Help!

"Help me!" Mossfire yowled as he ran along the gorge. He had been hunting on Windclan territory when he had met a pair of hungry foxes. They had attacked him immediately and driven him towards Riverclan territory. He didn't have a chance at fighting two foxes at once, so he had run onto Riverclan territory to try and lose them. "I hope I run into a Riverclan cat. They might be able to help me," he thought. However, since he had been up all night guarding his camp, he was tiring quickly and the foxes were catching up. "Help!" he yowled again. However, when no one apperared to help him, he realized he would have to jump into the gorge to lose the foxes. "I can't swim, but this may be my only hope," he thought. So he turned and flung himself into the gorge. "Starclan help me!"

Shadow looked round from her food. She threw the rest on the freshkill pile and darted silently towards the yowls. She smelled the air. The dark-coloured cat's heterochromic eyes widened slightly. She could smell foxes. And a windclan cat.

She was torn, and she thought while running. She was stuck between the fact that windclan was an enemy of Riverclan, and the fact that all cats should be protected from danger like foxes. She kept going, deciding to help, then kick the intruder out.

She came to the gorge, leaping and bounding through the tall, stiff reeds. She ran alongside the bank, and jumped into the water just in front of the windclan cat. Almost as fast as running when swimming, Shadow swam against the current and grabbed the tomcat by the scruff of the neck. She paddled firmly, and somehow reached the side. She pushed the cat so his front half was resting on the bank, his hindquarters moving in the current.

Shadow pulled herself out of the water and faced the two foxes. They paused for a fraction of a second, then lunged at her. Shadow took off and clung to the bark halfway up a tree, the canines snapping and snarling below her. Then, Shadowfang saw her chance and dive-bombed the smallest one. She clawed and bit at it, hissing and spitting. But as soon as the bewildered second fox turned on her, she darted back up the tree. The bigger one fell on top of the one Shadow had attacked, and his claws scratched along its back.

Shadow, from her perch halfway up the tree, looked over to the intruding cat, who was shrouded from the foxes' views by the thick reeds.

Mossfire gasped for breath, spitting out water. He couldn't believe his luck. "Thank Starclan I'm alive," he thought. He was then able to get a brief look at the Riverclan cat who saved him before he passed out.

Shadow turned her attention back to the foxes. She went for the bigger one this time, giving him the same rough treatment. She landed squarely on the floor and looked them in the eyes. The foxes, seeing that it would take more than a little effort to bring the fierce she-cat down, gave up and loped away, yelping in their own language.

Shadow walked over to the windclan cat. He had passed out, so Shadow picked him up by the scruff of the neck again, and dragged him somewhere safer. She laid him on a clump of soft ferns, and crouched next to him with her paws under her body, warming his wet body up with hers. "Wake up." she sighed quietly.

After a while Mossfire began to regain conciousness. He groaned and rolled over. His head spun and he was soaked to the bone. Worst of all, he didn't have a clue where he was. He opened his eyes and saw a Riverclan she-cat standing over him. "Who are you? And Where am I? And what happened to those foxes? Did they go after me and drown in the gorge? Or did you drive them off?" He had so many questions and so little answers. But at least he was alive.

Shadowfang stood up. The tomcat launched a volley of questions at her and she laid her ears back against her head in faint annoyance. "You are within Riverclan territory. I drove the foxes away. I do not feel it wise to let you know my name, since our clans are not allied." she answered each question quickly and sharply, and with caution.

"Why are you here?" she asked only one question, and bared her fangs slightly. They were longer than most cats' canine teeth, and very dangerous.

Mossfire drew back in suprise. Why was the she-cat so suspicous of him? "I was hunting near the gorge in Windclan territory and met up with those two foxes. I just became a warrior yesterday and held my vigil last night, so I was too tired to fight them. So I ran here to try and lose them," he said to her. "And if we aren't allies, then why did you save me?" he asked her. "Well, thanks for your help anyway. I would have drowned if you hadn't come along. And could you please tell me your name? Mine is Mossfire."

Shadow sat down. "I saved you...because you're just a cat, like me." she scuffed at the ferns.

"You're...a new warrior, huh? Then we're probably the same age, or you're a little younger." she looked to the sky at the clouds, and said softly, "I believe your story, Mossfire. My name is Shadowfang."

Shadow's heterochromic eyes glinted in the warm light as she looked Mossfire in the eye.

"Shadowfang? I don't think I've ever seen you before.... Are you a new warrior too?" Mossfire asked her. He hadn't seen her at the Gatherings or on patrol before. He shivered. This leaf-bare was colder than the last one, and the water was so cold he had felt like he was being shredded when he had jumped in. He thought he was going to freeze to death if he didn't get back to his den and sleep. "Maybe we'll se each other at the next gathering. I still have a lot of questions....... but now probably isn't the time to ask. I'd better get back to camp. Wolfclaw and the others are probably getting worried."

"I've been a warrior for 7 months." Shadow replied quietly. She was very good at staying unnoticed, so the cat had probably never seen her before. She nodded. "Ask your questions whenever it suits you best." she said, "I'm usually on patrol on the west side of the border, around here." she stood up and shook her soaking form, water flying in all directions. Her wet fur clung to her skin, and made her look thinner than ever.

"I'll go back to my camp too." she took a couple of steps forward. "It was nice to meet you, Mossfire, and I hope we see each other again at the next Gathering." She bowed her head politely, and darted off back to her den through the reeds and grasses.

Mossfire watched her go, then turned and headed slowly towards the Windclan border. He was worried about those two foxes. Shadowfang had said she scared them off, but he could still scent them, and knew they were still in the area, likely waiting for him to go back to Windclan so they could ambush him. He stopped to wash himself. "All the water is frozen!" he mewed in suprise, looking at his fur. It was covered in small ice crystals. He shivered and then got up and hurried back to his camp, looking over his shoulder now and then to make sure the foxes weren't following him. He made it back to the border and out from under the cover of the trees. He felt more comfortable in the open.
He still couldn't believe what had happened. And it was only his first day as a warrior!