Sunstar's death had come as a shock. Bluefur knew that no matter how many deaths she saw, she would always remember her mentor's clearly. But now, a moon after Sunstar's death, the Clan had gained a new routine. Instead of Thistlestar, it was Tigerclaw who organized patrols now, and to his credit, the Clan was running like clockwork.
One morning, Tigerclaw flicked his tail to beckon her. "Bluefur, join Darkpaw and I for the RiverClan border patrol."
She nodded and followed him out of the camp, as Darkpaw fell into step behind her. The patrol was going normally until they reached Sunningrocks.
"Smell that?" Tigerclaw hissed. Bluefur stiffened; she scented it too.
Darkpaw wrinkled his nose. "It's RiverClan." He looked up at his mentor, waiting for his approval.
Tigerclaw snorted. "Typical fish-faces, trying to test us," he growled in disgust.
Bluefur frowned, opening her mouth to breathe in the air, and leaped up the steep sides of the rocks to examine them closer. The scent was faint, and the cat it belonged to was unfamiliar to her. She leaped down and trotted back over to Tigerclaw and Darkpaw, who were waiting at the base of the rocks. "I only smell one cat," she meowed.
"That doesn't change anything. They can't cross our borders, whether it's one cat or ten." Bluefur bristled; was Tigerclaw insinuating that she didn't want to defend her territory? With a flick of his tail, Tigerclaw beckoned them onward before she could form a retort. "We will finish this patrol, and then inform Thistlestar."
They continued along the border, and for some reason Bluefur felt a niggling twitch of apprehension from the back of her mind. It certainly wasn't that uncommon to find that other cats had trespassed on ThunderClan territory, but this would be the first time it happened during Thistlestar's leadership, and Bluefur was anxious to see how he would react.
When they returned, Thistlestar stalked over to the group, his eyes flashing as he apparently noticed his deputy wanted to tell him something, and Tigerclaw wasted no time in informing their leader of the news. "RiverClan cats were scented at Sunningrocks," he reported, sitting down.
"Are they invading?" snarled Thistlestar, looking ready to bound up the Highrock and summon the Clan.
Tigerclaw shook his head. "Not yet. There was just one cat." He let out a low growl. "RiverClan probably thinks we won't respond since we've gotten a new leader recently, but they may be planning an invasion later."
Tail lashing, Thistlestar dug his claws into the dusty ground. "Increase the number of RiverClan border patrols to three times per day, and make sure every cat knows to make ThunderClan's wishes known with a claw to the ear of any RiverClan cat they find." He hissed. "Those fish-faces probably think they can actually win against us. If they keep going, they will soon find that they are wrong."
Tigerclaw dipped his head, looking pleased.
Resting her head on her paws, Bluefur suppressed a shiver. Hopefully RiverClan would have enough sense to stop trespassing.
But RiverClan's scent was detected at Sunningrocks two more times in the next quarter moon. Bluefur wished she could somehow convey to RiverClan how much they were pushing their luck before a full blown battle took place.
No sooner than the thought had crossed her mind had Mosstail walked up to where she was resting by the warriors' den. "How was your patrol?" Bluefur asked.
"More RiverClan scent," Mosstail told her, flopping onto her side. Bluefur felt her shoulders tense. "We even saw a few of their cats watching us from across the river."
"Probably trying to see our reactions." Stoneclaw loped up. "They know we can't chase them through water."
Mosstail twitched her whiskers. "Thistlestar's considering a constant watch on Sunningrocks. We'd catch them for sure then."
Bluefur flicked her ears. "Where is Thistlestar anyway?"
"Tigerclaw's telling him about RiverClan," Mosstail meowed. "Maybe we'll get to do something about it soon." She dug her claws into the ground, looking ready to leap to her paws and race out of camp into battle. Bluefur turned away, shaking her head sadly. Mosstail had never truly known battle; she didn't know what she was asking for.
Later they learned that Thistlestar was merely ordering another increase in patrols along the RiverClan border, along with an additional order to immediately run off all trespassing cats on sight without questioning them first. In truth, Bluefur was surprised at Thistlestar's restraint; she had expected him to jump at the chance for battle the first time RiverClan crossed the border. She had seen Thistlestar consulting with his old mentor, Adderfang, but she didn't know how much the older tom would be able or even want to dissuade Thistlestar from a full out battle. If Bluefur had been leader, she would have opted to wait for the Gathering to respond, and she worried the peace would only last for so long- the next Gathering was half a moon away.
It was only a day later when RiverClan trespassed upon ThunderClan territory once again, and this time, Thistlestar thought that enough was enough. For once, a part of Bluefur agreed with him. RiverClan was clearly testing the waters with ThunderClan's new leader, and a response might be the only thing that would get them to stop.
When news of the intrusion got back to Thistlestar, he immediately called a Clan meeting.
"ThunderClan you all know what has been happening recently," he yowled. "RiverClan has crossed our borders again." Growls spread through the camp. "But if they want to challenge us, they have given us too much notice. Now ThunderClan will get the first strike." He began to give out orders. "Tigerclaw, lead a battle party into their territory. Take Sparrowpelt, Mosstail-" Bluefur felt her heart drop at the mention of her daughter's name- "and Darkpaw with you."
