⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱
AS THE WARRIORS den grew lighter, Willowpelt woke up. Whiterose watched as the pale grey she-cat rose and stretched, then pushed her way out of the den. Whiterose yawned and spotted her mate, Tigerclaw, from the corner of her eye. He was still sleeping.
Whiterose pushed herself to her paws and she instantly felt drained. Her three legs wobbled, and she almost toppled over. Her bones ached like they have been bent for over a moon. Stretching a little, her stomach convulsed sharply, with a flinch she glanced once more at Tigerclaw before pushing her way out of the den.
Her green eyes adjusted to the snowbound camp, sweeping across the clearing. With prickled paws she headed to the medicine cats den, but stopped in her tracks thinking.
Redstream and Yellowfang must still be asleep, they worked really hard, I'll come back later, she thought. She turned her paws away, and decided to head to the fresh-kill pile. Upon arriving she found Brindleface awake and active choosing her own meal.
"Brindleface!" Whiterose purred tiredly, the pretty tabby blinked back warmly.
"Whiterose, how are you this morning?" Brindleface asked warmly, choosing a magpie from the pile. Whiterose couldn't find within herself to say she was fine, not when Brindleface was there with an open ear.
"Truth be told I been restless lately, I've been achy, and my stomach feels like there are a bunch of butterflies flying around..." Whiterose sighed as she trailed off.
Brindleface blinked back, a contemplative look on her face. Brindleface seemed to examine her with such intense green eyes that Whiterose had to turn away.
A rustling noise accompanied the scent of Tigerclaw and Runningwind as they emerged from the den. They settled themselves beside Willowpelt to wash.
Ready for the dawn patrol, Whiterose thought. Tigerclaw eventually looked up from his washing, his amber eyes lit with question, as if to ask if she would join them on a patrol this morning. As she was about to get up to join them, Tigerclaw suddenly lifted his head as though he had smelled something.
Whiterose tensed. Her ears twitching-she could hear paws crunching through the snow in the distance, moving fast. The breeze carried the scent of WindClan. The pawsteps grew louder. At once, the warriors in camp stiffened – a cat was rushing toward them through the gorse tunnel.
Tigerclaw arched his back and hissed as Onewhisker burst the clearing.
The WindClan warrior skidded to a halt in front of them, his eyes filled with dread. "ShadowClan and RiverClan!" he gasped. "They're attacking our camp! We're outnumbered and fighting for our lives. Tallstar refuses to be driven off this time. You must help or my Clan will be wiped out!"
Bluestar bounded out of her den. All eyes turned from Onewhisker to her. "I heard," she meowed. Without mounting the Highrock, the ThunderClan leader gave the yowl she used to call the Clan together. Onewhisker's fear-scent filled the clearing as he watched the cats emerge into the morning light.
As soon as the Clan had gathered, Bluestar began. "There's no time to waste. It's as we feared – ShadowClan and RiverClan have joined together, and now they're attacking the WindClan camp. We must help them." She paused and looked around at the faces staring back at her in dismay. Onewhisker stood beside her, listening silently with wide, hopeful eyes.
Whiterose was appalled. After the rogue cats had been discovered, she'd thought Nightstar could be trusted. Now it seemed the ShadowClan leader had broken the warrior code after all by uniting with RiverClan to drive WindClan from their home yet again.
"But we are leaf-bare-weak!" protested Patchpelt. "We've taken a risk for WindClan once before. Let them take care of themselves this time."
A few murmurs of agreement rose from the elders and queens. To Whiterose's displeasure Brindleface also quietly murmurs her agreement, but Fireheart kept quiet on his own opinion, his sister noticed. He must agree like Whiterose that they should help them.
It was Tigerclaw who answered him, stepping forward to stand beside Bluestar. "You're right to be cautious, Patchpelt. But if ShadowClan and RiverClan have united, it is only a matter of time before they turn on us. It's better we fight now, with WindClan, than later, alone!"
Bluestar looked at Patchpelt, who closed his eyes and lifted his tail, accepting Tigerclaw's words.
