"We can explain!" The brown tom tumbled forward, trying to gracefully sit up straight but failing. He licked his chest fur consciously. The she-cat seemed expressionless. Her dark green eyes glittered in the rippling sunlight that fell through the leaves. "Who are you?" Pineleaf butted in roughly. His eyes were narrowed with suspicion. "That's Leaffall." Shimmerlake pointed with her tail at the dappled brown tom. "He's ShadowClan. Saw him at a Gathering." Nonetheless, the stench of ShadowClan hung in the air around him. The she-cat's scent wasn't Clan, however-it was sweeter and smelled like flowers, rust, and windy ridges. "I'm Fionn." The she-cat said in a sweet, quiet voice. "I'm sorry, are we not supposed to be here? We'll leave." Her tail-tip brushed over Leaffall's nervously. Willowpaw hissed. "You're invaders!" The apprentice unsheathed her claws. "Wait." Spottedleaf lay her tail across Willowpaw's paws calmingly. "You said you could explain. So explain." Her cobalt blue eyes narrowed. Fionn shifted her paws nervously. "It's obvious, isn't it?" Shimmerlake interjected. "A Clan cat with a rogue. A tom with a she-cat. It's a forbidden love." Her amber eyes glittered intuitively. "No! It's not that!" Leaffall protested. "I was chasing her out of ShadowClan territory!" "Then followed her into ThunderClan territory and hid in a bush with her?" Pineleaf growled. Leaffall opened his mouth, then closed it limply. Spottedfern frowned. "Let's bring them back to camp." She murmured. Pineleaf and Shimmerlake flanked the two cats while Willowpaw led, leaving Spottedfern to be the back. Her thoughts churned as the patrol returned to camp. /Why now? There's already too much going on!/ She was so deep in thought that she barely realized it as they squeezed through the camp entrance. Wavestar appeared from her den on the Highledge and hurried down towards them. "Who are these cats?" She asked, a crease between her brows. Spottedfern ignored them as the other members of the patrol explained to her. Suddenly, she felt a pressure in her chest. Blackness encroached at her vision, and fear burned into her mind like fire. But amidst the chaos of her mind and the outside, she felt an inner certainty that rose up against her confusion. She felt it-she knew it. Something was coming. And she couldn't do anything to stop it.
