Foxgaze's Haunting

Chapter 7

(Cat above is Dawnsky)
"We will attack at moon high!" Nightstar yowled, his tail thrashing back and forth.

"We'll claw those lousy prey stealers!" Swiftwillow cheered. The grey tom's claws slashed on a fallen branch, almost as if he was already attacking a SeaClan warrior.

Three moons had passed. Foxpaw was nearly a warrior of 10 moons. Her scar had healed completely but she still had the feeling it was painfully obvious. Nightstar hadn't really bothered her much but Foxpaw had the feeling he still wanted to have her love him. Willowfur, a white she-cat, had recently announced she was having kits. A patrol had found rabbit fur and bones in SeaClan territory after a gathering. Nightstar had accused them of stealing it because rabbits don't usally live on SeaClan territory and they were going to attack them for stealing.

Foxpaw stood near Glazepaw, now called Glazepool, and heard her gulp nervously. Both she-cat were part of the patrol to attack. Glazepool always had a weak stomach for battle and made it obvious to cats around her.

Rabbitkit, a tabby she-kit, watched from the Nurserey. She turned and mewled something to Willowfur but the queen only nodded and ignored the kit.

Foxpaw looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set behind the trees. Her stomach growled after a long day of catching up on training. Glazepool heard it "Hungry eh?"

"Yeah" Foxpaw nodded listlessly. She was thinking of the battle ahead. She didn't really think the rabbit remmanants were from cats. She had smelled the faint reek of vulture coming from where the bones were, suggesting that maybe the rabbit was from a vulture or some other large bird.

Foxpaw finally succumbed to her hunger and picked up a mouse from the freshkill pile. She stated at it for a long time. For some reason she couldn't eat it, no matter how delicious it looked.

She sighed and took a bite out of the mouse. After chewing for a long time she swollowed it and sighed. You have to eat Foxpaw. You'll never be able to fight if you are starving. Her mind scolded her. With little resistance she finished off the mouse.

Foxpaw spotted Leafpaw sorting battle herbs. He gave the bundles to each of the warriors set to fight that night. At last, he brought the pile over to Foxpaw. He nudged a little bundle toward her with his paw. He mumbled behind the bundles of herbs "Eat them, they're for strength". Foxpaw unwrapped the tiny package and eyed the ccontents. Herbs.

She choked them down with a bite of mouse and shivered. They tasted awful. Foxpaw stared at the sky and waited for moonhigh.

The cats padded silently out of their territory and onto the marshy SeaClan territory, Nightstar and Dawnsky in the lead. The moon had begun to loose its fullness but the night was just as bright as it has been in the gathering night. Foxpaw shivered as she stepped into some mud and her paw sunk with a squelch sound. She cursed under her breath and shook it out. The group of cats padded silently over the hill into the SeaClan camp. The camp was quiet, until a brown tabby SeaClan warrior screeched "Invaders!".

The clearing exploded into a yowling mess of battle. Sleepy SeaClan warriors sprung to life and fought back against the IceClan cats. Foxpaw wheezed as a silver she-cat barreled into her side. She recognized her as Silverclaw from Gatherings. Silverclaw screeched "How dare you attack us!".

"You pathetic prey stealer!" Foxgaze hissed. She dragged her claws along the silver tabby's nose, causing her to shriek and run away. Foxpaw staggered to her paws and looked around the camp. She saw Littlestar, a tiny brown tom, watching the battle from outside his den with horror in his eyes. In a few quick bounds Foxpaw was on top of him. Littlestar sputtered "Why IceClan?"

"I'm sorry" Foxpaw meowed quietly. She could tell Nightstar was watching her. He wanted her to take a life off of the SeaClan leader. She slowly brought her clawed paw in the air.

"IceClan! Retreat!" a cat yowled. Littlestar turned his head slowly around to meet Foxpaw's gaze. The camp was silent.

Releasing her grip on the SeaClan leader Foxpaw stepped off him and looked around for the source of the noise. Dawnsky was standing on top of a large boulder, her tail lashing back and forth.

The black and white she-cat yowled "There is no need for this battle! Their medicine cat explained that she had found a rabbit dead on the border and had brought it over to their territory to collect the bile! We are fighting because of ticks!"

Nightstar glared at Dawnsky "You have no right to speak for your leader!"

Dawnsky stared back at him "I can if it's right".

Littlestar looked at Cloverleaf, the medicine cat "Cloverleaf is this true?".

The grey tabby she cat nodded "Yes. It is true". The IceClan cats all looked at Nightstar. Firefur, with a patch of fur missing from his shoulder grunted "You heard what Dawnsky said, we should leave".

Ignoring the hissing from the SeaClan cats, Foxpaw began to pad with the others back to camp.