Cry for help (Redfang)

[mystic]

Lizardheart
^{If you are afraid to die, then you have already died}

Lizardheart walked along the border, sniffing for trouble. All seemed quiet, however the markings were fresh. She could smell Thunderclan, and see claw marks on the trees. The pointed she-cat flicked her tail, which was bushy this time of year due to her heavy winter coat. She shook herself a little and stood up on her hind legs, drawing her claws down along a aspen sapling. Then she turned around and looked at Redfang. She and the deputy were on patrol together. There had not been trouble for moons, so the Patrols were small. Just enough to keep the boarders marked.

"Thunderclan has been here recently." She mewed placidly. "But it appears they kept to their side of the border." She smiled, glad that other cats were acting honourably. She sat down and looked over towards a bunch of leaves. "Did you see that, something black over there." She sniffed the air. "It smells like a cat, maybe it's an intruder." Her fur puffed up a little as she walked forward.

[Heathclaw]

Even though there had been no major battles among the clans for many moons, that was no excuse to let their guard down. Small skirmishes over borders could erupt at any moment, and Redfang didn't exactly feel comfortable with running a border patrol with just one other cat, and a relatively new warrior on top of that. Unfortunately, with the onset of leaf-bare, most of the cats needed to be assigned to hunting patrols. Well, all it meant was that they had to be a little more careful. And speaking of careful...

"Watch it," growled Redfang, crossing in front of Lizardheart's path as the warrior walked towards something on the edge of their territory. "Didn't your mentor tell you not to approach something until you knew what it was?" One intruder they could handle. Perhaps even three or four would be manageable. But what if there were more?

He turned towards the pile of leaves that Lizardheart indicated, squinting at the black figure beneath it. "Show yourself," he said, in a voice that brooked no argument.

[mystic]

The pile of leaves quivered, however whatever was inside it didn't come out.
Lizardheart tilted her head and moved around the deputy. Her tense muscles showed that she was ready to leap back at any second.

"Come on out." She mewed. "We just want to talk." She bargined, flicking her tail.

The leaf pile shook again. "Uh-uh." It squeaked in a kit's voice.

Lizardheart pulled up and looked back over her shoulder. "It's a kit." she mewed, then padded forward and brushed the leaves off with her paw. A tiny black kittpet was curled up. It looked scared and scrawny.

"Ahhh.... don't eat me!" She squeaked. "I hearded that cats out here eat bones and kittens! That's what my mother told me." She trembled again and sniffed. "Don't eat me!" She pleaded again.

Lizardheart sighed and sat down, after rolling her eyes a little and snorting. "We're not going to eat you." she said. "We don't eat kits." she added. "We eat rabbits mainly. Now little kittypet, what are you doing out here?"

"I..." She looked over and saw the stern Redfang and dove into the leaves again.

[Heathclaw]

Redfang tilted his head in a bemused sort of way at the antics of this kittypet kit. He didn't really look that frightening, did he? Well, even if he did, that was only a good thing. Striking fear in the heart of the other clans' warriors and all that. Of course, it didn't help in this one case.

"Do try to calm down," he muttered in a somewhat kinder tone. "Kittypets like you typically aren't allowed on Clan territory, so you're going to have to leave somehow. Now how in the world did a kittypet kit like you wind up here in the first place?"

This was going to be an annoyance. He wasn't about to just drop the patrol, but the warrior code demanded that they help any kit in danger, and the border between two clans was a dangerous place to be. Tch... what to do...

[mystic]

"I got chaseded by a big scawy dog!" she squeaked. "It wanted to EAT me." She added, puffing up every inch of her black fur.

"Eat you, that must have been scary." Lizardheart paused. "What is your name little one."

"I'm Blink!" She said, puffing out her chest. "And it was very very scary. It barked and barked, and smelled bad." Blink mewed. "It chased me all away from my home over there." she said, pointing to Shadow-clan territory with her tail. "I... I wanna go home but I'm scared of the dog." Blink began to mew pitifully, dropping her ears.

"Can you help me get home, please?" She finally asked.

Lizardheart stopped. The code said that one should not cross boundries, but it also stated that one must help a kit in need. She sighed, they were damned if they did and damned if they didn't.

"Redfang?" She asked, turning to him.

[Heathclaw]

"Argh..." growled Redfang, attempting to control his frustration at the circumstances. They didn't have time for this. Leaf-bare was coming on quickly- they needed to be patrolling and hunting, not chauffeuring kittypets around. And yet they didn't really have a choice, did they? Not under the warrior code. And, even then, the thought of leaving a kit out alone where a fox could snap her up left a bad taste in his mouth.

