Tigerclaw

Tigerclaw padded quietly through the camp, towards the warriors' den. He was so deep in thought that he almost missed the entrance.

He was worried about Bluestar. She seemed to be growing more and more distant and lost in thought these days. Two nights ago she had quietly slipped out of camp and returned close to moonhigh, when she thought no one was watching. Tigerclaw himself had been on watch and had seen her leave and return, though he pretended he hadn't. And then there was this dream―the dream Bluestar had woken from bleeding and bruised. There couldn't possibly have been a thorn in her nest as she claimed. Her nest was all but destroyed―though how that had happened was a question in and of itself.

Tigerclaw pushed his head and shoulders into the warriors' den and called out a few names.

"Whitestorm and Runningwind. You can come with me on the morning hunting patrol as soon as Mousefur, Longtail, and Sandpaw get back from the dawn patrol." Tigerclaw turned and left the den. In a few minutes, Whitestorm and Runningwind had joined him in the main part of camp.

"Should we bring our apprentices?" Whitestorm asked. Tigerclaw's gaze flicked to Runningwind. "Just Mistpaw. He needs to work on his hunting, doesn't he?" Runningwind confirmed this with a nod of his head. He then left to rouse Mistpaw for the patrol.

As Runningwind and Mistpaw emerged from the apprentices' den, Longtail and Mousefur pushed through the bramble-covered entrance to camp. Sandpaw was just behind them, carrying a good-sized blackbird. Whitestorm directed his apprentice to leave her catch on the fresh-kill pile before joining Tigerclaw and Runningwind as they left camp.

Tigerclaw led the patrol up into the heart of ThunderClan territory. He let Whitestorm leave to hunt a little ways from a nice, wooded area where he and Runningwind could help Mistpaw with his hunting.

"Now, Mistpaw," Runningwind began when they were settled in the clearing. "What have you learned about hunting so far?"

"Um, well," Mistpaw started, looking up at the tree branches far above them. "Try to keep your tail straight when you're stalking―so it doesn't hit something and scare the prey. You should always step lightly, and―"

"Why should you step lightly?" Runningwind interjected.

"Um, because of mice," Mistpaw answered, obviously still thinking. "They can feel you coming through the ground, right? So you should step lightly to keep them from feeling you."

"Correct," Runningwind mewed, pride shining in his eyes. Tigerclaw felt just as proud of his son's knowledge and skills. "Now," Runningwind continued, "why don't we try out some actual hunting? Remember to stay quiet."

Mistpaw jumped up to his paws, nodding excitedly. He and Runningwind moved off into the forest, while Tigerclaw went in a different direction.

Almost instantly, the ThunderClan deputy spotted a plump mouse moving around the thick roots of a tree. He dropped into a crouch, moving forward ever so silently, getting closer to the mouse with every step.

All at once he leapt. He landed easily with the mouse right in between his paws. One quick bite later, the mouse hung limp from Tigerclaw's jaws as he moved on to find a spot to bury it.

He never got a chance to. Before Tigerclaw had gone five steps into the forest, there was a loud rustling, and a dark brown blur flew out of the bracken and cannoned straight into him, knocking the sturdy warrior back a few paces.

When the blur stopped moving, Tigerclaw identified it as Dustpaw, breathing hard. He looked as if he had run all the way from camp without stopping.

"Dustpaw! What's wrong?" Tigerclaw asked. Between gasps, Dustpaw managed to choke out his message.

"Rogues… attacking… Bluestar's patrol… trapped… abandoned… twolegplace…" That was all Tigerclaw needed to hear. He took off in the direction of the abandoned twoleg nest, calling back over his shoulder, "Tell the others, Dustpaw!" The poor apprentice gave a single nod before taking off again in the opposite direction, still panting heavily. Tigerclaw, meanwhile, poured all of his concentration into tearing towards the battle.

As he approached the abandoned nest, Tigerclaw began hearing the sounds of battle: cats yowling in anger, fear, and pain; fur tearing; warriors calling instructions over the other noises.

