When they arrived at the river, Ashwinter settled down on a sunny rock next to the flowing water. Dustrise jumped up next to her. His paw was poised over the water. Ashwinter watched him gracefully flick a fish up next to her. She quickly killed it before it could flop back.
" Great catch," she purred, "It's big enough to feed both Honeymallow and Smoketail!"
"Thanks."
For a great deal of time, they caught unsuspecting fish. The two had quite a substantial amount between them in no time at all.
" Let's get all this back to camp," Dustrise meowed, rising.
" Okay," Ashwinter agreed, nodding.
Gathering as much fish as possible, they padded off back in the direction of the camp. Soft undergrowth tickled her belly and the air smelled of soil due to the previous rainstorms. Dustrise paused and placed his freshkill on the ground. Ashwinter stopped and looked back at him after placing her bundle down, too.
"Is something wrong, Dustrise?" she asked.
He was silent for several moments. "Do you smell that?"
Ashwinter raised her muzzle and inhaled. A disgusting smell tickled her nose and made her fur stand on end.
" ShadowClan," Dustrise growled.
"ShadowClan," she agreed.
"Come on," Dustrise pushed past her, following the scent.
"What about the fish?" she meowed under her breathe.
"Leave them for now."
Ashwinter reluctantly followed her clanmate through the undergrowth. Suddenly, he paused and crouched down. She moved in next to him and peered out through the ferns. Four ShadowClan warriors were fighting over a dead water vole—prey that was rightfully RiverClan's. Dustrise burst out through the leaves with Ashwinter close behind.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? That's RiverClan kill!" he yowled.
A black and white tabby turned her head to face them.
" My, my, what do we have here? Two lone RiverClan warriors? We're in an allegiance with you and without us, your pathetic little clan would have been run out of the forest by now," she scoffed.
" You have no right to take food that is rightfully ours!" Ashwinter hissed.
The tabby she-cat padded up to her, her nose inches away from Ashwinter's. "What are you going to so about it?"
Instead of giving an answer, Ashwinter unsheathed her claws and swiftly slashed her paw across the other female's eyes. She yowled in shock and pain as Dustrise launched himself at the others. They were outnumbered, so the stakes were not leaning in their favor—two against one. As they all fought, fur and screeches of fury flying everywhere, Ashwinter noticed the bracken to her left twitching occasionally. Finally, when the black and white she-cat called to her clanmates to return to pull back and return to their own camp, Ashwinter stalked quietly to the suspicious ferns. She stared intently through the leaves.
"Ashwinter, come on…" Dustrise began.
"Ssh!" she shushed him quickly.
Silently, she jumped through the bracken and landed on another cat. Although she didn't know who it was, they tumbled and wrestled with the occasional hiss. When she had him pinned she pressed her weight down on his chest and looked down at her victim.
"Bluefire! I thought I smelt a rat…" she meowed.
Bluefire grunted, "Get. Off. Me."
Ashwinter removed her paws from her friend's chest and Bluefire rolled over. She shook the grass out of her sleek blue coat.
"I heard a fight," she ventured to explain.
"You did," Dustrise replied, padding up, "ShadowClan warriors. We took care of them."
" Are either of you hurt?" Bluefire asked.
"I'm not," Ashwinter meowed, looking at Dustrise for his answer.
" I have a few scratches, but I'm otherwise good."
Bluefire nodded once.
"Well, come back to camp anyway," she mewed, flicking her tail.
"We weren't quite finished hunting," Dustrise spoke up, "but we'll be back soon."
Bluefire shot him a knowing look. "Fine. But don't take too long."
Dustrise nodded to she sister. He watched her bound through the ferns. When she was out of sight, he turned to his companion.
"Ashwinter, I need to tell you something important," he sighed.
She smiled, "Okay."
"Walk with me."
Side by side, they walked off back towards the river. The sun was beginning to set, setting the water on fire. The current pulled rhythmically at the shore. Larks twittered their evening songs as the two settled down at the water's edge. For several moments they sat in silence.
" What is it you wanted to tell me?" Ashwinter inquired.
Dustrise inhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. He then met her gaze seriously.
"I love you."