Warriors #1: Kittypet Clanborn

Chapter 8

"Attack!"

I was jerked awake as I heard what sounded like Lionpaw's yowl come from the front of the apprentices den. As I stood up, I noticed my fellow apprentices practically flying past me and out into the camp.

My heart suddenly beating at triple the speed, I wondered, is this an invasion?

My question was answered for me as an unfamiliar scent flooded through my nose and hisses and yowls came from outside. It is an invasion! My first battle!

Feeling more nervous than I had been in my entire life, I burst from the apprentices den. The camp was swarming with cats, wrestling and swiping at each other. Before I jumped into the battle, I watched in fear for a few heartbeats. I hissed as I caught the scents of heather and rabbits. WindClan is attacking! Why?

Letting out a yowl of determination, I finally leaped into the battle. As much as I wish I could've just watched in terror rather than actually fight myself, I knew that I had to fight for my Clan. I couldn't dwell on the fact that I hadn't fought beyond battle training at this point. You can do this! Don't fight with anyone that looks too harsh or beyond your strength! I told myself.

I leapt on the cat closest to me. Luckily, the tom's back had been to me, so the element of surprise was already there. I managed to bowl him over and pin him down. I dug my claws into the gray-black tom's shoulders.

"You'll regret ever messing with ThunderClan!" I hissed into his ear before raking my claws along his flank. I hissed as the tom, who I had almost immediately recognized as Crowfeather, managed to swipe an unsheathed claw across my cheek. "You'll regret ever trying to win against WindClan!" Crowfeather growled.

"Yeah, right!"

I decided to throw off the WindClan tom. After he gave me another swipe across the face, I let myself fall to the side, leading Crowfeather to believe that I had given up. As I waited for him to make another move, I found myself glancing over at the medicine cat den. I saw that Leafpool's tabby and white head was sticking out of the den, and she looked petrified. I narrowed my eyes as I realized that she was staring straight at the cat I was fighting.

Why does she care about Crowfeather?

Shaking that off immediately, I shot back up in the air and swiped Crowfeather across the muzzle. I let out a startled yelp as the gray-black tom then threw me off balance, throwing me to the side with his paw. I landed on the ground with a thud and yowled with pain as I felt claws digging into my side.

Just as I felt like I couldn't bear the pain any longer, I heard Firestar's yowl. "Stop!"

I stood up weakly as the battling cats in the clearing obeyed, but many cats growled and gave dirty looks to their previous opponents.

"How dare you?"

I looked up at the Highledge to see that it was Firestar that had spoken. Concern, anger, and betrayal was blaring in his eyes.

Following his gaze, I saw that he had been addressing the ginger tabby tom making his way through the group of WindClan cats.

Onestar.

"We dare because we are true warriors," he began. "This battle has been too long coming. ThunderClan must learn that they are not the most important clan in the forest. You watch the suffering of others, waiting to be begged for help like you belong to StarClan. We will not beg. We are warriors! We will fight for the prey we need and the territory we need to survive," Onestar meowed with pride.

I watched as Firestar's eyes grew wide with outrage. "So you invade our camp?" He demanded.

"We want to make sure you get the message," Onestar hissed. "You think being a warrior means saving mountain cats and rescuing strays. We think it's taking care of our Clan."