Smokefoot sprang awake, shivering. The fern walls rustled around him and he tensed against the icy draft. Rosewing and him were the newest warriors, and the warriors den was full, so they were stuck in the apprentices den. With leaf-bare right around the corner, the den was colder than ever. He pricked his ears, Rosewing was whimpering in her sleep.
What's wrong?
"Wake up!" Smokefoot jabbed Rosewing with a paw. What if the Hidden Forest warriors were hurting her?
Firepelt poked her head in through the ferns. "Is everything ok in here?"
Smokefoot turned quickly, shielding Rosewing from their mother's view. "Rosewing's having a bad dream," he mewed "I was trying to wake her up"
Firepelt opened the fern wider with a flame colored paw, letting dawn light seep through. "I thought I heard her whimper-"
"Really, She's ok" Smokefoot cut her off.
Firepelt shrugged. "If it's just a dream, wake her up and come out. Whiteshock's organizing the hunting patrols." She ducked out of the den, and the ferns swished closed.
Smokefoot rocked Rosewing fiercely with two paws. "Wake up!"
"W-what?" Rosewing blinked open her eyes.
Smokefoot saw that one of Rosewing's eyes was bruised and swollen around the socket. "You're hurt!"
Rosewing turned away, hiding her injury in shadow. "It's nothing."
"Did that happen in your dream?" Frustration clawed at Smokefoot. "You were fighting in the Place of No Light again, weren't you?"
Rosewing thrust her muzzle in his face. "Shut up" she seethed.
"You must not go there!" He could feel heat pulsing from Rosewing's swollen eye.
Rosewing pushed past her, her tail lashing angrily. "Keep your whiskers out of my business."
"Why can't you see how dangerous it is?!" He pleaded, but Rosewing had already barged away through the ferns.
Help her, Starclan! Help her to see that she's wrong. And protect her. Smokefoot closed his eyes. Please, Starclan. He steadied himself with a deep breath and nosed his way out of the den.
Hazelnose, Thornfoot, and Frogfur were all crowded around Whiteshock, the deputy. Clearmoon and Leafripple jostled at their heels, and Bluemoon and Brighteye paced while Stormstripe, Cobrablaze, and Brackenlight waited silently.
The Hawkclan deputy's ear tips were just visible. "Stormstripe!" He called "Take Cobrablaze and mark the new border with Marshclan." He turned to Bluemoon. "Take Clearmoon and Leafripple hunting" He nodded to Thornfoot. "Go out with Hazelnose and Frogfur and see what you can catch. I want another prey-hole filled by sun-down."
Where's Rosewing? Smokefoot scanned the camp. There was no sign of his sisters tortishell and tabby pelt, but he spotted Lionclaw at the far end of the clearing. The golden warrior was deep in conversation with Thrushheart and Rabbitfoot, their heads almost touching as they murmured to eachother. Curious, Smokefoot tilted his ears, letting his strong hearing focus in on them.
"How big were the paw prints?" Lionclaw sounded worried.
"Big enough," Rabbitfoot reported. "A sow, by the smell of it."
"She's used the track more than once," Thrushheart added, her tail lashing.
Lionclaw frowned. "So she's not just passing through."
Thrushheart unsheathed her claws. "We are going to have to track her down and chase her out."
"It might be better to wait," Lionclaw reasoned. "The forest is harsh in Leaf-bare. She may go elsewhere. Badgers prefer crow-food to fresh-kill when the hunting gets hard." He suddenly looked up and straight at Smokefoot. "Join Thornfoot's patrol," he called across the clearing.
