Chapter Five

A few days passed since the gathering, and early leaf-bare had begun to grip the forest in its icy claws. Stonetail headed towards the border, in hopes of catching a few fish from the river. Milkweed's kits had been lively, and Stonetail knew Milkweed would need a nice big fish to give them enough milk. A flash of silver caught his eye as he neared. To his surprise, Silversky was by herself on the LeafClan border. She hadn't noticed him, and her focus had instead been on a mouse scrambling around the base of a nearby tree.

As she neared close, Stonetail couldn't resist the urge to spoil her catch. "Silversky!"

The mouse darted forward, and she gave an irritated hiss as she leaped after it. But she had been too slow. The mouse was gone, and the silver warrior had been left empty pawed. Furious, she turned her gaze on him.

"You idiot!" she spat. "Did you not see I was trying to catch that mouse?"

Stonetail sat, pleased for spoiling her hunt. "Oh, I saw. Bad luck I guess."

Silversky growled, stepping forward. "Come over here and say that, fish-breath!"

"Oh, but why would I do that?" he taunted. "You could just swim over here if you want a fight that badly."

Hissing irritably, Silversky began to splash through the water. Stonetail watched her in surprise. He hadn't expected a LeafClan cat to dive into the water so willingly. Whiskers twitching with amusement, he saw that the silver-furred she-cat was regretting her decision. Pelt spiked and ears flat, she stopped moving once she had reached up to her belly. Shooting a scornful glare at him, she went to turn and head back to shore. Satisfied, Stonetail stood and was getting ready to leave when he heard a yowl of terror.

Spinning around, he just caught sight of Silversky disappearing under the water. She thrashed desperately in the water, not having the swimming experience of a ReedClan cat. Instantly feeling guilty for dogging her into this, Stonetail leaped into the river. Paddling through the water expertly, he gripped her scruff with his teeth. Tugging her up so her jaws broke the surface, he dragged her onto the pebbly shore on the LeafClan border.

Silversky let out loud coughs, spluttering out water. She gasped and looked up at him. Stonetail stepped back to give her space.

"Thanks," she muttered ungraciously, standing and shaking her pelt.

Huh! I just save your life, and you half thank me? Tail tip twitching with annoyance, he turned back towards the river. "Next time stay out of the river. I can't waste time rescuing senseless forest cats."

Silversky glared at him. "Who are you calling senseless? If I recall, you're the one who told me to go into the river to begin with!"

Wading into the river, he looked back at her. "And if I told you to jump in front of a monster, would you?"

Hissing, she turned her back to him. "Get out of my territory already!"

Crossing the river, Stonetail pulled himself up onto his side of the border. Glancing back, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of admiration for the bold she-cat. As foolish as she was, he had never seen a forest cat so quick to leap into the river without second thought. Shaking his head, Stonetail lashed his tail. She was a LeafClan cat. He had no right to admire her like this. As he made his way back to camp, it wasn't until he was laying in his nest that night that he realized he had forgotten the fish.

The next day, Stonetail and his littermates were on a hunting patrol. Heronwing was in the lead, with Minnowstripe just behind her. Stonetail lagged behind, his thoughts filled with his encounter with Silversky the day before. He didn't understand why he couldn't get her out of his mind. She was from another Clan, for StarClan's sake! As they reached the border, his ears flicked up when he heard a familiar mew.

Silversky was patrolling the border with her own Clanmates; Hawktalon, his apprentice Briarpaw, and Scorchstrike. Heronwing yowled to the other patrol, her eyes narrowed. Minnowstripe stood at her side, ears pricked. Hawktalon's fur bristled and he narrowed his yellow eyes.

"What do you want?" he snarled.

Heronwing waved her tail. "Just reminding you to stay on your side of the border."

Scorchstrike hissed. "No cat would cross your border!"

"Are you sure about that?" Minnowstripe challenged, meeting their hostile gazes.

Hawktalon stepped forward menacingly. "If you want a fight, you can have one."

Silversky pushed him aside. "No! Just leave them. They're only trying to ruffle our fur."

Curling his lip at her, Hawktalon snarled and turned back to his apprentice. Stalking off into the forest, Scorchstrike gave the ReedClan cats a hostile glare before following his Clanmates. Stonetail stared after the LeafClan cats, catching Silversky's eye. Staring into her eyes from across the river, he felt his heart skip a beat.

"Stonetail! Come on!" Heronwing snapped.

Shaking his head he turned to look over at his littermates. "Okay!" Glancing back towards the river, Silversky was gone. Pushing the fresh image of the pretty tabby gazing into his eyes, Stonetail bounded back towards the marsh.

When the three of them returned to camp, Stonetail felt embarrassment flood his pelt. Heronwing and Minnowstripe had managed to catch two fat trouts, while Stonetail had been to distracted to catch anything. Marshpool greeted his littermates by the fresh-kill pile, and the guilt pierced Stonetail's heart when he saw a disappointed look in his father's eyes.

"I see you've come back empty-pawed," the dark gray warrior commented. "Care to explain why?"

Stonetail shuffled his paws, avoiding his father's gaze. "Just bad luck I guess."

The truth was, Stonetail couldn't get the image of Silversky's gaze out of his mind. Since he rescued her from the river the day before, she was all he could think about. He didn't understand why the LeafClan she-cat occupied his thoughts so much lately. Marshpool gave a snort, and padded off to join the senior warriors by Willowstar's den. Shame burned his pelt, and Stonetail slunk off to the warriors den. He didn't feel hungry, and that suit him just fine; cats who didn't catch prey, shouldn't eat.

The next few days hadn't been better for Stonetail. Frustration, anxiety, and shame had made him edgy and short-tempered. He found himself snapping at cats over simple things, enough that Icespirit—tired of his attitude—had ordered him to hunt alone for the day. As Stonetail brooded, he felt his paws bringing him back towards the river.

Feeling his gaze staring across it once more, he felt the same strange pull. The need to see Silversky once again. Shaking his head with a growl, he stared down into the river. He was ReedClan cat! There was no room for him to think about any of the other Clans, let alone a LeafClan one. Taking a deep breath, he leaped into the river. If one thing could help clear his mind, it was a quiet swim alone.

Floating on his back, he looked up at the cloudy sky. Trying to ease his mind, he closed his eyes as he drifted. When he opened them again, he was startled to see bright silver eyes watching him from the shore. Flipping over to his belly, he spluttered out water while the strange cat watched him with a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"Silversky!"