The cats murmured their support, but Bluefur felt her tail bristling. Darkpaw? Bluefur was concerned. Although Darkpaw was nearly a warrior, he was still only an apprentice.
Tigerclaw nodded, and the three cats Thistlestar had named crowded around him. Bluefur intercepted Mosstail before she could leave, and gave her daughter a swift lick to her ear. "Be careful."
"Don't worry, Bluefur, I'll be fine." Mosstail butted her head against Bluefur's side, her blue eyes containing a warring blend of anxiety and excitement. Bluefur sighed; this would be Mosstail's first warrior patrol on enemy territory. Mistyfur and Stoneclaw watched her from the warriors' den, envy clear in their gazes.
Sparrowpelt was already waiting, and as he turned back and nodded at her, Mosstail padded up to walk alongside her former mentor. Bluefur hoped having Sparrowpelt nearby would sharpen Mosstail's battle skills; the older warrior had trained Mosstail well.
Mosstail waved her tail in farewell to Bluefur, and then followed the other cats out of the camp.
Padding up, Thrushpelt nosed Bluefur's ear. "She'll be alright," he mewed, but when Bluefur looked at him, his eyes held more than a hint of worry.
Bluefur was unable to sleep. It was moonhigh and the battling cats still weren't back. She couldn't bear to think of what might have happened to them; there was no way a normal border raid should take this long. After tossing and turning, she was jerked out of her dozing by the sound of loud meowing.
The patrol had returned. Bounding out of the warriors' den, Bluefur searched the group for Mosstail, and felt her legs nearly give out with relief when she spotted the pale gray and white she-cat. Mosstail was safe. She had a rather large scratch on her side, but she was safe. Thank you, StarClan.
But wait. She peered at the bloodied patrol. Weren't there four cats in the battle party?
"Where's Sparrowpelt?" Lionheart spoke up.
Tigerclaw glanced down, seemingly angry with himself. "Sparrowpelt is dead." Surprised murmurs erupted throughout the clearing. "His paw was badly injured. We were crossing the stepping stones on the way back and he couldn't keep his balance. He fell into the river."
Mousefur and Runningwind pressed their fur against each other. Sparrowpelt had been their father.
"I couldn't save him," Mosstail choked out. "The river swept him away too fast; I think he might have hit his head on the bottom."
Bluefur padded forward, allowing her fur to brush her daughter's. Thrushpelt walked up as well, and gave Mosstail a comforting lick. Her littermates padded over to her too, Mistyfur brushing past Runningwind in a comforting gesture as she went.
"We searched the river for as long as we could, but we couldn't find him," Tigerclaw finished. "He is gone."
Leaping onto the Highrock, Thistlestar called out the summons for a Clan meeting, and the few cats that had not heard the news slipped out of their dens.
Their hushed whispers grew silent as Thistlestar began to speak. "ThunderClan, we sent a patrol to teach RiverClan a lesson tonight. But one cat did not make it back. Sparrowpelt was a brave and loyal warrior." Thistlestar dipped his head at Sparrowpelt's kits and his mate, One-Eye. "This is a terrible loss for ThunderClan. It should never have happened..."
"-and it never would have happened if RiverClan hadn't insisted on challenging us," Thistlestar finished, glaring at the RiverClan leader from his spot on the Great Rock.
This was one of the most intense Gatherings Bluefur had ever attended. She bristled, intent on observing the four leaders. Their fur glowed silver in the light of the full moon.
Crookedstar whipped his head around. "Thistlestar, I'm sorry for the loss of your warrior, but it certainly was not the fault of RiverClan." Cats were craning their necks to see the two leaders as they stared at each other, neither backing down.
"I beg to differ," spat Thistlestar, unsheathing his claws. "Your prey stealing gave us no choice but to respond, and our warrior lost his life because of it." Thistlestar raised his head. "If you think there will not be consequences for your actions you are sorely mistaken."
"This is outrageous! RiverClan did not kill your warrior!" Crookedstar yowled.
Thistlestar's eyes were yellow slits. "You did when you forced us to defend our territory."
"Sunningrocks belongs to RiverClan," Crookedstar meowed. "You should recognize this by now; all these seasons RiverClan has been doing you a favor by allowing ThunderClan to hunt there." Yowls spiraled into the sky from the RiverClan and ThunderClan cats. Crookedstar's gaze bored into Thistlestar, and he was still, aside from his lashing tail. Raggedstar and the new WindClan leader, Tallstar, watched the confrontation with wide eyes.
Finally Tallstar stepped between the two furious leaders. "Surely there must be a better way to solve this. If you just took a moment to talk-" At that moment a dark gray cloud covered the moon, shrouding the hollow in darkness. Alarmed yowls rang out.
"Problems won't be resolved by talking about them. This Gathering is over," Thistlestar growled. "RiverClan clearly has no desire to talk anyway." With that he bunched his muscles and bounded down the side of the Great Rock.
As they left, Bluefur scanned the crowd for any sign of Oakheart. She saw him at the edge of the RiverClan patrol, and after a long moment he noticed her watching him. He blinked at her in acknowledgement, his gaze filled with more emotions than Bluefur could name.
She tore her eyes away, and Goosefeather's words floated through her mind once again. He had said Thistlestar would plunge ThunderClan into a never ending war. Is this how it starts?