Leopardfur was on the trail of a rabbit, a rare prey-animal in RiverClan territory. She had been following it for a few minutes, the scent hot and fresh. She swiped her tongue across her lips, her mouth watering at the thought of food. She had had less luck in her hunts since her first day, and she knew she was rusty when it came to hunting, especially land prey. She tasted the air again, confirming the direction, before she continued onward.
A shrill squeal pierced the air, and Leopardfur stiffened. The sound didn't come from far away, and only a heartbeat later, she caught the scent of fresh blood. Fox-dung! Someone else had snagged her rabbit.
After the initial surprise passed, she narrowed her eyes. Leopardfur certainly would have noticed a RiverClan patrol—this must be another BloodClan intruder. She crouched low to the ground and crept as quickly as she could. The molly ducked behind a bush as she heard pawsteps crunching on twigs ahead. Peering up ahead, she could see a dark tail swish away through a clump of ferns. Mange-pelt!
Leopardfur pursued the rogue, who kept a quick pace. Thankfully, the intruder seemed not to be paying any heed to their surroundings, minnow-brain that they were. Leopardfur followed, trying to keep up without being heard. As soon as they stop, she thought. I'll attack.
Her opportunity came quickly. The rogue sat down up ahead in a small clearing and dropped the rabbit to catch their breath. Leopardfur tensed briefly before she charged. "Prey-thief!" she shrieked, and launched herself through the air towards the rogue.
The intruder hardly had a chance to screech in surprise before Leopardfur crashed into them and slammed them to the ground. Hissing, Leopardfur slashed her claws across the enemy's shoulder, tearing out fur. Now she could get a good look at the cat—a molly, by the looks of it. The molly yowled in pain and kicked out at Leopardfur, trying to throw her off. Her blows were weak and blind, and Leopardfur hardly felt them. "How dare you trespass on RiverClan land?" Leopardfur spat. "That prey belongs to my Clan!"
"Stop it!" The molly yowled. She flailed out a paw again, only just colliding with Leopardfur's jaw, but her claws missed. "Leave me alone!"
Leopardfur raised a paw, claws unsheathed. "Next time, stay out of our territory!"
A shrill screech caught her attention, and Leopardfur hesitated. "Stop! Stop!"
Another voice joined in. "Mama! You're hurting Mama!"
Leopardfur glanced sharply towards the source of the sound. She stiffened as she spotted two kits, not much older than two moons, huddled under a bush. Both had eyes rounded with fear. "Please let Mama go!" the she-kit cried.
Leopardfur looked down at the molly. Now that she had paused, she could smell the scent of milk. The queen stared back with fear in her eyes. "Please," she meowed.
Leopardfur stumbled back, shame washing over her. What was I thinking? An apprentice could have smelled the milk-scent of a queen from a mile away. She would have noticed it, too, if she weren't so determined to flay the intruder. And yet… she allowed her spine to arch menacingly. "I didn't realize you had kits," she growled. "But an intruder is an intruder. What do you think you're doing here?"
The queen got up slowly, watching Leopardfur with suspicion. "Feeding my kits," she hissed. "You could have asked before you clawed my pelt off!"
"In RiverClan territory?" Leopardfur challenged. "I don't take pride in fighting queens, but my duty is to protect my territory."
"Well, what else can I do?" The queen snapped. "Look around you! All these woods belong to some Clan or another. I'm only on the edge of your territory, and you're the first cat I've seen since I came here. It's either risk it with the Clans or starve on the streets. It's my duty to protect my kits."
Leopardfur dropped her posture, but her eyes remained narrowed. "Surely there's somewhere in town for a queen and her kits."
"I'm not going back there," the queen sharply replied. "I know I'm on your territory, but I've barely strayed where any of you actually come, and I'm only taking enough to feed my kits. I know better than to try and take any more than that from Clan territory. Once they're big enough to travel, we'll move along."
Leopardfur's gut told her to be suspicious, but she felt a twinge of regret for having attacked the queen so harshly. There was little a nursing queen and two scraps of fur could do to the prey supply… and this part of the territory was hardly used for hunting, outside of winter. Leopardfur frowned, but she flattened her fur.
