The three ThunderClan cats spun around, their fur bristling. Deadfoot, the WindClan deputy, stepped out of the heather and jumped on top of the sandy badger set. He was small and skinny, and he moved with the distinctive lopsided gait that gave him his name, but Fireheart knew that, like the rest of WindClan, his size concealed an agility and speed that other Clans found hard to match.
There was a rustle and Mudclaw stalked from the heather. Fireheart eyed him tensely as the brown warrior circled the group and stopped behind them.
“Webpaw!” called Mudclaw. The tabby apprentice who had been with Mudclaw before padded out into the open. Fireheart waited, his heart pounding, to see if there were any more warriors with this patrol.
“You seem to be making WindClan territory your second home,” hissed Deadfoot.
Fireheart sniffed the air before answering. No more WindClan cats. They were evenly matched. “There’s no other way from the forest to the lands beyond,” he answered, keeping his voice calm. He didn’t want to provoke a fight, but he couldn’t forget the way he and Bluestar had been treated by Mudclaw before.
“Are you trying to travel to Highstones
Sandstorm arched her back and hissed furiously. “Bluestar is fine!”
“So what are you doing here?” snarled Mudclaw.
“Just passing through.” Cloudpaw’s fearless mew sounded puny next to the full-grown warriors, and Fireheart felt his muscles tense.
“I see it’s not just Fireheart who needs a lesson in respect!” growled Deadfoot.
Out of the corner of his eye Fireheart saw the black tom flick his tail. It was a signal to his Clanmates to attack. With a sinking heart, Fireheart realized they were going to have to fight. When Deadfoot leaped from the badger set onto his back, he rolled with him, falling to the ground and throwing the WindClan deputy off.
Deadfoot landed on his paws and turned back to Fireheart, hissing, “Neat move. But you’re slow, like all forest cats.” He lunged and Fireheart felt the deputy’s claws rake his ears as he ducked away.
“I’m fast enough,” he spat. He pushed down with his hind legs and flung himself at Deadfoot. The WindClan tom gasped as Fireheart knocked the breath from him, but he still managed to spin and land on his paws. Quick as an adder he struck back at Fireheart, and Fireheart hissed as the warrior slashed his nose. He retaliated, swinging a forepaw at Deadfoot and feeling a wave of satisfaction as his claws dug into the deputy’s fur. Now he had a firm hold on Deadfoot’s shoulder. Fireheart tightened his grip and swung himself up onto the black cat’s back, forcing his muzzle onto the hard ground.
As he held down the struggling deputy, Fireheart realized that Webpaw, the WindClan apprentice, had already fled. Sandstorm and Cloudpaw were fighting side by side to drive Mudclaw back into the heather, Sandstorm striking with her forepaws while Cloudpaw nipped at the warrior’s hind legs. With a final screech of fury Mudclaw turned and ran away.
“I’ll start showing respect when you’ve earned it,” Fireheart hissed into Deadfoot’s ear. He gave the WindClan deputy a sharp nip on the shoulder before releasing him. Deadfoot yowled with rage and raced into the heather.
“Come on, you two,” Fireheart called. “We’d better get going before they come back with more warriors.”
Sandstorm nodded, her face grim, but Cloudpaw was bouncing from paw to paw with excitement. “Did you see them run away?” he boasted. “Looks like I haven’t forgotten my training after all!”
“Shh!” growled Fireheart. “Let’s get out of here.” Cloudpaw fell silent, although his eyes still shone. The three cats raced side by side to the slope that led down into Fourtrees, out of WindClan territory.
“Did you see Cloudpaw fight?” Sandstorm whispered to Fireheart as they jumped from rock to rock.
“Just at the end, when he helped you drive off Mudclaw.”
“But before that?” meowed Sandstorm. Her voice, though quiet, was warm. “He saw that WindClan apprentice off in about three rabbit hops. The poor tabby was terrified.”
“Webpaw has probably just started training,” Fireheart suggested generously, feeling a glow of pride in his apprentice all the same.
“But Cloudpaw’s spent the last moon shut up in a Twoleg nest!” Sandstorm pointed out. “He’s completely out of shape, but still…” She paused. “I really think, once he’s been trained, that Cloudpaw will make a great warrior.”
Cloudpaw’s mew piped up from behind them. “Hey! Come on; admit it! I was pretty good, wasn’t I?”
“And once he’s learned a little humility!” Sandstorm added, her whiskers twitching with amusement.
Fireheart said nothing. Sandstorm’s faith in Cloudpaw pleased him more than he could say, but he couldn’t get rid of the niggling doubt that his nephew would ever truly understand the warrior code.
