Chapter Nineteen

"Did you hear what Creamfur's patrol saw?"

Skyfeather sat down on her haunches and listened as she grabbed a mouse from the fresh-kill pile. Leopardflame was retelling the story of what had happened during the dawn patrol. Apparently they had seen a CaveClan patrol getting closer and closer to the border. So far no cats had been seen stepping over the boundary, but it was only a matter of time before war broke out between the Clans.

"This nonsense has to stop," Oakclaw muttered crossly. "I'm tired of always being on the edge. If Goldenstar would stop acting like a coward and fight back, we might actually be able to move on."

"There is a reason she isn't attacking right away," Ambermist reminded them all. "Battle isn't always the answer."

"Yes, but how long will it take for those Cave rats to find us and attack our Clan?" Leopardflame demanded.

During their heated debate, Skyfeather closed her eyes and gave her own opinion some thought. She had long since realized that she wanted nothing to do with this battle. Her heart lay within WingClan, that much was true. But there was always a small part of her that missed the days in CaveClan when she was still a kit.

"Skyfeather, are you feeling any better?" Halfcloud approached her warily. After two days had passed since her encounter with Cinderstorm, everyone was on edge. Goldenstar was taking her punishment seriously, and had made her sleep in the apprentice's den as part of it.

"Yes, much better," she replied. Truth be told the wounds hadn't completely healed. But Skyfeather was desperate to leave the camp. She wanted to stretch out her muscles and her wings in the worst way.

"Good, you can join Leafstorm's patrol. She's just leaving now." Halfcloud nodded pointedly towards Leafstorm.

Leafstorm flicked her tail over Skyfeather's shoulder cheerfully. "Well, it looks like my old apprentices wants to join me," she purred.

"Let's just see if you can keep up," Skyfeather replied with a smirk.

Without warning Leafstorm suddenly cuffed her over the ear, and Skyfeather held back a purr of amusement. She missed days like these, where everything seemed so carefree. Leafstorm led the way through the forest, and they took off into the sky.

Skyfeather winced at every beat of her wing, realizing that she still hadn't fully recovered from her wounds. But she tried to keep on a street face when Splashpelt looked over her shoulder in concern. Once she had flown beside Foxfang, Skyfeather let out a sigh of relief.

I don't want to be confined to camp for the rest of my life, she told herself. I can do this.

"Look over there!" Foxfang hissed when they reached the border. Leafstorm suddenly veered to the left and landed on a branch, with the others following her. Skyfeather peered through the leaves, and sure enough there was a patrol of CaveClan cats crossing the border. "I knew those foxhearts couldn't stay away from the border!" Foxfang growled, unsheathing his claws against the branch.

"That's enough," Leafstorm scolded him. "We don't know what they are doing. We need to get a closer look."

"What good would that do?" Splashpelt asked, her eyes widening as they jumped from branch to branch to see what they were up to. "Knowing them they were sent here to kill any WingClan cat they spot without question."

"Which is why we should do the same," Foxfang spat.

Skyfeather felt her ears flattening as she recognized each cat on the patrol. Redflower, Dustnose and Burstripe were on the patrol. And they looked angry. Then again, Skyfeather always saw Redflower as an angry she-cat. Her snarky attitude made Cinderstorm look like a saint.

"It's just a hunting patrol," Skyfeather concluded when she realized there were too few cats for this to be a border patrol. Shadestar was smarter than to let them go off unprotected. If he knew what the 'Sky Cats' were like, then he would ensure there were at least four or five cats on a patrol. Foxfang shot her a wary look when she said that.

"And how would you know that?" he demanded.

"Mousebrain, don't you remember?" Splashpelt muttered with a roll of her eyes. "She was raised in CaveClan."

She couldn't help but flinch at the way Splashpelt had said CaveClan's name. True, the Clan she was raised in may have been cruel to her at one point or another. But there were still cats in the Clan that she cared about. Frostpelt and Ferntail had always been there for her, even when Leafstorm had attacked Mallowpelt.

