"Halt!"
A strong, angry voice echoed out from somewhere to Fawnpaw's left. Fawnpaw whirled around, looking for where the voice came from. Three RainClan warriors materialized from the bushes.
"You're in our territ-" The one leading the patrol, a tom with rippling muscles beneath his pelt, began to snarl. He froze as he saw the entire Clan in his territory.
"What are you all doing here?" He asked, bewildered.
His pelt is blue, like Flowerfur's, Fawnpaw thought.
"There was a forest fire, Puddlestep," Flightstar growled.
Willowpool and Dovepool were collecting prey for the Clan. They arrived as soon as the RainClan patrol came, and they stared at them in surprise. Puddlestep sighed in annoyance and led the Clan to his own.
~transition~
"What's this?"
Cloudstar sat staring at the miserable SnowClan.
"Apologies, Cloudstar," Flightstar meowed coolly. She began to start saying something, but Fawnpaw was busy staring at Cloudstar. His body was hunched over. His fur looked as if it was supposed to be a blinding, snowy-white, but instead it was flecked with gray and his ribs were showing. Fawnpaw looked around the camp. Reeds were intertwined throughout the camp. In the far left, the apprentices den was directly next to the warriors', like in the SnowClan camp. On the far right, the nursery was huddled in the corner, with a big, tall rock next to it, which Fawnpaw guessed was the Highrock. Huddled in a little corner sat a burrow, and Fawnpaw pricked her ears, hearing a yowl of annoyance and smelling mouse bile. The elder's den, Fawnpaw thought. She scanned the camp. She would need to remember it if they ever launched an ambush. Thankfully, it was very similar to her own Clan. Fawnpaw looked back at her leader. She looked tired.
"Cloudstar says we cannot stay here in RainClan. We must leave at once."
"What?!" Sandfall gasped.
"We can't leave," Owlheart snapped at Cloudstar.
"How will we survive in our burned camp?" Dovepool agreed.
"The decision is final!" Cloudstar replied with a snarl. His tail lashed and in response, thunder clapped above their heads. This old elderly cat still had a lot of spunk left, apparently.
"We must go," Shadowstream murmured, waving his tail. Mousepaw walked up to Fawnpaw, his fur slick and wet from the rain.
"This stinks," he sighed.
"Where will we go?" Willowpool asked Flightstar, her eyes nervous.
Flightstar paused for a moment, as if thinking.
"Going back home is out of the question," she murmured, as if to herself. "We can't go back for a while. The fires may still be lurking."
"Then what can we do?" Smallfur whispered. Flightstar hesitated. For a second, she looked miserable. A small gray cat with her fur plastered to her sides, wet with rain. Then she raised her head and lightning flashed, illuminating her body. She straightened herself, and even wet and cold, she looked like a powerful and strong leader.
"We must seek help from CedarClan," she growled.
"WHAT?" Duststripe spluttered. (AC: I know I'm hitting you guys with a ton of names, but I haven't really talked about any of the warriors in SnowClan yet!) "CedarClan? Why not PineClan?"
"PineClan is on the other side of the forest," Flightstar growled. "CedarClan's territory borders RainClan. Shadowstream, lets get moving." The deputy nodded and summoned the cats with a flick of his tail, then slowly began walking. Flightstar turned, raised her voice, and yowled,
"Let it be known that RainClan turned down an entire Clan of cats in need, not hesitating to help their neighbors! Next time they need help, we will not be so quick to respond."
"Leave our territory at once," was Cloudstar's quiet reply. Flightstar nodded a single, silent nod. She turned and began walking up the hill. Lightning exploded and thunder screeched, and a fresh wave of rain pounded the fields. When Cloudstar looked again, SnowClan was gone.