Erin Hunter - Twilight

Tawnypelt dipped her head to her Clan leader.

“Squirrelflight helped me fight off one of the kittypets. I told her about the trouble they’re causing, and she brought a ThunderClan patrol to help us.”

A growl rose in Blackstar’s throat. “You told a warrior from another Clan about our Clan’s problems?”

Tawnypelt stared at him without flinching. “I told Squirrelflight . She’s a friend.”

“And Tawnypelt’s my sister,” Brambleclaw added, stepping forward to stand beside her.

Blackstar gave a contemptuous sniff. “Tawnypelt’s first loyalty is to her Clan—or it should be.”

The tortoiseshell warrior began to bristle. “Blackstar, I’ve never given you any reason to doubt my loyalty.”

The ShadowClan leader’s gaze swept over the six ThunderClan cats. “You expect me to believe that, when you bring these warriors right into our camp?”

“We’ll turn right around and go home again if that’s what you want,” Thornclaw meowed. “Just say the word.”

“Don’t be a fool, Blackstar.” The voice was Cedarheart’s.

The gray tom heaved himself out of the cover of the bushes and scrambled up the slope to stand beside his leader.

Squirrelflight saw that he was limping, and she remembered Tawnypelt telling her that the Twolegs had injured him when he went to fight the kittypets. “We can’t deal with this by ourselves.”

“Cedarheart is right.” Rowanclaw came to stand at his Clanmate’s shoulder. “Those kittypets killed my apprentice.

I’d welcome any cat who’d help me rip out their entrails.”

Blackstar hesitated for a moment, looking from one of his warriors to the other, taking in their burning gazes and bristling fur. At last he bowed his head. “Very well. Cedarheart, fetch Russetfur. We’ll send a patrol with these ThunderClan warriors to the Twoleg nest. But you’re not going,” he added as Cedarheart retreated into the bushes. “You’re not battle-fit.”

Cedarheart shot him a furious look, but vanished without a protest.

“Blackstar, I don’t think we ought to kill these kittypets,” Brambleclaw meowed when he had gone.

“ What ?” Rowanclaw spat, before his Clan leader could reply. “They killed my apprentice. I want revenge!”

“And if we kill the kittypets, the Twolegs will want revenge,” Brambleclaw pointed out. “They must know you’re here.”

“That’s right.” Cloudtail lashed his tail. “Twolegs have little Clans of their own.” He shuddered as he added, “I was trapped in one once. If their kittypets are hurt or killed, they won’t rest until they’ve killed you or driven you out. You saw what they did to us in the old forest. Do you want that to happen here?”

“Then how do we stop their kittypets from bothering us?”

Rowanclaw challenged. “Just ask them nicely?” He gave a disgusted snort.

“If we could trap them, we could make them promise to stay away,” Squirrelflight suggested. “Seeing all of us together should scare them out of their fur.”

“It’s an idea,” murmured Brambleclaw.

Squirrelflight glanced at him, startled and pleased by his support.

“It’s worth a try,” Blackstar decided, as his deputy Russetfur slid out of the cover of the bushes and came to join her Clanmates. Oakfur, a smaller ShadowClan tom, followed her.

“Right, this is the plan,” Blackstar meowed. “Go to the Twoleg nest, trap the kittypets, and make them promise to leave us alone. Tell them we will kill them if they lay a claw on any of our cats again.” He caught Brambleclaw’s gaze and added, “I mean that. I will do whatever it takes to protect my Clan. But for now, don’t hurt them any more than you have to. Is that clear, Rowanclaw?”

The ginger tom dipped his head, muttering something inaudible.

“Then go,” Blackstar continued. “Russetfur, you will lead.

I’ll stay here and guard the camp.”

They must be really scared of the kittypets , Squirrelflight thought, if the Clan leader has to stay behind to protect the camp ! Then she saw Blackstar’s gaze slide sideways to give Brambleclaw a suspicious look. She guessed he was afraid the ThunderClan cats were trying to trick him and meant to attack his camp while his senior warriors were safely out of the way. Typical ShadowClan ! She sniffed crossly. They think every cat is as untrustworthy as they are.

“May StarClan be with you,” Blackstar added, before he slipped back into the shelter of the bushes.

The ShadowClan deputy gathered the patrol together with a wave of her tail and led them around the edge of the hollow and down the slope on the other side. Brambleclaw nodded to his Clanmates and waved his tail for them to follow.

Russetfur brought them to a halt a few fox-lengths away from the Twoleg nest, in the shelter of a bank covered with ferns. The nest was surrounded by a rough stone wall. Both the kittypets were sitting on it, gazing out into the forest.

Squirrelflight recognized the big black and white tom with the torn ear who had been fighting with Tawnypelt, and the smaller light brown tabby she had chased out of ThunderClan territory a few days before.

“There they are!” she meowed.

Russetfur irritably flicked one ear. “ Quiet !”

Both cats looked full-fed and sleepy; after a moment the big tom started to wash himself, drawing his tongue lazily over his shoulder.

“They don’t know we’re here,” Rowanclaw hissed. “Let’s attack!”

“No!” Russetfur snapped. “As soon as they see us they’ll run into their nest and fetch their Twolegs. We’re no match for those creatures. Even I know that.”

“We’ll have to get them to come out here to us,” Thornclaw put in.

“Listen.” It was Brambleclaw who spoke, pushing forward to stand beside Russetfur. “Suppose one of us goes over there”—he nodded toward the space between the ferns where they were hiding and the wall of the nest—“and pretends to be hurt, or ill. If what you say about them is true, they won’t miss a chance to attack an easy victim. Meanwhile, some of us should get between them and the wall, so they can’t flee back into the nest.”

“Good idea!” Brackenfur meowed enthusiastically. “Then we can jump on them and tell them exactly what we’ll do if they cause any more trouble.”

“What do you think?” Brambleclaw asked Russetfur.

The deputy’s ears twitched. “Great StarClan,” she muttered, “a ThunderClan cat with brains.” Squirrelflight bounced with impatience while she made up her mind.

“Okay, we’ll go with Brambleclaw’s plan,” she decided. “We need a cat to go out there as bait.”

“I’ll do it.” Squirrelflight and Tawnypelt spoke at the same time.

“Tawnypelt,” meowed Russetfur. Waving her tail at Squirrelflight, she added, “If they pick up a different scent, they might guess it’s a trick.”

True enough , Squirrelflight thought.

Brambleclaw pushed his nose into his sister’s fur. “Don’t worry,” he meowed. “We won’t let them hurt you.”

Tawnypelt gave him a long look. “I know.”

Squirrelflight watched as Tawnypelt limped out into the clearing and collapsed on her side as if she were too exhausted to go any farther. Maybe the black and white tom would think he’d hurt her badly when they had fought earlier, by the ThunderClan border.

Russetfur chose Rowanclaw, Oakfur, Thornclaw, and Cloudtail to creep in opposite directions and cut off the kittypets from the nest as soon as they made a move. The rest of the cats stayed where they were.

“Keep as quiet as you can, even in the battle,” Russetfur ordered. “We don’t want the Twolegs to hear what’s going on.”