Tigerclaw

"So let me get this straight," Tigerclaw glared at the two warriors sitting before him, "Brackenpaw fell off of the log and into the water, and then both of you sat back and let a RiverClan cat save him? You didn't think to, oh maybe, pull him back up onto the log?" ThunderClan's two newest warriors were looking very uncomfortable under Tigerclaw's icy stare.

"Uh, I didn't think of that," Graystripe mewed, sounding very ashamed of himself. Fireheart stared at his paws. Tigerclaw couldn't believe that these two warriors could fail their mission so miserably. He had sent them to protect the border from RiverClan, and in the end a RiverClan cat had to save one of their apprentices. It didn't exactly cast ThunderClan in a good light.

With a wave of his tail he dismissed them, and they scurried back towards the warrior's den. Tigerclaw turned around and padded towards Bluestar's den. It was high time he talked to his leader about this RiverClan problem. Maybe then they could do something more than send mousebrains out to watch for them.

As usual, the den was immaculate. Some of the queens took turns cleaning it out. They weren't under orders, it was just one of those little traditions that made ThunderClan ThunderClan. He spotted Bluestar talking to Whitestorm in the corner, and padded towards them.

Whitestorm looked up as he approached, "Greetings Tigerclaw. Bluestar and I were just discussing the new ShadowClan."

Tigerclaw nodded respectfully to the senior warrior, "Well, it's certainly better than the old ShadowClan. They lost a lot of their strongest warriors, though. It'll probably be many moons before they can recover from that."

"I agree. But I'm not sure if we should still allow them to hunt in our territory," Bluestar mewed, "After all, Leaf Bare is coming on, and ThunderClan will be pressed for prey, ShadowClan or no ShadowClan."

"You're right," Tigerclaw mewed, "They'll never learn to depend on themselves if they're always looking to the other Clans for support."

"But they did have a very rough time with Brokenstar," Whitestorm pointed out, "And they've never been very good hunters, especially in our territory. I think the fact that they hunt in our territory is more of a psychological help than anything else."

"But again, we can't have them relying on us. ThunderClan has enough problems as it is without having to treat ShadowClan like a bunch of kits."

Bluestar swiped a paw over her ears, "Another good point, Tigerclaw. I think we'll tell Nightpelt next Gathering. No point making a special trip to bring bad news." The other two warriors nodded in agreement. It made sense. They already were having problems with RiverClan anyway, and WindClan was too weak to back them up.

Tigerclaw cleared his throat, "I actually came here to talk to you about our RiverClan problem."

Bluestar's blue eyes flahed briefly, "Alright. I think it was just few young warriors on a dare."

Whitestorm shook his head, "From what I've scented, I would expect that either they stayed for a while, or they've returned multiple times."

Tigerclaw lashed his tail, "If this is the case, then we have to act. We could be facing an invasion."

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions," Bluestar stated carefully, "Remember, much of RiverClan's prey will be inaccessible soon when the water freezes. They wouldn't risk a fight now." And Crookedstar isn't the kind of cat who jumps into a fight. In fact, he rarely seems to fight at all. Tigerclaw had only fought with RiverClan once or twice in his life. It just wasn't like a venerable leader to cross a lake just for a few scraps of prey.

"Hmmm," Whitestorm puzzled, "Good arguments as always, Bluestar. The Clans are weak enough without a war."

Bluestar dipped her head, "Thank you Whitestorm. For now all we can do is double our guard and let Crookedstars make the first move."