Back at camp, Moonshine and Cloverpelt were busy sorting through herbs. Sunstar, who had just returned from hunting, was ravenously munching on a bird's wing. Just then, the patrol cats burst into camp. The three warriors were bleeding.
"What happened?" Sunstar demanded.
"A fox attacked the border patrol, and we fought it off," Rosepetal answered. Moonshine, the medicine cat, rushed out of her den. Her amber eyes, which constrasted her silver-blue fur, flashed with concern.
"I heard someone say 'fox'. Is anyone bleeding? Does anyone need cobweb? Oh, I sure hope no one's infected!"
"Calm down Moonshine, let them finish," Cloverpelt cut in.
"We'll just need a bit of cobweb for our scrapes to stop the bleeding," called out Ivyblaze. Nodding, Moonshine went back into her den to prepare the herbs. Sunstar began to pace.
"Where there's one fox, there could be more," she stated, her gray eyes sparking with worry. She stopped and said, "We'll need to start fox attack training." Vixenstep came out of the medicine cat's den, her scrapes covered with a fresh poultice Moonshine had made.
"When will we start training?" She asked.
"Right now," Sunstar replied. "The sooner, the better."
Later that day, when all the apprentices were gathered at the training center, Ivyblaze began the lesson.
"Whenever you fight a fox, you should remember that foxes are much bigger and stronger then you and you need to keep you wits about you. Foxes are quite vicious, and they will kill a cat for no reason. They've even been known to eat cats your size." Some of the apprentices gasped. "Don't worry," Ivyblaze continued. "You'll always have others to help you."
"The thing to remember when you fight a fox," added Vixenstep. "Is that you avoid its jaws at all times. A foxes jaws are very powerful, and one bite can kill you." Tulippaw shuddered at the idea of being killed or eaten by a fox.
"Let's pretend I'm a fox invading the camp," suggested Rosepetal. "Who's first to fight me?" Gingerpaw was the first to volunteer. She flattened her ears and hissed. Ivyblaze was impressed. The little apprentice really knew how to make herself dangerous. Gingerpaw lunged at Rosepetal. Rosepetal neatly side-stepped and sent Gingerpaw slamming into a tree. Rosepetal padded over and bit her scruff. "And now I will drag you off to my den and eat you." Gingerpaw sighed and stood up, shaking out her ginger, black-striped fur. At first, the apprentices made a pitiful show (Gingerpaw kept slamming into trees,) but after a bit of extra practice each apprentice felt confident that they could fight ten foxes and walk away with barely a scratch. This was a good thing, because they would need their skills sooner than they thought.