"
Clawdawn looked up from biting her tail. "I think we should continue north," she said. Owlfeather's tail twitched as he looked up at the sky.
A black tomcat slowly poked his head out from under a bush, his copper eyes gleaming. "Well well well, what do we have here? Five cats going on a mission to find the forgotten forest?" He cackled to himself. "Not for long."
Clawdawn lifted her muzzle to drink in a scent. It was sort of familiar... yet at the same time unknown. Shrugging it off, she heaved herself to her paws. "I believe we should get going. I don't want us to attract any badgers or foxes."
The silver RiverClan cat nodded. "I agree with Clawdawn."
Kinktail stood up. "Why? Are you two scaredy-mice?"
"Kinktail!" The SolarClan cat hissed. The siamese warrior flicked her tail as she and the rest got up.
"So north?" Voleflight questioned. Receiving a nod from Owlfeather, the five cats ran into the undergrowth.
. . .
Amberpaw purred as she and her mentor carried Burnet in Ivy Leaves. They padded through the tall grass of WindClan territory until they came to the gorge. Stepping carefully, the two she-cats made their way to Fourtrees.
"I'm surprised we didn't see a RiverClan patrol," meowed Amberpaw.
Swampleaf looked back. "Creekstar and the other leaders are agreeing to keep to their own territory."
The bright-colored apprentice looked up at the bare limbs of the oak trees and swallowed greedily. How much longer can the Clans survive?
Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, Amberpaw followed the black she-cat through ThunderClan territory.
It wasn't long before they heard a hiss and looked over to see three cats racing to them. As they got closer, Amberpaw could make out their pelt colors; light brown, golden, and calico. The three ThunderClan cats stopped before them and hissed.
"Hello Brackendust, Goldenlight, and Dovepaw," the medicine cat greeted.
Recognizing the herb scents on the cats, Goldenlight snarled at her Clanmate. "Way to go, Brackendust! These aren't enemy warriors, just medicine cats."
The light brown broken mackerel tabby flicked his ear. The calico she-cat touched her nose to Amberpaw and the golden yellow feline purred.
"Hello Dovepaw," Amberpaw said. "How are your littermates doing?"
The Thunder cat purred as she licked her paw and ran it down her muzzle. "Me, Darkpaw, Poppypaw, and Rainpaw are trying to help out with the drought."
Swampleaf flicked her tail toward the twolegplace. "I hate to break up this conversation, but we have to get more catmint. Amberpaw?"
Looking up at her mentor, the blue-eyed she-cat nodded then turned back to her friend. "Goodbye, Dovepaw. You too Brackendust and Goldenlight."
Turning away, the medicine cats grabbed the ivy leaves and padded away from the patrol into the undergrowth. It wasn't long before they came to a twoleg fence and started tasting the air for the irresistible smelling plant.
"Found it," Amberpaw looked behind her to see Swampleaf with the leafy herb in her jaws.
"Good, now let's get back to camp," the golden-yellow she-cat meowed.