Something Doesn't Feel Right...

RiverHeart strolled through the warriors' den, head held up high. She clutched the huge fish that she'd caught tightly in her jaws. By the time RiverHeart had reached the food pile, her sharp teeth had sunk deeply into the fish and it was dead. RiverHeart tossed the slippery creature onto the pile and bowed his her head to the guard.

"Your fifth catch today," he said, pleased. "You have been doing well for a new clan member." RiverHeart thanked him and wandered and the den for a bit. She had only been at the clan for a couple of weeks and hadn't had much time to explore. She walked over to the birthing den where a mother lay on a bundle of fresh grass and was surrounded by other cats. RiverHeart could tell she was a mother due to the excited expressions of three young cubs by her side, pawing at her.

Fang padded silently through the tall reeds at the edge of the camp. She crouched and yawned, showing her sharp, long, white fangs. She got up again.

Stalking through the reeds, she came to a small pond where riverclan cats were taught to swim. She walked around it and came to her den, a deep burrow beneath a weeping willow tree with loads of water reeds sheltering her from view. She had dug it herself, more like a rabbit doe than a young cat. Although the opening was small to stop animals like foxes getting in, the tunnel was large. Large enough so she had room on both sides, and above.

Fang crept along her tunnel, her breathing echoing slightly in the passage. She came to the end of her tunnel, now quite deep underground, to a large cavern - the main den. It was big enough for 4 small cats Fang's size to sleep comfortably together, but Fang had no friends and was lucky that her design was such that kept in all the heat it had. But because it was so warm in summer, Fang had another tunnel joining her main one, which lead to a smaller, draughtier sleeping-place.

Sensing something outside, she padded up to the mouth of the den and looked through the reeds. Nothing looked out of the ordinary...but over to the left was a cat standing near the Birthing Dens. Fang hissed. Only carrying and expectant she-cats were allowed inside, and sometimes -but rarely, the fathering tomcat would visit.

Fang came closer, silently, a low growl building up inside her throat. It was her duty as a Warrior to defend the kits, whatever the cost. She could smell that the cat was female, and another Riverclan cat, but did not recognise her and knew she was not a mother. She came up behind the stranger. "Get away from those kits." she hissed.

RiverHeart turned around at the voice. "I am doing no harm to them." she said calmly to the fierce feline that now stood in front of her. She turned back to the kittens and walked around to the other side of them where she sat down and kept an eye on them.

"I am merely watching out for them. Members of a clan should look out for other members of their clan." she said to the cat that had hissed at her.

Shadow stayed where she was, watching the other cat like a hawk. "Only if they are authorized to be here." Shadow replied. She was a sharp talker.

She looked at the litter. The mother had fallen asleep - she probably wasn't bothered about the two felines, and if she was she knew Shadow would protect them. Shadowfang had a reputation for defending the clan's kits.

"Your name. Full name." she growled, "So I know who to report if you try anything. I'll know if you're lying." Shadow sat down and watched her with her heterochromic eyes, waiting for reply.

RiverHeart looked at the kits and sighed. "My name is RiverHeart, I am a warrior here, like yourself." The kittens had given up pawing at their mother and the three cubs wandered out of the birthing den. "I'm just looking after them, follow me, watch me, I couldn't care less." RiverHeart said, following the kits.

RiverHeart followed the kits to the lake. "Have you learned to swim yet?" RiverHeart asked them. They all shook their heads. Then, the biggest kit who looked about two years old, whispered something to the other two. The all put on their sweetest faces. "Can you give us a ride, please?" they chorused. RiverHeart chuckled and rolled her eyes. She bent down and the kittens climbed on. She prepared to step into the warm water.

Shadow made a small noise when Riverheart spoke. "Che..." she trotted after the cat.

"How did you know I was a warrior?" she called, following the cat. Riverheart was conversing with the three kits. The biggest, nearly 2 moons old, whispered to his little sisters. Riverheart let them climb onto her back and was about to step out into the warm water of the lake when Shadow yowled sharply.

