The sun beat down on LilyPaw's flank as she lay in the newleaf sun.
Leafbare had been hard last season, and greencough had struck the camp. SplashPaw, Lilypaw's brother had been caught by the disease and died. Lilypaw had finally recovered but she still felt oddly lonely without her brother's bubbly personality padding around camp.
"Lilypaw, can you move over?" Vixnepaw groaned as she started pushing Lilypaw into the shade.
"VixenPaw!" Lilypaw squealed, leaping up and jumping on the brown she-cat. Vixenpaw let out a hiss as they started to play fight. Soon, Vixenpaw had Lilypaw pinned on the ground, Lilypaw's dark brown fur pressed into the dusty ground.
"Hah! You know I always win!" Vixenpaw mewed triumphantly , placing a paw on her head and ruffling her neat fur.
"Let... Me ... Go!" Huffed out LilyPaw, wriggling feebly until VixenPaw let her out.
Vixenpaw let LilyPaw get up and started licking the mud out of her claws. Lilypaw setteled back into the sun, making her fur glow light brown.
More and more patrols brought in freshkil, making the pile grow to the biggest it had been since the start of leafbare. VixenPaww was happy the clan was finally well fed and happy: leafbare had brought green-cough, starvation and battles. Vixenpaw stood up and stretched her legs, making her way over to the fresh kill pile.
She storted through the animals and found a jucy thrush, but before she could take her meal back to where Lilypaw lay a vioce called out.
"VixenPaw!"
HawkShadow, if her mentor was calling out for her he had a job for her to do.
VixenPaw supressed a groan, by now clouds red as blood spread over the sky and the sun was dipping below the treeline.
"Vixenpaw, me, Batfrost and Stonepaw are going hunting," HawkShadow mewed, catching up to her.
Why now? We arent going to be back until its dark?
Before VixenPaw could answer her mentor he exited camp, flicking hes tail for her to follow. The two cats then met BatFrost and StonePaw outside camp and the four cats sprinted off into the forest. They slowed as they neared the river that bordered Thunderclan territory.
"LilyPaw, do you know how to test the water's current?" BatFrost asked, angling her ears towards the rushing water.
"Well, you-" Vixenpaw started before being cut off by HawkShadow
"Show us,"
VixenPaw padded down to the water's edge and dipped her paw in, she could feel the cold water slowly flow over her pads. All of a sudden, a ridge of water swept her into the icy depths, Vixenpaw thrashed her paws out but the current pulled her further down the river. Blood thumped in her ears , the water penetraited her fur, her eyes clouded up. Suddenly teeth grasped her scruff and VixenPaw was pulled above the surface of the water and lay on the riverside.
"Are you okay?" an urgent vioce rang in her ears, VixenPaw didnt recognise it, she opened her eyes, the world becoming a flash if colour for a second before the shape of a handsome grey tom formed itself in front of her.
"Are you okay?" the tom asked agian.
"Y-y-yeah," VixenPaw stuttered out, her vioce scratchy and dry.
Vixenpaw watched as the toms sholder fur lay back and her relaxed.
"Good, I'll take you back to my clan, " he paused and thought for a seciond.
"And I'm ThornPaw by the way,"
