Rain is Powerless

[.:{Crag}:.]

PeakClan camp was deserted. Not one kit, apprentice, warrior, or queen were in the clearing sharing tongues. No one was sniffing about the fresh kill pile. This could be the case for two reasons: One, it was just barely dawn, and two, it was raining. Now, rain for a PeakClanner generally isn't a big deal. Their territory is mostly rock; a surface that is not only waterproof but dries easy(obviously). Today, though, no one seemed happy about it. You could practically sense the irritation coming from the Elder's Den; they would have stiff limbs for the next week. The queens were already mad because there was a leak in the Nursery that messed up Brambleface and her kits' nest. Even the apprentices had a reason to complain, because their training would be delayed for the day. Do to all of this irritation, the only stirring that could be seen was a raven's shadow pass the camp as it circled up ahead. The place looked deserted.

Inside the Warrior's Den, a few young toms were awake. The rain was blowing into the entrance where the young warrior's slept, causing most of them to stir. They were hunched into a huddle, chattering quietly amongst themselves as to not wake the older warriors. But, they failed to stay quiet enough. With one tom, at least. A large, burly and muscular warrior towards the back of the den was now slowly getting to his paws. The warrior had thick fur with the markings of a tabby, and around his face was a bushy "mane", like the rays of the sun. He stretched out his front paws in the shadows of the cave, then arched his back and stretched his mouth in a large yawn. The young warriors had still not realized they had awoken him. The tom sat and began the long process of grooming his untidy fur.

Actually, the younger warriors were lucky to have awoken Suntalon, not one of the other Senior Warriors. He was the most kind and humorous of the older cats, and rarely got angry. Bright green eyes glinted with amusement, even though this was a very strange thing to find funny. Suntalon finished with his grooming and sat, listening to the pounding of rain on the roof of the den. The Warrior's Den was very good at muffling sounds, so it was more of a relaxing roar than an annoyance. It didn't seem as though the rain had let up at all since yesterday. It had been pouring all through the night, and Suntalon couldn't help but feel amused at how muddy it would be in TimberClan. It was lucky PeakClan had the rocks to let the rain slide off of them. Everyday life could go back to normal as soon as the clouds were emptied. The tom wondered vaguely how Dawn Patrol was going to work.

Suntalon stood and began to weave around the warriors still sleeping. It was strange seeing the cats he spent his kithood with slowly fading into their children as he neared the outer edge. As the senior warrior padded along, he noticed his own son, Quickfire. The bright orange tom, his pride and joy. Suntalon paused and allowed himself to feel happiness wash through his pelt. What a great son he had. After a few moments the senior warrior continued, passing the young warriors and padding, alone, into the clearing.

[Thistle]

There was another Warrior who had been woken up by the younger warriors; a she-cat with a sleek, chocolate-brown pelt, and white on her underbelly. Her eyes were a brilliant sky-blue and they shown with amusement as she, too, padded out of the warrior's den and into the camp clearing. The she-cat smiled at the younger warriors, and, making sure her voice was barely loud enough for them to hear, advised, "If it wasn't me and Suntalon whom you had woken, but instead Longclaw or Ashenfur you would find yourselves getting the worst telling-off you ever had in your life." And then she watched in amusement for a moment while the young warriors glanced at eachother and retreated. Then, the warrior, who was called Swiftsky, padded out to stand beside the ginger Suntalon, still purring.

The sky was covered in dark, gray clouds, and rain was battering the clearing, though the drops would slide off the rocks as quickly as they would fall. Across the clearing, Swiftsky could make out the angry grumbles of the queens, especially Brambleface, whose nest was getting a good soaking from the hole in the roof of the Nursery. Swiftsky could also hear Hazelwing ordering the elder kits of the Nursery to help Brambleface move her kits to a drier nest. Swiftky chuckled inwardly at the thought of the grumpy queen having drops of water dumped on her head.

She glanced at Suntalon and smiled. "How do you think Hiddensoul's planning on sending the patrols out in this?" She gestured with her tail towards the cloudy sky, purring inwardly at the thought of Hiddensoul shoving a patrol of grumpy warriors out of camp. "I won't enjoy hunting in this, that's for sure!" Swiftsky had always hated rain a little more than the average PeakClan warrior. That never stopped her, though.

Swiftsky swung her blue gaze back towards the Warrior's Den as there was a huffing sound, and saw her sister's mate, Longclaw, push is way out, no doubt having been awoken by another cat. "Why didn' you two tell those young ruffians to pipe down?" he asked in a grumpy growl.

