Warrior Cats #1: The Battle of Thorns

Chapter Fourteen

Sky's eyes widened as she watched Bane strike at his own clanmate. "Calm down, Beetle!" He snapped. "I've got everything under control." The dark brown cat winced as the jagged scratch started to bleed. Dark red trickles ran down his fur. Why is this cat wounding his own clanmates? Sky suddenly felt a wave of fear rush through her. She tried to back up, but the leaves would rustle too much. She flexed her claws in and out of the earth irritably. Why did she always put herself in this kind of position? Suddenly, she cocked her ears. Bane had started speaking again. "Streamclan will be our next target. They suspect nothing, unless Creek has failed us." The slender tom's gaze rested upon a small white tom. He stood and shook out his fur calmly. "I have done my best to make sure they have no suspicions, Bane." He meowed confidently. "But some suspicion is only normal..." Bane's back arched as his gaze turned wild. "What are you saying?!" He hissed. The tom gulped feebly, all his confidence gone. "I may have been slightly identified..." Sky sighed. This wasn't good.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ +++++ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ +++++

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the High Rock for a Streamclan meeting!" Stonestar's voice boomed through the small clearing. Lionpaw sat up and glanced over at Leafpaw. She stood and padded over to him, stretching her legs gratefully. "I wonder what's going on." She meowed absent-mindedly. Lionpaw shrugged. "Probably just another warning about the foxes..."

Nightpaw was waiting anxiously outside the apprentice's den, and frowned. "Where's Thornpaw?" She asked, looking around for the light grey tom. Lionpaw shook some moss from his fur, blinking his eyes a few times. "Probably helping StormBadger. She's been needing more help than usual." Leafpaw suggested, settling down beside Nightpaw comfortably. Lionpaw sat down beside Leafpaw and nodded. Stonestar waited for all the cats to be seated before continuing. "I have been noticing that strange cats have been roaming around our territory." He meowed, his gaze resting upon the group of cats below him. "I'm afraid though, we have nothing to help use decipher the meaning of this." He frowned. Lionpaw noticed a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Whatever's going on, it doesn't seem right... Lionpaw sighed.