Chapter 3

Lionpaw reached the border. ThunderClan cats were fighting both RiverClan and WindClan, but mostly RiverClan. Lionpaw could see that the ThunderClan cat, his clan mates, weren't hurting the WindClan cats. Just merely scratches, but not anything that would need the attention of a medicine cat. "Firestar wants to help WindClan, but also wants both Clans away from the border," Lionpaw murmured. He felt admiration for his grandfather. He was smart, but kind… however also wanted what was best for the Clan and was willing to fight his friends to keep the Clan safe.

Suddenly, he remembered Heatherpaw and felt uneasy. Would he fight Heatherpaw in battle if he had to? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to help them fight. He raced into the clearing and lunged at a RiverClan warrior. He sank his claws into his back and sank his teeth into the back of his neck. "Hey, got off of me, you stupid cat!" spat the black RiverClan tom. Lionpaw jumped back just as the tom swung his claws at Lionpaw's body. "Ah… Lionpaw," the black tom hissed. "Reedwhisker," Lionpaw spat, the two toms glaring at each other. Reedwhisker scored his claws along Lionpaw's flank and lunged at Lionpaw, but Lionpaw remembered the badger technique that Ashfur had taught him with help from Tigerstar. He leaped up and twisted in the air over Reedwhisker and came down, scoring Reedwhisker deep in the flank with his claw. Blood seeped quickly out of Reedwhisker's flank, but the tom pinned Lionpaw down. Lionpaw lifted his head and bit deep in Reedwhisker's neck. With his back legs, he clawed his belly and then pushed his body to the side with his hind paws while still holding onto his neck.

Reedwhisker yowled and Lionpaw felt the tom's blood coming out. He let go and clawed Reedwhisker's face, but the tom bit Lionpaw's paw and he bit it deep. Lionpaw yowled in pain and with his other paw scored his claws down his face again, blood spattering onto the ground from the black tom's nose. Reedwhisker lie on the ground, giving up. Lionpaw hissed and turned. He saw the she-cat Minnowpaw tearing at Poppypaw's throat. Poppypaw unsheathed her claws and swung her paw with great force across the side of her face.

Lionpaw spat and pinned Minnowpaw down and sank his teeth into her neck. Poppypaw took a deep breath and bit her shoulder. Minnowpaw squealed and when Lionpaw loosened his grip, she clawed his face and hissed at Poppypaw. Then, she turned tail and ran away. Poppypaw gave Lionpaw a curt nod of gratitude and bounded over to Berrynose to help him fight of Beechfur. Suddenly, there was a loud yowl. "RiverClan, retreat, now," Leopardstar yowled. Lionpaw saw Rippletail running and he chased her and she ran faster. He hissed and gave a nod of satisfaction and turned to see Graystripe running towards him. "Lionpaw, you look like a bloody rabbit. Come and see Leafpool. Firestar would like to talk to you too," he meowed, saying the last part more seriously.

He remembered that he was supposed to go hunting and felt embarrassed. It would be his fault if there wasn't enough fresh-kill to feed the Clan. But then he thought about Honeypaw and Cinderpaw. They were great hunters. He suspected the two she-cats had caught a lot. Well… he hoped. He padded back to Firestar, who was talking sternly to Onestar and Ashfoot. Lionpaw guessed that Firestar was telling them that they were happy to help, but to go home and away from ThunderClan.

Heatherpaw blinked her eyes open. She didn't recognize anything. She then smelled ThunderClan. She suddenly saw a fluffy gray apprentice with familiar blue eyes. She also saw a pretty light brown tabby. "I'm in the ThunderClan medicine den, aren't I?" she asked, remembering vividly how Lionpaw and a golden brown she-cat had taken her through ThunderClan territory. "Yes, you are," the brown she-cat told her. "I'm Leafpool, the ThunderClan medicine cat. This is Jaypaw… I assume you already know him," she mewed kindly. Heatherpaw nodded. Jaypaw gave her a curt nod.

"You were badly injured in the battle. We treated you with some herbs. I'm sure that someone from your Clan will come and pick you up. Maybe your mentor," Leafpool said. Heatherpaw was surprised when she heard a tiny bit of longing in her voice. She shrugged it off. "Thank you," she mewed. Jaypaw and Leafpool nodded. "Don't worry. We couldn't let you die," Jaypaw said half-heartedly. "I was that close to dieing?" she asked, a little shaken. Leafpool cuffed Jaypaw playfully around the ear. Jaypaw hissed and Leafpool shook her head. "Jaypaw's exaggerating. However, you were badly injured," she said. "You have the energy to make it back to your camp, although, you might want to stay in the medicine den for at least a day," Leafpool told her. "And be sure to put marigold or goldenrod on your wounds. And cobwebs in case the start bleeding again," Jaypaw said, a little too seriously.

Heatherpaw nodded and tried to stand, but felt weak, so she lay back down. "Just rest, young one," Leafpool meowed to Heatherpaw.

Honeypaw saw Lionpaw enter the ThunderClan camp. His golden pelt shone brightly in the beautiful clearing. Colorful flowers speckled the grassy ground, but he stood out because his pelt was covered with blood. "Lionpaw!" she breathed. She and Hazelcloud padded over to him. "Are you alright?" Hazelcloud asked him. Honeypaw looked him up and down with concern. "I'm fine. How's Heatherpaw doing?" he asked, trying to sound not so interested in the WindClan she-cat. "She's doing fine, but, Lionpaw, why did you go to the battle. We were supposed to hunt," she told him, her voice filling with anger. "Look at you, you're hurt!" she hissed. "Great StarClan, back off, Honeypaw! You're not my mother!" he spat at her. She took a step back, feeling completely taken aback. Lionpaw pushed past her and headed to the medicine den.

Hazelcloud looked from Lionpaw to Honeypaw. "Oh, Honeypaw, I'm sure he didn't mean it. He's probably tired from the battle," the gray and white she-cat told her. Honeypaw just shook her head. "It's okay, I'm fine. Will you come and help me go back out and get the rest of the fresh-kill?" she asked. Hazelcloud gave Honeypaw a guilty look. "I'm sorry. I promised I would have something to eat with Whitewing and Ashfur," she meowed. Honeypaw nodded. "Okay, never mind, then," she meowed and looked around to see who could help her, but sighed when she saw that everyone was occupied, doing something. She then began bounding towards the camp entrance and headed out into the forest, the sun setting among the far mountains