Swfitsky chuckled. "I warned them. I said to them, 'Watch out! If you wake Longclaw up you're in for a rude awakening!' They retreated a bit, but I guess it wasn't far enough."

[.:{Crag}:.]

Suntalon lifted his massive, fur covered muzzle into the air, letting the drops of liquid wake him up. Yes, it was an odd thing, but then again this tom was an odd cat. Always was, always will be. Ears barely perked as he heard pawsteps behind him, and he greeted the other cat without turning, "Good morning, Swiftsky." His meow was deep and... comforting, almost. Like an old friend, "The sun seems to have been frightened away by those restless toms." Suntalon purred at his own, strange joke. He then turned his head for the first time to his fellow warrior. She looked the same as always; her fur sleek and brown, and her eyes a violet color that Suntalon had always found strange. After her comment on patrols, he simply waved his tail, "Oh, no tiny bit of rain can stop a PeakClanner. I'm sure Hiddensoul will handle things same as always." Yellow green eyes narrowed against the quickening wind. The weather was getting worse.

More pawsteps. Someone else was coming, and by the scent, they were not happy. Suntalon turned, not able to smell who exactly it was due to the rain, but purred in amusement at the sight of grumpy ol' Longclaw, "Why good morning!" The senior warrior teased, "Late night?" Once again, another strange joke coming from a strange cat. He fluffed out his now damp fur and shook a little bit, almost like a dog. There was a clap of thunder so loud it seemed to shake the camp, but Suntalon only chuckled. "I bet every cat in TimberClan is hiding in their dens, terrified."

--

It was very loud in the Warrior's Den, and a certain tom was not thrilled. A large, bulky body swiveled through the mixed pelts of sleeping warriors. His fur was unkempt from his slumber, and his dark brown eyes were narrowed in frustration. The anger was mainly from being tired, Hiddensoul was usually a pretty mellow cat. Nevertheless, the obnoxious toms at the front of the den had better be ready for a talking to. This deputy considered this being disrespect, he didn't care if you couldn't go outside without getting wet. If you want to jabber than either do it quietly or get your tails out of camp. Hiddensoul forced himself between the group of young warriors. "Have you no common sense!?" The tom hissed under his breath, "Do you want to wake everyone up?" Fuming, the deputy looked from tom to tom, brown eyes stone-like. He could have almost passed as a ScarClanner.

One of the largest young warriors with a dark tabby pelt spoke first, "Sorry Hid-"

"Sorry catches no prey!" Hiddensoul hissed, "Now get your tails out in that rain, you just volunteered for dawn patrol." The deputy watched as each warrior left the den before turning around to awaken the hunting party. One by one, he gently prodded the cats he had chosen the night before, informing them that they would have to hunt in the rain. Branchleaf, Smallstump, Viperstrike, and Mothbelly all stood and padded out into the clearing. Giving a satisfied nod, Hiddensoul followed them.

"Ah, just the cats I wanted to see." The deputy said as he spotted the two warriors that were already awake, "You both are assigned to dawn patrol. Suntalon, you lead. Take the ruffians with you." The young warriors stared at their paws, their thin pelts already soaked from the falling rain.

[Thistle]

Longclaw shrugged in response to Suntalon's teasing. "I had evening patrol," he mewed in his normal growl of a voice. The senior warrior flicked his black ears, his long black fur hanging farther than usual in the rain, making him look thin. "And could barely get to sleep with excitement. You know that Falconkit, Clawkit, and Hopekit are becoming apprentices soon, of course?" He stood up a bit straighter, his chest puffing up in pride.

Swiftsky snorted. "Hazelwing is excited too. You'd think that this was their first litter!" she added to Suntalon. "Jayflight is wondering why they're so happy about this litter when she is already a warrior!" The brown she-cat nudged Longclaw's dark fur with a forepaw. She was always teasing her friend, no matter what seemed to happen, she was always around to tease him and make him feel like she was an apprentice. She did the same to Hazelwing, though mostly she was a simple, mellow she-cat.

"I am hoping to mentor Hopekit or Falconkit," mewed a soft, sing-song voice as a light gray she-cat stepped up beside her aunt. Swiftsky turned in surprise. "They are the most promising young kits of the litter, father," she added to Longclaw. "Clawkit is too hotheaded to make an obediant apprentice, so I think one of the senior warriors should mentor him. Perhaps you, Swiftsky, or you, Suntalon." She dipped her sleek head to each of the elder warriors.