Yellowfang pushed her way forward, Redstream hanging back. Allowing the older medicine cat to speak quietly to the leader. "I think you should remain behind in camp, Bluestar. The fever from the Greencough may have gone, but you'll still be weak."
The two cats exchanged a look that Whiterose understood in a jolt. Bluestar was on her ninth and final life. For the sake of the Clan, she could not afford to risk it in battle.
Bluestar nodded briskly. "Tigerclaw, I want you to organize two parties, one to head the attack, one to back it up. We need to get there as fast as we can!"
"Yes, Bluestar." Tigerclaw turned to the warriors. "Whitestorm, you'll head the second party; I'll head the first. I'll take Darkstripe, Mousefur, Longtail, Dustpelt, Whiterose and Fireheart." Whiterose lifted her head as Tigerclaw called her name, feeling a thrill run through her. She was to join the lead party! And with a quick sideways look from Tigerclaw, she realized with a jolt, that he looked at her like there was no cat he would trust more than her.
"Whiterose!" Whiterose barely heard Brindleface's trying to get her attention, all her focus was on the coming battle.
"You!" Tigerclaw called to Onewhisker. "What's your name?" The WindClan warrior looked startled by Tigerclaw's tone.
Fireheart answered for him. "Onewhisker," he meowed, coming to stand with them. Tigerclaw nodded, barely pausing to look at Fireheart again.
"Onewhisker, you'll be in my party. The rest of the ThunderClan warriors will join Whitestorm. You can come with us, Cinderpaw." Said gray she-cat leaped to her paws, and came bounding up beside Fireheart.
"Are we all ready?" called Tigerclaw. The warriors raised their heads and let out a battle cry.
Tigerclaw charged for the gorse tunnel and they raced after him. In her excitement rush, Whiterose didn't hear Brindleface's desperate cry for her attention.
Up the ravine they climbed, into the forest. They were heading for Fourtrees and the uplands beyond. Whiterose glanced over her shoulder as she ran through the trees. Graystripe was near the back, his face grim, his eyes staring blankly ahead.
Whiterose wondered if Silverstream would be at the battle. Whiterose felt a pang of sorrow for her friend, but this time she had no doubts about her own readiness to fight despite her stump of a leg. After bringing WindClan home, she couldn't help feeling responsible for them. She would not let any Clan drive them back to those Thunderpath tunnels.
Even though the snow had stopped falling, it was hard work getting through the drifts. An icy crust had formed over the top of the snow, but the warriors were heavy enough to break through and sink into the softer snow underneath.
"Tigerclaw!" Willowpelt's yowl sounded from the rear. The deputy halted and turned. "We're being followed!" Willowpelt called. Her words sent a quiver of alarm through Whiterose. Had they run into a trap? Quietly the patrol retraced their pawsteps, alert and suspicious. A snow-laden branch creaked above, making Cinderpaw jump.
"Wait," hissed Tigerclaw. The cats crouched in the deep snow.
Whiterose could hear the noise of pawsteps heading toward them. They sounded light, like small paws stepping delicately over the top of the ice crust. With a sinking heart, Whiterose guessed who it was a heartbeat before Cloudkit, Blackkit, and Brindleface's two kits, Ashkit and Fernkit, appeared from behind a log.
Tigerclaw reared up at them and the kits squealed in fright. The warrior recognized them instantly and dropped down onto all four paws. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"We want to join the battle," mewed Cloudkit. Whiterose wanted to hide in a fox burrow in embarrassment.
"You're too young," Tigerclaw retorted, his tail lashing as he stared down at the defiant white kit. "You need to go home at once," Tigerclaw hissed, his eyes blazing.
"But we want to fight, and protect our Clan!" Cloudkit protested, his tail puffed up behind him as he stood as tall as he could.
"Not today," Tigerclaw snapped, without turning his eyes away from the kits he called out for Cinderpaw. "Cinderpaw, you take these kits straight back to the Clan and to their mother." Cinderpaw's fluffy gray tail drooped and Whiterose felt a pang of guilt for the young she-cat.