However, the fact still remained that first, they had a patrol to finish. On top of that, they couldn't just go off on a wonderful adventure across the borders without telling anyone! And that led to only one reasonable conclusion- they were going to have to take Blink back to the WindClan camp, or at least until they ran into a hunting patrol.

"Alright. Blink. That's your name? Well, you're coming with us then. We'll take you home, but we need to let the other cats from our clan know what we're doing first."

He glanced over at Lizardheart. "You know, of course, that the first two tail-lengths of the lake are neutral territory. We can get through ThunderClan and reach ShadowClan that way... hopefully without getting attacked. ThunderClan hasn't taken too kindly to those previous prey-stealing patrols. But first, we've got a border to finish taking care of. Keep that kit out of trouble, would you?"

[mystic]

Lizardheart
^{If you are afraid to die, then you have already died}

Lizardheart flicked her ears back, then blinked her blue eyes. "I understand." She mewed, flicking her ears back. She sighed then looked at the little she-cat. "You'll have to come with us, and stay quiet. Walk in a line behind us, understand Blink?"

Blink nodded. "I understand." she mewed, and fell into step behind them. She grinned at the two other cats. "So why are you doing a border patrol?" she asked, running up so she was beside Lizardheart.

"Because." Lizardheart said. "It is what the code says. It is right and honourable to make sure that our border is marked and protected. Like this." She stopped and dragged her claws along a tree, making marks on the base. "See, this lets Thunderclan know that this is our territory and that they're not to cross the border."

Blink nodded. "Then why are you going to cross the border to get me home?"

"Because you are a kit. The code says that we must not leave a kit in need." She explained.

Blink walked in silence for a while, then looked over at her. "If they are called Thunderclan, then what are you?"

"We're Windclan." She explained.

"Why?"

"We are named for the chill winds that sweep across the moor, and we run quickly as those winds."

"Wow! I heard the big cat-"

"Redfang." Interjected Lizardheart

"Yeah, Redfang, talking about Shadowclan. Who are they?"

"Sneaky cats who can be very dishonourable. They are cunning and mean. They have never really been friends with Windclan." she told the small kit.

[Heathclaw]

"Make sure your focus is on the patrol, Lizardheart," said Redfang tersely, as he listened to the two of them chattering behind him. Honestly... what was the point of educating a kittypet kit? It wasn't as though she was going to just hop up and join the ranks of WindClan. They might have before, but the past was the past, and would be no longer. So long as he had a voice, there would be no stragglers entering WindClan.

On the other hand, he couldn't just expect a kit to march on in silence. An apprentice, perhaps. Not a kit. It was best to humor her then, at least for a little while. "ShadowClan are on the far side of the lake- they don't often give us trouble for that reason. It's ThunderClan and RiverClan that are our major enemies." The lake was coming up ahead, which meant that their patrol was nearly over.

[mystic]

Lizardheart
^{If you are afraid to die, then you have already died}

"What is Honourdble" Blink asked, keeping her tail up as she followed behind the other cats. "And why is it so important? Why do you fight them?"

Lizardheart gave a smile then put a tail over the kit's mouth. "Hush little one." She paused and looked at the kit. "You can't be more than three moons, why are you away from your mother so early?"

Blink looked up. "I don't understand." she squeaked.

Lizardheart looked at Redfang and sighed. "Two-legs..." She said, flattening her ears back. "They abandoned my mother, they take kits away from their mothers before they are ready." she dug her claws into the ground then sighed. "It's... it's wrong." she finally said.

[Heathclaw]

"Wrong? Yes. Perhaps. But who can fathom the motivations of a two-leg?," said Redfang, shrugging his shoulders. "They are no concern of mine. A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet." They were at the edge of the lake now, listening to the sound of the water lapping against the bank. Their patrol had passed without any hostile activity with another clan- a success, all in all. Now... what to do about their little guest.

"Alright. Let's head back to camp then. You're going to have a long walk on your paws, Blink. No complaining, okay?" However, they'd just barely taken a few steps back before a rabbit went running past them, followed closely by a cream-colored she-cat. Redfang watched as the rabbit hopped across the border, and the cat skidded to a stop, cursing.

"Did your mother teach you to use that language, Dovetail?" asked Redfang, dryly.

"No. As a matter of fact, you did, Redfang," said the warrior, whiskers twitching. "Finishing up the dawn patrol, huh? And who's this?" she asked, motioning towards Blink.