"'Morning, Jayflight!" Swiftsky purred to her neice. Longclaw had become silent at Swiftsky's mention of his first litter, and merely acknowledged his daughter with a nod. Swiftsky poked him.

---

Swiftsky purred in amusement. She shook her head to free her eyes of raindrops and smiled as the deputy hissed under his breath in punishment for waking him up. She heard him assign them to Dawn Patrol, and she couldn't help but feel the tinniest bit sorry for them since it was obvious they did not want to go out in this weather. She flicked Hiddensoul's ear as he came out into the clearing. "Don't be too hard on them, Hiddensoul," she mewed. "Longclaw already clawed their ears off with insults and threats!" She chuckled. "Did you want me or Longclaw for patrol," she added, looking at the light tabby warrior.

Jayflight sat on the rock base of the camp clearing. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of falling rain, knowing that she wasn't due for patrol until Sunhigh. The rain washed heavily through camp, but if Jayfeather listened closely she could hear that it had lightened up slightly. She knew that if she asked Swiftsky then the chocolate brown warrior would narrow her sky-blue eyes and say that the rain would probably stop a little while after Sunhigh, or something like that. Jayflight was always amazed with her aunt's hearing abilities.

[.:{Crag}:.]

"Ah, speaking of apprentices..." Suntalon started, his fur now soaked through to his skin, "I hope Dewpaw doesn't mind getting his paws wet!" The last sentence came out as a purr, yet another one of this tom's odd jokes. He shook his thick pelt; the feeling was more annoying than it was cold or uncomfortable. The PeakClan tom looked towards the Apprentice's Den, "I'll be right back." Suntalon padded briskly across the clearing to fetch Dewpaw, his long puffy tail swaying back and forth through the falling rain drops. Thunder boomed overhead.

---

Hiddensoul rolled his eyes, "I will be hard on those who deserve it." The tom was waking up a little bit more, mainly because of the fact that there was rain soaking through to his skin, "And thank you, Longclaw, for warming them up for me. " Hiddensoul was returning to his regular self, no longer too angry about what the younger warriors had done. They were probably unaware how loud their voices were. Nevertheless, they would have to pay attention more in the future. Rain thundered down in sheets, and the sky lit up with lightning. "Since Longclaw was out on evening patrol, I only need you to go Swiftsky!" Hiddensoul said loudly over the weather, "You should probably start, so you can get the patrols done before the storm gets any worse!" The deputy looked at the Apprentice's Den. Suntalon was just squeezing back out of the entrance.

-----

Inside the Apprentice's Den, a large lump of fur was curled up in the corner, as if trying to escape the storm. Thunder crashed. The cat's tail lashed in frustration. Her cream colored fur was bristling, and she curled tighter and tighter into a ball. Finally, Rosepaw gave up and rose to a sitting position, glaring at the outside storm. It had kept her up nearly all night, and it seemed as though she didn't get a wink of sleep. Limbs heavy from exhaustion, the she-cat began to groggily groom herself. The apprentice's around her were stirring as well; some looking well rested, while others looked just as ticked as she was, like the storm had kept them up all night. Rosepaw hissed softly to herself. Rain was so annoying.

About halfway through her morning washing, the members of the den turned their heads. The entrance to their sleeping area was rustling, and soon the large body of Suntalon squeezed its way through. Rosepaw narrowed her eyes in amusement; her brother would have to patrol in this weather! She gave a small purr and watched Suntalon attempt to awaken Dewpaw. Today would be easy for her, most likely. If it continued to rain there would be no training, and Rosepaw would just mosey around her den all day. Boring, yes, but easy. Light blue eyes stared at the entrance, hoping no other mentors would come through and surprise them with a group training session.

[Thistle]

Swiftsky nodded. "Understandable, Hiddensoul," she mewed. "We'll just wait for Suntalon and Dewpaw, shall we?" She spoke this line as much to Hiddensoul as the young warriors who were assigned to patrol. She shook her brown fur again, feeling the longer fur on her belly whip around her body. When she opened her eyes again, she could tell that the rain was already getting a bit lighter; she had excellent hearing from sitting on her look-out rock for hours in the evening after patrols. She always was on morning and sunhigh patrols, so she never had to worry about not having time for her listening.

