WARRIORS-Fate of the Clans-Book One-The Beginning

• Chapter Nine •

Lichennose blinked awake in the warriors' den, chatter stirring in the air outside.

Curious, he stood, then stretched each leg in turn before padding out into the main clearing of camp. No warriors or apprentices were there, and it was eerily empty, other than the queens and elders speaking in hushed voices. Nobody seemed to notice Lichennose, until Quailflight raised her head and hurriedly trotted over to him, her sides plump with unborn kits.

"Lichennose! The moor's been set on fire!" she exclaimed, ears perked. Lichennose's jaws gaped open, "What?" Quailflight twitched her tail, "Nobody's sure, but smoke has been rising from WindClan territory since dawn. Every cat's gathered by the stream."

Lichennose touched his nose to her forehead in a short message of fondness, then hurried out of camp and towards the stream. As expected, his Clanmates were gathered by its bank, chattering like sparrows. Like Quailflight said, a dark cloud of smog rose from the high moorlands.

He trotted forward and wove among his Clanmates, spotting Berrystar and Juniperwhisker sitting closest to the water, their heads close together as they spoke in hushed voices. Lichennose soon saw his brother and flicked his ear, "Is it true the moor's been smoking all day?" He loved Quailflight, but even the kindest cat couldn't lie that she sometimes over exaggerated.

"Mhm. The dawn patrol saw smoke, and came back to tell the Clan." Bramblefoot twitched his tail tip, eyes fixated on the far moorlands. Lichennose followed his gaze. There's no way that fire started naturally, he thought, not with all this rain.

Suddenly, silhouettes appeared over a rise, and cats came running down toward them. Lichennose's Clanmates stood and grew stiff, some unsheathing their claws. We shouldn't be preparing for a fight, WindClan's fleeing their territory, not looking for battle!

Patchstar slid to a halt at the opposite side of the stream, the rest of WindClan following. "Please, let us cross!" she begged, tone desperate. Lichennose had never seen a Clan leader so terrified.

"What's happened?" Berrystar and his deputy stepped up, blocking her path across the stream. "I'll answer once my Clan is safe!" Patchstar replied, fur bristling and claws flexing. She was clearly ready to fight her way across.

Berrystar thought for a few heartbeats, gaze steady. How could he have to think this over? They clearly need somewhere to shelter!

"...Fine. You may cross." Berrystar finally stepped aside, his Clanmates also moving to allow a path through. Patchstar thanked him silently with a twitch of her ear, and her cats splashed across, one by one. Three were carrying kits. The WindClan cats ran through, and paused at the back of the mass of ThunderClan warriors. Their pelts were ashy and bristling, eyes wide with fear.

Patchstar, Mudcloud, Berrystar, and Juniperwhisker all sat huddled together at the edge of their Clanmates, speaking in low voices. Will WindClan stay here? Lichennose flicked his tail tip, and looked back at the hills, somewhat shocked to see more smoke and the tips of flames licking at the rise that WindClan had fled over.

Lichennose then glanced at the cats who'd come across the stream. They were terrified, not only of the fire, but probably also because they were very vulnerable to attack here. Putting on a warm smile, he carefully padded over. They shouldn't be so scared. We just let them cross, we won't attack.

After a few moments, a lanky gray tabby left her Clanmates to meet him.

"Hello. My name's Goosethroat." she kept her tone soft and polite, dipping her head kindly. Her pale eyes were friendly, but shock still showed clear in their depths.

"Lichennose." the light tabby replied, settling onto his belly and tucking his striped legs under his chest, "What happened in your territory to cause such a big fire?" Over her shoulder, he saw the WindClan cats beginning to groom soot from their fur.

Goosethroat also laid down, "Some twoleg kits were fooling around with fire by the forest, and accidentally set the grass aflame. They fled, but the fire spread." With a shiver, she added, "I bet the flames have reached far beyond our camp by now."

Lichennose's eyes stretched wide with terror. A cold feeling ran down his spine at the thought of his home burning to a field of spindly twigs covered in ash. "Do you think it could spread to the forest?"

Goosethroat shook her head, "I doubt."

"Hey, tabby! Why don't you stop sticking your nose in other Clan's business?" Lichennose looked up when he heard the offensive yowl. It had come from a cream tabby, sitting nearby with her fur smudged gray. Quickly after, a cat who looked the exact same gasped, and swiftly tried to hush the first cat to yowl.

"They're Heatherpaw and Brightpaw." Goosethroat flicked her ear, glancing back at them.

Suddenly, a yowl rang over the WindClan and ThunderClan cats. It belonged to Berrystar, "WindClan shall be staying in the field on our side of the stream until their territory's safe to live again!" Lichennose was momentarily shocked, but after a quick glance over the desperate WindClanners, he understood.

Patchstar and Mudcloud gathered up their Clanmates, "Well, we'll be off to find nesting materials. Thank you for letting us stay, Berrystar." Patchstar dipped her head to the fellow leader respectfully. Berrystar nodded, then gazed across his own Clan, "Alright, back to camp!"

Lichennose got to his paws, and returned to his own Clanmates. After a few short moments of making sure everyone was gathered, they headed back to camp.

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Sorry, another short chapter. I'm tired and just wanted to write this quickly. Question, who's your guy's least favorite character so far?