Chapter 3
As Harepaw was led away by two WoodClan warriors,
she thought about how foolish she had been. She had been
assigned to hunting, and entered another Clan's territory! She knew
that CanyonClan was dangerously underfed, and needed more
prey. However, it was against the warrior code to trespass in
another Clan's hunting grounds, and Rockfang, her mentor, and
Soilstar would be extremely upset with her.
What if I'm kept prisoner in WoodClan forever? The
thought scared her. She had never been outside CanyonClan's
boundaries before, never even been to a Gathering. She had no
idea what life in other Clans was like, no idea how they treated
prisoners.
She was pulled away from her thoughts when the brown
she-cat spoke. "Wait here. I will retrieve our leader. Pray that
he is merciful."
Harepaw looked around at her surroundings. She was in
a small hollow in the middle of the forest. She looked at the
trees around her. Seeing their huge size, their great numbers,
the thousands of leaves and branches, she couldn't help but
shrink back slightly. She had never before seen trees, other
than small ones on the fields or the ones on WoodClan's border.
The gray tabby tom had been looking at her, with a cold,
hostile stare. "I hope you realize that you should have never even
thought of trespassing on another Clan's territory. Do you under-
stand that had you chosen RustClan to mess with, you might
not be alive right now?"
She was still lost for words, and all she could manage was
a humble nod. Maybe she had a chance here; maybe she would
be let go free.
She heard a rustling in the undergrowth, and the brown
tabby returned with another gray tom. She could see hard,
lean muscles rippling beneath his pelt, a stark contrast to all of
the scrawny cats she had grown used to in her own Clan.
"So, this is our little CanyonClan guest, eh? Briarfur said
you would not explain why you were on our territory. I have some
advice for you: start talking."
What could she say? She knew it would not be wise to
reveal that CanyonClan was weak, but a lie could get her into huge
trouble.
"I-I r-really screwed up. I was h-hungry, and..." She sighed,
realizing she was going to be in severe trouble. "And CanyonClan
needs more prey. This was my choice; no one sent me to hunt
in your territory. I'm the only one to blame."
The large gray tom -- their leader, she guessed -- seemed to
study her carefully for a moment. In the awkward silence, she
began to wonder if they had expected her to say something else.
Then, he spoke. "I see. You will be escorted back to
your own border; if you or any other cat of your Clan is caught
on WoodClan territory again, there will be consequences. But
for now, I warn you: WoodClan's prey belongs to WoodClan,
and WoodClan alone."
Relief flooded over Harepaw as she listened to the leader's
generous words. "Thank you so very much! I promise, it will
not happen again, sir!"
Bushes rustled as a jet black tomcat walked into the clearing,
carrying a wood-pigeon and a mole between his jaws. His nostrils
flared and his lips seemed to curl in disgust.
"What is a CanyonClan cat doing here?"
The stone-gray tom that had originally found her spoke.
"Actually, Sootstorm, she was just leaving. Get over here, apprentice.
I'm taking you back to where you belong."
"Well, hurry up, Rockstorm," Sootstorm meowed. "The
sooner she leaves, the sooner we'll be rid of that awful CanyonClan
stench."
As Harepaw bounded away into the fields, she thought about
how lucky she had been. She was going home free, and now she only
had to catch a couple of mice for CanyonClan. Then everything
would be perfect -- for another day, at least.