Longclaw narrowed his eyes at the sky, before looking down and shaking his great head from side to side. "I think I'll go check up on Hazelwing," he mewed. "Then I'll go hunting, if that's alright, Hiddensoul." Not bothering to wait for a reply, Longclaw shot off across the clearing, his hard pads thumping along the ground, though only barely audible over the roar of the rain. Swiftsky was probably the only one who could hear it. Jayflight excused herself as well, saying she'd accompany Longclaw on hunting patrol, before following her father to the Nursery, her gray pelt dissappearing quickly into the rain.

Swiftsky shrugged after them; Jayflight always stuck to a rough agenda of the day, while Longclaw was not very sociable with anyone other than the senior warriors and his little family. She looked up at the sky, scanning it as she always did. Off in the distance were a few mountain birds, circling the sky, most likely having sighted prey. That would be good for any hunting patrols; where the birds hunted, they could hunt. The blue-eyed she-cat then sat back on her haunches, watiing for Suntalon for the patrol.

---

The lump of blue-gray and white fur shivered a moment, before Dewpaw's tired head poked up from the mass. "WaddayawanSun'alon?" the normally mellow tom's voice was pierced with grumpiness, slurring with tiredness. No cat could doubt that the rain was having a bad effect on the young apprentice's mood. He already knew the answer to his question, of course, and heaved himself into a sitting position to give his fur a quick grooming, then stretching the sleep out of his limbs, before following his mentor out into the storm.

The watery looking tom was almost immediately soaked from nose to tail in raindrops. His fur was short enough, though, that it was almost impossible to tell that it was wet. His blue-gray eyes blended in with the gray-ish rain, and he laid his ears back in distaste at having patrol in the wet weather, but Dewpaw obediantly stalked after his mentor on his hard paws, his broader-than-normal-for-a-PeakClanner shoulders moving back and forward in a rhythmatic pace, matching his pawsteps. "Where are we going today?" he asked his mentor, his voice no longer slurred since the rain had woken him up with a shock. He didn't bother to shake the wetness from his fur; it would just get soaked immediatley after.

[.:{Crag}:.]

Hiddensoul watched silently as Suntalon returned, followed closly by Dewpaw. The rain was indeed letting up, but then again storms were unpredicatable this time of year. It could as easily start pouring in the next few minuties. Wondering what else needed to be done around camp, Hiddensoul dipped his head to Suntalon before scanning the surrounding area. Patrols were taken care of, Longclaw had already headed out to check on his mate then hunt. The tom began to think of who would be taking the Sunhigh patrol. The job of a deputy was literally around the clock, always thinking of what else needed to be done and such. It was easy, however, with a little practice. Hiddensoul turned his head to Swiftsky, "Good luck with the storm. I hope you can return before it gets any worse." Flicking his tail in goodbye, the tom padded off.

----

Suntalon looked over his shoulder to see Dewpaw following him, no resistance as usual. The tom almost purred at how loyal his apprentice was, much unlike his sister Rosepaw. He only paused for a moment, "We should get going. Shall we?" The cheerful warrior began to pad briskly away, assuming Swiftsky and the young warriors would follow. The rain slowed up a bit more, down to a soft but steady flow. Suntalon squeezed through the camp exit, letting the smells of the early morning wash over him. He couldn't help but think that other Dawn Patrols from the other clans would be out at this time. The tom narrowed his eyes just outside the entrance, wondering which way to head first. After some thought, he started toward the TimberClan boarder.

The morning was not a typical one. Do to the rain, there was little sunlight. The clouds hung thickly above their heads, ready to explode with a sheet of rain as it had done earlier that day. Nevertheless, the rocky territory was obviously thick with prey. The scents were blanketed across the rocks as they were every Greenleaf. It was hard for a clan to have trouble hunting in this weather. Suntalon closed his eyes for a moment, letting everything sink in, and soon could scent the TimberClan boarder not far ahead.

---

Meanwhile, in TimberClan, the forest was just as full of prey as it was in PeakClan. The woodland was also thick with cats hunting for their clan. A patrol, in fact.

Pureheart's muscles rippled beneath her fur as she stalked forward slowly. Her target was something fairly unusual in her territory: a plump hare just begging to be captured beneath her claws. Smirking at the stupidity of the animal, Pureheart moved forward. Her theory was this: Rabbits would sense you before they heard you. She had no idea that her crcouh was all wrong, and, in fact, was very confident that it was correct. If anyone confronted her on it, Pureheart would become defensive and bratty. After all, in her eyes she was always right. Blue optics narrowed in concentration on the hare. Just a few more soft steps and....

