𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ༄ؘ 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞 ༄ؘ

     Coralfang slipped between the stems of tall, golden grass, her dappled tortoiseshell pelt blending in naturally. Sharp yellow eyes darted about—she had lost sight of her prey.

     There. 

     In between a swath of tiny orange blooms and a clump of grass tendrils, her target's fat flanks quivered. Coralfang's ears were flat. She flicked her tail slowly behind her, approaching the creature. Land hunting is so much easier than sea hunting, she thought. Suddenly, the sleek she-cat froze. The prey's head had twitched—it was looking almost right at her with its big, black eyes.

     Coralfang was nothing but sunlight shining through a bramble and dappling the earth. The huntress was still as a rock. Her prey looked away.

     Suppressing a sigh of relief, Coralfang was on the move again. She was close to the prey now; no more than the length of a gull's wingspan was between the hunter and hunted. Letting out a fierce yowl, the lithe tortoiseshell leaped, needle-sharp claws extended. In the split second before she landed, her prey startled and nearly pushed off with its strong hind legs. But Coralfang's leap had been timed. She landed and sank her claws into the rabbit's flesh, holding it still so she could deliver the death bite. The rabbit was soft and plump in her mouth; Coralfang had to force herself to not take a bite.

     Triumphantly, the she-cat carried the dangling rabbit and trotted back to her companions.

     "Good catch!" Warblerspring praised, the pretty gray-and-white patched she-cat licking her muzzle. Coralfang blinked, unable to speak through her mouthful of rabbit fur. Stormrunner lifted his plumy, silvery black tail and nodded.

     "Was that battle-cry really necessary, though?" the tom laughed, his lips quirking into a grin.

     Coralfang's ears burned.

     Warblerspring twitched her whiskers. "We'd better get back to camp now. Fallensky doesn't like for anyone to be away from the cove for too long now, especially with how aggressive RainClan's been acting lately."

     Stormrunner's smile shifted to a mild frown. "What's up with them, anyway? We didn't do anything to make them suddenly behave so offensively."

     Warblerspring sighed and shook her head helplessly. "Spottedsky is a very ... enigmatic cat. I don't think anyone ever fully knows her intentions when she does things."

     The black tom snorted. "More like suspicious. I wouldn't trust a RainClan cat to tell me where dirtplace was—they'd probably direct me off a cliff instead."

     Coralfang cast her glance to the right, where the meadow gradually sloped down to the beginnings of the rain forest. Tall trunks loomed, and the canopy was a thick blanket of dark green over the forest. Ominous was the best word she could think of to describe it. Often, Coralfang had wondered what it was like in RainClan territory ... rainy, she supposed. Most likely humid, and dark.

     Stormrunner's smooth voice interrupted her thoughts. "Well, standing here grumbling won't change RainClan. Tabbies can't change their stripes. Let's head back now."

     Coralfang started out of her musings and glanced behind Stormrunner. The gull he had caught flopped on the crumbly soil with splayed white wings.

     The three collected their prey in their jaws and retraced their steps through the meadow, heading for the cove. Unlike CliffClan, their cove had a gentler slope encircling the ocean. A few brave trees even clung to the mountain, whereas the cliffs belonging to the opposite clan were steep and jagged. The cove also had a high-up area called the Ledges, which hosted a flock of gulls. It was useful—it drew the prey right within CoveClan's grasp. An area at the edge of the cove was broken down, rocky with clumps of tough grass growing here and there. This was CoveClan's portal to their beach—and it was an excellent asset to keeping their camp safe. The beach was inaccessible unless you crossed that strip of land, and it was guarded by night.