Disclaimer: I don't own the Warriors. Erin Hunter does.

A/N: Thank you for the review. ^^ I appreciate it. :)

Chapter 3: The Accused

Nettlestar looked around his den at his senior warriors as they gathered there for their private meeting. Swiftfeather, of course, was also present. But as Nettlestar looked at each of them closer, he could see that their movements were stiff and their eyes tight. Some were even lashing their tails.

"What else is there to talk about Nettlestar?" Russetfoot, the grumpy warrior, questioned. "We decided to increase border patrols already." Nettlestar flashed him a look, a spark of anger in his eyes. But when he spoke, his voice was calm.

"Cinderblaze is insightful as always and his loyalty to the Clan allows him to protect the Clan to the best of his ability. He's anxious as we all are, but if he starts pinning blame on other warriors, we could be in for a lot of trouble. He'll tear the Clan apart," Nettlestar mewed.

"And what can we do about it?" Russetfoot asked, annoyed. "Keep him isolated from others?" Russetfoot rolled his amber eyes and twitched his whiskers at the ridiculous idea.

"Best we can do is keep reminding him and the others who are buying into his idea that he's just speculating with no basis as evidence and keep an eye out for who he's accusing," Nettlestar replied, flicking his tail and kneading the dirt in annoyance at Russetfoot's attitude. "That will have to do for now, until the situation develops further."

"He's already blaming someone," Redfur said, quietly, hurt marring his features. "Or rather, he doesn't know which someone yet, but he's designated a group of cats." Swiftfeather narrowed her eyes on Redfur.

"Well, that was quick," Ashlight, the other senior warrior, commented.

"And this group of cats?" Nettlestar questioned, though he had a look on his face that suggests he had a good idea which group it is.

"The dawn patrol," Redfur answered. Suddenly, the hurt lessened. He blinked in surprise. Must have been good to get it out. Nettlestar nodded, not surprised.

"Redfur..." Swiftfeather mewed. She put her jet black tail on his shoulder, comforting him. "We'll watch out for you, Brightnose, Sootcloud, and Darkstreak, but don't take what the others are saying to heart." Redfur nodded, but his eyes were still tight.

"Another thing. Ashlight and Russetfoot, you two were on guard duty last night, right?" Nettlestar questioned. The two warriors nodded in response. "Did either of you see who could be laying out the crow-food? The first piece came pretty close to the entrance."

"I did not, Nettlestar. It was peaceful and quiet last night. No movement that I could have detected," Ashlight said, uncertainly.

Russetfoot shook his head. "Nothing was out of the usual, Nettlestar."

"Well, we'll just have to tell the night guards to be more alert and see if they can catch whoever's placing these trails," Nettlestar said. The other four cats also agreed.

The sky was starting to darken, but the last hunting patrol that was sent out hadn't returned yet. Redfur was waiting anxiously for them to return. Throughout the day, he had been busy with Heatherpaw, his own apprentice, as he taught her some advanced hunting skills, since leaf-bare was coming.

But he had also sought out Sootcloud and Brightnose to inform them of what he overheard Cinderblaze saying. The two had flicked their tails in anger. The natural response. Darkstreak, however, was never around when Redfur was free, but he remember putting him on the last hunting patrol earlier and he had unthinkingly appointed Cinderblaze the leader of the patrol. This is the last chance I get to warn him before the day's over, in case the situation develops further.

As he waited, he saw Nettlestar and Willowtail's kits playing near the fresh kill pile. He watched them with amusement as they tumbled around the clearing, clearly unaware of the tension that was in the air ever since Nettlestar made the announcement. It made him forget his worries for a few moments.

"I'm going to be the best ShadowClan warrior!" Whitekit shouted as his light gray body crashed into Graykit's darker gray body. "I'll be leader one day!" Graykit, taken by surprise and not willing for Whitekit to get the better of him, let out a small battle cry as he rushed at Whitekit. Dapplekit, a tortoiseshell she-kit, was watching the two of them from the side.

"And I'll be the one treating your wounds," Dapplekit whispered to herself. Redfur saw that Nettlestar and Willowtail was sitting nearby with love for their kits clearly displayed on their faces. He envied them for the closeness that they shared with each other and tried to imagine himself when he had kits.

At that moment, however, before his thoughts got the better of him, pawsteps sounded from the camp entrance, announcing the return of the hunting patrol. Redfur waited as Cinderblaze, Darkstreak, and Rainpelt, a black tom with downcast blue eyes, deposit their catches in the fresh kill pile. Redfur looked with dismay as he saw how few were caught. Leaf-bare was most definitely coming.

Cinderblaze and Rainpelt both picked their own pieces of prey and moved to each of their usual spots to eat. Darkstreak, however, remained at the fresh kill pile a bit longer. Seeing his chance, Redfur moved towards Darkstreak.

"Can't decide which prey you want?" Redfur asked him, jokingly. Darkstreak's whiskers twitched with amusement.

"Nah, I was watching Nettlestar's kits," Darkstreak answered as he bent down to pick up a mouse. "Want to share?"

"Sure," Redfur said and the two of them settled down to eat. They took turns ripping the flesh off of the mouse and it was gone in a few moments.

"So, did you want something, Redfur?" Darkstreak asked as he stretched out on the ground. Redfur proceeded to tell Darkstreak what he overheard earlier that day. Darkstreak narrowed his eyes and lashed his tail, but didn't speak as his anger took hold of him.

"Thanks for telling me, Redfur," Darkstreak mewed, after a few moments. "The four of us need to look out for each other." Redfur nodded in agreement.

Sootcloud approached the camp entrance and settled down for a night of watching. Brightnose would come and relieve him some time after moonhigh, so that he could get some sleep as well. This pairing and rotation of guard duty had been first established when Nettlestar had become leader all those moons ago. As warriors left to join StarClan or moved into the elder's den, new warriors would fill in for their positions, continuing the cycle with little disturbance.

I wonder if the intruder will show up today.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think. :D