[the siege]

iii. chapter three

Cloverfrond crouched by the river shore, his mottled plumy tail swishing low on the bright grass. There was a light breeze that ruffled over the silvery sheen of the river water, rippling it.

Cloverfrond silently cursed under his breath as the trout he was about to catch swam away, frightened away by the flowing water.

The clan needed prey badly. All the other clans must have been struggling even more than starving RiverClan since they had the streams to provide for them. But even so, the fish seemed to frighten more than they had been.

Cloverfrond wondered if the Twolegs had anything to do with it. They had been stealing fish from the river a few moons ago in greenleaf and leaf-fall from little colourful nests along the riverside. They seemed to be nomadic as the Twolegs and their bright nests never stayed in one place for more than two sunrises.

Cloverfrond scanned the river for any signs of prey. Even a measly frog would be accepted. He crept along the riverbank for a little while longer before realizing that he was not going to be able to catch anything. He decided that hunting near the lake might be better.

He turned around and started heading back towards the lake, but he was stopped by a strange scent that seemed to be lingering just on the edge of where the woods started. It smelled suspiciously of ThunderClan but had an unfamiliar tinge to it.

Cloverfrond couldn't place his paw on it but headed for the trees.

Then, he stopped, realizing that if he scented a strange smell, he shouldn't go towards it without a patrol with him. If it were a group of unfriendly rogue cats that had set up camp nearby,

Cloverfrond didn't want to be in the middle of a fight against unknown cats without his clan beside him. It was like letting a kit wander into a badger's den. He spun around and sped back to camp, looking over his shoulder. He was frightened by the thought of mysterious cats on his clan's territory.

When Cloverfrond made it back to camp, he could see a few cats basking in the sun, trying to warm up from fishing in frigid lake waters. He spotted Creekpaw, Brindlepaw, and Bubblepaw carrying ferns into the camp, probably for the nursery or elders' den. He passed them, dipping his head in a morning greeting. Creekpaw nodded back, but the other two apprentices were too busy carrying the emerald ferns to notice the older warrior.

Cloverfrond padded towards the leader's den, Kingfisherstar. He didn't know how the great leader would take cats trespassing on her land.

Cloverfrond mewed a few words, asking his leader if he may enter. When Kingfisherstar addressed the warrior, Cloverfrond didn't know how to start without upsetting his leader too much. She had recently dealt with the loss of her youngest daughter, Daisyleap, and Cloverfrond didn't want to make her even more upset than she already was.

"Kingfisherstar," Cloverfrond began, choosing his words carefully. "I was hunting downstream for fish, but there wasn't a lot of prey there, not even frogs, so I decided to hunt near the lake instead. But while I was walking towards the way of the lake, I smelled a strange scent just beyond the woods."

Kingfisherstar was nodding along, seeming to understand what he was saying. Cloverfrond went on to describe what the odd odour smelled like-ThunderClan with a tint of unfamiliar cats, maybe rogues or even loners.

Once Cloverfrond was finished explaining, Kingfisherstar nodded and mewed in a mysteriously calm voice, "Yes, what you did was right. I will assign a patrol to inspect that region of the woods."

Kingfisherstar stood, shook her pelt out, and walked to the tall willow tree stump where she usually addressed the clan. "Let all cats old enough to swim gather beneath the Willow Stump to hear my words!" she yowled.