[the siege]

v. chapter five

Larkflower shook the feeling that she was being watched and continued padding through the murky forest, walking back home from the Gathering that had recently taken place.

Flickersight, her former apprentice, snuck up behind her and mewed, "I just know something odd is going down with those rogues,"

Larkflower jumped, her fur puffed out, and she breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was only her clanmate. She grumbled, "You scared me,"

"I scared you? The mighty Larkflower? How?" Flickersight joked.

"There's just a lot on my mind right now," she begrudgingly explained. She was still embarrassed that her apprentice—no!—former apprentice—managed to sneak up on her like that.

"I know the feeling," Flickersight agreed. "I wonder what they're doing in RiverClan's territory,"

"What do you mean?" Larkflower mumbled, not listening.

"Well, why would they have chosen RiverClan's territory to infiltrate? It doesn't make any sense. The only explanation would be if the cats were coming from the Horseplace or from behind RiverClan territory," Flickersight explained.

Larkflower had not thought about this. As the WindClan cats streamed out on Adderstar's command, walking gingerly across the tree-bridge that spread across the bubbling river so the clan cats could cross, Larkflower kept pondering.

"That's true," she mewed at last.

"If the cats had come through the Horseplace, then they could be barn cats or from the Twolegplace." Flickersight suggested.

"No, I don't think they're from the Twolegplace. Or even if they are, then they would have to be rogues. I don't think kittypets can fight so well that they can almost drive out all of RiverClan from their own territory." Larkflower pointed out. "Especially since they are providing for themselves. They seem to know how to hunt and fight."

Flickersight nodded and ran up farther ahead to walk with his littermate, Mistspring. Larkflower continued to think about the conversation she had just had with Flickersight and wondered whether or not she was right about the cats not being kittypets.

I mean, kittypets don't usually know how to fight or hunt, but they could have learned their skills from somewhere or . . . someone . . . else.

"Hey,"

Larkflower turned around and saw Brackenstripe. "Hey. I was thinking about those cats. Where do you think they came from?"

Brackenstripe walked on thoughtfully before saying, "I think they could be from the Horseplace or maybe even further on; the mountains, for example."

"That's what I was thinking. If they were kittypets, where would they have learned how to hunt and fight like that? And if they were from the Horseplace, why haven't we seen them before? Cats from WindClan have passed through there recently and I'm sure other Clans have, too."

Brackenstripe and Larkflower walked together in comfortable silence for a while longer until they reached their camp. Brackenstripe marched over to the fresh-kill pile, looking over at Larkflower.

"Do you want to share?" He asked, pointing to a limp rabbit.

"No, thanks," Larkflower apologized. "I'm too tired. But I'll get up early tomorrow to go hunting with you if you'd like."

After Brackenstripe nodded in agreement, he sat down to eat the rabbit and Larkflower padded into her den. She could make our Flickerstripe's body rise and fall with his breath and his sister, Mistspring. Larkflower walked through the tangled bushes that protected the den from weather and settled down in her nest with her mate—Snakeshine.