"This'll teach you to stay out of RiverClan!" the she-cat hissed.
"Or maybe you can go back to your precious Moonfeather bare of the herbs you came to steal, Frostflower!" Darkfire hissed.
"I came for nothing!" Frostflower snarled. "Nothing but to teach you a lesson."
"Then teach it!" Darkfire growled, her eyes flashing challengingly.
The ShadowClan warrior wriggled free from her RiverClan attacker and bit down hard on her neck.
Frostflower hissed, raking her claws down Darkfire's pelt before turning tail to retreat.
"This was for RiverClan," she snarled.
For a moment, their eyes locked- red into blue, fire into ice. A fierce rivalry and hatred formed in that gaze. Then Frostflower padded off.
Who did those eyes belong to? Lightwave pressed at her memory. Why were they angry at me?
She gazed over the ShadowClan border longingly. Beyond the tall green fronds that obscured her vision was a sparkling pond.
She gasped, bounding backwards. Claws flashed from the bushes, and a black tom with fiery green eyes stepped out. He looked frustrated. Lightwave followed his eyes to the cause- a frog hopping away.
Nightsky, she realized. The ShadowClan deputy.
And when she saw him, she instantly fell in love.
My love, she thought. True love.
And then she swallowed anxiously.
Love among warring Clans.
The WindClan elder rested for a moment longer before three kits shook her awake.
"What is it?" she asked.
"We're scared," Moonkit whispered.
"About our brother," Cardinalkit whispered, pointing his tail to where Eaglekit was licking a paw in front of the warriors' den.
"What about?" Tangletalon asked, bewildered.
"He said some things…" Moonkit whispered.
"To Scarkit," Cardinalkit added, pointing to the silent black kit in the corner of the den. Tangletalon waited expectantly.
"What was it, Scarkit?"
"He… Eaglekit said I was slated for death."