Whispersong stepped inside the cave, Bumblefrost beside her. The patrol followed Moth and Leaf to the Tribe's fresh-kill pile and dropped their catches on top. A few of the kits goggled at the large eagle that Moth, Leaf, and Star were carrying, their eyes round as moons.
"Look at it!"
"It's huge!"
"I want to eat it now!"
Whispersong turned to Bumblefrost, and they shared a glance of amusement.
Echoheart padded up to them. "Should we speak with Stoneteller? About the wolves?"
"Wolves?" Bumblefrost asked in confusion. "What about them?"
"Echoheart thought that they might be the danger in our vision," Whispersong told him.
"And how would Stoneteller know?" Bumblefrost asked.
Whispersong looked at Echoheart, who narrowed her eyes in confusion. "I don't know," Echoheart murmured. "Maybe we should think about it more, and get more information, before we ask Stoneteller about it."
Whispersong nodded. "Yes, good idea."
Bumblefrost glanced across the cave. "Let's ask if we can have a share of prey. I'm starving."
The three forest cats padded across the cave, stepping around a tussling group of kits. Once they reached the back of the cave where the entrance to the Tribe's leader's den was, the three peered inside.
"Stoneteller?" Bumblefrost called out cautiously.
Within heartbeats, the dark brown tabby tom stepped out of his cave, his dark yellow eyes full of concern. "Is something wrong?"
Ecoheart shook her head. "No, we were just wondering if we could take a share of the prey."
Stoneteller smiled. "Of course. While you're here, you may take your share any time, provided there's enough for the kit-mothers and their kits."
"Of course." Whispersong dipped her head. "Back home, queens and kits must be fed first before warriors eat. So we'd do the same here."
Stoneteller nodded. "You did hunt today. How did it go?"
Bumblefrost meowed, "Pretty good. Your Tribe is organized very well when it comes to hunting." Whispersong knew he was thinking of how Moth, Star, and Leaf knew to wait and let the smaller prey attract the eagle.
Maybe DayClan could try that, Whispersong thought. They do have hawks and eagles every now and then out on the moorlands.
Stoneteller dipped his head slightly. "Thank you... is it Bumblefrost?"
The DayClan warrior nodded.
Stoneteller let out a breath of amusement. "I can see why you were named that. Your stripes resemble a bumblebee."
Bumblefrost smiled slightly, flicking his tail.
Stoneteller dipped his head to the three of them, then lead them to the fresh-kill pile. The Tribe leader grabbed a hare and walked over to Screech, the brown tom they'd seen earlier talking to the two black and gray kits, who now sat with their mother across the cave.
Whispersong watched as each Tribe cat grabbed a piece of prey took it to a Tribemate, and together, they shared a meal. Whispersong turned and saw Bumblefrost walking up to her, his kestrel in his jaws. He dropped it at her feet. Warmth shone in his pale green eyes as he asked, "Do you want to share?"
Whispersong smiled. "Sure."
The two settled down and dug into the bird. Whispersong licked her lips as the strong taste of the kestrel filled her mouth.
By dusk, every cat lay beside each other, sharing tongues and exchanging news. Whispersong entwined her tail with Bumblefrost's, and she leaned against his side, splayed out across the stone floor. His head was rested in front of his paws, and his legs were curled up underneath him. Whispersong washed his ears and watched Echoheart from across the cave.
She was telling a story to three young kits, two of them the black and gray kits called Night and Howl that they'd seen earlier. Echoheart was standing on her hind legs and lashing out at the air. The kits gasped and shrank to the ground, eyes wide. Whispersong could just hear her sister's voice among the echoing of the other Tribe cats as she described the battle with DayClan all those moons ago.
"I was only an apprentice, and this cat—" Echoheart meowed in a low voice.
"What's an apprentice?" Howl asked, tilting his head to one side.
"What we call a cat in training. You call them to-bes, right?"
The three kits nodded.
Echoheart nodded thoughtfully, then continued. "So I clawed at him, trying to drive him off of our territory."
"Why'd you drive off a cat from your own Tribe?" asked the she-kit, Night.
"He wasn't from my Clan. He was trying to steal my Clan's territory."
"Oh," Night murmured quietly, her eyes narrowed.
"Why don't you all just share territory?" asked the third kit, a dark ginger tom.
Echoheart shook her head. "The Clans wouldn't cooperate; all four Clans want different territory, for themselves."
"That's selfish!" Howl burst out.
Echoheart's neck began to rise, then she let it lie flat. Whispersong was glad her sister didn't retort. They were kits, Tribe kits; they wouldn't understand Clan ways. Echoheart meowed, "Maybe to you; but for the Clans, it's completely normal."
"Oh," the ginger tom-kit murmured, blue eyes troubled.
"It's just a story, Dust," Night butted the ginger kit's shoulder playfully.
Howl stared at Echoheart. "So, what happened next?" he asked.
