The sky was a dusky blue color. A few tentative beams of brighter hues peaked cautiously over the horizon like a mouse peeking out of its burrow to see if the predator had passed. Silhouetted against the lake, still twinkling with the straggling stars, stood a small warrior. Visible for a moment, the cat quickly began to descend the dwarfish hill, the lake vanishing from sight to be replaced by gently swaying grasses and flowers.
Muscles tense and tortishell fur slightly mussed, Spottedflight followed the scent of SkyClan. She noted it was leading towards the clearing where she had eavesdropped on Spiderpaw and Puddlefrost the previous day. The she-cat jumped with shock as she heard a voice coming towards her. She dived to the side and crouched, listening.
"Come along, keep up!" a gruff voice commanded impatiently. The broad sandy shoulders of Bristlehaze appeared, his head twisted around to look at the cats behind him. He faced his dark blue eyes forward and headed back the way Spottedflight had come, a few sets of paws pursuing him.
Spottedflight held her breath as Willowmist, Darkmoon, and a very disgruntled-looking Mistsong passed by her hiding place amongst the waving flora. She deduced that the borders had been settled with the other leaders; it was about time for a dawn patrol, and Bristlehaze had accompanied Ravenstar as he met with the other Clans.
When the four cats had long passed, Spottedflight rose to her paws and continued towards what had apparently been decided as the camp. She nosed her way through the grasses, noting with a sharp intake of breath that Spiderpaw and Lionpaw were up, gazing watchfully around the clearing. Quietly, she curled up under a scrawny bush, thinking that maybe she could get some sleep before Ravenstar set everyone to work...
"Where have you been?"
Groggily raising her head, Spottedflight's amber eyes found Puddlefrost's ice blue ones and instantly narrowed. "What's it to you?" the warrior spat, placing her head back on her paws. She didn't dare close her eyes, but they took on a misty sheen that suggested she'd rather go back to her nap.
Puddlefrost made a strangled noise of disbelief. "What's it to me?" she asked incredulously, her eyes stretch wide in shock. "Spottedflight, you could have been killed! You don't know what's out there; you're lucky to be alive!"
Spottedflight rolled her eyes, snorting loudly. "Please," she meowed scathingly. "I don't spend all my time snuggled up with apprentice toms; I know how to defend myself, whether or not you do."
Sputtering angrily, Puddlefrost's already fluffy fur began to puff up. "First of all," the pale gray she-cat growled, "Spiderpaw and Lionpaw were made warriors yesterday. Spidersun and Lionfang. You'd know that if you hadn't snuck off. Second, I know perfectly well how to defend myself. What I know how to do that you seem to have forgotten, however, is defend my Clan. SkyClan needs its cats more than ever now that we are establishing a new home! We need to defend our borders like we have never defended them before now that we have four other Clans living nearby. You can't just leave as you please without telling anycat, especially if you don't know the borders and can get SkyClan into a lot of trouble it doesn't need, and then come back empty-pawed and sleep until sun-high!"
Keeping herself very stiff so that she would not attack, Spottedflight rose to her paws. "The sun is barely above the trees, let alone sun-high," the tortishell warrior began in a threateningly low voice. "When I left, we didn't even have a camp. Hunting didn't even cross my mind." Puddlefrost opened her mouth with a retort, but Spottedflight continued. "Don't say you would've hunted, because we both know that's a lie. I was checking out the territory, getting some fresh air."
This wasn't a complete lie. Spottedflight had wandered off in search of a place to get away from Puddlefrost, Mistsong, Spidersun, and Lionfang. She hadn't, of course, intended of straying beyond the fence when she first tore away from Mistsong and Lionpaw. But Puddlefrost didn't need to know what had happened, and what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
"Oh, yes, fresh air must be terribly difficult to come by as a cat that's been on the move for who knows how many moons," Puddlefrost meowed sarcastically, her usually innocent eyes glinting with a temporary hatred.
"I didn't mean literal fresh air," Spottedflight shot back, her voice still dangerously quiet. "I meant time away from you, Mistsong, and your stupid mates."
Puddlefrost, looking stung, was about to reply when Spottedflight raised one paw, unsheathing her claws. She held them there in utter silence for a few moments, enjoying the look of terror that passed over her sister's eyes. "I don't want to hurt you, Puddlefrost," she warned softly.
The gray sister backed away, her blue eyes wide. "Y-you wouldn't!"
Spottedflight was briefly aware that cats were beginning to notice the argument. She could see a stunned Spidersun in her peripheral vision, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was getting her point across to Puddlefrost, at long last.
"I don't want to," she meowed, amber eyes glinting. "But that doesn't mean I won't."
With a final distressed cry, Puddlefrost turned and fled from the clearing. Spidersun tore after her immediately. Spottedflight stalked off in the opposite direction, keeping her gaze set firmly in front of her. She padded resolutely through the grasses as they grew from brushing her belly to towering over her head. The sun was crawling higher in the sky, casting warm rays on Spottedflight's flank. Her blood only boiled hotter as the sun's heat mixed with the rising temperature of her temper.
The fence came into view, and Spottedflight knew what she wanted to do. She slipped under the wooden structure again, hardly remembering to avoid the chestnut-colored creatures through her emotions. She'd nap somewhere out of the new camp, somewhere away from the cats who know astonishingly little about her but pretended to know so much.
AN: ...Review? ._.