Icefog's Origins

Chapter 10

Fresh scents of SwampClan cats shot up Slatepaw's nose as he marked the border with his patrol. The half-moon of the night before brought snowfall that silenced the birdsong during the following morning, making hunting difficult for the cats who fancied a hunt early in the morning. Slatepaw wrinkled his nose as he marked the bramble bush next to a large pine tree that marked the borderline between the two Clans. We usually don't have many fights with SwampClan, but it's best to keep the border well-marked to remind them we own this side of the trees.

"SwampClan seems to be pushing the border," Honeypaw meowed as she joined Slatepaw in rubbing her scent on an oak tree's trunk. She flicked her fluffy dark gray tabby tail as she sniffed at the border. "I thought Toadstar could control his warriors in not testing our borders."

Slatepaw sniffed a clump of ferns and sneezed as frosty grass tickled his nose. Wiping his face with a paw, he looked at Honeypaw. "I don't think Toadstar would knowingly cross the border if he can help it," he mewed quickly. "He seemed like a reasonable leader, and he hasn't ordered any attacks on our Clan yet. To me, he seems a lot better of a leader than Rainsweptstar."

"Seems like you two are doing more chatting than border-marking over there." Lightstorm's authoritative voice floated toward the two apprentices, catching them off-guard as she poked her face around a thorn bush, her eyes glittering. "Quit gossiping and keep marking the border. Leaf-fall is here and we can't risk any conflict with SwampClan if we can't help it."

"Yes, Lightstorm." Slatepaw and Honeypaw meowed obediently and carried on marking the border in silence, only stopping if they tasted the air. Slatepaw was surprised when the scent of blood lingered around a holly bush and he pushed the greenery away to reveal the remains of a dead blackbird that was stripped of its feathers. "Lightstorm! Come and see this!"

"What is it?" Honeypaw appeared at Slatepaw's side as Lightstorm came trotting toward them, Whorlwater, Turtlewatcher, and Kestrelbelly following close behind. She saw the dead bird and let out a shrill squeal. "Some cat has been hunting on our territory!"

Lightstorm immediately began to sniff at the blackbird's scattered feathers and carcass, breathing the scent in deeply before she let out a growl and unsheathed her claws. "It seems like your image of Toadstar and his warriors has been clouded, Slatepaw." She meowed, glancing at the border where they were marking. "SwampClan warriors caught this bird, ate it, and did a poor job of hiding the remains."

Honeypaw's eyes widened with shock. "But why? Don't they have prey in their territory to eat?" She looked at Slatepaw, her eyes rounder than twin moons. "Why would they need to kill and eat our prey only to abandon it?"

Whorlwater's blue-green eyes darkened with anticipation. "A starving Clan will hunt anything that can feed their Clanmates," she meowed darkly. "Why they would just leave their kill is any cat's guess, but they left in a hurry."

"But they didn't leave any trail behind," argued Turtlewatcher as he looked around. His dark-pointed tail twitched irritably as he saw nothing in the surrounding areas. "They're still here." He growled, his claws unsheathing as his fur poofed out.

A heavy weight landed on Slatepaw's back, driving him to the ground with a painful screech. His chest wound burned from the impact and his back spiked with pain as claws were buried into his fur and flesh. The reek of SwampClan scent shot up his nose as the rest of his patrol was flattened by five more SwampClan warriors.

A red-brown tabby she-cat had managed to squish Slatepaw from her little surprise attack, giving her the upperpaw to take him completely by surprise. "What was that about Toadstar?" She sneered in his ear, her voice malicious. "I couldn't hear you."