(Late, I know. Hold the claws for later pweeze?)

Bramblestar narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he watched Leafpool take two preys to the medicine this morning from on top of the Highledge. Like he promised, he would examine the situation going on between Thornclaw and Leafpool and determine whether Leafpool was indeed trying to sneak off with Crowfeather. So far she hasn't done anything suspicious. 'But this…' Jayfeather hated Leafpool, and yet these past four days she had been spending time in his den. 'This is the second time she has done this,' he thought as he watched and didn't see the she cat emerge. What was going on?

His ear twitched and he turned his sigh slightly to the left, watching Berrynose and Toadstep mutter and glare at the medicine den. He then turned to the warriors den and watched as Sakura bothered Lionblaze and taunted him, challenging him to some kind of fight. 'Now I can't have that.' He jumped from the Highledge and landed neatly, then walked over to the two.

"Go away Sakura!"

"No! Not come on and wrestle with me, unless you are too much of a mouse heart." The ginger growled, and Sakura smirked. Raven just sat there and watched from a distance, and from the apprentice den Whitethunder and Autumnspot watched.

"What's going on here?" Bramblestar rumbled.

Sakura's head snapped in his direction. "Nothing, I want to wrestle."

"And I don't want too!" Lionblaze snapped.

Sakura grinned. "Awe some on Lionblaze! Live up to your name and fight me! Lions are supposed to be strong cats!"

Bramblestar sighed. "Sakura, we do not fight each other in the clans."

"Why not? Don't you wrestle each other? Mom says that Moonclan cat always test each other's strength that way."

"Well this is Thunderclan. We train, not wrestle. And put your claws away, we don't train with them." Sakura looked down at her paws and flexed them, digging dark claws into the dirt.

"But I can't take it! I need to fight!"

"We don't fight inside the clan."

"Calm down Bramblestar," Whitethunder chuckled as he walked over. "It's the Moonclan blood running through her. She needs to fight someone." Sakura glared at him and slightly bared her fangs. "Besides," the deputy continued, "it will be a great way to show you Moonclan's might and what you will face. I will fight you, Sakura."

Bramblestar made a face. "No offense Whitethunder, but we don't need any more blood spilled inside the clan. We definitely don't need to know what your clan prefers, which I know involves blood."

Whitethunder's eyes darkened slightly, but he nodded his head. "Then perhaps I can show you somewhere outside of your camp. You will need to know what you are up against. It gives you a better idea of what to do when the time comes that you actually have to fight them."

"Then let them see experienced cats, Whitethunder." Cherry offered, silently making her way over to them. "We are the fiercest cats of our clan."

Bramblestar stood there in thought. He didn't want his clan disturbed, but they need to know what they were really up against. "I will let the clan decide." Bramblestar turned and raced to the Highledge and perched himself on top of it. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join under the Highledge for a clan meeting."

The cats all gathered under the ledge. "It's been a while since we've had a meeting!" Molepelt mewed excitedly. His sister nodded in agreement.

"Whitethunder and Cherry want to demonstrate to us the fighting style of their clan. It lies on your decision how and where."

A fight?

"In the camp!" One cat shouted.

"With claws!" Toadstep added. Hisses were turned his way.

"No! No claws! There's been enough bloodshed in the camp!"

"But we will see how powerful they are!" Another murmured.

"What if they kill each other?!" Icecloud squeaked.

Ravenpaw stared with wide eyes. "No! They can't!"

"Outside the camp then!"

"No! Inside!"

"Without claws!"

"Yea!" The mews rose louder and louder until Bramblestar let loose a loud yowl, silencing them.

"Ok, all in favor of claws raise your tail. All who is not keep them down." Bramblestar counted the tails, only about a third. "Ok, all in favor of inside the camp raise their tails, all for outside keep them down." He counted again. A tie.

'Ok, so no claws and no place to decide, great.'

"I vote inside the camp!" Squirrelflight mewed, poking her head out of the nursery.

"You don't count!" Someone hissed. "Then I vote inside the camp," Jayfeather added as he padded out of the medicine den with Leafpool close behind.

"I agree," she mewed. "We can't all go outside of the camp, then it will be vulnerable."

