"ThunderClan, attack!" yowled the red tom, his yellow eyes blazing as the two clans clashed. ThunderClan and ShadowClan cats were soon locked together in the midst of the fray, battling for the same territory. The red tom, Foxfur, was locked in battled with the massive brown tabby, Tigereye.

"You do not belong here, Tigereye! The Great Sycamore belongs to ThunderClan!" Foxfur mewed as he struggled to pin the large tom to the ground. Tigereye's eyes narrowed and he hissed, lashing at Foxfur's face with sharp claws.

"Great Sycamore may belong to ThunderClan now, but soon, it will belong to ShadowClan!" Tigereye yowled in return as Foxfur gritted his teeth at the pain caused by the other tom. Tigereye flung Foxfur from him and turned as a small grey apprentice threw himself upon the older, more experienced tom.

Suddenly, a screech arose from two nearby battling cats as a young tortoiseshell she-cat, Turtlepelt, was thrown perilously close to Snake Rocks. Little did Turtlepelt know was that she landed but three mouse-lengths away from an adder. Stunned by the landing, the she-cat rose slowly and unsteadily to her paws; as she blinked slowly to clear her vision, a large brown and white tom ShadowClan tom barreled towards her.

Turtlepelt stumbled backwards, her eyes wide. "Turtlepelt!" yowled Foxfur, his eyes wide with fear, "Look out behind you!" As the red tom started towards her, Tigereye threw the apprentice from his back, who slammed into a rock, and pounced upon Foxfur. Cursing Tigereye, Foxfur was forced to defend himself. The other ShadowClan tom leapt and landed behind the she-cat, a hiss escaping his mouth.

The she-cat whipped around, her fur bristling, but calmed as she found herself watching the tom kill the adder. Blinking in surprise, Turtlepelt mewed, "Thank you. You saved my life."

"Yeah, just watch yourself…" muttered the tom as he paused to watch the battle, "By the way, I'm Brackentail."

"Turtlepelt."

Suddenly an enraged yowl sounded over the battle, silencing the battling cats. Cats stopped and turned to look at Foxfur and Tigereye who stood facing each other, blood running from various cuts that covered their bodies. The limp for of the ThunderClan apprentice, Stormpaw, lay before the two toms, blood running from the fatal wound on his small head.

"Stormpaw!" mewed Turtlepelt, her green eyes wide in the utmost horror. Her paws carried her clumsily to the young apprentice's body, to her apprentice, "No! Stormpaw, no!"

Tiger eyes stared down coolly at the mourning she-cat through amber eyes and a flicker of interest aroused within them. He shook his head and looked out among the crowd, his mouth parting as he began, "ShadowClan, att-"

"No, Tigereye." Mewed Brackentail, his brown eyes flashing as he padded up behind Turtlepelt, "This battle is for another day."

"Very well, my brother, very well…ShadowClan, retreat!"

Turtlepelt glanced up in time to see Brackentail's nod and fleeing body, but her gaze soon shifted to Foxfur, who stood beside her. "Come, we shall take Stormpaw back to camp…"