"Is it a good idea to take them into water when they haven't begun their swimming lessons? Look. The tomcat is only 2 moons old; they are at least three when they learn to swim." she shivered, remembering as a slight chill swept through her that leafbare was soon. She was determined that no harm would come to the kits and would sit and watch in case something bad happened.

RiverHeart turned to her fellow warrior. "The roughness of the voice, shows toughness. The scar on your left eye, shoes evidence of battle. The emptyiness in your eyes shows that you've been through tragedy. Most cats become warriors because of this, to show that they are tough, to try and cover up their sadness."

She turned back to the lake. "As for the kits, they'll be fine if they hold on." Without another word, she emerged the water and began slowly paddling, not too fast otherwise the kits would fall off.

Shadowfang, with a fringe of fur longer than the rest on her head, flicked it in front of the left eye (the blue one) and bared her fangs. She was surprised. Riverheart was smart too. Most cats who had seen Shadow and did not know who she was thought she was a loner - because of the way she wandered around.

She turned around and started to walk back to her den. *There's something...odd about that cat.* she thought to herself, as she jumped a grass tussock.

After about twenty minutes of swimming, the kits had fallen asleep on RiverHeart's back. She swam over to the bank and gently eased them off of her.She stretched her sore back and tried to bundle the kittens side-by-side so that she could pick them all up at once by the scruffs of their necks.

She went back to the den and placed the beside their mother, who was still asleep. RiverHeart began to leave when she heard the mother stir. She turned around. The mother had woken up. She began to make noises, like a human would when screaming. "Help, me!" she called to RiverHeart. She was giving birth.

RiverHeart dashed to the mother and stood beside her. She had never done this before, so this was knew to her. "Come on, push!" RiverHeart urged. "You can do it." She leapt over the feline to her posterior and awaited for the kitten to arrive. "Keep going!" RiverHeart could see the top of the kit's head. "Almost done!" she shouted. "Come on! Push!" As soon as the kitten's shoulder's were out, RiverHeart grabbed its sticky scruff and gently helped slide it out.

Shadowfang's ear twitched as she heard the yowls for help. She darted over, in time to see Riverheart gently slide out the newborn kit. As it was laid out on the soft ground, Shadow took it gently in her jaws and placed it between her paws. The mother, relieved to see that the two warriors were looking after the kit, lay her head on the ground and closed her eyes. Shadow quickly set about doing what was needed: removing the sticky, slimy membrane from the creature, licking it vigorously with her rough tongue to make it breathe. The tiny kit coughed and mewed, and Shadowfang nudged it toward its mother, who helped it find a teat and then let it suckle.

Sahdow stood up. "Riverheart, we must leave them alone now. Gingerclaw (Shadow was referring to the mother) needs to rest now." she walked off and sat facing the lake. "Come."

RiverHeart nodded, but before leaving, turned to the mother. "Would you like us to take the other three for now, so you can rest?" By now, the other three kits had woken up and were bounsing around excitedly. The mother nodded. The three kits jumped onto RiverHeart's back and RiverHeart took them out of the birthing den.

"I'll take them exploring in the woods for a bit," she said, "That'll give them something to do." And with that, she headed for the forest at a gentle pace, the kits mewing happily at the suggestion.

Shadow watched her go, before sitting atop a large anthill to act as a sentry. *That cat is...rather rash.* she thought plainly. *She's treating the kits as if they are the same age as her. If they run into trouble...I hope she remembers to call.* she crouched and tucked her paws underneath herself, wrapping her long tail around her body.

RiverHeart wandered into the forest until she reached a clearing. The sun shone brightly. It seemed so...magical. The way that each flower seemed to reflect the light, the pond dazzled and RiverHeart knew that there would be planty of prey to catch if they ever got peckish.

