"Lightningclan, I have very grave news for you," Vinestar called solemnly from the highledge. Redfur looked up at her leader from where Redfur was crouching in the warriors den. The clan huddled tightly in front of Vinestar. Most of the cats already knew, and the cats who didn't had puzzled looks on their faces.
"Stormfoot was killed. Foxheart and Redfur found him in the lake." Vinestar meowed. Redfur squeezed her eyes shut, still not quite believing that her mate was gone forever. She remembered his dark brown eyes, so unusual, yet so warm. Redfur would never see those eyes again. Redfur blinked her eyes open again. Vinestar went on,
"Redfur and Fernpaw will be excused from their duties for three days. Mouseheart will now mentor Fernpaw. That is all." Vinestar dismissed the clan. Redfur glanced over at Fernpaw, and saw her sitting with her head hunched beneath her shoulders. Her brother, Wheatpaw, had his tail laid comfortingly over her back. Redfur crept back into the shadows of the warriors den. She melted into the darkness and kept shuffling backwards. Suddenly, Redfur stumbled into another cat. Startled, she leapt up with a hiss, feeling clumsy for not being aware of another warrior. She scented Ripplepelt, and she could smell fear radiating off of him.
"Ripplepelt, what are you doing in here? What's wrong?" hissed Redufr.
"This is terrible.....who would have c=killed a cat. What if the cat was from Lightningclan? None of us are safe! What if it was you!" screeched Ripplepelt, blabbing nonsense.
"No, no, Ripplepelt, it's okay! I won't hurtyou. It's okay!" Redfur tried to reassure him but was cut off when he screeched,
"I bet it was you! I can smell the blood...on your claws! Get away from me! GET AWAY!" Ripplepelt writhed backwards, away from Redfur, She scooted back to where her soft nest of moss lay. Redfur curled up and tried to sleep, but was kept awake by the terrified panting of Ripplepelt and the ominous thoughts swirling through her head.
Was it me? Did I do something? Who killed Stormfoot? Why did they kill him? Could I have somehow stopped it?
~~~~~~~~~~
Birds chirped in the air, and a soft breeze whispered through through the trees. The sounds were dulled to Redfur. She couldn't think about much. Redfur could tell that leaf-fall was coming. She could scent it in the breeze, hear it in the rustle of golden leaves touching the forest floor. Behind leaf-fall crouched leaf-bare, ready to pounce and bring swirling white snow and frozen ice, and also ready to take out the few warriors it could before retreating to its cold, icy lair, to wait for many moons. Redfur thought confusing thoughts of leaf-bare as she lay in her nest, aware of warm cats around her, and a warmth on her fur. She slowly blinked her eyes open, Ever since Stormfoot had died, she had felt like her life was in slow motion. Redfur realized that today was the gathering, and tomorrow she would have to go on the quest with Foxheart. Vinestar had assigned another young warrior, Mouseheart, to on the quest with them for safety. Redfur never had really been friends with Mouseheart, but she was a good warrior, and seemed nice enough. Redfur slowly looked around the warriors den. Featherblossom, Rosefire, and Quailfeather were all curled up together exhausted after their busy warrior vigil. Foxheart, Sunheart, Mouseheart, and Skywhisker were nowhere to be seen, along with most of the other warriors. The only cats still sleeping were the new warriors, as well as Leafclaw, Ripplepelt, Lionfang, and Yellowclaw. Lionfang had a nasty gash along her flank from the battle, and had been told to rest by Autumnstripe. Ripplepelt always slept late because he was close to becoming an elder. Redfur had woken up when Leafclaw had gone on dawn patrol. All the cats had a reason to be sleeping, except for Yellowclaw. Why was he tired? All the cats had been woken up in the night when Vinestar announced Stormfoot's fate, but that was not long at all! Maybe he was still tired from the battle? Redfur brushed the thought away and padded out of the den without even grooming her fur. She emerged into the bright morning sunlight. Redfur looked around, just in time to see the tip of Foxheart's bronze tail disappearing through the den entrance. Redfur spotted Mouseheart munching on a vole in the clearing, and decided to go and talk to he. Redfur grabbed a plump mouse and padded to where Mouseheart was eating. Mouseheart looked up. Her expression became more excited and more sympathetic at the same time.
"Hi Redfur!" she meowed as Redfur plonked down and mewed,
"Hi."
"So...I'm going on the quest with you!" Mouseheart began awkwardly.
