"Hey Cloudstep!"
Cloudstep's heart sank. She'd been waiting to go back to her patrol, but now they were here, she dreaded it. Do I really want to go back to SkyClan? Do I really want to lead that bird-brained patrol, or go back to Songbird?
She sighed. Yes, she did want to go back to Songbird. Yes, she did want to lead the patrol, even if she didn't like Appleclaw and Flare, or Frankie and Oreo. She looked at Oreo. Flare stood beside the red-tailed black and white she-cat. Oreo's ice-coloured gaze glistened silver as she watched Cloudstep. She looked proud of herself, and Cloudstep growled. I could have gone back myself, without a stupid kittypet finding me!
"Cloudstep?" Mackenzie mewed softly, startling her. "Do you know her?"
Cloudstep wanted to say no. But it'd be stupid to lie, because loud-mouthed kittypets can't take hints. "Yes."
"Oh, good! She must be one of your Clanmates!" She ran up to Oreo. "Hello! I'm Mackenzie. You two have met Cloudstep before, haven't you?"
"Hi Mackenzie!" Oreo chirped. "I'm Oreo."
Mackenzie's tail twitched. "That's a strange warrior name." She sniffed Oreo's collar. "Oh. You're a housecat, aren't you?"
Oreo nodded. "I was helping Cloudstep and her patrol get to the other Clan cats. Do you know anything about them?"
Mackenzie nodded. "They live past highstones, across the thunderpath. The closest to here is ShadowClan, then you'll go through WindClan and RiverClan, and if you keep following the river, you'll pass ThunderClan, too. My friend Sagebrush said that RiverClan and WindClan were best, and that ThunderClan is full of furballs and ShadowClan is eerie."
Cloudstep stood beside Mackenzie. She glanced at Flare. The dark ginger tabby seemed interested, his long fur blowing a bit in the wind. His bright amber gaze matched Mackenzie's. They're somehow kin, I assume. I never realised that Mackenzie may have littermates or kits.
"Come on, Cloudstep, we're so close to the Clans, by tomorrow we can get there!" Oreo squeaked like a kit. "The highstones aren't even that far from here!"
Cloudstep sighed. "Where's Songbird? And where's your idiot friend, Frankie?"
"Frankie's not an idiot!" Oreo hissed. "She's actually really smart. Anyways, Songbird insisted that you weren't here and kept leading the patrol. We tried to stop her, but Frankie, Flare and I were the only cats to follow your scent. But now we don't know where Frankie is."
"Would that happen to be Frankie?" Mackenzie asked, angling her ears toward a fat ginger tabby. Her bright green collar was covered in dust and her fluffy fur had twigs and grass stuck in it. Her gold gaze was dull and she sighed.
"Frankie!" Oreo mewled. She ran toward her and flung herself onto Frankie's back. She wrapped her front paws around Frankie's neck and nuzzled the back of her head. Frankie flopped on the ground, almost crushing Oreo. "I thought you were lost!" Oreo wailed.
Frankie brushed her tail over Oreo's back. "Nobody can get rid of me that quickly!"
Oreo and Frankie curled into a purring ball of fur, and Cloudstep rolled her eyes. They're acting like kits again. She sat down and yawned.
"Aw, how cute!" Mackenzie purred, sitting beside Cloudstep.
"We need to get back to the rest of my patrol though. You can come with us, Mackenzie!" Cloudstep mewed.
Mackenzie sighed. "That'd be great, Cloudstep, but I'm not a Clan cat. You'll see me again on your way back, and if you ever need me, I'm a bit over a day from fourtrees."
"Fourtrees?" Flare echoed. "Is that the four trees that Oreo was meowing on about?"
Oreo lifted her head, her silver blue gaze bright. "The four trees?"
Frankie put her paw on the back of Oreo's head and pushed her down. "Got you!"
Oreo lifted her head, her white muzzle stained with grass. She spat out a few pine needles. "Frankie!" She kicked a few at her. Frankie leapt back.
"Can you two focus for one moment?" Cloudstep hissed. "You're grown cats, not kits!"
Frankie bared her teeth. "Well sorry we're not Clan cats, Cloudstep," she spat.
Cloudstep let out a warning growl. "Careful how you speak to me, Frankie. Remember who let you travel to the Clans. You weren't part of the prophecy. And I'm the leader of this patrol."
"Who made you leader?" Frankie snarled.
"Blossomstar, you know, the cat who sent out this patrol, fox dung." Cloudstep flattened her ears and circled Frankie warningly, but all Frankie did was circle too. She won't back down.
"Why should I care about Blossomstar? I don't even know who that is!" Frankie growled.
That's it. Cloudstep sprang at Frankie. She raked her claws across the orange tabby's forehead, and she screeched and jumped back.
Frankie unsheathed her claws. "You don't know what you're doing, Clan cat." Frankie spat the last two words like they were the most horrible, sour thing she'd ever said.
"You'll be sorry you said that, Twoleg toy." Cloudstep yanked Frankie by her tail and scraped her shoulder.
Frankie slammed down on Cloudstep, using her weight to knock the wind out of her. Cloudstep bit her hind leg, sinking her teeth in just deep enough where she wouldn't maim her, rather give her a scar to remember her by. Frankie yowled and slammed her heavy paws on Cloudstep's head, which made a crack noise from the pressure. Cloudstep hissed and ripped a clump of Frankie's fur out.
Frankie backed off and hissed one last time, arching her back before returning to Oreo's side. The smaller cat clambered over Frankie, cleaning the fat kittypet's wounds.
"Are you okay, Cloudstep?" Mackenzie asked, worried.
Cloudstep nodded. "I'll be fine," she growled.
"Why did you do that?" Flare asked. You and Frankie don't need to fight."
"We do, if she doesn't understand my authority. She's the lowest in this patrol," she growled.
Mackenzie ran off and came back with some yellow flowers. She gave some of them to Oreo and looked at Frankie. "Do you have any bad injuries?"
Cloudstep shook her head, but she knew it was a lie. She felt dizzy, and the paralyzed side of her face was so numb that it was almost painful. Great StarClan, I let myself get hurt by a kittypet.