Fishing!

Silverclaw meowed a quick goodbye to the cats in the camp, before padding out of the entrance. She slipped into the stream and kicked strongly to the other side, leaving the rest of the clan behind her. Upon reaching the other side, the white she-cat pulled herself out of the water. Her jaw cracked open in a yawn, before looking around. The few trees that lived on RiverClan territory were browning, their leaves slowly changing from lush green to a plethora of colors. As she walked by a tree, an orange leaf fluttered down and landed on her nose. She twitched her whiskers in annoyance, and continued on towards the lake.

She neared the water's edge, and stopped in front of the clear lake. To her left was the Island where the Clans gathered every full moon, along with the swamp separating WindClan territory from RiverClan. She was right next to the small waterfall where the stream met the lake. Sighing contentedly, the white tabby  bent down to lap up the water. The cool liquid dripped down her throat, quenching her thirst. She then settled down in a crouch, one paw raised, ready to strike. A small fish swam up to the edge, unsuspecting of the death that waited for it.

Silverclaw lashed out, water splashing up as the fish flopped onto land. The RiverClan cat quickly killed her prey, uttering a silent thanks to StarClan for the creatures life. She laid the deceased fish next to her, and readied herself to strike again.

By sunhigh, the RiverClan warrior had caught a nice pile of the slippery prey. She stood, and shook out her fur, which had little droplets of water clinging to it. She yawned again, and turned back towards her clan's camp. She realized with a sigh that it would take a couple of trips to bring all the fish back to camp. Silverclaw silently wished she had an apprentice to help her.

Benjamin padded around in the forest, his mind wandering. He had come to get something to eat, as his twolegs let him typically didn't feed him until leafbare. Of course, he was fine with this. As long as he didn't stumble into Clan territory, the tom didn't have a problem catching his own prey. Suddenly the former warrior froze, as he watched a small cat bring fish from a river. From the sleek, soft fur, and the small droplets in her fur, it was clear the young she- cat was from Riverclan. Which could only mean he was in Riverclan territory. How couldn't I have noticed? The truth was, the tom hadn't been a warrior for moons, and had long forgotten most of what he had learned, but even he could recognize a Riverclan cat. Benjamin slowly crept away, attempting to leave without being noticed. He didn't want any trouble, he just wanted to get out before something he'd regret happened. Suddenly, he stepped on a twig, which gave a sharp crack. He froze again, and met eyes with the warrior.

Silverclaw leaned down and picked up as many of the fish as she could, the scent blocking her nostrils from any other smell. She was downwind though, without the prey in her mouth, she would have known there was another cat in her territory. But, as the smell swam in front of her nose, she had no idea.

That is.

Until the crack sound through the air.

The RiverClan cat's head snapped up, dropping the slippery creatures. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a grey tom, frozen, staring straight at her. He sure looked terrified, but Silverclaw couldn't ignore this. She bared her teeth in a snarl, glaring into his faded blue eyes. She cast a quick glance at her day's catch, then back at him.

Abandon the prey and attack an intruder? Or let him off with a warning? The white warrior barely needed a moment's thought, she always attacked intruders.

Without even a hiss, Silverclaw leaped at the tom.

Benjamin barely had time to think, before the she-cat pounced on him. The kittypet eyes darted back and forth. He didn't want to fight, he just wanted to leave, he didn't ever want to be in a mess with a clan cat again. The tom decided he would try to reason with the warrior, and attempted to apologize.

" Wait! Please let me go, I didn't mean to get in your territory... I don't want any trouble," he said, terrified.

Benjamin saw an angry, vicious light in that cat's eyes- it was painfully familiar, and he had to turn away. He knew he was giving himself false hope to reason with her- the warriors lived by a code you couldn't break... Stop! I don't want to think about that! Go away! Unconsciencly, the cat thrashed his head desperatly, but he couldn't get his mind off of what he had done, but the ugly thoughts would not pass.

