Hostile

44

Fog slowly crept into the warriors den by the time Frostcloud awoke the next morning. She twitched the sleep from her whiskers as Buckheart snored softly next to her. Frostcloud peeked over her shoulder where Leafear washed herself. Foxfang was not in the den, which meant she still guarded the camp outside.

Frostcloud rose from her nest and peered out the den. In the clearing, surrounded by thick, cloudy fog, Foxfang waited diligently. Despite the long, silent night she didn't have an ounce of sleepiness weighing on her youthful face. Above her, the stars slowly lost their glow as the vast empty sky slowly turned blue from the rising dawn sun.

Frostcloud blinked at the new warrior, who hadn't seemed to notice her, as she routinely scanned the gorse that surrounded the Clan for any sign of danger.

Pulling back into the den, Frostcloud returned to her nest and rasped her tongue between Buckheart's ears. The night before, Crowfur had asked the tom to run dawns border patrol.

Buckheart stopped snoring upon the contact but instead of rising, he curled into a tighter ball and used his paws to cover his eyes. "Mmph."

Frostcloud purred and pressed her nose on his. "Chilly!" Buckheart mewed when she pulled away. He opened his round orange eyes and held Frostclouds gaze for another several heartbeats. Even in the shade of the den, Frostcloud could catch their lively spark.

"Good morning." Frostcloud said gently to the tom. He blinked, then rose to his paws and arched his back in a mighty stretch. On the tips of his toes, he trembled, then sat heavily back down and smacked his lips with sleep-droop whiskers.

Frostcloud began to groom herself, and used her paw to wash her face. Buckheart looked over his shoulder, "Cricketlegs? Shaleshimmer? Would you mind joining me on border patrol?"

The warriors nodded and began to stretch in their nest. As they did, Crowfur crept from the den. Moments later, Foxfang made her way in. Her wide eyes scanned her new den. Frostcloud twitched her whiskers and wondered if her former apprentice was surprised by the roots filling the wall of the den, as Frostcloud had been the first time she stepped into this den many moons ago now.

"Foxfang," Leafear purred gently as she approached her daughter, then gently pressed her forehead to hers. "I am so proud of you. Use my nest to rest, we can collect a fresh one for you later."

Foxfang nodded, then padded to her mother's nest and circled in it before curling up. She caught Frostcloud's eye, who dipped her head at the tortoishell before she followed the other warriors into the clearing.

Outside, the fog slowly began to clear, although the moisture still very much clung to Frostcloud's fur. She spotted dawns border patrol padding out of camp. Slatethorn, Frostcloud noticed, slipped into the nursery with a mouse where Mosspool and her brood certainly lay sleeping.

Frostcloud breathed in a deep draw of the chilly morning air. Her lungs expanded and she held her breath a moment before breathing out. She waited a moment, then collected a squirrel from the fresh-kill pile before starting her day.

×××

Buckheart, Mosspool, and Frostcloud  trotted back to camp with prey in tow. The sun was setting, and their tails were high in the air in delight, as Frostcloud and her mate had just shared the exciting news of kits to Mosspool.

Together, the trio carried their kills to the fresh-kill pile. Frostcloud, however, collected her third squirrel of the day. "You said you're trying to keep things quiet?" Mosspool teased gently, "You've been eating your weight in fresh-kill"

Frostcloud cocked her head, "I'm hungry. Do you think the Clan notices?"

Mosspool rolled her brown eyes before she took the squirrel from where Frostcloud set it down at her laws. "Let's share." She said through its scruffy grey fur. Together, the she-cats padded to the bottom of Clanrock, where they laid down in what little sun remained in camp. Frostcloud ruffled her coat to fend off the nightly chill, and pressed her side into her friend.