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[Whiskers]

Out of all the patrols, hunting patrols were the worst.

This thought surfaced in Firepaw's mind as he crouched and stared at the undergrowth for ages. He hated waiting and hunting dealt with a lot of waiting. Ugh. He also hated standing still and hunting required him to be almost motionless. He had to be careful not to breathe too hard for Starclan's sake! Often, when he was staring intently ahead at his prey, he zoned out, his mind flitting off to think of something else. When he finally looked back, the prey was gone.

He would much rather be on a border patrol right now. Prancing up and down territory lines, makin' sure no cat even dared to look his way. That was a way to spend an afternoon!

With a sigh, Firepaw repositioned himself, his red fur rustling in the playful wind. It brought scents to his nose and he made an effort to actually find a piece of something today-- even if it was just a small mouse, he didn't care, he had to contribute something to his clan. But it was a unfamiliar cat scent that hit him the strongest. Firepaw's ears swiveled and his entire body slowly moved toward the direction of the scent. The cat, whoever it was, was awfully close.

Firepaw looked back, and was relieved to see his hunting buddies were all momentarily gone. They were all chasing after some animal of another. Firepaw creeped toward the scent and he rounded a rather thick tree. His eyes settled upon a small she-cat who was chomping down on a Fogclan mouse.

Ooooh, that she-cat will wish she had never stepped foot on Fogclan after he was done with her! Firepaw yowled angrily, alerting his clanmates to the intruder, and then he raced forward and pounced at the she-cat.

"Stop stealing our food, mousedung!"

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[Crowzerplorodon]

Her silvery-gray fur brushed softly against the trees as a she padded through FogClan territory, ears pricked for any sound of prey. Her paws barely touched the ground as she made her way around undergrowth and roots. Ahead, the she-cat could scent various different prey, the strongest being mouse.

Silverflower let herself relax. Her breathing slowed and her movements became more fluid, easily slipping through small cracks in the undergrowth. Her bright blue eyes were mere slits in her face and her mouth was open ever so slightly, taking in the scents of prey.

Up ahead, the small creature had no idea what was coming. It just sat their, nibbling on the seed it had gotten earlier. Silverflower sank down on her haunches, body tensing in all the right places. Seconds flew by without movement. Then suddenly, she jumped. Her body flew over the roots that made a wall between her and the mouse and she came down right over said mouse. Claws unsheathed, it was no problem hooking into the rodent and delivering a swift kill to its neck.

Silverflower let the prey dangle loose in her jaws as she sent a quick thanks up to StarClan for letting her be able to catch the mouse. She moved to bury the small critter, but before she could a yowl ripped through the trees.

Her eyes shot open to their full size and her ears swiveled to where the yowl came from. Without putting the mouse down, Silverflower dashed toward the sound, mind racing with all the possible reasons for the outburst.

She didn't even consider what she saw. In front of her was Firepaw, an apprentice of her clan. She remembered that he had been assigned to hunting as well. But what shocked her was the small she-cat who stood close by, apparently full-fed.

"Firepaw? What's going on? And who is this?"

[Whiskers]

Firepaw pressed down harder on the she-cat, determined to keep her still so she couldn't go and do any more damage. He could smell the mouse on her breath, and though he was hungry himself, it only made him a little angrier. But besides the mouse... he didn't smell any Pineclan, or Streamclan... no Meadowclan either. Only the smell of hay. Whoever this mousebrain of a cat was, she was definitely not from the clans, so she probably didn't know the rules.

Still, that didn't mean she got a free pass or anything. He could keep her here all night, if he had to, though he’d much rather chase her off Fogclan land. Lucky for him though, Silverflower emerged from the trees and he was happy to see a comrade. Maybe now this stupid cat would stop trying to fight him off, now that she was outnumbered.

”Hey Silverflower,” he meowed his greeting but did not move or even look away from the cat’s eyes. ”I caught an intruder! She was hunting on Fogclan land, even ate a mouse. But she isn’t an apprentice from another clan. She might be a loner.”

He ignored the loner’s feeble hisses and waited for Silverflower to tell him what to do.

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[Crowzerplorodon]

"Oh dear..." Silverflower watched Firepaw keep the strange cat down. It was obviously no challenge for the apprentice, his opponent (if she could even be called that) was much smaller than him. The silver she-cat wasn't exactly sure what to do now. The intruder was no threat, but she had still stolen from FogClan territory, that ruffled her sure slightly.

"She might be a loner."

"Definitely a loner, Firepaw," Silverflower responded, padding over to where the tom held down the smaller cat. "She doesn't smell of any clan. What's your name sweetie?" Silverflower couldn't help but be a little kind to the pinned down loner. She wasn't in the greatest position right now. "And why are you in FogClan territory?"

She was tempted to tell Firepaw to get off the stranger. He was pretty big for a cat his age and it could not have been comfortable pressed under him. But she remembered her place as a warrior and decided that keeping the intruder pinned would be the best option.

[Whiskers]

Firepaw flicked his ears back as this cat, "Patches", spoke. And then, something peculiar happened: Firepaw stopped being angry. He was more annoyed now and thought to himself, Well, I guess it's okay since she really didn't know. I can't just expect all loners to know our rules. He readjusted his position but let some of the weight off. She wasn't struggling anymore. In fact, she had stopped being hostile altogether and in return, his claws slid in and his fur lie flat. Patches was no threat.

But she DID owe Fogclan that mouse!

He sighed a little bit and debated getting off. He didn't want to look foolish in front of Silverflower... then again, it was Silverflower and she was calling the enemy sweetie, for Starclan's sake, which Firepaw didn't think was professional behavior at all. But he kept his jaw shut and just hopped off, keeping both his eyes on Patches as he did so. He was ready to pounce again if she made the slightest move...!

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he scoffed at her apology rather rudely, "I'm Firepaw, a Fogclan apprentice. Silverflower, what should we do with her?"

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