Nightfang
It was exhilarating running side by side with Morningdew. She easily kept pace with me and even though we were surrounded by many others, it was easy for me to imagine us running together in the open moors. That's stuffy tom from earlier Scorchflame ran close to her too and I had the urge to push in between him, she was my mate and the thought of another tom pinning for her affection made my blood heat, even if he was from the same clan she was.
We broke through Shadowclans border and as I looked around I guessed our raid had to have had at least 30 cats in it, Shadowclan was going to be scared to death that's for sure. Not too far in we intercepted a small patrol of only three warriors. There eyes almost burst out of their heads as they saw us and they turned tail and ran, "Stop" Onestar shouted but they didn't slow, so we kept chase and followed them right back to Shadowclans camp.
The leaders and deputies stood front and center at the barriers edge as the rest of us fanned out and surrounded the camp with a tight line. "Rowanstar! I demand you come out at once!" Onestar screamed and for a moment there was no response. "Rowanstar either you come out or we will come in" Bramblestar shouted and finally the ginger leader appeared, Tawnypelt and Littlecloud beside him his face unreadable.
"Mistystar, Onestar, Bramblestar, I have to admit I wasn't expecting a full clan raid over a misunderstanding." He said calmly, "You think this is about a misunderstanding? Don't you know what your warriors did!? Have you lost control of your clan completely Rowanstar?" Onestar bristled, his eyes a blaze with anger.
"I assure you Onestar that my clan has done nothing-"
"Just return the kits your warriors stole Rowanstar." Mistystar interrupted,
"And show us who is responsible for Daisyferns death." Weaselfur called from the back.
Rowanstar seemed genuinely confused, "Stolen kits? Daisyfern? I don't understand".
"Enough of your ignorance, at this point you are offending every cat in forest and in starclan! You have 3 seconds to give back Windclans kits and show who was responsible for Daisyferns death or we attack!" Bramblestar and Mistystar hissed in agreement and our raiding party braced for the signal. Rowanstar's demeanor finally faltered and his ears twisted back in fear,
"Wait!" a voice called from the forest. We all turned to see Darkpaw bursting through the branches, "Wait, don't attack!" he begged as a line of warriors broke apart to let him through. He slid to a stop in front of Rowanstar, his head deep in the dirt in shame, "Rowanstar, I am sorry, Crowfrost didn't know it was going to get so out of control."
"Crowfrost? Darkpaw what happened?" Tawnypelt said nudging the apprentice to his feet. "Crowfrost wanted to bring kits to Shadowclan for warriors, since we didn't have any of our own. The two leg kittypets didn't have any so we went to Winclan and all we were supposed to do was grab one but the others were making too much noise so Crowfrost said to take them all. No cat was supposed to get hurt!" he cried in muffled sobs.
No cat spoke, Rowanstar's face was awash with astonishment. Darkpaw was a crying mess with Tawnypelt trying to console him and we stood ready for orders. "Where is Crowfrost and the kits now?" Rowanstar finally spoke, "He and Leafpaw are hiding in the roots of the giant oak at the edge of our territory." He said.
Rowanstar turned to us, "Very well, it appears my warrior has some explaining to do. Darkpaw take us to him." The apprentice shot his head up, "No, I cant go back there, I cant take the kits wailing anymore." Weaselfur hissed and shot forward to attack the apprentice but was stopped by Onestar.
"Easy Weaselfur, we will get them back." He spoke calmly, "I don't care if Starclan is wailing, take us to them now!" Rowanstar shouted, his voice full of anger. With a pathetic whine Darkpaw turned and ran back they way he came. In a surge of energy we all followed, Rowanstar and Tawnypelt with us.
It wasn't long before we herd the wailing of kits crying for milk and their mother. Weaselfur burst ahead and this time no cat stopped him. The oak came into view with Leafpaw and Crowfrost franticly pacing in front of it, when they saw us Crowfrost hissed, "You coward Darkpaw!"
"Darkpaw is no coward Crowfrost, you are the coward. Sneaking around and stealing kits like a common fox." Rowanstar said coming to the terrified apprentices defense. "I was only doing what you failed to do, make Shadowclan stronger!" as the sheer size of our raiding party surrounded the tree Crowfrost and Leafpaw grew tense with horror. A loud cry came from the linings of the roots, "Mommy, its cold!", "I am hungry! Wheres mommy?" they cried, Onestar let Weaselfur run to his kits, Crowfrost glaring death at him as he comforted them with licks and promises of milk and warmth.
"Crowfrost, you stand before the four clans accused of murder and kitnapping. You disgrace Shadowclan and your warrior ancestors." Rowanstar said boldly, the wind stirring around us as if all of Starclan spoke through him. "This is punishable by banishment." Onestar said along with him.
Leafpaw turned tail and ran faster than a rabbit out of the territory. Now standing alone Crowfrost sneered, "I would rather die than shown mercy by a forest of weaklings!" he threw himself at Rowanstar but was intercepted by Bramblestar who slammed into his side, sending him rolling on the ground to where Onestar and Mistystar pinned him down, with a mighty swipe Rowanstar slit his throat and Crowfrost shuttered and spit, "The dark forest will welcome my bravery" and died.
