CHAPTER ONE

Waterdapple stretched happily as she woke. She nosed her way out of the bramble-woven den. The first day of greenleaf! She bounded over to the deputy, Silentfoot, sitting underneath a shady tree. 

"Can I take a hunting patrol out? There will be lots of fresh prey up and about today!" Silentfoot nodded. 

"I will go with you, and Sandpaw and Lakepelt can come too," he said. They gathered the cats and set out, after the deputy and leader sorted out some patrols. Just as they scented their first squirrel, rustling sounded in the undergrowth. Quickly, Waterdapple crouched down and opened her jaws to figure out what it was. No delicious prey smell flowed into her scent glands, though, but a rank, wet, singed smell of fur. The other cats smelled it too. They prowled around the intruder, when... 

"Black!" yowled Lakepelt. She instantly recognized the black cat, even with the smell of singed fur and her sopping wet. She was stumbling towards Waterdapple.

"Ca... Came... I came... To find you..." She gasped, and flopped down. 

"Are you okay?" Silentfoot mewed, as Sandpaw recoiled in shock, as if she were crowfood. There was a gash down her side, although it looked shallow and was not infected yet. The cats, on Silentfoot's command, carried the half-conscious cat back to the camp. All the cats stared and hissed angrily or tried to welcome her back. A strong voice made them all silence and wheel around. 

"What is going on here?" Stripedstar hissed, but he relaxed slightly as he saw Black and turned around, looking for the medicine cat. A ragged she-cat prowled through the cats. 

"I need horsetail and tansy, quick!" She barked at no one in particular. "This is not infected and shallow, doesn't even need cobweb, but this burnt fur..." She muttered underneath her breath. A cat came through with the horsetail, tansy, and cobweb. 

"He... He is coming... The badgers... Planning to... Attack." The cat gasped and slumped down. The medicine cat, Skycloud, waved her tail. 

"Everything is fine, she is alive." Skycloud proceeded to treat the cat then ordered someone to help drag her into the medicine cat den. All the cats were bristling, nervous, or confused. The queens brought their protesting kits back to their den. The leader, Stripedstar, lifted his head to the clouds, searching for an answer from Starclan.

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Okay, finished the first part. Please tell me what you think!

This chapter was edited.