She had half a mind to report the intrusion during her next prey offering, but a strange flare of rebellion took over her. I'm not leader anymore, she thought. I'm hardly part of RiverClan anyway. It's not my job to manage the borders. If Firestar cares, they'll find her later, anyway.
"Fine," Leopardfur meowed. "I won't chase you off, but I can't promise my Clanmates won't do the same."
The queen blinked, surprised. "Oh!" Her stance relaxed. "Thank you." She sat down and let out a sigh. "We won't be any trouble, I promise. It's been a hard moon. It's been impossible to find a safe place to raise them."
We've all been through a lot this past moon, Leopardfur thought. She looked the queen over. She had a pale coat, somewhere between tan and cream-colored, but her face and paws were a rich brown—unusual markings for a Clan cat. Her kits had a similar pattern: one was creamy-ginger with bright points, the other brown like his mother, but far darker shades. Each was considerably thin, and Leopardfur could see the queen's ribs beneath her pelt.
"See that you stay out of trouble," Leopardfur grumbled. "Keep to the edge of the territory, or my Clan will find you, and they might not be so forgiving of prey-theft."
"You can't own prey," the queen snorted, like the idea was absurd. "But yes, I'll keep to my den. Thank you. What's your name?"
"Leopardfur."
"I'm Sasha," the queen meowed. She tilted her head slightly. "You said you're part of RiverClan?"
"Yes," Leopardfur replied. "Why?"
"It's nothing," Sasha quickly replied. "I've just heard a little here and there about different Clans, that's all."
Hm. Leopardfur frowned. She backed away. "Well, I'll leave you be. Think about what I've said."
Sasha dipped her head. "Thank you, Leopardfur."
Leopardfur retreated back towards RiverClan camp. As she padded away, she glanced over her shoulder once. The pretty queen was quickly set upon by her kits, who greeted her with excited mews. I should have been more cautious, Leopardfur told herself. I could have killed a mother. What kind of cat am I?
Fortunately for Leopardfur, she had another opportunity to be reminded exactly what sort of cat she was. As she sat in the beech copse awaiting a RiverClanner to retrieve the carp she had caught, her belly churned with anxiety. Yesterday, Reedtail had been silent, only looking at her with disgust. Would today's visitor bring the harsh words of Beetleclaw, or the cold silence of Reedtaill?
The undergrowth rustled, and Leopardfur felt her heart stop. "Father," she choked out.
Mudfur hesitated a moment before he continued towards her. His eyes were filled with a deep sadness. "You came," he meowed.
Leopardfur nodded numbly. "I want to come back," she told him. "I know what I did was wrong."
"Which part, Leopardfur?" Mudfur asked.
Leopardfur blinked. "What?"
"Which part?" Mudfur repeated, his voice becoming tighter. "What did you do that was wrong?"
Leopardfur's throat was dry. Is he really going to make me say it? "Forming TigerClan," she rasped. "And what I did to Crookedstar."
Mudfur curled his lip. "You can't even say it," he meowed. "You murdered him. You may not have been what killed him in the end, but you weakened him enough for it to happen. You poisoned him. You exiled Clanmates for questioning you. You denied the will of StarClan and forced me to make an impossible choice to protect you, though stars know you didn't deserve it." His eyes were wet with tears. "I tried my best to love and support you," he rasped. "And you threw it away for ambition." He padded closer and reached out to pull the carp towards himself. "Your Clan will never forgive you until you are ready to fully accept what you have done." Mudfur bent his head and picked up the fish, then turned away.
Leopardfur watched him go, her breath hitching. Her legs buckled, and she dropped her head, tears welling. This was worse than Beetleclaw.
I am sorry! She wanted to wail. I know I was wrong! But it wouldn't matter, and she knew it. Leopardfur tore at the grass with her claws, her heart aching. Out of everyone she had disappointed, her father and mate had been the hardest. Now she had neither by her side.
