Red Herring (A step in the wild direction au)

Chapter 1

Redtail waved his paw at the cats he picked for the dawn patrol along the Windclan border. He swished his tail and turned to Sandpaw who was sat next to him. She had yet to go out with Whitestorm for her training and he always let her help him with patrols. She looked up at him smiling wide with closed eyes. Redtail purred, brushing his tail across her back. 
"Redtail" he turned at the voice. Tigerclaw stood in front of him. 
"Oh good morning Tigerclaw. Are you looking to be put on a patrol?" he asked.
"Actually. I'd like to speak with you in private" Tigerclaw's claws were flexing in and out as he stood, watching him. Redtail pricked his ears.
"Oh of course. Why don't we bring Ravenpaw and go to patrol the Riverclan border. I haven't sent any patrols out there yet" He got to his paws. A tap on his flank made him turn. Sandpaw was looking up at him.
"Aren't you going to bring Dustpaw?" she asked, her tail tip twitching. He shook his head. 
"Why don't you go ask Whitestorm if Dustpaw can train with you today. I'm sure he won't mind" he purred before taking the lead of the patrol. Tigerclaw joined him with Ravenpaw trailing behind. That was good. It meant they would have a little more privacy. 
"Now Tigerclaw. I understand why you wanted to speak with me" he spoke. Tigerclaw stopped in his tracks for a moment.
"You do?" his eyes were wide and the fur along his neck stood on end.
"Of course. As you know, I don't approve of some of your actions in the past but its very admirable that you'd come to me for advice on Ravenpaw" he swished his tail.
"Oh. Right. That" Tigerclaw kept pace with him, probably out of respect Redtail suspected as the tom was a lot larger and could easily outpace the smaller tom if he pleased. 
"You just have to try to be gentle with him" Redtail looked over his shoulder at Ravenpaw who still had his tail drooping and his head bowed.
"He's anxious and I'm sure you're attitude doesn't help that. So try not to push him too hard in his training" Tigerclaw flicked one ear. They were reaching Sunningrocks now. 
"Ravenpaw" he called. The small apprentice approached, walking between him and Tigerclaw. 
"Yes Redtail?" he asked, tail tip twitching.
"I want you to taste the air and tell me what you smell" he looked at Tigerclaw pointedly. He was making a situition that would be perfect for Tigerclaw to praise the apprentice. 
"I smell Riverclan" he mumbled. Redtail halted. Riverclan. That was strange. They weren't close enough to the border for that to be the case. The border was across the river. Redtail broke into a run, pushing his way through the bushes and out into Sunningrocks. Laying upon the rocks were two Riverclan cats, they're deputy Oakheart and the warrior Stonefur., along with one other warrior. Redtail's fur bristled. 
"Hey. What are you doing trespassing on Thunderclan territory" he hissed, swishing his tail back and forth. Oakheart looked at him while still lying upon the rocks.
"What do you mean? This is Riverclan territory"
"Liar" Redtail hissed. Oakheart rolled off the rock, landing on his paws and lashing his tail. He drew his lip back in a snarl before leaping at Tigerclaw. The two began tumbling across the ground. Redtail crouched, pushing himself into a leap at Stonefur. Before he could make contact with the Riverclan tom, he was tackled away by Oakheart who hissed.
"No Thunderclan cat will harm him" as the two began tussling. Tigerclaw fought off Stonefur while Oakheart was distracted by Redtail. The two kept the fight up for a while longer before they both hit against a one of the larger rocks. Redtail scrambled out of Oakheart's grasp, keeping his stance defensive. Oakheart stumbled to his paws, ready to leap at him only to be showered with stone and rocks. The deputy disappeared under the rubble, leaving no sign of the tom. Redtail stared at the pile, not sure what to do. The other two warriors stared in shock, both disengaging with the cats they'd been fighting. They took one look at the pile of rocks, each other and then began to retreat. Redtail turned back to look at the rockpile. He could hear Tigerclaw whispering something to Ravenpaw before the young apprentice's pawsteps could be heard retreating but he didn't turn around. Redtail took a deep breath, ready to mark they're borders and leave for camp. Maybe he could even catch Sandpaw and Dustpaw before they left for training with Whitestorm. Pain hit the back of his neck and then black.