"So I heard," muttered Redfur, swallowing a mouthful of mouse.
"Well, uh, " Mouseheart mumbled, desperately trying to find something to talk about, "I-I'm so, so sorry that Stormfoot died. I don't know what I would do if my mate, or my parents, died!"
"Everyone's saying that. I guess I'll just have to get over it." mewed Redfur sadly. The two warriors sat in silence for a while, until Mouseheart spoke up again.
"Well, I really don't know much about the quest, so could you tell me about your dream and everything?"
"Sure," Redfur replied. She began with a deep breath, telling Mouseheart everything, from the sandy bank, to the tug-and-pull river, to the fight with Barkstar. When Redfur finally finished, Mouseheart was staring at her wide-eyed.
"Wow!" Mouseheart gasped. "So Bark-kit is evil?"
"Well, not yet. He'll destroy all of the clans if we don't do something fast, though.
"So what's our job? Where are we going to go? What are we going to do?" Mouseheart asked, her fur beginning to fluff up with excitement.
"Well, we're going to try and go to the place in our dream, using Starclan's guidance. When we get there, hopefully Starclan will show us a sign." Redfur explained.
"Well," Mouseheart began, looking slightly put out, "why don't we stay here and wait for a sign? I mean, why go all the way there, to see a sigh? Why can't we just stay here, and ask Autumnstripe to ask Starclan for directions, or whatever weird stuff it is that he does?"
"Because Starclan showed us this place, which means it's important, so we should probably go there."
"Fine," Mouseheart meowed grumpily, "but I was really hoping we could go on a really heroic quest, like Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight did when they came here." The warriors stared at the ground awkwardly until Mouseheart seemed to bubble up again, and mewed,
"Oh well, a quest is a quest, right? I've got to go tell Moonstream and Berryfoot!" Mouseheatrt shot off towards where her parents were sharing a crow. Redfur made her way to the warriors den.Once inside, she crumpled in her nest, and began to sleep.
Chapter 10
Redfur woke up as a paw prodded her in the side. She wasn't in the mood to get up, and she didn't have warrior duties until she left on the quest with Foxheart and Mouseheart. It was dark in the warriors den, but trickles of sunlight were sweeping through the entrance. Redfur blinked as she looked around. Foxheart was in front of her, aqua eyes impatient.
"What?" Redfur asked groggily, annoyed that she had be woken.
"Come on, Redfur! Are you honestly going to lie around here all day? The last morning patrol is already gone!" Foxheart meowed in annoyance.
'Why should I get up? I've got no duties!" Redfur exclaimed.
"Well, we promised Autumnstripe we'd learn about more herbs. Does that count as a dutie? Foxheart questioned. Redfur looked away, knowing she would have to get up.
"I guess," she muttered dejectedly.
"What was that?" Foxheart asked innocently.
"I SAID I GUESS!" roared Redfur. She saw a glimmer of amusement in Foxheart's eyes. Redfur allowed herself to feel a small shine of happiness, seeing the funny side of it. Slowly, Redfur pulled herself up out of her nest, shaking scraps of moss off of her fur.
"Come on then," she sighed, "lets go." Foxheart turned and padded out of the den, tail waving high in the air. Redfur padded out after Foxheart, trying not to let her tail droop or her paws drag. She saw some of the kits skittering around after each other. Suddenly, Redfur remembered that she promised the kits that she would go help them with their hunting moves. The last thing she needed today was a little squeaking kit pouncing on her tail. Redfur sulked along with hunched shoulders. As she entered the medicine cat den, she could hear Foxheart, who had skipped ahead of her, meowing to Autumnstripe in a hushed mew.
"-and there was a long gash, from his shoulder to his hind leg." A heavy silence followed.
"He could have gotten in a fight with a warrior from a different clan..." Autumnstripe murmured doubtfully. Redfur crept forward until she could see past the rocky ledge that was blocking the cats from her view. Autumnstripe was parting some big, soft leaves into two piles, and Foxheart was sitting across from him and watching what he was doing.
"Autumnstripe," she murmured, "I think you know as well as I do that Stormfoot was probably murdered." Autumnstripe was messily separating the leaves, shredding and clumping them in his rush.
"We don't know that," he mumbled.
"Well I don't want to argue with you. All I'm asking, is that since we don't know what actually happened, I want something that I can tell to Redfur so that we can get her head out of the clouds! We're about to go on a quest for Starclan's sake!" Foxheart replied. Redfur chose that moment to step in.
