Warriors #2: Midnight ✓

Chapter 14

Starspeckle yawned as he awoke. His dreams were getting stranger each day, and this one was by far the strongest.

He shuddered and stood up, stretching and rolling his head before walking out of his family's den and heading over to the fresh-kill pile. He was going to hunt today, so he needed some energy. "Ah, Starspeckle," mewed Brambleclaw as he came up beside the dark warrior. Starspeckle smiled and nodded at the brown tabby warrior before gulping down his mouthful and padding out of camp. He had already told his mother he would be hunting today so she wouldn't worry.

"You're waiting for me," called a voice, and Starspeckle turned around to his surprise. It was his grandmother, Flystar. She dipped her head at him. "Let's go together; I need to stretch my legs," she said. Starspeckle didn't protest; instead, he nodded and led the elder out of camp.

◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

The sun was high, and the forest was alive with prey.

Starspeckle and Flystar went through the forest, watching for potential catches. Suddenly, Starspeckle heard some rustling in the undergrowth beside him. He tilted his head and peered over a rose bush, spotting a plump brown rabbit.

Starspeckle smirked and put out a paw, signaling for his grandmother to stop. Then, he turned his attention back to the rabbit and crept slowly towards it. When he was within striking distance, he pounced, and the rabbit let out a squeal as it was crushed to the ground. Its cry was cut short as its life ended swiftly. When Starspeckle stood up, Flystar was padding up to him.

"Good job," she praised, brushing his flank with her tail. "Now, let's keep going. The sun won't stay up much longer."

Starspeckle nodded and buried the fresh kill, intending to retrieve it later. He then followed the gray and white she-cat as they ventured towards a large clearing on the outskirts of their territory. Starspeckle halted, opening his mouth to scent the air. However, Flystar continued without care.

"Grandma, don't go!" Starspeckle hissed, straightening up. "This is RiverClan territory. We're not allowed to go in there."

Flystar glanced back, her pale blue eyes glittering. "We don't have territories where I came from, so I don't care. I'm just going to get a drink. It's not like I'm taking their territory," she explained before continuing her steady pace. Starspeckle hurried after her, his head held high and ears twitching.

Soon, they arrived at the river that separated the borders of RiverClan and ThunderClan. On one side, the water flowed abundantly, teeming with fish — the domain of RiverClan. On the other side, where they currently stood, fish were scarce, belonging to ThunderClan's territory.

The white she-cat with gray patches leaned down, lapping at the cool river water. Starspeckle, a young black and gray tom, was about to follow her example when a familiar scent wafted to his senses. His muscles tensed, for he recognized those cats. It was Mothwing and Hawkfrost, the kits of the traitorous Tigerstar, who had many mates.

As soon as the black and gray she-cat spotted them, Hawkfrost let out a snarl. "ThunderClan!" he spat, causing his sister to stiffen. Her gaze landed on Starspeckle, then shifted to the oblivious she-cat, Flystar, who continued drinking from the river, unaware of the approaching warriors.

"Starspeckle, who's that?" Mothwing asked, her tone calmer than her brother's. Starspeckle nudged his grandmother, and she blinked, water dripping from her jaws as she lifted her head. Upon seeing the two RiverClan cats, she tilted her head and inquired, "Who are you?"

Hawkfrost bristled. "A rogue, isn't she?" he hissed. Mothwing swatted him in the face with her tail and stepped forward, her paws touching the water. "We mean no harm. I'm Mothwing, and this is Hawkfrost," she introduced, dismissing her tail at her brother. "Who may you be?"

Flystar looked at Starspeckle, who was already observing his grandmother. "Just introduce yourself," he mewed quietly. The leader of the unknown Clan nodded and dipped her head to the RiverClan cats. "I'm Flystar, leader of DragonClan, and the mother of Mistyheart," she announced. Mothwing seemed to brighten, her tail straightening. However, Hawkfrost narrowed his eyes at the old yet elegant she-cat. "DragonClan? Never heard that name before," he remarked.

Flystar shrugged. "That's because we don't want you forest cats to know about us. It's pretty convenient to keep our existence a secret," she explained.

Starspeckle could understand the reasoning behind it, but Hawkfrost couldn't. The tom hissed, baring his teeth. "How do we know you're not just another rogue?" he snapped. Flystar flicked her tail, laying it over Starspeckle's back. "You don't. I leave that up to you to believe," she replied calmly. With a final dip to Mothwing, she added, "It was nice to meet you, but my grandson and I better get back to camp. May your ancestors guide you." With that, she walked away, Starspeckle stealing one last glance at Mothwing before padding after his grandmother into the lush depths of their territory.

"That was mouse-brained, Flystar!" he snapped, irritation flaring. Flystar rolled her eyes. "It was the best I could do, boy. Be happy I didn't follow my instincts to tear their fur off," she retorted. With a veer off the path, Flystar left Starspeckle standing alone. Taking a deep breath, he went to the grove where he had stored his fresh-kill, gathering it before following his grandmother.

I just hope Leopardstar won't hear about this, he thought anxiously as the two of them disappeared into the shadows of the tunnel. They didn't need an all-out battle over a simple encounter at the river.