"Don't worry, there will always be more battles for you to fight." Whiterose promised, giving the young apprentice an affectionate lick on the head.
The kits' shoulders sagged as Tigerclaw didn't waver at his protests, and with relief on Whiterose's part. Reluctantly the kits followed Cinderpaw back to the camp.
Tigerclaw watched them for a moment, then threw back his head, and yowled to the sky before charging on toward the WindClan camp. Whiterose and the others raced after him, past Fourtrees to the steep slope that led to the uplands. They bounded up, their paws noiseless against the snow. When they reached the top, Whiterose came to a halt at the top. She was panting. Am I that out of shape?
Whiterose was battered by a howling wind that turned her ears inside out. The WindClan hunting grounds looked more barren than ever, the gorse hidden by a thick layer of snow.
Tigerclaw was just behind Onewhisker as they pelted onto WindClan territory. Whiterose felt nervous. Another sharp pain in her stomach made her flinch but she tried the best she could to ignore it. She looked back at Fireheart, hoping for help. But the orange warrior had his head bowed low and his shoulders hunched as the wind buffeted his fur. There would be little help there.
Whiterose turned her green eyes to StarClan and sent up a prayer for guidance.
She was surprised to find that she recognized the shape of the land even beneath the snow as they pounded along. There was the badger set and the rock Graystripe had climbed to get a better view. She followed after the other warriors as she remembered from her journey with Graystripe and Fireheart until they reached the dip in the land marked the WindClan camp.
Whiterose paused at the rim of the hollow with the others. For a heartbeat the wind dropped, and from below they heard the sounds of battle-screams and howls as cat furious fought with cat.
Tigerclaw addressed the warriors in a fierce hiss that carried through the blizzard. "Whitestorm, wait until you hear my battle cry! Onewhisker, you lead us through the camp entrance; we'll take care of the rest."
Onewhisker began to race down the slope toward the snow-covered bushes. Tigerclaw thundered after him, Darkstripe at his heels. Whiterose charged behind the sleek gray tabby, through the narrow tunnel that led into the WindClan camp. The gorse was a dense and sharp as she remembered. Graystripe and the other warriors stayed at the tip of the sloop, a fresh wave of attack ready to strike after the initial barrage.
Whiterose skidded to a halt, reeling at the sight that greeted her in the camp clearing. Last time she'd been here, in search of the scent trail that would lead them to the missing Clan, the place had been deserted and silent. Now the clearing swarmed with writhing, screeching, fighting cats. Onewhisker had been right-the WindClan cats were hopelessly outnumbered. A fresh party of ShadowClan and RiverClan warriors waited at the edge of the clearing, but WindClan could spare no backup group. The whole Clan was fighting, apprentices and elders, warriors, and queens.
Whiterose spotted Morningflower wrestling with a ShadowClan warrior. The WindClan queen looked exhausted and frightened, her fur standing in ragged clumps. Still, she nimbly turned and scratched her attacker, but he was much bigger and knocked her easily to the ground with a heavy blow.
With a hiss of fury, Whiterose leaped and landed squarely on the shoulders of the ShadowClan tom. She clung on while the surprised warrior spun and tried to shake her loose. Morningflower raked the tom with her claws as Whiterose dragged him to the ground.
The ShadowClan warrior screeched and ripped himself free. He ran into the prickly camp wall and pushed his way through. Morningflower shot a grateful glance at Whiterose, glancing at her missing leg for a moment, and turned back to the battle.
Whiterose looked around, shaking drops of blood from her nose. The fresh patrols of ShadowClan and RiverClan cats had joined the fight now. ThunderClan's arrival had evened the numbers for a while, but now the second party was needed.
Whiterose heard Tigerclaw's battle ring out, and a moment later Whitestorm exploded into the clearing, followed by Graystripe, Runningwind, and the rest of the ThunderClan warriors.