The kits leapt off of her back and danced around the clearing. They began chasing each other up trees. RiverHeart sighed. "Don't go too high up." she called. She dragged thick piles of leaves around each nearby tree in case they fell and restricted them to those few ones.

Shadow yawned. She was bored. She wasn't hungry and the freshkill pile was large, so there was no need to catch food. She didn't feel like swimming or climbing, just sitting on an anthill in the shade of an oak tree. A tumbleweed had blown in from over the river, and it smelled of thunderclan. It had come from their direction too. Shadow picked it up, lay on her back, and tossed it into the air above her. She kept it up with her four paws and watched the clouds go past at the same time.

River watched the kits play and constantly jump from the trees, landing, shrieking with laughter, in the piles of leaves. It wasn't long before they approached River, whining that they were hungry. RiverHeart's stomach rumbled a bit at the sound of this. She nodded. "Climb up that tree and be as quiet and still as possible." she instrcuted.

Once the kits were safely in the tree, River hid amongst one of the piles of leaves. After a short while, a fat rat emerged from some shrubbery. A drop of saliva hit River's head as the kits drooled from above at the prey. She waited for the rat to come closer to her before pouncing. The rat saw River and tried to run, but River caught it by the tail and dragged back towards her. The kits cheered from above. River lifted her free paw and slashed at the rat twice. The rat died instantly after the second slash. River split the rat into three and placed it in front of the kits who had now jumped down from the tree.

River wandered over to the pond and waited. A large koi emerged at the surface and River smacked it out of the water. She waited for it to stop flapping until she knew it was dead before munching at her prey.

Shadow was watching the clouds, considering going back to her den to sunbathe in a more protected place, when Gingerclaw meandered up to her on her rock, carrying the newborn in her mouth. She placed it on the floor, and looked up into Shadow's heterochromic eyes.

"Thank you for helping, and that other cat." she mewed tiredly, "I am feeling better now, so can you please bring back my other kits?"

Shadowfang jumped down off the rock and landed silently. She nodded, smiling a little. Unfortunately when Shadow smiles, her fangs show so it sometimes gives out mixed messages. Gingerclaw flinched, but shook it off and meowed gratefully, before picking up the newborn kit and walking back to the nursery.

Shadowfang wandered off in the opposite direction, into the forest. She shivered - it was getting dark and leafbare was approaching, and ventured deeper into the woods. She yowled loudly, a roll-call for the warrior and the three kits to go to her.

RiverHeart heard Shadow's yowls. "Come, kits," she said sternly. "We must return to your mother," The three kits jumped onto River's back and she began heading back to the den. For a strangge moment, she felt like the weight on her back got a bit lighter. Then it happened again.

She turned her head to see only one kit on her back. Behind her, was a large human with long, messy hair on his chin. In the sack that was in his hand, something, most likely the other kits, fidgeted violently. There were urgent mews from the bag. The large man reached for the final kit, but River leapt out of the way. She grabbed the kit by the scruff of the neck and threw her into a pile of leaves, into safety.

"ShadowFang! Come!" she yowled loudly before hissing at the human. She leapt at him, sharp teeth bared, and bite him on the arm, jaws sinking deeply into his skin. he man screamed and waved his arm violently. The man threw River and she hit a tree, hard. The man grabbed the last kit and stuffed her into the bag. River got up and charged at the man again, but this time, he kicked her with his huge human-paws. River felt herself fly up until gravity deceided to bring her down and crash with a thud into unconsciousness.

"Huh?" WhiteStar mewed, looking up. He was refreshing the scent markers along the RiverClan border when he heard many yowls of panic. He sniffed the air picking up a Twoleg scent mixed with RiverClan kits. "Twolegs..." Whitestar meowed, running into RiverClan territory where he heard the yowl coming from. He then saw the human and flexed his claws as he ran. He lept towards the sack, unsheathing his claws at the same time before slashing near the top of the bag causing the bottom to break from it releasing the kits. "Go!" WhiteStar yowled as the kittens ran off in panic. The human looked displeased as he kicked at WhiteStar but he was too fast he clung to the humans foot and lept up to his face slashing him across his chin causing the human to shout in pain before running off after hitting WhiteStar onto the ground. "Huh?" he mewed, before passing out.