Her shoulder brushed a plant, the the rabbit took off. Pureheart took flight, her paws light and quick as she chased the mammel. Oblivous to the boarder and the patrol on the other side, the she-cat tumbled into PeakClan territory, fur bristling as she watched the hare bound away. "Foxdung!" Pureheart sat back on her haunches. The wind then changed directions, and she scented something... Different. Eyes widening, the she-cat turned her head to see a patrol of PeakClan cats staring at her. She only recognized one of them, Suntalon, from the gatherings. He was the first to speak,

"What in StarClan's name are you doing!?"

[Scorchstar]

A rather small, orange clump of fur slowly made its way toward the TimberClan border. He was taking this time before the rain began to come to show Rosepaw the borders and their scents before the rain made them too faint. Flicking his tail he sat down a ways from the border and pointed it out to Rosepaw. " This one's pretty easy, only one Clan should be associated with the easy to live in forest. That is TimberClan, their current leader is Redstar, he's a tall obviously red tom. When you go to your first Gathering just look for the tallest leader, he is oddly broad-shouldered and muscular for that Clan though. Their last deputy just died so I have yet to gain knowledge of whom it is.."

Quickfire glanced lazily over the TimberClan border, his ear twitched slightly as he noticed another orange tabby. She was stalking a rabbit, completely wrong. "Aand there's a fine example of a TimberClanner now, not even able to hunt a rabbit properly. You'd think with ears like rabbits have that everyone would know to step quietly. You remember that ok Rosepaw, we don't have the luxury of having a territory loaded with stupid prey." His hackles rose suddenly as he say the rabbit dart and the TimberClanner follow it.. across the border. He immediately jumped to where she was, hissing and spitting. Before he had even said a word his father said exactly what he was going to. "Stay on your side of the border mousebrain." His teeth were bared and he had fluffed up to about double his normal size.


Snowpaw opened her mouth carefully, Patchfur was on this hunting patrol so she felt even more pressure to perform perfectly. She still wanted to impress him even after he had confessed that he felt the same feelings of love for her. She smelled a rabbit even before Pureheart imperiously stepped in front of her, brushing passed her as if to say, Watch how it's really done, kit. Then the brat continued to stalk it like you would a mouse, Snowpaw gave a look as though she were raising an eyebrow to Patchfur.

The next thing she knew the rabbit had ran, as it naturally was going to, and Pureheart followed. She idiotically chased it over the border into PeakClan territory. Snowpaw let out a tiny hiss, this wasn't going to be good, especially once she spotted the bright ginger pelt of Quickfire. She knew he wasn't named that for anything, so as any loyal Clanmate would do Snowpaw trotted up beside Pureheart and rose her hackles in a defensive position. She was still on TimberClan's side of the border, knowing better than Pureheart to just sit there dumbfounded. It was a trait of every Clan to feel it neccesary to make sure they were never viewed as in the wrong, even if they had been. Snowpaw would be defensive, but she didn't wanta fight to ensue from a little mistake such as this. "Sorry Quickfire-" then she spotted the hotheaded ginger tom's father, "and Suntalon, she hadn't smelled the border." Snowpaw knew perfectly well that that was a lie, Pureheart probably hadn't even cared. She definitely wouldn't care when she spoke out, this was going to end badly.

[/center][/blockquote]

[.:{Crag}:.]

Pureheart's hackles shot up at the confrontation by the PeakClan warriors. "What does it look like I'm doing?! Invading your pathetic terrtiroy?" The she-cat spat, "There is no prey by rocks, its obvious. And that one," She flicked her tail to Quickfire, "Is small enough to show it. You should be grateful I chased some of our prey into your territory. Not that you would catch it anyway." The ginger warrior narrowed her eyes challengingly at the PeakClan warrior with the same fur color as her, but with about half the size. Pureheart had no idea who Quickfire was, let alone how respected he was in his clan. She simply continued to stare him down. In her mind, she could take him. In her mind, she could take anyone. After all, she had passed her trial with flying colors, unlike her pathetic foster sister Sleetpaw.

----

Rosepaw trailed behind her mentor grumpily. He had retrieved her from the warmth of her den into the cold rain nearly right after Dewpaw. He had said something about seeing the boarders. When Quickfire suddenly stopped, the she-cat scented while listening, taking in the stench of another clan until it was etched into her glands. As the warrior rambled on about the leader of TimberClan, Rosepaw struggled to pay attention while flicking her tail back and forth and shuffling her large paws. The rain had damped her cream colored fur to the point of annoyance, and this made sitting still even harder for the apprentice. Her swiveling head and darting blue eyes caught sight of a she-cat stalking a rabbit. Rosepaw payed no mind to Quickfire's corrections on the TimberClanner's technique, and watched with bitter interest as the ginger she-cat crossed into their territory.

