Warriors- Rising Sun: The Awakening {Book 1}

Prologue

The forest was eerily silent as the night dragged on. A family of crickets were sharing the news of the evening and the birds nested down for the night. An icy chill was in the air and it made the breathing of four shapes puff out in front of their muzzles. Unsheathed claws glittered coldly in the moonlight as the four figures neared a fallen tree. They leaped on top of it with one graceful bound and perched, scanning the reeds on the far side of the river that separated them from the other side.

On the opposite side, the bracken came alive as three muscled cats slid from their hiding places. They looked fit and strong, their eyes gleaming with the hunger for prey and battle. One of them, a pale brown tabby tom, stepped forward.

"Your timing couldn't be more perfect, Breezeheart." He growled, glaring across the water and meeting the eyes of a scruffy-furred blue-gray tom. His amber eyes flashed in the gloom. "What does BreezeClan want with SootClan this moon? Our forests belong to us."

The scruffy tom stiffened his shoulders and the cats who had accompanied him flanked his sides, their shoulder fur bristling into sharp spikes. "BreezeClan wants nothing to do with your forest, Windflight." The tom's voice carried across the water smoothly, like fish in a gentle stream. "We have noticed that your warriors have been leaving their scent all over the Sun Stones. I would like closure that it will not happen again."

Windflight narrowed his eyes. From the other side of the river, neither cat could tell what the other was thinking. "The Sun Stones belong to SootClan." He growled through gritted teeth. "They've always been ours."

Breezeheart lashed his tail. "They're on our territory, Windflight. They're ours." He let the fur along his spine spike up and bristle with his anger. "Do we need to go over there and teach you about borders and territories?"

Despite the SootClan warrior's clear agitation, he dipped his head to the BreezeClan patrol. "Of course not," he replied coolly. "I will report this incident back to Brindlestar. She'll see the truth: Sun Stones will always be SootClan's!" With that, the pale tabby tom turned and vanished into the bracken.

"Let's get back to camp," Breezeheart mewed to the other warriors without looking at them. "We need to tell Fawnstar that Brindlestar's warriors are acting up again." As the rest of the patrol went back into the marshy forest, the blue-gray tom turned to follow. With a final glance over his shoulder at the border, he padded into the trees.

***

A pale-sandy figure sat on a tree stump at the back of a clearing surrounded by boulders, trees, reeds, and bracken. Providing shelter and safety to the cats that lived in the rocky ravine with a stream splitting it in half.

"Fawnstar." The voice came from the cat's right and she turned to dip her head to a gray tom with long fur and hard green eyes. "It's a beautiful night tonight."

"Indeed it is, Stonefrost." Fawnstar agreed and turned her attention back to the starry night sky. "How is Petalsun?" She asked, her voice light but lined with concern for the queen.

Stonefrost sat down beside the stump and tipped his head back to peer at the sky. "She's perfectly fine. She had four wonderful kits. Even split, too. Two toms and two she-cats." He chuckled to himself.

Fawnstar let out a small, quiet purr. "They'll make fine warriors one day," she meowed and flicked her slim tail. After a heartbeat, she added. "Breezeheart told me about a SootClan patrol at the river." Stonefrost glanced at her out the corner of his eye. "They weren't hurt, but Windflight was staking their claim to the Sun Stones again."

Stonefrost snorted in contempt. "SootClan cats are always being greedy by taking territory that isn't theirs." He mumbled bitterly. "What will you do? Brindlestar is pushing the border and we have to defend our territory."