Warriors #3: Moonrise ✓

Chapter 8

"If a cat leaps at you, roll onto your back," Cinderpelt instructed. "Then you can attack his belly with your claws. Try it."

Leafpaw waited patiently as her mentor, Cinderpelt, crouched before her and then leaped into the air. Rolling over as instructed, she dug her hind paws into the medicine cat's belly and flung her off to one side.

"Good," Cinderpelt meowed, scrambling to her paws, her movements awkward due to her injured leg. "That's enough for now." The two cats had been raining all morning in the sandy hollow. Though thick, gray clouds covered the sky, Leafpaw's rumbling belly told her it must be close to sunhigh. She enjoyed the training session with her mentor. It had served as a welcome distraction from her worries about the Clan, the Twolegs, and her companions traveling with her, especially Squirrelpaw.

Following Cinderpelt, Leafpaw descended into the ravine. Just before they reached the entrance to the gorse tunnel, she heard a patrol returning close behind them. Turning around, she saw Firestar, Dustpelt, and Sorreltail. Firestar appeared more worried than ever, while Dustpelt's brown tabby fur was bristling, and his tail lashed furiously from side to side.

Cinderpelt limped over to meet Firestar, and Leafpaw hurried to Sorreltail's side. "What in StarClan's name is going on?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"WindClan," Sorreltail mewed, glancing at the older warriors quickly. "They've been stealing prey from us."

Leafpaw remembered the thin, desperate cats of WindClan who had driven them out of their territory. She wasn't surprised to hear the news.

"We found scraps of rabbit fur and bones by the stream near Fourtrees," Sorreltail continued. "They reeked of WindClan scent."

"It's because their rabbits have vanished," Leafpaw responded. She pushed aside a guilty memory of how she had taken fish from RiverClan.

"It's still against the warrior code," Sorreltail pointed out. "Dustpelt was furious."

"So I see," Leafpaw meowed, her voice filled with understanding.

She followed her friend down the gorse tunnel and found Firestar and Dustpelt standing beside the meager fresh-kill pile. Her belly lurched at the sight of how small it was.

"Look at it!" Dustpelt gestured with his tail, frustration evident. "How is that going to feed the Clan? You'll have to do something about WindClan, Firestar."

Firestar shook his head. "We all know that Tallstar wouldn't allow his warriors to steal prey unless his Clan were in real trouble."

"Tallstar might not know what's going on. Besides, ThunderClan is in trouble too. It's not as if we have prey to spare," Firestar admitted with a sigh.

"I know," Dustpelt agreed, concern evident in his voice. "I'm worried about Ferncloud. She's already lost a lot of weight and still has three kits to feed."

"If this goes on, I'll have to start rationing," Firestar decided, his tone resolute. "But meanwhile, I promise we will do something about WindClan."

Without wasting any time, Firestar swiftly turned and bounded across the clearing, leaping to the top of the Highrock. His yowl echoed through the air, summoning the rest of the Clan. One by one, ThunderClan cats began to appear. Their lean appearances took aback Leafpaw. The gradual change in prey availability had gone unnoticed, but now their thin frames resembled those of WindClan cats more than the sturdy warriors of ThunderClan. Dustpelt's concerns about Ferncloud and her kits weighed heavily on Leafpaw's mind. They all seemed exhausted and on the verge of starvation. Could it be that all the Clans, except for RiverClan, were slowly facing the threat of hunger?