"Just a lost two-leg kit we found. We're going to have to bring her back home- could you let Fernstar know? And how much prey have you caught so far?" he asked in the same breath.

"Sure thing. And just two rabbits so far. I'm aiming for at least one more before I finish."

"I'd expect no more from my former apprentice. Off with you, now," said Redfang, as he watched Dovetail bolt off. "Well... that makes things a bit easier. We can head straight off to ShadowClan now. Let's go," he said, walking within two-tail lengths of the lake and waiting for the other two.

[mystic]

Lizardheart
^{If you are afraid to die, then you have already died}

"Now, describe to me what does your home look like?" Lizardheart asked, looking at the she-kit. She didn't want to go all the way over the territories on a wild rabbit chase.

Blink paused and thought. "There's a dog there, he's really loud and yappy.... And there's fences... and there's the other cats. But they live in the big hay place. They eat food that the housefolk put there for them." She paused and flicked her tail.

"Ummmm Redfang." Mewed Lizardheart. "I don't thinks she lives in Shadowclan territory. It sounds a lot more like the horseplace to me." She added. "Which is good thing, since we don't have to cross any territories to get to it, just ours." She smiled a little. "Maybe we should go that way anyway, just in case that is her home. If it's not, then we can head to Shadowclan though Riverclan."

[Heathclaw]

Ah. Yes, that was exactly the kind of thing that Redfang would forget to ask. "Well done, Lizardheart. You saved us quite a trip, and a lot of aggravation. To the horseplace, then." That was one of Redfang's problems- he had a tendency to take things at face value all of the time. Not that he appreciated being made out to look like a bit of a fool, but he really couldn't blame Blink. A kit was a kit, after all. And, now that they were headed across their own territory, they could make their trip a bit productive- they were sure to run into at least one rabbit along the way.

[mystic]

Lizardheart
^{If you are afraid to die, then you have already died}

Lizardheart smiled, beaming like an apprentice, when Redfang praised her. Ducking her head and flicking her ears back, she blushed. "Thank-you Redfang, and no problem." She mewed, her tail quivering a little.

"Follow us Blink." she purred. "The Horseplace is this way. And keep your eyes open, so you know how to get back home if you ever get lost again." she added. Having Blink around was fun, it was almost like having an apprentice. Not that she would like Redfang know. He'd have her ears if she said anything suggesting that she cared about the little kittypet kit.

"Now Blink, we need to be quiet while we walk." she told the little black cat.

"Why?" Blink asked.

"Because, if you're noisy you'll scare off the rabbits."

"The little female in the house has a rabbit. It's big and spotted. It's bigger than me! She walks it on a leash." Blink provided. "That rabbit is as big as the dog!"

Lizardheart looked over at Redfang, eyes full of amusement at the kit's story about the giant rabbit.

[Heathclaw]

"A rabbit as big as a dog, huh? That might be enough to feed the entire clan for a day or two," said Redfang in an offhand tone. They walked on for a bit in silence, and then Redfang turned his head back. "What? It was a joke. I wouldn't eat a two-leg rabbit anyway. StarClan knows what that'd taste like. Our rabbits, on the other hand, well..."

And speaking of WindClan rabbits, Redfang was catching a whiff of one right now. "Shh..." he said, flagging with his tail. "No noise. Quiet." He shut his eyes, trying to pinpoint the smell, and then crept towards the rabbit, trying out a technique that he'd spotted his apprentice using, creeping forward gently, paw by paw, until he was within pouncing range. His tail wiggled, and then he pushed off, leaping towards the rabbit.

However, whether it was due to the tremor from his leap or the shadow that he cast in the air, the rabbit caught on to him, and bolted, prompting Redfang to dash after it. He caught up within a few hurried leaps, leaping onto it's neck, biting, and rolling forward to kill his momentum.

"And that's what I call a good rabbit," said Redfang, heading back and dropping the prey down in front of the other two.

[mystic]

Lizardheart
^{If you are afraid to die, then you have already died}

Blink stared at the dead rabbit, her mouth hanging open. "Y-y-you killed it." She managed to stutter, sounding very shocked. Then, her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted.

Lizardheart sighed, letting her shoulder's drop. "You just had to do that, didn't you?" She said. "Now what are we going to do? She's fainted. I don't know how to take care of a fainted cat!" Her ears flicked back in against her head. "Now we have to wait." she said. "Or should we take her back to the medicine cat? I mean fainting is a bad thing." She took a deep breath.

"I mean I know we need prey, but couldn't it wait until after we dropped her off. Or did you do that on purpose?"