A quarter moon later, Bluefur was resting in the camp after a dawn patrol when a group of ThunderClan cats hurried through the gorse tunnel. From their furious expressions, she could tell that something bad had happened.
Thistlestar looked up from his spot next to the Highrock as one of the cats, Windflight, bounded forward and yowled as much to the rest of the Clan as to Thistlestar. "RiverClan has trespassed upon Sunningrocks! They have marked it as their own!" Caterwauls of shock and outrage rippled through the clearing.
Within a heartbeat, Thistlestar was on top of the Highrock.
"ThunderClan, we must not let this treachery go unanswered. RiverClan will regret this day for many seasons." Thistlestar paused, his yellow eyes gleaming as he swept his gaze over the Clan. "Tigerclaw, are our cats ready for battle?"
Tigerclaw gave a stiff nod.
"Excellent," Thistlestar murmured. He shared a look with his deputy, and then turned to the rest of the Clan. "Cats of ThunderClan, RiverClan has disrespected us for many moons, failing to recognize us as the true holder of Sunningrocks. But now they have once again trespassed, and ThunderClan must respond with force!"
Whitestorm padded over to sit beside Bluefur. "How many warriors were there?" he meowed to the patrol.
"We could only smell one," called the newest ThunderClan warrior, Darkstripe. "He wasn't there, but we all know they'll be back with even more cats."
"We must act soon, or RiverClan may gain total control," growled Adderfang, sitting in his spot near the rest of the elders. Stormtail was nodding in agreement.
Bluefur bristled as yowls echoed across the clearing. Surely the trespassing of one cat wasn't worth an all-out war, even with the recent problems between ThunderClan and RiverClan.
"Will we attack right now?" Stoneclaw asked, his tail flicking. Bluefur pushed back a wave of sadness. Did her son think this was a normal part of Clan life, taking on one's enemies with a full on attack at the slightest provocation? Granted, RiverClan had trespassed several times lately, but it was one cat for StarClan's sake! There had to be a better way!
Thistlestar responded, his voice loud and clear. "If RiverClan wants a fight, then by StarClan, we'll give them one. And not just at Sunningrocks." Bluefur's heart dropped. "There will be two patrols taking part in this attack. The first will take back Sunningrocks. Whitestorm, you lead that one. Take Mistyfur, Stoneclaw, Goldenflower, Speckletail, and Runningwind with you." Whitestorm nodded, his expression unreadable. "The second patrol will go through the patch of forest upstream from Sunningrocks, along the river."
"Up the river?" Bluefur spoke up, unable to keep silent any longer. "What does that help us? That's RiverClan territory, Thistlestar."
"It won't be for much longer," Thistlestar spat back. "Taking that area will show RiverClan that we are not a Clan to be trifled with." He swept his gaze over the crowd and kept going. "The second patrol will mark a new border, following the river up to the stepping stones. Tigerclaw, take Darkstripe, Redtail, Lionheart, Patchpelt, Mosstail, and Bluefur- if that's okay with you." His last words were snarled at Bluefur.
"Are you afraid to fight for your Clan?" Darkstripe taunted her. Tigerclaw touched his tail-tip to the young warrior's shoulder, but he still gave Bluefur a distrusting look. Mistyfur and Stoneclaw approached Darkstripe, hackles raised, and Bluefur gave a tiny flick of her tail, warning them not to say anything.
I'm not afraid to fight for my Clan, she realized. I'm afraid for its future.
The two patrols made their way toward the RiverClan border before separating. Twisting her ears back, Bluefur could hear the screeching of warriors before they were more than a few tree-lengths away from Sunningrocks. But now she had to focus on her patrol's task. She couldn't disobey her leader's orders, no matter how much she despised him.
"This way." Tigerclaw flicked his tail, motioning for the ThunderClan cats to keep low to the ground. Bluefur felt a pang of revulsion as they crossed the RiverClan scent line; the scent of fish combined with the wretchedness of what they were doing made her gag. They followed Tigerclaw a short distance before he turned back again.
"Bluefur, Mosstail, Darkstripe, you're with me. Redtail, Lionheart, Patchpelt." Tigerclaw motioned with his tail downriver, and Bluefur understood that he was ordering them to begin marking the new border from further down. The three toms nodded and disappeared into the undergrowth, and Tigerclaw veered to the right. "We'll start here."
Bluefur walked alongside her daughter as they made the new border, sharing concerned glances as they went. RiverClan was going to find them before they were done, she was sure of it. If this territory was important enough to RiverClan, the takeover had the potential to cause a war.
"It's going to be okay," Mosstail whispered.
"You don't have to reassure me," Bluefur mewed out of the corner of her mouth.
Mosstail blinked in understanding. "I know you don't like this idea. But maybe it will be for the best." Bluefur snorted in response to her daughter's words, causing Tigerclaw to glare at her.
Bluefur shook her head. "We can talk about this later." Mosstail said nothing, but gave her a sympathetic look.
Abruptly, Tigerclaw pricked his ears. The patrol tensed. Loud yowls were echoing through the woods. Bluefur dug her claws into the leafy turf and squinted at the trees, trying to make out the shapes that were closing in on them, but when the cat came into view it was clear that it wasn't an enemy.