"What were you talking about?" she meowed. Both cats froze and their heads snapped up to look at her.
"R-redfur! What are you doing here?"
"Well, you actually told me to follow you here. Oh, and also I was listening to how my head is in thhe clouds..." she trailed off.
"Redfur, I'm really sorry. I just didn't want you worrying," Foxheart apologized.
"Foxheart, I'm not a kit. I can handle things myself. I don't need you trying to take care of me." Redfur meowed as calmly as she could.
"Redfur, if you're going to handle this by yourself, please start. You've been sitting in the warriors den in a daze for the past day now. You seriously need to pull yourself together if you're going to handle this." Redfur flinched, shocked at hearing the words she had been thinking spoken by someone else.
"But-" she struggled to defend herself.
"But what, Redfur? We're going on a quest tomorrow. How are you going to manage that when you can't even get out of your nest in the morning?" Foxheart interrupted. Redfur could hear the calm reason in Foxheart's voice. Redfur bowed her head uncomfortably to look at her paws, which suddenly seemed extremely interesting. She snuck a glance at Autumnstripe, who was awkwardly shuffling leaves between his paws. Redfur meowed softly,
"You're right, Foxheart. I'm sorry."
"Thanks, Redfur. Sorry to put it that way, but someone had to knock some sense into you!: Foxheart exclaimed.
"Yeah, I guess," Redfur replied, "I just have to remember that he's up there watching over me." Redfur shook herself, ridding her mind of all bad thoughts. The cats stood in silence for awhile.
"Well," Autumnstripe mumbled finally, "I think we were going to finish looking at the herbs...right?"
"Yes! We were!" exclaimed Foxheart, seizing the chance to escape the awkward silence.
"This way then," Autumnstripe mewed, brightening as the tension lifted. Foxheart and Redfur padded around the den with Autumnstripe until they had passed and learned about all of the herbs. Redfur felt her head spinning as she tried to take in all of the different plants. By the time Foxheart and Redfur were leaving the den, the sun was already high in the sky, its bright light bearing down on the Lightningclan camp. A few elders and queens were out basking. Kits scuttled back and forth between shadows. As they did, Whisperkit looked up at Redfur and Foxheart.
"Redfur! Foxheart!" he squealed, abandoning his game and galloping towards them. Soon, Bark-kit, Quick-kit, and Dusk-kit looked up and came crashing after Whisperkit. The rest of the kits heard their squeals and clambered out of the nursery to join the crowd. Soon, six kits stood with wide eyes in front of Foxheart and Redfur.
"You're here! Finally!" Tigerkit squealed.
"Yay! Now we can go play hunting games!" Sleetkit chimed in.
"Hi Redfur!" she meowed as Redfur plonked down and mewed,
"Hi."
"So...I'm going on the quest with you!" Mouseheart began awkwardly.
"So I heard," muttered Redfur, swallowing a mouthful of mouse.
"Well, uh, " Mouseheart mumbled, desperately trying to find something to talk about, "I-I'm so, so sorry that Stormfoot died. I don't know what I would do if my mate, or my parents, died!"
"Everyone's saying that. I guess I'll just have to get over it." mewed Redfur sadly. The two warriors sat in silence for a while, until Mouseheart spoke up again.
"Well, I really don't know much about the quest, so could you tell me about your dream and everything?"
"Sure," Redfur replied. She began with a deep breath, telling Mouseheart everything, from the sandy bank, to the tug-and-pull river, to the fight with Barkstar. When Redfur finally finished, Mouseheart was staring at her wide-eyed.
"Wow!" Mouseheart gasped. "So Bark-kit is evil?"
"Well, not yet. He'll destroy all of the clans if we don't do something fast, though.
"So what's our job? Where are we going to go? What are we going to do?" Mouseheart asked, her fur beginning to fluff up with excitement.
"Well, we're going to try and go to the place in our dream, using Starclan's guidance. When we get there, hopefully Starclan will show us a sign." Redfur explained.
"Well," Mouseheart began, looking slightly put out, "why don't we stay here and wait for a sign? I mean, why go all the way there, to see a sigh? Why can't we just stay here, and ask Autumnstripe to ask Starclan for directions, or whatever weird stuff it is that he does?"
"Because Starclan showed us this place, which means it's important, so we should probably go there."
