Sandclan's Destiny Book 4: Shatters of the Moon

Chapter 6: An Unrest

Being a SandClan warrior in BirdClan and having to help patrol the territory was difficult. The other sunrise Sandstripe went on a patrol with a few tall BirdClan warriors, got lost from them, and a search party had to be sent out to find her. Featherstar thinks an apprentice sent her astray on purpose, because when she was found she was nearing towards uncharted territory beyond the thunderpath. 

This type of unfamiliar territory and a camp full of strangers made Firesong want to visit SandClan, for old time's sake. She wanted to shake off some of the homesickness before having to eventually trek back; maybe, she could even swap places with another SandClan warrior who wanted to stay here for a while. But it wouldn't make sense diplomatically.
Or so Bigstar says.

Firesong didn't want to be a useless mouth to feed, so whenever a patrol was departing she usually attended. Plus it let her get used to the territory.

It was this specific time she was nervous to approach a patrol, because Fastclaw died the night before. It was uncomfortable to mourn with a Clan over the loss of someone you do not know. However, Greyfur visited the camp just that morning to report that the exact same occurrence happened to Sunspots. Both were sleeping when they died. Their wounds were identical, and there has been no scent of intruders.

It was like adding gas to a fire. When Greyfur entered the camp, warriors were arguing with each other heatedly in the rain. Featherstar and Windfoot were arguing with senior warriors over whether or not to invite RockClan to a gathering, or to just leave the Clan alone entirely. Warriors were spatting insults at each other if they supported Sootleaf's journey, and Firesong and Stormtail were caught in the middle.

"I think Sootleaf's trustworthy enough." Stormtail had murmured.
"Woodknot and Ashblizzard could die because of him! Do you not care about your clanmates, too?" A tom named Foxheart had unsheathed his claws at Stormtail.

Bigstar and Featherstar were very thorough in investigating the deaths of their two medicine cats. 
"It had to be from the inside." Cougarfang had growled, Windfoot standing by his side.
Bigstar and Featherstar, along with warriors of each Clan, found no death-berries and no sign of an invasion. Leaves were not broken or crushed, no strange scents were in the dens.

"Goldberry, did you hear anybody come in at all last night?"
"No!" she had stammered, her ears back, "I swear, if anyone or anything came in and tried to kill Sunspots, I would've fought claw and tooth to save him!"

Now time was in its present and the fiery SandClan warrior was at a loss.
"Hey, Firesong." Foxheart mewed. He was on the patrol that Firesong was considering joining. After his argument with Stormtail he was being extra polite. "Aren't you on this patrol?"
Firesong saw Windfoot, the leader of the group, staring at her expectantly. She nodded and joined with them.

"We're checking the VenomClan border." Windfoot mewed darkly. "Maybe they know something about the death of our medicine cats- if they are even at the border, I mean."

Stormtail was also on the patrol. He seemed ready to fight, and his eyes were serious. 

"Things may get interesting." Windfoot warned, "Be on your guard."

*~*~*

Arriving at the Cross-ways, or the three-way border that SandClan, BirdClan, and VenomClan shared, Firesong spotted the familiar twoleg nest that housed a fearsome kittypet named Tiger. She remembered fighting him once- him and his mate, Lioness- alongside Stormtail. They were just apprentices at the time, and it was Firesong's first fight outside of OakClan.

BirdClanners seemed unafraid of the cliffs that they could easily fall off of, so they were very close to the edge and peering over into VenomClan's sands. SandClanners, who weren't prone to heights or always landing on their feet typically avoided the very edge. Firesong and Stormtail marked the ferns instead, staying away from the BirdClanners who were acting very bold this time.