Tigerclaw burst into the twoleg nest and saw that the battle wasn't going quite as badly as he had imagined. A ThunderClan patrol consisting of Bluestar, Longtail, Darkstripe, Willowpelt, and Sandpaw were slowly beating back a five- or six-strong group of rogues. Still, Tigerclaw wasn't going to let his Clanmates fight unaided. He leapt into battle, almost instantly targeting a scruffy-looking grey tabby. Tigerclaw leapt into the air, landing half-on top of his opponent's shoulders. The tabby yowled in surprise and whirled around. Tigerclaw slid his claws deeper into his opponent's shoulder, feeling satisfaction as blood trickled out of the wound. The rogue gave a furious yowl and lunged into a forward roll that managed to dislodge Tigerclaw. Undeterred, the dark tabby whirled and dashed over to Bluestar.

The ThunderClan leader was up against a creamy tabby she-cat that was about her size. When Tigerclaw bounded up, the creamy she-cat took one look at him and tore away, out of the nest. Tigerclaw moved up, a bit closer to Bluestar.

"How goes the battle?"

"Fine," Bluestar answered tightly, chasing away a black tom with one swipe of her claws. "Yellowfang will have her work cut out for her when we get back, though."

Tigerclaw gave his leader a terse nod and bounded forward towards a large brown tabby. He threw himself forward. The tabby dodged surprisingly quickly, though Tigerclaw still managed to get his claws firmly into the tabby's tail. The tabby gave a pained yowl and sprang away, out of the twoleg nest.

Tigerclaw turned toward another cat, but just then Dustpaw arrived with Runningwind, Mistpaw, and Whitestorm. When the rogues saw the reinforcements, most of them scattered. Only one or two had the courage to stand their ground, and they also quickly left when they saw that there would be no winning this battle.

"Longtail," asked Tigerclaw as soon as the rogues were gone, "What happened? Why did they attack?"

The younger warrior shrugged, "I dunno. They just jumped out of nowhere. They were surprisingly good fighters..."

"I noticed. Are you sure nothing was... different?"

"Well... They did seem to be yowling something about proving themselves. Maybe they wanted to show off?"

"Maybe..."

The ThunderClan cats regrouped in the center of the nest. The fresher cats―Tigerclaw, Runningwind, and Whitestorm―kept watch in case the rogues should return, while Bluestar checked over the other cats' wounds. Sandpaw, Dustpaw, and Mistpaw were sent back to camp to report that the battle was over.

When the ThunderClan cats returned to camp, Yellowfang was ready. The grumpy medicine cat bustled busily around the wounded cats, applying poultices to some and smearing chewed herbs on others. Willowpelt was hurt worst of all; a broad patch of fur on her shoulders had been torn off, leaving a raw, rapidly bleeding wound there. Yellowfang applied a wide patch of cobwebs to the area and instructed Willowpelt to stay in the warriors' den and rest until further notice.

Bluestar let the rest of the cats who had been in the battle have some rest, while those who hadn't were assigned to a patrol to ensure the rogues had left. As the tired warriors and apprentices moved into their respective dens, Tigerclaw joined Bluestar on a small shelf of rock underneath the Highledge. She seemed distracted, like she wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her.

"It's a good thing there weren't more rogues to deal with," Tigerclaw meowed softly. Bluestar nodded absentmindedly.

"Yes. Though we should not assume that there won't be more rogues to deal with."

"True." Tigerclaw paused for a while before continuing. "Bluestar―have you been… alright lately?"

"What do you mean?" Bluestar asked, confusion flitting across her face.

"I mean―about your nightmare," Tigerclaw mewed, nodding still-fresh slices on Bluestar's shoulders.

"I'm fine, Tigerclaw," Bluestar meowed. "You shouldn't worry about me so much." She turned her head to look out, across the neat ThunderClan camp. "I'm absolutely fine. I do wish Fireheart was here though…"