Morningdew
I stood with my mouth agape. It was hard to process what had happened, how could the dark forests influence still impact the clans? Rowanstar apologized to Onestar and Weaselfur for what happened, "I don't know how I am supposed to repay you, no one can bring back the warrior you lost." He his voice full of regret, "How are we going to feed them Onestar? We don't have another milking queen and my kits are too young to eat meat yet." Weaselfur cried, wrapping his tail around his shivering kits.
"Lilyheart has bore a litter, if you wanted she could nurse your kits for a few weeks until they can eat meat." Bramblestar suggested but Onestar looked reluctant, "I assure you Weaselfur is welcome to come and go as he pleases and will be able to monitor them at all times." With this reassurance Onestar and Weaselfur reluctantly agreed. "Thank you Bramblestar for your help." With the danger over and the kits safe, the clans dispersed and this tragic morning was over.
I managed to sneak away from Scorchflame and whispered to Nightfang, "Im sorry about Daisyfern." He nodded at looked around before he answered, "I am just glad Crowfrost has been dealt with, Starclan knows what else he had planned to do." I glance around me, "I know, he was insane if he thought this plan would have actually worked."
"I am sorry our meeting didn't work out this morning, you wouldn't be able to meet tonight could you?" he asked his voice low, amongst the chatter between our warriors I was confident we would be ignored, "I think I can." I said back, feeling a bit lighter now I brushed his flank with my tail as our clans parted ways at the border. "Can you believe that!" Scorchflame came up to me, "That cat was crazy, I had no idea Rowanstar had a rebellion going on."
"Yeah its crazy." I responded, the urge to break up with him was threatening to burst out of my mouth but I couldn't bear to do it around everyone. "Hey did you want to go hunting later?" I asked hopefully, "I am actually getting some extra patrols in today, I herd Squirrelflight is trying to have another litter of kits and I know I am barley a warrior but I think Bramblestar might pick me to take her place while she is in the nursery. You understand right?" he said licking my ear and splitting off with Berrynose to go on patrol.
With a heavy sigh I walked back to camp with the others. What was I going to do? Every second Scorchflame though I was his mate I felt even worse. I tried to distract myself by doing some battle training with Ivypool and Dovewing, then some hunting with Skypaw and Snowpaw, and finally I shared tongues with my mother. None of it helped, "Dear whats wrong? You seem so down?" Frostfeather said as I licked her back. "I don't know mom, I don't know if Scorchflame is right for me." I finally said and instantly felt better that I told someone. "Oh dear, but he is so talented and smart. He is growing into quite a handsome tom and he adores you so, what could be the problem?"
"I just don't feel anything other than friendship for him." I shrugged, Frostfeathers eyes filled with sympathy, "Let me tell you a secret, I wasn't sure about your father at first either." I gasped, Fleetwhisker and Frostfeather were two of the closest couples in the clan, "How is that possible?" I said.
"Well, believe it or not your father wasn't always so cool and collected. As an apprentice he was very clumsy and scatter brained. I actually laughed at him when he proposed to me." Her eyes changed to the light blue mine where when she was excited about something, "But as he grew older and wiser he became sure footed and confident, he told me it was his determination for my love that made him serious about being a good warrior."
I hung my head in thought, "I am sure you are just nervous about making him happy. You both are young and have your whole lives to get to know each other. Give him a chance, I bet you he will change your world." She said giving me a quick lick before greeting Fleetwhisker as he appeared from evening patrol. Scorchflame came behind him with a large squirrel in his mouth.
"Here I caught this for you, I am sorry I couldn't hunt with you earlier." He said rubbing my cheek, I smiled at him in response, "I doubt I can eat all of this." I said looking at the large meal, "We can share, I have to tell you what happened on patrol!" he began. As he spoke my thoughts shifted to Nightfang, seeing him tonight would surely make me confess to Scorchflame I couldn't be his mate.
Me and Scorchflame settled down to sleep together and he quickly fell asleep, the days work weighing on him heavily. I admired him really I did, he worked so hard and at his age it was amazing to see what he has already accomplished. If only things were different I thought and slipped out into the cold autumn night.
Nightfang was waiting in our cave patiently, a fuzzy object behind him. "Whats that?" I said rubbing my head on his shoulder. "Moss and some long grass, I thought we could make our spot a bit more comfortable." He said licking my head. "That's a great idea, I should bring some feathers, I love feathers." I added as we molded the grass into a more organized pile.
We exchanged small talk about our day and patrols but there was a thickness in the air I couldn't quite explain. "Is something wrong Nightfang?" I asked finally, he looked down, "Was I that obvious?" he sighed.
"Well, I guess I just feel sorry for Weaselfur and his kits. It must be so hard for him now, having to support his kits alone." He said gazing up at the moon, "It just made me wonder about our future." He whispered and a uncomfortable feeling filled me, "Do you mean if we want to have kits?" I asked and he nodded, "I know we are young but the forest has a history of kits from two clans being born and none of them ever turn out well. The kits have to stay in one clan or the other and the parents relationship is ruined forever."
I leaned into him and we just sat in silence, our tails intertwined and our bodies warmed. "Oh Nightfang, I wish I could tell you not to worry but I cant. I have no clue how we could make this work if kits were involved. All I can say is that I want to be with you no matter what happens." He purred at my answer, "Me too Morningdew, I would steal every star from the sky if you wished it."
Our noses touched and we spent the rest of our time together grooming and cuddling under the moonlight and I couldn't have been happier, knowing our love could withstand anything Starclan through at us.