Warriors AU: Moonrise

Chapter 21

Brackenfur glared up at Hawkfrost. Twisting under her paw, she raked her claws over her leg, but days of hunger had taken the edge off her fighting skills. The warrior didn't flinch as she cuffed her over the ear with her other forepaw.

"You're coming with me to Leopardstar," she snarled. "Let him decide what to do. Thunderclan has no right to ignore our borders."

"Let her go!" Crowpaw meowed. "She's only a couple of tail-lengths inside your border."

Hawkfrost gave her an unfriendly stare. "Oh, it's you again."

"Yes, me again." Crowpaw drew herself up and met Hawkfrost's icy blue eyes, summoning all her courage. "You were glad enough that I was there when Reedpaw had her accident." Persuasively, she added, "You owe Thunderclan a favor. Let Brackenfur go."

Hawkfrost's lip curled in a sneer. "Clans do not owe each other favors. The warrior code says we should respect boundaries, which she"—she gave Brackenfur a contemptuous flick with her tail—"clearly does not."

Crowpaw felt her fur bristle and her muscles tense, as if her body were telling her to fight with Hawkfrost. Together she and Brackenfur had a chance of beating her... But she forced herself to stay calm and not move from where she stood on the border. She could just imagine what Sandstar would say if he found out she had attacked a cat from another Clan on her own territory.

It was hard to beg such an obnoxious cat, but she had to make one more effort. "Please—it's not as if she was doing any harm."

Hawkfrost's blue eyes were chips of ice. "She was stealing prey."

"She was not!" Crowpaw's eyes flew wide. "That was a Thunderclan squirrel."

Brackenfur, who had been lying limp under Hawkfrost's paw, suddenly heaved herself upward. Hawkfrost let out a screech as her teeth met in her leg. For a moment they writhed together on the ground, but for all her bravery Brackenfur was no match for Hawkfrost's size and strength. Soon she lay panting under her paws again.

"Okay, take me to Leopardstar," she spat. "But I'll fight you every step of the way."

Hawkfrost looked bored. "Fine. You do that."

Desperately Crowpaw looked around; why wasn't Sandstar or Cinderpelt here? They might be able to persuade Hawkfrost. There were no cats at all on her own side of the border, but she caught sight of a flash of gold in the reeds on the other side of the river, and a heartbeat later saw Mothwing running across the Twoleg bridge. The Riverclan apprentice bounded up the slope and halted beside his sister.

"What's going on?"

"You can see for yourself." Hawkfrost tapped Brackenfur with her tail. "I've caught a trespasser. I'm going to take her to Leopardstar."

"She didn't mean it," Crowpaw pleaded, feeling more hopeful now that Mothwing had turned up. "She was chasing a squirrel—one of ours—and she didn't realize that she'd crossed the border."

Mothwing looked from his sister to Crowpaw and back again. "Let her go," he meowed. "It's not important. She didn't catch anything. If you take her to Leopardstar you could start a war between our Clans."

Hawkfrost fixed her cold blue stare on her brother. "And why is that such a bad thing? Every cat knows that Thunderclan is in trouble. This could be our chance to move in and take their territory."

Crowpaw gasped. Was that what Hawkfrost really wanted?

Mothwing returned his sister's stare. "Don't be mouse-brained," he mewed frostily. "Remember what Leopardstar owes Sandstar. He gave the Clan back to him when Goldenstar tried to take over. He'll never go to war against him."