Tigerclaw

Bluestar was sick. Tigerclaw paced to and fro in front of the den, waiting for any orders from Yellowfang. Most of the Clan was gathered under the den, all worried for their leader. He didn't know what had brought the greencough on, but Bluestar had simply woken up one sunrise with a hacking cough. This is the worst time for this to happen! He had given the Clan strict orders not to tell any other cats about this. He didn't want any of the other Clans to think ThunderClan was weak.

Then a tail tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Darkstripe and Mousefur standing behind him, looking nervous and worried.

"What is it?" He asked, concern growing within him. If these two were nervous, then something was wrong.

Darkstripe cleared his throat, but Mousefur answered first, "It's ShadowClan. The fox hearts are up to something."

"What do you mean?"

"We caught there scent up near the Thunderpath, you know, the one near the abandoned twoleg nest."

Tigerclaw narrowed his eyes in concentration, "That's pretty far into our territory. Too far for just hunting."

Darkstripe nodded, "That's why we're worried." Tigerclaw glanced at Bluestar's den. She'll be okay if I'm gone for bit.

"Alright," he mewed finally, "I'll check it out."

Darkstripe summoned Dustpaw quickly, and then the patrol set off for the abandoned Twoleg nest. The trip was much faster than what Tigerclaw was used to, which was a relief. Dustpaw was almost a full warrior, so he was able to keep up with the others easily. They reached the abandoned nest in half the time it would usually take. As soon as they got there, Tigerclaw gagged at the ShadowClan scent that was coating the ferns and surrounding area. A lot of cats had been there, it was definitely not a hunting party. The warriors fanned out, trying to get a rough guess of where exactly these cats had gone. It didn't take long to find out.

"Hey look!" Dustpaw yowled from across yard. Tigerclaw bounded through the tall grass and fallen branches and quickly saw what Dustpaw was pointing out. His heart sank. Mousefur padded towards them, and spat when she saw what the ShadowClan had done.

"Those slimy, stinking, sneaking, fox hearts!" Tigerclaw couldn't help but agree. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the patch of ruined catnip. Anything worth taking had been stolen.

Darkstripe narrowed his eyes, "This can't be overlooked."

"Of course it can't!" Mousefure hissed, "They already have a big patch of catnip in their territory! Why can't they just take their own?"

Tigerclaw shook his head gravely, "I don't think they need catnip. I think they're sending us a message."

"They want a fight?" Darkstripe snorted, "They lost all of their good fighters when Brokenstar left! They've got nothing."

Tigerclaw was also puzzled, "Maybe they're just testing their luck."

"Well then it just ran out! I'm going to rip the pelts off of every one of those thieving crowfood eaters, then I'll stick the stinking fur down their own throats! And then I'll—" Mousefur noticed that Dustpaw was staring at her with wide eyes, and she abruptly ended her tirade, "Never mind."

Tigerclaw turned to the apprentice, "Dustpaw, I need you to see if Bluestar's alright, and if she is, then bring her over here. I need to know what we do next."

As the apprentice bounded away, Darkstripe mewed quietly, "Tigerclaw, you know that if Bluestar's still sick then you'll have to make the call on whether or not to attack ShadowClan."

Tigerclaw grimaced at the thought, "I hope I don't have to."

Mousefur and Tigerclaw paced back and forth as they waited for a reply from Dustpaw. As they passed eachother for the umpteenth time, Tigerclaw couldn't help but growl with frustration. What was taking that apprentice so long? Darkstripe was lying in the shade, deceptively calm. Tigerclaw new from experience that Darkstripe was just as nervous as they were. He was just better at hiding it. Finally, Mousefure hopped to her feet.

"I'll go check near the clearing!" She announced, "Maybe ShadowClan is trespassing in other places just as far into our territory."

Darkstripe nodded, "I'll check a little farther up near the twoleg place." The two cats each left Tigerclaw, bounding away to check for more ShadowClan interfierence. Tigerclaw sat down under a tree, squinting as a monster rolled by on the thunderpath only a few fox lengths away. He let his mind wander as he waited for Dustpaw's return. Maybe the monsters had been what destroyed the abandoned twoleg nest. Maybe a long time ago they wandered off of the thunderpath! He shuddered at the thought.

Just then he heard the sound of a small cat crashing through the underbrush. He let out a sigh of relief. He took his time. Then he scented something strange. That doesn't smell like Dustpaw… Is that Cinderpaw? At that moment the dark gray apprentice hurled out of the woodline and right through the clearing, into the thunderpath.

He was up and sprinting for her in the blink of an eye, "CINDERPAW! STOP!" A monster roared towards the small cat. He tried to run faster.

"COME BACK!" Cinderpaw turned around with a puzzled look in her eye. Then the monster hit her. Tigerclaw gasped in horror, and bounded towards the limp bundle on the ground.

"Cinderpaw?!"