"Fine," Mouseheart meowed grumpily, "but I was really hoping we could go on a really heroic quest, like Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight did when they came here." The warriors stared at the ground awkwardly until Mouseheart seemed to bubble up again, and mewed,
"Oh well, a quest is a quest, right? I've got to go tell Moonstream and Berryfoot!" Mouseheatrt shot off towards where her parents were sharing a crow. Redfur made her way to the warriors den.Once inside, she crumpled in her nest, and began to sleep.
Chapter 10
Redfur woke up as a paw prodded her in the side. She wasn't in the mood to get up, and she didn't have warrior duties until she left on the quest with Foxheart and Mouseheart. It was dark in the warriors den, but trickles of sunlight were sweeping through the entrance. Redfur blinked as she looked around. Foxheart was in front of her, aqua eyes impatient.
"What?" Redfur asked groggily, annoyed that she had be woken.
"Come on, Redfur! Are you honestly going to lie around here all day? The last morning patrol is already gone!" Foxheart meowed in annoyance.
'Why should I get up? I've got no duties!" Redfur exclaimed.
"Well, we promised Autumnstripe we'd learn about more herbs. Does that count as a dutie? Foxheart questioned. Redfur looked away, knowing she would have to get up.
"I guess," she muttered dejectedly.
"What was that?" Foxheart asked innocently.
"I SAID I GUESS!" roared Redfur. She saw a glimmer of amusement in Foxheart's eyes. Redfur allowed herself to feel a small shine of happiness, seeing the funny side of it. Slowly, Redfur pulled herself up out of her nest, shaking scraps of moss off of her fur.
"Come on then," she sighed, "lets go." Foxheart turned and padded out of the den, tail waving high in the air. Redfur padded out after Foxheart, trying not to let her tail droop or her paws drag. She saw some of the kits skittering around after each other. Suddenly, Redfur remembered that she promised the kits that she would go help them with their hunting moves. The last thing she needed today was a little squeaking kit pouncing on her tail. Redfur sulked along with hunched shoulders. As she entered the medicine cat den, she could hear Foxheart, who had skipped ahead of her, meowing to Autumnstripe in a hushed mew.
"-and there was a long gash, from his shoulder to his hind leg." A heavy silence followed.
"He could have gotten in a fight with a warrior from a different clan..." Autumnstripe murmured doubtfully. Redfur crept forward until she could see past the rocky ledge that was blocking the cats from her view. Autumnstripe was parting some big, soft leaves into two piles, and Foxheart was sitting across from him and watching what he was doing.
"Autumnstripe," she murmured, "I think you know as well as I do that Stormfoot was probably murdered." Autumnstripe was messily separating the leaves, shredding and clumping them in his rush.
"We don't know that," he mumbled.
"Well I don't want to argue with you. All I'm asking, is that since we don't know what actually happened, I want something that I can tell to Redfur so that we can get her head out of the clouds! We're about to go on a quest for Starclan's sake!" Foxheart replied. Redfur chose that moment to step in.
"What were you talking about?" she meowed. Both cats froze and their heads snapped up to look at her.
"R-redfur! What are you doing here?"
"Well, you actually told me to follow you here. Oh, and also I was listening to how my head is in thhe clouds..." she trailed off.
"Redfur, I'm really sorry. I just didn't want you worrying," Foxheart apologized.
"Foxheart, I'm not a kit. I can handle things myself. I don't need you trying to take care of me." Redfur meowed as calmly as she could.
"Redfur, if you're going to handle this by yourself, please start. You've been sitting in the warriors den in a daze for the past day now. You seriously need to pull yourself together if you're going to handle this." Redfur flinched, shocked at hearing the words she had been thinking spoken by someone else.
"But-" she struggled to defend herself.
"But what, Redfur? We're going on a quest tomorrow. How are you going to manage that when you can't even get out of your nest in the morning?" Foxheart interrupted. Redfur could hear the calm reason in Foxheart's voice. Redfur bowed her head uncomfortably to look at her paws, which suddenly seemed extremely interesting. She snuck a glance at Autumnstripe, who was awkwardly shuffling leaves between his paws. Redfur meowed softly,
"You're right, Foxheart. I'm sorry."
"Thanks, Redfur. Sorry to put it that way, but someone had to knock some sense into you!: Foxheart exclaimed.
