As Yellowfang padded over to join them, she caught a look of approval from Raggedpelt. He was leading a different patrol with Blizzardwing, Brackenfoot, and Newtspeck. Though she was disappointed that she couldn’t hunt with him, Yellowfang felt satisfied.
Archeye took the lead as the patrol headed out of the camp and across the icebound marsh. “I think we’ll try the edges of the Thunderpath today,” he announced. “No cat has hunted there for a few days.”
Yellowfang and the others followed him until they approached the place where the tunnel led underneath the Thunderpath. The moorland of WindClan swelled on the far side, outlined sharply against the sky.
Archeye halted and stared at the hills with narrowed eyes. “I can’t believe what Heatherstar said at the Gathering last night. She accused us of trespassing!”
Amberleaf flicked her tail. “Let her talk. WindClan cats are all meow and no claws.”
Yellowfang wasn’t so sure. She sniffed around the nearby clumps of grass for any signs of fresh herbs and prey. Suddenly she froze. She had picked up a different scent, not one she had hoped for. “Wait!” she called to the patrol, who were starting to move off again. “We may have intruders.
Archeye spun around. “Where?”
Yellowfang beckoned with a flick of her ears, and her Clanmates came to sniff the clump where she had detected the WindClan tang.
“That’s them all right,” Amberleaf confirmed with a brisk nod. “And it’s fresh.”
“See if you can pick up the trail,” Archeye mewed softly. “And keep quiet. They may still be around.”
All three cats began to cast back and forth, jaws parted to taste the air. Wolfstep was the first to pick up further traces of the invaders. He signaled with his tail, and Archeye took the lead again, following the scent trail.
The trail led toward the underground tunnels. But before they reached the edge of the Thunderpath, the patrol rounded a spindly thicket of birches and came upon four cats, confidently surveying ShadowClan territory. Yellowfang recognized them from previous Gatherings: Dawnstripe and the young warrior Talltail, and a tom called Redclaw with his apprentice, Shrewpaw.
“What in the name of StarClan are you doing here?” Archeye demanded.
All four WindClan cats jumped at the sound of his voice, and whipped around to face the ShadowClan patrol. Yellowfang saw a flash of guilt in their faces, which vanished almost at once to be replaced with defiance.
Dawnstripe stepped forward. “ShadowClan scent has been found on WindClan territory,” she asserted.
“That’s not true!” Archeye’s voice was furious, and his neck fur began to bristle.
Yellowfang moved forward to stand at Archeye’s shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his ribs jutting through his patchy gray coat.
“Even if we had trespassed on your territory,” Amberleaf meowed, “which we didn’t, that doesn’t give you the right to be over here.” She took a threatening step toward the intruders. “Get out now.”
“Oh, can’t we stay and have a look around?” Shrewpaw asked, his voice full of mock disappointment. “These skinny creatures aren’t going to be able to stop us.”
Without saying a word, Yellowfang and her Clanmates stepped into a battle line. A lightning bolt of anger sliced through Yellowfang.
“Look,” Archeye began, “you know you’re in the wrong. Leave now, and we can avoid a fight.”
The WindClan cats didn’t move. Yellowfang felt tension tingling through her body from her ears to tail-tip, and she flexed her claws.
“And if we don’t?” Redclaw sneered. “Are you going to eat us?”