Silverclaw felt the tom struggling beneath her claws, and meowed something about not meaning to be in her territory. She let out a ferocious hiss before jumping back, sheathing her claws. She sat back on her haunches, watching the cat with a new interest.

"So we've a kittypet have we?" She asked, sitting up straight. She had felt the cat's muscles when she had leaped on him, not ones of a seasoned warrior, but ones of a soft twoleg pet. But what was he doing so far from his twoleg nest?

"What are you doing in RiverClan territory?" She demanded, glaring down at him. The white she-cat stood tall, with her head held high. She frowned at the tom on her territory, but refrained from attacking because she knew he was just a lowly kittypet, which in her eyes, was nothing.

Benjamin hesitated before answering, then nodded.

" I was searching for prey, and I suppose I didn't remember- I suppose I didn't realize I was in your territory," he meowed cautiously, carefully getting up. The tom wasn't hurt, but still rather shaken from the attack. Surely Riverclan has gotten stronger, or have I gotten weaker? Benjamin looked at the white cat, and for a moment, had to admire her. The way she held herself, with pride, with honor. Something Benjamin knew he could never have again. The tom backed away, hoping the she-cat would allow him to leave.

"Did you not?" Silverclaw hissed, "even if you didn't know you should have scented the markings." the white she-cat gazed down at him in wonder, less fury in her eyes. Instead the urge to protect her territory was replaced by intrigue, wondering where this kittypet lived, and how he could not know the clans.

Silverclaw's nose twitched in annoyance, suddenly realizing he probably lived in the twoleg next to horseplace. Come to think of it, she felt like she had smelled it before. Perhaps on the way to the Gathering? She shook her head. A sudden breeze blew his scent towards her again, and she felt like she recognized a faded, second smell that she knew. Her ear twitched, wondering what it could be. Is it.....WindClan? she pondered this thought, realizing that, though faded and almost gone, there was a faint scent of WindClan. She decided not to say anything of it though. After all, it could have just blown down from the Clan's territory.

Come to think of it,the scent had changed as he left, a fresher, cleaner smell. He barely noticed smells these days, unless it was food. food. Benjamin's stomach growled as he realized he was hungry. Unsure of how to reply, he gave a quick nod.

" Yes, I guess I should have..." his voice trailed off awkwardly, and his eyes drifted hungrily to the fish, lying forgotten by the she-cat. No! Don't Think about food right now. It can wait. The warrior seemed to be relaxing a bit, the fury in her eyes had faded to curiousity.

"Perhaps you should get your nose checked." Silverclaw teased. Her ear flicked at his growling stomach, and her eyes followed his. They became narrowed slits when his eyes fell on her pile of fish, and she stepped in front of them.

Teeth bared, she crouched down, one paw raised and ready to attack. "Don't even think about it" She snarled, lip curling. "This is RiverClan prey, and you, a kittypet," The white she-cat spat the word, "Shouldn't even be on this territory. Get out, now!" Silverclaw suddenly reflected on their conversation, why had she let him stay so long? He was an intruder upon RiverClan territory, and needed to be scared away.

She wondered why he hadn't left already. How had he even known of the Clan territory? Well, he did live near WindClan's, so he probably knew of the wild cats. But it still bothered her.

Frightened, the cat gave a quick nod, and scrambled off in the direction he came, glad to leave the warrior. For merely a flicker of a moment, the tom had felt an old familiar feeling: a feeling of adventure, a feeling that urged him to talk with the she-cat, a feeling that encouraged him to battle. And he didn't like it. Benjamin dared to look back at the white she-cat for a moment. Just to get one last look at the life he once had. And then he took off.

He wondered if he would ever see her again. Probably not. He certainly wasn't going to be caught on their territory again, not for all the fresh-kill in the world. Not to mention leafbare, where his twolegs kept him inside all the time. Not that he minded. It was cold and dangerous outside during leafbare.