"Yeah, I guess," Redfur replied, "I just have to remember that he's up there watching over me." Redfur shook herself, ridding her mind of all bad thoughts. The cats stood in silence for awhile.
"Well," Autumnstripe mumbled finally, "I think we were going to finish looking at the herbs...right?"
"Yes! We were!" exclaimed Foxheart, seizing the chance to escape the awkward silence.
"This way then," Autumnstripe mewed, brightening as the tension lifted. Foxheart and Redfur padded around the den with Autumnstripe until they had passed and learned about all of the herbs. Redfur felt her head spinning as she tried to take in all of the different plants. By the time Foxheart and Redfur were leaving the den, the sun was already high in the sky, its bright light bearing down on the Lightningclan camp. A few elders and queens were out basking. Kits scuttled back and forth between shadows. As they did, Whisperkit looked up at Redfur and Foxheart.
"Redfur! Foxheart!" he squealed, abandoning his game and galloping towards them. Soon, Bark-kit, Quick-kit, and Dusk-kit looked up and came crashing after Whisperkit. The rest of the kits heard their squeals and clambered out of the nursery to join the crowd. Soon, six kits stood with wide eyes in front of Foxheart and Redfur.
"You're here! Finally!" Tigerkit squealed.
"Yay! Now we can go play hunting games!" Sleetkit chimed in.
"I'm going to catch a humongous mouse!" Quick-kit boasted.
"Well I'm going to catch a squirrel, and a rabbit and a mouse and a badger!" Bark-kit exclaimed.
"Well...I"m gonna catch a dog!" Quick-kit tried desperately to out-do her brother.
"What?" Bark-kit exclaimed. "You can't catch a dog! Anyway, that's not as good as..." Bark-kit was cut off as Tigerkit stepped forward, thrusting out his chest as he announced proudly, "Well I'm going to catch a twoleg!" There was an awkward silence after his statement, until Quick-kit muttered, "Yeah right." Quick-kit suddenly spun and leaped on top of him. All the kits bundled on top of each other until they were just a ball of flying fur.
"Alright, come on kits! Don't you want to get going?" Redfur scolded.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!" The kits all squealed, sitting up straight with bright eyes.
"Well, lets go then," Foxheart meowed, "but remember, walk behind me and in front of Redfur, and don't go wandering off. We're going straight to the sandy hollow, and if anyone wanders off, they will not get to come next time!" The kits sat quietly, staring wide-eyed at Foxheart.
"Now who's ready to go?" exclaimed Foxheart enthusiastically, abandoning her serious attitude.
"Me!" yowled all the kits in unison.
"Lets go then!" Foxheart exclaimed. The group began heading toward the camp entrance, but stopped when they heard a call. Redfur and Foxheart turned around to see Dewheart, a gray tabby she-cat, who was Galeheart's mother, and also an elder, padding towards them.
"Hi Dewheart!" called Foxheart.
"Hi Foxheart." Dewheart replied warmly as she padded closer. Dewheart finally stopped in front of the kits, and asked,
"Where are you all going?" She leaned her head to the side and looked down on the kits with warm blue eyes.
"We're taking these kits down to the training hollow, and we're going to teach them some hunting moves," Redfur replied for the huddle of impatient kits.
"And don't worry," Foxheart added as Dewheart glanced at the nursery, "we have permission from their mothers, and I'm sure they'll be glad to have a day of rest." Dewheart's eyes sparkled.
"Well doesn't that sound fun!" She leaned down to the kits and whispered,
"Are you kits excited?"
"Yes!: they replied.
"Okay. Well, you be safe, and don't go wandering off, okay? Make sure you stay with the big, strong warriors, okay?"
"Okay!" The kits nodded their heads up and down, their eyes sparkling at the friendly elder. Dewheart stood up and mewed to Foxheart and Redfur,
"Are you sure guys will be able to handle this bunch all by yourself?"
"Well," began Foxheart, "I think the two of us together can manage. They're just kits, after all."
"Alright. But I'd be happy to come and help you keep up with them, if you don't mind," Dewheart offered.
"Actually," Foxheart admitted, "that would be great! If you could just tell them a story on the way there or something, I'm sure it would help a lot!"
"Well I'll be glad to come!" Dewheart exclaimed. Foxheart turned and started padding towards the camp entrance, with the kits marching along behind her. Dewheart padded into the middle of their group, and began speaking in an excited, hushed mew,
"did I ever tell you the time that Wispcloud almost got killed by a fox?"
