Redleaf flicked his tail disapprovingly. "You can never be too careful with RoseClan."
He has a point, Larkkit thought with a shudder. RoseClan was a group of cats known for their ruthlessness and malice. They weren't afraid to attack other camps in peacetime and even penetrate to the nursery and the elders' den and kill the weak and helpless cats. MoonClan and SnowClan were so afraid of encountering them at some point that they no longer dared to go anywhere near the borders. This, of course, made it easy for RoseClan to invade their territories unnoticed and steal prey and herbs.
However, this time had been over for many leaf-changes since the other three Clans had united against RoseClan and threatened to expel them if they did not mend their ways. Now only the cats' fighting skills and fiery temperament reminded of that dark age. Nevertheless, some cats still believed that the cruelty of their ancestors lived on in them.
Larkkit had often had nightmares about it, which was why she had hidden in the nursery the last time the RoseClan medicine cat Fruittail had been in the MoonClan camp for the half moon meeting. She had been very young then, but her fear remained.
Just then Hailstar said to Finstrike, "In a few days it will be half moon again, won't it? Do you think you could ask StarClan for advice?"
Mousedung, now I missed what they said before! Larkkit clenched her teeth and turned her ears forwards so as not to miss anything again.
Eveningstar ruffled her fur. "Maybe you shouldn't hang on StarClan all the time, but take matters into your own paws," the dark grey-blue she-cat meowed snidely.
Larkkit couldn't believe what she had just heard. How dare this old cat doubt her ancestors! StarClan was watching over them all, and at a time like this, their advice was needed most.
Finstrike didn't let it bother him, or he was pretty good at keeping his emotions under control. At least he said, "I can try, but I can't promise anything."
Eveningstar whipped her tail. "That's a wasted effort," she growled. "We're leaving." She called Redleaf and her two warriors to her and marched off towards the Hilltunnel.
Without taking his blue eyes off them, Hailstar murmured something to Nightblossom, whereupon the black deputy announced, "Mapleblossom, Whitefur, Caveshadow and Flowerpelt, please accompany them to the border."
One of the LaurelClan cats, a dark brown tabby she-cat with green eyes, hissed as she and her Clanmates were surrounded. "We can find our own way back!"
"Larchleaf!" Redleaf gazed at her with green eyes. "Don't. It's not worth starting some fight with MoonClan."
Something about the way he said that made Larkkit furious. No cat has the right to underestimate MoonClan! She gazed at Redleaf as grimly as she could. In this moment it didn't matter to her that he was a deputy of another Clan. No cat has the right to talk bad about us.
Snorting, Larchleaf followed the patrol. As soon as they were gone, Hailstar leapt onto the Moonmound. "We're not getting into any unnecessary fights," he shouted, and his tone brooked no argument. "The rogues are RoseClan's problem. If they need our help, we'll give it to them, but until then we'll leave them alone. I don't want to see any unnecessary conflicts." He jumped back down, a sign that the meeting was over.
What's going on in RoseClan? Who are these rogues, and why was Eveningstar so eager to talk to Hailstar about it?
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