Warriors: Omen Of Fire

Chapter 6

"Let all cats join together beneath the Great Maple for a Clan meeting!"

Snowpaw jerked his head up, woken up from his deep sleep. Emberpaw was rousing drowsily from her nest, and Flowerpaw was grooming her fur. The dawn sun turned the sky pink as Snowpaw gathered with his clanmates.

"What's this about?" Robintalon grumbled. "It's so early."

"You should have been waking anyway," chided Flameclaw, who sat beside her. "With such little daylight, we need to use it while we can." Robintalon merely flicked her tail crossly in response.

Littletail, Meltwater, Mistshade, and Yellowleaf stepped slowly out of the warriors' den and gathered close together under the maple.

"It's chilly!" exclaimed Meltwater, her breath billowing like a cloud.

"I hope this leaf bare isn't here as long as the last one." Littletail fluffed his black pelt out. His short tail looked like a spiky black pinecone.

Lizardbelly and Charfur sat close together. He had his muzzle resting on the top of her head. They look happy, Snowpaw thought with a little smile. I wonder if I'll ever have that.

Snowpaw had recently realized that they were so friendly towards each other, not because they were good friends, but because they were mates. He watched them almost jealously, as they twined their tails together.

Sleetstar was standing on the maple branch impatiently pacing back and forth as he waited for the last of his Clan to gather beneath him. Snaketail slipped out of the nursery, telling his mate and kits to stay inside and keep warm.

"The senior warriors and I were talking recently," Sleetstar began. "Prey is scarce and we need all we can get." Snowpaw wondered where this was going. Were they going to steal prey from another Clan? That would go against the warrior code.

"We know this already," growled Swiftear, interrupting their leader. Sleetstar glared at the elder.

"I know it's cold this morning but bear with me." He paused for dramatic effect. "We have been talking about exploring the Rocky Hills." He stood tall and let the cats gasp and murmur amongst themselves.

"But they're dangerous!" called Meltwater as she shuddered.

"Remember the cougar?" fretted Whitemoss. "We don't want to have that happen again."

"I know, I remember," Sleetstar spoke over the noise. Snowpaw recalled the story Whitemoss had told them as kits of the time a huge cougar attacked the RubyClan camp. The monster cat was ten times the size of the strongest warrior and a pale tan colour with teeth as sharp as thorns. The three Clans had to join together to fight it off, and many cats had been injured and even killed. Everyone quieted down, except for a few mutterings amongst the elders.

"But that is now in the past," their leader persisted. "And if RubyClan can hunt there, so can we!"

"Yeah we're just as strong as them!" called Badgerclaw loudly.

"And we can climb trees, so boulders would be easy," added Oneclaw.

Flameclaw glanced up at his leader uncertainly. Maybe he didn't agree with what Sleetstar was saying. But Snowpaw knew that it was the deputy's duty to support his leader with tooth and claw.

"This leaf bare has been a long, cold one so far, and it won't be over for another three moons at least. The Rocky Hills are a part of our territory, why not make use of them?" He looked around, his eyes daring a cat to challenge his decision. But Snowpaw noticed, most cats were agreeing with him, their pelts bristling with excitement.