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"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey assemble at the Highbranch," Tornstar yowled, his good side facing out towards the Nursery and medicine den. Icefur and Oakfur were there already, their faces grim. Shadepaw came out first, being the cat closest to the Highbranch, then Ivywing and Stormsong came with their apprentices, Redpaw and Littlepaw respectively. Crookedjaw pushed his way out of the nursery, beckoning to Gingersnap and the kits to come out; Mouseclaw shouldered his way past Crookedjaw, obviously having just had a fight with Ripplevoice. Paleface came next, with Birchleaf and Treeclaw bickering behind him; Birchleaf trying to stay calm and Treeclaw with her hackles raised. Stonepelt, Greyear and Rainstorm came next, then Berrystep trailing behind Rainstorm like a lost kit. Eaglesight was helped by his daughters and son to get to the clearing; Goldspots and Heathertail at his sides, and Tanpelt offering encouragement to the elder. Tawnymuzzle and Grassfang came, from all the way across the clearing, and Darkstream just behind. Smokestep followed Darkstream, his eyes watching her every move. Tornstar narrowed his eyes when he saw everyone assemble. "I see. So then, I know some of you have already heard." The cats looked at each other in surprise, with Birchleaf and Stormsong nodding solemnly. "Owlfang and Silverleaf have left RiverClan."
The cats erupted into yowls and cries of disbelief, until Icefur yowled loudly to give Tornstar a chance to speak. He nodded to her gratefully, then continued. "They have joined with the ShadowClan warrior Falconstrike and a cat that used to be a ThunderClan warrior- maybe you remember Crowface." All the cats yowled again, until Tornstar flicked his tail for silence. "They have created a supposed 'MoonClan', to 'point out the follies of StarClan'; so much was told to Stormsong and Birchleaf, who they tried to get to join their clan. You are to treat them as any normal enemy from now on."
RiverClan was silent, shocked. Grassfang cried out, unbelieving. "Owlfang! How could he leave me like this? Why did he-" She broke down, sobbing, and Darkstream licked her ear to try and make her feel better. Other cats called out their sentiments, not all so forgiving.
"That rotten crow-eater! All four of them! How could they abandon clan, family, and even StarClan?"
"Why did Silverleaf go? She seemed so happy here! How could she abandon Tornstar like that?" Tornstar narrowed his eyes, looking for whoever had said the last comment. No cat spoke up, and he turned away roughly, jumping down from the Highbranch. The cats broke away, all still shocked and grieving for their lost clanmates- each in their own way.

Crookedjaw licked his mate's head gently, pushing the fur up the wrong way. "We'll explain to Hollowkit. I think this is a shock to everyone here, so one more shocked kit won't be a big change."
Littlepaw and Redpaw exchanged looks, horrified at the change in events. "But he was my mentor now!" Littlepaw yowled, nearly ready to become a warrior. "I was so close to becoming a warrior... and..."
"Mouseclaw can teach you both," Tornstar meowed, calming both Littlepaw and his brother, "And all of your kits will have good mentors, Gingersnap, I promise."
"So that's just it? We lose Silverleaf and Owlfang and everything just goes back to normal?" Grassfang cried out, weeping.
"Yes," Tornstar said coolly, "That is exactly what we do. We don't need cats in this clan who don't believe in StarClan."

"Meeting dismissed," Tornstar yowled, leaping down from the Highbranch. Cats cried out in surprise, unsure of what to do. Eventually, starting with Paleface, the cats dispersed into worried groups.

Hollowkit pounced on the intruder, growling.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed, pinning the larger she-cat. "This is RiverClan territory! Are you one of those ThunderClan cats? Trying to invade us?"

"We don't want you here," Hollowkit hissed. "You kittypets have only brought us misery! Go and find some WindClan cat to bother, I've heard they'll take anyone," Hollowkit sneered harshly, then turned and started walking back into camp.
"Hollowkit!" a friendlier voice called out, stopping Hollowkit in his tracks. Snowkit bounded into him from the side, purring her amusement, and Powderkit came from the direction of camp. "There you are, Hollowkit! I've been-" Powderkit halted, staring at Grace.
"Who're you?" Snowkit began tentatively.
"She's a kittypet!" Hollowkit snarled to his sisters.
"All the way out here? No way! There aren't any Twolegs living around here! They're all around ThunderClan and ShadowClan, I thought," Powderkit protested.
"Must be a rogue or something," Snowkit mused.

"Badger!" Powderkit cried, running off towards camp.
"I told you, you kittypets bring us nothing but misery!" Hollowkit hissed at Grace. He looked ready to pounce.
"Now's not the time, Hollowkit!" Snowkit growled, trying to drag her brother away.

"Kits?" Tornstar called, halting in his tracks as Powderkit nearly careened into his side.
"Badger! I smelled badger!" she cried. "Hollowkit and Snowkit-"
"Go get Grassfang and Rainstorm," Tornstar mewed, then leapt away in the direction of the badger.

"No!" Hollowkit twisted away from his sister's grip, throwing himself at Grace. Snowkit watched, unsure of whether she should watch out for the badger she could smell coming ever closer, or if she should assist her brother with fighting the larger cat.
Tornstar ran through the brambles, arriving neatly in the area where the kits were. He didn't waste a single word - he simply scanned the area, using nose, ears, and eyes. His bad side, his face curled up into a grin, faced Grace the entire time - the other side, fangs bared, snarling, faced Snowkit. The muscles in his jaw worked, visibly clenched and ready.
And then he pounced.

[ Tornstar didn't attack her, actually. That would have been Hollowkit. ]
Tornstar found himself tangled up in the young cat, and berated himself for the trouble. He took a moment to get back to his feet, and saw the danger that the three kits were in. Hollowkit had not given up his attack on Grace, merely delayed it as he tried to fine a way to help his sister. Snowkit was cowering in front of the badger, too terrified to move.
"Get out of the way!" Hollowkit cried, barreling into his sister and forcing her out of the way of the badger's snapping jaws. It was big, and old, with it's whiskers touched with fine silver. One of it's eyes was milky-white - the other scanned the area, unsure of who to attack first. When it felt Grace swipe her paw at it's belly, it turned on her.
"No!" Tornstar cried, pouncing on the badger with anger. "Get away from those kits!" He dug his claws into the badger's sides as the badger tried to shake him off. The badger roared in frustration and pain, and Tornstar started to rake his back claws along the badger's spine. "Kits, get away! I have the badger - unf! - distracted!" he yowled as the badger rolled over, nearly catching Tornstar underneath him. Hollowkit nodded and started to comply - however, his sister was still terrified out of her wits.
"Come on, Snowkit!" Hollowkit mewled desperately, taking her by the scruff. "We've got to get away! Tornstar's got this under control!" As he spoke, Grassfang, narrowly shadowed by Rainstorm, came sprinting into the clearing, aiding Tornstar in his task of taking care of the badger.
After a little distraction and some well-timed swipes, the three had taken the badger down. Grassfang and Rainstorm were mostly unharmed, but Tornstar had deep cuts down his sides and some of his fur hung loose on his flank. Hollowkit had managed to drag Snowkit a little closer to the camp, but they still stood at the edge of the clearing, eyes wide and round.