"Well, I still don't like the fact that they've crossed the border." Foxfang jumped down from the branch, jostling Leafstorm and Splashpelt in the process. Skyfeather's eyes widened in horror when she saw him jump in front of the patrol.

"Idiot mousebrain!" Leafstorm yowled after him. "I hope they rip your wings off for this!" Splashpelt threw her a warning look, and Leafstorm rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Come on, we better save his pelt."

The two she-cats flew off and joined him, startling the hunting patrol. Fear sent wormed it's way towards Skyfeather, and she couldn't help but watch the sight in despair. The last thing she wanted was a fight to break out between the two Clans. But she knew that it was long overdue.

"So, the legends are true than," meowed Redflower as she recollected herself. "I was wondering when you winged demons would show yourselves."

Skyfeather flew down to a lower branch so that she could hear what they were saying. She wasn't in any hurry to join them in a fight. But she would defend her Clanmates if they needed it. There was no way she would let these cowards hurt another cat if she could stop them.

"You call us demons?" Foxfang laughed, causing both Burstripe and Dustnose to flinch. "You Cave rats clearly have no respect for those who are stronger then you. Let us show you what a real demon is capable of."

Without wasting another heartbeat, Foxfang launched himself towards an unsuspecting Dustnose. Redflower fought against Splashpelt while Leafstorm took on Burstripe with ease. She was frustrating him by jumping from place to place with her wings. She watched as Foxfang managed to tear at Dustnose's ear, leaving a nasty looking gash. Splashpelt managed to hold her own against Redflower, who was aiming for her wings.

"I should have known that you cowards would come out of hiding sooner or later," Burstripe hissed as he tried holding his ground against Leafstorm. She was fast though, much faster and more nimble on her paws than Burstripe.

Leafstorm suddenly lunged forward and knocked Burstripe out from under his paws. She used his sudden shock to her advantage by clawing dangerously at his belly. Redflower saw what she was doing and tried coming to his aid, but Splashpelt held her in place by pinning her to the ground. It wasn't long before Dustnose had met the same fate.

"Should we kill them now? Or let them live to tell the tale?" Leafstorm asked, glaring at the bloodied Burstripe. He was panting heavily from exhaustion and loss of blood. Skyfeather couldn't help but flinch at the sight when he realized they were debating whether or not they should put these cats to death.

"Let them go!" Skyfeather yowled, finally jumping down from her perch. Every cat on the CaveClan patrol stared at her in shock.

"Skypaw?" Dustnose rasped, his eyes going as wide as moons.

"It's Skyfeather now, no thanks to you," she corrected him, ignoring the stares she was receiving from both sides. "We've already taught them a lesson…. Just let them go, please." She shot Leafstorm a pleading look, and the dark ginger she-cat shook her head in frustration.

"Alright, fine," she muttered crossly. "We'll let you go off with this warning – but the next time we catch you crossing the border, your punishment will be much more severe."

For a moment the CaveClan cats didn't move, until finally Redflower had urged them on. Once they were gone, Skyfeather was left with awkward silence.

"Just what were you thinking?" Foxfang demanded, his eyes narrowing with outrage as he rounded on Skyfeather. "Where does your loyalty lie?"

His words hit her like claws. She had never given loyalty a second thought. When it came down to it, her loyalty had never been wavered until now. She desperately cared for her friends in WingClan. But she also cared for the few cats that had helped her in CaveClan.

"That's enough," Leafstorm hissed, stepping in between before Foxfang could hurt her. "This battle shouldn't have happened in the first place. You were just itching for a fight." She glared at Foxfang before turning to Skyfeather. "Just make sure you watch your back, I don't know how long I can hold him down."

