Blackstar's Slip

&nbsp Tawnypelt watched as her Clan leader, Blackstar, freshened the border between ShadowClan and RiverClan. Russetfur opened her jaws in a wide yawn while Oakfur tasted the air for any prey.

"Nothing here," he reported, nudging Tawnypelt. "Hey, why don't we go and catch a few fish?"

Tawnypelt narrowed her eyes. The fish in the crack between ShadowClan territory and the Half-bridge moved slowly, almost begging to be caught and eaten. But she wouldn't let Oakfur even try to catch a fish. Every cat knew that ShadowClan cats would always eat frogs and RiverClan would eat fish.

"Oh, those mouse-brained cats won't really care if we borrow their prey. All they want is for us to stay on our own side of the border." Russetfur meowed bitterly. She paused. "And that means that if we can catch a fish or two on our side, we get food!"

"If you really do this," Blackstar warned, turning his towards the other three cats. "RiverClan will want revenge, and quickly."

"He's right. But I've never tasted a fish, and I'm prepared to!" Oakfur growled.

"Oh, so now you want battle?" Tawnypelt looked at Russetfur, and then at Oakfur. Suddenly, Oakfur leaped into the lake with a loud splash. His brown head bobbed up from the water.

"See? I'm not a scaredy-mouse!" he teased. Just ahead, three RiverClan warriors emerged from a tree next to the Half-bridge. The first one, a sleek black tom, stepped in front of the other two. Oakfur opened his mouth in shock.

"Eeeww... ShadowClan in our water!" a very pale gray she-cat squeaked into the black cat's ear.

"Dawnflower! They can hear us, you know!" a cat stepped up whom she knew: Hawkfrost. Tawnypelt had always thought of him as arrogant and suspicious, but now he seemed more polite. At least he didn't want to start a battle over Oakfur being in the lake. The dark tom stepped closer to the four ShadowClan cats.

"Get out of the lake. It's our territory." he growled at Oakfur, who's claws were already fastened to the dirt at the edge of the lake.

"I lead my Clan alone!" Blackstar shoved the tom away from the water, not realizing that he was stepping closer to it himself. Dawnflower gasped.

"Reedwhisker!" she mewed, rushing to his side.

"Yes," Blackstar stepped farther back. "You RiverClan warriors deserved..." His voice broke off into terrified mewling as his hind paw slipped on a stone and he lost his footing, falling into the lake.

"He 'deserved it'," Hawkfrost flicked his tail at the spot where Blackstar had suddenly disapearred. Tawnypelt lost the thought of him being polite. "It was his own fault. But I'll go get him if you'd like." Before Tawnypelt could answer, Hawkfrost's dark brown tabby fur had gone under the bubbling water.

"Oh, great. Now we'll be known as the cats who were 'saved by RiverClan'." Russetfur mumbled.

Tawnypelt could do nothing but agree. But just because they were cats of ShadowClan didn't mean they were soft. It didn't mean they were fox-hearted, either. She wasn't fox-hearted, was she?

Hawkfrost's head poked up from the water, his teeth in Blackstar's scruff. He dragged the big black lump of fur onto the bank just in time for Blackstar to start complaining. Hawkfrost jumped out of the water himself a moment later.

"Saved by a RiverClan cat! I wasn't."