Warriors: In The Cold of Night [1]

Chapter 1

Featherheart dropped into a hunting crouch and stalked a vole. The undergrowth's floor was hard and cold. Featherheart would be glad to get out of the coldness of leaf-bare. It had only been about two quarter-moons of leaf-bare already. The brown tabby-Maine coon hybrid avoided the leaves that were on the ground and stalked closer to the vole.

She leaped over to the vole and pounced onto it. The vole Featherheart had caught was barely a meal. She picked it up and walked back to ThunderClan camp.

It was just about sunhigh. Featherheart trotted over to the fresh-kill pile, placed the vole, and took a decent looking squirrel. Featherheart glanced across the clearing. She saw her friends, Sandydusk and Sharpleaf sharing tongues, and Copperburn and Shadowstalk were chatting to each other while eating.

Featherheart saw her former mentor lying in a patch of grass grooming herself. Her former mentor was Sunshine. Sunshine was a cat who was almost always in a good mood. Sunshine's golden pelt shone in the weak sunlight. Sunshine used to be a senior warrior, and she's now a queen, and the mother of Sandydusk, Spottedfur, Sparkkit, and Honeykit.

Featherheart bounded over to Sunshine. "Featherheart!" Sunshine meowed with a smile on her face. "How are you doing today?" Sunshine kept her eyes locked with Featherheart's as Featherheart sat down. "I'm doing well." Featherheart mewed as she started to eat the squirrel.

"Good." Sunshine smiled and began to eat with Featherheart. Sunshine had a finch to eat, so she ate and plucked the feathers.

Featherheart didn't eat the tail of the squirrel because it was mostly fur. Featherheart licked her lips. Suddenly, a black and dark ginger tabby walked out of her den under the Highrock. She leaped onto the top of it with just one leap. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather near the Highrock." She meowed loud enough for all of the cats of ThunderClan to hear.

Featherheart trotted over to sit beneath the large rock. The rest of ThunderClan started to gather around as well. Sunshine sat next to Featherheart. She glanced at Featherheart, then up to their leader, Redstar. Featherheart looked up as well.

"As you all know, the Gathering will be tomorrow, but Thorntail, Lightfoot, and Specklepaw were out on a patrol and scented some foxes. Lightfoot said that they kept coming to the same spot on our path to the Fourtrees. So, when we travel to the Fourtrees tomorrow, keep an eye out for foxes." Redstar meowed. Shocked meows rippled through the crowd of cats.

Featherheart opened up her mouth to scent anything suspicious, but found nothing. Redstar started to leap to her den. "Clan dismissed." She meowed as she leaped down the Highrock and into her den.

Featherheart remembered that she had a dawn patrol to attend to in the morning. Her patrol consisted of Sandydusk, Shadowstalk, and the deputy, Sharpleaf. Featherheart stared at the sky. Clouds were starting to roll in. Featherheart decided to go look for some prey.

Featherheart waltzed back to camp with a successful hunt. She had caught a plump mouse, and a rabbit. Copperburn was sitting by Redstar's den, guarding it. He glanced over to the gorse tunnel at the entrance and Featherheart slid out of it. Copperburn nodded a greeting, Featherheart nodded back.

The sun was setting and the moon was about to rise. The ThunderClan cats started to slip into their dens to sleep after they finished eating. Featherheart walked over to the fresh-kill pile and dropped her catch. Featherheart looked across the clearing and saw Shadowstalk licking his paw and cleaned himself. Sandydusk was eating the vole that Featherheart had caught.

Featherheart grabbed a mouse and a crow and brought it to the small group of cats. Featherheart padded across the clearing to Shadowstalk and Sandydusk.

Featherheart reached the two cats and sat down. "Here." Featherheart mewed as she gave Shadowstalk the crow. Shadowstalk stopped grooming himself. He grabbed the crow and brought it closer to him. "Thanks." He murmured. Shadowstalk was a cat that preferred to be left alone. He was quiet most of the time. Shadowstalk had a soft and quiet voice as well.

The black tabby munched down on the crow slowly, as if he could get more food from eating it slower. Featherheart moved her eyes to Sandydusk. Sandydusk looked up from eating and made eye contact, like she was about to say something. "Thanks." Sandydusk mewed but then stared at her paws. Featherheart tilted her head in confusion.

"It's nothing, but, thanks for the vole, it's all I need." Sandydusk sighed. The golden tabby stood up and padded towards the warriors den to sleep. The moon was rising up in the sky. The sun had already set. Featherheart quickly gulped down the mouse. Shadowstalk got finished before her, so he headed off towards the warrior's den as well.

Featherheart finished the mouse in just a few more chews. She stood up and started to walk towards the warrior's den. Featherheart looked across the moonlit clearing. It was chilly, so she headed into the den to curl up into her moss bedding. Featherheart stretched, then curled up and went to sleep.

****

Featherheart was pacing through the forest, following a scent. Suddenly, she saw a slim figure. It was misty and foggy, so she could barely see the figure. Suddenly, the figure leaped up to the Sunningrocks. Featherheart guessed that she was near the RiverClan border.

She pelted after the figure, leaping rock, after rock. She suddenly caught a good whiff of the slim figure. they smelled of ThunderClan. She scented another scent. It was a RiverClan scent, but she felt like the smell was familiar. Featherheart saw the slim figure slide down the Sunningrocks. Featherheart sat at the edge of the last rock and started intently at the figure.

The figure suddenly walked on the water of the river. The river seemed frozen, but Featherheart saw ripples of water beneath the cat. Then, when the cat reached the other side, another cat came out of RiverClan's forest. Then, the fog covered up all of Featherheart's view. Featherheart carefully took another step, but she fell into the freezing cold water of the river. The ice had broken and Featherheart sunk beneath the surface, but then Featherheart woke up.