Strangely enough, I have not yet been able to find Yellowfang's Secret in my area. A quick Wiki search spoiled me to his family, though. Don't worry about that!

"StarClan will welcome him with open forelimbs..." ... pfft. Sorry, I can't help but chuckle at the sound of that. I dunno, I figure if the cats say stuff like "hand me this or that" then it's probably OK. They're heavily humanized, after all.

Also, this is a really short chapter. Not sure how it turned out that way but it did.

Chapter 14

Morning dew brushed against Hawkpaw's pelt. The sun was beginning to burn off the water from the growing foliage as the patrol padded through the woods towards ThunderClan territory. Hawkpaw had woken up feeling well-rested just in time to see the cats who had buried Littlecloud return from their task. He had left the somber air of the camp quickly, though – the patrol needed to go out as soon as possible.

Rowanstar was at its head, with Tawnypelt padding beside him. Hawkpaw stuck near the back, conscious that the only reason he had been brought along was because Tigerheart had recommended him. Tigerheart himself was trotting alongside Toadfoot, Ratscar, and Kinkfur. Unfortunately, Ratscar's apprentice Sparrowpaw just had to come too – Hawkpaw was doing his best to avoid him.

"Forgive me, Rowanstar… but do you really think that this is going to work?" Ratscar asked. "Do you really think that Bramblestar is going to hand us the territory without a fight? They've given us one of their medicine cats! If anything, we owe them."

"ShadowClan is in debt to no Clan," Rowanstar insisted. His neck fur was bristling at the thought. "You forget that we had that territory before – Firestar gave it to us, and he wrongfully took it back. At the cost of Russetfur's life, no less! We have every right to ask for it back."

"Besides," Tawnypelt muttered, "we have no other choice. We can't find a new camping place – we need this territory. There's a high chance ThunderClan will deny it to us…"

"But if we make it sound like fighting us for that territory would be a bad idea then they won't," Rowanstar finished. "Not to mention the fact that the territory had been gifted to us before Firestar wrongfully took it away. If Bramblestar doesn't give it back, not only will I be insulted, but it would be something worth fighting for."

Hawkpaw couldn't help but feel a prickle of doubt. ShadowClan was a Clan that asked for nothing from any cat… so why couldn't they just take the territory if it had been theirs to begin with?

Rowanstar led the patrol through the undergrowth and into ThunderClan territory.

"I must ask," muttered Toadfoot. "Was it a good idea to bring apprentices? If it comes to a fight they'll be nothing but a liability."

Hawkpaw's neck fur rose, and Sparrowpaw lashed his tail. At least this they could agree on – they were no liability!

"We brought them because of that," Rowanstar replied, keeping his voice low. They were in enemy territory, and ThunderClan were good at hiding in the underbrush. "ThunderClan are mousehearts – they would never violently chase us out of camp if they saw two apprentices with our group. It makes us seem less like a battle party and more like a diplomatic patrol."

"Hush all of you," Tawnypelt ordered. "We're in ThunderClan territory now. There are bound to be hunters about."

Hawkpaw opened his jaws, but he scented nothing but the cloying smells of the growing world. The trees blocked off nearly all light, and it was cool and quiet in the forest. Hawkpaw found himself stumbling and fumbling in the dense territory, until finally a bramble bush caught his flanks in its thorns.

"I'd much rather run into a patrol than just barge into their camp," Tawnypelt admitted. "It would seem less rude." The patrol was padding off without him, none of them having noticed he'd gotten caught in a bush.

"How can they walk around in this stuff?" Hawkpaw wondered to himself. He pulled, but the thorns tugged at his pelt and dug into his skin. He looked towards the patrol, but found that they were long gone. If he called out, he would attract too much attention.

Hawkpaw, frustrated, began trying to wiggle his haunches out of the tangle – but to no avail. His eyes watered as the thorns dug into his skin.

"Need some help?"

"No, I'm fine," he grunted.

Hawkpaw struggled for another few heartbeats before he froze. He didn't know that voice! He turned his head and saw three lean-bodied ThunderClan cats standing behind him, their whiskers twitching with amusement.

Ears burning, he tried to explain himself but nothing left his throat but a squeak.

"So tell us," a pure white she-cat began. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting stuck," Hawkpaw complained.

The white she-cat narrowed her eyes. "There's more of them," she decided. Nodding to a fluffy ginger tabby, she ordered, "Go catch up to them. Find out what they're after." The other she-cat nodded and took off.

Her other companion, a sturdy gray-and-white tom, mewed, "I'm going to warn the camp and get a backup patrol ready to defend the hollow."

The white she-cat nodded her approval, and the tom sped off through the undergrowth, traversing it as if he were a mouse. That left the she-cat and Hawkpaw alone.

"I'm Icecloud," the white she-cat mewed.

"Hawkpaw," Hawkpaw replied. "I'm with a patrol of ShadowClan cats… we're not here to fight!"

"We'll see about that," Icecloud decided.

Icecloud padded up to him and, with her teeth, untangled him from his brambly prison. Hawkpaw wriggled free easily, and his ears burned more after realizing how easy it was to escape.

"Let's find this patrol of yours," Icecloud meowed. "I'm warning you – stick close to me, or you'll have more than scratchy thorns in your pelt to think about."

Hawkpaw sighed, and then began following her through the undergrowth. His mind raced, but the only thought that came to the surface was the clear, certain realization that he was, in fact, a frog-brain.