|| chapter nine

Owlpaw woke up in his nest, shivering and freezing. The cold draft had returned again, curling around the apprentice and smiling at him. He shook out his fur, recalling the previous day's events. He smoothed down his chest fur, and he padded outside of the den.

It was just as cold outside as it was inside his den. The numbing air swirled around the camp and the pale blue sky above offered no help. The sun was bleak and dreary, shedding warmthless and dim light on the world below it.

The apprentice hated this. He wondered if it was truly considered leaf-bare yet. It was quite cold, and the Gathering was coming up quite soon. Glancing at the pale sky, he spotted a disappearing moon. It was close to being full. He guessed there were only a few days until the Gathering. He could see Whitepaw again!

Excited thoughts of the white calico reminded him of the last time he'd seen her. She'd been coughing, too much to even speak to him very well, and she went back to her camp without talking with him very much.

Glancing at the fresh-kill pile, he spotted a stale looking rabbit. And... nothing else. Sighing, he decided he'd go out and get some prey. He wasn't really sure if anyone else was awake, but soon the kits would be awake and Hazelberry would need prey to feed herself before the kits. Shaking his head, he exited the camp.

As he left, he lifted his head in the air, opening his mouth. He was rushed with scents; chilly, cold air, stale cat scent, old blood and prey scent... Quickly closing his mouth, he breathed in the fresh air, cleansing his senses of the many scents and smells. He followed one of the trails, a hare, and he guessed it had smelled the camp and came close. It had been quite close to the camp.

Then, Owlpaw stopped, spotting the rabbit near a small hole in the ground.

That's it's home... he realized, his eyes widening. So if I miss, it'll be gone.

He instantly fell into the hunter's crouch, making sure his tail wasn't flicking and his ears were pressed against his head. He stalked towards it slowly, careful not to alert it of his presence. The hare was looking down into the den, squeaking. Guessing that there was another hare inside, he waited until it stopped moving around.

Then the hare tried to get down into the hole.

Owlpaw made a break for the hare, sprinting forwards and leaping for it, his claws unsheathed. A snarl escaped him as the creature got away, hiding in the hole. The apprentice scored his claws where the rabbit had disappeared but nothing happened. Hissing in frustration, he scented the air again. Only a stale rabbit, the hare from before, and a mouse.

Deciding to try and catch the mouse, he followed the smell, and he came across a sharp looking rock. There was cat scent here, and the mouse smell was just gone. Faint blood scent also traced the air, and Owlpaw pricked his ears. The cat scent was fairly fresh, but not old.

He looked around, spotting some torn up patches of grass. Realizing he was near the border, he looked up right away, his eyes darting around. This was the PineClan border. Lashing his tail, he padded right up to the border.

Suddenly, a warrior padded out from the bushes.

The MudClan apprentice jumped backwards, his hackles instinctively raised. The she-cat flicked her whiskers.

"Hello, Owlpaw," she greeted him.

The apprentice didn't really recognize her, but he knew her name from various Gatherings.

"Hello, Troutfur," he mewed in return, politely inclining his head. He smelled mouse scent on her gray-blue fur, and his neck fur raised, bristling uncontrollably.

"What's wrong? Is.. is your Clan okay?" She asked curiously, noticing his fur.

"My Clan is fine," he growled, pushing away thoughts of the kits in his Clan. "But is yours? Do you have to steal prey from us in order to survive?"

Troutfur visibly flinched.

"We, um, I... Well, the prey crossed the border and I caught it!" She claimed, clearly looking for words to prove she didn't steal prey.

Owlpaw rolled his eyes. "That's a lie-"

"How do you know that?" She interrupted. "I have the mouse right here!" The cat disappeared for a moment and she returned a moment later, holding a mouse in her jaws. She dropped it in front of him. "See?"

He leaned forward, balancing carefully, and sniffed the mouse. MudClan, blood, and PineClan were the only scents he could smell on the mouse's pale brown fur. His fur threatened to bristle, but he forced it to lie flat.

Then, with a swift movement, Owlpaw yanked it across the border and clamped it firmly in his jaws.

"This is rightfully MudClan's prey!" He growled.

"Fine, you caught me!" The PineClan cat spat, her fur immediately on end. "If you don't tell your leader about this, I won't tell mine. If my leader finds out I was hunting on your territory, she'd kill me."

Her eyes were dark and narrowed, betraying no emotion - besides pure fury. The she-cat's voice was low and threatening. Owlpaw nodded, his eyes equally as dark and narrowed. But they did not portray submission or nervousness. They glittered with irritation, triumph, and flashed briefly with confusion.

He knew he had to tell. There was no way in StarClan's name that he couldn't keep it from Stonestar. It was important! PineClan was hunting on MudClan's territory! Owlpaw wasn't very sure if Robinstar, PineClan's leader, knew about it. He guessed she probably did, and Troutfur was just lying about her finding out.

Owlpaw stalked off, Troutfur doing the same, and soon paused to wash the PineClan scent from his and the mouse's fur. He eventually wasn't able to detect the smell of the other Clan, and he continued on back to camp.

When he entered, nothing seemed to be happening. Flicking an ear, he padded to the fresh-kill pile, dropping the mouse. The rabbit from earlier was gone. He guessed Hazelberry was feeding the kits now, after eating the rabbit. But he was wrong.

Hazelberry left her den, her fur messy and unkempt, her eyes dull and glazed. She headed to the leader's den. Soft voices echoed inside, but they were inaudible. They both exited, and Stonestar jumped onto the highrock, Hazelberry sitting beneath it. Owlpaw wasn't even sure if anyone was in camp, but Stonestar yowled the familiar words anyway.

"Everyone please gather for a Clan meeting!"