Whiterose watched Fireheart grab a RiverClan warrior, tripping him with one paw and holding him down with another. He rolled the tom over with force and thrashed at his belly with her hind claws. The RiverClan cat leaped away and crashed into a WindClan warrior.
The warrior turned in surprise. Whiterose recognized Onewhisker straightaway and watched as he reared and attacked the RiverClan tom without a moment's pause. Whiterose could see the fire in Onewhisker's eyes. Fireheart leaped away for him to finish this fight.
A familiar hiss caught Whiterose's attention as she defeated a ShadowClan warrior. Graystripe was battling with a grey ShadowClan cat. It was Wetfoot, a warrior who had helped them fight to rid ShadowClan of Brokenstar. The two warriors were well matched. Graystripe thrust Wetfoot away with his back legs and spun around, looking for another cat to attack.
Whiterose could see a RiverClan cat right behind Graystripe. Above the noise of battle, she heard the blood roar in her ears. Would Graystripe attack one of Silverstream's fellow warriors?
Graystripe leaped, and Whiterose held her breath. But instead of jumping onto the RiverClan cat, Graystripe sailed over him and landed on the back of another ShadowClan warrior.
"Whiterose!"
Whiterose heard Tigerclaw call her name.
She twisted her head and saw the warrior at the other end of the clearing. The fighting was thick up there, with cats from all Clans battling together. As she charged through toward the ThunderClan deputy, Whiterose felt Leopardfur grasp her hind leg, tripping her and pulling her down.
"You!" hissed the RiverClan deputy.
They had last met at the gorge, where Whiteclaw had died. Leopardfur knew that Whiterose was one of three warriors to retrieve WindClan and blamed her, Fireheart, and Graystripe for bringing WindClan into their territory.
Whiterose twisted around, slashing her claws across Leopardfur's muzzle. Leopardfur reared back, hissing venomously at Whiterose who sprang on her golden pelt, slashing at her wide shoulders.
Leopardfur hissed, trying to throw Whiterose off. Her stomach did a flip and Whiterose gave a painful gasp of surprise as she felt claws drag her off of Leopardfur. She turned to see Stonefur. Turning around was a mistake seeing as Leopardfur took the opportunity to slash at her hindquarters.
To Whiterose's growing fear she found herself against two expert warriors, one in front and the other behind her. It reminded her of her mother all those moons ago...
Whiterose yowled in fear as Leopardfur pounced on her, and the sharp pain of Stonefur cuffing her ears. Her own blood dripped down her eyes and Whiterose thought for a moment that this was it.
With a squeal of pain Leopardfur was harshly pulled off, and Whiterose took this opportunity to shove Stonefur straight into Whitestorm. The ThunderClan cat whipped around and grasped Stonefur by the scruff of his neck.
Whiterose turned around, seeing who had rescued her, and to her relief, she watched as Tigerclaw battled with Leopardfur. Deputy against deputy. Whiterose tried to dart forward and help her mate, but claws held her back, digging into her haunches. She twisted to see who it was and glimpsed gray fur. It was Silverstream.
The silver cat then was pushed off of her by Fireheart, who appeared out of the midst of battle, blood soaking his orange pelt.
The she-cat's face was twisted with battle rage as she reared up at Whiterose's brother. Blood was dripping into the silver tabby's eyes, and Whiterose could tell she hadn't recognized them. Silverstream drew back a paw and Whiterose saw her long claws flash as she prepared to swipe at Fireheart. As Fireheart screwed up his eyes, bracing himself for the blow.
"Silverstream! No!" Graystripe screeched.
"Fireheart!" Whiterose yowled at the same time, leaping forward.
Whiterose knocked Silverstream off of her brother and pinned the she-cat on her back. Silverstream didn't struggle as Whiterose drew back her head and prepared to give a vicious bite on her shoulder. But then the white she-cat noticed Graystripe's eyes staring at them in horror from the edge of the battle.
The look of pain and disbelief in her friend's eyes brought Whiterose to her senses. She stopped, sheathed her claws, and loosened her grip on Silverstream. Whiterose leaned down and nipped the RiverClan she-cat on the ear, drawing blood. "Run and don't come back," she whispered.