Well, at least the first one wasn't. "They're here!" Redtail yowled, his bright pelt flashing as he streaked out from the trees.
Bluefur realized immediately why he was running. What looked like the whole of RiverClan was following him: Crookedstar, Blackclaw, Leopardfur, Whiteclaw...
Her heart dropped. Oakheart was there too, his normally mischievous expression furious. How could so many of them be here right now? Shouldn't they be at Sunningrocks? The ThunderClan cats watched them, frozen, waiting for Tigerclaw to give the order. "Where are Lionheart and Patchpelt?" Tigerclaw demanded.
Redtail raced past them. "Just go! There are too many!"
Without another heartbeat's hesitation, Bluefur shot off after him, and she could tell Mosstail was following from the sound of paws thrumming the earth beside her. She chanced a look over her shoulder. Tigerclaw was the furthest behind them, yowling insults back at the stampede of RiverClan warriors, while Darkstripe was closer to the rest of the group, a panicked expression on his face.
They headed back at a full on sprint, and as they kept going Bluefur started to feel as though a claw was continuously pricking her side. The patrol was still nowhere near ThunderClan's border.
"What happened to Lionheart and Patchpelt?" Bluefur gasped, catching up to Redtail in a swift bound.
"I don't know." His breath came out in short pants. "There were so many RiverClan cats- there was just no way in StarClan we could fight- we tried at first- but we couldn't take on- the whole- Clan-"
Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise. Bluefur spun around to see Crookedstar tackle Tigerclaw to the ground. "Does Thistlestar really think he can take this territory from us?" the RiverClan leader yowled, his green eyes slitted with fury.
Bluefur skidded to a halt and ran back toward the RiverClan warriors now as more cats surrounded Tigerclaw. She couldn't let a Clanmate fight this alone. Feinting to one side, she leaped over the heads of several RiverClan warriors, landing on an unsuspecting gray tom. The tom shrieked as she dug her claws into his pelt, and struck at her blindly, but he was clearly inexperienced and Bluefur easily pushed him aside.
There was one less cat holding Tigerclaw down now. With a mighty heave, he launched the RiverClan leader at least three fox-lengths in the air. Flailing wildly, Crookedstar landed awkwardly on the ground, and stayed there.
Outraged yowls rose up around them now as a cat raced toward Bluefur, swiftly clawing her flank. Bluefur was about to respond when she found herself slammed into the ground by another enemy warrior. The pale gray and white pelt of her daughter appeared beside her; Mosstail sprang forward to shove the cat away, and Bluefur was back on her paws again. Redtail was there too, nipping at the RiverClan cats with such speed that they couldn't do anything but swipe at where their attacker had been a heartbeat before.
But they were still hopelessly outnumbered, even with Tigerclaw battling with the strength of three warriors at the center of the group. She noticed Oakheart was there, in the middle, and Bluefur hoped she wouldn't have to fight him.
Suddenly, she heard a familiar battle cry. Whitestorm!
The white tom burst into the battle, along with all the warriors from the Sunningrocks patrol. Lionheart and Patchpelt limped behind them, with Lionheart joining in more slowly. He had a gruesome looking wound stretching across his shoulder and down his foreleg.
"Mistyfur, Stoneclaw, over here!" called Mosstail. Mistyfur and Stoneclaw responded to Mosstail's yowl with a war cry of their own, and the three siblings worked together as one to drive back the wave of RiverClan warriors. Bluefur's chest warmed with pride even in the midst of the battle. The tide of combat was turning. Bluefur could see that the RiverClan warriors were exhausted, and even though the ThunderClan warriors were as well, there were many more of them now.
Tigerclaw's howl sounded above the rest. "Push them back! This territory is ours now!" The ThunderClan cats caterwauled in response to his cry. They spun around to form a barrier, and step by step drove the RiverClan cats back toward the river.
Soon their enemies found themselves surrounded.
"RiverClan, retreat!" Bluefur's ears twitched. That call was Oakheart's, not Crookedstar's. She looked around wildly, and saw the RiverClan leader was still not awake. Two of his Clanmates lifted him onto their backs to carry him away.
Oakheart was not looking very good himself. There were two large gashes running along his fur, one across his flank, the other down his throat to his shoulder. Bluefur was chilled to the bone when Oakheart turned his head, meeting her eyes. Finally he limped at the rear of his Clanmates, his reddish brown tail disappearing into the shadows.
As the last of the RiverClan cats left, Tigerclaw flicked his ears; one of them had gained a deep nick. "What happened with Sunningrocks?" Tigerclaw meowed, turning to Whitestorm.
"We won easily. From what I can tell they left the battle when they realized we were also taking this piece of forest."
Tigerclaw closed his eyes, and then opened them. "Whitestorm, Mistyfur, Runningwind, follow them at a distance and make sure they don't come back, then do a quick patrol of the border up to Sunningrocks. The rest of us," he paused, sweeping his triumphant gaze across his Clanmates, "We can return to camp. We have won. All the territory up to the river is ours."
Cheers rose up from the ThunderClan cats. Bluefur did not join them.