Nightfang

We walked in silence as crossed in Shadowclans territory, my senses where on high alert as I listened for the slightest hint of movement. As summer turned to fall the nights were quieter, I was used to being watchful of my footsteps because of the grassy moors so walking on the spongy pine needles and staying silent was easy, I glanced over to Morningdew who was dodging tree roots and rocks with delicate ease. I was amazed to find I didn't even hear her breathing but her determined gaze was all I needed to confirm that she was completely focused.

As we followed the Shadowclan scents we drew near to what they think is the camp. The forest grew thicker here and while they herd activity within, the exact location was difficult to spot. "Ill climb a tree and see if I can find it." Morningdew whispered and I nodded moving into a near by holly bush for cover. I herd the tiny scratching of her claws as she climbed a near by sycamore tree and scanned the area cautiously to make sure she didn't attract attention.

I waited patiently in the bush and herd a screeching of what sounded like a fighting pair of toms in the distance and my heart began to pound, I hope they didn't see her. A thud came from behind me and I turned quickly and hissed, "Easy tiger, its only me." Morningdew snickered, I felt immediately embarrassed for my rudeness and for being caught off guard but she didn't seem bothered so I swallowed my pride,

"Did you see anything?" I asked, she nodded and pointed with her nose to the north, "They are in the where those low branches and bushes cluster together." together we moved from the bush and stalked a wide circle around the area, more screeches and growls came from inside and we exchanged worried looks, "You don't think they are attacking Rowanstar do you?" she said fearfully, "No that sounds like a petty fight, I know because Breezepelt and Crowfeather have them all the time." I snorted and after a few tentative sniffs I felt the best place to get closer was on the south side where the nursery must be, the scents of milk and kits filled my nose but it was stale, "It seems they had no kits this summer." Morningdew pointed out and we crept a bit closer, we were met with a field of brambles and we decided we couldn't go any further.

"Mouse dung, what now? We cant hear anything from back here." I hissed, "How are you at climbing trees?" Morningdew whispered looking above us at a old birch tree whos ancient limbs curved and stretched wide over the camp, "Truthfully I haven't climbed a tree before." I swallowed, "Its easy, every cat can climb trees." She said confidently and shot up the trunk faster than a squirrel, reluctantly I followed a bit less quietly but after watching how her tail moved to give her better balance and I was able to maintain my untrained limbs to crawl carefully over the thin limbs.

"See? Its easy now we can hear and see everything." She purred and I tried to look just as confident as she did but inside I was nervous at the height we were at. Looking down I could Shadowclans whole camp, it was late and by now most warriors should be asleep but below there were many who were awake and angry. The fighting we herd before was between Crowfrost and Tawnypelt,

"How dare you insult your clan leader like this." She hissed bearing her fangs at Crowfrost whos blue eyes were alight with fury, "Rowanstar should never have been chosen as leader! He is a curse on this clan!" Shadowclans medicine cat Littlecloud stepped forward,

"How can you say that? he was given his nine lives by Starclan and he has served us well." A few meowed in agreement but those behind Crowfrost didn't budge, "Ever since he was made leader we have seen less prey and less warriors. We didn't have a single litter this summer and every cat knows no clan can grow without kits." He hissed and meows of agreement came from behind him,

"That's not Rowanstars fault, he cant control the prey or the queens." Tawnypelt retorted, "Maybe not but clearly Starclan is upset with us, never had we had so many available queens and no kits, we barely even caught enough to feed ourselves this season due to the little rain fall, I doubt Littlecloud even has enough herbs to get us through winter!" he shouted and even the cats behind Tawnypelt began to look sullen, me and Morningdew exchanged worried looks but stayed silent,

"Shadowclan has delt with hardship before Crowfrost," Rowanstar spoke emerging from his den, "We will over come, we always have and we always will." He was confident and determined and the cats on his side yowled approval, Crowfrost hissed again, "I still think we need a new leader, Thunderclan is taunting us at our own borders and all you can think of to do is leave them alone! Blackstar would never have taken this insult from those over confident flea pelts" I felt Morningdew bristled but I rubbed her flank with my tail to calm her down,

"They wouldn't be so angry if you hadnt ambushed them! How in Starclans name am I supposed to defend that? You went against my orders and now I am being forced to defend a lie no clan believes anyway!" Rowanstar spit his hair on end and his eyes filled with rage, "If Windclan had left their noses out of the fight then we would have won!" Crowfrost grumbled.

"You better hope this blows over Crowfrost because if it doesn't then I will offer up your worthless hide as an apology to Starclan for your recklessness." He bounded up on a low hanging branch of the tree we were hiding in and I got so scared I almost lost my balance, luckily Morningdew grabbed my scruff and held tight, no cat below seemed to notice,

"As for the rest of you who think Crowfrost has merit, remember that Starclan has chosen me as your leader, you once chose me as your leader, are you going to let the ramblings of an angry warrior test your faith like Sol once did?" he boomed and the cats behind Crowfrost looked down in embarrassment, "Remember that we beat back the Dark forest, we chased out Sol and we did it as a united clan, we will beat this too." Yowls of approval filled the night and the mob dispersed into their dens, Crowfrost slunk behind every cat as they moved and Rowanstar and Tawnypelt disappeared back into his den.

