(Whitethunder find Cherry.)

Whitethunder pushed himself hard as he ran to catch up with his mate. He loved her for being a fast cat, courtesy to her father, but now he hated it. He wished she was slowly; he could catch up with her quicker. The tom could still smell her scent even as it started to rain and he knew where she was going. From time to time he would see her tail blowing out behind her as she ran, just like when he saw her run across the Windclan moor.

But he was losing her.

He stopped and sniffed the air. Her scent was still fresh, but she was nowhere to be found. 'I'll have to catch her at night,' he thought with defeat. A sleeping she cat was much easier to catch than a panicked one. Dragging his tail slightly he settled for a trot. He sniffed around a bush, deemed it safe, and dragged himself under it. He hissed as he did so, aggravating his wounds, Bramblestar didn't let him go unhurt. Since he didn't know any herbs in the area he settled for cleaning his wounds and hoping they didn't get infected. Once done he went out to hunt, caught a bird and dragged it back to his bush, then sighed and waited.

When it was dead dark Whitethunder moved, keeping as quiet as he could. He ran through woods where her scent had suddenly veered off, and as it got stronger he got slower, quieter. Now though, the scent was suffocating. 'She's close,' he cheered inside. Slowly placing one paw after another he snuck through the trees, the leaves not making a sound under them. Stray leaves and thin branches from surrounding bushes and plants aggravated his wounds; he clamped his mouth shut to steady his breathing. Whitethunder paused momentarily, ears twitching ever so slightly. He heard shuffling, a whimper and breathing.

She was close.

"Cherry," he whispered. "Cherry come out."

"No," came a barely there whisper. Her voice sounded watery.

"Please?" He asked. "I'm not going to blame you, I believe you."

"Liar," she hissed.

Whitethunder sighed and closed his eyes. "I do. I swear on Skyclan I do. Please come out. Let me fix it." There was silence, and then slowly Cherry stepped out from the bush in front of him. Her eyes were glistening with anger and tears.

"You believed them..." she accused, fangs bore.

"I didn't!" Whitethunder told her. "I almost did, but I thought about it. I know you wouldn't train kits as warriors, not unless they were almost apprentices anyway. They aren't even five moons old yet."

Cherry stared warily at him, hackles slightly raised. "You know I didn't do it? You do believe me?" Whitethunder nodded eagerly.

"Yes, because last time I saw you, you went hunting, then to the nursery."

Cherry brightened. "I did!"

"But," Whitethunder added. Cherry blinked and backed away. Whitethunder stepped closer. "No no no don't run away. Whatever Sunclan-ish is going on in your head, stop it. I don't have the energy to chase you again." Cherry froze, her eyes wide. He continued. "But, you should've never told the kits about being a warrior, whether it is after they become one or before. We don't know their customs here; we don't want to change it."

"I'm sorry," she muttered, hanging her head. "I didn't think twice about it."

"Exactly," he growled, walking up to her and nuzzling her cheek. "Besides, we don't want to give away our secrets. We still have to be on top of all the clans. We are Moonclan warriors, we are strength. All cats fear us whether they admit it or not." Cherry nodded her head and sighed, though when she took a deep breath of his scent she reeled back with a yowl.

"You're injured!"

Whitethunder looked amused. "Yes, yes I am."

"How? Did they attack you?"

"Autumnspot and Raven did. I might have attacked Bramblestar..."

"Did you kill him?" She asked worriedly. Whitethunder stood there and thought for a second. Had he killed the leader?

"I...I don't know..."

"Whitethunder you mouse-brain! What if that was his last life?!"

"Well, at the moment I didn't care about that. If I lost you and Sakura then I would rejoice in his death. He and his mate almost made me lose you two. Who knows, if I didn't find you tonight then a fox could've got you, or a badger. Or worse, dogs! Large ones even too big for me to fight! I had to right my wrongs..."

Cherry's ears flickered. Riverheart had said that before. "Well, I wasn't going to stay away, maybe for a couple of days to get you sick. Plus I didn't run far. If we run for a little while we could be in Thunderclan." She looked him over fondly. "Come on, we will hunt in the morning, we will rest now."

