Nightstar's Prophecy

Chapter Six

In the morning, they were greeted with trouble. Nightpaw had fallen asleep beside Squirrelpaw and Boulderfur, but the scent of BreezeClan cats woke them all up. The warriors that had stayed awake, Tigerstripe and Lionclaw, were already bristling as the other Clan cats slowly got to their paws.

Two ginger toms were approaching the border, followed by a gray apprentice and a white apprentice. They didn’t look happy. Their ears were flattened and their fur was bristling.

“CliffClan cats?” One ginger tom asked. “What are you doing here?”

“We are in search of a new camp. For now, this is where we will be.” Froststar explained coolly, approaching the cats. “We will be gone when we find an adequate camp.”

“You need to get off of our territory, now.” Nightpaw looked at the tom and she recognized him. It was Hareclaw, the BreezeClan deputy. She had seen him at a Gathering before.

“Unfortunately, that just isn’t a possibility.” Froststar explained.

“I’m warning you, Froststar. Windstar isn’t going to be happy.” Hareclaw snarled.

“I care not what Windstar thinks.” Froststar shot back. Nightpaw stared at him in surprise. It was very rare that a leader would be so openly disrespectful to another Clan leader. Hareclaw growled and signaled to his warriors to follow him back to camp.

When they were gone, Froststar turned to Redheart and Boulderfur.

“You two, go towards Twolegplace. See if you can find something there or beyond where we can stay. There will be more BreezeClan warriors when they come back, and we will be unable to fight them all off, not in this state. None of us have had anything to eat.” He said. “Go.”

Redheart and Boulderfur nodded, dashing off towards the Twolegplace border. Nightpaw realized that their situation must have been rather dire if they were considering living in Twolegplace. She wondered what would become of their Clan, then, if they were to live among Twolegs and kittypets and who knew what else?

She was also worried for her mentor. What if he ran into Twolegs, and he never returned? She wasn’t sure she could handle it. She had grown to really care for her mentor.

Please come back safely, Boulderfur. She thought desperately.

Every CliffClan cat was on edge. Despite being hungry, no one hunted. Everyone was to stay at camp, to protect each other at all costs. Nightpaw ignored how empty her stomach felt and helped guard the camp with the other warriors and apprentices. When sunrise came and went, she was already tense and anxious. Redheart and Boulderfur hadn’t returned, and she was getting even more anxious. Her fur was puffed up, her tail was twitching, and she snapped at Squirrelpaw when he asked her a question. She apologized, smoothing down her fur, but she was still on edge. Where were Redheart and Boulderfur?

The warriors didn’t come until sunset. They both looked tired and worn out.

“There is an abandoned Twolegplace. There is no scent of them being there for…moons and moons.” Redheart reported to Froststar. Froststar nodded.

“Then that is where we stay until we can get a new camp.” He said, looking at them both. “Start with the queen and the elder. Take them over, and any of our warriors. I have a feeling BreezeClan is waiting until night time to attack us.” He said. Redheart nodded, and helped Acornsweep to her paws. Boulderfur nudged Gullpelt to his paws. The poor black and white tom was looking dejected without his mate. Nightpaw looked over at Froststar.

“The rest of you, we will have to prepare for a fight. Until we know that Gullpelt and Acornsweep are safe in the new camp, we have to stay here.” He said, looking over at Russetsong.