Silverclaw watched as the kittypet raced off, casting a quick glance back at her. At this, the RiverClan warrior let out a ferocious hiss, spitting after him.

"And stay out!" She yowled, standing up straight. She fluffed out her fur, glaring after him, and turned back to her prey. She gently picked up as many as she could, leaving the rest under a bush, and hurried back to camp. After dropping the fish on the fresh-kill pile, she rushed back to where the rest lay and gingerly picked them up. She then returned to the camp again, setting the fresh pray on the pile.

A little ball of fur suddenly barged into her, and she gasped.

"Silverclaw Silverclaw!!" Meowed a familiar voice as the little kit sat up straight, well, as straight as she could with her hunched back.

"Hey Redkit." Silverclaw smiled down at the kit, licking her chest to flatten the fluff.

"Did you go hunting?" Redkit asked excitedly, looking up at her savior with wide eyes.

"I did," Silverclaw purred, "I brought back plenty, go get a bite." With that, the little red-brown kit bounced off to the fresh-kill pile. She sifted through the fish before settling on the perfect one, and bounded back to Silverclaw. Her deformed back prevented her from moving faster, and caused her pain, but she ignored it. Warriors don't feel pain! She kept telling herself.

"Are you going to share that with your mentor?" Silverclaw asked kindly, a purr rumbling in her throat.

"Yes!" Redkit replied, limping into the medicine cat's den. Silverclaw watched her go with a small smile, before a cat called her name.

"Yes Mudwhisker?" she meowed, standing and stretching as a dark colored cat padded up to her.

"Silverclaw," he began, watching Redkit go, "Mirrorface wants you to go on patrol with her and me."

"Oh, of course." Silverclaw replied solemnly, shaking out her fur again.

"Ooh can I come!!" Squealed Redkit, who had come limping out again as fast as she could.

"No Redkit," Silverclaw meowed sweetly, "You're still too young." Redkit's face fell and she stared at the ground, shuffling her feet.

"Maybe when you become a 'paw." Was Silverclaw's response. Redkit's face brightened again, and she stood as tall as she could.

"And then the medicine cat will take me out to learn!" She smiled proudly, wincing at her shoulder's pain. Silverclaw nodded, then turned to meet the two cats waiting for her at the entrance. They padded out of the camp, but unbeknownst to them, a certain little kit had followed them.

Redkit slipped out of the entrance after them, glancing behind her to make sure none of the other cats had seen her. Once she was satisfied, she scrambled out of the camp and followed the three she-cat's scents. She kept herself silent, flinching as her back pain sprung up again. She forced herself to stay quiet, and quietly tracked the warriors.

A gust of wind came, and another one, until Redkit lost the scent. Disappointed, she turned to go back to camp. But she discovered that the wind had also blown her scent away, and she had no idea where to go! Redkit wouldn't meow for help though, then they'd know she followed them, and then she'd never become an apprentice! And so instead, she found herself wandering about aimlessly.

She chose to go to the right, and had to cross a stream. I don't remember crossing this stream to get out of here.. she thought to herself, but stuck with it. Pulling herself out of the shallow water and shaking herself dry, she continued on. She could see rolling hills now, and caught a strange smell. WindClan! She realized, knowing that the clan lived out on the moorlands. How strange she thought to herself with a mrow of laughter.

Redkit sniffed the air again, wanting to be able to recognize the scent. But when she tasted the air again, she caught another smell. What could that be? she wondered, and limped off in its direction. As she went on, she saw a shape in front of her. It looked like a cats figure, but the tom looked scared. What's he doing on RiverClan territory anyways? she asked silently, her fur bristling with anger.

She barreled forwards, towards the strange smell, and leaped on the grey tom. She unsheathed her claws, trying pitifully to rake them along his side. But a sudden pain pricked through her spine, and she fell backwards, hissing.

(OMG this is sooo long! I'm sorry, when I started writing I just couldn't stop!)

