Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors. If you don't have anything nice to say about somebody, come sit right here by me.

I'm sorry for the slow update.

Oh, and if any of you are fans of TreeClan (I'd be surprised, though if there were many) you can check out the mini oneshot I did for it, The Twenty Truths of TreeClan. It is 20 truths style, a new style I've gotten myself addicted to. It can be found in my profile, or in the Warriors section (it might be easier for you just to go through my profile).

Now, I will shut up and let you read.

Chapter 10

Spikefur wandered up the side of Middlebrook. He was out to get some hunting done, and figured he'd check out what animals are out around the little creek. So far no scents popped out at him, only stale rabbit scents that lingered after probably already being caught.

What's this?

A fresh unfamiliar cat scent! Spikefur pricked his ears up, suddenly very aware of his surroundings. He ran farther up the brook, ignoring that his gut instinct was telling him otherwise. Another unfamiliar cat scent caught his senses, then another, and then another! He pushed himself faster up the creek with some unidentifiable sense of urgency. Before he knew it, Spikefur had broken into a run, his yellow fur cold against the biting winter wind.

Spikefur jumped across the small river and onto a tiny, wet, gray boulder, swiftly keeping his balance as he landed. He pushed off of it and continued his run down until he reached the clump of rocks; Shadow Den.

He kept his nose on the boulders, keeping track off all the strange smells flooding his nose. Thoughts went quickly through his head.

What are all these new cats doing around here? Shadow Den isn't really anyone's territory, I guess, but it's still close to ours and PondClan's! Are they rogues or from a clan, or-

A jolt of shock shot through Spikefur's body, stiffening his fur and spine and paralyzing him, his front right paw in the air in mid-step. His brown eyes were as wide as they could be. He had stopped dead at the crag that was the opening for Shadow Den. Because, Spikefur's dark brown eyes were met with a dozen other cat eyes staring back at him.

One cat in the den hissed. This brought Spikefur back to reality. He turned right around and dashed away as fast as he possibly could. He didn't bother to check to see if any other cats were following him. He just ran on a direct path for his home camp.

When he was halfway there, he was blocked by a pair of dull green eyes.

"You!" Spikefur shouted, louder than he meant it to be. "I mean, Rattail! Uh, sorry! Are those…were those…cats…EH?" Spikefur's eyes were wide, questioning Rattail.

Rattail's eyes widened for a minute then shrank back to normal. "What cats? There is no one in Shadow Den. My fellow rogues are residing elsewhere, not on your territory."

Spikefur stared at him for a moment. But then, he straightened his legs out and nodded his head. "You're right, Rattail. I remember you saying that already… sorry about the trouble!" Spikefur flicked his tail towards his camp. "I guess I should be going back."

"Yes, I suppose…" Rattail searched Spikefur's face.

"I mean, I've taken too much time already! See you later. And feel free to pay us a visit!" Spikefur left Rattail and headed back towards TreeClan camp. The last thing he caught was a look of satisfaction on Rattail's face; Rattail was completely convinced that everything was okay in his world.

Spikefur, however, had an even larger, if slightly different sense of satisfaction. He had other emotions and thoughts, too. As he did not once mention the words "Shadow Den" in their short conversation once.

The plot thickens. For I am writing it, and I command whether it resemble a light, fluffy, thin soufflé or like a flat, gray cinderblock, to it's thickest content! Muahaha!

Okay, I'm done. Did I spell "soufflé" right?

More reviews are always welcome (hint hint).