'My though exactly,' the Thunderclan leader purred. "Ok, so no claws and inside of the camp." He flicked his tail with finality as he jumped down, and disappointed mews fill the air. He looked at Whitethunder and Cherry. "Alright, we do it in the camp. I won't risk all of us leaving to go outside and watch you fight and leave out camp and queens and elders vulnerable. No claws." Both Moonclan cats made a disappointed noise, but otherwise nodded. "No claws."

The cats gave them a wide berth with plenty of room to move around and watched quietly. "I hope you aren't rusty, Cherry," Whitethunder whispered. The red she cat snorted and shook her head quickly.

"I can say the same about you. Don't hold back." Whitethunder was about to comment, but Cherry launched herself at him with battle yowl. He fell over and she instantly diging into his belly. He could faintly feel her claws. With a growl he threw her off, and attacked. The clan watched silently as the two caught, trading blows and dodging each other's attacks. Some flinched at the particularly hard blow Whitethunder landed on her head and widened their eyes at the way Cherry tripped him again and rained blows down on him from multiple directions. They saw some of the moves they were taught used, drinking in the rest along with the quick and precise hits.

The kits were squealing with excitement and jumping as they watched, though only Flamekit stayed still. She flexed her toes as she watched Cherry stand on them, her haunches twitching when Whitethunder gave a mighty jump and crushed Cherry as he landed on her back and attacked her ears. 'Drink in the moves,' voices whispered in her ears. 'Learn them.'

Unknowingly to any of them Jayfeather was having the same problem as Flamekit, only a different voice whispered in his ears. When he recognized who it was he flicked his ears in irritation. "Leave me alone Silverclaw," he hissed quietly. The voice left him.

Whitethunder felt alive, it has been so long since he last sparred with a fellow Moonclan warrior, and his traveling companions were too weak. Only Autumnspot gave him a hard time. He was so caught up in the fight that he let his claws slide out and attacked Cherry, stopping abruptly when he realized what he was doing. Quickly he sheathed them, but Cherry took his hesitation and knocked him over. He fell with flailing paws, and was about to rise when he felt fangs on his throat. "Dead," she hissed with a grin. Autumnspot crowed happily and ran over to Cherry as she stepped away from the white tom with heaving sides.

"That was awesome! My sister won I'm so proud!"

Cherry smiled at him purring happily as her kits swarmed her. The clan mewed their congratulations to both cats, some asking for lessons from the two. Most of the moves were deadly, but some of them were very handy in a battle. 'That will be a problem,' Bramblestar thought worriedly. If the Moonclan cats were as quickly powerful as Cherry and Whitethunder then they would be sorely out matched. 'What am I thinking? My clan can take them on! They have speed and strength, but we have smarts and strategy. Not to mention they will be fighting us on our land. We have total advantage.'

Bramblestar wanted to ask them how they do it and train them, but he quickly chased the thought away. He didn't want his clan to be like Moonclan. He wanted to still be Thunderclan and not revert to their ways. 'Plus I must heed Mistystar's warning not to change our ways.'

"That was excellent," he meowed with a nod, the clan quieting and looking his way. Whitethunder nodded, then winced. Cherry paws hit his neck, and had she used her claws it would be fatal, thus, his neck was sore. Then again so was his whole body.

"If you want, we can teach how to become as powerful and quick as we are..."

"Thanks, but no thanks." He said. "I have confidence in our strength and speed. We won't need it." Bramblestar's heart leapt with the adoring look from Squirrelflight and the immense respect and pride from a few other cats. "We will, however, need to learn some of your moves. We can improvise if they require more speed or power than we can apply."

Whitethunder gazed at Bramblestar with half veiled respect. Bramblestar understood they needed to learn from them in order to beat his clan, if it came to a fight that is, but he wouldn't change their ways of life for it. It would only make another Moonclan and thus this the forest clam cats off kilter. 'I could learn much from him. He is a leader after all.'

"Of course, Bramblestar. I understand." He mewed and dipped his head respectfully.

Cherry hissed as a sharp pain shot up her leg. 'I need to get use to this again.'

"Mother that was amazing! Is that really how Moonclan fight?" Sakura asked with shining eyes.

Cherry chuckled. "Yes."

The cats dispersed, going back to what they were doing, muttering amongst each other. Cherry took a trip to Jayfeather's den, watching with suspicion as Leafpool helped him around. The two had been strangely, close, for the past four days. She couldn't help by try to figure out what was going on between the two. 'Brightrīdā was right; I am too nosey for my own good.' But it couldn't be helped, it just couldn't.