( It's fine, I like long posts!)

Benjamin ran as fast as he could. He was starting to smell the comforting, familiar scents of home: the kit twoleg who always brought him treats, the smokey smell that billowed from the home. It was a bit faint, but he thought he could make it.

Suddenly he felt something small leap at him, and turned frantically to see a young kit... with a hunched back? The kit attempted to rake his side, then fell back, hissing with fire in her eyes. SHe appeared to be in pain. The grey tom hesitated, considering trying to help the kit. No! I've quite had my fill with the clan cats for the day, or better yet, forever!

He tried to escape, but clumsily tripped over a tree root. For a moment he stared at the kit with fear, then his expression relaxed. She couldn't hurt him. She was just a kit, and a deformed one at that.

(Awesome XD )

Redkit hissed furiously, glaring after the kittypet's retreating pelt. He suddenly tripped over a tree root, and turned back to stare at Redkit in fear. At this, the kit filled with pride. But then, he visibly relaxed, as if realizing she couldn't hurt him.

"What are you doing in RiverClan territory?!" she screeched as harshly as she could, which wasn't very. She sounded more like a whining kit than a ferocious warrior. Her deformed back was giving her a lot of pain, and she had to force herself not to wince. She tried her best to keep her eyes wide, angry, and terrifying, but she found her will becoming weaker, her eyes filling with pain.

"G-get out!" She meowed, trying to scare him off with another burst of energy, fluffing out her red-brown fur. She found her legs shaking, and wished to sit down. But she knew she couldn't, not in the face of danger!

Despite himself, the tom let out a concerned meow.

" Are... are you alright?" It seemed that the kit was rather courageous, for what seemed o be some kind deformity. What are you doing? Go back to the twoleg nest! Benjamin shook off his thoughts, and carefully started to pad away, his blue eyes still focused on the kit. He knew he was still indeed in Riverclan territory, and he really did not want another encounter with a fearsome warrior.

( Short post. Aggaain. My bad, sorry!)

"I'm fine!" Redkit snapped, wincing from the effort of standing. Her fur was bristling on end, and she stared defiantly at the cat. Sniffing the air, she realized he was not from another clan, but a simple kittypet. Redkit's nose wasn't sharp enough catch the faint WindClan scent though. She parted her lips, breathing in the smell. Silverclaw! Did she already encounter this little kittypet? she wondered.

"....Were you attacked earlier?" she asked awkwardly, her eyes spiked with curiosity instead of fury. Her fluffy fur fell flat, and she sat back down. Her hunched back prevented her from sitting comfortably, but at least it was better than standing. Her legs stop shaking, for which she was grateful for-it made her look weak! And she couldn't have that!

Even though the little kit was to be the medicine cat's apprentice, it didn't mean that she didn't wish with all her heart to be a warrior. She tried time and time again that she could, yet only proved the opposite. Her deformed back crushed this dream, but StarClan had other plans for her....

Benjamin hesitated, then nodded. " Yes, I was," the tom said carefully. He carefully left out the silver-she cat, just in case.

He gave the kit's back a somewhat curious look, then quickly looked away. These cats truly were strange. Were they always this hostile? Then again, he was an outsider now. In fact, he hopefully had long been forgotten by his own clan. Benjamin knew he could never forget. The tom has forced those dark thoughts to the back of his head, where he could never think about them, but on rare occasions he would have a painful reminder of his cowardly ways.

He suddenly flinched. " Well, I'll be going. I don't want any trouble," he said, backing away, as his tail wavered back and forth anxiously.

"Well, fine! Get off RiverClan's territory and stay out!" Redkit hissed, choosing to not care for his first answer. She could guess who had attacked him, Silverclaw of course! After all, the she-cat had just returned to the camp!

"And don't come back!" The little kit added, pouncing forward as if the little fluff-ball could scare the tom. Of course, she was far too small to do such a thing, but she could try!