Warriors: A New Life ~Series 2 Book 1~

Chapter 21

Stormstar's POV:

The following morning, Stormstar ordered a border patrol to both the Ravenclan and Smallclan borders. He didn't expect threats to come from Petalstar but he didn't want to be caught off guard.

Stormstar had decided to lead the Smallclan border patrol, leaving Dawnheart to lead the Ravenclan one.

He trotted swiftly through the dense undergrowth. He was glad Lightclan's territory had stretched further out. They now held quite a good and large piece of forest and prey was plentiful. Especially since greenleaf was soon to arrive.

Stormstar's pounding pawsteps sent flocks of birds into the air with shrill cries of panic. His patrol thundered after him with a similar pace. There even was a short moment when all four cats matched paces and their synced pawsteps caused an even louder and booming sound around them, making the ground rumble beneath them.

The patrol reached the border quickly. The border between Lightclan and Smallclan was a small stream that ran from the sea and far inland. The stream was small enough for a grown cat to leap over in one bound, but for apprentices it was a little tougher. Stormstar saw the small problem as an advantage. If there was ever trouble on the border, the stream posed at least some security. A Smallclan battle patrol would spend a while to get everyone safely over the stream, giving the Lightclan cats time to form a patrol of their own.

"Stormstar?" Cheetahpelt's tremulous voice brought Stormstar out of his thoughts. The spotted tom had a nervous yet excited look on his face. "Do we mark the border yet?"

"Yes." Stormstar replied, slightly embarrassed and flustered that he had kept his warriors waiting. "Yes, go ahead and mark the border. Make sure you look out for any suspicious movements too."

Cheetahpelt nodded and rushed swiftly to the edge of the stream. The quiet tom proceeded to spray on a few tall strips of grass. Sunpatch headed a few tail lengths further along the stream and did the same thing. Rosegaze hung back. The she cat looked up at Stormstar. "Father, I think there is something across the border..."

Stormstar narrowed his eyes and turned his blue gaze to the other side of the stream. He scanned the bank but saw nothing. "Are you sure?" He questioned, however he froze in place when his eyes caught sight of a light brown tail whisk through a bush a little way away from the stream. The tail had distinctive black and white stripes at the tip and Stormstar immediately knew who it was.

He didn't want any trouble so Stormstar meowed to Rosegaze. "I'll check it out. You stay here..." He carefully edged towards the border and nimbly leapt over the stream. He landed on the other side, Smallclan scents overwhelming his sense of smell.

Stormstar crept through the tall grass on the other side. His black fur still smoothed down and non-threatening. He knew this cat didn't mean any harm. Why else would she spy on them on her own?

"Hello?" He called out softly, eyeing the undergrowth around him. The sun beat down on his back and Stormstar stalked into the shade. He wasn't fond of being in direct sunlight. His black fur always seemed to absorb more heat than any of the other cats in the clan.

Suddenly, the air was knocked out of him as a cat threw him to the ground. Stormstar opened his jaws to yowl in alarm but a thick light brown tail whisked over his mouth, choking him. He struggled in the cat's grip, not being able to fully see the cat due to the glare of sunhigh beating down on them.

The cat moved slightly, shielding the sunlight from his eyes and Stormstar gasped softly. Petalstar! So it was her!

Petalstar gave Stormstar a look that told him: If you yowl, I'll kill you. It seemed like she was deadly serious so Stormstar nodded his head.

The light brown she cat gently removed her tail from his mouth and Stormstar took in a huge gulp of air. "That was amazing!" He breathed, making sure he stayed quiet. "How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"We Smallclan cats are very good at camouflage." Petalstar meowed proudly, a small grin on her face. "What are Lightclan cats good at?"

Stormstar found himself completely clueless. Lightclan was such a mixture of rogue, kittypet and other clans that he really wasn't too sure what Lightclan was genuinely good at. They all had different and unique skills. Stormstaer let out a small chuckle. Even he, the 'great leader of Lightclan', was once a rogue.

Petalstar raised an eyebrow, "Not sure?"

Stormstar shrugged, still underneath the she cat. "Lightclan is such a mixture of different types of cats that I honestly have no idea what Lightclan is good at." Then he twitched his whiskers thoughtfully. "Though I seem to remember Ancient Lightclan being fantastic tree climbers."

Petalstar moved off Stormstar to allow him to sit up. "Well it was nice meeting you again, Stormstar."

Stormstar pricked his ears. "That's it? That's all you wanted to do?"

"Yep." Petalstar winked, and dived into the undergrowth. "Meet me again tomorrow night by the beach!" She called softly behind her as her striped tail whisked out of sight.

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Nutwhisker's POV:

"Please can I go out?" Hazefang whined, trying to make the most convincing begging face.

Nutwhisker shook his head and replied bluntly. "No."

"Pleeeaaase?" She dragged out her words, her eyes huge and her pupils as big as she could make them.

"No." Nutwhisker answered again, though he felt his anger melting away by the second.

"PLEEAAASSSSE?" Hazefang yowled out, pushing her muzzle in front lf Nutwhisker to show him her huge eyes.

Nutwhisker screwed his eyes shut as his defense wall shattered and his emotions slid through. "Okay!" He yowled. "You can go, just please don't use that face with me again."

Hazefang's beg quickly turned into a triumphant grin as she pranced out of the medicine den, barely limping. "Thanks Nutwhiskey!"

Nutwhisker rolled his eyes at Hazefang's nickname for him. He was glad the grey she cat was back to her normal bubbly self. It was about time she joined the warriors and began doing some proper duties instead of moping around the medicine den.

Flamefur spoke up from her nest. "Hazefang's happy is too loud." The ginger she cat pouted.

Nutwhisker chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll be out of here in no time." Then he paused. "Having said that... Hazefang will be joining the warrior den soon..."

"No!" Flamefur whined. "Noooo.... Not that...."

Nutwhisker grinned as he finished sorting the poppy seeds. "Why don't you let me check your wounds and then you should be okay to go back to warrior duties."

Flamefur shrugged. "Fine."

Just as Nutwhisker peeled away the dressing from Flamefur's wound, Hazefang's distant yowl of joy echoed around camp. "Whoohoo!"

Flamefur flattened her ears with a scowl. "Someone needs to shove a crab down her throat."

"Oh be nice." Nutwhisker chuckled with a grin.

Flamefur growled, "I'm being serious."

"Yeah, yeah." Nutwhisker winked at her. "Of course you are." Then he glanced up at her with a sly grin, "Make sure it's a small crab when you do it so that she doesn't choke too hard."

Flamefur cracked a small smile.

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:3