"Well I'm going to catch a squirrel, and a rabbit and a mouse and a badger!" Bark-kit exclaimed.
"Well...I"m gonna catch a dog!" Quick-kit tried desperately to out-do her brother.
"What?" Bark-kit exclaimed. "You can't catch a dog! Anyway, that's not as good as..." Bark-kit was cut off as Tigerkit stepped forward, thrusting out his chest as he announced proudly, "Well I'm going to catch a twoleg!" There was an awkward silence after his statement, until Quick-kit muttered, "Yeah right." Quick-kit suddenly spun and leaped on top of him. All the kits bundled on top of each other until they were just a ball of flying fur.
"Alright, come on kits! Don't you want to get going?" Redfur scolded.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!" The kits all squealed, sitting up straight with bright eyes.
"Well, lets go then," Foxheart meowed, "but remember, walk behind me and in front of Redfur, and don't go wandering off. We're going straight to the sandy hollow, and if anyone wanders off, they will not get to come next time!" The kits sat quietly, staring wide-eyed at Foxheart.
"Now who's ready to go?" exclaimed Foxheart enthusiastically, abandoning her serious attitude.
"Me!" yowled all the kits in unison.
"Lets go then!" Foxheart exclaimed. The group began heading toward the camp entrance, but stopped when they heard a call. Redfur and Foxheart turned around to see Dewheart, a gray tabby she-cat, who was Galeheart's mother, and also an elder, padding towards them.
"Hi Dewheart!" called Foxheart.
"Hi Foxheart." Dewheart replied warmly as she padded closer. Dewheart finally stopped in front of the kits, and asked,
"Where are you all going?" She leaned her head to the side and looked down on the kits with warm blue eyes.
"We're taking these kits down to the training hollow, and we're going to teach them some hunting moves," Redfur replied for the huddle of impatient kits.
"And don't worry," Foxheart added as Dewheart glanced at the nursery, "we have permission from their mothers, and I'm sure they'll be glad to have a day of rest." Dewheart's eyes sparkled.
"Well doesn't that sound fun!" She leaned down to the kits and whispered,
"Are you kits excited?"
"Yes!: they replied.
"Okay. Well, you be safe, and don't go wandering off, okay? Make sure you stay with the big, strong warriors, okay?"
"Okay!" The kits nodded their heads up and down, their eyes sparkling at the friendly elder. Dewheart stood up and mewed to Foxheart and Redfur,
"Are you sure guys will be able to handle this bunch all by yourself?"
"Well," began Foxheart, "I think the two of us together can manage. They're just kits, after all."
"Alright. But I'd be happy to come and help you keep up with them, if you don't mind," Dewheart offered.
"Actually," Foxheart admitted, "that would be great! If you could just tell them a story on the way there or something, I'm sure it would help a lot!"
"Well I'll be glad to come!" Dewheart exclaimed. Foxheart turned and started padding towards the camp entrance, with the kits marching along behind her. Dewheart padded into the middle of their group, and began speaking in an excited, hushed mew,
"did I ever tell you the time that Wispcloud almost got killed by a fox?"
~~~~~~~~~~
Foxheart padded wearily along towards the camp entrance. She could heart the kits meowing excitedly with Dewheart behind her. Redfur trotted up next to Foxheart.
"Hey Redfur." Foxheart meowed. "I can't believe how tired I am! Dewheart did most of the training, and I'm still exhausted!"
"I know! Who would have thought that teaching some kits hunting moves would be so hard?" Redfur joked.
"I know!" Foxheart replied, adding cheerfully, "I guess this is what it takes to make a warrior!"
"Foxheart!" Dewheart called. The urgency in her voice made Foxheart whip around and race to her side.
"What's wrong?!" exclaimed Foxheart. Dewheart glanced around desperately.
"Its Bark-kit! He's gone!"
"Hey Redfur." Foxheart meowed. "I can't believe how tired I am! Dewheart did most of the training, and I'm still exhausted!"
"I know! Who would have thought that teaching some kits hunting moves would be so hard?" Redfur joked.
"I know!" Foxheart replied, adding cheerfully, "I guess this is what it takes to make a warrior!"
"Foxheart!" Dewheart called. The urgency in her voice made Foxheart whip around and race to her side.
"What's wrong?!" exclaimed Foxheart. Dewheart glanced around desperately.
"Its Bark-kit! He's gone!"