RiverHeart lay unconscious for a while before gradually waking up. She stood up and had a gentle shake. The leaves that had fallen off of the trees onto her slid off calmly and floated to the soft ground. She walked unevenly to the pond and had a long drink.

She stood up, had another shake, and began to leave. She then noticed another feline on the ground, passed out. She walked over to him and gently nudged him with her paw. She was uncertain what clan he was from, but he may be from the River Clan, so she shifted him onto her back and, stumbling under the weight, walked back to the her clan.

Shadow saw Riverheart coming back with the kits and a strange cat on her back. There were all sorts of scents mixed together. Shadow could smell the Riverclan kits and Riverheart, and a twoleg smell...and Thunderclan.

Shadow raced forward. The kits emerged from a bush and crowded around her, but she ignored them, having eyes only for the large white tom and Riverheart. She sniffed at the tomcat and looked him over. She looked back at Riverheart. "Which clan is allied with ours?" she asked. She looked back down at the fainted tom. *I recognise him...from when I was at the last gathering...* her eyes narrowed. *This is Whitestar, the Thunderclan leader.* she didn't let on to Riverheart or the kits that she knew who the tom was.

Shadowfang waited patiently for an answer from Riverheart. "Kits, go back to Gingerclaw - she would like you home now." the kits nodded and raced back the short distance to their mother.

RiverHeart eased the tom off of her back, panting from the weight. She stretched and then approached ShadowFang. "A two-leg attacked us," she explained. "It tried to kit-nap the kits. It attacked me and then this other cat that came to our aid. It was only fair to help him since it was he that freed the kits."

RiverHeart sat besid the tom and looked down at him, waiting. "Wake up," she muttered under her breath. "Wake up."

"Che..." the syllable escaped Shadow's lips. "You didn't answer the question. But I remember now. Thunderclan is our ally, so we need to look after this cat."

She licked a paw and groomed her head quickly, before looking at the white tom again.

RiverHeart looked at the ThunderClan leader. He remained unconcious, so River once again picked him up and, using the rest of her energy, carried him into the den. She left him in a Nursing Pen and went to have some food. It had been a long day. He lay down beside the white tom and closed his eyes, ready for a nap.

Hawkfire ran, following Whitestar's scent trail. He was still along the Thunderclan border, when Hawkfire noticed the scent suddenly veered inside Riverclan's territory. He stopped abruptly. "Whitestar is a leader. He wouldn't just foolishly run onto Riverclan territory. There must be a good reason." he thought. Without a second thought Hawkfire bolted past the border. He didn't care about being stealthy; he was one of the biggest cats in the forest. Hawkfire skid to a halt when he suddenly scented Twoleg mixed with Riverclan kits. Hawkfire followed the scent trail anyway, fearing the worst. He found himself nearing the Riverclan Camp and saw Whitestar being set down in a nursing pen. Hawkfire burst through the Riverclan entrance and yelled,"STOP!"

Shadow swirled round and hissed fiercely at the intruder. He was far bigger than her, but she was swift and agile, and not afraid to fight. She sampled the air. He was a Thunderclan cat, just like Whitestar who was lying limply in the nursery den.

Shadow remained in a defensive position, but proceeded to speak to the tomcat. "We are not harming him. He fainted - helping to protect us. Riverclan and Thunderclan are allies, correct? There is no need to fight." she glanced at Whitestar. "Your leader was upholding one of Starclan's rules - to protect kits, no matter which clan they are from, against danger like twolegs and foxes and hawks."

She swivelled her ears around. Luckily there was no one nearby, apart from Riverheart. Gingerclaw, the mother she-cat they had helped earlier, was not going to come out either.

"We're simply repaying his favour - protecting us, so we'll protect him." she reasoned.