"Wow, that was intense." I said as me and Morningdew crept down the tree. "No kidding, what do you think we should do?" she whispered as we quickly made our way back to the border, "It doesn't seem like they will attack but I don't think we have herd the last of Crowfrost's rebellion."

Morningdew

"So then I told them to shove off and that we would be ready for their fox hearted attacks." Scorchfur boasted padding around me pretending to be the Shadowclan patrol and then himself. "I wish you had been there to see it Morningdew, they were to afraid to say anything!" I tried my best to look impressed but after what me and Nightfang found out last night I could help but feel a bit sorry for them.

I couldn't imagine the clan being divided like that, how can you trust anyone? This is what it must have been like when the Dark forest was training warriors from every clan. I missed most of what Scorchflame said but I just nodded and let him prattle on. We walked together through the woods on my offer and I was making an effort to change the subject to something other than Shadowclan.

"Im glad this is working the way you planned Scorchfur, how are your other duties going?" this question sent him on a whole new round of boasting about his multiple fresh kills despite leaf fall being in full swing and that he was able to catch Lionblaze off guard during battle practice. I was barely able to get a word in, "Sounds wonderful Scorchflame, you are really something." I smiled weakly and his eyes burst with pride, "You are too, I see how much work you have been doing with the apprentices, those prep moves for ice fighting are genius! I already have some ideas to improve them. Do you remember I was the first to implement leaf cover during practice and results have been amazing"

"The clan sure needs some cat like you." I continued to smile and my stomach turned a little. Geeze all this boasting is going to give me a stomach ache, I tried to concentrate on his features comparing them with Nightfang and was mostly unsuccessful, Scorchflame was large and strong and was intimidating on the battlefield for sure but Nightfang was lean and fast and could out wit the most skilled warrior, this made him unpredictable and down right menacing.

"Hey Morningdew, did you hear me?" Scorchflame stopped and I bumped right into his solid haunches, "Yes, yes I did." I answered snapping out of my daze, "Then whats your answer?" he asked, "I uh, yes my answer is yes." I hoped that was a reasonable response and he jumped around like a kit,

"Wonderful! I cant wait to tell the whole clan!" he said shoving his large head into mine in a large cuddle, he then bounded off back the way we came and I stood there dumbstruck, "What just happened?" I said to thin air and suddenly I got a bad feeling that I agreed to something I shouldn't have, I shrugged and decided to finish the walk on my own and began thinking about Nightfang again.

Last night we had decided not to say anything to the leaders but we both knew this wasn't going to blow over, Shadowclan was always jumpy and sensitive when it came to bad omens and this was the worst I have ever herd of, what kind of clan had fertile queens and no kits? The rest of the forest had no problems this season yet they saw little rain and bad hunting, something weird was going on for sure. Me and Nightfang were meeting again tonight to discuss our next move, if there was one so maybe he will have a better idea than me,

I walked the rest of the afternoon in deep thought and barely noticed Ivypool as she came running up next to me, "I just herd the news, Congratulations! I knew you two would be happy together!" I looked at her surprised, "What news? What are you talking about?" now she looked confused, "You and Scorchflame being mates of course?"

My stomach threatened to jump out of my throat, "Mates, me and Scorchflame? Today!?" Ivypool shoved me with a paw, "Oh Morningdew, your such a air head sometimes, he just told us you excepted his proposal." I was speechless, that question he asked me, the one I said yes to, the one I didn't eve stop to consider, oh Starclan what have I done!

Ivypool and I returned to camp, her talking about how perfect we were for each other and me just walking along wide eyed and tongue tied, as soon as we stepped threw the barrier I was flooded,

"Oh I just herd dear, congratulations!" my mother said covering me with embarrassing licks, "How did he ask you? was it romantic?" Skypaw pressed, "I bet your kittens will be the cutest little warriors!" Ivypool cooed and this sent every cat into a flurry of guessing and prophesizing, I was feeling smothered and I couldn't breath, I pulled myself out of the pile and made a beeline back outside,

"Morningdew, there you are!" Scorchflame said blocking my path, "I was looking for you, every cat is so excited!" he said pushing me back inside and into the pile of waiting congratulators, its as if they never seen a mated pair before! I knew I had no choice but to sit and pretend to be happy as cat after cat wished us the best of luck. It wasn't until Squirrelflight called to assemble evening patrol that I was able to get a moment to myself, or at least so I thought.

