The five Warrior Clans are going extinct. Gatherings and Moonpool visits are inacessable, with leaders falling left and right. The lake territories are being wiped out to the brink of extinction by new, large predators that have migrated into their...
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For once, the three she-cats were allowed to wake up on their own time. There was no warrior sticking their head in through the den opening to try and rouse them.
Crescentsky stretched her paws, tongue curling in a massive yawn. She realized that Tinyflame and Cheetah had woken beside her.
"Let's go get these nests over with," Tinyflame said in-between licks. She was already beside the den entrance, where strong afternoon light slanted in. The sunrays had little flecks of dust floating through them.
It really is dirty in here. The dens need a good clean-out.
The bracken in Crescentsky's nest crunched as she stepped out of it, as if also agreeing that it needed a change.
"I suppose it's what we deserve, since we left without telling anyone." Cheetah gave her shoulder-fur a few good licks and then bounded out of the entryway.
Crescentsky and Tinyflame followed her. Before Crescentsky even made it to the fresh-kill pile her stomach was growling. Her denmates branched off to confront Raccoonstripe, who was grooming himself beside a grass-clump. Just beside him a thick band of reeds was growing along the edge of the river.
"Why'd you tell on us?" Cheetah questioned him, and the tom looked impenitent.
"Because Lagoonstripe hounded it out of me. Besides, she had to know what really happened, or else she would have sent some cats off in search of you."
"Did she?" Tinyflame demanded, but the tom shook his head.
"She waited to see if you would return from the Moonpool instead of sending cats in vain, but she wasn't happy about it."
Crescentsky drew out of ear-shot of their banter. She took a piece of prey, daring Sootface to say something. The Skyclan deputy was padding away with a young squirrel, and tossed a glance back at her. But the tom had the gall not to egg her on.
That's right. You'd better not give me any mouse-bile about my warrior name. She'd half expected him to quarrel openly, now that there was no other cats within earshot.
Crescentsky tore into the food. Trufflefur, Pepperpelt and Emberfawn entered camp from the corner of her eye. Trufflefur approached her with a friendly waving tail. There was a fat vole gripped in his teeth.
"Gooh'd day. I came across on' of these on our border patrol." He dropped his vole beside the fresh-kill pile.
"Maybe I should try some of that trout myself. It looks good."