Echoheart smiled, and Whispersong heard her sister meow, "The tom-cat who was attacking me, named Burningwood, launched himself at me, and I stood up onto my back legs, like this." Echoheart reared and towered over the three kits, whose eyes were wide in amazement.
Then she slammed her paws onto the stone floor. "I clawed his head, pushing him to the ground." The kits gasped in awe. "He fell over, but he wasn't finished yet. He circled around me, his fur all fluffed up. I hissed at him and told him to get off my territory, but he still pounced." Howl and Night's tails swished in anticipation. Dust's blue eyes were wide, and he gaped at Echoheart. "We rolled in the grass, over and over and over, until, finally I was pinned down." She gently pushed Howl over, holding him down easily to the floor. "I was trapped."
"How'd you get away?" Howl asked, staring up from underneath Echoheart, eyes shining with amazement.
Echoheart let the small kit up and whispered, "I clawed at his stomach with my hind claws. Then I—"
"Like this?" Night asked, pouncing on Howl then kicking his belly fur with her hind paws.
Echoheart smiled. "Yes."
Night's eyes shone.
Echoheart lowered her voice again. "But he was such a good fighter that he pinned me down again."
"Again?" Dust asked, eyes wide in worry.
Echoheart nodded grimly. "But this time, I was really stuck. I couldn't escape."
Howl's eyes grew large, and Night and Dust stepped closer.
"But just then, Burningwood was gone!" Echoheart meowed.
"How?" Howl exclaimed.
"Whispersong saved me."
"Who's Whispersong?" Night cocked her head.
"My sister." Echoheart pointed to Whispersong across the cave. Whispersong felt her fur grow hot as the three kits stared at her admiringly. She busied herself by washing Bumblefrost's neck fur as he drifted off beside her.
"Yep. And we won the battle," Echoheart meowed proudly.
"That's amazing!" Howl exclaimed, and Night and Dust nodded eagerly.
Moss, Night and Howl's mother, watched on as Echoheart talked to the three kits. The brown- and black-patched she-cat's eyes were narrowed in dislike and her tail twitched in disapproval. She got to her paws and stiffly walked over to them. "Time to go to sleep," she meowed, flashing Echoheart a reproachful glance.
"Aw!" Howl whined.
Moss gave him a stern look, and the young tom followed her reluctantly across the cave.
"Did you hear Echoheart's story?" Night asked her mother eagerly as they walked away. "She bravely fought off trespassers to protect her own Tribe, just like we fight off eagles!"
Moss grunted, "She fought cats. That is not acceptable. Ever. It is against the word of the Tribe of Endless Hunting." She lashed her tail, muttering to herself. "Teaching cats to fight other cats..."
"But Mother," Howl protested. "The cats were trying to steal their prey!"
"Enough," Moss ordered, a hint of a growl in her voice. Howl and Night glanced at each other, then quietly followed their mother into their den. Whispersong saw Echoheart sigh, then she blinked and got to her paws, padding over to Whispersong and Bumblefrost.
"They can't accept the fact that we fight other cats; it's not just Moss," Echoheart sighed.
Whispersong looked up at her sister. "It's just different. They didn't grow up the same way we did."
"But they look at me like I'm evil or something. They hate the idea of fighting other cats."
"They'll just have to accept it," Whispersong muttered. "They can't change our ways; it's how we've been living for seasons upon seasons."
Echoheart nodded, blue eyes still looking troubled.
"Anyway, we wouldn't have to be fighting any cats if every Clan agreed to acknowledge borders and cooperate."
Echoheart sighed and nodded. Then she murmured, "It's getting dark. We should get to sleep."
Whispersong nodded, then nudged Bumblefrost awake.
They had been given nests in the Tribe's elders' den; there were only two elders who slept in the large cave-den, so there was plenty of room for the three Clan cats to sleep.
Whispersong followed her sister across the darkening cave, Bumblefrost wearily stumbling after them. Whispersong curled up on the pile of moss and feathers that the Tribe cats had made for her. Echoheart stretched and laid down beside Whispersong, and Bumblefrost flopped down next to them. Whispersong watched the two drift off to sleep, the twilight fading to night and the darkness washing over the cave. The waterfall roared outside, and the sounds of cats faded out as they all went to bed.
Whispersong's mind drifted to the forest. Was everything alright in DawnClan? Did they know why she and Echoheart had left?
Suddenly Whispersong remembered the dream she'd had a quarter-moon ago, when she'd realized that something terrible was happening back home. Were her Clanmates alright? Dread crept through her fur. Had there been a battle? With DayClan? With foxes? Or with badgers?
Whispersong shuddered. Had any cats died?
Please let them all be okay, she prayed to StarClan.
Homesickness washed over her, and she closed her eyes in sadness, but it was soon replaced by fear. What if the danger was on its way right now? How would she and Echoheart know when to return to help? Whispersong let out a ragged breath, and her body shook. They needed to hurry and figure everything out about the prophecy as they could so they could make their way home. The danger could arrive soon.
But we need a little longer here! We haven't even figured that much out! Whispersong thought.
But how much longer did they have?