"I know it was kind of sudden but I have liked you for a long time, ever since we were kits you know and I couldn't bear the thought of missing a chance to make you mine." Scorchflame said proudly rubbing his face against mine, "I was worried for a moment you were going to say no but thank Starclan you were just to over come with joy to speak!" I remained silent as he went over dreams for our future together and with every word I sunk deeper into unhappiness. I didn't think he would have asked so soon, Oh why did I let myself get caught up in thinking about Nightfang and instead of paying attention to what he was saying!? "And then I knew right then that we were meant to be together!" Scorchflame said and I just smiled back at him, I didn't know what to say or what to do, I was considering him to be my mate after all so maybe this is a good thing. I just need to get over Nightfang is all and now I don't have to worry about loosing Scorchflame's attentions, who knows this he may be perfect for me.

Right and hedgehogs fly Morningdew.

"Uh Scorchflame, I am pretty tired, all of this great news has got me feeling a little faint. I think I will head to bed a bit early tonight." I said pulling away from his touch, he looked a little hurt but didn't argue, "Of course, how silly of me, here let me walk you to your nest."

Not only did he walk me there but he tucked in my tail and made sure no feather or pieces of moss went untucked. "T-thanks Scorchflame." I tried to purr but it came out as more of a gurgle, if he noticed he didn't say anything as he licked my head lovingly and padded out of the den to do the night patrol at the Shadowclan border. I sat in my nest restlessly and despite my nervous energy I was able to doze a little my thought raced with thoughts of Scorchflame's head growing to the size of the moon before exploding with hundreds of different kits all with a mixture of our features, I dreamed of Nightfangs eyes turning red and him morphing into a wolf as he howled at the harvest moon that shattered into a million little pieces.

I awoke with a jerk and found myself out of breath, luckily the warriors around me were sound asleep, Thornclaws snoring was louder than a thunderstorm. I silently thanked Starclan, I crept out of the camp without being noticed and made my way to the rocky slope where I saw Nightfang looking at the half moon bright in the sky. I stopped and marveled at him bathed in moonlight, my heart beat so loudly I thought he would be able to hear it.

He turned and noticed me, "Morningdew, your late. I was worried you stood me up." He joked jumping from the slope. "Nope, I was just trying to get a nap in, last night was rough." I said hoping he would by it, "Same here, I couldn't sleep though, I had a dat- I mean patrol this morning, and this afternoon…the whole day in fact." He seemed a little tense but of course he probably was, what a long day.

"Yeah, I had a lot going on today too." I said meekly thinking about the mistake I made. "Have you given in thought to our next move?" I tried to change the subject, he nodded, "Yes, I think for now lets wait and see what happens, the next gathering isn't far off and if anything happens before then you need to let me know right away."

"How am I supposed to tell you? do you mean we should meet here every night?" I asked trying to figure out what he was talking about, "Oh well, I sort of thought that but if you don't want to I have another idea." He said quickly looking embarrassed, "Well I don't mind meeting you, your very funny." I joked trying to make him feel better, "But meeting every night will be hard, I don't know how long I can keep it up without looking suspicious." I added and thankfully he nodded, "Yeah I know, so here is my next idea, you see these pebbles here?" he gestured to the rocks surrounding us, "We can use these to send secret messages." He pawed a few in a pile, "See this would mean meeting at night." He brushed the pile down and arranged them in a line, "This can mean meeting in the morning" he brushed them again, this time into a circle "and this could mean meeting during the day".

"How are we supposed to meet with out getting caught? We are pretty exposed here?" I asked, "I have a place we can meet at, look up there." He said looking up the slope, he jumped up, taking the whole distance in one bound. Amazed I didn't follow right away, he had to poke his head over before I clumsily jumped/ climbed my way up. On top were four pointed stones over top of each other making a tiny cave just big enough to fit through. Nightfang went in and I followed him, the inside was surprisingly roomy.

"Wow there's enough to fit five cats in here." I gazed around the cave and settled back on Nightfang who was pawing at the dusty ground, "Yeah, this is sort of a secret base I have. I am the only one who climbs up here so I sort of use it to think and stuff." "its so cool!" I said excitedly as I pranced around, sniffing and pawing, I was so distracted I didn't hear Nightfang's laughter, "Whats so funny?" I barked sounding harsher than I meant to, "Nothing its just, you have dirt on your nose and it- oh never mind let me get it for you." he came up close to me, almost nose to nose and slowly, tentatively he licked what must have been the dirt off of the bridge of my nose.

Neither of us spoke, we just stood there our faces barley touching, "You have a little more on your chin." He whispered his voice husky before he slowly began rubbing my jaw with his nose, could smell heather and wind on him and I felt like I would melt into the stone, he moved to the other side and went from my chin all the way to my neck where he inhaled deeply, "You smell like magnolia and sunshine, its even better than I imagined." He breathed into my fur, his breath warming me and my head swam as he lightly nipped my ears.

"That tickles Nightfang." I said breathlessly, he replaced his teeth with delicate strokes of his tongue and went from my ears back to my neck and then up to my nose again, "Morningdew, can I tell you a secret?" he whispered, his gaze filled with an emotion I couldn't explain, "Y-yes?" I said so quietly I wasn't sure I actually spoke,

"Im in love with you."