Gently she nudged him to the bush she was sleeping under. Once situated she began cleaning his wounds with slow, gentle swipes. Whitethunder sighed and relaxed under her ministrations. It was like Moonclan all over again. Without knowing it Whitethunder fell asleep.

~ooo~

They felt alive, taking on something together. Cherry loved it, dodging and weaving, skidding back only to lunge forward again. Whitethunder raised up one his hind legs and slashed down savagely with his claws. The fox howled in pain and backed away, right into Cherry's waiting claws. The red she cat jumped on its back and mercilessly dug her claws into its side, relishing in the feeling of blood in her mouth as she clamped her sharp fangs onto the back of its neck. Whitethunder wrapped his paws around the fox's neck and clamped his long deadly fangs straight into its jugular. They sat there, pinning it, waiting for it to stumble worse than it was going at the moment. When it did they didn't let go, they waited until it twitched its last. Finally the two pulled away, soaked all over with blood from the animal and theirs.

Cherry openly admired the claws mark on her flank. It's been a long while since they had done this; deliberately hunt down a prey larger than them. Not that they were going to eat it, but they loved to pretend to be their larger ancestors. "We should be heading back to the clans," Whitethunder panted, pupils dilated from the fight.

Cherry purred deeply and rubbed against him. "We must bath first." And so they did.

They bathed, then journeyed home. They stopped when they heard someone walking in the woods and silently crept in the bushes towards them. It was Owlwhisker. What was he doing so far away from the clans? Glancing at each other, the pair stalked the tom. "Where is he?" Owlwhisker hissed as he paced in a circle. Cherry gave Whitethunder a look, one that made him flick an ear. Her tail twitched slightly in response. But how was he supposed to get the Windclan warrior to talk? Soundlessly she snapped her teeth together, and it was them that Whitethunder knew what to do, because it was natural to him.

Intimidation.

Calmly Whitethunder walked out if the bushes, badly spooking the Windclan warrior. "W-what are you doing here?" He asked.

Whitethunder narrowed his eyes and slowly circled the tom. "What are you doing here?" He countered. "Shouldn't you be with your clan?"

"I-that is none of your business."

"Oooh, tsk tsk tsk Owlwhisker. You know better than to refuse a direct order from a deputy. A Moonclan deputy especially."

"You aren't my deputy!" Owlwhisker hissed.

Whitethunder growled and flung out his paw, hitting the other in the face and throwing him into a bush. He then walked towards the other with a smirk. "Let's try this again rabbit kit." Owlwhisker snarled and tried to stand, but a pair of white claws sunk themselves into his shoulders and pinned him down. He yowled in shock as Cherry smirked down at him.

"How's about this, you spill and you live. We aren't in the clans at the moment, we can do as we please and erase all evidence."

Owlwhisker bravely glared at the two, but by the hungry gleam in their eyes they weren't bluffing. So he told them. When he finished Cherry and Whitethunder looked at each other in shock and anger. "Whether what you say is true or not, Starclan and Skyclan will tell." And then the two proceeded in ripping the tom apart, torturing him slowly to death before dumping him in a stream. Cleaning themselves again they set to stalk off, hiding when they heard more paw steps. Their eyes gleamed with hatred. Thornclaw stood there with an annoyed look on his face.

"Stupid tom. He's probably ratting me out at this very moment! I need to go..." The winds blew, causing bushes and leaves to stir. Cautiously he looked around before taking off.

Once they were sure Thornclaw was far away the two were gone, heading back to the clans. "Well, looks like we have rules to set and an interesting story to tell." Cherry mewed.

Whitethunder chuckled and glanced down at her. "I feel stress free, but the next cat we kill needs to be a stray."

"Agreed."

"Cherry," Whitethunder starts. when his mate looks up at him he narrows his eyes. "What are you and the others planning?"

"Whatever do you mean?" She asked innocently. The tom snorted and stopped. "You, Sakura, Lionblaze, Leafpool, Squirrelflight, Bramblestar and Sandstorm. I saw you meet in the warriors den. Spill it."

The she cat looked amused. "If I tell you I'll have to kill you," she joked, then sighed dramatically. "Very well, since it's already in motion and in no way is it stopping, I guess I'll tell."