Every so often snow would shower down from one of the trees; Yellowfang suppressed a
“I’m going to get you, Yellowfang!”
Hollyflower scooped up more snow and flung it at Yellowfang. It landed right in her face; she shook her head to get rid of it, spraying snow in all directions.
“Watch out! Snow coming!” she yowled, scuffling up more of the white stuff to throw at Hollyflower.
Crowtail, who had drawn a few paces ahead, halted and glanced back over her shoulder. “Honestly, are you kits?” she demanded. “Grow up. This is a border patrol, or had you forgotten?”
“Sorry, Crowtail,” Hollyflower meowed, dipping her head and looking embarrassed.
“Sorry,” Yellowfang echoed, though she tossed another pawful of snow at Hollyflower’s retreating tail before following.
By the time they reached the Thunderpath, Yellowfang was becoming tired of wading through the snow and getting clots of it tangled in her belly fur. She envied her Clanmates’ sleeker fur and longer legs, which kept their stomachs free.
Crowtail stopped by the two narrow tunnels that burrowed underneath the Thunderpath. “We need to make sure no cats are using these to trespass on ShadowClan’s territory,” she mewed. “With prey so scarce, there’s no telling what the other Clans might be up to.”
“Just let them try!” Yellowfang growled, sliding out her claws.
But when they examined the tunnels and the territory around them, there was no trace of enemy scent.
“Pity.” Newtspeck’s lip curled in the beginning of a snarl. “A good scrap with a ThunderClan patrol would warm me up!”
The patrol continued along the Thunderpath, then veered away to skirt the edge of the Twolegplace. As they drew closer to the walls and fences, Yellowfang grew more alert, watching out for kittypets who might recognize her.
Hollyflower ran lightly across the snow and leaped up onto the nearest Twoleg fence. “Look at this!” she called Yellowfang.
Yellowfang glanced back to where Crowtail and Newtspeck were investigating something at the bottom of a tree. Then she bounded up and joined Hollyflower on the fence.
“What do you suppose that is?” Hollyflower asked, pointing with her tail at a humped shape of snow in the Twoleg garden.
Yellowfang shrugged, more concerned with checking the garden for kittypets. “Who knows?”
“It looks a bit like a Twoleg,” Hollyflower went on, sounding puzzled.
Yellowfang gave the shape a closer scrutiny. “It doesn’t have legs,” she pointed out.
“It’s got a head and a body,” Hollyflower countered. “And a Twoleg pelt on its head.”
“It’s a Noleg, then,” Yellowfang mewed impatiently.
“I wonder what it’s like, being a kittypet,” Hollyflower went on after a pause. “Do you suppose they can speak Twoleg? Do you think they go up and say, ‘Hey, it’s time for fresh-kill! I would love to have a vole today, and make sure it’s plump’?”
“I doubt it,” Yellowfang returned dryly. “Do you ever see Twolegs chasing voles in the forest?”
“I guess not. Kittypets don’t have to catch their own prey, though. I think that’s really sad.” Hollyflower let out a sigh. “Never knowing what it’s like to stalk a squirrel…”
Remembering the kittypets she and Raggedpelt had met that night, Yellowfang was pretty sure that some of them would be able to catch their own prey. But she wasn’t about to say that to Hollyflower.
“What do they
“Russetpaw and Boulder are real cats,” Yellowfang pointed out.
“Yeah, but they’re Clan now,” Hollyflower asserted with a flick of her ears. “I’d be surprised if they even remember living over here. At any rate,” she finished with satisfaction in her tone, “kittypets don’t matter. As long as they stay out of our territory.”
Noticing that Crowtail and Newtspeck were padding up to the fence, Yellowfang leaped down to meet them, pleased to put an end to the awkward conversation with Hollyflower. As she landed, she spotted a hole at the base of the fence, where one of the strips of wood had rotted away. There was plenty of room for a cat to slip through. Instinctively she sniffed, and froze as she picked up the scent of kittypet.
