A New Beginning

Chapter 13

I realized after writing this that there is a river separating windclan and Thunderclan territory, just ignore my obvious mistake in this chapter please.

Chapter 13: Tundra's Choice

          The cold wind blew harshly through the trees, the four warriors running towards the territory of Windclan. The harsh leaf-bare has begun to take its toll on the clan cats. It was cold and the prey was getting harder to find. Plus, with the addition of Thunderclans five new kits, there were many hungry mouths to feed. 

          Fireheart, Sootraven, Ryenose, Thistlepaw, and Lilypaw were on their way to the Windclan border for the daily border patrol. The strong sent of Windclan hit the air as the clan cats approached the open territory. Fireheart held his tail, signalling for the patrol to halt. The cats stopped, confused. Fireheart spotted a hunting patrol on the moor, one cat casing a rabbit that was headed towards their territory. Fireheart crouched and crept over into the bushes. 

          The small, brown rabbit bounced across the Thunderclan border, the Windclan cat in tow. Fireheart lept from his bush and pounced on the rabbit, killing it. He looked up and his eyes met the Windclan warrior who had so willingly crossed the border. The she-cat stood fearlessly, not at all ashamed of her actions. She was a brown she-cat with a ginger underbelly, her ginger markings made her pelt very unique, her eyes were a pale green and filled with determination. She was lithe and her head was small, making her appear fast and strong. Fireheart heard the rest of his patrol emerging from the undergrowth to stand beside him. 

          "Care to explain why you're hunting on our territory?" Fireheart demanded. Fireheart wasn't one to cause a fight, but he had watched as the warrior darted across the border, fulling intending to catch that rabbit. And she wasn't the least bit ashamed at being caught.

          "The rabbit was from Windclan territory, it is rightfully ours," she defended. Her pelt had started to bristle, she was either annoyed or angry. Fireheart couldn't really tell which. Ryenose stepped forward. 

          "It crossed the border, that makes it ours!" he hissed. The she-cat made a swipe for the rabbit, trying to grab it. Sootraven pounced on the she-cat, pinning her down and growling at her. 

          "It's our prey," he hissed. The she-cat flung him off and ran back across the border just as the rest of her patrol arrived. A stern-looking tom with light, brown fur and yellow eyes pushed to the front of the group. 

          "What is this meaning of this? Why was that warrior pinning down mine." He meowed harshly, flicking his tail towards Sootraven.

          "Because your warrior was hunting on Thunderclan territory," I responded. The cat was confident and strong, by the way he held himself Fireheart could tell he was the deputy. 

          "Robinlight was merely hunting for our clan. The rabbit was Windclan property," the deputy defended. Fireheart could feel his warriors getting agitated. Ryenose growled, his pelt bristling. 

          "It wasn't your property! It came onto Thunderclan territory! You're directly violating the warrior code!" Ryenose yowled in irritation. The wind continued to blow, making the situation appear more eerie than usual.

          "Our clan has fewer options to choose from when it comes to food," a pure black cat but in, "Windclan hunts rabbit, we should be allowed all the rabbits." She was less confident than her clanmates and was clearly a newer warrior. "Hand over the rabbit," she demanded. 

          "Never!" Sootraven growled, "The rabbit belongs to us. Thunderclan has just as many mouths to feed as Windclan!" He stalked forward angrily. Fireheart wasn't sure what the tom was planning to do so he held out his tail to stop him. Fireheart sent him a look telling him to stay put and not move. Sootraven glared at the ginger tom but stayed where he was.