The silver she-cat slipped away from her and disappeared into the surrounding gorse. Fireheart stared, still in shock from the ground, as Graystripe raced after Silverstream.
Whiterose sighed as she watched her go, knowing that Graystripe's affair had forced her into disloyalty to ThunderClan, she had let an enemy warrior go! But she didn't dwell on it.
Just then Whiterose heard Runningwind's yowl for help. The tabby warrior was grappling desperately with Nightstar, ShadowClan's treacherous leader. Whiterose darted through the throng to Runningwind's side.
Without pausing to think, Whiterose leaped, grabbing Nightstar from behind. The black warrior howled in rage as Whiterose pulled him backward and sank her claws deep into Nightstar's fur.
She had fought side by side with this warrior only a few moons ago to help him drive out Brokenstar. Now, she sank her teeth into Nightstar's shoulder with ferocity.
Nightstar squealed and twisted in Whiterose's grip. This tom had not been made leader for nothing, thought Whiterose, struggling to hang on. Nightstar scrabbled free, but Runningwind was ready. He pounced, and together the two warriors rolled across the frozen clearing.
Whiterose watched them struggle and twist, timing her moment perfectly so that when she finally leaped, she landed squarely on Nightstar's back. She grasped him more firmly this time, ready for the warrior to wriggle free, but Runningwind also had a grip. Together, they scratched and bit the ShadowClan leader till he screeched out loud. Then they released him, springing backward with their claws still unsheathed.
Nightstar leaped to his paws and spun around, hissing. Whiterose saw the fury in his eyes, but the ShadowClan leader knew he was beaten. He backed away, his eyes darting around the clearing where his warriors were suffering similar treatment from the other ThunderClan warriors.
He gave the yowl of retreat. Instantly, his warriors stopped fighting and, like their leader, backed into the gorse that surrounded the camp. The RiverClan warriors were left alone to fend off ThunderClan and WindClan.
Whiterose paused to catch her breath, blinking blood from her eyes. The thick, red liquid stood out on her snow-white pelt.
Whitestorm was grappling with Leopardfur now, with Mousefur at his side. Sandstorm was battling with a RiverClan warrior almost twice her size, but her opponent was only half her speed. Whiterose watched Sandstorm nip and twist around him until the RiverClan warrior looked overwhelmed and ran off.
Dustpelt was fighting a smoky-black tom nearby. Whiterose recognized Blackclaw, the RiverClan warrior she had seen chasing rabbits in the uplands. Dustpelt was stubbornly refusing to be cowed by the blows and bites aimed at him. Each time he was struck, the young warrior turned and gave as good as he got. It looked as if he didn't need any help. And Whiterose guessed Dustpelt would not thank her for interfering in this fight.
But where was Crookedstar?
Whiterose searched the clearing for the RiverClan leader. It shouldn't be too hard to find him now that ShadowClan had run away. The clearing was less crowded.
Whiterose soon spotted the light-coloured tabby with the twisted jaw. He was crouching low, face-to-face with her mate, Tigerclaw. The two warriors stared at each other, their tails thrashing menacingly.
Whiterose's blood pounded through her veins as she waited for one of them to make a move. It was Crookedstar who leaped first, but Tigerclaw jumped nimbly aside and Crookedstar missed. Tigerclaw was more accurate; he turned and lunged at Crookedstar's back. The ThunderClan deputy grasped the RiverClan leader with his long claws, and Crookedstar went limp beneath him. Whiterose watched breathlessly as Tigerclaw bared his teeth, lunged forward, and sank them deep into Crookedstar's neck.
Whiterose gasped in horror.
Had Tigerclaw really killed the RiverClan leader? Crookedstar's pained screech told Whiterose that Tigerclaw missed the spine. But it was a blow to win the battle.
Tigerclaw released his opponent and let him race, yowling, toward the camp entrance. As soon as Crookedstar's tail shot out of sight, his warriors struggled free and pelted after him.