Warriors #3: Moonrise ✓

Chapter 6

Leafpaw burst through the water's surface, gasping for air as she scrambled to find solid ground. She managed to stand despite the river flowing strongly around her legs and shook icy drops of water from her pelt. The riverbank was only a couple of tail-lengths away. She shivered in the pale sun of leaf-fall and looked up to see Mothwing peering down at her from an overhanging rock.

The RiverClan cat's amber eyes were narrowed in amusement. "You don't fish by jumping in the river," she pointed out.

"I know that!" Leafpaw retorted crossly. "I slipped, that's all."

"[ believe you," Mothwing purred, giving her golden chest fur a quick lick. "Now come out, and we'll have another go. I'll teach you to fish if it's the last thing I do."'Tm still not sure we should be doing this," Leafpaw meowed as she waded back to the bank.

"Of course, we should. The rabbits and squirrels are starting to disappear thanks to the Twolegs, but there's still plenty of fish for every cat."

"But I had to come onto RiverClan territory to get it," Leafpaw pointed out anxiously. "What would Leopardstar say if she knew?"

Mothwing blinked. We're both medicine cats, so Clan boundaries don't matter for us as they do for other cats."

Leafpaw didn't think that was how the warrior code worked. Her friend had said the same a few days earlier when she had rescued Leafpaw and Sorreltail from the pursuing WindClan warriors. This morning she called Leafpaw while gathering herbs near Sunningrocks and offered to give her a fishing lesson. Leafpaw had felt very nervous about crossing the Clan border, but her hunger had driven her on now that prey was becoming even scarcer in ThunderClan territory. All the same, her ears and nose were alert for the first signs of a RiverClan patrol.

"Okay," Mothwing went on, "crouch beside me and look into the water. When you see a fish, scoop it out with your paw. It's easy."

A couple of glittering fish lying on the bank showed how easy it was for Mothwing. Leafpaw gave them a longing glance, wondering if she would ever learn.

"Want some?" Mothwing offered, following her gaze.Leafpaw felt guilty at the thought of being full-fed while the rest of her Clan went hungry. But she had not tasted fresh kill since the night before, and that had been only a stringy vole. "I shouldn't. . ." she murmured, trying to convince herself that it wouldn't help her Clan if she starved as well.

"Of course, you can. Where's the harm?"

Leafpaw did not wait to be asked again. She crouched before the fish, tucking her paws in, and sank her teeth into the cool flesh. "Delicious," she mumbled.

Mothwing looked pleased. "Learn how to do it; you can take lots more for your Clan." She took a few dainty bites as if she were full-fed already and didn't care whether or not she ate.

Gulping down the rest of the fish, Leafpaw told herself that she would find food for her Clan to make up for it. As soon as she had finished, she settled down on the rock beside Mothwing and concentrated on the water just below to wait for a fish of her own.

An unfamiliar scent swept over her at the same instant as Mothwing hissed, "Hawkfrost!" Leafpaw felt a pawing jab hard into her ribs, tipping her over the edge of the rock and back into the river. She thrashed wildly, wondering why Mothwing was trying to drown her. Then as her head broke the surface, she saw the enormous tabby shape of Hawkfrost approaching the bank and realized that Mothwing had done the only thing she could hide her quickly.

Er, paws working gently to keep her nose just above the water, Leafpaw let herself drift downriver for a few tail lengths until she came to a clump of reeds where she could crawl out on the ThunderClan side of the river and hide.