An intruder. Every cat, young and old, knew what this meant. The six moon old apprentice unsheathed her claws and began to growl under her breath, waiting for Quickfire, or Suntalon, to signal an attack. None came. She looked over her shoulder at the elder warrior leading the Dawn Patrol, and he was simply staring at her like a kit. Rosepaw hissed and spat, glaring at the enemy warrior. When Quickfire confronted her, she simply smirked at him,

"And what are you going to do about it, tiny?"

That did it.

Rosepaw flexed her claws into the ground, sizing up her opponent. She was a new warrior, obviously, and was spewing out insults towards her clan. Heart beating into her ears, the apprentice flung herself into the air, taking the warrior completely by surprise. Soon, new warrior and new apprentice were wriggling on the ground. One was fighting with instinct, another with skill.

Pureheart hissed and spat, clawing at every bit of the PeakClanner she could snag. Behind her ear, her belly, her flank, anything. Blue eyes were now shining with fire. How dare an apprentice touch her! The TimberClanner yowled as she was bitten on the ear, but managed to snag the apprentice's tail in return. The cream colored she-cat hissed in pain, and Pureheart purred in satisfaction.

---

A mostly black tom with a few white markings had been happily hunting a vole when he heard hissing, spitting, and in general... a lot of commotion. The rodent scampered away, and Patchfur looked up curiously, padding through the undergrowth to where he could see the TimberClan-PeakClan boarder. What he saw made his hackles shoot up, and his fur puff out to nearly twice its size. Pureheart was being attacked! The tom hissed and flexed his claws. He had never seen the apprentice before, but she was his new enemy. Why wasn't Snowpaw doing anything?!

"Snowpaw! Help her!!!" Patchfur hissed, now sprinting to the boarder. He heard Suntalon, who he had seen at Gatherings, yowl for Rosepaw to stop, but no avail. It was too late. Assuming Snowpaw would leap to Pureheart's rescue, Patchfur scoped out someone else: The brown she-cat, Swiftsky. He raced at her and leaped toward her, attempting to blow her over with the surprise of a sudden attack. She couldn't be too hard to beat.

Suddenly, it began to downpour.

[Thistle]

Swiftsky had followed Suntalon out of camp, leading the young toms behind her. She shook her brown pelt to rid herself of some of the heavy water, before nodding her graceful head courteously to the blue-ish looking Dewpaw, before joining Suntalon in the lead. Her hard muscles rippled and moved rhythmically and in-synch with her legs. She listened carefully to all the sounds around her. The patrol had run through the forest, Dewpaw keeping up with very little problem, and had finally reached the border. Dewpaw was explained the scent of TimberClan quickly by his ginger mentor, before they joined Quickfire and Rosepaw in front of Pureheart. Dewpaw's fur prickled with anger at this intruding piece of foxdung who was insulting his CLanmates! Before he could do anything, Rosepaw had leapt into battle, rolling around with the young warrioress.

Dewpaw was tensing his muscles to help his sister when Patchfur had raced forward and the battle formally started. He could tell that the tom was unable to see the brown she-cat's hard muscles under her thick pelt, and he felt sorry that the tom was going to get a nasty surprise, but Swiftsky didn't need his help, and his sister was a newly made apprentice, not much of a match for a warrior twice her size! He leapt onto Pureheart to give Rosepaw a chance to get to her paws, knowing that she would be cross with him later. Using his broad size to his advantage, he pinned the bigger cat on her back for a moment, tensing so that he was ready for when she pushed him off as he knew she would; he was not heavy enough to keep her pinned for long. He took advantage of the brief moments he had to rake his claws down her back.

Meanwhile, Swiftsky had dodged Patchfur, chuckling aloud. "Do you think you can take me, little warrior?" and she flexed her muscles so that they could be seen through her fur, before crouching low and springing at him, pinning him on his back. She bit down hard on his ear and got a satisfying yowl in return, while racking her protruding claws down his belly, feeling the warm blood being washed away quickly by rainwater. The chocolate colored she-cat could feel Patchfur's muscles bunching up, getting ready for him to spring. "Had enough yet?" she asked through a mouthful of his ear, though she was being careful not to rip it off.