Skyfeather nodded and followed the rest of them back to camp. The silence was almost overwhelming until they got back. Then everyone was in a state of shock when Foxfang retold what had happened. Fortunately Leafstorm had stepped in and explained that he was the one who started the battle. And that if it wasn't for Skyfeather's interference, a few more cats would be left for dead.

But most of the WingClan cats weren't happy with her decision. Skyfeather hadn't missed that a few of them were glaring at her. Only Cloudsong and Shadowstorm seemed to realize that she was trying to help.

"What I would like to know is why those Cave rats crossed the border in the first place?" Oakclaw demanded, his fur bristling at the thought of any intruder trespassing onto the Clan border.

"They were probably scouting for any easy access into our territory," Ambermist growled. She looked anxiously at the three apprentices crowding the den, eying the Clan meeting with excitement.

"Look, I think we need to step up our own border patrols and make sure they don't cross the border," Lightbreeze suggested. "It's time we make a stand for our territory and stop these Cave rats once and for all."

Murmurs of agreement followed Lightbreeze's words. Skyfeather felt her heart go cold at the thought of rushing blindly into battle. If these cats were itching for a fight, why not look for some foxes or a badger? Surely the battle against CaveClan could wait for just a little longer?

"Would you all please stop talking about this battle that isn't going to happen?" Skyfeather blinked in surprise when she saw Goldenstar approach them. "We don't need to rush in recklessly; think of what they will do once they see our wings? What is the first thing they will try going for?"

She was met with stares that made Skyfeather wish a hole would open up and swallow her. Something told her that even if they had lost their wings, the fight would be worth it. CaveClan had the Clan on edge. And that made them dangerous.

"I say we rip their fur off before they even have a chance to take us out of the sky!" Oakclaw yowled, jumping to his paws the moment he spoke up.

None of them are listening to reason, Skyfeather realized.

"We should invade their forest and make them pay!" Leopardblaze added.

Goldenstar only sighed and shook her head in frustration. "You are all so blinded with fury that you cannot think properly," she muttered crossly. "Halfcloud!" She turned to her deputy as he joined them, eyes narrowing at the sight of the bristling warriors. "Has anyone else come into contact with CaveClan?"

"As far as I am aware, no," he replied, glaring at the two toms who were itching for battle. "We don't need to rush into battle, at least not yet. Take the time to observe them, and find their weaknesses."

Almost at once everyone threw Skyfeather a look. She flinched at being put on the spotlight. But she fully knew why they were staring at her. The last thing she wanted was to offer any help in this battle, especially since it was a fight she wanted nothing to do with.

"Well, you spent the most time with them, perhaps you can give us some of their secrets," Oakclaw meowed.

Fortunately for Skyfeather's sake, Goldenstar stepped in between them, "That's enough!" she hissed. "This discussion is over."

Relief washed over Skyfeather's shoulders once Goldenstar stalked away. The group was left feeling disgruntled once she was gone. But at least they had finally dropped the subject. Skyfeather took their moment of silence and fled before they could ask her any further questions. She knew that she couldn't avoid them much longer. But she would do whatever it took to keep both Clans safe, even if it meant risking everything.

AN: Sorry for the long wait. I blame work and everything else. But a new chapter has been posted so... yeah. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and sees the new side of WingClan ;)

Lightclaw's Shadow - Yes, that was definitely long overdue, and I think just about everyone is shipping them now XD :P

Ginger Pup - For now she is, but that doesn't mean she hasn't swallowed her pride ;) We'll get to see just how 'nice' she is to the apprentices...

Petalfur - That's alright, I kind of have been doing the same thing. I'm going to start watching Daredevil since everyone has recommended it, plus I'm a huge Marvel fanatic so it would be nice to see if it's any better than the movie.

Foreststar of WindClan - They won't be showing up for the next couple of chapters, but after that things are really going to be picking up :)

Mermaid1108 - Hehe, I think everyone does now ;)

Guest - Glad you like the pairing, I think they're cute together too ^^ And yes, it's Cinderstorm :)