Warrior cats: Into the Wilderness

Prologue

A half-moon glowed on smooth granite boulders, turning them silver. The silence was broken only by the ripple of water from the swift black river and the whisper of trees in the forest beyond.
There was a stirring in the shadows, and from all around lithe dark shapes crept stealthily over the rocks. Unsheathed claws glinted in the moonlight. Wary eyes flashed like amber. And then, as if on a silent signal, the creatures leaped at each other, and suddenly the rocks were alive with wrestling, screeching cats.
At the center of the frenzy of fur and claws, a massive dark tabby pinned a bracken-colored tom to the ground and drew up his head triumphantly. "Timberheart!" the tabby growled. "How dare you hunt in our territory? The Sunningboulders belong to LightningClan!"
"After tonight, Tigertalon, this will be just another StreamClan hunting ground!" the bracken-colored tom spat back.
A warning yowl came from the shore, shrill and anxious. "Look out! More StreamClan warriors are coming!"
TigerTalon turned to see sleek wet bodies sliding out of the water below the rocks. The drenched StreamClan warriors bounded silently up the shore and hurled themselves into battle without even stopping to shake the water from their fur. The dark tabby glared down at Timberheart. "You may swim like otters, but you and your warriors do not belong in this forest!" He drew back his lips and showed his teeth as the cat struggled beneath him.
The desperate scream of a LightningClan she-cat rose above the clamor. A wiry StreamClan tom had pinned the brown warrior flat on her belly. Now he lunged toward her neck with jaws still dripping from his swim across the river.
Tigertalon heard the cry and let go of Timberheart. With a mighty leap, he knocked the enemy warrior away from the she-cat. "Quick, Mousepelt, run!" he ordered, before turning on the StreamClan tom who had threatened her. Mousepelt scrambled to her paws, wincing from a deep gash on her shoulder, and raced away.
Behind her, Tigertalon spat with rage as the StreamClan tom sliced open his nose. Blood blinded him for an instant, but he lunged forward regardless and sank his teeth into the hind leg of his enemy. The StreamClan cat squealed and struggled free. "Tigertalon!" The yowl came from a warrior with a tail as red as fox fur. "This is useless! There are too many RiverClan
warriors!"
"No, Orangetail. ThunderClan will never be beaten!" Tigertalon yowled back, leaping to Orangetail's side. "This is our territory!" Blood was welling around his broad black muzzle, and he shook his head impatiently, scattering scarlet drops onto the rocks.
"ThunderClan will honor your courage, Tigertalon, but we cannot afford to lose any more of our warriors," Orangetail urged. "Cyanstar would never expect her warriors to fight these impossible odds. We will have another chance against to avenge this defeat." He met Tigertalon's amber-eyed gaze steadily, then reared away and sprang onto a boulder at the edge of the trees.
"Retreat, LightningClan! Retreat!" he yowled. At once his warriors squirmed and struggled away from their opponents. Spitting and snarling, they backed toward Orangetail. For a heartbeat, the StreamClan cats looked confused. Was this battle so easily won? Then Timberheart yowled a jubilant cry. As soon as they heard him, the StreamClan warriors raised their voices and joined their deputy in caterwauling their victory. Orangetail looked down at his warriors. With a flick of his tail, the signal and the LightningClan cats dived down the he gave far side of the Sunningrboulders, then disappeared into the trees. Tigertalon followed last. He hesitated at the edge of the forest and glanced back at the bloodstained battlefield. His face was grim, his eyes furious slits. Then he leaped after his Clan into the silent forest.

In a deserted clearing, an old gray she-cat sat alone, staring up at the clear night sky. All around her in the shadows she could hear the breathing and stirrings of sleeping cats.
A small tortoiseshell she-cat emerged from a dark corner, her pawsteps quick and soundless.
The gray cat dipped her head in greeting. "How is Mousepelt?" she meowed.
"Her wounds are deep, Cyanstar," answered the tortoise- shell, settling herself on the night-cool grass. "But she is young
and strong; she will heal quickly."
"And the others?"
"They will all recover, too."
Cyanstar sighed. "We are lucky not to have lost warriors this time. You are a gifted medicine cat, Freckleleaf.?" She tilted her head again and studied the stars. "I am deeply troubled by tonight's defeat. LightningClan has not been beaten in its own territory since I became leader," she mur-mured. "These are difficult times for our Clan. The season of newleaf is late, and there have been fewer kits. LightningClan needs more warriors if it is to survive."
"But the year is only just beginning," Freckleleaf pointed out calmly. "There will be more kits when greenleaf comes. The gray cat twitched her broad shoulders. "Perhaps. But training our young to become warriors takes time. If LightningClan is to defend its territory, it must have new warriors as soon as possible."
"Are you asking MoonClan for answers?" meowed Freckleleaf gently, following Cyanstar's gaze and staring up at the swath of stars glittering in the dark sky.
"It is at times like this we need the words of ancient warriors to help us. Has MoonClan spoken to you?" Cyanstar asked. "Not for some moons, Cyanstar."
Suddenly a shooting star blazed over the treetops. Freckleleaf's tail twitched and the fur along her spine bristled.
Cyanstar's ears pricked but she remained silent as Freckleleaf continued to gaze upward.
After a few moments, Freckleleaf lowered her head and turned to Cyanstar. "It was a message from MoonClan," she murmured. A distant look came into her eyes. "Flame alone can save our Clan.'
"Flame?" Bluestar echoed. "But flame is feared by all the Clans! How can it save us?"
Freckleleaf shook her head. "I do not know,” she admitted. "But this is the message MoonClan has chosen to share with me.
The LightningClan leader fixed her clear blue eyes on the medicine cat. "You have never been wrong before, Freckleleaf," she meowed. "If MoonClan has spoken, then it must be so. Flame will save our Clan."